Mushoku Tensei Redundancy (LN) - Volume 2 - Chapter 4.4

Chapter 4:

Onward to the Holy Sword Highway

TIME FLEW BY, and before I knew it, our ten days were up. On the first day, I went to pay my respects at the cathedral. There, Zenith had met with the Blessed Child, who used her powers to tell us what Zenith was saying. Claire came with us and started crying her eyes out halfway through the meeting. I’d felt a bit tearful myself, but given that Zenith sounded as happy as ever, I controlled myself.

The kids, who looked bored, waited outside, but then I got distracted chatting with the pope and the Blessed Child. It ended up taking longer than I expected. A lesser man might blame the Blessed Child, who’d recounted her training and dietary regime at length. She smirked proudly while telling us how she’d achieved a slimmer figure.

As I’d expected, the kids did get restless, so Aisha took Arus, Lara, and Sieg to see the Adventurers’ Guild Headquarters. Judging from how late they got home and the expression on Arus’s face, I had the feeling they’d run into some sort of trouble. Aisha seemed to have handled it, though.

You might think Lucie was annoyed to be left behind, but she wasn’t. She and Clive, who’d also stayed behind, went around gawking at the inside of the cathedral. That seemed to have been good enough for her. Maybe she liked gardens, or Clive’s company had been absorbing. Judging by the fact that she wouldn’t tell me any specifics about the flowers, I assumed it was the latter.

I wanted to quiz her further, but I restrained myself. For now, I could only hope that Clive went on being an honest young man.

The second, third, and fourth days were taken up by calling on people. Rudeus, follower of the Dragon God, was in Millishion; I had to do the rounds. This included the captain of the Missionary Knights and offshoots of the Latria family—that is, my aunts and uncles. That included Therese, of course. Alas, it seemed she still wasn’t married. 

After that, I had a formal audience with the pope. Then, I was introduced to Millis royalty, specifically the prince who was fifth in line to the throne. Despite the image that came with a title like “prince,” he was in his forties. Really annoyingly, my audience with the king ended up scheduled for several days later. That was when I’d pay my respects on behalf of the Dragon God. Orsted had told me that making connections with Millis royalty could wait, but he said that just a meeting wouldn’t be a problem. 

You might wonder why I’d gone on vacation only to end up working, but the point of this trip was giving the kids exposure to other cultures. I didn’t mind.

On the fifth day, I went to deliver Cliff’s new doll. It turned out he had some good news to share. His work over the past five years had impressed his superiors, and—although it wasn’t official yet—he was going to be made a bishop. His youth would normally have made that impossible, but there were some political circumstances related to the unusual location of Cliff’s diocese. 

He presided over an area on the southern edge of the Great Forest that, back when I’d been traveling, had been a nameless inn town. In the past ten years or so, its population had grown, and the town along with it. The town didn’t belong to any country or race, but as it grew, the question of who had what jurisdiction there came into play. Representatives from the various races gathered in the town to hammer out their various interests.

The representative sent by the Millis Church was an archbishop, a member of the demon exclusionist faction who was known as the cardinal’s right-hand man. He was a human supremacist and looked down not only on demons, but other races like beastfolk. Despite his bigotry, he was shrewd and good at his job—the sort the church would have been confident could win over various interests in the town. However, given his tendencies, there was a chance that he would damage their relations with the races that lived in the Great Forest, and that was something that only the most radical members of the demon exclusionists wanted.

That was why Cliff was chosen. Not only was he well-connected, unprejudiced, and a member of the pope’s faction, he was also on good terms with the Ruquag Mercenaries, whose members included many beastfolk, and he was close with blood relatives of the Doldia Tribe. Therefore, it was decided to promote him to a higher rank and have him accompany the archbishop to keep an eye on him.

Cliff remarked ruefully that we shouldn’t assume people were elevating him based primarily on his merits. That being said, once his work in the town wrapped up, he would be a bishop in both name and reality, which would give him much greater authority. If he could maintain good relations with the peoples of the Great Forest, that would provide a pretext for taking an elf as his wife. If that was the case, he could invite Elinalise and Clive to come and live with him in Millis.

When he got to that point, I thought the doll could double as a celebration present for his promotion, so I did the big reveal.

Cliff totally blew his top. Told me it’d be a disaster if anyone knew that he was currently smitten with a woman. Still, he didn’t refuse to take the doll, so I thought he was pleased with it. He even looked over the fine details of the magic circles that animated it with interest. Anyway, as Sylphie had pointed out, if worse came to worst we could put the doll in sunglasses and men’s clothing. It had combat skills, so I hoped he’d make good use of it for his personal defense during his bishop’s duties. The way things sounded, the archbishop might very well try to have him assassinated.

When I got back home that day, Claire was in a good mood. Apparently, Lara had found a locket she’d lost around a year earlier. Sweet story, right? It made me feel proud as a parent to hear what my daughter had done…even if it was probably Leo who’d found the locket. Roxy also seemed extra motivated about parenting. She was saying that with all the kids starting school, it was up to her to keep an extra close eye on them. Roxy was cute when she was energetic, but she was also the type to make mistakes from getting overzealous, so it made me nervous.

Sylphie and Norn had taken Lucie and Clive to the Adventurers’ Guild. Lucie beamed as she recounted the spectacular meal they’d had for lunch, though she didn’t seem all that interested in the guild itself.

From the sixth to the eighth day, I didn’t make any particular plans. We went shopping, showed the kids the sights, and used a carriage to venture out of the city to see the nearby farms and play in the streams. We just went with whatever everyone felt like on the day.

On the ninth day, I had my audience with the king. The king of Millis was an old man with a kind face. Here, the church held a lot of power, while the monarch was comparatively weak. As I was on good terms with the church, the audience only extended to the expected formalities. I’d wanted to show the kids the inside of the castle but ended up deciding against it. You couldn’t have everything.

It was safe to say we made the most of our time in Millishion.

On the tenth day, we departed. The plan was to take carriages north along the Holy Sword Highway to some hot springs. 

As we were about to leave, Claire just kept nagging me. “You don’t get monsters at the border of the Great Forest, but one hears that the inn towns are full of rough types. It may be no difficulty for you, but you must be sure to be careful with the children.”

After I’d told her not to interfere when we last met, she’d kept fairly quiet. By the tenth day, she was doing a lot more lecturing. That being said, it wasn’t that ­troublesome. It felt like she’d worked out how not to overstep. 

When it was time for us to part, however, she turned once more to Norn.

“You and I didn’t have much opportunity to talk during this visit,” she said. “Would it be all right if I said one thing?”

Norn, with an expression that said, Here we go, said aloud, “Very well.”

For the past ten days, she’d been avoiding Claire. So much for Ruijerd’s instructions to her to cherish her family. I couldn’t blame her. If she got into a conversation with Claire, Claire might insult Ruijerd, and then Norn would have no choice but to talk back. Given how stubborn Claire was, there was every possibility she’d refuse to retract what she’d said, and the whole thing would escalate into a massive fight.

“You are no longer a Latria or a Greyrat,” said Claire.

“Yes.” There was a hard look in Norn’s eyes. No doubt she thought she was about to get hauled over the coals for marrying a demon. Claire’s tone was certainly biting enough. Even I felt sure she was going to say something awful.

“You have married into the Superdia family, and you are now a mother. Bear yourself accordingly, with dignity, and fully devote yourself to your husband and your family.”

“What?” Unexpectedly, what Claire had to say was perfectly reasonable. Admittedly, the way she said it made it come out a bit like an order. She went on, “I know little of demon customs, but I imagine that a demon’s wife must bear the responsibilities of bearing children and watching over the family, just as ours are.”

Norn was silent.

“Do you understand?” Claire asked.

“Y-yes!” Norn gaped like she’d had the wind knocked out of her sails, but she eventually answered Claire with a solemn nod. 

Claire nodded back, satisfied, like another weight had lifted from her shoulders. I felt like Claire had changed a little over the past ten days. I’d also gotten the sense that Roxy and Lilia had relaxed a lot in the final few days—maybe in response to the change in Claire. Something had definitely passed between them while I was out of the house. Roxy and Claire in particular seemed a lot closer than they had been when we arrived. 

I was just glad that Claire wasn’t discriminating against demons anymore. After all, discrimination wasn’t a problem you could solve simply by talking someone out of it. Thankfully, a little of the ill feeling between her and Norn seemed to have been resolved—even if things with Aisha were as bad as ever.

***

We next traveled half a day north from Millishion to arrive at the foothills of the Blue Wyrm Mountains, where we stopped the carriages and let the children out. With a moment to rest, we turned and looked back at where we’d come from.

Green fields extended as far as the eye could see. A blue river flowed through them and into the city of Millishion, where we had spent the last ten days. I could see the king’s White Palace, the gleaming gold of the cathedral, and the sparkling silver of the Adventurers’ Guild. Nearly twenty years had passed since I’d looked out on that view with Eris and Ruijerd. Though the smaller buildings and the people who lived there must have changed since then, it looked almost exactly the same.

“Not bad, huh?” I said. Sweeping landscapes like this weren’t uncommon in this world, but it wasn’t often that you got to see places you’d just walked through from a distance. 

Surely this would be a profound experience, I thought as I looked back to see the kids’ reactions. They all had their own responses. 

“Ahhh!” Lucie let out a gasp of pure amazement, a smile breaking out on her face. She’d been taking her role as big sister seriously lately, but at times like this, she was an innocent little girl again.

And—well, well! It looked like Clive was hesitating over whether to take her hand or not. In the end, he didn’t. Instead, when Lucie turned back to him beaming and said, “Isn’t it amazing?” he turned red and blurted out, “N-not really.” Just like a boy.

Watching him, I couldn’t help but smile. I’d been like that too, once…or had I? Actually, probably not.

Cliff had actually come with us. Officially, he’d been told to go and take a look at the church in the inn town before his official visit, but I was pretty sure that was just a pretext. The pope had arranged things so that he could spend some time with Elinalise.

“I want to live here when I’m older,” said Lara, her droopy eyes widening for a few seconds. “There’s so many sweets.” 

In the carriage earlier, Roxy had told me that Claire had spoiled her. Topped up with sweet treats every day, she’d spent that portion of the trip in a blissful reverie. I felt like she was a little rounder than before we left. Who wouldn’t want to live in a paradise where treats appeared before you without you having to say a word?

“Hey, Dada. You and Red Mama came here before, right?” Arus asked.

“That’s right. I was a little older than you are now.”

“Huh.” He nodded, clenching his fists. He was probably fantasizing about his future as an adventurer.

“Hey, Mama! Mama! That’s the Nikolaus River, right?” Sieg asked. “And that’s the forest with the goblins!”

“That’s right,” Roxy said. “And do you know what that is?”

“That’s, um, that’s the Arch of Triumph, right? That’s the gate that Saint Millis returned through after the war! That’s why it’s bigger than the others!”

“Correct. You know a lot, don’t you?”

Sieg bombarded Roxy with question after question, beside himself over the view. After all the heroic epics he’d heard from Alec lately, he was uncannily knowledgeable. To me, he seemed more likely to become an adventurer than Arus.

“Dada, pick me up.” Chris reached up to me.

“I guess this doesn’t mean anything to you yet, huh?” I said.

“Mrmm,” she mumbled.

The view didn’t seem to interest her at all. I picked her up, and she rested her chin on my shoulder. Chris never got any less adorable. I looked over at Lily, who was in Sylphie’s arms, fiddling with a magical implement she’d bought from a street stall a few days ago. She didn’t seem interested either. Were they too young to enjoy scenery? Or was it that Lucie and the others were reacting in a way that was mature beyond their years? If anything, Chris and Lily’s reactions were normal for their age. 

Suddenly, Eris appeared beside me. “It takes you back, right? Back then, I never thought things would end up like this.” 

She looked out over Millishion like she was seeing into the past. The wind tugged at her red hair, revealing the nape of her neck. She was still young, but there was no hint of childishness left in her profile. She might no longer have been cute, but she was unbelievably beautiful.

“How did you think you’d end up?”

“I…I thought the world was a simpler place, back then.”

Did that mean she didn’t think it was simple now? Eris didn’t use her head much, but that didn’t mean she didn’t think. Maybe having children had mellowed her—time really changed people.

Then, she turned to face me head-on, looked me in the eyes, and said, “I love you, Rudeus.”

Ah, jeez, my heart was all aflutter! I’d definitely gone bright red.

“I love you too, Eris,” I replied, trying to stay cool. She moved a little closer to me. It would have been a chance to caress her, but alas, my hands were a bit full. I petted Chris. 

She cooed but made a face. “Dada, stop tickling!”

“Whoops! Sorry.”

“No more tickling?”

“No more tickling.”

Eris giggled, then kissed me on the cheek. She kissed the top of Chris’s head, too, then walked off.

“Right, move it!” she called. With that, we got back aboard the carriages.

We traveled along a valley that split the Blue Wyrm Mountains. If the Holy Sword Highway cut through the Great Forest, then this was the sword’s hilt. Steep cliffs rose up on either side, but there were no falling rocks. The dim valley stretched as if it continued endlessly. At first, the kids were excited. Even Lara had let out a rare “Oooh!” The adventure had begun. Who knew where we might end up next? Would there be monsters? There were supposed to be blue dragons in these parts—­perhaps they might see one!

Within a few days, however, their hopes were extinguished. The scenery never changed, and it wasn’t the right season to see blue dragons. Naturally, no other monsters appeared either. There was nothing but the endless valley. After three days, the kids were sick of it. 

Lara started unabashedly repeating that she was bored to herself. Every now and then, she’d declare she was going to walk Leo, then get out of the carriage to ride on his back instead. If we’d let her, she might have even tried to scale the cliffs. Arus, Sieg, and Clive didn’t say anything, but they couldn’t wait for the breaks when we stopped the carriage so that they could do their sword practice with Eris, have mock duels with each other, or practice magic with Roxy. It had to be better than just sitting there getting rocked by the carriage. 

“We’re trapped!” Chris wailed, tears falling down her face, while Lily managed to disassemble her brand-new magical implement so that it fell to bits. The only one who was quiet was Lucie, lost in a book she’d received at the Latria house. I didn’t know how she didn’t get motion sickness, reading in a moving carriage like that.

Eventually, the inside of the carriages descended into pandemonium despite we adults doing our best to placate the kids. This route was safe, but seeing as we were on vacation, maybe I ought to have picked a course that had more excitement.

By the time we reached the inn town, the children were so utterly bored and strung out that when we reached the inn town, they were unusually manic. The moment we left the valley and the inn town came into view, Arus, Sieg, and Lara leapt out of the carriage.

“We’re heeeeere!”

“Not so fast!” Eris and Sylphie gave chase, grabbing Arus and Sieg by the scruffs of their necks before they could run all the way into town. Leo, with Lara on his back, slipped by them to climb up on a slightly elevated rock, but that was nothing to worry about. There was nothing that dangerous on the Holy Sword Highway.

“Lara!” Eris shouted. “We’re all sticking together till we get to the inn!” She, too, was acting like she couldn’t sit still, as she was weighed down by days’ worth of frustration herself. People’s fundamental natures didn’t change. She might be more grown-up and mellowed out than she had been, but she was not the sit quietly, do nothing type.

Arus and Sieg reluctantly returned to the carriages. Not Lara. She was gazing at the endless expanse of the Great Forest before her.

“Lara, come back here,” Sylphie called. Lara turned around, but Leo didn’t move. Lara looked from Sylphie to Leo, then got down off Leo and gave him a slap on the back. When he still wouldn’t budge, she frowned slightly. 

Sylphie, losing patience, approached them. As she reached out, Lara put up a hand to stop her.

“Not yet,” Lara said.

“You’ll have all the time you like tomorrow. Now hurry up.”

“Leo says it’s his first time seeing his home like this. He wants to stay a bit longer.”

“Oh…” 

Sylphie looked back at me helplessly. As much as it’d be nice to let Leo stay and look at his home, we were moving as a group, and with the children on the verge of a meltdown, it’d be better to move quickly. It was a dilemma. Even if Leo was with her, we couldn’t just leave Lara behind. 

I got down from the carriage, then headed over to them. “Sylphie, I’ll bring Lara.”

With those words, Sylphie seemed to understand. She nodded and said, “All right. Just catch us up before it gets too late,” then returned to the carriages. 

I sat down beside the rock Leo stood on. Then, Lara sat down beside me. Side by side, we looked out at the Great Forest. Although the road was mostly flat and straight, it continued up into the mountains, so we found ourselves observing the forest from above. A single, straight brown line trailed away through the green, making for a pretty magnificent view. The last time I’d come this way, I hadn’t looked back.

“Lara,” I said.

“What?”

“Does Leo miss his home?”

Lara paused, then said, “No, it doesn’t seem like he misses it.”

Didn’t seem like it, huh? “I see.”

Lara didn’t say anything else. What was Leo feeling, then? I couldn’t understand him without being bow-lingual like Lara, but she didn’t give very detailed answers. After I tried asking a few more times, she eyed me in a way that screamed “Stop using me like a translation machine.”

Fair enough. I decided to change the subject.

“Lara…” I said again.

“What?”

“I was going to wait until you turned ten to tell you, but when you come of age, you’ll be carrying out the ritual of the Sacred Tree in the Doldia Village.”

“I know. I heard.”

“Who from?”

“Leo.”

From the mouth of the sacred beast himself! “You know Pursena, right?”

“Big Sister Aisha’s dog.” That was a terrible thing to say; she wasn’t wrong, though.

“You’ll go with her,” I said. At that, Lara looked at me, puzzled.

“Won’t you come with me?”

“I want to, but it’s a special ritual for the beastfolk, so they might not allow humans to watch.” Or did I have it wrong? Could be that Lara was embarrassed and didn’t want her dad to come? It seemed a bit early for her to be entering her rebellious phase.

Just then, Leo turned to look at me. “Woof!”

“Leo says it’s fine.”

Well, if Leo said it, then it must have been. And the fact that Lara had interpreted for me meant, for the moment at least, I wasn’t bothering her. Once she was older, she’d probably start hating me. “Don’t wash Dada’s under­pants with mine!” That sort of thing. For that matter, Chris might be happy to be daddy’s little girl for now, but who knew what would happen when she grew up?

“Dada,” said Lara.

“Hm?”

“It’s fine. You can expect a lot.”

“Right. I will,” I said, nodding despite having no idea what I was supposed to be expecting.

Lara nodded back, looking satisfied, then she stood up. I joined her, looking over my shoulder and wondering if it was time to go, when—

“Whoa!” All of a sudden, something heavy landed on my back. Seeing the small shoes bobbing in front of my eyes, I realized that Lara had jumped up onto my shoulders.

“Give me a ride,” she said.

“Am I standing in for Leo?”

“I want my dad right now.”

Did she? I was only too happy to oblige. I, Rudeus, couldn’t say no to my daughters.

“Arooooo!”

As I stood up, Leo let out a howl that echoed far out over the trees of the Great Forest.