Mushoku Tensei Redundancy (LN) - Volume 2 - Chapter 6

The Greyrat Children

A SERIES OF clacks rang out. The bright tap of wood hitting wood intermingled with the sound of breathing.

“Oof!”

“Hwup!” 

In the garden of the Greyrat house, two youths faced each other, each with a wooden sword in hand. One was a girl with chestnut brown hair. She swung with surprising ferocity for her age, making full use of her angular momentum, her cape billowing around her. Her left hand, the one not gripping the sword, was of note. It was slightly open, and now and then she used it to slap the air. When she did this, she bounced away like a ball hitting a wall, making it impossible to predict how she would move. She approached, swerving from side to side, occasionally shifting up and down, and got one—two good hits on her opponent. Her ever-changing movements were unpredictable yet graceful and beautiful.

Her opponent, a boy with red hair, was dressed in a slightly grubby practice uniform. He resolutely gripped his sword. Compared to the girl, his movements were a little stiff. He was trying to fend her off with only his sword rather than using magic like her. He kept his feet planted firmly on the ground, steady and powerful as he parried the girl, then struck back bravely. His moves imitated Sword God style: a basic, straightforward technique. He also struck faster than the girl. Despite this, he never hit her. Sometimes she dodged, sometimes she parried then hit back, smartly taking advantage of a critical opening.

“That’s one point to me.”

“Not yet, it isn’t!” Despite the obvious difference in their skill, the boy was undaunted and ran at the girl again.

Nearby, three other children were watching, most with their eyes glazed over. A girl with blue hair and a boy with green hair sat side by side accompanied by a blond boy, who stood beside them. There was also a big white dog. The blue-haired girl had her face buried in its fur and was dozing off. She didn’t seem interested in the fight.

The chestnut-haired girl and the redheaded boy faced off for a while, until the girl lunged forward.

“Yah!” she shouted fiercely, bringing her wooden sword straight down on the boy’s forehead. There was a satisfying thunk.

“Yooooow!” The boy went down, rolling around on the ground in pain as bright blood trickled from the split in his forehead down to his chin.

“Oh no, sorry, that was a clean hit.” The girl rushed over to him then, without another word, laid a hand over his forehead. Green light blossomed, and the wound closed.

“Ahhh,” the boy sighed, accepting the healing magic without protest. He flopped down on the ground. “I’m still no match for you, Lucie.”

“What did you expect?” the girl replied. “You’re only ten, Arus.”

“That’s only three years younger…”

“Three years is plenty. You wouldn’t lose to Sieg, would you?”

This was Lucie and Arus. Since getting back from Millis, Arus had thrown himself into his sword practice with even more intensity than before. Eris taught swordcraft to all the children, but ever since Arus had gotten the itch to fight, she’d been bursting with pride and taken great pains to teach him everything she knew. Arus had an abundance of talent, so he received special attention. He absorbed everything Eris taught him and was well on his way to becoming a fully-fledged swordsman—but nothing short of that felt good enough to him. That was why Arus had started getting the kids together for secret training sessions like this one.

Eris would probably have said that his swing needed more work before he started thinking about combat experience, but he was her boy—he found just swinging his sword boring and wanted a partner. Eris had been the same way when she was his age, so it was only natural.

“Hey, Lucie,” said Arus, “you’re super good at that thing where you shoot wind out of your hand to spin around. Did White Mama teach you?”

“Nuh-uh. I heard Dada used to do it, so I taught it to myself.”

“Whoa. You think Dada fights like that too?”

“Probably not now. He said it was when he was a kid.”

“You think I should try it too?”

“Hmm,” Lucie pondered. “I think you’d be better off developing your Sword God technique. What I did wouldn’t be powerful enough in a serious fight with real swords. I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t have sword practice. I mean, I’m a magician.”

“But it’s so cool. Lucie’s magic swordcraft! Clive was impressed as well, you know.”

“Mm…” Lucie seemed to brush it off, but she glanced furtively at the blond boy over with the observer, who was chatting good-naturedly with Sieg on the ground beside him. 

His name was Clive. He was also a relative, so from time to time he tagged along on the secret kids-only training sessions. That was why Lucie wore her favorite cape over her uniform even though they were training, and why she’d used magic to set it fluttering rather than concentrating on her sword. She’d wanted to look like a wind fairy—a sylph, one of the four great spirits from a fairytale her father had told her long ago. He said the beautiful sylph had green hair and danced through the air, always garbed in the wind. 

When Lucie talked to her friends at school, they said they’d never heard of anything like that. When she asked her teachers they didn’t know anything either. She’d scoured the library but found no mention of the name. Until that moment, she’d believed the sylph was real. It turned out the sylph was just as imaginary as Cheddar Man—what a shock! All the same, Lucie still adored wind fairies, and she dreamed of the boy she liked seeing her that way.

“Enough of this. Push-ups!” Lucie cried. “We agreed the loser had to do push-ups, remember?”

“Aw man.” Arus got down into a push-up position in front of Lucie then began, shouting, “One! Two…!”

It was a rule of the children’s secret training that the loser had to do a basic workout.

“Right, you’re up next, Lara! Hurry up!” 

The next opponent was supposed to come out while the loser did their exercises, but Lara said sleepily, “You’ve done five rounds already. Let’s take a break.”

She was slumped against Leo, disinterested in fighting, though it was honestly better when she ignored them by pretending to be asleep. An extremely talented magician, Lara fought using cunning to outwit her opponents. On the flip side, she wasn’t motivated when it came to swordcraft. That didn’t mean she didn’t like to move around; she was pretty energetic when up to her own mischief. Sword fighting just wasn’t her thing. 

She’d still come along, though, however reluctantly. Maybe she had her reasons.

“What about you, Sieg?”

“Mm, I’m out too.” Sieg was only eight and had the lowest win rate of the four. That being said, he had unbelievable strength for a boy his age, and when the fight was close, there were moments when that was enough to carry him to victory. His style was also different from Lucie and Arus. Like Arus, his fighting style prioritized his fencing, but from time to time, he moved in ways that clearly were not what Eris taught them.

Of course, the other three were well aware of who was teaching him swordcraft and where. 

“Okay, break time,” Lucie said. She sat down next to Arus, who was still doing push-ups. Going over to Clive would have been too embarrassing for words. It was that period in her life. Besides, right then, Clive was talking to Sieg. Lucie didn’t know what they were saying, but Clive, who was calm for his age, was extremely knowledgeable and interesting to talk to. He was probably entertaining Sieg with whatever book he’d read recently.

“Hey, Lucie,” Arus said suddenly as he continued to do push-ups, “What’re you gonna do after you finish school?”

“I’ll go to the next school,” Lucie responded breezily to Arus’s serious question. “It’s like Dada said. After I graduate from the Ranoa University of Magic, I’ll start at the Asura Royal Academy. I don’t know why I have to go there, but I guess because we’re Asuran nobles, I’m to learn about the nobility or something.”

“No, I mean after that.”

Lucie looked at Arus again. His eyes were on the ground as he continued his push-ups.

“You’re going to follow in Dada’s footsteps, right?” she asked him.

“I dunno, but that’s what our mamas say.”

It was mostly Eris saying it. She’d occasionally proclaim, “Arus is the Greyrat heir!” Since then, it’d been assumed that he was. Sylphie and Roxy didn’t seem to have a problem with it. It wasn’t clear what he had to do. Would he work for Orsted like Rudeus?

“What do you mean you ‘dunno’? Arus, everyone is looking to you to be the heir. And Lara is supposed to have some important role too. It’s serious.”

“If you’re going to be like that, why don’t you just be the heir? You’re better than us at sword fighting and magic.”

“I’m not. No one’s expecting anything from me.”

“That’s not true,” Arus blurted out.

“It is!” Lucie said, her voice rising. “I’ve never once had Dada say he expected anything from me or tell me what he wants me to do in the future. Nothing like that! You two got swords and magic staffs for your birthdays, but I…I…!”

Not just Arus but the other three standing away from them all stared wide-eyed at her. She instantly felt a rush of shame. What was she doing saying all this to her little brother? Dada didn’t expect anything from her because she wasn’t working hard enough. It was that simple.

“Oh…!” Tears welled up in Lucie’s eyes. Crying wouldn’t help anything, but they came streaming down her cheeks regardless. Why didn’t Dada expect anything from her? She’d never understood. She tried so hard at both swordcraft and magic. She got nothing but good grades at school. She was a good big sister, but Dada had never once told her what he wanted her to do or what he wanted her to be. He always brushed her off, saying that she should live the life she wanted or she didn’t have to worry about that just because she was the eldest.

“I-it’s not like Dada told me he expected anything,” Arus stammered, glancing around helplessly. To him, his big sister was perfect.

She was the most accomplished of her brothers and sisters. Her being a whole three years older made her seem like a grown-up. Arus couldn’t do the things she’d been able to do at her age, and he didn’t know how to look after their younger sisters Lily and Chris either. Apart from swordcraft, Arus didn’t think there was anything he did better than Lucie. Even then, he couldn’t beat her in a mock battle when she used magic. If no one expected anything from Lucie, they definitely didn’t expect anything from any of the other kids. 

But if Dada really didn’t expect anything from Lucie, didn’t that mean he didn’t expect anything from Arus either? Dada had never told Arus he wanted him to be his heir. He sort of assumed it because Red Mama and Aisha said it, and the other mamas didn’t say they were lying. This was how it worked. With Asuran nobility, the oldest boy was the heir.

Usually, if someone talked to him like Lucie had, Arus would have shot back with a heated retort. Even if he hadn’t seemed mad outwardly, he would have quietly seethed; it was his nature. But he’d never heard Lucie talk like this before—never seen her this upset. When she got angry with Lara for playing a prank on her, it almost seemed like she was putting on an act, like she was only mad just long enough to scold Lara. Lucie was a perfect big sister. The extremely cool sort who never vented her feelings, never did anything bad, and never whined or complained. 

“Hey, um, Lucie?” Arus hesitated, more confused than angry about the outburst. He didn’t know how to respond. If it had been Lara or Sieg, who he had practice bickering with, he would have said something, but what was he supposed to do here?

Then, Clive came over to them and sat down beside Lucie. “You okay? Lucie?”

Lucie was silent. The other boy was only a year older than Arus, but he seemed much more mature. He was diligent and got good grades in school, and he was also kind and skilled with people—though he could be strict with younger students when he had to be. He seemed far more adult than Lara, who was the same age.

“All of us know how hard you work,” Clive said.

“Mm.” Lucie sniffed. Clive put an arm around her and patted her head.

“You’ll apologize to Arus later, right?”

“No, now’s good.” Lucie gave another wet sniff, then turned to Arus, who was frozen in his push-up position, and bowed her head. “I’m sorry, Arus. I was rude.”

“No! I mean…I’m sorry too,” he said. He wasn’t sure what he’d done wrong, but he was pretty sure that someone had told him that if he made a girl cry, he’d better apologize. Maybe it was Blue Mama or White Mama. Could it have been Aisha? In any case, he shouldn’t have asked Lucie about what she’d do after finishing school. He was just curious and wanted to hear what his cool sister had in mind for the future. Maybe he’d also hoped that he’d get an idea for himself from her perfect-big-sister answer. He never in a million years thought she’d yell at him like that.

“Sorry, Arus,” said Clive. “I’ll take Lucie and head back to the house.”

“Oh, uh, yeah. Okay.”

Clive, his arm around Lucie’s shoulders, went inside. 

Left behind, Arus was speechless. He simply stood, frozen in disbelief. Just then, Lara and Sieg came over to where Lucie and Clive had been. Leo joined them, looking worried.

“That was a lot,” said Lara.

“I didn’t know Lucie could get angry like that,” Sieg agreed. 

Arus was close with his brother and sister, and talking to them usually helped him think about things. He nodded. “I guess, I dunno, Lucie must worry about the future, too.” 

He’d assumed that Lucie was too perfect to worry about anything. Clearly not.

Lara opened her mouth. “Lucie…” she began. 

Arus never knew what the younger of his older sisters was thinking, but sometimes she opened up with something that got to the heart of things. Arus listened closely so that he didn’t miss anything important.

“…is definitely going to marry Clive,” was all she said. 

“Oh, right,” Arus nodded, feeling let down. Lara just as often said something anticlimactic. She wasn’t interested in the same things as Arus and the others. She was in a world of her own.

“That’s not what we were talking about,” Sieg said.

But Lara hadn’t finished. “Clive is an only child, so when they get married, Lucie will live in Millis.”

Now that Arus understood her train of thought, he knew what she was getting at. “So, she’s leaving when she gets married?”

“Right,” said Lara.

Their family and Clive’s family, the Grimors, got along well, helped by the fact that they were related. Arus didn’t really understand why, but noble families married their children to each other to build stronger bonds. The grown-ups could already be making plans for Lucie and Clive. They’d be “betrothed.”

“You think Lucie’s unhappy about that?” Arus asked.

“I bet she’s not mad about it.”

“Yeah, she does like Clive, but then why’d she yell like that?”

“Girls are complicated.”

Arus felt pretty lost. Lucie was obviously unhappy about something. It even seemed like she thought she was the one who had to be the Greyrat heir. Arus also thought she was the one who deserved it, though that might have been his own inadequacy talking.

Thinking that he’d ask Aisha about it later, he tried to change the subject. “What about you, Lara?”

“I’m going to marry a capable man who’ll cook and clean and do everything else, allowing me to lounge around all day.”

“‘Going to’? Wait, are you betrothed to someone?”

“No.”

“Ah.” He wanted to ask where she thought she was going to find someone like that but restrained himself.

“It won’t be too hard,” Lara added.

“Sure. Good luck.” His less cool big sister was starting to get on his nerves, so he turned to his little brother. “What about you, Sieg?” 

Sieg stared down at the wooden sword in his hands. “I’m gonna be the strongest swordsman in the world.” He was being even more ridiculous than Lara. “Once I’m the strongest, I’ll defend world peace.”

Well, Sieg did like Cheddar Man and the Epic of the North God, but Arus was trying to talk about serious things, not dreams for babies. He sighed and said, “Try beating me first.”

“I will.”

“Oh yeah? When?”

“One day!”

“Well, take your time, but don’t call yourself strongest until you do!”

Sieg puffed his cheeks out sulkily. Arus didn’t see himself losing to Sieg for a while yet, but his brother was getting stronger by the day. Sieg really might take him one day, even if it seemed ridiculous at the moment. Maybe Seig’s dreams of heroism weren’t so childish. Of course, beating Arus wouldn’t make Seig the strongest. There were a lot of seriously strong swordsmen out there.

“Don’t you want to be heir?” Sieg asked suddenly. 

Arus screwed his mouth up and mumbled, “How should I know?”

He was the Greyrat family heir…except he wasn’t sure what that meant, including whether it was good or bad. However, their conversation had given him a different perspective on it. The Greyrat family served Dragon God Orsted, but they were also a branch of the Asuran nobility. Being heir to the family would mean mixing with other nobles. That fit with what Lucie said about having to attend not only the Ranoa University of Magic but also the Asura Royal Academy.

“Hmm.” What did nobles do, anyway? Arus supposed he’d learn the answer at school, but for now, it was a mystery. Ties between families were important, so maybe he’d have to marry a woman he didn’t know or something.

“I guess I kind of don’t,” he eventually said. Arus had certain kinds of girls he liked, so he didn’t want to marry just anyone. Actually, while he was too embarrassed to admit it, he had someone he liked already.

Still, he couldn’t make a fuss about how he didn’t want to if it was already decided. Lucie would definitely get angry at him for that. She put up with it all, she’d say, so what made him so special that he could dodge it? If nothing else, Lucie would be unhappy if he didn’t put everything into being the best heir, but he didn’t know how to do that. He didn’t want her to hate him.

Aisha might tell him what he needed to do if he asked, but ever since he’d turned ten, she hardly ever gave him a straight answer. Usually, she’d just give him a hint and then tell him to think it through himself—something he wasn’t good at. He’d reflected a lot after going to Millis and was starting to think a little harder, but he was struggling. His mind immediately went to solving things with his sword or magic.

Arus looked wordlessly down at his hands. Lucie’s magic was so beautiful, and she used it skillfully. It was so effective, even though it was only simple wind magic. It shifted and changed, just like her. She was strong. If Arus could only learn that magic, he’d be strong too.

“All right,” he said decisively. He still wasn’t sure what he ought to be doing, but for today, he’d try to copy Lucie. Still thinking, Arus rose, sword in hand.