Mushoku Tensei (WN)

Chapter 5

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Character Design for Paul Greyrat

Character Design for Norn Greyrat

Character Design for Talhand and Elinalise

Holy Milis Kingdom.

Capital Milis.h.i.+on.

It is possible to get a full view of the city just from looking at it from the Holy Sword Road.

First, the [Nikolaus River] that flows out from the [Blue Dragon Mountain Range].

This flows down into the sparkling blue [Grand Lake].

Floating in the center of the [Grand Lake] is a great white castle, [White Palace].

Going even further down along the [Nikolaus River] from there.

Along the way you will find the s.h.i.+ning golden [Great Church] and the s.h.i.+ning silver [Adventurer"s Guild Headquarters].

If you pay attention to your surroundings from there you will notice a systematic townscape spread out in front of you.

Finally, surrounding the city you will notice seven great towers and a region of meadows just outside.

Majesty and Harmony.

Possessing both of these qualities it could be called the world"s most beautiful city.

Excerpt from the book [Walking the World] by Adventurer b.l.o.o.d.y Count.

It"s certainly beautiful.

A harmony between blue and green you could only find in a fantasy world.

Adding to that the townscape has a well-regulated structure similar to Edo or Sapporo.

Eris went silent and just kept staring with her mouth open.

Ruijerd was just narrowing his eyes as he watched.

I thought it was "hana yori dango"[1] for these two but it seems they clearly remember how to appreciate beautiful things.

"It"s amazing isn"t it?"

Then for some reason Gisu started boasting about it.

Why would you feel so proud about this?

Is what I was thinking, but certainly just having seen this makes you feel proud to know of it.

Even though I say that I don"t really want to let this guy get too overconfident.

"It"s amazing, but wouldn"t there be problems with that huge lake during the rainy season?"

I started making negative remarks about it.

Although this is a genuine question.

The city is almost entirely in the center of the giant lake.

There were three straight months of continuous rain in the Great Forest just to the north of here.

Normally there would be some sort of effect over here as well.

"It seems it certainly was quite a problem in the past, but now those seven magic towers perfectly control the water. Therefore, they could rest easy and build the castle in the center of the lake. There are no walls right? That"s because those towers are always projecting a barrier around it."

"I see, in other words in order to attack the Holy Milis Kingdom you would first need to destroy those seven towers somehow or other."

"Don"t say anything too dangerous, or else if those Saint Knights overhear it they"ll still capture you even if it"s a joke you know?"

"...I"ll be careful."

If I were to believe what Gisu was telling me, as long as those seven towers remain, the city will never be hit by any disaster or plague.

I don"t really understand the theory behind it, but it sounds quite convenient.

"Hurry up, let"s go!"

Eris shouted out excitedly and we continued moving forward on our cart.

The City of Milis.h.i.+on is divided into four districts.

In the north, there is the [Residential District].

It"s a section of private houses and blocks.

A place where the family of n.o.bles and knights live, there are some differences from average citizens, but fundamentally they are all private houses in the residential district.

In the east, there is the [Commerce District].

It"s a district where all sorts of merchants gather.

There are a large number of shops, but the structures are small.

It"s a place where many companies meet and widen their trade contacts together, this world"s business district.

Things like Blacksmiths and Auction houses are here as well.

In the south, there is the [Adventurers District].

It"s a place where the Adventurers gather.

Centering around the Adventurers Guild Headquarters, there are all sorts of shops and inns aimed towards Adventurers.

There"s also an area with a slum for ruined Adventurers with things like a gambling place, so it"s a good idea to be careful.

For the most part, the slave market is in this district rather than the commerce district as well.

In the west, there is the [Holy District].

There are a number of places for those related to the Holy Milis Church to live.

The enormous Great Church is also here.

Also, the Holy Milis Knight group has their headquarters in this district.

Is what Gisu took the time to thoroughly teach us about one by one.

We turned around and entered the city through the Adventurer"s District.

According to Gisu, if Adventurers try to enter through districts other than the Adventurers District they"ll be put through a certain amount of questioning and it can take quite a bit of time.

What a troublesome city.

The instant we entered the city, the air changed into quite a mixed one.

If you look at it from outside Milis.h.i.+on is beautiful, but after you enter it"s no different from any other city.

Near the entrance to the city there were inns and stables.

Stall people were all lined up loudly calling out for customers to come in their direction.

A little ways down the main road I saw an Arms Shop.

There"s probably a slightly cheaper inn down one of those thin alleyways.

Incidentally, the supposedly silver glowing Adventurer"s Guild Headquarters was visible from the entrance of the city.

For the time being we left our cart at a stable.

After listening to them there"s a service to take luggage to your inn for you.

It"s a service that wasn"t in other towns.

After all in a large city like this they"ve probably got to offer a perfect service otherwise they might go out of business.

"Now then, I"ve got some places to visit, so please excuse me here!"

After we left the horse in the stable Gisu abruptly said that.

"Eh? We"re already disbanding?"

I thought it was surprising.

I thought we would stay in the same inn together.

"What"s this? Does that make you lonely senpai?"

"Yeah, that makes me feel lonely."

I answered honestly to those words intended to tease me.

We"ve only known Gisu for a short period, but he"s not a bad guy.

Finding partners who are on the same wavelength as you is a precious thing during travels.

Thanks to Gisu just how much stress do you think I"ve been relieved of?

Also, I feel depressed when I think about how the meals are going to be terrible again if he"s gone.

"No need to feel lonely senpai. We"ll meet again as long as we are in the same city."

Gisu shrugged his shoulders and patted my head.

Then just like that he started waving his hands around and walked away.

Then Eris stood in his way.

"Gisu!"

With her arms crossed and her jaw turned upwards, the usual imposing pose.

"Next time we meet teach me how to cook!"

"That"s why I"ve said no way. You"re persistent."

Gisu walked away to the side while scratching his head.

While doing that he also patted Ruijerd"s shoulder.

"Then, you take care as well danna[2]."

"You take care as well. Don"t do too many bad things."

"I know that."

This time Gisu finally disappeared into the crowd while waving his hands.

It just happened in an instant.

So much that you wouldn"t think we"ve spent two months together.

Really just parted in an instant.

Then just when that monkey face started to disappear.

Suddenly he turned around.

"Ah, that"s right senpai. Make absolutely sure you show your face at the Adventurer"s guild!"

"Hn? Ah, sure!"

We have to go to the Adventurer"s Guild anyways, we have no choice but to earn some money.

However, I wonder why he"s saying that now.

I don"t really know, but after hearing my reply Gisu disappeared into the crowd again.

First off is searching for an inn.

Finding an inn is a basic action when we first arrive in a new town.

In Milis.h.i.+on there are a large number of inns spread all around the main street.

If you go down an alley and walk a little bit you"ll arrive at something like an inn district.

After taking a look at each one we decided on an inn finally.

[Inn of Dawn"s Light][3]

This inn was just a bit far off from the main street.

However, it was far from the slum district, and the public order wasn"t bad.

Including some of the hidden services it offered, it was an inn that caters to around C~B rank Adventurers.

The fact that it doesn"t get very much sunlight is a flaw, if you can call it a flaw.

Find an inn and organize things from the travels, if time permits visit the Adventurer"s Guild and check the goods around the town, if even more time is still left take the time to relax and enjoy freely taking a look around, then return to the inn and have a future plans meeting.

That is the usual flow of events.

"Wouldn"t it have been fine if we stayed in a cheaper place?"

Eris said that with an amazed face.

What she says is perfectly right.

We must be cautious with our money.

It"s something I"m always saying.

Though right now we have just a little bit of flexibility to spare.

The money we earned while helping defend the Dorudia Village.

Then the money we received from Gyes.

Adding them together it is just a bit over 7 Milis Gold Coins.

It"s certainly true we have no choice but to save up money, but we aren"t in such a dire situation right now.

Therefore, this amount of luxury is fine.

Even I want to sleep on a soft bed from time to time.

"Well, isn"t it fine from time to time."

After giving Eris a glance I walked to the room.

It"s a pretty neat and good room.

The fact that there"s a table and chairs prepared in the room is nice.

The room has a key to lock the door and the windows even have shutters.

It"s not comparable to the business hotels from my previous world, but it"s an above average quality for this world.

Now then, our actions after arriving at the inn were already decided.

Repairing our equipment and preparing a memo with consumable goods we need to restock.

Drying out the bed, was.h.i.+ng the sheets, and sweeping while we"re at it.

This pattern has become such a routine that I didn"t even need to say anything; everyone started working in silence.

By the time everything had finished the sun was setting and it was getting dark outside.

Since we arrived sometime around early afternoon.

The time to visit the guild has disappeared.

Well, even if we wait one or two days to visit the guild there"s no real difference.

We ate some meals in the bar next door to the inn and then returned to our rooms.

Then we all sat in a circle facing each other.

It"s time for our future plans meeting.

"Well then, it"s time to start Team [Dead End]"s operations meeting. It"s our first meeting in the capital city of Milis so let"s make things exciting."

I struck the sides of my face and started clapping my hands and the others barely returned the clapping.

They"re so bad at going with the flow. Well, it doesn"t matter.

"Now then, we"ve finally made it this far."

I stated that to start things off.

It was a long journey after all.

A little over a year in the Magic Continent and then four months in the Great Forest.

One and a half years.

After a year and half has pa.s.sed and finally.

Finally, we have arrived in a place where the human race lives again.

We"ve gone beyond the dangerous places.

From here on out the roads are properly taken care of and flat.

If I were to compare it to everything until now, then you could even call it safe.

Although in terms of distance we still have quite a long ways to go.

From Milis to Asura.

It"s a distance of traveling halfway across the world.

No matter how easy of a ride it is, it won"t shorten the distance we still have left to cover.

It seems like it will take another year or so.

In that case the number one problem would be...

Money.

"For the time being I would like to start earning some money while in this city."

"Why?"

I politely responded to Eris"s question.

"I"ve understood it after visiting the Magic Continent and the Great Forest, but prices in the human race regions are quite expensive."

Then I remembered back to all the market prices I"ve seen until now.

I was unable to check the market prices in Saint Port, though I still remember the general market prices throughout Magic Continent and the prices from the inn town.

In comparison to those the prices in Holy Milis Kingdom and Asura Kingdom are expensive.

Even the cost of this inn, if you were to compare it to an inn in the Magic Continent, it"s high enough your eyes would jump out from their sockets.

The human race places more importance on currency than other races as well.

I won"t say anything about being greedy.

"The value of currency in Milis is high. It"s the next most valuable after Asura Kingdom, in other words second in the world. The market prices are expensive but that also means the job rewards will also be high. Unlike how we did it in the Magic Continent staying in each town for roughly a week to gather money, it would probably be more efficient to stay in this city for a month and gather money."

The value of Milis currency is high.

In other words if we earn enough money in Milis then we don"t even need to worry anymore, there will be no problems when we have to pay tolls to pa.s.s through to the Central Continent.

"We still don"t know how much money it will cost to allow a Superd race to board the s.h.i.+p there as well."

When I mentioned the word s.h.i.+p Eris made an obviously displeased face.

She must be remembering her sea sickness.

It was probably a bad memory for her but it was a good memory for me.

I"ll be there to a.s.sist you any time.

"We"ll collect money here and then travel to Asura all in one go. Though if that"s the case we most likely won"t be able to give more publicity for the Superd race Ruijerd-san. Is that alright?"

Ruijerd silently nodded.

Well, spreading the publicity of the Superd race is mostly something I"m doing because I enjoy it now.

If it were up to me I"d prefer to calm down and take my time a bit more to go around fixing the infamy of the Superd race.

Half a year or a full year.

If it"s in a large city it just means there would be that much more of an effect.

However, just to make it up to here we"ve already surpa.s.sed one and a half years.

One and a half years.

It"s not a short period.

I don"t want to take more than this amount of time.

If you think about it, then it"s like being missing for a year and a half.

My family should be quite worried.

I wonder what they are doing right now.

Just when I was thinking that I realized I hadn"t sent a letter.

I kept thinking "send one, send one", but so many things ended up happening that I forgot along the way.

A letter, huh.

Alright.

"Let"s make tomorrow into a free day."

We"ve used the concept of vacation days every so often up until now.

It was originally something to give Eris some room to breathe, but somewhere along the way it became something for my own sake.

Eris never shows her fatigue and Ruijerd is a [Tough Guy].

The only pathetic and weak one is me.

Of course, even I have gained an amount of strength that can"t even compare to my previous life.

I may be no match for these two, but I should have enough strength to match the average Adventurer in this world.

Therefore, it"s not a matter of physical fatigue.

It"s mental fatigue.

My heart is weak.

Every monster I kill while traveling adds to my acc.u.mulated stress.

Although I"m not really exhausted this time.

Information gathering, confirmation of guild jobs, and various other things.

If I were to put priority on those things then I"m sure I would end up forgetting the letter again.Since that"s how it has been until now.

Therefore, I will spend the entire day tomorrow ensuring that I send the letter so I don"t forget this time.

"Rudeus, is your body condition bad again?"

"No, this time is a different matter. I was thinking about sending a letter."

"Letter?"

In response to Eris"s question I nodded.

"Yes, a letter to notify that we are safe."

"Hmmm... Well, it should be alright if I just leave it to Rudeus."

"Yeah."

Tomorrow I"ll write a letter.

After I"ve started to remember about Buina Village, I"ll write Paul and Sylphy a letter.

He told me not to send any letters, but well, in this situation he really can"t say no.

The chances that the letter will make it there aren"t all that high though...

When I was exchanging letters with Roxy from Asura Kingdom to s.h.i.+rone Kingdom, one in seven letters never made it.

Therefore, we would send a number of letters with the same content.

I"ll do that this time as well.If I was a Goblin and somehow or other managed to knock Eris unconscious...

"What are you two going to do?"

"I"m going to do a Goblin Subjugation job!"

In response to my question, Eris gave that response.

"Goblin?"

If you were to say Goblin, then it would be that Goblin I guess.

About half the size of a person and wielding a club and equipment, yellow-green skin color, a high virility, and they would almost always come out in fantasy-type ero games, working until they fulfil their role of attacking the characters.

"I just heard in the city that Goblins appear around this area. If I"m an adventurer I have to make sure I see some Goblins!"

Eris said that full of energy.

Goblins are almost a rat-like existence in this world.

Strong ability to breed and always causing trouble for people.

For the most part they are capable of speech so you could consider them one cla.s.s of magical beast, even though they can speak they still just move based on instinct increasing in numbers until someone exterminates them. (!)

"I understand. Ruijerd, will you be guarding?"

"I"ll be fine on my own against Goblins!"

In response to my words Eris raised her voice.

It was a face that took offense to what I said.

I thought about it.

Eris is strong.

In terms of rank Goblins are on the level of an E-rank monster.

There were none on the Magic Continent so I"ve never actually seen them, but the danger should be low.

It"s an opponent a child with just a bit of sword experience should be able to defeat.

In comparison, Eris can fight equally with B-rank monsters.

I guess forcing Ruijerd to follow along in this situation is being a bit too overprotective?

No, but... if a female adventurer is defeated by Goblins it"s a straight path to a slave of the flesh.

I don"t know much about the Goblins in this world, but the Goblins in my world were almost all something along those lines.

If I was a Goblin and somehow or other managed to knock Eris unconscious...

I would definitely start living a very fulfilling Goblin lifestyle from there on out.

Anyone would.

I would.

I think for the most part it will be alright.

However...

Although...

If the moment I take my eyes off Eris something like that were to happen, I wouldn"t have it in me to face Ghyslaine and Philip.

"Rudeus. It"s alright. Let her try it."

While I was thinking about it Ruijerd came with the lifeboat.

How rare.

During this past year and a half, Ruijerd has lectured Eris on fighting all sorts of monsters.

I had a hard time understanding the teaching method, but Eris properly learned it.

If that"s the case, then it"s alright, I guess.

"I understand then. Eris, even if the opponent is weak make sure you don"t let your guard down."

"Of course!"

"Make sure you do your preparations properly as well."

"I know that!"

"If it seems dangerous, run like the wind."

"I said I know!"

"In the worst case scenario, grab your opponents hands and yell in a loud voice "This person is a molester!"".

"You"re being annoying! Even I can manage a Goblin Subjugation!"

I made her angry.

I"m still quite worried, but let"s believe in the experienced warrior Ruijerd here.

"In that case I won"t say anything more. Give it your best."

"Yeah, I"ll give it my all!"

Eris nodded with a satisfied expression.

"Then, Ruijerd what are you going to do?"

"I"m going to visit an acquaintance."

That"s the first time I"ve heard the words acquaintance from Ruijerd.

"Oh, an acquaintance? Even Ruijerd has acquaintances?"

"Of course."

I thought he was always alone though...

Well I guess if you were to live for 500 years you"d have at least one or two acquaintances.

Why here in this city of Milis.h.i.+on is what I was thinking, but conversely in a city this large, it"s very possible Ruijerd would have an acquaintance here.

"What kind of acquaintance?"

"A warrior."

Another warrior, huh.

Since that"s the case then it would be another person he saved along the way on the Magic Continent I guess.

Well, I won"t pry too much.

It"s not like I"m his parent, it would be unrefined to ask all about who he"s meeting on a day off after all.

Next day, Eris and Ruijerd left separately.

I as well went out to buy paper, a pen, and ink in the city.

While I"m at it I also planned to investigate the market prices of Holy Milis Kingdom.

In terms of food, it"s quite a bit cheaper than the Magic Continent.

The quality was so high as well the Magic Continent was not even worthy of comparison.

There was all sorts of fresh meat and fish lined up, happily even raw vegetables were being sold.

The thing that surprised me the most were the eggs.

Chicken eggs were being sold at an extremely cheap price.

Fresh eggs, they were eggs that were literally just laid today.

On the Magic Continent you could find eggs being sold every so often.

However, they weren"t eggs from chickens, but magical beasts.

They were made use of in combination with imprinting, and then the magic beasts were trained.

Obviously, they weren"t intended for food purposes.

They weren"t at such a cheap price that you could fry them on a whim.

Incidentally, there are poultry in this world.

Even in Buina Village there was a person who had chickens.

To be more accurate, it"s a bird that looks very similar to chickens.

It seems raising poultry is quite common in Milis.

It"s been a while since I"ve been overcome with the desire to eat raw eggs mixed with rice.

TKG.

Tamago kake gohan.[4]

It"s a perfect and complete food.

However, there"s no soy sauce to go with the rice.

I tried searching the market just to check, but it seems like there"s nothing similar.

Just like Asura Kingdom, it seems the staple food of Holy Milis Kingdom is bread as well.

Although I"ve already confirmed that rice exists in this world.

The places where rice is a staple are the Northern and Eastern parts of the Central Continent.

It was written in one of Roxy"s letters that rice could be found in s.h.i.+rone Kingdom as well.

Mixing meat, vegetables, and a variety of fish with rice into something like a paella is the mainstream method supposedly.

However... but...

There"s supposedly no poultry industry in that area.

Whether it be because of the climate or they just don"t have any chickens, in any case, eggs are almost never found there.

Even more so there"s nothing that"s similar to soy sauce.

In the plant dictionary there is something that looks a lot like the soy bean, but it seems there"s been no experiments in trying to let that ferment and turn into a sauce.

Although if you search there could be some somewhere.

Eggs and rice exist after all.

I will make sure I will one day obtain it with these hands.

Then I will eat it, tamago kake gohan.

I"m not really paying much mind to the sanitation of the eggs.

Even if you were to get sick you could just cure it using healing magic after all.

After investigating the market prices I returned to the inn while thinking about what I"m going to write for the contents of the letters.

If I think about it, this will be the first time I"ve sent a letter to Paul and Sylphy.

I wonder if I should start writing from the time at the Boreas House.

No, more than that reporting that we"re still alive is the most important.

It would be fine as long as we tell them we were teleported to the Magic Continent.

If I think about it a lot of stuff has happened.

Traveling together with a Superd race, meeting the Great Demon Emperor, spending three months or so at the Beast race village.... I wonder if they"ll believe it.

At the very least, the fact that I met the Great Demon Emperor and was given Demon Eyes would be something pretty unbelievable normally.

Whether they believe it or not, it"s a matter of fact that it happened.

Speaking of the Beast race village, I wonder if Ghyslaine is alright.

Since she"s that strong, unless she ends up being teleported to some strange place, she"s most likely okay.

I"m sure everyone in the Boreas family is worried as well.

Philip, Sauros, Hilda.

As well as the butler Alphonse, and all the maids.

No matter where old man Sauros gets thrown I"m sure he would be energetically letting out a loud voice.

While I"m thinking about this I enter a short alley.

In Milis.h.i.+on there are a number of these short alleyways.

If you were to draw a map when it was new it would probably look like a pretty Go board, but after a long period of destroying and re-building houses of all sizes, it slowly started to s.h.i.+ft, and that"s how these short and tight alleyways were created.

Although, maybe it"s because they were lined up like a Go board, there"s no real worry about getting lost.

Therefore, I went through a different route to return to the inn.

Maybe I can find some good date spots around here.

The red-haired one from our place is just a little bit violent, though as long as she puts on something proper she actually looks quite pretty, if we"re to stay here for a month then we might have a chance for a date.

If it comes down to that then I"ll have to make a plan and make sure to take her to a great place and give her a good impression.

Just as I was thinking that, I saw five men coming in my direction in a hurry through a small alley.

They weren"t adventurer types.

If I were to say it, they would be hoodlums from the city.

They were wearing clothes intending to intimidate.

If you were to put it into a single word it would be, young.

However, I can"t think well of them when several adult males enter this kind of small alley.Roads are made for compromise.

Even if I am a child and on the small side, if you enter this alley as well as side by side we"ll eventually run into each other.

This is a time to be like the heinous delinquent leader (Emi), and glare at them one by one to signal a mutual compromise?

"Move!"

I meekly stuck to the wall.

No, please don"t misunderstand.

I just like to avoid unnecessary conflict.

It seems like they"re in a hurry as well, and I"m not in a hurry.

It"s not particularly like I avoided them because I"m DQN-ish.[5]

For the most part?

It"s not a lie.

Also, you know, you can"t make decisions based on people"s appearance.

They looked like hoodlums, but one of them could be a well-known swordsman.

If I was not being careful of my opponents and just started using violence, then if all of a sudden they were actually Young n.o.ble of Madness, [Dead End]. (!)

Something like that could happen.

Considering this is a world where you could find a Great Demon Emperor little girl starving in an alley in the middle of nowhere after all.

Yeah.

It"s better to avoid unnecessary conflict.

Is what I was thinking but...

The moment I was about to pa.s.s by them I noticed the two in the center had a large bag.

Two of them both carrying it side by side.

Then I noticed a small hand sticking out of the bag.

More than likely there is a child within that bag.

[Another human kidnapping, huh.]

There really are a lot of kidnappings in this world.

The moment criminals see an opening they just up and kidnap children.

In Asura Kingdom, in Magic Continent, in Great Forest, in Holy Milis Kingdom, they"ll really just start kidnapping just about anywhere.

According to Gisu, kidnapping and abduction is rather profitable.

Currently, there is a bit of strife here and there, but it is largely peaceful, the number of slaves that make it to the central and north areas of Central Continent are rather small.

However, the number of people who want slaves is large.

Especially in rich countries like Asura Kingdom and Holy Milis Kingdom.

In other words it"s a matter of supply and demand.

If you kidnap someone you"ll be able to sell them for a high price.

Which is why kidnappings never end.

It"s the truth.

About the only way to wipe out kidnappings would be for a large scale war to break out.

Then.... but... it"s a child, huh.

If they"ve got five people together to transport her then it should be something they planned ahead to do.

That would mean the one inside the bag is most likely the daughter or son of some n.o.ble or rich merchant.

Honestly, I don"t really want to get involved.

If I try to save the child, I might end up being mistaken as one of the culprits and thrown into a jail.

That kind of bitter experience just happened only a few months prior.

Then, guess I should just ignore them?

No, I can"t do that.

The fact that kidnapping will never end in this world and the fact that I experienced something bitter previously are all a different story.

[Dead End] Rule number one.

Never abandon children.

[Dead End] Rule number two.

Absolutely never abandon children.

[Dead End] are allies of justice.

Defeating all bad guys without a doubt.

Rescuing all the children.

Just like that bit by bit we can spread the name of the Superd race.

I followed after the five people.

My spying skill seems to have leveled up.

I wonder if it"s because I trained in order to spy on Eris and the other girls in the Dorudia Village.

The five men never noticed me trailing them and entered a single warehouse.

What careless guys.

Well, if you want to find me you better train your nose.

If you learn to smell the scent of arousal, you"ll find me in an instant.

The location of the warehouse was in a shady part of the Adventurers District.

It was even further back than the inn we were staying in.

There was no main road attached to it, the only way to enter is going down one of the small alleys.

Obviously a cart wouldn"t be able to get to it and since the road is small you wouldn"t be able to carry any large baggage either.

It almost makes me want to call those responsible and ask why they would build a warehouse in a place like this.

It"s sitting in the middle of that kind of Dead s.p.a.ce.

Most likely the warehouse was built first, then the surrounding buildings were built afterwards.

I confirmed that the men went inside and then went around the back.

Using earth magic I elevated myself off the ground.

Then I entered through a window intending to observe the warehouse.

I went into the center, hid myself in a wooden box, then started to confirm the situation.

The five were talking about this and that.

It seems that most of their allies are in the bar next door.

I heard them say something like the job is done and to go call someone.

I guess I should take care of things before they call their allies, or maybe confirm the face of their allies first from above, then just save the child.

Naturally I would choose the latter.

Since that is the case, I"ll be on standby in this wooden box for a bit.

However, since it was dark I couldn"t confirm, but what in the world is being stored in this wooden box?

It seems to be some kind of cloth.

I understand that much but it"s a bit small to be clothing.

Though, when I"m surrounded by it like this, for some odd reason I feel quite relaxed.

I"ll try holding one in my hand.

This sensation and shape is one I have experienced before.

A solidly sewn cloth that has three holes in it.

One piece of cloth became twenty two and then I started to feel an amazing unknown something.

"These are panties!"

"Who"s there?"

Cr...c.r.a.p!

I"ve been found.

d.a.m.n it. For them to prepare this kind of trap. What foul play.

"Inside of the wooden box?"

"Come out!"

"Hey, call the leader and others."

This is bad.

If I wait around any longer they"ll call for their allies.

Change of plans.

I"ll just quickly save the child and then quickly run away. Yes, let"s go with that.

However, my face will be seen.

No, there"s no problem there. There"s a mask in my hand.

Fuoooo!

I"m feeling ecstasy!

Not really though.

I thought about wrapping my face in my robe to hide my ident.i.ty but, after giving it some thought I left it to do some shopping, I"m not even wearing my robe, and I don"t have my staff as well.

"Uooo!"

"He....He"s wearing panties on his head..."

"A pervert..."

While the two men were taken back I went with an entrance performance.

"Within the intervals of power vs power, you who attempt to satisfy your unsightly desires, feel ashamed of your actions!! People, call that, the fiendish way!"

"Wh-who are you b.a.s.t.a.r.d!"

"Ruijerd of Dead End!"

"What? Dead End?"

Ah, oh no, d.a.m.n it.

I just named myself out of habit.

This was where I was supposed to say "I have no name to give to people like you".

Sorry about that, Ruijerd-san.

From today on you are now a pervert who wears panties on his face while saving people!

However, I will properly save the child!

"Kidnapping b.a.s.t.a.r.ds! It"s your fault that a single man is currently undergoing false accusations! I definitely cannot forgive you!"

"Hey kid, if you want to play allies of justice go do it elsewhere. We are you know..."

"No forgiveness! Sunrise Attack~!"

"Guge!"

For the time being I fired off a rock bullet.

After all the first to strike wins.

If I think back to it, I took out the pervert lolicon old man in a single hit from behind like this when he was about to attack the Great Demon Emperor as well.

"Here, here!"

"Ge!"

"Ugo!"

In no time at all four of them were knocked unconscious.

I rushed over to the child.

"Are you alright boy! Is what I was thinking, but you"re unconscious..."

It seems like a young boy I"ve seen somewhere before.

Really, I have some memory of him.

Huh?

Where was it again.

I can"t remember.

Well it"s fine. I don"t have the time to spare on things like this.

If I don"t hurry the enemies" reinforcements will come.

Just as I was thinking that men just kept appearing one after another.

"Uo! Everyone was knocked out!"

"He"s a kid but don"t go easy, quickly call the leader and others over!"

"The leader is out drinking today!"

"He"s strong even when he"s drunk!"

Two of them left and hurried outside.

There"s already ten of them, but it seems like even more reinforcements will come.

This is bad.

Very bad.

After all maybe abandoning him would have been the better choice.

Otherwise, consulting with Ruijerd tomorrow.

I"ve screwed up.

There"s already no option other than to defeat them all and break through.

"What a guy, he"s wearing panties on his face."

"Could it be he came here to steal the panties!"

"That would mean he"s the enemy of all women!?"

If I look carefully there"s several women mixed in with them.

Sorry, Ruijerd.

Really, sorry.

I started the battle while apologizing earnestly in my heart.

Fortunately they were not very strong.

If they attempted to run or get close I would counter attack with a rock bullet.

They couldn"t avoid it at all and more or less fainted with a single shot.

They weren"t wielding any weapons and none of them were using magic either.

It"s an easy victory.

"Do-don"t get close to him."

"What is that, is he using some sort of magic item!?"

"Is the leader still not here!?"

After about half of them pa.s.sed out the remaining ones started to get restless.

If it"s like this then I can do it, or just as I was thinking that.

"Ah, sorry for the wait."

The reinforcements appeared.

It really was a pretty quick arrival.

Though I guess that"s obvious since they were supposedly in the bar next door.

Five people with a sharp demeanor came out.

They were standing with leisure in front of the warehouse entrance.

The leader seems like a man I think I"ve seen before.

His face gives off a nostalgic feeling.

However, once again I can"t remember.

Rather than that, the older sister behind him is more important.

Bikini b.i.t.c.h[6].

They aren"t really all that rare in this world, but the amount of exposure this one has going is exceedingly high.

In the Magic Continent there weren"t any women with this much exposure around.

The other woman was wearing her robe tightly and for some reason only her expression was a bit different.

"Cheh, you"ve really been doing whatever you like here. Hicku... you guys don"t lay your hands on him. No need to surround a single kid with large numbers, I"ll do it myself."

The man seemed to have confidence in his skills but he was staggering all over the place.

Even from far I could tell his face was red from drinking alcohol.

However, it really is a face I"ve seen somewhere before...

Brown hair, foolish looking, looks a little bit like Paul.

The voice is exactly like Paul"s as well.

Though it looks similar, it doesn"t look like Paul at all at the same time.

If Paul were totally worn out and all of his usual flexibility gone, I wonder if it would end up like that.

Somehow it"s a face which makes it really hard to attack him.

"You b.a.s.t.a.r.d, you"ve really been doing as you please to my group members, you better have prepared yourself!"

The man went into battle mode while talking big and pulled out two swords.

Nitoryu, huh.[7]

He"s most likely an advanced-level swordsman.

I wonder if I will be able to manage with rock bullet?

No, but, I don"t really want to kill him...

The man came charging at me as I was hesitating.

I fell one move behind.

I fired off a rock bullet on reflex.

The man"s reaction was faster.

He repelled the rock bullet with the sword in his right hand.

"Water G.o.d Style!"

"That"s not all!"

The man stepped in.

I reflexively fired off a shock wave and flew backwards.

"Hee!!"

"Oh!"

Using my foresight I was able to see ahead and avoid it.

The speed of the mans sword was fast.

Though his legs were still pretty unsteady.

Probably because he"s drunk.

If it"s like this I can probably manage somehow.

"Cheh, that guy is moving as if he can see it...! Vera! Shera! Lend me a hand!"

The bikini b.i.t.c.h and magician-like women stepped forward.

The bikini b.i.t.c.h came up from my side, then started an incantation.

This is bad.

The man"s attacks were severe.

I was giving my best just to avoid them.

Though I still have some options left.

"Wa!!"

"Ugh!!"

I used voice magic and stopped the man"s movements for an instant.

Simultaneously I created a shock wave and sent the man flying and fired a rock bullet as well.

Furthermore, when the bikini b.i.t.c.h came in to attack me, I used foresight to hit her with a counter.

I hit the magician with a rock bullet when she was focused on the incantation and knocked her unconscious.

I hit the bikini and she fell backwards, it seems she"s still fine, her eyes were sparkling as she was glaring at me.

Then the man came to attack.

"Shera! You b.a.s.t.a.r.d!"

When the man stepped in to attack I created a bog to interfere with his movement.

The man"s leg completely got caught in the bog and he fell in an unsightly way.

"Leader!"

You shouldn"t look away.

Is something I didn"t put into words, I just silently fired off a rock bullet.

The bikini fainted.

"Vera! d.a.m.n it!"

The man put one of his swords back into its scabbard then he put the other sword into his mouth.

Foresight.

[He"s running on his arms and legs]

Is this guy a dog.

I start to move backwards while firing off a rock bullet to counter attack.

However, this is a small warehouse.

There"s nothing I can use to keep him from getting closer.

"Uooohra!"

He jumped up from all fours while twisting his body.

While in the middle of a movement similar to that of a beast, he pulled the sword on his hip.

His movements are sharp.

Even from such an odd stance, he can make his body appear smaller or larger as he pulls his sword.

[Simultaneously, he dropped the sword he was holding in his mouth into his left hand and switched directions, a surprise attack.]

An original attack.

He"s going beyond my predictions.

If I didn"t have this foresight, I most likely wouldn"t have been able to avoid this.

His attack just barely grazed the tip of my nose.

There was a slightly tingling pain in my nose.

"..."

My heart started beating really fast.

I wasn"t thinking about trying to kill the man.

However, he is trying to kill me.

I just realized that obvious fact.

If I don"t get serious I"ll be killed.

After thinking that I lowered my hips.

I remember back to my training with Ruijerd and Eris.

The man"s beast like movements, if I were to compare them, they are movements that are similar to Ruijerd when he gets serious.

However, this man doesn"t carry his body as well as Ruijerd does.

It"s just an eccentric movement.

I should be able to do it.

The next time he comes with a counter...

Just as I was thinking that, I realized the man"s movements had stopped.

After taking a look around I realized the panties I had been using to hide my face had fallen to the ground.

This is bad my face was seen?

Are you Rudi...?

"Are you Rudi...?"

Rudi.

There is only one man who would call me by that name.

Then that dumbfounded voice, mixed with anger, wasn"t a drunk voice, but something I was used to hearing.

"...Father?"

---

The first meeting with Paul Greyrat in a while, his cheeks had sunken in quite a bit, there were bags under his eyes, his face was unshaven, hair unkempt, his breath smelled of alcohol, and his entire body was slumped over.

It looked nothing like the Paul in my memories.

--Paul"s Perspective--

When I woke up, I had realized I was in the middle of a meadow in a gra.s.sland.

It was a gra.s.sland.

There were no other words to describe it other than "gra.s.sland".

It was nothing more than a completely ordinary piece of gra.s.sland with nothing particular about it, but strangely, it had about a sense of familiarity.

I spent a few minutes trying to figure out where this was.

I remembered.

This was the southern part of Asura Kingdom.

It"s near the town I once stayed in.

During that time, I was learning the Water G.o.d Style swordsmans.h.i.+p in the town.

In other words, it was close to Lilia"s home.

I thought this was a dream. It was only natural to think so.

Even so, it was quite the nostalgic place.

How many years did I live here? One year, or was it two?

I only remembered that it was not a very long time.

My memories mostly only included those of the dojo. I remembered the senior disciple.

He was a despicable guy.

A person who only knew how to run off his mouth.

He was a b.a.s.t.a.r.d who fiercely drummed the threat into my head that it was not my right to go beyond him once he saw my talent.

I hate those type of senior-junior and superior-inferior relations.h.i.+ps.

I had run away from home because I had to hold my head down to my father as well.

Still, my father was better compared to him. How do I explain this, it was because he possessed power.

However, that senior of mine did not possess any power at all.

He was merely a small fry that had developed immense narcissism by running off his mouth.

When I had trained to reach the intermediate level, that guy was still hanging around at the end of the elementary level.

That was a guy of low caliber.

Even within the main dojo, that was their best of the senior Water G.o.d Style swordsmen.

They just kept coming up with different excuses with how their lack of competence was caused by this or that.

I had thought that someday I would show the true strength of my power to those guys.

Although, at the very end, I wasn"t able to show that guy my own strength at all.

There were many things I wasn"t able to put up with. Like the crime I had committed against Lilia, so I ran away.

I had more or less aimed at this from the beginning, the fact that I had wanted to trample on what was considered precious to them.

Those guys started to look for me in a frenzy ever since I fled.

I left the country in order to ridicule them.

When I think back on it, I realized I was a kid back then.

How that senior disciple acted did not matter, the fact was that I did a bad thing to Lilia.

"......nn"

The wind blew.

Dust entered my eyes and I frowned.

Then, the side of the hem of my clothing was pulled.

"Dad...where, is this...?"

"Un?"

Looking closely, Norn was clinging tightly to my chest.

She was looking at me with an anxious face.

So finally, I let go of my house coat, and noticed I was standing on the prairie.

The soles of my feet were feeling the texture of the ground clearly.

The warmth of Norn.

This was not a dream.

"...What"s with this?"

I do not understand why I was here.

If I was alone then I would have thought it was a dream to the end.

However, there was Norn clinging to my chest.

Norn born three years ago.

Tiny Norn.

My cute daughter.

I rarely come into contact with my daughters.

Since I was hoping to become a strict father, I usually avoid physical contact with them.

So why would I be embracing Norn...?

...Oh right.

I remember.

Just until awhile ago, I was talking to Zenith at home.

It was just a talk about nothing special.

"As our daughters grow bigger, they"ll start to resist contact with their father, so it"s alright for you to stop holding back, just for now."

"No, no, I am aiming to become a dignified father. Unlike Rudeus, Norn seems to be more mundane, so I"ll have to be more aware of how I act as a father now."

"So it"s not like you dislike her after all then."

"...Yeah, then I"ll hug her after all... "

It was such a conversation.

Nearby, Lilia was teaching Aisha something.

Lilia was going to let Aisha go through specialized education.

I opposed her saying that we should let them grow more freely but I was strongly overpowered by Lilia.

Aisha was growing quickly.

Anything taught was memorized immediately, just as how she also learned how to walk quite fast.

So.

It was at that time that, abruptly, I was wrapped in a bright light.

Oh, I remembered.

The memory continued.

......That something seems to have happened, I instantaneously realized it.

"......Dad?"

Norn raised her anxious voice as she looks at my face.

"It"s all right."

I gently stroked Norn"s head.

Then I looked over my surroundings.

There were no signs of Lilia or Zenith.

Whether they were nearby, or if I was the only one blown away, Norn was together with me.

Why I wonder?

...I remember.

In the labyrinths, there was one time where I was caught in some atrocious trap.

It seems to have been some sort of teleportation magic that we had triggered.

It was lucky of me that I had been transported to somewhere close at that time.

Elinalise at that time had grabbed onto the hem of my clothes and was fuming.

It was the sort of trap that spells instant death if you were unlucky.

The monkey scout that had been caught up in the trap was never found... Such a story doesn"t matter.

In summary, only the person that was in contact with you during that instant would get teleported with you.

This was why Norn was with me.

However, why?

Why has such a thing happened?

It"s way too abrupt.

Whose handiwork was this?

There were many enemies around me.

It wouldn"t be strange for whoever it was to do it.

However, this was teleportation.

Teleportation is another story.

There was no casting used for the teleportation magic.

Therefore, items imbued with magic or magic products were used.

Teleportation-imbued magic items were considered to be illegal no matter where in the world.

The magic for teleportation was designated as a forbidden technique and has become long lost.

In order to take revenge on me, a single person, why was there a need to go through such lengths, through such a dangerous path?

Also, how come the place I was transported to was such a barren field?

No way.

A disciple of the dojo was one of the culprits involved?

A thought suddenly surfaced in my mind.

In order to get to Lilia, they had me moved.

This place I was at was supposed to be a hint.

By the time I return home, Lilia and Zenith might have already been sullied by a vulgar man.

d.a.m.n it, it seems to be an idea they would come up with.

"Hey, father."

"Norn, it"s alright. We"ll return home immediately."

As I kept murmuring that to myself, we headed towards the town.

Fortunately, in case where something were to happen, Asura gold coins were concealed inside the sheathe of the sword.

The sword was to always be worn at all times, which was a habit formed from my time as an adventurer.

It was not to be removed even when sleeping.

The only time it could be allowed to be removed was when feeling up a woman.

The adventurers" card was also placed within the sheathe.

It was for times like these.

I went to the Adventurers Guild in order to exchange the money.

Eight large copper coins and nine pieces of silver.

The commission fee was raised before I knew it.

Although this amount was plenty enough.

A quick check around the Adventurers Guild request board was made, and since there was a request for an urgent delivery, I immediately accepted it.

The lady at the reception desk updated the magical power to the adventurer card along with the accepted request.

After realizing the rank written on the card was S, she showed a surprised face.

The reason as to why she was shocked was not because S rank adventurers were rare but rather the fact that I had accepted such a quest.

Usually, such delivery quests can be accepted regardless of rank because of the urgency but it"s still commonly considered as an E rank request.

Usually, I would not bother hiding the reason behind it but explaining it was troublesome so I didn"t.

I readily held out one silver coin.

How many years had it been since I prepared for traveling?

It"s been a long time but I still remembered clearly what was needed.

The preparations were finished in no time.

I had also rented out a horse from the Adventurers Guild.

I"m glad that there was a request for urgent delivery.

Of the many benefits of the S rank, renting out a free horse on such a request was one of them.

Of course, that didn"t necessarily mean that I was going to return it immediately once the request was finished.

This time, I headed out in a different direction from the delivery.

I feel bad for the client, but I"m also in an emergency.

These horses that have been bought were definitely good ones for sure.

My luck was good.

This just goes to show how much of an emergency it was.

There could possibly be a chance of having my adventurer"s status revoked for taking advantage of its benefits, but so be it.

I had not intended to continue living on as an adventurer in the first place.

Norn was placed on top of the horse and I jumped onto its back.

Immediately, we set off from the town.

Norn became sick on the way.

I was in too much of a hurry.

Norn had absolutely no experience riding, even more so to have to continue moving throughout the day and night, even when she"s still just a child.

Extra time was taken to nurse Norn, and so by the time we reached the Fedoa region, two months had already pa.s.sed.

This was the number of days that it would"ve taken it if I had used the horse-drawn carriage in the first place.

Therefore, the delivery request had already been failed long ago.

The fine was not a big deal though.

Though, I was in despair.

Before we reached the village of Buina, I had already realized the gravity of the situation.

The entire Fedoa region had disappeared.

I had sunk in to the polar regions of confusion.

What had happened?

Where"s the Buina village that I had known?

Zenith?

Lilia?

The walled city of Roa was not there anymore either.

Then, wouldn"t that mean that Rudeus was gone as well?

Stupid...

Unknowingly, I had my knees fall onto the ground.

"Annihilation from the Teleportation trap."

Such words swirled inside my head.

The adventurer era.

I had heard many times about labyrinths, that the number one trap to be wary of was teleportation traps.

The party will fall apart without even knowing the location of their comrades.

It is one of the absolute worst traps that we shouldn"t get caught up in.

I have heard many stories of parties that had been caught up in such a trap and most would end up wiped out.

If any parties were to be caught in such a trap, they should all find their way back to the entrance to rendezvous.

Otherwise, those that were unable to come out would most likely be dead.

Any men who would hear of such a story would end up with a stunned look on their faces.

But, surely.

In such a place like this.

I...

"Dad...we"re still not home yet?"

With those words, I returned to reality.

My daughter of a mere three years old, had grabbed onto the hem of my clothes.

I silently hugged Norn.

"Dad? What is it?"

Yes.

I am a dad.

A father.

My daughter still doesn"t know what had happened yet.

But, because of me, she can have peace of mind.

I am a dad.

A father.

Do not show any weaknesses.

I must retain a resolute att.i.tude.

It is so.

Teleportation"s a terrible trap indeed.

I do not know why we had ended up in such a situation.

But, I am alive.

Zenith was even a former adventurer as well.

Even Lilia, although not as strong as she used to be, could still use a sword.

Aisha...

I remember, at that time, at that moment, Lilia was in contact with Aisha right?

...I can"t remember clearly.

No, do not give up.

At that time, Lilia was holding Aisha"s hand.

Let us think that is true for now.

While returning the borrowed horse to the nearest town, I tried to collect some information.

It seems that the disaster took place throughout the entire Fedoa region.

Sauros and Phillip are both missing, and his brother is the lord now.

But, it doesn"t seem that Phillip"s brother is going to take responsibility and intervene in the downfall of this disaster at any moment.

They"re too concerned about themselves to bother lending a helping hand.

It seems, rather than to protect the people under one"s own dominion, he would rather care about himself.

The Asura n.o.bles are absolutely repugnant because of this.

While I was gathering information, an old man named Alphonse made contact with me.

He was the butler that had been serving under Phillip.

He had sworn allegiance towards the Greyrat house.

Even under such a situation, he did not harbor any other selfish thoughts of his own.

He had even used his own property in order to start the construction of refugee camps.

Alphonse had said that he wanted my help. When he heard me ask him [Why me?], he responded saying that he had heard about m

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