Mushoku Tensei

Volume 3 Chapter 4 - Reason for Trust

Part 1

If you use a single term to describe the Migurd's hamlet, it will be "extreme poverty".

There are ten-odd houses. It is difficult to describe their appearances.

It feels like the earth had been dug up and then covered up with tortoise shells.

The architecture in the Asura Kingdom is much more advanced compared to here.

Still, even if you get the Asura kingdom's architects to come here, there would be no way to gather the lumber required to build and they would also give up hope on this land.

Even the neatly planted field outside the hamlet only contains shriveled vegetation.

I wonder if it is alright for the plants to look so withered.

There were no specific details in Roxy's dictionary at all in regards to agriculture. It was only written up till this part where she stated "The vegetables are bitter and not tasty at all."

Incidentally, at the side of the field, there are flowers with teeth which looked similar to pakkun flowers, planted there.

I am uncertain whether this thing is a plant or animal, the uneven teeth are making a chattering sound. They are definitely used to deter harmful creatures that invade the field.

At the end of the hamlet, there are a few girls who look like they are in middle school surrounding a fire and grilling something.

It looks like an outdoor school or something similar.

The girls are preparing a meal and as they finish making it, they go to distribute it to everyone.

There are nearly no men and there are only very young children playing around.

Other than that, there's the gatekeeper Robin and the chief.

If I'm not mistaken it should be like this: The men will go out to hunt, and the women shall stay at home to keep watch.

The community's positions should be something like this.

So it probably means the men are out hunting now.

[Is there anything nearby that can be hunted?]

[Monsters.]

Even though that reply did answer my query, it falls a little short.

It is akin to asking a fisherman what he caught, and his reply is, I caught seafood.

Well, I'll continue asking questions.

[Hmm. Is the stuff covering the rooftops also from monsters?]

[That's from the Great King Land Tortoise (Grand Tortoise). The shell is very hard, and the flesh is delicious. You can even make bowstrings from their sinew.]

Is their meat delicious?

But I can't imagine the size of the tortoise. The biggest house in the hamlet is covered with a shell that looks like it's over 20 meters wide. ????????????????????α????. ????????????

Ruijerd and Rocks enter that same house as I entertain that thought.

Biggest house = the chief's house, it seems that this world has the same rule too.

[Please excuse us.]

[T, thank you for inviting us in…]

In any case, Eris and I make a greeting as we enter the house.

The insides look wider compared to how it looked from the outside. The floor is lined with fur pelts, and there are colorful ornaments hung on the walls.

The center of the house has something that looks like a fireplace, and a fire is slowly burning in there, lighting the house.

The rooms are not separated, and one can simply cover up with the fur pelts at night and just sleep on the floor.

At one end of the house, a sword and a bow are placed there, and it appears that this is certainly a hunting tribe.

The two women who followed the chief earlier did not enter the house. Why did they follow the chief to the entrance just then?

Well, whatever.

[Then, let us hear your story.]

Rocks sits down near the fireplace with a plunking noise and says that.

Ruijerd sits in front of him, and I sit cross-legged at his side.

I look at Eris standing up idly who does not know where to sit.

[Are we going to sit on the floor even in the house too?]

[Didn't you sit on the floor properly too during sword lessons?]

[T, that's true.]

Eris isn't the type to hesitate over whether to sit on the floor.

But, it's probably because she's perplexed over this "gap" in the etiquette classes she had.

She observes the etiquette rules in front of others, but the situation currently is different from the things that were taught to her, so she is confused.

I really hope that these bad influences do not affect her when we go home…

Part 2

Before I start to describe my future goals, I dictate my name, age, profession and the location of our home.

I also state the relationship between Eris and myself, Eris' social status, and how we mysteriously ended up in the Magic continent to the chief.

I did not say anything pertaining to the Human God. I am not sure what position this God has with the Demon race. If he is treated as an evil god, then we might be suspected of something.

[… And this is what happened to us.]

[Hm…]

Rocks holds a hand against his chin, contemplating as he listens to the things I said.

His expression looks like a middle schooler being troubled by a difficult question.

[…… I see.]

Eris has already started to fall asleep while waiting for Rocks' conclusion.

Even though it looks like she is still energetic, she has indeed expended a lot of energy because she is not used to the journey.

It was the same as yesterday's night, and it seems that she has been awake ever since she met Ruejird.

As I expected, she has nearly reached her limits.

[I'll properly listen to the discussion, you can go to sleep if you want to.]

[… What do you mean by going to sleep, how do you sleep here?]

[Probably by using the fur pelts to cover up and sleep.]

[But there's no pillow…]

[You can use my lap for sure.]

I said that like the Anpanman and smack my thigh, emitting a pa-pa noise.

[W, what do you mean by lap …?]

[It means you can use my lap as a pillow.]

[…… Is that so? T, thank you.]

If it was the usual Eris, she would definitely say something about this and that.

But it seems that her sleeping status bar is at MAX, as she brings her head down and lies on my lap without hesitation.

She shows a tense expression and clenches her hands tightly, closing her eyes. It doesn't take more than a few seconds before she's sleeping like a log.

Just like I thought, she's really exhausted. I gently stroke Eris's red hair and she twists her body as if she is itchy.

Fuhaha.

Suddenly I feel someone gazing at me.

[… What is it?]

Rocks's grinning eyes pierces me and I feel a little embarrassed.

[Your relationship is really good.]

[That's true.]

But I'm banned from touching her.

Our Ojou-sama has a strong sense of virtue.

So I'll also respect her wishes.

[Then, how do you intend to go back?]

[We will earn the money and go back by foot.]

[You two children will be earning the money?]

[No, it will simply be me alone who's going to earn the money.]

I cannot possibly let Eris who is completely ignorant of the ways of the world earn money right?

Well, I am almost the same in regards of being ignorant of the ways of the world.

[Not these two alone, I'll be going as well.]

Ruijerd cuts into the conversation.

He's really a reassuring ally.

Even though I really want to trust him, due to the incident with the Human God, it is better for us to bid our farewells here, and rid ourselves of any future troubles.

Still, how should I go about refusing him?

[Ruijerd, why do you want to go with them?]

Rocks displays his disapproval with a troubled expression.

Ruijerd looks like he has been offended.

[There's no reason to it. I will protect them and simply bring them safely to their hometown.]

The conversation doesn't seem to mesh together in a subtle way.

Rocks sighs.

[You're going to enter a town right?]

[Hmm……]

"Hmm"?

You're not going to enter a town?

[What's going to happen if you bring the children near a town? Didn't you get chased out by the soldiers 100 years ago, and even had a party formed to subjugate you?]

100 years ago?

[That… But… if I wait outside the town.]

[Then you're not going to be responsible for the things that happen in the town?]

Rocks looks at him with an amazed expression.

Ruijerd firmly grinds his teeth.

The Superd race is hated by everyone. This fact is not changed even in the Magic Continent. But to form a party to subjugate or something is a little too much. Are they treating him like a Monster?

[If there's something that happens in the town…]

[What will you do if there's something that happened?]

[Even if I have to kill everyone in the town, I will rescue the two of them.]

His eyes are serious.

Frightening.

This is really too frightening.

This man will do anything and he has that resolution.

[You have no discrimination at all when it comes to children…… Come to think of it, the beginning where you're accepted at this village was because you saved the children from the Monsters' attacks.]

[Yes.]

[It already has been 5 years, time has really passed by quickly.]

The chief sighs in an exaggerated manner.

Even though I am sorry for the chief becoming our ally in that manner, that is a considerably irritating action that he is making.

He looks like a conceited middle schooler ridiculing an adult who committed a stupid mistake.

[But Ruijerd. If you do something like this, can you really reach your goal?]

[Mu……]

Ruijerd knits his eyebrows together.

Goal.

This man seems to have some sort of goal on his mind.

[What's your goal?]

I interrupt the conversation.

[It's a simple goal. I want to remove the infamy that the Superd race has, simply that.]

I really want to say that it is impossible to achieve that goal.

The problem of racial discrimination cannot be solved with the efforts of one single person.

Even something small like a bullied victim in a class cannot be solved by one person.

Even more so, when the persecution has been deeply rooted all over the world.

Eris who met Ruijerd, is similar to how Vegeta met Broly.

He was already assumed to be a bad person since she was young, how can he change to become a good person?

[But isn't it true that your race had launched attacks on both enemies and allies during the war?]

[That's!]

[No matter what sort of ill repute you have, it's the truth that the Superd race is frightening……]

[No! That's not true!]

Ruijerd grabs me by the collar.

He glares at me with a incredibly terrifying look.

This is bad, I'm trembling.

Awawawa…

[That was Laplace's scheme! The Superd race isn't a terrible race!]

W, w, what?

Please stop you're scary.

My body can't stop trembling.

Eh, did he just say it's a scheme? This is a scheme?

Laplace is someone from 400 years ago right?

[W, what did you say about Laplace?]

[That bastard betrayed our loyalty!]

The strength used to grab me weakens. I tap repeatedly on Ruijerd's wrist and he finally releases me.

But his hands are still shaking.

[That bastard… That bastard…!]

Ruijerd says through his grinding teeth.

[Can you tell us that incident in detail?]

[It's a long story.]

[I don't mind.]

Ruijerd begins to describe what really happened back then in history.

Laplace.

He was the hero who won the authority back from the Human race, and unified the Demon races.

The Superd race had been Laplace's subordinates at a very early stage.

The Superd warrior group. They possessed high agility and a fiendish ability to detect unseen enemies.

This group that possessed extremely high combat prowess became Laplace's elite force.

Their specialties were surprise attacks and night raids.

The eye on their forehead is like a radar that sees through the surroundings. They will never be ambushed by others, and will definitely be able to execute surprise attacks and night attacks.

They were simply the elite force.

The Superd race's name in the past was treated with both fear and respect.

During the middle period of Laplace's war, just when they started to invade the Central continent, Laplace brought spears with him and visited the warrior group.

The Devil's spears.

Ruijerd did not say the formal name of the spears, and only called them the Devil's spears.

Laplace bestowed the spears to the warrior group. The spears looked like the Superd's tridents, but the body was painted with an ominous black, and one glance at it revealed that it was a Magical spear.

Of course, there were many who objected to accepting the spears, as the spear was the representation of the Superd's soul. They were unable to throw away their own spears.

But these were the things that Laplace prepared as the lord.

In the end, Ruijerd as the leader forced everyone in the warrior group to use the spear as a sign of loyalty to Laplace.

[Hmm? Leader?]

[Yes, I was the leader of the Superd race's warrior group back then.]

[… How old are you right now?]

[I stopped counting after I was 500 years old.]

[Ah, is that so…]

Did Roxy write about the Superd race's longevity?

Well, whatever.

The Superd warrior group threw their spears aside and continued to battle with the Devil's spears.

The Devil's spears possessed incredible power, strengthening the users' bodies several times, and were able to render the Human race's magic useless, and even make their senses keener.

They brought about an overwhelming sense of omnipotence.

Soon, the users' appearances gradually turned into evil devils. The more blood the users' Devil spears absorbed, the darker their souls would be.

No one suspected any problems, because everyone's soul was eaten away at the same rate.

And finally, tragedy happened.

The warrior group started to attack everyone indiscriminately, regardless of friend or foe.

It didn't matter whether they were men or women of any age, or even if they were children. There was no mercy shown. Without distinction, everyone of them was attacked.

Ruijerd states that he can still remember these memories vividly.

Before one knew it, the Demon races started saying [The Superd race had betrayed the Demon races], and the Human race also started saying [The Superd race are heartless devils].

At that time Ruijerd and the others listened to the reports with ecstatic expressions, viewing it as an honor.

In the midst of the battlefield where there were enemies everywhere, the Superd race carrying the Devil's spears was exceedingly powerful. There was no one who was capable of defeating the Superd warriors, where one of them could easily match a thousand.

They became the most feared army in the world.

But there is no such thing where an army is not exhausted in a persistent war.

Due to the situation where they fought both the Human and Demon races, battling day and night, the number of people in the warrior group started to dwindle.

They never suspected anything. To die in battle was the ultimate honor to them, and they reveled drunkenly in that thought.

Amongst the rumors they received, they heard a Superd race's settlement was attacked.

It was Ruijerd's hometown.

Even though it was an obvious trap to lure the Superd race, they no longer had anyone with judgment to see through it.

The Superd warrior group who hadn't gone back to the settlement in a long time, launched………… an attack.

They thought, since there were people still there, they must kill everyone.

Ruijerd killed his parents, his wife and his sisters.

Finally, he stabbed his own son to death.

Even though his son was still a child, but he had continuously trained to become a Superd warrior. Even though it didn't end up as a life and death fight for Ruijerd, his son managed to break his Devil's spear at the final moment.

At that single moment, the pleasant dreams ended, and at the same time the nightmares commenced.

There was still something that made a crisp sound in his mouth during that moment, and once Ruijerd realized that it was his son's finger he spat it out.

He immediately thought of suicide, but cancelled that thought instantly.

There was something that he had to do before dying.

For example, he needed to tear apart his enemies that were still living in this world.

At that time, the Superd race's settlement was surrounded by a punitive force.

There were only 10 people left in the warrior group.

Back then when they received the Devil's spears, there were 200 odd people, and only 10 of these courageous warriors were left remaining.

There were those who lost one of their eyes, and there were those who lost one of their hands, and there were those who lost their Magical stone on their forehead.

These were the warriors who battled unto this crumbling state.

And even when their bodies were completely scarred, they still glared at the punitive force that numbered nearly a thousand with belligerent expressions.

Ruijerd realized they would die in vain.

The first thing that Ruijerd did, was to break the Devil's spears that his comrades were carrying.

One by one they slowly returned, and they found themselves in a stupor.

There were those who groaned sorrowfully over the fact they had attacked their own family, and there were those who broke into anguished sobbing.

But not one of them said they still wished to continue having that pleasant dream.

There was no one there who was a weakling.

Everyone swore revenge on Laplace, and no one blamed Ruijerd for his mistake.

They were no longer devils, but they were no longer warriors with pride.

They were only sullied ghosts who desired revenge.

Ruijerd does not know what happened to the 10 people. He states that they are most likely dead.

After the Superd race laid down the Devil's spear, they were only warriors left who were just a little stronger than the average fighter.

They weren't even carrying their familiar spears. Using spears that belonged to others to fight, it should probably be impossible for them to survive.

But Ruijerd managed to break through and ran away, barely alive. After that he walked the fine line between life and death for three days and three nights.

The spear that Ruijerd carried belonged to his son.

His son broke the Devil's spear, and used his own soul to protect Ruijerd.

After that incident, Ruijerd finally got his revenge after several years of hiding.

He interfered in the battle between Laplace and the three heroes, and finally got his revenge.

But even if Laplace was defeated, there was no way to change the things that had already transpired.

The Superd race was persecuted, and their remaining settlements, beside the one that Ruijerd and his warriors destroyed, scattered everywhere due to that persecution.

In order to allow them to escape, Ruijerd continued to kill the Demon races' people.

Now Ruijerd doesn't even know if the Superd race has been completely annihilated or they lived on to build a new village.

He says that he hasn't seen another Superd for around 300 years in the Magic continent.

The persecution that the Superd race faced was terribly severe.

Ruijerd's counter offense was also like a raging fire.

The culprit to all this is Laplace.

[But I am also responsible for the Superd race's ill reputation. Even if I'm the only one left alive, I wish to erase this.]

And Ruijerd brings his story to an end.

Part 3

The way he described things was inarticulate, and he did not use any words that conveyed or elicited his feelings.

But Ruijerd's regret, rage, disconsolation and all his other emotions have been relayed to us.

If all of these are made up, or his tone and speaking tone are all an act, I might respect Ruijerd in some other areas.

[This is really a terrible story.]

Simply put, it is a mistake to think the Superd race is an evil race.

It is unclear as to why Laplace would give the Devil's spears to the Superd race.

Considering the aftermath of the war, the Superd race might have been treated as a scapegoat.

If that is really true, Laplace is the lowest kind of creature. To the loyal Superd people, you should at least say something. Even if you treat them as a sacrificial pawn, you did not need to use a method like that to drag them down and abandon them.

[I understand. I'll help you as much as I can.]

Somewhere in my heart, the other me speaks up.

(Where are you going to find the time to help him?)

(Do you have the room to even care about someone else?)

(You didn't put in all your effort to do your own things right?)

(This journey is much harder than you imagine)

But I didn't stop speaking.

[Even though I don't have any good ideas, I think that as a child from the Human race I can help out and there might be some positive changes.]

But this is not just simply because of my kindness or sympathy, I also have plans in my mind. If the things that he said are true, this Ruijerd should be extremely powerful, possessing the same strength as a hero.

We are protected by someone strong like him. At the very least, the situation where we would be attacked and killed by Monsters shouldn't happen.

If Ruijerd accompanies us, we will have peace of mind during our journeys outside of town, but at the same time we will be at risk inside of town.

However, if we can eliminate this risk, then he will become our strongest fighting strength.

No matter what, he had bragged that he is a warrior who will never be taken by surprise attacks or night raids.

The possibility that we will be targeted by pickpockets or bandits will be greatly lowered as well.

Other than this, even though it's not something important and there's no proof to it. I believe that Ruijerd is one who doesn't know how to lie and can be trusted.

[I will make a promise with you, and I will do my best to help you.]

[A, ahh.]

Ruijerd shows a surprised expression, but it might be due to the suspicion disappearing from my eyes.

It doesn't really matter. I have decided to trust Ruijerd.

My trust has been cheated away so easily.

The past me would laugh through my nose even when I listened to a tear-jerking story, but I trust him easily.

A voice keeps resounding in my heart.

(It's fine even if I got deceived right?)

[But, the Superd race is really…]

[It's fine, Rocks-san. There will be a way.]

Ruijerd will protect us outside of town, and we will think of a way to protect Ruijerd inside of town.

It is a give and take situation.

[Ruijerd-san. I look forward to working with you from tomorrow onwards.]