No Holds Barred (Mushoku Tensei/Celestial Dojo) - Interlude: A Sheep in Wolf's Clothing (Patreon)

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K414 - Wieden Town, Fittoa Region

Eris Boreas Greyrat, the first young noble lady Rudeus had ever seen, was so far-flung from the example of a noble girl in this medieval world that it beggared disbelief. When you looked at it, at least from his perspective as a former shut-in NEET, it was certainly staggering. His prospective student was entirely unbecoming, and even from the perspective of natives to this world, she was the stark opposite of a noble lady. In context, however, when you understood she was spoiled by everyone who should’ve put their foot down on her behaviour and idolised her similarly domineering grandfather…

Well, safe to say that her violent first responses made a smidge more sense.

“Ow… did they have to be so rough?” Rudeus muttered, wriggling upright inside whatever wooden box he’d been tossed inside for the sake of one elaborate scheme. He lifted up the cover, hopped out, and then did the same for Eris’. “Young Miss? Young Miss, you’d better wake up.”

She stirred, waking up on her side. “...What? Where are we?!”

“Ah, you see, it appears we’ve been kidnapped by god-knows-who to do god-knows-what! If only you knew magic~!” Rudeus burned through the rope around his wrists with a burst of fire. “Then you’d be able to free yourself, too!”

“Don’t talk down to me, cur! What is this nonsense?!”

Through sheer fury, Eris surged to her feet, rushing straight up to the locked and bolted wooden door. On the way there, she glanced at the admittedly filthy room. Rudeus had suggested a cleaner space, but if in his wisdom, Lord Uncle Philip decided that a harsher approach was what Eris needed, then he’d respect that too. The discarded rusty armour and rats certainly upped the vibe!

“Ghislaine! Where are you, Ghislaine?!” Eris kicked at the door once he’d burned her restraints away, repeating the questions with increasing rage and fear in her voice. After a few moments, the door blew back, having been kicked in from the other end and sending Eris to the ground.

“Shut the fuck up, brat!”

A large, balding, scarred man loomed over them both, sneering down at Eris in particular with menace written all over his face. Perfect casting from Thomas! This’d certainly get Eris to maybe pipe down a little bit!

“T-That hurt!” she yelled. “I’ll beat the stuffing out of you!”

…Perhaps not.

“What the hell did you say?”

The fake kidnapper walked past the threshold into the room, enough that they could smell him. Diplomatically speaking… he’d certainly drank a little bit, and his clothes could do with a wash. But if there was one thing Eris Boreas Greyrat was not, it was diplomatic.

“Eugh! Get away from me; you stink! Just who do you think you are—!”

He hiked back his boot and kicked her across the room. So hard, in fact, that Eris was left winded when her back hit the floor, gasping for air as the method acting kidnapper walked past Rudeus. Eris struggled to her feet, throwing a sloppy punch aimed at his groin, despite the pain written on her face. The kidnapper stepped aside, kneeing the remaining air out of her lungs and keeping her up by the hair when she sagged onto a knee.

“Looks like I’ll have to break you in a little!” He threw her head-first to the ground. “Fucking bitch! Who said you got to hit back, huh?! Know your goddamn place and shut the hell up with your yapping!”

Rudeus flinched with every stomp he delivered on her downed body. Wasn’t this going a little too far? They’d discussed roughing her up a little but this was beyond the pale! He flinched again when a second kidnapper walked in, scrambling back against the wall at the familiar head of bleached blond hair.

“Cut it the fuck out!”

“Huh?” The first kidnapper turned into a solid right hook, falling onto his back.

Eiji Takase, a newly employed Boreas Greyrat Guard now turned kidnapper, stared down at his castmate. From where he was standing, Rudeus couldn’t see his expression, but the other man’s reaction made it clear that the look on his face wasn’t a good one. To mention nothing of the pressure in the room. Granted, it was still a full tier below his father, Paul, which was something he could feel clearly after a year of sparring, give or take—and during that last spar, his father had gone all-out—but it was terrifying nonetheless.

If only for Rudeus because of everything Eiji Takase represented as the second reincarnated. No, a transmigrator.

“Get out of here,” the Japanese delinquent muttered, running a hand through his hair. “Go!”

The bald man patted his clothes, snarling under his breath. He stomped past Rudeus without a second look, leaving them alone in the room with Eris’ wheezing. Rudeus didn’t move a single step towards her, though, eyes pinned to the man in the room. It seemed they were going for the hyper-realistic approach. Then again, Rudeus did know Healing. Perhaps this was as much a final test of his competency as it was a life lesson in the importance of education for Eris!

“See where mouthing off got you? This isn’t your manor. In the real world, you talk shit, this is what happens. If you can’t back up what you say, and you’ve got too much pride to bow your head, just shut the fuck up. It can’t be that hard,” Eiji said, sounding tired. “And you! Blond kid. Rudeus?”

Rudeus flinched to attention. “Y-Yes, that’s my name!”

“Heal her. Furthermore, you’re in charge of keeping the goddamn hellion under control. Fuck knows what’ll happen to her if you don’t.” He turned back to Eris, sighing again. “Call it one last mercy from me…”

Before he walked past him, Rudeus saw a fury in his eyes that made him shrink back. Suddenly, he was right back in that canteen, calling out that motherfucker for skipping the queue. The sheer indignation that anyone could dare call him out, mixed with apoplectic rage… it was there in Eiji Takase’s eyes. Though this time, and mercifully so, it wasn’t aimed at him.

The cell door slammed shut behind them, and as it was in the beginning, he and his wayward potential student were alone once more.

“They’ll p-pay for this,” Eris grunted out, cheek buried in a shallow pool of her own blood. A few of her teeth were scattered within it, and the side of her face he could see was swelling quickly. “I-I’ll… I’ll tell Grandfather.”

“...Um.” He swallowed his horror and the overflowing regret for simply standing by, crouching over her and gently laying his palm down. “Divine power is rich and nourishing. It offers the strength to rise again to those who have lost it… Healing.”

Eris was enveloped in a soft green glow, fuelled by his certainly prodigious mana pool, as the bruising on her face faded quickly, though it wasn’t entirely gone. She tried and failed to rise, gasping out in pain.

“...Heal me all the way!”

He dusted his hands off. “You’d just shout again if I did.”

“Damn that Eiji,” she snarled. “To think he was a gods-cursed falseheart. I’ll see him punished, but first… heal me, cur!”

Rudeus shook his head. “Not while you call me that. Cast the spell yourself if you’re so much better than me.”

“I-I…” She looked away. “Such a thing is beneath me!”

“That’s too bad~! If only you knew how to read, Young Miss.”

With Eris healed, it was time to move onto Step 2 of his grand plan: showing her the wonders of magic! Rudeus jumped onto the cell’s window sill, manipulating the stone surrounding the grate with magic and pulling the bars free.

“I’ve fulfilled my obligation to you as a gentleman, like my mother and Lillia raised me to be. But since I don’t want to die or get sold into slavery, I’ll be off now. Goodnight!”

Eris naturally didn’t take kindly to that, immediately raising her voice, despite how much it visibly pained her to do so. “I-I order you to help me, cur!”

“I TOLD YOU LITTLE SHITS TO SHUT THE FUCK UP!”

Rudeus reinforced the door with earthen spikes before the first kidnapper could kick it down a second time.

“...Don’t leave me here,” Eris said desperately while the door rattled off its hinges with each kick. Behind it were several fervent voices, none clearer than Eiji Takase’s, at least to Rudy. If he set his mind to it, the door would fall far faster than he would’ve liked.

He would’ve liked to make this more dramatic, but it seemed time was of the essence. “Promise me you won’t be violent or yell.”

“Move!” he heard Eiji below. “I’ll blow this door open, just stop yapping in my ear, you bald fucker!”

“I-It’s now or never, Young Miss!”

“H-Help me.” It was so small Rudeus nearly missed it. Luckily, he didn’t, scooping Eris into his arms and jumping through the window right as the door exploded open. He hit the ground running, sprinting into a nearby alleyway. …Alrighty, the chase was on! All they had to do to win was get back to Roa in one piece, which, admittedly, was much easier said than done.

Especially with a passenger like Eris aboard.

【—〄—】

K414 - The Citadel of Roa, Fittoa Region

“X-Healing…”

Eris felt her bruises and broken bones heal over as… what was his name again? She couldn’t remember, having expected him to quit much sooner than all the other tutors before him. And he was younger than her, too! But he’d shown a surprising amount of mettle, not just in lasting so long, but in daring to hit her back in her own home. Once the healing was done, Eris experimentally rolled her shoulder, humming in satisfaction at finally being pain-free.

“Okay! We should be fine now!”

“Y-You promised not to shout, didn’t you?” her tutor said, looking around in panic. She looked down at him easily, because he was crouched beneath her, as per his position in life.

“Why should I have to keep a promise to you?! You ran from me like a coward!”

He stood up, sighing in defeat.

“...Very well. I guess this is goodbye, then.”

If he expected her to run after him in desperation like some pathetic maiden in those stories her mother used to read to her, then he had another thing coming!

“WHERE’D YOU ACCURSED KIDS GO? GET BACK HERE!”

…Perhaps they weren’t as fine as she thought they were. Thankfully, being incapable of magic, Eris caught up to her tutor and bodyguard easily enough, owing thanks to his short legs.

“I-I didn’t mean that. I promise I won’t shout anymore.” At the very least, he was her only way back to Roa. Debasing herself into subservience under someone younger and lesser than her was frustrating, but after this, she’d train like never before.

But to train, Eris first needed to survive.

Her tutor didn’t even look back at her. “Why should I trust you? You’ll just break your promise at the first opportunity, Young Miss.”

“I will not!” Eris winced at how loud she’d spoken.

“If you listen to what I say without making me repeat myself, you can come with me. Do we have a deal?”

She nodded firmly. Uppity as he was, she needed him… and he was strong. “What’s your name?”

“It’s Rudeus,” he said, finally turning around to smile at her. “Nice to meet you!”

As they moved away from the secluded part of the sleeping down, the two of them approached a sign that she couldn’t read.

“Huh. It appears we’re in a town near Roa.” She squinted at the scribbles, unable to make heads or tails of it. “Young Miss, reading is useful. That sign even lists coach fares, too.”

“Why don’t you do it for me?”

When Rudeus laughed, Eris had to take special care to not instinctively punch him for the slight. She couldn’t risk upsetting him and being stranded in this remote town for that damned kidnappers to find her. If she could only get back to Roa, but that betrayer and the stinky bald brute would hang!

Evidently sensing her thoughts through whatever irritating magic, let him be so smug, pointed at the sign. “I’m neither your servant nor your employee.”

Eris huffed, folding her arms. Whatever. She would learn his stupid letters if that was what it took to learn magic. Then she’d learn magic better than him, beat him with it, and make him apologise for being so insufferable. More importantly, however, they needed to get home, so she asked him to read the signs and arrange a ride when the coachman returned, nicely of course, as her grandfather taught her. As demeaning as the beastman routine was, the look on Rudeus’ face made it all the more worth it!

Rudeus led them towards what turned out to be a small coaching inn. There were several carriages outside, alongside horses being fed and watered by sleepy-looking men. Somewhere nearby, a rooster crowed obnoxiously enough that Eris briefly considered finding and kicking it.

“Do you have any money?” Rudeus asked.

Eris stared at him.

“...Right. Of course you don’t.”

“Hmph! I don’t carry money.”

“I suppose we’ll have to lean on your name, then.”

It took considerably more arguing than Eris thought necessary to convince the coachman that she was, in fact, Eris Boreas Greyrat and not some filthy red-haired child attempting to steal a ride to Roa. The fact that neither she nor Rudeus possessed a single coin between them apparently mattered more to the man than her name.

Ridiculous.

“I swear upon the name of Boreas Greyrat that you will be paid!” Eris declared, planting both hands on her hips. “Take us to Roa, and my grandfather, Sauros Boreas Greyrat, will reward you with riches beyond your imagination!”

The coachman scratched his beard. “How much?”

Eris faltered. How was she supposed to know that?!

“Lots!”

Beside her, Rudeus covered his face. The coachman looked between them, taking in their torn and filthy clothing, before his eyes eventually settled on Eris’ hair.

“Boreas Greyrat, you said?”

“Yes!”

“And your father is Lord Philip, Mayor of Roa?”

Rudeus tugged sharply at her sleeve. “...Yes,” she repeated at a marginally lower volume.

That, at least, finally did it. Unfortunately, the journey back was agonisingly slow. Now that Eris knew she was going home, every minute stretched twice as long as it should have. She sat beside Rudeus with her arms folded, bouncing her knee impatiently as farmland rolled past the window. Suddenly, Rudeus’ head snapped towards the rear of the coach before Eris understood what had caught his attention.

Two horses thundered past them.

Eris caught only glimpses of the riders before Rudeus seized her sleeve and dragged her down.

“Hey—!”

“Quiet!” Her mouth snapped shut.

The horses continued ahead without slowing, disappearing around a bend in the road. Neither of them moved for several seconds.

“Were those the scum?” she whispered.

“I don’t know. Maybe.”

“You can use magic. Find out.”

“That’s not how magic works.”

“Then learn how!”

Rudeus stared at her. “...You know, you might have a point, but later.”

They stayed low for several minutes afterwards. When they eventually climbed back onto the seats, neither sat quite as comfortably as before, afraid of what awaited them as Roa’s walls appeared in the distance. Eris chewed the inside of her cheek. The road only went one way. If those riders had been their kidnappers, then they could be lying in wait. Thankfully, the coach passed through the gates without incident. Eris leapt out the moment it stopped, taking down the coachman’s name.

She kept her word no matter what, as her grandfather taught… so long as she was shown the appropriate respect. 

Rudeus followed after her, hurriedly assuring the coachman that somebody at the Boreas estate would pay him. The cobbled streets that normally bustled during the day were nearly empty at this hour. Eris had never been out this late, so seeing the windows dark and doors shut from this angle felt strange. She kept close to Rudeus just to be safe, glaring at every alleyway they passed and glancing over her shoulder for good measure.

“Once we reach the manor, we’re safe,” Rudeus whispered.

“I know that.”

“I’m reassuring myself.”

“Oh.”

At the far end of the street, a lantern bobbed through the darkness, held by someone dressed in familiar clothing. Eris narrowed her eyes. She recognised his hulking shape vaguely. He was one of those men who always seemed to be scurrying around behind Alfonse. Thomas? Tomas? Something like that.

Rudeus recognised him immediately and broke into a run. “Mr Thomas!”

“Wait!” Eris hurried after him, only a step behind.

An arm hooked around her waist, pulling her away from the ground and far, far away from safety. Her scream died beneath a filthy hand clamping over her mouth as the assailant ripped her backwards into an alleyway. Before she even saw who had grabbed her, the stink alone betrayed him, turning her stomach and chilling her blood.

“Got you, you little bitch,” the bald kidnapper snarled into her ear. Eris bit down as hard as she could. He roared and tore his hand away.

“RUDEUS!”

He spun. “Eris?!”

Another man appeared from the alley and seized her legs before she could kick free. Between them, they hauled her deeper into the darkness, and the bald one readjusted his hold to sprint with her.

“LET GO OF ME! I’LL KILL YOU! I’LL—!”

The other had a sword that he unsheathed with quickness, silencing her screams.

“ERIS!”

Rudeus came running down the alley, but the men were faster than he was. Eris thrashed between them, kicking and scratching, twisting around hard enough that they nearly dropped her, but the cold touch of steel halted her efforts. Without her wriggling about, the bald one was free to punch her in the stomach, knocking the air out her body once again.

“I’M COMING!”

The alley the kidnappers were approaching would soon open onto another street, and from there, they’d be home free. But before they could exit it, stone ripped upwards directly ahead of them, cobbles folding over one another into a thick wall that sealed the street from side to side.

The men skidded to a halt.

“What the fuck?!” the swordsman grunted. “The brat’s a mage?”

Eris twisted her head around. Rudeus stood at the mouth of the alley behind them, breathing hard. He raised a hand, aiming a fireball at them.

“Put her down,” he said firmly.

“You could’ve gone home if you’d stayed put,” the one holding her said. “Fucking idiot.”

“Currently, you gentlemen stand in the Citadel of Roa, overseen by Philip Boreas Greyrat. In your hands is Eris Boreas Greyrat, his daughter. There’s still a world where you walk away scot-free, without any fear of reprisal, if you call things quits here.”

What?! That wouldn’t stand! Eris opened her mouth to argue but quickly clamped her jaw shut. She promised the ingrate that she’d stop shouting, having meant it that time, after all.

“Besides, you’re standing before a Saint-ranked mage. Do you really want to test your luck?”

The swordsman laughed. “You? A Saint-ranked mage? Hah! Don’t push your bluff too hard. I can see your legs shaking.”

“Please return that little girl!”

“That I cannot do. Little Lady Eris has somewhere she needs to go for me, you see.”

A second traitor? Rudeus turned around as the dull-faced servant turned the alley corner behind him, still holding a lantern in his hand.

“Tell you what, kid? I like your balls. You seem pretty good at magic. Join us, and we’ll give you a cut.”

“H-How much would that be?”

Eris’ nostrils flared at the very fact that Rudeus had the gall to ask such a question after battering her pride!

“How does 100 gold coins sound?”

“Of course, that’d be after these two and myself take our cuts,” the servant added onto the swordsman’s offer.

Rudeus looked back at him. “Would that be enough for two tuitions to the University of Magic?”

“Your cut alone would be enough to pay for four tuitions.”

“...Damn. That’s a serious offer, is it?” He turned back to Eris, wincing. “I might actually regret this.”

Before Rudeus could finish whatever stupid thing he was about to say, something vaulted over the wall behind her. A familiar figure dropped from above, landing in a crouch before straightening to his full height, revealing bleached blond hair and a red cuirass over a black tunic. He raised a gloved hand in greeting, though the leather stopped halfway up the fingers.

Eris bared her teeth. “You!”

“You’re not a fucking cat. Stop hissing at me, you idiot.”

“Traitor!”

“Oh. Right. That.”

Eris’ eye twitched while the men holding her relaxed.

“About fucking time,” the bald brute grunted. “Where the hell have you been?”

“Chasing these two across half of fucking Fittoa, apparently.”

“Then earn your damned money.” The swordsman jerked his chin towards Rudeus. “Deal with the mage.”

Rudeus still stood at the other end of the alley with his hand raised. The fire burning above his palm was flickering a little at the new arrival. He’d looked almost impressive a moment ago, facing down three grown men despite how badly his legs were shaking. Eris watched Rudeus’ confidence disappear in real time once Eiji Takase started walking. He took half a step backwards, the flame hovering over his palm shrinking.

Eiji walked until he stood squarely between both groups. Eris and the two kidnappers behind him. Rudeus and that treacherous servant ahead. “Just the mage, you said?”

“Yes, just the fucking mage,” the swordsman replied.

“That’s all I needed to hear.”

He turned around towards Eris and sank low, twisting his entire body towards the ground. The wind in the alleyway picked up, filtering underneath Eris’ skirt and around her, as if to converge at a single point. Slowly but surely, Eiji began to glow green. Entirely different from the warm green Healing. It felt… in a word, unrestrained. Suddenly, a visible bright green wind howled to life around him, sucking the kidnappers along with Eris. It dragged in the swordsman despite his fierce protests until all three of them were a stone’s throw away from Eiji, captured in the spiralling green current around him.

He took a deep, audible breath and soared, corkscrewing towards the sky as he raised his fist. The roaring wind dragged the kidnappers up with him, straight into his waiting knuckle as he revolved and rose higher. All she could see was that rising green spiral and Eiji at its centre, his body corkscrewing higher with one fist driven towards the sky. His fist smashed into the bald one’s jaw, and he immediately let Eris go.

She didn’t fall, kept afloat by the turbulent winds.

“As for you…” Eiji swung his heel around while the two men were once again gathered together like leaves in a storm, sending both men sailing over the wall.

The howling wind died. Eris’ stomach lurched as the cobbles rushed towards her. A hand caught her beneath the back, and another hooked beneath her knees. The world spun, then stopped in the same instant as they slowly floated to the ground off the back of a gentle green wind. Eris blinked. They were still in the air as the last wisps of green curled away from Eiji’s arm, fading into nothing. Beyond him hung the moon, enormous and bright against the night sky.

Their descent ended, Eiji landing with her still in his arms while Rudeus encased the traitorous servant in stone. On the ground, Eris stared up at Eiji, feeling a steadily mounting rage building within her. Her mouth opened and soundless rage poured out, but thankfully, his infuriating smirk returned her voice to her.

“P-PUT ME DOWN, YOU BASTARD!”

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