Mushoku Tensei:The Successor Arc

Lara Greyrat's POV

The journey continues today...

What's different is that, for the first time in a long while, I have a traveling companion again. The last time was a decade ago. So I should be happy—

As if!

Over the past two days, I've discovered a fact.

Lug... is an idiot.

Maybe that's not the most appropriate description? But you can't really describe him as simply helpless either; he's quite capable in certain aspects, after all. But a lot of the time, he's just got a one-track mind.

For example, the way he just followed me so casually. A normal person wouldn't do that. Although it's related to his amnesia... to trust someone this easily, he's clearly an idiot. Or maybe it has to do with his lack of experience?

...

Lug's POV

My name changed from Rudeus to Lug.

Okay, it's not a big deal. I couldn't remember my own name anyway.

In any case, I now have a traveling companion—Lara Greyrat. I should be happy—

As if!

Over the past two days, I've discovered a fact.

She... is an idiot.

Maybe it's not appropriate to describe a girl like that? No, I think it's quite fitting. She's definitely pretty dumb.

Does that girl really think I didn't notice that she saw absolutely nothing the first time she performed that "divination" for me? Does she really think I'm stupid... That kind of plot development from a game's opening CG is all too familiar—wait, what's a "game"?

Ahem...

As a result, I just gave a random nod, and she actually thought I believed her. I had to hold back my laughter the whole time afterward. I'm starting to admire my own acting skills.

As for the part where I took the opportunity to cop a little feel... please don't comment on that. I mean, she's a legal loli. And because of her race or whatever, her appearance doesn't change. There's just way too much to unpack here.

...

The reason I'm following Miss Greyrat is that she can indeed stimulate the recovery of my memories—that was the reason before.

Now, the reason has changed. I think I might as well just work for her.

She's so rich... She's a sugar-momma. And the dumb and clueless kind, at that.

...

Anyway, let's not discuss that for now. Let's touch on another key point.

The name mentioned while talking with Miss Greyrat—'Roxy'. The moment I heard that name, my head started to ache. I have an impression of it. But I don't know who it is.

When I'm alone in my room, I repeat this name over and over again, trying to find something in my lost memories. In the end, I only came up with another term—Magic Stone Disease. I've never heard of this term either, but I assume it must be some kind of illness. The two are not even in the same ballpark. My memories must be too jumbled, leading to an error.

But thankfully, Miss Greyrat is an idiot. I should try to get more information out of her when I have the chance. I'll figure out who Roxy is first.

...

...

And so, on the first day of our departure...

Why is she so listless?

"I'm telling you, please wake up a little earlier next time."

"Okay..." she nodded listlessly.

"I'm telling you, go wash your face first."

"Okay..."

Although she agreed, she showed no signs of moving.

"I'm telling you, don't be a picky eater. Eat all your vegetables."

"Okay..."

...

"Don't just ride Leo all the time. Get down and move around yourself after eating."

I lifted her off Leo.

...Speaking of which, is she really this defenseless? Whatever, I'll let it slide this time.

Mmm, she's a bit light. It's probably because she's small. But, isn't she still a little too thin?

"Ugh... Are you my mom?" she complained, looking up as she walked listlessly.

I'm the one who wants to complain.

"I say, Miss Greyrat. Let me just confirm, have you really been traveling for several decades?"

"Ah... more or less."

"Then how did you survive until now?"

"Uhh... I forgot."

Don't just forget!

...

On the road, she started dozing off again, looking like she wanted to crawl back to bed for a second nap. I sighed.

"You should rest for a while. I'll keep watch."

Then again, why does she need to rest so soon after leaving the city...

"Mmm... thanks..."

As she said that, her body began to sway from side to side, and then she fell—

Leo dashed over as if anticipating it and caught her. Is this some kind of circus act?

I leaned against a tree and sat down with a sense of resignation.

"This girl is too careless... We've only known each other for a short time..."

Or is she just that confident in Leo? I can't figure out what she's thinking. Shouldn't she be more wary of someone with an unknown background like me? At least, I don't plan on showing any weaknesses in front of her. It's never wrong to be a little more suspicious. I don't usually trust people easily.

...

"Mmm... how long did I sleep?"

Miss Greyrat rubbed her eyes, still looking drowsy.

"About half an hour. Still... did you pull an all-nighter? You look a bit drained."

It seems she's not just sleepy, but has exhausted a lot of her energy. Could it be that she overdid it with her... physical needs last night?

"...Ah, no. I just used up a lot of energy doing divination to determine our direction."

So she was trying to find the way for me... Ugh, I suddenly feel apologetic.

"Um... sorry about that. Making you so tired and having to wake up early."

"Hmm?... It's fine. I'm used to it."

She yawned nonchalantly, then shook out her robe and stood up.

"Let's go. Let's see if we can reach the town today."

...

...

"By the way, Miss Greyrat—"

"Call me Big Sis Lara," she corrected me without even turning her head.

Hmm? Calling her by her first name... are we that close? Maybe I'm overthinking it...

"Um, Big Sis... Lara, may I ask your adventurer rank?"

When she went to the Adventurers' Guild yesterday, the way the receptionist treated her versus me was like night and day. When I was near Miss Lara, I felt like I, a rising star adventurer, was completely ignored. It must be because Miss Lara's adventurer rank and contribution level are high. This made me curious about what her rank actually is.

"Hmm?... Ah... I think it's S-Rank."

"Mmm... is, is that so."

In other words, the highest rank under normal circumstances. I'm only D-Rank. And I was just ranked not long ago.

...

This gap is a bit too wide. Should I say, as expected of someone who's been traveling for decades, Miss Lara?

"What's wrong? What rank are you? A-Rank or S-Rank?"

Could you please not add that last part?

"Ah... can I choose not to answer?"

I can't bring myself to say it.

"Suit yourself." Miss Lara didn't seem to care much.

"Woof woof!!"

That big white dog suddenly barked at me twice. I looked at it strangely. Miss Lara said this white dog is a 'Sacred Beast'. Apart from not being able to speak, its intelligence is considerably high.

"What is it?"

Is it trying to tell me something?

"Hmm... it's saying—'I'm S-Rank too'... that's what it means."

Miss Lara helped translate.

Speaking of which, how can she translate a dog's barks... Can Miss Lara understand dog language or something?

...

Whatever. Let's not talk about that for now. There's a stranger question.

Why can a dog have an adventurer rank!!??? And it's S-Rank, which is higher than mine... This can't be right! Is it trying to say I'm worse than a dog???

...

...

"Miss Lara, your chantless magic is quite proficient..."

Watching Lara casually start a bonfire, the speed at which the magic formed was something even I couldn't optimize much further. Also, I added a word to the address 'Big Sis Lara,' changing it to 'Miss Lara.' It seems a little easier to say this way. For some reason, directly calling her 'Big Sis Lara,' I feel a deep reluctance from the bottom of my heart...

"Actually, as long as you receive a good magic education during childhood, you can usually learn chantless magic."

After casually starting the fire, Miss Lara sat down. Then that white dog seemed to go gather firewood?

"But, I heard that less than one percent of magicians are chantless."

"That's because learning magic in childhood is a very willpower-draining process... It usually depends on the level of family education. Generally, only children who have free time every day, and whose parents both know magic and teach them daily, or even hire a magic tutor, have a chance to consistently use chantless magic at a young age."

"As for those who are self-taught, who learn chantless magic completely on their own—we usually call them geniuses. ...There aren't many in this world. Otherwise, this method of teaching chantless magic would have been discovered long ago."

So that's how it is.

"Which one are you, Miss Lara? A genius?"

"Of course I'm a mortal... How can there be so many geniuses in the world? I was just fortunate enough to receive a better education than other magicians."

She calls herself the Savior, but she doesn't seem to have any sense of arrogance? Hmm, maybe this girl can go far.

...

Speaking of which, Miss Lara glanced at me.

"Lug, you're most likely a mortal too. That is to say, since you were able to learn chantless magic—you must have received a very good postnatal education. From this, we can deduce that your parents were most likely mages."

Oh, oh, so that's how you deduce it? I'm definitely not a genius; my talent should be in swordsmanship. That is to say, the search range is starting to narrow. Hmm, Miss Lara really has some skills.

...

"Speaking of magic... Lug, what's the highest level of magic you know?"

"Hmm?... You might not believe me if I say it, but I have memories of Emperor-Rank magic—"

"Impossible. Because for magic of that level, a normal human's mana capacity is insufficient..." she said, shaking her head directly.

Hmm. That's right. Miss Lara is correct, my mana is far from enough to cast Emperor-Rank magic... but I remember how to cast it. This point is very strange.

"Perhaps your memory is fragmented, so you can't remember the magic rankings clearly... The upper limit for a normal human is King-Rank magic."

As she spoke, Lara raised that staff with the translucent blue crystal. Then she aimed it at the nearby river.

[Lightning · Charge—]

I quietly watched the crackling lightning. Because Miss Lara charged this Lightning spell, its power had already reached Saint-Rank. Even the color of the sky changed a bit. It was beginning to take the form of the King-Rank spell, 'Thunderlight'.

"How was it?"

She's asking me about the power level of this spell, so I can use it as a reference, right? But I feel that my memories of magic experience shouldn't be wrong.

"Mmm... its power has reached Saint-Rank—but, there's room for improvement in control. The timing of the compression isn't precise enough, so there's room to improve both the mana consumption ratio and the power..." I evaluated with a nod.

To my surprise, Lara just shook her head at me nonchalantly.

"No, that's not what I was asking... I was asking—how many fish did I zap... It should be enough to eat, right?"

...

Huh?