Chương 10: Getting to Know Ruijerd
After working up the courage to introduce herself to Ruijerd, Eris warmed up to him in no time. We began to travel east towards Migurd Village. I remember being completely exhausted after the mana disaster last time around, but to be honest I feel fine right now. I can only assume it is due to my mana capacity being much, much higher this time.
Ruijerd tells us to stay put whenever he senses a monster and insists that he take care of it himself. When we get thirsty, I conjure up some water with my magic. After two days of travel, we arrived at Migurd Village.
"Halt!", the village guard called out as we approached. "Ruijerd, who are those people you have with you?", he said as he eyed us up.
"These are children I am escorting back to their home."
"They look suspicious. I can't let them into the village."
Ruijerd glared at him intensely. "You would abandon children!? Rowin, they were caught in a disaster and blown all the way here!"
"No!", Rowin insisted.
"Rowin. You..."
Rowin took a couple steps back as Ruijerd narrowed his eyes into an angry stare.
"Now, now, everybody calm down", I said in Demon-God as I approached the two. Both of them turned their heads and stared at me. "Rowin, I am Roxy's student." I held out the necklace Roxy had given me for him to see.
"Roxy!? Roxy? You mean my daughter?"
"Yes, she told me that if I ever made my way to Migurd Village to show you this necklace."
"Is she safe? How is she doing? Where is she now?"
Just like that, I got us entry into the village and made a new friend. Rowin guided us to his place. Along the way, Eris was getting overly excited about every new thing she saw. I let Rowin know that Roxy was in the Shirone Kingdom and is doing well. I explained how she is my Master and taught me magic.
Rokari was also very happy to hear that Roxy was doing well. She was excited to meet a friend of her daughters. I could tell Rowin was getting agitated with me as I kept referring to him as 'Father in-law'.
Rokari was kind enough to cook dinner for us. I've never been fond of the food on the Demon Continent, but I ate my Mother in-law's cooking gratefully. After Eris fell asleep, I followed Ruijerd to the village chief's house.
During the meeting with the village chief, we talked about Ruijerd's plan to get us home safely, as well as his goal and his past. He told the tale of how Laplace betrayed the Superd in the last war and how his son saved him from Laplace's curse at the cost of his own life.
I made a vow to Ruijerd that I will do everything in my power to help him restore the Superd's reputation. Ruijerd's eyes went wide with shock as he listened to me.
"Somehow, I can sense that you not only understand what that task means, but that you are confident you can succeed... Thank you", Ruijerd said solemnly.
The next day we set off for Rikarisu. As we left Migurd Village, Rokari gave Eris an iron sword to use. Rowin tried to hand me some traveling money, but I politely declined. I told them that I had some money on me from before the disaster and we'd be fine.
Ruijerd still didn't want us to help him fight off the monsters, but Eris insisted that she would help. I assured him that we could take care of ourselves. Eventually, he gave in, still not looking entirely convinced. He kept a very close eye on us. He was always ready to step in at any moment.
The first monster we came across was a stone treant. I convinced Ruijerd to sit back and let us fight this one to gain some battle experience. I told Eris to take the front lines and I would support her from the rear; she excitedly agreed.
As soon as she attacked the poor thing, however, she killed it in one strike. Eris was a little disappointed that her first real battle turned out to be so easy, but I told her that most monsters we run into will be weaker than us. I made sure to warn her to be careful though. However weak a monster is, all it takes is one mistake and the outcome could be deadly. Eris nodded seriously.
I mostly sat back and let Eris fight all the monsters. She was having the time of her life and I figured the experience would mean much more to her. Still though, I kept a close eye on her as well just in case she ever bit off more than she could chew.
Shortly before we arrived in Rikarisu, Eris was fighting a pack of Pax Coyotes when one of them had caught her by surprise and was about to bite her from behind. I immediately fired off a precise stone cannon, striking the coyote in the head, killing it instantly.
Ruijerd, who had made his way there and was moments from beheading the creature himself, turned and looked at me surprised.
"Is that some sort of magic implement?", he asked.
"No, it's just a staff, although it is of very high quality."
"But you did not chant the incantation or use a magic circle."
"Yes. I find that using the incantations is too burdensome in the heat of combat. There's no way I could have reacted in time to save Eris there if I had to chant some incantations."
"I see..." Ruijerd seemed genuinely impressed. It seems that despite living for 500 years, he had not known anyone to cast without incantations.
The next day we reached the walls of Rikarisu. Seeing the rim of the giant crater city was very nostalgic. There were only three entrances to the city, and all of them were guarded. I asked Ruijerd how he planned to enter the city.
"I could jump over the walls simply enough."
"That would just cause a panic", I sighed. "Why don't you wear a disguise?"
"A disguise? What is that?"
Apparently, Ruijerd wasn't even familiar with the concept.
"A disguise is just a way to alter your appearance to hide your identity."
"How would we go about doing this?", Ruijerd asked.
"Well, the defining traits of the Superd are your green hair and the gem on your forehead. What if you shaved your hair and wore something on your head to cover the gem?"
"Shaved my head? How am I meant to improve the Superd's reputation if I hide who I am?"
"It is only temporary", I assured him. "We will do good deeds and help people in the city. Then, once you have made many friends with the people of the city, like you have with Eris and I, we will let them know you are a Superd. The problem is that right now, people are too afraid to give you a chance."
Ruijerd seemed a little hesitant.
"I suppose I could try this", he said reluctantly.
Ruijerd shaved his head while I made him a sort of headband from some of the Pax Coyote pelts. After he put it on, I looked him over and gave him a thumbs up and smiled. We all walked together up to one of the city entrances and told the guard we came from Migurd Village. He let us through without any issues.
After taking our first steps past the outer wall, we all stopped for a moment to appreciate the beauty of the city. I bought Eris some new clothes and got us some meat skewers from the market. Then, I found us one of the nicer inns to stay at. Money won't be an issue for us; I still have over twelve Asura gold coins on me and Asura's currency is much more valuable than the Demon Continent's.
"I believe there's an Adventurer's guild in this city", I told Eris.
"Adventurers!? Can we join!? Let's do it!", she shouted excitedly.
"Yes. We'll have to earn money from now on, after all. Alright, let's head to the Adventurer's Guild!"
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