Mushoku Tensei Redundancy Chapter 12

"Hmh~! Mama you come here...!"

Compared to the fast learner Lily, Chris could only barely walk while holding onto something.

Although Chris had never really liked it and was shaking her head on the brink of tears.

"No you come over here, come on, do it slowly, slowly."

"No. Come on, I'm right over here."

Chris was grumbling and crying.

She just like to be spoilt.

"*hic*... aah!"

She eventually shut her eyes, toddled over to Sylphy and jumped into her arms.

"There, there. You did great. Good girl."

Chris, still sniffling, held onto Sylphy.

Compared to the energetic and curious Lilly, Chris was quite timid and withdrawn.

Eris occasionally took her out with the others, but she would always be stuck to her and she would often start crying and come right home because she was scared.

"No, he's not home just yet."

Chris is what you would call a daddy's girl.

She was the complete opposite of Ars.

"...Hmm?"

She had  heard a sound from the entrance.

"I wonder... I don't think it is."

Rudeus had left yesterday.

So he shouldn't be back yet.

"Onee-chan?"

No, She was out with the playful Sieg, so she'd probably be out a bit longer.

Then Lillia and Ars back from shopping.

It's possible that they could be coming back because they forgot something...

It could be Zenith.

The door was half open.

Sillouetted by the setting sun of the half open door, she stood there.

Just by appearance, she was the girl called Nanahoshi.

With the lighting behind her, the look gave an ominous vibe.

"Nanahoshi comes to our house quite often. Whenever she opens the door she has habit. She'll always knock twice and if there's no response, she'll open the door slightly and ask "Is anyone home?"2 quietly."

Sylphy said that and put mana into her right hand.

For Sylphy, who had decided to protect their house, it was a matter of course.

For now, she couldn't feel any animosity from the girl in front of her.

But Sylphy wasn't naive enough to assume she was an ally.

"Who are you? If you're one of Hitogami's underlings, I'll be the one to take you on."

Saying that, gears began to turn in Sylphy's head.

They had long since prepared for the possibility that someone would invade their house, but could she herself carry it out.

She had used her ring to signal Eris and Roxy, but would they notice?

Or at least stall for time.

Thinking all kinds of things, she glared at the opponent in front of her.

"I currently do not have a name."

"Would it be possible for me to hear your name?"

"That's... right."

It had confirmed her name.

It didn't look like she had a weapon.

But Sylphy couldn't let her guard down. There were plenty of people that could overwhelm others empty handed.

"Would my presence cause Rudeus-sama to incur your anger?"

"Sylphy-sama, why can you not agree to me?"

This could be some kind of illusion.

Her speed outclassed Sylphy.

She couldn't see it, but she could react.

The instant Sylphy decided that...

"Aah!"

She realised that Chris was by her feet.

When?

She hadn't listened when Sylphy had told her to "wait here"

She had to somehow avoid stepping Chris.

She wasn't certain she could get out of the way on her unstable footing.

And reflected in Sylphy's eye was a girl's hand that shot forward with incredible speed.

Aisha’s garden.

No one was there.

Peeking through the unlocked entrance, he could see the cleanly swept hallway and living room door.

It was calm.

Only a cry resounded throughout the house.

It was a voice he knew well.

It was a cry of heartbreak.

To Rudeus, it was a familiar cry.

Here, it was also calm.

He could see his own pale face reflected in the mirror set in the entranceway.

By, what was it?

It was by no means a pleasant smell.

It was the kind of smell that would gather flies.

And as if invited by that smell, Rudeus walked down the hallway.

It was where the sound was coming from, and he was confidant that was where the smell was coming from too.

He looked a the tightly closed living room door.

An unbelievable scene opened up before him.

Chris was laying down crying.

And leaning over Chris was the black haired doll.

The doll’s hand was dirtied.

It was a choking smell.

“It’s not a problem. This level of filth will not hinder movement.”

“After getting dirty, immediately proceed to wash, correct? It has been committed to memory.”

Sylphy wiped the doll's hands clean.

Sylphy fighting.

But the sight of the doll clumsily changing a diaper was entirely outside of his predictions.

“Aah, welcome home Rudy”

“Of course. There’s no way I wouldn’t be.”

Sylphy nodded and the doll behind her stood up.

It’s inhuman face was ominous enough that it seemed as if it would stab a dagger through Sylphy’s chest any second.

But the doll saw Rudeus’s gaze and took a small step behind Sylphy.

But Rudeus saw something different.

“…Why?”

Sylphy took a stance to protect the doll.

“That doll is something Zanoba and I made but it went berserk.

Rudeus didn’t unfasten his guard and glared at the doll.

“Hmm, that’s a bit different from the story I heard.”

“Yeah…”

As he was told, Rudeus went and sat down cross-legged.

“Eh!? Aah, yes.”

Rudeus knew what Sylphy’s tone meant and changed his posture.

Which meant that Rudeus had no pose besides Seiza.

“Ok then, go ahead.”

Seeing that he had complied, Sylphy turned around and walked behind the doll.

“Yes, we are.”

Hearing Rudeus’s immediate reply, the doll didn’t stir one bit.

With its skeletal frame of the same composition as the Magic Armour and its specially created artificial flesh, it had the combat power of a Saint Class swordsman.

That said, he couldn’t let down his guard.

“……I do not wish to be disposed of.”

Rudeus suddenly realised.

“…”

The doll was frightened.

It appeared to simply be standing there.

It’s tone, unwavering.

Its inhuman eyes somehow seemed to be asking Sylphy for help.

“It seems Rudy doesn’t understand, you’ll have to explain it to him from the start.”

Sylphy said that and the doll once more looked at Rudeus and Zanoba who entered the house before anyone realised.

That by being here, Rudeus-sama’s wives would get mad.

Eris-sama said that she had once heard that Sylphy-sama could not accept Nanahoshi.

I thought, it had to be my resemblance to Nanahoshi that would be the cause for my disposal.

Which would mean that there must be some way to prevent it.”

Her voice was monotone, but the desperation could be felt.

Rudeus-sama and Zanoba-sama were both joyful at my creation.

Being disposed of, is not something I wish to happen.”

When using Summoning Magic, on occasion, the summoned being could be too powerful and cause harm to the caster.

A summoned Magic Beast is loyal to its master.

Pergius’s Summoning Magic was used as the basis after all.

From the moment they are summoned they move with a sense of self.

Using their long lives to be of use for even longer.

“Therefore, given the information that I obtained, I decided I would question Sylphy-sama whom I deduced to be challenging my existence.”

She had never broken the three laws of robotics.

It had Sylphy far more wary than usual.

But the doll had never possessed hostility.

And when it saw that Sylphy was about to fall over and land on Chris, it saved her and was worried if they were hurt.

“I do not wish to die, I will fix any problem you might have with me, I wish to be of use, so please don’t kill me, please”

Those words struck Sylphy’s heart.

“Rudy, I won't get mad.

It’s a lot more, human, than I imagined…

Now they could only wait for Rudeus’s decision.

His shoulders were trembling.

“Uuu.”

Zanoba who was standing behind him also began to tremble.

To think that it was all for our sake!

Seeing the two of them like that, Rudeus let out a little sniffle.

You’d try to look for a way out…

“And I shall no longer fear Julie’s indignation!”

The two were clinging to the doll crying.

Confused that although the problem wasn’t resolved, it was being forgiven.

Well in any case, it had been settled.

But then she thought about something.

“Rudy, I just have one last question. Why did you think I would get mad?”

Rudeus began to quiver when he heard that.

In any case, that was the end of this series of events.

Their plan became to maintain the doll to the best of their abilities.

And the doll that played the central role in the incident, was assigned a legitimate unit number.

After that, Rudeus continues his experiments in the Lab and the Magic City Sharia and advanced many of his various plans.

But that’s another story.

Discovering that a doll with her face functioned sexually, she was clearly displeased.

“We haven’t come up with one yet.”

The Automaton No.01 would be known as『Anne』.

If she were to ever meet Nanahoshi’s friend, after saying that name, she would proceed to tell of her relation to Nanahoshi.

And so it’s official designation was『Automaton SS-01 Anne』.4

The SS stood for Seven Star.

And her brothers and sisters slowly increased over the years.

2. "Gomenkudasai" Literally translated, it's basically two apologies, but it's a rather common way to inquire whether there is anyone is whether it be a home or a workplace.

4. The name "Anne" and the French "Un" for one are both written the same in Japanese.

Chapter end