Mushoku Tensei: Reincarnated as the weakest Sword God

The first step was to get back to the main path through the forest

Rudeus knew how to get to the bandits' territory, one of the rocks by the road would be marked with a certain dollar symbol.

All we had to do was head into the forest right there and head east, the group had their home at the eastern edge of this forest, under a rocky outcrop at the foot of a mountain.

Once we got back into the forest, our speed dropped drastically, the main problem was that

we had to disassemble the carriage and load it onto the horses.

Ariel stayed on horseback for a while, but as we got deeper into the forest, she eventually got off and walked.

We stopped numerous times to rest, mostly for Ariel's sake, as her legs were really sore. She's probably not used to walking on this kind of terrain, but she still stoically endured the pain. We only paused to let her catch her breath while Sylphiette used healing magic on her legs.

...

We kept going all night long, but eventually, it got too dark to continue. We camped in the forest and set up a rotating guard as usual.

This would be a chance to make my second report to Orsted, Rudeus was going to do it but since Luke is very suspicious of him, I'll have to do it again.

"So you finished off Aubertt and Wi taa then?" Orsted asked

"Indeed, that's how it was," I said firmly

"I see, Wi taa must have been summoned here by someone, I suppose, it was probably Hitogami's suggestion," Orsted said

"I see, I suppose if they contacted WI Taa then they must have looked for more sword masters" I guessed

"It seems so, it won't be a challenge for you but be careful, even so, I doubt Darius would spend so much on other bodyguards, with the Water God already on his side, I suppose there are one or two more at worst," Orsted said

Reida was Darius' trump card, that made sense

"What do you think about Luke's situation?" I asked.

"It's a positive sign, since he has the gift of foresight, Hitogami is inexperienced in conventional prediction, when he manipulates several disciples at once, it's common for him to weaken like this" Orsted explained.

Basically, Hitogami had been advising his disciples without really thinking about the effects it might have on the others.

"It occurred to me that Hitogami might have abandoned Luke at this point, too..." I muttered

"That's entirely possible, Luke's fate is weak, so I doubt Hitogami saw him as a particularly valuable pawn, likely, his main role was simply to keep an eye on you and Rudeus' movements, and with me around, he's not even capable of that anymore," he said

"But Hitogami only has three pawns to play with right? Would he really use just one for that purpose?" I asked.

Orsted frowned and shook his head.

"Hitogami can see everything, and any exception to that rule is terrifying to him, he had every motivation to keep an eye on you," Orsted said

"Okay, I think I understand," I said

With that said, it seemed unlikely that he would let Luke go completely, at the very least his presence would limit our options in the future.

"Do you think it's okay to let Luke go for the time being, then?" I asked

"Yes, but be on your guard, when Hitogami sees no use for a disciple, he often incites them to act recklessly and foolishly" he replied.

"Yes, that makes sense" I replied

"If he takes any dramatic action, kill him," Orsted said

"Understood" I replied

With our meeting over, I hurried back through the forest

...

I made my way back to camp, Sylphiette and Cleane were sharing my shift tonight, I had left them by the fire less than thirty minutes ago, but as I approached, I found that there were now three figures waiting for me.

The third figure sitting by the fire was Ariel and as I approached her she stood up.

"It's a beautiful night, don't you agree, Gino?" she said

The fire behind her shadowed her shapely features, Sylphiette and Cleane looked at her, their expressions worried.

"Would you like to join me for a walk?" she asked.

As Ariel spoke those words, I could make out the bold smile on her face, I couldn't help but wrinkle my nose at this.

Ariel and I walked together, making our way through the trees, she led the way, if we kept going like this, we were going to end up at the place where I had spoken to Orsted.

"I wanted to talk to you in private Gino... tell me, what do you think of Luke?" she asked looking into my eyes.

"I think he's plotting against us, I don't trust him anymore," I said

"I see... I think Luke has betrayed us too" she said sternly.

"However, I haven't said a word of this to Sylphiette or the others," she said

"... and what does he plan to do then?" I asked

"I don't know, I still trust him, he has no reason to betray me, and he could have done it long ago if he wanted to, it would be easy enough for him to kill me in my sleep," she said

"Then why do you suspect him?" I asked.

"Despite his loyalty, he could still be coerced into betraying me in some way, for example... Luke is very proud of his family and their history" she said quietly.

"And so, I ask your opinion, you agreed to join my cause very recently, and quite suddenly, perhaps you know certain things that I don't?" she asked looking into my eyes.

It sounded like she had her doubts about me too, it was understandable, considering the way Luke spoke of me.

"I have a question of my own, if you don't mind, why are we talking about this here, alone in the woods? I could kill you out here if I was your enemy" I said

"Yes, I'm sure you could have easily, but if I've completely misjudged you, I have only myself to blame" she replied.

"...I don't think Luke betrayed you, exactly, I think he's just being tricked," I said

"By who?" she asked

"..."

"Ah, my apologies, I'm putting you in a difficult position, I'm sure you would have already shared this information if you were free to do so," Ariel said.

"So I'd like you to introduce me to him, I want to see your boss, that is, the Dragon God Orsted," she said.

"If he's on the right side, I plan to embrace his support, no matter how horrible he may be, I'm willing to tolerate him," she said

"That's easier said than done, you know" I replied

"I'm royalty, a princess, we know how to keep our composure around those we fear or detest, it shouldn't be a problem," she said with a smile.

"Alright, there's no need to think too much about this, Gino," a voice said from behind me.

I turned to find a silver-haired, golden-eyed demon lurking in the forest, I mean Orsted, of course

"If Ariel Anemoi Asura wishes to speak with me, I will not refuse her," Orsted said, this time wearing his helmet thankfully.

"Oh? And that helmet?..." Ariel asked.

"It's to suppress my curse," Orsted replied dryly.

"I see, I've met several Mikos...but even with that I must say that your affliction is far more powerful than most," she said

"Indeed," Orsted replied

"I'll get straight to the point, why are you helping me, Lord Orsted?" Ariel asked.

"Why is my sworn enemy pulling Darius's strings," Orsted replied

"Hmm? You mean my brother, Prince Grabel?" She asked

"No" he replied curtly

"Who is it then?" She asked

"An evil thing that pretends to be the Human God, his name is Hitogami" he replied

"The Human God? Isn't he one of the creator gods of ancient myths?" She asked

"I can't tell if it's the same one, but he's taken that name, at least" he replied

"Are you telling me...that a God has given Darius his support? But why?" She asked

"He wishes to see you killed, and Grabel take the throne," he said

"Huh?..."

Ariel slowly looked in my direction and I nodded.

"I have to wonder why this God would support my brother, yet is Grabel simply...more deserving of the throne?" She asked

"No, Hitogami's motivations are purely selfish

"Could it... be explained, perhaps?" she asked, puzzled

Orsted looked at me and frowned for a moment, but then looked back at the princess.

"In about a hundred years, the Asura Kingdom will face an existential threat," he explained.

Ariel blinked in surprise.

"In that time of crisis, the Kingdom's response will depend on whether you or Grabel take the throne," Orsted continued.

"If Grabel triumphs, Asura will respond to the threat with military force, and if you triumph, they will respond with magic," he continued.

"Surely neither of you will be alive in a hundred years," Ariel said.

"Your policies as sovereign will lead the Kingdom down different paths, Grabel will focus on expanding his army and you, in turn, will strengthen his magical forces," Orsted explained.

"If Asura relies on his armies, "Asura will fall, but if you call upon your mages, the Kingdom will endure. Hitogami wishes for Asura to be destroyed," he continued.

Ariel brought a hand to her chin, clearly trying to make sense of all this and after a moment, she cast an unsure glance in my direction.

"Well, honestly, I'm a bit perplexed right now, this isn't even remotely what I expected to hear, and I can't decide if I should believe you..." she muttered.

"You don't have to trust me, I'll tell you what you want to know regardless," Orsted said in a pompous tone.

"What do you mean?" Ariel replied with a somewhat surprised face.

"Luke Notos Greyrat hasn't betrayed you, he's simply being manipulated by Hitogami," Orsted replied.

Ariel's smile disappeared, it had been her default expression throughout this entire conversation, but now it was gone without a trace.

"Gino also suggested that it might be the case, but if I may ask, how exactly is Luke being manipulated?" Ariel asked.

"Hitogami is leading him down the wrong path, promising him all the while that it's for his benefit" she replied.

"Luke is wiser than he seems, I'm not sure he'd be fooled that easily" she replied.

"Even intelligent men are prone to trust those who tell them what they want to hear" he replied.

"...this is all rather hard to believe, do you find this believable as well, Gino?" Ariel asked

"Yes, I tried to be manipulated by Hitogami on several occasions, and because I didn't fall for his tricks he threatened my entire family and so I joined forces with Orsted to stop him" I explained.

Ariel listened to me without expression and then turned to Orsted, she opened her mouth to speak but shook her head and stopped, for a long moment, she remained silent, seemingly lost in thought.

"In other words...Luke isn't working for Darius after all?" she asked.

"Correct, he serves the interests of his enemies, but he does so unknowingly, I imagine he is still loyal to you" Orsted replied

"...it is a great relief to hear that" she murmured.

"Tell me...does this Hitogami have someone else under his control?" she continued.

"It is likely that he also uses Darius and the Water God," he said

"There are only three of these?... Apostles then?" She said bewildered.

"Right, there is no more at the moment" he replied

"I see, so you, Rudeus, and Gino are here to fight those three disciples, and interfere with Hitogami's plans? Is that correct?" she asked.

"It is, I must say you are quite intelligent," Orsted said

"Thank you, I consider myself relatively intelligent" Ariel replied

There was a hint of true pride in Ariel's voice, but she had yet to crack a smile, it seemed her face was stuck in a deadpan expression.

"Now then, Lord Orsted, I have a proposal..." she muttered

"Oh?" Orsted muttered

"Since it seems we share the same goal, I would like you to consider me your...subordinate, if you give me orders, I will follow them" Ariel muttered.

"...I doubt your companions would accept that" Orsted replied

"I see no need to tell anyone, they can't accuse me of selling my soul to the devil if they don't know what happened," she said

"..." Orsted fell silent at this.

"I am willing to use any means at my disposal to ensure our victory," Ariel said

"Aren't you worried that I might betray you in the end?" Orsted asked

"I'm not so foolish as to waste my opportunities to avoid all risk" she replied.

"One last thing, Lord Orsted...for the time being, I'd like you to put Luke's problem in my hands" she continued

"Why?" Orsted asked

"So, Gino and Rudeus can focus their attention on our battle against Hitogami's apostles, while I devote my attention to handling Luke and the Asura peerage, dividing our responsibilities should allow us to use our time more efficiently" she explained.

"...very well, I'll let you deal with Luke for now, win him over if possible, and kill him if not," he said

"So be it, thank you Lord Orsted," she said

With those words, Ariel knelt before her new superior who responded with a simple bow of his head with his face as stern as ever.

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Please give me power stones!!! Please!!