Mushoku Tensei: The Mad Witch's Magical Redemption

Eris Boreas Greyrat—a noble girl with a short temper and fierce personality but has potential in swordsmanship. She was uncontrollable and violent, often being considered a failure as a noble. Despite all that, she's still my idol and I'm now using her body.

Snapping back to reality, I am confronting a burly old man in front of me. His appearance and intimidating aura were unmistakably recognizable. He was known in the light novel as Sauros Boreas Greyrat, the Landlord of Fittoa and Eris' grandfather.

"WHERE IS SHE? I WANT TO SEE HER RIGHT NOW!"

His boisterous voice echoed around the room as he frantically searched for someone.

"She's right there, milord," the cat maid from earlier replied, pointing towards me.

The old man snapped his gaze at me and approached my direction with a willful stride. Once he was close and personal, Sauros stared down at me with a scrutinizing look as if assessing whether something about me had changed.

But then, with surprising gentleness, he kneeled and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"How was your head? Does it hurt?" Sauros asked, his voice stern but not harsh. 

Hearing his question, I remembered the persistent headache bothering me. Feeling a bit off-balanced, I admitted the pain by nodding at him. 

"A little bit..."

With that response, the old man's face contorted in fury and he immediately stood up before storming out of the room, muttering something.

"THAT BASTARD, HE'LL PAY FOR THIS!"

Who was he referring to? What did that person do? Is it connected to this constant headache I was feeling? I need answers right now.

"Eris, my dear, are you there?"

Before I could entertain these questions in my head, another voice called out to me from the entrance. Glancing ahead, I saw another man enter the room. He seemed more youthful than Sauros and his composed expression revealed a slight concern as he noticed my presence.

"Oh, there you are," he said with relief, approaching my direction.

I recognized him too—he was Philip Boreas Greyrat, the mayor of Fittoa and the father of Eris Boreas Greyrat. Unlike the intense, blustering grandfather, Philip was quite a kind and lenient man, usually showing himself as an elegant and smart individual.

That being said, Philip stopped in front of me and crouched to my level. He then touched my head gently, causing my headache to spike up slightly.

"Aww!" I unconsciously yelped, prompting him to pull his hand away.

Philip furrowed his brows, looking quite apologetic. "You should rest, Eris. "I will take care of everything from here."

With a final look, he stood and made his way back toward the door.

There it goes again. What the heck is happening? What kind of situation had left both Sauros seething and Philip so serious?

Before he could leave, I rushed forward and grabbed Philip's hand. He halted, glancing down at me with a surprised expression.

"What's wrong, Eris?" he asked gently.

I hesitated for a moment, but then I met his gaze, determined to learn the truth. "Please... Tell me what happened to me? And who did this?"

Philip's eyes widened briefly, but then he let out a breath as if resigning himself to answer.

"Very well," he spoke carefully. "Eris… you were struck in the head by a stray magic spell cast by someone named Rudeus Greyrat."

His response hit me like a thunderbolt and felt my pulse rushing because of the revelation.

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Rudeus Greyrat—the main protagonist of Mushoku Tensei. From what I read, he was a skilled mage, known for his precision and versatility in magic. And yet, he was somehow accused of attacking me? Something doesn't add up.

"If you excuse me, Eris, I have a business to attend to," Philip solemnly said as he continued walking out of the room. The weight of his words and his determined gaze made it clear—he intended to deal with Rudeus himself.

Without thinking, I stepped forward and called out, "I want to come too!"

Philip stopped once more, looking at me with a mix of confusion and concern.

"What are you doing, Eris?" he asked firmly. "You're not well—please, go back to your—"

"I want to speak to him... please," I insisted, determined to resolve this odd turn of events.

Hearing my demand, Philip sighed wearily and gestured for me to follow him. I complied, and we walked through several hallways and staircases until we reached a dark and dingy path.

"Be careful, Eris," he warned quietly. "We're almost at the room where we keep our suspects."

Suspects? So there were more than one who were involved in this case? This is suspicious...

Whack! Whack! Thud!

Walking further, I could hear loud impact noises at the end of the hall. Nervously, we arrived at the room, and Philip opened the door, revealing what was inside.

Gasp!

As we entered, I was shocked when I saw Sauros, with anger in his eyes, mercilessly beating Rudeus into a bloody pulp. His fist was bloody due to the injuries he inflicted on the child.

"YOU DARE HURT MY GRANDDAUGHTER, YOU BASTARD!" he shouted, repeatedly punching the poor boy in the face.

In response, Rudeus let out a weak apologetic whisper. "I-I'm sorry..."

"WHAT'S THAT? I CAN'T HEAR YOU, SO SPEAK UP!" Sauros barked back harshly.

Feeling bad for the boy's well-being, I consciously stepped up to put a stop to this violence.

"Stop! He had enough!" I cried out, preventing Sauros from landing another punch.

The old man turned around, looking surprised to see me. "Eris, what are you doing in here?"

"I was about to ask the same thing, grandfather," I rebuked him. "Why are you brutalizing that young boy?"

Sauros furrowed his brows and crossed his arms, looking quite intimidating.

"Why? He's the one responsible for your injury," he argued. "So, I'm merely giving him a taste of his own medicine."

For a moment, I was speechless. I understood his protectiveness towards Eris, but this brutal retaliation was more than I'd ever imagined. Taking a steadying breath, I stepped closer.

"Grandfather, enough. I'm wounded, yes, but… this won't change anything." I looked down at the bloodied child who was barely able to lift his head.

Looking at his injury, an unexpected pang of sympathy washed over me. I didn't understand the full story, but whatever the cause, the scene before me felt painfully wrong.

Rudeus glanced up at me with miserable eyes, his voice weak and apologetic. "I didn't mean to… milady..."

It was clear he was struggling to defend himself. Taking a step forward, I kneeled beside him, careful not to touch any of his wounds, and spoke softly.

"Tell me, Rudeus. What truly happened? How did I get hurt?"

Rudeus swallowed, glancing nervously at Sauros and Philip before his gaze settled on me. He took a deep breath and began narrating his side of the story. Apparently, he was attempting to save Eris from the two kidnappers, which is something that happened in the novel.

But then he just said something unexpected.

"One of the kidnappers... he parried my rock bullet... and accidentally hit you in the head..."

I stared at him, dumbfounded. That wasn't in the novel—it was a deviation from the story I'd known so well. His regret was unmistakable, and even though his narrative left me with more questions, it also made me realize the weight of his actions.

Looking back at Sauros, I saw him standing rigidly by the doorway, his fists clenched in silent fury. His expression told me he wasn't convinced by Rudeus's story, but I understood I should find another way to prove the truth.