Chapter 32:
Life-Altering Reward

I gingerly held my right eye shut as we traversed the roads.

"Lady Kishirika, you mentioned something about eyepatches, right?" I asked the purple-haired demon who was parading through the streets by my side like she owned the place. Well, she did own the place, but that was centuries ago. It didn't mean anything now, since nobody took her seriously anyway. She chatted my ear off about how nobody would pay attention to her, so I knew that much.

"Yup!" She replied. "I know you want to put one on so you don't have to deal with the Eye's issues, but you'll be fine! You don't need one, trust me! You'll be much better off being able to control the thing when you need it rather than having to take your eyepatch off every time you need to use it. I mean, look at me! I've got twelve of those Eyes and you don't see an eyepatch on my—Hey, where'd you go?!"

I was already paying for the eyepatch. It was quite a high-quality product, even for an eyepatch. It was firmly knit and ivory-white with a deep emerald-green outline. It fitted snugly into my hair and complemented my robe well at that.

I turned around to see Kishirika pouting. "What's with you? Weren't you listening to me?" she questioned.

"Listen, it's not like I'm gonna wear this thing forever. The only reason I bought this thing is because I'm going to need a clear head to make sure you don't do anything crazy. I mean, you're probably going to stick your fingers into my friend's eye, aren't you?"

"It's the only way!" Kishirika protested.

"But does he have to be conscious during all of that? It'd do him a lot of good if I cast a quick," I opened my left palm and punched it with my right, "spell to knock him out."

"So harsh! Won't he be mad at you?" Kishirika asked.

"Nah, he'll understand… I think."

Kishirika seemed satisfied by that answer and turned on her heel. Right before I decided to follow her behind, I decided to purchase another eyepatch. I picked something that I hoped Ares would like: a leather charcoal-black eyepatch with a white sword-shaped emblem embroidered dead center.

"Hey! I've got places to be, you know?" Kishirika said, tugging my robe.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming," I replied, exasperated at her nagging.

If this chick was an empress, I can only feel sorry for her loyal subjects and retainers back in her heyday.

The two of us arrived at the inn soon after that.

Kishirika was met with a few gazes, however, the majority of the eyes in the room were trained on me. I could overhear people either singing my praises, talking about how our party was just a bunch of bull, or straight-up badmouthing us. I didn't find that last part too appealing, but it was clear that this little Empress was already pressed for time as is. So, I didn't stop to acknowledge any of the adventurer's little comments. Maybe Kishirika wasn't 'pressed for time' per se, but she sure loved hammering in the fact that she needed to get on her way.

I knocked twice on our room's door and let myself in.

"Guh?" Ares exclaimed in surprise, scrambling to get up from his awkward laying position and sat up.

Alek peered at us from the room's table and said, "You didn't take too long. What were you doing, to begin with…" he began, trailing off as he peered at Kishirika beside me. "Is that…?"

"Behold! It is I, Kishirika Kishirisu, Great Emperor–guh!" I bonked her on the head to cut off her ramblings right then and there.

"You revived?" Alek stammered out, an expression on his face that I had never seen before.

"And who might you be, boy?" Kishirika said, tilting her head at him. "I feel like there's something about you that's a bit familiar."

"Forgive my prudence, Lady Kishirika," Alek said, bowing his head low. "My name is Aleksander Kalmann III, the grandchild of Atoferatofe Ryback."

My mind went blank. Alek, bowing his head? As my mind smoothed itself out, I figured that this was only the natural response for someone who took her seriously. I mean, she was the Empress of the Demon World, not anything less. She alone once held dominance over the Demonfolk, so it made sense that Alek would have heard of her by now.

"I knew it! You're a Kalmann, huh?" Kishirika acknowledged, smiling pridefully at him. "Who knew that this girl would lead me to one of my relatives!"

Relatives? I knew they were of the same race, but I figured that they weren't related. Although, that might've been my human bias. Any human would be hard-pressed to find someone related to them if they picked someone out in a crowd.

"You two share a bloodline?" I asked.

"In a way, yes! He's my… let's see… uhmm…" Kishirika began, tilting her head in all sorts of angles.

"She's my great aunt. My grandfather's spouse, last I heard of him," Alek explained.

"That!" Kishirika exclaimed, pointing right at Alek. Alek nodded fervently as if to reassure Kishirika that she was right.

"Ah! I've almost forgotten!" Kishirika exclaimed. "Little girl, you mentioned that you wanted me to reward your party member. If it's my relative, you hardly have to ask."

Alek raised an eyebrow. I'll explain everything later. This girl talks too much for me to be able to keep up.

"It's not Alek. It's my other party member, right there," I said, trying to clear up her misunderstanding and pointing at Ares.

He was on standby, just observing the conversation. It was clear that he was completely lost as to what we were talking about. Ares has never been an academic person, so I doubted he knew who Kishirika was or what she did in the past. Either way, he looked like he was itching for an opportunity to ask what was going on.

"You mean the quiet one? You there, I don't like your silence," Kishirika said, creeping right up to Ares. "Be lively! You sons of men have lives much too short to keep your peace! Fwahahaha!"

Ares looked at her with a puzzled expression on his face.

"Err, Lumina, could you tell her that I don't speak Demon God tongue?" Ares asked.

"Oh, I could be your translator, if you want. I doubt she knows the Human tongue anyway," I began.

"There's no need for that, I can speak it just fine. Surely you wouldn't underestimate me," Kishirika said, waving me off.

Whatever helps you sleep at night, Empress.

"Anyway! I'm here to give you a Demon Eye, redhead!" Kishirika announced to Ares.

"A Demon Eye?" Ares said, his confusion subsiding. I could make out his eyes gleaming for a moment.

"Don't tell me you have no clue what those are either, like that Ludia girl," She warned.

Ludia?! Where do you even get these names from?!

"Of course, I know what a Demon Eye is!" Ares said, leaning forward and almost headbutting Kishirika in the process.

"Wait, you said 'Kishirika,' right? The Empress of Demon Eyes?" Ares asked.

"That's right! I'm glad you remembered!" Kishirika said, holding her chin in triumph.

Huh? I thought Ares was something like a flunkie. Even I knew more than him at times about the details of this world. I never would've guessed he knew about such a niche topic.

"So? What do you have? The Eyes of Flameburst? Eyes of Dominion?" Ares breathily asked, his overall demeanor increasing in enthusiasm. He must've obsessed over the topic if he knew this much about them. I'd have to ask him about that later.

"Err… None of those. Hate to disappoint," Kishirika said, averting her gaze.

"None?!"

"I'm glad you know about me, but I did just revive a few decades ago. It took me three hundred years to get those eyes you're talking about last time around," Kishirika explained.

Ares groaned. After a few moments of consideration, he lit up.

"Then, could I have the Eye of X-ray Vision?" he asked Kishirika with a wide smirk on his face.

"You sure? From that look in your eye, I don't think you have any good intentions for it," Kishirika commented, stepping back slightly.

"I'm one hundred percent sure," Ares said, staring right at her and grinning.

I strode over to him and chopped him on the head. "Bweh!"
"Pick something useful!" I said.

"I agree. Being granted a Demon Eye by the Great Empress is an honor very few get to receive. You should take this as seriously as you can," Alek advised.

"Fine. Would you tell me which Demon Eyes you have, Empress Kishirika?" Ares asked.

"Of course! I have the Eyes of Identification, Eyes of X-ray vision, Eyes of Distant Sight, Eyes of Foresight, and the Eyes of Absorption. Choose your pick and it's yours~!" Kishirika said.

"Hm…" Ares gave it some thought, seemingly having taken Alek's advice in stride. After a few moments, he spoke up with his answer.

"I'd like to receive the Eye of Foresight," he declared.

I had a feeling! He'd probably become a formidable opponent even for me if he learns how to use it. I mean, being able to see seconds into the future doesn't seem so good at first, but when you look at it differently, it could very well change the tides of a close-quarters battle.

"A good choice! I would've recommended it to you, seeing that your hands are calloused and your eye is sharp. Any decent swordsman would take this eye," Kishirika affirmed.

"Huh? How'd you know?" Ares questioned, seeming thrown off by Kishirika's eerily accurate evaluation of him.

"I've lived for centuries, little boy! I can tell a swordsman apart, ya know?" Kishirika responded cheerfully.

"I see… Ah, but mind explaining why you're giving me this eye at all? I mean, it's not like I've done something to deserve it," Ares asked.

"I'd like to know that as well," Alek commented.

"Well, Rudima here saved my life!" Kishirika said, smiling dazzlingly at me. Smile all you want. I'm starting to think she's doing this on purpose.

"She did?" Alek repeated, his eyebrows lifted.

"Huh? Lumina did? How'd she go about doing that?" Ares asked.

"I wouldn't go as far as to say I 'saved her life,' since all I did was give her some food when she was hungry," I explained.

Kishirika sure had a habit of exaggerating things. Come to think of it, her entire personality was exaggerated. Although, I guess living for centuries makes one want to change things up now and then. Kishirika said that having two Demon Eyes would cripple someone, so maybe it was the effects of all the Demon Eyes that she had.

"I'd say that's more than deserving of a reward. I happen to have a personal policy of rewarding a person with an eye when they feed me something delicious. Fwahaha!" Kishirika cackled.

"So… why didn't she get the reward instead of me? Ah, don't tell me! She gave up her reward so I could have it!" Ares said enthusiastically, a wide smile forming on his face.

"That's not it," I said bluntly.

"Oh," Ares said, his expression crumbling.

"Don't look so upset! Kishirika is only here to get you this Eye because of my great negotiation skills, and because I happened to be thinking of you when she gave me my reward," I explained.

Before the implications of what I had said sunk in, Ares heroically saved me the embarrassment with a question.

"Reward? So you got yourself a Demon Eye?" Ares asked.

"Yep! The Eye of Indication," I said, flipping up my white eyepatch.

"So that's what that eyepatch was for. I wouldn't be surprised if you could use that Eye already, knowing you," Ares spoke.

"That's giving me too much credit. I nearly puked out there in the streets because of this thing. Without this eye patch, I'd be stumbling across the room right now," I said, flipping the eyepatch back on.

"Puking?" Ares repeated.

"You'll see," I assured him, patting him on the shoulder.

"Are you two done yapping already? Time's ticking, you know?" Kishirika pressured.

Ares whipped around and strode over to his bed, plopping down on it. Then, he jutted out his head in Kishirika's direction.

"I'm ready!" Ares exclaimed.

"Great! I will admit, it's been some time since I gave two eyes consecutively in such a short time, but I suppose I'll make an exception for you," Kishirika said.

Ares grinned. He looked excited–too excited, to be frank. I doubted that he knew exactly how Kishirika granted Demon Eyes, but he'd already come this far. Telling him about his fate would just ruin it anyway, so I stayed quiet.

"Loombina! Aren't you going to do that?" Kishirika asked, peering at me expectedly.

"What thing?" Ares asked, a look of confusion reforming on his face.

"You know!" Kishirika balled her left fist and hit her right palm with it, winking at me knowingly.

"The thing!" she whispered audibly enough for everyone in the room to hear it loud and clear.

"Ohh. The thing," I said, a sudden understanding washing over me.

I did say I was going to knock him out, but there were several things that I didn't consider. For one, the pain of getting fingers jabbed into your eye is way more than enough to wake you up. It'd be so much worse to wake up with a cloudy mind from being knocked unconscious than it would be to just get it over with normally.

Plus, knocking someone out could cause some serious damage to their head if I wasn't careful. In this world, I could maybe try to heal it with healing magic, but there were some things that it couldn't help. I didn't want to take the risk either way.

"Forget it. Just do it like you did with me," I said.

"Didn't you say it was fine?" Kishirika asked.

"It's a stupid idea. Don't leave Ares hanging, now," I said.

"Alright!" Kishrika declared, waddling over to Ares's bedside. I knew what was coming, so I covered my eyes prematurely.

Squelch!

Ares's eyes shot open, a guttural gasp escaping his lips as he cried out in pain.

"GWAA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" he yelled, pounding on Kishirika's head violently.

I peered over at Alek to see what he thought of the whole situation, only to see him nodding to himself with a look of pride on his face. I raised my eyebrow before looking back and rushing over to Ares's side. My heartbeat quickened at seeing him undergo the same torture I'd gone through. I reached my fingers out with urgency and instinctively, casting a soothing healing spell to try to quell the pain. His yelps quieted down, yet he still tried to pry Kishirika off of him.

"Be still, won't you? I'm almost done," Kishirika said.
"Done with what?! Tearing my eye out? It hurts!" Ares exclaimed.

Kishirika ignored him and abruptly pulled a clump of something out of his eye with a pop.

"You could be more gentle!" I yelled at Kishirika.

"There's no other way to do this. Besides, I'm done," Kishirika said, backing away and turning toward Alek.

"Ooow!" Ares moaned, grasping his eye tightly. "Lumina, please heal me again!" he said, holding one of my shoulders firmly.

I fumbled for words as I placed my hand over the one that was clutching his eye. I quickly cast a healing spell, hoping that it could alleviate his agony.

"The pain shouldn't last for long. You might get a headache, so be careful," I offered, my voice softening.

"Ah… that's a lot better. Thanks a ton, Lumina. Could've given me some warning, though…" Ares muttered, leaving his sentence hanging.

"At least it's over with," I offered him some words of comfort, attempting to give him a reassuring smile.

All things considered, it's not too bad of an ordeal in return for getting a Demon Eye. I mean, this wouldn't even have happened if I hadn't listened to Mister Man-God. With this, Ares would probably be able to defeat me in time. That just means I'd have to get stronger. Strong enough to not just beat him, but to protect him and anyone who I care about.

Wait, protect Ares? I do care about him. I mean, I don't want to have one of my party members dying, that's for sure. But… is that the only reason why I'd protect him? Augh, dammit! Just what am I thinking about?

"That reminds me, I have something for you," I said, putting my thoughts aside for now. I rummaged through my robe's pocket and brought out the charcoal-colored eyepatch.

"Here you go," I said, handing him the eyepatch.

"Woah… spoiling me today, aren't you? First a demon eye, now this? You sure are thoughtful," Ares said playfully, still grasping his eye.

"Just be grateful I threw away that slave collar," I said, softly punching him in the shoulder.

"Right, right," he said, brushing me off. He held the eyepatched and fumbled trying to put it on. He let out a dissatisfied hmph.

Since he was still undeniably in pain, I figured that I ought to help him out. I took it from him, carefully positioning it over his eye to make sure it rested comfortably.

"There you are. Now we match," I said, smiling cheerfully. I couldn't put it into words, but it was like this eyepatch was made for him. Hm. Maybe I should've gotten a black one too. It looks badass.

"T-thank you," Ares stammered out, his expression unreadable.

After Ares and I finished talking, I peered over to the Immortal Demons in the room to see what they were up to.

"And then, Atofe screamed, "I want to be a Demon King!'" Kishirika exclaimed.

"Fascinating! Grandma never told me much about her childhood," Alek replied, seeming invested in Kishirika's story. If I had to describe it, it was like seeing a child being fascinated by their parent's stories.

"Oh! It looks like those two finished up!" Kishirika said, lighting up as she met my gaze.

"You sure seem happy," Ares muttered.

"Naturally! I bestowed two people with my blessings today, so of course I'd be happy!" Kishirika explained enthusiastically.

"Right… on that topic, could I ask you a question?" Ares inquired.

"By all means!" Kishirika affirmed.

"What's the former Empress of the Demon World doing here in Wind Port? Shouldn't you be, you know, in your castle?" Ares asked.

"Good question! I'm looking for my fiancée, Demon King Badigadi! Fwahahaha!" she cackled.

Alek stirred. "You don't know where he is? Can't you look for him using Clairvoyance?" he questioned.

"Badigadi is a little special in that aspect, hehe. He's resistant to the effects of all Demon Eyes," Kishirika explained.

"Well, last I heard of him, he was somewhere around the town of Kramsa. You know the one, don't you?" Alek queried.

"Ah! Hagura Bagura's region! Why didn't I think of that?" Kishirika said, holding her forehead.

"Well, you'd best be on your way, Lady Kishirika," Alek said.

"Yes, yes. But since you gave me this information, I'm obligated to reward you. I've been looking for this bumbling man for years now, after all," Kishirika said.

"You've been dishing out rewards left and right, you know?" Alek said, raising an eyebrow.

I agreed with Alek on that one. Kishirika had been quite pleasant to us, especially after the way I had treated her in the back alleyway. While she did spring up even after being doubted, I didn't think she'd treat us this well. But she did anyway.

Kishirika's face hardened in response to Alek's comment.

"Look, nobody here takes me seriously. I was the most respected, most revered, and most deferred to woman in the world once, you know? In the span of a few hundred years, it's like everyone forgot about me. I visited so many of my old acquaintances, and they all seemed to just… brush me off. Even after all that, I've spent so long looking for my fiancée with no luck.

"But you three, or at least you, treat me in the way I used to be treated. It's a breath of fresh air, is what it is. You even told me where to look for Badigadi! So, I think I can give you three a hand in whatever you need. It's not like it takes much effort on my part, you see?"

"I see. I appreciate your gratitude very much, Lady Kishirika," Alek said, bowing his head low.

"But I don't need help right now. I'm already looking for a way to achieve my prospects by myself. I think traveling with these children is giving me a lot more opportunities than I would have found elsewhere, so I think I'll just see this through to the end," Alek explained.

"That's admirable, Aleksander. But then what am I supposed to do for you?" Kishirika asked.

"I said I didn't need any help with anything. However, if there was one thing I could ask of you, it would be to help her," Alek said, motioning toward me. "This girl was teleported here from the Kingdom of Asura on the Central Continent. I swore to her that she would be reunited with her family. Even if it was out of my self-interests, I still promised her nonetheless," Alek said.

"...H-Huh?" I spoke.

"So for that reason, I'd like you to tell us the location and status of Lumina Greyrat's family members."

At that very moment, I was utterly blindsided.

Author's Notes:

I apologize for the delayed chapter. School is really ramping up and I can't afford to focus entirely on this story. But don't be alarmed! My motivation for Lumina Greyrat has not dwindled in the slightest! About the chapter itself: I was originally going to do the big reveal for the family members's locations in this one chapter, but for pacing purposes, I decided to put it in the next chapter. This chapter was already running behind and would have ended up cluttered with pacing issues.

About the story as a whole: Lumina Greyrat's upcoming arcs will NOT be conforming to canon aside from the very simplest of details, such as the setting. As you can see from the end of this chapter, I am going completely off the rails now. Lumina's journey will now not be a homecoming, but a world-scouring adventure to find her lost family members and reunite. However, the circumstances behind their reunion will be much, much more difficult to face than she would ever expect.

Volume 4 will be the longest volume by a few chapters. 12~ chapters should be the final count, more if you count the one Side Story and the 2 Extra Chapters I will write for it. Stay tuned!

It's been done to death by now, but I'd like to advocate for the Ao3 (Archive of Our Own) version of Mushoku Tensei: Lumina Greyrat, as when the story eventually has mature content inside of the chapters, I will have to cut them out of this website due to the Terms of Service. You don't have to migrate now but do consider it.

The next chapter should be released by November 21st, titled... Chapter 33: Her Family, Status Ascertained