Chapter Summaries

Allen and his companions learned that Styrian Well was the Styrian Sect’s ancient sanctuary and a place where visitors made wishes using divine attendants. Allen entered the well and found a river-lit chamber lined with featureless puppets that seemed to watch them.

• The stall owner explained that Styrian Well had served as the Styrian Sect’s sanctuary for over three hundred years and that divine attendants were used to make wishes.
• Isolte recalled hearing of the sect’s sacred well, while the stall owner lamented that few people still followed the faith.
• Allen bought four divine attendants for his companions and said he was an atheist who did not pray for divine protection.
• Allen and the others approached Styrian Well and entered through its archway.
• Allen saw sunlight shining onto the river at the chamber’s lowest point and noticed rows of featureless puppets watching the group from both sides of the stairs.

Allen and his companions visited Styrian Well, where two men made a wish to stay together and the group prepared to make wishes of their own. Allen recognized that the dolls behind him were moving just as their arms attacked his ribs.

• Allen inspected a faceless steel doll while Rudy clung to him in fear, and Eris scolded Rudy for it.
• Allen and the others watched two burly men perform the wishing ritual and vow to remain by each other’s sides.
• Rudy suggested that the group take their turn, and Sylphy, Isolte, Eris, and Rudy placed their Divine Attendants in the well’s fading light.
• Allen sensed that the dolls’ shadows were motionless and realized that dolls capable of moving appeared in Mushoku Tensei.
• Two dolls behind Allen moved and stabbed their arms toward his ribs.

Allen stopped two moving dolls from stabbing him in the Styrian Well and realized they were connected to the origins of Magic Armor and the Dragon's Secret Treasures. He feared Orsted might be nearby, but recalled that Mad Dragon King Chaos had died decades earlier and concluded the dolls probably had no direct connection to Orsted.

• Allen caught the two dolls' stabbing arms and used Sense Flow to detect their Magic Circles and confirm that no other threats were nearby.
• Allen recognized the moving dolls as inventions associated with Mad Dragon King Chaos and connected them to the research that eventually led to Magic Armor.
• Allen reasoned that Chaos possessed one of the Dragon's Secret Treasures and wondered whether Orsted had come to Cascade City to reclaim it.
• Allen feared that the Human God had arranged the attack to make Orsted mistake him for an apostle and kill him.
• Allen remembered that the Armor Dragon King had said Chaos died decades earlier and concluded the dolls were likely abandoned inventions, making Orsted's presence in Cascade City unlikely.

Allen fought off two attacking puppets while Isolte and Sylphy decided to keep the Divine Attendants he had given them instead of making wishes. Eris proposed sacrificing the puppets, and after Allen broke them, she threw a severed arm into the well and wished to become as strong as her brother.

• Allen dodged the puppets’ hidden weapons and used their momentum to trap their arms, then destroyed their Magic Circles and overpowered them.
• Isolte decided to keep Allen’s gift, believing her wish had already been fulfilled, and Sylphy also chose not to throw away her Divine Attendant.
• Isolte and Sylphy shared an understanding glance as Rudy asked why they were not making wishes.
• Eris suggested using the puppets as sacrifices, and Isolte, Sylphy, and Rudy objected that they were not theirs to offer.
• Allen tore the puppets’ arms off, and Eris tossed one severed arm into Styrian Well as an offering.
• Eris wished to become as strong as her brother.

Allen used the system to reach Lokkishi while she was in Shiron, and they looked at the same moon from far away. Lokkishi wondered whether Allen would welcome her back as she considered leaving the kingdom.

• Allen rode toward Cascade City with Sylphy, Eris, and Isolte asleep against him, and he found no clear sign that the Man-God had entered Isolte's dream.
• Allen used the system's map search to target Lokkishi and saw her standing by a window in Shiron.
• Lokkishi thought about her unfinished letter, Allen's expected reply, and whether the adventuring party could continue together.
• Lokkishi considered leaving Shiron after the Prince's lessons went well and wondered how Allen would react to seeing her again.
• Lokkishi watched the moon from her window and wondered how Allen had been.

Allen realized the puppets in Styrian Well were remotely controlled and used his speed to rescue Rudy, Sylphy, Eris, and Isolte from their attack. He then killed the vendor controlling them from across the waterway, leaving the group to face the uproar in Cascade City.

• Eris declared that she wanted to become as strong as Allen and tossed a severed puppet arm to Rudy.
• Rudy hurried the group toward the exit, while Sylphy and Isolte followed with Eris and the Divine Attendants.
• Allen deduced that the puppets were controlled in real time and noticed them attacking the others on the stairs.
• Allen crossed the corridor at extreme speed, carried the three girls, kicked Rudy to safety, and shattered the puppets’ Magic Circles with his battle aura.
• Allen pointed a broken needle at the vendor across the waterway and killed him with a spoken command, causing the nearby vendors to scream.

Allen foiled an assassination attempt at Styrian Well and killed the puppeteer, then left the scene with Sylphy, Isolte, Eris, and Rudy. James and V. T. discussed the dead assassin’s history before learning that Princess Ariel would arrive in Cascade City the next morning.

• Allen carried Sylphy, Isolte, and Eris through the archway, then intercepted and killed a puppeteer who had attacked them with a black needle.
• Allen told the stunned group that the dolls and stone steps had been part of an ambush, and he coached them to act like frightened bystanders as the Street Guard Corps arrived.
• Eris recognized Allen’s finger-flick as precise battle-aura control and recalled his earlier instruction about throwing techniques.
• Allen and the others left the scene, while Allen silently wished the dead puppeteer a good dream.
• James and V. T. discussed the failed assassination and the puppeteer’s father, Siocha, who was rumored to have become a subordinate of the Dragon God.
• A bearded butler delivered a note telling James that Princess Ariel would arrive in Cascade City the next morning for a welcoming ceremony.

V. T. and James changed their plan to provoke Allen into killing people in Cascade City so he would leave before their final move. Meanwhile, Allen and his companions explored the city and stumbled upon its pleasure boats, where Rudy drew the attention of the women aboard.

• V. T. told James that the final step depended on when Allen left Cascade City, and James ordered him to move it to the next morning and double the bounty.
• V. T. planned to provoke Allen into killing enough people that he would feel compelled to leave Cascade City, while James secretly revised the chessboard and dismissed V. T.'s confidence.
• Allen, Rudy, Eris, Isolte, and Sylphy entered Cascade City's lamplit waterways and overheard locals discussing the recent deaths and the effort to keep them quiet.
• The group watched men board a pleasure boat and realized they had wandered into Cascade City's brothel district.
• Rudy spotted a boat advertising beastgirls and called Allen's attention to it, but Allen covered Rudy's mouth too late to stop the women from approaching.

Rudy tried to use two courtesans to distract Allen from the killing and stir up competition between Sylphy and Isolte, while hoping to ease his own stress. The courtesans ignored Rudy and Allen, instead embracing Eris and Sylphy, leaving Rudy baffled as a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

• Allen and Rudy reached a pleasure boat where two scantily dressed courtesans approached them, while men beneath the bridge admired the view.
• Rudy recalled how important Allen had become to him and how Allen's recent killings had left him feeling oppressed.
• Rudy decided the courtesans could create romantic pressure for Sylphy and Isolte, and he also hoped to relieve his own stress.
• Allen looked uneasy rather than taking the opportunity to pursue Sylphy and Isolte, frustrating Rudy.
• The beastgirl embraced Eris and the elf wrapped an arm around Sylphy, ignoring Rudy and Allen; Rudy stared in disbelief as a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

Allen and his companions searched for a place to stay in Cascade City after escaping the district’s courtesans, and Isolte invited Sylphy, Allen, and Eris to her home. The group settled into a luxurious inn instead, where Allen waited in his room until two people slipped inside and moved to kiss him.

• Allen drew his sword to drive off approaching courtesans, and Isolte drew hers to chase away the ones who approached Eris and Sylphy.
• Rudy suggested staying on a boat, but Allen and Isolte rejected the idea as the group searched the crowded Lantern Boat District for an inn.
• Isolte invited Sylphy, Allen, and Eris to stay at her large house, and Sylphy agreed, but Allen spotted a nearby inn and led the group there.
• Allen and his companions rented separate, expensive rooms at the Water Capital Inn, and he refused the receptionist’s offer of aphrodisiacs.
• Allen waited alone in his room until late at night, then opened the door as two burning bodies slipped inside and reached for his face.

Allen caught two assassins who tried to seduce and kill him, then questioned them about an anonymous bounty on his life. After learning that the public contract could draw more attackers, he opened the door and found two more people who had been listening outside.

• Allen saw through the cat-eared and Long-eared Race assassins’ seduction attempt, disarmed their hidden weapons, and subdued them with his combat skills.
• Allen forced the assassins to sit and answer his questions, learning that Dark Night had circulated an anonymous bounty offering a thousand gold coins for his death.
• The assassins explained that the contract was public, described Allen and his companions as targets, and was distributed through coded newspaper messages and a suggestion box outside city hall.
• Allen realized more assassins might come and pulled open the guest-room door, causing two people waiting outside to tumble into the room.

Allen’s guests mistook his situation with the assassins when Sylphy and Isolte appeared in revealing clothes, while Sylphy prepared for what she believed would be an intimate encounter with him. Isolte reflected on how she had changed since leaving the royal capital, and the chapter left her recovering in the bath.

• Allen opened his room door to explain that assassins had attacked him, but Sylphy and Isolte’s revealing outfits made the assassins assume he had arranged a sexual encounter.
• Sylphy worried that Allen would prefer Isolte’s figure and feared he intended to sleep with her, though she had accepted Isolte because she understood her heartbreak.
• Sylphy recalled that she and Isolte had agreed to accept each other and wait for Lokkishi to return before deciding what would happen.
• Sylphy put on the lingerie and nightgown Hilda and Lil had packed for her, then waited for Allen to come over.
• Isolte bathed, reflected on the years since leaving the royal capital, and examined the calluses from her sword practice.

Isolte prepared to seduce Allen after deciding to act on her desire, while Sylphy waited outside his room in a provocative outfit. The two heard a woman inside Allen’s room and crept over to listen, where Isolte found M and Or2 with Allen.

• Isolte recalled how Allen’s disappearance and return had stirred her feelings, and she decided to pursue him that night.
• Isolte altered her nightgown and waited outside her room, hoping Allen would come to her.
• Isolte encountered Sylphy in the corridor, and they nervously complimented each other’s outfits.
• Isolte and Sylphy heard slaps and a woman’s muffled voice from Allen’s room, then pressed themselves against the door to listen.
• Isolte sensed three heartbeats inside Allen’s room and saw M and Or2 dressed only in gauzy garments with Allen.

Allen and Isolte killed two assassins who had entered their room, then explained that an open bounty had made the inn a target. As potential assassins gathered outside, Allen prepared to confront them from the window.

• Allen panicked at Sylphy and Isolte's revealing outfits, but Isolte covered his eyes and drew his sword.
• Isolte used a Water God Style Vertical Cut to kill the two assassins in the room.
• Allen told Sylphy that the women were assassins and that killing them was necessary to deter further attacks.
• Allen extinguished the candle and showed Sylphy and Isolte the figures watching their room from the street.
• Allen explained that the assassination syndicate had organized the bounty hunt in Cascade City and identified the attendant as its overseer.
• Allen opened the window and stepped onto the windowsill as Sylphy asked what they should do.

Allen confronted the assassins surrounding the inn and killed all thirty, including Corrupted Blade, in just over two minutes. Afterward, he returned across the lake and told Isolte, Sylphy, Eris, and Rudy that the thirty-first target was finished.

• Allen decided that the assassins had to be killed to stop them from pursuing his group again, then leapt from the inn window.
• Two assassins discussed the bounty and Corrupted Blade's plans before Allen appeared and killed them with one slash.
• Allen challenged the thirty assassins surrounding the inn, and Corrupted Blade urged those unwilling to advance to withdraw; none stepped back.
• Isolte and Sylphy went to get help, waking Eris and Rudy as they headed downstairs.
• Eris killed the fleeing attendant, who had been holding a dagger, by pinning her to the grandfather clock with a thrown blade.
• Allen killed all thirty assassins in two minutes and thirty-one seconds, then walked across the lake and announced that the thirty-first target was finished.

Allen and his companions killed the assassins who attacked them in Cascade City, then uncovered signs that the assassination had involved forces beyond James’s reach. They decided to leave for the royal capital the next morning, while Eris asked Allen to teach her the unfamiliar sword technique he had used against Huin'er'yin Retto Bat.

• Allen killed the assassins outside the inn and asked Rudy, Sylphy, and Eris to help dispose of the bodies.
• Allen and Isolte identified the dead leader as Huin'er'yin Retto Bat, a Water King who had once received his title from the Asura royal family.
• Isolte explained that Huin'er'yin had survived the purge of his family after a Succession Conflict, and Allen questioned why he had joined an assassination attempt against the Boreas Family.
• Allen and Isolte concluded that the assassin group and Huin'er'yin were resources James should not have been able to mobilize, leaving the source of the attack uncertain.
• Allen decided that the group would leave Cascade City early the next morning and return to the royal capital.
• Eris asked Allen to teach her the sword technique he had used against Huin'er'yin, and Allen ruffled her hair without answering.

Ariel traveled toward Cascade City while maintaining her public image and indulging in a private morning routine with her maid. Before dawn, Allen stayed awake with Sylphy and Isolte asleep against his legs, reflected on their feelings and the mysteries surrounding his system, and told them to wake up as the sky brightened.

• Ariel watched the Artiel River from her ship, spoke with Derrick about their arrival in Cascade City, and recalled a flash of blade light as the sun rose.
• Ariel returned the guards' greeting and continued her intimate morning routine with the maid hidden beneath her skirt.
• Allen remained awake after the corpses had been cleared, unable to move because Sylphy and Isolte were asleep on his legs.
• Allen considered his past with Isolte and the feelings she had developed, then let her place his hand against her face while she pretended to sleep.
• Allen wondered about the Human God, the system, Lara, and the source of his mana consumption before telling Sylphy and Isolte to wake up as dawn approached.

Allen and his companions found that Cascade City’s residents had mysteriously left the waterfront after the failed assassination, then discovered a huge crowd gathering at the Land Bridge for an arriving celebrity. From a nearby tower, James learned the assassination had failed and ordered the assassin organization destroyed.

• Isolte realized she wanted Allen to become her husband and family, then rested against his hand while pretending to sleep.
• Allen woke Isolte and Sylphy so they could bathe and rouse Eris and Rudy before leaving.
• As Allen’s group crossed Cascade City, Isolte noticed the waterfront had far fewer people than expected, and Allen found footprints leading toward the Bridge Land Bridge.
• Allen recalled a conversation about a sealed series of deaths and an important person arriving, then led the group toward the crowd gathered by the river.
• Isolte recognized that the crowd was waiting for someone, while James crushed the assassin organization’s message and ordered his men to kill its remaining members.

Allen realized the bridge repairs were part of a plot to assassinate Ariel and identified Derrick Redbat's role in the Succession Conflict. When the bridge collapsed beneath him, he blasted Sylphy and the others to safety before falling into the river, while assassins attacked Ariel's ship.

• Allen led Isolte, Sylphy, Eris, and Rudy across the bridge as the Street Guard Corps entered the cordoned-off southern dock.
• Ariel Anemoi Asura appeared aboard a pleasure ship, and Allen recognized Derrick Redbat among the people on board.
• Allen connected the repair work, the assassination plot, and the political struggle over the Succession Conflict.
• The bridge collapsed beneath Allen and the others, and Allen used his Flow Arcana to blast his companions onto the intact deck.
• Isolte and Eris tried to reach Allen as he fell into the river, but he told them to wait for him.
• Assassins were exposed among Ariel's guards, and her companions shouted for her protection.

Allen stopped an assassination attempt on Princess Ariel aboard her pleasure boat, killing the attackers with overwhelming speed. As the stunned crowd watched, he ordered the Street Guard Corps to keep everyone away from the corpses until the escaped accomplices were found.

• Assassins disguised as guards attacked Ariel's boat while other killers collapsed the bridge and swam toward the ship.
• Allen fought beneath the water, leaving a broad trail of blood that stunned the people on the docks and boat.
• Two assassins reached Ariel's ship, killed guards, and tried to rush her cabin while their comrades severed the anchor chain.
• Allen climbed aboard, killed the attackers in seconds, and stopped the two men at Ariel's cabin door.
• Allen pointed out the dead attackers and ordered the Street Guard Corps to keep everyone away from the bodies until the escaped accomplices were found.