Mushoku Tensei: Sword, Magic Hats, and the Romance System [148]

The bedroom was still and silent.

Invisible motes of smoke drifted in the air.

[Dear Host—Allen Greyrat—last night I already reminded you once. But it seems you didn’t quite get it.]

[So tonight, allow me to remind you again: if this continues...]

[You can kiss saint-rank Sword God Style goodbye. You’ll be stuck at advanced rank for life.]

[To act as your heart desires, to align intention with action—yes, I admit it. You haven’t been deliberately cultivating your “desire,” but that sword heart of yours, the one that slammed itself into your face uninvited? It’s not bad at all.]

[Unlike carnal desires or material greed—those coarse ambitions that inevitably grow tiresome—so long as you stay true to yourself, do what you want to do, answer what needs answering... you’ll rise through Sword God Style without pause. You won’t have to fear your “desire” burning out.]

[Sword Saint. Sword King. Sword Emperor. Sword God.]

[Those are just technical thresholds. If you master the fundamentals, you could pluck them from the sky.]

[But as things stand...]

[Something’s wrong with you.]

The bedroom stayed silent.

After a long pause, the smoke seemed to grow bored and began to dissipate—

Until, just as the final curl faded—

The words reformed.

[Then—]

[‘I’ will help you.]

Allen’s head jerked up. He locked eyes on the system screen.

Sure enough.

A new mission had appeared.

[Private Tutoring Arc – Compound Quest – “Have Your Cake and Eat It Too.” Issued.]

[Task One — Respond to Hilda’s expectations. Reward: Engagement Rating +10.]
[Task Two — Respond to Sylphy’s expectations. Reward: Engagement Rating +10.]
[Task Three — Respond to Ghislaine’s expectations. Reward: Engagement Rating +10.]

[Being seen by Hilda — a fracture between blood-tied kinship and the soul’s displacement.]

[Being adored by Sylphy — a paralyzing self-awareness, caught between heart and hesitation, afraid to hurt her dignity.]

[Being relied upon by Ghislaine — an overwhelming burden from someone who places her hopes in your swordsmanship.]

[You’ve stalled. Your Longsword of Silence has regressed. You’re stuck.】

[So how do you resolve all this? Family. Love. Strength. Can you really have it all?]

[Answer: Yes!]

[You’ve already planted the seeds of “both-and” with your own hands—but you seem entirely unaware of it.]

[What remains is to take that final step—to choose.]

[Mission Duration: No hard time limit during the private tutoring arc. However, once one of the three tasks is completed, the remaining two must be fulfilled within 24 hours, or the mission will be considered a failure.]

[Reminder: This is a freebie mission.]

[Mission—Begin!]

The smoke hovered in front of him.

Allen was completely numb.

He stared blankly at the system interface. His lips parted, then closed again. Over and over, caught in a loop of false starts and dead air.

He couldn't get a single word out.

[Oh? What’s that face? Thought I was gonna hit you with a mandatory quest? Or give you some mutually exclusive moral choice?]

[Come on. This is your “Jobless Reincarnation” story. You’re the one who stepped in. The choice is yours.]

[Go on. Keep leaving your mark on both leads and supporting cast.]

[Good luck, Allen.]

Allen blinked. After a long delay, his expression shifted—

To the look of someone walking their dog, only to discover the leash had stopped moving. They turn around…

And see their male dog being mounted by a stray.

...Right. My first instinct really was thinking this was gonna be some kind of trap mission. Guess you’re not so bad afte—

BAD MY ASS!!

What kind of abstract nonsense is this?! I feel like I’ve developed a reading disorder just trying to parse this crap!

“Have your cake and eat it too”? “Fruit already planted by your own hand”?? “Final step”?? What are you talking about?!

“Respond to expectations”? How the hell am I supposed to do that? Where’s the hint? The prompt?!

And Ghislaine’s expectations? What expectations?! I don’t know a damn thing about them! You just made that up to mess with me, didn’t you?!

And I have to respond to all three within 24 hours? A mom, a would-be wife, and a teacher? What’s the logic here? How do those even connect? What kind of sadistic “bonus quest” is this?! Might as well call it a “suicide mission”!

Allen was fuming.

The smoke, still floating, seemed to watch him thoughtfully.

[This was meant to be a motivational boost—but look at you, full of fire again. Compared to earlier, you're practically glowing.]

...What?

You mean my mental breakdown was... energizing?!

[Exactly. Keep it up.]

?!?

The smoke dissipated.

Leaving Allen sitting there in stunned silence.

He sat blankly for a long moment, then scrubbed his face hard.

He reached for the open letter on the desk, thinking to draw up a mind map to sort through everything—but the pen just hovered above the page.

It didn’t move.

Outside the window, a bird sang softly in the night.

Its call trilled through the silence.

Inside the room, he listened in a trance.

At last, the scratch of pen on paper broke the hush.

Just one small note, then silence again.

Three characters were added beside the “Roxy” he’d written last night—scribbled unconsciously in a moment of longing.

They read:

「Sylphy」

---

“Sylphy?”

In the hallway, a soft knock. A voice, barely more than breath, trying hard not to be heard.

Rudeus stood outside Sylphy’s room, nervously glancing toward Allen’s door.

He hesitated—maybe it was better to come back later.

But then—

The door creaked open.

Sylphy peeked out. The moon-white gown that Hilda had gifted her earlier was gone. In its place, she wore her old, familiar track-jacket from Buena Village.

She glanced down the hall. Then whispered:

“Perfect timing, Rudeus. I was just about to come find you. Come in.”

Rudeus paused, then nodded and stepped inside.

The door clicked shut behind him.

He and Sylphy exchanged a look.

He spoke first.

“Something was off with Allen’s sparring today. I just finished talking to Ghislaine about it. According to her, the problem’s not technical—it’s mental.”

Sylphy leaned against the door, lowering her eyes.

“His mindset, huh…”

Rudeus studied her.

“And you?”

“I asked Eris about what Ghislaine said. Eris was blunt as usual. I didn’t understand all of it, but from what I could tell, it matched what you heard. Mixed in with some stuff meant to motivate Eris’s own growth... probably related to Sword God Style progression.”

They were both quiet for a while.

“Do you have any thoughts about all this?” Sylphy asked.

“Allen’s response to Lord Philip and Sauros was about what I expected. Mature. Steady. But there was one person whose presence clearly threw him off.”

Sylphy blinked, then looked down at the floor.

She remembered the row of clothing in Hilda’s room—clothes meant for Allen.

“Madam Hilda.”

“Exactly. Allen was composed—no matter how cold Philip or Sauros were toward him, he never flinched. But Hilda… she was kind. Warm. And that—that shook him. It’s like how he was last winter, when he stayed at your house. Don’t you think he might need a little help?”

“…I trust Allen.”

Rudeus raised an eyebrow.

“You think Allen’s invincible?”

Sylphy said nothing, gaze lowered.

Rudeus saw her look and sighed faintly.

Some things, he—as the outsider—could see more clearly.

“Well, I guess we still have time. Maybe it’s just like back in Buena Village—Allen just needs time to adjust. I’ll head back for now.”

Sylphy nodded and stepped aside.

As Rudeus passed her, he added:

“But I still think Allen might need a hand. You’ve seen what he’s gone through the last two years. Emotional stuff… really isn’t his strong suit, is it?”

The door opened. Rudeus stepped into the hallway.

He turned back.

And just as the door closed—

Through the narrowing gap in his vision, Sylphy stood in place, head bowed, deep in thought.

Inside her room, the candle flickered on the desk.

The chair had been pulled back slightly.

As if someone had just been sitting there—

Writing something down.

---

This is a fan translation of 无职转生：剑，魔法帽与恋爱系统 by 意外火灾 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!