Mushoku Tensei: Sword, Magic Hats, and the Romance System [144]

The setting sun hung low.

A pale hand waved in front of Allen’s face.

Snapping his gaze away from those reddish-brown eyes.

“Allen? Are you okay?”

Allen looked at Sylphy.

The dust had settled. In the golden afterglow, she crouched before him on one knee—

Her eyes filled with concern.

The moon-white gown traced her silhouette perfectly. That squat, modest posture wrapped in flowing fabric concealed a bit of youthful awkwardness, and brought out more of her gentle femininity.

The split along the side of her skirt revealed white garter stockings—folds around the knee already smudged with dust. The white line of the stocking hugged her calf, curled over the knee, and stretched upward—

To where it met the garter clasp at her thigh.

And then—

The white disappeared.

From there on, it was soft, pale skin.

Because of her crouched pose, the top edge of her stockings had slipped slightly, leaving a faint red line around her thigh.

A detail almost impossible to look away from.

Allen looked away.

And smiled at her.

Just like always.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry. Just a little mishap during the spar.”

As he spoke, he stood up—as if to demonstrate that he really was unhurt. Aura flared from his feet, rippling outward—

Stirring the air.

It swept upward, reversing at the line of his shoes.

Pinning the dust to the ground.

So the only wind that rose was a clean breeze—

That lifted the dust from Sylphy’s skirt, her hair, her stockings, and her skin.

Sylphy looked up at him. The dazed, faraway look on Allen’s face was already gone—as if it had never been there.

She blinked, recalling how off his expression had seemed since yesterday.

So...

Was it just my imagination?

As she was caught in thought, Allen spoke again.

“...Mm. The dress looks beautiful on you. It really suits you.”

“Come on, get up.”

Sylphy’s lips parted slightly in surprise.

In her field of vision—

Allen rubbed the bridge of his nose. His eyes didn’t meet hers, not like they usually would during conversation.

Her expression froze.

She suddenly looked down.

She’d never worn this kind of high-slit noble gown before. Lacking experience, she’d crouched without thinking—

And when she looked—

The slit was almost baring the very top of her thigh.

Usually, just exposing the garter clip was enough to make her flustered, but now—forget clips—

From the side, it practically looked like she wasn’t even wearing pants!

Her pupils shrank. She jumped to her feet with a startled gasp, nervously tugging at the hem of her skirt, unsure where to look.

The sharp click of heels against stone jolted her out of her fluster.

She turned her head.

A flash of red entered her view.

At the top of the steps—

A crimson dress trailed rapidly behind its wearer.

Then—

As if aware of the gazes on her, that hurried pace slowed—

Settled into grace.

She reined in her panic.

Slower. Slower still.

Finally, she stopped.

Hilda stood on the top step, eyes on the two before her.

For a moment, silence fell. The only sound was the rabbit-eared maid beside her straightening her dress with efficient care.

Then Hilda spoke.

“Arifa said you were sparring with Ghislaine, Allen—that you might get hurt. But looking at you now, it doesn’t seem too serious. I’m not very familiar with swordsmanship… was it just flashy but not actually dangerous?”

As she spoke, she turned to glance aside.

Far away, Ghislaine still stood in place, calm as ever, watching them. She was speaking to Eris at her side.

Allen’s voice came at Hilda’s ear.

“Yes, Madam. It was just a friendly match. All bark, no bite. No need for concern.”

Hilda looked like she wanted to say something more. But in the end, she hesitated—

And let it go with a quiet “Mm.”

At that moment, Rudeus came running up. He gave Hilda a hasty noble’s bow, then turned to Allen—eyes immediately catching on the broken blade in his hand, shock on his face.

“Allen! Are you alright? I saw Sylphy healing you just now—”

“I’m fine.”

“What happened back there? Wasn’t it just a [Longsword of Silence] spar? Even Ghislaine’s [Longsword of Light] couldn’t knock you out—how did—?”

Allen followed Rudeus’s gaze, looking down at the snapped sword in his hand. His eyes lingered on the fractured edge.

“Mm. I guess... my Sword God Style’s regressed a bit.”

“Regressed??” Sylphy and Rudeus exclaimed in unison.

“Yeah. Maybe I’ve been slacking off lately.”

Rudeus opened his mouth, unable to understand.

“But just the other day, on the road, your [Longsword of Silence] was still crazy strong.”

“Maybe because I haven’t swung a sword since then.”

“No way.”

Rudeus frowned and reflexively looked toward Sylphy.

Wait—what?

“Hey, Sylphy, what’s up with your outfit? That style... Did you and Allen sneak out shopping while I wasn’t around? That can’t be right—none of us have gone out the past couple of days.”

“Ah—this is—” Sylphy fumbled.

“I saw her completely soaked, so I brought her back to my place and helped her pick out a change of clothes. What do you think?”

“Thank you. It suits her very well.”

“Yeah, Allen’s right. It does look good on her... though the size is a little—”

Their conversation was carried off by the breeze.

It swirled past Sylphy—who glanced down at her skirt, then quickly looked up at Allen and Hilda, tension flashing in her eyes.

The trailing end of their voices drifted across the courtyard.

But before they reached Eris—who still looked slightly dazed—

The wind died down.

When Allen was sent flying by that strike, Eris had instinctively wanted to run after him like Rudeus had. But when she saw Allen rise—messy, bruised, but clearly okay—her steps shifted of their own accord.

She found herself walking toward Ghislaine.

She hadn’t thought about it.

She just—wanted an explanation.

Wanted to ask why.

Because—

From both a technical standpoint and from the simple fact that Allen had just been blown away—

She didn’t understand.

Because to her, Allen had always been defined by one overwhelming word—

Strong.

From the blade that split the storm in that midnight rescue, to the head he carried home at dawn...

To the sudden kill he made upon returning to the Boreas estate that morning—

Even her grandfather Sauros, once the most fearsome figure in her heart, had been left speechless.

Allen was strong.

Had she forgotten that rainy night when he saved her life?

No.

But that gratitude had long since been eclipsed by an even stronger impression—

His power.

It had etched itself into her mind.

Impossible to forget.

She admired him endlessly.

And she wanted to be someone like that.

That was how she had always grown—by watching those stronger than her, imitating them, arming herself.

But—

Her swordsmanship and instincts told her, faintly, that Ghislaine might be even stronger than Allen.

After all, Ghislaine was a King-rank.

Allen was still only Saint-rank.

Yet her intuition, her gut reaction—

Still felt that Allen was incredibly strong.

So it didn’t matter. They were both strong.

And until just now, everything that had happened—

From the esoteric, incomprehensible Water God theories—

To Allen’s almost arrogant “bring it on” when faced with Ghislaine’s [Longsword of Light]—

All of it fit that image.

But just now—

That image of strength—

Had been shattered with a single, weightless strike from Ghislaine.

She instinctively resisted the truth she’d seen.

She couldn’t accept that the person she’d come to admire more than anyone else in just a few days...

Was no longer the strongest.

So she walked over to Ghislaine.

Glanced at the broken sword left lying on the ground.

And blurted out the question burning in her mind.

“What happened just now?! Why couldn’t Allen block the [Longsword of Silence]? He handled the [Longsword of Light] just fine!”

But Ghislaine’s answer stopped her cold.

“Allen is strong.”

---

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!