Mushoku Tensei: Sword, Magic Hats, and the Romance System [139]

The moment she heard those words, Eris snapped her head toward the training grounds.

Ghislaine stepped forward—silent, precise.

“Perfect footwork.”

Her blade did not rise. Her wrist held steady like iron.

“Perfect stance.”

Her eyes gleamed—sharp as blades, electric as lightning.

“And perfect...”

She stared at Allen, standing five meters ahead.

“Intent.”

Her voice was calm—like coarse black stone solidifying atop molten lava.

It wasn't emotion.

It was declaration.

“Built upon the foundation of years of Sword God training—on stances practiced day after day, footwork repeated night after night—and finally propelled by desire... the strike delivered in the perfect posture, at the perfect distance, at the perfect time...”

“That is—”

“The [Longsword of Light].”

It sounded like a lesson for Eris.

And yet—like a message to Allen.

“To master the [Longsword of Light]…”

“Is to be crowned a Sword Saint.”

The instant those words fell—

The sword vanished.

And with it—

So did Ghislaine.

In that split second, within Rudeus’s perception—
the wind brushing through the air,
the rustling of leaves overhead,
the water droplets from a [Waterball] spell dripping gently onto branches—

All of it lost meaning.

Because—

Something else was asserting its presence with terrifying clarity.
Like the noonday sun burning away all unnecessary sensation.

Only one thing remained:
The hum of the air.

Drowning out everything else.

BWMMM!!

It exploded in Rudeus’s ears.

He immediately clutched his head, ears ringing with a high-pitched whine like a swarm of hornets screaming inside his skull. Somewhere close, Eris was shouting.

Cheering. Elated.

It was deafening—
yet distant, like it echoed from across a great field.

Gritting his teeth, Rudeus forced himself to open his eyes and look back at the field—

Al—

!?

In front of him—

Ghislaine stood directly before Allen.

Her crimson blade rested against Allen’s neck.

How?! Allen—

Rudeus’s eyes widened—his thoughts stalled.

He blinked.

Then let out a long breath.

His vision cleared.

Next to Allen’s neck, a streak of shimmering light extended outward from his sword hand—a radiant trail dancing in the air.

Rudeus smiled and tilted his head.

Changing his angle.

And then—

The “light” dimmed.

No—
It wasn’t light at all.

It was a blade tip.

Placed precisely between Ghislaine’s sword and Allen’s throat.

Allen’s smile remained, reflected faintly in the metal sheen—
the same look he’d worn through countless sparring matches over the past two years.

His hearing returned. Sensation flowed back into his body.

Not far away, Ghislaine slowly sheathed her sword. Her lips moved—

But no sound came.

Still, Rudeus could read the words.

Three syllables.

A title.

The name of the Water God secret art Allen had just used—

"[Rock Domain]."

Hiramune hovered fifteen centimeters from Allen’s neck—an entirely safe distance by Sword King standards.

After silently mouthing Allen’s title, Ghislaine took a step back.

Allen smiled and spoke calmly.

“Water God Style—[Perception Flow] Secret Art. You sense the blade’s sharpness, the whistle of air as it’s cut, the shift in pressure, the surge of killing intent—”

“You predict the path of the blade and use [Flow Technique] to intercept it.”

“Then counter.”

He wasn’t speaking to Ghislaine.

But to Eris, whose eyes burned with intensity.

“For you, Eris, what you need to learn right now is only the shared portion of this, the part relevant to your training.”

He flicked the sheath of his blade.

Then dropped into a crouched stance—his weight leaning left, as if dodging a strike from the right. His hands gripped the sword, curling around his neck, forming a tight diagonal slashing pose.

The blade crossed behind his neck from his left shoulder, sweeping out toward the right.

Exactly—

Between Ghislaine’s sword and his neck.

As if, while trying to slash her, he had accidentally intercepted her blade.

The posture looked awkward.

And yet it was both coincidence and inevitability.

In Allen’s backdraw-ready stance, this was the fastest trajectory to block Ghislaine’s sword.

As for how to counter—

The answer was in the stance itself.

By using [Flow Technique] to deflect her blade, his coiled position would allow for an immediate diagonal slash.

Defense. Counter.

This—

Was the Water God Style.

“Until you master either the [Longsword of Silence] or the [Longsword of Light], this kind of adaptive, unpatterned blade delivery is more suitable for the chaos of real combat.”

“And besides—this kind of reactive shift into offense pairs well with North God Style, too.”

“Nice!”

Eris wasn’t responding—she was cheering.

Even as a beginner-level swordswoman, her instinct told her just how brilliant this simple exchange of offense and defense had been.

“When are you gonna teach me North God Style?!”

She leapt straight to the next demand.

The version of North God Style Ghislaine practiced mostly consisted of [Four-Legged Form]—tailored to beastfolk physique. It wasn’t well-suited for fluid counter-based maneuvers. She had only taught Eris a few feints and basics so far.

But feint-to-counter?

That sounded amazing!

Then teach me already!

Allen chuckled.

“But I’m only your Water God instructor.”

Eris blinked.

Then Allen’s teasing follow-up came with a grin.

“Still, I can teach you. But only after your fundamentals get stronger. Biting off too much at once gets you nowhere, you understand?”

“Got it!” Eris replied energetically.

Then paused, casting a glance at Rudeus beside her.

“What’s ‘biting off too much’ mean?!”

Rudeus grimaced, baring his teeth.

It wasn’t a phrase in Human Language or Japanese.

Just an idiom with the same meaning.

Still—knowing Eris’s legendary struggles with language, he wasn’t surprised in the slightest.

“It means trying to learn too many things at once—so many that you end up not learning any of them properly.”

Eris blinked again. Thought about it for a second. Then crossed her arms and tilted her chin upward in pride.

“I won’t! I’ve got plenty of time—I’ll learn everything slowly! One by one!”

Rudeus glanced down at her legs.

Her right foot, clad in a black leather boot, was tapping rapidly against the grass.

Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap!

He twitched.

You don’t look like you’re planning to wait for anything, actually.

On the field, Ghislaine withdrew her gaze from Eris and turned back to Allen.

“As expected. A Sword Saint-level [Longsword of Light] doesn’t work on you. If you it was King-class... the match would already be over.”

Allen sheathed his sword and rolled his shoulder.

“I’d like to respond modestly—say it was all just ‘luck’—but...”

“Modesty is the posture of the weak.”

“And the person standing in front of me right now is the only King of the Sword God Style.”

“So—”

He looked at Ghislaine, who had already stepped back to her original position.

“I won’t question your judgment.”

“Because—”

“I’ve always been stronger than a Sword Saint.”

Ghislaine tilted her head slightly.

“You’re more suited for the Sword God Style than I imagined. Also—”

“When you said ‘Sword Saint’...”

Allen narrowed his eyes and smiled.

“Ah—my mistake.”

His words, unlike his grin—

Were sharp as blades.

Not a boast.

A statement of fact.

“Among the Saint-ranked…”

“Beneath the King—”

“I am the strongest.”

---

T/N: AAAAAA A TEAR- NO A WATERFALL JUST DROPPED BETWEEN MY LEGS

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!