Mushoku Tensei: Sword, Magic Hats, and the Romance System [138]

Fifteen minutes earlier.

"All right."

The moment Allen spoke, Rudeus turned in shock.

In his field of view—

Allen’s fingers gently brushed the hilt at his waist.

And the sword’s owner was staring at Ghislaine with keen interest.

Rudeus swallowed hard.

Allen had entered that mode again.

That itch in his hands—the exact same look he used to get whenever he sparred with Paul back in Buena Village.

How could Rudeus tell?

Because at first, Allen’s target had always been Paul. But as Paul started issuing restrictions—"Sword God Style only," then "North God Style only"—and eventually realized he couldn’t even touch the hem of Allen’s clothing, the bachelor father had gracefully bowed out...

And passed Allen’s enthusiasm directly to his own son.

From that point on, all matches became Allen vs. Rudeus, fought only after Allen created plenty of distance between them.

That distance had grown from 300 meters… to 500… then a full kilometer in recent matches.

The result?

Rudeus lost. Every. Single. Time.

He had preserved the initial tactics from his very first fight with Allen, sharpened all his beginner- and intermediate-level spells, and layered his traps to obscure more and more of Allen’s perception.

He’d even swapped out obvious projectiles like [Ice Blades] for harder-to-detect terrain-based magic—[Earth Lance], [Quagmire], [Mud Rain].

They’d moved the battlefield from the bottom of a slope to wide open wilderness.

And still—

Nothing worked.

Allen’s use of [Perception Flow] became increasingly unfathomable.

He could sense the moment before a [Quagmire] spell formed and lift an entire patch of ground to expose the bedrock underneath—completely nullifying the spell’s terrain requirements.

Then he’d stroll casually through a minefield of magical traps, humming along as Rudeus wasted ten whole minutes flailing in desperation—only to arrive in front of him, smiling—

And flick him hard on the forehead.

“You’re dead.”

Absolutely absurd.

Because Allen could see the flow of mana itself.

That was [Perception Flow]—the most difficult of the Water God Style’s five secret arts.

And Allen…

Had started from the hardest one.

Snapping back to the present, Rudeus glanced down at the courtyard’s neatly maintained stone tiles and the lawn beneath his feet—painstakingly trimmed each day.

He pictured Allen casually ripping it all up during the match.

Is he seriously planning to wreck his own house?

Wait… his opponent is Ghislaine. She’ll stop him, right?

He quickly looked over to Ghislaine.

What he saw—

Was an expression very similar to Allen’s.

Eyes sparkling like a predator spotting prey.

A wild hunger to cross blades.

Rudeus’s mouth fell open. He glanced around in panic, realizing Sylphy—who usually kept Allen calm—still hadn’t returned.

His face paled.

This is bad. Sylphy, hurry back!

“This is amazing! Where’s Sylphy?! She needs to see this!”

Eris had already jumped to her feet—despite wearing a dress. Legs straight, posture perfect, she pulled off a nimble kip-up from the ground.

Her steps were still shaky from magical exhaustion, but her eyes were shining.

“Allen, are you gonna wait for her? Or start now?!”

Allen gave Rudeus a reassuring glance and waved his hand.

“Let’s start. I’ve always been curious about Ghislaine’s strength—as the famous Sword King.”

“And I’m also interested to see… how long my Water God Style can last against her.”

That’s right—how long he could last, not how long he could fight.

Because—

Allen looked up at Ghislaine, who was also gripping the hilt at her waist, her tail swishing behind her.

She—

Ghislaine.

The only current Sword King of the Sword God Style.

The threshold guardian of the Emperor-tier sword ranks.

“And most of all… I want to see for myself.”

“What the [Longsword of Light] truly is.”

With that, Allen rose to his feet and strode toward the center of the courtyard.

Ghislaine’s hand gripped her sword tighter as she watched his back. Her golden eyes narrowed.

She smiled—and followed.

The two faced each other and came to a standstill.

Ghislaine, never forgetting her role as an instructor, spoke first.

“Since this is a sword lesson, shall we frame this as a demonstration match? I’ll attack with the [Longsword of Light], and you defend with the Water God Style. That should help Eris better understand the contrast between the two styles.”

“Sounds good,” Allen nodded.

As soon as he spoke, Ghislaine began drawing her sword.

A soft, high-pitched hum filled the air as steel brushed against scabbard.

Her blade—elegant in both hilt and curvature—slid free, leaving a glimmering arc in the air.

A long, narrow edge.

A crimson blade, gleaming like blood.

One of the Seven Blades of the Sword God—Hiramune.

“From the Holy Land of Swords—Sword King Ghislaine. En garde.”

Ghislaine’s stance tightened. Her core engaged, power flowing from the soles of her feet.

Her blade sliced forward—

And halted.

A standard mid-guard stance. Tip forward, perfectly aligned.

But the pressure—

Was crushing.

Because this was one of the three official starting forms of the [Longsword of Light].

Allen heard the formal tone of self-introduction—a ritual of the sword arena he hadn’t heard in ages.

He smiled.

And drew.

Blade raised.

His sword sang through the air.

“Water God Style, Main Dojo—Allen. En garde.”

Ghislaine eyed the thin, straight-edged katana in Allen’s hand.

“Why not declare yourself as a Water Saint?”

“‘Water Saint’ doesn’t have much flair. And the title was never officially granted to me face-to-face. Why bother reporting it?”

He tilted his sword back. The smile vanished from his face.

“Besides—next time I return to the Main Dojo…”

“That title’s going to need updating.”

Beneath the tree, Eris’s eyes sparkled wide. She bounced in place, giddy with excitement.

“That sounded so cool!”

Rudeus shook his head—

But Eris suddenly furrowed her brow.

“Wait… Water God Main Dojo… why does that sound familiar?”

Her eyes widened.

“Isn’t that the one in the Capital?!”

“Yes,” Rudeus cut in before she could finish.

“The best Water God-style swordsmen in the Asura Kingdom are usually trained there. It is the Main Dojo.”

Eris blinked. “Then doesn’t that mean Allen trained alongside that other Allen in the Capital?!”

Rudeus shrugged, half-relieved by how simple Eris’s thinking was.

“Who knows? Maybe they were classmates?”

Eris scowled.

“Huh? Classmates? Then who’s stronger?!”

Rudeus gave a small smile.

“Obviously…”

“Allen is stronger.”

Eris was about to shout something else, but Ghislaine’s voice from the field interrupted her.

They turned.

“I’m attacking. Allen will defend. So for clarity—this strike…”

“Will be a Sword Saint-level…”

“[Longsword of Light].”

“Eris.”

“Watch closely.”

---

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!