Mushoku Tensei: Sword, Magic Hats, and the Romance System [123]

With a loud thud, Eris shot up from her seat, slamming her hands on the table.

“Why do we even need subtraction, multiplication, or division?! When would I ever use that stuff?!”

Rudeus took a deep breath and answered as calmly as he could.

“Subtraction is used when you’re getting change after buying something.”

“You have to get change when you buy things?”

“…”

“Multiplication helps calculate total quantities. Like if everyone wants two pieces of bread, and there are six people—”

“You can just go get the bread from the kitchen!”

“…”

“Division is used when you need to evenly split one hundred silver coins between five people—”

SLAM.

Eris smacked the table again.

“That’s what I’m asking!! Why do we have to split it?! Just give everyone one hundred silver coins, problem solved!”

Rudeus felt his throat go dry.

Of course. Kids who don’t want to study always pull this kind of nonsense.

He looked up at the young lady of the Boreas family, ready to fire back—but then paused.

Her eyes were locked onto his with burning intensity.

The look of a hunter sizing up prey.

It reminded him of last winter—

Of the red, bloodthirsty eyes of the monsters that roamed the snowy valley.

Rudeus instinctively turned to Allen, silently begging for help.

This is hopeless. Can’t hit her, can’t scold her, and if I say the wrong thing, I might not live to see tomorrow’s sunrise.

Time to call for backup.

Allen the Human Toolbox could fix anything.

Allen had his hands in his sleeves, watching the show with amusement. But when everyone turned to him in unison, he blinked, then shifted his gaze toward Ghislaine, who was smiling ever so faintly while admiring her test results.

In the original storyline, it was Ghislaine who finally convinced Eris to take arithmetic seriously. And back then, Rudeus had also turned to her for help—though he’d pulled the tearful-water-magic trick to win her sympathy, which was a bit much.

But this time—

Allen glanced at Rudeus, who was now hopelessly tugging at his hair.

No, there was no way he’d cry like that again. Not in this timeline. His pride wouldn’t allow it.

Still, Allen remembered Ghislaine’s speech, if not word for word. The gist of it was too absurd for him to repeat himself.

Better to let her say it.

Convincing Eris directly would be hard. He needed to set the stage—subtle verbal cues to nudge things along.

Right. This’ll work.

Let’s go, Ghislaine. Time to say something unforgettable.

“Ghislaine, your arithmetic seems better than Eris’s. Got any tricks you could share with us?”

Ghislaine looked pleased at the praise—her face remained stoic, but the way her tail swished through the air with a soft whooshing sound gave her away.

She glanced at Allen, eyes distant with memory, and began with a line that landed like a blade.

“There was a time when I saw nothing but the sword.”

As expected, Eris immediately turned to her, eyes sparkling.

“Back when I was an adventurer, everything was taken care of by others. All I had to do was hold my sword.”

“And then—”

“Draw.”

“Swing.”

“Kill the monster.”

“No need for complicated thoughts.”

“So simple.”

Allen raised an eyebrow. This monologue hadn’t been in the original. But the rhythm, the flavor—this was pure Sword God Style. It resonated with him deeply as someone who practiced the Silent Sword technique.

Once again, he felt the vivid weight of the Mushoku Tensei world pressing in.

Ghislaine glanced briefly at Rudeus.

“Even after joining the Fangs of the Black Wolf, that didn’t change. Paul, Zenith, and Ghyslaine took care of the logistics—gear, food, potions, basic supplies, contracts, maps, road signs… how much water a canteen could carry, how to preserve a fire source…”

“I never gave it much thought. But seven years ago, when Paul and Zenith retired and the party disbanded—something changed.”

She looked down at her own hands, her expression turning grave.

“For a swordswoman, swinging a blade may seem like the simplest thing. But when I entered a labyrinth alone… I realized that as an adventurer, the sword wasn’t my only lifeline.”

“What was it?!” Eris shouted, leaning forward in anticipation.

The room went silent. Everyone’s attention zeroed in on Ghislaine. With her voice and presence, she had them all hooked.

After a pause, she looked back at them and said:

“Uh…”

The group collectively leaned in.

“I can’t really explain it well… but—arithmetic is important.”

SMACK.

The sound of Allen slapping his own face echoed through the room. The three kids looked confused. Edna—ever expressionless—watched Ghislaine without blinking, as though she’d expected this all along.

Ghislaine noticed Allen massaging his face again, then continued.

“I might not say it well, but I can give an example.”

“Take what Rudy mentioned—dividing supplies. In a dungeon, things break or get lost during fights. You have to portion out what’s left based on how many days it’ll take to get back. Just enough each day to survive.”

At that, her face tightened—clearly recalling a painful memory.

“That job was always someone else’s. But when I went into a dungeon alone, I didn’t know how to do that math. I miscalculated and finished all my rations in the first two days.”

“And then what?!” Eris was practically bouncing in her seat now. Anything adventurer-related thrilled her to no end.

“For the next three days… I had no food. No water. Just when I thought I’d starve to death, I caught a scent—something smelled good.”

“A scent?” Rudeus and Eris asked at once.

Allen quietly buried his face in his hands again.

Ghislaine’s voice rang out in a flat, even tone.

“I realized that when you’re starving… even monster dung smells delicious.”

The words fell like a stone.

Sylphy and Rudeus both turned green.

But Eris’s eyes glittered with awe.

“Why?!”

Ghislaine looked up.

“Because—”

“They’d been eating human flesh.”

“And the undigested meat, once trampled and broken apart—”

Her voice remained utterly calm.

“Smelled wonderful.”

“Tasted…”

“Even better.”

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T/N: AFIAHIOFHAIOSHFAHFIOASHIOFAHIOFA

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!