Mushoku Tensei: Sword, Magic Hats, and the Romance System [122]

After the reading and writing class ended, Rudeus—who had been tortured for two full hours—finally let out a long sigh of relief.

During the break, four beastgirls arrived carrying elegant trays, offering snacks that included delicately baked, fluffy bread and a light, fermented fruit beverage.

For the trio from Buena Village, this was their first real taste of a noble’s classroom.

Undoubtedly, this was a scene that never occurred in the original storyline.

After delivering the refreshments, the four beastgirls lined up behind Allen and Eris, hands folded in front of them, smiles soft and serene.

Eris, initially surprised, adapted quickly—as expected of the young lady. She leaned back comfortably against her personal cat-eared maid, inhaling the familiar scent of animal fur and perfume as she received a head massage with unabashed ease.

After all, she had just completed an actual lesson in reading and writing and achieved unexpected results—it had been exhausting for her.

Even though Rudeus’s face had turned green during the class.

Eris, on the other hand, was quite pleased with herself, her face glowing with pride.

She had written Ghislaine’s name!

At this moment, she quietly made a resolution in her heart:

One week—

No!

One month!

She would learn to write “Allen,” “Grandpa,” and “Mother Dearest”!

Hmph!

Beside her, Allen—being a skilled Water God Style swordsman—could feel the flood of information pouring into his senses even without turning around:

The layered perfume scent drifting into his nose from the side, different from last night’s, now blended with the beastkin's natural musk under the heat of the midday sun, forming something akin to musk from his past life;

The swishing tails of the maids behind him, wagging joyfully, their fluffy fur stirring the air and brushing against his goosebump-covered arms in a prickly, ticklish breeze;

And the gazes—burning and focused—staring at his well-proportioned back and shoulders, not with killing intent, but with something else entirely, making him feel like he was sitting on a bed of needles.

Then, in his direct line of sight—

Rudeus, who had just realized the sudden reversal in fortune, was grinning with that classic “spectator energy” smirk. Under the morning sunlight, the expression was so radiant it stung Allen’s eyes.

In that instant, the joy Allen had felt watching two hours of comedy evaporated entirely. His whole body tensed up, sitting rigidly upright like a wooden post.

Philip, you bastard, you’re not giving up, are you?!

The next moment—

Sylphy’s voice rang out, still gentle, but no longer carrying the shy hesitance it once did. Her tone was bright and energetic, with a slight lift at the end—not arrogant or domineering like Eris, but brimming with cheerful presence.

“It’s really delicious~ Thank you all! Class will start again soon. Do you need anything else, onee-sans?”

Allen blinked.

Hm?

Sylphy’s tone—

She’d grown noticeably stronger since waking up that morning. It reminded him of that calm and open posture she’d shown during her solo years in the anime timeline—when she’d returned to Buena Village, spent time at Paul’s house, and played with Aisha.

Sylphy was always meant to be like this.

Still, it felt strange.

Could it be that my butterfly effect—bringing her to Roa, a place she never reached in the original timeline—is what changed her?

That thought washed away the anxiety he’d felt under the beastgirls’ watchful stares.

Allen blinked again, a smile curling at the corners of his lips.

A good thing.

She grew stronger without having to suffer.

This journey through time… wasn’t in vain.

He hadn’t left her alone in Buena Village as the plot once demanded—but brought her to Roa with him.

It was absolutely the right decision.

The maids lowered their eyes, gazing at Sylphy’s pointed long ears—then twitched their own ears in response and all let out a soft, amused giggle.

The cat-eared maid ruffled Eris’s hair, then led the others in a graceful bow before exiting.

Soft, half-teasing whispers drifted back to Allen through the air, freezing his smile in place.

“So… he likes that kind of ear, huh…”

“Hehe… Arifa’s rabbit ears… they’re very long. Tempting, tonight…”

“Oh hush, stop fooling around. I can’t handle it alone…”

“Don’t be shy~ Shame… we missed our reward from the young master. That bonus was six months’ salary!”

Allen stiffly turned his head toward Sylphy.

He swore he could hear the pop and creak of his vertebrae grinding together.

In his field of vision—

Red-brown eyes met his.

Strands of white hair danced across her cheeks in the wind, her face faintly flushed.

Her expression didn’t change much. She simply gave Allen a soft, natural smile—then calmly turned over the “ten random words” she had written earlier and placed it facedown on the table.

...

Rudeus didn’t get to enjoy his break for long.

Phase two of his torment began.

Given Ghislaine and Eris’s catastrophic reading levels, today’s arithmetic assessment consisted solely of basic single-digit operations—four problems each for values below and above 5.

Rudeus took up the answer sheets, which had taken Ghislaine and Eris a whopping fifteen minutes to complete.

He was visibly tense.

First, he checked Ghislaine’s sheet—and immediately relaxed. He nodded inwardly.

Ghislaine’s sheet:

2 + 3 = (5)
3 − 2 = (1)
1 × 4 = (4)
4 ÷ 1 = (4)
4 + 6 = (10)
7 − 3 = (4)
6 × 4 = ( )
8 ÷ 2 = (blot of ink, scratched out) → (4)

Not bad. Ghislaine clearly struggled with multiplication and division, but her accuracy was high overall. As for 6 × 4 = (24), it seemed she just couldn’t process numbers beyond twenty yet. With some more number familiarity, she’d get it.

Most importantly, the content on the sheet showed she had taken it seriously. Despite the time spent, she clearly put in effort.

And effort—was everything.

Good. Now for Eris…

Against his better judgment, Rudeus let himself hope—just a little—and flipped over Eris’s assessment.

His pupils contracted.

His face contorted with emotion.

Eris’s sheet:

2 + 3 = (5!)
3 − 2 = (5!)
1 × 4 = (5!)
4 ÷ 1 = (5!)
4 + 6 = (10!)
7 − 3 = (10!)
6 × 4 = (10!)
8 ÷ 2 = (10!)

It was as though every answer came with an exclamation point—but upon blinking, he realized it was just Eris’s wildly enthusiastic handwriting. It unconsciously conveyed her spoken tone onto the page.

I mean… I guess that’s consistent with her personality…

Consistent, my ass!

Rudeus shot his head up, staring straight at Eris.

“Wait—at that noble school, did you only learn addition?!”

“No! That guy who I beat up with a wooden sword taught me!”

“…Wow, you’re really generous to that guy. Alright, what’s 12 plus 8?”

“Eh? I can’t do numbers over ten!”

Rudeus sucked in a sharp breath and, without thinking, kicked Allen under the table to stop the laugh that was about to explode from his throat.

“You can’t just treat every single operator like it’s addition!”

“Hah?! You’re such a nag, shorty!”

---

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!