Mushoku Tensei: Sword, Magic Hats, and the Romance System [121]

Once the schedule was finalized—

Under Edna’s direction, they immediately launched into a tightly packed trial day of classes.

Edna herself insisted on staying behind, citing, “If anything unexpected comes up during lessons, it’ll be easier to adjust on the fly.”

Worth noting: Allen also stayed behind, using the pretext, “Since Ghislaine is both a teacher and a student in reading and writing, it makes more sense for me to stay and participate as well. That way the class atmosphere stays lively.”

Sylphy, still quite young, hadn’t yet fully wrapped her head around suddenly becoming a “private tutor.” Naturally, she just followed the others’ lead.

And so, the usually cramped and quiet classroom suddenly felt bustling and lively.

Thanks to that, the young lady’s mood was quite good, and she accepted the reality of having to attend class with surprising ease.

And just like that—

Rudeus’s torture session of a lecture began.

The first subject: Reading and Writing.

As a seasoned NEET talent blessed by Japan’s compulsory education system, Rudeus naturally knew the importance of preparing lesson plans and teaching strategies. But to do that, he first had to understand his students’ current literacy levels.

So, step one: an assessment of Eris and Ghislaine’s reading and writing abilities.

With that in mind, Rudeus glanced across the table at the trio.

Allen watched him with a faint smile; Sylphy was gently coaxing Eris, trying to help her accept Rudeus’s new role as her tutor.

Seeing this, Rudeus felt a surge of reassurance.

Allen and Sylphy’s literacy wasn’t in question—the former could write with the elegant Asuran noble script, and the latter had been trained up by both Allen and himself over the past two years. Solid, dependable.

So, even though Allen had dumped reading, math, and history on him, the burden wasn’t too heavy. Plus, both of them had stayed to help maintain order, with Sylphy even taking up the role of class monitor. Could it be Allen stayed behind because he was worried about him?

He was even smiling right now—

Was that his way of telling Rudeus to relax and give it his best?

Rudeus nodded quietly to himself.

Truly reliable companions.

…Wait. There was also Ghislaine.

He turned his head.

Ghislaine sat beside him, wearing a serious expression and watching him intently. Unlike Eris, she exuded a calming presence—focused and composed.

A mature student, earnest and unlikely to disrupt the class.

Excellent. The atmosphere was ideal for teaching.

Allen really had thought this through. And as the oldest among them, it was only right for Rudeus to shoulder more responsibility.

Now then, time to assess Eris and Ghislaine’s literacy so he could tailor the curriculum accordingly.

Clearing his throat, Rudeus addressed the class.

“So, I know you’re Eris and Ghislaine, but to avoid confusion with similar-sounding names—”

He reached into the drawer and handed out sheets of blank paper.

“—let’s have everyone write their names. It’ll help with introductions and give me a starting point for evaluating your literacy so I can build out the lesson plan.”

Pfft.

Everyone turned to Allen, who had suddenly snorted with laughter.

He was now pinching his own cheek in visible agony. The past few days had weighed on him, and he’d mostly stayed to watch the show—but even he couldn’t suppress his reaction to this moment.

Planning a literacy curriculum for the illiterates of the Sword Sanctum…

It was too much.

“Sorry, sorry. Just thought of something funny. Please continue.”

Eris glanced at Allen, raised her eyebrows—and broke into a smug, fire-bright grin!

She snatched up the paper and immediately scribbled her name across it with a flourish!

Rudeus, however, kept staring at Allen.

A sudden sense of dread gnawed at his gut.

Wait… don’t tell me…

Eris can’t write??

That… wouldn’t be unreasonable, would it?

In a slight panic, he turned to look at her—but Eris had already finished and tossed the sheet in front of his face.

Rudeus leaned in and read it. And to his immense relief—

It was fine.

Each character was written with slightly exaggerated strokes, rigid and upright, but legible. No typos. There was even the faintest trace of noble calligraphy flair.

Scared me half to death…

He exhaled deeply and turned to Allen—

Only to find him utterly composed, his expression blank. When he noticed Rudeus’s look, he even raised his eyebrows slightly, as if to say, What’s up?

As though that laugh a moment ago had been nothing but a dream.

Rudeus blinked, dazed, then shook his head quickly and turned back to Eris.

“Not bad. The penmanship’s nice—just needs more practice. By the way, that script… did you attend a noble academy before?”

“I did!” the wild dog said proudly.

Rudeus blinked.

“Then why are you at home with private tutors now?”

“Huh? Because the teachers were all long-winded nags, and my classmates made fun of me. They talked too much—it was annoying!”

She was resting her chin on her hand now, frowning at the names Allen and Sylphy written on the papers next to her.

Rudeus’s gaze softened involuntarily.

Ah… even a young lady like her could be bullied…

His tone gentled as well.

“I see… so you dropped—uh, stopped going to school? Didn’t Lord Philip say anything about going back or giving it another try?”

Eris raised an eyebrow, visibly confused.

“Try what? School? No! I beat up those teachers and classmates. Then Father picked me up. He didn’t say anything else!”

Rudeus froze.

Then blanched.

You got expelled?! What kind of person beats up their teachers?!

He edged slightly away from her.

Whatever misplaced sympathy he’d felt earlier was completely gone—replaced with deep, deep unease. He tried probing further.

“Did you have reading or math tutors before us?”

“Yup!”

“And… did they quit?”

“Quit? What’s that?”

“Uh, like…”

Before he could finish, Edna’s voice drifted in, eerily calm.

“They did quit. The previous instructors failed to win Lady Eris’s favor, felt defeated, and left.”

“Lord Philip gave each of them a bonus to soften the blow. Young Master Rudeus, rest assured—the Boreas family never mistreats its tutors.”

Rudeus blinked.

“Wait—quitters get compensation?”

The Boreas family was… oddly humane. Was this just big-household confidence?

He was still mulling this over when he heard someone furiously kneading their face. He looked up and saw Allen rubbing his cheeks in pain—his expression stricken, but his eyes oddly impressed as they landed on Edna.

Just then, Edna responded to Rudeus’s unspoken question.

“Yes. It was mainly for the physical and mental strain they endured.”

Rudeus blinked again.

Then paled.

That’s not quitting—that’s fleeing after being beaten!

He looked at Eris—who, far from looking ashamed, was nodding proudly.

“I taught him a lesson with my wooden sword while he was sleeping!”

The classroom fell into stunned silence, the only sound Allen continuing to grind his palm against his face.

It was a long moment before Rudeus snapped out of it. He looked at Eris… then at Allen.

“Alright.”

“Fine.”

“Great.”

“Let’s move on to the next step. Now that we all know each other’s names, I’d like everyone to write down ten words—anything that comes to mind. Don’t overthink it. Just write whatever pops into your head.”

Pfft.

Rudeus looked expressionlessly at Allen.

Who had his hand over his mouth.

“I’m fine. Just sneezed. Please continue. Ten subconscious words, got it?”

“Allen, are you alright? Feeling unwell?” Sylphy asked with concern.

“No, I’m fine, Sylphy. Thank you.”

Rudeus stared at Allen’s face—and felt a cold sweat break down his back. He turned to Eris and Ghislaine.

He’d expected nervous frowns and hesitant scribbles—but instead, both were sitting confidently, arms crossed, eyes fixed on their papers. Faces calm, expressions filled with Sword God–style confidence. After only a brief pause, they picked up their pens and began writing.

The room went quiet, the only sound the soft scratching of quills.

Rudeus sighed in relief.

Maybe I was overthinking…

He rubbed his chin, deep in thought.

This “ten random words” exercise wasn’t as simple as it looked.

It was a profiling tool—one he’d picked up from playing visual novels back in his old life. A teacher-character would use it to understand a heroine’s personality.

Since Lady Eris wasn’t exactly the easiest student to teach, it was critical not just to evaluate her literacy—but her temperament, interests, daily habits, and emotional state. If he didn’t, he might end up the next tutor who gets ambushed in his sleep and exits with a “BAD END.”

For example:

If she wrote words like “apple, orange, bread, desk, chair, book, class”—that’d imply:

—Weak literacy, beginner level; young age, simple lifestyle; no social life; loves food; innocent disposition. A “nurturing” approach would work.

If she wrote “bag, headphones, perfume, ring, money, bracelet”—then:

—Decent literacy; extroverted; stylish; probably a fashionable JK high school girl. Use money as leverage.

In the world of swords and magic, a comparable example:

Paul: Zenith, Lilia, bed, magic, trash, swordsmanship, awesome, Allen, fencing, family.

—A carefree “man-child” type. Constantly thinking about weird stuff (which often resulted in strange noises at night). Loves swordplay, hates magic, values family. Probably best if Allen handles him.

It was a simple but effective profiling method.

Multi-purpose.

Perfect for gauging baseline aptitude.

“Done!”

Eris’s sudden shout broke his train of thought. She slid her paper across the table. Ghislaine handed hers over as well.

“Oh? Done already? Let’s see…”

He looked down.

And his vision went black.

Eris’s paper:

Eris; Eris; Eris; Eris; Eris; Eris; Eris; Eris; Eris; Eris.

Ghislaine’s paper:

Ghislaine; Ghislaine; Ghislaine; Ghislaine; Ghislaine; Ghislaine; Ghislaine; Ghislaine; Ghislaine; Ghislaine.

Rudeus was dumbstruck.

He looked up slowly—only to find Allen and Sylphy both covering their faces, unable to bear it.

His pride took a direct hit. Rage surged. He ground out his words in disbelief:

“Are you mocking me? Why only your own names? Is that all you ever think about? We’ve worked together for weeks—couldn’t you at least write each other’s names?”

Eris and Ghislaine exchanged a look. As if they suddenly realized that not being able to write each other’s names might be an issue, they each reached for fresh paper.

Then—

They turned slowly, eyes drifting to each other’s sheets, and started copying.

Stroke by stroke.

Like students copying off each other’s homework.

That’s when it hit Rudeus.

“Wait… don’t tell me… the only word you both know how to write is your own name?!”

Eris raised her brow.

“So what? You got a problem with that?”

Ghislaine looked slightly apologetic.

“In Human Language, I can speak fine. Writing… so far I only know how to write my name.”

Rudeus was stunned speechless. After a long pause, he forced out his reply through clenched teeth:

“...Alright, fine. We’ll start from zero.”

...

Two hours later:

Results of “starting from zero” —

Eris and Ghislaine successfully learned how to write each other’s names.

---

T/N: WHAT AN ACCOMPLISHMENT!

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!