Mushoku Tensei: Sword, Magic Hats, and the Romance System [113]

The moment Eris made her snide remark, Rudeus instinctively wanted to snap back at her—but then, he heard Allen laugh.

He blinked, glancing toward him.

Allen’s expression had finally relaxed, ever so subtly. The tension in his face eased, and Rudeus let out a small breath of relief.

Allen’s looking a bit better now. Man, the pressure he was giving off earlier was intense. His whole face was locked tight—just seeing him like that made you nervous. When we first met, his expression was already intimidating, but today… today felt different. The pressure wasn’t from a sour mood or dislike—it came from somewhere deeper.

Back then, he just didn’t like to smile. Looked fierce, but that was it. Today, though… there’s this oppressive force radiating from him. Like it’s rooted inside.

While Rudeus was still lost in thought, Alphonse had already sighed and ordered the maids to fetch another chair from the room next door. Eris, smug that her rebellious little thorn had finally yielded to “discipline,” puffed up proudly and started marching ahead, ready to lead the next “tour.”

Their footsteps echoed down the hallway as the group filed out one by one.

Eris led the way, Allen just behind her. Rudeus unconsciously trailed after Allen, eyes drawn to the heels of his boots—

Still stained with Thomas’s blood.

Is Allen acting strange because he just killed someone? Like me—does he need time to get used to it?

No. That’s not it.

Allen isn’t the type to be shaken by death. He doesn’t flinch like I do after killing. He moves with clarity—taking a life is no different to him than eating or breathing. There’s no hesitation. Whether it was that time he handled my bounty issue solo, or when he waded through a lake of blood in Snow Valley for an entire day and night, or last night—chasing down the assassin and dragging his severed head back like it was nothing. It’s who he is.

Their steps fell in rhythm with Rudeus’s thoughts. Before long, they’d reached the door.

Someone like Allen… that kind of decisive action stems from an unshakable will. His resolve must be ironclad.

Thud.

Rudeus smacked right into Allen’s back.

The impact broke his thoughts. He looked up—Allen had stopped moving, stuck in the doorway.

Everyone except Eris, who was already ahead, was halted by his still form. One by one, they turned to look.

Allen’s head was tilted slightly, his eyes locked on the far end of the hallway—toward the corner.

Then, he lowered his gaze, staring down at his boots.

A soft sound drifted into the silence.

A faint shh—shh—the whisper of fabric brushing against the floor, accompanied by light, careful footsteps.

Rudeus blinked.

That sound…

A skirt.

And then, someone rounded the corner.

Dressed in crimson, her fiery hair like burning silk—Hilda.

She had changed. Her new dress was even more elegant than the one from this morning, high-collared and formal, outlining the dignified bearing of the lady of the house. She glided down the corridor, every step composed.

“Mother!” Eris cried and immediately ran into her arms.

Rudeus’s eyes dropped briefly to the train of her dress brushing against the ground—then to the gap Allen had left at the doorway.

He’d left exactly enough space for Hilda to pass through.

Looking up, he saw Allen’s face.

Expressionless again. Just like earlier.

In his peripheral vision, the mother and daughter were already talking.

“Mother, are you going to eat now?”

“Ah, I… haven’t decided. What about you, Eris?”

“I’m showing them the library before lunch! Sylphy’s really interested in it!”

“...I see. Then go ahead. But come to the dining room afterward, alright?”

“Ah, Mother—can I eat with them?”

Normally, hired tutors for the Boreas family would never share a table with Hilda, Philip, or Sauros. Meals for guests were typically prepared separately by the servants.

Hilda hesitated for a moment.

Then replied, “...Alright.”

“Yes!”

Footsteps resumed. The crimson dress swept past them.

Allen and Sylphy both bowed their heads in respect.

Rudeus, however, looked directly at Hilda.

Just as they passed, their eyes met—briefly.

And in that moment, somehow, he saw a flicker of disdain in her gaze. But it wasn’t pure. It was muddled with uncertainty. Confusion.

Even vulnerability.

Does she… hate me?

But if someone hated you, would they look at you like that?

Rudeus wasn’t sure. The old him would’ve said yes without hesitation. But ever since meeting Allen—especially after the monster horde incident in Snow Valley—he’d come to see Allen as a true lifesaver. And since then, his dreams had started changing.

He dreamed of being kicked out of his old home. Of the expressions on his siblings’ faces.

Back then, he’d thought those eyes were filled with nothing but disgust. Their scolding voices, full of loathing.

But when everyone had run toward Allen in Snow Valley—he remembered those expressions perfectly.

Joy. Relief. Gratitude. Guilt. Confusion.

Human emotions are complicated. Never just one thing.

Why could he remember all those emotions so clearly?

Because he’d been there. Surrounded by them. Right in the middle of that storm of feeling.

Of course he could sense what he’d been feeling then.

And when he realized that, the visions in his dreams began to sharpen.

The faces of his siblings gained dimension—layers.

Disgust? Hatred?

What lay beneath that?

The faint hope when they opened the door. The disappointment when they saw him still crouched in front of his computer, obsessed with his erotic games.

Then came the fury. The shouting. The rejection.

But that rage wasn’t born from nowhere. It had built up, disappointment after disappointment.

What were they hoping for? What made them feel let down?

Rudeus began interrogating himself the way Allen did—with calm, relentless inquiry. Like Allen had done to Lilia during the Snow Valley affair, Rudeus pressed himself, again and again, across countless dreams.

And finally, he reached a conclusion.

His siblings had hoped—hoped that he’d left the house out of shame, maybe even gone to the funeral in secret. If that had been true, they could’ve given him one last chance.

But he hadn’t defied their expectations.

That failure… that was the disappointment.

If he had faced them earnestly, apologized from the heart, acknowledged their feelings, begged for forgiveness—if he’d shown he was ready to change…

Just like Allen made Paul and Lilia do, that night after the affair—

Instead of clutching his computer and his games, wailing “Don’t treat me like this...”

Would things have ended differently?

Rudeus didn’t know.

And now, he’d never get the chance.

But just now—he had seen something in Hilda’s eyes.

He recognized it.

Layer upon layer of emotion, built up over time.

It wasn’t simple disgust.

Beneath it… there was something more.

What was it?

As those thoughts swirled in his mind, Hilda had already walked away.

Almost unconsciously, Rudeus turned to look at Allen’s face.

That smile from earlier—gone.

His father had thrown up test after test. His grandfather had dismissed him without a word.

And now?

A mother who didn’t recognize him—

But still, instinctively,

Shed tears.

---

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!