Mushoku Tensei: Sword, Magic Hats, and the Romance System [112]

The Thomas incident barely caused a ripple in the lord’s manor.

For one, the evidence was solid—his death well deserved.

For another, it had all happened far too quickly. Whoever did it hadn’t followed the usual noble way of handling things. No long games. No careful planning. Just decisive action. Before anyone could react, Thomas—his face washed clean, corpse neatly arranged—was already laid bare before everyone.

It felt… real.

Philip had envisioned a different path entirely: two days spent carefully guiding Sauros to suspect Thomas, then placing him under house arrest, gathering proof step by step—

And finally, executing him publicly to make an example of him.

Instead, that whole drawn-out process had been condensed into a matter of minutes. What Philip received in the end was nothing but undeniable evidence—

And a cold, lifeless body.

Still, cleanup fell to him. Thomas had tangled roots throughout the lord’s manor, and Philip would need to reassure certain town factions aligned with him. Not to mention the opportunistic vipers in the Capital—word would need to reach them as well, as a warning.

So, he promoted another well-prepared steward—Alphonse—and departed before noon.

As for Sauros, he vanished without another word.

Which left the red-haired young lady—who now considered herself the true mistress of the estate—to march off with Allen and the others in tow. Alphonse followed helplessly, trailing after them with his usual dignified pace as they wove through long hallways, deep into the manor’s grander residential wing.

Her stated goal: to assign bedrooms.

But it didn’t go quite as smoothly as she intended.

Eris tried to place Allen and Sylphy in rooms adjacent to her own—only to meet the fierce resistance of Alphonse, who looked ready to throw himself on a sword to stop it.

“Why not?!” she shouted.

“Milady, please have mercy on me. If the master finds out, I’ll be replaced before sunset!”

“Huh?! Don’t get in my way!!”

Alphonse—elegantly dressed, goat-like beard immaculately trimmed, and a monocle perched with scholarly poise—looked utterly disheveled. His glasses were crooked, nearly slipping down to his lips, and he was using every last ounce of strength to restrain the noble young hurricane.

“Milady! Please—noble etiquette! You can’t just house guests next to your bedroom! It’s… unseemly! Simply not proper! This area is for the master, the young master, and yourself—guests belong in the guest wing!”

He also kept darting desperate looks toward Allen, Sylphy, and Rudeus, silently begging for backup.

Alas, none came.

Rudeus, usually happy to spectate, and Sylphy, ever thoughtful and considerate, stood quietly on either side of Allen. Both looked a little stunned by the scene. But their eyes kept shifting toward Allen, unable to ignore the heavy silence he carried since that brutal execution in the square.

That suffocating presence—they’d never seen it before.

It made the air feel tense.

The hallway fell into silence.

Even their footsteps stilled.

Allen finally registered the shift in mood, pulling his thoughts away from the red-dressed figure of Hilda disappearing among her maids. His gaze lowered.

Before him, an old man and three youths stared back, eyes fixed squarely on his face.

He blinked, then turned to Alphonse.

“If this is the residential area, did Lord Philip give you any instructions?”

Alphonse stole a glance at the sulking Eris, who was staring daggers at Allen. He gave an awkward chuckle.

“The young master left in quite a hurry. He only said…”

He paused, hesitating a moment, as if puzzled by the memory, then continued.

“…He said to follow your orders in all things. However… I do believe it’s inappropriate for you to stay in this wing.”

“What?! Father already said to listen to Allen!”

Just as Eris began raising her voice, Allen casually reached out and flicked the little tuft of hair atop her head, halting what was clearly going to be a violent outburst toward the old steward. She swayed side to side in frustration, clearly displeased.

“We’ll stay in the guest wing,” Allen said.

“Huh?”

He crouched slightly, meeting the young mad dog’s eyes. His gaze was calm.

“Eris, it’s not appropriate.”

“Huh??”

“This part of the manor isn’t just your personal space. Your mother lives here. Your father. Your grandfather. It’s not yours alone—it belongs to your whole family. For guests like us, it’s more respectful to stay in the guest wing. That way, the boundaries stay clear.”

He turned toward Alphonse.

“Alphonse serves your family—he manages your household for your grandfather. That’s his job. So don’t make it harder for him. Alright?”

As his words fell, Sylphy and Rudeus exchanged glances—both visibly stiff.

Meanwhile, Alphonse began nodding so fast it was a blur, clearly relieved beyond words.

Eris stared at Allen for a moment, then reluctantly huffed, “Fine! We’ll stay in the guest wing. Alphonse! Lead the way!”

...

The guest wing was tucked into a far corner of the manor’s first floor, long unused.

Directly across from it was the classroom Eris used for her lessons—a guestroom repurposed into a makeshift study.

Compared to the rest of the estate’s spacious and finely purposed rooms, this one felt a little rough around the edges.

But thanks to its southern exposure, it got decent sunlight.

According to Alphonse, the lord’s manor rarely hosted guests—so the so-called “guest wing” had functioned more like a dormitory for Eris’s rotating line of tutors. The classroom being across the hall? Pure convenience.

Of course, the same convenience had once been exploited by a certain red-haired lady of the house—who liked to sneak in at dawn and ambush sleeping teachers with a wooden sword.

That part had not been part of the original plan.

Now, inside the classroom, the sunlight fell across the table in front of them. As Rudeus twitched at the corner of his mouth, Alphonse was bowing deeply and assuring them all they had nothing to worry about.

He sounded very sincere.

Meanwhile, Eris was staring at the chairs in front of the table, subtly counting with her fingers.

The moment Alphonse finished speaking, she suddenly pointed and made her grand announcement:

“That one’s my seat!”

The chair directly in the middle.

“That one’s Sylphy’s!”

To her left.

“That one’s Allen’s!”

To her right.

“And that one’s Ghislaine’s!”

Across from her.

“There! All set!”

Flawlessly done.

She’d perfectly accounted for the four chairs at the table.

Rudeus, who’d still been listening to Alphonse, blinked.

“…What about me?”

Eris raised an eyebrow.

“Hah? You stand.”

Pfft. Sylphy stifled a laugh, quickly covering her mouth. She turned to Allen.

He could only give a helpless, bitter smile.

But with that smile, the heavy tension between them seemed to dissolve all at once—lightening the mood completely.

---

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!