Mushoku Tensei: Sword, Magic Hats, and the Romance System [60]

It was right after dinner when Zenith placed her hand on her stomach and quietly announced that she was pregnant.

Paul had clearly known ahead of time—but even so, he couldn’t fully contain his joy. He nearly lunged in to hug her, but stopped himself at the last moment, flailing his arms like a fool where he stood.

Ever since Zenith gave birth to Rudeus, they’d both wanted a second child. And now, at last, that wish was coming true.

Rudeus lit up in awe. He immediately rushed to her side, joining the ecstatic Paul in pressing his ear against her belly.

Zenith smiled gently and stroked his head.

“That’s wonderful, Rudeus. You won’t be an only child anymore.”

Then, she paused and glanced to the side—where Allen stood with arms crossed, smiling inscrutably.

“That means... you’ll have another little brother or sister to play with. We’ll have a third child in the family. So, you’d better take your job as a big brother seriously, okay~?”

Rudeus nodded enthusiastically—then turned to look at Allen, eyes glittering with a strange expression.

Allen had been too far away to clearly hear what Zenith said, but he sensed they’d mentioned him. His smile faded a bit, and he tilted his head in confusion.

Rudeus just smiled and went back to listening to Zenith’s belly.

So Allen’s my distant cousin... I still can’t quite wrap my head around that. The guy’s amazing in social settings—super sharp at reading people, always knowing the perfect thing to say.

But when it comes to his own feelings, he’s kind of... slow.

Is it a confidence thing? Paul mentioned his background is complicated, that his biological father even tried to have him killed.

Maybe he’s just never felt a real sense of family, never learned how to deal with others caring about him. It’s not like me—I’m detached because I reincarnated. He’s the way he is because of the life he’s lived.

Rudeus gave Allen a glance that carried a subtle hint of sympathy.

Just in time to see Paul scoop him up from Zenith’s belly and happily replace Rudeus by nuzzling into her lap like a puppy.

Allen: …

Rudeus: …

Just then, Lilia emerged from the kitchen, having finished the dishes. She glanced at Paul, then bowed with her usual calm.

“Congratulations, Madam.”

Zenith smiled and patted Paul’s head, teasing lightly.

“Thank you~ But Lilia, you’ve been with us for over five years now. Shouldn’t we find someone for you too? It must get lonely being on your own.”

Lilia looked down at the hem of her maid uniform, her voice low and obedient.

“Thank you for your concern, Madam… but I don’t have any such plans for now. The future is a bit... unclear.”

“Ah, that’s true. You were once a noble family’s guard, after all. There probably aren’t many suitable matches here in the village. At the very least, they’d need to be someone of Paul’s caliber to be worthy of you. Paul, should we ask Philip to help? Maybe find a minor noble who’d be a good fit?”

Paul flicked a quick glance at Lilia.

She kept her head low, red bangs falling across her eyes. Her crimson gaze, however, was fixed directly on Paul’s.

Their eyes met—then quickly darted away.

Paul’s expression stiffened.

He remembered his past... and the inappropriate “indulgences” he’d forced on her. His heart started to pound with guilt.

“Y-Yeah, that might be... Lilia is, um, very capable... Ha. Haha...”

Allen watched their awkward exchange with arms still crossed, a knowing smile forming on his lips.

Here it comes... the affair subplot from the original.

The timing matches, too. Maybe this time, the butterfly effect won’t mess things up.

Knock, knock, knock!

A sudden burst of knocks on the door.

Allen blinked and turned toward it. This wasn’t in the original. His mind immediately jumped to the night a month ago when Roxy had shown up unannounced.

No way... not another butterfly effect, right?

But before he could spiral further, both Zenith and Paul responded casually:

“Must be Laws.”

“Yeah, probably him.”

Allen looked on, confused, as Lilia walked over and opened the door.

Sure enough—standing outside was Laws, the tall, golden-haired elf.

He nodded politely at Lilia, then leaned sideways to peer inside the house.

“Morning, Allen.”

From behind him, a small figure emerged.

Sylphiette.

She wore a winter outfit that had never appeared in the original anime—furry collars tucked up to her cheeks, her nose red from the cold, long lashes dusted with frost. Her ruby eyes reflected Allen’s face.

“Good morning, Allen.”

Rudeus stepped in with a frown.

“Hey, Sylphy, why’d you only say good morning to Allen?”

“Ah, sorry, Rudeus. Good morning.”

Allen couldn’t help but smile. He hadn’t seen Sylphy in over ten days due to the heavy snowfall. Seeing her bundled up in a puffy winter coat made her look incredibly cute.

He reached out with one arm to pull Rudeus into a half-hug and gently patted Sylphy’s head.

“Morning, Sylphy. First time seeing you in winter clothes. You look adorable.”

Her ears twitched slightly.

“...Thanks for the compliment.”

Worth noting—thanks to Allen’s intervention over the past half year, Sylphy had avoided the year-long bullying arc from the original story. With friendship and support arriving earlier, her shy, timid demeanor had begun to give way to the gentle, empathetic “White Mom” personality she was meant to grow into.

Even now, when Allen complimented her, she no longer blushed or panicked—she accepted it with quiet grace and a soft thank you.

Laws watched the interaction and smiled. Then he looked at Paul, who had stepped forward to greet him.

“The snow’s stopped. Time to prep for the monster cull.”

The Asura Kingdom rarely had many monsters roaming freely.

Why? Because each winter, when monsters entered hibernation, the surrounding villages would organize annual extermination squads—led by local knights—to thin the numbers.

It was national policy. Essential for maintaining Asura’s thriving merchant economy.

These cleanups didn’t even warrant mention in the original plot, since they had no connection to Rudeus. But subtle hints were there.

For example:

A book in Rudeus’s house: “Fauna of the Fittoa Region: Weaknesses of Common Monsters.”

Books were expensive in this world. The fact that such a volume existed in their home meant it had a purpose—clearly not just light reading for children.

By rights, the monster cull should’ve had nothing to do with Rudeus or Allen.

But in the past six months, Allen had gone full dad-mode, dragging Rudeus along whenever he went with Sylphy to deliver meals to Laws. The two boys had helped kill plenty of stray monsters.

Over time, Rudeus became the unofficial chef who handled the aftermath.

And gradually, the village’s adults came to a realization:

Despite being under ten years old, Allen and Rudeus were not ordinary children.

In fact, they were more competent than most grown men.

So naturally, when it came time to prep for this year’s extermination, they were invited to join.

Paul, a strong believer in “boys should go out and toughen up,” brought them along without hesitation.

At the forest’s edge, the once-thick summer canopy had long since vanished. The trees now stood like skeletal sentries, their branches draped in snow.

Everything was clear, open. You could see deep into the woods.

The men of Buena Village were tying thorned nets between trees, trampling snow as they went, creating a perimeter to prevent any monsters from escaping toward the village.

Allen and Paul stood at the front as guards, swords drawn, scanning for sudden movement.

The two kids, Rudeus and Sylphy, stayed at the back, watching the preparations from a safe distance.

“Uncle,” Allen asked, “do these culls happen every year? I’ve never heard of them.”

Paul glanced around as he spoke.

“Yeah, but you wouldn’t’ve seen them in the capital. New for you?”

“A bit... What’s that?”

Allen pointed to a rough-looking structure deep in the trees—just barely visible between the trunks.

“Oh, that? A shelter.”

“Shelter?”

“A winter safety hut. For hunters who get caught in snowstorms or caravans that lose their way in the forest. Sometimes it snows for a month straight around the Red Dragon Mountains. Visibility drops to zero. People can get lost and freeze to death.”

“That bad?”

“Yeah. So the kingdom ordered these huts built all over the forest. Little survival outposts, basically.”

Allen was stunned.

He remembered his own winter journey last year—how he’d trudged through the snow with aura just to move forward. His original plan had been to ride by carriage.

Mountain snow, updraft winds... I never considered terrain blizzards.

If nothing had gone wrong... I’d have followed the plan. Would’ve taken a carriage. But in that kind of weather, the carriage would’ve stalled. I’d have waited for the storm to pass, maybe found a shelter, wasted days—and maybe...

Maybe I’d have missed Roxy.

Without Roxy, my affection score would’ve barely scraped passing.

Lucky me... What looked like disaster ended up a blessing.

Misfortune lies in fortune’s shadow. Fortune in misfortune’s.

Guess I’m lucky.

Elsewhere in the woods, Laws was setting up nets with three others.

“Hey, Laws, isn’t this year’s perimeter a little deep? Seems riskier than usual.”

A big bearded man muttered as he looped vines around a tree.

Laws nodded calmly.

“Last year it was just Paul as our sole advanced swordsman. We were cautious. But this year we’ve got Allen too. Even if monsters wake early, we can handle it.”

The man laughed.

“True. Allen’s a real prodigy. Also can’t believe that Paul's kid has that kind of talent with magic. First Rudeus, now Allen—man, your Sylphy’s lucky to have friends like them. Wish my kids got along with ‘em.”

Roltz blinked.

Sylphy… That’s right. Since Allen arrived, she’s had real friends. She laughs more now.

He glanced to the back of the group.

Sylphy and Rudeus stood quietly, watching Allen from afar. Sylphy rubbed her hands together for warmth, her ears twitching slightly.

Laws’s gaze softened. He was never good with kids. That’s why he always came off as the strict father.

...If Sylphy’s happy, then so is Nolda. After all that guilt about her green hair, she deserves peace. It’s not her fault. Genetics can’t be blamed.

But in the next moment—

Laws stepped on a patch of snow in front of a tree.

It didn’t feel like snow.

It felt... solid. Cylindrical.

He tilted off balance. His foot shook.

Then—

“LAWS!!”

“GET BACK!!”

A burst of panic from behind. He turned his head—

Snow exploded upward.

A massive maw loomed into view.

Rows of fangs, wet with mucus.

His heart raced. His vision narrowed. But his body wouldn’t move fast enough.

A D-rank Mutated Forest Serpent.

Woken too soon from winter slumber.

And now—

It struck.

---

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!