Mushoku Tensei: The Sword, the Magic Hat, and the Love System

After hearing Paul's answer, Allen fell silent, repeatedly rubbing the hilt of his sword.

Paul, with a somewhat concerned expression, squinted his eyes and spoke gently to Allen.

"Besides, I believe that if you posed this question to Philip... he'd probably make the same choice as I would."

This line pulled Allen out of his momentary emotional response. He glanced at Paul, finally realizing why Paul hadn't gotten angry when asked such a serious question, but instead offered a soft-spoken explanation.

So all that buildup was just to get here?

Judging others by your own standards isn't going to cut it, Paul. You're a responsible father, but that doesn't mean everyone else is.

The root of my distance with Philip isn't childhood trauma or a lack of family bonds. I'm a transmigrator. I already learned to live without those things in my previous life. Rebuilding familial ties in this world? I'd rather not.

Paul noticed Allen's indifferent demeanor and scratched his head. He thought he was helping Philip's case, but Allen didn't seem to buy it.

From a distance, Roxy noticed Allen stepping away. During a pause in Sylphy's spellcasting, she tilted her head, sending him a questioning glance. Allen smiled and gestured that everything was fine.

"Hey! Sylphy, where are you looking?! You burned my hair with Karyuu no Jutsu (Fireball Technique)!"

"S-sorry, Rudy! I spaced out!"

Sylphy frantically apologized, but her eyes kept wandering toward Roxy.

Roxy, noticing, covered her mouth and whispered to Rudy beside her.

"You mentioned this morning that Allen sparred with you. I couldn't quite believe it... but can he really go toe-to-toe with Lord Paul? I remember Paul being highly skilled in Kenshin-ryuu (Sword God Style), Suijin-ryuu (Water God Style), and Hokushin-ryuu (North God Style)."

Rudy watched the two men prepare and responded seriously.

"I don't want to downplay my father, but Allen is really strong. You probably heard some of the feedback from this morning's analysis, right?"

Roxy nodded slowly, her blue hair swaying.

"To be honest, I took the match seriously... well, partly because of you..."

Rudy stole a quick glance at Roxy and continued.

"So I spent those two months fully analyzing Allen, crafting counters for every ability he showed. And even with all that prep, I lost to him twice. Both times, he used sword techniques I'd never seen before, throwing off all my plans."

Roxy recalled Allen's high-speed swordsmanship when he dismantled that monster two months ago. She nodded again.

"...He definitely uses techniques that don't match his age. I've been an adventurer for years and never seen anyone fight like him."

Rudy agreed.

"The first loss came from a Hokushin-ryuu throwing technique I'd never seen from him before. I misjudged the distance and got caught."

"Right, I heard about that this morning. What about the second time?"

"That time, it was a hybrid of Suijin-ryuu and Kenshin-ryuu techniques. Damn, how many tricks is this guy hiding? I trapped him with a wide-area magic combo that blocked his high-speed movement. He then used a self-created Suijin-ryuu technique to deflect my spells and created a platform of water beneath his feet to leap out of the swamp."

Roxy was sweating at the explanation. She had never heard of such a magic combo before.

"Even though I accounted for his escape, I never expected his Muon no Tachi (Silent Blade Technique). When I cast Hyou no Ya (Ice Lance), the fog cleared, revealing my position. He leaped from the water platform and struck. I lost again."

Roxy asked curiously, "Didn't you anticipate he'd use the Silent Blade?"

Rudy shook his head as he watched Allen warm up.

"I did. But not that he'd be that fast—faster than my father, even. You see, Allen isn't great with Kenshin-ryuu, so he'd been asking Father for pointers the past two months. And the morning of our duel, he still hadn't grasped the core technique."

Roxy raised her eyebrows. "Then how..."

Rudy looked frustrated.

"That morning, Father casually demonstrated the feel of the technique once. Just once."

He turned to Roxy.

"And Allen learned it instantly."

(End of Chapter)

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