Mushoku Tensei: Sword, Magic Hats, and Romance!

Allen said nothing after hearing Paul's answer, just continued running his fingers over the hilt of his blade.

Paul, on the other hand, looked at him with the concerned expression of a man speaking to a troubled youth. He squinted slightly, his voice gentle.

"And I think… if you asked Philip the same question, he'd make the same choice I would."

That sentence pulled Allen right out of his momentary stir of emotion. He glanced at Paul, only now realizing why the man hadn't gotten mad earlier, and had instead taken the time to talk things through calmly.

So all that talk was just build-up for this one line?

Paul, you really can't project yourself onto others like that. Just because you're a decent father doesn't mean everyone else is.

The real reason I don't feel close to Philip isn't because I'm some damaged loner with childhood trauma—it's because I'm a transmigrator. I've already made peace with that. Trying to "rediscover" family love in another world? Yeah, I'll pass.

Paul scratched his head as he watched Allen's indifferent expression. He had thought he'd given Philip a solid assist, but it clearly wasn't landing.

From across the courtyard, Roxy had noticed Allen's departure. Between Sylphy's spellcasting, she turned her head slightly, shooting him a questioning glance.

Allen smiled back, signaling that it was nothing.

"Hey! Sylphy! What are you looking at?! You singed my hair with that [Fireball]!"

"S-sorry! I spaced out!"

Allen's eyes softened as they moved from Sylphy's frantic apology to the girl herself.

"Teacher? Teacher?"

"Ah… sorry, Rudeus. I got distracted…"

And then Paul's hesitant voice drifted over once more.

"…Allen, you should know that Philip didn't have much choice in the matter. It's a Boreas family tradition. If you'd grown up by his side, I'm sure you'd understand the kind of man he is."

Allen shot Paul a faint, amused look.

Of course Paul would speak in Philip's defense—he values family too much not to. But Philip's thirst for power in the royal capital never dimmed. In the original timeline, when he saw Rudeus' magical potential during the tutoring arc, he was even willing to use his own daughter as bait to reel Rudeus into the family.

Unless there comes a day when he's truly willing to let go of that obsession with influence, there's no way he'll ever put "family" at the center of his heart.

And it's not just him. The whole Boreas bloodline is built on desire.

Take Sauros—so consumed by his role as lord that even after the Displacement Incident, he was willing to spend his fortune rebuilding the territory, regardless of what his descendants thought.

Or Eris, who, in order to protect Rudeus, became obsessed with strength. She left him a single note on their first night together and went to the land of illiteracy to train, not contacting him for years.

And then there's me.

Allen's grip on his sword tightened, veins bulging on the back of his hand.

This blood-deep hunger for strength—so different from the life I knew before crossing over.

He turned to Paul.

"I want to ask you something—about swordplay."

Paul blinked. He clearly wasn't following Allen's thought process. Weren't they just talking about life and death? How did this suddenly turn into sword technique?

He blinked again.

"Huh? Uh… you mean Sword God Style? If it's that, I don't have much else to teach you."

"No. Water God Style."

Paul's face froze. He raised a finger and pointed to his own face.

"Water God Style? Me? Do I look like I've got Reida's face? You're way more skilled at Water God techniques than I am!"

Allen shook his head.

"I need the kind of spark that comes from clashing completely different styles. You know how developing your own techniques works—it's about crafting a unique method and philosophy from the ground up."

In this world, getting stronger boils down to talent and insight. Whether it's Orsted, born in the Dragon Race, or Rudeus, who carries [Laplace's Factor]—every top-tier fighter has either broken talent or broken comprehension. I've already got talent on my side, thanks to Dragon Saint-level aura. What comes next is insight—epiphany. I need to build my own combat theory.

Can't afford to be like Ghislaine, who relied on pure instinct during her adventuring days and lingered at Sword Saint level for years. It was only when she realized she needed a framework that she finally stepped up to Sword King.

Speaking of epiphany… Damn that bastard Gino. Sleeps with his wife once and suddenly achieves enlightenment. Becomes a Sword King in like a year and a half, and even beats his Sword God father-in-law so badly the man loses his will to fight. Then dies like an idiot, trying to duel Eris with Water God Style like that made sense. Total brain damage.

Paul tilted his head as he watched Allen deep in thought, a curious smile on his face.

"…I see."

As soon as he finished speaking, he drew his sword, eyes gleaming with interest.

"An epiphany, huh? Sounds like you're asking for a beating. Good! Let me see this original technique of yours, then. Let's go!"

Paul, you're so easy to work with.

"I don't need a beating to reach epiphany. But since you're a feel-based fighter, I guess some 'beating' might help. Like what happened yesterday morning."

Allen spoke as he slowly drew his blade.

...

Allen and Paul faced off behind the courtyard. As they took their positions, Zenith, Rudeus, and the others stopped Sylphy's mana testing and gathered around them in a circle.

Roxy, sensing the tension in the air, looked visibly unsettled. She leaned over and whispered to Rudeus behind a hand.

"This morning, I heard you talking about your match with Allen, but I didn't really get a feel for it… Is he seriously going to spar with Paul-sama? I thought Paul was advanced in Sword God, Water God, and North God Styles. Allen…"

Rudeus looked at the two combatants, his young face unusually grave.

"I don't want to sound like I'm putting down my own father, but… Allen's really strong. You probably heard a good bit of it in our review session this morning, right?"

Roxy nodded, her blue hair swaying gently in the air.

"Honestly, I've been paying close attention to these sparring matches, so… yeah."

Rudeus stole a glance at Roxy and continued.

"So over the past two months, I studied Allen's techniques inside and out. I prepared countermeasures for everything he'd shown so far. And even then, he beat me twice. Both times, he used sword techniques I'd never seen before—totally blindsided me."

Roxy recalled the lightning-fast slashes Allen had used to carve through monsters months ago. She nodded.

"He does use sword moves way beyond his age. Even I, after all my years as an adventurer, have never seen some of the techniques he pulls off."

Rudeus nodded.

"The first time I lost was because of a North God throwing technique. I'd never seen him use it before, so I let him close the gap and got cut down from inside his throwing range."

"Yeah, I heard that part earlier. What about the second time?"

"The second time… was a hybrid of Water God and Sword God techniques. Damn it, how many tricks is he hiding? Every style, he's got something I've never seen. That time, I tried to lock him down with large-area hybrid spells to limit his movement. He used a Water God-style move to deflect the spells—an original technique of his—and then used that deflection as a springboard under his feet to jump out of the mire."

"But I figured he'd try something like that, so I prepared. I used geothermal magic to soften the earth, then conjured [Ice Spears] to form mist. It was a hybrid spell I invented—[Deep Mist]—to obscure his vision and disrupt his senses."

Roxy was already sweating. She hadn't even heard of [Deep Mist] before. Is this what genius looks like?

"I thought I had him. But I didn't factor in his [Longsword of Silence]. Just as I cast [Ice Spear], the mist parted—and in that split second, he used the springboard to launch a silent strike and hit me. I lost again."

Roxy blinked.

"Wait… you didn't plan around his [Longsword of Silence]?"

Rudeus looked at Allen, who was warming up in the courtyard with controlled swings and various stances.

"I did. I just didn't expect him to be that fast—faster than my father. And he's not even good at Sword God Style. He's been asking my dad for help with it this whole time. Just that morning, before our match, I checked in with him—and he still hadn't gotten the hang of [Longsword of Silence]."

Roxy raised an eyebrow.

"Then how did he…?"

Rudeus rubbed his face, looking genuinely deflated. Even with his chantless magic and Roxy's constant praise, he couldn't help but feel outpaced.

"That's the problem, Sensei. He didn't have it down when I left. But after just one session with Father—where he got a quick demo on the feel of the strike…"

He turned to look Roxy in the eye.

"He mastered it on the spot."