The bedroom was deathly silent.
Invisible dust floated in the air.
[Dear Host, Allen-sama, I reminded you once last night. It seems you didn't quite get it.]
[So tonight, I'll remind you again. If this keeps up…]
[Forget about reaching the Holy Rank in the Sword God Style. You'll be stuck at Advanced Rank for life.]
[Follow your heart, unite thought and action. That's right. I admit, you haven't deliberately cultivated your desires, but this 'sword heart' that practically smashed into your face is quite something.]
[Unlike vulgar desires for material things or women—which always become annoying eventually—what you have now is the ability to see your true self, do what you want, and respond to the expectations you ought to. As long as you do this, you'll continue to rise through the Sword God Style, never needing to worry about your 'desire extinguishing.']
[Sword Saint, Sword King, Sword Emperor, Sword God.]
[They're all just goals you can reach as long as your swordsmanship and fundamentals are there.]
[But as it stands…]
[You seem to be having a bit of a problem.]
The bedroom remained engulfed in silence.
After a while, the dust seemed to grow bored and began to disperse.
But just as the last whiff of smoke faded—
The characters reassembled and emerged once again.
[Then]
["I" shall give you a hand.]
Allen blinked, then suddenly lifted his head and stared at the system panel.
Sure enough.
A new mission had been released.
[Home Tutor Period—Compound Mission: Wanting Both. Issued.]
[Mission 1 – Respond to Hilda's expectations. Reward: Participation Score: 10 points.]
[Mission 2 – Respond to Sylphy's expectations. Reward: Participation Score: 10 points.]
[Mission 3 – Respond to Ghislane's expectations. Reward: Participation Score: 10 points.]
[Being gazed at by Hilda—an estranged feeling between blood ties and soul transfer; being admired by Sylphy—a confused sense of wanting to act on your feelings while respecting her dignity, leading to hesitation with your "Silent Blade"; being entrusted with hope by Ghislane—yet unable to advance further in the Sword God Style, causing a sense of helplessness.]
[How will you resolve these tricky issues? Family, love, power—can you really have them all?]
[The answer is—]
[You can!]
[The seeds for "wanting both" were already planted by your own hand. You just didn't notice.]
[All that awaits is for you to finally take that last step.]
[Mission Period: No time limit during the home tutor period, but once any one task is completed, the remaining two must be completed within 24 hours, or the mission will be deemed a failure.]
[Note: This is a freebie mission.]
[Mission.]
[Start!]
The dust floated before his eyes.
Allen was numb all over.
He stared blankly at the system panel, lips opening and closing, starting and stopping over and over—yet not a single word came out.
[Oh? That look. Did you think I'd force this mission on you? Or maybe toss in some contradictory choices?]
[I already told you. This is your Mushoku journey. You're part of it. Naturally, the right to choose should be yours.]
[Please keep trying to engrave your presence into the eyes of both protagonist and supporting cast.]
[Good luck, Allen.]
Allen blinked slowly. After a long pause, he finally came back to his senses. His expression was like someone walking their dog on the street, only to turn around and discover that their male dog was being mounted by a stray mutt.
'Seriously… my first reaction really was thinking you'd force this task. Now it seems like you're actually… kind?'
'Kind, my ass!'
'What the hell is this mission?! It's getting more abstract by the day! I feel like I have reading comprehension issues now!'
'Wanting both? What the hell? The seeds were already planted by me? I just need to take the final step? What kind of nonsense is that?!'
'Respond to expectations? How?! Where are the mission hints?!'
'And also—'
'What's with Ghislane's "hopes"? Since when does she have hopes for me? Even I don't know that??'
'Are you just making up missions to mess with me? And completing each expectation within 24 hours of the last? One's my mom, one's my girl, and one's my teacher! How does that even connect?! Respond to what? What am I, a god?! And a freebie mission? More like a suicide mission!'
Allen was completely exasperated.
The smoke drifted in front of his face, as if watching him.
[I meant to give you a little motivation, but wow, I didn't expect it to work so quickly. You're way more energetic than before.]
'What?'
'I'm just having a mental breakdown here! That's all!'
[Excellent. Keep it up.]
'??'
The smoke dispersed.
Allen was left dazed.
He sat like that for a long time before rubbing his face hard.
He reached for a piece of letter paper on his desk, intending to draw a mind map to make sense of it all—but the pen hovered over the paper for ages.
Nothing came out.
Birds chirped softly outside in the night.
Their melody lingered.
And Allen listened in silence.
Eventually, the sound of pen on paper began again.
Brief, and then it stopped.
Three characters were written next to the name "Roxy," which he had unconsciously penned the previous night, out of longing.
It was—
"Sylphy."
——
"Sylphy?"
In the corridor, a soft knock sounded.
Rudy stood outside Sylphy's room, his voice a mere whisper.
He nervously glanced at the door next to him—Allen's room.
He hesitated, considering whether to leave and try another time.
But the door opened.
Sylphy peeked out. The moon-white dress Hilda had gifted her earlier was gone; she now wore her usual tracksuit from Buena Village, neatly zipped.
She glanced at Allen's door and whispered back.
"Perfect timing, Rudy. I was about to find you. Come in."
Rudy blinked, then nodded and entered.
The door closed with a soft click.
They exchanged glances, and Rudy immediately spoke.
"Something was off with Allen during today's match. I went to Ghislane to ask about it. Long story short, it seems his mentality is off."
Sylphy leaned against the door, lowering her gaze.
"His mentality, huh…"
Rudy looked at her.
"And you?"
"I asked Eris. Her tone was as blunt as ever. I didn't understand everything, but it aligns with what you heard. Though hers had some encouragement about improving, probably related to Sword God Style."
The room fell silent.
"What do you think about the current situation?" Sylphy asked.
"Allen's attitude toward Philip and Sauros was just as I expected—very mature. But with one person, his reaction is clearly different."
Sylphy blinked and looked at the floor.
She recalled the row of clothes in Hilda's room meant for Allen.
"The lady."
"Yes. Allen is very calm. Philip and Sauros aren't exactly kind to him, but he doesn't react. Yet with the lady, who's been kind and warm, he seems… thrown off. Like back at your home last winter."
"Do you think we should help him?"
"…I trust Allen."
Rudy raised an eyebrow.
"You think Allen is invincible?"
Sylphy stayed silent.
Rudy looked at her, then rolled his eyes a little.
Sometimes an outsider sees things more clearly.
"Fine. I agree there's time. Maybe like Buena Village, he just needs time to adjust. I'll head back now."
Sylphy nodded and stepped aside.
As Rudy passed her—
"But I still think Allen might need help. You've seen all that's happened over the past two years. He's not exactly great at handling these things, is he?"
The door opened.
Rudy left.
He glanced back.
Just before the door closed, in that shrinking slice of vision—Sylphy stood frozen in place, deep in thought.
In the quiet room, the candlelight on the desk flickered.
The chair had been pulled out.
As if someone had just been sitting there, writing something.
(End of Chapter)
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