Alan was still traveling on foot, but this time, after the battle, he felt noticeably tired after just four hours of running with his battle aura. By noon, he dove headfirst into a pile of grass by the roadside, planning to catch some sleep.
He was too tired.
The sunlight filtered through the gaps in the lush grass, casting scattered shadows on his face. The blades of grass danced in the wind, tickling his face. His eyelids were fighting a losing battle.
Just then, he remembered Roxy's hand.
'…System?'
[Speak.]
This time, the system was on call.
Alan blinked his dry eyes, suddenly feeling embarrassed. He hesitated for a moment but still asked his question.
'Uh… I have a question… before, there would be a favorability increase for every little thing. This time, I got along quite well with Roxy on the journey… uh, at least I think it was pleasant, but why am I no longer getting notifications about her favorability increasing?'
'…I'm worried you're skimming my points, you know what I mean?'
Perhaps it was his imagination, but he felt that the smoke that appeared this time was flickering a bit, as if…
It was laughing.
[Last night's moonlight was nice.]
Alan's mind was a bit hazy, and he nodded subconsciously.
"It was."
[You held her hand and talked for a long time. The atmosphere was clearly a bit romantic, but there was no notification of a favorability increase… That's what you want to ask, right?]
Alan's face stiffened.
"You've got it all wrong! I'm innocent! I really only care about the points!!"
[Oh? Is that so?]
"Absolutely… Now tell me why the points aren't coming!"
[The host needs to understand that in terms of human emotions, intimate relationships have clear boundaries.]
[For example, stranger, acquaintance, friend, lover, partner, family. There is a clear dividing line between each level of intimacy.]
[Once a certain threshold is reached, taking the next step is not something that can be achieved through casual conversation, simple physical contact, or a formal wave goodbye.]
[Do you understand?]
Alan stared at the system panel, his gaze lingering on the word 'friend' as it swayed in the wind. He answered in his mind.
'I understand. Last night was just holding hands… no, you couldn't even call it that, it was a coincidence at best… What's wrong with me? I'm suddenly so innocent my IQ has dropped. Crap, I'm like a grade schooler, thinking Roxy might have feelings for me… The greatest of life's three great delusions… I guess this is what it means to be a delusional guy.'
'Calm down… Right now, Roxy's favorability towards me is probably stuck at the "friend" level. There's still a long way to go to a romantic relationship like "lover" or "partner."'
At this thought, Alan actually felt a sense of relief. After a moment of silence, the image of Roxy's smiling face as they parted appeared in his mind.
'Ha… If we had actually crossed some boundary, I wouldn't know what to do. In the novel's plot, Alan is a non-existent character. If I were to replace Rudy and start a romance with Roxy, that would be too awkward. My future knowledge would be gone, and I'd be completely lost when it comes to participating in future major events. Lara would never be born, so how would the Man-God intervene… Stop! Stop being delusional! How did I jump to having kids!!'
Alan looked at the grass before him, fell silent again for a moment, and closed his eyes. Drowsiness slowly washed over him.
'Roxy has already given me a lot of points. The first time we met, I got 23 points straight away… Don't be greedy… This is good… This is fine… This is great…'
'Roxy…'
'Great.'
Surrounded by the scent of grass, Alan, who had been on edge all night, finally fell into a dream.
But the system's smoke was still floating and flickering.
[Time and the future are so interesting. What happens now was often determined at a certain choice point in the past, and the seeds of what will happen in the future have already been planted in countless present moments.]
[Hehe…]
[…Your points, from the moment you met Roxy, were an advance payment from the future.]
[Alan.]
—
By the time Alan made it all the way back, it was already mid-July.
Golden waves of wheat rolled across the rice paddies outside the village.
When he reached the village entrance, the two little ones were actually practicing magic right there. Sylphie saw Alan from a distance, and after a moment of stunned silence, a happy expression bloomed on her face, and she quickly ran and threw herself into Alan's arms.
Alan, seeing Sylphie's pointed ears twitching rapidly, subconsciously picked her up and spun her around once.
Then he saw Rudeus nearby, who had been happy for a moment before his expression turned to one of resentment.
Alan's face froze. He realized that Rudeus had already discovered the disappearance of his underwear. He coughed awkwardly, put Sylphie down, and avoided Rudeus's resentful gaze.
Sylphie steadied herself, looked down to tidy her messy hair, her expression a little flustered, her voice soft.
"Alan, Rudy and I were very worried about you this past month…"
Alan's eyebrow twitched. He saw in Rudeus's eyes a look that was definitely not worry and remembered his interactions with Roxy on the journey.
His smile became a bit strange. He then said cautiously.
"Um… Rudy, about the… underwear, I can explain—"
"Alan!"
Before he could finish, a muscular hunk suddenly jumped out of the clinic next to them. Alan was startled and looked closely.
It was Paul.
'Whoa, Paul.'
'Wait, is this guy messing around with his wife at the clinic in broad daylight again?'
The thought had just surfaced, and before he could even greet him, Alan was caught in a chokehold by Paul, who then started dragging him towards the house. Out of a bit of guilt for leaving without a word, Alan didn't struggle. But when he felt Paul's arm tightening and his head being completely buried in the crevice of Paul's pectoral muscles, the thick scent of male hormones flooding his nostrils…
He panicked.
He began to struggle violently! As his arms flailed, Alan squeezed his face out from Paul's chest and looked at Rudeus, making frantic eye contact.
'I can't handle this kind of enthusiasm from Paul! Rudy, don't just stand there, save me! Save me!'
Rudeus understood Alan's look but just pursed his lips, not really wanting to get involved.
When he had discovered the disappearance of the holy relic, he had already reconstructed the events—first, he should have been asleep in Roxy's room that night, but he had woken up in his own room.
So it was highly likely that Roxy and Alan had brought him back.
He had then wracked his brain and vaguely recalled some fuzzy memories—Alan seemed to have spoken to him that night, and before that, there had been the sound of someone leaving in a hurry.
The conclusion was clear—the holy relic had been reclaimed by the god.
It was a devastating loss.
Logically, at this point, it didn't seem to have anything to do with Alan… but the problem was…
'Why is my underwear in the shrine!'
At this thought, Rudeus gritted his teeth and glanced at Alan. He reached out and grabbed Alan's hand as it broke free from Paul's embrace. Under Alan's initially grateful, then quickly horrified gaze…
He carefully tucked it back into Paul's embrace and even patted his hand for good measure.
His expression was not just similar to the one Alan had when he had slapped Rudeus awake and then comforted him back to sleep that night; it was identical.
"…Father was very worried about you these past few days, so he's been waiting with us at the village entrance… Just go along with him."
"Huh?? What the??"
Alan thrashed a couple more times but found his neck locked in Paul's iron grip. He looked at Rudeus with a miserable face and let out a resigned wail. Under Rudeus's somewhat amused gaze, he was dragged all the way back to the study in his house.
As for why he didn't use his sword skills to fight back?
Emotionally, Alan was afraid of having a "sword fight" with Paul, but rationally, he could tell that the current situation wasn't that kind of messed-up scenario.
It was definitely because Alan had left without a word, so Paul was probably genuinely a little angry. It was better to go along with him for now, and then when he got home and calmed down a bit, he could explain things carefully…
Or so he thought.
However, when they got back to the house, the development of events still exceeded his expectations.
Zenith wasn't at the clinic; she was at home. The moment she saw Alan, a look of happy surprise appeared on her face, but then it was quickly replaced by a dark cloud. She ignored Alan's pleading gaze and followed Paul and the others up to the second-floor study. Lilia followed as well.
With a slam, the door was shut. Paul sat on the chair, his arms crossed, his face full of anger.
He didn't speak.
The study was unusually quiet, with only the heavy breathing of Alan, who had finally escaped the hunk's embrace.
Sensing the strange atmosphere in the study, he glanced at Rudeus and Sylphie, who were sitting obediently in their chairs, then at the grave-faced Zenith and the dutiful-looking Lilia, and swallowed hard.
'Something's not right… What is this situation… Shouldn't this be a 1-on-1 man-to-man talk? A simple "where did you go?" followed by an explanation and a reprimand, and then the scene is over? Why is there this strange atmosphere?'
Paul's face was tense. He opened his mouth to say something several times, but it all ended in a sigh.
"Alan, do you really think it's okay to leave without saying a word like that?"
Alan was stunned.
'What's happening? Is this the incident from the original story where Paul lectures Rudeus? Did my appearance mess it up, and now fate is redirecting it to me?'
He subconsciously looked at Rudeus beside him, but Rudeus didn't show any signs of displeasure, just looked straight at Alan.
Alan blinked and turned to look at Zenith. Her expression was almost identical. He then turned to look at Sylphie.
This child didn't have a grave face, just a worried look.
"Alan… everyone was really worried about you. Uncle Paul got very angry a month ago…"
Alan was stunned, then suddenly realized.
He had been in a hurry when he left and hadn't thought much of it. He had left a letter for Paul, saying he would be back after dealing with the 'Mane Wolves.' Since Paul knew his identity, and Zenith often looked at him with the expression of looking at one of her own children, she probably knew as well.
In Alan's own eyes, leaving for a period and then coming back was no big deal. After all, it wasn't a real employment relationship. And Paul's current job as a knight in Buena Village had been arranged for him by Philip. As Philip's son, Paul had reasons to look after and tolerate him, whether out of gratitude or kinship.
But in the eyes of others, this was highly unreasonable.
Imagine you go to work for a company, then you leave a note for your boss saying, "Hey, I have some personal business to take care of. See you in a month, old man."
"Don't bother paying me for this month, you can keep paying me when I get back."
And then you just leave without a word.
Is that appropriate?
So…
Paul had very likely explained his identity to the rest of the family.
But even so, they shouldn't have this kind of expression… A scolding would be understandable, but this interrogation-like atmosphere…
Paul, at this moment, scratched his head in frustration, maintaining his angry posture, and didn't speak. Instead, Zenith adopted a solemn posture and slowly said.
"Alan, I've already explained your identity to everyone. Your uncle was so angry that day that I couldn't keep it a secret any longer. And besides, I think…"
Zenith looked at Alan's astonished face and said, word by word.
"I think there's no need to hide it. We all see you as one of our own children. Rudeus also clearly gets along very well with you, it's not just a simple teacher-student relationship… All of that is good… but…"
"By acting on your own like this, do you see us as… your family?"
Alan swallowed, not knowing what to say.
'Family? It's only been a little over three months… Is it because I'm Philip's son? But if we're family, shouldn't it be easier to understand…'
Just then, Roxy's troubled expression and her words in the night wind appeared in his mind.
"…If it's something really urgent, you should also ask Sir Paul for help. He's Advanced-rank in all three styles, you know. It's dangerous to act alone like this. Everyone will worry about you… You have to apologize to them properly when you get back, okay…"
Alan froze. Zenith's words gave him no time to breathe, clearly conveying her thoughts to him.
"We really see you as a part of the Greyrat family. I know you may not have a sense of belonging to a family, and I can understand that… But you need to know, we worry… Alan."
"Is there anything you can't discuss with us before making a decision? The way you left that letter… it's as if…"
Zenith paused. Her usually gentle face now looked complicated. She took a deep look at Alan before continuing.
"It's as if we were demonic beasts in the forest, making you want to avoid us at all costs… Or do you really think that in the Greyrat household, you are just a hired outsider… and nothing more? Paul's expression wasn't really anger, you know. We were all just a little…"
"Upset."
After Zenith finished speaking, she seemed a bit tired. She looked at Alan one more time, said nothing more, and stood up and walked out of the room.
Paul then looked at Alan's stunned face, sighed, and dropped his angry expression. He walked over and patted his shoulder.
"…I found the wanted poster in your drawer… It seems you went to take care of this matter. The clothes on your body also have traces of being washed after being stained with blood. Although you are very strong, in the future… it's best to tell us before you go out. How can you be sure that we won't support your actions? Isn't family supposed to support, help, understand, and sustain each other? That's what a family is…"
"Ah, forget it. Maybe it's hard for you to understand what I'm saying… Let's just leave it at that."
Alan's mouth felt dry, but he had no rebuttal. The current situation was completely beyond his expectations of the plot, and for a moment, he didn't know what to do.
Lilia glanced at Alan, then also walked out of the room to help with dinner in the kitchen.
Rudeus, seeing Alan like this, didn't feel like arguing with him about taking Roxy without him. He already knew that Alan's trip to see Roxy off was a pretense, and he had actually gone to deal with some prior 'personal business.' He hesitated for a moment, then finally patted Alan's arm and tried to lighten the mood with a joke.
He said something about Alan being his distant relative. In the end, seeing that Alan wasn't responding, he just shrugged helplessly and walked out of the room.
By the time Alan came back to his senses, only Sylphie was left in the study.
Sylphie's gaze wandered between the floor and Alan's face. Finally, she walked up to him and, under Alan's somewhat dazed gaze, gently gave him a hug and said softly.
"Sylphie was also very worried about you. But… it's good that you're back."
Then she blinked and also left the study.
The evening sun cast its light through the window, stretching Alan's shadow long on the ground.
Alan's expression was dazed.
—
Dinner was silent as well.
Until the middle of the night, Alan lay on the soft bed that Zenith had specially taken out to sun-dry, still feeling a sense of unreality. Honestly, everyone's reaction had been completely unexpected.
It was a strange feeling, like reading a novel and having a character point at you and curse you by name, or playing a game and having a character reach out of the screen and slap you…
In the dim bedroom, he lay awake with his eyes open, holding his hand up in front of him.
'Transmigration isn't a game… So this is how Paul and the others should have reacted? And the abnormal one is actually me, because I've been approaching Mushoku Tensei with the attitude of playing a real-life game… instead of fully immersing myself in this world? …But even so…'
"Worry? It's only been a little over three months. Even if I am Philip's son, is it really necessary…"
A moment of silence.
"…To be seen as… a part of the family."
"Tomorrow… I should apologize to them."
The darkness was silent again for a long while before a faint murmur was heard again.
"…Family."
—
In the end, Alan never said the words of apology. Because from the very next morning, everyone seemed to have returned to their old ways.
There was still laughter and joy, still the study of swordsmanship and magic, still going out every day to 'play' with Sylphie and Rudeus under the big tree, still the whispers from the next room every night…
And still the monthly salary of two silver coins, paid on time, never delayed.
But Alan always felt that something wasn't quite right.
And so, time flew by amidst sword practice and magic studies with Sylphie and Rudeus.
Winter had arrived.
Zenith was pregnant.
Author's Note:
Please keep reading! Please scroll to the very last page!!
A note on the plot:
Actually, the pacing of this chapter doesn't really fit the typical web novel, especially a harem novel. Normally, Alan should have roared, "I love Roxy," chased her to Rigate City, and slept with her. Then he would flirt with other girls, and have Roxy occasionally come back as a tool to create some fun romantic drama. (Like in the book "Chaotic World.")
The question is, is it reasonable to write like that in this Mushoku Tensei fanfiction?
Does Alan like Roxy? — Yes.
Does Alan know Roxy likes him? — He can't be sure.
Under these circumstances, I personally believe that the feeling of liking someone should be a push-and-pull of insecurity, not a stamp-collecting style of sleeping with girls. The latter isn't 'liking,' it's 'liking to sleep with.'
So, has Roxy officially exited the stage before the Great Displacement? — She has, but not completely.
Because the sweetness won't stop. As for how to provide sweetness when the person isn't there? — You'll see soon enough. (Heh)
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