Let’s Spork: Mushoku Tensei - “iT’s PeAk FiCtIoN”

[Kiwisee]

@Kiwisee formatting shat itself

It’s now back to being readable, thanks for informing me.

 

[Kari Kamiya]

Hello, boys and girls! The phrase of the day is “You can do it!” Today we’ll be learning all about the importance of contraception! Part of me wanted to say that to Paul with a completely deadpan face,

Choosing to become an oblivious protagonist isn't the same as being a snarky smartass protagonist. This is how you know the author's a novice, on top of everything else that's been pointed out such as switching between POVs just because (I hate it when books do this) and the repetition (which is what the Japanese do anyway, but it's awkward in English). I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the author has been injecting his own personal thoughts into Rudy at times, if only because Rudy, for some reason, never made a conscious effort to not sound like a creepy adult trapped in a child's body.

Good fucking lord, why was this written?

Apparently even the author's balls involuntarily tensed up at the thought that he had to mention it without going through with it. Absolute coward couldn't even have Paul get his comeuppance because "Ohh, men will be men amirite? Womanizers can't help being horndogs."

I think the problem is this world (unless I'm misremembering, we don't have a name of the land or village he's in, I dunno if it ever gets revealed later on unless it's Asura) still acts and thinks Japanese instead of being its own thing, and that's causing a lot of contradictions in its narrative. It's a fantasy, my man, you don't need to make it a second Japan.

 

[Kiwisee]

We are finally at the 11th chapter. Thank fucking god for that, it’s the finale of this volume and I couldn’t be happier.

Technically there’s still a short chapter after from Zenith’s point of view, but we are in the home stretch of volume 1.

Chapter 11

One morning, maybe a month after I told Paul that I wanted to start working, a letter addressed to him arrived at our home. It was probably the reply that I’d been waiting for. I tried my best to brace myself for the news without getting too impatient. Would he tell me after training? At lunch? Maybe dinner? For the moment, I decided to focus on our sword practice.

Aren’t you supposed to be six rather than sixteen? I know it’s a fantasy world and all, but shouldn’t his parents be deciding what school to send him to?

How does the education system work in this world?

As it happened, though, he chose to bring it up before we’d even finished training.

“Hey, Rudy.”

“Yes, Father? What is it?”

Trying to keep my face composed, I waited eagerly for Paul’s next words. This was going to be my first job ever… in either life. I had to nail this.

But instead of giving me the good news I was expecting, Paul took things in a strange direction.

“Tell me something. What would you do if I said you had to stop seeing Sylphie for a while?”

“What? Uh, I’d object, obviously…”

“Right, right. Figures.”

“What’s this about?”

“Ah, forget it. No point talking this over. You’d just twist it all around on me, I’m sure.”

First of all, considering that Rudy is precocious enough to be able to handle adult topics (as he has clearly demonstrated), why not just tell him where he’s going? Unless Rudy is being sent to go work in the mine like a proper child, Paul is just being sleazy for no reason.

I’m still not over the character assassination, if you couldn’t tell.

The instant these words left Paul’s mouth, his expression changed dramatically. All of a sudden, there was murder in his eyes.

Even an amateur like me could sense what was coming next.
“Wha—?!”
“…!”
In one smooth, intimidating motion, my father leapt forward. Death was rushing straight at me, cold and silent.

“Back to Japan with you, little shit!”

Didn’t do a damn thing to him! I hadn’t expected anything else, but it was still terrifying. I needed to make my next move, and fast. Just backing up wouldn’t work. The guy running forward would always be faster. Acting on a reflexive judgment call, I set off a shockwave right next to myself. The blow hit me hard enough to send me flying to the side. In that same instant, I heard something slice through the air next to my ear, and my blood ran cold. Paul’s sword had slashed through the space where my head had been a split second earlier. Well. That’s good, I guess…

Gee, I wonder what you said to your mother that could have set your sleazy ass father off. Very elusive, I know.

A short, sharp blow to my neck knocked me instantly unconscious.

A few chapters ago I was cheering on Paul to beat the shit out of Rudy, but that was before the discovery of him being a cheating rapist.

Otherwise…

Hurray, the chapter and story is over! I will never have to think about this series ever again!

When I woke up, I found myself inside a box of some sort. Given all the swaying and clattering going on, it was presumably some kind of vehicle.

FUCK!

I tried to sit up, only to discover that I couldn’t move at all. Looking down, I realized I was tightly bound in… quite a lot of rope. What the hell is going on here? I managed to turn my neck enough to look around, and saw there was a woman in there with me. She had dark brown skin, a muscular body covered in scars, and skimpy leather clothes that didn’t leave much to the imagination. The strong features of her face, combined with the eyepatch she was wearing, gave her a definite tough-guy vibe. Pretty much the picture of a fearless female warrior from some fantasy show… especially given those big, furry ears and tiger-like tail.

Would it really have been that hard to convince Rudy to enter a carriage with a (presumably) attractive muscle car woman? His father is certainly aware of Rudy being a gooner at this point.

Or, was he not told because he would’ve refused on grounds of the cat woman being way too old for his liking?

“Nice to meet you,” I said. “My name’s Rudeus Greyrat. Pardon my manners—I can’t seem to get up at the moment.”

A preemptive introduction felt like the right move. The most basic rule of conversation was to start talking first. Once you seized the initiative, you could control where things went from there.

“For Paul’s son, you’re oddly polite.”

“I’m my mother’s son as well, as it happens.”

“Why the fuck do you smell like a Manticore’s ass, though? Doesn’t Paul make you bathe?!”

“Ah, right. Guess you’ve got some Zenith in you, too. Apparently, she knew both of my parents. That was something of a relief.

“The name’s Ghislaine. We’ll be getting very well acquainted starting tomorrow, kid.”

Starting tomorrow? What?

“Uhm, well, okay. Nice to meet you, Ghislaine.”

“Yeah. Same here.”

That is a real unfortunate name in 2025. She has my regards.

We are presented with this illustration:

Can’t believe I’m saying this, but her design could be a lot worse. At least she’s an adult.
*Ba-dum-tsshhh*

Moving on

At this point, I went ahead and burned away the ropes around me with a bit of fire magic. My body was sore as hell. That wasn’t too surprising, since I hadn’t been sleeping in the most comfortable of places. I stretched out my arms and legs and reveled in the blissful sense of release. Sure, I’d spent most of my previous life sitting in a cramped little room moving nothing but my fingers, but that didn’t mean I wanted
to spend so much time lying bound and helpless at the feet of some sadistic-looking older lady. Might have gotten a little uncomfortable after a while.

This was pretty creepy to read over. If I had to read it, so do you!

There were benches to the front and rear of our little “box,” so I sat down across from Ghislaine. Windows to the left and right offered a view of the world outside; nothing I saw outside looked remotely familiar.

Okay, so this was definitely a vehicle.

Author-San, have you ever sat in a carriage in your entire life? Or ever sat on a train? Any retard could tell you that you’re going to feel a little wobbly on even the cleanest paths.

It was swaying so vigorously that I was a little worried I might get sick, and I could hear a sort of clopping coming from the direction we were moving in. Seemed reasonable to assume it was a horse- drawn carriage.

Right. So. I was taking a carriage ride with some macho lady, for reasons totally unclear to me.

YOU’VE BEEN ON A WAGON BEFORE, WITH ROXY NO LESS!

[quote{Gah! H-have I been kidnapped by some wanton woman weightlifter?! Did she steal the cutest boy in all the land to be her sex slave?[/quote]

Just because you’re a pedophile, it doesn’t mean everyone else is. You could just be a hostage for all you know.

Please, have mercy! I…I sorta dig girls with muscles, yes… but I’ve already pledged my heart to Sylphie! Well… if you must do it… be gentle with me, pwease… Wait. Wait, wait. Bad thoughts. C-c-calm down, dumbass. At times like these, a man’s gotta stay cool! Count off prime numbers in your head until you relax! Remember what that one priest guy said.

That’s your first thought? Not, I sure hope Zenith is on her way to save me or I hope Paul is getting help for me? You immediately begin to assume that the cat lady is going to rape you?

I just can’t with Rudy.

Attaboy. Now then, let’s piece this together as best we can. First of all, Paul had attacked me for no apparent reason and knocked me senseless. And when I’d woken up, I’d found myself inside a carriage, bound hand and foot. Presumably, he’d KO’d me for some specific reason and then tossed me in here.

“He knows way too much. Butcher him like a pig, Ghislaine!”

The only other person in said carriage was a macho lady who


said we’d be getting “acquainted” starting tomorrow. Come to think


of it…Paul also said something strange right before he attacked me.

Something like, “Stop seeing Sylphie.”

Or maybe, “Sylphie’s too good for the likes of you.”

Or maybe, ‘Sylphie’s mine now, kiddo!’

Th-that scumbag pedo! Does his lust know no bounds?!

You’re one to talk!

Wait, I think I just made up those last two. Hmm. It was hard to think straight where Sylphie was concerned. I’d gotten completely derailed in no time at all. Damn it. This is all Paul’s fault… Ah, well, guess I’ll just have to ask.

“Uhm, Miss?”

“You can call me Ghislaine.”

“Oh, okay. In that case, you can call me Ruru.”

“Sure thing, Ruru.”

Okay then.

Right. So, the woman clearly didn’t know a joke when she heard one.

Did the joke get lost in translation or is he just not that funny.

I’m aware of To Love Ru’s existence, by the way. I don’t know why he was expecting Ghislaine to be aware of that series existing.


Thats just me assuming he was making a reference to this, though.

Opening up the sloppily folded piece of paper, I began to read.

“To my dear son Rudeus. If you’re reading this letter, it means thatI’m no longer in this world.”

“What, what?!” Ghislaine shouted, jumping to her feet.

Good thing this carriage had a high ceiling.

Good riddance.

“Please sit down, Ghislaine. There’s more.”

“Hm. Right…”

Just like that, she sat right back down.

“Sorry, just kidding! I always wanted to try that one out on somebody.

Dick move, Paul. How dare you make me think that the trash took itself out.

“So, anyway. I knocked you down into the dirt, tied you up, and tossed you into a carriage like a bandit kidnapping a princess. I expect you’re wondering what the hell is going on, hey? Ideally, that ball of muscle in there with you would just explain everything…but sadly, her brain mutated into an extra bicep some time ago, so I don’t think that’s going to work.”

“What was that?!” Ghislaine shouted, jumping to her feet again.

“Please sit down, Ghislaine. The next part’s nothing but compliments.”

“Hm. Right.”

Or, Ghislaine is just not talkative.

Right back down she went. Okay then, moving on. “That woman’s a Sword King. When it comes to the blade, you won’t find a better teacher this side of the Sword Sanctum. Trust your old man on this one: She’s really damn good. I never once got the upper hand on her…except in bed.”

Do adults in this world lack discretion around children or something? Rudy is supposed to be six. I have a feeling that Paul would see no issue with showing porn to kids in classrooms, if he existed in modern society.

Dad. Please. Could you not have just left that last part out?

Thank you.

Ghislaine didn’t exactly look displeased, though. The old man was certainly popular with the ladies

That’s one way to describe a rapist.

Anyway…I was evidently travelling with one hell of a fighter.

“Now then, let’s move on to your job. You’re going to be tutoring a young lady in Roa, the biggest city in the Fittoa Region. Teach her reading, writing, math, and some basic magic, all right? The girl’s a spoiled, violent brat who was asked to leave her school, and she’s already chased off a number of other tutors. But I’ve got faith in you, kiddo! I’m sure you’ll manage somehow.”

So, first adults are fine with bringing up inappropriate topics around their kids and now you’ve got nobles resorting to hiring a six year old to tutor a retarded kid?

How the hell hasn’t their society completely collapsed?

Okay, let’s keep moving.

“That lump of muscle with you works for the young lady’s family as a bodyguard and swordsmanship instructor. In exchange for training you in the sword, she wants you to teach her reading, writing, and arithmetic as well. I know, it’s a ridiculous request
coming from a woman with a bicep-brain, but try not to laugh out loud. She’s probably serious.”

“That son of a…”

Was I seeing things, or was that a vein throbbing on Ghislaine’s forehead? The main purpose of this letter was to explain the situation to me, but Paul’s secondary goal was clearly to piss her off.

Made me kind of curious about the nature of their relationship.

That isn’t funny, that’s just sad. Imagine being illiterate and resorting to having a child teach you your ABCs.

Paul’s swordsmanship was mostly instinct-based. Maybe he felt I needed a better teacher at this point. Or maybe he’d just gotten sick of watching me not improve at all.

I think you could have stuck it out a little longer, man…

“How much would it usually cost to learn the sword from you, Ghislaine?”

“Two gold Asuran coins per month.”

Say what?! I was pretty sure that Roxy had earned five silver coins a month back when she was tutoring me. This lady charged about four times more.

This was really a pretty solid deal, then. A normal person in Asura could get by on about two silver coins a month. “For the next five years, you’ll be staying at the young lady’s house to teach her. Five whole years, you got that? You don’t get to come back home until then. And no writing letters, either. Sylphie’s never going to learn how to stand on her own two feet if you keephanging around the village. And you were growing increasingly reliant on her, as well. That’s why I made the call to separate the two of you.”

“Wait… what?”

Once again, he’s a six year old. Kids are supposed to be reliant on friends… and what the fuck? This all sounds plain abusive to me. Forcing your kid to miss out on all of their formative years with a bunch of strangers, without any hope of coming home is the most dystopian shit I’ve heard from from a fantasy.

Why not just drop him off at an orphanage while you’re at it?

When I really thought about it, though, Paul had a point. At the rate things were going, Sylphie might have turned into a “childhood friend” character from a particularly shitty visual novel. You know…the kind who sticks to the protagonist constantly, revolving around him like a satellite, and never develops a personality of her own.

No, he just doesn’t like you anymore and wants you out of sight.

In the real world, a girl like that would make her own friends and learn about new things at school. But thanks to her hair, Sylphie was always going to have a tough time with that. There was a real chance she would have stayed glued to my side for years and years. I wouldn’t really have minded, but the adults involved felt differently. This made sense. Paul had made the right call this time.

Once again, Paul is reprehensible and just doesn’t want to parent Rudy anymore. He just went “fuck them kids” and tossed Rudy out.

”Additionally, once you complete five years of consistent service and finish providing the young lady with a solid education in all respects, your contract entitles you to a special reward: a payment covering the cost of tuition for two people to the University of
Magic.”

Hrm. I see.

University?!

He’s six! He should be thinking about primary school at that age. Even the Middle Ages in Europe had a thing called “elementary education”.

What is wrong with this society that there isn’t even an elementary school?!!

In other words, once I did my time as a tutor, Paul was going to let me do what I wanted…just as he’d promised. “Of course, there’s no guarantee Sylphie will want to tag along with you five years from now, and you might lose interest in her yourself. But in any case, I’ll make sure to explain the situation perfectly to her.”

Wouldn’t it be so funny if five years later, Slyphie had a ton of new friends and wanted nothing to do with Rudy?

Of course, that won’t happen but let me dream, dammit!

“I hope the years you spend in this new environment will teach you many things, allowing you to develop your talents even further. Sincerely, your noble, wise, and brilliant father, Paul.”

Here I thought Boomers were the worst for kicking teenagers out without warning. Here we have Paul just throwing Rudy to the wolves.

Brilliant my ass! Your whole plan was just to beat me into submission!

“He was joking the other night about sending me to work in the mines!”

”Paul really loves you, doesn’t he?” Ghislaine said.

I couldn’t help smiling a little at that one.

Not enough to object to being separated from your own kid for five years.

“He used to be kind of distant, but he started really getting into the whole fatherhood thing. Anyway, seems like he’s pretty fond of you as well, Ghislaine…”

“Hm? Why d’you say that?”

I proceeded to read the letter’s final line out loud.

Ugh

“P.S. Feel free to make a move on the young lady as long as it’s consensual, but that ball of muscle’s already mine, so hands off.”

HE’S A CHILD!
I’m going to stop before I lose my mind over this detail.

“Hmm,” Ghislaine said. “Send that letter on to Zenith for me, will you?”

Never thought I’d say it in this sporking, but….

Based.

I had some mixed feelings about that, of course, but it really was for the best. I couldn’t just stay with Sylphie, so this was something that needed to happen.
I definitely wasn’t bitter about it at all. Nope. Man. I wish I could go see her once a year or so, at least… Well… maybe I’d manage to convince myself of that at some point. I just wasn’t quite there yet.

Yeah, you’re totally bitter.

Alright, so that’s the end of Rudeus’s point of view. Thank god we don’t have to hear from him until the next volume.

The bad news is, we have to deal with Paul’s POV for a bit.

“D-damn, that was close…”

My son lay unconscious on the ground before my filthy, mud- caked shoes. Since this would be my last day teaching him the sword, I’d decided to put the fear of God in him before I knocked him out, but the kid actually snapped off a bunch of spells the instant I made my move. Wasn’t just a bunch of panicked attacks, either. He was mainly trying to slow me down. And every single time he cast something, it was a different spell.

“That’s my son for you, all right. Kid’s got a knack for battle…”

I’m gonna have to agree with Rudy on this one: you just wanted an excuse to beat him without any severe consequences.

Three steps was just too many when you’re fighting a magician. If he’d been in a group, one of his allies would have stepped in to protect him by the time I’d taken my second stride. And if there’d been just a bit more distance between us, I might have needed four
steps.

For all intents and purposes, the kid got the best of me. You could probably toss him into a party of adventurers right now. He’d more than pull his own weight in a labyrinth.

“Guess you’d expect no less from the prodigy who gave a Water Saint-tier magician an inferiority complex…”

“I should have named him Gary Stu after my grandfather with how talented he is.”

The boy was downright terrifying. But for some reason, that made me happy. Up until now, I’d been jealous of anyone more talented than me…but where my son was concerned, all I felt was pride.

“Okay, this isn’t the time to be talking to myself. Let’s get this done before Laws makes it over here…”

I quickly proceeded to tie up my son. The carriage had arrived by the time I finished, so I picked him up and prepared to toss him into it.

Of course, Laws picked that moment to show up with Sylphie in tow.

Should I even be surprised that Paul isn’t concerned about accidentally killing Rudy by knocking him out. Fun fact, but head injuries have a high chance of fatality.

After handing Ghislaine my letter, I unceremoniously dumped Rudeus in the carriage and let the coachman know he was good to go. Glancing over, I saw Laws crouched next to Sylphie, speaking to her firmly but quietly.

Yeah, that’s the way. It’s the parent’s job to teach their kid what’s what.

Uh huh… sure.

Laws had allowed Rudeus to take over many of his duties, but now he’d get the chance to reclaim his rightful role. Exhaling quietly, I watched the little family conference from a distance; after a moment, the wind carried Sylphie’s voice over to me.

“No… I’ll get strong enough to help Rudy!”

Hmm. That girl really adores you, son of mine. At this point, my two wives emerged from the house. I’d told them to stay inside if they wanted to watch, mostly for their own safety. But I suppose they wanted to see the boy off, at least.

You were going to send Rudy off without allowing Zenith to say goodbye?! You monster!

“Oh, my sweet little Rudy’s leaving me!”

“Be brave, Madam. This is a trial we must endure!”

“I know, Lilia. I know! Oh, Rudeus, Rudeus! My little son is riding off! He’s left his poor mother all alone. Woe is me!”

“You’re not alone, Madam. He’s not your only child!”

Easy for you to say, Lilia. It’s not your child that’s being sent away for five years.

“You’re right, of course. He has two little sisters now.”

“Two?! Oh, Madam!”

“Of course, Lilia. I’ll love your child as much as mine! As much as I love you!”

“Oh, Madam! I feel just the same!”

For some reason, Zenith and Lilia acted out a weirdly theatrical scene as the carriage set off down the road. I suppose they weren’t really too worried about Rudeus.

The kid had a solid head on his shoulders, after all.

#JusticeforZenith

“Still… I guess Rudeus won’t be around to watch the little ones grow up, huh?”

I knew he’d been planning to become the “best big brother ever,” but things weren’t going to work out that way.

Tough luck, kid. Daddy’s going to get all his little daughters’ love! Eheheheh.

Knowing Author-San, this is just gross.

Rudeus was about to start special, accelerated training under a Sword King. Five years from now, he would be twelve. Much bigger and stronger than he was now. If we had another anything-goes scrap when he came back, was I even going to stand a chance?

Oh, man. My paternal dignity was on the line.

What’s with all of this “parental dignity talk”?! You lost that privilege when you willingly sent him away.

“Zenith, dear? Lilia? Now that Rudy’s left us, I think I’ll have to start training a bit as well.”

Zenith glanced at me with a disinterested expression. Lilia leaned over to stage-whisper in her ear. “Did it really take a near loss to make him realize that the young master might soon surpass him?”

“Honestly, he’s always like this. Never puts a bit of effort in until someone nearly embarrasses him.” Apparently, I was already somewhat lacking in the paternal dignity department.

Ah well. What’s dignity good for, anyway? My old man was a walking lump of pride and nobility, and I was never exactly fond of him. I wanted to be a friendly, lovable kind of father, not a dignified one.

Good lord, only now you want to be a parent.

At this point, I glanced at Zenith out of the corner of my eye. Damn, that’s a nice body. You’d never know she’s already had two kids… Maybe we could try for four or five? That’s one way to earn myself an extension, I guess. Nheheh.

That takes a lot of nerve after what you did to her.

Rudeus… Believe me, this isn’t how I wanted to do this, either. I don’t think you would have agreed to my plan, and I’m not sure I could have convinced you in an argument.

You seriously admit that you’re dumb enough to lose an argument with a six year old?!

Still… as your father, I couldn’t just do nothing. I’m basically passing you off to someone else for now, but I think that’s how it has to be. I know I didn’t give you any choice, but I’m sure a clever kid like you will understand. The experiences you’re going to have out there wouldn’t have been possible in this village. Even if you don’t understand my reasons, dealing with the challenges in front of you will make you stronger in the end.

That’s the biggest load of BS I’ve read in a while.

I grew up under my old man’s thumb myself, you know? Ended up just running away, rather than ever facing up to him. I do regret that to some degree. And I wish I’d done some things differently. I don’t want you to feel that way, of course. But you know…
running away like that did make me stronger. I’m not sure if I’m stronger than my dad was, but I found women I loved, protected the things I cared about, and grew tough enough to put the screws on my own kid.
You want to fight back? Fine by me. Have at it.

WHY ARE WE ONLY LEARNING ALL OF THIS NOW?! IT’S THE END OF THE BOOK!

Technically there’s an extra chapter for Zenith, but I’ll do that next time!

Peace out.

 

[Invertebrate Horse]

The callousness and perversion within the author that seeps through every sentence in this book genuinely puts a pit in my stomach.

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

I don't get why people would read this and be invested in another volume, there isn't even a cool flashforward scene (maybe I missed it). The entire book is an unnecessary background to a generic fantasy setting.

We are presented with this illustration:

It's really shitty design even for a coomer design.

 

[user176]

One thing I noticed about the controversy regarding the release of the Ars and Aisha story was how many people were defending it. The majority of people who are fans of this trash are eating it up, just accepting the story as good and praising it. That said, there is a noticeable chunk of people who reacted negatively to this volume, pointing out how fucked up most everyone in this story was. Local lolcow and lolifag chibi reviews made a couple videos about this story back when it released. He was defending this gross disaster, saying something about it's artistic merit, and actively shitting on anyone who took a stand against it and criticized the author's writing choices. One of the people on twitter condemning this story called it Pedotensei, which I think is an excellent nickname.

Why does this upset you so much? Rudeus truly gets what he fucking deserved even though it took years for karma to finally decide to kick his ass. Dude's a hypocrite.

I can't see the whole ars and aisha story as anything but a kidnapping that around half the cast of characters actively supported. A 25 year old woman grooms her brother's 10 year old son, takes off with the boy, and most everyone around the brother starts stabbing him in the back to keep him from finding them. Yes, I know that Rudeus is a pedophile, but even if he wasn't a scumbag the aforementioned backstabbing still would've happened.
Funny you mention him getting what he deserved, one of the people who were discussing this said that the reason the author wrote this story was because he wanted Rudeus to confront his sins. Yes, Rudeus does deserve comeuppance for his prior behavior. Thing is, there were at least a million different ways the author could've had this happen that didn't involve his sister banging his 10 year old son and everyone but him being cool with it.

The only "somewhat" non degenerate way to write reborn isekai (besides not having romance) is to have the main character be amnesiac to his past life up until the age he passed away so it doesn't make every social interaction reek of pedophilia.

I'd prefer it if the author completely got rid of all the isekai elements while he was writing this. It would have the story 10 times more tolerable, if most of the main character's actions was just him being a stupid kid, doing stupid kid things.

Chapter 11

Hey, uhhh, I think we skipped a chapter. Where's 10? I'd also like to ask if you intend to read all 26 volumes of this. If you do, then you have my respect (and my condolences).

“Yes. Not as much in more recent times, but back in the day he was pretty indiscriminate. You might have older brothers and sisters out there that we don’t know about, Rudy.”

It's weird how this is brought up as a potential story element, then never addressed again. Paul has slept with god knows how many different women over the course of his life, he's one of the biggest man whores in the series, yet somehow the only children he's confirmed to have had are Rudeus, Norn, and Aisha. The author could have introduced characters who could be Paul's illegitimate children. Though thinking about it further, Rifujin probably would've used any hypothetical characters like that for his incest fetish...

 

[Kiwisee]

I don't get why people would read this and be invested in another volume, there isn't even a cool flashforward scene (maybe I missed it). The entire book is an unnecessary background to a generic fantasy setting.

It's really shitty design even for a coomer design.

The fantasy elements of this story feels more like a backdrop to a thinly veiled slice of life. It reminds me of the fanfiction “My Inner Life” (except that the self insert protagonist in that one isn’t a pedophile).

Like “My Inner Life”, whatever interesting elements are introduced get immediately undermined by the author’s sexual preferences.

The callousness and perversion within the author that seeps through every sentence in this book genuinely puts a pit in my stomach.

I’m honestly surprised that this book hasn’t been submitted to r/MenWriteWomen (feel free to correct if I’m wrong on that). I’ve been trying my best to give the author the benefit of the doubt that maybe he just wants to write Rudy that way. But as the book goes on, I keep asking myself “was that really necessary” and the answer is a big fat “no”.

I have a feeling that Zenith was based off of someone he knew that rejected him for Chad back in high school, and that he never got over it. I’m just the way she’s treated in this book alone cements that for me.

Apparently even the author's balls involuntarily tensed up at the thought that he had to mention it without going through with it. Absolute coward couldn't even have Paul get his comeuppance because "Ohh, men will be men amirite? Womanizers can't help being horndogs."

I think the problem is this world (unless I'm misremembering, we don't have a name of the land or village he's in, I dunno if it ever gets revealed later on unless it's Asura) still acts and thinks Japanese instead of being its own thing, and that's causing a lot of contradictions in its narrative. It's a fantasy, my man, you don't need to make it a second Japan.

Whenever Author-San comes up with an even remotely interesting idea/conflict, it is quickly undermined by his inability to commit fully to said idea. If Paul was kicked out/divorced, it could have been interesting to see how much impact it would have on Rudy. Maybe even make him rethink a lot of the VN harem tropes, or deconstruct what he himself has normalized over the years.

As for the fantasy world being Japan 2.0, you’re right. I was wondering why the world building has felt empty so far and it’s the author not thinking too deep about the world itself. Rudy’s parents are woefully underutilized in the sense that they should have been the ones to teach him the basic ins and outs of the magic system, not Roxy. It should have been Zenith that brought Rudy outside to explore the world, not Roxy.

There’s a million different ways to use his parents for the world building, given their occupations, and Author-San chose not to take advantage of that.

I suppose it’s a good thing that the anime exists to make the world seem more interesting than it actually is. .Hack//Sign has better world building for a video game, and that was supposed to be a generic world on purpose.

Hey, uhhh, I think we skipped a chapter. Where's 10? I'd also like to ask if you intend to read all 26 volumes of this. If you do, then you have my respect (and my condolences).

SHIT! FUCK AHHHHHH

I’ll do it tomorrow, plus the bonus chapter. And yes, I’ll do all 26 volumes. I’m in too deep at this point to say no.

 

[40 Year Old Boomer]

Of all the stuff to criticize in this, I don't know why you're so booty blasted that a bunch of medieval level peasants in a village don't have a working education system.

 

[milesmathis is the goat]

It’s now back to being readable, thanks for informing me.

correct me if i am wrong but doesn't rudy face no challenges in being a family man even though in his entire past life he was supposed to be irresponsible , does he suddenly become a family man without any arc or pushback from the story that tackles his irresponsible side , doesn't this count as bad writing

 

[Two Hands]

correct me if i am wrong but doesn't rudy face no challenges in being a family man even though in his entire past life he was supposed to be irresponsible , does he suddenly become a family man without any arc or pushback from the story that tackles his irresponsible side , doesn't this count as bad writing

You're mistaken, this story isn't that poorly written. I do not remember all the details, but volumes 7 and 15 are the epitome of what happens if and when he becomes irresponsible. He doesn't become a family man collecting Pokémon just because he's blonde Harry Potter.

 

[milesmathis is the goat]

It’s now back to being readable, thanks for informing me.

You're mistaken, this story isn't that poorly written. I do not remember all the details, but volumes 7 and 15 are the epitome of what happens if and when he becomes irresponsible. He doesn't become a family man collecting Pokémon just because he's blonde Harry Potter.

give me a short synopsis of what you're talking about in those chapters

 

[Two Hands]

@milesmathis is the goat

Spoiler: Volume 6-7

At the end of Volume 6, red-haired Pokémon (Eris) abruptly leaves on a training arc to become a stronger swordsman, abandoning Rudeus with only a short note that says, "they aren't well matched."

This happened right after they returned home to find most their family and acquaintances dead or missing, and the morning after she took his virginity.

The miscommunication devastates Rudeus. Believing she dumped him, His self-esteem shattered. He isolated himself in a tent for months, close to a year before resolving to leave the region in order to search for his missing mother, Zenith.

By Volume 7, he's a passively suicidal shell of himself. When the dude fumbles a blonde girl because of trauma-induced erectile dysfunction (LOL) and bitterness, he immediately tries to stab himself in the neck.

Spoiler: Volume 15

In Volume 15, he's doing pretty well as a family man. Just as he finishes working on a diary, an older Rudeus appears, having time-travelled. to the past carrying the same, now worn book.

This diary from the future details how Oldeus got duped by the Man-God into killing his entire family, destroying all his relationships, and ultimately becoming an infamous mass-murderer hunted by kingdoms. The detailed account of his loved ones deaths horrified him.

He reluctantly agrees to work with the Man-God to go on what amounts to a solo suicide mission against Dragon God Orsted in the hopes of protecting the family he hasn't lost yet.

 

[milesmathis is the goat]

@milesmathis is the goat

Spoiler: Volume 6-7

At the end of Volume 6, red-haired Pokémon (Eris) abruptly leaves on a training arc to become a stronger swordsman, abandoning Rudeus with only a short note that says, "they aren't well matched."

This happened right after they returned home to find most their family and acquaintances dead or missing, and the morning after she took his virginity.

The miscommunication devastates Rudeus. Believing she dumped him, His self-esteem shattered. He isolated himself in a tent for months, close to a year before resolving to leave the region in order to search for his missing mother, Zenith.

By Volume 7, he's a passively suicidal shell of himself. When the dude fumbles a blonde girl because of trauma-induced erectile dysfunction (LOL) and bitterness, he immediately tries to stab himself in the neck.

Spoiler: Volume 15

In Volume 15, he's doing pretty well as a family man. Just as he finishes working on a diary, an older Rudeus appears, having time-travelled. to the past carrying the same, now worn book.

This diary from the future details how Oldeus got duped by the Man-God into killing his entire family, destroying all his relationships, and ultimately becoming an infamous mass-murderer hunted by kingdoms. The detailed account of his loved ones deaths horrified him.

He reluctantly agrees to work with the Man-God to go on what amounts to a solo suicide mission against Dragon God Orsted in the hopes of protecting the family he hasn't lost yet.
[/SPOILE

he joins the suicide mission by force, how is this him facing challenges because of his irresponsibility , for a guy who sucked at taking responsibility he sure faces no self challenges taking on a suicide mission

explain how i am wrong give examples

 

[Kiwisee]

@user176 Has informed me that I skipped a chapter. After mulling about it, I figured that I may as well own up to my mistake and just spork it in this post instead of going back to edit a prior one.

One, because it’s funny that I was in such a hurry to finish this volume that I skipped an entire chapter. And two, it’s easier. After posting this, I’ll edit chapter 11 to link directly back to this post.



Please forgive me for my own follies. Everyone will get free heart reacts as compensation. And apologies for the delay, this is a double feature (both chapter 10 and Zenith’s chapter)
CHAPTER 10

This chapter is called “Stunted Growth”, and yeah that’s one way to describe Rudy. Personally, I’d say “arrested development” would be more fitting. But what do I know.

I was now seven years old.

For the sake of transparency, I’m going to have to change all my “he’s six” comments to “he’s seven”, and I got no one to blame but myself for that.

Either way, insert obligatory “fuck you, Rudy” here.

My two little sisters, Norn and Aisha, were growing quickly. They cried when they peed themselves, they cried when they pooped themselves, they cried when they were upset about and they cried even when they weren’t. They’d cry in the middle of the night, and they’d cry first thing in the morning, and when afternoon rolled around, there’d be some particularly energetic wailing. Before long, Paul and Zenith were having a shared nervous breakdown. The only one who kept her cool was Lilia. “See!” she said, tending skillfully to the two girls, as she usually did. “Now this is what childrearing is! Things with young Rudeus were much too easy! You could hardly call that real childrearing!”

Lilia is so close to understanding what’s going on with Rudy, yet so far at the same time.

In my case, I was already used to crying babies, thanks to my younger brother from my last life, so it didn’t bother me much. And, not to brag, but I had experience in looking after babies—again, thanks to my brother—so I’d briskly change diapers and help out
with the laundry and the cleaning. Paul would watch me, looking quite embarrassed for himself. Much like a Japanese man born before World War II, he didn’t know how to do anything around the house.

You’re telling me that Paul has no issues with swordsmanship, but can’t figure out how to pick up a broom and sweep?

How did he survive to adulthood?

Certainly, his skills with the sword were undeniable, and the people of the town held him in esteem, but he was only half the man he needed to be in order to be a dad. And this was his second time around, too. Good grief.

I’d go with saying he’s a useless, cheating rapist.

To help restore some of Paul’s honor—-

No.

Rudy goes on for a few paragraphs about Paul’s advanced swordsmanship and martial arts. Then, this line stuck out to me:

I had seen Paul do battle with monsters before.

Why didn’t we get to see this, Author San?!

Actually, it was more accurate to say he showed me. He’d gotten some reports that monsters had turned up, and so he’d dragged me along so I could watch from a distance, saying that “seeing a battle would be a good experience” for me. And I’ll be honest, here: It was pretty damn amazing. Paul was up against four monsters. Three of them were what we called Assault Dogs, canine monsters that moved about like trained
. The fourth was a bipedal, four-armed porcine monstrosity known as a Terminator Boar. The boar had emerged from within the forest with the three dogs in formation behind him. Paul handled them with ease, beheading the lot of them in a single stroke.
I’ll say it again: It was pretty damn amazing.

Maybe instead of writing about being a shut in, how attractive you find children and not respecting Slyphie’s boundaries, you could have instead written some kick ass monster fighting scenes?!

Ladies and gentlemen’, this is why “Show, don’t tell” is usually the first writing rule people talk about. There’s a time and a place to “tell, don’t show” and this isn’t one of them.

Paul’s fighting style had charisma. It earned absolute trust from the men in his command, won Zenith’s heart and Lilia’s lust, and even stoked the passions of Mrs. Eto. He was the most desirable guy
in the whole entire village.

And is that why he hasn’t faced any sort of comeuppance for being a sleaze?

Charisma aside, I was grateful to have Paul around—to have someone more powerful than me so close by. If he hadn’t been around, I might have grown up to be an arrogant punk. I would’ve let my skill in magic convince me to challenge some monsters to a fight, and, unable to handle a pack of Assault Dogs, I’d have wound up getting torn to literal pieces.

This sounds like an interesting story. Rudy doesn’t even need to die in this scenario, just give him his first close call that requires Paul’s assistance.

I wish that we got to experience all of this with Rudy.

Moving right along…

And if the monsters didn’t do it, people would have. If I’d let my skills go to my head, I’d definitely have picked a fight with someone I couldn’t beat. It was a common story, and I’d have deserved whatever came to me, too.

At this point, I think Author-San just makes shit up as he goes.

Swordsmen in this world had skills beyond what I was used to. They could run at speeds approaching fifty kilometers per hour, and their reflexes and ability to track movement were quite impressive.

Can people even run that fast?


Well, whaddya know it’s a bit faster than what people can accomplish in real life. I was going to make a joke about the people being as fast as cheetahs, but Author-San had enough sense to not make people go 80 kilometers per hour.

Thanks to the existence of Healing magic, death from injury was something that could be staved off, so these swordsmen were practiced in killing their foes in a single stroke. In a world where monsters existed, it only made sense for people to grow so powerful.
Still, even Paul was only at the Advanced level. There were plenty of people higher up the rankings within the official framework alone. And there were enough world-famous individuals and monsters out there that Paul couldn’t hope to defeat even if he had backup.
There’s always a bigger fish, after all.

That’s a given. Sure wish we were shown all this.

I was grateful for Paul teaching me to wield a sword. Other than that, though, he was still no good as a dad. He was like an Olympic gold medalist who also happened to be a convicted criminal.

I wonder which parent Rudy takes after more…

Paul broke the silence.

“By the way, Rudy,” he said, as if suddenly remembering something, “about school… No, you probably don’t need that. Never mind. Let’s get back to it.” He quickly broke off and brought his practice sword to bear, as if nothing had happened.


I wasn’t going to let that slide. “What do you mean, school?” I asked.


“There’s an educational institution in Roa, the capital of Fittoa, where they teach things like reading and writing, arithmetic, history, etiquette, and that sort of thing.”

“I’ve heard of it.”

“Normally, you’d start going there around your age, but…you probably don’t need to? You already know how to read and write and do sums, right?”

“Well, yeah.”

This is funnier when you remember that he’s supposed to go tutor someone next volume.

I let everyone think that Roxy had taught me arithmetic. With two new baby girls, the financial situation at home had gotten rather tough, and with Zenith constantly poring over our accounts ledger,

I’d decided to help her out—to her great shock. It had looked like there was going to be another uproar over what a genius I was, so I’d.blurted out Roxy’s name to fend that off.

And hey, if that made their estimation of Roxy go up as a result, all the better.

“I’m interested in school, though,” I said. “There’d be a lot of other children around my age there, right? Maybe I could make some friends.”

For once, I agree with Rudy.

Even assuming that he still has all of his knowledge from a past life; no matter how similar the written words of Japanese and Tenseiese are, there’s still going to be gaps. There are still going to be different grammatical rules.

The list goes on. I’m exhausted of medieval fantasy settings that don’t commit to being medieval fantasies; except when it comes to pedophilia and incest.

Paul swallowed, as if he had a lump in his throat.

“I mean it’s not all that great a place. Etiquette is just stuffy nonsense, knowing history doesn’t help with anything, and you’re definitely going to get bullied. A bunch of local noble brats will be there, sure, but they just get all bitchy whenever they’re not number one. With a kid like you there, they’ll probably form a clique and push you around. And my father was a marquis, so with you being of even lower standing than I was, you’ll be seen as even more of an upstart.”

JUST SAY YOU’RE TOO BROKE FOR A FANCY SCHOOL! Why can’t the so-called blunt characters just be blunt?

I’ll be generous for now and just assume in good faith that there’s a reason his family isn’t going to help out.

Paul’s rundown sounded like it was coming from personal experience. He’d run away from home because he was disgusted by his rigid father and the corrupt nobility. Etiquette and history were an inescapable part of being a proper Asuran noble, so he must have found those subjects tough to tolerate.

Interesting. Why are we only learning about this when there’s still chapter 11 and bonus chapter left?

An unmistakable tension filled the air between us as we talked. “Really?” I asked. “I would’ve figured that noblewomen had some pretty cute daughters.”

“Let me stop you right there. Noble daughters cake their faces thick with makeup, fuss obsessively over their hairdos, and reek of perfume. I mean, sure, some of them practice swordplay and are hot, but the bulk of them keep their bodies hidden underneath corsets,
and even when you do get one into bed and get her clothes off, they never get any exercise, so their bodies are all loose and flabby to boot. Your dad’s been tricked many times on that front.” Paul had a distant look in his eyes as he spoke.

What’s that I hear?

Oh, it’s the collective sigh of relief from fat women everywhere.

“Maybe I won’t go to school, then,” I said.

Honestly, I think that’s a good think now that I’ve had time to think about it.

At least he won’t be able to groom kids in elementary school so easily now. I’m going to assume that all the “spoilers” about Rudy going to magic school and putting girls in weird bondage scenarios is fake news.

I hope.

“If you ever feel like schooling, you can just become an adventurer and go delving in some labyrinths.” “An adventurer?”

Oh, well that’s one way to get an education- just go on the field.

“Yeah. Hitting up labyrinths is great. The ladies there don’t wear makeup, so you can tell at a glance who’s pretty and who’s not. And whether they’re swordswomen or soldiers or wizards, they’re all in
great shape.”

It’s a good thing that Zenith’s chapter is coming up so that we’ll all learn about what she saw in him as an adventurer… I hope.

Next few paragraphs goes on about how labyrinths are monsters that started off as simple caverns but were altered by magic. Inside every labyrinth is a magic crystal that would make for a useful power source for any wizard with a dime; said crystal often lures monsters inside and traps them. Anything dropped in said labyrinth becomes magical.

Now I’m starting to understand what people mean when they say that they like some of Mushoku Tensei’s world building, but loathe everything else. Maybe someday the hatedom can reclaim the setting and enjoy it without the baggage of this series.

The reason I’m saying this is because I have a feeling it’s going to be a major plot point later down the line.

The oldest and deepest known labyrinth was the Pit of the Dragon God, situated at the foot of the holy Mount Dragoncry in the Red Wyrm mountain range.

I would make fun of the naming conventions here, but I have a feeling it’s more subtle in Japanese than it is in English.

Anyways, I looked up a spoiler and this is what he looks like:


He seems cool. Do Not Spoil me about this guy, my respect for Paul has already suffered.

That “hole” wasn’t a volcanic crater or anything, by the way. The labyrinth itself had supposedly created it in order to consume red dragons; when one flew by, the Pit would suck it into its maw. There wasn’t much proof to support that particular myth. But it wouldn’t have been too surprising, given that the Pit was a truly
ancient monster.

Now we’re talking. I like this type of horrifying nightmare fuel in fantasy.

Anyways, that’s the limit of Rudy’s knowledge that he read in his textbooks.

Then Rudeus brings up The Three Swordsmen.

The Three Swordsmen and the Labyrinth was the tale of three brilliant young fighters who would come to be known as the Sword God, the Water God, and the North God. The book began with their initial meeting and followed them through a series of twists and turns that led them to challenge a huge labyrinth together. There was plenty of conflict, laughter, and male bonding along the way, as well as a few painful farewells; in the end, naturally, they achieved their goal triumphantly.

I hope that becomes relevant later. Otherwise, it’s just exposition for the sake of it.

Paul rolled right into the story of a young Oni man who teamed up with a group of human warriors to enter a labyrinth full of Fishmen, and their eventual victory at the cost of several comrades. Before I had time to process that one, he moved on to the tale of an
incompetent magician who accidentally fell into a labyrinth, joined a party that happened to have lost its own magician, and discovered his latent talents in the heat of battle.

There’s oni in this world or is this a mistranslation? I know that sometimes ogres and trolls are called “oni” in Japanese for some reason.

Otherwise, it really is Japan.

Being the protagonists and all, our three heroes made their way past these obstacles unscathed, but I doubted a clumsy guy like me could manage that. I was the oblivious type, after all.

“What d’you think? Adventuring might be pretty fun, too, right?”

“Come on, you can’t be serious.”

Nah, you’ll be fine. You’ve got the power of fan fiction on your side, and a lifetime of gaming under your gunt.

Why would I deliberately put myself in highly risky situations just to get a thrill? A relaxed life full of women— just like Paul’s— seemed way more appealing.

“I think I’m more inclined to spend my life chasing skirts.”

“Oho. I guess you really are my son!”

“Ideally, I’d like to build myself a little harem, just like my dear old dad.”

“No kidding? Think you’d better stick to chasing one skirt at a time for now, though.”
Paul pointed behind me with a grin. I turned around to find myself face to face with a very sulky-looking Sylphie. Perfect timing, moron.

Can always go touch grass in your spare time like Zenith does.

I’d been spending a lot of time in my room with Sylphie recently, walking her through the basics of math and science. It seemed like the quickest way to help her understand how silent spellcasting really worked in detail.

Unfortunately, I’d left school after junior high in my previous life. While I’d technically gotten into some high school for morons, I’d dropped out almost immediately.

As a result, there was a real limit to how much I could teach her. Book learning wasn’t everything, sure…but I was starting to get angry at myself for not having taken my studies a bit more seriously.

For some reason, I completely forgot that he only had junior high education. At least he was literate enough for visual and light novels?

Look, I’m trying to find silver linings over here.

By now, Sylphie had mastered the basics of reading and writing, and could handle multiplying two-digit numbers. The times table had been something of a struggle, but the girl clearly wasn’t dumb.

It could be worse in a world where basic education is gatekept with tuition. Because I’m throwing realism out the window for this “medieval”-lite setting, I half expected that Author-San would touch upon the path of the monk’s education.

But at the end of the day, it is a light novel. Not a history lesson. I’ll concede to that much.

If you couldn’t tell, yeah I feel kind of silly for skipping a chapter without realizing it.

“Why does water turn into, uh…vapor when you heat it up?”

“Well, water naturally dissolves into air, but it takes some heat for that to happen. So, the hotter it gets, the more easily it dissolves.”

Today, we were covering the cycle of evaporation, condensation, and precipitation.

“…?”

From the look on Sylphie’s face, it was clear she didn’t really understand what I was saying. Still, she’d proven herself a quick learner in general. Probably because she always paid attention and tried her best.

Yay, grade appropriate science.

They liked to divide things neatly into their different disciplines here, but it was all interrelated. And pumping more raw magical power into your spells wasn’t the only way to make them stronger; by manipulating combustible gases, for example, you could produce intense heat more efficiently.

I’d figured all that out by now. But not much else. My skill as a magician hadn’t really improved since Roxy left. I’d just been finding ways to combine my current spells, use them more effectively, and increase their power with some minor scientific tweaks.

At a glance, it probably looked like I was growing stronger…but it felt more like I’d hit a dead end. Given my current level of knowledge, I might never manage to do anything more challenging than what I could pull off now.

It’s only the first volume, Rudy. You’ll be fine.

Back in my former life, it was easy enough to find information on the internet when I needed it, but there wasn’t anything so convenient in this world. Maybe I really did need someone to teach me…

Imagine trying to find information without Reddit.com.

“Hmm. School, huh…?”

Roxy had mentioned that schools for magicians tended to have very strict rules and standards, but maybe I could find some way to get into one.

Thank god that’s not happening.

“Are you going to a school, Rudy?”


Apparently, I’d been thinking out loud. Sylphie turned to look at me, an anxious expression on her face.
The movement left her emerald green hair swaying slightly. She’d been growing it out a little lately…probably because I’d kept dropping casual suggestions, once a month or so. At the moment, it only qualified as a short bob, but it was kind of nice to see her messy
little curls react to every movement of her head.

We’d be in ponytail territory in no time.

I was just thinking “hmm it’s been a while since the last time I was repulsed by the narration”.

“No, I’m not planning on it. Father says I’d be bullied so mercilessly that I wouldn’t learn a thing.”

“But you’ve been acting kind of strange again…”

Wait, seriously?

That was news to me. Had I screwed up again? I’d been trying so hard to keep up the “totally oblivious” act around her, too…

“I’ve been strange ever since I was a baby, according to my parents.”

I was trying to probe for details with a little joke, but Sylphie frowned and shook her head.

“That’s not what I meant. You seem kind of sad lately.” ‘

Oh. Phew.

Wait until she begins to notice patterns that she isn’t supposed to. She’ll be racist in no time.

I was worried she’d gotten a glimpse of my true nature somehow, but apparently, she was just concerned about me. “Well, I haven’t made that much progress lately, you know? I’m not getting any better with magic or the sword.”

“But you’re already amazing, Rudy…”

“For my age, maybe.”

True, there probably weren’t that many children in this world on my level. But that said, I hadn’t yet accomplished much of anything. My “skill” with magic came partially from my memories of my previous life, and partially from my initial breakthrough with the
silent spellcasting.

In a world full of (allegedly) illiterate people, you’re better off than most of the population who apparently can’t even spell their own names.

And yes, I get that this is meant to be a gateway into him utilizing the memories of his past life.

Magic was the fundamental law here. And to understand it, I needed to understand this world.
“Still, I feel like it’s about time I took my next step forward, you know?”

Sylphie was improving steadily at magic, and getting smarter by the day. Watching her progress was starting to make me feel a little pathetic. I was just treading water by comparison. For the moment, I could still think of myself as the oblivious protagonist of this story. But unless I got my arrogant butt in gear, this girl was going to leave me in the dust someday.

Her frown only deepening, Sylphie pressed me further. “Are you gonna go somewhere?”

“Well, maybe,” I answered. “Father did say I should give
exploring labyrinths a shot, and there isn’t that much I can do in this village… I’ll probably end up going to some school or trying the adventurer thing, I guess.”

I’d spoken casually, without giving it too much thought. But for some reason…

“N-no!” Sylphie cried out and threw her arms around me. Oho. What’s this, hmm? Time for a confession scene?! But even as the thought was running through my mind, I realized she was trembling.

“Uh… Miss Sylphiette?”

“No… No… No!”

The girl was squeezing me so hard it was difficult to breathe. Not sure how to respond, I fell silent for a moment.

“Don’t… Don’t go, Rudy! Hic… Waaaah!”

This would be kind of cute if Rudy wasn’t (mentally) in his 40s.

Huh? Seriously? Uh, what’s going on here? For the moment, the girl clearly needed comforting, so I stroked her head and rubbed her back. I wrapped my arms around Sylphie. When I buried my face in her hair, I discovered that it smelled extremely nice.

Oh man. Pure bliss.

Can I just…keep her? Please?

“Hic… Please, Rudy… Don’t… Don’t go away…”

Whoops. Snap out of it, stupid.

For a while now, Sylphie had been coming over to our house first thing in the morning almost every day. She would happily watch me practice my swordplay, after which we moved on to magic and
her studies.

If I suddenly left, Sylphie’s whole daily routine would disappear, and she’d go right back to being a loner. She could fend off bullies with her magic now, but it wasn’t like she’d made any other friends.

The more I thought about it, the more affection I felt for her. I was the only one Sylphie cared about this deeply. She was mine, and mine alone.

“I get the message, okay? I won’t go anywhere.”

How could I even think of tossing a sweet little girl like this aside and wandering off somewhere? To do what? Improve my magic? To hell with that. I could already cast Advanced- and Saint-tier spells. That was good enough to make a living as a tutor, the way Roxy did.

We are four pages in of this interaction.

Four pages which could have been spent exploring the world.

GET ON WITH THE STORY!

So why couldn’t I just stay here with Sylphie until we were old enough to get by on our own?

Sounded pretty good to me. We’d grow up together…and she’d grow up into my perfect woman. Hikaru Genji style, baby!
…Crap! No. No. Bad thoughts. Bad thoughts.

I wish I was illiterate. No, scratch that. I wish that I didn’t have eyeballs so I wouldn’t be able to read this.

For how long, though? Now that was the question. Did I need to wait until she turned ten? Fifteen? Even older…? What if she ended up hating me for wasting her time? Her affection meter was at max for now, but there was no guarantee it would stay that way forever. Could I live with myself if it dropped to zero?

No. Hell no!!! I’m a man who knows my limits, damn it!

Seriously, she’s so soft and warm and fluffy! And she smells so freakin’ good! She’s baring her soul to me right now, and I’m supposed to just sit here slack-jawed?! That’s so messed up! We both know how we feel, so we should just take this to the next level! Why force myself to waste precious time? Why not just admit I made the wrong call?!

That does it. I’ve decided! I’ll make her into my perfect girl!

Not only is Rudy a groomer, he is also one of those smellfags.

Moving on, he later receives a letter from Roxy.

I’m going to present it in its entirety because it sums up the author’s philosophical point of view far more succinctly than I ever could.

Dear Rudeus, How have you been?


It’s hard to believe, but I suppose two years have flown by since we parted. I’d take the chance to write. Things have finally settled down a bit on my end, so I thought. At the moment, I’m staying in the royal capital of the Kingdom
of Shirone. In the course of exploring various labyrinths, it seems I’ve made something of a name for myself, so I ended up getting hired to tutor a certain prince.


Teaching him brings back memories of the time I spent in the Greyrat household. For one thing, the prince is actually quite a bit like the young man I tutored there. While not quite as talented as you, he’s a quick-witted boy and a budding young magician in his own right. Regrettably, he’s also prone to stealing my underwear and peeping on me when I’m changing, just like someone else I could
name.

His personality’s a bit on the pompous side, and he’s considerably more energetic, but on the whole your patterns of behavior are quite similar

Perhaps ambitious men are all sex-crazed animals at heart? I’m a bit worried he’ll assault me before I’m finished teaching him. Can’t say I understand what you people find so appealing about my scrawny little body, honestly.
Hmm. Maybe I shouldn’t be writing this. If anyone were to read it, they might toss me in the dungeon for besmirching the honor of the royal family. I’ll just have to cross that bridge when I come to it. It’s not like I mean any of this in a bad way, really. In any case, it seems the royal court is planning to appoint me as a “court magician” for the duration of my stay. There’s still a great deal of magical research I’m itching to pursue, so that should work out quite nicely.


Oh, that reminds me—I’ve finally managed to get the hang of casting King-tier water spells. The royal library here happened to have some helpful books on the subject. Back when I first mastered Saint-tier magic, I thought that was the best I could ever do, but it seems a bit of good old-fashioned effort goes a long way.


I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re already casting Imperial-tier water spells by now, Rudeus. Or maybe you broadened your horizons and reached the Saint-tier in a different discipline? I know how voracious your thirst for knowledge is, so I could certainly see you dabbling in Healing or Summoning as well.

Then again, maybe you chose to focus on your swordplay
instead. I’d be a bit disappointed, to be honest, but I’m positive you’d make your mark on the world either way. Personally, I’m aiming to become a Water Saint-tier magician. Like I mentioned before…if you ever find yourself hitting a dead end in your magical studies, go get yourself admitted to the Ranoa University of Magic. Without a letter of recommendation, you’ll need to pass an entrance exam. But I don’t think that should pose you any difficulty at all.
Well then, until we meet again—
Roxy

P.S. It’s quite possible I will have left the royal court by the timeyour reply reaches it, so don’t feel obliged to respond.

Well, damn. Talk about a wake-up call. It took a moment for me to find the Kingdom of Shirone on the
map. It was a small country in the southeastern part of the Central Continent. Not so far away from here as the crow flies, but the mountain range in between was infested with red dragons, making it totally impassable. You’d have to take the long way around and approach it from the south.

For all intents and purposes, Shirone was a far-off land. And as for Ranoa, home to that university of magic… you’d need to take a big loop around to the northwest to get there.

“Hmm…”

At least now I knew why Roxy had never told me anything about magic above the King-tier. She didn’t know any better spells herself at the time.

I decided to write a brief, vague reply to the letter. No need to explain the sad truth about my current situation. The girl seemed to have a mental image of me as some sort of genius, and I didn’t want to disappoint her.


Anyway…the Ranoa University of Magic, huh? Roxy always made it sound like an amazing place. But it wasn’t exactly close to home, and I couldn’t just abandon Sylphie here

For the moment, I finished my letter, paused, and then added a brief note.

P.S. Sorry about stealing your panties.

In a just world, Roxy would’ve been well within her rights to never speak to him again.

The next day, I waited until my family was gathered at the dinner table, and then made my move.

“Father, can I make a selfish request?”

“Hell no.”

“The young master’s never asked for much. This is a golden opportunity to demonstrate some paternal dignity, Master Paul,”

Lilia added supportively.

You’ve been his second wife for how long and you’re still calling him “master”?

“The thing is, I’ve recently hit a dead end in my magical studies. And for that reason, I was hoping to attend the Ranoa University of Magic…”

“Oh?”

“But when I mentioned this to Sylphie, she broke down in tears and begged me not to leave her.”

“Hah, what a little lady-killer! Wonder who you got that from?” Another two smacks followed that one, naturally.

“The ideal solution would be for the two of us to go together, but Sylphie’s family isn’t as well-off as ours. I wanted to ask if you’d consider paying for both of us to attend.”

You’ve could have stopped at “could you just send me to university” instead of dragging Slyphie into it. Sometimes, in life, we must learn to move on from people.

Asking your already struggling parents to pay for someone else’s kid is… out of touch.

Leaning his elbows on the table, Paul shot me a sharp look that brought to mind a certain spectacled commander. His eyes were deadly serious—the same way they got when he picked up a sword.

“Well, the answer’s no.”

Once again, he’d shot me down. But this time it wasn’t just a joke, and Zenith and Lilia stayed silent.

“I’ve got three reasons. First, you’re still in the middle of your training with the sword. If you drop it now, you’ll end up a permanent amateur with no hope of improving. As your teacher, I can’t allow that. Second, the money is an issue. We could probably manage your tuition, but not Sylphie’s, too. Magic schools aren’t cheap, and it’s not like we have a magical money tree ourselves.

Third, you’re only seven years old. You’re a clever kid, but there’s still plenty you don’t know, and you’re seriously lacking in real-world experience. It would just be irresponsible for me to cut you loose right now.”

Dammit Author-San, stop trying to make me like Paul again for being the voice of reason here. He isn’t wrong here.

“I understand, Father. I’ll continue training with you in the sword, of course… but can I ask how old you think I need to be before this could happen?”

“Let’s see… Fifteen? Nah, let’s say twelve. Stick around that long, at least.”

Twelve? Hmm. Fifteen was the age kids came of age in this country, as I recalled.

“Can I ask why you chose twelve, specifically?”

“That’s the age I was when I left home myself.”

Too bad he just chooses to send Rudy off to go live with his corrupt family members instead.

“Well then, one last thing.”

“Sure.”

“Can you help me find a job? I can read, write, and do
arithmetic, so I might make a decent tutor. I wouldn’t mind working as a magician, either. I’d take whatever pays best.”

“You want a job? Why?” Paul asked, his eyes narrowing.

“I want to earn Sylphie’s tuition for her.”

In hindsight, this fixation on Slyphie is kind of sad knowing that she’ll be pretty much forced into a sister-wife position.

So we get this illustration:

”I see. So, that’s how it is, huh?”

In the end, Paul nodded to himself, apparently convinced of…something.

“All right, fine. In that case, I’ll look into a few things for you.” While Zenith and Lilia’s faces now expressed open concern, the look in Paul’s eyes told me that I could take him at his word.

“Thank you very much,” I said, lowering my head in gratitude as my family resumed their meal.

So we briefly get Paul’s POV. I fucking hate seeing this in light novels as much as I hate seeing it in western fiction. Just write in third person!

Well, I can’t say I was expecting that.

I knew my boy was growing up quickly, but most kids don’t start talking like that until they’re fourteen or fifteen at the earliest. Even I didn’t hit this stage until I turned eleven, when I reached Advanced

level in the Sword God Style. And some people never get to it at all.

What was that phrase again? “Don’t rush through your life too fast, or it’ll end before you know it.”

A certain warrior had told me that a long time ago. I’d just rolled my eyes back then. The way I saw it, everyone else was taking things too damn slowly. Any given human has a limited window of time in which they can actually accomplish things, but nobody seemed to feel any sense of urgency at all.

I wanted to do everything I possibly could while I had the chance. And if someone wanted to criticize me after the fact, well, I’d cross that bridge when I came to it.

Can always say “no” and leave it at that. No is a complete sentence.

You’re there to parent, not be your kid’s friend.

Laws, for his part, told me he was hoping the two of them might end up getting hitched someday. At the time, I was pretty pleased at the prospect of adding such a cute daughter to the family…but after hearing what Rudeus had said today, I had to reconsider.

A lot can happen in a few years. In a better story, Slyphie would have outgrown Rudy as most people tend to forget childhood crushes. It happens with maturity.

Right now, the girl was basically putty in his hands. If the two of them continued to grow up together like this, Sylphie was going to be permanently dependent on Rudeus. Even as an adult. I’d seen a few cases like that back when I was still “nobility.” I’d seen human beings who were little more than puppets, totally.

You mean you were raised as a sociopath by sociopaths, yes?

…controlled by their parents. That life’s not so bad while the guy who pulls your strings is still around, I guess. As long as Rudeus kept loving Sylphie, she’d probably be just fine.

But unfortunately, the kid had a bit of his dad in him as well. He was a born womanizer, in other words. There was a chance he might go running off after every other girl who caught his eye.

Or, as I said before, she could end up running off with some cooler guy that catches her eye.

She’d never recover from that blow. Never. My son might very well end up entirely ruining that sweet little kid’s life. I couldn’t allow that to happen. It sure as hell wouldn’t be in his best interests, either.

And so, I wrote my letter. Hopefully I’d get the response I was looking for. to go along with this?

That said…how was I going to convince that smooth-talking kid. Hmm. Maybe this called for a brute-force approach.

At this point, I have no trouble believing that Author-San didn’t grow up with friends who eventually outgrew him and vice versa.

That ends chapter 10.

As promised, this is going to be a double feature so without further ado, let’s get on with it.




Extra Chapter: Mother of Greyrat
We finally get to hear Zenith’s point of view on things. Up until this chapter, there wasn’t much about her that I could tell you about her because she’s not very present. She’s there in the technical sense, but isn’t at the same time.

My name is Zenith Greyrat.

Yes, we know. There’s no need to say it louder for the people in the back.

I was born in the Holy Country of Millis, a land noted for its long history, great beauty, and rigid moral code. By birth, I was a member of the nobility—the second daughter of a count.

Like most young ladies raised in “good families,” I was a sheltered child. I thought the little world I knew was all there was. I was clueless and naïve. But I was also a good child, if I do say so myself. I never disobeyed my parents. My grades in school were excellent. I obeyed the tenets of the Millis Church, and I learned to play the role expected of me in society gatherings.

Some people even called me the perfect picture of a Millis lady. My parents were rather proud of me, I’m sure. Had things continued as they were, I suppose I would have been introduced at some party to a man my parents chose for me. Probably the first son of some marquess, well-mannered but proud, with absolute respect for the dictates of the Millis Church. I would have married this moral paragon, given birth to his children, and seen my name go down in the register of Millis nobility as a perfectly respectable marchioness.

As a woman of the aristocracy, that was the road in front of me. But of course, I didn’t end up following it.

So she has the makings of an interesting character. Unfortunately we are only knowing about this now, rather than having this information be introduced organically via future volumes.

My life changed forever on my fifteenth birthday—the day I came of age. I had a terrible fight with my parents. For the first time in my life, I refused to do what they told me. And I ran away from home.

From the sounds of it, she left a lot behind that day.

It’s not easy for a fallen aristocrat to find a new road through life. But fortunately, I’d learned Healing magic in an academy for noble girls, and had even gotten proficient at Intermediate spells.

Millis was a country where Healing and Protection magic flourished, but it was still unusual to progress beyond the rank of Beginner in either. Reaching the Intermediate tier opened up the possibility of working in the Millis Church’s hospitals; it was an achievement that earned me much admiration in our school. As a result, I was convinced I could make it on my own
anywhere I went. I really was hopelessly naïve.

You never stood a chance.

This is getting sad.

A dishonest group of people spotted me almost immediately, as I awkwardly tried to navigate the unfamiliar process of taking a room at an inn. Claiming they’d been looking for a healer, they pulled me into their party, taking advantage of my total ignorance. The pay they offered was lower than what Beginner-tier magicians earned, but they insisted it was higher than the going rate.

Being a complete fool, I took their superficial kindness at face value. I actually remember thinking, I suppose the world does have some decent people in it.

Were they goblins, by any chance?

I’m sure they would have mistreated me further if I had stayed with them. They were probably planning to use me as a human shield in battle or force me to cast magic until I fainted. Maybe even to demand sexual favors.

Based on what, exactly?

I get that everybody in this cursed series is a pedophile or a sex pest, but in what way did they give off sex pest auras?

They just sound really stingy. Not the same as being a sex offender.

But they didn’t get the chance, thanks to a young swordsman named Paul Greyrat. After beating down my new “friends,” he rather forcefully dragged me into his own travelling party.

You mean he beat up some stingy adventurers and then kidnapped you.

Until Elinalise—one of his companions—explained, I was convinced I’d been kidnapped by a violent thug.

Did he take you against your will? Yes? That means you were kidnapped by a violent thug.

In any case, that was how I met my future husband.

Charmed, I’m sure.

At first, I hated Paul. He was an Asuran noble by birth, but his language was coarse. He broke his promises left and right, acted impulsively, wasted money, and mocked me constantly. Not to mention that he routinely groped my butt and sometimes made highly inappropriate advances.

And you still married him?!

I don’t like to victim blame but, come on!

Still, I could tell he wasn’t exactly a bad person. He was always coming to my rescue, after all.

Why does the author insist on downplaying Paul’s scumminess with “oh, but he’s a good person” after telling us he’s the worst person in the world.

I’m starting to notice a pattern here.

We were total opposites, but he was dependable, free-spirited, and handsome. I suppose it isn’t that surprising that I grew attracted to him.

“And that makes the sexual harassment and kidnapping A-okay!”

Of course, there were always pretty women around him. And I was a follower of the Millis Church, which preached the virtues of monogamy. I might have run away from home, but the teachings of my faith had been drilled into me daily since I was a child, and everyone I knew in school had been a believer. Its commandments were deeply rooted in my mind.

So she had to abandon her morals to accommodate Paul’s cheating. That is really sad.

So, one day, I blurted out these words: “You can sleep with me, but only if you never touch any other women again.” Paul immediately agreed with an easy smile. I knew he was lying to me, of course. But on some level, I didn’t mind. Once he broke his promise, I thought I might be able to get over him.

But once again, I’d been naïve, careless, and foolish. I never even considered that I might get pregnant after a single night with him.

It will soon become the worst mistake of her life!

I was so hopeless, anxious, and afraid. I certainly didn’t expect that Paul would actually do the honorable thing and marry me the way he did.

The child I bore him was a son, as it turned out.

Rudeus Greyrat. My little Rudy.

And thus, there was a shotgun wedding!

So anyways, she watches Rudy play with his younger sisters and comments on how good he is with kids.

This time, it was Aisha who piped up out of nowhere. Rudeus immediately turned to face her, pressed his palms against his cheeks, and mumbled, “Ajojobloblo.”
Clearly amused, Aisha let out a happy little, “Nhah, ahah!” Once again, Rudy nodded to himself with a grin of pure pleasure. He’d been keeping up this little routine for quite a while now.

Rudy has done so much psychic damage to me that anytime I read him “smiling” and “pleasure” in the same sentence, I’m more horrified than endeared.

It wasn’t something you saw every day, after all. Rudy always had the most serious expression on; no matter how well things went with his sword practice or his magic, he never looked particularly satisfied. He almost never let me or Paul see him smile. And when he did, it was usually a forced, awkward grin.

But now, he was making silly faces to amuse his little sisters and smiling with genuine pleasure when it worked. Just watching him put me in a pretty good mood myself.

We’d come a long way from the way things used to be. I sighed quietly to myself, recalling Rudy’s early years.

He could just be autistic.

At first,I’d been overjoyed when we discovered his talent for magic. But after a while, I’d started to feel like he was so talented that he secretly looked down on the rest of us. I wondered if he even loved his family at all. He’d never really gotten that attached to me, for one thing.

I genuinely feel bad for Zenith and how low she clearly feels about herself.

But I had it all wrong, of course. I realized this in the midst of our


greatest family crisis—the day Lilia announced her pregnancy, and


Paul confessed that he was responsible.

I felt so terribly betrayed by the both of them. So angry and so sad.

In particular, I was so furious at Paul for breaking his vows to me that I felt about ready to explode. I was on the verge of either screaming, “Get out!” to Lilia or announcing that I was leaving myself; it took an effort of will to keep myself calm.

Stick up for yourself, woman!

Before our marriage, I’d expected Paul to prove himself a liar, and planned to dump him once he did. I’d almost forgotten about that, but apparently my feelings hadn’t changed. I was so upset that I was ready to break apart our family for good.

Should have taken the kids with you and divorce raped him.

But in the end, Rudy changed my mind. Playing the part of a guileless child, he stepped in to guide things to a neat conclusion. His methods weren’t exactly admirable, of course. And even if I believed his little story, it certainly wouldn’t have convinced me to forgive my wayward husband.

Still…from Rudy’s words and the expression on his face, I could see what he was really feeling, deep down inside. He was afraid. Terrified his family was going to break apart. The moment I realized that, I finally understood that he did love us in his own way. And I wanted nothing more than to reassure him. My anger softened. I managed to bring myself to forgive both Paul and Lilia on the spot.

If not for Rudy, things wouldn’t have worked out that way.

>Insert me saying “I hate Rudy” for the billionth time” here<

“Ooh, you’re such a cutie pie, Norn. You’re gonna be real pretty, just like Mommy, yeah?”

And now, here he was playing with Norn’s little hands and smiling happily. My ever-serious little son was soothing his sister with silly baby talk.

He’s so…reliable.

Yuck. I’m glad to hear that Norn grows up to hate him, though.

Watching him work sometimes reminded me of my brother, who presumably still lived back in the Holy Country. Like Rudy, he was serious, diligent, and talented; my father always told us to learn from his example. But he was also cold to his family, and ignored his little sisters almost completely. As nobles went, he was a good and honest man, but I didn’t think much of him as a brother.

I’m not gonna bother looking this up, but can any of you guys tell me if this uncle shows up at some point?

“Hm?”

After a moment, I realized that Rudy was watching.

Whenever I breastfed Norn, he… tended to stare. It wasn’t just a curious, innocent gaze, either. There was an element of interest you wouldn’t expect from a seven-year-old.

Don’t go there…

“What’s the matter, Rudy? Do you want some too?”

“Huh?!”

Startled by my little joke, Rudy jerked his head away and blushed a brilliant shade of red.

NONONONONONONONO

“No, that’s not it. I was just impressed by how much she’s drinking…”

“Heheh.”

It was a bit cute seeing him flustered. I couldn’t help laughing a little.

“Sorry, but I need my milk for Norn now. You had plenty when you were a baby, so don’t be greedy now, all right?”

“Of course, Mother.”

Rudy agreed easily enough, but I saw a slight hint of regret on his face. Definitely an unusual reaction, coming from him. And extremely adorable.

Maybe I’d tease him a little more.“Hmm. Well, if you’re desperate…once you get yourself a wife, why don’t you ask her if she’ll give you some?”

“Good idea. I’ll have to try that out someday.”


I was expecting him to get all surly and defensive at this point,


but he parried my remark with a calm expression. I suppose he’d


figured out I was just messing with him.


No fun. But that’s Rudy for you, I suppose.


“Don’t go forcing her, mind you.”


“Yes, I know.”

Of all the things to write in a fantasy story, why this?

Whoever does marry him might have a tough time of it. Sylphie seems like the leading candidate at the moment… and that girl tends to do anything Rudy tells her to. She might not be able to say no, even when she wants to…

All right, then. If worst comes to worst, I’ll just have to set him straight.

Anyways, after all of that filler Rudy notes Lilia’s absence.

Normally, she would have returned from her shopping trip by now. Could something have happened? No, no. A group of merchants from the Citadel of Roa were in town. She’d mentioned she was planning to buy a bit more than usual; it was probably just taking a little longer than expected.

“Well, you see… about Aisha…”

“Yes?”

“I think she’s hungry, too.”

“Oh, I see.”

We tended to feed our babies at the same time, so it made sense they’d both get hungry at the same time as well. Normally, I breastfed Norn while Lilia took care of Aisha, but… At this point, I finally understood that awkward expression on Rudy’s face. with care.
Slowly, cautiously, he continued, clearly choosing every word “Mother…there’s no telling when Miss Lilia will get back. I’m sure Aisha could wait a while, but if she keeps crying, Norn might wake up too, so… uhm…”

Seriously?

Of all things to write about?

As a faithful member of the Millis Church, I was still unhappy with both Paul and Lilia for breaking our marriage vows. I knew they didn’t subscribe to my faith, but it was never pleasant to have someone disregard your values

Isn’t it great when a story points something out that you already noticed?

Everyone in this situation is terrible to Zenith.

I’m skipping the breastfeeding scene cause I don’t want to incite Josh’s wrath.

Rudy watched from a distance, his gaze warmer than usual.

“Hey, Rudy.”

“Yes, what is it?”

“Mind if I stroke your head a bit?”

“You don’t need to ask my permission. Feel free to pet me anytime.”

After slowly sitting at my side, Rudy leaned his head toward me invitingly. I reached down and began to stroke it gently. Rudy was our first child, and he never needed much from us. Most of the time, I didn’t feel like I was much of a parent to him

More Japan-isms in Europe.

Sensing a bit of warmth, I turned in its direction. Spring sunshine was streaming in through the window. Outside, golden fields of wheat stretched out as far as the eye could see. It was the picture of
a peaceful spring afternoon. As I gazed quietly out at it, a sense of happiness washed over me.

For some reason, I felt utterly content. “I wish this moment could last forever.”

“Me too,” Rudy murmured with a nod.

I suppose he also found this little domestic scene pleasantly tranquil. But it was only thanks to him that I could feel the same. If he hadn’t intervened… as a pious member of the Millis Church reduced to one wife of two, I would probably have stormed out of
this house with Norn, cursing my misfortune. Or stayed behind, perhaps to take out my resentment on Lilia and Aisha.

Thank goodness for Rudy.

If he wasn’t such a wise and clever little boy, I never would have experienced this blissful moment.

“Rudy…”

“Yes, Mother?”

“Thank you for being born.”

Startled, Rudy looked up at me. After an awkward pause, he scratched his head and answered in an adorably bashful tone of voice.

“Well…thank you for having me.”

My only reply was another chuckle of amusement.

THAT IS THE END OF VOLUME 1, AND OF THIS DOUBLE FEATURE. I am sorry for the massive delay, this ended up taking longer than I thought it would.

Final thoughts on Volume 1

I finally get what people mean when they say that they like Mushoku Tensei “in theory”. Underneath all of the unnecessary creepy shit, you have some interesting ideas such as the magical labyrinth and monsters surrounding Bueno village.

Aside from a few scenes where spells are cast, the setting itself feels hollow and underutilized. Despite being told a lot about the settings, we aren’t shown a lot.

Add me to the “I hate everyone except Zenith” club.

 

[Two Hands]

You're missing one illustration though that might be because you hit the limit for a post. Oh well.

I’m not gonna bother looking this up, but can any of you guys tell me if this uncle shows up at some point?

No, but you get his aunt and grandma later.

Were they goblins, by any chance?

If you want the intro of Goblin Slayer, just read Rifujin's other manga.

Seeing as we are done with the first volume, it's time to revisit the Garbage Isekai Bingo sheet! Thanks @wtfNeedSignUp

Shieeet you can tell this chart wasn't meant for this kind of isekai, more for the crappy manhwas with the same plot. I guess Mushoku Tensei is a diddyahh pedogem.

 

[milesmathis is the goat]

You're missing one illustration though that might be because you hit the limit for a post. Oh well.


No, but you get his aunt and grandma later.


If you want the intro of Goblin Slayer, just read Rifujin's other manga.

Seeing as we are done with the first volume, it's time to revisit the Garbage Isekai Bingo sheet! Thanks @wtfNeedSignUp
View attachment 7762157
Shieeet you can tell this chart wasn't meant for this kind of isekai, more for the crappy manhwas with the same plot. I guess Mushoku Tensei is a diddyahh pedogem.

why do the japs like this again or is this just the result of seeing women as objects rather than people

 

[Kari Kamiya]

Tenseiese

I misread this as "Tennessee" lol.

Also if Zenith's "coming of age" was 15, then why is Rudy's apparently at seven? Him literally getting shipped off to school/be a tutor is his coming-of-age no matter how you slice it, and he apparently loses his virginity in a few more years here. Are boys just treated as adults sooner, or what?

 

[Two Hands]

Also if Zenith's "coming of age" was 15, then why is Rudy's apparently at seven? Him literally getting shipped off to school/be a tutor is his coming-of-age no matter how you slice it, and he apparently loses his virginity in a few more years here. Are boys just treated as adults sooner, or what?

15 is the age they're considered adults.
Rudeus is jumping the gun too early since he's reached the limit of what he can learn at home. Becoming a tutor is just a first job, the beginning of his coming of age story, it's what comes after, right at the end of Volume 2, where shit gets rolling.

 

[Kiwisee]

Illustrations and extra materials weren’t showing up no matter how many times I edited.

So, I’ll post them now:

 

[Kari Kamiya]

Rudeus having a mole under his left eye honestly pisses me off because in Japan, a mole near or under the eye is called "nakibokuro", "tear mole", which symbolizes a sad life, or someone with inner sadness. This was a deliberate character design to the point it's explicitly stated in the art, but was there anything in the text that mentions it?