Mushoku Tensei: the Apostle of God

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Let's rewind to one minute earlier.

When the bathwater was ready, Rudy immediately stripped off all his clothes. However, unlike what he had imagined, Sylphie was dawdling nearby, not even looking at him directly.

"What's wrong? You'll catch a cold if you don't take off your clothes. Plus, you're covered in mud. What are you planning to do, keep wearing them?"

"Huh? Oh... um..."

Sylphie stood stiffly, facing the wall as if deep in thought.

"Huh? Don't tell me you don't know how to take off your clothes? Geez, what am I going to do with you?"

Rudy, now completely naked, walked over to Sylphie.

"Here, raise your arms. I'll help you take them off."

"Uh... um... I..."

"What do you mean 'I'? Hurry up and take them off! Or should I call Allen over?!"

"What? No! Don't!"

Rudy tugged for a while but realized Sylphie wasn't giving him any chance to take off her clothes. He pouted.

"If you don't want to take off your shirt, let's start with your pants!"

With that, he yanked hard on Sylphie's pants, trying to pull them down. Sylphie, desperately holding onto her pants, let out a piercing scream.

"AHHH!!!"

Rudy covered his ears and stepped back, his face full of disdain. Just as he was about to say something, he heard hurried footsteps coming up the stairs. Based on the sound, it wasn't Lilia, Paul, or Zenith—their footsteps had distinct characteristics and weren't this rushed.

Rudy's eyes lit up.

He immediately crouched by the door, ready to pounce, and turned to Sylphie, putting a finger to his lips as he whispered excitedly.

"Looks like you've never bathed with boys before, Sylphie. Once I get Allen's pants off, you'll definitely join in the fun."

'Haha, Allen-sama, this time, I'm definitely going to win!'

The footsteps were now just a few breaths away.

Seeing Sylphie turn to look at him, Rudy grinned mischievously.

"Sylphie, watch closely..."

The door slammed open!

'Perfect timing!'

"This is how you use Allen!!"

Allen stared at Rudy. Rudy looked up at Allen. Sylphie faced the wall in the corner.

The three of them were caught in an awkward silence.

But the most shocked person wasn't Allen.

It was Rudy.

He looked up, his mouth agape, his eyes wide with disbelief.

'How... how is it standing at attention...? Wait, does Allen actually like little boys...? No, does that mean Allen doesn't like Sylphie but... me?!? Huh???'

Seeing the growing horror in Rudy's eyes, Allen, ignoring the bizarre embarrassment of the situation, quickly pulled up his pants and yanked Rudy to his feet.

"Quick! Put your clothes on!!!"

Rudy struggled in panic.

"What?! Why do I need to... you pervert! No! Allen! Let me go!!!"

Allen, furious, pulled Rudy close and hissed through gritted teeth, loud enough for only the two of them to hear.

"Sylphie's a girl!"

"No, Allen... huh? Wait, what? What did you say? Huh??"

Rudy turned his head in shock to look at Sylphie, who was crouching on the floor, covering her head. In an instant, he understood.

'Sylphie! It's Sylphie, not Sylphy! No wonder her nickname is Roxy! No wonder I always thought she was too pretty! I should've realized it sooner!! AHHHHHH!!! She's a girl, and I just stripped naked in front of her!!'

He let out a blood-curdling scream.

"Clothes! Give me my clothes!!!"

"Then put them on!!"

"But they're covered in mud!!!"

"Who cares about mud at a time like this?!"

"Oh, right, no! They're too far away! Wait, I've got it! Take off the pants you just changed into and give them to me! You've already been seen anyway!"

Allen: "???"

"You've been seen too!!"

"Oh, right."

"Then why are you screaming?!"

"Because of you! Why were you... standing at attention?! That's terrifying!!"

"It's because I activated my fighting spirit!!"

"You're lying! Paul activates his fighting spirit, and he doesn't look like that!"

"How do you know Paul doesn't?!"

Meanwhile, Lilia, who had arrived at the scene earlier, stood frozen at the end of the hallway, having watched the entire debacle unfold.

Behind her, Paul's face was pale, his fists clenched so tightly that veins bulged.

At lunch, Sylphie was invited to stay and eat.

Meanwhile, Allen and Rudy, their foreheads swollen from being smacked, sat at the table, glancing at each other awkwardly.

It was absurd—two kids with mental ages over thirty were being scolded by a twenty-four-year-old man, each feeling embarrassed by their actual age.

"Have you two had enough fun? Arguing is one thing, but how did it escalate to discussing whether my fighting spirit makes me... stand at attention? And you even called me by my name! It seems like you've gotten too comfortable skipping sword training lately."

"Sorry, sir/father."

Allen and Rudy apologized in unison.

"Keep calling me Paul! Huh?!"

"Sorry." They apologized in unison again.

Zenith, her eyes narrowed, glanced at Rudy and Allen, seemingly amused by their chaotic antics.

Then she turned to Sylphie.

"It must be tough being friends with them."

Sylphie, sitting upright, quickly waved her hands.

"N-no! They've been really nice to me!"

Zenith chuckled and turned to Paul, resting her chin on her hand.

"Alright, dear, let's eat."

Paul shot a glare at Allen and Rudy.

"Fine, you two can eat too. But no going out to play tomorrow—you're training with me!"

"Yes, sir/father." They replied in unison once more.

Allen and Rudy sat down, exchanging a quick glance before reluctantly starting their meal.

Allen reached over and handed Sylphie a piece of bread she couldn't quite reach, then quietly began conversing with the system.

'By the way, you mentioned earlier that Rudy's favorability might drop to zero. Would there be any penalties if that happened?'

[No.]

'Would it affect my evaluation?'

[No, evaluations are based on a point system.]

'Then why did you tell me to "be careful"?!'

[Because I thought it would be funny. If you end up getting together with Rudeus, wouldn't that count as a "deep-level" involvement in the Mushoku Tensei world? I'd love to see it.]

'...Ugh.'

While Allen was busy arguing with the system, Rudy sneaked a glance at Sylphie, then at Allen.

'So, Allen already knew Sylphie was a girl? Damn, he made his move so early... Wait, does that mean Roxy is mine now?!'

At this thought, Rudy's lips curled into his trademark mischievous grin.

Note: So far this story is published up to chapter 60 on my patreon, go take a look.