Allen turned and stepped back into his room. The sound of Zenith’s slightly labored pregnancy breathing filled his ears. Leaning against the door, he let out a faint, mocking smile.
Paul’s great when it comes to taking care of his family, but when it comes to controlling his lower half… still a disaster. And Lilia… not a clean exit, huh.
He shook his head.
Participation score?
A haze of smoke materialized.
[Current Phase: Childhood — Total Participation Score: 70 points]
Allen stared at the glowing “70 points” in silence.
That’s right. His score had been stagnating for the past six months. No matter how much he raised Rudeus and Sylphy’s affection values, it didn’t budge. Just as the system had once warned him—his relationship with the two kids had reached a bottleneck.
He needed to find a breakthrough from someone else.
That was the real reason he hadn’t interrupted what was happening between Paul and Lilia.
The affair, the birth of Aisha and Norn… this time the score has to go up, right?
His inner voice held a trace of urgency. Early on, his points had come easily—most of them from Roxy. Thanks to the butterfly effect he’d kicked off, his score had skyrocketed in no time.
But ever since returning to the Greyrat household, all of that momentum had ground to a halt.
In a world with no phones, GPS-like participation tracking was vital—especially after the Great Teleportation Incident.
[There’s definitely potential for score growth. But whether you can make the right choices—and how much you end up getting—depends entirely on you~]
The system’s lettering appeared with a mischievous bounce. Allen’s mouth twitched.
Hey, why do I get the feeling you’re enjoying this? You’re not just here to watch me suffer, are you?
The glowing words danced in front of him.
[Perish the thought~]
Tch. I need to rack up enough points this time. If I keep going like this, I’ll never hit full score. Looking back, I was way too naïve about how hard it would get… No wonder the full-score rewards looked so damn good—turns out anything above 60 is a nightmare to earn.
[Want a reminder?]
Yes!
[Participation scores above 60 require the host to engage deeply with major events in Mushoku Tensei.]
…“Deeply,” huh?
Allen blinked. Something in his mind—the part that thrived on chaos—lit up like a struck match.
Hey, what if I go to the door right now, wait for Paul to finish, then jump out and scare the life out of him—instant psychological impotence. Would that count as deep involvement? Think about it: Aisha still gets born, Paul’s future cheating habits are curtailed, Zenith gets revenge, and Rudeus learns that mental health can affect performance. That’s a four-for-one win!
[…And the next day Paul will send your sorry ass straight back to James.]
What the hell??
…
In the winter of Dragon Calendar Year 412, the snow in Buena Village fell long and heavy. Every time it seemed to ease, another flurry would sweep in to take its place.
And in this slow, unrelenting rhythm, Lilia realized—she was pregnant.
It wasn’t something she could hide.
So one evening after dinner, she cleared the dishes and carried them to the kitchen. Before she even started washing them, she turned around and came back out to the dining room.
Her unexpected return drew the attention of everyone still sitting at the table.
Zenith blinked.
“Say… Lilia, are you feeling unwell today? You’ve looked pale since dinner.”
Lilia glanced quickly at Paul, whose eyes had gone wide in alarm. She avoided the gazes of Rudeus and Allen, then drew in a long breath. Behind her glasses, her eyes were steady. She bowed her head toward Zenith and spoke.
“…I’m very sorry. I’m pregnant.”
The smile froze on Zenith’s face, then slowly vanished. For a moment, she didn’t respond at all—her mind blank from the weight of the revelation.
Paul, meanwhile, turned visibly pale.
Rudeus sat stiffly, eyes darting between Zenith and Lilia, who was trying her best to look calm.
Allen, on the other hand, had already stepped away from the table when Lilia entered. He now leaned casually against the wall, the picture of a bystander.
In the original story, Paul grovels and apologizes, and Rudeus ends up playing mediator. He dumps the entire blame onto Paul, gives Zenith a way to save face, and basically talks her into accepting the affair as a fact—ushering in the Greyrat family’s newest member.
Honestly, that whole approach is pretty… messed up. Zenith, the only real victim here, gets completely railroaded. Rudeus imposes his ideals on her, resolving the situation by leaving her no room to object.
In the end, it’s just a world where the victim is left to swallow the pain.
Sure, Rudeus apologizes to her afterward—but it comes off as hollow.
Because by then, she’s already been pressured into a promise, hasn’t she?
Still… whatever my opinion of how Rudeus handled it, I’m definitely staying out of the blast zone right now. No matter what anyone says, Zenith won’t be able to process it yet. As for increasing my score, the key comes later—when Zenith has cooled down. That’ll be the time to talk things through, maybe even gather the whole family. Then—
Just as Allen was thinking this, the haze reappeared.
[Immediate Quest Unlocked: Lilia’s Moment of Need]
[Quest Hint: Though she appears calm, Lilia has fallen into deep despair. She’s convinced she’ll be cast out into the snow and has accepted her punishment for making the wrong choice. Rudeus has yet to act—this is your moment to step in!]
[Quest Reward: If resolved properly, gain the full gratitude of the Greyrat household and assume Rudeus’s original role in Aisha’s upbringing. Participation Score: +20]
[Failure: 0 points]
[At this fateful crossroads, can you choose the right path from countless possibilities—and bring Lilia the redemption her heart longs for?]
[Quest Start!]
Allen stared at the jubilant script, his whole face going stiff.
His expression, in fact, was even more stunned than Paul’s.
In every sense of the word.
“Lilia’s redemption”?! What kind of twisted framing is that?! Shouldn’t the focus be on helping Zenith?! Damn it, were you just lying in wait for me to fall into this?! What the hell can I even do here? You really think this won’t get me thrown out of the house right alongside her?!
—
This is a fan translation of 无职转生：剑，魔法帽与恋爱系统 by 意外火灾 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!
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