Mushoku Tensei: the Apostle of God

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It was late at night.

In the faint creaking sounds, Allen opened his eyes.

The moonlight slipped through the window, painting the floor white.

He found himself lying on the floor of his bedroom.

Allen rubbed the back of his neck and sat up. Thankfully, Paul and his wife had been considerate enough to lay a thin mattress beneath him.

He sniffed his clothes and muttered helplessly,

"...There's a strong smell of blood on me. I must have gotten it from killing that wild boar today... They probably put me on the floor to avoid staining the beddings. How straightforward... But Paul really went all out with that hit. Was it necessary? In the end, you should be thanking me. Without me, you wouldn't have had that clinic play..."

Creak, creak.

Allen paused. The air wasn't just filled with his muttering; there were other strange noises too.

Faint murmurs came from the master bedroom next door.

"Darling... I can't take it anymore..."

"Oh? We're just getting started!"

"...No..."

"...Yes..."

"...Ah..."

Allen slapped his hand over his face.

'Ugh! I shouldn't have woken up at this time!'

He lay back down, but the increasingly intense noises from next door made him feel as if needles were pricking his back.

He forced himself to calm down and focused his attention on the nascent core of Dragon Saint Aura in his abdomen.

Next to the tree-shaped healing magic rune, a brownish, flowing rune was quietly embedded in the detoxification magic slot.

In the original story, detoxification magic wasn't described much—no, actually, it was described quite a bit, but it was rarely used for its intended purpose. Most of the time, it was used for things like curing stomachaches or hangovers. Detoxification magic... It seemed that at higher levels, it could remove negative status effects from oneself. Mercury cleanse, huh?

...Better not test it now. The mana recovery rate is too slow, and it's not worth it.

"Darling..."

...I need to think of something else to distract myself... Sylphie's hair—it hasn't been cut short yet at this point in time. That's good, I made it in time... She's so delicate, like an SD doll...

"Ah... I really can't anymore..."

Hmm... That's Zenith's voice.

"Use healing magic and detoxification magic..."

Hmm... That's Paul's voice... Wait! Healing magic and detoxification magic? What the hell?? Can detoxification magic even remove that kind of negative status??

Allen's eyes shot open, and he sprang up from the floor like a carp leaping out of water.

They've been married for so long, yet they're still at it like this... Wait, Paul is... let me calculate... 24 years old?!

And Zenith... 22 years old? Huh... So Zenith gave birth at 17, and she got pregnant at 16...

...

No wonder they're still so energetic... No way I'm falling asleep now. I'll take a bath. The bathroom is far from Paul and Zenith's bedroom, so they probably won't hear the noise... Or maybe they'll just get even more excited if they do...

Allen shook his head and tiptoed to the door. He peeked outside, only to freeze.

In the dimly lit hallway, Lilia was slumped against the door of Paul and Zenith's bedroom. A faint light seeped through the crack of the door, casting a straight line of light on her face. She was only wearing a shirt, and her hand was...

Allen silently pulled his head back and covered his face in agony.

Is this a family habit?! Does everyone have to eavesdrop outside the master bedroom? What's so fascinating about it that even I'm getting curious now!

He sighed silently and walked back to the spot where he had been sleeping. Just as he was about to lie down again, he noticed the wild boar pelt he had skinned during the day shimmering softly in the moonlight.

Allen blinked, now fully awake.

Since I can't sleep anyway, I might as well go out and finish what I promised to do yesterday. Then I can come back early tomorrow morning to take a bath... If I'm lucky, I might even get something out of it...

Allen nodded, got up, and opened the window. The moonlight flowed over his hand like water.

Outside, the village of Buena was eerily quiet. The wind swept over the grass, brushing against Allen's face.

He climbed out the window and landed silently in the yard, disappearing into the darkness.

The next morning, the chirping of birds outside the window woke Rudeus. He opened his eyes groggily, only to freeze in shock.

In front of his bed stood a delicate shrine.

The shrine was small, about the size of Rudeus's face. Its surface was smooth, with clear grain patterns, and it emitted a damp, woody fragrance, reminiscent of a forest after rain.

He blinked and slowly turned his head to the side.

On the chair next to the bed, Allen was leaning on his hand, watching him with his usual half-lidded eyes.

"Morning, Rudeus."

Rudeus blinked, finally remembering that he had passed out after being poisoned yesterday. He had been a bit resentful toward Allen before fainting, but seeing the shrine made all that resentment vanish instantly.

"Morning... Allen."

"I promised this yesterday. I originally planned for the three of us to make this shrine together in the afternoon, but something unexpected happened... Well, it's my fault. I didn't expect your bodies to handle so much Batears flower seed powder at once."

Allen rubbed his tired eyes and pulled out a black leather pouch from behind him.

Rudeus's gaze shifted from Allen's face to the pouch, realizing it was made from the wild boar pelt Allen had specially cut yesterday.

'It looks like one of those bucket bags girls used to carry in my previous life... There are even hidden clasps, and the buttons are made from some kind of dried plant seeds. Allen really put a lot of thought into this... But what's it for?'

As Rudeus was lost in thought, Allen picked up the shrine and neatly placed it inside the pouch.

"Here. This way, it's easier to carry and hide. If you keep it under your bed, even if someone sees it, they won't go out of their way to open it and see what's inside, right?"

Rudeus's mouth twitched.

'Hey... Don't you know people have a natural curiosity? This just makes it more likely to be discovered!'

Still, he reached out and solemnly accepted Allen's gift.

Allen then stood up.

"Alright, the master and mistress seem... uh, tired today. They haven't gotten up yet. Lilia... hasn't either. Anyway, you can laze around in bed for a bit longer."

The soft morning sunlight spilled over Allen's face as he lazily yawned.

"I'm off to take a bath. I still smell like blood from killing that boar yesterday."

Rudeus looked at him and realized that Allen, who usually had the face of a bully, didn't seem intimidating at all today.

"Thank you, Allen."

Allen stood up and was about to leave the room when he noticed the Roxy earth magic figurine on Rudeus's desk.

He blinked, pointed at the figurine, and turned to Rudeus.

"By the way, can I have this? It's Roxy, made with earth magic, right? It's really detailed."

Rudeus, whose attention was still on the shrine, glanced at where Allen was pointing.

"Sure. I've made a lot of Roxy figurines. You can take this one if you want."

'Allen's surprisingly got good taste...'

Allen smiled, unceremoniously picked up the Roxy figurine, and walked out of the room.

Compared to one-sided giving, mutual exchanges are a more effective way to maintain closeness between people.

[Rudeus's favorability has increased. Participation in the childhood phase has improved.]

[Current Phase: Childhood. Cumulative Participation Score: 52 points.]

[Evaluation: 2 points are still points.]

Allen twisted his stiff neck and watched the system panel fade away.

Based on multiple system feedbacks so far, he had discovered that the most straightforward way to improve participation scores during the childhood phase was to generate positive feedback through interactions with key characters, which manifested as gaining their favorability.

Is the main way to earn points by deepening "connections" with key characters? ...Can't be entirely sure yet.

More samples are needed to analyze the underlying logic of point acquisition. When I directly asked the system, it either played dead or gave vague answers. Damn riddles... This time... only 2 points, less than expected, but better than nothing.

He yawned again and walked down the hallway toward the bathroom.

Note: So far this story is published up to chapter 55 on my patreon, go take a look.