Mushoku Tensei: the Apostle of God

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After hearing Allen's words, Rudeus's face grew even more troubled.

He couldn't help but feel a surge of jealousy. Roxy, whom he had only met once on the road, seemed to have shared everything with this person in front of him.

'No... This is bad. Two months... I have to work hard. Even if I can't defeat Allen, I need to create the illusion that I can hold my own against him. That way, when Roxy sees it in the future, she won't lose interest in me... Wait, it's not like she's interested in me in the first place...'

Allen, however, interrupted his thoughts impatiently.

"So? You still have enough mana, right?"

Rudeus pinched his nose.

"I do... But are you sure this will spark her interest in magic?"

Allen turned to Sylphie with a serious expression.

"...I'm absolutely certain you have more talent in magic, which is why I've been trying so hard to get you to learn it. The little skirmish we had earlier might not have been impressive, but the next spell is one that can alter natural phenomena. It's the highest-level spell Rudeus knows, so pay close attention."

Sylphie blinked at Allen's earnest face.

"Well... if you really think I don't have talent in swordsmanship... I guess learning magic is fine too... I'm not picky... Since you're both looking out for me..."

Before she could finish, Allen stood up, seemingly ignoring the latter half of her sentence, and excitedly said to Rudeus,

"Alright, Rudeus! It's time to show us... I mean, show Sylphie the spectacle of a Saint-tier water spell!"

Rudeus twitched his mouth.

'Oh, I see now. You're the one who wants to see it, aren't you?'

But despite his internal complaints, when he saw Allen—who had been so out of his league earlier—now looking at him with eager anticipation, he couldn't help but feel a sense of pride welling up inside him.

The Thunderstorm Cumulonimbus wasn't just a spell to Rudeus.

It was a defining moment in Roxy's early years.

Behind this "divine" act lay Rudeus's journey of overcoming his inner struggles and opening up to the world.

It was the courage to rise from the ashes, the resolve to start anew.

It was the image of Roxy's adorable face when she made mistakes, her gentle yet stern encouragement.

It was...

The stolen underwear.

'Ahem, ahem. Since Allen's been keeping my secret, I'll be generous and show him this one time.'

Thinking of the shrine he had built, Rudeus quickly created a small earthen shelter for Sylphie and Allen, then ran down the hill.

"Make sure to chant it properly! Don't miss a single word!"

Rudeus looked up at Allen, who was peeking out from the top of the hill, waving his arms like an excited fan. He pulled out the pendant Roxy had given him—a metal charm shaped like three intersecting spears, glinting in the sunlight.

'Watch closely, Allen. This is proof of everything Roxy has given me!'

He took a deep breath, raised his hands, and looked up at the sky. With utmost seriousness and reverence, he began the incantation.

"Mighty spirits of water, children of the Thunder Emperor who reign in the heavens!"

The clouds above began to gather, twisting and turning, blocking out the blazing sun and casting shadows over the hill.

"Grant my wish, bestow your tempestuous blessing, and let the insignificant witness your might!"

The gentle breeze was gone, replaced by a violent wind that whipped through Allen and Sylphie's hair. In Allen's eyes, the grass bowed as if paying homage to the small figure at the foot of the hill.

"The divine hammer strikes the anvil, revealing your awe, flooding the earth with your wrath!"

The clouds above had turned into a dark, ominous mass, with faint flashes of lightning crackling within. Allen was so excited that he stood up, unconsciously grabbing Sylphie's hand.

Sylphie, meanwhile, was completely stunned. She looked down at Allen's hand, her palm sweating nervously.

The incantation reached its climax as the dark clouds loomed overhead like a tangible force.

"Rain! Wash away all, purge the world!"

"Thunderstorm Cumulonimbus!"

For a moment, the clouds seemed to hold their breath. Then, countless raindrops shot down from the sky, pounding the ground with a deafening roar. Lightning flickered within the clouds, illuminating the world in stark white flashes.

In that instant, Rudeus's small figure at the foot of the hill became clear in Allen's eyes:

Standing between heaven and earth, Rudeus faced the sky, a wide grin spreading across his youthful face, more radiant than the lightning itself.

There was no trace of his usual timidity.

This was his domain of magic.

This was his mark on this world.

[You have facilitated Rudeus's 'outburst.']

[Participation score in the Jobless Reincarnation major events has increased.]

[Current stage: Early Childhood. Total participation score: 60.]

[Congratulations, host. You have achieved a passing score for the early childhood events of Jobless Reincarnation. Advanced tasks are now unlocked. Please continue to strive for a perfect score to earn additional rewards.]

Allen didn't pay much attention to the system's notifications. He simply looked at Rudeus with a genuine smile.

The rain was heavy and relentless.

By the time Rudeus ran back up the hill, the earthen shelter had turned into a mudslide, drenching Allen and Sylphie from head to toe. Rudeus tried to maintain the shelter, but the rain was too intense, and it quickly dissolved into muddy water, pouring over everyone.

Allen stopped Rudeus from dispelling the Thunderstorm Cumulonimbus, dragging him and Sylphie back to the Greyrat household.

Rudeus explained that dispelling the spell would take too much time, so it was better to use their combat aura to escape the area as quickly as possible.

When they got home, as expected, all three of them were scolded by Paul.

They were completely covered in mud, looking like little mud monsters.

Lilia quickly went to boil water and prepared a bath in Rudeus's room before excusing herself. However, there wasn't enough hot water prepared at once, so Allen went to the kitchen to help.

It's worth noting that the Greyrat household only had one bathroom, so during the evenings, Lilia and Rudeus would bathe in their rooms using wooden tubs, leaving the bathroom for Paul and Zenith.

But for some reason, Zenith was taking a bath in the middle of the day, so the three of them had to heat water and bathe as usual.

Allen, shirtless, noticed that Lilia's hands were trembling as she worked. He thought she might be tired, so he kindly told her to rest and prepare to help Zenith with lunch later.

As he stared at the bubbling pot of water, he couldn't shake the feeling that he had forgotten something important.

Allen scratched his head.

"Strange, I feel like I've forgotten something. The duel went fine, the spectacle was amazing, Sylphie and Rudeus went to bathe normally... Wait... Could it be..."

His eyes widened.

"Oh no, I almost forgot about this part of the story! It's the butterfly effect again, causing the timeline to shift! Rudeus still doesn't realize Sylphie is a girl! He wouldn't try to pull down her pants, would he? That kind of ridiculous, perverted development doesn't make sense! And they've only known each other for a day—this would just ruin their relationship! Surely Rudeus wouldn't be that clueless..."

"Ahhh!!!"

Just as this thought crossed his mind, Allen heard Sylphie's scream from upstairs. He immediately dropped the pot he was holding and bolted up the stairs.

He rushed to Rudeus's room and yanked the door open, only to feel a sudden chill below his waist.

Rudeus's excited voice followed shortly after.

"Sylphie, look! This is how Allen does it!... Uh... This..."

Allen looked into the room, where Sylphie, still fully clothed and unharmed, was staring wide-eyed at him. A deep blush spread across her pointed ears as she quickly turned to face the wall, covering her head with her hands.

Allen swallowed hard and looked down.

Rudeus, crouching by the door, looked up at him in shock, his face shadowed by a certain prominent feature.

In his panic, Allen had used his Dragon-Saint Combat Aura to rush upstairs.

Now, his entire body was flushed with blood.

But he felt as if he had been plunged into an icy abyss.

[...]

[Detected that the host is intimidating Rudeus. Continuing this behavior risks reducing Rudeus's favorability to zero.]

[The host is advised to tread carefully.]

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