Mushoku Tensei II – 21 – Two Swords

Upon finding and embracing his former master Roxy Migurdia, Rudy is suddenly shocked to the point of having to vomit, because Roxy says it’s “nice to meet” him, and asks him his name. But later while they’re exiting the Labyrinth, she clarifies that she does remember cute little Rudy, not the tall, strapping lad before her.

After she rests and regains her mana, Rudy paces around her as she studies the teleportation book, so she asks him to help her out with certain sections. Throughout this, Rudy is an eager-to-please Golden Retriever that kind of throws Roxy off. That said, their deep-seated rapport soon returns because it never left, like riding a bicycle.

As the party returns to the Labyrinth and Roxy and Rudy work together to support the front line of Lize and Paul, Roxy asks if Rudy will take on another Labyrinth with her, just the two of them, after they retrieve Zenith. Rudy agrees without thinking, as his goal was to return to Sylphie and his unborn child as soon as possible.

Rudy also doesn’t mention that he’s now married to Sylphie and that he’s about to become a father; perhaps it never came up, even during his and Roxy’s Rapan shopping trip in the three days before their next Labyrinth journey. Instead, over drinks Roxy reiterates how grateful she is to Paul and Zenith for hiring her, and how instructing Rudy helped her overcome what was holding her back from becoming a King-level mage.

Rudy and Roxy’s reunion is a gentle and affable one; thankfully they don’t drink too much and end up in an awkward position. But it’s clear from all of Roxy’s little expressions and glances that she likes this new bigger, more adult Rudy. Paul notices it too and is about to tell Rudy about it, but with Roxy in earshot, he instead simply tells Rudy that he himself has gotten used to “two swords”, each one having it’s own role.

The “swords” he refers to, of course, aren’t just the ones on his belt, but Zenith and Lilia. While the particulars probably vary by continent or nation, it’s a good bet that having multiple wives or husbands isn’t a taboo in this world. Naturally, Rudy remains oblivious to Paul’s hints as well as Roxy’s shifting feelings, but that’s unlikely to remain the case as they progress together through the Labyrinth’s strata.