Mushoku Tensei: Life and Strife.

From Roxy’s perspective

…

Two years have passed since her fateful encounter with the twins. It was her fortune to meet such adorable children, and even more so that she realized what a wonderful teacher she is. Hah! And her master said she couldn’t teach. If she were that bad, then how would he explain that not one, but both of her students could learn so well?

She taught while following the same curriculum as her mentor, and along with that, she also ramped up the contents based on how well we understood things. If they understood the lesson, then she’ll skip it. If they don't, then she’ll explain it. And to prove that it was effective, the children greedily absorbed the knowledge.

Rudeus was always the enthusiastic child among the two. He was always ready to ask questions and receive answers. He learns fast and he learns a lot, immediately implementing and practicing it. In a sense, it was great that the twins were both magical prodigies with a lot of mana, making practice easier for her. In fact, sometimes she felt like Rudeus was a prodigy who would without a question surpass her. It was so obvious that she even felt lacking as a teacher to teach him.

Personally, she liked Rudeus more; after all, he talks more. But that said, if she were asked which one kept her attention more, she would undoubtedly choose Laurel.

Roxy stared at the boy with dark brown hair and purple eyes as he slowly floated around the house with a blanket. A child so young yet so mature beyond his years. Someone so well versed in both magic and swordsmanship.

“Well, it wasn’t strange considering he was a Miko after all.”

Roxy thought as she shrugged. Laurel was a very understanding person as well... Ahem. Roxy coughed, trying not to remind herself of THAT incident.

Ironically, despite the tranquil silence, Laurel was anything but quiet. His mind carried the wildest ideas, and his heart a wanderlust dream. Once you get to know him well enough, his expressions become easy to read, to the point where you feel like words are written on his face.

Laurel was a person who oscillates between many shades of moods. Once, when she was talking about her hair looking similar to the green colors of the Superd race.

“I think your hair is pretty."

“…?! Laurel, that—that's the sort of thing you should say to a girl you like after you’ve grown up.”

“… Then I should praise you to the moon while I’m still tiny, innocent, and cute.”

Laurel said while poking his cheeks. That was the usual banter they engaged in. At first, she thought it was just innocence, but by now she was sure he knew what he was doing.

Roxy wanted to be calm and mature, but the brat had a knack of making a girl smile. Joking, flirting, and praising, Roxy had no choice but to worry about the number of girls whose hearts will be broken by this tiny lady killer. But that was something that would be left for the future.

One time, when Roxy was going out and handling multiple requests from the townsfolk and had been solving their problems, Laurel stopped doing his work and asked if he should come with her.

And then there was his constant pursuit of knowledge. He was always searching for reasons behind every magic and how to change it. Once, Roxy asked him why he wanted to dig so deep into magic. Laurel, who was walking, stopped for a moment and then playfully smiled as he turned towards her.

“Well~ Wouldn’t the world be so much better if people could use magic in their daily lives?”

It was then that she was sure that Laurel was anything but cold.

There were other times when Laurel silently stares into the distance. He was very quiet, to the point where she was reminded of her parents. And then within the quiet, he gave out the weirdest yet somewhat insightful questions. Like why there aren't spells to carry heavy things when people travel or farming spells… The kind of utility spells that would have made life a lot more convenient. Questions that Roxy ended up unable to give a satisfactory answer to, resulting in a begrudging “I see” from Laurel.

She used to think that he was daydreaming; after all, Laurel didn’t seem too keen on focusing on her lessons in magic. She thought that he wanted to be like his father as a knight and was actually interested in the sword more than magic. She even thought that he was slightly looking down on her since he was a lot more talented at magic.

However, this behavior remained true regardless of circumstances, whether he was eating, sleeping, wandering, walking… It was as if the very act of living was a hassle. As time passed, she eventually realized that he simply preferred the absence of voices. Well, it’s more likely to be both.

It was as if he didn’t really fit in with everyone. Or anywhere, even. After interacting with everyone, she was sure that Laurel wasn’t lacking any sort of love; rather, it seemed a bit way too much even for her. So why was it that despite being so loved, there was such a desolate feeling inside of him? No, perhaps she already knew the answer to that. After all, she was like him.

Among the Migurd race, she was the only one incapable of telepathy. Unable to bear the insufferable silence, she left her village. Did they even love her? No, they definitely love her. It’s just that like Laurel, she was different, and her parents didn’t know how to love her.

Perhaps her silence is no different from his noise. While those around them do love them, no one truly knows how to love them. And so, while Roxy chased after the voices of others, Laurel chased the tranquility of solitude. While Paul and Zenith bombarded Laurel with deep and unadorned love on a daily basis, Laurel himself needed space.

But while Roxy wasn’t considered the most mature, she could tell how worried his parents were. And that made her ponder. What about her parents? How long has it been since she ran away from the village? How long has it been since she last talked or even wrote a letter to them? How much pain and worry did her parents feel?

For the first time in a long time, she wanted to write a letter to her parents. And while she remains true to her words that she preferred Rudeus, there’s always a hint of favoritism towards Laurel. Just a little bit.

… That said, what was she going to give the twins on their 5th birthday? Surely not the same gift for both. That might be too cold as a teacher, even for Roxy’s standards. Roxy wanted to, at the very least, be a good teacher in the eyes of the two.