The wind and rain howled outside the window.
Zenith watched the front door with some concern. It had been a while since the two had left.
"Do you think... Alan will agree?"
Paul, who had looked grim all afternoon, now seemed to have come to terms with something. He relaxed, letting himself slump bonelessly into his chair like Ge You.
"It would be for the best if he doesn't."
He winked at his wife, a mischievous glint in his eye, and held up two fingers.
"But if he does agree, isn't that also a good thing?"
Zenith's expression froze when she saw Paul's fingers. She glanced quickly at the children across from them, then, seeing Rudeus's twitching lips, stomped on Paul's foot.
"Ouch! What was that for??"
Beside them, Lilia covered her face with a weary sigh, while Zenith's cheeks flushed crimson.
"N-nothing, dear. Please, you... you were saying."
Paul realized what Zenith had been thinking, and his mind began to wander, but a glimpse of Rudeus's strained expression brought him back to his senses.
Too many kids around. Better be serious.
He ticked off his points on his fingers.
"First, even though Alan acts much more mature than his peers, I've always felt he's a child starved for affection. Although we treat him like family, his behavior before last winter was quite distant. It wasn't until after the incident in the snow valley that I felt he truly changed and accepted us."
"I still believe that placing him with his real family, regardless of the outcome, will be beneficial for his growth."
"Second, we can't afford his salary anymore... I've been shorting his pay for a while now."
Zenith and Lilia both nodded in understanding.
Raising children took a toll on both their energy and their finances. Paul used to earn extra money helping out in the village, and Zenith had her income from the clinic. But with two new "gold-devouring beasts" in the family, neither of them had time for outside work. The family's income had plummeted.
"So, it would be good for Rudeus to go out and earn some money too."
Rudeus, who had been listening nearby, looked as if he had just seen the family dog using the toilet. ??? Don't I need love? Was I adopted? Lord Paul!
While the family was talking, Eris sat pouting, her little legs swinging quickly under her chair. Her red eyes kept trying to glance at Sylphie beside her, but she forced her gaze to stay fixed on the air in front of her, blinking rapidly. However, her twitching, inverted V-shaped eyebrows showed that the young lady was actually quite happy.
"Sylphie! Do you know magic??"
Sylphie's gentle voice replied.
"...I do."
"Who's stronger, you or Rudeus?!"
"He's stronger."
"Hah??? That shorty is strong?"
Rudeus: ??? Sylphie is half a head shorter than me!
Eris shot a glare at Rudeus, who immediately turned his head and seamlessly rejoined his family's discussion.
Eris huffed and continued her questioning.
"What about that guy who's taller than me, Alan? How's his sword skill? Before we came, Ghislaine told me his swordsmanship would be good, but he looks so ordinary! Hmph, he didn't even dare to come out when I called for him!"
In the young lady's eyes, height was a crucial measure of strength. The original reason for her dissatisfaction with Rudeus was also because this 'teacher' was shorter than her.
Hearing this, Sylphie frowned instinctively and looked at Eris.
"Alan is the strongest."
It was a statement of fact, her tone losing its usual gentleness and becoming almost solemn.
Eris was about to flare up, but seeing Sylphie's earnest expression, devoid of any provocation, she could only move her mouth for a moment before retorting dissatisfactorily.
"I won't argue with you. We're going back together anyway, so I'll just have Ghislaine spar with him! I want to see for myself if he's the strongest!"
Sylphie started to say something more but ultimately fell silent, lowering her head and fiddling with her stained white dress. Her eyes dimmed.
Eris caught this from the corner of her eye. She glanced at Sylphie, her eyes widening first, then a look of surprise and subtle self-reproach crossed her face. She immediately turned and yelled at Rudeus.
"What's with you! You're so annoying!"
Rudeus slowly turned to face Eris, completely speechless.
"What does this have to do with me? Are you taking your anger out on others? Can't you reflect on your own actions when you do something wrong?"
"Who did something wrong! You've got a lot of nerve!"
"What, are you going to hit me again?"
"Hah? You think I wouldn't dare?"
Eris shot to her feet, her eyebrows raised in triumph at Rudeus's obvious panic.
Just then, the door opened.
A gust of wind swept into the living room, extinguishing the brewing chaos.
Outside the door, Alan stood as if enveloped in a misty shroud of water vapor. The moment he stepped inside, the shroud shattered. Raindrops scattered like falling crystal beads, pattering on the floor. Alan brushed off non-existent water from his clothes and entered the house.
A system panel materialized before him like smoke.
[Expectation (2/2), Responded to ahead of schedule. Time elapsed: 4 hours, 37 minutes, 21 seconds.]
[Philip's originally planned 'Expectation' meeting was set to take place in his study in Roa. He considered this conversation highly important and did not wish to conduct it on a rural street.]
[Unexpectedly, his appeal to kinship had no effect on you. Instead, you directly exposed his intentions. He had no choice but to begin this important discussion with you on the roadside in Buena Village.]
[With your 'Response', you have chosen the path for your tutoring period.]
[Expectation one, Philip's Ambition - Rejected. Does power naturally follow authority? Your views clearly differ from his, and you have no desire to waste time on power struggles.]
[Expectation two, Philip's Gift - Accepted. As a transmigrator, you will not pass up any opportunity for a freebie, even if it's from your biological father.]
[Task Reward: Participation Score: +10 points.]
[Current Stage: Adolescent Tutoring Period. Cumulative Participation Score: 17 points.]
[Evaluation: You needed a pretext to enter the tutoring period anyway, and now you've even scored a free master. This is a victory for the freeloader. You've won big.]
The smoke-like panel gradually dissipated under Alan's gaze.
'There's still one unfinished assessment from the tasks Philip brought.'
'If I'm not mistaken, it will be about my strength.'
'Ghislaine didn't come with him?'
Alan glanced behind him.
Philip ducked back into the living room from the rain, his clothes already soaked through. His expression, however, was high-spirited, radiating a strange sense of motivation.
"I've settled things with Alan. He's agreed to return to Roa with me! Paul, you don't have any objections this time, do you?"
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