Paul glanced at Philip, then at Alan, and saw that the latter had no objections. He reached under the table to squeeze Zenith's hand before turning to look at Rudeus.
Rudeus, with the air of a little adult, gave a helpless shrug. "Since Alan has agreed, I have no objections. It's not easy for the family, so it's time for me, the eldest son, to contribute."
Paul looked at Rudeus with considerable emotion, completely unaware that his son was cursing him internally. He opened his mouth to respond to Philip's intense gaze.
CRASH!
Someone was on the move!
The poor stool at the table was manhandled by Lady Eris, twitching and shuddering in place. The young lady herself, in her little leather shoes and noble dress, strode towards Alan and Philip with the untamed gait of someone who owns the world, her body leaning forward like a feline predator stalking its prey.
It seemed the focus of the afternoon was always on this wild dog whose emotions were written all over her face. Everyone's thoughts were instantly cut short. All eyes followed the crimson wave.
Alan shifted his gaze from Philip, who had just walked over to his side, to Eris's "I-am-the-greatest" posture, his mouth falling open slightly in surprise.
Then, without a trace of hesitation, he took a step back.
It was an unequivocal, utterly sincere, and perfectly natural movement... that placed Philip directly in front of him as a shield.
However, Eris simply shoved her own father aside. Amidst Philip's helpless, wry smile, she stormed right up to Alan's face and grabbed his clothes!
She looked at Alan's dry clothes with a curious expression, then turned to look at Philip's soaked state. She raised an eyebrow and demanded in a commanding tone, "I heard you're stronger than Ghislaine?? It's raining outside, how come your clothes aren't wet?"
Alan looked at the little lion's face. He had intended to answer normally, but then he realized there was no point in reasoning with this thoroughly illiterate wild dog. In this situation, whatever logic you used, she'd probably just raise an eyebrow, retort with a "Hah?", and then punch you, right?
Alan smiled and, with a slight shift of his body, easily broke free from Eris's grip. He leisurely reached out a hand, seemingly 'patting' Philip's body, and then opened his palm in front of Eris.
In his palm was a crystal-clear raindrop. Using the Flow Secret Art, he continuously 'deflected' it from all directions. The raindrop hovered in mid-air, constantly tumbling, struggling, and bouncing, yet it could not escape its 'cage'.
Eris's eyebrows shot up high. Her red pupils were fixed on the water droplet, her attention completely captured.
The voice of the 'guy' in front of her reached her ears.
"Can Ghislaine do this?"
Eris answered instinctively.
"N—"
Just then, Alan stopped channeling the Flow Secret Art. As he withdrew his hand, just before the raindrop could fall, he flipped his hand and flicked it with his finger. A slightly mischievous thought echoed in Alan's mind.
'茈' (茈 - Cǐ - Purple).
His fingertip struck the water droplet.
Splat. The droplet burst on Eris's smooth forehead, creating a tiny, transparent flower of water in front of her face. Of course, it had no force behind it.
Eris froze.
The room fell silent.
Philip stared blankly at the scene, once again letting out a "Hoh?" from his throat.
Sylphie, who had been about to stand up, slowly sat back down.
Rudeus covered his face, peeking through the gaps between his fingers, enjoying the show.
The next moment, Eris's expression darkened.
"You!!"
She abruptly raised her fist, unleashing the full speed of the beginner-level Sword God Style in a fierce uppercut aimed at Alan's face.
However, a single, outstretched index finger was already waiting for her.
The activation of the Flow Secret Art, the dispersal of force, the burst of air.
Eris's fist wavered in front of Alan's finger, the ripples in the air clearly visible to him. A second later, her trembling fist came to a halt right at the tip of his finger, without even touching his skin.
Under Eris's astonished gaze, Alan lowered his finger.
"Can Ghislaine do this?"
Eris's little face scrunched up. She swung her leg and kicked Alan. Feeling the solid impact this time, a flash of satisfaction crossed her face, and she turned to leave.
"Tch! Arrogant! Just because I haven't seen it doesn't mean Ghislaine can't do it!!"
With a stomp, stomp, stomp of her feet, the poor stool was once again at her mercy, groaning and creaking pitifully.
Alan patted his leg. Under everyone's gaze, he just shrugged. It didn't hurt at all.
Alan had no experience coaxing children in his past life, only threatening them. Now, with a "sister" who shared his name suddenly appearing, he was a bit lost. Perhaps he needed to let the child win a little, to take a small loss himself? Was that how you got them to stand down? He really didn't know. He wasn't good at dealing with kids like this.
Speaking of which, Eris was two years older than Sylphie, but she was nowhere near as sensible. And he felt that Sylphie seemed even more mature and gentler than she was in the original story... Hmm, was it because both the anime and the novel gave so little focus to her childhood, making her character seem too one-dimensional?
Thinking this, Alan looked towards Sylphie.
Sylphie wasn't looking at him; she was staring down at the tabletop in front of her.
Paul glanced around. Besides Alan and Eris, who were still "alive," everyone else seemed frozen in a painting. He quickly cleared his throat twice. Everyone finally snapped out of it.
Philip's eyes crinkled with a thick smile as he ran a hand through his wet hair.
Rudeus looked at Alan with admiration, silently mourning the lack of a proper spectacle.
Paul turned to Philip and said, "Alright then, let's have you leave tomorrow. You can pack up today. I'll clear out a guest room for you, Philip. You'll have to make do. I'll cook some extra—"
"No, it's better to act now. We've already wasted more time than I expected. My original plan was to be back by nightfall."
This time, Paul was taken aback. To be honest, while he was fine with Rudeus and Alan going to study with Philip, he wasn't mentally prepared for it to happen so soon.
"Huh? In such a hurry?"
"You know my father's temper. If I don't stick to the plan, I'll probably get a sound beating when I get back." Philip squinted and pointed at his own face. "You haven't seen him in a long time either. Want to come back with me and see him?"
Paul's mouth twitched, and he quickly waved his hands. "Forget it, I have kids at home, it's not convenient. If you leave now, won't you arrive late at night? It's still raining outside..."
Alan, who had been observing Philip's expression, paused for a moment before suddenly chiming in. "It's fine, let's go today. Rudeus, go pack your things."
Rudeus blinked, glanced at Sylphie, then at Alan who was looking at Sylphie's back, and nodded. "Okay~"
Alan nodded and walked past Eris. Their eyes met for a moment. The dark gray pupils were calm, with only a faint hint of a smile. The fiery red pupils were full of pride, the haughty look of a little lion.
Alan's steps were a bit rushed. He forced himself not to look at the beast-girl's tail swaying beside him and, as usual, ruffled Sylphie's white hair.
"Sylphie, come help me. It'll be faster together. Looks like it's going to be a busy night~"
Sylphie kept her head down, her white hair shimmering in the candlelight. Her expression was unreadable.
"...Okay."
"Alan."
Her voice, faint and ethereal, reached Paul and Zenith's ears. They exchanged a look, both with complex emotions in their eyes.
Paul turned to Philip, his lips parting as if to say something, but in the end, he closed them again.
(Author's Note)
Took the day off to write. Will post as soon as chapters are done. I suggest checking back around 11 PM to read them all at once. Today is mostly focused on the emotional storyline, not much plot progression. As those who have been following know, the plot tension is all built on the emotional lines. Based on my speed, I estimate today's total word count will be between 7,000-9,000 words. Thanks.
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