Allen swore he was merely watching with the attitude of someone enjoying a family drama comedy. From the envious, somewhat melancholic expression of Lilia on the windowsill to the flirtatious teasing and playful pinching between Paul and his wife in the courtyard.
He also took the opportunity to familiarize himself with their faces.
First, Lilia's face held a somewhat cool and distant look. Her features leaned toward an East Asian appearance, framed by round glasses, and she wore a maid's outfit.
Paul, on the other hand, had the classic scoundrel face passed down in the Notos family—strong, sharp features highlighted by a charming tear mole that made him look quite handsome. Coupled with his muscular build, no wonder he attracted the opposite sex so easily.
Senis was the typical gentle and refined lady of a noble family, with smooth, flowing blonde hair.
Overall, everything matched Allen's expectations, especially the fact that both the wife and the mistress had similar 36E bust sizes.
Ah, Paul… Paul, you sly devil.
Just then, Allen spotted Rudeus—the protagonist of the Mushoku Tensei world.
Rudeus inherited Senis's silky smooth hair and Paul's brown color. His features were soft, almost feminine-looking for a child, and he wore a resigned, grimacing expression as he endured his 'father's' nonsense.
Suddenly, as if realizing something, Rudeus stiffened his neck and slowly turned his head to look at Allen.
Instinctively, Allen thought of his affection task.
So, with the gentlest, friendliest, most approachable smile he could muster—full of goodwill—he smiled at Rudeus.
The next moment, Rudeus looked as if he'd seen a ghost and delivered a headbutt straight into Paul's chest.
Paul staggered and fell to the ground, then turned his head to glare at Allen with a very unfriendly expression.
Allen's smile froze on his face. He felt that his unconscious attempt to express friendliness had somehow intensified the affection task in a way he didn't expect.
Paul's displeasure flickered across his face briefly, but his expression quickly settled. As a knight sent by Fitoya to Buena Village, tasked with supervising the villagers' harvest and protecting the area, visits like this happened every few days.
He brushed the dirt off his clothes and stood up.
Throughout this, Rudeus kept his back to Allen, moving slowly like a wound-up clock, creeping behind Paul.
Allen wasn't ready to give up and tried to salvage the situation with an even brighter smile.
"Excuse me, are you the village knight, Lord Paul? And is that your child? So cute~"
No sooner had he spoken than Rudeus's expression changed drastically. Pulling up his pants, he bolted inside.
He was clearly frightened.
Allen stood there, mouth agape, watching him leave before awkwardly looking toward Paul.
Paul seemed momentarily lost in thought, ignoring both Allen's attempts at conversation and Rudeus's reaction. Instead, he silently examined Allen from head to toe. His gaze paused briefly at the hilt of the sword hanging at Allen's waist, then swept over Allen's tattered swordsman's outfit.
Finally, his eyes fixed on Allen's face—and didn't move away.
Allen looked up to meet his gaze.
Paul was nearly 1.8 meters tall, so Allen could only look up.
After a long moment, Paul seemed to come back to himself and broke the silence.
"Sorry. Rudeus isn't good with people. May I ask why you've come to see me?"
"Well, Lord Knight, I'm a wandering adventurer. I accidentally lost my money in a dungeon, so I'm looking for some work to earn some coin. On the way here, I happened to meet a blue-haired demon mage who said I might try my luck and see if your child needs a swordsmanship teacher."
"Why lie?"
Paul instantly saw through Allen's lie, lowering his gaze to scrutinize his face with a serious expression, as if lecturing a child.
Allen didn't panic. Instead, he squinted and smiled up at Paul.
"And how do you figure that?"
"According to what you said, you might have met Roxy. But she clearly knows I'm Rudeus's swordsmanship teacher. There's no need for an extra one. So, you're probably just here on your own accord, not on her advice."
Allen lowered his eyes.
Just as he expected—he couldn't bluff his way through this easily. If he admitted he simply wanted to be Rudeus's tutor, it would seem suspicious. If he tried to pitch it as just a way to earn money, well, the big city had far more and better opportunities. No reason to take a gamble in this small village.
His options were blocked. Revealing his true identity seemed like the best choice.
"But… I could be Rudeus's swordsmanship teacher."
A flicker of surprise flashed in Allen's eyes as he looked up at Paul.
Paul just glanced at the sword at Allen's side.
"To be honest, I'm more of a feeling type and don't really have the ability to inspire Rudeus's love for swordsmanship. Maybe if it were someone else, it might work wonders."
Before Allen could react to Paul's sudden dismissal of his intentions, Paul continued:
"I'm willing to hire you for a seven-day trial. If during that time you prove your skills, I will formally appoint you as Rudeus's swordsmanship teacher. Salary is two silver coins per month—fair pay."
As he spoke, Paul leaned close to Allen's face, looking him over as if trying to see through him.
"But, not just anyone who calls themselves a swordsman qualifies to be our family's sword teacher. You look a bit too young. Come on, prove your ability. If you can get past this, I'll give you a seven-day trial. How's that?"
Allen raised an eyebrow.
The plot development felt rushed and a bit illogical.
"That sounds reasonable enough."
—
The setting sun cast long shadows of two figures—one large, one small—across the courtyard.
Senis and Lilia stood nervously on the doorstep, while Rudeus peeked his head out from behind Senis.
Senis clasped her hands tightly and glanced nervously at the situation. Tilting her head slightly, she whispered to Rudeus.
"What's going on? Why is your father suddenly sparring with a child? Is he a swordsman? Rudeus, do you know what's going on?"
Rudeus shook his head. He deliberately avoided looking at Allen and instead glanced at Paul.
"No, mother. When I ran inside just now, they hadn't started talking yet."
"What's going on? Did that pervert provoke Paul? How dare he threaten me! Charge, Lord Paul! It's time to show your authority as a father!"
Paul drew his longsword from his side—a double-edged straight blade. The hilt was somewhat exaggerated, shaped like a trapezoid with hollowed-out inverted triangles on both sides, giving it a distinctly religious aura. From the top of the trapezoid, the blade extended, featuring a black fuller running the entire length of the sword.
He raised the sword above his head, assuming a perfect jōdan no kamae stance.
Allen watched Paul closely, drawing his own blade with his right hand. Unlike Paul's, his sword was slender and straight, the forging patterns flowing all the way to the tip, where the blade curved into a beautiful arc.
His single-edged blade sliced through the air as he positioned it at his hip, the tip angled slightly—adopting a chūdan stance leaning toward defense.
He looked down at his sword, feeling a burning excitement inside.
Paul was a third-tier senior swordsman, at his peak boasting power close to the quasi-Saint level. Though he had retired for many years and his skills had waned, he was still roughly on par with a regular senior swordsman. Even so, that was stronger than the system's estimate of Allen's strength.
He licked his lips, meeting Paul's equally eager gaze.
"So, shall we begin?"
Paul, standing three meters away, narrowed his eyes and smiled.
"From the moment you drew your blade, it already began."
A flash of swordlight whipped up a fiery haze, instantly appearing at Allen's face—his sword humming with power!
Paul's voice trailed off softly.
"...Done."
The strike was already at Allen's ear.
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