On the hillside outside Buena Village, the wind was gentle.
Dappled shadows flickered across Allen's face as he gazed at the swaying sunlight, his mind full of the present reality.
There were still three or four months left before the original story's kateikyō (home tutor) arc was supposed to begin, but some "inner dilemmas" already troubled him deeply.
First and foremost was his attempt to get Paul's family to leave Buena Village and avoid the catastrophe of the Great Teleportation.
That had already met with obvious failure. With words alone, it was nearly impossible to accomplish. He couldn't exactly shout, I'm a transmigrator, you all better listen and leave now!So he'd have to rely on external forces to make it happen.
And where would those forces come from?
They lay close at hand—in the inevitable future contact with the Boreas family of Roa City.
Allen's "real family."
At this point, Allen wasn't too worried about being recognized. In the nearly two years since, his expression, hairstyle, and demeanor had changed completely. The sharp, intimidating boy with his slicked-back hair from two years ago had become a long-haired, bespectacled, smiling "nice guy."
As for Philip, who'd always been wary of James, he had only glimpsed Allen from afar during Allen's eight years in the royal capital.
After all this time, with little information to go on, there was almost no chance Philip would connect Allen with his eldest son.
Thus, it was entirely feasible to approach as a stranger and stir things up.
That was Allen's current judgment based on existing information.
But even so, new problems arose.
It was true he'd already cleared the childhood arc and was in a state where he could transition into the kateikyō arc at any time.
But that boundary had become very blurry, and the most logical reason to contact the Boreas family had also vanished.In the original story, Rudy received a letter informing him that Roxy had advanced to Suijō Kyū (Water King-rank magician). Realizing his own stagnation, he decided to study at the magic university—and, not wanting to leave Sylphy behind, he planned to take her along.
But Paul rejected this plan, sensing Rudy's intention to keep Sylphy dependent and prevent her growth. So Paul and Rorz conspired to send Rudy to Roa as a tutor to earn his own tuition.
And thus, the kateikyō arc began.
But now, with Allen's influence, Rudy's lower limit had risen steadily through practice and even after the monster horde last winter he had matured significantly and honed his combat magic. The drive to rush off to university simply wasn't there anymore.
And Sylphy no longer clung to Rudy either, so the spark that would've sent them both to the university was gone.
On top of that, Paul didn't even seem to have the slightest intention of sending Rudy to Roa to tutor.Without Paul writing that letter, they didn't even have a foothold to get started as tutors—so what "kateikyō arc" could there be?
Yes, the system had said his own "kateikyō arc" would begin as soon as he interacted with the characters of the original story.
But did he really have to run off to Roa on his own again, show up in front of Eris, and say:
I, Allen, Ken Sei (Sword Saint), am here to take you as my disciple.
Wouldn't he just get his head lopped off by a certain two-meter-tall black-furred "furry gal"?And besides, he'd already done something similar once—doing it again might actually get him kicked out of the house this time.
Meanwhile, Paul insisted that Rudy, Sylphy, and Allen formed a perfect future adventuring party.Why bother with university? Just become adventurers directly.
And his comments about noble girls' bodies were… well, exactly what you'd expect of Paul.
Allen could only sigh—Paul is Paul, through and through. The man's way of thinking is a stone that even a latrine pit couldn't soften.
But about one thing, Allen agreed:He only liked adventurers.
Especially a certain great adventurer who soloed dungeons near Shilone.
If she also had blue hair, a cold face, thin lips, a petite frame, and was just plain cute…That would be perfect.
Just then, a white-haired figure drifted into his vision.
It was Sylphy.
She leaned over him, her white off-shoulder dress and silken hair fluttering in the breeze, her red-brown eyes gazing at him with a gentle curve.
Worth noting: that dress was one Allen had picked out for her at the spring market.
And she really seemed to love it—she wore it every time she saw him now.
But whenever Allen saw her smile like that lately, he couldn't help but feel… it was familiar.
Just like the feeling he got every morning, looking in the mirror.
Must be my imagination.
He smiled faintly at her. "What's wrong, Sylphy?"
"…It's time to go home for lunch."
—
March, planting season.
The village roads were busy, wagons of seed grain rumbling past.
Allen walked absentmindedly, thinking hard about how to trigger the kateikyō arc, barely noticing the villagers calling out to them as they passed.
And then…
A luxurious, widened passenger carriage rolled past, crystal inlaid atop its roof.One after another, four such carriages passed by, each sending a strange, probing gaze toward them.
The carriages never stopped—but they slowed, keeping a steady distance ahead of them, almost as if "guiding" them back to the village.
Finally, they stopped.
At the Greyrat residence.
Paul and Zenith came rushing out, flustered, as a middle-aged man in a fine noble's coat stepped down from the carriage.
His brown, wavy half-long hair framed a smiling face, though the smile seemed both warm and cold all at once, making it impossible to tell which was genuine.
Sylphy felt a sudden tension in her chest and instinctively grabbed Allen's hand.
Then she noticed… Allen's face was different.
His eyes narrowed, a faint smile rising, and he met the stranger's gaze squarely.
Smoke-like motes swirled in the air, and the system's prompt appeared before him:
[Detected interaction with kateikyō arc character]
[Childhood arc complete]
[Kateikyō arc begins early]
[Score reset]
[Current stage: Kateikyō arc, cumulative score: 2 points]
[Keep working hard, and carve your mark into the eyes of the main and supporting characters amid the current of the Jobless Era.]
[Current sword styles:][Kenjutsuryū (Sword God Style): Advanced][Suijutsuryū (Water God Style): Saint-level][Hokujutsuryū (North God Style): Advanced]
Allen's gaze passed through the text and landed on the "guest's" face.
At that moment, under the same sunlight, Sylphy suddenly understood the source of her unease:
This man…
He seemed to be—
Allen's biological father.
The carriage wheels before the Greyrat house had come to a halt.
But destiny… continued to roll forward.
(End of Chapter)
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