Ghislaine nodded without saying anything. When she looked at Roa, her eyebrows rose, and she asked in surprise, "Is this your daughter? The letter said two boys would be learning swordsmanship from me."
Roa was speechless. It was just like when he'd first met Roxy. She'd said something much the same.
Roa sighed, bowed, and gave a proper greeting. "Hello. I'm Paul's eldest son, Roa Greyrat. You can call me Roa."
Rudeus bowed. "I'm Paul's second son, Rudeus Greyrat. You can call me Rudeus."
Ghislaine nodded. "For Paul's children, you're fairly polite. Just call me Ghislaine. Come on, get in the carriage."
With that, she strode ahead and climbed straight into the carriage.
The carriage driver was a middle-aged man with deeply tanned skin, leisurely smoking a pipe.
Zenith waved tearfully as she said goodbye to the two boys. The carriage rolled away toward the horizon, while Rudeus gazed at the gate to his home with tear-filled eyes.
That little tree with yellow flowers. He fertilized it every day.
The chip in the gate's fence had been made when he'd smashed it with a Water Ball.
Thinking of leaving his adorable Sylphiette behind, and of not seeing her cute little face or touching her soft hands for a while, Rudeus sighed repeatedly.
Roa gave Rudeus, who was sighing mournfully, a disdainful look.
That was just how he was. It was hard to shake off his NEET tendencies; when faced with something difficult, he instinctively tried to avoid it.
Once everyone had climbed into the carriage,
Ghislaine took out a letter. "Zenith gave this to me. She said it was from Paul. I can't read, so read it to me."
Rudeus asked curiously, "Then how did you read the letter before? You said you learned about us from Paul's letter."
"Of course I had someone else read it to me." She casually handed the letter to Rudeus, who was nearest.
Rudeus nodded in understanding, took the letter, and opened it. Then he read aloud, "Dear Rudeus and Roa, if you're reading this letter, I'm probably no longer in this world."
"What?" Ghislaine cried, springing to her feet.
Roa looked at the beastfolk warrior, who stood nearly six feet tall. Honestly, he hadn't expected the carriage roof to be so high...
"Please sit down, Ghislaine. There's more," Rudeus said, asking her to sit.
"Oh, I see." Ghislaine sat down.
Roa's mouth twitched. The scene was so absurd that he didn't know what to say.
Rudeus continued reading. "—That last bit was a joke. I've always wanted to try writing something like that. I'm sure you have no idea what's going on, so you can ask the muscle-bound scarecrow in front of you... I'd like to put it that way, but that guy's brain is made of muscle too, so she probably can't explain it very clearly."
"What!" Ghislaine roared, leaping to her feet.
Roa leaned over to look at the letter, then said to the beastfolk warrior, "Sit down, Ghislaine. The next part compliments you."
"Oh, I see." Ghislaine obediently sat back down.
Roa clicked his tongue in wonder. He found her incredibly amusing.
Rudeus glanced at the blond, expressionless man standing nearby. Judging by his subtle expression, Roa had come up with some bad idea.
Rudeus continued reading the letter in his hands. "That woman is a Sword King. If you want to learn swordsmanship, you probably won't find a better teacher unless you go to the Holy Land of Swords. I can guarantee her strength, because I've never beaten her... except in bed."
Roa pursed his lips, amazed that Paul hadn't learned his lesson. Rudeus's face twitched too, and he inwardly screamed, Stop writing unnecessary things, you idiot, Paul!
Ghislaine didn't seem all that displeased, though.
That made Rudeus breathe a little easier. The woman in front of him looked like someone not to be trifled with.
"Now, as for Rudeus's job, he'll be going to the largest city in the Fittoa Region to tutor a certain young lady. I hope you'll teach her arithmetic, reading and writing, and simple magic. She's an extremely willful young lady, and very rough. She's even driven several tutors away from the school. Several tutors have already been chased off by her... but I believe you'll figure out how to deal with her."
"'I believe you'll figure out how to deal with her'? You're just dumping the whole problem on me..." Rudeus muttered a few complaints. He found it strange that Roa hadn't been mentioned.
He glanced at what came next, then continued reading. "As for Roa, given his abilities, he'll probably learn all the sword techniques Ghislaine knows in no time. Once he can defeat her, he can go to the Holy Land of Swords. With skills like his, even the masters there will take good care of him."
Ghislaine looked at Roa with some surprise.
Taking a closer look, she saw his smooth golden hair tied behind his head. Sunlight filtered through the curtains and fell across his handsome, youthful face.
His reddish-gold eyes gave him a faintly imposing air, while his dazzling hair added a few more touches of charm.
"Interesting. Paul said you'd learn all my sword techniques in no time," Ghislaine said calmly.
She wasn't displeased; she was simply surprised that Paul had praised his son so highly.
Rudeus continued reading the letter in his hands. "For the next five years, you must live at the young lady's house and teach her. Five years. During that time, you're forbidden to come home or write letters. Because as long as you're around, Sylphiette can't become independent. And it's not just Sylphiette. I feel you've also become overly dependent on her, so I've decided to force you apart. But with your big brother there, even if something unpleasant happens, you can try asking him for help. Whether Roa agrees is up to him."
"Five years!" Rudeus cried.
His plans to raise Sylphiette had been cut short, leaving him discouraged and dejected.
Roa glanced at Rudeus and said with exasperation, "What's with that expression? We're going to learn swordsmanship from Ghislaine. You should rein in that personality of yours a little. You're always thinking about indecent things."
Rudeus sighed, forced to accept his bleak reality. But then, as if he'd thought of something, his eyes suddenly lit up. He looked at Roa with hopeful eyes and slowly said, "Big Brother, you're the best to me. You'll help me, right?"
I made a mistake. I'll read it over next time and correct the typos.
I'm sorry, dear readers.
Before you continue