Eris

Roa could guarantee that if Philip ever joked about something like this again, he couldn't guarantee Philip wouldn't be attacked by a masked man and beaten black and blue one night while walking down the road.

Philip wasn't deaf. He'd heard the argument in the hallway loud and clear. But to his surprise, not only had Sholoss not taken a dislike to Roa, he'd even praised him.

Looking at the cool, somewhat aloof blond "boy" before him, Philip smiled.

Roa was undeniably beautiful. His long, silky hair reached his waist and was tied into a braid. His bangs parted in the middle, revealing handsome brows, and his lips were red while his teeth were white. His delicate face was like a doll's, and his features were perfectly balanced. No one could find a flaw in his looks. He would have stood out even among girls—but, unfortunately, he was a boy.

Philip paid no mind to the boy's faintly hostile gaze. Pointing to the sofa opposite him, he said to the two of them, "Have a seat."

Rudeus asked nervously, "Has the interview started?"

Philip answered frankly, "There isn't really much of an interview. Let me ask you first: how much do you know about the situation?"

Philip looked from one to the other. Rudeus cast a pleading glance at Roa, who sighed and answered helplessly, "After teaching the young lady here for five years, we'll receive funding for our tuition at Magic University."

"That's all?"

"Yes."

"I see..."

Philip rested his hand against his chin and lowered his gaze to the table, as if deep in thought. After a long pause, he suddenly asked, "Roa, do you like girls?"

Roa's expression twisted. Was this guy questioning his sexual orientation?

He replied coolly, "I'm a man, and I like women. I especially like beast-eared maids!"

"Oh? You like beast-eared maids too?" Philip, who'd been deep in thought, perked up with interest and abruptly sat up straight.

The butler beside him coughed a few times, his expression impassive. Philip smiled with delight. "That's right. It runs in our family."

The butler coughed again, and Philip said with some regret, "Forget it. Just don't go overboard like Paul."

"Fine. Now, down to business. At the moment, the only teachers the girl likes are Edna, who teaches etiquette and manners, and Ghislaine, who teaches swordsmanship. She's dismissed more than five teachers so far, including a man who used to teach in the Royal Capital. So, as you can see, Eris is a real handful."

Philip sounded somewhat helpless. As he'd said, his daughter was extremely difficult to deal with.

He was already at his wits' end. Roa replied without expression, "That's fine. I'll teach Eris magic."

Rudeus timidly raised a question, looking a little embarrassed. "Um, is she interested in arithmetic and things like that?"

Philip gave Rudeus a strange look. "I can put it this way: she's only interested in swordsmanship. Everything else just makes her impatient."

Rudeus gave a strained smile and nodded. "I-is that so? That could be a bit tricky."

Philip sighed. "It seems you still don't understand how troublesome she is. 'Tricky' doesn't begin to cover it. Anyway, to be frank, I didn't expect much from you two at first. You're Paul's son, so I figured I might as well give you a try."

Rudeus's expression darkened a little, but Philip changed tack. "Still, I think you might surprise me. You managed to make the lord so happy, after all."

Roa leaned back on the sofa and gazed up at the ceiling.

Hmm, an unfamiliar ceiling.

"Anyway, we'll have to see the situation for ourselves before we can judge. We'll have to meet her before we can know whether we can teach her."

Philip narrowed his eyes and said slowly, "In that case, I'll introduce you to my daughter."

Philip stood up and said to the butler, "Bring the young lady here."

The old butler nodded, rose, and went outside. Before long, he returned with a girl whose hair was a fiery red. She was pretty, with delicate features and a lovely appearance, but her very first impression was that she was someone you didn't want to cross.

Her hair and eyes were both fiery red, and her brows arched slightly. Her personality showed in her looks alone.

She was definitely the difficult sort. Everyone knew redheads tended to have tempers, and she even idolized her grandfather.

Her ruby-red eyes swept across everyone present without lingering on anyone. They only brightened when she spotted her father, Philip. She excitedly said, "Father, I don't need a tutor or anything. Ghislaine is all I need."

That was what she said, and it was what she truly thought.

Everyone present fell silent.

Eris looked puzzled, but before she could speak, Philip smiled and said, "These two want to become your tutors."

Eris's smile disappeared, replaced by an impatient expression.

Rudeus smiled bitterly.

Roa wore an expression that said it had nothing to do with him.

Philip looked intrigued.

Everyone wore a different expression as they sized one another up.

Eris looked at Roa, sitting on the sofa, and Rudeus, standing beside him.

Pointing at Roa, she asked, "What do you teach? You don't look much older than me."

Roa thought for a moment, then answered plainly, "Hello. I'll be teaching you magic."

Eris fell into thought. "You're only teaching me magic?"

Roa nodded, stood up, and patted Rudeus beside him. Smiling, he said, "This is your teacher for arithmetic and reading."

Eris narrowed her eyes, her expression disdainful. "This little runt who's even shorter than me is going to teach me? What a joke!"

She looked at Rudeus challengingly, then stood with her arms crossed and legs planted wide apart, making her contempt obvious.

Roa raised an eyebrow. What was this, an attempt to intimidate them? Was she trying to scare them off?

Roa looked over at Philip. He was acting as if none of this had anything to do with him. When he noticed Roa's gaze, he even smiled at him.