Roxy

Another two years passed, and Roa had successfully found Rudeus a wife: Zenith. 🎉✌

After bringing a somewhat shy Zenith home and setting Rudeus on the path to raising her, Roa thought, You already have one. Don't go getting any ideas.

So, aside from his usual magic and swordsmanship training, he spent his time counting down the days.

What was he counting down to? Of course, he was waiting for Roxy.

Rudeus had a wife now. Surely it wouldn't be unreasonable for his big brother to have one too, right?

When Rudeus was four, Roa began making requests of Paul and Zenith, offering what he considered suitable reasons.

"Father, Mother, I think Rudeus and I need a magic teacher," Roa said.

Before long, a blue-haired girl stepped down from a carriage.

"My name is Roxy. It's nice to meet you." The girl before them was rather petite, dressed in a brown robe in the style of a magician. Her sky-blue hair was tied in a braid, and she looked about middle-school age. She was an adorable girl, delicate and well-proportioned.

She spoke to Paul with half-lidded, weary eyes.

A little girl, half-lidded eyes that seemed to say she was fed up, and a cool demeanor. That was the impression she gave everyone.

The moment he saw Roxy, Roa grabbed Rudeus and pulled him aside without a second thought.

With a stern expression, Roa said, "Rudeus, have I been good to you?"

Rudeus was baffled, but he nodded anyway. Honestly, though his big brother looked a little cold, he was actually a very good person.

Roa leaned close to Rudeus's ear and said, "I've got my eye on that girl."

Rudeus's eyes widened. He looked at the cute Roxy, then at the incredibly pretty little boy in front of him. Just imagining the two of them getting all touchy-feely made his cheeks flush. In an instant, he thought of a dozen doujinshi.

As if afraid Rudeus hadn't heard him, Roa repeated, "I've got my eye on that girl."

Rudeus nodded with an understanding look, then leaned close to Roa's ear. "What are you going to do?"

"Do?" Roa glanced at Rudeus in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Rudeus gave a sly grin, the corners of his mouth curling into a lecherous smile. Roa couldn't help taking two steps back. Rudeus whispered, "You know, that! She's such a cute girl. Don't tell me you're not interested at all."

Roa fell silent in thought, then nodded. Rudeus patted his little big brother on the shoulder, glanced toward Zenith inside the house, and called out, "Zenith, you can come out and listen too!"

Paul was annoyed at the two of them whispering to each other nearby. He barked, "Roa, Rudeus, come over here and greet your teacher!"

Roxy studied the two boys curiously. She adjusted the brim of her hat and said to Paul, "I heard you had two boys who wanted to learn magic. Where's the other one?"

With an expression like she'd seen a ghost, Roxy watched as Paul pointed to the taller little boy beside him. "This is my eldest son. His name is Roa."

Then he pointed to the blond kid beside him. "This is my second son, Rudeus."

Roa was used to this by now. He bowed and said, "Are you my teacher? It's nice to meet you. My name is Roa Greyrat, but you can call me Roa."

Roxy was momentarily stunned by the adorable little boy with his doll-like features. She pointed at him again and asked, "You're a boy?"

Roa's brow twitched. He knew his appearance was bound to cause a lot of misunderstandings. What could he do? He'd been born looking like this.

Roa nodded. Roxy gave an awkward smile, her gaze shifting back and forth between him and Rudeus.

"So, these two are the ones who want to learn magic?" Roxy asked.

Rudeus timidly raised his hand. "If possible, I'd like Zenith to receive your guidance too."

"Huh? Me? I'm happy just being with Rudeus and big brother Roa. Wouldn't it be a little much for me to learn magic with them too?" Zenith asked, fidgeting.

Rudeus simply gave her a radiant smile and waved a hand, as if to say he'd take care of everything.

Paul covered his forehead with his hand and said irritably, "Hey, don't go making decisions on your own. We agreed it would just be the two of you."

Roxy's smile stiffened a little. She looked at the timid Zenith beside her and sighed. "You can stay and listen in. But aren't the three of you all too young? One is six, and the other two are four."

The smiles on Rudeus and Zenith's faces immediately froze.

Paul puffed out his chest proudly. "The boys in our family are all geniuses," he said.

With a helpless sigh, Roxy rubbed her brow. Her voice softened. "All right, then. Let's begin today's first lesson."

The four of them found an open spot in the courtyard and sat down.

Roxy took a heavy magic book from her bag. After a moment's thought, she set it aside and addressed the three children sitting cross-legged before her. "Let's start with this magic textbook—no, before that, let's see how much magic you can use."

Rudeus was about to speak, but Roa cut him off with a cool voice. "We've only learned a little about it from books."

Roxy's delicate face took on an expression that said she'd expected as much. She sighed softly, glanced around, and said, "I'll demonstrate first. See if you can learn to do it. May the great blessing of water descend upon the place you seek. Let a cool, shallow stream appear here—Water Ball."

A fist-sized ball of water gathered in her hand. It swirled, then flew toward a spot in the distance.

Splat.

The water ball struck the ground beside the railing, soaking it.

"Did you see that?" Roxy looked listless, and it was clear she didn't expect much from the three of them.

"Wow, that's amazing," Rudeus said with exaggerated enthusiasm, wiggling his eyebrows at Roa.

Zenith looked confused. Hadn't the two of them already learned how to do that?

Magic was amazing.

There was no doubt about it. It could create the four elements—wind, fire, water, and earth—from nothing.

But magic was also incredibly difficult to learn, because it placed strict demands on one's mana.

That day, Roxy had encountered three top-tier prodigies.