Rudeus is a Loli-con

So Sylphy was a girl.

What a mess...

"So Hilde always thought I was a boy too?"

In the bathroom, Hilde was washing Sylphy's hair.

Sylphy's head drooped, and she looked utterly listless.

"Ahem. I think this must have been a misunderstanding."

Hilde was a little awkward too.

Thinking about it carefully, it seemed no one had ever said Sylphy was a boy. It was only because of that first impression when they met that everyone had mistakenly assumed Sylphy was a boy.

It couldn't really be helped. After all, it was hard to tell a child's gender from their voice, and on top of that, Sylphy kept her hair short and usually wore only pants, never skirts.

She really did look a little like a boy.

Sylphy stopped talking. Her whole body seemed to wilt. If this were a manga, she probably would have turned completely ashen, like she had burned out.

Not good.

Had saying that hurt her too much?

Calm, calm down. For now, activate earth-shattering wisdom and think of a way...

"Actually..."

Hilde said in a low voice, "Actually, Rudeus is a lolicon."

"Huh?" Sylphy froze.

"I mean little girls like you, with no chest and no butt. You're exactly the type Rudeus likes best."

"...No, does that make sense?"

"Trust me, Sylphy. There really are all sorts of weird tastes in this world. You need to have more confidence in yourself!"

"..."

Hilde's combo left Sylphy completely unable to respond.

She froze in place like her system had crashed.

"A-Anyway, although Rudeus has always thought you were a boy up until now, he still likes you very much. I imagine once he finds out you're actually a girl, he'll be over the moon!" Hilde added.

After all, he was a lolicon.

Sylphy nodded thoughtfully.

"As long as Rudeus doesn't hate me..."

"..."

Poor silly child.

Hilde sighed.

By the time the bath was over, the sky had cleared after the rain.

Sylphy, freshly bathed and changed, ran into Rudeus in the hallway.

Rudeus was just about to step forward and speak, but Sylphy remembered what Hilde had said earlier about "Rudeus is actually a lolicon" and the like, and she instinctively turned her gaze away with a blush.

Unfortunately, Rudeus had no idea what Sylphy was thinking at that moment.

Seeing Sylphy avert her eyes from him, only one thought filled his mind.

She hated him.

And so Rudeus petrified on the spot.

By the time he recovered from the conclusion that he was hated, Sylphy had already taken advantage of the cleared weather and left.

That evening, after Paul and Zenith heard about what had happened during the day, they both couldn't help laughing.

The dinner table was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

"What you said was way too hurtful. Mistaking a girl for a boy is basically telling her straight to her face that she has no feminine charm at all," Paul said.

"In that regard, Young Master Rudeus is no match for Master Paul," Lilia said softly.

Rudeus's face flushed red, but he couldn't squeeze out so much as a fart in response.

"Speaking of which, Rudeus is one thing, but I never thought even Hilde didn't notice Sylphy's gender," Zenith said curiously.

"I was led astray by the first impression Rudeus had planted in my mind," Hilde analyzed calmly.

"Led astray, my ass! How is this my fault too?"

Rudeus's mouth nearly twisted crooked from anger.

But Hilde quickly pressed a hand on his shoulder and comforted him carefully:

"Don't worry. Sylphy isn't mad at you. She's probably just worried you might hate her, that's all."

"Me? Hate Sylphy? No way!"

"Then there's your answer, isn't it?"

Hilde said it offhandedly, then hopped down from the dining table and headed for her room.

Seeing that, Rudeus hurried after her.

"Wait, explain that properly! What did you mean just now?"

Their figures disappeared from the living room, and Paul and the others shared knowing smiles.

Night.

Rudeus lay in bed, completely unable to sleep.

His tossing and turning kept Hilde awake too, so she climbed up in a rage and punched him.

"Are you in fucking heat or what?"

"Hilde, do you think Sylphy hates me or not?" Rudeus asked again.

"Ugh... What's there to dig into with a question like that? Just put your mind completely at ease. Sylphy's only worried you'll hate her, that's all."

"So what kind of logic is that supposed to be?"

"Because you never noticed she was a girl, so she thinks she lacks feminine charm."

"No way she—okay, yeah, that is pretty much it."

Rudeus scratched his head. But seriously, what kind of feminine charm was a little kid of six or seven supposed to have?

Wasn't that just nonsense?

The key question was, what should he do now?

"Hilde!"

Rudeus grabbed Hilde's hand, his eyes brimming with tears.

"Hilde, you have to help me with this!"

"Ugh. Just listen to me and go straight in."

"What does 'go straight in' mean?"

"It means you grab her hand directly and shout, 'Please marry me!' Then there won't be a problem."

"...No, marriage is kind of too early, isn't it?"

"Fair point. Then change it to something like, 'Please go out with me'?"

"..."

Was that right?

Rudeus wanted to keep asking, but in the time it took Hilde to roll over, she had already fallen asleep.

Remembering the time he had been beaten for forcibly waking Hilde up, Rudeus ultimately sighed and tried to make himself fall asleep by counting sheep.

The next day.

After morning sword practice ended, Rudeus impatiently dragged Hilde out the door.

"Being impatient won't help if Sylphy doesn't want to see you," Hilde said helplessly.

"You... you clearly weren't saying that yesterday!"

Rudeus panicked.

"Ah, a wild Sylphy appeared."

Hilde pointed behind Rudeus. "Look."

"Do you think that kind of trick for little kids is funny? Hey, Hilde, help me out. I really do want to make up with Sylphy! If this makes Sylphy unwilling to come see me again, I'll forcibly wake you up every morning before you wake up naturally!"

"That's a bit too vicious... But I wasn't lying just now. Sylphy really is behind you."

"Huh?"

Rudeus whipped around.

Sylphy really was standing beneath a tree not far away.

Her hands were clasped behind her back, and the tip of her shoe lightly ground against the earth.

Sunlight filtered through gaps in the leaves, dancing over her green hair. She lifted her eyes and glanced at Rudeus, then quickly lowered them again, the tips of her ears faintly red.

The air seemed to freeze.

"Hilde..."

"What are you looking at me for? Go on, do it yourself!"

Hilde kicked Rudeus in the butt, and he stumbled over in front of Sylphy.

"Sylphy!"

"Yes!" Sylphy jumped in fright, her shoulders trembling slightly.

"About yesterday... what happened yesterday!" Rudeus threw caution to the wind. "I'm sorry! I was too stupid, and I never realized you were a girl! But that was definitely not because you weren't charming or anything! Definitely not! I-I've always really liked you, Sylphy!"

When his words fell, only the rustle of wind through the leaves remained.

Rudeus's heart was about to leap out of his throat.

"...Really?"

Sylphy asked softly.

"Really! So please don't hate me."

"I don't hate you, Rudeus."

Sylphy's voice had come a little closer.

Sylphy's bright, clear crimson eyes reflected Rudeus's nervous, foolish look at that moment.

"I was just a little worried. Before, Rudeus always thought I was a boy, and we played together, studied together... If you knew I was a girl, would you think it was troublesome? Would you stop wanting things to be like before...?"

"No way!" Rudeus hurriedly cut her off. "If anything... if anything, knowing you're a girl makes me even happier, Sylphy!"

"I see..."

Sylphy let out a breath of relief.

So everything Hilde had said was true after all.

Rudeus was a lolicon!

In that case, that was wonderful. She didn't need to worry that Rudeus would hate her.

But then again...

Sylphy thought of the size of her mother's chest.

Probably because of her beastman blood, her mother's figure was seriously amazing, and Sylphy had inherited half of her mother's bloodline too. In other words... if she kept growing, then someday hers would get that big too, right?

When that time came, would Rudeus still like her?