Can Men Be This Beautiful Too?

Shut-in nerds really were disgusting.

Hilde could not remember whether she had been male or female in her past life, so she could not really say whether she was judging this from a man's or a woman's perspective.

But Rudeus's current appearance was truly...

Silence.

Silence was Cambridge tonight.

In short, though she wanted to lecture him a little, seeing Rudeus with underwear on his head and still stubbornly trying to act like he was only cosplaying Kamen Rider made her feel that anything she said would already be too late.

Her dear older brother had finally, without anyone noticing, turned into the ultimate Heisei monster combining lolicon, peeping tom, deadbeat otaku, and fetishist all in one.

Truly cause for celebration. Coca-Cola.

In the end, all she did was tell Rudeus to put away the props he had used for his Kamen Rider cosplay and hurry up to bed.

Rudeus obediently did as he was told.

Not a word was said all night.

When they woke up the next morning, both of them tacitly pretended that nothing had happened the night before.

Their swordsmanship training proceeded methodically.

Unlike his rapid progress in the field of magic, Rudeus's progress in swordsmanship could only be described as crawling along like a turtle. It was almost fair to say he had not grasped the knack at all.

By comparison, although Hilde was also a beginner, because she had more stamina to devote to training, her rate of improvement was quite gratifying. Setting aside her innate monstrous strength, Hilde's movements and stances were already very standard. Next, she just had to improve her proficiency while maintaining that level.

About three months had passed since they had begun learning magic.

Paul announced that Hilde's Water God Style and Sword God Style had both reached the beginner standard. As long as she kept training according to this routine, in another year or so at most, she would be able to reach the intermediate level.

As for Rudeus...

Mm. He still needed to keep training before he could earn a beginner evaluation.

It was worth mentioning that ever since Roxy had taken him out of the house that one time, Rudeus had become able to go outside normally.

The principle behind it was unknown.

Hilde could not be bothered to dig into it.

In any case, since Rudeus could go out now, there was no need for them to squat at home every day.

Practicing magic outside was also much more convenient than practicing at home.

Of course, because they had to set aside time every morning for swordsmanship training, they did not have that much free time to move around outside.

The surroundings were nothing but grassland and wheat fields, with nothing much fun to do. As for the other little brats in the village, Hilde could not play along with them anyway.

Still, though she could not play with them, it was fairly interesting just to watch.

On bright, sunny afternoons, Rudeus would sit beneath the tree on the little hill outside the village entrance, reading and rereading the book Zenith had given him on his birthday.

She had to admit, whoever had written Traveling the World was definitely a person of both talent and perseverance. To travel all over the world alone and record so much of what they had seen and heard was truly a feat on par with Columbus.

Hilde, meanwhile, lay on the tree branch above Rudeus's head, enjoying the sunlight spilling through the gaps in the leaves while watching the little brats in the village roughhouse in the distance.

Children's lives really were carefree...

But in the end, they could only be this leisurely because they knew nothing of the future.

"Hm? Is that..."

Hilde's gaze inadvertently fell in another direction.

Some distance beyond the place where those children were playing.

A child with short green hair was hiding behind a tree, secretly peeking out.

A girl...

No, judging by the clothes, it seemed to be a boy?

She had not really seen him before.

Hilde thought back for a moment.

With hair that distinctive, if she had seen him before, she definitely would not have forgotten.

Come to think of it, why was that child hiding behind the tree the whole time?

Just as Hilde was thinking that, the children gathered together also discovered the green-haired boy and chased after him in a noisy swarm.

The green-haired boy tried to flee in a panic, but he was quickly caught.

The fastest child caught up to the green-haired boy and kicked him straight from behind, sending his whole body sprawling to the ground.

The scene instantly turned ugly.

Hilde sat up slightly.

"Hey, Rudeus."

"What is it?"

"Look over there."

"Hm?"

Rudeus looked in the direction Hilde was pointing.

Several boys of about six or seven were gathered in a circle, holding mud, stones, and branches as they jeered around a green-haired boy. The green-haired boy wore a plain white coat, his green hair caked with mud, dust all over him, and he crouched on the ground with his head in his arms.

He could faintly hear what those children were shouting.

"Monster! Superd Tribe monster! Get out of our village!"

"It's gotta be a monster in disguise!"

Another boy chimed in, poking the child's arm with a branch.

"Hit him with stones!"

"Haha, monster, come bite me!"

"Why doesn't he have a tail?"

"He must be hiding it. Pull his pants down and see!"

All those words filled with a child's pure malice drew a stifled whimper from the green-haired boy. He curled up even tighter, his mud-soaked hair covering most of his face, leaving only his faintly trembling shoulders visible.

Rudeus shot to his feet.

"Hilde, aren't you going to do something?"

"Are you planning to step in?"

"Do you even have to ask?"

"I never would've guessed. So you're the helpful type."

As Hilde spoke, she had already jumped down from the tree and landed lightly beside Rudeus.

Rudeus really was not the helpful sort.

But looking at that bullied boy, it was as if he were seeing his old self.

He could not help thinking, if—if someone had stood up and said something fair back then, if someone had stopped what those guys were doing, how could he ever have ended up in that state?

And now, he had become the one standing by and watching.

He could almost hear the self who had suffered school bullying back then, asking in his heart with bitter resentment, why had no one stood up and said a word of justice?

The flames of anger burned fiercely in his chest.

Every deep breath he exhaled carried a heat that seemed as if it would scorch his throat, making it impossible to swallow.

"I'm going to help him. Hilde, what about you?"

"...Hmph. Since you're the one who decided to interfere, I'll back you up."

Hilde jumped down from the tree and landed lightly beside Rudeus.

Rudeus smiled knowingly.

Then he and Hilde quickened their pace and rushed forward.

When the two of them charged into the open space, the child in the lead had just picked up a stone and was about to throw it at the green-haired boy.

Seeing this, Hilde said nothing. She went up and kicked him straight down into the dirt.

Rudeus followed up with a combo, sending a Water Ball smashing directly into his head. Of course, beginner magic had no real offensive power, but it was already enough to soak him like a drowned rat and leave him in a complete mess.

"Who's there!"

The children glared sharply at Rudeus.

Because Rudeus had almost never left the house before this, none of the children recognized him at all.

As for Hilde, that went without saying. She had never fit in with these little brats at all, and just seeing them annoyed her.

"Mind your own business! We're teaching this hateful Superd Tribe demon a lesson!"

The child in the lead climbed up from the ground and said stubbornly, neck stiff.

"Superd, my ass. Do you even know what the Superd Tribe is? And you're just here making a blind fuss?"

"The Superd Tribe has a ruby-like demon eye in the middle of their forehead. Open your eyes and look. Where's the demon eye on his head?" Rudeus's face had gone dark.

"But he has green hair, and the Superd Tribe has green hair too!"

The children were clearly unconvinced.

Hilde, off to the side, nearly laughed when she heard that.

This was exactly the kind of person antique markets loved most, the treasure-hunting old men whose favorite catchphrase was, "Never mind whether it's microwave-safe, just look at how vivid this color is!" One scam and they took the bait, one appraisal and they revealed a new sucker. If you ran into someone like that, you had to hurry up and get their contact details. If you ever sold insurance in the future, he was the one to find.

"Enough. Cut the crap and get lost."

With a grand wave of his hand, Rudeus declared, "This guy's under my protection. If you dare bully him again, I'll beat you every time I see you."

"What..."

Naturally, the little brats weren't convinced. Relying on being a bit older, they came right up, wanting to have a go at Rudeus and Hilde.

Rudeus was just about to make a move when Hilde stepped forward first. These idiots were way too in need of a beating, and she couldn't stand it anymore, so she gave each of them a pair of panda eyes.

The children ran off crying.

You think you have what it takes to go up against me, Hilde?

Elsewhere.

Rudeus grabbed the green-haired boy who was just about to sneak away and, without a word, fired a Water Ball at his head too. It wasn't that he was bullying him; the boy was covered in mud, so he was simply helping clean him off while he was at it.

The soaked shirt clung tightly to his body, revealing a delicate, subtle beauty.

"U-um..."

The green-haired boy lifted his head slightly.

His bright red eyes looked timidly at Rudeus, his petite body trembling faintly as he said in the tiniest voice, "Thank you..."

"..."

Rudeus suddenly clutched his chest. His heart had nearly stopped for a moment.

Could a man really be this beautiful?