Allen swore he had only been watching with the attitude of someone enjoying a family drama, studying Lilia's envious and resentful expression at the windowsill before looking over at Paul and Zenith flirting and pinching each other's butts in the yard.
He also took the opportunity to identify everyone's faces.
First, Lilia had a somewhat cool and aloof air, with features leaning somewhat Eastern. She wore round-framed glasses and a maid's outfit.
Paul had the hereditary scumbag face of the Notos family. The tear mole beneath his sharp features was actually rather handsome, and combined with his sturdy build, it was no wonder he attracted women so easily.
Zenith, meanwhile, had the typical soft and graceful features of a refined young lady, with a head of exceptionally smooth golden hair.
Everything matched Allen's expectations, especially the original wife and the mistress, whose measurements were both around 36E.
Paul, Paul, you little bastard.
As he thought that, Allen spotted Rudeus—the protagonist of Mushoku Tensei.
The other boy had inherited Zenith's silky hair and Paul's brown coloring. His features were very gentle, and at this young age, he even looked somewhat feminine. He was currently wearing a helpless, toothy grin as he dealt with his "father's" nonsense.
Then, as if Rudeus had sensed something, his neck stiffened, and he slowly turned to look at Allen.
Allen instinctively thought of his favorability quest.
Then—
He put on the gentlest, kindest, most approachable expression he could manage and smiled warmly at Rudeus.
The next instant, Rudy looked as though he had seen a ghost and rewarded Paul with a headbutt straight into his chest.
Paul staggered and fell to the ground, then turned to glare angrily at Allen.
His expression was distinctly unfriendly.
Allen's smile froze on his face. He felt that his instinctive attempt to show friendliness—
Had somehow made the upcoming favorability quest much harder.
The dissatisfaction in Paul's eyes flashed by, and his expression immediately settled. As the knight dispatched by the Fittoa Region to Buena Village, responsible for overseeing the villagers' harvests and protecting the area, he received visitors like this every few days.
He patted the dirt from himself and stood up.
Throughout the process, Rudeus kept his back to Allen and slowly shuffled behind Paul as though wound up by a spring.
Still unwilling to give up, Allen tried to salvage the situation and forced out an even brighter smile.
"Excuse me, are you Sir Paul, the village's knight? Is that your child? He's so cute~"
The moment he finished speaking, Rudeus's expression changed drastically. Clutching his pants, he bolted into the house in a flash.
He had been frightened.
Allen watched him leave with his mouth hanging open, then awkwardly turned to Paul.
Paul seemed to be in a daze. He ignored both Allen's greeting and Rudy's reaction, merely studying Allen silently from head to toe. His gaze paused slightly on the hilt at Allen's waist before passing over his ragged Swordsman's Outfit.
Finally, his eyes settled on Allen's face and did not move again.
Allen raised his head and met his gaze.
Paul was close to 1.8 meters tall, so Allen could only look up at him.
After a long while, Paul seemed to snap out of it and opened his mouth to break the silence.
"...Sorry. Rudy isn't good at dealing with people. What can I do for you?"
"It's like this, Sir Knight. I'm a wandering adventurer, and I unfortunately lost my money in a dungeon, so I'm looking for work to earn some. On my way here, I happened to meet a blue-haired Demon Race Magician. She said I could try my luck here and see whether your child needed a swordsmanship teacher."
"Why are you lying?"
Paul instantly exposed Allen's lie. Looking down at his face, he wore a stern expression, as though lecturing a child.
Allen showed no sign of panic. He merely narrowed his eyes, smiled, and looked back up at Paul.
"What makes you say that?"
"...By your account, you may indeed have met Lokkishi. But she clearly knows that I am Rudy's swordsmanship teacher. There is no need for an additional instructor. So you could only have come here on your own, not at her suggestion."
Allen lowered his eyes.
Just as expected, he wasn't easy to fool. If I say I simply want to become Rudy's tutor, my motives will seem suspicious. If I try to persuade him on the grounds of making money, there are obviously more and better opportunities in a big city. There's no reason to try my luck in this tiny village. That excuse won't hold up.
Every path has been blocked. Is revealing my identity the best option?
"Still... becoming Rudy's swordsmanship teacher could work."
A hint of surprise flashed through Allen's eyes as he looked up at Paul.
Paul only glanced at the sword at his waist.
"To be honest, as someone who teaches by instinct, I really lack the ability to awaken Rudy's passion for the Sword Dao. If someone else takes over, perhaps it might have an unexpectedly good effect."
Before Allen could react to Paul suddenly no longer caring about his intentions, Paul continued.
"I'm willing to hire you for a seven-day trial. If you can prove your abilities during that time, I'll formally employ you as our Rudy's swordsmanship teacher. As for payment, two silver coins a month. You won't be treated poorly."
As he spoke, Paul leaned close to Allen's face, as though trying to see through him, and met his eyes.
"But not just any self-proclaimed swordsman is qualified to become our family's Sword Dao instructor. You look rather too young. Come on, prove your ability. If you can pass my test, I'll give you a seven-day trial period. What do you say?"
Allen raised an eyebrow.
This plot development was a little rushed and unreasonable.
"...This is perfectly reasonable."
The setting sun slanted westward, stretching the shadows of the larger and smaller figures in the yard.
Zenith and Lilia stood nervously on the steps by the door, while Rudeus poked his head out from behind Zenith.
Zenith clasped her hands tightly as she watched the situation. Tilting her head slightly toward Rudy, she asked in a low voice.
"What is going on? Why is your father suddenly competing in swordsmanship with a child? Is he a swordsman? Rudy, do you know what happened?"
Rudeus shook his head. Deliberately avoiding looking at Allen, he looked instead at Paul.
"I don't know, Mother. When I ran inside just now, they hadn't even started talking yet."
What's going on? Did that perverted guy provoke Paul? He actually dared to threaten me. Go, Sir Paul! It's time to show the authority of a father!
Paul drew the longsword from his waist—a double-edged straight sword. Its hilt was somewhat exaggerated, shaped like a trapezoid with hollow inverted-triangle designs on either side, giving it a distinctly religious feel. From the top of the trapezoid extended the blade, a black fuller running through its entire length.
He raised the sword over his head and took a standard high stance.
Allen watched Paul, his right hand caressing the blade as he drew it. His sword was straight. Unlike Paul's, its blade was slimmer, with forged patterns extending all the way to the tip before curving into a beautiful arc.
The single-edged blade cut through the air and came to rest beside Allen's hip, its point angled aside.
It was a middle stance geared more toward defense.
Looking at the sword in his hand, he felt his heart burn.
Paul, Three-Style Upper-tier. At his peak, his overall strength was at the Quasi-Saint Level. He had retired for many years, and his skills had declined somewhat. Right now, he should only be at the level of a normal Advanced Swordsman. Even so, he's stronger than the system's assessment of me.
He licked his lips and looked at Paul, who was equally eager.
"Then, shall we begin?"
Paul, three meters away, narrowed his eyes and smiled.
"From the moment you drew your sword, it already began."
Sword light swept up the glow of sunset and appeared beside Allen's face in an instant! The blade hummed!
The final syllable of Paul's words fell.
"...gan."
It was already at Allen's ear.
Before you continue