After walking some distance with Allen, Rudy turned around and looked at his family's estate from afar. He clapped his hands twice and lowered his head devoutly.
Paul, Zenith, enjoy yourselves. You've suffered these past few days.
Allen glanced at him from the corner of his eye.
"Do you usually play with the other children in the village? Or have you seen people arguing, bullying others, that sort of thing?"
Rudy froze for a moment.
"No. As for bullying, I don't really remember seeing any. Whenever I run into someone, we just greet each other. Come to think of it, I have seen groups of children playing together, but I never planned to join them, so I always avoided them from a distance."
Is this guy planning to play the hero?
"Do children go play places far from the village?"
"Uh, I haven't seen that. Most of them stay near the fields."
"Near the fields. Are there any recognizable plants?"
"Huh?"
Rudy stared at Allen in surprise.
Does this guy lack basic common sense?
"Probably... not?"
"Fine, then we'll go near the fields."
Rudy looked at Allen. The other boy did not seem as though he had failed to hear him. Rather, it seemed Allen had intended to go to the fields from the beginning.
What is this guy up to?
Then Allen added,
"A field close to where the children are playing."
Rudy wore an understanding expression.
What, so he's going to make friends. He really is the neglected type. He may be steady, but does he like making friends with all kinds of people?
--
"What's this plant?"
"This is a weed."
"What about this one?"
"That's wheat."
"Oh~ What about this one?"
"...This is a weed."
Rudy's mouth twitched as he watched Allen absentmindedly count weeds.
Hey, hey, your real purpose isn't the weeds! At least pretend to take this seriously, you bastard!
Allen kept an eye on the group of children playing some distance away. Among them, a tall, chubby boy was bossing his companions around.
He shifted his gaze back to Rudy and saw the increasingly perfunctory expression on his face. As if he had heard Rudy's thoughts, he casually pointed at a Batil Flower that looked much like lavender from his previous life and asked with a smile,
"What about this one?"
Rudy's eyes lit up.
Finally! He's not asking about weeds anymore! Allen, you finally get it!
"This is a Batil Flower."
"A what flower?"
"A Batil Flower."
"What kind of flower?"
"...A Batil Flower."
"Oh~ A Balatis Flower."
"..."
Rudy saw the teasing smile on Allen's face and suddenly realized he had done it on purpose. Just as he was about to lose his temper, Allen's straight brows rose, making him look somewhat angry.
"...Uh... it's actually a Batil Flower."
"Listen."
"A Batil what?"
An argument broke out in the distance. Rudy looked at Allen and found that, at some point, Allen had straightened up. He was staring sharply toward the distant field, one hand resting on the hilt of his sword. The posture reminded Rudy of a panther hunting prey.
Rudy followed his gaze toward the source of the voices.
A gust of wind pressed the wheat sprouts low in the fields. Near the paddy field, the group of frolicking children was shoving around a small figure.
Their voices drifted over faintly.
"The demon child is here again!"
"Haha, get out of the village today too!"
"He's not fighting back. How about we throw mud at him?!"
"Good idea!"
A group of little devils gleefully rushed into the nearby paddy field, bent down, and began kneading mud.
Allen watched the scene with apparent calm, but the hand continuously rubbing his sword hilt showed that he was far less calm than he looked.
He waited for a while. Seeing no reaction from the person beside him, he frowned and turned to look at Rudy.
Rudy stared at him intensely.
The two met each other's gaze and fell into a brief silence.
Out of the corner of his eye, Allen watched Sylphy trembling in the distance, too frightened even to run away. He raised a brow and asked,
"A child is being bullied over there. Didn't you see it? Or do you like being bullied too?"
A trace of displeasure flashed across Rudy's face. He took a deep breath and spoke calmly, though his words came out extremely fast.
"I saw it. But Teacher Allen is with me today. I understand what you mean, but if I teach those children a lesson, their families will probably come complain. And with Father's... straightforward personality, he might think I was causing trouble and get angry at me. But you're different. He likes you so much that he'll definitely believe you without even asking, right? So it would be better for you to go."
Allen silently looked at Rudy as though he were a bag of garbage glowing green at the head.
"You go. Even if you hurt someone, it'll be fine. When we get back, just tell Paul I did it. I'll bear the consequences for you."
Rudy froze, seemingly not expecting Allen to say such a thing.
Just then, the children in the paddy field had already scooped up balls of mud from the water and raised them high over their heads.
While Rudy stood there stunned, something bright flashed at the corner of his eye. He instinctively turned toward Allen, only to find him drawing the long sword at his waist. Rudy's pupils suddenly widened, and he hurriedly cried out,
"Wait! Wait!"
A flash of steel streaked through the air as Allen threw the blade from his hand, sending it soaring high overhead.
Rudy's eyes widened. The rapidly spinning blade danced through his vision like a butterfly, passing over the bullied child's head. Sunlight flashed once around its edge, as though something in the air had collided with the gleam of the blade.
With a sharp clang, the blade landed in front of the bullied child's back, incredibly close.
The children suddenly cried out in alarm.
The bullied child's legs went weak, and she collapsed onto the ground.
Rudy's body trembled. He immediately sprinted toward where the blade had landed. When he arrived, however, he found that the blade had been driven directly into the ground in front of the bullied child's legs, humming continuously. It had not hurt anyone as he had imagined.
On both sides of the blade, lumps of mud were scattered around the bullied child's body, as though Allen had precisely intercepted them in midair with his thrown sword.
Rudy opened his mouth in astonishment. His gaze involuntarily followed the blade upward toward the bullied child standing before it.
She stared at the blade as if dumbfounded, but she still sensed Rudy's gaze and lifted her head to meet his eyes.
The wind swept past, ruffling her medium-length hair.
It gleamed emerald green under the sunlight.
Rudy could not help but freeze.
"A S-Superd Race?"
"Where is there a Superd Race here?"
Rudy turned around. Allen had already walked up behind him, expressionlessly staring at the boys in the paddy field, who had recovered from their shock and were glaring furiously at him.
The tallest among them suddenly shouted,
"Is the knight's kid going to protect a demon? And you over there, using a sword to bully us just because you're taller! Who do you think you are—"
Before he could finish, Allen chopped at the air beside him with the edge of his hand.
The next moment.
With a thunderous bang, a blast of force plowed a trench through the edge of the paddy field, sending dirt flying.
It splattered Rudy, who had been standing beside the field staring blankly, from head to toe.
Those children had never seen anything like that. They immediately turned and tried to run.
But before they could take two steps, a spray of water suddenly burst up in front of them. When it fell, a blade gleaming with cold light stood embedded in the water.
Allen withdrew the hand he had used to throw the blade. Looking at the suddenly stiff backs of those brats, then glancing at the equally stunned Rudy, he spoke coldly.
"Get out of the paddy field. Line up in front of me. I'll count to three. If anyone runs again, I'll cut off his head."
"Three."
Only then did Rudy realize what Allen was doing. He turned toward him, wiped the mud from his face, and carefully said,
"Teacher Allen, perhaps we should leave it at that. Their behavior was indeed vile, but they're still just children. There's no need to take it too seriously. It'll be even more troublesome if their parents come looking for us later."
...This guy! Why is he so reckless? Bullies deserve to die, but if something really happens, how am I supposed to explain it to Paul?
Allen ignored him.
"Two."
The boys scrambled out of the paddy field and lined up in front of Allen, all of them trembling from head to toe.
Allen asked,
"How old is the oldest among you?"
No one answered.
Allen made as if to retrieve his sword from the paddy field.
"N-Nine! Nine years old!"
Allen smiled when he heard that and turned to look Rudy directly in the eye.
"What a coincidence. I'm the same age. By that logic, I'm just a child too, so don't hold it against me, all right?"
Rudy's mouth opened and closed, but for a long time, he could not say a word.
Before you continue