Outdoor Picnic Accident with Sylphy and Rudy, System's Delirium

Batil Flowers are a common cash crop in the Asura Kingdom. They resemble lavender, with pale purple blooms, and can be eaten directly. They require minimal cultivation, thriving with little effort. Thanks to their fragrance, they are usually processed into spices and sent to the Royal Capital, where workshops turn them into various perfumes distributed nationwide.

Buena Village, in particular, largely relies on wheat and Batil Flowers for its livelihood.

At the edge of the forest, three figures—one large, two small—moved through a dense patch of Batil Flowers.

"How much longer, Sylphy?"

Sylphy pushed aside the purple flowers next to her and glanced at Rudy.

"The tower is quite far from the village. It'll take another hour."

Rudy looked at her in surprise.

"It's so far. Why does your father still make you bring him food? Wouldn't it be better if he just made something in the morning and took it with him?"

Sylphy replied in a low voice.

"The shifts at the tower... because they're short-staffed, my father usually stays for five full days each time. There's no way to prepare enough food for that long."

"Oh, I see. No wonder you brought a basket of bread. Is that for the whole day?"

Sylphy nodded.

Behind them, Allen was pulling strands of flowers from the swaying purple blooms, crushing them in his palm, leaving only seeds clutched in his hand. Without looking up, he asked, "But the bread in the basket is probably inedible now, right? Can we really go empty-handed?"

Rudy froze at his words, turning to look at Sylphy, his face a little lost. Sylphy, in turn, leaned back, tilting her head to look at Allen, her eyelashes fluttering in the wind.

"My father can hunt. If the food got dirty and there wasn't time to make more, he'd do that. But if he's unlucky and there are no rabbits nearby... he might still go hungry."

"Is that so?"

Allen fiddled with the seeds in his hand, turning his head to look at the forest not far away.

"An hour's walk is enough. By the way, is the tower tall? Is it easy to spot?"

Rudy blinked, not knowing why Allen was asking, but he honestly replied, "My father told me it's three meters tall, and there's a net around it to protect against monsters. It should be very easy to spot."

Allen smiled. He stopped walking, looking at the confused expressions of the two small figures in front of him.

"You two go on ahead then. We still have time. I'm going to get some food."

An hour later, at the edge of the forest.

Who's this handsome guy?

Rudy stared wide-eyed at the handsome elf with pointed ears and golden hair on the tower, stunned for a moment. Then, he spoke the apology he had prepared.

"Hello, I've come to apologize. We accidentally soiled your lunch, please don't blame Sylphy."

On the tower, Sylphy's father, Rolls, looked at Rudy, then at Sylphy, who was looking down silently. He didn't seem to mind if Rudy had mispronounced the name.

"Sylphy, were you bullied again today?"

Sylphy stiffened, mumbling, "No, Father. Someone helped me today, it's just that I... I accidentally soiled the lunch again. I'm sorry, Father."

Rolls sighed, a trace of helplessness in his serious expression.

"...Is it like this again? It's hard on you, Sylphy. Perhaps it would be better for your mother to bring it next time?"

"No, I can do it."

"Then next time if you're bullied again, you must tell Father, okay? Father will help you get justice. Don't make up lies about soiling it yourself, okay?"

"Okay."

Rudy blinked, watching their interaction.

Luffy... I wonder if Sylphy's limbs can stretch freely? Uh... getting off-topic. Sylphy is his nickname, it sounds very affectionate.

Rolls turned to look at Rudy.

The latter performed a perfect ninety-degree bow.

"Actually, it wasn't Sylphy who soiled the lunch. It was Al... it was me who accidentally soiled it when I was helping him. I'm sorry."

Allen isn't back yet... Damn it, that guy must have anticipated this situation, talking about going to find some food... He's a sly old fox. Well, since I'm his friend, I'll take responsibility for him! Uh... speaking of which, besides Paul, there's another child in this family now.

"You children are all very sensible. You don't need to keep taking the blame. I know it was the village kids throwing mud. It's already very kind of you to help her. As for the lunch, it's insignificant. What's your name?"

"Nice to meet you, my name is Ru..."

Just as Rudy was about to introduce himself, Rolls's face darkened. Then, as if struck by lightning, he straightened his back, drew his bow, and shot an arrow.

The arrow, like a meteor, stirred up a whistling wind as it shot towards the nearby forest!

The next instant, the arrow's whistle abruptly stopped.

The shadowy forest, like a beast lurking in the darkness, silently swallowed the arrow.

Rolls's face was grim, and he spoke rapidly.

"You two, quickly return to the village and notify the knight captain to come here."

But halfway through his sentence, he suddenly widened his eyes, staring in astonishment at where the arrow had disappeared.

Rudy and Sylphy followed his gaze.

A massive, pig-shaped shadow was slowly approaching the tower where the three of them stood.

Sylphy instinctively covered her mouth and turned to run towards the village, ready to heed her father's words. But Rudy grabbed her, and she turned back in a panic, only to see Rudy with a look of admiration, gesturing with his chin for her to look again.

Sylphy blinked and looked towards where the monster was coming from.

That wasn't a monster—no, that was a monster.

But not a living one.

A figure, hazy at first, emerged from the shadowy forest in front of the monster, light and shadow playing around him as he walked through the gaps in the trees.

He dragged the Terminator Boar by its massive tusk with one hand and clutched an arrow in the other, walking to the base of the tower under Sylphy's adorable, wide-eyed gaze.

"Since we're out of bread, we'll have pork for lunch."

Allen tossed the Terminator Boar's carcass in front of the three like trash, then casually handed the arrow back to Rolls, who had jumped down from the tower and stood there dumbfounded.

Then he clapped his hands.

"Try my cooking."

After his grand entrance, Allen naturally had to sincerely ask Rudy to use magic to start a fire and boil water.

By the time the smell of roasted meat wafted through the air, an hour had already passed.

Rudy used magic—Water Cannon—to wash away the blood from the slaughtered monster, leaving the ground sparkling clean with shallow, clear ripples.

The four of them sat around a platform made of earth magic, with simple tables, chairs, and benches also crafted from earth magic.

There was also a simple barbecue grill.

However, strictly speaking, it seemed Rudy was doing most of the cooking.

Allen was only responsible for slicing, skewering, and flipping the meat.

But Rudy was enjoying himself.

This feeling, much like a riverbank BBQ picnic, reminded him of his previous life. Back then, he had no friends to invite out for a picnic or barbecue, but now, in this other world, it was happening in a slightly strange way.

Although his current friends were just two children, the feeling was still good.

"I never thought Batil Flower seeds would have such a seasoning effect, it's delicious~"

Rudy let out a groan of pleasure, like a happy fat guy, while Rolls beside him showed little interest in the food. He simply looked on with admiration, continuously observing Allen.

"I didn't expect you to be the sword instructor Paul mentioned for Rudy. You're truly young. It's wonderful that you can be friends with Luffy. I hope you'll look after Luffy more in the future. Also, this child's hair color is just a bit of an atavism, please don't look at her strangely."

"Don't worry, Uncle. Sylphy is our friend, of course."

As he spoke, Sylphy's cute pointed ears twitched, and she silently looked up at Allen. On the leaf in front of her were perfectly roasted slices of meat, piled up like a small mountain.

Allen turned to look at Rudy.

The latter had his mouth full of roasted meat, too busy to attend to his future first wife.

Allen sighed silently, then, amidst Sylphy's panicked expression, added another slice of meat to the mountain on her leaf.

'Looking at Rudy, even though Sylphy hasn't cut her hair short at this point, he still doesn't seem to think she's a girl. Otherwise, he wouldn't be reacting like this. On second thought, maybe there's no real need to deliberately play matchmaker for them. Let nature take its course. It's fine for them to take their time, like childhood sweethearts.'

'Sylphy's main role in the plot... introducing a new character—Ariel, to prepare for the subsequent Asura Kingdom succession struggle storyline. While White Mom is cute and likable, she's largely just a plot device. Her other roles also seem to be just...'

'...Uh, curing Rudy's impotence and ensuring he has all the necessary "hardware" for a harem? And then quietly maintaining harem harmony?? The children also have nothing to do with the savior. Is this the world where childhood sweethearts utterly fail?'

At this thought, Allen showed a piteous expression and added another piece of roasted meat to the plate of the utterly defeated White Mom in her infant state.

Her eyes widened.

"Al-Allen, I... I really can't eat anymore..."

"You can."

Allen raised an eyebrow at Sylphy, who shivered and stuffed the roasted meat into her mouth, puffing out her cheeks like a small animal, blinking up at him.

"I-I ate it..."

"Wonderful~"

Rolls, on the side, simply watched the children's reactions quietly, a smile playing on his lips.

Though, strictly speaking, there was only one child among the four.

After the meal, Allen took a piece of hide from the Terminator Boar and gave the remaining parts to Rolls.

The three then returned to the same hillside as before. In this short time, many children were already playing there. Upon seeing Allen from afar, a small boy let out a terrified scream, and the crowd immediately scattered.

As if fleeing a plague god.

Allen slowly moved to a tree and casually carved a few words into it with his sword.

Rudy, Sylphy, Allen's territory.

Territory Access Requirements:

Bow three times to Sylphy.

Allen's note.

Allen, who had suddenly become playful, nodded in satisfaction. He then turned to look at Rudy, only to find that Rudy's expression was a little off.

Rudy was clutching his stomach, his face slightly green.

He looked at Sylphy in surprise. Sylphy's forehead was covered in sweat, but when she noticed Allen's gaze, she still looked up and forced a smile at him.

Then, she collapsed neatly to the ground.

"Sylphy!"

Rudy reached out to help Sylphy up, but as soon as he took a step, his legs gave out and he also fell to the ground.

As he fell, he seemed to remember something, and with an incredulous expression, he looked at Allen, who was scrambling to help Sylphy instead of him. A conversation he'd had with Allen while they were eating roasted meat earlier flashed through his mind.

"...Batil Flower seeds have a slight toxicity, just enough to stimulate the tongue and create a sense of pain. They make a perfect natural spicy seasoning. You're asking about detoxification? Uh, no need for detox. It's not a big problem. I eat them all the time. The body can metabolize them completely without harm."

'Not... a big problem.'

Rudy rolled his eyes and fainted.

The conclusion was that, under Allen's careful feeding, the two had ingested an excessive amount of Batil Flower seed powder, leading to acute poisoning.

Allen had compared his own physical constitution to these two five-year-olds, which, of course, was a huge problem.

He watched Zenith, who had rushed to the clinic upon hearing the news, her face completely foul, feeling very awkward.

'I'm sorry, Zenith. I'm sorry, Lokkishi. Please forgive me, the children really didn't mean it... Wait, Lokkishi realized that excessive intake of this flower seed powder can cause fainting. She wouldn't mistakenly think I used it in some strange way, would she? Hiss, good thing I won't see her for the next few years.'

Zenith, her face flushed, was wearing a white clinic uniform top. She gave a disgruntled glance at Allen's stiff face, but instead of scolding him as he expected, she raised a finger and tapped Allen's head with her knuckles.

"Don't just eat food with unknown effects. If Batil Flower seeds were genuinely harmless to eat, they would have been widely popularized as a kitchen condiment by now. And you, you look mature, but deep down you're still a child, so clumsy."

'Who's clumsy? Paul, perhaps?'

The child with a psychological age of thirty-four twitched his lips, looking at Zenith's new dress and pants, and even her shoes weren't the over-the-knee boots from the morning, but easy-to-slip-on ankle boots. He was speechless.

Zenith, meanwhile, reached out and touched the foreheads of the two children.

"May the breath of the gods, the source of nourishment, grant the power of recovery and awakening to those afflicted by illness. Detoxification Magic!"

As soon as her words fell, Rudy and Sylphy's complexions improved. Their eyelashes, not short even for children, fluttered as they slept soundly.

Allen looked at their eyelashes and instinctively reached out...

...and grabbed Zenith's hand.

With Zenith's surprised expression, Allen spoke with a sincere face.

"Please, you absolutely must not tell Master Paul."

Zenith blinked, looking at the tall figure that had suddenly appeared behind Allen.

"But he's right behind you—"

'This kind of thing, of course I know... This isn't about getting a Magic Mark for free...'

In his thoughts, a sudden heavy blow landed on the back of his head. Allen's vision went black and he fell straight to the ground, struggling to look at Paul's retreating back.

'No, Brother Paul, there's no need to hit a child that hard...'

As if to answer his unspoken thought, Zenith's alarmed voice rang out at just the right moment.

"Darling! What are you doing!"

In his gradually darkening vision, Paul's hand reached out and heavily squeezed his wife's waist.

"Don't worry, Allen's physical constitution is exceptionally good. I held back, this time it's just a light punishment for his mistake... Speaking of which, wife, I still hadn't just now..."

"You! Don't move around... Mrs. Thorin is still outside, she's on duty at the clinic today, you..."

"I already sent her home."

'Paul, you're not human... You're having a uniform clinic play and you won't even let your brother get a glimpse... Is that fair...'

Darkness enveloped the intertwined figures of Paul and Zenith, and Allen tilted his head and fainted.

Unlike the fake faint when he first met Lokkishi in the forest, this time, under Brother Paul's careful care, he fainted completely.

The smoky System panel slowly appeared in the air and then dissipated.

[Detecting host making physical contact with Zenith. Retrieving Detoxification Magic released by Zenith within the past minute.]

[Retrieval successful. Magic Mark embedded—Intermediate Detoxification Magic.]

[...So far, you've done very well~]

[Good night, Allen.]

[:)]