"Hahaha, Rudeus, you really are..."
Paul laughed at Rudeus so hard that tears came to his eyes.
"Father, stop laughing!"
Rudeus flushed bright red, so embarrassed he wanted to find a hole to crawl into.
"All right, all right, I'll stop. Remember to apologize to Sylphie later!"
Paul kept laughing for quite a while before he finally stopped.
"Will Sylphie forgive me?"
"She definitely will, as long as you apologize properly!"
The three of them went into the living room, where Sylphie sat on a chair while Zenith comforted her.
After hesitating for a while, Rudeus walked up to Sylphie under everyone's gaze and apologized loudly:
"I'm sorry, Sylphie! Because your hair is so short, I've thought you were a boy all this time!"
Sylphie had already stopped crying, but when she heard Rudeus's words, she burst into tears again.
"Waaah..."
Wow, this guy's way with words really is like a thunderbolt!
Is my son even worth keeping if he's this stupid?
Oh, Rudeus...
Young Master Rudeus...
They all gave Rudeus strange looks that made his skin crawl.
Did I say something wrong?
Why is Sylphie crying again?!
Rudeus was falling apart. Could someone please tell him the right answer?!
In the end, Radeus escorted Sylphie home.
Early the next morning, Rudeus practiced swordsmanship with Paul, the clacking of their wooden swords ringing out without pause.
"Hmm, Rudeus, you still haven't improved much!"
Paul commented on Rudeus's abysmal swordsmanship as he parried his attacks.
"Father, don't you think you're being too blunt?"
The corner of Rudeus's mouth kept twitching.
A few years earlier, Rudeus had seen Radeus learn the Sound Sword in no time and become an Advanced Swordsman.
He had thought becoming an Advanced Swordsman would be easy, but even now, he had yet to reach the threshold of Intermediate Rank, and Radeus mocked him to his face every day.
After the shock involving Sylphie yesterday, Rudeus might have lost his mind. In the end, after turning it over in his head, he wondered whether beating Paul would count as becoming an Advanced Swordsman.
Rather than dissuade Rudeus from this outrageous idea, Radeus encouraged him.
"Yes, yes, exactly! Go for it!"
With Radeus's encouragement, Rudeus challenged Paul early the next morning, with the agreement that Rudeus could use magic to assist him.
Paul had no idea what had gotten into the boy, but with Radeus egging him on, he reluctantly agreed.
That had led to the current situation. Radeus was watching from the sidelines, ready to record the moment Rudeus got thrashed.
Even though he was now an Advanced Swordsman in all Three Sword Styles, his odds against Paul in sparring were still only thirty to seventy, and that was with Paul holding back. If Paul got serious, Radeus figured his odds would be only ten to ninety.
Now some idiot Advanced Swordsman and magician wanted to challenge Paul in close combat, so all Radeus could do was wish him success.
"I'm going to start using magic now, Father!"
Rudeus warned Paul.
"Come on!"
Paul took his stance, too. After all, although his son was only an Advanced Swordsman, he had already reached Water Saint Rank in magic, so Paul still had to be careful.
All Radeus could say about Paul's thinking was, You're being far too modest!
At this distance, Rudeus's odds against Paul were roughly sixty-forty: in six moves, Paul could kill Rudeus four times!
Sure enough, after just one minute, Rudeus's face was already bruised and swollen.
"Hahaha! You won't even admit you're an idiot. You can't even beat me, yet you went and challenged Dad. Have you lost your mind?"
"When have you ever seen me win?"
Radeus was practically dying of laughter on the sidelines. Getting up so early had been worth it. This show alone was worth the price of admission!
"Well, um, Rudeus, your spells were impressive, too. Making a swamp to restrict my movements, for example, and using wind magic to speed yourself up. Very good!"
"As for your swordsmanship... I'll refrain from commenting as your father!"
Hearing Paul's words, Radeus laughed even louder.
Wasn't that just saying that aside from magic, Rudeus was utterly useless at swordsmanship?
And this was a swordsmanship duel. If it had been a magic duel, Radeus wouldn't have said a damn word.
Praising someone's magic during a swordsmanship duel-Paul certainly knew how to hit a weak spot!
"Stop laughing and hurry up and heal me. I still have to go apologize to Sylphie later!"
With his face bruised and swollen, Rudeus's words came out slurred.
"I know, I know!"
Radeus could only walk over and cast a healing spell on Rudeus. One spell left Rudeus instantly refreshed.
His face was no longer swollen, his legs no longer hurt, and he wasn't sleepy anymore!
Radeus-brand healing spells: you deserve one! (Rudeus offered a five-star review, but declined to comment on Radeus himself. Taking both together, the overall rating was negative one star!)
"Aaagh, how am I supposed to face Sylphie later?!"
After being healed, Rudeus sat on the ground and sighed.
"Then how about some advice from your dad?" Paul offered.
"Really? Please!"
Rudeus instantly knelt in front of Paul.
"What should I do?" Paul put on airs.
"Should I lick your shoes to show my sincerity?"
"You little...!"
Once again, Paul was stunned by Rudeus's extraordinary choice of words.
"Just go straight at it. Tell Sylphie, 'I'm really upset that you've been avoiding me'!"
"Will that really work?"
Rudeus was a little skeptical. Since Radeus had just duped him once, his guard was now at its highest.
Radeus: What the hell does that have to do with me? Weren't you the one who wanted to fight? I just gave you a little push!
"It'll be fine, it'll be fine!"
"What if it fails?" Rudeus asked.
"Don't worry. Your dad still has 107 more tricks to teach you!"
Paul looked proud. He had a full 108 ways to deal with women, and no two were alike!
"I see!"
Rudeus was instantly reassured. With a master like this around, how could he fail?
Radeus was tempted, too, and walked over to Paul.
"Dad, please teach me all of them!"
"Oh!"
Just then, Sylphie arrived at the entrance to Paul's house. She stood outside staring blankly at the three of them, a little at a loss.
Radeus waved and greeted her quite naturally. After all, what the hell did it have to do with him? Hadn't everything yesterday been Rudeus's fault?
"Hurry up and go over!"
Radeus gave Rudeus a push.
Rudeus walked up to Sylphie. Whatever they talked about, the two of them made up in the end.
Radeus wasn't surprised by this outcome at all, because when he had taken Sylphie home yesterday, he had asked her:
"What do you think of Rudeus?"
And Sylphie's answer had been, "I like him!"
Heh, ah, youth!
Paul thought as he watched the two of them, now reconciled.
Before you continue