Combat sparring

A few months passed, and Zenith and Lilia's babies were born safely. One was named Norn and the other Aisha. Paul was currently beside the crib, playing with them.

Rudeus, Radeus, and Sylphie sat off to one side, studying arithmetic and writing. They were mainly teaching Sylphie, since the two boys already knew it all.

Glancing at Rudeus, who was still teaching Sylphie, Radeus could not help marveling:

What a waste it would be if this guy didn't become a teacher!

Radeus walked over to the crib and looked at his two little sisters.

The one with the same wine-red hair and emerald-green eyes as Lilia was Aisha. The one crying beside her was Norn.

Lying beside her, Aisha glanced at Norn and started crying too, leaving Paul scrambling.

Is this baby that smart?

Radeus had clearly noticed what Aisha had done. She had obviously only cried because she saw Norn crying; she had not wanted to cry herself.

Hearing the cries, Lilia and Zenith hurriedly put down their work and came over to pick up the babies.

"Now this is what looking after babies is like. Rad and Rudeus were far too easy," Zenith said, holding Norn.

"Exactly!" Lilia agreed.

You two, I'm right here, you know? Radeus grumbled inwardly.

It was true, though. Having reincarnated as adults, Radeus and Rudeus had been very well-behaved when they were little and had barely even cried.

Although the family conflict had been resolved for now, Paul's standing in the household kept dropping. Now he ranked even below Caravaggio.

Well, if that was the only price, it was still a good deal!

Lilia had also clearly grown closer to Radeus and Rudeus. Only then did the two learn that she and Paul had trained at the same dojo.

Back then, Paul had relied on his exceptional talent to do whatever he pleased. He had even assaulted Lilia at night before running away from the dojo.

What do you think? Rudeus asked.

A complete piece of shit! Radeus judged.

Agreed!

For once, the two were in complete agreement.

Even so, both still respected Paul greatly, because Paul was far from ordinarily strong!

Even working together, the two had never beaten Paul once.

"What's wrong, you two? Giving up already?"

Paul looked at his two sons sprawled on the ground as he spoke.

"Let us rest a bit!"

Both were utterly exhausted, especially Radeus. Because Rudeus was too weak, Radeus had borne the greater share of the pressure.

Although Radeus had Heavenly Restriction, he was still too young. His body had not fully developed, and he was simply no match for Paul.

Things would be different if his other three Cursed Techniques awakened, but when would that happen?

Had they gotten lost somewhere along the way when he was being given his cheats?

Father and sons sat off to one side chatting, mostly about women, of course. The three were practically becoming close buddies, nothing like a father and his sons.

"By the way, Rad, Rudeus, do you want to go to school...?"

"Never mind. Just forget I asked!"

Looking at his two outstanding sons, Paul felt that school really was unnecessary.

"School?"

Radeus and Rudeus sounded puzzled.

Paul had never mentioned it before, and Sylphie had never said anything about school either. They had thought this world had no such thing.

"Yes. Children your age usually go to school, but there probably isn't much point for you two. Arithmetic, reading and writing, swordsmanship, magic-you're proficient in everything. Except for Rudeus when it comes to swordsmanship," Paul explained.

Hey, are you ever going to let that go?

Paul and Radeus were always teasing Rudeus about that.

"I'm not really interested."

Radeus shook his head. He had spent over twenty years in school in his previous life. If he had to keep going after coming to another world, they might as well just kill him.

Rudeus, on the other hand, had barely attended school in his previous life and was quite interested.

"Rudeus, are you interested?"

Paul noticed Rudeus's expression.

"A little!"

"Forget it. They're all spoiled brats there. Most importantly, the girls at school barely exercise, so they don't have good figures," Paul advised.

"Then never mind!"

The moment Rudeus heard that they did not have good figures, he lost interest.

Sure enough, this guy was only after women!

Radeus looked at Rudeus with contempt.

Would you like that?

Like it, my ass!

Then what the hell are you looking down on me for? You think I don't know you, you closet pervert?

You ******!

"Rudeus! Rad!"

Sylphie came to the doorway and waved at them.

"Coming!"

The two went off to play with Sylphie. They arrived beneath a large tree, where Sylphie waved her staff, casting spells one after another.

Sylphie was very talented. She could already cast many intermediate-rank spells proficiently using Chantless casting, and she had learned most of compound magic too, though she was not very practiced at it.

"Hey, how about we have a sparring match in a bit?"

Radeus asked Rudeus and Sylphie.

"A sparring match?"

"Right. Come to think of it, we've never fought each other before. This is a good chance to try. We can learn how strong we are and improve our coordination at the same time."

"Sounds good. What do you think, Sylphie?" Rudeus looked at her.

"Sure!"

Sylphie could hardly sit still after hearing that it would improve their coordination. She would also get to see how strong Rudeus and Rad were, so she had no reason to refuse.

"Then let's ask Dad to take us to an open area far from the village to practice!" Radeus suggested.

"Sounds good!"

Rudeus nodded in agreement. Only Sylphie looked puzzled.

"Rad, Rudeus, why do we have to go outside the village to spar?"

"You'll see when we get there!"

Rudeus played the mystery man for once.

After they returned home, the two explained their plan to Paul. He agreed, but said that if the two were in danger, he would forcibly stop the match.

Radeus and Rudeus had no objections.

"Then get ready first. We'll leave early tomorrow morning, not today," Paul told the three.

"Yes!"

That night, Radeus and Rudeus lay in bed.

"How are we fighting tomorrow?" Rudeus asked.

"No restrictions on magic or swordsmanship. You and Sylphie against me!"

Rudeus thought it over and agreed. This was not a case of Rudeus using numbers to gang up on someone; rather, Sylphie's combat strength would not make a decisive difference.

Although Radeus was slightly weaker than him in magic, his swordsmanship far surpassed Rudeus's.

"Let's set the starting distance at fifty meters, or it'll be hard for me to fight!"

"Sure!"

Radeus had no objections. For a mage like Rudeus, it did not matter much in a low-level fight, but in a high-level fight, he had to create distance to bring out his full strength.