Paul glanced from Philip to Allen, noticing the latter made no objection.
Under the table, he gave Zenith's hand a light squeeze before turning to Rudeus.
Rudeus, in his little adult way, gave a helpless shrug.
"Well, since Allen's agreed, I've got no complaints. Times are tough at home—it's about time the eldest son pulled his weight, right?"
Paul looked at Rudeus, visibly moved—completely unaware that the boy was mentally cursing him out.
He opened his mouth to respond to Philip's expectant stare—
Clatter!
Someone moved.
The poor little stool in front of the table trembled as it was once again toyed with by Lady Eris.
She stomped forward in shiny leather shoes and a fine noble dress, strutting in a fashion that was supposed to look elegant but absolutely screamed feral domination, her posture tipped forward like a predator on the hunt.
A feline, closing in on its prey.
All eyes were drawn once again to the fiery-haired wild child, who—true to form—had a magnetic grip on the afternoon's attention. Any thoughts the others had been nursing were instantly obliterated.
All eyes tracked the wave of red.
Allen withdrew his gaze from Philip, who had stepped up beside him, and turned to see Eris's signature look of I'm-the-queen-of-this-world barreling straight toward him.
He blinked, stunned—then casually took a step back.
A clean, natural motion. Honest and instinctual.
He placed Philip between them like a human shield.
And yet—
Eris brushed past her own father without hesitation, leaving him to chuckle helplessly as she charged right up to Allen, grabbing a fistful of his shirt.
She stared at the dry fabric, then turned to gawk at Philip, who was soaked through.
Raising her brows, she barked in a tone that sounded like a question but felt like a command:
"I heard you're stronger than Ghislaine?? It's raining outside—why aren't your clothes wet?"
Allen looked at the little lion cub's face and was about to respond with a proper explanation—until he realized there was really no point reasoning with a walking storm like this one.
Say anything logical, and she'd just cock an eyebrow and go, "Huh?" before punching you.
So he smiled.
Then, with a smooth motion, he slipped from her grip and casually extended his hand as if brushing something off of Philip's coat.
He opened his palm in front of Eris.
There, suspended mid-air, was a perfect, crystal-clear raindrop.
The rain orb shimmered as Allen used [Flow Technique] to manipulate the air around it, shifting its trajectory from every direction, bouncing it gently in all directions like it was caught in a cage of invisible threads.
The raindrop trembled and spun, flickering with motion—but it never fell.
Eris's eyebrows shot high, red eyes fixated. She was completely hypnotized by the tiny captive droplet.
Then came Allen's voice, calm and smooth:
"Can Ghislaine do this?"
Without thinking, Eris replied:
"No—"
Pop.
Before the raindrop hit the ground, Allen retracted his aura, flipped his fingers, and flicked the drop straight at her forehead.
Crack!
The droplet exploded softly like a miniature flower against her skin, a perfect little transparent bloom that shattered on impact.
Of course, it had no force at all.
Eris froze.
The entire room fell silent.
Philip stared blankly for a second, letting out another involuntary "Ho?"
Sylphy, who had been halfway to her feet, quietly sat back down.
Rudeus covered his face—his fingers spread slightly so he could watch through the gaps, clearly enjoying the show.
And then—
Eris's expression turned stormy.
"You!!"
She reared back her fist, her Sword God Style basics cranked to max output, and launched a vicious uppercut aimed right at Allen's chin.
But there, waiting for her, was a single outstretched index finger.
[Flow Technique]—Activation. Force distribution. Airburst dispersion.
Eris's fist trembled, caught in front of that finger, unable to land. Allen could clearly see the rippling waves of displaced air as her punch wobbled against the pressure.
After a second, the wild fist hung motionless, suspended just shy of his skin.
It hadn't even grazed him.
Eris blinked in shock. Allen calmly lowered his finger.
"Can Ghislaine do that?"
Eris scrunched her face and swung her leg in retaliation—landing a solid kick on Allen's shin.
Satisfied at actually making contact, her face lit up for a split second before she huffed, turned on her heel, and stormed off.
"Tch! Arrogant jerk! Just because I've never seen Ghislaine do it doesn't mean she can't! Hmph!"
Stomp stomp stomp.
Behind her, the poor stool creaked and groaned again under her abuse.
Allen patted his leg and shrugged under everyone's stare.
Didn't hurt at all.
In his previous life, he'd never been the type to soothe children—he was more the type who scared them.
Now, fate had dropped a little sister on him—one who also happened to share his family name—and frankly, he didn't know what to do with her.
Maybe… maybe you had to let kids win a little? Take a few hits to keep them from lashing out more?
He really didn't get it.
He wasn't good with this kind of child.
And speaking of which—Eris was actually two years older than Sylphy, but was nowhere near as mature.
Come to think of it, Sylphy seemed more thoughtful and gentle than in the original.
Maybe that was just because both the anime and the novel skimmed over her early childhood, leaving her character too flat?
Allen glanced at her.
Sylphy didn't meet his eyes. She simply stared down at the tabletop.
...
Paul looked around the room. Besides Allen and Eris—who had just had their very alive exchange—everyone else was frozen like statues. He cleared his throat twice.
That finally broke the spell.
Philip shook out his wet hair, a chuckle tugging at his lips.
Rudeus gave Allen a small nod of respect—and sighed, disappointed that the fight had ended before it escalated.
Paul turned to Philip and said:
"Well then. Let's plan to leave tomorrow. We'll start packing today. I'll prepare a guest room for you—hope it's not too cramped. We'll make more for dinner toni—"
"No," Philip cut in. "The sooner we move, the better. We've already lost more time than I planned. I was hoping we'd reach Roa by nightfall."
Paul blinked.
To be honest, he'd been okay with sending Rudeus and Allen off to learn under Philip, but… he hadn't mentally prepared for now.
"What? You're in that much of a rush?"
"You know my father's temper. If I deviate from the schedule, I might get my face smashed in."
Philip gestured to his own face with a squinting smile.
"You haven't seen him in ages. Want to come back and visit too?"
Paul immediately pulled a face and waved it off.
"No thanks. Still got kids at home. Not exactly a good time. Besides, you'll be riding back through the rain tonight, won't you?"
Allen watched Philip's expression for a second—then suddenly chimed in:
"It's fine. Let's go tonight. Rudeus, start packing."
Rudeus blinked, looked at Sylphy, then at Allen, who was still watching her.
He nodded.
"Got it~"
Allen gave a small nod, brushing past Eris. Their eyes met for a moment.
Dark gray met crimson—his gaze cool, faintly amused; hers fiery, full of defiant pride like a lion cub sizing up a rival.
Allen quickened his pace, deliberately avoiding the wagging beastmaid tail nearby. As he passed Sylphy, he ruffled her white hair like always.
"Sylphy, help me pack? We'll get it done faster—looks like it's going to be a long night~"
She kept her head down, white strands shimmering in the candlelight.
Her expression was unreadable.
"Okay."
"…Allen."
The soft voice drifted into Paul and Zenith's ears.
They looked at each other.
Their eyes were… complicated.
Paul turned to Philip, his lips parting as if to say something—
But ultimately, he said nothing.