Chapter Fourteen: Paul Is Absolutely the One You Can Entrust Your Life To!

The next morning at breakfast, Senis looked at Allen with a stunned expression.

The young man sitting at the table had washed his hair again; his smooth brown hair slightly covered his freshly trimmed straight eyebrows. At the same time, he wore a pair of black rectangular glasses, though the lenses had been removed—so subtle that one wouldn’t notice at a glance.

He had changed into Paul’s clothes, which were a bit loose, with a low neckline that gave him a somewhat relaxed appearance.

He smiled warmly at everyone around the table.

His entire demeanor had shifted abruptly from sharp and edgy to gentle and amiable.

Allen nodded gratefully at Lilia, who was dutifully sticking to her role as a maid and not sitting down to eat.

“Thank you.”

Lilia blinked.

Last night, Allen had suddenly knocked on her door, asking for a pair of glasses because he feared his face might be too frightening and scare Rudius. Though puzzled, she gave him a pair of glasses she no longer used after retiring. Surprisingly, they suited him quite well.

“No need to thank me—they really suit you.”

Allen smiled and nodded inwardly.

This should be much better. I spent a long time last night transforming my appearance in the mirror. Hopefully, this will make Rudius less afraid of me… though, why does this feel like I’m playing some dating sim…

He glanced over at Rudius, but the response was unexpected.

Rudius wore a horrified expression, lowered his head, and began eating and drinking voraciously.

‘Disguised pervert!’

Allen’s mouth twitched as he didn’t know what to do.

However, it seemed to hit Paul’s sweet spot. He stared fixedly at Allen’s glasses, then shifted his gaze down to the muscles bulging beneath Allen’s chest. Afterward, he turned his head toward Lilia, nodding occasionally as if very satisfied.

[Congratulations, host, you have once again gained Paul’s favor…]

Allen smiled brightly and waved his spoon to disperse the system’s words, then scooped up a spoonful of soup.

This is utterly ridiculous.

—

All morning, Allen made a point of drifting closer to Rudius, sometimes deliberately. At noon, he even used the Franklin Effect by purposely dropping his spoon and asking Rudius to pick it up.

He sincerely expressed his gratitude with a sheepish smile.

But upon seeing this, Rudius showed the expression of someone who had prematurely glimpsed the Dragon God Olsted from a novel illustration—seemingly even more frightened of Allen.

By afternoon, Rudius had gone out to explore the terrain and hadn’t returned home, so naturally, their swordsmanship lesson was canceled.

Instead, Paul was full of enthusiasm, engaging Allen in a fierce one-on-one fencing duel.

It wasn’t until evening that Rudius returned home. Paul had thoroughly enjoyed the fight and was so caught up in it he barely noticed whether Allen, the nominal teacher, was fulfilling his duties.

Lying on his bed, as the system gleefully announced another surge in Paul’s favorability, Allen painfully drifted into sleep.

—

The next day, early in the morning, Paul came looking for Allen to go fencing.

Unable to refuse such earnestness, Allen accepted the challenge.

This time, Rudius stayed at home.

But the problem was that their exhilarating fencing matches lasted the entire day with just a single exchange.

During this time, Allen clearly noticed Paul’s swordsmanship had improved, despite living in the countryside.

At night, Allen once again fell into a painful sleep.

What is all this…

—

On the third day, things finally took a turn.

Rudius was forced to face his swordsmanship teacher. After these two days together, he realized Allen’s face might look unfriendly, but he wasn’t the kind of bully from his past life.

However, no favor had been won yet, which was understandable—Rudius still regarded Allen as an ordinary stranger.

The afternoon sword practice seemed like an opportunity…

Yet, unexpectedly, a distracted Rudius once again dropped his wooden sword. Paul, sitting nearby with a furrowed brow, suddenly stood up.

He picked up the sword and immediately began wrestling with Allen!

Allen looked horrified and glanced at Rudius, who watched Paul with admiration, as if witnessing a deity incarnate.

Then, Rudius quickly turned and went inside. Soon after, he dashed out with a botany encyclopedia in hand, leaving Allen utterly speechless as he went off to play.

That evening, the system notified Allen that he had strengthened the bond between Rudius and Paul, awarding him 5 points for participation in the major events of "Mushoku Tensei."

At night, Allen painfully slapped his face, resolutely vowing to complete Rudius’s favorability task the next day.

Allen, oh Allen, how could you fall so low?

—

On the fourth day.

Fencing.

—

By evening, Allen sat gloomily before his bowl, feeling mentally on the verge of collapse.

[Rudius: Countdown: 9:16:47]

[Keep it up, host. At this rate, Paul will propose to you.]

Allen buried his face painfully in his bowl.

Senis cast a puzzled look.

“Are you alright, Allen? Do you feel unwell?”

I feel terrible. If this keeps up, I’ll become your mistress before Lilia does.

Allen struggled to lift his face from the bowl, smiling crookedly.

“I’m fine. The food smells delicious. I really like it.”

“Really?! Darling! Allen’s been praising your cooking all these days!”

Paul smiled, nodding in agreement, looking at Allen with admiration.

“He often compliments my swordsmanship too.”

Brother Ro, please don’t do this—I’m scared…

Allen massaged his forehead and looked at Rudius, who was focused on eating opposite him.

Rudius seemed to sense his gaze, raised his head, and gave him a mischievous smile.

Allen exchanged a defeated glance with him and nodded.

Just then, Paul suddenly spoke.

“Rudi, it seems you haven’t been very attentive to swordsmanship these days.”

Rudius’s eyes brightened. He quickly glanced at Allen, appearing to understand the unspoken meaning behind Allen’s nod, then said:

“Father, actually, Teacher Allen’s swordsmanship is excellent. It’s just that my talent seems to lie more with magic. Besides, the weather is getting warmer, and many plants outside are flourishing. I can’t help but want to go out and study the plants recorded in the botany encyclopedia. Sorry about that.”

Listening to this carefully crafted excuse for his teammate, Allen found himself admiring Rudius’s thoughtfulness and even felt a bit of affection for him.

[Reverse Heaven’s Art! Rudius has successfully gained the host’s favor!]

‘Damn it, just let me die right now!’

Paul stroked his chin and looked up at the ceiling. After a moment, he said something startling.

“To be honest, I didn’t think much of it before, but now that Allen is here, I really do think you’re not cut out for swordsmanship…”

Allen looked at Paul in horror.

‘My favorability is on the brink—Paul, don’t ruin me!!!’

Steam suddenly rose in waves from the hot food.

[Successfully gained Rudius’s favor. Time spent: 86 hours and 31 seconds. Evaluation: A desperate escape, an unorthodox approach. Paul is definitely someone you can trust for life.]

[Unlocked: Antidote Magic Slot.]

Allen stared at Rudius in stunned silence. Rudius quickly glanced at Allen with a grateful expression, then widened his eyes and looked innocently at Paul.

He carefully chose his words, the faintest smile curling at the corners of his mouth under the lamplight, revealing his true intent.

“Father, may I shorten my sword practice time to focus more on magic? I think swordsmanship only needs to be at a level that strengthens the body. After all, I’m not really suited to mastering the sword.”

Paul froze for a moment, then instinctively glanced at Allen.

Allen’s mouth opened and closed like a goldfish.

Rudi, you really know how to pull a fast one—I’m impressed. But Paul, what do you mean by instinctively looking at me like that?

When it comes to teaching children, you need to consult your wife!