Chapter 18: First Encounter with Sylphy—Should Children Always Be Forgiven?
After walking for a while, Rudy turned back and glanced at his family estate from a distance. He clapped his hands twice and bowed his head reverently.
“Paul, Senith, enjoy yourselves. Sorry for troubling you these past few days.”
Allen glanced at him sideways.
“Do you usually play with the children in the village? Or have you ever seen quarrels or bullying?”
Rudy was momentarily taken aback.
“No, not really. As for bullying, I don’t recall any. Usually, when I meet people, I just greet them. I have seen groups of children playing together, but I don’t join them, so I keep my distance.”
‘Is this guy trying to play the hero?’
“Do the children ever play far from the village?”
“Uh… I haven’t seen that. Most of them play near the farmlands.”
“Near the farmlands... Can you recognize any plants there?”
“Huh?”
Rudy looked at Allen in surprise.
‘Does this person lack some basic common sense...’
“Probably not…”
“Alright, then let’s go near the farmlands.”
Rudy looked at Allen, who didn’t seem to have missed what he said; in fact, he seemed intent on heading to the farmlands from the start.
‘What is this guy up to...’
Allen quickly added, “Near the farmland where the children are playing.”
Rudy’s expression brightened.
‘So that’s it—he wants to make friends. Definitely a kid craving affection. Steady, yet eager to socialize with everyone.’
—
“What’s this plant?”
“That’s a weed.”
“And this one?”
“That’s wheat.”
“Oh~ And this one?”
“...That’s a weed too...”
Rudy twitched at the corner of his mouth, watching Allen absentmindedly counting weeds.
‘Hey, hey, your mind isn’t on this! At least try to be serious, damn it!’
Allen kept glancing out of the corner of his eye at a group of children playing not far away, where a tall chubby boy was bossing his companions around.
Noticing Rudy’s increasingly perfunctory expression, as if reading his thoughts, Allen pointed to a plant that resembled lavender from his previous life—the Battirlis flower—and smiled as he asked,
“And this one?”
Rudy’s eyes lit up.
‘Finally! No more weeds! Allen, you’re catching on!’
“That’s the Battirlis flower.”
“Bat-what flower?”
“Battirlis flower.”
“Basi-what flower?”
“...Battirlis flower, yes.”
“Oh~ Balatris flower.”
“...”
Rudy looked at Allen’s teasing smile and suddenly realized it was deliberate. Just as he was about to get angry, Allen’s straight eyebrows lifted, as if mildly annoyed.
“...Uh, well... it’s actually Battirlis flower...”
“Listen.”
“Battir—what?”
A quarrel sounded from a distance. Rudy looked at Allen; without him noticing, Allen had straightened up, his gaze sharp and intense as he stared at the nearby farmland. His hand rested on the hilt of his knife, a posture that reminded Rudy of a hunting leopard.
Following Allen’s gaze, Rudy saw the source of the noise.
A breeze bent the wheat shoots in the field, and not far off, a group of rowdy children were pushing around a small figure by the edge of a paddy field.
Muffled voices drifted over.
“The demon child’s here again!”
“Haha, get out of the village today too!”
“He’s not fighting back. How about we throw mud at him?!”
“Great idea!”
The group of little troublemakers gleefully plunged into the paddy water, bending down to make mud balls.
Allen watched the scene calmly, but the hand rubbing the knife handle betrayed his true tension.
After a moment, seeing no reaction from his side, Allen frowned and looked toward Rudy.
Rudy’s eyes burned with intensity.
The two locked eyes and fell into a brief silence.
Allen glanced out at Silufi, trembling and too afraid to run, then raised an eyebrow and asked,
“There’s a child being bullied here. Didn’t you see? Or do you enjoy being bullied too?”
A flicker of displeasure crossed Rudy’s face. He took a deep breath, speaking calmly but quickly.
“I saw it. But today I have you, my teacher, with me. I understand what you mean, but if I were to discipline those kids, their families might complain. And with Father’s straightforward nature, he might think I’m causing trouble and get angry at me. But you’re different. He likes you so much he won’t even question it; he’ll just believe you’re right. So it’s better if you handle it.”
Allen regarded Rudy silently, as if looking at a bag of glowing green trash.
“You’ll do it. Even if you injure someone, it’s fine. Just tell Paul it was me. I’ll take responsibility.”
Rudy was stunned, clearly not expecting Allen to say that.
At that moment, the children in the paddy had scooped up handfuls of mud, raising them high above their heads.
Rudy, caught off guard, suddenly noticed a glint like a shiny mirror at the corner of his eye. Instinctively turning toward Allen, he saw him drawing a long knife from his waist. Rudy’s pupils dilated, and he hurriedly shouted,
“Wait! Wait!”
A flash of the blade, then Allen tossed the knife high into the air.
Rudy’s eyes widened as he watched the rapidly spinning blade dance like a butterfly above the bullied child’s head. The sunlight sparkled around the blade, as if something in the air collided with the gleaming edge.
With a sharp sound, the knife landed just in front of the child’s legs, very close.
The children let out a startled cry.
The bullied child’s legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground.
Rudy shuddered and sprinted toward where the knife had landed. Arriving, he saw the blade firmly embedded in the ground before the child, humming softly, but it hadn’t harmed anyone as he feared.
On either side of the blade, splattered mud was scattered around the bullied child’s body, as if Allen had precisely intercepted the flying mud balls midair with the thrown knife.
Rudy gaped in disbelief, eyes drawn upward from the knife to the child.
The child stared at the blade, seemingly dazed, but noticed Rudy’s gaze and looked up to meet his eyes.
The wind stirred her half-long hair, casting a disheveled sheen.
Under the sunlight, it shimmered a vibrant green.
Rudy was stunned.
“Sp-Spelrud clan?”
“There’s no Spelrud clan here,”
Rudy turned to see Allen standing behind him, expressionless, watching the boys in the paddy field who had now realized what was happening and glared at him furiously.
The tallest of them suddenly shouted,
“The knight’s kid is defending demons?! And that one over there, just because he’s tall, he uses a knife to bully us! Nobody’s buying it...”
Before he finished, Allen struck the air beside him with a hand chop.
A moment later,
*Bang!*
The ground at the edge of the paddy was gouged by a powerful blast, dirt flying everywhere.
Mud splattered all over Rudy’s head and face as he stood dumbfounded.
The children, unaccustomed to such a display, immediately turned to flee.
But before they could take two steps, the water before them erupted in a splash. As the waves fell, a gleaming blade stood upright in the water.
Allen withdrew his throwing hand and looked at the suddenly frozen children, then glanced at Rudy, whose expression mirrored his own shock. He said coldly,
“Get out of the paddy, line up in front of me. I’ll count to three. If anyone runs, I’ll chop off their head.”
“Three.”
Only then did Rudy come to his senses about what Allen was doing. He wiped the mud from his face and carefully spoke,
“Te-Teacher Allen, maybe this is too much. Although their behavior is terrible, they are still just children. It might be better not to make a fuss. If their parents come looking for trouble, it’ll be even more complicated...”
‘This guy! So reckless! Bullies deserve to be punished, but if something really happens, how am I going to explain this to Paul...’
Allen ignored him.
“Two.”
The boys scrambled out of the paddy and lined up before Allen, still trembling all over.
Allen asked,
“How old are the oldest among you?”
No one answered.
Allen made a move as if to retrieve his knife from the water.
“Nine! ...Nine years old!”
Allen smiled faintly at the answer, then looked back at Rudy.
“What a coincidence—we’re the same age. That means I’m just a kid too. So don’t hold any grudges against me, alright?”
Rudy opened his mouth, but no words came out for a long moment.