Chapter Nineteen: She is a Demon, and I am Your Father

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Seeing this, Allen stopped paying attention to Rudy. He turned to face the group of “children” before him—young ones who masked their inner malice and delight in bullying with a facade of innocence and so-called “justice”—and let out a heavy sigh.

Then, almost instinctively, he reached up and brushed the obedient hair back from his forehead. The splash of water from the blade earlier had soaked his hair, and combined with its coarse texture, it gave a strange impression as if his hair was styled with gel.

The sharpness of his demeanor made Rudy instinctively turn his gaze away.

Allen stepped forward to stand before the tallest of the chubby boys, who was only half a head shorter than him.

Though he had complied with Allen’s earlier instructions, his eyes clearly showed defiance, especially after hearing that Allen was only nine years old.

“You don’t seem convinced?” Allen asked.

“You... you’re just bullying us because you have a knife!” the boy retorted.

Allen laughed, lowering his head and gently patting the boy’s cheek.

“You all use your numbers and strength to bully the weak, and she’s powerless against you; now I have a deadly weapon and I’m bullying you—what will you do then?”

Allen tapped the boy’s cheek playfully, leaning close to his ear with the patience of a kindly older brother, earnestly lecturing him.

“I’m stronger, you’re weaker—isn’t that just how things are?”

The chubby boy’s face flushed red.

“We’re not bullies! She’s a demon!”

Allen scoffed.

“She’s a demon, huh? Well, then I’m your dad. Come on, call me dad.”

The boy’s expression froze—he had never encountered such twisted logic before. His face contorted, and with a wail, he burst into tears.

“Did I make you cry?” Allen asked.

The crying abruptly stopped.

“If I ever catch you bullying her again, I’ll twist your heads off and feed them to the monsters. Now go on, finish crying and scram.”

The little brats howled as they fled, some even wetting themselves in their haste.

Allen curled his lips and turned to look at Sylphie, ready to finally get a good look at the beautiful girl.

But her face and hair were covered in mud, making it impossible to see her features clearly. She sat on the ground, staring blankly at him.

Beside her was the furrow Allen had carved into the earth with his fighting spirit, no more than half a body-length away.

This time Sylphie hadn’t been pelted with mud by the kids, but she was splattered with water from Allen.

Allen opened his mouth awkwardly, then glanced at Rudy.

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Rudy was equally splattered with water, but he was still staring blankly after the retreating backs of the kids, somewhat dazed.

Allen waved his hand in front of him, a little embarrassed.

“Um, Rudy, why don’t you use water magic to help her clean up... and, uh, maybe help yourself too...”

Rudy turned his head, blinking in a daze at Allen.

“...Okay.”

Just then, Sylphie seemed to come to her senses. Suddenly, she leapt down from the rice paddy.

Under the stunned gazes of Allen and Rudy, her small body trudged through the water and retrieved Allen’s knife with difficulty.

Once ashore, she solemnly extended both hands to return the knife to Allen, but she did not look at him—only lowering her gaze to her drenched shoes.

Stray strands of hair stuck to her forehead, dripping mud onto the ground with a soft plop.

The rhythm of the dripping combined with the slight quiver of her pointed ears.

Allen blinked and sheathed his knife, looking down at Sylphie, who was only chest-high to him, and instinctively reached out to touch her head.

She dodged lightly, and Allen’s hand missed.

His expression stiffened immediately as he realized he had been acting purely on the residual anger from his dreams, completely ignoring the system.

Oh no, the affection meter hasn’t prompted yet—did I scare the kid?

Sylphie’s instinctive avoidance made Allen panic slightly.

She hugged her head with both hands and quickly glanced at Allen with a timid, hesitant look, shuffling her feet closer until she was right in front of him.

Then she pressed her head against Allen’s hovering hand.

[Free Instant Task—Gain Sylphie’s Affection: Completed. Duration: 4:23:17. Evaluation: A righteous companion—I hereby dub you the Child King!]

[Barrier Magic Slot Unlocked.]

The smoke, tangible as if solid, climbed up the Dragon Saint Fighting Spirit core embedded in Allen’s abdomen, emitting a faint buzzing audible only to the soul.

After a moment, beside the murky brown slot, a new one appeared, white like a stalactite.

Allen blinked and came back to himself, realizing his hand was still resting on Sylphie’s head.

Time had passed, yet Sylphie still stood quietly before him, blinking, looking around the grass to left and right, but never pulling away.

Suddenly, a burning gaze landed on his face.

Allen turned in surprise.

Rudy’s face was full of suspicion as he looked from Allen’s hand to Sylphie’s face, then back to Allen’s face, repeating the cycle.

—

Sylphie’s features were exquisitely delicate. Even though Allen had prepared himself, he was still struck by her beauty.

Her eyelashes were long; her nose was small but straight; her jawline smooth and flowing; and her long ears trembled slightly.

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Most importantly,

her skin was extraordinarily pale—so translucent that under the sunlight, the faint blue veins beneath her skin were visible.

Honestly, she was far more beautiful than any anime character.

Especially those reddish-brown pupils, sparkling with highlights.

Such pupils should never be vacant or dull.

The reddish-brown-eyed girl blinked and lowered her gaze to the grass before her, her green hair fluttering in the air.

The boy named Rudy was busy styling her hair.

Rudy had noticed when helping Sylphie wash her hair earlier that she lacked the red demonic eye on her forehead, confirming Allen was truly acting on a sense of justice.

‘Maybe when Allen arrived in the village, he saw someone bullying this little boy, but why drag me along? Could it be he’s afraid of losing pay if he acts alone, so he’s using the excuse of accompanying me? ...But it’s scary that he actually brandished a knife against a bunch of kids... All I can say is...’

‘Well done, Lord Allen! Um... It would be better if I wasn’t just a background character though.’

‘But it’s okay. Now that we’ve added another little boy to our group, my strategy to attract girls by reverse psychology will work even better. More handsome guys means more resources... Hmm... Too bad he’s a little boy, not a little girl. That shy, insecure look would have been perfect for my grooming plans... Ah, sorry, I’m joking... Wait a minute... Is he really a little boy?’

Rudy looked down and saw Sylphie wearing rough cloth pants like a boy, unlike the other girls in the village who wore skirts.

‘Could it be! That’s what Allen’s interested in! Damn, what a cunning fox! No wonder Allen and Paul were always exchanging glances—turns out the big-browed, big-eyed guy has this inclination!’

Rudy silently mocked in his typical risky Neat tribe tone, but his hands worked diligently, quickly finishing Sylphie’s hairstyle.

Sylphie blinked and stood up.

The three of them were on a small hill near the farmland, where a single towering tree cast a lush shade.

A breeze swept by, rustling leaves and casting flickering patches of light on the ground.

Sylphie curled her toes and whispered in a voice as soft as a mosquito’s hum.

“Thank you... all of you...”

She glanced at Rudy, then glanced sideways at Allen.

Allen leaned lazily against the big tree, gazing up at the canopy.

A patch of sunlight danced at the corner of his mouth, flickering along with a smile.

Softer than the wind.