Chapter 24: Sylphie Was Definitely Not Waiting for Anyone

The conclusion is that Zenith is Allen’s goddess.

Hearing the shouting outside, she rushed out of the kitchen in a flurry to save Allen from his predicament.

"I can vouch for Allen; he absolutely will not intimidate Somar again. I am truly sorry."

Paul kept his head down, apologizing profusely to Mrs. Somar, while Zenith stood by with a cold expression, saying nothing. As a gentle and kind woman, she rarely had a pleasant look for the homewrecker who spent her days pining for her husband.

Mrs. Somar merely looked at the ground with a slight flush on her cheeks. Then, under Allen’s dumbfounded gaze, she put on an expression that suggested, "Since you’ve apologized, I suppose I’ll reluctantly accept," and began speaking to Paul in a soft, delicate voice.

*‘Auntie! What was that look just a moment ago, and what is this now? Are you playing innocent with me?!?’*

After watching Mrs. Somar depart, looking back every few steps, Paul finally turned to Allen, his face stern and hands on his hips.

"Allen, what is going on?"

He wore the air of a man about to lecture a child. After all, in Paul’s eyes, Allen was the son of his close friend and cousin. Regardless of how much they enjoyed their sword training together, now that he realized Allen might have done something wrong, he naturally adopted a parental stance.

Just as Allen opened his mouth to explain, Zenith let out a cold snort, stomped across the floor, and turned back toward the kitchen. Paul looked at her in astonishment, having no idea what had happened to the wife who had been so cheerful just last night.

Allen covered his face and immediately leaned in to whisper in Paul’s ear.

"Uncle... err, Sir, you might be a bit slow. It seems this Mrs. Somar has a real interest in you."

Paul was stunned for a moment, then his eyes lit up as he turned to Allen.

"Really?"

Allen: ...
Rudy: ...

Watching Paul’s reaction, Rudy covered his face.

*‘The anger he was holding onto just a moment ago has vanished without a trace. Sir Paul, you really are as easy to read as ever...’*

Allen pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I saw Somar bullying the Rolz family’s child by the paddy field yesterday, throwing mud at her. So, I scolded them a little. But I promise, I absolutely did not lay a... err... finger on them..."

Paul paused, his eyebrows arching.

"That happened? Mrs. Somar always says her child is very well-behaved. She’s always coming over to chat with me about how this and that... wait, hold on, does that mean..."

"...Yes, that’s right. She was actually just making excuses to talk to you, Sir. My lady has probably known Mrs. Somar’s intentions for a long time, which is why she’s upset."

Paul gulped, then cast a panicked glance at Lilia, who had been standing quietly to the side, and rushed toward the kitchen.

"Zenith! Listen to me, let me explain... I really didn’t know..."

***

Rudy looked at Allen, who was watching Lilia with a thoughtful expression, and leaned in to whisper.

"Mrs. Somar hasn’t gone far yet... you should go after her. I’ll just say you went out to find Sylphie... Ouch!"

Allen flicked Rudy on the forehead and said crossly, "Go to the kitchen and act cute to save your father. Don’t you want breakfast? I can already smell something burning."

Rudy blinked, then hurried off toward the kitchen as well.

Allen turned to look at Lilia. She quickly glanced up at him and adjusted her glasses.

"I’ll go help as well..."

Allen watched Lilia, who was essentially fleeing toward the kitchen, and rested his chin on his hand in thought.

*‘Has the affair been foreshadowed long ago? In the original story, Lilia only got together with a restless Paul after Zenith became pregnant. But at this point in time, they already have... no, last night didn’t seem like it. It’s more like Paul harasses Lilia from time to time, and she doesn’t resist...’*

*‘When will this domestic drama finally unfold? If I intervene now, Aisha might not be born... then again, maybe not. After all, Paul is the one who actively sneaks into her room. It wouldn’t matter if I tried to stop him at this point.’*

Allen smiled.

*‘Life in this house is becoming more and more something to look forward to... Aisha, Norn, how long until you two are born?’*

—

Breakfast was delayed by an hour.

The reason was that Paul spent that time in the kitchen coaxing his wife. Fortunately, the mouth of a scoundrel is always persuasive, and before long, Zenith had forgiven him.

By the time they ate, Paul was in high spirits and even told Allen and Rudy with a smile that they were welcome to bring Sylphie home as a guest if they liked. Perhaps out of consideration for the children having made new friends, he generously declared that today’s sword training was cancelled, allowing the two to go out and play.

However, when saying goodbye, Paul kept grabbing Zenith’s hand, and under the watchful gaze of Lilia in the background, Zenith tried to shake him off several times to no avail...

Perhaps a home without children around is better for marital harmony.

"By the way, we didn’t say goodbye to Sylphie yesterday, and we didn’t ask where she lives. How are we supposed to find her?"

Allen pulled his gaze away from the couple and shrugged.

"That hillside from yesterday. I have a feeling Sylphie might go there."

"Really?"

"I’m guessing. Besides, we have nothing better to do, so let’s go check."

Allen didn’t have time to deal with Rudy, because he was currently arguing with the system.

[Instant Quest: The Temptation of the Older Woman, failed. Evaluation: A pity, but 2 points is still something.]

*‘A pity my foot! What kind of nonsense is this? Do you even know what that slang means? I’m taller than her; even if she’s older, you can’t call her an "older woman"!’*

[Oh, so you aren’t tall enough. Apologies, I’ll get it right next time.]

*‘Damn it.’*

—

Sure enough, when the two reached the hillside, a small figure was standing under a tree. She wasn’t playing; she was just gazing around. When she saw the two figures approaching from afar, she actually hopped in place a few times, then spent a long while struggling to coordinate her limbs before regaining a normal running gait to dash toward them.

Seeing this, Allen couldn't help but smile, his steps lightening as he greeted her from a distance.

"Morning. Were you waiting here just for us?"

Sylphie nearly tripped and became visibly flustered.

"No! Not at all! I..."

"See! I told you Sylphie wouldn’t be waiting here just for us! Allen, you were so insistent that she would, but it’s clearly just a coincidence."

Rudy said with a huff.

"Fine, fine, you’re right."

Sylphie had reached them by now. Hearing Allen’s words, her expression shifted, and she grabbed Rudy by the hair, trying to hide him behind her back while he flailed his arms.

Both of them were tiny, and Sylphie’s back couldn’t hide Rudy at all.

"No! Allen! It’s not! I... um... it’s..."

Allen looked at Rudy, who was nearly suffocating, smiled, and patted Sylphie on the head.

"Sorry, it was my negligence that caused you to get poisoned yesterday. Are you still feeling unwell?"

Sylphie’s ears twitched, her reddish-brown eyes reflecting a gorgeous luster under the sun. She slowly lowered her hand from Rudy’s head.

"I’m not..."

"Ha!"

Rudy finally broke free, gasping for air as if he had just surfaced from water, and glared at Sylphie and Allen.

"Hey, hey, I’m the one who was feeling sick!"

Allen rubbed his chin as he looked at the two.

*‘Sylphie also has Laplace factors. This is earlier than the original story's plot. If she starts practicing mana capacity training now, she’ll be more confident in landing safely if she falls from the sky after the displacement event.’*

"Rudy, how about... you teach her magic?"