Chapter 25: Why on Earth Does Sylphie Want to Learn Swordsmanship?!?

Rudy was taken aback for a moment upon hearing this.

"Huh?"

Sylphie also wore a look of confusion. Rudy seemed to have realized something, turning to glance at Sylphie.

"Magic, well, that's not impossible... If that's the case, when we aren't around, Sylphie could use magic to fight back if she's bullied."

"I..."

Allen nodded repeatedly. "Exactly, so it's more appropriate for you to teach her, since I don't know magic at all."

"Um..."

"Ah... that's a bit troublesome... but since it's a request from Allen, I suppose I'll reluctantly agree."

"...You, if I hadn't said anything, you wouldn't have taught her, would you?"

"Why should you teach him magic? It should be you teaching him..." Sylphie failed to interject twice. She looked at Allen, then at Rudy, and realizing that neither of them had any intention of listening to her, she grew anxious.

"I... I want to learn swordsmanship!"

...

...

As they spoke, the group reached the large tree on the hillside. The wind was gentle, blowing away the tail end of Rudy's words—"It's better if you teach him swordsmanship"—into the air. He blinked, a slow smile spreading across his face. Turning to look at the stunned Allen, he wore the grin of a prankster.

*Heh heh, Lord Allen, it seems your little boy doesn't want to learn magic from me; he wants to learn swordsmanship from you instead. What are you still standing there for?! This is the perfect opportunity for training! Hurry up and say yes!*

Allen’s mouth opened and closed like a goldfish, feeling somewhat bewildered. *Ah? This butterfly effect is too much. You, a Laplace Factor carrier, wanting to learn swordsmanship? Are you kidding me?*

"Why?" Sylphie blinked.

She then turned, extended her small hand toward Rudy, who was watching the spectacle from the sidelines, and performed a slashing motion. As her pointed ears twitched in the air, her hand-blade struck the air in front of her, accompanied by a synchronized "whoosh" sound from her lips.

Rudy remained unscathed, his mouth twitching.

Allen stumbled where he stood. "No! Wait, you don't actually think the sword aura projection in swordsmanship is cool, do you?"

Sylphie and Rudy both looked at Allen with surprise, tilting their heads upward toward him.

"Isn't it cool?" they asked in unison.

Allen was stunned for a moment, then his face fell. *Wait! This butterfly effect is getting a bit too obvious. In the original story, although Rudy thought swordsmanship was good, he didn't perceive it as "cool," and Sylphie is even more absurd. She specifically asked to learn hand-blade aura projection. No, you're a specialist in non-chant healing magic; this isn't appropriate for you, is it? Since when does a healer jump into melee combat with a blade?*

Seeing Allen’s increasingly grave expression, Sylphie looked fearful. Rudy, putting on an indifferent air, turned and walked aside to admire the wild calligraphy Allen had carved into the tree yesterday, though his occasionally twitching ears showed he was still in the mood for a show.

Watching Allen, who had been silent for a long time, Sylphie shrank her neck, her eyes darting around. *Oh... oh no, could it be... that Allen doesn't like me learning swordsmanship...*

"U-um..."

"If... if Allen doesn't like it, I can learn magic from Rudy. That... that's fine too. Magic... is also fine. I can help you, Allen... blow... blow-dry your hair..."

A gust of wind blew, leaving Allen and Rudy’s hair in a disheveled mess. They stared at Sylphie with incredulous expressions, dumbfounded.

"Huh?"

—

"I see, so Sylphie has never actually seen anyone perform attack magic..."

After some frantic clearing up, Allen realized that Sylphie had never witnessed attack magic. Her father, Rolz, was only skilled with a bow and knew nothing of magic, and her mother was a typical homemaker, skilled at sewing and cooking, but incapable of magic.

Therefore, compared to a magic trick that "just releases hot water to blow-dry hair," she was more inclined to learn a technique that could slap mud into someone's face with a flick of the wrist. The latter simply looked more offensive. It was perfectly in line with the values of a five-year-old who finds whatever is powerful to be interesting.

*True, Rolz's mother, Elinalise, was a swordswoman, so it's normal he was raised without learning magic... And Sylphie is only five, living in such a remote village; it's perfectly normal she hasn't seen magic.*

Allen sighed and rubbed his forehead, watching Rudy chase Sylphie around the tree while casting a "heated hand + blow-dry" spell, shouting, "Hurry up and learn it so you can blow-dry your beloved Lord Allen's hair!"

*What on earth is "beloved Lord Allen's hair"?*

"Rudy!"

Rudy stopped chasing Sylphie and turned to look at Allen. "Yeah?"

"Stop messing around. Since she's never seen proper attack magic, you demonstrate it for her."

Rudy pulled a long face. "Can't we just do swordsmanship?"

Allen glanced at Sylphie, who was watching him cautiously, and sighed silently. "I've observed her... her physical condition isn't suited for swordsmanship. Swordsmanship requires a great deal of talent. Don't be fooled by Paul—the old man's usual playful attitude; he makes it look like he achieved his high level of swordsmanship through casual practice, but in reality, he is a sword genius."

Rudy was stunned. "Is that so..."

Allen looked at Rudy, the smile on his face gradually fading, as he realized that Rudy had already reached the Saint-rank level in magic.

"...Rudy, according to Roxy, your magical talent is terrifyingly high. You can perform incantation-less casting and have already reached the level of a Water Saint-rank mage. Furthermore, the only reason you are at the Water Saint-rank is because that is the highest level of magic she can master, not because your own limit is the Water Saint-rank."

Hearing Allen recount Roxy's praise, Rudy's smile began to widen. However, the next sentence caused his smile to freeze on his face.

"So, I'm curious, just how far has your strength actually reached... If we were to put enough distance between us, who would be stronger, you or me?"

Rudy looked at Allen's serious face and spoke in bewilderment. "What are you talking about? You're my swordsmanship teacher; of course, you're stronger, Allen."

Allen looked at Rudy, expressionless. "I'm asking, if my swordsmanship were to go against your magic, who would be stronger?"

Rudy’s expression sank even further. "You can spar with Father, so of course you're—"

"Do you really think so?"

Rudy’s mouth hung open as he looked at Allen, unable to speak for a long time. With his gentle, non-aggressive personality, he felt completely helpless in the face of this unexpected turn of events. Even though he had been awarded the title of Water Saint-rank mage by Roxy, he had no real sense of it, let alone any experience in actual combat. Even in the future, even if he were to become an adventurer, he was the type to avoid conflict with others whenever possible.

"This... this is just common sense, right..."

"Use your full power to cast attack magic on me, and take the opportunity to show Sylphie the power of attack magic."

Rudy was flustered, not even realizing that Allen had said "Sylphie" instead of "Sylphie" (referring to her childhood nickname).

"...What kind of joke are you playing..."

In the next instant, Rudy felt a gust of wind brush past his cheek, and a blade shimmering with a cold glint was already pressed against his neck. Under the sunlight, the slender blade shone like a mirror.

Rudy saw his own pale face reflected in the steel. Even though the dull back of the blade was against his neck, he could still feel a bone-chilling cold radiating from it.

He swallowed hard and followed the line of the blade forward. Allen, who had been several meters away a moment ago, was now right in front of him.

He lowered his head, narrowed his eyes, and leaned in to stare directly into Rudy's shocked pupils.

"I said, treat me as an enemy, and use your attack magic on me."

Rudy gazed into Allen's eyes, realizing he was serious.