Chapter 46: Roxy's Criteria for a Partner

Roxy turned her gaze toward Allen.

The latter held the blade in a two-handed grip, sweeping it through the air along an exceedingly slow trajectory before finally resting the tip against the grassy turf of the ground.

Whether it was an illusion created by the interplay of light and shadow, Roxy could not tell, but at that exact moment, she felt as though a double image of the blade had manifested.

Above the trembling phantom image, a few leaves drifting before Allen slowly fell... and fell...

Then they split apart.

"One hundred and twenty-six!"

At Sylphie's soft, sweet voice, Roxy blinked and stared at the tip of the blade.

"...Can such a slow slashing speed really slice through a falling, unanchored leaf in mid-air...?"

Rudeus watched Roxy's expression, irritably scratched his head, and put on a helpless look.

"...Teacher, look closer, look carefully... Don't look at the blade..."

While Rudeus was speaking, Allen had once again raised the blade above his head, following the exact same trajectory as before, slowly slashing downward without a fraction of deviation in his movement.

Moving from above his head to level with his shoulders, then dropping in front of his abdomen, the blade finally came to a steady halt right above the blades of grass dancing in the wind.

Rudeus's words fell into the quiet air.

"...You need to watch his arms."

The blade intertwined with the light and shadow once more.

Roxy shifted her gaze from the edge of the sword, along the hilt, and onto Allen's arms.

As the sword shadows trembled heavily, Allen's arm gave a subtle twitch at the same time. His sleeve jerked abruptly, as if an invisible person had given it a hard tug, before falling limply back against his skin.

Roxy raised an eyebrow, a look of astonishment crossing her face.

"...Could it be... that just now, when the tip of the blade touched the turf... Allen had already executed another slash...?! How incredible."

Just as her voice trailed off, the "incredible" Allen let out a heavy breath, his complexion turning pale in an instant. Staggering over to Rudeus, he said,

"Got any inventory left? Hit me with another one."

Rudeus: ......

Roxy: ......

Following an extremely rapid incantation, the radiance of a healing spell flared once more. Allen instantly snapped upright like a corpse rising from the dead, picked up his sword, and resumed his shadow-swinging practice.

Rudeus sighed, massaging his forehead, and turned to look at the somewhat dazed Roxy, who murmured blankly,

"...I feel like Allen is completely equipped with the strength of a top-tier adventurer..."

"Uh... Wasn't Allen already an adventurer to begin with?"

Roxy blinked, only then recalling that Allen had mentioned during their conversation about aligning their stories the other day that, within the Greyrat household, probably only Paul and Zenith knew his true identity.

At this thought, Roxy instinctively tugged at the forelock of her hair, her eyes darting back and forth.

"Ah... I meant an S-rank adventurer. Allen's strength is far higher than his adventurer rank..."

Observing Roxy's reaction, Rudeus felt his thoughts wandering. He cast a quick glance at Allen, who was engrossed in his sword practice, suppressed a lecherous grin, and said to Roxy,

"Speaking of which, Teacher used to be an adventurer too. Have you ever... encountered a boy you liked?"

Roxy's face froze in astonishment. She scratched her cheek and replied somewhat flusteredly,

"Well... back in Millis, I was ostracized because of my hair color, to the point where I didn't even have a single coin to my name... Fortunately, a fellow countryman took me in, and I went to work in a tavern. Later on, I... grew to love him, and then I formed an adventurer party with another young lady who had a rather nice figure..."

Rudeus's face stiffened.

"Ah... and what happened after that?"

Roxy awkwardly scratched her head and ears, hesitating for a moment before speaking in a small voice.

"Then they got together."

*‘Splendid! A goddess who has never been in a relationship!’*

Roxy looked at Rudeus, who had suddenly leaped to his feet, her expression growing even more awkward.

"...As expected... nobody could possibly like a figure like mine... Just like a child's..."

Rudeus, however, replied with complete earnestness.

"I actually think that's precisely why Teacher is so endearing~"

Hearing this, the corner of Roxy's mouth twitched.

"I already told you... saying things like that when you're ten years younger won't be very persuasive, you know. Besides... you might still be interested in a figure like mine right now, but when you're older, your tastes will change, won't they...?"

Rudeus declared with absolute certainty,

"Impossible! I just happen to prefer Teacher's type!"

*‘Half-closed eyes, petite, aloof expression. The perfect goddess!’*

"Liar."

Though she called him a liar, Roxy's face clearly bore the happy expression of someone who couldn't handle a compliment.

Just as Rudeus was about to speak, Allen walked over once more, his complexion deathly pale.

"Hit me again... I'm begging you."

A flash of green light washed over him, and Allen sprang back to life. While offering his thanks, he casually poked around in their business.

"Why are you looking so worked up? I thought I heard you say something like... you just like this type? Were you two talking about romance?"

"No, Teacher lacks confidence in her figure, so I was just comforting her."

At those words, Roxy lowered her head and began drawing circles on the ground with her toe.

*‘So it really was just comfort, T_T.’*

Allen glanced sidelong at Roxy.

"Since she lacks confidence in her figure, you shouldn't comfort her by talking about her figure. Even if you mean it from the bottom of your heart, her subconscious will still tell her you're just placating her..."

At this, Roxy raised her head and looked at Allen, her pupils widening slightly. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting a mottled pattern across her eyes and making the deep blue of her lakes shimmer with ripples of light.

Allen's gaze lingered on Roxy's eyes for a moment before he turned and walked away, his unfinished words drifting on the air to reach them both.

"Her eye color is so lovely; you could've just praised her eyes instead."

He said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

The sound of the blade vibrating the air grew clamorous once more, making the quiet stillness among the remaining people feel all the more profound.

Rudeus swallowed hard, forcibly tearing his gaze away from Allen and looking toward Roxy at his side.

The latter was tugging at the stray locks of hair on her forehead, her face flushed as she muttered,

"What is he on about... such a smooth talker..."

Before the sound could travel away from them, it was scattered by the breeze.

Seeing this, Rudeus remained silent for a moment before gritting his teeth and resolutely deciding to change the subject.

"...Speaking of which, if Teacher is leaving in a few days, will you continue with your original plan to adventure in the labyrinths near the Dragon King Mountains?"

Roxy glanced sideways at Allen, who was swinging his sword with vigor, and looked up at the sky.

"Yes... that was the plan..."

Hearing this, Rudeus tentatively asked,

"Then for the next ten years, will Teacher be staying in the Central Continent all the time, or...?"

Roxy pondered for a moment, hesitating before she spoke.

"Come to think of it, the Central Continent doesn't have many adventurer requests that pay well enough to earn extra cash. I suppose I'll continue traveling and adventuring to further hone my magic while taking on some tutoring work to make ends meet... Ten years is far too long; I can't look that far ahead right now..."

"I see... I think... Teacher could just stay in the Central Continent the whole time. That way, maybe when I grow up in the future, I can become a member of Teacher's adventurer party."

"...I'd still advise you, Rudeus, to go pursue advanced studies at the magic academy first before you start thinking about becoming an adventurer."

A bright smile bloomed on Rudeus's face.

"Then it's a deal! I'll go study at the magic academy first, and then I'll form an adventurer party with Teacher!"

"...Talk to me again after you graduate from the magic academy."

Rudeus chuckled mischievously.

"But why is Teacher so obsessed with being an adventurer and exploring labyrinths? I think you'd be perfectly suited to teach at the magic academy instead. If you did that, maybe when I finally get there, you'd end up teaching me magic..."

Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Roxy rubbed the grass with the toe of her shoe.

"Obsessed with being an adventurer... well... about that... Don't... look at me like this, I have yearnings for romance too, you know...... Perhaps one day... there will be a manly, tall, yet boyishly expressive young man who rescues me deep within a labyrinth. And then... we will become mutually dependent adventurers, our feelings for one another will gradually blossom, and after that......"

Mid-sentence, Roxy suddenly froze, involuntarily turning her head to look at Allen beside her.

The blade swept down once more.

"One hundred and thirty-nine!"

Not far away, Sylphie's elven ears had been closely monitoring the conversation between Rudeus and Roxy. At this moment, the expression she wore as she looked at Allen turned grave.

As for Rudeus, he had completely glazed over. He stiffly turned his head to look at Allen, wearing an expression that looked as though he was about to burst into tears.

*‘Manly, tall, boyishly expressive, and a young adventurer... Look over here, everyone, there's a freshly baked candidate who perfectly matches Roxy's ideal type... What a coincidence... Damn it! I really shouldn't have agreed to let Paul make him my swordsmanship instructor...’*

The surroundings fell completely silent, with only the sword and the wind entangling with one another.

Allen had been intending to continue swinging his blade, but suddenly sensing that everyone had gone quiet, he stopped and looked around at the three of them.

Only to find that everyone was staring right at him.

He blinked in confusion and asked,

"Uh... What's wrong? Why are you all looking at me like that?"