Chapter Five: Allen Borea Greyrat

For a “stranger” meeting for the first time, this was a bit rough.

But Alan had done it on purpose. On one hand, his actions just now had indeed been rather lascivious.

On the other hand, if this went on any longer, he really would turn into one of those yellow-haired romantic-comedy villains. Before his transmigration, he had genuinely liked Roxy, always calling her Blue Mom, Blue Mom, but reality now lay before him: Alan had to rely on the foreknowledge of someone who had read the novel in order to take part safely in the great events of Jobless Reincarnation.

Alan needed to grow close to Roxy, but keeping a proper distance was just as necessary.

In this world, where information moved sluggishly and people mostly communicated by letter or in person, relationships were simple. So if Rudy said some stale, internet-style sweet talk and little tricks...

He would very easily receive intense, richly colored positive feedback from the opposite sex.

Absurd, but true.

In the flash of a thought, Alan’s movements were anything but sloppy. He copied Roxy’s gloomy expression, raised his sharp, slanted brows, and stared straight at her forehead.

“Of course, if there really is a red eye demon here, before it eats me, I’ll probably cut off its head first. After all, the distance between us is... too close.”

“Just a matter of swinging a blade, wouldn’t you say?”

With that, he tilted his head and glanced at the four headless corpses of the monsters nearby.

Roxy instinctively followed his gaze, and at once shivered.

Yes... as a mage, she had actually gotten right up in a swordsman’s face to intimidate him.

In the end, it was because she had just parted ways with Rudy, and then encountered a child who seemed young on the surface. In her subconscious, she had simply fallen into the pattern of how she spoke with Rudy.

But this person was not Rudy, nor was he some harmless child.

He was an adventurer wandering through a forest where monsters often prowled in the dead of night, someone who could draw his blade and slay four monsters in an instant, while also splitting the water-ball spell he had cast in front of his own face, forcing out greater magical output, with exquisite control over distance.

That casually displayed hand... was even stronger than most A-rank adventurers she had seen.

Intermediate swordsman... no, not enough. Very likely an advanced swordsman.

Thinking of this, Roxy immediately calmed herself. She lifted a foot, intending to stand and put distance between them, but when her eyes passed over Alan, she restrained the impulse.

In the space of a thought, Alan had put on a solemn expression, extended his right hand, taken on the posture of a noble bow, and lowered his head to Roxy.

Roxy could even see the fine hairs at the nape of his neck.

Alan’s behavior showed that, contrary to his words, he had no ill intent at all.

“Sorry. No more joking. I really do thank you. To be honest, even though you sliced through my water ball, I still owe you my life.”

And now he was using honorifics too.

Roxy blinked, then sat back properly, placing both hands on her knees.

With that push and pull from Alan, after the complete act of drawing close and then pulling away, the atmosphere between them became formal once more.

The conversation returned to the right track.

“What do you mean by that... and how do you know about the Migurd race?”

Alan reached to his waist, unsheathed the blade there, and laid it horizontally between them, signaling that he had no intention of attacking. At the same time, he pointed at the scabbard and lied while looking up at Roxy.

“As you can see, the sword technique I just used places a heavy burden on my body. If you hadn’t been here and I had been injured, then with more monsters drawn in by the firelight, I would have been in mortal danger.

As for the Migurd race, well, all swordsmen yearn for a fine divine weapon.”

“Though I’m not old, I have read Heroic Tales of the Northern God. Those magic swords with all sorts of special effects were forged by the demon-world master smith Julian Harris.

To learn more about that master, I read quite a few books related to the Demon Continent, so I know of many demons.”

Roxy fell briefly silent.

“But... if I hadn’t used magic, you wouldn’t have needed to strike with such a taxing technique. Compared to the monsters, my water-ball spell must have seemed more threatening to you, because you couldn’t tell whether the source of such sudden magic in this forest at night was friend or foe. So you tried your best to eliminate the danger in the shortest possible time, while also displaying your strength to intimidate whoever was there. Am I right?”

Alan looked at Roxy in surprise.

She had returned to that cool, half-lidded expression, yet there was no sign of wariness or distance. In response to his goodwill, she returned it in kind, sitting obediently on the ground, her mage’s robe pulled taut by the duck-sitting posture, hands resting on her knees, a look of businesslike frankness upon her.

As expected of an adventurer who had spent years fighting and surviving on the Demon Continent and the Milis Continent, apart from the deliberately emphasized adorable traits intended to sell the character in the anime, Roxy’s judgment was razor-sharp. Her relaxation of vigilance toward me is probably because she’s in the peaceful Kingdom of Asura. Life has been too stable for too long, so she’s become careless.

This was someone who, with the frail body of a mage, could solo level in a labyrinth. To treat her like some fragile flower that would snap in the slightest wind would be a grave insult to her stature.

Alan smiled.

“That may be true, but the fact remains that your water-ball spell was indeed cast to save me, and not for some other purpose. Wasn’t it? I only stopped forcing myself when I realized that. As for you using healing magic to save me after I collapsed, that kindness was real enough. I owe you for it.”

Roxy looked at Alan, leaning forward slightly, studying him with a faintly aggressive air.

This time, however, she was silent for quite a while, then reached out to point at the corpse of the boar he had slain nearby.

She said indifferently, “So your collapse was deliberate too? To test whether I harbored ill will...

Even after you fell unconscious, you remained lying on your back, so it wouldn’t interfere with drawing your sword. If I had done something wicked while you were off guard, then by now my head would probably be like theirs, wouldn’t it?”

Alan froze. Damn, he’s seen through it. He hurried to patch things up.

“That... that was just instinct...”

Before he could even finish explaining, Roxy interrupted him.

“It’s fine. I can tell that once you sat up, you weren’t guarding against me at all. And your gratitude now is also sincere... A lone adventurer should have that sort of awareness. For someone so young to have such caution is truly rare... As for me, I’ve been in peace and quiet for too long over these past years. In the end, I was the one who learned a lesson from you.”

Roxy tugged at her bangs with a hint of annoyance, turned her head to look at the staff by her side, and her voice gradually softened.

“...Still, being slick-tongued and not telling the truth is exactly what makes a proper adventurer.”

Alan stared at Roxy without blinking. In that instant, he truly felt the charisma she unconsciously exuded.

Not some shallow talk about fair skin and beauty.

She was genuinely kind.

Thinking this, Alan looked at Roxy with great seriousness.

She seemed to sense his burning gaze and turned to him, looking a little puzzled.

Then he heard a youthful yet resolute voice by her ear.

“Thank you. But I can’t agree about being slick-tongued. Perhaps those words I said when I ‘woke up’ sounded to you like nothing but deceitful nonsense, but every word was spoken from the heart.”

Roxy stared blankly at Alan, who looked entirely earnest.

[It should be noted that repeatedly increasing Roxy’s affection will not earn you more rewards, but it must be said...]

Alan quickly waved his hand and scattered the still-forming system interface before him.

‘Even gratitude isn’t allowed now? You call sincerity farming? Give me a break.’

Roxy was stunned for a moment. Watching Alan’s strange behavior, a faint, obscure smile bloomed at the corners of her mouth.

“Then was calling me Mom sincere too? You were clearly mocking my short stature... Still, on the Asura Continent, no one would expect a demon to be here. Short stature, mature tone—it is indeed suspicious.”

Alan: Wake up, Blue Mom... what part of your tone is mature? The Migurd live four hundred years; by human reckoning, you’re still a girl, and even the development of your mind is still at that stage... I won’t even mention the demons’ generally low intelligence.

In his thoughts, Roxy cleared her throat.

“Don’t call me Mom. I have a name.”

Alan nodded along with her words and asked, “Then... may I ask what your name is?”

“Roxy Migurdia. And you?”

“Alan...”

Alan froze, looking at Roxy. In her dark-blue eyes beneath the night sky, there was only sincerity.

Forget it. I’ve lied too much tonight already. I won’t lie to Roxy anymore.

I’ll tell her a little more in a moment. Given Roxy’s personality, even if she goes to the royal capital and hears some rumors, she’ll still be willing to help keep my whereabouts secret.

After a brief pause, Alan gave his full name.

“Alan Boreas Greyrat.”