On the hillside outside Buena Village, the wind was very gentle.
The silhouette of the tree's shadow flickered across Allen's face.
He looked up at the swaying dappled light in the sky, his mind full of recent "realities."
There were still three or four months left before the original story entered the tutoring period, yet he now faced a series of "internal dilemmas" that troubled him greatly.
The first was persuading Paul's family to leave Buena Village and avoid the effects of the Great Relocation.
This had clearly ended in failure. It was hard to convince them through words alone. He couldn't exactly yell, "I came from a novel, please leave with me!"
So, he needed to use external forces to push this forward in the future.
Where would those external forces come from?
In the foreseeable future, the most potential lay with the Boreas family in Roya City—Allen's "original family."
At present, Allen wasn't worried about being recognized. Over the past two years, his expression management, hairstyle, and demeanor had all changed completely. The sharp, slicked-back youth from two years ago had become a gentle man with glasses, long hair, and a squinting smile.
Back then, James had always been wary of Philip. During Allen's more than eight years in the capital, they had only seen each other from a distance when Allen was very young.
Now, after the erosion of time, without sufficient clues, Philip had little chance of connecting the current Allen to his eldest son.
So, posing as a passerby to stir things up seemed feasible.
This was Allen's assessment based on the current intel.
But…
If he followed this thread, new problems emerged.
True, he had passed the childhood phase and was in a state where he could enter the tutoring period at any time.
However, the boundaries of that tutoring period were vague, and the most logical reason to contact the Boreas family no longer existed.
Originally, Rudy received a letter from Lokishi informing him of his promotion to a Water King-level magician. After realizing his own growth had stagnated, Rudy reflected and concluded that admiration without understanding was meaningless.
So he proposed going to Magic University for further study.
Sylphy's first reaction was reluctance—she didn't want Rudy to leave. But after some thought and joy over training together, Rudy decided to take Sylphy along.
Paul, however, rejected the idea. He sensed Rudy was trying to keep Sylphy close and deliberately train her, which would hinder her own growth.
So Paul and Lorz conspired to send Rudy away to earn his own tuition as a tutor—on the condition that he couldn't contact Sylphy for three years. If he succeeded, he could return to take her to school.
That was the premise for Paul's approval.
Without Rudy's knowledge, Paul sent a letter to Philip, and Gileno came to take Rudy to Roya City.
Thus began the tutoring arc.
But now—
Rudy's magical ceiling hadn't improved much, but his foundation kept getting stronger. Although he showed great talent in the original timeline, his actual application in battle was still immature.
Since Allen's arrival, the two had sparred constantly. After experiencing the monster tide at the end of last year, Rudy suddenly matured.
Since then, he'd been diligently practicing combat applications of magic. Now he could already perform all sorts of mixed magic he was originally only capable of much later.
"Frost Nova!"
Just as Allen's thoughts reached this point, a loud voice rang out.
Frost spread from the distance, engulfing the ground. The grass swayed in the wind and turned to icy spikes as they swept under the tree where Allen was lying.
Allen's thoughtful expression froze slightly, his pupils shrinking and expanding.
His vision changed color.
The floating tree buds in the air "froze," and the rustling leaves fell silent.
He sat under the tree, quietly admiring the stillness—like an ink painting in grayscale.
A shadow of dark mist crept into his field of view, gradually engulfing everything.
And then—
A breeze stirred from within his body.
The mist dissipated.
Allen blinked.
The world regained its color.
The frost, as if encountering an invisible wall, obediently swerved aside before touching his feet.
The entire hillside froze over.
But the tree still swayed gently in the spring breeze, casting dappled light onto Allen's calm face.
This was its "guardian."
Not far off, the young voices of a boy and girl floated into Allen's ears.
"Allen's rock defense is still flawless. He deflected my magic effortlessly, and now he doesn't even need to draw his sword. You really are amazing, Allen."
"Hey—"
"? Sylphy, why is your smile kind of creepy? By the way, the village's been lively lately… Look, there's a carriage passing by…"
"My father said it's planting season for batir flowers and wheat, so they've been sending seeds."
"The planting season, huh..."
The voices faded on the breeze, and Allen continued thinking.
Since Rudy had been focusing on practical magic and strengthening spells below the top tier, Lokishi's advancement wasn't a major stimulus for him.
They had exchanged letters before Lokishi's promotion, so Rudy knew well that magical ranks weren't everything—especially for someone like him with massive reserves and a limited "pipe" for release. It was all about output, form, and finding the most suitable methods of casting.
Even a basic rock cannonball could hit King-level power.
What really mattered was applying low and mixed magic effectively.
On this front, Rudy was already multiple versions ahead of the original.
Though he hadn't officially started his adventuring phase, his level was already comparable to the Magic Continent arc.
Thus, the motivation to earn money for Magic University had weakened.
And with Sylphy no longer clinging to Rudy, the emotional trigger for studying together had disappeared.
Allen even tested this by asking Lorz whether he was concerned about Sylphy being around Rudy all the time.
Lorz looked at him strangely for a long moment before replying in a low voice:
"Not really… because she's trustworthy. And she's grown a lot. That proves it."
Trustworthy??
Who??
Before Allen could ask further, Lorz pulled a sour face and shoved him away.
Truly baffling.
Still, none of that mattered. Allen was happy to help Rudy improve and push Sylphy's growth. After all, she rarely rejected his advice.
But the real problem wasn't them.
It was Paul.
Brother Paul had no intention of sending Rudy to Roya!
If he didn't write a letter, Rudy wouldn't even have the qualifications to be a tutor. So what tutoring arc?!
Although the system stated that Allen's tutoring period began the moment he interacted with canon characters…
Could Allen really run away from home again, show up in Roya City, and tell Alice:
"I, Allen the Sword Saint, am here to be your tutor"?
Would he be killed by a nearly two-meter-tall dark-skinned FURRY hot girl?
Moreover, Allen already had a "record" of this kind of thing. If he tried again, would he be thrown out for real?
He even tried hinting to Paul.
But Paul responded that Rudy, Sylphy, and Allen were the ideal adventuring trio.
Magic University? Why?
Isn't it better to become an adventurer?
Besides, noble girls at school look great dressed up, but once those corsets come off? Total deception. Not like female adventurers. What you see is what you get—solid and natural.
He'd been tricked too many times at noble school before age eleven.
Allen was speechless—this was word-for-word from the original plot!
Brother Paul would always be Brother Paul. His thought process was a rock in the toilet—unmoving and unyielding.
Still, Allen couldn't argue with his preference for adventurer girls...
Especially blue-haired, cold-faced, short, flat-chested, sharp-lipped adventurers near the Shilong labyrinth.
That would be perfect.
Suddenly, a flash of white hair blocked his vision.
Sylphy's face appeared in front of him.
She was leaning over him with her hands in the grass.
Wearing a white one-shoulder dress.
Hair fluttering in the breeze.
Her pale skin glowed translucent under the sun.
Her ears trembled slightly in the wind, but her reddish-brown eyes curved gently as she looked at him.
Some tenderness.
That dress—Allen had picked it out for her in early spring. She'd blushed and waved it off, saying it was expensive and weird to wear.
Allen insisted it looked good.
He was a man with a two-silver-coin monthly income!
(Even if Paul hadn't paid him since making him part of the family…)
But Sylphy clearly liked it. She always wore it when seeing him.
Allen stared at her smiling face.
Lately, whenever she smiled like that, it looked oddly familiar.
Like the face he saw in the mirror each morning.
Must be his imagination.
"What's wrong, Rufei?"
Sylphy's hair had stayed shoulder-length. After her magic exhaustion turned it white, no green hair grew back. It lay smooth and glossy, swaying along her pointed ears.
"It's time to go back for lunch."
—
March was sowing season.
Carriages full of seeds lined both sides of the irrigation fields. Blue seeds were offloaded straight into the earth.
A microcosm of Asura Kingdom's agricultural economy.
Allen and his companions walked along the road, occasionally waving back to villagers greeting them from the fields.
Allen was still lost in thought—how to trigger the adolescent tutoring arc?
His sense of flow had reached near perfection this past year. His senses were sharp.
But to avoid mental exhaustion, he would filter information. What wasn't relevant became background noise.
For example:
"Hey, Rudy, you've grown taller again! What a handsome boy."
"Hello, Uncle! Thank you!"
Allen's brain: ~ Useless info, ignore.
"Oh, Sylphy is getting prettier~ That skirt's so cute~"
"Thank you~ Auntie, Allen gave it to me. :)"
Allen's brain: ~ Useful info, record. Buy again next time.
"Oh, Allen looks more muscular lately~ Haven't seen you in a while. Come visit sometime~"
Allen's brain: ~ Praise detected. Say thank you now.
Wait, what?? Somar??
Allen blinked and snapped out of his thoughts.
He didn't even need to look—he could tell Mrs. Somar's voice anywhere.
In the corner of his eye, Sylphy was already frowning, while Rudy animatedly distracted the overly friendly woman.
Rudy really is a good friend.
He's dying tonight.
Allen nodded, ignored Mrs. Somar, and looked down at his feet.
Just then—
A gust of wind brushed past.
Brought by a passing carriage.
The curtains of the carriage fluttered.
A gaze peeked out—then vanished as the carriage passed by.
Unlike the agricultural carts, this one was wide, elegant, with a crystal canopy.
Then another followed.
Then another.
Four total.
And every carriage...
Was watching them.
—
The wheels didn't stop. They rolled onward.
The curtains swayed, and that sharp sense of "being watched" faded.
Just a passing glance, perhaps.
But Allen stopped.
Sylphy noticed and looked toward Mrs. Somar, then back at Allen.
"Allen?"
She saw his expression shift from surprise to suspicion, then calm thoughtfulness.
Then it melted into a quiet smile.
"I'm fine. Let's go."
Rudy and Sylphy exchanged looks, glanced at the disheartened Mrs. Somar, then followed Allen.
His face was unreadable again—an expression they hadn't seen in a year.
Like the one he wore when they first met.
Unsmiling. Cold.
That's what startled them.
The carriages, meanwhile, had slowed down and stayed ahead of the trio, as if...
Leading them.
Into the village.
Down the hard dirt road.
Past the houses.
Then turned at a corner and disappeared behind a side wall.
Rudy blinked.
That wall… was the Greyrat house.
He looked at Allen again, puzzled.
Allen remained calm, his steps steady.
They rounded the wall—
And saw the Greyrat front gate basked in sunlight.
The carriages were parked.
Paul and Senis ran out, flustered.
A servant dismounted and laid down a cushion outside the front carriage.
Then opened the door.
A man stepped out.
Spotless boots. Fine silk trousers. A noble coat.
He stepped on the cushion, then onto the rough earth of Buena Village.
A scholarly middle-aged man.
He took in the fresh countryside air and smiled faintly.
Ignoring the Greyrat couple, he slowly turned—
And looked directly at the three children.
Sunlight fell across his face.
Brown, curly mid-length hair. Eyes squinting with a gentle smile.
Warmth and coldness blended perfectly on his face.
It was impossible to tell which was real.
Sylphy's heart skipped a beat. She didn't know why.
Instinctively, she reached for Allen's hand—
And froze.
Allen was smiling.
His eyes narrowed, the corners of his mouth curved up, as he returned the man's gaze.
Dust danced between them.
When their eyes met—
The system prompt appeared.
[Detected interaction with tutoring arc character]
[Childhood phase ended]
[Tutoring phase has begun early]
[Rating cleared]
[Current stage: Tutoring Period – Participation Score: 2 Points]
[Please continue shaping your mark in the "Jobless Era" through the eyes of protagonists and supporting characters]
[Current sword style levels:]
Sword God Style: Advanced
Water God Style: Saint Level
North God Style: Advanced
Allen's gaze passed between the lines of [Participation Score: 2 Points], landing on the "guest's" face.
At that moment—
Sylphy looked between the two of them, stunned.
The expressions—
Were identical.
That was when she realized what had made her uneasy.
A noble. A middle-aged man. A luxurious carriage. A visit to the Knight's home. Allen's strange behavior.
That man—
Might be Allen's biological father.
The wheels outside the Greyrat gate had stopped.
But fate kept rolling forward.