"Move out of the village?"
At the breakfast table, the entire Greyrat family stared in unison at Allen, who wore an awkward expression.
It was now spring of the Dragon Calendar year 414, and today marked Allen's fourth attempt to verbally suggest that the Greyrat family move out of the Fittoa territory.
The most direct and effective way to avoid the disaster of the Teleportation Incident was simply to get the Greyrat family out of Fittoa.
However…
Making the decision was easy. Actually carrying it out? Much harder…
He couldn't exactly knock them all out and drag them away, right?
So all he could do was make some reasonable, practical, and well-founded suggestions.
Right?
Paul folded his arms across his chest, frowning as he spoke up.
"This is the fourth time since last winter you've brought this up, right? Do you really dislike Buena Village that much?"
He folded his arms tighter, his face twitching slightly as he extended his fingers, counting out each of Allen's supposedly "reasonable suggestions."
"First time, you said winter was too cold, too much snow, and not seeing Sylphy every day would hinder the kids' healthy development… never mind what 'healthy development' even means. You even proposed Rolt's family move with us—don't you think that's going too far?"
Allen buried his face in his hands in frustration.
Rolt and his family were good people, and as a die-hard fan of Mushoku, he'd already crossed over; wanting to give Sylphy a complete family wasn't too much to ask, was it?
"And when I told Rolt about it, he just froze for a second, then immediately agreed?! What's with that? Since when are you two so close? And since last winter, after you came back from clearing the monsters, Sylphy's been coming over every day—what do you mean, not seeing Sylphy every day?"
"And Sylphy's always looking at you with that half-closed gaze… tch, by age she ought to be playing more with Rudy. You're quick on the uptake, huh? Those crooked little thoughts of yours… well, I'll admit, you do seem like one of the Greyrats, just like me in my day—ow! Darling, why are you stepping on me?"
"Ow! Lilia, why are you stepping on me too?!"
Paul grimaced in pain as his wives' high-heeled boots pressed into his thighs under the table.
Allen simply kept his head down, staring into his bowl, almost burying himself in it.
'You're baffled? Hell, I'm baffled! And Paul, my guy, why the hell did you sell me out to Rolt like that? Where's the brotherhood?'
Paul made as if to pinch his wives' thighs back, but when they quickly pulled away he coughed and continued.
"And the second time! Even worse! You secretly told Rudy that winters here can cause some weird… masculine weakness, so we should move south? What the hell have you been learning in the capital? What's going on in that head of yours?"
Paul glanced at Rudy, who was giving Allen a look that said: I thought we were brothers, and you're out here trying to ruin me?!
"I know you and Rudy are close, but you shouldn't joke about stuff like that."
'That was NOT what I said! I said winter makes your autonomic nerves less active and affects your mood! You idiot! And somehow your dumb intuition twisted it into something eerily close to canon? Is this the North God style's famed instinct at work?!'
"And then the third time! You claimed Aisha definitely has magical talent, so moving to Sharia would make it easier for her to go to school? Shouldn't it be Norn who's more likely to have talent? Considering Rudy's genes?"
Paul shot a quick, guilty glance at Zenith before continuing.
"And besides, Aisha can't even talk yet—she doesn't even call me 'Papa'—how do you know she has magical talent? You're just making things up."
"Ai-Ai! Ai-hey… Ai-len!"
From the cradle, Aisha waved her little hands at Allen.
Paul froze. The room went dead silent.
His face darkened as he looked at Allen, who only looked more awkward.
For some reason, despite Paul playing with Aisha just as much over the winter, she only called out Allen's name now…
Paul looked over at Lilia, who was trying not to laugh, and then sighed long and deep before turning to Rudy.
"Rudy, as her big brother, you need to look after Norn properly."
"Norn… Ai-len!"
Now even Norn, from her cradle, reached her hands out toward Allen.
Paul: …
Lilia: …
Zenith: …
Rudy: …
Everyone at the table fell into synchronized silence.
Then Aisha, hearing Norn giggle, pouted and burst into tears.
Allen rubbed his forehead, then finally lifted his head from his bowl. He glanced at Aisha and made a quieting gesture, while flicking a perfectly controlled Water God style ki bullet at her forehead.
Her red hair blew about with the impact, and her little hands waved in glee, forgetting to cry.
Everyone else just stared silently.
Allen froze at their looks, then awkwardly buried his face back into his bowl.
After a long moment, Rudy cleared his throat, trying to change the subject and save Allen.
"Do you really dislike the village? Everyone here seems to like you a lot—especially Mrs. Somar…"
He didn't even finish before Allen shot to his feet, his face a mask of panic, and clamped a hand over Rudy's mouth, shoving him under his arm and running out the door.
"We're going to find Somar—no, I mean, we're going to see Sylphy!"
In a flash, he was gone, leaving only a gust of wind to tousle everyone's hair.
Paul watched him go, sighing heavily as he exchanged wry looks with Zenith and Lilia.
The two wives, who'd spent the whole morning smiling quietly, now withdrew their gazes from the open door. Zenith looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully and murmured.
"Seems he really doesn't want to stay in Buena Village… but I think there's more to it than that."
Her words made both Paul and Lilia's faces darken slightly.
Meanwhile, in the bedroom, a gentle spring breeze floated through the open window, rustling a letter on the desk, its corner curling up.
The writing on it was hard to make out.
But the handwriting was elegant.
Clearly, not written by a commoner.
(End of Volume One)
(End of Chapter)
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