Paul glanced at Philip, then at Allen, and seeing no objections from the latter, he reached under the table to hold Zenith's hand, before turning toward Rudy.
The boy, ever like a little adult, simply shrugged helplessly.
"Well, if Allen's agreed, then I've got no complaints. Times are tough, and as the eldest son, I should be doing my part for the family."
Paul looked at Rudy, touched by his maturity—unaware that Rudy was silently cursing him inside.
Just as he was about to respond to Philip's intense gaze—
Clatter!
Someone moved.
The poor stool in front of the table trembled under the domination of Lady Eris, twitching violently.
And the young lady herself—stepping in polished little shoes, dressed in a noble gown that only looked elegant—strode toward Allen and Philip with the heavy-footed authority of someone who acknowledged no relatives. Her posture leaned forward…
Like a feline predator stalking its prey.
That afternoon's spotlight once again fell upon the emotion-on-sleeve wild beast. Everyone's wandering thoughts were abruptly cut off.
All eyes followed the red storm.
Allen turned his gaze from Philip—who had just walked up beside him—and stared, a bit dumbfounded, at Eris's "the world revolves around me" demeanor.
Then, without hesitation, he stepped back.
A natural, honest gesture—absolutely sincere.
And in doing so, he subtly positioned Philip in front of himself as a human shield.
However—
Eris shoved her biological father aside. As he gave a helpless smile, she barreled forward and grabbed Allen's shirt.
She stared curiously at his dry clothes, then turned toward Philip's soaked appearance, raising her brow and demanding:
"I heard you're stronger than Ghislaine?? It's raining outside—why aren't you wet?"
Allen looked at the little lioness's face, intending to explain rationally—but then remembered… there was no reasoning with this stormy brute.
Try talking sense and she'd just raise an eyebrow and say "Huh?" before punching you.
So instead, Allen smiled, gently slipped out of her grip, and reached toward Philip as if brushing something off.
Then he held out his palm to Eris.
A single, crystal-clear raindrop hovered in his palm, surrounded by tiny directional shifts caused by Ryū Ōgi (Flow Secret Technique).
The drop floated midair, tumbling, bouncing, struggling.
But it couldn't escape the invisible prison.
Eris lifted her brow high, staring at the drop, fully captivated.
Then Allen's voice reached her ear:
"Can Ghislaine do this?"
Eris reflexively answered:
"No—"
In that moment, Allen released the technique. Before the drop could fall, he flicked it with a finger, his slightly mischievous voice ringing out at the same time:
Chi.
The drop struck her forehead with a soft pop, exploding into a tiny transparent flower right in front of her face.
Of course—it had no force behind it.
Eris was stunned.
The room fell silent.
Philip stared blankly, letting out a confused "Huh?" from his throat.
Sylphy, who had just started to rise, slowly sat back down.
Rudy covered his face, peeking through his fingers to enjoy the show.
The next second—
Eris's face darkened.
"You!!"
She threw a punch, channeling her full beginner-level Kendō Ryū (Sword God Style) speed straight at Allen's face.
But there, waiting for her, was his outstretched index finger.
Ryū Ōgi activated again—diffusing the force, bursting the air around them.
Her punch trembled in place, suspended just short of his fingertip.
Waves of air rippled out visibly in Allen's eyes.
One second later, her fist hovered there—unable to even graze him.
Allen lowered his finger.
"Can Ghislaine do that?"
Eris scowled, then kicked him in the leg.
This time, the hit landed. A fleeting flash of satisfaction crossed her face, and she turned around and stomped off.
"Tch! Arrogant jerk! Just because I haven't seen it doesn't mean Ghislaine can't do it!!"
With stomping footsteps fading behind her—
The poor stool groaned once more under her torment.
Creaaak… creeeak…
Allen patted his leg, shrugged at the others' stares.
Didn't hurt a bit.
In his past life, he never comforted kids—only scared them.
Now with a new little sister (also named Eris, oddly enough), he found himself a little confused.
Maybe kids needed to win a little sometimes? Maybe letting them get one over on you would make them calm down?
He wasn't sure.
He just didn't get along with this kind of child.
Come to think of it, Eris was two years older than Sylphy… yet completely lacked Sylphy's maturity.
Actually, Sylphy seemed even more gentle and grown-up than in the original story.
Maybe that's because the anime and novel both gave her childhood so little focus? Made her feel too flat?
Thinking that, Allen looked toward Sylphy.
But she wasn't looking at him—only staring silently at the table in front of her.
—
Paul looked around. Aside from Allen and Eris, everyone else was frozen like a tableau.
He quickly cleared his throat twice.
Only then did the others come back to their senses.
Philip scratched his wet hair with a wide smile.
Rudy glanced at Allen with a bit of admiration—and some regret that the fun ended so fast.
Paul turned to Philip and spoke.
"Well then, let's set off tomorrow. Tonight, we'll pack and I'll clear a guest room for you two. Philip, you'll have to make do. I'll cook a bit extra toni—"
"No, it's better if we go now. We've already wasted more time than I expected. My plan was to get home by nightfall."
Paul blinked.
Honestly, while he didn't mind Rudy and Allen studying at Philip's place, he hadn't mentally prepared for it yet.
"Huh? That soon?"
"You know how Father is—if I don't stick to the schedule, I'll probably get a good beating."
Philip pointed to his own face with a smirk.
"You haven't seen him in a while either. Want to come along?"
Paul twitched and waved it off.
"Nah, the kids are still here. Not convenient. If you go now, won't you be traveling late into the night? It's still raining…"
Allen glanced at Philip's expression, paused, then unexpectedly backed him up.
"It's fine. Let's go today. Rudy, hurry and pack."
Rudy blinked, looked at Sylphy, then at Allen staring at Sylphy's back, and nodded.
"Okay~"
Allen nodded as well, walked past Eris, and the two locked eyes for a moment.
His dark gray eyes were calm, with a hint of a faint smile.
Her crimson ones were prideful, lion-like, full of disdain.
Allen walked quickly, deliberately not glancing at the beastkin girl's swaying tail.
As always, he reached out to ruffle Sylphy's white hair.
"Sylphy, help me out? Let's pack together—it looks like tonight'll be busy~"
Sylphy's head stayed low, her white hair shimmering under the candlelight.
Her expression was hidden.
"…Okay."
"Allen."
The drifting voice reached Paul and Zenith's ears.
They exchanged a complicated glance.
Paul turned to Philip, opened his mouth to say something…
But in the end, stayed silent.
(End of Chapter)
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