Father and son stood by the wall.
A wind came from afar, making their clothes flutter.
The clouds were as thick and heavy as a lid, seeming to have shortened the distance between heaven and earth.
Philip looked at the peeling plaster on the wall, the smile on his lips having already disappeared.
Allen, on the other hand, was looking up at the clouds in the sky, smiling happily with his eyes narrowed, as if waiting for the rain to fall.
No one spoke.
The spring thunder cracked first.
"Plink."
A large raindrop fell on the wall, the sound exceptionally clear.
Finally, someone spoke.
"Allen, you are even more outstanding and intelligent than I imagined. These past years..."
It was Philip's increasingly gentle voice, which sounded amidst the dense pattering that had suddenly started all around.
The spring cloudburst came on fast. In the span of a single sentence, the curtain of rain, like an inseparable veil, enveloped the two of them, and the dense lines of rain instantly connected heaven and earth.
The rest of his sentence followed.
"You have been wronged. I have failed you."
Allen looked at Philip, who had his eyes lowered to the wall. The sudden downpour of raindrops hit their shoulders and backs, outlining their figures with a smoky edge.
Allen used his Water God Style's Flowing Secret Art. A thin layer of Touki enveloped his body, repelling the rain. The rainwater 'fell' parallel to the folds of his clothes from an inch away.
Impervious to wind and rain.
His clothes hadn't even had time to get wet.
"How have you failed me? I am well aware of the Boreas family's rules. As for being wronged? I am not wronged."
"The capital is fine. The Water God Style dojo suits me very well. I can stay there for ten days to half a month without going home, and it's fine."
"I am very free."
Philip was silent for a moment in the rain, saying no more.
Allen found this amusing. There was not a trace of bitterness in his words. Before he had completely integrated into the Greyrat family, he had always had this 'game player' mentality.
Anyway, James couldn't stand to see him excel. Couldn't he just stay away?
There were many people in the dojo, and most of them were pleasant to talk to. As for the few who weren't, he had spent several years carefully teaching them etiquette, and their way of speaking had become pleasant too.
And there was a beautiful girl with long, black hair, who had lost her parents early and had a similar upbringing to him, cheering for him from the sidelines.
Wasn't that just too pleasant?
It was different now.
But he was even less wronged.
Because he had gained a 'family.'
Not a family in the sense of blood relations from this life, but a family that the soul of 'Allen' from his previous life genuinely recognized.
A 'family' in this world of Mushoku Tensei.
Who isn't a family man?
I'm going to be a family man!
Allen sneered.
"You're so serious... Relax, you don't have to be so coy. You just want to get your hands on the power in the capital and compete for the position of the next family head. Coming to Buena Village to find me and Rudeus is to pave the way for the future?"
"But are you sure... that he and I can be the paving stones on your path forward? I am just a humble Water Saint, and he is just a Saint-rank mage. You don't really think we're that amazing just because we killed a nest of monsters, do you?"
Philip, hearing Allen speak first, and his words going straight to the heart of the matter without any beating around the bush, although the 'paving stones' analogy was harsh, was used to such things.
Philip was not one for pleasantries either.
Thinking of this, the corners of his mouth curved up again.
"Allen... I know how excellent your swordsmanship talent is. You don't need to be so modest. You can definitely be of great help with your martial prowess alone..."
"That's what I thought before I came."
Allen turned to look at him.
His voice pierced through the curtain of rain and into Philip's eardrums.
"Before you came?"
The rain wet Philip's hair, and his brown curls stuck to his face, but he didn't seem to care at all.
"Yes, before I came. But now I believe that, compared to your martial prowess, I admire your ability, or rather, your potential, more. You are only eleven years old. And as far as I know, you spent most of your life in the Water God Style dojo and were not specially cultivated by James. You purely made a name for yourself in the Water God Style's main dojo with your outstanding swordsmanship talent, which is how you became famous in the circle of swordsmen in the capital."
Philip's voice trembled with a barely perceptible tremor.
It was hard to tell if it was from the cold of the rain.
Or the heat in his heart.
His speech became faster and faster.
"Even so, even so, your 'ability' is already so mature. Your talent far exceeds your imagination. Come back to Roa with me, I will teach you everything I know. In time, you and I will definitely be able to reclaim the position of the head of the Boreas family. The future is—"
"I refuse."
Allen interrupted Philip, mocking him inwardly.
'My Mushoku Tensei tasks are divided into periods. This capital power struggle plotline at most overlaps with the Asura Kingdom succession arc in the youth period. What am I doing getting stuck in this quagmire with you? If I don't get a full score, it'll delay me from seeing Roxy.'
'Isn't that just ridiculous?'
Philip smiled, without even lifting his eyes, as if he had already expected this answer. He glanced at Allen, who was impervious to the rain with his Touki.
"Don't be in a hurry. Let me finish."
"As a swordsman, you have a thirst for power, I can see that. And your current swordsmanship strength proves that you have never stopped on the path of swordsmanship. A Water Saint? I've only just heard of it..."
Allen pursed his lips noncommittally.
Seeing this, Philip continued.
"Come to Roa. I can provide you with a better teacher, a teacher many times better than Paul, a teacher who is absolutely suitable for you."
"You may have heard of her title, the Sword King—Ghislaine. She is the only King-rank master of the Sword God Style. You have probably been studying the Water God Style for many years and are actually in more need of a Sword God Style teacher, right?"
"As for what I said just now, I... just think it's a bit of a pity."
Philip turned to look straight at Allen, the falling rain making his voice waver.
"The swordsmanship you are so dedicated to, as a vessel of power, is certainly important."
"But what I want to tell you is... compared to power, authority is even more wonderful."
"Because."
Philip held out his palm, and the rain beat against it, flowing across it.
"When you have authority, power will naturally cling to it."
"The direction you are pursuing is wrong. You should not just be a swordsman. Your stage should be in the capital."
Allen squinted at the curtain of rain, smiling enigmatically.
Philip studied him for a while, a flash of disappointment in his eyes.
"Don't be in a hurry to refuse. What I want to say is, whether you agree to my request or not, I am willing to let Ghislaine teach you swordsmanship. This is my sincerity, for a period of four years. After four years, you will be fifteen..."
The custom in the Asura Kingdom was to celebrate birthdays only at the ages of five, ten, and fifteen. This also meant that after the age of fifteen, a child was considered capable of standing on their own two feet without protection.
Philip's words were mixed with the sound of the rain.
"The sea is vast for the fish to leap."
"At that time, even if you want to leave my side, it's fine."
Hearing this, Allen grinned, his eyebrows raised high. Only then did he look at Philip with interest.
"To take, one must first give?"
The look of admiration in Philip's eyes was almost tangible as it roamed over Allen's face.
"So, will you accept this 'gift,' or not?"
Allen tilted his head and looked at Philip, smiling.
He turned and walked away.
"I accept."
His figure passed through the curtain of rain.
His voice stopped and then started again in the sound of the wind and rain.
Only managed to write one chapter...
I'm useless.
The next chapter is being written...
Join my patreon For Early access to Chapter : patreon.com/TheWorldGod
Tiamat 200 Chapter (Final)
Honkai 510 Chapter
Lobotomy 110 Chapter
MushokuTensei 310 Chapter
'Pure Evil' Simulator Chapter Ending
Crossover Fic Blapterue-Eyes Chapter Ending
Harry want to be Hero 70 Chapter