Rudeus stared blankly at Allen, listening to the stream of profanities that he had only heard from him on the night of the affair. He was stunned for a long time.
The subconscious smile on his face gradually faded.
His expression twitched a few times as he looked at Allen, who was staring straight at him.
He suddenly gritted his teeth and erupted!
He grabbed Allen's collar in return!
He subconsciously used wind magic, flipping Allen and slamming him against the wardrobe!
Allen was stunned, completely blindsided by Rudeus's sudden burst of manliness.
Then, Rudeus's hurried, exasperated voice rang in his ear.
"You're asking me? Allen? You're asking me??"
"Am I the one Teacher Roxy is interested in?"
"You're asking me what to do?"
"Fine! I'll tell you now. I'm not like you, always trying to protect everyone, always trying to make everyone smile. I'll tell you straight up, I know myself very well. If I were Paul, I would definitely be just as pathetic as he was, maybe even kneeling on the ground crying and begging Lilia and Zenith to forgive me."
"I know everyone handled it poorly that night! Of course I know!"
"But who was the one who solved the problem in the end? Wasn't it you? You were the best one among us!"
"Don't you always know how to say the right thing? How to get things done?"
"You always want to be perfect, to protect everyone."
"Aren't you conceited enough?"
"Then get moving!"
"Have you forgotten how you solved the problem that night?"
"Wasn't it about making us respect Zenith, to see her as a living, breathing person?"
"To ask her what she really thinks? To consider things from her perspective?"
"To ask for her forgiveness, and then give the final choice back to her? To give her respect?"
Hearing this, Allen's brow furrowed, and he was about to say something.
But Rudeus cut him off.
"You want to respect them? Shouldn't you ask them how they feel? Let them choose?"
"Isn't that what you taught us that night? Why can't you do it yourself?"
"Or are you not confident?"
With those words, the air fell silent.
Allen's mind seemed to drift to something, his expression looking a bit dazed. He just stared blankly at the ceiling.
Rudeus, looking at Allen's face, also froze.
After his anger at being cut off by Allen had subsided following his own Allen-style tirade, he suddenly calmed down.
He looked down at his own hand, still gripping Allen's collar, and his face faltered.
He sheepishly let go.
Could Allen have fought back?
Of course, he could have.
But he made no move, just listened to him finish.
It seems...
...he actually listened...
Rudeus grinned awkwardly and scratched his head.
A moment later, he just sat down in a nearby chair.
But... he had been talking complete nonsense, driven by a momentary burst of anger, just following Allen's lead and subconsciously questioning him in his own style.
It was less of a persuasion and more of a...
...complaint, perhaps?
This is bad, what do I do?
Will... Allen and Sylphiette start ignoring me from now on?
"...Sorry..."
"...A self-righteous kindness, was it..."
Hearing Allen's murmur, Rudeus turned his head in surprise.
In his line of sight, Allen was leaning against the table, still looking at the ceiling. His expression was completely calm, with no trace of the sharp, questioning demeanor from before.
His subsequent words floated through the air to Rudeus's ears.
"I apologize."
"...I'm the one who should be apologizing. What you said actually makes a lot of sense, Allen... If Fa... Father were like you, Mother probably wouldn't have cried that night. Uh, hehe, why did we end up arguing? That wasn't my plan when I came over. It would be hilarious if Sylphiette heard us... hahaha..."
Rudeus's laughter died in his throat.
His eyes widened as he looked at Allen, who also stopped looking at the ceiling and stared back at him in shock.
The next instant!
They both moved to open the door at the same time and slammed their heads together.
"Ouch!"
Rudeus was instantly 'sent' behind Allen with a flow-style martial arts move.
Creak. The door opened.
Allen leaned out.
He let out a visible sigh of relief.
Rudeus quickly followed him out.
Sylphiette's door was still firmly closed.
They exchanged a look and then tiptoed towards Sylphiette's door, one behind the other.
But before they had taken two steps, Rudeus bumped into Allen's back again.
He looked up, puzzled.
Allen's body was a bit stiff.
He leaned forward, looking ahead.
A figure in a white dress stood at the end of the corridor.
She was watching them silently.
Rudeus panicked instantly. He turned stiffly to look at Allen.
He felt like he had just made Allen blow his cover prematurely.
But when he looked, Allen was just frowning slightly at Sylphiette.
Huh? Wait, why is Sylphiette at the end of the hall at this hour?
He turned to look at Sylphiette, about to call her over.
Allen moved.
He walked down the corridor, the light from the lamps flickering across his body.
In what seemed like just a few steps, he reached the end of the hall.
Rudeus had to run, panting, to catch up.
He saw Allen walk up to Sylphiette and first look down at her feet.
Only then did Rudeus notice that Sylphiette wasn't wearing shoes.
She was barefoot.
Allen crouched down and silently looked at Sylphiette's feet.
The tops of her feet were smooth, but the soles were slightly smudged with patches of dust.
Some spots were darker, some lighter.
He looked up at Sylphiette.
Two and a half years had passed since their first meeting in Buena Village.
Now, when Allen crouched down, he could no longer meet Sylphiette's gaze at eye level.
There was about half a face's difference in height.
But because of this, when he looked up, he could see her eyes perfectly, without them being hidden by her white hair.
Sylphiette's reddish-brown eyes were somewhat vacant. When she saw Allen looking at her, some light seemed to return to them.
Their eyes met.
Their gazes intertwined.
"Why aren't you wearing shoes?"
Sylphiette looked at Allen's face.
Allen used to talk to her in this posture often, but it had been a long time in the past six months since she had seen his eyes so easily.
The familiar dark gray.
She had just seen it a moment ago.
Sylphiette averted her gaze.
"...I for... forgot."
Allen looked at her quietly for a moment, then looked down at her feet again. He leaned closer as if to do something.
But he suddenly stopped.
He pursed his lips, straightened his leaning body, and then stood up.
"Let's go. The floor is cold."
"Okay..."
The two turned and walked towards the tutors' dormitory doors.
Rudeus followed a step behind, off to the side. He looked at Allen's back, then at Sylphiette beside him, and a smile stretched across his face.
But it didn't look lewd.
He clasped his hands behind his head and followed them.
After Sylphiette washed her feet and put on slippers, the three of them stood in front of their respective doors.
"See you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow."
As they spoke, Rudeus threw open his door and darted inside.
The remaining two just stood, their hands on their doorknobs, looking at their doors.
A moment seemed to pass, or perhaps a long time.
Sylphiette's soft, almost whispering voice sounded.
"...Allen, did Rudeus tell you? It was my idea for the lady to suddenly become our etiquette teacher."
"Mm, he said it was his idea."
"...I see."
"I feel like I might have messed some things up..."
"You didn't."
Sylphiette turned her head to look at Allen.
He was looking at her from the side, his expression focused.
"I didn't..."
"You didn't mess anything up at all. Your efforts are precious."
"I like them very much."
"That's good, then."
"See you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow."
The sounds of their doors opening were almost simultaneous.
Then they closed again.
Sylphiette leaned her back against her door, letting her body slowly slide down until she was sitting on the floor.
"...I didn't?"
She buried her head in her knees.
Allen turned his head, 'watching' her.
Separated by a wall.
Just a single wall.
Author's Note: The feeling of gathering all the chaotically laid threads and pulling them together is so satisfying.
I'll keep pulling.
Pulling until the climax.
That's all for today, goodnight everyone~
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