Shirou and Laws made an agreement for Sylphy to live at the Greyrat house for a while, and then he went home to prepare.
He told the rest of the family about it first.
Paul and Zenith naturally had no objections. They both knew Laws and were willing to help take care of his daughter.
The maid Lilia didn't have the right to object, and she always agreed with all of Shirou's decisions.
But Rudeus acted a bit strangely. He still seemed to remember Sylphy, remembering what kind of child she was.
"Do you really have to bring that Sylphy to our house?"
Rudeus asked awkwardly, seeming unhappy with the decision.
Shirou didn't notice his attitude and said calmly, "Sylphy is bullied by the villagers because of her hair color. No one wants to be friends with her, so we have to be her friends."
"He's being bullied by the villagers?"
Hearing Shirou say this, Rudeus suddenly froze.
He remembered his own past of being bullied and felt a sense of shared pain. His initial resistance lessened.
So, everyone in the Greyrat family agreed to let Sylphy stay temporarily, and no one objected.
In the evening, Laws arrived at the Greyrat house with a green-haired child.
The child Laws brought was undoubtedly Sylphy.
She had long eyelashes for a child, a straight nose, thin lips, and a chin line that was beautifully heart-stopping.
Her skin was like white porcelain—combined with an expression like a startled rabbit, giving her a unique beauty that was hard to tell was male or female.
"No way, she's such a handsome guy!"
Rudeus didn't expect Sylphy to turn into such an effeminate pretty boy with a unique aura after a few years. He was greatly shocked.
Yes, Rudeus still mistakenly thought Sylphy was a boy, and no one had explained her gender to him.
Shirou didn't know about Rudeus's misunderstanding and walked up immediately.
"..."
Sylphy held Laws's hand, keeping her head down.
She seemed to be in a state of shock, afraid to look around, and didn't even notice Shirou's arrival.
Seeing this, Rudeus couldn't help but show a complex expression, because he saw his former self in Sylphy.
In the past, after being bullied, he was completely afraid of talking to people, completely closing himself off, and not even daring to step out of his room.
Rudeus's resentment towards Sylphy completely disappeared at that moment. He even hoped to help this poor child...
"Um..."
At the same time, Shirou came to Sylphy and tried to kneel down to look at the girl's face. "Sylphy, I'm Shirou. I met you at your house before. Do you remember me?"
"Shi...rou..."
Hearing Shirou's words, Sylphy slowly raised her head, her empty eyes without any warmth or light, like a void.
"Yes, I even gave you dried fruit to eat back then. If you want to eat dried fruit, I can make some for you now."
"..."
Sylphy hesitated upon hearing Shirou's words.
She seemed to recall what had happened before and wanted to accept Shirou's kindness, but because of the trauma left by the other children in the village, her heart was greatly afraid of contact with outsiders.
Seeing Sylphy so withdrawn, Shirou realized the pain the girl had gone through, to the point of completely giving up contact with the outside world.
He looked seriously at Laws and asked him to leave Sylphy in his care.
"Please, Shirou."
Laws showed a pleading expression. As a parent, he naturally cared about his child more than anyone else, but Sylphy's problem was something he couldn't solve.
Filled with resentment and helplessness, Laws placed almost all his hope on Shirou, hoping he could solve his daughter's problem.
"Yes, I'll take good care of Sylphy."
Hearing Laws's words, Shirou nodded and took Sylphy's hand.
The girl's hand was small and cold, just like her appearance. After being hurt, she lost the courage to connect with the outside world.
If Shirou hadn't had contact with her before, and even left a certain good impression, Sylphy probably wouldn't even be willing to touch him.
But because of their past connection, Sylphy wasn't afraid of Shirou holding her hand, but her head being down showed that she still resisted.
"This is your room. It's renovated from the original storage room, but it's still okay to live in."
Shirou brought Sylphy to the room. He tried to speak cheerfully, trying to wake up Sylphy's spirit and make her gradually become outgoing, but Sylphy just nodded silently, then sat down in the corner of the room, looking like she didn't want to talk to anyone at all.
"..."
Seeing Sylphy like this, Shirou didn't know what to say.
He faintly saw the shadow of the former Rudeus in Sylphy, but even worse than Rudeus was that she not only completely closed herself off, but also didn't even try to save or struggle herself. It was clear she had completely fallen into the abyss.
"He's already too far gone."
Rudeus couldn't say anything sarcastic at this time, because he had been bullied like Sylphy, and knew what kind of harm it would do to a person's spirit and will. Even if the personality completely collapsed and the courage to live was lost, it was only natural.
"What a poor child, we have to find a way to help her." Zenith knew Sylphy's situation and felt sorry for her, hoping to do something for her. "If she eats good food, will that cheer her up?"
"Food, that's an idea..."
Shirou didn't have any good ideas, so he could only accept Zenith's suggestion.
He quickly went into the kitchen and used all his skills to make a fragrant fried rice, and brought it to Sylphy's room.
Seeing that the girl didn't pay any attention to him, Shirou handed over the fried rice and said gently:
"Sylphy, dinner is ready."
"..."
Sylphy seemed to have not heard Shirou's words, and remained silent in her place.
Shirou didn't know what to say, so he could only put the fried rice on the table and leave alone.
About two hours later, Shirou came back after practicing swordsmanship.
After opening Sylphy's room, he found that she hadn't even touched the food he had carefully made. It was completely put aside and became cold.
"It really doesn't work." Rudeus looked helpless, "She probably can't even hear what outsiders say now, let alone eat something from a stranger."
"Indeed."
Hearing his words, Shirou nodded.
During Rudeus's issue before, Shirou realized that if a person completely refused to communicate with the outside world, it would be difficult to completely open their heart using any method.
Ordinary parents might use force at this time to force their children to act according to their wishes.
But this cruel method would inevitably leave an indelible mark on the child's heart, and they might even be troubled by childhood scars for life.
Speaking of which, how did Rudeus get out of the shadows back then?
Shirou thought about this and came up with a good idea.
He said to Rudeus, "Rudy, let's go outside for combat practice!"
"Combat practice? Er, with me?"
"Yes."
Shirou often practiced combat, but the opponent was usually Paul. Rudeus's age was still too young in the eyes of most people.
But in reality, Rudeus was already a Water Saint-level magician, the highest level even in the entire Greyrat family.
Even if Shirou and him had combat training, Shirou wasn't sure he could win.
Of course, under normal circumstances, Shirou still couldn't have combat training with Rudeus. That would be too much like bullying the younger. But this time, he had a special purpose for doing this.
"I understand."
Seeing Shirou's firm look, Rudeus wouldn't refuse. He was actually already itching to see the difference between himself and his brother.
However, before leaving, Shirou shook his head: "Don't rush, let me go call Sylphy over."
"Er? What should we do with him?"
"Of course, to watch our fight."
"Let Sylphy watch our fight?"
"Yes, maybe Sylphy will become interested in swordsmanship or magic after seeing our fight."
Shirou smiled and said seriously, "If that child can learn a skill, it can more or less get rid of the loneliness in her heart. Even though people may close themselves off due to external factors, as long as the inner spiritual world is rich enough, it doesn't matter even if they are completely isolated from the outside world."
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