[Check Out My P4treon For +30 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!! And get chapters before publishing them here for free on my p4treon][https://p4treon.com/roooaaa]
===
The next morning, Rudeus left his bedroom early to find Allen, as they had agreed the previous day to meet in the yard to review the previous day's battle and discuss ways to improve.
Rubbing his sleepy eyes, Rudeus walked down the hallway. For some reason, the downstairs area seemed livelier than usual. He could hear Zenith and Lilia bustling around in the kitchen, chatting happily about something.
Rudeus didn't pay much attention. He reached Allen's door and pushed it open without hesitation—Allen never locked his door.
The curtains in the room were tightly drawn, unlike usual, leaving the room dimly lit.
Rudeus glanced at the bed and noticed that Allen's usual thin blanket was bundled up, rising and falling slightly.
'Allen's actually sleeping in? Did yesterday's battle drain him that much?'
'Wait, wasn't he the one who suggested we get up early? And now he's the one lazing around… Heh…'
With that thought, Rudeus tiptoed to the bed, grabbed a corner of the blanket, and yanked it off!
"Wake up, you lazy bum!"
The blanket flew into the air, and at that moment, a breeze from the window gently lifted the curtains, allowing a sliver of light to fall on Roxy's sleepy face.
Rudeus stared blankly at Roxy's face for a long moment.
Then he slapped himself across the cheek.
'Am I still dreaming? How could I mistake Allen for Roxy? Haha… Haha… This is so weird…'
'But why is Allen wearing Roxy's clothes…?'
He rubbed his face vigorously and looked back at the bed.
Roxy—no, Allen—seemed to have been disturbed by the slap. His long eyelashes fluttered as he began to wake up.
Footsteps echoed from the doorway as someone pushed the door open.
"Roxy, you really should get up now. If you don't, Rudeus will come over…"
Rudeus turned to see Allen standing at the door, then slowly turned back to look at Roxy, who was now blinking sleepily. He then turned again to look at Allen, who was standing there with a horrified expression.
The air froze.
Allen looked at Rudeus, his entire body stiff. He blinked rapidly.
"Rudeus… calm down. I can explain…"
Rudeus stared at Allen with an expression that could only be described as the kind of murderous aura one might direct at a dragon boss in a story. He forced a cold, lifeless smile and said,
"...Go ahead. I'm listening…"
"Ah… Rudeus? Where's Allen?"
At that moment, Roxy opened her eyes. She sat up, still groggy, and turned to look at Allen at the door.
"Ah… Allen, you're here… Good morning. Thanks for last night. If you hadn't woken me up, I wouldn't have known when I got into bed… Though I do remember us being by the table… Anyway, I haven't slept this well in a long time… You even helped me heat the bathwater this morning…"
'Roxy, do you even realize what you're saying?!'
A giant "DANGER" sign flashed in Allen's mind.
'Help me! Help me!'
The next moment, Rudeus's roar echoed through the Greyrat household.
"ALLEN!!!"
"Listen to me!! First of all, she's fully clothed!! Wait! Wait!"
"Water Ball!"
"Flow Strike! Hey! Hey! Wait! The bed's getting wet! Roxy's still on the bed!!"
"Water… huh?"
Both of them froze and turned to look at Roxy, who had been drenched by the redirected Water Ball. She blinked, still not fully awake and completely unaware of what had just happened.
At that moment, Zenith and Lilia, who had already been informed by Allen that Roxy had returned, rushed to the door.
Zenith took one look at the drenched Roxy, then at the two "children" with equally complicated expressions on their faces. She narrowed her eyes, clenched her fists, and spoke through gritted teeth in an eerily sweet tone.
"Allen, Rudeus… You two seem to be getting along really well… How reassuring…"
At breakfast, Allen and Rudeus sat at the table, both sporting black eyes and looking exceptionally well-behaved.
Zenith, still fuming, kept muttering under her breath.
"Before Allen came, I always thought Rudeus was such a well-behaved child. Turns out he just needed a playmate his own age… Hmph… And you, Allen, you're four years older than Rudeus. Why are you acting like a child too…?"
"We're sorry!" they said in unison.
The two, who were actually the same age in spirit, exchanged a glance and then looked across the table at Roxy, who had gone from insisting on taking a bath to being forced to take one. She was now wearing a set of casual clothes from her luggage, sipping tea with her eyes downcast. However, the faint smile at the corner of her lips betrayed her true feelings.
Paul, on the other hand, was in a cheerful mood.
"Since Roxy happened to stop by, why don't you stay for a few more days? We'll clear out the storage room next door for… uh… for Allen to stay in."
Roxy glanced at Allen. This was the story they had agreed on earlier that morning. On one hand, they didn't want to worry the Greyrat family too much. On the other hand, Rudeus still didn't know Allen's true identity. In Roxy's mind, Rudeus was still too young to be involved in the family's complicated affairs.
As for Allen, he was simply worried that if Rudeus found out he was Eris's brother, it might cause problems later when Rudeus entered his teenage years and moved to Roa. He was afraid Rudeus might accidentally spill the beans.
Revealing his identity to James wasn't a big deal, but the ripple effects it could cause were another matter entirely.
"But to think you'd lose your money to a thief and have to walk all the way here, arriving in the middle of the night… That's so like Roxy."
Roxy choked on her tea, and Zenith naturally reached over to pat her back.
Roxy shot Allen a half-glare while clutching her chest.
This ridiculous excuse was Allen's idea, and he even said it fit her personality…
'What's that supposed to mean? Am I really that careless…?'
"Oh, dear, being a little scatterbrained is part of Roxy's charm, isn't it?"
"Hmm… I suppose so."
Roxy: "..."
Allen: "..."
Rudeus, meanwhile, watched Allen and Roxy exchanging glances and felt a pang of jealousy.
'Why does Allen have such good luck with women? This is so unfair… My god, I need to get back at him… Wait…'
At that moment, he suddenly remembered something and widened his eyes as he stared at Allen.
'He's got dirt on me because of the shrine incident… That sly fox!'
Allen felt Rudeus's intense gaze but couldn't think of anything to say. He could only sigh and rub his forehead.
As he ate, he felt like he was forgetting something… But for the life of him, he couldn't remember what it was…
Allen shook his head and continued eating.
'…Oh well. It'll come to me eventually.'
Note: So far this story is published up to chapter 85 on my patreon, go take a look.