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Roxy turned her gaze toward Allen.
The latter held his sword with both hands, moving it through the air in an extremely slow trajectory before finally resting the tip of the blade on the grassy ground.
Perhaps it was a trick of the light, but for a moment, Roxy thought she saw the blade produce an afterimage.
Above the trembling afterimage, a few scattered leaves floated down... down...
And then split apart.
"126!"
At the sound of Sylphie's soft voice, Roxy blinked, her eyes fixed on the tip of the blade.
"...Even with such a slow slash, he can cut through leaves floating in the air without any support..."
Rudy, noticing Roxy's expression, scratched his head in frustration, his face showing a mix of helplessness and exasperation.
"...Teacher, look closer, really look... Don't focus on the sword..."
As Rudy spoke, Allen once again raised the blade above his head, following the exact same trajectory as before, slowly bringing it down.
From above his head to shoulder level, then down to his abdomen, the blade finally came to a steady halt above a blade of grass dancing in the wind.
Rudy's words followed.
"...Look at his arm."
The blade once again intertwined with the light and shadows.
Roxy shifted her gaze from the blade to Allen's arm, following the hilt.
The blade's afterimage trembled, and Allen's arm also showed a slight tremor. His sleeve, as if tugged by an invisible force, suddenly lifted before falling limply back onto his skin.
Roxy's eyebrows rose in surprise.
"...Could it be... that when the blade touched the grass earlier... Allen had already completed another slash?... That's incredible."
As soon as she finished speaking, the "incredible" Allen let out a heavy breath, his face suddenly turning pale. He staggered over to Rudy and said,
"Got any more? Hit me with another one."
Rudy: "..."
Roxy: "..."
After a quick incantation, the glow of a healing spell lit up once more. Allen immediately sprang back to life, picked up his sword, and began swinging it through the air again.
Rudy sighed, placing a hand on his forehead as he turned to look at Roxy, who was still in a daze. She muttered,
"...It feels like Allen already has the skills of a top-tier adventurer..."
"Uh... isn't Allen already an adventurer?"
Roxy blinked, only now remembering that Allen had mentioned during their earlier conversation that only Paul and Zenith in the Greyrat household knew his true identity.
Thinking of this, Roxy instinctively tugged at the hair on her forehead, her eyes darting around.
"Ah... I mean an S-rank adventurer. Allen's skills far surpass his current adventurer rank..."
Rudy, seeing Roxy like this, felt his thoughts drifting. He quickly glanced at Allen, who was focused on his sword practice, and suppressed a lecherous grin as he said to Roxy,
"Speaking of which, Teacher, you were an adventurer too, right? Did you ever... meet anyone you liked?"
Roxy's face froze for a moment. She scratched her cheek, looking flustered as she replied,
"Well... back in Millis, I was often excluded because of my hair color, which left me penniless for a time... Luckily, a fellow countryman took me in, and I ended up working at a tavern. Later, I... developed feelings for him, and even formed an adventurer team with another lady who had a great figure..."
Rudy's face stiffened.
"Ah... and then what happened?"
Roxy, now visibly embarrassed, hesitated for a moment before whispering,
"Then they ended up together."
'Yes! A goddess who's never been in love!'
Roxy glanced at Rudy, who had suddenly stood up, her expression growing even more awkward.
"...See... no one would like someone with a body like mine... like a child's..."
Rudy, however, spoke with complete seriousness.
"I actually think it's because of that that Teacher is even more lovable~"
Roxy's mouth twitched.
"I told you... it'd be more convincing if you said that ten years from now. But... right now, you might still be interested in someone with my body type, but that could change in the future..."
Rudy declared confidently,
"Impossible! I love Teacher's type!"
'Half-closed eyes, loli, cold expression. The perfect goddess!'
"Liar."
Though she called him a liar, Roxy's expression betrayed a hint of happiness at the compliment.
Just as Rudy was about to respond, Allen suddenly walked over again, his face pale.
"One more... please."
A green glow flashed, and Allen was back on his feet. He thanked Rudy and casually asked,
"Why are you so excited? I thought I heard you say something about liking a certain type... Are you two talking about love or something?"
"No, Teacher just lacks confidence in her figure. I was comforting her."
Roxy, hearing this, lowered her head and began drawing circles on the ground.
'So it was just comfort after all... T T.'
Allen glanced at Roxy.
"If she's insecure about her figure, then don't comfort her by focusing on that. Even if you're being sincere, she'll subconsciously think you're just trying to make her feel better..."
At this, Roxy looked up at Allen, her pupils slightly widening. The light filtering through the leaves above cast dappled shadows on her eyes, making the deep blue lakes shimmer.
Allen's gaze lingered on Roxy's eyes for a moment before he turned away, his unfinished words drifting through the air to the two of them.
"Her eye color is so beautiful. You could have just complimented her eyes."
His tone made it sound like the most natural thing in the world.
The sound of the blade cutting through the air grew louder again, but it only emphasized the silence that had fallen over the group.
Rudy swallowed hard, forcing himself to look away from Allen and toward Roxy.
The latter was tugging at the strands of hair on her forehead, her face slightly red as she muttered,
"What's with him... such a smooth talker..."
Her words were carried away by the wind before they could reach Rudy.
After a moment of silence, Rudy gritted his teeth and decided to change the subject.
"...By the way, Teacher, if you're leaving in a few days, are you still planning to explore the dungeon near the Dragon King Mountains?"
Roxy glanced at Allen, who was still swinging his sword, before looking up at the sky.
"Yeah... that's the plan..."
Rudy cautiously asked,
"So, in the next ten years, will you stay in the Central Continent? Or..."
Roxy thought for a moment before hesitantly replying,
"Well, there aren't many adventurer requests in the Central Continent to make extra money. I'll probably travel around, continue improving my magic, and take on some tutoring jobs to make a living... Ten years is too long to think about right now..."
"I see... I think... Teacher should stay in the Central Continent. That way, maybe when I grow up, I can join your adventurer team."
"...But I suggest you go to magic university first, Rudy, before considering becoming an adventurer."
Rudy's face lit up with a smile.
"Then it's settled! I'll go to magic university, and then we'll form an adventurer team together!"
"...Let's talk about that after you graduate from magic university."
Rudy chuckled.
"But why are you so set on being an adventurer and exploring dungeons? I think you could easily teach at a magic university. Who knows, maybe you'll even be my teacher there..."
Roxy, feeling a bit embarrassed, rubbed the grass with her foot.
"Being so set on being an adventurer... well, don't let my appearance fool you, but I do have dreams of love too... Maybe one day, a manly, tall, yet boyish-faced young man will save me in the depths of a dungeon. Then... we'll become dependent on each other as adventurers, and feelings will gradually grow between us, and then..."
Roxy suddenly paused, her gaze involuntarily shifting to Allen, who was standing nearby.
The blade came down once more.
"139!"
Not far away, Sylphie's elf ears had been tuned to Rudy and Roxy's conversation. Now, her expression grew serious as she looked at Allen.
Rudy, meanwhile, was completely stunned. He stiffly turned his head to look at Allen, his face looking like he was about to cry.
'Manly, tall, boyish-faced, and a young adventurer... Look, here's someone who perfectly fits Roxy's ideal type... How convenient... Damn it! I never should have agreed to let Paul make him my swordsmanship teacher...'
The surroundings fell silent, with only the sound of the blade cutting through the wind.
Allen, who had been about to continue his practice, suddenly noticed the silence and stopped to look around.
He found everyone staring at him.
He blinked, then asked,
"Uh... what's going on? Why are you all looking at me?"
Note: So far this story is published up to chapter 95 on my patreon, go check it out and remember that if we reach the goal of 40 power stones I will publish the next chapter.