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"Monster tide??"
Allen looked at Sylphie in surprise. She was sitting on a stool, her head tucked into a fluffy collar, her legs dangling slightly. Her eyes met Allen's direct gaze, her eyelashes fluttering and her pointed ears twitching slightly.
This winter, Sylphie had been "studying" at the Greyrat household. She was brought over by Laws or her mother during the day and picked up in the evening.
In front of her was a book titled The Ecology and Weaknesses of Monsters in the Fittoa Region, with many notes and annotations in the margins. These were stories and observations Roxy had left behind after getting permission from Zenith to spend a week sharing her adventures across the continent. The notes were meant to help her tell stories to the children at night without stumbling, so as not to lose her authority as a teacher.
Blue Mama took teaching very seriously.
Now, this book had become Sylphie's favorite magical extracurricular reading material, and she had read it over and over again.
"That's what Father said a few days ago. I didn't ask for details, but he didn't look too good."
Allen noticed that some of her shoulder-length emerald hair was tangled in her fluffy collar, so he casually adjusted it for her. Then, resting his chin on his hand, he frowned in thought.
'I remember something like this happening in the original story, but that was during Rudeus's tutoring period after he left Buena Village. The reason for the increased monster activity was...'
At this thought, Allen's expression darkened for a moment.
'The teleportation magic used during the Great Teleportation caused a massive surge of magical energy in the Fittoa Region, which agitated the monsters... But I remember the monster uprising was supposed to happen during the tutoring period, not now. What's going on?'
Sylphie's gaze followed Allen's hand as he reached over and then pulled away. She rested her chin on her hand, quietly watching Allen's face, her youthful expression showing a hint of gentleness that didn't match her age.
As Rudeus had mentioned in his letter, Sylphie had become much "quieter" over the past year. This was mainly because Allen himself wasn't the type to chatter aimlessly. During the formative years of childhood, when personalities are most influenced by others, Sylphie had naturally started to mimic Allen's behavior after spending so much time with him.
Children in their growth phase often imitate those they "admire" or "aspire to be."
As for whether Allen fell into the former or latter category in her heart...
Who could say?
At this moment, Rudeus, who had been reading a magic book nearby, looked up at Allen's expression and seemed to recall something.
"When Laws came to ask for help earlier, I overheard their conversation. He said that after the incident last year, the villagers became too scared to venture deep into the forest to hunt monsters. Since Father and Allen didn't participate in the winter hunt, they didn't manage to kill many monsters, even though they pushed the nets deep into the forest."
Allen glanced at Rudeus, who was blinking at him.
'The aftermath of the infidelity and pregnancy incident led to Paul staying home all winter to take care of the two pregnant women... So it seems this monster tide is another unintended consequence of my actions... But this shouldn't have too big an impact, right?'
Nearby, Zenith, who was soothing the children, looked somewhat embarrassed and guilty.
"If I had known, I wouldn't have made him stay home to take care of us last winter. Delaying the monster hunt is a big deal..."
Allen raised an eyebrow, his gaze shifting past his bangs to give Rudeus a meaningful look.
Rudeus, who had also grown taller but whose face hadn't changed much—just transitioning from a childish boy's face to a slightly more mature one—had long since learned to interpret Allen's expressions. He subtly waved his hand, indicating that even without Allen's prompting, he would take action.
He stood up from the table and walked over to Zenith, making funny faces at Norn as he casually said, "Luai~ Hunting monsters is a big deal for the village, but taking care of pregnant women is a big deal for the Greyrat family, right?"
Zenith was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter. She reached out and lovingly patted Rudeus's head, pulling him into a hug.
Allen adjusted his glasses and, from a spot where Zenith couldn't see, gave Rudeus a thumbs-up. Rudeus responded with a look that said, "No big deal," and exchanged a glance with Allen.
This scene was reflected in Sylphie's reddish-brown eyes. She blinked, first glancing at Zenith, who was gently stroking Rudeus's hair, then looking over at Lilia.
Lilia, however, wasn't paying attention to Rudeus. Instead, she was gently playing with Aisha in her cradle while gazing warmly at Allen.
Seeing this, Sylphie's eyelashes fluttered rapidly, and a subtle, satisfied smile appeared on her face. She lowered her head and continued reading the book on the table.
Just then.
Knock knock knock!
There was a rapid knocking at the door.
The four of them turned their heads toward the door. Lilia got up to answer it.
Standing in the snow was a golden-haired elf.
Sylphie's father—Laws.
His coat was covered in a thick layer of snow on the shoulders. He nodded apologetically to Lilia, then waved a greeting to Zenith. Under Lilia's surprised gaze, he left the door slightly ajar, only a crack wide enough for a face to shield against the wind and snow.
He made no move to step inside.
"Father."
Sylphie thought he was here to take her home. She quickly glanced back at Allen and Rudeus, closed the monster encyclopedia she was holding, and hopped off the stool. She ran to the door and whispered, "Father... it's only just past noon. Are we going home early today?"
Laws looked at Sylphie's now-long emerald hair and sighed. Just over a year ago, Sylphie had often asked her mother to cut her hair short. But since Allen arrived, she had never made such a request again. In fact, Sylphie now wore a smile on her face all the time.
Apart from her smile being a bit like Allen's, there was nothing wrong with her.
Laws nodded. He glanced at Allen, who was about to come over and greet him, and smiled.
'Allen's still young, but he's really reliable... in every way...'
"Sylphie, I'm not here for you. I'm here for Allen. The forest... we're short on hands. Lord Paul sent me to ask Allen for help. So... I'll be borrowing him for a few days. I'll return him to you later."
Sylphie's expression remained gentle as she listened to her father's words, but when she heard the last part, her eyes widened in panic. She quickly stood on her tiptoes and waved her hands in front of Laws's face, as if trying to block his view. Laws grabbed her hands and chuckled, amused by her sudden return to her flustered self from last year.
By this time, Allen, with his sword at his side, had already reached the door, followed by Rudeus.
"...We'll need to trouble you, Allen."
Allen smiled casually.
"It's no trouble."
Laws nodded, then crouched down to hug Sylphie, who had frozen with her hands in the air when she realized Allen was standing beside her.
"Sylphie, Rudeus will take you home today. We'll probably be spending the night in the forest..."
"It's fine. Let Sylphie and Rudeus come along. When dealing with a monster tide, a mage's AOE... uh, large-scale magic would be much faster than us using swords and arrows to kill them one by one, right?"
As he spoke, Allen casually patted Sylphie's head and glanced back at Rudeus, who looked apprehensive.
'It doesn't make sense to go into a dungeon without a PVE player, right? Besides, Sylphie seems really interested in new things, always reading that monster book. She'd probably enjoy seeing the monsters up close. This is a good opportunity to give them some experience. Both of them are advanced mages—Sylphie is an upper-tier mage, and Rudeus is a saint-tier mage. With some experience, they'll be safer after the Great Teleportation, especially Sylphie. Her landing in the original story was way too risky.'
Sylphie snapped out of her daze at Allen's words. She first looked down at the "storybook" in her arms, then up at Allen, who winked at her.
Rudeus scratched his head.
"Uh... Are you sure it's okay for Sylphie and me to go? It's a monster tide... Hearing about it from Teacher is one thing, but actually facing it seems a bit reckless... And spending the night outside? I mean, it would be fun to stay with you guys, like when Teacher was here, but wouldn't it be inconvenient? Ow! Sylphie, why did you step on my foot?"
"Sorry, Rudeus. My foot was numb, and I wanted to move it a bit. I accidentally stepped on you."
"Huh? But I'm nowhere near your foot. How did you step on me just by stomping in place? Ow!"
"...See? I can step on you."
"??"
Laws, who was still processing the situation, didn't notice the children's antics. He looked at Allen, who was now only half a head shorter than him and didn't seem to be joking. It suddenly dawned on him that this "reliable person" he had come to for help was actually just a child, only four years older than Sylphie and Rudeus, and had his own impulsive side...
'Rudeus and Sylphie are mages, and Rudeus's magical talent has been proven multiple times, but are they really ready for something like this at their age? Even if I let them go, Lady Zenith would be worried, right?'
Just as he was about to reject Allen's reckless suggestion, Allen continued.
"Sylphie and Rudeus are probably more of a threat to monsters than most adults in the village. One is an upper-tier mage, and Rudeus is already a saint-tier mage. Some adventurer teams don't even have mages as skilled as they are. Isn't this a good opportunity for them to gain some experience? Baby birds won't grow if they stay in the nest forever, right, Laws?"
Laws's lips twitched as he looked past Allen at Zenith inside the house. As a former adventurer, she would have more authority on this matter.
But to his surprise, although Zenith also looked surprised, she seemed to agree with Allen's point about "baby birds needing to grow" and his own capabilities. Remembering her own experience of running away from home and being deceived, she nodded after a moment of thought.
"I think it's fine. Paul has been saying similar things to me, but I never agreed. Now that I think about it, Rudeus is a child, but he's more capable than many mages in adventurer teams. He just lacks some real-world experience. This is a good opportunity. Rudeus is smart, but compared to Allen, he's still a bit lacking in social skills."
Allen: ???
Rudeus: ??????
"This..."
"Besides, with Allen around, I don't have to worry about their safety. Allen's skills are on par with an S-rank adventurer team's main swordsman. He's got Paul's adaptability and Ghyslaine's sharpness..."
Rudeus: ??????
Allen shook his head, snapping out of the strange praise that made him feel like the "ideal child" in this world. He glanced at Zenith, who was lost in thought, then at the still-stunned Laws. He waved the hilt of his sword in front of the crack in the door.
As the scabbard swept through the air, the snow that had blown into the house was caught in the wind and sent back outside, merging with the snowstorm.
This action reminded Laws of the scene from last winter.
Back then, it was this young man who had saved him from the brink of death with a flash of his sword.
After a moment of hesitation, Laws looked at Sylphie, who was clearly eager to go. Although he still felt it wasn't entirely appropriate, he nodded.
"Alright... let's do it."
In the end, under the watchful eyes of Zenith and Lilia, Allen, Rudeus, and Sylphie, carrying some bread made at home over the past few days, followed Laws into the snowstorm.
"Sir Knight! The monsters are breaking through the barrier!"
A burly villager, standing behind a sturdy vine net, thrust his sword through the gaps in the net, stabbing at the densely packed monsters on the other side.
The blade went in, then came out.
Each time, a spurt of hot blood gushed out, splattering everywhere. Monster flesh and fur littered the ground, and the snow around them had turned into a sea of red.
On the other side of the net, forest snakes and giant gnawing rats leaped and fell from the blood-soaked snow, their movements causing the snow to make soft plop sounds. But if you looked closely, you'd see that many of the snakes and rats were already biting and tearing at each other. Only a small portion seemed to realize there was more "food" nearby and tried to attack the villagers.
Most of them were too busy fighting each other, their battlefield just happening to spill over to the barrier.
Even so, the vine net creaked ominously, as if it might break at any moment.
There were just too many monsters.
In front of this villager alone, there were at least a dozen monsters tangled together.
Seeing that the net might not hold, the villager dropped his sword and grabbed a pitchfork from the snow to prop up the net.
But at that moment, the snow in front of him suddenly shifted, then exploded!
A rabbit-like monster, half the size of a human and covered in iron spikes, burst out of the snow! It had clearly been waiting for the villager to drop his weapon, seizing the chance to leap over the net and attack its long-desired prey.
The villager panicked and instinctively raised the pitchfork to defend himself.
In the next instant, a violent wind howled through the snow. A figure dashed into his field of vision, tearing through the monster and the snow pile in one swift motion, leaving a deep trench in the ground.
The wind pressure sent monster limbs and entrails raining down on the villager, drenching him from head to toe. He stared at Paul, who had arrived just in time, and his legs gave out, causing him to collapse onto the ground.
Paul shook the blood and gore off his sword, his expression dark as he looked at the exposed ground where the snow had been torn away.
The severed head of the saw-toothed rabbit lay in the trench, while on either side, countless dark monster burrows were now exposed to the air.
A few giant gnawing rats poked their heads out of the burrows, trying to bite at the rabbit's head, but Paul swiftly cut them into pieces.
"Damn it! Why are there so many this year? The ground's full of monster burrows."
Paul reached out and helped the villager to his feet, then looked around.
Almost half of the village's adult men were here, each of them looking exhausted as they watched Paul.
Seeing that no one was injured, Paul let out a sigh of relief and sat down in the trench that his sword had carved out. The snow on either side was so deep that it reached his cheeks when he sat.
He was about to tell everyone to take a break when he heard a faint rustling sound.
It was the sound of something hard scraping against the compacted snow.
Paul's expression changed, and he turned to look at the snow wall beside him.
In the cross-section of the snow, countless monster burrows were visible, and within them, pairs of glowing red eyes began to light up, one after another.
The monsters were hungry.
And human flesh was undoubtedly a delicacy.
Note: So far this story is published up to chapter 115 on my patreon, go check it out and remember that if we reach the goal of 80 power stones I will publish the next chapter.