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The sky darkened.
It took Philip over an hour to calm the "wild dog" with kind words.
But in the end, Eris managed to settle down from her rage.
She had come to realize through another matter that Philip and "Allen" seemed to be telling the truth.
"Rudeus's" voice was indeed that of a girl, and "he" was wearing a dress just like hers.
Although she had seen boys wearing dresses in the royal capital before, the way the person on the ground looked so bewildered was very similar to the delicate girls she had beaten up at the noble school.
However...
These were all secondary reasons.
The main reason was...
She was genuinely tired.
The "wild dog" was still just a cub. Though her inherently violent nature remained, her physical stamina was nowhere near that of the future Sword King.
What was even more absurd was that Rudeus, who had been lying on the ground getting beaten, after shouting for a while and realizing that his words had no effect on the young lady, and that she couldn't break through his defenses anyway...
He simply gave up and lay there.
He even looked somewhat relaxed.
From Allen's perspective, it even seemed like he was enjoying himself.
A bit ridiculous.
At that moment, around the Greyrat family's table, the light was swallowed by the dark clouds brought by the wind, and the room was lit by a few candles to aid visibility.
The flickering flames cast shadows, causing the moods of everyone at the table to fluctuate.
Eris sat on the stool, swinging her legs in a very unladylike manner, still with her arms crossed, looking down at the person across from her.
"What are you looking at?! Stop using magic if you dare!!"
"You're the one who got the wrong person, okay?! And why did you hit me in the first place?" Rudeus, who had already been healed by magic and had no trace of injury left, retorted sarcastically, now fully aware that she couldn't do anything to him.
"Are you trying to lecture me?!"
Rudeus curled his lips, now completely understanding what kind of person this young lady was. The fact that Allen was her brother was something she probably didn't even know, and even if she did, her reaction would likely be the same.
She was a true "young lady."
'I wonder who spoiled her like this? Her mother? From what I've seen, Philip doesn't have much control over her.'
Seeing that Rudeus had stopped arguing, Eris let out a satisfied snort through her nose. Then, she blinked, her vibrant red eyes hesitating for a moment. Without turning her head, she shifted her gaze to the side.
Beside her was Sylphie, sitting obediently on the stool, staring at the teacup in front of her, her expression distant.
Her white dress was stained with dirt.
Eris's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly. She turned her eyes back to the air in front of her and spoke loudly.
"Ru— You're called Sylphie, right??"
Sylphie blinked in confusion and turned to look at Eris, who was only giving her a side profile.
"My name is Sylphiette."
Eris blinked again, still looking at the air.
"Sylphiette! I allow you to be Eris's... uh..."
She quickly glanced at the cat-eared maid beside her, who was smiling helplessly at her, but the words seemed stuck in her throat.
The cat-eared maid's ears drooped, and she explained awkwardly, "Miss Eris, do you mean 'friend'? Not 'maid.'"
Eris raised an eyebrow.
"Friend??"
Eris, who had beaten up kids at the noble school, of course knew the word, but she couldn't fully grasp how it applied to the current situation. So, she instinctively looked to the maid who had always taken care of her, someone in a "pseudo-close relationship" with her.
She blinked, crossed her arms, and repeated very seriously and loudly, "Then I allow you to be Eris's friend!"
Of course, she was still talking to the air.
Only the faint flicker in her eyes indicated that her words were directed at Sylphie.
The cat-eared maid hurriedly explained, "You can't say 'allow,' Miss Eris! Friends are equals. You should say, 'I want to be friends with you.' That would be better."
Eris opened her mouth and said, "Huh?"
Having been spoiled by Sauros from a young age, and with the tendency of children to mimic the behavior of those close to them, Eris had grown accustomed to always being the "dominant" one in any relationship.
This was also why she had no friends at the noble school.
After all, no child could handle such a strange, somewhat "superior" form of kindness.
But Sylphie noticed it.
Because she had endured enough malice, she was naturally sensitive to the kindness of others.
In her eyes, malice was as easy to detect as ink dropped into clear water.
But conversely, kindness was like the warm, melting sunlight of spring, easy to "absorb."
She was different from the young lady of the Boreas family, who was surrounded by maids in a castle-like environment, as bright and fiery as a flame.
Sylphie was just a small weed growing from the cracks in the rough dirt roads of Buena Village.
Sylphie glanced at Allen, who was sitting diagonally across from her and couldn't help but stare at the cat-eared maid's ears, driven by his instincts. Then, she turned to Eris, forced herself to perk up, and spoke softly and patiently.
"It's okay. Sylphie would like to be friends with you too."
Eris's eyes lit up with a bright glow. She turned her head so fast it looked like she might snap her neck, her face breaking into an excited smile.
"Okay!"
Slap!!
Everyone turned to look at Allen, who had just slapped himself.
He struggled to tear his gaze away from the cat-eared maid's ears and forced a smile at Paul and Zenith, who had been startled by the sound.
"Where were we? Please continue, don't mind me. There's a mosquito."
He then turned to Philip.
The man was staring at him with a burning gaze, a look of "I knew it" on his face.
'There's another variable!! You're testing me with this?! You're inhuman!'
Philip, seeing Allen's twitching face—a man who hadn't seen a beast girl in a long time and was now faced with the "spectacle" of a cat-eared maid in a maid outfit sitting directly across the table—couldn't help but smile.
"The Boreas estate has many maids like this. If you like..."
"I don't like it, thank you."
"Alright."
Philip smiled and turned back to Paul.
"Let's continue our earlier discussion. You have no objections to Rudeus coming to Roa as a tutor, right?"
Paul exchanged glances with Zenith and Lilia beside him, then glanced at Allen.
"I have no objections regarding Rudeus. Boys should be trained and toughened up. And with Allen by his side, we're also at ease. In fact, my original plan was to have them become adventurers in a few years... Your proposal works perfectly as a transitional period."
"And as you said, it's indeed just tutoring, and you won't restrict their future freedom. So, I agree with your suggestion."
Philip clapped his hands and smiled.
"Then it's settled—"
"But."
Paul turned to Philip, his expression serious.
"Rudeus is Rudeus, and Allen is Allen. We can't make decisions for him. You need his consent. If he disagrees, I won't let you take him out of Buena Village."
Rudeus: ?? Don't I get a say?
"Of course."
As soon as Philip finished speaking, he stood up, to Paul's surprise, and walked to the door.
He opened it.
The spring storm's fierce wind rushed in, causing his clothes to flutter noisily.
He tilted his head, still wearing that relaxed smile, and glanced at Allen, who had slowly stood up and was returning his gaze.
"Shall we talk outside?"
Note: So far this story is published up to chapter 153 on my patreon, go check it out and remember that if we reach the goal of 90 power stones I will publish the next chapter.