Paul didn't look at his wife. He looked up at the ceiling above his head, thinking of Allen's situation and what he had said.
Allen said that he would escort Rudy's future, so Rudy really didn't need to improve his swordsmanship too much.
With their current abilities, they could even be perfectly adapted to be adventurers in the maze.
But I still feel a little unwilling. How can my child have no talent for swordsmanship?
"Well, this..."
"Master Paul, this is undoubtedly feasible, because I really know nothing about magic.
In this way, in the future, Rudy specializes in magic and I specialize in swordsmanship.
We can make up for each other's shortcomings. Moreover, compared with the relationship between teacher and student, I prefer to be friends or partners with Rudy."
Paul was stunned, looking at Allen who suddenly straightened his back and sat upright, looking at him seriously.
Subconsciously, he felt that he was right.
"...That's right. Then shorten it by one hour."
Allen turned his head to look at Rudy, who blinked quickly and reached under the table to give Allen a thumbs up.
"Thank you, teacher."
In Rudeus' room, Allen looked at Rudeus' slightly raised brown hair and still felt a sense of unreality.
I tried my best to win your favor. I was really good at it.
But I almost gave up and was willing to be a salted fish.
How did this favorability come?
Is this reasonable?
"It is what I often do to reasonably guide my father's words and deeds. I didn't expect that you, teacher, are also a fellow."
"...Yes."
"Please, keep up the good work. Please let me stop learning swordsmanship in the future. I'm sure you've seen that I prefer magic to swordsmanship."
"...Yes."
Allen was stunned.
No, you kid is just hoping that I'll lose my job so you can get rid of me.
Rudeus looked at Allen's stunned expression, and the corner of his mouth curved in that usual expression he wore when seeing Paul being silly.
Then, when Allen looked at him, he suddenly became serious.
"I heard from my father that you met Loxia on the way?"
Allen blinked.
"Yes. Let's just say I owe her a favor."
Rudy nodded intensely, then hesitated, struggling with his expression—worried he wouldn't get the answer he wanted, but not willing to give up.
"...Did she mention me?"
Allen glanced at Rudy.
"Yes."
Rudy lit up instantly.
"What did she say?"
"She said you were slick and mean."
Rudy's mouth dropped.
"Huh?"
"She also said you stole her panties."
As soon as the last word—panties—dropped, Rudy immediately turned to look under the bed.
Then realizing something, he slowly turned back, his neck stiff, to look at Allen.
Allen squinted.
"I didn't expect you to really steal her panties."
"I can explain! Please don't tell my parents!"
"Forget it."
Allen walked to the bedside, ignoring Rudius's trembling expression, and looked down.
"I saw a small white panty tucked into the gap under the bed."
Although he'd prepared himself mentally, Allen still felt that Rudy was a pervert at this moment.
His mouth twitched as he looked back at Rudeus with a blank expression.
"Where is the shrine? Isn't it usually placed in the shrine?"
Rudeus was stunned.
"What?"
Allen raised his eyebrows.
"No?"
Wait... it seems it hasn't been placed in the shrine at this time. I remembered the wrong time.
He blinked and prepared to make up a reason to explain.
As a result, Rudeus yelled, scaring him into jumping on the spot.
"Genius!"
Rudeus wore an expression like he was looking at a savior, and grabbed Allen's hands with both of his.
"Genius! Yes! Sacred objects should be enshrined in the shrine! Teacher, you're a genius!"
Allen looked at him with a twitching expression.
Oh my god, I got the certification for the perverted profession.
[Once again, you've gained Rudeus's favor. It seems success is not accidental. The host's ability has been verified many times.]
Go away. Can you do some earthly work?
Then Rudeus blinked and looked at Allen suspiciously.
"Does your hometown have the same concept of shrines?"
Allen curled his lips.
"Oh, yes. My hometown is relatively remote, so there are some strange ideas.
Every household worships their own gods."
Rudeus asked curiously, "...Gods?"
"For example, Haiqing's god is Ou Hao, the god of contracts is RNG, and the abstract god is 'Just Because.'"
Rudeus's expression was a little confused.
"...The names of these gods sound a bit strange… is it the local dialect?"
"Uh... What god does your family believe in, teacher?"
Allen glanced at Rudeus.
"Our family worships three-colored gods: Blue Mother, White Mother, and Red Mother."
Rudeus scratched his head. He understood the words, but he still couldn't make sense of it.
Why is this guy talking nonsense?
Allen looked at Rudeus. Speaking of the three-colored mothers, he couldn't help but think of Sylphy, and then asked—
"By the way, I've seen you running out these days. Have you made any friends?
If you really have friends, you can invite them home for dinner or something.
I'm sure the master and the lady would be happy to see you making friends."
Rudeus looked confused.
"Friends? No, I'm just exploring the terrain."
"Is that so..."
Allen looked at Rudy's face and felt that he might not be pretending.
He was kicked out of the house in his previous life, so playing outside in this life might really be about training his survival skills—just in case he was kicked out again.
In the original book, after Loxia left, Rudy met Sylphy soon.
But in fact, there should be a gap of time—during which he was doing just this.
As for meeting Sylphy, that probably happens in the summer. Right now it's only the end of March or early April.
Looks like Sylphy will be bullied for a while.
She was bullied because of her green hair, so it's very likely it's already been happening since she was old enough to run outside.
The gray childhood of the White Mother had a profound impact.
Her inferior complex in the newlywed chapter is directly tied to this.
Allen sighed silently in his heart.
Guiding Rudy to rescue Sylphy in advance shouldn't cause too many butterfly effects...
Inferring from this, there won't be too many changes—just knowing each other half a year earlier.
"...Don't you play with other kids in the village?"
Rudy tilted his head and scratched his face.
"This... we might not be able to play together."
Allen looked down at Rudy.
"What do you think—are we friends?"
Rudy's mouth twitched.
I thought this fierce little devil was more mature, but turns out he's still just a kid who likes to go around shouting 'tomodachi' all day.
Rudy showed his signature fake-good-child smile.
"Of course! After all, the teacher just saved me an hour of swordsmanship today!"
The next moment, his face was poked by Allen's finger.
"Don't be hypocritical. I really want to be friends with you."
Rudy was stunned.
Allen glanced at him, turned around, and walked out.
As he left the room, he turned his head and added—
"I'll help you build the shrine tomorrow, and I'll also keep the underwear matter a secret for you."
Rudy's eyes sparkled.
"Okay!"
Smoke and dust appeared in front of Allen.
[Free Instant Task: Gain Sylphiette's favor — now available for release.]
[Task Reward: Barrier Magic Groove — Unlocked.]
[Before Rudy meets Sylphiette in the original timeline, you may choose the time node to activate the task. Must be completed within one day after starting. Do you want to activate it early?]