"Well, we're done, Mrs. Peters!" With a burst of optimism, Paul left the house with Laws trailing behind him.
The woman gave them a brief curtsy.
"Thank you again, Lord Paul!" She gave them a heartwarming smile. Her daughter hid behind her skirt as she did so.
"Samantha, my dear, how about you give that gift to Lord Paul?"
Paul watched the little girl nod shyly as she emerged from her hiding place behind her mother's figure.
Quickly, he took his hands from behind his back and presented her with the supposed gift.
"Here, I made it myself." The girl was holding a flower crown.
"I'll treasure it as if my life depended on it." Paul took it from her hands without hesitation and carefully placed it on her head. She ran after her mother in a flash.
"It suits you, Paul." Laws poked the knight in the side with a mocking elf. "But we should be going. We still have many houses to go." The elf gestured to Paul as he passed him.
Paul, without stumbling, followed.
"Take care, Mrs. Peters!" The half-elf waved, without looking back.
"I will, Laws! So say hello to Hope from me!" The two men walked away from the house and returned to Laws' wagon. Although they had been driving around for an hour, it seemed there was no end to the supplies being sent to the village.
"Aren't you being too arrogant, Paul?" The confident tone Laws had adopted just moments ago was gone, replaced by one of a concerned man.
"We still don't know who sent all this. Add all this up with the attempted murder, and I'm just not happy with how this is going."
"No, I understand what you mean, Laws, but you have to look at it this way." Paul put a hand on his friend's shoulder.
"There are enough supplies here to get everyone through the winter. There are enough appliances to keep every house in Buena Park well-off for years, and enough winter clothing and coats to give every man, woman, and child three sets." Laws's demeanor still told Paul that he wasn't safe.
"Look, Laws, if someone wanted us dead, they wouldn't send us supplies; and if they wanted leverage over us, they would at least have told the merchants their name." After Paul spoke, Laws began to think things over.
"We're fine. After all, it's better to think of whoever this mysterious benefactor is as a friend than an enemy. After all, whoever it is, they're bound to have a lot of money to spend." The large amount of supplies sent to them made that abundantly clear.
The elf scratched his ear. "Yeah, you're right, sorry, I was just worried, that's all." Considering the man had nearly bled to death less than two years ago from a failed assassination attempt, it made sense that he'd be worried.
It would be strange if he hadn't been thrown by the situation.
"You're fine, Laws… To be honest, it's normal to be worried." Paul nodded reassuringly, and then they climbed into the wagon. Laws began leading them toward the next house.
Paul couldn't help but gaze at the fields and houses that dotted the landscape as they rode.
Although there were fewer people than in Roa, the village took up more land than the fortress city. Paul liked this place. He liked living here and having a family here.
"The village has changed a lot since Rudeus was born, hasn't it?" It was Laws who spoke first.
The sun was still high in the sky when the man looked up at him. He seemed to be thinking the same thing as the knight.
"Yes, it has, and it's changed even more with Roxy and your Sylphie." Those girls were important to Paul's son. He could tell just by looking at them. It was obvious that Rudeus had great admiration for his master and cared for his elf friend.
Paul would have thought it was love if he didn't know better, but Rudeus was just a boy. Even if he was a prodigy who had put his father to shame, he was still a young boy, and not naive.
"This village never meant much to me, you know? I only came here looking for a quiet, nice place to live… Now, I just can't see myself leaving…" Paul's thoughts were disorganized. With what he'd just said, it felt like he was about to enter a confession scene from a visual novel.
"I understand. You were always quite distant before your child was born," Laws sighed. "Meanwhile, I was very worried about my daughter." A sad smile spread across his lips. "I never thought my daughter would have green hair, but look at me now... I felt like her life was a closed book, but then Rudeus appeared out of nowhere." The sad smile turned into one of relief. "You were right about Rudeus making you believe you're unfit as a father... He's a good boy."
"Laws?" The elf snapped out of his thoughts and turned to the brown-haired man.
"What do you think about your daughter marrying my son?" Laws's face froze in a puzzled expression.
"Well, that's the look I'd get if I got hit with whiplash that hard."
"You're bringing this up now? Of all times, Paul!" Laws's face looked completely enraged.
"What? It's not like we're fighting for our lives or anything. We're just chatting while delivering stuff." Paul thought of a witty line and blurted out the first one that came to mind. "Chatting is good for the mind."
"I bet you're only saying that because Rudeus said it once." Well, he caught him red-handed. Rudeus liked to throw out weird one-liners from time to time, and Paul started using the ones that sounded super sophisticated. After all, he wasn't that smart, and he knew his son had him beat in that department.
"Seriously, what do you think? I hear the girl talking about it from time to time. Don't get me wrong, I don't intend for them to get married at their age. It's not like we're two noble families fighting for power. They're far too young for that kind of conversation or commitment." Paul scratched his chin. "Just think of it as something to think about."
"Just to be clear, I'm not opposed to it, Paul." The man didn't meet his gaze. Laws blushed as he spoke. Paul thought for a moment that, if he were a woman, he would have thrown himself at him.
"Rudeus is the only boy I'd give my daughter's hand to. No one else deserves her." The hunter's gaze was cold. The bullying his daughter had suffered was still fresh in his mind. That wasn't something a father could just forget.
"I don't want to think about letting her go now. Not to mention she's also been building her life around him." His face reflected a peculiar confusion as he spoke.
"That's not right, I agree. She's definitely more dependent on Rudeus than he is on her... I think he's trying to fix that, with all his passivity toward her."
"I'm just saying I don't mind them getting married, Paul. That's my position, but I don't want them to give my daughter false hope; not that I'm saying Rudeus is," the elf spoke nervously at the end.
"No, no, I understand, Laws... I'll try... to find a solution," Paul tried to comfort his friend.
I'll rack my brains for ideas later. Roxy will be leaving shortly after Sylphiette graduates from teaching. Then it'll only be a matter of time before the girl falls madly in love with my son... They're only six, mate, don't worry..." Paul grimaced at his thoughts.
"Seems like having Rudeus as a son must be exhausting." Laws chuckled, but Paul could only look at him with a slightly dazed expression.
"Not really. He's a good boy with a level head. Unlike his father when he was his age, he stays out of trouble and is always humble with himself. He has his problems, yes, but I know he loves his family, and I know he loves me in his own way." Paul noticed his smile was one of those huge ones. Talking about his son only made him happy.
"That's all I really need." Laws laughed at what he said and didn't stop even when Paul punched him in the side.
"To think Paul Greyrat is so worried about what his six-year-old son thinks of him as a father! Oh my goodness! You cracked me up!" The elf clutched his sides in despair.
"I'm serious, man! Why do you have to do this to me?!"
The moment finally ended, and they continued supplying the villagers for the winter.
A week later, Sylphiette would celebrate her graduation.
...
[Rudeus Pov]
Today is Sylphie's graduation. Two weeks ago I became an advanced-ranking swordsman in the Water God style. Honestly, not even Roxy could believe it until my father revealed it.
According to him, my talent is one in a million. Now I was concentrating on being able to make the longsword of silence, but now the only thing limiting me is my age. It's only a matter of time before I can become an advanced swordsman, hehe.
Now, Roxy, Sylphie, and I were riding horses to where I had my own graduation ceremony.
It was a cold morning. It always puzzles me why our teacher thought it was a good idea to hold our graduation ceremonies in the middle of autumn.
I felt like, at some point, this was how Roxy Migurdia liked to do things. She always moved on to the next topic once you understood the previous one, so I guessed it must be the same way of thinking.
"But he's going to leave..." Sylphie's voice sounded sad. The reality of the circumstances was just beginning to sink in.
"Miss Roxy has a lot going on… I'm sure you'll understand when you're older," I said. "Besides, this isn't the last time you'll see her. I'm sure you'll see each other again later."
"Hmm," she looked at the ground as we continued galloping.
Roxy and I spoke little during the ride. It wasn't that we were overly quiet on the way there. It's just that most of what we said wasn't important. However, it bothered me even more.
I guess she wanted to get something off her chest before she left.
Our surroundings had changed completely.
The vaguely familiar plains and a singular fallen tree on a hill surrounded us. Caravaggio stopped. "We're here." With those words, we both dismounted.
"I wonder what I should do next…" Sylphie murmured.
"Hmm? What do you mean, Sylphie?" Roxy asked.
"I was thinking I might want to take up the sword after I finished receiving your teachings," she said.
Saying it out loud sounded much more like a crime than she intended.
Roxy almost immediately staggered back, shocked by what she said. "Is that all my teaching was worth?"
"It's not like that, Master! I'll always keep practicing my magic. It's just..." Roxy must have noticed her concern as she regained her sleepy look. "Rudy's already doing too much, and I'm just trying to find a way to catch up."
"I see." With a questioning look, she looked up at the sky. "Well, if you find a better sword instructor than Mr. Paul, I'm sure you'll surpass him eventually. Especially if you only study one sword school." She looked down and shrugged.
"The problem is finding someone better than him in the field. Surely, that was something I hadn't even considered."
"Yes, I suppose you're right," she murmured.
Paul wasn't exactly an expert at swordsmanship. He was advanced in all three schools, and it seemed he would improve even more since he started training hard again.
"Good...I'm ready, Master!" Sylphie said determinedly, and I smiled proudly.
"Okay, Rudy, stay by my side," Roxy said as I created an earth fortress.
"See you in an hour!" Sylphie said, her face strangely red after staring at me for a while... oh no.
"Great spirit of water and imperial prince of lightning who ascends to the heavens, grant my wish and bestow a savage blessing. Show your power to insignificant beings. Impact with a blow of your divine hammer upon the anvil and cover the earth in water!" Sylphie's chant was slow and methodical, just as Roxy had taught us. "Ah, Rain! Sweep away all else and expel everything: Cumulonimbus!" With the last line, the spell was finished. The mana it consumed was considerable given the posture Sylphie adopted.
A full hour passed, and Sylphie was able to stop pumping mana into the spell, and Roxy and I left the earth fortress.
"Congratulations, Sylphiette. "You're now a holy water mage." Her expression was somber but warm. It seemed like the look a mother would give her daughter when she grew up to be an exemplary woman.
At this, Sylphie began to cry, and Roxy buried her face in her chest. No matter how hard she tried to pretend otherwise, she was still a child and didn't want to say goodbye to someone she cared about.
We both considered Roxy Migurdia many things: a teacher, a confidant, and most of all, a friend.
Today, I would lose one of my two friends.
Today wasn't a day to celebrate wholeheartedly, but for her, I would try.
After all, my actions from now on would reflect on Roxy Migurdia, and the last thing I would want to do would be tarnish the name of someone I admired so much.
That same day Roxy left the village. My parents and Sylphie's parents cried their hearts out, begging her to stay, but I knew she had to go. She had to grow up and overcome herself.
After all, not everyone accepts that two children can surpass you so easily.
"Goodbye, everyone. Thank you for everything these past few years." After one last look, Roxy Migurdia turned around and left.
I ran forward a little. I don't know where I got the strength from or why I needed it.
"I'll miss you, Miss Roxy! I'll be sure to get stronger! So when I do, let's go on an adventure!" I didn't know where the idea of adventure came from.
Maybe it was how the girl always explained her days as an adventurer, or when she heard my parents talk about their own experiences, but now all I could think about was spending more time with her.
I wanted to find her again, no matter what.
She looked at me and then nodded with a smile.
"I look forward to seeing what kind of people you two will become," she said, and with that, she left the village.