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The sound of hooves echoed as the carriage swayed in the morning light, heading toward Roa.
The number of carriages had been reduced from four last night to three.
With the small number of people, it should have been fine to fit four people in each carriage, making it just right. Philip had suggested this as well.
But this became the spark that ignited the argument between Rudeus and Eris.
After experiencing a sudden and intense event, people often find it hard to keep their emotions in check.
Whether it was the adrenaline rush from the sudden assassination attempt or the dopamine surge from Allen returning safely with two heads, there was no doubt that the emotions of the three children were floating on a cloud, swaying in the wind, unable to settle.
When reason struggles to take control, arguments easily break out.
Eris insisted on sharing a carriage with the catgirl, Ghislaine, Sylphie, and Allen, claiming she wanted to learn the technique of catching arrows barehanded from her new teacher.
Rudeus, on the other hand, strongly demanded that he, Sylphie, Allen, and Ghislaine share a carriage. The lingering aggression from killing someone earlier hadn't fully subsided, and his emotions were still unsettled. Tired of always being left behind, he actually engaged in a detailed debate with Eris, whom he saw as a "child."
Arguments like, "I was already pushed out of the carriage once last night. Wouldn't it be more appropriate for you, the young lady, to ride with your father? What could you possibly learn in such a short time on the carriage? Do you think you can master Allen's 'Flow' technique in just this short journey?"
Although the catgirl had been acting on Philip's orders to ensure the kidnapping incident proceeded smoothly, which led to Eris pushing Rudeus into another carriage, now that the opportunity to reassign carriages was here, Rudeus had to consider whether this was a potential third time he might be "left out."
Come on, he, Allen, Roxy, and Sylphie were the adventurer quartet.
Who are you, young lady?
And so.
Allen's carriage ended up packed with six people.
It has to be said.
It was… quite "reasonable."
Allen, Sylphie, and Rudeus sat on one side, with Allen and Sylphie squeezed together, watching Rudeus's anime-like expression as he used magic to burn through the ropes binding his wrists, while he sarcastically argued with Eris across from him.
The catgirl, Ghislaine, and Eris sat on the other side, with Eris perched on Ghislaine's lap, looking down at Rudeus and gesturing wildly as she argued with him.
Before getting on the carriage, Allen had intended to mediate, but he quickly realized he couldn't mediate at all!
As he tried to calm them down, the two of them suddenly moved!
One grabbed Sylphie's sleeve, the other pulled Ghislaine's arm.
They both rushed to squeeze into the carriage!
Then, at the same time, they turned to look at Allen, who was standing outside the carriage with a stunned expression, realizing that he was the outsider and about to move to the next carriage.
At that moment, Allen's body froze, his step hanging in mid-air. His instincts told him that leaving now might be fatal.
So he had no choice but to spread his arms and let the "two factions" pull him into the carriage.
What else could he do?
He had to be fair.
And so, the situation became what it was now—Allen was sitting helplessly, watching Rudeus and Eris trade barbs, while Ghislaine held Eris with her usual calm expression, allowing the fiery girl to use her diaphragm to project her always-upbeat voice. It was a practiced move.
Sylphie, her hair now fluffy and dry thanks to her wind magic, kept her head down, her gaze shifting between her knees as she counted the number of times they bumped together.
She was still sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with Allen.
After a cold night of rain, the spring morning was chilly. The white-haired girl, with her elven heritage, had little subcutaneous fat.
This allowed Sylphie to clearly feel the warmth from Allen's knee.
Intermittent, swaying with the carriage.
But her upper body was stiff, sitting on the carriage seat, maintaining a fist's distance from Allen.
At this moment, Eris's dissatisfied voice reached her ears.
"You shut up! I'm going to learn it now!!"
Sylphie blinked, stopping her counting.
Eris's always-upbeat tone reminded her that this young lady knew exactly what she wanted and could openly express her desire to "do" something, then take action.
This was something she herself lacked.
And it seemed like people didn't dislike such behavior.
The next second, as if to prove her wrong, Rudeus's disdainful tone interrupted her thoughts.
"Oh~ How are you going to learn? By just talking about it, young lady?"
Sylphie: "…"
Her expression stiffened as she glanced at Rudeus, then looked up at Allen's face beside her.
Allen was shaking his head, looking helpless, but there wasn't a trace of annoyance in his eyes. In fact, there was a hint of amusement deep in his gaze (the joy of watching drama).
She lowered her eyes.
Coming to a conclusion.
Allen didn't dislike such behavior.
That was enough.
After a moment of hesitation, she completely relaxed her tense body.
Not just her knees.
She let her entire body sway with the carriage's movement.
This way, her shoulders, legs, and knees would touch Allen's side.
It was warm.
It made her feel like she had expressed her own desires.
Well, actually, she hadn't.
But she had acknowledged her own desires.
Hadn't she?
She remembered when she had expressed her longing for her teacher to Allen before.
He had said something like:
"In this world, the distance between people can't be shortened by other means. Carriages are slow, letters take a long time to deliver, and once people part, it's hard to meet again."
"So cherish every moment."
"Seize every 'now' you want to seize."
"Seize every 'now' you want to seize."
The wheels turned, and the morning breeze blew into the carriage through the window. As her hair fluttered, she peeked through the strands at Allen's hand beside her knee.
It was close, almost touching hers.
She could reach out and grab it.
Sylphie blinked.
Only then did she realize.
Why the earlier "separation" had made her so sad.
Worrying about Allen's safety was, of course, the primary reason.
But after that?
After that, it was because…
She felt she hadn't yet seized the "now" she wanted.
The carriage continued to sway.
To what extent?
Sylphie's hand involuntarily slid toward Allen's.
At the same time!
Rudeus and Eris's verbal sparring reached its peak!! Their words came fast and furious!!
"You're really arrogant! Ghislaine said I have talent in swordsmanship! She also said Allen has talent, so why can't I learn Allen's swordsmanship? What gives you the right to act so high and mighty? And Allen hasn't even said anything. His expression definitely means he agrees with me!!"
Allen: "?? I don't agree with that!"
"Agree with you? Agree with what? He's clearly mocking you!"
Allen: "?? Don't spout nonsense!"
Just as Allen was about to speak up to extricate himself from the sudden fire directed at him, Rudeus's next words came.
"You think you can learn the 'Flow' technique just by sitting in a carriage? Do you think Allen mastered the 'Flow' technique in the blink of an eye? Talent? I don't think you understand what talent means! Let me show you what talent is!"
Rudeus suddenly jumped up and, in Sylphie's view, grabbed Allen's hand! He pulled it in front of his face, causing Allen's reddish-brown eyes to widen in surprise.
"Do you see this? The calluses on Allen's hand! This is what talent is! Talent is just a moment of inspiration, but if you want to hold onto that moment, you need day after day of hard work! If you don't put in the effort, how can you turn your 'talent' into reality?"
Eris frowned, her fiery eyebrows rising as she turned to Ghislaine.
The latter glanced at Allen's hand and nodded in agreement.
"Indeed."
Eris jumped off Ghislaine's lap and took two quick steps to stand in front of Rudeus.
"Let me see! Hmm… it's true, they're quite thick, almost like Ghislaine's…"
"Right?"
"Yeah, it seems you're not completely useless!"
"…Right… huh?"
"Huh what? I'm complimenting you. Are you unhappy?"
"Is that how you compliment someone??"
Sylphie was stunned, turning to look at Allen's face.
His expression was twitching, but he didn't show any obvious resistance.
Sylphie blinked.
"Is that so? I… I'll take a look too."
Then, to Allen's astonishment, she grabbed his other hand and placed it on her knee, examining it carefully.
As the group took turns inspecting Allen's hands, Rudeus suddenly realized something. He looked confusedly at Eris, who had suddenly "made up" with him and was now examining Allen's hand alongside him. He was completely baffled.
Huh? How did it end up with me and Eris looking at Allen's hand together?
Then he noticed someone watching them.
He turned.
It was Ghislaine.
He blinked, looking up and down at Ghislaine's "imposing" figure, and swallowed hard. He carefully put down Allen's hand and spoke to Ghislaine cautiously.
"You must be Miss Ghislaine, right? It's our first meeting. Uh… I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Rudeus Greyrat."
Eris turned to Ghislaine, who nodded.
"I know. Paul's son. Just call me Ghislaine."
"Alright, Ghislaine."
At this point, Eris realized she had never formally introduced herself to Allen. She turned to him, crossed her arms, and spoke.
Her tone was similar to Ghislaine's, but her attitude was completely different.
"I'm Eris Boreas Greyrat. I'll allow you to call me Eris directly!"
Allen looked at Eris's tsundere expression.
"Alright, Eris."
Eris nodded, satisfied.
"What's your name?"
"Allen."
"I know it's Allen. Just Allen? No surname?"
Rudeus, who had been about to say something to Ghislaine, immediately turned to Allen. Ghislaine and Sylphie also looked at him.
Allen just smiled.
"No surname. Commoners in the Asura Kingdom don't have surnames, only names."
"Oh, I see…"
Rudeus and Sylphie exchanged a glance. He turned back to Ghislaine and continued the conversation.
"I heard you were part of my father and mother's adventurer team back then?"
"Yes."
"We left in a hurry, and my father didn't get to see you. So he pulled me aside and asked me to pass on a message."
At this point, Rudeus hesitated, then coughed lightly.
"He said, 'Allen is my disciple. Don't get any funny ideas. I'm just lending him to you for a few days.'"
The carriage fell silent for a moment.
Then, as expected, the sound of a sword being drawn rang out. Allen and Rudeus's expressions turned horrified, though for different reasons.
Allen quickly kicked Rudeus.
Rudeus immediately added,
"That was just a joke! He had more to say!"
The sword was sheathed.
"Go on."
"'Just kidding. I bet you're drawing your sword right now, aren't you? Allen is someone Zenith and I deeply care about. Please guide him well in swordsmanship. He has great talent, not just in the Water God style. Also, please look after Rudeus for us. Thank you.'"
Allen's expression softened, touched.
Ghislaine, however, looked at Allen's face and fell silent for a moment. Then she suddenly changed the subject.
"Speaking of the Water God style, I know of a prodigy."
Allen raised an eyebrow at her.
Ghislaine continued.
"At the Water God style's main dojo, there's a swordsman who achieved the rank of Water Saint at a young age and was granted a title as an exception."
Allen blinked.
'The main dojo? Isolte, that girl? I didn't know she's already a Water Saint. But given the timeline, it makes sense. Her swordsmanship talent is indeed impressive.'
Thinking this, Allen nodded and was about to say something.
But before he could speak, Eris turned to him.
"Allen, what's a title?"
"Uh… you can think of it as a reflection of a swordsman's unique style. It's a form of recognition from other swordsmen. Usually, it's spread by word of mouth, and only a select few are officially granted titles by the dojo."
"What's your title?"
"Uh… cough… I don't have one."
Eris's eyes widened, and she immediately turned to Ghislaine.
"What?! Is this person stronger than Allen?"
Ghislaine paused.
"Perhaps."
"Huh? What's this person's title? What's their name? Let them come and spar with Allen. If Allen's stronger, they should give up their title!"
As soon as she said this, Allen's lips twitched. He looked at Eris's indignant expression, unsure what to say to the young lady.
At that moment, Ghislaine spoke.
"Water God style's main dojo."
"Allen Boreas Greyrat."
"Title: Bedrock."
The carriage fell silent. Sylphie and Rudeus both turned to look at Allen.
Eris, however, was confused.
"Boreas… Allen?"
Ghislaine glanced at Eris.
"The Boreas family of the royal capital. The fourth son of James, the next head of the family. Also, your… distant cousin."
The young lady looked puzzled.
"Then why is it Allen…"
She looked up at Allen.
He had already turned away, leaning against the window with his chin resting on his hand, gazing boredly out at the passing scenery.
Outside the window, in the morning light.
The gates of Roa City were now in sight.
The morning breeze carried his emotionless words.
Then dropped them back into the carriage.
"What a coincidence… same name as me."
"I'm honored."
Note: So far this story is published up to chapter 170 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.