Chapter Twenty-One: The Picnic Mishap with Silfuridi, System’s Murmurs【4k】

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The Bathils flower is a common cash crop in the Kingdom of Asra. Its shape resembles lavender, with pale purple blossoms that can be eaten directly. It requires only rough management during cultivation and little effort to maintain. Thanks to its fragrance, it is usually processed into spices and sent to the royal capital, where workshops craft various perfumes that are distributed throughout the kingdom.

Buena Village is one such settlement primarily dependent on wheat and Bathils flowers for livelihood.

At the forest’s edge, three figures—one adult and two children—wove through the dense Bathils flower bushes.

“How much longer, Silf?” Rudy asked.

Silfi brushed aside the purple blooms beside her and glanced at Rudy.

“The tower is quite far from the village... still about an hour’s walk.”

Rudy looked surprised.

“So far? Why did your father make you deliver the food? Wouldn’t it be easier to prepare something in the morning and take it with you?”

Silfi lowered her voice.

“The shift at the tower... because of manpower shortages, my father usually stays there for five days straight. There’s no way to prepare food for that long.”

“Oh... that explains why you brought a whole basket of bread. Is that enough for the entire day?”

Silfi nodded.

Behind them, Allen was plucking clusters of flower spikes from the swaying purple bushes, crushing them in his palm until only the tiny seeds remained. Without looking up, he asked:

“But the bread in the basket must be stale by now, right? Can we go empty-handed?”

Rudy blinked and glanced at Silfi, who tilted her head back and looked at Allen with eyelashes fluttering in the breeze.

“My father can go hunting. The food got dirty and there wasn’t time to prepare more... but unfortunately, no rabbits or anything nearby... so we might still go hungry...”

“I see.”

Allen rolled the seeds in his hand and looked toward the nearby woods.

“An hour’s walk... that should be enough. By the way, is the tower tall? Is it easy to recognize?”

Rudy blinked, unsure why Allen asked but answered honestly.

“My father said it’s about three meters tall, surrounded by a protective net to keep monsters out. It should be quite noticeable.”

Allen smiled, stopped walking, and looked at the two puzzled children before him.

“Then you two go ahead; there’s still time. I’ll go get some food...”

—

An hour later, at the forest’s edge.

“Hey, handsome, who are you?”

Rudy stared wide-eyed at the fair-haired, pointed-eared elf on the tower. After a moment’s pause, he began his rehearsed apology.

“Hello, I’m here to apologize. We accidentally dirtied your lunchbox. Please don’t blame Silfi.”

On the tower, Silfi’s father—Rolz—looked at Rudy, then at Silfi, who kept her head bowed silently. He didn’t care if Rudy misnamed her.

“Silfi, did someone bully you again today?”

Silfi stiffened and muttered softly.

“No, Father. Someone helped me today. It’s just that... I accidentally dirtied the lunchbox again. Sorry, Father.”

Rolz sighed, his stern expression tinged with helplessness.

“...Again, huh? You’ve had a hard time. Maybe it’s better to have your mother bring your meals from now on?”

“No, I can manage...”

“If you get bullied again, you must tell me, okay? I’ll set things right for you. Don’t make up stories about dirtying your own lunchbox, alright?”

“Okay.”

Rudy blinked, watching their interaction.

‘Luffy... I wonder if Silfi can move her hands and feet freely? Eh, off-topic. Luffy must be her nickname; it sounds warm and familiar.’

Rolz turned to Rudy.

The latter gave a perfect ninety-degree bow.

“Actually, it wasn’t Silfi who dirtied the lunchbox; it was I—while helping Allen—I accidentally dirtied it. Sorry.”

‘Allen’s not back yet... Damn, that guy must have expected this. Saying he’d find some food... cunning. Well, since I’m his friend, I’ll take responsibility! So, besides Paul, there’s another child in this household now...’

“You kids are all so thoughtful... don’t take all the blame. I know it was the village children throwing mud. You’ve been kind helping her already. As for the lunchbox, it’s trivial. What’s your name?”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Ru—”

Before Rudy could finish, Rolz’s expression darkened. Suddenly, as if electrified, he straightened, drew his bow, and shot an arrow.

The arrow flew like a meteor, whistling through the air toward the nearby woods.

But the arrow’s whistle abruptly stopped.

The shadowy forest, like a beast lurking in the dark, silently swallowed the arrow.

Rolz’s face turned grim as he spoke urgently.

“Quickly return to the village and inform the knights...”

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But halfway through his sentence, his eyes widened in shock, staring at the arrow’s disappearance.

Rudy and Silfi followed his gaze.

A massive shadow shaped like a wild boar was slowly approaching the tower where the three stood.

Silfi instinctively covered her mouth and turned to obey her father’s order to run back to the village, but Rudy grabbed her arm. She turned around in panic to see Rudy’s admiring look, nodding towards the creature to urge her to observe more carefully.

Silfi blinked and looked toward the beast’s source.

It wasn’t just a monster—or rather, it was a monster, but not a living one.

A figure appeared faintly before the monster, stepping out from the shadowed forest. Light and shadow danced around him.

He dragged the enormous tusk of the slain boar with one hand, gripping an arrow in the other. Silfi watched in wide-eyed amazement as he approached the tower.

“Since we’re out of bread, let’s have pork for lunch.”

Allen tossed the boar’s carcass before the three as if discarding trash, casually handed the arrow back to Rolz, who was dumbfounded after jumping down from the tower, then clapped his hands.

“Try my cooking.”

—

After packaging the meat, Allen sincerely asked Rudy to conjure fire and water with magic.

An hour later, the aroma of roasting meat wafted through the air.

Rudy used a magic water cannon to wash away the blood from the slaughtered monster; the ground shimmered with clear ripples.

The four sat around a simple earthen platform made with earth magic, furnished with crude tables, chairs, and a makeshift grill.

Strictly speaking, Rudy was the one cooking, while Allen only handled cutting, skewering, and turning the meat.

Rudy was enjoying himself.

The picnic-like barbecue reminded him of his previous life. Back then, he had no friends to picnic or barbecue with, but here in this strange world, he had found a way—albeit unusual—to experience it.

Though his friends were just two children, it felt nice.

“I didn’t expect Bathils flower seeds to have this seasoning effect. Delicious~” Rudy groaned with pleasure.

Rolz, however, showed little interest in the food. He observed Allen with appreciation.

“I didn’t know you’re the swordsmanship teacher Paul mentioned for Rudy. So young... It’s wonderful that you’ve become friends with Silfi. I hope you’ll take good care of her. By the way, her hair color is just a genetic throwback; please don’t look at her strangely.”

“Don’t worry, sir. Silfi is our friend. Of course, we’ll look after her.”

Silfi’s cute pointed ears twitched as she glanced silently at Allen. On the leaves before her lay a mountain of perfectly grilled meat slices.

Allen turned to Rudy, who was stuffing his mouth so full he couldn’t pay attention to his future wife.

Allen sighed quietly and added another piece of meat to Silfi’s pile, who nervously stuffed it into her mouth, her cheeks puffed like a little animal, blinking up at him.

“I... I ate it all...”

“Good job~”

Rolz merely watched the children with a gentle smile.

Though, strictly speaking, only one of the four was actually a child.

After the meal, Allen took a piece of hide from the slain boar and gave the remainder to Rolz.

The three then returned to the hill where many children were already playing. Upon spotting Allen, a little boy screamed in terror, and the crowd scattered, as if fleeing a plague.

Allen slowly moved toward a tree, casually drawing his sword to carve a few words on its trunk.

-------------------------------------

Rudy, Silfi, and Allen’s territory.

Entry permitted only after bowing three times to Silfi.

Allen remains.

-------------------------------------

Suddenly playful, Allen nodded with satisfaction, then looked at Rudy, who appeared suddenly pale and clutching his stomach.

Rudy’s face had turned a shade of green. He looked at Silfi, whose forehead was slick with sweat but smiled faintly at Allen’s gaze before collapsing promptly.

“Silfi!”

Rudy reached out to help her but staggered and fell as well.

As he fell, a thought struck him. He looked incredulously at Allen, who scrambled to aid Silfi instead of him. Memories of their earlier conversation about the roasted meat flickered through his mind.

“...Bathils flower seeds have mild toxicity that stimulates the tongue’s pain receptors, making them a perfect natural spicy ingredient. You said antidote? Uh... no need, it’s not serious. I eat it often and my body metabolizes it harmlessly.”

‘Not serious...’

Rudy’s eyes rolled back as he fainted.

—

The conclusion: Allen’s generous feeding of Bathils seed powder caused acute poisoning in the two children.

Using his own robustness as a benchmark, Allen realized this was a big problem.

He awkwardly watched Senis rush into the clinic, her face sour.

‘Sorry, Senis. Sorry, Lochisi... Please forgive me, the kids didn’t mean it... Wait, Lochisi might think I’m using the seed powder for weird reasons? Phew, glad I won’t see her for a few years.’

Senis, cheeks flushed, wore a white clinic uniform. Rather than scold Allen, she lightly tapped his head with her knuckles.

“Don’t eat unknown-effect foods recklessly. If Bathils seeds were safe to eat, they’d be common kitchen spices by now. You act mature but you’re still a child inside—so clumsy.”

‘Who’s clumsy? Paul?’

The mentally thirty-four-year-old child twitched his mouth and glanced at Senis’s new outfit—no longer the knee-high boots but easy-to-wear ankle boots. He was speechless.

Senis placed her hands on the children’s foreheads.

“The breath of the gods is the source of nourishment, granting those in pain the power to awaken and recover. Antidote spell!”

As soon as she spoke, Rudy and Silfi’s faces improved; their long eyelashes fluttered as they fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.

Allen reached out, unable to resist, and gently grasped Senis’s hand.

Caught off guard, Senis looked at him as he earnestly said:

“Please don’t tell Master Paul.”

Senis blinked, noticing a tall figure suddenly appear behind Allen.

“But he’s right behind you...”

‘I know that... This isn’t about sneaking a magic tattoo...’

Suddenly, a heavy blow struck Allen’s back, and his vision blackened as he fell, struggling to look at Paul’s retreating silhouette.

‘Paul, brother, no need to hit so hard when disciplining kids...’

Just then, Senis’s alarmed voice rang out.

“Dear! What are you doing?”

Allen’s fading vision saw Paul’s hand clasp tightly around his wife’s waist.

“Don’t worry. Allen’s physique is exceptional; I know my strength. This time I just knocked him out lightly as a lesson. By the way, darling... I wasn’t finished earlier...”

“You! Don’t move... Mrs. Soren is still outside. She’s on duty at the clinic today, you...”

“I already sent her home...”

‘Paul, you’re heartless... no uniform clinic play for your brother... unbelievable...’

The darkness swallowed the entangled figures of Paul and Senis as Allen fainted fully.

Unlike the feigned fainting when meeting Lochisi in the forest, this time, under Paul’s attentive care, Allen was truly unconscious.

The misty system panel slowly appeared and faded in the air.

[Detected host in physical contact with Senis. Within the past minute, antidote spell cast by Senis detected.]

[Detection successful. Magic tattoo embedded—Intermediate Antidote Spell.]

[...So far, well done~]

[Good night, Allen.]

[)]

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