Chapter 36: The Butterfly Flaps Its Wings, Roxy Returns

The dust and smoke dissipated and did not reappear for a long while, as if carefully evaluating the situation. After a moment, the writing flickered and scattered back into view.

【The gap between you and a Water Saint-class swordsman is very small.】
【Only a single turning point is missing.】

Alan blinked.
"A turning point?"

【Perhaps it will come through a breakthrough during a high-pressure combat scenario, or perhaps through an epiphany like the one you had during your spar with Paul this morning. Honestly, I cannot provide precise advice. Your rank is an estimate based on data retrieved from swordsmen of the same level; swordsmanship is something that cannot be accurately quantified. For instance, if you could successfully execute a counterattack while using your self-created secret technique, you would undoubtedly be in a state that could stably defeat the average Water Saint... Unfortunately, compared to the Water Gods and Water Saints, you still lack a touch of agility.】

Alan rubbed his chin.
"Execute a counterattack, huh..."

Rudy was stunned for a moment. Seeing Alan blinking and "flirting" with him, then rubbing his chin, he couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine.

'Fine, you won twice, so you won twice, but what is with that look like you're inspecting a trophy! Am I some kind of bride brought home after a victory in a barbarian tribe?'

Although he had been defeated twice in a row by Alan, once he adjusted his mindset, he felt he was back in the game. After all, it was a back-and-forth battle, wasn't it?

'This is Alan, the guy who can trade blows with Paul!'
'I tried my best. Surely, if Roxy saw this, she would only marvel at Alan's strength and wouldn't blame me. After all, Roxy is so good at encouraging people~'

Rudy made excuses for himself at lightning speed, and then heard the patter of somewhat anxious footsteps coming from the hill. The next moment, Sylphie burst through the thick fog and into the battlefield.

"Al! Alan! Rudy! Are you alright?"

Alan finally snapped out of his thoughts. He turned to look at Sylphie’s anxious expression and smiled gently.
"I’m fine."

Rudy squinted at Alan.
'Your attitude is way too different! Why were you only blinking and rubbing your chin at me just now!'

Sylphie stepped forward, first inspecting Alan from head to toe, then checking Rudy. Seeing that neither of them had any injuries, she breathed a sigh of relief. She patted her chest, still shaken, and said seriously to Rudy:
"Rudy, I think you shouldn't continue such dangerous fights next time; it's easy to get hurt."

She then pointed at the chipped blade of Alan’s sword. Rudy’s mouth twitched under Alan’s somewhat subtle gaze.

'You make it sound like I was the one pinning Alan down and beating him, but that is absolutely not the case, hey!!'

Alan scratched his head awkwardly, looked at the misty surroundings, and said to the two of them:
"Regardless of anything else, let’s clear this thick fog first. It’s too gloomy under the hillside; it feels like the scene of some cult sacrifice."

Rudy replied with a huff:
"Fine~ Lord Alan~"

After he used a fireball to evaporate the fog, Sylphie, Rudy, and Alan all showed expressions of embarrassment.

The hillside was a muddy mess; there wasn't even a clean spot to stand. If they were to transplant rice seedlings now, they might have a golden harvest by late autumn. But the problem was that this small hill was essentially their secret base; it wouldn't be appropriate to bring villagers here to farm, and since it was far from the village, no one would want to take over the land either.

Consequently, Sylphie and Rudy had to pick the most heavily damaged areas and use healing magic one after another to restore the grass on the ground, covering up the ugly, exposed mud. They spent the better part of the day on this.

In the afternoon, they accompanied Paul to the village blacksmith shop to replace Alan’s blade with a new one on the original hilt. Fortunately, Alan’s sword was just a standard sharp, slender blade, and it was easy to find a lightweight, thin edge of similar specifications.

When Paul learned the details of their spar, he couldn't help but click his tongue in surprise.
"Were you two really that serious in your match? The precision of such tactical setups is no different from adventuring in a dungeon. And Alan, what is that swordsmanship technique of yours? I’ve never heard of it."

Alan scratched his cheek upon hearing this.
"I learned swordsmanship at the Water God Style main dojo in the Asura Kingdom capital since I was young. The inspiration for that secret technique came from Her Excellency Reida Lira."

Paul and Rudy widened their eyes simultaneously. Only Sylphie stood by with a confused look, not understanding what was going on. Rudy immediately became excited.

"So you really have met the Water God? Is she a super powerful, mature 'onee-san' type? The name sounds like one of those blonde-haired, blue-eyed older ladies!"
'She feels like Teresa from Claymore...'

Paul and Alan both squinted at Rudy. After a long while, Paul scratched his cheek and said helplessly:
"Ah... well, the 'older lady' part is true, and so is the 'powerful' part, but let’s forget about the blonde hair and blue eyes..."
'What can I say? Is it really my child? The focus is always on such strange things...'

Alan sighed and rubbed his forehead.
"She is an old grandmother, only half a head taller than Roxy. She is very dignified, but her aesthetic... is a bit strange."
'Being able to hold favor for a fat pig like Darius and being willing to repay a debt of gratitude even at the cost of her life is really hard to comprehend...'

The three of them had their own spoken words and internal thoughts; perhaps this was just the Greyrat way. Rudy was stunned by Alan’s words, and then Paul turned to look at Alan.

"Are you a direct disciple of Her Excellency Reida?"
Alan looked up at him. "I am."

Paul nodded.
"No wonder you have such high attainments in the Water God Style at such a young age... It also makes sense that you aren't skilled in the Sword God Style. The Water God Style main dojo is almost entirely composed of noble children who will become guards or knights in the capital; the Sword God Style, which emphasizes offense, isn't suitable for that environment."

Rudy listened to this and looked at the two of them.
"So, is Alan a noble too?"

At this, Alan’s face stiffened. He hurriedly laughed it off.
"Ah... well... I suppose so. Um... I didn't follow the rules regarding matters between men and women, caused some trouble, and had to flee the dojo in a hurry to become an adventurer."

Paul’s face froze upon hearing this all-too-familiar trajectory.

'You brat, you are obviously talking about me...'
He gritted his teeth, his words squeezed out from between them.
"...Yes, yes, this brat is truly unruly... Haha, hahaha..."

Sylphie, who was an outsider to the conversation, had her expression stiffen for a moment upon hearing this.
"What... does 'not following the rules regarding matters between men and women' mean..."

The three of them looked at each other, falling into an awkward silence. Rudy, watching their behavior, narrowed his eyes.

'Something is going on... Is Alan really just a wandering adventurer? If he were an ordinary person, he wouldn't have been able to go to the Water God Style main dojo to learn swordsmanship... And looking at Paul’s attitude, there are many suspicious points...'

—

As night fell, the lights in the Greyrat household were all extinguished. The moon was swallowed by dark clouds, and the night in Buena Village was incredibly quiet. After two fights today, Alan was physically and mentally exhausted. He had already fallen into a deep sleep before the nightly creaking sounds began.

Late in the night, a faint sound reached his ears, as if some elastic object was making a persistent, soft *pat-pat* sound. Alan frowned, but the sound kept coming, and he became increasingly awake.

Finally, he rolled over and roared in his heart:
'You couple next door, have some consideration! Can't you let a person sleep? Who can stand you playing with balls in the middle of the night every single day?!'

The next moment, as his consciousness sharpened, he suddenly realized that the sound wasn't coming from next door, but drifting in through the gap in the window right next to his bed.

Alan squinted and pulled back the curtain. In the shadowy darkness, a not-so-tall figure was cautiously pacing back and forth on the steps in front of the main entrance.

'A thief? Someone bold enough to steal from a knight's house in the village? That doesn't seem right...'

He observed for a while and found that the figure had no intention of leaving, just repeating the pacing, as if struggling with which room to start stealing from. He grabbed his sword, opened the window silently, and used his Battle Aura to land in the courtyard along the wall.

The moment he landed, the figure jumped in place, startled, and turned around. The next instant, his cold-glinting blade was held at the other person’s throat.

Alan was about to speak a warning, but upon seeing the person's face at close range, his pupils dilated in shock.

A mountain breeze blew, and the dark clouds in the sky seemed to tire of the moon, spitting it out. In an instant, moonlight poured down from the firmament like a silver ribbon, illuminating the figure:

Two long blue braids swayed slightly in the wind, and the moonlight danced on her bangs. She was holding her magic hat, her bangs slightly disheveled, looking at Alan with an expression that was panicked yet strangely reassuring.

Roxy.

The light in her eyes needed no moonlight to complement it. It was already enough to leave one breathless.