On the second day, Roxy packed up her luggage and stood in the porch, prepared to leave.
"Roxy-chan, it's okay to stay for a bit longer. There are many recipes I haven't taught you yet," Zenith said.
"That's right. We're indebted to you because of last year's drought. Even if you're done tutoring Seraph, the people from the village will definitely welcome you," added Paul, his arms crossed.
Zenith and Paul were trying to make Roxy stay. At one point, the three of them became close.
Roxy slightly smiled. "No. Thank you for the offer, but I've come to realize my own weakness. I plan to tour the world to polish my magic."
"Is that so? What can I say… I'm sorry, it seems our son has made you lose confidence."
Thank you for pointing this out, Paul.
Not that it really matters.
Roxy shook her head. "No, this event has made me learn not to be too full of myself. I'm actually grateful for this."
"I see…"
"Then, everyone of the Greyrat family. Thank you for your hospitality these past two years." Roxy faced all of us, then looked at me, and smiled. "Seraph, thank you for teaching me shortened chanting. I feel like I'm the one who benefited the most here. I tried my best to teach you, however, I feel my teachings were a bit lacking."
"Stop being so harsh on yourself. I think you did a pretty good job," I said a bit awkwardly.
The fact is, in these parts it would be impossible to find a better tutor than Roxy.
"I'm satisfied if you say that… Now, here. This is your graduation present." Roxy searches her mantle with her hand and pulls out something. She then put it over my neck; it was a necklace. "This is a Midgurdian charm. If you ever come across a hostile demon, show him this charm and tell them my name. They might come to be more lenient… Probably."
I took the charm into my hand and slightly smiled. "Yes, thank you. I will keep it safe."
"I'll be glad if you do. But what I said is only a possibility. Don't believe in it too much." Roxy slowly smiled at the very end, then added, "If you ever decide to further your magic studies, I'll give you a recommendation for Ranoa University of Magic."
"Mhm."
"Well then, goodbye and farewell," Roxy said finally, then turned toward the door.
"Wait! Master, I also have something for you."
Before Roxy set off, I picked up a wooden box that I prepared beforehand.
I approached her and gave the box to her.
"What is it?"
Roxy received and opened the box.
Inside was a figurine that I made recently.
It was a small figurine of Roxy who was sitting down on a chair and studying with a focused look on her face. I made it recently while watching Roxy read and prepare lectures.
I said, "It's a small keepsake. You can use it as a paperweight. If you're in a pinch, you can sell it."
"I wouldn't sell something like this," Roxy immediately replied. She then smiled. "Well, thank you, Seraph. It's beautiful. I'll treasure it."
Roxy patted my head, stored the box in her mantle with a bright smile, then set off while saying her final farewell.
I really didn't mind if she sold it though.
Ideally to Zanoba.
For a huge price.
And then split the profits with me.
Everyone would benefit this way!
It wasn't a figurine with a removable robe and the details of the hair and the robe were not perfect, but it was still a decent piece of art, I would say. It was created at the height of my ability to shape magic.
It had a flat and slightly heavy cloud-shaped bottom, so it doubled-down as a paperweight.
"Good luck, Roxy! Remember about our promise!" I shouted after Roxy as she began walking through the gate of the garden, walking into the distance.
Roxy raised her hand in acknowledgment without looking back as she continued.
Though I think she might have already only remembered the promise to share with me the magic she learns.
But Zenith giggled.
"What promise?" Paul asked, puzzled, looking at Zenith's reaction.
"You don't need to know." Zenith pushed Paul away, then faced me. Leaning down. She said, "Seraph. You mustn't go around breaking young girls' hearts, yes?"
I said nothing.
"Yes?" Zenith asked again, staring at me intently with a smile.
"Yes…" I replied without enthusiasm.
"Roxy is a good girl, but you might meet someone else soon. When you do…"
And like this Zenith began preaching to me to settle on a single girl, treat her well, not be a playboy and so on.
Paul tried to intrude into the conversation, saying that as a father he should be the one to teach me these things, but Zenith hushed him.
I don't know if Rudeus experienced it or Zenith thought that he was a lost cause, but the Zenith I knew tried to raise me in Milis faith.
She didn't push it, but she tried to engrave into me the qualities of the Milis church.
I knew that all of this was useless though.
Originally an atheist, after reincarnating to a world with magic, I was at least an agnostic, but I still looked down on religious fanatics that tried to control me with their blind beliefs. To my knowledge, the Milis religion was not based around a real God and was simply a social construct.
In addition, shortly after reincarnating I already secretly thought of my possible harem member list...
I was born as a pervert, Zenith.
Sorry, you can't change it.
***
"Oh, you must be Paul and Zenith's kid."
"Ah, you were the student of Roxy? You doing fine?"
Some farmers of the village greeted me.
"Yes! My name is Seraphim Greyrat!"
"Mh. You should be the one behind all of these explosions, right?"
"Sorry…"
"Haha. It's fine. Things like this make the monsters stay away. I heard."
A few days after Roxy's departure I began exploring the village and its surroundings while carrying the botanic encyclopedia and Roxy's wand.
Everyone knows me too. Paul and Zenith's kid. Roxy's disciple.
Even though Paul was very strict when it came to my sword training, he easily allowed it and even seemed happy.
He didn't make me practice with the sword the entire day.
He even sent me off while saying to bring back a girlfriend.
It wasn't entirely my intention, but I did want to meet Sylphy finally.
Her talent was worth it.
Summarizing it, she had the Laplace factor that granted her amazing talent for magic, a large mana pool and skill for chantless magic, including for chantless healing and detoxification magic.
She was also very loyal and caring, and obedient. She was quite clever too.
Though I was never personally attracted to Sylphy in the original.
As Fittz, she was especially extremely boring.
If she remains like this in my eyes, she'd just be a friend.
But even though I said this, I might still not give up on another cute girl that likes me if I could.
We'll see about that.
Apart from this, while exploring the outside world I began to practice some more unique and dangerous magic covering a larger area and leaving behind environmental scars, so it isn't like I wasn't doing any training while searching for Sylphiette.
I was not in a hurry, but I also slowly read through the books on plants on occasion.
With it I could identify what's edible and what's not, as well as differentiate between medicinal and poisonous plants…
With emphasis on eye-catching plants, I compare the plants I see with the botanical encyclopedia.
But the village isn't very big, so there aren't many varieties of plants.
Soon after I found a small hill with a huge solitary tree that stood high above the usual ground level. It's the biggest tree around here.
I made this place my base where I was camping out to meet Sylphy.
Past this tree was the direction of a forest.
There are many types of plants in the forest.
'Based on rumors, it is more dangerous inside the forest because mana tends to gather there easily.'
The areas where natural mana tends to gather easily will have a higher chance of creating monsters.
This is because creatures will undergo sudden changes due to the mana.
The same did not seem to happen to humans though, otherwise someone like me would have long mutated.
Either way, this area has very few monsters here since the village will hunt them periodically, making it safer.
Every month the knights, hunters and the self-patrolling team of men will go out in full force to enter the forest and clear out any monsters that might endanger the village.
But it is said that deep inside the forest, there might be the possibility of a fearsome monster.
I wish I could run into some to test my skills, but it hasn't happened yet.
I was a little fearful about rushing into my first fight, but my power as a magician was enormous, so I knew it's unlikely that I could be taken by surprise and suffer a loss.
In the worst situation, I could always use Gravity Magic to make everything around me float helplessly in the air, so that made me feel more at ease.
Today I once again climbed up the small hill with the large tree, hoping that I would either run into Sylphiette or some monsters.
And at this moment.
"We told you demons shouldn't stay in our village!"
Hateful shouts were carried along with the wind.
"Get lost!!"
"Eat this!"
"I managed to hit!"
I take a look over and find the field that turned into a marsh-like area from the recent rainy days.
In the field, I see 3 dirty kids throwing mud at a small boy.
"You get 10 points if you hit the head!"
"Okay!"
"I got it! I got it!"
I pursed my lips.
Three bullies kept throwing mud balls with sneering and self-satisfied expressions.
These ridiculing expressions made me recall my time in school.
The truth is, I have also experienced my share of bullying in my first life.
The most irritating point about it was that these b**ches rarely confronted you alone. They would always be in groups.
They would not even confront me face to face either, mostly talking behind my back as I was passing by.
It felt terrible.
To be honest, I really wanted these guys to confront me straight up with direct and harsh insults, so I could lash out and legitimately fight back.
Even if I got beaten up in the end.
But it never happened. They didn't give me a good enough reason for my past self to justify making a move.
But oh well, it did happen, they did confront me directly… When there were several of them, including some upperclassmen.
These kinds of b**ches.
And another annoying part was that my parents raised me with the ideas of: 'be a better man', 'just ignore it', 'they're not worth it'.
When I did get into a fight, even when I was absolutely the victim, I would instead be reprimanded harshly by my parents for making trouble and making the teachers intervene.
This kind of situation.
They didn't care whose fault it was, they didn't care if I was abused; it was my fault that they had to confront the teachers and be embarrassed about it.
I was raised like this, and enduring humiliation eventually became a habit.
I did not want to break the law or the school rules.
Even though I felt pathetic about it.
In turn, the bullies thought I'm an easy target and just kept at it. Everyone looked down on me…
If I came back in time, I would crush the bullies' without worrying about the consequences. I would have ripped them to shreds.
Even though there are rules and laws, it does not mean that you cannot break them if the consequences were meaningless enough.
After all, even though they were so trash, the bullies never suffered any serious consequences from the authorities.
Even those that did literal illegal things and got caught up by police, only received minor punishment and were let off, 'because they're minors'.
What I was afraid of?
Of course, apart from the law, I was also afraid of the bullies.
Combined with my excuses, I suffered while living in this pathetic manner.
It's only when I matured, I began to see more through the world.
I left my parents' side and developed my own views and values.
But at that point it was already too late for the payback on these guys. Meanwhile fostering meaningless hate would also not help me in anything.
I moved past it and even forgot all their faces and names.
But in this situation right now, I had a perfectly viable reason to fight back.
As well as enough power to not be afraid of the consequences, whoever I pick a fight with.
The ability to crush anyone who annoys me, without a care.
In this world I could even kill whoever I want, as long as I'm stronger…
How liberating!
As I felt hot blood rushing to my head, I let out a breath, calming down.
Of course, I didn't plan to kill these brats here. These guys were really not worth the trouble.
But the thought that I could potentially do whatever I want in this world without worrying about consequences was quite pleasant.
Below the hill on the roadside, a 'boy' carried something like a basket in front of his chest, hugging it to protect it from the mud.
Thus, he was unable to avoid the attacks from the bullies.
"He's carrying something!!"
"The demon's treasure!!"
"He must have stolen it from somewhere!!"
"Hitting it gets 100 points!!"
"Steal the treasure!!"
One of them picked up a rock with a smug grin.
That's enough. Time to act like a hero.
I ran down the hill towards the bullying boys and shouted loudly in a tone of righteous indignation, "Stop this, you villains!!!"
"???"
The three stopped throwing mud balls and looked at me in confusion.
"Eh?"
"Who are you?"
"What villains? What the hell do you want?"
I puffed out my chest and said with pride, "My name is Seraphim Greyrat. Stop what you're doing right now!"
After a moment's lag, the three bullies' confused faces contorted in anger.
"Greyrat? You're that knight's kid!"
"Get lost, it doesn't concern you!"
"We're not the villains! We're chasing away the demon!"
"That's right! Are you allying with a demon?!"
I replied, "I'm not allying with a demon. I'm on the side of justice!"
Hearing my words, the 'boy' with the basket looked at me with a shocked and confused face.
If it was Earth, my lines would have sounded cringe. No, no matter what world it was, I still cringed hard inwardly. It was embarassing to speak like this.
But here they might leave an unforgettable impression on Sylphiette, so why not? Why not act like a righteous knight in shining armor?
We're both only 5 years old, living in a world of swords and magic where knights and chivalry are a thing. It should leave her with an unforgettable impression.
And so I said my line with pride, but the village boys felt they were standing on justice's side instead. The three looked at me with pissed off expressions.
"What the heck are you acting cool for?!"
"The nobles' young master, hah!"
"We're heroes chasing away the evil demon from the village! We're the justice!"
"We'll tell other people the knight has become allies with the demon races!"
"Tell our brothers to come now!"
"Brothers! There's a strange person here!"
They used Call to Arms.
But no reinforcements came.
The brats continued shouting in indignation, believing themselves to be in the right for ruining someone's life. As they wouldn't shut up, I felt increasingly annoyed.
"Shut up! Do you think you're so great to band up on someone three against one? Why won't you try me? I can take you on. Blizzard Storm!"
As I said so, I pushed my hand forward and used the Advanced rank spell - Blizzard Storm.
I held back and created seven waterballs to float above and around me.
Normally when I used this spell, the water would shape and turn into large icicles, but I consciously didn't freeze the water, turning the spell into a multi-shot Water Ball.
The bullies frowned when they saw this.
"You… You're going to attack us with magic?"
"No way…"
"You're crazy!!!"
"If you do this, we'll tell on you!"
I sneered at this. "Tell on me? Just who are you going to tell?"
"I'm going to tell… My dad!" One of the kids shouted back.
I laughed as I took a step forward. "Haha. Why should I care if you tell your dad?"
The kid slightly frowned, then after a while replied, "He's going to tell your father, the knight! He'll tell him that you attacked us with magic!"
"Is that so? You can do whatever, but first… is your punishment."
I pushed my hand forward.
While severely holding back, I sent the seven water balls flying at the three bullies.
I would probably be reprimanded by Paul for this, but I didn't care.
"Ahh!"
"Dodge!"
The bullies raised their hands to block and tried to dodge the seven water balls.
But they couldn't avoid all of them.
The water balls hit the three bullies' bodies, splashed against them and the force pushed them back, making them fall onto their butts.
Ups. It seems I used a tiny bit too much force. But this result was also good.
As they fell into the mud, they became covered in mud all over.
Because the water balls made their clothes wet, the earth stuck to them and they ended up in an even uglier state than 'Sylphiette'.
I faintly raised my brows with a slightly amused expression, not caring much.
As the bullies wiped mud and water off their faces, they looked at me.
I called out. "Now scram! I don't want to see you bullying someone again!"
The three bullies looked at me with shocked and indignant faces.
"Bullying someone? But you're the bully!"
"Do you really think it's good for a knight's kid to do this?!"
Instead of running away, they kept talking back in indignation.
"What is this? You didn't learn your lesson yet? Want to go another round?"
I slightly narrowed my eyes and formed another seven water balls in the air.
"Damn!"
"You're crazy!"
"!!!"
The three looked at me in alarm as they hurriedly got up from the ground.
After a moment of silence, I asked, "Why aren't you running away yet?"
The three village boys hesitated for a moment as they looked at each other, then slowly turned around and started retreating backwards.
"L-let's go!"
"Yeah, let's go! He's crazy!"
"We'll tell on you!"
"We'll tell everyone that the knight's kid is a villain!"
"You won't get away with this!"
"Traitor of humans!!!"
The three shouted as they were gradually gaining momentum while running faster and faster. Getting suddenly hit by the water balls must have frightened them, even if there was no real damage.
"Phew."
I let out a breath.
This small farce was finally over.
I dispelled my spell and turned my gaze toward the 'boy' with the basket.
The 'boy' was squatted in the middle of the road, covered in mood. He was crouching as if in fear while gaping at me with a dumbfounded expression, his mouth wide open and forming an "o" shape.
I came down the hill and approached him.
"Hey, are you okay? And your basket too?"
Coming closer, I could see the 'boy's' face better.
'Woah.'
As expected, the 'boy' had very short hair and pants, resembling a boy from afair, but it was actually an incredibly cute young girl.
Hair too short for a girl, sculpted-like nose, small cute lips and a pointed chin. Her porcelain-like skin along with an expression like a frightened rabbit made you want to take care of her and protect her.
Her head was covered with a hood and her shoulders were rounded while she was looking up at me.
For a while, she didn't speak and just stared at me in amazement, with what seemed to be both reverence and fear.
Even though I was the one who 'saved her', she still looked rather wary.
I asked again, "Are you fine? If you're hurt, I can use a healing spell."
She sat on the ground and shivered, without getting up, as if she was hurt. Even if I doubted she was wounded, I still asked.
"Um… Um… I'm f-fine…" She mumbled and showed me a weak expression.
She was dirtied by mud everywhere. Mud is everywhere on her clothes. Half of her face is covered with mud, and her hair has been turned into the color of mud too.
It is a miracle that she managed to protect the basket.
I gave her a hand and helped her to get up.
"Thank you… Uh, your hand is now dirty. Um…"
"It's fine. Well, take it off."
"Wha-what?!"
"Take off the coat, so I can wash you. You're all dirty." I smiled.
After a brief moment's hesitation, she put aside the basket and took off the coat.
"Bend your head down."
Even though she was bewildered, she still followed the order and bent forward. "Like this?"
"Yeah. Now close your eyes."
I warmed up the water to the appropriate level with fire magic, then poured it over her.
"Waah!"
I grab the panicking young girl's neck to stop her from running out of the water and wash the mud from her hair.
Even though she resisted at the start, she soon quietened down and just let things happen to her.
As for the cloak… I decided to not drench it in water, and to wash it later at home.
After washing off the mud, I used Fire magic to create a hot gust of wind like from a hair-dryer to dry the girl's hair, then I used a handkerchief to carefully wipe her face.
As I was finished, the visage of a cute child with long Elf-like ears and emerald-green colored green hair appeared before me.
We looked at each other for a moment in silence.
A curious expression on my face, and equally curious on hers.
"Th… Thanks…" She then thanked me.
It made me focus back on the present. "No problem. Those kinds of guys need to be taught a lesson."
"..." She said nothing, just stared at me.
"Are you a Superd?" I then randomly asked to get the conversation going.
"N-no!!!" She strongly refused.
"I see. No gem on the forehead. But your hair is green. Is that why you were bullied?"
"Y-yes. It's because my hair is green… You… You're fine with it…?"
I shrugged. "I don't care. I think your hair color is pretty."
I smiled after speaking.
She stared at me with wide open eyes.
I asked, "So, are you a demon?"
"No... Ugh… Well, I don't know. My dad says… I'm not from a demon race… but my hair color is… is different from my dad and mom's…"
As she got to this point, the girl bursted into tears and started sobbing right in front of me.
After a moment's hesitation, I comforted her by stroking her head.
"I see…"
For a while, she just sobbed there and I remained silent.
Eventually, she quietened down.
She looked up at me and spoke up hastingly, "So, um… Why… Why did you help me?"
"Because it was the right thing to do," I answered in a natural tone, I almost fooled myself.
"But… the other kids might exclude you now…"
"I don't care. I don't want to be friends with these jerks anyway."
"..."
"Then, do you want to be my friend?" I then asked.
***
***
***
(AN: So there are many readers who don't quite like Sylphiette, don't find her physically attractive and view her more as a trusted friend, mainly anime watchers probably, but not necessarily. I admit myself that Sylphy has her great points, but it's not the point here. She's also kind of boring. Initially, I want the Protagonist to have similar thoughts and he will not actively pursue Sylphy as a romantic interest or grooms as a future bride like Rudeus, treating her more like a close friend. Well, we all know how it's probably going to end, but this is how it starts. I hope that in the process Sylphiette can become more interesting as a character. I think it will satisfy everyone and is still in line with my idea of the Protagonist.)