After a long pause, Paul noticed that Allen remained silent for quite some time, so he carefully began to speak.
"Allen, um, this letter was received last year. I know this may be hard for you to accept, but in fact, your father really is—"
"I know James isn't my biological father."
Paul was stunned and looked at Allen, who wore a calm, indifferent expression.
"That's great. I'll write to Philip right away and tell him we've found you. That way, you can return to Roya."
"That won't work."
Paul looked at Allen in surprise. Allen gave him a small smile.
"Uncle, please sit down and listen to me."
With that, Allen pressed Paul down into a chair, then turned to fetch a chair near the door. Paul blinked, somewhat puzzled, watching him.
"First, the information about me being missing is true, but my so-called 'biological father' hid the preceding events."
Allen walked to the door and placed his hand on the backrest of the chair. The coarse texture of the wood rubbed against his palm.
"When I was passing through the Red Dragon's Jaw, I was ambushed."
Paul suddenly stood up with a start.
Allen lifted the chair and turned to face Paul.
"The 'ambush' was deliberately arranged by me. I had long realized I wasn't James's biological son. Judging by the siblings' birthdays and working backward to conception dates, I shouldn't even exist in the Paul family of the royal capital. There was another brother in the same situation, but he fell ill and died at the age of five. Until the end of last year, I secretly hired a thieves' guild to stage a scene, planning to break free from the Paul family and come to the Fitoria Territory."
Paul exhaled deeply and sat down again. He had been misled by Allen, instinctively thinking this was about returning to his biological father.
Allen approached Paul, eyes narrowing slightly.
"But the 'ambush' went wrong. The actual attackers did not match the number we had secretly contracted with the thieves. We had expected five intermediate swordsmen, who would only lightly engage and then disperse peacefully, with my fall from the cliff marking the end. But what actually appeared before me were eight highly skilled swordsmen. If my estimate is correct, two of them were senior swordsmen of the Water God style, plus there was a magician."
"They showed no mercy."
Paul stood up again with a start.
Allen had now come face to face with Paul and smiled nonchalantly.
"So, they all died."
Paul sighed and sat back down.
Allen sat as well, looking him in the eye.
"After that, I sneaked into the forest through the Red Dragon's Jaw, first forging tracks as if I headed north. Then I took a detour lasting over four months before arriving at Buena Village. I had heard rumors of your 'heroic deeds' in the royal capital, Uncle Paul, and figured you wouldn't have a good opinion of noble children. Plus, Buena Village is remote, making it a good place to hide, so I came to rely on you. I only found out today that news of my disappearance had spread. It seems James must have believed I had successfully escaped the Asra Kingdom, so he spread that rumor."
Paul blinked.
"Heroic deeds? Oh? I didn't realize there were legends about me in the capital."
Allen spoke rapidly, blurting out a dozen words in an instant.
"Graduated noble school at ten, messed around with various women, then was confronted by the aggrieved party along with my father."
"Stop!"
Paul immediately stood and covered Allen's mouth, but Allen smiled and pulled Paul's hand away.
"I suspect those thieves betrayed me to James. James had always been wary of Philip, so he probably figured I would secretly return to help him. Hence, he staged the ambush to kill me and remove the threat."
Paul's awkward face instantly turned serious. He realized that in Allen's words, neither James nor Philip was referred to as 'father.' After opening and closing his mouth several times, he recalled the scene of leaving after an argument with his father and sighed softly.
His supposed biological father wanted to kill him, and the real biological father he had never met. So, he had no sense of family belonging with either.
"So you could secretly return to Roya City and live under an assumed name, only recognizing Philip?"
"No."
"First, Shaulos holds deep control over the Fitoria Territory. He would surely notice and never approve of my actions. Most likely, by tradition, I would be sent back to James. Then my situation in the capital would be even more dangerous."
"Second, James must have placed spies in Roya City to secretly monitor Philip."
After saying this, Allen lowered his head and earnestly looked at Paul.
"So, I sincerely ask Uncle Paul to take me in. As compensation, I promise to protect Rudy's future. After all, you can't always be there for him, but since we're close in age, I think we can become friends in time."
Paul looked at the letter he had placed back on the table. After a moment, he could only nod.
Allen continued.
"After two years, when the heat dies down and my body and appearance mature a bit more, I'll shave my eyebrows to look friendlier, change to a gloomy hairstyle with bangs, and even if someone who's seen me before stands in front of me, they probably wouldn't recognize me."
Unlike the information age before his transmigration, this world had slower communication—but slower information also had its advantages. Magic items that could preserve one's image were extremely rare. People like Reg Luther could change their hair color and enter a city unnoticed. And two years would be more than enough for me to learn from Paul—at least to raise my swordsmanship to an advanced level in three different schools.
"Of course, James, who has watched me grow up, and the family back in the capital would probably recognize me. But as long as I avoid running into them, I should be fine."
Paul glanced at Allen and sighed inwardly. He had a strong feeling Philip would recognize him, but he didn't voice any objection.
"That's true. And by then, your strength will have improved even further. Aside from a very small number of sword kings or sword emperors, no one will be able to threaten your life. And for now, your official story is just that you're 'missing.' Even if they recognize you, they can only send assassins after you; they can't openly make a scene. That's how nobility in the Asra Kingdom operates."
Allen nodded.
"Yes."
At that moment, footsteps came from outside the door. Paul and Allen both fell silent, and then there were three knocks.
Lilia opened the door and peeked inside. After scanning Allen from head to toe, she spoke up.
"Master, dinner is ready. Please come and eat."
—
Sure enough, Senis's cooking matched her size perfectly.
Magnificent.
Allen looked at the steaming hot dishes on the table—soup, rice, and some kind of flatbread similar to pizza. In the center was a pot of tender stewed meat emitting a rich aroma.
Rudius sat directly across from Allen, studying him through the rising steam.
Allen instinctively smiled.
Rudi immediately closed his eyes and turned his head away.
Allen's mouth twitched.
Just then, Paul tapped his fingers on the table and cleared his throat.
"All right. After our conversation just now, I'm confident Allen has the ability to guide Rudius. So there's no need for a trial period—he will be Rudius's swordsmanship instructor from now on. Everyone, please treat him as part of the family. Don't look down on his role here just because of my swordsmanship level."
Lilia, who had been attending nearby, was the first to applaud. Although she thought hiring another swordsmanship teacher was unnecessary, as the daughter of the former swordsmanship dojo master, she had no objections to Allen's recent demonstration of the Water God style. With his skills, he could easily serve as a palace guard, and a high-ranking one at that.
Senis joined her hands in front of her face, smiling warmly.
"Since the head of the family has made the decision, I naturally welcome Allen. I'm sure Lilia won't look down on this teacher just because he's young."
Without missing a beat, she began serving the food, placing a plate in front of Allen.
Paul then clapped a hand on Allen's shoulder and cheerfully introduced him to the three of them, praising him generously.
Senis nodded frequently, her smile gentle and kind.
This was completely different from the cold, distant daily life with so-called family in the capital.
Having never truly experienced family warmth in either life, Allen felt a little uncomfortable under everyone's gazes. He instinctively lowered his head as the aroma of the meal wafted toward him.
Steam mixed with faint wisps of smoke rose around his face.
[Current stage: Childhood. Cumulative participation score: 40 points. You have initially integrated into the Paul family, but Rudius himself has a somewhat different attitude toward you.]
[Immediate task pending: Gain Rudius's favor.]
[Rudius: Countdown: 77:38:47]