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"What's the big deal?! So what if I have killing intent?! Got a problem with that?!"
Eris' sharp voice cut through the air beneath the tree.
Her crimson eyes, illuminated by sunlight, had pupils so distinct they seemed split between red and black—like a feline's gaze, brimming with intimidation.
Full of killing intent!
Rudeus, watching from the side, was utterly dumbfounded.
He could already picture the scene: Eris pouncing on Allen in the next second, pinning him down and pummeling him mercilessly. He wanted to intervene, but the words died in his throat.
Wait…
Do I even need to?
Could Allen handle this little lioness?
Of course he could.
Then… could I?
With my magic, definitely.
So why had I taken her hits without fighting back?
First, because Eris' strikes were still within his tolerance.
Second, as a tutor hired by the Boreas family, what kind of adult would pick a fight with a child?
…
Fine.
The real reason was—
This was the Boreas estate.
He was an outsider.
But Allen? None of these restraints applied to him.
For one, with the Flow Secret Technique, Eris' fists would never touch him.
For another, if Allen really lost his temper, he wouldn't care if she was a kid. He wouldn't just hit her—he might even press a blade to her neck and cheerfully say, "What a coincidence, I'm eleven too. Also a kid." He was absolutely capable of it. Just ask Somar from Buena Village.
And most importantly—
This was the Boreas family.
What was Allen's full name again?
Others might not know his identity, but Philip, the head of the household and his employer, certainly did.
Wasn't that the whole reason he was tutoring here in the first place?
Rudeus' thoughts weren't as swift as Allen's. By the time he pieced this together and relaxed, several seconds had passed.
He looked up.
In his line of sight—
Allen was still pinching Eris' cheek.
And Eris was still glaring at him.
"…?"
Rudeus blinked, wondering if his eyes were playing tricks on him.
Huh?
Why wasn't this the chaotic brawl he'd imagined?
——
"Ugh…"
Eris had been staring Allen down for a while, but when he still didn't respond, her lips twisted into a pout.
She smacked his hand away!
Her expression remained stormy as she kicked the grass in frustration.
The young lady was pissed!
"Hmph!"
A beat of silence.
"Fine! No punching?! Then what's all this 'killing intent' nonsense about?! Stupid!"
She punctuated her words with another vicious stomp on the turf.
Rudeus winced, half-expecting to be caught in the crossfire.
Meanwhile, Ghyslaine simply shook her head, a faint, indulgent smile flickering in her eyes.
Eris was throwing a tantrum.
Not a rage-fueled outburst—just a sulky fit.
It had been a while since she'd last done this…
Heh.
Allen, however, remained lost in thought.
His mind raced.
The Flow Secret Technique never lied.
The sensory information he gathered from the Water God Style had never deceived him.
Eris hadn't directed even a shred of killing intent at him.
Even now, as she grumbled and took her anger out on the grass, her irritation stemmed from one thing:
His comment.
"Extremely obvious killing intent. Even an outsider like me can feel it."
In that moment, given her personality, she probably didn't fully understand why she was angry.
But her instincts screamed at her—This feels wrong!
So she'd swung at Allen!
With battle aura!
Not like it'd hit him anyway!
But the result?
When she wasn't trying to project killing intent, it came naturally—like a silent predator lying in wait.
When she tried to unleash it, she couldn't—because deep down, she couldn't feel hostile toward him. Like a housecat hissing with no real threat behind it.
This was why Allen was stunned.
He never expected that, so early into his tutoring—
Eris had already placed her complete trust in him.
And to him, as someone familiar with the original story, this kind of trust was eerily familiar.
It was blind faith—illogical, unreasonable, yet impossible to dislike.
Once she decided she "only knew you," even the most absurd actions would seem justified to her. She'd rationalize them herself and follow you like a loyal hound.
In the original timeline, this was most evident in Old Rudeus' route.
But why was it happening now?
Because he'd saved her in the rain that night?
But after the kidnapping incident, Eris had still been openly 'tsun' toward Rudeus, right? It wasn't until after her tenth birthday that she gradually softened into 'tsundere.'
Was it because he'd used swordsmanship—something she respected—instead of unfamiliar magic, amplifying her trust?
Was the effect really that strong?
Strong enough to ignore her actual cousin and heap praise on an outsider?
An outsider?
Blood relations?
Allen's lips parted slightly as he stared at Eris' face. She'd just kicked up a small patch of grass, her black shoes now muddy. She raised an eyebrow at him, her expression still fiercely questioning.
The spring breeze brushed against her forehead, revealing beads of sweat beneath her bangs.
So 'ferocious.'
And then, Allen understood.
Why had he thought, even when Eris acted like a wild beast during their first meeting in Buena Village—
"My little sister is so cute."
It was because of an instinctive, biological sense of kinship.
Different from how he felt about other girls.
Back then, he'd immediately accepted her as his "little sister"—and in the rain, his body had moved on its own to protect her.
It wasn't just because he'd liked her character in the original story.
And now that he thought about it—
That day at the Greyrat mansion in Buena Village…
He had been the one talking to Philip. Yet Eris had instinctively avoided him and gone straight for Rudeus.
It was the same principle.
This was a connection forged by blood.
A distant yet innate "resonance."
It made her think subconsciously:
"This guy in front of me seems okay—definitely not that annoying Allen! That shifty-eyed one over there must be him!"
Allen blinked.
Eris' red hair, vibrant as fresh paint, fluttered in the spring wind.
And in that moment, Allen thought of someone else with the same fiery hue.
A name.
Written on a piece of paper tucked away in his desk drawer.
So this was the root of his inner conflict.
Note: So far this story is published up to chapter 205 on my patreon, go check it out and remember that if we reach the goal of 25 power stones I will publish the next chapter.