The next morning at breakfast, Senis looked at Allen with a stunned expression.
The young man seated at the table had already washed his hair again; his smooth brown locks partially covered his freshly trimmed, straight eyebrows. At the same time, he wore a pair of black, square-framed glasses—but the lenses had been removed, so it was hard to notice without looking closely.
His clothes had been swapped for Paul's attire—somewhat loose-fitting, with a low collar that gave him a relaxed, casual look.
He smiled warmly at everyone gathered around the table.
His entire aura had suddenly shifted—from sharp and intense to gentle and kind.
Allen gave a grateful nod to Lilia, the dutiful maid who was standing by and not joining the meal.
"Thank you."
Lilia blinked. The previous night, Allen had suddenly knocked on her door asking for a pair of glasses, saying his face might be too frightening and he was worried about scaring Rudius. Though she found it odd, she had handed over an old pair she no longer used.
Now, it surprisingly suited him quite well.
"You're welcome. They really suit you."
Allen smiled, nodding inwardly.
This should be much better. I spent quite a long time last night in front of the mirror making this transformation. Hopefully, Rudius won't be so afraid of me now. Why does this feel like I'm playing some galgame?
He turned to look at Rudius, only to see the boy's horrified expression before he bowed his head and began eating and drinking with unusual fervor.
"Disguised pervert!"
Allen's mouth twitched, unsure how to react.
However, it seemed he had hit Paul's sweet spot. Paul fixed his gaze on Allen's glasses, then lowered it to the muscular bulge at Allen's chest, before turning his head toward Lilia, nodding approvingly from time to time as if very satisfied.
[Congratulations, Host! You have gained Paul's favor once again.]
Allen smiled brightly, then reached out with his spoon, scattering the system message and casually scooping up some soup.
This is absolutely ridiculous.
—
All morning, Allen deliberately tried to stay close to Rudius. Even at noon, he used the Franklin Effect, intentionally dropping his spoon and asking Rudius to pick it up for him.
He sincerely expressed thanks with an exaggerated 'Sima' (a famous stoic expression) face.
But seeing Allen like that, Rudius wore the expression of a character in a novel who had just glimpsed the Dragon God Olsted—clearly even more afraid of Allen.
By the afternoon, Rudius went out to explore the terrain and didn't come home, so naturally, the sword lessons were canceled.
Instead, Paul eagerly challenged Allen to a fierce one-on-one fencing duel.
It wasn't until evening that Rudius returned home. Paul, having thoroughly enjoyed himself, didn't even bother to check whether Allen—the supposed teacher—was actually fulfilling his duties.
Lying in bed, as the system cheerfully announced yet another surge in Paul's favorability, Allen sank painfully into sleep.
—
The next morning, Paul was already up early, calling Allen out for fencing.
Unable to refuse such enthusiasm, Allen accepted the challenge.
This time, Rudius stayed home.
But the problem was, their exhilarating fencing bouts each lasted an entire day.
During these sessions, Allen clearly felt that Paul's swordsmanship proficiency, despite his rural life, had improved.
At night, Allen once again fell into a painful sleep.
What is all this?
—
On the third day, things finally began to turn around.
Rudius was forced to confront his swordsmanship teacher, and after two days of interaction, he realized that Allen's face might look unfriendly, but he was not the kind of bully Allen had been in his past life.
Still, no favor had been earned yet—which was only natural, since Rudius still regarded Allen as just another stranger.
The afternoon's practice was an opportunity.
But an accident occurred: the distracted Rudius once again dropped his wooden sword.
Paul, sitting nearby with his brows furrowed deeply, suddenly stood up.
He picked up the wooden sword and started wrestling with Allen!
Allen looked horrified toward Rudius, who was watching Paul with an expression of worship, as if witnessing a god descending to earth.
Then Rudius immediately turned and went inside. Soon after, he dashed out again, clutching a plant encyclopedia and, under Allen's utterly defeated gaze, went off to play.
That evening, the system informed Allen he had fostered the relationship between Rudius and Paul, rewarding him 5 points in the "No Job Reincarnation Major Event Participation" rating.
At night, Allen painfully slapped his own face and solemnly resolved that he must complete the task of winning Rudius's favor by tomorrow.
Allen… Allen, how can you fall so low??
—
Day Four.
Fencing.
—
That evening, Allen looked glumly at his bowl of food, feeling his mental state was about to collapse.
[Rudius: Countdown: 9:16:47]
[Keep it up, Host. If you keep this up, Paul might just propose to you.]
Allen painfully buried his face in the bowl.
Senis cast a puzzled glance his way.
"What's wrong, Allen? Are you feeling unwell?"
I feel terrible. Do you realize that if this keeps up, I'll become your lover before Lilia even gets the chance?
Allen struggled to pull his face out of the bowl, then gave a crooked, lopsided smile.
"No problem. The food smells great—I really like it."
"Really?! Darling! Allen's been praising my cooking all these days!"
Paul smiled and nodded in agreement, his face full of admiration as he looked at Allen.
"He often compliments my swordsmanship, too."
No, bro Luo, don't say that—I'm scared.
Allen rubbed his forehead and glanced across the table at Rudius, who was buried in his food.
Rudius seemed to sense Allen's gaze; he looked up and gave him a teasing little smile.
Feeling utterly defeated, Allen met his eyes and gave a small nod in response.
Just then, Paul suddenly spoke.
"Rudi, I've noticed you haven't been taking swordsmanship very seriously these days."
Rudius's eyes brightened. He quickly glanced at Allen, as if realizing the meaning behind Allen's nod, then said:
"Father, Teacher Allen's swordsmanship is very good, but it seems my talents lie more in magic. Also, the weather's warming up, and many plants outside are growing vigorously. I can't help but want to go out and study more of the plants recorded in my botanical encyclopedia. Sorry about that."
Listening to this carefully crafted excuse for his teammate, Allen found himself actually touched by Rudius's thoughtfulness and felt a little warmth toward him.
[Counterattack successful! Rudius has gained the host's favor!]
Damn it, just let me die right now!
Paul stroked his chin and looked up at the ceiling. After a long pause, he said something shocking:
"To be honest, I didn't really think so before, but now that Allen is here, compared to him, I really don't think you're cut out for swordsmanship."
Allen stared at Paul in horror.
My favorability is hanging by a thread—Bro Paul, please don't ruin me!
Steam suddenly rose from the hot food.
[Successfully gained Rudius's favor. Time taken: 86 hours, 31 seconds. Rating: A narrow escape with a clever angle. Paul is absolutely someone you can trust with your life.]
[Antidote Magic Slot Unlocked.]
Allen gawked at Rudius, who quickly glanced back at him with a look of gratitude before widening his eyes and innocently staring at Paul.
Then, carefully choosing his words, the slight upward curl of his mouth barely visible under the lantern light, the truth revealed itself:
"Father, may I shorten my sword practice time and focus more on studying magic? I think swordsmanship only needs to be enough to keep me fit. After all, I'm just not made for mastering the sword."
Paul blinked in surprise and instinctively looked at Allen.
Allen's mouth moved wordlessly like a goldfish.
Rudi, you really pulled a slick move—I'm impressed. But Paul, what the hell does that look on your face mean?
When it comes to raising kids, you need to ask your wife!