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The bedroom was silent.
Invisible dust still floated in the air.
[Host, Allen. I already warned you once last night, but it seems you didn't take it seriously.]
[So I'll remind you again tonight. If this continues…]
[You'll never reach Saint-rank in the Sword God style. You'll be stuck at Advanced for the rest of your life.]
[Follow your heart, align action with intent—yes, I admit, even if you haven't consciously nurtured your desires, this 'Sword Heart' that fell right into your lap is quite something.]
[Unlike base desires like greed or lust, which eventually grow tiresome, as long as you stay true to yourself, do what you want, and answer the expectations placed upon you, you'll keep advancing in the Sword God style without ever worrying about your 'desires burning out.']
[Sword Saint, Sword King, Sword Emperor, Sword God.]
[They're all just milestones—once your theory and fundamentals are there, you can reach out and grab them.]
[But right now…]
[You seem to be having a bit of a problem.]
The bedroom remained silent.
After a long pause, the dust seemed to grow bored and began to dissipate.
But just as the last traces were about to vanish—
The words rearranged themselves.
[Then]
[Let 'me' give you a hand.)
Allen froze, then snapped his head up, glaring at the system panel.
Sure enough.
A new quest.
Had been issued.
[Tutoring Period—Compound Quest: Wanting Both. Issued.]
[Quest 1—Answer Hilda's Expectations. Reward: Participation Score: 10 points.]
[Quest 2—Answer Sylphie's Expectations. Reward: Participation Score: 10 points.]
[Quest 3—Answer Ghislaine's Expectations. Reward: Participation Score: 10 points.]
[Hilda's gaze—the dissonance between blood ties and the reality of your transmigration. Sylphie's admiration—the hesitation between acting on genuine feelings and respecting her dignity, the silent retreat of your blade. Ghislaine's high hopes—your inability to advance further in the Sword God style, leaving you lost.]
[How will you solve these thorny problems? Familial love, romantic love, strength—can you have it all?]
[The answer is]
[Yes!]
[The seeds of 'wanting both' were already planted by your own hands, but you don't seem to have noticed at all.]
[All that's left is for you to take that final step and make the choice.]
[Time Limit: No strict deadline during the tutoring period. However, once one quest is completed, the remaining two must be finished within 24 hours of each other, or the quest will be deemed a failure.]
[Be warned—this is a freebie quest.]
[Quest.]
[Start!]
Dust floated before his eyes.
Allen was completely dumbfounded.
He stared blankly at the system panel, lips parting and closing, words stuck in his throat. This cycle repeated for a long time before he could finally speak.
[Oh? What's with that look? Did you think I'd give you a forced quest? Or maybe some contradictory options?]
[Like I said, this is your journey in this world. You're the one participating, so the choice should naturally be in your hands.]
[Keep working hard. Leave your mark in the eyes of the protagonists and side characters.]
[Good luck, Allen.)
Allen blinked, taking a long moment to process what he'd just read. His expression twisted into something complicated—like a man walking his dog only to turn around and find his pet being mounted by a stray.
'Yeah… My first thought was that you were gonna force some mission on me. Guess you're not so bad after all.'
'Not so bad MY ASS!'
'What the hell is this quest?! It's so abstract I feel like I've got reading comprehension issues now!'
'"Wanting both"? What the hell does that mean? "The seeds were planted by my own hands"? What seeds?! And "just take the final step"? What step?!'
'What even is this?!'
'"Answer their expectations"? How?! Where's the damn quest hint?!'
'And—'
'Ghislaine's high hopes? What high hopes? Since when does she have any for me? I didn't even know about this!'
'Are you just making this up to mess with me? And responding to three people—a mom, a wife, and a teacher—within 24 hours of each other? How is that even possible? What am I supposed to respond to? Why don't I just go jump off a cliff instead?! A freebie quest? More like a suicide mission!'
Allen was fuming.
The dust drifted in front of his face, as if watching him.
[I just wanted to give you some motivation. Didn't expect it to work this fast—you're a lot more energetic now.]
'?'
'I'm having a mental breakdown, of course I'm energetic!'
[Good. Keep it up.]
'??'
The dust vanished.
Allen was left sitting there, stunned.
After a long pause, he finally snapped out of it, rubbing his face vigorously.
He grabbed a sheet of paper from the desk, intending to map out his thoughts, but his pen hovered over the page without moving.
Outside, a nightingale sang.
Its melody was soft and clear.
It sang for a while.
And the man inside listened for just as long.
Finally, the sound of pen on paper resumed.
Only a few words were added—right beside the name "Roxy," which he had unconsciously written the night before out of longing.
Those words were—
"Sylphie."
——
"Sylphie?"
In the hallway, a hushed knock was followed by a voice straining to stay quiet.
Rudy stood outside Sylphie's door, nervously glancing at Allen's room down the hall.
He hesitated, wondering if he should just leave and come back another time.
Then the door opened.
Sylphie peeked out. She had changed out of the moon-white dress Hilda had given her earlier and was now wearing the simple, sporty outfit she often wore back in Buena Village.
She glanced around before whispering,
"Perfect timing, Rudy. I was just about to look for you. Come in."
Rudy blinked, then nodded and stepped inside.
The door closed with a soft click.
Rudy and Sylphie exchanged glances before he immediately spoke.
"Allen's performance in today's match was off. I went to talk to Ghislaine and got the full story—apparently, it's a mindset issue."
Sylphie leaned against the door, lowering her eyes.
"Mindset, huh…"
Rudy studied her.
"What about you?"
"I went to Eris and asked her about Ghislaine's comments. Eris was as blunt as ever… I didn't understand everything, but it mostly matched what you heard. Though there was some stuff about encouraging Eris to improve… Probably related to Sword God style progression."
A brief silence fell between them.
"Rudy, what do you think we should do?"
"Allen's reactions to Lord Philip and Lord Sauros were about what I expected—mature. But there's one person who clearly threw him off…"
Sylphie's eyelashes fluttered as she stared at the floor.
She remembered the row of clothes in Hilda's room—clothes that should have belonged to Allen.
"Lady Hilda."
"Right. Allen's usually unshakable. Even when Lord Philip and Sauros treated him poorly, he didn't react. But Lady Hilda's kindness… it unsettled him. Just like how he was at our house before last winter."
"Sylphie, do you think we should help?"
"…I trust Allen."
Rudy raised an eyebrow.
"You think he can handle anything?"
Sylphie didn't answer.
After a moment, Rudy sighed, rolling his eyes slightly.
Some things were clearer to him as an outsider.
"Fine. I guess there's still time. Maybe he just needs to adjust, like in Buena. I'll head back for now."
Sylphie nodded and stepped aside.
As Rudy passed her, he paused.
"But I still think Allen might need help. You've seen how he's been these past two years… He's not great with this kind of thing."
The door opened, and Rudy stepped out.
As it closed, the narrowing gap revealed Sylphie still standing there, lost in thought.
In the dim candlelight of the room, the chair by the desk had been pushed back.
As if someone had been sitting there just moments ago, writing something.
Note: So far this story is published up to chapter 225 on my patreon, go check it out and remember that if we reach the goal of 40 power stones I will publish the next chapter.