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"Perhaps I need to be more honest too..."
"Allen, he—"
The sound of pen strokes stopped. Roxy stared blankly at Allen's name on the paper.
Honesty...
She blinked, then pulled out another sheet of stationery from the drawer.
Taking a deep breath.
"I need to praise Allen, huh?"
"If 'desire' in swordsmanship is something like confidence..."
"Then I should just go all out while I'm in the mood."
Dear Allen! (written in exaggeratedly bubbly letters)
The moment she finished the first line, Roxy sucked in a sharp breath through her teeth, crumpled the paper, and grabbed a fresh sheet.
Dear Allen,
How have you been lately?
From your letters, life at the Boreas household these past two months sounds quite lively.
I'm almost a little envious.
That famously unruly young lady—her proud, even reckless exterior is just a front? And you say that once she acknowledges someone, she becomes surprisingly candid and even... cute? I'm curious now.
And Ghislaine, the fourth-ranked Sword King of the Sword God style, is actually a bit... airheaded in daily life?
But why compare her to my clumsiness?!
And what's this about 'her airheadedness and my clumsiness being different—mine has more... charm'?!
Allen, what exactly are you—
If you keep this up, I'll get angry.
...Just kidding.
Ahem.
From your descriptions, Lord Philip sounds like a sly, fox-like politician? I've never been good with that type. Lord Sauros, though, matches my expectations—you said he walks like a Saber-Toothed Tiger but has the presence of a Direwolf...
Using monsters to describe people... It does paint a vivid picture.
Roxy paused here.
Allen's latest letter hadn't mentioned Lady Hilda at all—just as Sylphie had said.
She froze for a moment, then shook her head.
"Focus. Praise. I need to praise him."
Blinking, an image flashed in her mind.
She continued writing.
This reminds me of our training camp days. Remember when I read Sylphie and Rudy that story about the Red Dragon and the Direwolf?
You might've forgotten.
Back then, I said—"The dragon's fury ignited flames so fierce, not even the Direwolf's bones remained."
Funny enough, two weeks later, in the "Red Dragon's Whisker" forest outside Rikarisu, I swear I saw it happen in real life.
Only afterward did it hit me.
That night, flames from the Hellfire Blast still licked at the ground, the stench of charred flesh thick in the air...
And there you stood, beside the fire.
When I looked at you, I couldn't smell a thing. (Furiously scribbled out)
It made me think of that line.
If I had to pick a monster to describe you...
You'd be the Red Dragon.
At least, that's what I think.
Roxy scratched her cheek sheepishly.
Her eyes flicked to the crossed-out line, and she grimaced slightly.
Blue eyes glinting, her pen moved again—faster now, as if no longer overthinking how to praise him.
Sorry, I'm reminiscing again.
Let me tell you about my recent life as a royal tutor.
Last time, I mentioned how—thanks to your advice—I adjusted my teaching approach for Prince Pax.
The results were astounding.
He's become more composed and respectful.
Turns out, Allen, you're not just talented in swordsmanship—you might even be a better teacher than me.
I'm a little jealous...
Though it is funny how you keep insisting I should "recognize the prince's potential" in one breath, then in the next, never fail to remind me "Don't hesitate to use Fire Circle on him."
Heh.
Well...
I did use it.
Many times.
The reason?
These past two months, Prince Pax has developed... an interest in certain matters. His focus during lessons has nosedived.
Luckily, I've already established myself as a strict but respectable teacher in his eyes, so he hasn't directed those kinds of thoughts at me.
But in other areas... something unbelievable happened.
He started—right in the middle of my lessons—brazenly harassing passing maids.
Multiple ones. At once.
Meanwhile, at his age, you used to blush just from holding my hand. (Scribbled out)
How is he like this?!
Does he have no shame?!
My contract with the Shirone royal family clearly states that if he acts out, I'm allowed to administer "appropriate discipline."
And I remembered your words.
So every time he pulled this, I followed your advice and hit him with Fire Circle.
(I resisted the urge to use Frost Nova instead.)
Only then did it click—you must've foreseen this scenario.
You kept emphasizing Fire Circle to stop me from going overboard.
As expected of you, Allen. You plan for everything.
...You're amazing.
Wait, no—if I keep thinking like this, I'll start disliking Prince Pax even more—
About the "punishments"...
To my surprise, after several rounds, the prince did rein himself in.
He still leers at the maids like a panther eyeing rabbits, but the harassment has lessened.
His targets also shrank from multiple maids to just one particular maid.
...Sigh.
I don't know what to say.
But here's the kicker—
King Shirone praised my teaching skills for this.
Apparently, compared to his other sons—all of whom are enthusiastic about women—Pax now seems "remarkably restrained."
The king was impressed.
This was NOT what I expected.
Even the palace staff now look at me with respect.
Since when is harassing one maid at night instead of many in broad daylight an 'improvement'?!
...Whatever. This is technically Allen's accomplishment anyway.
I guess in others' eyes, Pax's behavior does count as "talent."
Speaking of talent—here's a little secret.
Before teaching Rudy, I used to be... a bit full of myself about my magic skills.
That arrogance led to clashes with my professors at the Magic University, which eventually made me leave.
Then I met Rudy.
His abilities shattered my complacency. He made me feel utterly inadequate.
His talent for magic is frightening.
But later, I met you, then Sylphie.
One gifted person after another appeared before me—yet instead of feeling worse, I came to accept that "talent varies from person to person."
My old professor probably found my past arrogance exasperating.
I should apologize to him someday...
I do have some magic talent, but I'm nowhere near a true genius.
Looking back, the number of prodigies I met two years ago was absurd.
Rudy is a real genius in magic.
Sylphie is incredibly gifted too.
And you?
Without a doubt.
You're a genius in swordsmanship.
Even if I know nothing about swords, a nine-year-old Saint-rank swordsman has to be at the pinnacle already, right?
Roxy's pen halted. She tugged self-consciously at her bangs.
Is this too much praise? It feels kinda... conceited?
Why does it feel like that?
She groaned, ruffling her hair while peering at the letter through the strands.
Is it because I'm unconsciously biased toward Allen?
Maybe he's not as exceptional as I think?
But Allen did mention Ghislaine treats him favorably—and she's the fourth-ranked Sword King. Her judgment should carry more weight, right?
So my opinion isn't entirely subjective? Even if someone accuses me of favoritism, it shouldn't be too far off...
...Yeah.
Nodding to herself, she was about to continue when her gaze snagged on something on the desk.
She froze.
Then sighed.
Truthfully, using Fire Circle as "punishment" wasn't like her.
She'd known about the palace's debauchery before becoming Pax's tutor—Allen had warned her in his letters.
But she had another motive for her actions.
If she went overboard...
Would King Shirone decide she was unfit to teach?
Would he dismiss her to avoid further incidents?
Then she'd have a reason to return without breaching her contract or paying penalties.
And she'd have an excuse to see Allen and the others again...
This thought had struck her while writing to Sylphie last time—the moment she penned "A year? Two?" "Maybe even longer?"
Back then, she'd realized her constant reminiscing wasn't just because she was "getting old."
It was because she missed Allen.
She was worried about him.
So she'd acted immediately.
But now, two months later...
Reality was cruel.
On her desk sat a bulging pouch of gold coins.
One hundred.
For someone who once earned two silver coins a month, this was unimaginable wealth.
Yet now, it only brought her distress.
"Ugh..."
Roxy grabbed her hair, mussing it up in frustration, then flopped facedown onto the desk.
This gold was King Shirone's reward for her "teaching achievements."
In other words—
Her strategy of harsh discipline to get herself fired...
Had backfired.
Spectacularly.
With this much money, breaking her contract to leave was impossible now.
Wouldn't it look like she took the gold and ran?
Roxy's pride wouldn't allow it.
Besides, the situation at the Boreas house wasn't that dire yet...
She lay slumped for a while before finally lifting her head, staring at the half-finished letter.
Her fingers twirled a lock of hair absently.
Her tone in letters to Allen was noticeably different from how she wrote to Sylphie...
Lately, she kept slipping into casual speech when writing to him...
Wait—
They wouldn't compare their letters, would they?
Being honest is so hard...
Sylphie's much better at this than me...
With a blink, she picked up her pen again.
With one line, she concluded Allen's letter.
"Lately, I keep thinking about our (crossed out)—
About the memories of you."
"Allen."
"Are you...
"Doing alright?"
—Roxy.
After rewriting the letter neatly (removing all scribbled-out lines and refining the wording), Roxy exhaled deeply.
Then she turned to Sylphie's half-finished reply on the desk.
She studied it for a long moment...
And smiled faintly.
Allen's still so charming...
Sylphie's completely smitten with him now, huh?
Speaking of which, Allen will be twelve in two months...
Has it really been that long?
Her thoughts stuttered.
Wait—Prince Pax developed 'certain interests' at twelve...
And Allen, who used to blush from just holding hands...
Would he also...?
Roxy gulped audibly.
She looked down.
Her figure—unchanged for twenty-six years—stared back.
Her expression blanked. After a pause, she sniffled lightly.
"With a body like mine..."
"Sylphie might surpass me in two years..."
"Ah..."
"What do I do...?"
Her muttering—delivered in her signature 'deadpan' tone—was bathed in Shirone's moonlight.
Soon, the sound of pen on paper resumed.
Time flowed quietly with each stroke.
Moonlight and sunlight took turns spilling across the desk.
Then, in a blink—the woodgrain beneath the letters changed.
No, not the desk.
This was Fittoa Region, Boreas Manor—the writing table by Sylphie's bed.
A white-haired girl stood, holding Roxy's newly arrived letter.
Her hair now reached her shoulders—sleek and well-kept.
She'd grown half a head taller in ten months.
Her demeanor had matured too.
A knock came at the door.
"Sylphie! Eris skipped class again!!"
Rudy's voice.
Sylphie set the letter down and headed out.
Sunlight glanced over the final lines—penned by Roxy in a Shirone August night, now read in October's light.
"Sylphie, why do you think my praise would help him?"
"Words on paper always feel so hollow."
"I can't see his face. He can't see mine."
"And our letters take months to cross the distance."
"How much effect can they really have?"
"I miss you all."
"But... for now, I can't leave Shirone."
"So I'm counting on you."
"You, who can see Allen's state every day."
"Please help him."
"Because—"
"Our adventurer party belongs to all of us."
"Whether it's you, Rudy, or Allen in trouble..."
"There'll be times when we're not together in the future."
"So the ones who remain must step up, right?"
"I know this sounds like I'm shirking responsibility..."
"But please believe—"
"My heart is with you."
"I miss you."
"I miss Rudy."
"And I miss Allen."
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 50 power stones I will publish the next chapter.