Chapter 7: A Girl with Green Hair

With my morning now free I wanted to dedicate them to exploring the village, so the day after Roxy's departure I decided to leave the house. I strapped my sword to my back and held my new book under my arm, while I sought out my Dad. He was outside training with his normal peanut gallery.

"Dad, I want to explore the village. Can I go?"

"What do you need your sword for?"

"You told me to always keep a sword in my heart." With a laugh he sheathed his sword.

"You have been training non stop for two years, kids your age should be outside playing."

"You think so? Then I will do a lot of playing." While I thought that would be the end of it dad was making a strange face.

"It's nothing Rudi, it's just when I was a kid all I thought about was flipping skirts." Honestly I didn' like anything about what he was implying.

"You were flipping skirts at my age?"

"No…no I was a bit older."

"Then it won't be a problem until I'm a bit older." With another laugh he changed his strange expression.

"You can have the day off but be back by sundown."

"Thank you dad." Was my only answer as I went off. As I went around book in hand checking every little thing a couple of people who recognized me from yesterday asked me about Roxy. They were all sad to see her gone especially with the chores they were hoping she would help with. Being the dutiful that I was, I took over Roxy's responsibilities. A dry field here, a sick cow there, whatever people needed. Anyone who went to reach for Roxy's customary fee would hear one phrase.

"It's my family's responsibility to take care of our village, I couldn't charge you a single penny." While the town center was full of nice people I needed to head to the outskirts to find any of the plants I was looking for.

So I said farewell to my new adoring fans to continue my research. In the span of minutes my pockets were full of all sorts of little herbs. Some for food and some medicinal, not that their uses couldn't be filled by elementary detoxification magic. My main goal was to find something mom had cooked with on my birthday. Sadly my joyous exploration was interrupted by some unsavory sounds.

I could hear soft sobs being drowned out by awful jeers. When I got eyes on it, it was a real stereotypical scene. Three boys were throwing mud balls at another who was curled up in the fetal position. Kids could be cruel but that's something they need to be taught out of early, so I decided to do their parents a favor and teach that lesson.

From behind I took a firm stance with my arms crossed. "What do you three think you are doing!" Their reaction was immediate; they turned around expecting to see an angry adult but saw only me. As soon as they registered I was a kid the fear left their faces and they replied.

"We are fighting a demon, why do you care?" After the lead kid spoke another spoke up to his side.

"Look at his back! That's a sword he must be the knight's kid!" He was a smart one if I put on the pressure he would likely convince his friends to give it up.

Much to my surprise the lead boy spoke up again "Has your family become an ally of the demon races." I guess this boy's family were among those who weren't helped by Roxy.

"We are the Allies of all people of Bueno village Human, beast or demon."

"We're gonna tell everyone your demon lovers."

"Go ahead." My nonchalance must have gotten to him cuz he and his friends made me their new target. It went without saying they never reached me. Projectiles this slow could have been easily dodged but I elected to intercept them with wind magic.

I needed to give these kids a scare so I did a little melded magic to make a mud ball of my own. It was the same size as theirs but it floated slightly above my hand. With a simple flick it flew at imperceptible speeds into the ground beside them. It was loud and bored a thin hole into the ground.

"Go home." Was all I said to them as they ran. There's nothing cool about scaring a bunch of kids but for this other kids sake it was probably the right call. As I approached I got a good look at the kid for the first time. He? had short green hair, pointed ears and teary red eyes. Red and green was a major no go according to Roxy. Well she was more specific than that but if the first two eyes were red the third eye would be too. He must have noticed my change in demeanor as he tried to scramble away with his little basket.

With a quick grab of his collar I pulled him in to check his forehead. We were safe. I did not need to debate the merits of killing a demon child. Then again if I did it's Superd parents would hunt me down so maybe it's always a lose lose. His squirming however was getting annoying.

"Hey I'm not gonna hurt you, stand still." Surprisingly he obeyed. As a reward I dumped warm water over his head to clean his face and hair. His clothes were still filthy but that would require something more specific to clean. Hmmm, maybe I should make a spell like that. It could be like Rudeus' original magic! Number 1: Instant Laundry. Lilia would appreciate it. Since I couldn't do much about the clothes I dried him off with some hot air.

"Th..thanks." he barely whispered.

"Hey bud what's your name?"

"Sylphiette." Ah he was a she. Shame on those three, picking on a girl. Wait, maybe this world doesn't have those kinds of ideas. Dad's never told me not to pick on girls and mom had a full time job. Wow how very progressive this world is. Regardless she is going to need somebody to keep those guys off her back.

"Are you not bothered by my hair?"

"My magic teacher was a demon. She was a migurdian, what type of demon are you?" She shifted uncomfortably and cast her gaze down.

"I don't know, my dad tells me I'm not one." but she suddenly started tearing up again. "My dad is half elf b…but my hair is different from both my mom and dad." Once she got that out she was openly weeping. Her legs buckled as she wept from down on her knees. Well I know a bit about genetics so it could be that green hair is a rare recessive trait, I should try to comfort her.

"So is your hair the only thing different from your parents.

"m..my ears are l…longer than my dad."

"And your mom doesn't have long ears?" at that she nodded. Well I could lie but this girl is probably not her father's daughter. Yeesh. I should get to the root of it. She doesn't seem to have any bruises so I don't think she's being beat at home but I should check.

"Is your father nice to you?"

"...(I don't like this pause) Yes. but he's scary when he gets mad, but he won't get mad at me if I listen to him." The weeping was stopping but seeing her wipe tears from her eyes talking about how scary her dad is fueled the paternal instincts inside me.

"Sylphiette, where were you going before those boys attacked you." If she was heading home I could get a feel for home life. If she or her mother were in a bad stop I would talk to dad about it. I don't know what a knight's responsibilities are but helping battered women is something he might do personally.

She picked up her basket and sniffled "I…I w…was bringing my dad his lunch." What a good kid.

"Well I'll escort you to your father, lead the way."

"Y…you're going to follow me." She looked very concerned.

"To make sure those boys don't mess with you again." After that she seemed to calm down.

"Why are you protecting me?"

"Because you need to be protected."

"But… the other boys will shun you."

"I don't want anything to do with guys who bully cute girls." Her eyes got a little teary again, so I ruffled her hair. As it was ruffled a strong wind blew over us as if they wished to hasten our journey to her father. It turns out her father worked at the watchtower at the edge of town. If he watched the woods for monsters he must work closely with my dad. I better leave a good impression. As he saw us approach he came down from the tower to meet us.

Seeing her father was a strange experience because she looked just like him but she looked like more of a fantasy elf than him. Both had very soft features, smooth skin and pointed ears. Maybe this man wasn't a cuckold.

"Umm… Dad, I've brought your lunch." She squeaked it out and shoved out the basket to him.

"Oh, I'm sorry Sylphie, you didn't get bullied today bringing this to me did you?"

"No, someone helped me." After that he acknowledged me so I went for a standard greeting.

"Pleased to meet you, I am Rudeus Greyrat."

"Greyrat…. You're Paul's boy?"

"Indeed Paul is my father."

"He's told me about you. He mentioned you were a good kid. Oh where are my manners? I'm Laws, when I'm not working here I'm hunting in the woods."

"Thank you for keeping us all safe Mr. Laws." He scratched the back of his head and laughed before looking between his daughter and me.

"Sylphie resembles my ancestors, so please get along with her."

"You needn't worry even if your daughter was truly a Superd I would treat her kindly." I said that one with a bow.

He replied in a whisper "So this is what Paul was talking about"

"Does father often talk to you about me?"

"Yes he says you make him lose confidence as a father." I had to stifle a laugh at that. It wasn't really my fault, I didn't choose to be reborn like this, not that I'm complaining. Maybe one of these days his nighttime practice will bear fruit and he will get a normal child to raise. Come to think of it, they have been going at it almost every night for the last five years. If they hadn't had success by now maybe my birth did some permanent damage. That would be something to feel guilty over.

Shouldn't I feel guilty for living Rudeus's life. He would have been a normal boy. Maybe today he would have run out to help Sylphie and got covered in mud or maybe he would have joined them. Regardless, should a piece of shit like me deserve to live the good life after stealing it from this kid?

My musings were broken by Sylphie shifting uncomfortably. I should ask for his permission. "Mr. Laws since you are protecting all of us here, could you entrust your daughter to me." His expression shifted suddenly as his eyes got a horrified expression.

"En…entrust Syphie…"I must have been unclear. I should reword it.

"Mr. Laws, can I have your permission to play with your daughter?"

He instantly calmed down. "Of course just make sure she gets home before sundown and don't approach the forest." With her fathers permission I pulled her along. She seemed to have something on her mind but was biting her tongue.

"Is something on your mind Sylphiette?"

"I've never played with another kid before."

"I was picking flowers and herbs. Do you wanna do that?"

"Not really, I wanna know how you made that hot water and air."

"Oh ho, so you want to learn magic."

"What's that?" I decided to give her a little demonstration. I created a small clay doll in my hand and gave it a crown of fire and ice. Then I puppetted it around with wind magic. She got a shocked expression while her little ears wiggled. It might have been the cutest thing I had seen in this life.

"Magic is the ability to command the natural world to do your bidding. You can create mighty storms or great deadly balls of fire." I was gonna do some Paul style grandstanding for this kid. Her awe was apparent so she listened rapturously. "If you wish to become my disciple you must make a promise to use it wisely and to never use it to harm others."

"I…I promise"

"If you break that promise not only will I stop training you but ill also never protect you from those bullies again."

"I really promise." She seemed to really mean it. Once she gets older and smarter I'll tell her about when she is allowed to hurt people but if this girl can even learn to use it I don't want her to incinerate some childish bullies.

Sylphie is a damn genius. I tried to use Roxy's method of giving her an incantation to test her mana supply but she was too damn good. She wanted to make hot water so bad I taught an elementary water and fire spell. She remembered the incantations and repeated on her own which isn't too crazy, but then she went straight to melded magic. She got the two spells to not fly on purpose and maintained them till she boiled the water. Her mana pool was nothing to scoff at either, when I started my training I could cast three water balls. She already cast a dozen elementary spells trying to get the melded magic right and hasn't shown signs of slowing. I have an obligation to make sure this girl gets a proper education. I should also test my theory about incantation less casting.

The sun hadn't started to set yet but my first day out had to come to an end. Sylphie was giddy the whole time, she seemed to really love magic.

"Sylphie, that's all for today, your father wants you home before sundown." She gave me a sad look.

"So that's all…" She was looking down at the ground while pointing her fingers together. Far too cute. I patted her head.

"Seeing how talented you are, I'm gonna have to think hard about what to teach you tomorrow. "

"Tomorrow!" Her little ears wiggle as she said it.

"I'll talk to my dad to see if I can get my sword training moved to the morning."

"Really! You promise!"

"Of course, do you want to meet at my house, your house or at this tree?"

"Let's meet at your house." As opposed to earlier Sylphie is wildly smiling. I'll make it a point to make sure she smiles like that every day. On that note I escorted her home before speeding my way home as well.

When I make it home dad is outside on the veranda, he's clearly angry. Is he unhappy about my actions in town? Did my little no pay speech make him think I'm grandstanding? It can't be that he loves doing that kind of stuff, well hypocrisy is a very normal thing.

"Rudeus, do you know why I'm angry?" That's no good, he had a softer tone when I hid from my final exam. Frankly I don't know what I could have done today that was worse than that.

"No, I don't dad."

"Mrs. Ada came by the house earlier, she said you menaced her boy with your sword." Ah I did menace some boys today but the sword stayed sheathed, kids lie often I can clear this up. "Don't act like you don't know what you did, he was covered in cuts." Whoa stop this isn't about a kid lying, who the fuck cares that much about me to cut him. Did he cut himself?

"Liste…" I tried to explain myself but dad cut me off. He was already moving forward as he spoke but as soon as I spoke he struck me. It was fast, it hurt like hell. I've had worse but damn.

"Rudeus, you're a strong kid but you can't go around attacking people. What would Roxy think if she knew you were wasting your talent being a thug." Honestly if I did it I would deserve all of this but I need him to listen.

"Dad. its not wh…"

"RUDEUS when you do something wrong you apologize and you make it right, you don't give excuses." I involuntarily clicked my tongue. He raised his hand again but I stared him down. I loved this man but this was the edge of my patience. "What the hell is that look supposed to mean?!"

"You gonna let me talk this time."

"Do you think that's an attitude you should be taking after what you did?!"

"Yeah it is, because I didn't do shit."

"So where did the cuts come from, hmm did he do that to himself."

"You know what dad, you're right I'm sorry. I made the wrong call."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"

"Next time I see three boys ganging up on a girl on the ground I'll just keep walking." Instantly his hand lowered and his face went stark white. I worded it dishonestly but considering I'm being framed it feels like fair game.

"Rudi, what happened…"

"It doesn't really matter right it's just an excuse"

"Rudeus please tell me what happened." Using this opportunity I explained the full story even up to escorting her home before I returned. It took several minutes to get through it all but during the process dad was clearly confused.

"Then when did he get cut?"

"Ask Mr. Laws and Sylphiette I never drew the sword, it's too heavy anyway." As I said that he drew the blade off my back to inspect it. He whispered to himself the whole time. While he looked at me I raised a finger and cut it with wind magic. "If I wanted to cut somebody I would have done it like that." He didn't really have a retort as he resheathed the sword.

"Rudi, I'm sorry. I don't know exactly what is going on but I should have heard you out before blowing up like that."

"Did he mention the sword?"

"He did it while his mother was explaining things, he said you used it to cut him."

"Dad I don't know what your job entails but I think you should talk to his mother again."

"Let's head inside Rudi, I'll explain everything to your mother."

"By the way dad can we move my sword lessons to the mornings so I can spend my afternoons teaching Sylphiette magic, she really is a genius."

He deadpanned at me "Sure Rudi."

These chapters are coming out rapid fire these days. Next chapter will be a little Paul POV so it might be on the shorter side, it really depends on how deep I wanna dive there. As always I hope you all enjoyed and pray with me I can keep this pace because if I can I might even be able to write this full story before I'm old and grey in the hair.