Mushoku Tensei: the Apostle of God

After walking a short distance with Rudeus, Allen noticed Rudeus turning around to look back at their house. Rudeus clapped his hands twice and bowed his head in a gesture of reverence.

Paul, Zenith, enjoy your meal. I'm sorry for the trouble these past few days.

Allen glanced at him sideways.

"Do you usually play with the kids in the village? Or have you seen any fights or bullying?"

Rudeus was taken aback.

"No, I don't. As for bullying, I haven't noticed anything. I usually just greet people when I see them. I've seen groups of kids playing together, but I avoid them since I don't plan on joining in."

Is this guy trying to play the hero or something?

"Do the kids ever play far away from the village?"

"Uh... I haven't seen that. They mostly play near the fields."

"Near the fields... Are there any plants to identify there?"

"Huh?"

Rudeus looked at Allen with a puzzled expression.

This guy seems a bit lacking in common sense...

"Probably... not..."

"Alright, let's go to the fields then."

Rudeus stared at Allen, who didn't seem to have missed his earlier comment but had clearly intended to go to the fields from the start.

What's this guy's deal...

Then Allen added,

"To the fields closest to where the kids are playing."

Rudeus's expression cleared up.

Oh, so he's going to make friends. He must be the type who lacks affection. Despite his mature demeanor, he likes to befriend all sorts of people, huh?

"What's this plant?"

"That's a weed."

"What about this one?"

"That's wheat."

"Oh~ And this one?"

"...That's also a weed..."

Rudeus's mouth twitched as he watched Allen absentmindedly counting weeds.

Hey, hey, your intentions are obvious! At least pretend to be interested, you jerk!

Allen kept an eye on the group of kids playing not far away. Among them was a tall, chubby boy who was bossing the others around.

Allen shifted his gaze back to Rudeus, who was growing increasingly impatient. It was as if Allen could hear his thoughts. He pointed to a plant that resembled lavender from his past life—a Bathelis flower—and asked with a smile,

"What about this one?"

Rudeus's eyes lit up.

Finally! He's not asking about weeds anymore! Allen, you've finally caught on!

"That's a Bathelis flower."

"A Bat-what flower?"

"Bathelis flower."

"A what-sis flower?"

"...Bathelis flower."

"Oh~ A Balathesis flower."

"..."

Rudeus, seeing the teasing smile on Allen's face, realized he was being messed with. Just as he was about to get angry, Allen's straight eyebrows lifted, and he looked slightly annoyed.

"...Uh... It's actually Bathelis flower..."

"Listen."

"Bathel... what?"

From a distance, the sound of an argument reached their ears. Rudeus turned to Allen, who had already straightened up and was staring intently at the fields. His hand rested on the hilt of his sword, his posture reminiscent of a stalking leopard.

Rudeus followed Allen's gaze to the source of the noise.

A gust of wind flattened the wheat sprouts in the field. Not far away, a group of kids was pushing and shoving a small figure near the waterlogged field.

Fragments of their voices carried over.

"The demon kid is back!"

"Haha, get out of the village!"

"He's not fighting back! Let's throw mud at him!"

"Great idea!"

The little demons happily waded into the muddy water, bending down to scoop up handfuls of mud.

Allen appeared calm as he watched the scene, but his hand, which kept rubbing the hilt of his sword, betrayed his inner turmoil.

After a while, when there was still no reaction from Rudeus, Allen frowned and turned to him.

Rudeus was staring at him intently.

The two locked eyes, a moment of silence passing between them.

Allen, still keeping an eye on Sylphie, who was trembling and too scared to run, raised an eyebrow and asked,

"There's a kid being bullied over there. Did you not see it? Or do you enjoy being bullied too?"

Rudeus's face flashed with irritation. He took a deep breath and spoke in a calm but rapid tone.

"I saw it. But since you're here today, I thought it'd be better if you handled it. If I were to teach those kids a lesson, their parents would probably complain. And with Father's... straightforward personality, he might think I'm causing trouble and get mad at me. But you're different. He likes you so much that he'd probably believe whatever you say without question. So it's better if you handle it."

Allen stared at Rudeus as if he were looking at a bag of glowing green trash.

"You go. Even if you hurt someone, it's fine. Just tell Paul I did it. I'll take responsibility."

Rudeus was stunned, clearly not expecting Allen to say that.

At that moment, the kids in the field had already gathered handfuls of mud and were raising them high above their heads.

As Rudeus hesitated, a glint of light caught his eye. He instinctively turned to Allen and saw him drawing his sword. Rudeus's pupils dilated, and he quickly shouted,

"Wait! Wait!"

With a flash of steel, Allen hurled his sword into the air.

Rudeus watched in shock as the spinning blade soared over the head of the bullied child. The sunlight glinted off the blade, and for a moment, it seemed as if something in the air had collided with it.

With a clang, the sword landed just inches in front of the bullied child, embedding itself in the ground.

The children let out a collective gasp.

The bullied child's legs gave out, and they collapsed to the ground.

Rudeus's body trembled, and he immediately sprinted toward the sword. When he reached it, he saw that the blade had landed harmlessly in the ground, just in front of the child's legs, and was still vibrating slightly.

On either side of the sword, splatters of mud surrounded the child, as if the blade had intercepted the mud mid-air.

Rudeus's mouth hung open in shock. His gaze traveled up from the sword to the child in front of it.

The child, who had been staring at the sword in a daze, finally noticed Rudeus's gaze and looked up at him.

The wind blew, tousling the child's short, semi-long hair, which shimmered with a bright green hue in the sunlight.

Rudeus froze.

"A... A Supard?"

"Where do you see a Supard?"

Rudeus turned to see Allen standing behind him, his expression cold as he glared at the kids in the field, who were now glaring back at him.

The tallest among them suddenly shouted,

"Is the knight's kid protecting a demon?! And that guy over there, thinking he's tough just because he's tall and has a sword! Who do you think you are..."

Before he could finish, Allen slashed the air with his hand.

In the next moment, a loud boom echoed as a shockwave tore through the ground at the edge of the field, sending dirt flying.

The mud splattered all over Rudeus, who had been standing there in a daze.

The kids, who had never seen anything like this, immediately turned to run.

But before they could take more than a few steps, a spray of water erupted in front of them. As the water settled, they saw Allen's sword standing upright in the field, its blade glinting ominously.

Allen, having thrown the sword, looked at the frozen backs of the children and then at Rudeus, who was equally stunned. He spoke coldly,

"Get out of the field and line up in front of me. I'll count to three. If anyone runs, I'll cut off their head."

"Three."

Rudeus finally realized what Allen was doing. He turned to Allen, wiping the mud off his face, and cautiously said,

"Al... Teacher... Maybe we should just let it go. Their behavior was bad, but they're just kids. It's not worth making a big deal out of it. If their parents come looking for trouble, it'll be even worse..."

...This guy! Why is he so reckless? Sure, bullies deserve to be punished, but if something really happens, how am I supposed to explain this to Paul...

Allen ignored him.

"Two."

The kids scrambled out of the field and lined up in front of Allen, their bodies trembling.

Allen asked,

"How old is the oldest among you?"

No one answered.

Allen made a move toward the field to retrieve his sword.

"Ni... Nine! Nine years old!"

Allen smiled and turned to Rudeus.

"What a coincidence. I'm nine too. So, by your logic, I'm just a kid as well. Don't hold it against me, okay?"

Rudeus's mouth opened and closed, but no words came out.