Roxy's Suspicion
Allen blinked innocently.
"He's a noble. Didn't expect that, did you?"
Roxy froze, then shook her head as if something had just clicked.
"…Are you heading to Buena Village?"
Allen countered calmly.
"How would you know that?"
Roxy stared intently at his face. Unfortunately, there was no resemblance at all to Rudeus Greyrat.
Rudeus had soft, gentle features—tidy hair, delicate expressions.
Allen, on the other hand, had sharp eyes, an intimidating presence, and a rough, travel-worn appearance. His hair was tied back haphazardly, with only a few strands falling beside his cheeks.
Allen noticed her staring and found it amusing.
He and Rudeus weren't even from the same branch of the Greyrats. Of course they didn't look alike.
The Notos Greyrats, Paul's line, had a notorious fondness for big-chested women. It was basically canon.
The Boreas Greyrats, Philip's line—well, their preferences leaned heavily toward beast-women.
Allen himself could attest to that inclination.
Rudeus, being a reincarnated Japanese man, didn't inherit the Notos preferences cleanly—hence the "blue-haired mother" standing in front of Allen now.
Wait.
Something wasn't right.
If Rudeus's preferences are influenced by his past life… then why am I still a beast-girl enthusiast? I'm not exactly pure either.
Allen froze in self-reflection.
Roxy continued speaking.
"To be honest… for the past two years, I have been employed as the private tutor of Paul Greyrat's son, Rudeus Greyrat."
She paused.
"So—you're going to join their household?"
Allen snapped back and feigned surprise.
"What a coincidence! I got into… some trouble in the Asura capital. So I came here to seek refuge with Uncle Paul. This place is remote enough. If you return to the capital, please don't reveal that you saw me."
He pressed his palms together in a polite request.
Roxy exhaled in relief. Earlier, she had suspected his travel-worn appearance meant he was seeking revenge, not refuge.
So he caused trouble at home… The Boreas family's heir, right? Philip Boreas Greyrat's only child is a troublesome daughter, but he must have other relatives…
Still, Allen seems too calm to cause trouble randomly. Unless… it was woman trouble? His flirting earlier was disturbingly smooth… did he offend the wrong noble lady and get exiled for a while?
Then again, the Greyrat men really are well-known womanizers with silver tongues…
Asura nobles are infamous for their indulgent relationships. The capital is full of strange customs, even aphrodisiacs sold openly. If romance scandals become public, families often exile their sons temporarily to let gossip die down. That would explain why he's alone.
Allen watched Roxy's expression shift repeatedly—disdain, realization, certainty—and finally land on "deduction complete."
Her imagination was saving him a lot of trouble.
If she wanted to believe he was a noble scumbag?
Fine. Not like he'd even qualified to be one in his previous life.
He lowered his hands just as Roxy nodded.
"I'm taking a carriage from the capital toward the Dragon King Mountains. Only Asura has long-distance carriage routes. I won't stay long, so I won't hear any rumors about you."
But you've already constructed the entire scenario yourself, Blue Mom…
"Thank you. I cut through the woods to avoid being seen. But what about you? Why didn't you take a carriage?"
Roxy blinked.
"…You're not short on money, right? Uncle Paul's not exploiting child labor, is he?"
Roxy scratched her cheek awkwardly.
"Mr. Paul has already paid me. But… long-distance travel is expensive, and I'm still short."
Allen's lips twitched.
The goddess of poverty strikes again. Taiwanese translations calling you "Locke" really weren't wrong…
He reached into his uniform and produced a small handful of Asuran coins—including a gold coin.
He offered them to her.
"I still owe you for helping me earlier. Consider this repayment… and also hush money. You know how nobles are—not short on cash. Please accept it."
Roxy didn't take it.
"Why would I accept money for helping someone? And hush money is far too excessive."
"Why not?"
"It's inappropriate."
"It's completely appropriate."
"It isn't."
"It is."
"It can't be."
Suddenly Roxy stood up, flushed, snatched the money from his hand, and quickly looked toward the woods to avoid meeting his eyes.
"Th-This will be a loan! Long-distance travel is expensive… the Asura Kingdom is fine, but on the Milis Continent, with my appearance, I can't find work easily. Magic University tuition wiped out my savings. So I'm short on money. Since you're related to Mr. Paul, you can ask him about my character—I always repay my debts!"
Allen stared at her flustered expression.
She really is terrified of poverty.
On the Milis Continent, the prejudice against demon races is strong. She even overqualified herself into a two-silver tutoring job. Asura's safe environment means few adventurer jobs, so she had little choice.
Roxy held the gold coin tightly, as though unsure whether to pocket it.
Allen sighed.
"No need to repay it. I actually have a request—this will cover it."
Roxy blinked.
The night breeze rustled through the forest.
In the glow of the campfire, the two faced each other.
"You won't like this as the 'price' of borrowing money," Allen warned.
He leaned closer.
Roxy instinctively pulled back—
—then Allen pointed to his blood-stained clothes.
"Can you smell this? Please wash my swordsman uniform with water magic. And my hair—drying it would help. I'm meeting Uncle Paul for the first time. Showing up drenched in blood would be bad. Also, could you wash the boar meat? I heard Terminator Boar meat is good."
Grrrrr—
Roxy's stomach answered before she could.
Allen smiled.
"So you agree."
---
Later — Grilled Boar and Sunrise
The thick red meat sizzled over the fire, cut into palm-sized slabs and skewered on water-soaked branches. The Maillard reaction turned the surface a delicious brown, oil popping as the meat cooked.
Allen, hair still damp, focused on grilling.
Roxy couldn't hide her admiration.
"You use such unusual seasonings…"
"Battias flower seeds," Allen explained. "Sweet and mildly spicy. Migurds love sweets, right?"
Roxy nodded automatically.
When Allen finished grilling, he laid the pieces neatly on freshly washed leaves in front of her, then stood up and stretched.
His uniform was still tattered, but clean thanks to her magic.
Roxy had kept her back turned the entire time he changed, waiting until he finished to wash her own hair.
How innocent.
Quite different from the woman who would later… well… sneak into Paul's room in the middle of the night.
A system prompt flickered before Allen.
A ray of morning light pierced the forest canopy.
Roxy lifted her head—her eyelashes trembling in the soft glow.
Dawn broke over the horizon, wrapping them in gold.
Roxy smiled.
---
Allen hadn't realized how close the road was—barely two kilometers south.
When Roxy led him out of the forest, he was genuinely stunned.
Decaying fences lined the roadside, opening into endless wild plains dotted with sparse trees.
Their journey to Buena Village had officially begun.
Visit patreon.com/Akeyno to get 30+ chapters