Mushoku Tensei: the Apostle of God

After a long silence, Paul, seeing that Allen hadn't moved, finally spoke up cautiously.

"Allen, um, this letter was received last year... I know this might be hard for you to accept, but the truth is, your father is actually..."

"I know James isn't my biological father."

Paul was taken aback and looked at Allen, who remained calm and composed.

"That's great. I'll write to Philip right away and let him know we've found you. That way, you can return to Roa..."

"That won't work."

Paul looked at Allen in surprise, and Allen responded with a smile.

"Uncle, please sit down and listen to me."

With that, Allen pushed Paul back into his chair and went to fetch the chair by the door. Paul blinked, somewhat bewildered, as he watched Allen.

"First, the information about my disappearance is correct, but my so-called 'biological father' omitted some key details."

Allen walked to the door and placed his hand on the back of the chair, feeling the rough texture of the wood under his fingers.

"When I was passing through the Red Dragon's Jaw, I was ambushed."

Paul shot up from his seat.

Allen, meanwhile, lifted the chair and turned to face Paul.

"The 'ambush' was something I arranged myself. I had already realized that James wasn't my biological father. I figured it out by calculating the pregnancies based on my siblings' birthdays. I shouldn't have existed in the Boreas household in the royal capital. There was another brother in the same situation, but he passed away from illness at the age of five... It wasn't until the end of last year that I secretly hired a group of thieves to stage an incident, intending to escape from the Boreas family and come to the Fittoa region."

Paul let out a long sigh and sat back down. He had been misled by Allen's words, assuming that Allen's plan was to return to his biological father.

Allen walked over to Paul, his eyes narrowing.

"But the 'ambush' went wrong. The number of assassins didn't match what I had agreed upon with the thieves. I had expected five intermediate swordsmen, just a light skirmish where we'd part ways peacefully, with my 'falling off a cliff' as the conclusion. But in the end, eight highly skilled swordsmen showed up, including, if I'm not mistaken, two advanced Water God Style swordsmen, and a mage..."

"...They were out for blood."

Paul shot up again.

Allen, now standing in front of Paul, smiled nonchalantly.

"So, they died."

Paul exhaled deeply and sat down once more.

Allen also sat down, locking eyes with Paul.

"After that, I snuck into the forest from the Red Dragon's Jaw. First, I faked traces of me heading north, then spent over four months circling around before arriving at Buena Village. I had heard of Uncle Paul's 'heroic deeds' back in the royal capital, and I figured you wouldn't have much respect for noble children. Plus, Buena Village is remote, making it a good place to hide. So, I came to seek your help... But the news of my disappearance only reached me today. It seems James must have thought I had successfully left the Asura Kingdom, which is why he spread this information."

Paul blinked.

"Heroic deeds? Oh? I didn't know I had legends in the royal capital..."

Allen spoke rapidly, spitting out a dozen words in an instant.

"Graduated from noble school at ten, fooled around with various women, got caught by their husbands, and then had a falling out with your father..."

"Stop!"

Paul immediately stood up and covered Allen's mouth. Allen, smiling, pulled Paul's hand away.

"I suspect the thieves betrayed me to James, and James, who has always been wary of Philip, assumed I was trying to sneak back to help him. So, he turned the fake ambush into a real one to eliminate me as a threat."

Paul's expression, which had been awkward, turned serious. He realized that Allen hadn't referred to either James or Philip as his father. After opening and closing his mouth a few times, Paul thought of his own falling out with his father and sighed deeply.

...A biological father who wants you dead, and a real father you've never met... No wonder he doesn't feel any familial connection to either of them...

"Then... couldn't you secretly return to Roa City? If you kept a low profile and only revealed yourself to Philip..."

"No."

"First, Sauros has a tight grip on the Fittoa region. He would definitely notice, and he wouldn't approve of my actions. Most likely, he'd follow Boreas family tradition and send me back to James. My situation in the royal capital would become even more dangerous."

"Second, James undoubtedly has spies in Roa City to keep an eye on Philip."

Allen then looked at Paul earnestly.

"So, I'm asking you, Uncle Paul, to let me stay. In return, I promise to safeguard Rudy's future. After all, you can't always be there for him, but since we're close in age, I'm sure we can become good friends in the future."

Paul looked at the letter on the table and, after a moment, nodded.

Allen added,

"After two years, when the heat dies down and I've grown a bit more, I can shave my eyebrows to look friendlier and change my hairstyle to something with bangs. Even if someone who knew me before saw me, they might not recognize me."

Unlike the information-heavy world of his past life, this world's slower flow of information had its advantages. Plus, there were very few magical items that could preserve one's appearance... Someone like Ruijerd, with his fierce look, could enter a city just by changing his hair color... And two years would be more than enough time for me to learn from Paul and at least reach the advanced level in all three sword styles.

"Of course, James, who watched me grow up, and the rest of the family in the royal capital would probably recognize me. But as long as I avoid them, I should be fine."

Paul glanced at Allen and sighed inwardly. He had a feeling Philip would recognize him, but he didn't voice his thoughts.

"True. And by then, your strength will have improved even further. Except for a handful of Sword Kings or Sword Emperors, no one would be able to threaten your life. And since your official status is 'missing,' even if they recognize you, they can only send assassins after you. They can't openly make a scene... That's the way of the Asura Kingdom's nobility."

Allen nodded.

"Exactly."

At that moment, footsteps echoed from outside the door. Both Paul and Allen fell silent as the door was knocked three times.

Lilia opened the door and peeked in, first giving Allen a once-over before speaking.

"Master, dinner is ready. Come and eat."

——

As expected, Zenith's cooking skills were as impressive as her... proportions.

Magnificent.

Allen looked at the steaming soup and rice on the table, along with a dish resembling pizza and a pot of tender, fragrant stewed meat.

Rudeus sat directly across from Allen, scrutinizing him through the rising steam.

Allen instinctively smiled.

Rudeus immediately closed his eyes and turned his head away.

Allen's mouth twitched.

Paul tapped the table with his fingers and cleared his throat.

"Alright, after our earlier discussion, I've confirmed that Allen is capable of teaching Rudeus. So, there's no need for a probation period. From now on, he'll be Rudeus's swordsmanship instructor. Please treat him as part of the family, and don't underestimate his role here just because of my swordsmanship rank."

Lilia, who had been standing by, was the first to applaud. Although she also thought there was no need to hire another swordsmanship instructor, as the daughter of a former swordsmanship dojo owner, she had no objections to Allen's earlier display of Water God Style. With his skills, he could easily serve as a high-ranking guard in the royal palace.

Zenith clasped her hands together in front of her face, smiling warmly.

"Since the master has decided, I naturally welcome Allen. I'm sure Lilia won't look down on him just because of his age, right?"

With that, she busied herself serving food, placing a bowl of rice in front of Allen.

Paul then slung an arm around Allen's shoulders and cheerfully introduced him to the others, showering him with praise.

Zenith also nodded frequently, offering kind smiles.

This was completely different from the cold, distant interactions he'd had with his so-called family in the royal capital...

Having never experienced much familial warmth in either of his lives, Allen felt a bit uncomfortable under everyone's gaze. He instinctively lowered his head, the aroma of the food wafting up to him.

The steam, mixed with faint traces of smoke, rose and brushed against his face.

[Current Stage: Early Childhood. Cumulative Participation Score: 40. You've begun to blend into Paul's family, but Rudeus has some reservations about you.]

[Immediate Task: Gain Rudeus's Favor.]

[Rudeus: Countdown: 77:38:47]