Roxy was somewhat surprised.
"...Boreas Greyrat? You're..."
Allen smiled.
"A noble. Didn't expect that, did you?"
Roxy quickly shook her head, as if she had thought of something.
"Are you, by any chance, heading to Buena Village?"
Allen casually asked back.
"...How did you know?"
Roxy stared at Allen's face, studying it carefully, but unfortunately, there was no resemblance between him and Rudeus. Rudeus had a delicate and gentle appearance, with soft hair falling over his forehead and cheeks. The boy before her, however, had sharp, piercing eyes and brows. His messy, dirty hair was slicked back, with only a few strands falling at his temples.
Allen, noticing what Roxy was looking for, found it amusing.
He and Rudeus weren't even from the same branch of the family. Not only did they look different, but their genetic 'preferences' were also different.
The Notos branch, represented by Paul, liked large chests. While Allen hadn't confirmed this firsthand, it was well-established in the novel. The Boreas branch, represented by Eris, liked beast girls. This... well...
Allen himself could attest to that.
Of course, Rudeus, perhaps due to being a transmigrator with an 'impure' background, hadn't fully inherited the family preference. The Blue Mama before him was proof of that.
Huh? Wait, something's not right.
The problem is, my own background is also 'impure.'
So why am I still a furry?
This...
While Allen was deep in self-interrogation, Roxy continued to speak.
"To be honest with you, for the past two years, I was employed as a home tutor for the son of the knight in Buena Village, Paul Greyrat... his son, Rudeus Greyrat."
She paused.
"Could it be that you're going to them for help?"
Allen quickly snapped out of it and feigned surprise.
"What a coincidence! To be honest, I caused some... trouble in the Asura capital... so I came here specifically to hide out with Uncle Paul for a while, since this place is rather remote... so, Roxy, if you're going to the capital, if anyone asks, please don't reveal my whereabouts."
With that, Allen clasped his hands together in a plea.
Roxy, on the other hand, breathed a sigh of relief. She had been worried that Allen's disheveled state from his journey looked less like he was seeking refuge and more like he was seeking revenge.
So he caused trouble at home... Boreas, and in the capital... He must be the child of the acting head of the Boreas family. Philip Boreas Greyrat, the mayor of Roa in the Fitoa Territory, seems to have only one child, a notoriously troublesome young lady...
What kind of trouble would leave him in this state... Allen seems mature and not the type to cause trouble carelessly... wait, his way of flirting with girls is very practiced... could it be that kind of trouble? Did he get chased out of the capital by the girl's family?
Hmm... the Greyrat men are all quite lecherous... and they have a family trait of being smooth-talkers...
Scandalous relationships between men and women are common among the nobility in the Asura capital... I hear the moral atmosphere there is quite... unusual. You can even find aphrodisiacs sold openly on the streets... completely different from Millis...
If something like that happened and became a scandal, nobles would usually handle it with a sort of exile to save face, letting him return after the gossip dies down in a year or so. Is that why he has no guards with him...?
Allen didn't know what Roxy was thinking, but watching her expression change several times, from staring at him as if he were scum to finally clasping her hands with a look of 'case closed,' he could guess the general drift of her thoughts.
He had to admit, Roxy's intelligence and tendency to jump to conclusions were a good thing in this situation.
A woman who could think for herself was generally a good woman.
This saves me the trouble of explaining, Allen thought.
As for being a scoundrel... it didn't matter.
Being called a scoundrel when you're handsome is fine, because everyone here is a scoundrel.
At this point, Roxy generously agreed to Allen's request.
"I'm just planning to go to the capital to catch a ride and then travel around the Wyrmroost Mountains. It seems only the Asura capital has a direct long-distance carriage... so I won't be staying there for long. I probably won't hear any rumors about you, so don't worry!"
I can't not worry, you've already made up your mind about me, Blue Mama...
"Thank you... by the way, I'm traveling through the forest to avoid being seen... what about you? Why aren't you taking a carriage?"
Roxy froze, blinking at Allen.
Allen raised an eyebrow.
"Don't tell me... you don't have money? Did Uncle Paul hire a chi... an illegal worker?"
Roxy did her trademark cheek-scratching gesture.
"Mr. Paul has already paid me, but unfortunately, I still don't have enough money... Long-distance travel is very expensive..."
Allen's lip twitched.
A broke goddess is still a goddess. How realistic. In the Taiwanese translation, your name is 'Luo-ke-xi,' with 'ke' meaning 'to overcome' or 'to be stingy.' It's not without reason that you're poor.
He then took out three or four Asuran coins from his swordsman's uniform pocket, including one gold coin. He held them out to Roxy.
"I have some money here. Consider it payment for your kindness and help, and a gag fee. As you know, nobles aren't short on cash. Please take it and get a carriage."
Roxy didn't take it.
"There's no need to pay for help, and this is too much for a gag fee... I can't accept this."
"Why not?"
"I just can't."
"You must."
"Fine."
"You can't not... huh?"
Roxy, suddenly agreeing, blushed and quickly snatched the money from Allen's hand while he was still preparing to argue. Her gaze, however, darted to the forest nearby.
"I'll consider it a loan. To be honest, traveling the world is very expensive. It's fine in the Asura Kingdom, but in the Millis Continent, with my appearance, I have almost no opportunities to earn money... My studies at the University of Magic used up all my savings, so I'm very short on cash. Since you're Mr. Paul's relative, you can ask them about my character!"
"So..."
Roxy looked up at Allen cautiously.
"You can leave me your address. I promise I'll mail it back to you..."
Allen stared blankly at Roxy's flustered expression.
It seems the goddess is truly afraid of being poor. It's true that Roxy was ostracized and discriminated against in the Millis Continent and had no savings... the fact that she could be hired for a monthly salary of two silver coins says it all.
This was also partly because the Asura Kingdom, founded on commerce and small-scale farming, regularly organized monster subjugations to protect its citizens, which meant there were no proper adventurer jobs available. So, she could only take on tutoring jobs to make a living.
Another reason was... the world's prejudice against her hair color had never ceased, even here in the Asura Kingdom, far from the Demon Continent.
Allen's eyes flickered. He watched Roxy clutching the gold coin, her expression torn as she debated whether to put it away.
"No need to pay it back. I happen to have another request for you, and that will be enough to cover it."
Roxy froze.
The night wind blew, rustling the leaves.
In the firelight, the lone man and woman stared at each other.
"As a price for the loan... you wouldn't want..."
Allen leaned closer to Roxy.
Her eyes widened, and she leaned back.
The next moment, Allen pointed a finger at his blood-stained clothes.
"You can smell me, right? Please use your water magic to wash my swordsman's uniform. And my hair. It would be even better if you could dry it. After all, it wouldn't do to meet Uncle Paul for the first time covered in blood and stinking... Also, we need to wash the Finisher Boar meat. I hear this type of monster meat is quite good..."
A growl interrupted Allen's words.
Allen couldn't help but smile as he watched the legal loli hastily clutch her stomach.
"It seems..."
"You agree."
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