Chapter 9: Friend (Patreon)

"Demons, get out of our village!!!"

"Demon, if you don't leave now, don't blame us for what happens next!!!"

"Go back! Go back to your Demon Continent!!!"

"Demon, just disappear..."

Rudy listened to the shouts, full of righteous fury. Three little boys, bullying one little girl. The scene unfolded quickly before Rudy's eyes.

"Huh, I actually ran into one. What good luck," he thought to himself.

In the blink of an eye, Rudy appeared right beside the three boys.

He said with a grin, "Cut it out. Three boys ganging up on one girl? That's not a good look."

The three boys turned, glaring fiercely at the slight, small-framed Rudy. One of them shouted arrogantly, "Didn't expect she'd have a friend. You here to stick up for her?"

The words had barely left his mouth when the boy beside him flung his arm out and hurled a clod of dirt straight at Rudy. If it had actually hit him, his once-clean clothes would have ended up filthy and disheveled. For an ordinary boy... it might have actually landed. But for Rudy, the elements had long since become second nature to him. With a mere thought, the clod of dirt went flying off to the side. And the three boys found themselves bound in midair, held fast by wind magic.

In an instant—he descended, hovering right above the three of them, looking down at them from on high.

Rudy asked with a smile, "So — are you three sure you want to make an enemy of me?"

Feeling their bodies suddenly beyond their own control, the three boys were scared out of their wits. They hurried to apologize to Rudy over and over, insisting it was their fault, begging him to forgive them.

Honestly, Rudy couldn't be bothered to hold a grudge against a bunch of kids. So, since they'd admitted their wrongdoing, he simply flicked his wrist and tossed them onto the grass nearby.

Then, riding the wind, he set himself down beside the girl covered head to toe in dirt. He looked at her, head buried in her arms, too afraid to look up.

He said with a smile, "I've already dealt with them. Get up — there's no need to be scared anymore."

Sylphiette turned her head, trembling faintly. She glanced at Rudy's warm, gentle smile and said quietly, "Okay... I'm fine."

Rudy reached out a hand and pulled her up. "Lean your head forward — let me rinse the dirt off for you," he said with a smile.

"Eh?!"

Startled, Sylphiette obediently leaned her head forward. As for Rudy... he reached out and pulled back her hood. He conjured a ball of warm water and used it to wash her hair clean. Once he'd made sure it was all clean, he flicked the now-dirty water off to the side.

Looking at the wary, careful Sylphiette in front of him, Rudy summoned a swirl of wind and dried her hair with it.

He said with a smile, "There, your hair's clean now. As for your clothes, you'll just have to wait until you get home and change into something clean."

"Thank you..."

Sylphiette murmured weakly, then couldn't stop herself from asking, "You... you saw what I really look like. Aren't you scared?"

Rudy grinned. "Why would I be scared? If anything, it should be you who's scared of me. If those three boys just now had actually tried to attack me, I've got a hundred ways to make their lives a living hell."

"?!?!"

The words made Sylphiette flinch back a step. But then she saw Rudy's smiling face, and after biting her lip a little, she lowered her head, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"My father says I'm not a demon."

"Mm. And so what if you were?"

"Eh?!"

"What's wrong?"

Looking at the cautious, careful girl before him, Rudy said with a smile, "To me, it doesn't matter what someone is. I judge people with my own eyes. If someone threatens my life, or the lives of my family, I won't hesitate to act against them — even if they're human."

Hearing this, Sylphiette nodded slightly, as if something had clicked into place. "Thank you for saving me."

Rudy said with a smile, "Well, saving you probably means I've made quite a few enemies today. I might end up getting shunned by them from now on. So, why don't you come play with me from now on? Sound good?"

Sylphiette looked up in surprise, staring at Rudy. She could hardly believe that someone would actually want to be her friend. In that moment, her heart was overflowing with boundless excitement. So — she had a friend now!!!

Seeing that Sylphiette hadn't answered, Rudy asked again with a smile, "What, don't you want to?"

Sylphiette quickly shook her head. She hurried to catch up, falling in step behind him. "Thank you."

Rudy said with a smile, "You don't have to keep thanking me... I'm Rudy. Rudeus. What's your name?"

Sylphiette lowered her head shyly and said softly, "Sylphiette..."

Rudy nodded. "Sylphiette. That's a really nice name."

With that, Rudy started walking toward a large tree not far off. And Sylphiette, naturally, followed along like a little tagalong, sticking close behind him.

Before long, the two of them arrived beneath the tree. Rudy turned to face Sylphiette.

He asked with a smile, "I've been studying magic for a while now. Are you interested in magic?"

"Magic?"

Sylphiette looked at him curiously.

Rudy nodded, of course, and began explaining the basics of magic to her. A lot of knowledge... becomes new again when revisited. Magic was no exception. As Rudy slowly walked Sylphiette through the fundamentals of magic, it was, in truth, also a chance for him to relearn it himself — to understand it once more, from a higher vantage point.