Chapter 1336: 94. It Takes Two

"Damn it, there's definitely a trap!"

The moment Muen emerged from the Sea of Flowers and saw the academy's clear blue sky, he could no longer keep his expression under control. He bared his teeth and cursed under his breath.

He didn't care whether she could see him or not. That woman had definitely been pretending too.

What loving teacher and filial disciple?

What did she mean, he no longer needed to be battered by wind and rain, so from now on she would give him all the support she could?

It sounded wonderful, but if that bastard old loli really hadn't dug some kind of pit for him to jump into this time, he'd twist his own head off and use it as a ball!

She'd screwed him over so many times already. Did she seriously still think he was that easy to fool?

"I'm not the naive person I used to be anymore. That version of me is already completely dead!"

Muen tilted his head forty-five degrees toward the sky and sighed from the depths of his soul.

After everything he'd been through, he couldn't even calmly accept being screwed over anymore.

But......

"Even so, I still have to make the trip."

Muen suddenly let out a long sigh.

That was the most helpless and tragic part of all.

He knew perfectly well that a trap was waiting for him, yet he still had to step into it. There was no other choice.

Because although the old loli was a menace most of the time, Muen had to admit that her grasp of developing situations was absolutely not something he could ignore.

Something turbulent was undoubtedly brewing beneath the surface at the Origin Tower.

So regardless of his own reasons, and regardless of how long the old loli had been scheming against him beforehand, there was no escaping this incident.

He had to go take a look.

"But I can't just let the old loli trick me into it like some miserable idiot."

Muen stared at the badge Mela had just given him, a calculating gleam flickering continuously in his eyes.

"At the very least, I'm not stepping into this pit alone."

She had said that this badge represented the Enhancement School.

And the schools under the Tower had the right to establish their own classrooms.

So if he brought someone else along to step into the pit with him...... No, to support each other and move forward together, that would be perfectly reasonable too, wouldn't it?

"I can't bring too many people, or we'll attract too much attention. One more should be about right."

"The old loli only concealed me, so that person has to be highly proficient in magic and trustworthy. After all, this is a secret mission."

"Not only that, they need to be strong enough not to hold me back, and ideally they should be able to help me in all sorts of ways. At the very least, they should make stepping into this pit a little more comfortable."

"And most importantly, while meeting all those conditions...... they also need to have a lot of free time. Who knows how long this trip will take? If they're coming with me, they need to have enough time to spare!"

"And someone who can satisfy all of those conditions at once......"

Was that even possible?

Muen scratched his head.

No matter how he looked at it, those requirements were far too demanding.

Highly proficient in magic, trustworthy, capable of helping him significantly, and with plenty of free time?

Did such an absurdly contradictory person even exist in this world?

If there was......

"Damn it!"

Just as Muen was agonizing over the problem, he suddenly heard an extremely familiar voice.

"What do you mean I can't stay in the school dormitory just because I haven't attended classes lately? If Grand Duke Lorne...... No, Uncle Lorne weren't staying at the ducal estate right now, making it awkward for me to go there, who would even care about your lousy dormitory?"

"Hm?"

Muen looked up and saw a familiar figure.

Ariel!

His eyes instantly lit up.

Right!

How had he not thought of her immediately?

The sort of person he'd just been agonizing over actually did exist!

Those requirements certainly seemed incredibly harsh at first glance, but when he thought about it carefully, weren't they practically tailor-made for the world's cutest Ariel?

Highly proficient in magic...... She even had a mysterious ancient mentor with her. Who at the same rank could possibly compare to her?

Trustworthy...... They were already such close friends that they'd shared a bed. What was there left to question about trust?

Powerful...... That went without saying!

Wouldn't hold him back...... Were you questioning the problem-solving ability of a protagonist favored by fate?

Perfect!

Absolutely perfect!

Muen almost couldn't stop himself from applauding.

So without the slightest hesitation, he strode forward and grabbed both of Ariel's hands.

"My dear, meeting you here must be a gift from fate!"

"M-Muen? Why are you here?"

Ariel jumped in surprise, her little face instantly flushing red.

"Um...... I'm definitely not here because I wanted to save money by taking advantage of the school. I specifically came back to relive the wonderful days of campus life, so don't misunderstand......"

"All right, there's no need to explain something so trivial. If the academy insists on being this heartless, I'll definitely lodge a fierce complaint on behalf of the vast number of homeless, freezing, starving students everywhere."

"Huh? I didn't say it was that serious. I just......"

"My point is that none of that matters!"

Muen tightly held those soft hands, his expression utterly sincere. If he had been holding flowers and a diamond ring, anyone watching might have mistaken him for someone proposing marriage.

"What I want to ask is, do you have any free time coming up? I mean a lot of free time!"

"Great! Then you're free!"

Muen once again felt overwhelmingly fortunate.

Having a protagonist favored by fate around really was wonderful.

Ariel didn't belong to any particular faction, nor did she have any entanglements she absolutely couldn't escape from. In fact, his senior, Celicia, Liya, and the others met most of his requirements as well.

The problem was that they all had other responsibilities and couldn't easily get away.

After all, he couldn't exactly drag the Silent Bureau's Swordbearer, the Empress of the Empire, or the Church's Saintess off to the Origin Tower to stir up trouble with him.

But Ariel......

Although the responsibility on her shoulders was even heavier, it didn't conflict at all with what he planned to do next.

Save the world?

Saving it was saving it, no matter how you did it.

Stopping a crisis before it erupted was also very much saving the world!

Perfect!

"Since you're free......"

With that thought, Muen suddenly felt as though the entire world had become beautiful and filled with goodness. All his worries about the pit he was about to step into vanished.

He looked directly into Ariel's eyes and made the most sincere request imaginable. ⅇℓ.

"Would you be interested in joining me for a thrilling and exciting...... trip for two?"

"A...... a trip for two?"

Although she was still completely bewildered, those four words alone were enough to make Ariel's eyes light up.

She hadn't had a chance to spend time alone with Muen for ages, and she'd been feeling terribly aggrieved about it.

"Exactly. A romantic, elegant trip with absolutely no traps whatsoever. There might be just a tiny bit of thrilling excitement involved, but I guarantee it'll be unforgettable...... A trip for two."

Muen's voice was gentle and overflowing with temptation.

"Want to come with me, my dearest Ariel?"

......

......

Outside Belrand.

A luxurious carriage had already been waiting there quietly for some time.

The specially trained horses silently ate their feed without making the slightest sound, while the attendant dressed in a fitted formal uniform stood respectfully nearby. Even as the setting sun sank lower, he showed no trace of impatience.

"Tap. Tap. Tap."

At last, the silence was broken.

Two figures slowly approached along the clean bluestone road.

One was a gaunt-faced man who looked frail and sickly, yet was impeccably dressed. At a glance, he appeared to be a refined middle-aged gentleman of excellent upbringing.

The other was an adorable young girl supporting him by the arm.

"Mue—"

"Ahem. What did you call me?"

"T-Teacher."

The adorable girl's cheeks flushed slightly as she spoke with great respect.

"The carriage is here."

"Mm. Good student. Let's get in."

And just like that, the middle-aged gentleman climbed into the carriage with the girl's support.

The attendant, for his part, was extremely tactful. He quickly patted the highly intelligent dragonblood horse and allowed the carriage to speed away.

"I was wondering why the boss was taking this so seriously this time, and what sort of distinguished guests could possibly be coming."

The attendant watched the carriage gradually disappear from sight and sighed with emotion.

"So they're a teacher and student?"

Indeed.

People's hearts weren't what they used to be. Pure teacher-student relationships like that had become increasingly rare.

And just look at that scene from earlier. The way the young girl had supported her teacher......

What a perfect picture of a loving teacher and a respectful student.

Such devotion to one's teacher!