Chapter 1337: 95. Sweet-Talking

"Teacher, have some tea."

"Mm."

"Teacher, have some fruit."

"Mm."

"Teacher, this cake is really good."

"Mm. Not bad."

Inside the carriage, the touching scene of a loving teacher and respectful student continued. The adorable young girl moved gently as she respectfully brought a piece of cake toward the middle-aged gentleman's mouth.

But the very next moment, the table knife that had been used to cut the cake suddenly turned sideways and came to rest against the middle-aged gentleman's neck.

The girl...... Ariel in disguise bared her teeth and glared at him.

"So after all that talking, you bastard sweet-talked me into coming along just so I'd step into this trap with you? And you even made it sound so nice, calling it a trip for two?"

"Calm down! Calm down!"

The middle-aged gentleman who had been acting so dignified just moments ago...... Muen in disguise immediately wilted and gave her an awkward smile.

"You've misunderstood me. I didn't sweet-talk you into anything. Everything I said was true. This really is a trip for just the two of us, isn't it?"

"But back at the academy, you never said the trap would be this huge!" Ariel snapped angrily.

Back at the academy, he'd showered her with one sweet word after another, making everything sound so charming and wonderful that she'd followed him without a second thought, not even having time to eat dinner.

And only now, after they were already inside the carriage, had he suddenly revealed the full picture.

What trip?

This case involved a veteran Truth-Rank Grand Mage and an Evil God lurking somewhere behind the scenes. Was something like that really so easy to deal with? One careless move and they could be dragged into dangers beyond imagination!

Liar!

"And what about you? You're normally so clever, so how can you not understand why you shouldn't take on such a dangerous mess?" Ariel stomped her foot, completely unable to understand him.

Why did this guy always insist on throwing himself into places like this?

Did he really enjoy danger that much?

"Sigh. It's not like I want to either, but everyone has their own troubles. Some pits...... even when I know perfectly well they're pits, I still have no choice but to step into them."

Muen sighed softly and shook his head, looking utterly helpless.

Even a yellow-haired villain could be forced into things sometimes.

Damn it. As long as his strength remained insufficient, he was still far from attaining the ultimate form of a yellow-haired villain.

"However......"

Muen suddenly grabbed Ariel's little hand again and spoke with great sincerity.

"No matter what, Ariel, believe me. I didn't bring you along simply because I wanted someone to accompany me into a trap. I'm not that shameless. I was thinking about what's good for you too."

"Hm?"

Ariel raised a sword-like eyebrow and sneered.

"Don't tell me you're going to say something about how we'll get to be alone together, be all sweet and lovey-dovey, and enjoy a trip for two. You think I'm still that easy to fool? You think something that trivial would make me happy at this point?"

"Huh? It wouldn't make you happy?"

"Cough! Don't change the subject. You owe me an explanation!"

Ariel grabbed Muen and twisted hard.

"Hiss——ow, ow, ow!"

Muen grimaced.

"I have an explanation, I do. The explanation is...... the Origin Tower is a wonderful place with opportunities everywhere!"

"Oh?"

The word "opportunities" seemed to trigger some kind of enlightenment, and Ariel's eyes immediately lit up.

"Go on."

"It's one of the pillars of the magical world, a tower that's stood for nearly a thousand years. Magic, magical devices, all sorts of other magical systems...... I don't think I need to explain what kind of good stuff a place like that must have."

Muen's voice once again became enticing.

"Sure, there must be plenty of good things there, but this is still the Origin Tower. Do you really think it'll be that easy for us to get our hands on them?"

Ariel was much calmer in that regard and didn't immediately fall for Muen's coaxing.

"Heh-heh. Under normal circumstances, no, they wouldn't be easy to get. But with my current identity, I'm a grandmaster of the Origin Tower's Enhancement School!"

Muen immediately pulled out the badge Teacher Mela had given him and displayed it in front of Ariel.

"The Enhancement School was a major faction renowned throughout the Tower several centuries ago. Do you really think a school like that would be short on treasures?"

"You mean steal—"

"Hey, don't make it sound so ugly. After we help the Origin Tower solve a major problem, isn't it perfectly normal for us to collect a reasonable reward? Why would you use such a degrading word?"

"A reward? Thinking about our reward this early is really...... completely reasonable!"

Ariel nodded vigorously in agreement.

"Exactly. If we're going to work this hard to help them, how could we possibly refuse compensation?"

"Right? And as for what that compensation might be...... heh-heh."

The two looked at each other and smiled.

No further words were necessary.

One of them was the son of a duke who lacked practically nothing.

The other was a protagonist favored by fate who had explored countless ruins.

Naturally, no ordinary reward would be enough to satisfy them.

But considering the sheer scale of the Origin Tower and the Enhancement School, producing something suitable should be incredibly easy!

"Of course, getting to spend time alone with my dearest Miss Ariel is also one of the reasons." 𝖋𝙧ⅇ

"Oh, stop it~"

After being bombarded with sweet words, Ariel was already twisting bashfully in her seat, her face blooming like a flower.

"All right. To make sure we don't expose ourselves later, we'd better keep rehearsing our identities just to be safe."

Once Muen confirmed there was no longer any problem on this side, he hurriedly resumed what they'd been doing earlier.

"You remember our cover story, right? I'm Master Enmu of the Enhancement School, someone who's spent years traveling abroad in search of a breakthrough, and you're......"

"Your most prized student, Alice. You don't need to nag me. I can remember a little setting like this."

"As expected of you. One look and anyone can tell you've done plenty of this whole false-identity infiltration thing before." Muen sounded deeply impressed.

"Right back at you, Master Enmu." Ariel rolled her eyes.

The two fooled around like that for a while and quickly slipped into character.

It had to be said that both of them were veterans when it came to this sort of thing. Putting on another identity and infiltrating somewhere came almost effortlessly to them.

It was just that this unprecedented teacher-and-student roleplay carried a peculiar sense of forbidden excitement for both of them.

And the more they played, the more absorbed they became.

"Teacher, I don't think I know how to solve this problem."

"Come. Sit on your teacher's lap. I'll teach you personally."

"Teacher, why does it feel like something hard is pressing against me?"

"Hmph. Isn't it because you haven't been studying properly? I've taught you this problem so many times, yet you still don't know how to solve it. Naturally, I'll have to use my rod to teach you a harsh lesson."

"You're awful......"

"......"

The game continued.

And it became increasingly immersive.

Increasingly convincing.

Just as the two of them were becoming thoroughly engrossed in their teacher-and-student game, a faint wisp of green smoke silently drifted out of Ariel's ring and condensed into the vague outline of a graceful figure.

"Sigh."

The green smoke looked at the two of them, particularly Ariel, who had already completely forgotten how angry she'd been just moments ago, and let out a long sigh filled with disappointment.

This girl was normally quite clever.

So why did her intelligence seem to get cut in half the moment she ran into this guy, making her so ridiculously easy to sweet-talk?

No matter how much he dressed it up, wasn't he still just dragging you along to step into the same trap with him?!

"The Origin Tower, huh? That's no simple place. Certain darkness has been accumulating there for centuries. One careless step and the waves beneath the surface really could overturn you completely."

The green smoke seemed to remember something, and a trace of complexity appeared across the indistinct features of her hazy face.

But before her thoughts could go any further, the increasingly outrageous sounds inside the carriage interrupted them.

"Teacher~ Mm, don't~"

"This is a new path your teacher is teaching you. Remember it properly!"

"You're awful...... Teacher......"

"......"

At the sight of this, a strange feeling suddenly rose in the green smoke's heart.

Why did this girl sound sweeter when she called that yellow-haired brat "Teacher" than she ever did when she called her that?

Damn it.

She was the real teacher!