Chapter 790: Sprouting
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 790: Sprouting
"Hezekiah... ah!"
Fei'er froze for a long moment before it finally clicked that "that Hezekiah kid" referred to none other than His Holiness the Pope.
This loli head, who looked merely cute and possessed not a shred of a discernible aura, actually held such a prestigious status?
"Very well then."
Compared to Paul and Annie, Fei'er was far more sensible and sharp-witted. Her existing connection to the Tower of Origins allowed her to vaguely guess at the truth. She bowed slightly and spoke to Mela with deep respect.
"Since a senior is handling this matter, it would be improper for us to pry further."
"My apologies," Muen added with a regretful nod.
"It’s quite alright. If anything, we were the ones being intrusive. By the way..."
Though her eyes remained closed, Fei'er turned toward Muen, giving the impression that she was watching him closely.
"What do you plan to do next, Muen? We’re going to continue rescuing those imprisoned by the Demon Race, and we’re a bit short-handed. Would you like to come with us?"
"I..."
Muen thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"I’ll pass. I’d love to help, but I have other tasks to attend to right now."
The Demon God’s blood was too significant a matter; it had to be delivered back to the Academy as soon as possible.
And...
Muen’s gaze suddenly drifted toward the exit of the space. For some reason, the image of that lonely, dejected figure walking away surfaced in his mind.
He couldn't just leave Ariel like that. It made him feel like some scumbag who had seduced and then abandoned her.
While he didn't have a hundred million on him at the moment, he could at least manage the small matter of inviting her back to the Royal Capital and then giving her the money.
Then again, if he just invited her to travel back together... she probably wouldn't draw her sword and hack him to pieces, right?
Muen couldn't help but feel a bit apprehensive...
But on second thought, it shouldn't be that dangerous. Ariel might hate him, and she might be prone to swinging her sword at the slightest provocation, but she actually had quite a few cute traits. She wouldn't really just kill someone on a whim.
Well... we’ve been through a life-and-death crisis together. Surely she won't...
"I have something to take care of before I leave. An, go help Miss Fei'er and the others for now," Muen said to the girl beside him.
"Understood." An folded her hands over her stomach. The influence the Love God had exerted on her seemed to have vanished completely; she had returned to her usual elegant and obedient self. "Please be careful, Young Master."
"Don't worry, I'll be back soon."
Muen patted An’s head and headed straight in the direction Ariel had gone.
"Tsk, tsk..."
Watching this, Paul leaned in toward An and whispered conspiratorially, "That guy is clearly going to see a woman. Are you really just going to let him go, Miss?"
"It’s fine."
A sweet smile graced An’s dignified face, showing not a hint of worry.
"If some pest tries to seduce the Young Master again, that is the pest's fault, not the Young Master's. I will take responsibility for dealing with it. After all, I am the Young Master's maid."
"Dealing with it?"
"Yes."
The sound of shifting steel rang out as countless blades rose, matching the chilling intent radiating from the poised young woman.
"I'll deal with it... gently."
"..." Paul suddenly shivered.
"Oh my," Fei'er remarked with surprise. "It seems Miss An would get along quite well with Margarita. It’s a pity she isn't here this time, otherwise you two would certainly have a lot to talk about."
"..." Paul shivered again.
*
After the introductions and pleasantries, Fei'er’s group departed with An.
Even though the Demon Race had effectively vanished from the world, it was best to rescue all the female adventurers as quickly as possible just to be safe.
A light breeze blew, the stars were sparse, and the clouds thin. The space that had just hosted an event concerning the fate of an entire race finally returned to total silence.
Perhaps it would remain peaceful forever, until time itself buried this place.
"Alright, the youngsters are gone. I should head out too."
Mela’s head bobbed as it floated up, circling the space one last time.
Regardless of everything else, her foolish disciple had been right about one thing: the Love God was cunning. Among all the Evil Gods, He was the most devious.
Moreover, He understood human nature. That was the most dangerous part.
"Mhm, inspection complete. No lingering corruption from the Love God, and there are no loopholes left for Him to exploit here."
Having confirmed this, Mela’s head began to turn transparent, ready to vanish and return to the Academy.
"Wait?"
Suddenly, she solidified again.
"This is..."
Mela turned her head in a certain direction. A rare look of uncertain confusion appeared on her baby-faced features.
"How could this be..."
*
"Are you really just going to leave like this?"
"What do you mean 'like this'?"
"Well... aren't you going to stay and say goodbye or something?"
"Why would I go out of my way to say goodbye?"
"Because of Muen Campbell..."
"What does this have to do with him?"
Ariel stopped abruptly, cutting off her teacher’s voice in her head with a sigh of exasperation.
"I didn't leave suddenly because of Muen Campbell, and I certainly don't need to check in with him before I go!"
"Oh? Is that so?" Peles’s tone was teasing. Although her disciple had spent her time shouting about love and romance ever since her childhood sweetheart was snatched away, the only person who seemed to cause her this much distress—aside from the former Miss Muse—was Muen Campbell.
Wait, hold on. Aren't they the same person?
In fact, wasn't he the one who snatched her childhood sweetheart away too?
"Don't overthink it. I admit I cared about Miss Muse before, but that was in the past. Now that I know Miss Muse is Muen Campbell, I have completely severed those feelings!"
A look of grief flashed across Ariel’s face, but her eyes remained resolute.
In matters of the heart, if one does not cut ties cleanly, one only invites chaos. As a self-proclaimed master of romance, Ariel had a very open-minded view of the situation. There were so many beautiful girls in the world; why should she hang herself from the single tree that was Miss Muse?
Especially since that "beautiful girl tree" turned out to be a man in disguise.
"Then Muen Campbell—"
"Teacher, why do you keep bringing up Muen Campbell..."
Ariel curled her lip in disdain.
"I hate men, and I hate Muen Campbell even more. After the Miss Muse incident, I hate him even more-more-more-more! So stop saying his name, Teacher. It’s annoying!"
"Fine, fine..."
"Hmph."
Ariel composed herself, pushing away the image that had somehow resurfaced in her mind—the moment Miss Muse transformed back into Muen Campbell. She continued down the quiet corridor.
The Demon Race had all turned to dust, leaving these ancient, thousand-year-old structures feeling even colder and more desolate. Ariel walked alone, the only sound the echo of her own footsteps.
"What are you going to do next?" Peles asked.
"Save the trapped beauties, of course! Did you forget, Teacher?"
The fire of passion reignited in Ariel’s eyes.
That’s right. Why had she taken such a huge risk to infiltrate Gutons Fortress? Was it for that dead blonde bastard?
No! It was for the beautiful girls imprisoned here!
Now that the Demon Race was wiped out and everything had settled, those captive beauties were surely in a state of confusion. If she made a grand entrance now, saving them from their plight and "accidentally" letting it slip that she was one of the key players who caused the Demon Race to vanish...
Wouldn't their hearts be hers for the taking? Wouldn't they be throwing themselves into her arms?
Exactly. She was about to have an entire sea of flowers. Why dwell on a single blossom she once held dear?
"I have to hurry. It would be terrible if someone beat me to it!"
At this thought, Ariel’s mood brightened. She could almost see the rows of charming, graceful beauties waving to her in the distance; she could practically smell their enchanting fragrances.
"Here I come, ladies!"
Ariel’s pace quickened into a skip, a little tune escaping her lips.
It seemed she had cast aside all her unpleasantness and tangled emotions...
【But... are you truly satisfied with this?】
Ariel’s skipping slowed, then faltered, until she came to a dead stop.
"Teacher, I told you, don't—"
Ariel fell silent for a moment, then began to mutter in a lighthearted tone, trying to get her gossiping teacher to stop with the stupid questions.
But there was no response.
At some point, her teacher’s voice had vanished. Her presence was gone. Ariel couldn't feel her at all.
It was as if she had suddenly fallen into a lonely box where only she existed. Aside from her, there was nothing...
No.
It wasn't nothing.
Candlelight suddenly flickered to life, one flame after another, illuminating the entire corridor. Ariel realized she had somehow arrived at a very familiar place.
The room where she had been imprisoned, and the corridor outside it.
This was her first stop upon entering Gutons Fortress, the beginning of this entire story. If she hadn't happened to meet Miss An back then, there was a high probability that everything that followed would have had nothing to do with her.
To say nothing of the life-and-death crises and the complex series of events that followed.
And if she guessed correctly, Miss Muse must have been held in this same corridor at the time, just in a different layer of space. Because back then, Miss An had said... she smelled her Young Master’s scent here.
"Young Master" must have meant Muen Campbell.
Wait, no. Why am I thinking about Miss Muse and that annoying guy again?
Ariel looked up. Sure enough, at the end of the corridor, she saw the mirror.
The mirror was as ancient as ever, blending almost perfectly into the wall. But under the reflection of the candlelight, the darkness within the glass was profound and clear.
Through this mirror, Ariel finally realized how terrible she looked. Her brow was furrowed, her face expressionless, looking as dejected as she had as a child when she accidentally lost a tattered rag doll her mother had given her.
That had been her only doll growing up.
Her earlier excitement and humming had been nothing more than a thin, fake film stretched over her wounded heart, easily punctured.
She stared at her reflection.
【Are you truly satisfied?】
In Ariel’s vision, the dejected corners of the mouth of the poor girl in the mirror suddenly curled upward into an eerie smile. The reflection looked at her and, word by word, whispered in a voice thick with temptation:
【Are you truly satisfied letting your beloved Miss Muse vanish from this world forever?】
As the words fell, a faint sound echoed from the deepest part of Ariel’s heart.
It was the sound of a long-dormant seed... breaking through the soil and sprouting.