Chapter 271: The Riddle on the Journey

The carriage traveled smoothly over the cobblestone road, its constant-temperature array maintaining a comfortable warmth within the cabin.

Lia held a cushion, leaning against the carriage window and pretending to focus on the scenery flying past outside, but the corner of her eye never left the man leisurely reading opposite her for even a second.

She was still angry about the “dummy” incident.

Although she had no memory of what she had said, Klein’s look of certainty made it so she couldn’t even vent her anger; she could only keep it bottled up inside.

“Where do you think that preacher’s trickery should have started if he wanted to make it more realistic?”

Klein’s voice suddenly rang out, breaking the silence within the carriage.

Lia was startled for a moment, then turned her head back toward the window and asked muffledly:

“How should I know? I’m not a liar.”

“Just a discussion.”

Klein closed his book and set it aside, his blue eyes watching her.

“Based on existing theories, what do you think is the most efficient path to performing a miracle?”

This question piqued Lia’s interest.

She turned her head back and thought for a bit, wrinkling her nose:

“That spell he used to make the flower bloom was too crude; it directly forced out the plant’s vitality, so the flower will definitely wither immediately afterward.”

“To do it properly, one should use a finer life-attribute spell model to simulate the natural growth process, just shortening the timeframe.”

“And that muddy water purification—using a sedimentation spell plus an illusion can only fool ordinary people.”

“If it were me, I would construct a miniature filtration array and use spiritual power to directly manipulate the separation of water molecules and impurities.”

“But that would be too taxing on spiritual power. A simpler way is electrolysis—directly decompose the water into hydrogen and oxygen, and then recombine them to get pure water.”

“However, that would cause quite a stir and might get one mistaken for a powerful mage.”

Lia grew more enthusiastic as she spoke, picking up paper and pen to begin sketching and designing a plan for implementing miracles.

Watching her spirited demeanor, the corners of Klein’s mouth curved up slightly of their own accord.

“Good thinking,” he commented. “But these are all stuck at the level of technique. What’s truly needed is theoretical support.”

“Theory?” Lia stopped writing.

“Yes.” Klein leaned forward slightly. “For instance, creating an entirely new theory to explain your miracle. Make it sound profound and unfalsifiable, yet catering to people’s expectations on certain levels.”

Lia’s small face instantly slumped.

This guy, after circling around for so long, had been waiting for her right here.

She tossed the paper and pen aside, hugged her cushion again, and turned her head away huffily. “I’m done talking. I want to look at the scenery.”

Klein stopped teasing her and picked up his book again; silence returned to the carriage.

Only this time, the atmosphere was no longer so stiff.

The journey over the next few days was dull.

While the mana-driven carriage was comfortable, staying in a confined space every day made the scenery outside—shifting from coastal cliffs to gentle hills and farmland—grow repetitive.

Lia soon became bored.

She had long since memorized the few books in the carriage.

She began to squirm in the cabin, lying down one moment and sitting up the next like a cat trapped in a cage.

“Can’t you stay quiet for a while?” Klein finally looked up from his book.

“I’m bored,” Lia replied righteously. “Between sitting and lying down, I’m about to grow mold.”

Watching her irritable state, Klein thought for a moment and retrieved a translucent crystal slate and a matching elemental pen from his spatial ring.

“What’s this?” Lia leaned in curiously.

“A tool used within the Magic Association for academic calculations.” Klein handed the crystal slate to her.

“I’ll give you a problem. If you can solve it before we reach the next city, I’ll tell you something—something you said while drunk that is far more interesting than calling yourself a dummy.”

Lia’s eyes lit up instantly. She immediately snatched the slate. “A deal is a deal!”

“Of course.”

The problem Klein proposed wasn’t complex, but it was very tricky.

Lia had to redesign the energy conduction paths without altering the magic arrays themselves, reducing the mana consumption of two arrays by ten percent while ensuring the effects remained unchanged.

This was essentially an optimization problem, testing one’s profound understanding of energy flow and spell model structures.

Lia was instantly drawn in by the challenge.

She stopped complaining about being bored and dove headfirst into the calculations.

At times she sketched rapidly on the slate with the elemental pen, and at others, she rested her chin in her hand with furrowed brows, muttering to herself.

Klein sat nearby reading quietly, occasionally looking up; his gaze would fall upon her focused profile, his eyes carrying a tenderness he himself had not yet noticed.

The journey was no longer dull; instead, it had become a mobile academic seminar.

The two would argue endlessly over the value of a single variable, yet share a knowing smile over a clever design.

Time flowed by quietly in this atmosphere that shifted between tension and harmony.

On the evening of the fifth day, as the setting sun dyed the horizon orange-red, the driver’s voice drifted in from outside.

“My lord, we have arrived at Douglas City, the second city on our route. The carriage team requires a period of rest and maintenance to ensure a better experience for you both. You may rest in Douglas City for a day, and we can set out again tomorrow morning.”

“I solved it!”

Almost at the exact same moment, Lia gave an excited cry, holding the pebble-sized crystal slate up in front of Klein.

On the slate, a brand-new and exquisite energy path diagram emitted a soft glow, accompanied by dense rows of calculation data.

Klein took the slate and inspected it carefully.

He performed deductions on several key nodes and, after confirming they were correct, nodded.

“Not bad. The final energy loss was reduced by twelve percent, which is even better than I expected.”

Lia lifted her chin proudly, like a little rooster that had just won a fight.

“Alright, now you can tell me what else I said while I was drunk.”

She leaned in close, her eyes sparkling with anticipation and curiosity.

Klein looked at her face so close to his; he could even smell the faint fragrance drifting from her hair.

He set down the slate and spoke unhurriedly:

“You also said…”

He deliberately drew out his voice.

“Said what?” Lia pressed.

“You said, ‘Klein is a big bad guy.’”

Lia’s expression froze.

She blinked, as if confirming whether she had misheard.

“That’s it?”

“Mhm, that’s it.” Klein nodded with a straight face.

Lia deflated, sitting back in her seat huffily.

“How boring. I thought it was some earth-shattering secret.”

Although she said that, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Thankfully, it was only calling him a bad guy.

It was much better than saying something even more embarrassing.

Watching the look of “thank goodness” on her face, a glint of amusement flashed through Klein’s eyes.

‘Some things are better kept for one person alone to hear.’

The carriage slowly entered Douglas City.

Unlike the maritime air of Lucerne Port, this city was thick with the scent of wheat and earth.

On both sides of the road were sturdy stone buildings, their style rugged and practical.

People bustled about the streets, mostly dark-skinned, sturdy farmers and merchants.

The commercial atmosphere here was just as thick, but it lacked the speculation and flashiness of Lucerne Port, possessing instead a sense of simplicity and steadiness.

The roadside shops displayed sacks of grain, dried meats, and various farming tools; only occasionally could one see a small shop selling alchemical potions or magic scrolls.

Lia curiously observed everything outside; this city gave her a grounded, down-to-earth feeling.

“Let’s find a place to stay first,” Klein instructed the driver.

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