Chapter 52: Unexpected Encounters and Curious Proposals

Aesop was sweating even more profusely than the others.

Nothing was quite as shocking as waking up to find himself hoisted onto Alicia’s shoulder.

For a moment, even the furious thought of his pot being smashed took a backseat to this immediate surprise.

“Um, you can actually put me down now,” he managed, “I’m quite heavy, and I wouldn’t want to tire you out.”

“It’s truly touching how concerned Mr. Aesop is for me,” Alicia replied.

Alicia chuckled softly, a hint of delight in her voice, before gently setting Aesop down.

But… her hand remained intertwined with his.

“Tell me, what exactly are you doing?” he asked, bewildered.

Alicia flashed him a dazzling smile. “I’m scared, so I’m seeking a sense of security. Mr. Aesop will surely protect a lady like me, won’t you?”

Aesop forced a strained smile. “Yes, and no. Lady Alicia, a beautiful young woman like yourself would have no trouble finding a powerful man. Look at the strategy group; there are many exceptionally strong individuals among them. With your beauty and refinement, winning them over would be effortless, a mere trifle.”

Alicia replied softly, “If that were the case, I could have found equally outstanding individuals in the tribe. They would be even more subservient to me because of my status.”

Aesop, utterly baffled, asked, “So, why me?”

Alicia’s eyes sparkled. “Because Mr. Aesop is very handsome, very powerful, and while his personality is a little strange, he is very polite, intelligent, and emotionally aware… and his cooking is absolutely delicious! I don’t think I can eat my tribesmen’s cooking anymore. For that, Mr. Aesop, you must take full responsibility.”

‘No, I conquered your stomach, and this is how you repay me?’

Aesop, completely clueless, a straight man of steel, and possessed by a culinary obsession, did not see an eager, beautiful barbarian girl throwing herself at him as a good thing.

He only saw it as a prelude to his own demise.

“What if I feel we’re not a good match?” Aesop tentatively inquired.

In response, Alicia offered a brilliant smile. “You must have heard that barbarian women are courageous in pursuing the men they fancy, even—they don’t mind a little violence mixed in.”

Aesop: “!!!”

Sweating profusely, he chuckled dryly. “I have heard, yes, I have indeed heard. But Miss Alicia is so dignified and elegant; surely she’s different from those ordinary barbarian women, right?”

Alicia nodded matter-of-factly. “Indeed, I prefer mutual consent.”

Aesop breathed a sigh of relief. “Excellent. I’m not very willing.”

Alicia, completely unconcerned, said, “It’s fine. Perhaps you’ll be willing later.”

Aesop was startled. “What happened to ‘mutual consent’?”

Alicia stated simply, “If I make Mr. Aesop fall in love with me later, and then we’re together, wouldn’t that be mutual consent? What does future Mr. Aesop’s willingness have to do with present Mr. Aesop’s unwillingness?”

Aesop was stunned. ‘Can it really work like that? I don’t want to fall in love! Even less do I want to get married! I just want to be a chef!’

****

Meanwhile, Larkin could finally continue the task his father had assigned him. He simply couldn’t insert himself into the atmosphere between Theresia and Theodore, so he had no choice but to continue pursuing Lola.

“Miss Lola, you weren’t hurt in the battle just now, were you? I have plenty of healing potions here; do you need any?”

Lola cast a cold glance at Larkin, who had previously ‘deceived’ her, and snorted. “Do you think the same trick will work on me a second time? To conspire with that wicked Samuel to scheme against me—well, well indeed.”

Larkin, on the verge of tears, said, “Is there a possibility that I was also tricked by that wicked woman?”

Lola recalled her countless past experiences of being scammed by Samuel (she didn’t know that most of them were orchestrated by her mother, although Samuel wasn’t entirely innocent, having happily participated in everything). She nodded emphatically. “That’s possible, but it doesn’t absolve you of your guilt.”

‘When I get home, I’ll definitely find the best court mage to get rid of this bad luck!’ Larkin fumed inwardly, abandoning the possibility of proving himself through personal charm. He patted the magical armor on his body and said, “…What about this armor then?”

Lola’s spirits instantly lifted. She meticulously assessed the magical armor on him, her eyes gleaming with a hint of longing. “This magical armament is excellent. Is it a dwarven creation?”

‘Sure enough, this armor stole ninety percent of my thunder,’ Larkin mused, then naturally picked up the conversation. “It does incorporate dwarven craftsmanship, but that’s not all. It also features elven enchantment techniques; my family integrated them.”

“Combining the techniques of three different races? That’s truly an imaginative creation.” A glimmer of desire flickered in Lola’s eyes.

As an elven princess, Lola adored conducting all sorts of peculiar experiments. She was brimming with curiosity about things she had never seen before, and once her curiosity was piqued, she would become uncontrollable, impulsive, and utterly absorbed, leading to… disaster.

The most recent major catastrophe was seven years ago, when she blew up the appraisal institute, which in turn triggered Theresia’s destruction of the World Tree.

After seven years of ‘tutelage’ from Samuel (and the Elf Queen), Lola had become slightly more restrained.

But only slightly.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have secretly learned alchemy, especially since her mother, the Elf Queen, had explicitly warned her about its terrifying hidden dangers.

“So, just, how was this thing forged? I’m incredibly curious.”

Larkin, of course, didn’t know how it was forged, but he had a way to let Lola find out. Although his magical armor had once again stolen his thunder, having a topic to delve deeper into was clearly a good thing.

“I’m not entirely sure about the specifics, but if you’re truly curious, I could take you to the magical armor’s forging workshop. While the core techniques might be a bit difficult to access, a simple visit…”

Lola eagerly asked, “Can’t I get hands-on? Even if it doesn’t involve the core techniques, I don’t mean anything else, I just want to try it out.”

Larkin waved his hand grandly, making a decisive statement. “Of course you can! That’s a small request. I’ll make the arrangements and personally take you there!”

Lola looked at Larkin with profound gratitude. Ever since her mother forbade her from visiting the elven royal workshops, she hadn’t been to a professional magical item crafting facility. Words of praise spilled from her lips: “Larkin, you truly are a good person! If you’re willing, we can be friends.”

“Of course, no problem. It’s my honor.”

Happiness arrived too suddenly. Larkin only saw ‘Affection +100’ float above Lola’s head, completely oblivious to the scale of the disaster his promise would unleash.

The mission progress instantly reached 50%. Now, all he had to do was take Lola to the Imperial forging workshop, and he could proudly present himself to his father, seizing the opportunity to claim credit.

‘Oh dear, what kind of reward should I ask for then?’ Larkin felt himself soaring.

At the very front, Theodore had maintained a deep frown throughout their journey. Theresia clearly sensed his distraction.

However, his grip on her hand was undeniably firm. Several times, Theresia tried to subtly pull away, but with even the slightest movement, Theodore’s grip tightened instantly.

The problem was, Theresia noticed this tightening seemed subconscious; Theodore himself remained lost in thought.

‘Honestly, did he think she would run away?’

Just as Theresia was feeling frustrated, Theodore suddenly looked at her, his voice low and serious. “Theresia, we can’t just keep running like this.”

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