Affection? An Illusion? (Part 1)

"What do you mean it sounds like the teacher's voice? It's totally your teacher's voice!"

Not long after the surprised and doubtful voices subsided, a mournful and indignant cry came from inside the cave.

"Is it really you, teacher?"

The head in the burrow emerged from the ground again and said, "What do you think?"

Although the face was covered in mud and sweat, Anna recognized its owner instantly.

"Teacher, how did you come out from underground?"

"Sigh, it's a long story!"

"Since it's a long story, then don't say anything for now. After I pull you up from underground, you can tell me slowly."

"Good!"

Thanks to Taurus's tireless efforts, Sordil finally shed his identity as an underground worker and once again became a glorious being on the surface. Only, the floor of his room had gloriously sacrificed itself in the process. Smelling the strange odor emanating from Sordil, Anna said with disgust, "Teacher, weren't you supposed to be studying Augmented Magic at the palace? Why do you smell so bad?"

"You think I wanted this? It's all thanks to my future father-in-law that I got to explore the capital's sewers!"

Although Sordil thought this to himself, he dared not say it aloud. Otherwise, Anna, that paparazzi, would definitely dig up the whole story and then spread it all over her social circle with added embellishments. Then, besides the three major stains on his record—being swallowed by a fish, getting lost while eating, and being held captive by creditors—he would also be labeled as someone who failed to seduce his future wife and was beaten up by his future father-in-law. The thought of that miserable life sent chills down Sordil's spine.

"Teacher!"

"Teacher!"

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"I just asked you how things got like this, and you haven't answered me yet!"

"Oh! You mean this? Yesterday, after I left the palace, I encountered a formidable opponent. After the fight, I realized I was no match for him, so I used Sand Molding Magic to create an underground passage to escape. Unexpectedly, the other end of the passage was connected to an underground water pipe, and I was caught off guard and fell into the underground water. When I came out, I had become this smelly."

Looking at Sordil, who was covered in sweat, Anna asked with a doubtful expression, "Is that really true?"

"Certainly!"

"If that's the case, why did Her Majesty Irene send someone to inquire about the teacher's whereabouts yesterday evening?"

"Gulp"

Under Edogawa Anna's piercing gaze, the suspect, Sordil, swallowed hard and stammered, "This... this is because... oh! It's because when I was fighting my opponent, Her Majesty Irene was nearby. She was worried that something might have happened to me, so she sent someone to ask."

Just as Anna was about to further verify the authenticity of the information, an untimely knock on the door disrupted her investigation.

"Bang bang"

"General Oddek?"

"General Oddek, are you there?"

Having narrowly escaped death, Sordil glanced gratefully in the direction of the door, then said to Anna, "Miss Anna, look, this...?"

"I'll go open the door. Please get rid of that 'smell' on you, sir, so you don't offend others!"

"Miss Anna, don't worry, I definitely won't let you down!"

Looking at the grinning Sordil, Anna felt a slight headache coming on. She was now a little envious of Diphiya, who had returned to Philiers. Shaking her throbbing head to clear her mind of these thoughts, Anna opened the door with a smile.

"Aud... Oh, it's Miss Anna! Miss Anna, General Oddek returned?"

"The teacher just got back and is taking a shower now. You can come in and wait for him."

"Anna for your kindness, Miss Anna! However, Her Majesty the Queen has instructed that if we find General Oddek, we must report back immediately, so I will not go in. Please convey to General Oddek that Her Majesty the Queen is in the palace, awaiting His Excellency's arrival."

"Please rest assured, waiter, I will definitely convey your message to the teacher!"

"In that case, Anna very much, Miss Anna!"

After confirming Sordil's whereabouts and relaying Irene's instructions, the Black Robe servant hurriedly left Sordil's room. Before Anna returned to her room, Sordil's question came from behind her.

"Anna, who is looking for me?"

Anna looked at the lewd object standing in front of her and said irritably, "Besides your beautiful Empress Her Majesty Irene, who else would come looking for you!"

"Irene? She came in person? Oh dear, why didn't you invite her in to sit down and wait for me to come out!"

"Teacher, you're overthinking it. It's not Queen Irene herself, but a servant she sent."

"Then you should invite them in to rest for a bit!"

Speechless, Anna looked at the bewildered Sordil and said wearily, "He's in a hurry to get back and report, how could he possibly stay here to rest! Oh, right! The servant told me to tell you that Her Majesty Irene is waiting for you at the palace, you'd better hurry up and go to the palace!"

Hearing that the goddess was waiting for him, Sordil hurried towards the palace. As he reached the entrance, Sordil suddenly stopped, turned around, pointed to the large hole in the floor, and said to Anna, "Miss Anna, could you please fix this floor for me? Love you!"

Polson Grand Canyon

Two or three days have passed since the trial failure, but the impact of the trial failure shows no signs of abating; on the contrary, it is getting stronger.

"Little brother Sordil, what are you thinking about? Can you tell your sister?"

Feeling the object moving against his chest and hearing that soft, alluring voice, Sordil knew without turning around that it must be the mollusk Yelibell surrounding him. Since he completed his final trial, the venomous dragon Yelibell had vanished from the world, and the mollusk Yelibell had been born.

Sordil had lost count of how many times he had been surrounded, but he was certain that if he couldn't get out of this predicament quickly, he would be a father by this time next year.

"Sister Yelibell, please don't do this! Sister Grandiere is watching!"

"Let her watch! At worst, we can let her join in. Then the three of us can do it together, hehe..."

Hearing Yelibell's words, Sordil felt a 'beautiful' scene intrude into his mind. Forcibly suppressing the nosebleed that was about to spurt out, Sordil burned his remaining sanity and cried for help to Grandiere, who was standing not far away.

"Snort!"

Grandiere snorted coldly, then turned and left his original spot, heading down the mountain. For some reason, watching Grandiere walk away, Sordil suddenly thought of the Little Dragon Girl from the TV series of his past life, after she was defiled by the 'Dragon Knight' Zhen Zhibing. Thinking of this, Sordil was startled. Was he developing in the direction of the 'Dragon Knight'? In an instant, Sordil's rationality returned.

"Prison!"

"Move!"

After removing Yelibell from his body, Sordil hurriedly chased after Grandiere in the direction he had left, wanting to explain to Grandiere that he, Sordil, was not the 'Dragon Knight' Zhen Zhibing.