After their long talk, Aoko Aozaki gradually set down her burden and felt much better, unable to stop a radiant smile from blooming across her face.
"Teacher, thank you. I feel much better now."
"That's good. My trip here wasn't for nothing, then."
Samael let out a soft breath and raised a hand to pat the girl on the head.
However, although Aoko Aozaki had resolved the trouble weighing on her mind, she still had some doubts. She turned to Samael and looked at him pensively.
"But, Teacher, how did you figure all that out?"
"With so many clues, all it took was careful analysis, bold hypotheses, and cautious verification. It wasn't that hard to arrive at the answer closest to the truth."
Samael answered with a smile and gave her a playful wink.
"After all, I didn't read all those detective novels for nothing."
"Tch, liar. You barely ever guessed the real culprit right when you used to read novels!"
Aoko Aozaki wrinkled her delicate nose, lifted her chin with a snort, and looked at him disdainfully.
"Accidents, accidents. Those were accidents!"
Samael gave an embarrassed laugh and muttered a defense, while privately cursing the trap that was Ritsuka Shirose's lack of intelligence.
Still somewhat doubtful, the girl stepped closer and carefully examined the man before her, suspicion in her eyes.
"Teacher, now that I think about it, you seem a little different from before."
"Ahem, people always change..."
Samael's heart tightened. He rubbed at his slightly itchy nose and gave an awkward smile.
Seeing that Aoko Aozaki seemed suspicious of his identity, the Ancient Serpent hurriedly coughed and changed the subject before she could dig any deeper.
"Then which one do you like?"
"I like them both!"
Aoko Aozaki thought for a moment before answering without hesitation, her