MTLNOVEL Chapter 39: Chapter 39: On the Day of Reunion, During the Night Talk
They ended up sitting in Allen's bedroom.
First of all, the door downstairs was locked at night, so Allen naturally climbed up to the window and tiptoed to open the door. Loki, embarrassed to disturb everyone's sleep in the middle of the night, wandered around the house after entering, not knowing where to go.
This naturally turned into a weird situation of:
"Why don't you come up to my room to have a drink of water?"
The candlelight flickered on the table between the two of them. They sat opposite each other in the firelight, silent.
Just now, under the cover of night and the blessing of the beautiful moonlight, a few words were enough to close the distance between them. But now, under the bright candlelight, their clearly visible expressions brought the awkwardness of two people who had only met once and hadn't seen each other for two months sharply into focus.
Actually, that alone was fine. What truly pushed the atmosphere to the edge was—
The mini figurine of Lokishi was still on Allen's desk.
And it was the detachable kind.
Allen looked at Lokishi, who was staring at the figurine and frowning, dazed.
[Even though I've seen it many times, the host's interlocking skills are still amazing. First you pulled her into your bedroom, and then you just "happened" to leave the figurine out. Seeing objects and recalling people—such a metaphor.]
Allen covered his face in great pain.
'Don't do this. I completely forgot about the figurine. And as for "pulling"—I can explain! It's a very simple thing, it's just that in low-light conditions, people tend to…'
[Oh? A "darkness effect"? So should I blow out the candle for you next time?]
'No need. Thank you.'
[Ahem. Just a reminder, host—Lokishi's favorability is almost maxed out. Just a few points left. Was this… within your expectations? Anyway, I've said too much. I wish you a wonderful night~]
'...Very good. If you can't say anything helpful, I suggest you leave.'
[Good night~]
The moment the floating text disappeared, Lokishi's unique cool voice reached Allen's ears.
"What's wrong? Are you not feeling well?"
Allen looked up in surprise. Lokishi had taken off her magic robe and was sitting upright in the chair. She looked a little cramped but tried to maintain a calm attitude.
At some point, she had moved her eyes away from the figurine and was now looking directly at Allen. The candlelight flickered in her blue, lake-like eyes, casting beautiful green ripples.
Allen stared into her eyes and murmured:
"I was uncomfortable just now... but I feel comfortable now."
At that moment, it was just like that moment before.
Lokishi blinked.
"Are you saying something to tease girls again? I don't quite understand."
Allen's face lit up.
"That's great!"
[...]
Lokishi gave him a strange look but didn't ask further. Instead, she turned to survey the room.
"It makes me miss it. This is the room I lived in for two years."
"Yeah, there's no other bed in the house. This is the only guest room. If you want to clean up another room, you'd have to wait until the master and mistress get up tomorrow. I'll sleep here tonight. Uh—"
Allen froze mid-sentence.
"Shit, what kind of line was that?"
Hearing this, Lokishi turned her eyes back to the figurine on the table. But she didn't misunderstand—she simply responded calmly.
"That's right. It's too late now. I'll just lie on the table tonight. By the way, this doll… Rudy made it, right?"
Allen looked at the overly realistic miniature Lokishi on the table. A vein throbbed on his forehead.
"Why don't you ask him tomorrow?"
Lokishi turned her head, her gaze puzzled.
"Oh? Could it be… you made it?"
While talking, she reached out to touch the figurine, shook her head helplessly, then covered her mouth and yawned, leaning over the table. Her gaze lingered on Allen, who had fallen dazed again.
"Familiar earth magic. It should be him. He's just a little kid. I almost forgot—you're also very young. By the way, Allen, what exactly did you do in the capital to get your family involved…? It's fine if it's inconvenient to say."
Allen scratched his head.
"Actually, it's not that big a deal. Just the usual noble power struggle. You may not know this, but the Boreas family has a tradition: the candidates for the next head of the family fight for the position while they're still young. The winner becomes the next family head. The losers? Their male children have to be adopted by the winner and treated as their biological child, to prevent future internal strife."
He pointed at his own face.
"I'm one of those adopted children. Though I was raised by James in the capital, I'm actually the eldest son of Philip, mayor of Roya."
Lokishi, head resting on her folded arms, half-opened her eyes wider.
"Mayor Philip? Then… how do you know you're his child?"
Allen lied without hesitation, avoiding the truth about reading the novel and knowing future events. He gave the most plausible excuse:
"My so-called mother's bias was too obvious. It made me suspicious. Later, when she got pregnant again, I could tell the child she favored was her real son. From there, I just asked around about the Boreas family traditions and everything clicked."
"What about the assassination attempt? Did James find something out?"
"Hard to say. But I've always been disrespectful toward James, which probably raised some red flags. He's obsessed with power, and Philip is a threat to him. Honestly, he's the only one with a motive—I didn't provoke anyone else."
"I see."
"As for going to my uncle—it's because I couldn't reveal my identity to Philip directly. James would definitely find out. Luckily, my uncle accepted me."
Allen looked over and saw that Lokishi had fallen asleep at the table.
He smiled at her sleeping face, then gently lifted her onto the bed using precise control of Flow Secret. Without waking her, he turned and blew out the candle.
From the drawer, he pulled out a map and pen.
The moonlight spilled across the aged parchment as he slowly circled a new location—the forest northeast of Regate City in Donadi Territory.
Allen murmured:
"That forest... the bandits' base for smuggling and human trafficking. The trigger point for the butterfly effect that brought Lokishi back to Buena Village. Will more effects ripple from that place?"
"It's really an eyesore."
On the bed, Lokishi, exhausted from running around all day, fell into deep sleep the moment her head hit the mattress. Her breathing became calm and steady.