“Senior…” Liweida’s earlobes turned pink with embarrassment, “Although earlier I was in a hurry to save you and didn’t have time to look closely… but… but you have a great physique…”
Liweida looked away, then occasionally glanced at Duente, her face flushed.
She was excited, but couldn’t appear too unladylike.
Duente looked down at his body and found he was only wearing a pair of shorts.
He looked around the health room and saw that aside from the white lab coat hanging on the rack, there was no other clothing to wear.
‘I’ll make do with this.’
He picked up the lab coat, draped it over himself, and said to Liweida, “Let’s go. I’ll take you somewhere secluded where we can talk.”
“Se-secluded? Senior, what are you planning to do to me…” Liweida grew even more shy, her breathing ragged, her heart nearly pounding out of her chest.
“Hmm? With your strength, you should have already noticed that I’m different from before, right?”
Duente buttoned up the coat to cover his body so he could walk outside respectably.
If he walked around the academy with no clothes on, he would be caught by the Academy Protection Organization.
“It does seem different. The sight of you only in a lab coat is even more captivating~”
“Don’t joke around, Liweida. Even if you’re my childhood friend, don’t say things that can be misunderstood.”
“That’s exactly what I want you to misunderstand…” Liweida murmured quietly.
“What did you just say?”
“Ah, nothing!” Liweida changed the subject, “Senior, the fire element inside you has become very strong. What happened?”
Duente smiled slightly and said, “Follow me first. I’ll tell you.”
“Mm, okay.” Liweida nodded obediently.
The two arrived at Duente’s secret base.
It was located halfway up the Back Mountain behind the school, a ten-minute walk from the academy.
Actually, it wasn’t yet a secret base because this was the hidden training ground he had discovered in his previous life.
He used to come here every day after class to train, in order to catch up with Ailisi.
Since time had rewound, the training grounds he had originally built had reverted to their original desolate state.
“Senior, is this the secluded place you mentioned? It’s just a garbage dump.”
“On the surface, that seems right.”
The pile of rubbish before them was indeed just a heap of junk.
Discarded steel, an old sofa, excavator wheels, a broken magical detection machine, and so on.
“Hmm… Senior brought me here, so there must be a hidden secret!” Liweida guessed boldly.
“Actually, no. It’s just because there aren’t many people here.”
“Huh? That’s it? That simple?”
“That simple.”
“Got my hopes up for nothing.”
“It’s fine. Here we can talk business without worrying about being overheard.”
Liweida nodded and said, “So, how did the fire element inside you become stronger?”
“Because I plundered Ailisi’s Innate Flame.”
Liweida wasn’t surprised, because she had long noticed that Senior’s attitude toward things had changed greatly from before.
“Why don’t you seem surprised at all?”
“Since it’s Senior’s decision, it can’t be wrong.”
“You’re still the same, unconditionally believing everything I say, obeying all my words.”
He recalled the battle in his previous life with Liweida, who was at quasi-Demon King level.
He had simply told her to stop, and she actually ceased attacking…
Then he looked back at the junior in front of him, always patiently listening to him, always so obedient.
“I don’t mind at all~ As long as I can stay by Senior’s side~”
Duente patted her head.
It felt nice—smooth hair, and she was cute too.
“Senior, pet me more~”
Liweida looked very happy.
But Duente stopped his hand and looked at her seriously.
“What have you decided about the ‘Black Tower Trial’?”
Liweida was still immersed in the sweetness just now, but she also heard Duente’s question.
She said, “Anyway, on the surface, first-year students can’t enter the Black Tower for the trial, so I can secretly follow Senior.”
Duente nodded, “Maybe it would be better to find you a second-year student uniform.”
“Eh? Then what are you going to do?” Liweida looked at Duente’s eyes with interest.
In Duente’s eyes, she was no longer the enemy who had blocked his path in his previous life, but a trustworthy person whom it was hard to find now.
“If I had realized your worth earlier, perhaps I wouldn’t have had to walk the same road again…” Duente unconsciously voiced his thoughts.
“Senior? What are you suddenly saying? The same road?”
Liweida’s question pulled Duente back to reality.
He said, “I plan to borrow a uniform from a female classmate to help you sneak into the Black Tower Trial.”
“But Senior, people will think you’re a pervert. Is that really okay?”
Liweida seemed to be concerned about Duente, but in truth, she didn’t want Duente to have any contact with women other than herself.
Liweida’s level of possessiveness increased.
“It doesn’t matter. What’s important is to let you participate in my plan.”
“And Senior’s plan is?”
“Suppress Ailisi and ascend to the top of the Black Tower alone.”
“Hmm… I’ve been wanting to ask for a while, how did Senior come to hate Ailisi?” Liweida asked with a smile, “I mean, this is an excellent thing!”
After all, before this afternoon, Liweida, who had been secretly watching Duente, could only look at him without getting any response no matter what.
There was only one reason—everyone knew that Duente only had eyes for Ailisi.
That’s why Liweida had wanted to kill Ailisi more than once.
But that would make her beloved Duente sad, so she had hesitated and never acted.
But after this afternoon, Duente suddenly said he wanted to defeat Ailisi, and his gaze was extremely firm, as if he had suddenly awakened to his true mission.
Liweida liked the old Duente, but she liked the current Duente even more—she could even say she worshipped him.
“A good thing…?” Duente shook his head and corrected, “This is a bad thing. A very, very bad thing.”
Liweida’s mood turned gloomy, ‘As expected… Senior’s heart still…’
Duente said in a resentful tone, “I will destroy her life, take all of her destiny, and control it in my hands.”
Liweida felt that Senior was very unfamiliar at this moment, but this side of him made her feel even more novel and fascinated.
She said, “Se…nior? When did you become so wicked?”
Duente laughed, “Wicked? Perhaps. It must be because the past me seemed relatively ‘kind’ in comparison.”
“Mm! Then I will definitely help Senior! Achieve your goal!”
“Then it’s a deal!”
“It’s a deal!”
Under the setting sun, beside the secret garbage dump, the young man in the white lab coat took his childhood friend’s hand.
The two formally reached a cooperation agreement.
At this moment, on Ailisi, the destined hero’s side, an astonishing mutation appeared.