171 Secret Talk

　　Stagnant Swamp - Outlying Wooded Area.

　　End of the cutscene.

　　At Han Dong's suggestion, the two of them temporarily left the [Witch Academy] by boat.

　　Because the next conversation would most likely involve important privacy issues for each other.

　　After walking along the overhanging planks for some time, they climbed up the twisted trees to reach the "89th Treehouse" that belonged to Mia alone.

　　Compared to the witch's house, Mia's treehouse was very primitive.

　　There were a lot of spell-casting tools piled up in the corner.

　　A wooden table, a mirror, a wooden stool, and a hammock hanging by the window.

　　"Sit?" Mia purposely handed the only wooden stool to Han Dong.

　　"It's fine i'll stand."

　　The two of them never had a single unnecessary conversation on the way there, saving all words involving privacy for here.

　　"OH, give me a moment, then."

　　Mia stared into her unseeing eyes and rummaged through the corner materials section for a white candle made from squid grease.

　　Hiss!

　　From Mia's mouth came a large amount of spider silk, covering the walls of the tree house, and then using this white candle as the eye of the formation.

　　With the candle lit, a single spider silk overflowed with a purple-black luster, forming a unique blockade boundary.

　　This left the tree house completely isolated from the outside world.

　　"Alright, hurry up and tell me, when did you notice it?"

　　"The first time I saw you there was a hidden sense of defiance."

　　Mia looked surprised, staring into her unseeing eyes and deliberately leaning in close while whispering, "The first time, the time you picked a mentor?"

　　"Well, your smile and behavior when you were distributing herbs to your injured classmates were well disguised and relatively coordinated, it's just a shame that it didn't match your eyes very well.

　　At least to me, it always felt odd and not particularly natural.

　　Another thing is that I once saw you accidentally in the adventurer's guild hall, teaming up with others right after you joined the school and started completing some bounty quests.

　　The look in your eyes when you were teaming up with other adventurers was completely different from when you were handing out herbs.

　　Not at all like a newcomer who has just joined the school."

　　"Ah~ You bumped into me at the Adventurer's Guild as well! We're really meant to be!"

　　Mia grabbed Han Dong's arm, even taking the initiative to rub her face against the arm and attempt to be petulant.

　　It wasn't until a stream of green scent, a symbol of plague, spilled out from inside the arm that she backed away.

　　Mia wasn't angry at all and continued to ask, "What else?

　　What went wrong with the series of contacts in the swamp area? Self-aware, I'm pretty good all-around, except for being slightly 'clingy'."

　　"Being clingy is one aspect, the main problem is in the witch's house.

　　After hearing the strange voice, you blushed when you pretended to be a silly girl who was nervous,"

　　When she heard this, Mia interrupted Han Dong as she became excited.

　　"Ah! Is it so hard that it shouldn't be? Should it have been more proactive? Take advantage of this atmosphere and slowly pounce you down?"

　　"No."

　　Han Dong shook his finger.

　　"The blush and nervousness were well acted, nothing wrong with it, it's just that the follow up you did was so deliberate.

　　The bit about getting up by pretending to be nervous and deliberately knocking off the mask was even a bit funny when I saw it.

　　First of all.

　　The mask is an important tool for you to seal the curse, so isn't it a bit inappropriate to knock it off?

　　And that panicked look on your face when you got knocked off was too artificial, you'll have to practice more in the future, to make everything seem logical and more natural."

　　"Like this! But I had to find an opportunity to get rid of the mask and reveal the 'curse' in order to get your interest.

　　Only later will there be a way to get in deeper contact with you, yet only then will it be possible to trap your secrets."

　　Han Dong replied with an indifferent face.

　　"There are many ways to expose the 'curse' sideways, and you picked a method that wasn't quite right, However, your deliberate act of exposure has also made me somewhat interested in your true identity.

　　It was only afterwards that I agreed to have a spar with you, and through close contact, I was able to basically determine your essence."

　　"Huh? You've discovered the essence of me, what am I?" Mia looked astonished.

　　"Pretending to be the image of a guilt-bearer who embarked on a knight's journey with the pitiful appearance of having lost a loved one due to the curse and carrying the curse.

　　In essence, you should be born with a direct connection to this curse, right?

　　Nine times out of ten, your so-called 'tragic past' was caused by you, not only do you not feel any guilt, but you enjoy using it as a special tool to evoke sympathy in others.

　　As for the source of the curse you carry, it should be [Outside the City].

　　Disguise.

　　You even tried to create a second personality to perfectly handle the image of the "Mia Seminovich", the Three Good Students, who wanted to graduate from the Knights Academy with top grades and good character and blend into the higher ranks of the Order.

　　There's only so much I can speculate about at the moment."

　　Mia smiled a satisfied smile after hearing all of this and sighed.

　　"Wow.

　　I thought at first that you were 'living' off of this Exotic Devil's Eye, but I didn't expect that the most powerful one was actually this brain of yours.

　　When I first saw you, I smelled something 'homologous' but odd.

　　I thought we could become 'good friends', but I didn't expect you to be so cold."

　　At this point, Mia suddenly embraced Han Dong from the front, her lips rubbing slightly against Han Dong's ear as she whispered.

　　"How about one more chance? Just be willing to 'be with me'. Any request of life, people can meet you!"

　　In terms of looks and figure, Mia was definitely considered upper class among her peers, and had a unique charm in her bones.

　　But Han Dong just wasn't interested.

　　In addition, Han Dong did not want to get into unnecessary trouble, Mia was a troublesome woman in his eyes.

　　Han Dong gently pushed Mia away and walked towards the door of the tree house, "Please tell Teacher Kellonia and the Great Plague Chief that I'm not feeling well, so I'll go back to rest first.

　　Also, please make sure you remember my only request to you after winning the spar.

　　Don't pester me."

　　This statement was made.

　　Han Dong could feel a strong killing intent coming from behind him.

　　There were even a large number of poisonous spiders crawling out between the cracks in the tree house boards.

　　But Han Dong didn't turn around, because Mia didn't dare and couldn't kill him.

　　Soon, the killing intent disappeared.

　　Mia asked the last question that tried to stay as the two said their goodbyes: "You also have secrets that you can't see, so aren't you afraid that I'll turn you in?"

　　"Feel free."

　　Han Dong pushed the door open, shook his back and quickly left by the tree house.

　　Leaving Mia alone in the treehouse, she grinned and removed the mask used to seal it.

　　A long, purple-black tongue protruded from her mouth, licking a full circle along her face.

　　"Nicholas, you're the most interesting peer I've ever met, and the hordes of dumb trainee knights in the adventurer's guild are no match for you.

　　Let me not pester you.

　　He's had a hard time meeting a 'kindred spirit', so why would he just give up?

　　The more you dislike people, the more they want you.

　　So much to look forward to, ah! I'm so looking forward to going to the [Knight Training] outside the city with you, we'll be in a very dangerous situation by then, I guess.

　　Once we get lost with the army, we'll be able to live a life for two!

　　I'm looking forward to it! I'm looking forward to it!"

　　Just thinking about it made Mia's whole-body tremble wildly with excitement, and her arms and legs began to twitch unconsciously.