Chapter 256: Ariel Solitaire!
Her reaction was perfectly natural, just like that of an ordinary human being when they hear someone with the same name as a great legend. It's perfectly normal to feel a mix of surprise, curiosity, and perhaps even a touch of amusing banter.
Kurtz smiled, neither admitting nor denying, and said, "It's just a name."
Ariel seemed to feel that this topic was not suitable to be explored further, and naturally changed the subject.
"To be honest, Mr. Kurtz, I have only recently arrived in the Land of El. I used to live in a small country in the south. I never imagined that humanity's ideal country would be so prosperous."
Then, feigning curiosity, she asked, "Mr. Kurtz, you have an extraordinary air about you; you must be a very powerful mage, right?"
"I am indeed a magician, but I'm just so-so."
After receiving Kurtz's somewhat modest affirmative reply, Ariel felt as if she had found a kindred spirit and immediately began to talk.
She discussed human magical knowledge with Kurtz fluently and knowledgeably, speaking about everything from the most basic magical systems to practical techniques for intermediate-level magic.
Kurtz listened quietly, occasionally offering a word or two of correction when she misunderstood something or made a common mistake. Each correction drew Ariel's heartfelt praise.
"I see! Thank you, Mr. Kurtz, it has been very enlightening to talk with you!"
Her demeanor perfectly embodied that of a young magician eager for knowledge and fortunate to have stumbled upon a wise mentor. Moreover, her love and familiarity with the human magic system didn't seem feigned.
But the more this happened, the more Kurtz couldn't shake off that feeling in his heart. It wasn't because of her knowledge, but because of another extremely subtle and elusive sense of unease.
After chatting for a while, Kurtz took the initiative to end the conversation: "It's getting late, I have to go back now. I usually spend most of my time at the Magic Association, so if you have any questions about magic in the future, you can come to the tower to discuss them with me anytime."
Ariel's face immediately lit up with a delighted smile.
"Really? Thank you so much! Mr. Kurtz, you're such a kind person!" she said gratefully, then bowed politely. "Then I won't bother you any longer. I look forward to learning from you again at the association next time."
"Goodbye." Kurtz nodded.
The two said goodbye at the alley entrance. Ariel turned around, walked briskly into the crowd, and soon disappeared.
Kurtz stood there, gazing in the direction she had disappeared. His brow furrowed almost imperceptibly as he remained motionless for a long moment.
During his conversation with Ariel, Kurtz sensed, through his powerful perception, that he might have detected a highly faint fluctuation of magical energy. However, the fluctuations were too subtle, as if suppressed by some force, making it impossible to determine their nature.
Some cautious mages will use magical items to cast a long-lasting magical shield or barrier around themselves.
Therefore, magical energy fluctuations will appear around their body. But the fluctuations emanating from Ariel didn't seem like that kind of thing. Besides, she always gave him a bizarre feeling, not evil, nor dangerous, but rather a sense of inherent disharmony. He couldn't pinpoint exactly where things went wrong.
Only that long blue-green hair reminded him subconsciously of a particular being, but that being, in both appearance and aura, was way different from the Ariel he had just seen.
"Am I overthinking this?" Kurtz muttered to himself, shaking his head to suppress his doubts temporarily. He turned and began walking back toward the tower.
...
At the other end of the street, in a quiet, shady corner.
Ariel only stopped walking when she could no longer sense Kurtz's gaze or presence. The gentle smile on her face vanished instantly, replaced by a pale and tense expression of extreme fear.
She leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. Her palms were covered in cold sweat.
Faint magical ripples began to emanate from her body. As the aura dissipated, her face began to distort and change, as if a carefully crafted disguise had been removed.
After a few breaths, the fluctuations in magical energy completely ceased.
The woman in the shadows still had long blue-green hair, but her face was completely different. The previous plain and ordinary face had vanished, replaced by an incredibly exquisite face with an almost superhuman allure. The lingering fear in those pale green eyes was now visible.
Her name isn't Ariel; her real name is Solitaire.
A demon obsessed with studying human magic, yet exceptionally timid and afraid of death.
"Phew! That scared me to death..." Solitaire patted her chest, muttering to herself with lingering fear. Her voice trembled slightly. "Disguise magic, as expected of a forbidden magic passed down from the mythical era, it can even fool a mage of that level."
However, maintaining the disguise while suppressing her own magical fluctuations had been too exhausting. If she waited any longer, she would have been exposed. The moment she met the eyes of the man who called himself Kurtz, her demonic instincts for danger were already giving her a frantic warning.
Beneath the seemingly peaceful aura emanating from the other party lies a vast, terrifying demonic power as deep as an abyss.
He is, without a doubt, a mighty mage. Solitaire would even believe it if the other party were the legendary god-slayer himself.
She wanted to slap herself. Why did she have to stop the other person for no reason, especially since it happened to be such a terrifying being?
That seemingly fluent conversation had almost exhausted all her courage and acting skills. She managed to stay hidden entirely because of her strong instinct to survive and her extreme thirst for human magical knowledge.
Solitaire is terrified of death and considers herself a cowardly demon. Especially after hearing that Grausam and Schlacht had fallen one after another, and that even the powerful Macht had not contacted her for a long time, her cowardice and fear of death reached their peak.
However, the magic association founded by Serie, the library that supposedly houses hundreds of years of magical treasures from the Kingdom of El, the temptation was too great for her. That was so tempting that it would make her overcome her fear and risk infiltrating the heart of humanity.
"A mage assessment, huh..." Solitaire took a deep breath, trying to calm her wildly beating heart. A light rekindled in her eyes. "It's alright, as long as I make good use of this disguise magic..."
She carefully rechecked her surroundings. Quickly, she composed herself and changed back into the gentle and unassuming "Ariel."
With her head down, she strode into the crowd and headed toward the Magic Association tower, her movements deliberate and measured to blend in with the evening pedestrians.
[End of Chapter]
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