Chapter 258: The Elf Girl Harmed by Novels
When Kurtz returned to his residence on the top floor of the Magic Association tower, it was already dusk.
Through the huge glass window, you can see the last rays of the setting sun. Soon, when the sunlight disappears completely, the magic lamp in the room will be activated.
Serie was sitting in a large chair, with piles of magic books behind her, already resembling the petite ancestor of later generations who sat in such a chair. She was intently looking at the book in her hands, her long golden hair casually tied into a low ponytail that fell to her waist.
Hearing footsteps, she looked up. Her golden eyes met Kurtz's with a hint of question. "It's a bit later than usual. What happened to cause this delay?"
Since the magic tower was built, Serie has rarely gone out. Besides studying magic, she spends her days thinking about what kind of test questions to give to those who come to take the magician exam. Kurtz usually runs errands for everyone.
This time, he was simply going to buy some magical materials, which theoretically shouldn't take too long.
Kurtz walked over to her and sat down naturally on the wide armrest of the chair. "The magic materials just sold out, so I went to another store, and I also ran into a little trouble on the way."
He briefly told Serie about his encounter with the blue-green-haired woman, Ariel, and their brief conversation about magic. His intention was simply to casually share an interesting anecdote so that Serie could notice something he'd missed and see if she could find the specific reason for his confusion.
After all, Serie's perception ability is an innate talent, far superior to his own, which relies on intuition and magic.
But Kurtz didn't expect that after listening, Serie would remain silent for a moment, then suddenly raise her eyes and look at him with an extremely serious gaze.
"Based on my recent research, could this behavior in human men be a precursor to infidelity?"
Kurtz: "..."
His expression froze instantly, and it looked as if black lines were drooping down his forehead. He looked down at Serie in disbelief, wondering if he had misheard.
Cheating?
How could this word come from the mouth of this elf lady who has lived for countless years and spent most of her time studying magical knowledge?
"Where did you learn such a word?" Kurtz asked, half-laughing and half-crying, while instinctively reaching out to take the book from Serie's hand. "Let me see what Fidel sent..."
He thought Serie was joking, or perhaps the word just suddenly came to mind. But thinking about it carefully, that doesn't make sense. Serie shouldn't usually be exposed to these words.
Did Ayla or Flamme teach her?
While lost in thought, Kurtz took the book from Serie's hand with a bit of force. Although he encountered some resistance from the elf, it quickly disappeared.
However, when his fingers touched the cover of the book, the texture was not the roughness of the ancient parchment he had imagined for a magic book, but rather a smoother paper with a somewhat cheap feel.
Kurtz paused for a moment. He looked down to examine it closely.
In Serie's hand was what she considered a magic book. Its cover was brightly colored, depicting an exaggerated image of a burly human man and a woman tightly embracing each other. The title of the book, "The Domineering Mercenary King's Little Darling Wife," was written in flowing, cursive script above.
"....."
'This is not a Magic book AT ALL!!
This is clearly the kind of romance novel that's most popular on the street, a melodramatic and clichéd story at first glance!
Kurtz's face darkened completely. He held the book up to his eyes, his voice even more incredulous.
"What...what is this?! Where did you get this book?!"
Serie seemed a little displeased that the book had been taken away. She frowned slightly but still answered honestly. "Fidel sent it."
"Fidel?!"
Kurtz's voice rose an octave; he simply couldn't believe that an Emperor would send such a thing. Was it intentional? Was he trying to corrupt his elf lady? Or did he have some other purpose?
Kurtz was already considering whether to teach the other side a small lesson from their ancestral comrades.
But just in case, he patiently asked, "Why would he send this? Shouldn't he only send magic books, or at most some historical texts?"
Serie tilted her head, seemingly thinking Kurtz's reaction was a bit too much. She calmly explained, "It seems that the craftsman in charge of sorting and transporting the books accidentally mixed them up and sent this one over with the magic books."
She paused, continuing her thought. "I thought the cover design was interesting, so I took it out to look at it."
She thought for a moment, then added in a very serious tone, as if she were studying some profound magical knowledge. "Moreover, this is also an excellent sample for studying human concepts of love, which I can learn from."
Kurtz: "..."
He held the novel, which felt like a hot potato, and was speechless.
How come, without him noticing, his own little elf had started reading these melodramatic romance novels? Moreover, has human culture developed to this extent in this era? This is way too far off!
Serie seemed completely oblivious to his speechlessness. She pointed at the novel in his hand and continued to speak earnestly.
"According to the plot of this book, the human male protagonist seems to be very popular with other human women, and even a series of fierce battles are fought around him. I think this situation is very similar to the situation we are facing now."
She looked up at Kurtz. "I recently had a sparring match with Flamme and completely shattered her unrealistic delusions with my strength."
She spoke with absolute certainty. "This perfectly matches the behavior pattern of the female protagonist in the book, who uses her own advantages, of course, the other party in the book is a royal princess, although I am not, but I have absolute powerful strength, and then defeats all competitors."
She nodded, seemingly quite satisfied with her analysis. "This ensures that I can permanently occupy the sole position beside the male protagonist and keep his attention completely focused on me alone."
She continued, her tone unwavering. "Moreover, Flamme's recent performance is consistent with the subsequent development of the loser supporting character in the book. She stopped her pointless pestering and maintained a certain distance from you, which proves that the guidance in this book was very effective."
As Kurtz listened to her remarks, which thoroughly applied the plot of a melodramatic novel to reality and even analyzed it in a seemingly logical manner, he felt his temples throbbing.
Serie really sees Flamme as a loser; I wonder how she would feel if she were here right now.
Kurtz didn't want to go through another fight-mediating scenario; it was exhausting. Being caught in the middle, not wanting either to be hurt, is truly a dilemma.
Unless one is ruthless enough to beat up Flamme and sever the master-disciple relationship, perhaps that would completely end the other party's hopes. But if this happens, it would be a bit awkward if he ended up raising a final boss for himself.
Before Kurtz could respond, Serie suddenly changed the subject. Her golden eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a hint of the wariness described in the book as that of a female protagonist.
"However, according to the plot development pattern of this book, after eliminating a major rival, the male protagonist usually soon encounters a completely new romantic storyline with other human women."
She leaned forward slightly, her gaze intense. "Therefore, Ariel, the girl you just described who struck up a conversation with you and showed unusual interest in the Magic Association's library, is very likely a new character introduced as the plot unfolds."
She folded her hands. "Therefore, following the standard response procedure of the female protagonist in the book, I questioned you about whether you had cheated on me."
After listening to this long and seemingly reasonable analysis, Kurtz was too exhausted to even refute it. He was left with only a deep sense of powerlessness.
He sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Serie, that's just a made-up story, you can't take it seriously at all! I only exchanged a few words with that Ariel, I don't even know who she is yet, let alone commit adultery!"
Kurtz tried to steer the conversation back on track. "Besides, the reason I told you about Ariel is because I think she's a bit strange. There's a peculiar feeling about her that I couldn't quite put my finger on, and the magical fluctuations around her were also very peculiar; I couldn't quite figure it out for the time being."
Upon hearing this, Serie tilted her head, seemingly switching from novel analysis mode back to the attitude befitting a mage.
"Isn't it normal for a mage to carry magical energy fluctuations around them? After all, once a mage gets close, it's hard for them to have any chance to fight back. Therefore, it's not unusual for most mages to constantly cast a small defensive spell or use certain magical items."
"That's not the factor," Kurtz shook his head. "It's mainly the aura she exudes that gives me a strange feeling, an unreal one."
In response to Kurtz's answer, Serie offered a direct suggestion. "Since you suspect her, just use the highest level of Truth Detection magic. You'll definitely be able to see her clearly."
This magic was an improvement on detection magic by Kurtz, somewhat similar to the effect of seeing through true names, but the effect was too powerful, and the seeing was too clear. So Kurtz only taught it to Serie and Ayla.
"I'm not that free, nor do I have any reason to use that level of magic on just anyone. Besides, she seems very interested in the spellbooks in the association's library. If she wants to go in again, she'll always reappear. It's not too late to observe and test her then."
Serie stared at Kurtz for a while. Just when Kurtz thought she understood him, she suddenly blurted out another sentence, her tone emphatic and serious.
"No cheating allowed."
'Not this again.' The aftereffects of that romance novel are quite severe; Miss Elf hasn't fully recovered from that melodramatic worldview.
Kurtz had intended for her to pay close attention to the woman named Ariel during the assessment, but Serie clearly hadn't grasped that point. He was momentarily speechless, both amused and exasperated, and waved the novel in his hand.
"I think this book is to blame. Confiscated! You're not allowed to read this kind of nonsense again!"
These words triggered something in Serie.
She instantly stood up from the chair, forgetting even to put on her shoes. Her bare, slender white feet stepped directly onto the soft carpet, and she rushed toward Kurtz, reaching out to snatch the book.
"No! Give it back to me!" Her tone held an unusual urgency. "My research isn't finished yet!"
Kurtz was surprised by her intense reaction and instinctively raised his arm high. Even when Serie stood on tiptoe, she couldn't reach the novel he was holding.
"Damn it!" Serie was getting anxious and even tried to jump up, almost throwing herself at Kurtz, trying to reach the book that was so close yet so far away.
While steadying her to prevent her from falling, Kurtz said helplessly, "What's so interesting about this kind of book? It's all fake, so don't take it seriously."
"I didn't take it seriously! But this is currently the most popular novel in the capital, and it's definitely worth using as a case study!"
Serie argued her case, her hands still grasping at the air where the book had been. She was trying to wrest her research samples back from this audacious human.
"This book has greatly helped me understand the complexities of human emotions, and..." She spoke her next words a little softly, but they truly reflected her thoughts. "It's also exciting!"
Those exaggerated plots and straightforward emotional conflicts were a novel experience for her.
Looking at the usually aloof Serie, now fluttering around him like a child over a cliché romance novel, Kurtz felt both amused and annoyed.
He lowered the hand holding the book. With his other hand, he firmly supported her waist to prevent her from falling.
"Alright, alright," he softened his voice, using a soothing tone. "Don't read these kinds of books anymore. If you want to understand human emotions, I'll teach you, okay? Real-world experience is much more effective than reading books."
Serie stopped what she was doing and looked up at him.
She asked with a hint of disbelief, "Real combat?"
"Hmm." Kurtz stroked Serie's small head gently. "I can tell you very clearly now, my fairy lady, no matter how it's written in novels, in reality, my gaze will always be fixed on you alone."
His words of love were direct. Serie was slightly taken aback, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks. She blinked, and the urgency in her heart gradually subsided, replaced by a sense of satisfaction.
"...Really?" she asked softly to confirm.
"It's even more real than the magic system," Kurtz assured with a smile. He secretly slipped the troublesome novel behind his back.
Serie seemed to notice his subtle movements. She glanced at him, but ultimately did not insist on asking for it again. For her, Kurtz's words were indeed more appealing and reassuring than the book.
She gave a soft "humph," which was taken as acquiescence to his way of handling things.
Looking at her like this, Kurtz chuckled inwardly. It seemed that the best way to deal with the elf lady who had been poisoned by melodramatic novels was to cover up those false plots with more straightforward and sincere words.
Only in this way will Miss Elf realize that the plot in the book is not to be taken seriously.
As for that mysterious Ariel…
Kurtz's gaze darkened slightly as he held the hidden novel behind his back, his expression growing more guarded. Hopefully, she really is just an ordinary human woman who loves magic.
[End of Chapter]
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