Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 3323: Chapter 3324: The Taste of Loneliness

When Little Red saw the Dog Deacon receive the Log-in Device, her eyes revealed a look of envy and anticipation.

Luigi didn’t let her down either. With a smile, he took out a pair of fiery red fluffy fox ears from his space and handed them to Little Red.

"These are Red Fox Ear Hair Clips, specially chosen for you."

Luigi’s gift of the Red Fox Ear Hair Clips was undoubtedly carefully selected. Because Little Red often wore a fox mask, the Red Fox Ear Hair Clips were the most suitable match.

The Dog Deacon, witnessing this scene, also felt a pang of bitterness in his heart. Compared to his own little red flower earrings, the Red Fox Ear Hair Clips seemed much more thoughtful.

However, although the hair clips as a Log-in Device were quite thoughtful, the recipient—Little Red—while appearing very happy, seemed to have a look of something left unsaid.

Little Red, being a child, wore her emotions on her face. Even if Luigi didn’t ask, he could tell from her expression that Little Red didn’t seem to like the Red Fox Ear Hair Clips as much as he imagined.

Luigi thought for a moment and asked, "Do you not like the Red Fox Ear Hair Clips?"

"Thank you, Harp Brother. I really like these hair clips." Little Red paused for a moment, covertly glanced at Angel beside her, and then hesitantly continued, "But, compared to fox ear hair clips, I actually prefer cat ear hair clips... That way, I can keep company with Cat Brother."

Luigi, Dog Deacon: "..."

They thought Little Red would express her preferences, but it turned out that it wasn’t a matter of taste at all; she simply wanted to wear cat ears together with Angel.

This sounded a bit childish, almost like playing house.

However, considering Little Red’s young age, her childish behavior seemed understandable.

Just as Luigi and Dog Deacon exchanged puzzled glances, Angel, who had been silent, suddenly walked over to Little Red.

Squatting down to look at her eye to eye, Angel asked in Little Red’s curious gaze, "Do you really want to keep me company, or... do you want to keep ’it’ company?"

Angel’s question was strange; except for Little Red, everyone else looked puzzled. Even the Dog Deacon, who knew Little Red best, looked at Angel with confusion, not knowing who or what he meant by "it."

Little Red raised her head, blinking at Angel: "How did Cat Brother know..."

Little Red’s words indirectly confirmed that the "it" Angel mentioned indeed existed.

This made everyone even more curious: since "it" wasn’t imaginary, who or what could "it" be?

The Dog Deacon instinctively wanted to use the Mind Reading ability to see what Little Red was thinking. However, seeing Luigi and Angel standing next to Little Red, he reconsidered and held back.

Even though he could precisely control it and only read Little Red’s mind, it was a delicate matter; it wouldn’t be good if there was any misunderstanding.

Moreover, since Little Red had already admitted it, she probably wouldn’t hide anything, so it was best just to listen to what she had to say.

Facing Little Red’s confusion, Angel chuckled softly: "Because when you answered Luigi just now, you secretly glanced at me."

Angel: "However, though you looked in my direction, I could sense your gaze wasn’t really on me—but on... the cat ears."

Angel pointed to the "cat ears" on top of his head.

Little Red froze for a moment, revealing a look of realization: "I see... Cat Brother is really observant."

Upon hearing Little Red’s admission, everyone finally understood that the "it" Angel was referring to was the original form of the cat ears. Although it’s quite outrageous that Angel determined that her gaze wasn’t directed at him just from a glance, the fact remained; they had to admit Angel’s perceptiveness was extraordinary.

But... was it really just perception?

Of course not.

Angel indeed noticed that when Little Red looked at him earlier, her gaze seemed dazed. However, relying solely on this daze to determine that she was looking at "another" was not enough evidence.

The reason Angel could quickly make such a judgment, the gaze being just a corroborative detail, was truly due to Hyper Perception.

Perhaps because Little Red was still a child, her emotions were incredibly pure, so pure that when Angel deciphered them, it almost felt like Mind Reading.

Because it was easy to interpret, combined with Little Red’s gaze, Angel roughly deduced that Little Red’s reason for wanting to "keep Cat Brother company" was genuine, but "Cat Brother" did not entirely refer to himself.

Although Angel had deciphered it, he still had some questions about what Little Red saw from the "cat ears" when she looked his way.

Perhaps because everyone was watching her, Little Red felt somewhat shy and kept twiddling the baby hair falling by her temple.

After a while, Little Red finally explained softly: "I did hide a small piece of information earlier..."

Earlier, on the road to the Dog’s house with Angel and the others, Little Red, using her special ability, deciphered the information from the cat ears on Angel’s head.

At the time, the information Little Red provided was that it "smelled like cake."

This information was true because previously, when Angel was trapped in the Witch’s Blessing Magic, he had briefly ventured into the "Demihuman Gourmet Garden," where many demihumans were making cakes.

Little Red’s ability to parse out the scent of cake from the cat ears demonstrated her unique ability.

However, the information Little Red deciphered at that time wasn’t limited to just "cake"; there was another piece of information she kept hidden.

"Parse No. 2536..."

Little Red had categorized the smells she sensed, for instance, Parse No. 231 represented "Lost," and Parse No. 937 represented "Tame," whereas Parse No. 2536, which she kept hidden, represented... "Loneliness."

Little Red rubbed her nose: "The reason I kept that information hidden was because it didn’t want people to know about its loneliness."

Loneliness can be categorized; some are overt, while others are intrinsic.

The scent of loneliness Little Red smelled from the cat ears was intrinsic: its heart was lonely, but it didn’t want to be discovered. It wanted to pretend to be normal and happy.

Such intrinsic loneliness is akin to a circus clown, seemingly joyful and full of laughter to outsiders, but no one knows if the clown’s mask truly conceals a corresponding heart.

The original form of the cat ears was the same; its loneliness was something no one could understand, and it didn’t expect others to discern its solitude.

After deciphering this piece of information, Little Red followed "its" wishes and kept the information hidden.

Only now, with Angel bringing it up directly, did Little Red reveal the hidden parse.

Little Red didn’t dislike the Red Fox Ear Hair Clips; her thinking was just more simplistic. She saw "its" loneliness and wanted to use her ways to accompany "it," so "it" wouldn’t feel lonely.

This sort of companionship was most likely futile. After all, what Angel had was just a pair of ears, not permanent, and would disappear after some time.

How could ears feel "companionship"?

Even though Little Red provided an explanation, to the others, her request was bizarre and incomprehensible.

At least, from Luigi’s perspective, Little Red’s explanation, though clear, doesn’t genuinely necessitate custom-making a cat ear hair clip.

However, Luigi didn’t outright reject the idea. Since Angel is right beside Little Red, and as the creator of the Log-in Device, changing it is essentially up to Angel’s word.

Facing Little Red’s innocent gaze, Angel thought for a moment, then took the red fox ear hair clip from Little Red’s hand.

Under Little Red’s puzzled look, Angel softly said, "What kind of cat ear hair clip will make it feel not lonely and feel accompanied?"

While speaking, Angel gently flicked out a Nightmare Illusion gas mass.

This Nightmare Illusion gas mass connected to Little Red’s brow, changing shape based on Little Red’s thoughts.

Angel intended for Little Red to design a cat ear hair clip she believed would make "it" feel accompanied through this Nightmare Illusion gas mass.

Little Red was initially a bit confused, but as her heart thoughts stirred, the Nightmare Illusion gas mass changed shape accordingly, and she gradually understood its function.

"Can I design the cat ear hair clip myself?" Little Red asked eagerly while manipulating the Nightmare Illusion gas mass, her eyes fixed on Angel.

Angel smiled and nodded: "Of course you can."

Little Red was unaware of whether Angel had the authority to decide the Log-in Device’s appearance. Yet Angel’s gentle and firm answer made her willing to trust him.

After receiving Angel’s assurance, Little Red became notably serious, earnestly designing the cat ear hair clip in her mind through the Nightmare Illusion gas mass.

While Little Red was designing the hair clip, Luigi asked through the Mind Ribbon: "Is this really okay? Won’t it be troublesome?"

Angel gently shook his head: "It’s just changing the appearance, not troublesome."

As for why Angel was willing to cooperate with Little Red, it wasn’t about really believing Little Red could make "it" feel less lonely, but simply not wanting to see Little Red’s disappointed gaze.

For innocent, kind, adorable children who are not troublesome, Angel wanted to offer the greatest kindness.

Besides, Little Red chose the cat ears for "its" loneliness. And "it" is currently residing on Angel’s head with the cat ears, meaning Little Red is working hard for him.

So how could he bear to hurt Little Red’s feelings?

If a small act could comfort Little Red, why not do it?

...

While Angel and Luigi converse through the Mind Ribbon, on the other side, the Dog Deacon is curiously observing Angel.

Though the Dog Deacon hadn’t spoken earlier, it absorbed everything before its eyes.

Before Angel spoke, Luigi was firmly in command, seeming to occupy all allocated authority over the Log-in Device.

But once Angel stepped forward, Luigi visibly yielded. This implies that regarding the Log-in Device’s allocation, Luigi acknowledges Angel as the primary decision-maker.

And Luigi, being a Temporal Body, represents Laplace in his every word and gesture.

Luigi’s retreat, especially in the face of Laplace, actually symbolizes Laplace’s recognition of Angel’s absolute control over the Log-in Device’s allocation.

This seems to indirectly prove one thing: Angel is indeed the true Controller of the Log-in Device.

Even though this is merely a subjective belief without factual evidence, based on Dog Deacon’s understanding of Laplace, it has basically confirmed this intelligence as accurate.

Looking at it this way, using abilities related to "dream" and "consciousness" to develop the Crystal Origin of Dreams is likely connected to Angel?

Considering this, Dog Deacon naturally became very curious about Angel.

It’s not only curious about Angel’s identity but also about why Laplace cooperates with Angel.

Could it be that like when Laplace owed a favor to the Wise Sovereign, she also owes Angel a favor?

While various thoughts swirl within Dog Deacon’s mind, a voice suddenly appears in its head out of thin air.

"Your eyes hold many questions." The expressionless tone carries a subtle coolness.

Dog Deacon is familiar with the voice; it looked up to see not far away... Laplace, who happened to also be looking at it.

Undoubtedly, the one communicating in Dog Deacon’s mind is Laplace.

Previously, Dog Deacon had hoped to privately converse with Luigi and Laplace; now that Laplace truly engages in "private conversation," Dog Deacon finds itself somewhat at a loss.

After a while, Dog Deacon finally steadies its scattered mind, using the "beacon" Laplace left in its consciousness, to transmit its thoughts through mental interaction.

Laplace was not surprised by Dog Deacon’s questions.

She conveyed the message because she discovered that Dog Deacon kept gazing at Angel. Although she understood Dog Deacon couldn’t likely read Angel’s mind, she still conveyed the message.

It was both to clear Dog Deacon’s confusion and to hope it wouldn’t entertain any "crooked" thoughts.

Angel carries many secrets; not because Laplace isn’t curious, but because she clearly understands sometimes knowing too much incurs greater danger.

She has a premonition in the depths of her being that Angel harbors vast and deep secrets, and once uncovered, these secrets would bring no benefit to either Dog Deacon or her; only endless crisis.

Given Laplace’s level, feeling a fatal danger in her premonitions, she must take it seriously.

Laplace: "It’s true Angel refined the Log-in Device, the Crystal Origin of Dreams is related to him, but also very closely related to me. In due time, once you enter the Crystal Origin of Dreams, you’ll naturally comprehend this."

"As for Angel’s identity, I can’t disclose it, and I also hope you don’t delve deep; it would be harmful rather than beneficial."

Dog Deacon already knows the apparent identity; but the deeper identity, even Laplace hasn’t fully grasped, how could she possibly tell Dog Deacon?

Laplace’s answer somewhat resolves most of Dog Deacon’s curiosity, but it also catches the underlying implications.

Angel’s identity is indeed extraordinary.

And his identity, which contains danger merely upon probing, surprises yet feels reasonable to Dog Deacon.

After all, if Angel were merely an ordinary Wizard, it would be hard to imagine Laplace treating him with such courtesy; now knowing Angel’s identity is exceptional, Laplace and Luigi’s courtesy towards him is understandable.

Of course, this is solely Dog Deacon’s perspective and contains some bias.

Laplace and Luigi’s courtesy towards Angel is not merely due to his identity; rather, there exists an unexplainable bond among them.

And the one witnessing this bond is none other than the Mirror Domain’s will.