Juejuezi was stunned.
This… this is too terrifying!
If what the elemental spirits said was true, then that means the previous ruler of their elemental spirits was hidden inside the mage tower just now!
But… but is this really not a joke?!
Wasn’t that supposed to be Nanaiko’s mage tower?
Why would such a terrifying existence be hidden there?!
“No matter what!” the elemental spirits cried in despair. “Run! Later, we’ll find a quiet place and create a teleportation magic circle for you. Just get out of here as soon as possible!”
Juejuezi nodded repeatedly, gritting her teeth with determination. One hand pressed down on her oversized wizard hat as she sprinted away at full speed.
But just as she dashed past a bush—
Boom!
A loud crash.
Caught off guard, Juejuezi felt as if she had slammed into a massive wall, rebounding and landing on her butt with a thud.
“Ouch!!”
Juejuezi pressed her hat down, grimacing in pain, and instinctively looked up.
Buzz—
Juejuezi’s mind exploded with a deafening noise.
What stood in front of her wasn’t a wall at all, but a tall young man wearing an apron.
In one hand, he held a plate of steaming hot dumplings, and in the other, a fork. He chewed leisurely, looking down at her with interest.
“…”
“…”
A brief silence.
The next moment.
Piercing, terrified screams erupted.
The elemental spirits around Juejuezi let out panicked shrieks, frantically stirring. All of them were so frightened that they transformed and hid under Juejuezi’s skirt in terror.
“A devil! The great and terrible devil!!”
Juejuezi instinctively clutched her skirt, looking up and screaming,
“Don’t kill me! Don’t kill me! Juejuezi doesn’t want to die yet! I haven’t gotten married, I don’t have a boyfriend, I haven’t even grown up yet!!”
In Juejuezi and the elemental spirits’ eyes,
What Lynn held in his right hand was no longer a plate of steaming dumplings, but a boiling pot of oil with screaming heads inside. The fork in his left hand wasn’t a utensil, but a sharp, blood-stained demonic trident. The apron around his waist was no longer an apron, but a collection of blood-soaked human skins!!
“Juejue… Juejuezi?” Lynn was momentarily stunned.
[Isn’t this the rival my loli master mentioned? Why does she seem different from how she was described?]
Then, Lynn looked her up and down.
[Something’s off. If she really is Juejuezi, and over a hundred years old, even with the best youth-preserving techniques, she shouldn’t still have this kind of physique, right?]
[Is she another oddity like my loli master? Some kind of loli who doesn’t grow up even after a hundred years?]
Achoo—
Somewhere, a certain loli sneezed in confusion, scratching her head.
Looking at the girl in front of him, whose eyes were wide with fear and tears streaming down her face, Lynn’s gaze turned suspicious. He popped a dumpling into his mouth and interrogated her:
“What are you doing here?”
Juejuezi trembled. “Vis… visiting family…”
Lynn chewed. “Why did you run when you saw me?”
Juejuezi clutched her chest, shivering. “To be honest, I didn’t see you. The spirits told me to run, so I ran…”
Lynn’s gaze then fell on Juejuezi’s skirt.
Faintly, he could see something trembling under her skirt—clearly, the elemental spirits.
Lynn’s expression turned playful. He crouched down and lifted Juejuezi’s skirt.
Juejuezi screamed, “Pe… pervert!!”
Slap—
A small red handprint instantly appeared on Lynn’s face.
“…”
“…”
A gust of wind blew past.
“Oh heavens!!” the elemental spirits shrieked in terror.
Juejuezi’s eyes widened, and she immediately realized she was in deep trouble. She grabbed her hat brim and let out a series of panicked cries.
If her chances of survival were still somewhat high before, this slap had undoubtedly reduced them to almost zero.
Lynn: “…”
[Dammit, forgot to activate my defenses…]
Lynn’s dead fish eyes stared at her. Without wasting time, he reached out, grabbed the girl, and shook her vigorously up and down.
Plop plop plop—
One by one, the transformed elemental spirits fell out from Juejuezi’s body.
The elemental spirits immediately huddled together, trembling and looking at Lynn in terror.
“Sp… spare us…”
Lynn, with his dead fish eyes, stroked his chin. “Do you know me?”
The elemental spirits shivered in fear. “Ye… yes, the great and terrible Father of Elements, the father of all elemental spirits, Fire Elemental Spirits No. 9527—9531 greet the great father!”
[As I suspected, these are the elemental spirits I once banished from this world.]
[I was a bit careless. I didn’t block their perception of me, but I never expected any of them would dare to return to this world without my permission.]
[There must be something fishy going on here…]
Lynn looked at them strangely, then turned his gaze to the girl he was holding.
“And her?”
Juejuezi’s limbs dangled in the air as she muttered, “The great fire mage, Lady Juejuezi of the Sea King’s Palace, the symbiotic partner of the elemental spirits…”
…
A few minutes later.
Inside the mage tower.
Clink—
A steaming cup of milk and eight tiny steaming cups of milk were placed on the coffee table.
“Drink.”
Lynn sat across the table, his expression playful as he observed the trembling girl and the equally nervous little spirits.
“Th… thank you, sir!”
Juejuezi picked up the milk with both hands, her legs pressed together as she sat there, shivering.
She glanced furtively at the playful young man across from her, unable to reconcile him with the fearsome devil the elemental spirits had described.
Something’s wrong, something’s wrong!
According to the spirits, shouldn’t he be a powerful, unreasonable, and horrifyingly cruel demon beyond description?
But why does he look like nothing more than a handsome, easygoing young man?!
“So…” Lynn narrowed his eyes, smiling faintly as he looked down at the elemental spirits.
“The reason you came to this world is that you’ve chosen a new king, and many elemental spirits are here to search for the Elemental Heart within me. Is that correct?”