Chapter 37: This Is My Attack Route (Please Follow and Read)

"... You said, what?"

Valentina, who had been nervously rapid-fire speaking, froze mid-sentence, blinked, and stared dumbly at the "suitor" right before her eyes.

Hmm?

Something seems... off?

The youth released one hand, scratched his head a little shyly, and cleared his throat: "Ahem! Um, what I mean is—could you let me touch your tail?"

In an instant, all the lingering romance and ambiguity vanished; Valentina's mind became incomparably clear in that moment.

Her eyes clear, she stared fixedly at Herbert and slowly repeated: "... Tail?"

"Yes! The tail! I've always been curious what a dragon's tail looks like!"

Herbert shook her hand back and forth, saying excitedly: "You must have a half-human, half-dragon form, right? Transform for me, would you?"

Valentina's expression gradually twisted, but Herbert kept going excitedly: "I know it's a bit offensive, but I'm really curious!"

Tail...

Tail.

Tail!!?

"..."

Valentina slowly lowered her head, recalling what Herbert had said not long ago—somewhat offensive, a presumptuous request, something he'd wanted to do ever since they first met.

"Heh."

Right, he never did say what exactly it was.

Clearly, I was the one overthinking it.

Is it all... my fault!!?

*Slap. *

Accompanied by a soft snap within her mind, the wrath of the 【Berserker】 that had been suppressed erupted thunderously in that instant.

"Her! Bert!"

Miss Hungry Dragon revealed the true face of an evil dragon, glaring with wide, furious eyes at the youth who was covering his ears and grinning at her.

"How dare you toy with me!!!"

Damn it, you're toying with me!?

Herbert, who had long been prepared for the consequences of his own death-seeking antics, had already retreated before she erupted, but even so, he was looking rather disheveled now.

The distance between them was still too close; the sonic blast had left his whole person somewhat dazed.

This is the price of being cheeky.

But if he got another chance, he figured he'd still go and pull this stunt again.

Because being cheeky really is fun.

Act reckless once and it feels great; keep acting reckless and it stays great!

"Aiya, if you won't let me touch then you won't let me touch! Why get so worked up?"

Herbert grinned and shot her a flirtatious wink, asking cheerfully: "So, how about it? Heart all a-flutter? I think my acting skills aren't bad, honestly."

"... You!!?"

Valentina:!!?

This guy really did it on purpose!

"You damned bastard! Aren't you a Holy Knight!!! Has your conscience been eaten by dogs!?"

Valentina's defenses were thoroughly shattered; she shook the railing violently, wishing she could tear the door off and rush over to bite this guy to death.

She bit the railing in frustration, her eyes seemingly ablaze with raging fire as she glared at Herbert.

Damn it!

You bastard really deserve to die!

To this, Herbert showed no fear whatsoever—in fact, he doubled down.

He put one hand on his hip, pointed at the furious hungry dragon in the cage with the other, and bellowed:

"Transform for me!"

"Hand over that tail!"

The Deepwater Prison.

"Sigh, this girl really doesn't understand a man's heart!"

Herbert, who had fled in disarray to the second zone, rubbed his ears and shook his head with a sigh: "It's just a tail! Letting me touch it wouldn't cost you a piece of flesh!"

"So stingy!"

After he uttered such a shamelessly outrageous remark, Miss Xie Shen, who had been watching the show for a long time, finally spoke: 【"You tell me, why stir her up for no reason?"】

Nie Nasha had watched for quite a while and, for the moment, didn't know how to react.

Earlier, Herbert had seemed to gather two monster materials with great ease, leading Nie Nasha to assume one thing from the start.

She had thought her own ally had long since chosen to play the pretty-boy and sell his body to obtain those materials, and that his refusal to admit it verbally was just saving face...

But now it seemed she had completely misread the situation—he really hadn't done any of that!

Nie Nasha had never expected that Herbert would actually take this particular route.

Not the sweet-talk route, not the Gao Chao route... but the provocation route!

What kind of school is that!!?

Even Miss Xie Shen was shocked, alright!

But regarding his own ally's lack of trust, Herbert snorted lightly and replied disdainfully:

"I think you just don't get it at all. How did I stir her up? This is called active interaction, understand?"

Hitting is affection, scolding is love.

She let her guard down so much, she must love me to death now.

【"Aren't you worried she'll hold a grudge against you from now on?"】

"Afraid of what?"

Herbert blinked, smiled, and not a trace of panic could be seen.

"Haven't you noticed? Even though Valentina was emotionally worked up this time, she didn't utter a single swear word!"

【"Hmm? What does that signify?"】

"It means that although she's angry, she's not that angry — she's been keeping her promise with me all along."

"The way she looked just now may have seemed wild, but actually her embarrassment outweighed her anger — it was just a way to cover it up."

Herbert recalled the blush he'd seen on Valentina's cheeks earlier, couldn't help but chuckle softly, and shook his head:

"What she needs most right now isn't to scold me, but time to cool off. If I stayed in front of her, I'd just be asking for trouble."

"That's why I chose to leave on my own."

Nie Nasha fell silent, thought it over, then had a sudden realization.

【"Oh… I get it now. After saying all that, you're just trying to prove that running away was the right call?"】

"Correct!"

Herbert shrugged and kept walking forward.

"Anyway, I have a way to get her to cool off, so you don't need to worry about it anymore."

A hungry dragon, after all.

Either skip a few meals, or feed her a few extra.

There's always a time when the anger fades~

A little hungry dragon — isn't that easy to handle?

As Herbert was wandering toward the central area of the Deepwater Prison, his expression suddenly changed.

He heard a faint, ethereal, melodious singing voice.

"La la la~"

Fu Leimei hadn't noticed anyone intruding here. At this moment she sat with her eyes closed on a water sphere, her iridescent fish tail swaying gently.

In a strange language, she softly sang an ancient ballad.

"La la la~"

【"Need me to translate it for you?"】

"No need."

Herbert shook his head, gazing somewhat mesmerized at that legendary, beautiful silhouette.

"I can understand this song."

What Fu Leimei was singing right now was precisely the story of the Sea Siren Queen and the Human Prince.

He listened quietly, savoring once more the dream he had "personally" experienced.

After a long while, the ballad drew to its close. Fu Leimei didn't finish the entire song — when only the last line remained, she abruptly stopped.

"May you…"

Fu Leimei opened her eyes, shook her head with a touch of sentiment, and murmured softly to herself: "What a pity…"

Clap clap clap!

!!?

"Bravo! That was wonderful!"

"Huh!!?"

Fu Leimei whipped her head around, stared at the approaching Herbert as if she'd seen a ghost, and blurted out:

"How did you get here!?"

Thanks to poorsen for the generous reward!

Thanks to Phantom Pu, Holy Flame Tribunal of Heretics, and Ztyzyy for the tips!

I forgot to thank these big shots yesterday — my bad, I'll post it again for another day!

……

Sigh, I dropped off the new book rankings and never got back on — everyone's so strong—

Writing this book I have to keep reminding myself that this book is lighthearted and fun — no need for deep, bitter grievances—

Life is hard, my health is poor, but I can't bring those into the book.

Please, please follow and read! Love you all!

I'll keep pushing myself!

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(End of chapter)