Viktor sat in the carriage waiting for the servant's notification when he heard Vega's low, chirping voice.

"Are you interested in that dead volcano?"

The one-eyed crow was once again preening its glossy feathers, its body perhaps too fat to reach the back with its beak.

Viktor glanced at Vega.

"How did you figure that out?"

Vega raised its head confidently.

"Otherwise, you wouldn't have come to see this fiancée."

Viktor didn't respond, which was as good as an admission.

Not long after, while Viktor still had patience, Vega was the first to lose its cool.

"Why hasn't anyone called us in yet?"

The sound of flipping pages stopped as Viktor closed his magic book and said flatly,

"Imagine this: if you were a beautiful woman, alone at home, and late at night someone wanted to see you - this person being your fiancé - what would you do?"

Vega tilted its head, pondered for a moment, then rasped, "Dress up beautifully and meet in the most exquisite manner?"

"I get it, she's putting on makeup specially because you're here! And you're patiently waiting for her."

"Wrong. She'd only think such a person is sick and find it annoying."

Viktor expressionlessly denied Vega's assumption, but clearly, the crow was unconvinced.

"Why? I've seen it written like this in those romance novels. Is it that you don't understand women?"

"It's you who doesn't understand Gwen."

Viktor turned his head, his gaze fixed on the main gate of the Delin family courtyard.

This holy Grand Knight had never considered herself a 'woman' in the conventional sense.

Well, to be fair, Viktor himself didn't quite understand the current Gwen either.

However, he believed that at this point in time, Gwen probably despised him.

After all, no woman would like a man who wore a sour face every day, was petty, and even committed numerous misdeeds.

The relationship of the engaged couple was likely to remain a lifelong stain for Grand Knight Gwen.

That's why even after Viktor's death, she never married.

"Get ready, we should go in now."

He reminded the crow on his shoulder, which quickly assumed a 'I'm just a pet' posture, standing lazily and motionlessly on his shoulder.

After a while, a maid came to the carriage and respectfully informed him that Miss Gwen was ready and invited him in.

Viktor alighted from the carriage and, led by the maid, passed through the main gate and was brought to the meeting hall.

As soon as he entered, he saw Gwen.

She was sitting on a soft sofa, not dressed up, wrapped in a modest bathrobe that didn't reveal an inch of skin.

It seemed she had just finished bathing.

However, she didn't need to dress up. In Viktor's eyes, even with just her bare face, this exquisite and perfect visage was enough to captivate any man.

"It's so late, what are you here for?"

Gwen's tone was neither warm nor cold, with a hint of detachment.

Viktor sat down unceremoniously across from her, his tone equally flat as he got straight to the point.

"I heard you're going on a mission and won't be back for half a month."

Gwen didn't question where he had heard this from, and nodded honestly.

"Yes, departing in a week."

"Can you take me with you?"

Gwen: "..."

Hearing these words, her reaction was... somewhat peculiar.

First, she seemed confused, then furrowed her brows, as if repeatedly confirming what she'd heard.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Finally, she leaned back, her face gradually showing an expression of disbelief.

Gwen put her hand to her forehead, lowered her head, and asked again.

"Repeat what you just said."

"Can you take me with you?"

Without any hesitation, Viktor repeated.

"Huff..."

Gwen let out a light breath. She felt as if he had damaged his brain.

"And the reason?"

"Without a proper reason, I can't possibly take you along."

Viktor: "I'm very familiar with the terrain of the surrounding mountains, including the weaknesses of the monsters distributed around. If you take me with you, including the round trip, you'll only need seven days to return."

Hearing his words, Gwen didn't even look up, it was unclear whether she was weighing Viktor's value or simply not caring.

Viktor wanted to say more to elevate his value in Gwen's eyes, but Gwen spoke first, cutting him off.

"What I want is the truth."

Viktor's gaze cooled a bit as he looked at Gwen and slowly said, "...You used your ability on me."

As a naturally righteous knight, Gwen Delin had exhibited her unique talent from a young age.

She possessed a heart of justice.

As long as she wished, she could clearly discern whether the person opposite was lying or not.

Gwen could control this ability freely, so when unnecessary, she wouldn't use it.

However, she didn't trust him.

Viktor didn't feel particularly angry, rather, it was somewhat expected.

Because this indirectly proved how much Gwen despised him.

When talking to him, Gwen would even use her heart of justice to gauge whether he was lying.

"I don't trust you."

Gwen was straightforward and offered no further explanation.

Suddenly, Viktor smiled with resignation.

He thought for a moment, then spoke again:

"There's a type of monster on Mount Vesuvius that produces a unique crystal. I need that to create magical artifacts."

As he finished, Viktor's eyes revealed a strong desire.

[First-tier Magic: Self-Suggestion]

Effect: Hypnotize and suggest to oneself, temporarily allowing any one ability to randomly increase by 1 level.

Dealing with Gwen's heart of justice was simple; he only needed to tell the truth.

Even if this truth was fabricated on the spot, as long as Viktor himself believed it, it was the truth.

Mages also have their own methods, which are flexible morals and a wise mind.

Gwen finally raised her eyes to look at Viktor.

"It seems you do know that volcano well, otherwise you wouldn't say such things."

"To achieve your own goals, you'd even use the Royal Knight Order as your personal guard."

"As expected of you, selfish Viktor."

For once, Viktor didn't maintain his poker face, but nodded with a smile.

"I'll take that as a compliment."

Gwen wouldn't doubt Viktor's selfish motives, because that's exactly the kind of person he was.

She also knew that to achieve his goals, Viktor would only become more persistent with her.

If that was the case, she might as well agree.

"I'll apply for a request for an accompanying mage. You can come see me on that day."

Seeing Gwen agree, Viktor smiled and replied, "Thank you. Even for a selfish person like me, Knight Gwen is willing to help selflessly."

"I'll arrange everything this week. No need to see me out."

With that, Viktor stood up to leave.

Gwen nodded, watching him go.

However, in her mind, Viktor's smiling face when he flattered her lingered.

Has Viktor ever smiled like that before?

Back in the carriage, Viktor calmly leaned back in his seat, his pitch-black eyes staring at nothing in particular.

"Are you angry?" the crow inquired curiously.

"What makes you think that?"

Vega: "I've seen that poker face of yours for so long, it's just intuition."

"If you didn't have any strong emotions, you wouldn't smile like a blooming chrysanthemum."

Angry?

Hearing its words, Viktor pondered for a moment.

Perhaps the education ingrained in his bones made him want to be a good person, but being called so selfish by her righteous demeanor.

And he could only gain her approval by pretending to be what she thought he was.

He wasn't angry per se.

It just made him feel somewhat nauseated.

.....

Over these days, Viktor taught at the academy during the day and buried himself in researching magic potions in the basement at night.

As long as there were enough materials provided, he could make about a hundred bottles a day, all of which would be handed over to Lia for sale.

Lia said that once the shop renovation was complete, these potions would be put on the shelves, and for now, they would only sell this one type of potion.

They needed to establish the shop's reputation first before considering stocking other magical items.

Of course, Viktor knew that once these consumables hit the shelves, they would definitely trigger a buying frenzy.

So he told Lia not to sell them all, but to limit it to fifty bottles per day.

Hunger marketing.

Lia, being a merchant herself, understood immediately.

At the academy, Viktor wasn't idle either. On one hand, he was considering topics for lectures, and on the other, he made a decision.

Every time he taught, he would have Henie audit the class on the side.

Under the pretext of gaining experience.

Erica would come to his office every night, often with many questions to ask, and her visits became increasingly frequent.

Although Viktor found it somewhat annoying, Vega tirelessly answered each question.

To prevent Vega from constantly chirping in his head, he had no choice but to relay everything to Erica.

Incidentally, he could also brush up on his magical knowledge from Vega.

After secretly learning from Vega, he realized that Erica was truly a genius.

He couldn't understand Vega's abstruse and complex content at all, but Erica would grasp it as soon as she was taught.

Even at this level, she seemed to have countless questions waiting to be asked and answered.

Viktor couldn't help but sigh.

With a student like Erica, who was both talented and hardworking, who else could be first in the exams if not her?

Everything was progressing smoothly, and soon, it was the sixth day of his appointment with Gwen.

Henie quietly followed behind Viktor. Today, she would still be auditing behind Professor Viktor.

She didn't quite understand why Professor Viktor would let her audit, since it was originally her course.

Until they reached the door, she finally understood Professor Viktor's intentions over these past few days.

"Today, I want you to go in by yourself and use your knowledge to teach a class for these students."

Henie: "???"