Leading the young lady I picked up astray, making her the happiest girl in the world!-Chapter 72 - A Summer Day and the Forbidden Box 2

As Allen was getting lost in his thoughts, Charlotte tilted her head curiously.

“But Allen-san… back when you were at school, people used to call you the Demon Lord, right?”

“What about it?”

“Well, it’s just… you don’t seem like a scary teacher at all…”

Charlotte furrowed her brows, looking troubled, and began listing examples from their lessons.

"You explain everything carefully, and even praise my quiz scores. You're such a kind teacher. Isn't the Great Demon King a mistake?"

“Haha, that’s because my student now is so brilliant. I haven’t had a reason to strike with thunder.”

“Oh, come on… you’re just flattering me again.”

Charlotte blushed, her cheeks turning pink with a shy smile.

Of course, the way Allen taught her was completely different from how he normally did.

If a Magician who had known him during his time as an instructor, or Graw, the leader of the Fang of the Serpent whom Allen had recently started training, were to witness his current teaching style… they’d probably be horrified at how soft he was being.

However, it was also true that Charlotte was excellent.

Whenever she got something wrong, she made sure to review it and come back with a perfect answer next time. She even read books on magical beasts on her own initiative.

A highly motivated student, and one who made teaching truly rewarding for Allen.

“Next time, maybe we should go see some wild magic beast. And entering a beast-tamer competition might be a good idea too.”

“A… competition?”

“Yeah. Tamers pit the beasts they’ve raised against each other. I think there’s a big tournament coming up in the fall.”

“S-something like that exists…”

Charlotte absentmindedly petted Luu’s head, her expression distant in thought.

She was, after all, a wanted person.

Although many of the wanted posters around town had been taken down, there was still a bounty on her head.

She should probably avoid drawing attention to herself… but Allen wanted her to have a bigger goal to aim for.

That said, the decision would ultimately be Charlotte’s. Allen’s role was only to lay the groundwork and support her wholeheartedly when the time came.

“Well, we can talk more about that later. First, we should celebrate, you managed to do a perfect ‘shake.’”

“Eh? Celebrate…?”

“Wafu?”

Taking Charlotte's hand, who looked puzzled, Allen led her to a corner of the garden. Of course, Luu followed with a light step.

There, a small ...... a square-shaped pool had been formed.

It was only knee-deep, but the clear water was bubbling up and it looked refreshing.

"W-what is this...?"

“It’s only going to get hotter from here.”

Allen smiled mischievously at Charlotte, who looked dumbfounded.

"A bath isn't bad, but I thought it would be better to have a place for Luu to bathe. So I made one."

He’d quietly worked on it in between other tasks so she wouldn’t notice.

It pulled water directly from an underground spring and even included a filtration system. The water was so clean it could be used for drinking, making it perfectly safe to play in.

When Allen explained all that, Charlotte’s eyes sparkled with delight.

“A-amazing! Thank you so much! Isn’t this great, Luu-chan?”

“Waf!”

Luu seemed to like it too. She dipped her front paws into the water and splashed around to check the temperature. Then she splashed in.

“Go ahead, get in too and test it out.”

“O-okay!”

Charlotte quickly slipped off her shoes and followed after Luu. At first, both girl and beast timidly played in the water… but Luu soon grew used to it. She splashes the water all over her body, shivering and splashing drops of water.

"Haha, Lu-chan. It's cold."

“Wafu~”

Charlotte sparkled with joy, laughing as she played with Luu.

Allen watched from the shade of a nearby tree and murmured quietly to himself.

“So peaceful…”

He knew it didn’t quite suit his image, but there were no better words for it.

If only these quiet, unchanged days could last forever…

Thinking about this... he suddenly remembered something.

‘When it comes time for your real honeymoon, please be sure to use our hotel again♪’

Those were the parting words from the mermaid concierge who had helped them during their recent trip.

“Guh…!”

Allen’s body jerked as if he'd gone into cardiac arrest from the memory.

It had become something of a routine for him, remembering that line and suffering minor heart damage every single time.

“Whew, didn’t mean to scare you like that. My bad!”

"Uh..."

"Um...?"

Allen and Charlotte looked at each other and could only give a half-hearted reply.

They were currently in the basement beneath the garden.

After descending a rope ladder, they found themselves in a small room.

There was a bookshelf, a bed, and a small writing desk. A simple cooking set was piled up in the corner of the room, and there seemed to be a mushroom cultivation room at the back.

The magical light was shining brightly, and although it was small, it was a comfortable space.

The woman who had brought them here now cheerfully offered them cups.

Her oversized, baggy shirt hung so long it covered her rear, and aside from that, she wore nothing at all. Rather than being sexy, she was simply sloppy.

"What do you think of my special mushroom soup? It's pretty good, isn't it?"

"No, I'll pass..."

The cup was filled with a mysterious liquid that shimmered between purple and reddish-brown, depending on how the light hit it. It gave off a bitter, sour-sweet smell reminiscent of rotting fruit left in the sun for days.

How could such a liquid come from those odorless white mushrooms? It made him a little curious, but he wasn't prepared to taste it for poison.

Charlotte also looked away without saying a word.

By the way, Luu was staying above ground.

Apparently, the bizarre scent wafting from the basement was too much for her, she had shaken her head with a serious look and refused to come. Honestly, Allen didn’t blame her.

The woman tidied up the cups and shrugged.

“So, Allen-san... was it?? Because of that pool you built above ground, my mushrooms got sucked up to the surface. I know you didn't steal them, but... it's really annoying."

“For that, I’ll offer a sincere apology…”

Allen gave a slight bow of his head.

He had, in fact, ruined her food supply. That much was clear.

But... there were a lot of problems. Allen glares at the woman.

"... Who are you?"

"Huh? Come to think of it, we haven't introduced ourselves yet."

The woman proudly introduces herself.

"I'm Dorothea Grimm Wallenstein. Please call me Dorothea!"

“That’s not what I meant! I’m asking...how long have you been living in this basement?!”

Looking around the room, it was clearly not a temporary setup.

In the first place, if there was anyone suspicious going in or out of the garden, Allen would notice it by their presence. Especially now that Charlotte was living here too, Allen hadn't let his guard down.

And yet… here she was. No matter how you looked at it, this was suspicious as hell.

"Could it really be... a ghost possessing the mansion?"

"Eeek...! So there really was one...!"

Charlotte was frightened and clung to Allen's arm. Allen's heart almost stopped for a moment at the sudden contact, but his iron will hold him in place.

"A ghost? What are you talking about?"

Meanwhile, the woman――Dorothea just tilted her head. She folded her arms and thought deeply.

“But now that you mention it… when did I start living here again…? I honestly don’t remember.”

“What do you mean you don’t remember?!”

"I had to hide from some people for a bit, so I just holed up down here. Actually, I'm the one who wants to ask."

She gave Allen a long, narrow-eyed stare.

"Who the hell are you guys? Why are you here?"

“We live in the mansion above this place...”

"What?! This is my house! Who told you could move in!?”

"What nonsense are you talking about...wait a second."

Allen was surprised.

Dorothea's shaggy hair...if he looks closely at her ears hidden there, they were long and pointed like bamboo leaves. They were clearly not human. Those ears are definitely—

“No way… Are you the elf who disappeared from this mansion thirty years ago?!”

“EEEEh!?”

“Th-thirty… years!?”

Dorothea's eyes widened in shock.

Then she rubbed her chin and let out a thoughtful hum.

“Whoa… it’s really been that long? That would explain why the scenery looked a little different.”

“Th-thirty years?! But you don’t look any older than Allen-san!”

“Well, elves age very slowly…”

That was why elves perceived time quite differently than humans.

To her, thirty years would have seemed like the blink of an eye. Even so, there were still many mysteries remaining.

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