But Christopher stood in front of Merrien with his fangs hidden and tongue sticking out.

“…?”

The puzzled Merrien and Seren slowly lowered their hands that had been covering their bodies.

Ariel was watching with amusement, arms crossed, as if he had anticipated all of this.

“Woof!”

Christopher made another sound. A sound that seemed far from threatening.

The sound was inevitably painful to the ears since his resonance chamber was so large.

Ariel spoke leisurely.

“Merri.”

“…Yes?”

“Christopher is happy to see you.”

“What?”

Merrien, who had been standing frozen in an awkward posture, rolled her eyes to look at Ariel. He was serious.

“Try holding out your hand.”

“Are you crazy?”

“Trust me.”

It wasn’t about forgiving this madman.

From when she first saw that terrifying Christopher something, and now saying that a magical beast was happy to see her and to hold out her hand. It was nonsense.

“You really… Ah!”

She extended her hand while pointing accusingly at Ariel, when suddenly a very large tongue approached and licked her arm.

This happened before, too! It was a very familiar situation.

Soon her entire right arm was wet, and only then did Christopher move away.

…Was he really happy to see her?

Merrien smiled awkwardly at the seemingly pleased magical beast.

“Th-this is truly an amazing discovery! A top-tier magical beast following a human!”

While the person involved was feeling terrible, the assistant beside her was excitedly writing notes.

‘Is he obsessed with research?’

It seemed impossible to become friends with that person.

Looking at him, he also seemed somewhat familiar, perhaps similar to a butler.

While Merrien was glaring at Seren and forming her first impression of him, Ariel took out a handkerchief.

Nothing else mattered to him.

He gently wiped the magical beast’s fluid from Merrien’s arm with the handkerchief and murmured softly.

“Christopher, what are you doing getting your saliva all over her like this?”

“……Whine.”

Although it was a very quiet murmur, Christopher heard it as if the sound had been amplified.

Christopher immediately folded his ears and shrank his body. He instinctively realized that the voice contained anger.

The gaze that had been glaring at the tense magical beast moved to Merrien’s arm.

Ariel slowly stroked the now smooth arm and lowered his eyes wistfully.

“I haven’t even been able to get anything on her arm…”

“Your mouth, your mouth!”

Please read the situation! A startled Merrien slapped his lips.

Seren, who had been excitedly writing notes, widened his eyes.

It seemed like the Saint had just slapped the Tower Master’s lips… It must be a misunderstanding? He wanted to think so, but the crisp sound of slapping lips was too clear to dismiss as a misunderstanding.

Moreover, all Ariel did was pull in his lips and become dejected.

It was clear that if he had ears, they would have been drooping.

…Crazy. Was it real? Seren’s trembling hand finally dropped his pen. Researching magical beasts wasn’t the important thing.

Perhaps it should be researching how infatuated this crazy Tower Master was with the Saint, no, how insane he was.

While Seren picked up his pen with still-trembling hands, Merrien finally looked around.

The dozens of magicians in black robes had been researching something, emitting light from both hands.

Those who had been watching this place immediately turned their heads away when they made eye contact with Merrien.

As if pretending to be focused on their research.

But in that brief moment, Merrien read fatigue in their eyes.

‘……They’re pitiful.’

It was heartbreaking. Every single one of them had shadows under their eyes, and their movements were sluggish from exhaustion.

Even though the Tower Master had arrived, some were nodding off, unable to overcome their drowsiness.

Seren, who had picked up his pen again, smiled wickedly as soon as he saw Merrien with eyes full of sympathy.

He soon approached her side and began to tattle.

“If the Tower Master came frequently, there would be progress in the work. But he never comes, no matter how many times we ask, so the remaining magicians are suffering like this.”

Whether it was because he had spoken ill of him earlier or because he was pretending to be close to Merrien, Ariel kept glaring at Seren.

Seren paid no attention and continued to say what he wanted to say.

He had already figured out that Ariel couldn’t move an inch if he was by Merrien’s side.

Seren’s hand pointed to the magicians’ desks.

“Look at that, Saint. They’re all on the verge of collapse, but they’re forcing themselves to continue researching while drinking potions. They’re going to die at this rate.”

On the desks were bottles filled with blue liquid, and some magicians were gulping them down in one go.

It seemed to serve as an energy drink, as their faces became lively immediately after drinking. However, their eyes still lacked focus.

“……”

This crazy, evil Tower Master.

Merrien glared at Ariel.

He stopped giving Seren warning looks, turned his head, and desperately pretended not to notice.

“I just wanted to play with Merri.”

Unnecessarily mentioning Merrien.

His lips were even pouting.

Sigh. There wasn’t a day without sighing when being with Ariel.

Merrien rolled up her sleeves and stepped forward.

“Now that you’re fully recovered, couldn’t you come more often? You can walk around in this form during the day now.”

“That would be really great.”

Seren stuck close to Merrien’s side.

They looked so friendly that anyone watching might think she was the Tower Master.

What? Ariel couldn’t even speak, staring at her with eyes full of betrayal.

“I’ll come with you. That’ll work, right?”

“Yes.”

He immediately felt better at her soothing voice.

Merrien grinned at his childlike demeanor that was so easy to handle. Then she raised both arms high.

It no longer mattered whether her healing amount increased or not. Let it rise again.

It would decrease again once she infused Ariel with holy power.

“…Merri. What are you doing?”

When Merrien even closed her eyes, Ariel, sensing something unusual, asked.

Instead of answering, white light began to spread from Merrien’s hands.

Soon, the enormous amount of light that rose to the sky burst and poured down like fireworks.

To those who had been focusing on research without knowing anything, and to those who had raised their heads at the amazing sight.

The holy power that fell multiple times stuck to everyone there and then entered their bodies.

The magicians who immediately reacted stopped their actions.

After feeling their bodies, they shouted.

“……I’m not tired at all!”

At the sensation of being alive that they hadn’t felt in a long time, they raised their heads.

How long had it been? Focus returned to their eyes, and the shadows under their eyes disappeared completely.

Their bodies felt so light that they could run dozens of laps around the laboratory right away.

[+500]

[+1000]

The healing amount in the air increased instantly, but Merrien crossed her arms proudly.

[-500]

[-1000]

The healing amount returned to its original level as holy power also fell on Ariel, who was looking at her in surprise.

“Merri, you….”

Ariel, who was about to say something, seemed to understand and just closed his mouth.

“Thank you, Saint. Thank you!”

Seren, who had been trying to catch the falling holy power here and there, conveyed thanks on behalf of the magicians. The eyes that had been nearly dead just a few minutes ago were now sparkling.

He was so happy that he tried to grab Merrien’s hands but was stopped by Ariel.

But there was a problem.

“Ah, I feel a bit dizzy.”

Due to using too much holy power at once, Merrien’s body staggered.

Before her body fell backward as she held her forehead, Ariel quickly grabbed her waist and embraced her.

“Merri. Are you okay?”

As a result, their bodies pressed together, and their noses were about to touch.

The atmosphere suddenly became strange.

Ariel’s eyes, looking down at Merrien, flashed.

“…Uh, yeah.”

Blue eyes that seemed thirsty. Feeling that something might happen if she left it alone, Merrien gave a casual answer and avoided his gaze.

Ariel stood Merrien up and firmly held her waist. He even whispered in her ear.

“The very top is my room. Let’s rest for a while.”

His voice penetrated Merrien’s ear. Her fine hair stood on end.