"I feel like you've been getting quiet lately... It was like being outside all the time. ”

At the beginning of the day, the little wizard who was still preparing dinner was busy muttering to the black-haired wizard at the table.

Loren didn't answer, he slumped in his chair with a wine glass in his right hand, and a faint smile hung on the corner of his mouth. This is especially true when the little wizard is ready to cook for himself.

With Ariel's "arrival", the situation in the entire Red Blood Castle became clearer and clearer - the hesitant nobles were still in a state of grass on the wall, and the entire Doge's Palace was in a state of three shocks a day, without another order, and for some reason, there were rumors of a feud between Gaspar and the Yod Chamber of Commerce.

The overall situation is moving in the best direction for the Turin family, but it does not mean that the big picture is decided... The Governor's Mansion still holds real power, the Yode Chamber of Commerce is still strong, and the overall strength comparison is still very unoptimistic.

At least everything is on track, though... The disrupted Governor's Palace will not fight back for the time being, and when the United Chamber of Commerce in Eboden is officially formed, they will not be able to change anything.

At that point, you'll have as much time as you can do - first find a way to take down the Wizards' Guild in Crimson Castle, and then infiltrate the whole of Byrne with the help of the United Chamber of Commerce... A steady, cautious approach is Loren Torino's style.

When the plan is completed, the power of the entire Byrne's wizards and the United Chamber of Commerce will be no less powerful than Ebolden, and he will be the one who really controls Byrne's real power... It doesn't matter if the Governor of Byrne still exists, or who becomes the Duke, he doesn't need that title to control the entire Duchy!

"Alas, this tastes ......"

Just as the brooding black-haired wizard leaned back in his chair, kneading the sun wearily, a rich fragrance lit up his eyes instinctively.

"Not bad, do you want to try it?" The little wizard with a smile on his face put the stew in front of him, and sat on the side staring at the black-haired wizard's expression expectantly: "I specially asked Charles to teach me, your hometown cuisine......"

"Hometown food?" Loren smiled bitterly, his "hometown food" could not be eaten in this life: "This is ......"

"Beef stew in red wine!" The smug Al Yin raised her eyebrows, and deliberately laughed in a Byrne accent with her waist inserted: "If there is any dish that can represent Byrne, it is this; That's what Charles told me, too. ”

Indeed, both the ingredients and the appetizing scent... It simply couldn't have been better.

The dish calls for bacon and beef, olive oil, large onions, large carrots, flour, bay leaves, thyme, salt, black pepper, baby onions, mushrooms, butter, tomatoes......

And, of course, a whole bottle of top-notch wine from the Byrne countryside that lasts at least 10 years.

A good beef stew in red wine requires at least a few things: the beef is lumpy but not rotten or broken, the wine is perfectly blended with the sauce and the colour is bright, the top is the sweetness of vegetables – carrots, onions and mushrooms, the medium is vanilla and the finish is full of beef.

It is very difficult to do this, and in order to ensure the cleanliness of the beef, it is necessary to wipe it with a linen cloth repeatedly to completely remove the blood.

Enjoying this feast and dinner, the black-haired wizard was in a very good mood, completely unaware of the gradually changing gaze of the little wizard in front of him.

"Recently, when I'm doing experiments, I've often turned to the notes I used to take in Dalton's tutor class. The smiling Al Yin spoke:

"Part of it goes like this: 'Trust blinds people to the point of ignoring imminent danger'... Even if the other party is an enemy who has threatened his life, he will not be able to detect it because of this subconscious instinct. ”

"Well, that makes sense. Loren nodded.

"And when this emotion rises to a certain level, it becomes 'paranoia'... Of course, this is just a description, and if it is described as a 'tacit understanding', it can also be described - no matter how it is annotated, it is just a way of thinking of people, and a subjective judgment made through the analysis of third parties and bystanders. ”

The smiling little wizard continued:

"Specifically, two people have reached a 'tacit understanding' without others being aware of it, analyzed the other person's next actions, and can cooperate intimately without the need for verbal communication. ”

"But this kind of behavior is actually completely groundless, because such a 'tacit understanding' is only based on the analysis and judgment of another person's past habits and behaviors, and cannot be absolutely certain, and can be called a very contradictory rational behavior mixed with too many emotional emotions. ”

"Well, that's true. ”

While eating beef, the absent-minded black-haired wizard nodded.

Should I say that I deserve to be a mentor to Dalton Kander... What a pretty incisive summary.

"Loren, you're like that sometimes. The little wizard had a smile on the corner of his mouth: "I haven't met Miss Ariel, but the two of them can cooperate tacitly!"

"Huh?!"

The black-haired wizard was stunned, and the fork in his hand fell directly to the ground.

"Actually, it's nothing... People are just curious. ”

The smile on the little wizard's face receded, and he gently put down the cutlery in his hand, and his blue pupils looked at him very seriously:

"Loren, can you tell me that you and her... What are you planning?"

"Plotting, plotting... Who are you listening to?!"

"There must be, right... Otherwise, how could he be so accurate and appear in the Red Blood Castle on the night of the banquet?!"

"That's just because I realized that I had guessed a long time ago... No, no, no, it's not what you think! We didn't cooperate tacitly, but premeditated... It's a complicated plan, mostly Charlotte, and it's not as simple as it seems!"

"Really?" the little wizard looked at him suspiciously, "Tell me about it." ”

"Say, tell me, see? In short, in a word... Specifically... In fact... Possible... Probably... Anyway... Estimate... That is......"

The little wizard's eyes became more and more suspicious, the cold sweat on the top of the black-haired wizard's head became more and more dense, and finally Ai Yin, who was silent, sighed helplessly and looked helplessly at this stupid person who was scrambling in front of him.

"Really, why are you so nervous. Aine shook her head: "Just asking, I didn't mean to blame you." ”

"I just... It's just Miss Ariel. ”

"Huh?" Loren was stunned.

"There's no evidence, it's just pure intuition. The little wizard spoke softly, and the worry in his eyes was about to come out:

"Ariel... She's not an ordinary person who can be easily exploited - she is willing to help you, she must have ulterior motives, or something in her scheme, and the more enthusiastic she is, the more she shows that her ambition is beyond imagination!"

She can't forget... The ghostly posture in the sewers can't forget that Ariel once wielded the scythe of death, trying to take possession of Loren's body.

The black-haired wizard's expression trembled slightly.

In a sense, Ain was right... Ariel, or "Asrael", they must be plotting something, but their "vision" is too limited to see at the moment.

In the final analysis, I still didn't think it through myself - in the "Holy Grail War" carefully planned by Master Corona at Eberden, like a farce, Al in had seen Ariel's evil god posture with his own eyes, and defeated her with himself... In the end, I actually forgot about her.

For a moment, both of them fell silent.

"Thanks, I see. ”

He didn't say anything, just smiled: "Whatever she wants, I won't let her succeed, if she plans to do it again......"

As he spoke, the black-haired wizard gently took the little wizard's hands and looked at the trembling eyes:

"We're all together... Beat her again!"