The thought flashed through Merlin’s mind, but he seized it firmly, carefully comparing his surroundings with the location in his memory.
It really did seem to be the place where he’d found the mushroom!
Yesterday, he’d accidentally brushed against a mushroom, and its spores had drifted out silently, inadvertently inhaled through his nose, which had led to the incident last night!
To be honest, even as a mage, the spores sprayed by that mushroom were invisible to the naked eye. If he hadn’t sensed the faint fluctuation of magical power, he probably wouldn’t have noticed even after inhaling them!
Thinking about how he could now hear Ang’s inner voice, Merlin grew a bit more worried. Could this be happening not because of something Ang had done to him, but because of that mushroom?
I absolutely have to go to the hospital today! Merlin resolved himself once again.
But just as Merlin was thinking about how to lure Ang away from that mushroom with him, Ang himself had already shot forward with a swift acceleration spell.
Merlin:
This made Merlin wonder if Ang was doing it on purpose.
Especially when Merlin saw the increasingly radiant smile on Ang’s face as he stared at that mushroom.
Merlin hesitated for a moment would it seem particularly suspicious if he deliberately didn’t approach?
But recalling that he was already under suspicion from Ang because of last night’s events, Merlin finally spoke up: “Ang, I think you’d better not get close to that mushroom.”
A faint blush spread across Merlin’s face, like a shy little puppy, tinged with a hint of awkwardness: “The reason I was like that yesterday was also partly because of this mushroom. Yesterday, I accidentally touched it and felt something off in my body. I originally planned to go back to the inn to rest and see how I felt, but I never expected to run into you.”
Ang, who was about to touch the mushroom, stiffened all over.
As a wood-element mage, Ang had done extensive research on mushrooms even before recovering his memories. He truly had a gift in this area, so he’d subconsciously begun cultivating that talent, breeding quite a few mushrooms himself and putting them to his own use.
The mushroom spores he’d slipped into Merlin’s wine glass came from a mushroom he’d cultivated one that looked much like white fungus but emitted a faint blue magical glow, named the Truth Mushroom.
Of course, that was the name Ang had given it. This mushroom had previously been quite inconspicuous, a low-grade magical plant that grew in dark, damp rotting wood, no bigger than a pinky fingernail.
They usually grew alongside moss that moss was also blue, and without careful observation, one wouldn’t notice these mushrooms that only emerged after rain.
Before this, it had another name: the Blue Ear Mushroom. But Ang had noticed something different about this Blue Ear Mushroom. Eating it directly carried no toxins, but also no benefits. The mushroom couldn’t be used to make potions either. However, Ang had accidentally discovered that its spores could compel people to tell the truth, and at minimum, they were effective even on third-rank mages. Though the duration wasn’t long it varied depending on the amount of spores used, with the shortest lasting at least one minute.
This discovery was written up by Ang as an article and published in an academic journal that was precisely how Ang managed to gain admission to the most renowned school of magic.
That was why Ang always kept an eye out for mushrooms sprouting in every corner of his surroundings, who knew if he might stumble upon an even more useful specimen?
But Ang never expected that the mushroom he’d set his sights on one that looked somewhat like a bamboo fungus with its beautiful white skirt, would give Merlin that kind of experience last night!
Ang instantly retreated several steps back, and only after confirming that he hadn’t inhaled any spores did he let out a faint sigh of relief.
He suspected this mushroom might very well have some… aphrodisiac effect!
Ang turned to look at Merlin, and after hesitating for half a second, he asked, “What did it feel like at that moment?”
“Even though this guy seems like a yandere freak, what he says should still be somewhat credible, right?”
Hearing Ang’s inner thoughts, Merlin let out a cold laugh. Almost nothing he said was credible, who asked this guy to be a liar? Why would anyone tell the truth when speaking to a liar?
But at this moment, Merlin had already detected a strange sense of dissonance emanating from Ang. This made him, despite constantly thinking of the man as a liar, feel an inexplicable trust toward him.
Why would this liar, upon hearing someone scream nearby, be so perfectly in sync with him and instinctively rush to save the person?
If it were something prearranged, then the wounds on that Meffitis fellow were undeniably real those were wounds carrying knight’s power, difficult to heal even with potions.
And those police officers.
Moreover, at that moment, they hadn’t needed to exchange a single word just a look was enough for them to move in perfect tandem and apprehend that knight. It gave Merlin a deeply unsettling feeling.
He had developed such natural rapport with someone he’d met less than a day ago!
With such chaotic thoughts flashing through his mind, Merlin finally chose not to lie this time after all, he’d already opened his mouth that way earlier: “At first, I didn’t notice anything wrong, but after I returned to the town, I felt my body starting to heat up. I was completely dazed, and deep inside, it felt like there was a suppressed longing.”
This time, Merlin genuinely blushed. The moment he thought back to that whole series of events last night, he wished he could travel back in time and beat himself senseless, how could he have done something like that!
But merely thinking about what happened last night made Merlin feel wrong all over, to the point where he almost didn’t dare look at Ang.
But the man was a liar! For all he knew, this was a trap set for him!
That mushroom might very well have something to do with Ang!
If he didn’t tell the truth, would Ang completely confirm that he was already suspicious of him?
This sudden thought startled Merlin, and he forced his gaze not to betray any strange emotion, yet inwardly he raised his guard against Ang once again.
Why had he let his guard down just now? Could it be that the strange spores Ang had used were affecting him?
Seeing Merlin’s expression, like that of a shy little puppy, Ang himself began to feel uneasy as well. He too recalled what had happened last night, along with that awkward incident this morning.
“Although that guy’s technique still had some flaws and you could tell he was inexperienced, if I’m being honest, I did enjoy it otherwise, how could we have gone on so late into the night?”
Merlin, hearing Angel’s inner thoughts:
Although being praised made him happy, this particular praise made Merlin feel like his hair was about to stand on end.
Is this something you can just say out loud?!
No, Angel hadn’t said it out loud he’d only thought it, and it was Merlin’s fault for eavesdropping on his thoughts.
But who knew whether Angel had deliberately let him hear it? That guy was a shameless, perverted liar!
At that moment, Angel gave a light cough. “I think I’ve seen an introduction to this mushroom before, but to confirm the magical effects of its spores, we can just run an experiment directly.”
The moment Merlin heard this, he panicked. “You’re going to run the experiment yourself? No way!”
He did not want to go through what happened last night again!!
Once was more than enough, and he didn’t want any more intimate contact with this guy shaking hands was already his limit!!
Seeing Merlin panic like a cat about to puff up, Angel felt a little puzzled.
“Huh? I thought this guy was just a pervert trying to take advantage of me, but now it looks like he’s not taking the opportunity? Could he be faking it? But if it’s an act, it’s way too convincing like a startled little puppy. So cute.”
Don’t compare him to a dog! This guy who sees people as animals was a pervert!
Angel smiled. “Of course, I’m not going to run the experiment myself.”
As he spoke, Angel took several more steps back, putting even more distance between himself and the mushroom that looked exactly like a bamboo fungus.
What he’d said to Merlin about the mushroom looking familiar wasn’t because it resembled a bamboo fungus, but because he seemed to have seen it in a magical plant book introducing mushrooms.
But because it was rare, Angel hadn’t remembered what this mushroom was called here, and he’d already forgotten its specific magical effects.
Just as Angel was thinking about using his wood-element magic to lure over a low-level magical beast, a bubble-blowing fluffball suddenly darted out. It had pink fur on its back that looked familiar to Angel. It was covered in fluff all over, and its long hair, which made it look like a ball, bounced and jiggled as it ran, making Angel’s hands itch to touch it.
Perhaps because it was happy to see them, the pink fluffball blew out pink bubbles from its mouth again.
Angel’s eyes lit up. He waved his staff, and a ball of wood-element magical energy glowing with green fluorescence appeared in front of the pink fluffball.
The pink fluffball suddenly stopped in its tracks, its nose twitching as it leaned toward the magical energy ball, then suddenly opened its mouth, trying to swallow it whole.
But the magical energy ball reacted with lightning speed, darting forward a big step just before the fluffball could bite it.
As Angel controlled the magical energy ball, moving it little by little toward the mushroom, the fluffball was easily lured along the way.
Merlin, watching from the side, sneered inwardly. As expected of a liar even when it came to tricking animals, he was a master!
The fluffball finally reached the mushroom, and at that moment, the magical energy ball instantly dissipated, leaving the fluffball completely bewildered.
Where did the magical energy ball go? Where was that delicious magical energy ball?
The little puffball looked left and right but couldn’t find that magical energy orb anywhere, and finally set its gaze on the mushrooms before it.
This mushroom, with its beautiful skirt-like appearance, really did look quite delicious.
That was what the puffball’s simple mind thought, and then it went straight for the largest mushroom and took a big bite!
Under the somewhat shocked gazes of the two onlookers, the puffball devoured the mushroom which, though the largest of the bunch, was still quite small in just a few bites, then licked its mouth with satisfaction.
After that, the puffball turned around and finally spotted Merlin, who looked somewhat familiar. It scurried over to him in a puff of speed.
Under Ange’s shocked stare, the puffball started blowing bubbles again but this time, they weren’t round pink bubbles, but heart-shaped pink ones!
This puffball was courting Merlin!