Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 3273: Chapter 3274: Little Red’s Ability

”Wait, meow!”

Angel’s voice made the little girl stop and turn her head.

When Angel and Luigi saw the girl’s face, they immediately exchanged a look.

The reason Angel called out to her wasn’t just because she was here for a mission, but also because... the side view of the girl’s mask looked a bit unusual.

It seemed to be filled with magic patterns... a fox face?

And as she turned to face them, allowing them to see her mask clearly, both Angel and Luigi confirmed that it was indeed a red fox mask.

And foxes belong to the canine family.

”Cat... cat brother? Are you calling Little Red?” The little girl looked at Angel, with her clear gaze shining through the mask’s holes.

Little Red? Is that her name? Angel pondered silently, recalling another creature also named Little Red. — The skeleton behind Flora in the Nightmare Realm was also called Little Red.

What a perfunctory name.

After his mental complaint, Angel thought about the little girl’s address for him... Cat brother?

Is this nickname because of his cat ears? Or did he subconsciously meow just now?

Angel asked Luigi in the Mind Ribbon and got a positive answer: he did ”meow” when asking her to wait.

Angel: ”...” He suddenly felt his face burning.

Angel silently thought to himself: it’s just a verbal tic, a verbal tic. Wizards have verbal tics, it’s normal... As long as he’s not embarrassed, no one can embarrass him.

Besides, meowing wasn’t without benefits.

Perhaps, that’s why the little girl was willing to stop?

”I’m not called cat brother, you can call me Angel...” Angel explained with a smile.

”What’s Angel? Cat brother?” The little girl tilted her head, her eyes conveying not just clarity, but also a bit of age-appropriate... innocence.

Angel was silent for a moment: ”Forget it, call me whatever you like.”

By using Hyper Perception and observing the details of the girl’s gaze, he was fairly certain she was likely a ”true” child, or perhaps an Empty-hearted person restored to a childlike state.

In any case, her age and physique matched.

Arguing with a little girl like this wasn’t necessary. Moreover, calling him Cat brother wasn’t unpleasant.

”Is your name Little Red?” Angel let go of his fixation and proactively asked.

The little girl nodded: ”Yes, everyone calls me Little Red... Cat brother, you smell good, like cake scent.”

The little girl spoke while leaning toward Angel, taking a deep breath, as if she smelled a creamy cake, with the longing unique to children in her eyes.

Angel: ”???” Cake scent?

Angel glanced at Luigi, then at Laplace, both shook their heads at him.

They didn’t smell any fragrance.

Angel looked at Little Red with suspicion—is she mistaken? Or does the ”cake” mean something else?

While Angel was pondering, the girl who called herself Little Red started mumbling, ”I want to eat cake too, but Dog brother says if I eat more cake, my teeth will rot, so I can’t eat it.”

Angel was initially focused on the so-called ”cake scent,” but upon hearing ”Dog brother” from Little Red’s mouth, he quickly looked up.

”Who is this Dog brother you’re talking about?” Angel’s voice suddenly became gentle, and Luigi also took out his harp at that moment, softly plucking the strings, with soothing, calming notes gradually settling Little Red’s turbulent thoughts.

”Dog brother is just Dog brother,” Little Red responded instinctively, but then she seemed to realize something, suddenly exclaiming: ”Oh no, the show is about to begin. Dog brother told me to hurry back after taking the commission, shouldn’t waste time here.”

As Little Red spoke, she started to turn and leave.

”Wait.” Angel called out to her again.

Even though Little Red’s eyes showed urgency, she stopped: ”Does Cat brother have something else?”

This time, Angel didn’t ask irrelevant questions but directly went to the point: ”Do you know about Dog Steward?”

...

In the narrow passage, Little Red took the lead, hopping with each step.

Angel and the others followed quietly behind her.

”Is it really this simple?” Though none of them spoke outwardly, Luigi kept questioning in the Mind Ribbon.

The reason for the doubt was because earlier, when Angel mentioned Dog Steward, Little Red nodded without hesitation and said her ”Dog brother” was indeed Dog Steward.

After getting a definite answer, Angel thought for a bit, then asked: ”We want to meet Dog Steward, is that okay?”

Angel used a straightforward approach because he was worried that a too subtle inquiry might confuse Little Red.

Upon Angel’s request, Little Red hardly hesitated and simply nodded: ”Sure, Little Red will take Cat brother to see Dog brother.”

And that led to the current situation.

Little Red seemed happy the entire way, with the kind of excitement that comes from a child making new friends and wanting to introduce them to their parents.

However, Luigi found the situation puzzling: did she agree so easily?

According to Luigi, Little Red should at least inform Dog Steward first, and during her contact with Dog Steward, Laplace could intervene. As long as Dog Steward saw Laplace, it would absolutely agree to meet.

But Little Red skipped the step of asking Dog Steward and directly took them to meet Dog Steward, which Luigi found hard to understand.

Angel: ”Perhaps it’s because she’s still young and doesn’t think about such things?”

Angel, through Hyper Perception, was convinced that Little Red’s heart was very pure and sincere, so while he was curious why she agreed so quickly, he didn’t dwell on it.

Luigi: ”While that might be possible, I think as she’s wearing an investigator’s uniform, she shouldn’t be completely naive.”

Luigi hesitated for a long time before deciding to ask directly.

”Little Red, is it really okay for you to take us to meet Dog Steward?”

Little Red turned around, her eyes filled with confusion: ”Why would there be a problem?”

Luigi: ”What I mean is, aren’t you going to give the Dog Butler a heads-up first? Won’t it blame you if you take us to meet it without warning?”

Little Red tilted her head: ”Dog Brother won’t blame me. Everyone is scared to meet Dog Brother; if someone wants to visit it willingly, it’ll be happy.”

”Moreover, Little Red knows you all are good people. Little Red likes good people, and Dog Brother also likes good people.”

Little Red’s reply was very simple, even naive to the point of being plain, but upon careful thought, it indeed hit the nail on the head.

Dog Butler’s special talent of seeing through hearts is silently effective regardless of strength, even powerful Mirror Dragons can be easily seen through. No defense seems capable of hiding from its gaze.

This is also why Gutalace doesn’t want to come to the Everything House... she doesn’t want her thoughts to be seen through by the Dog Butler.

And precisely because this talent is feared by all Mirror Domain creatures, very few are willing to meet the Dog Butler voluntarily.

Little Red’s statement ”everyone is scared to meet Dog Brother” is an objective fact. Due to this fact, when someone is willing to meet the Dog Butler voluntarily, it most likely won’t be refused.

Luigi also agreed with this answer, but Little Red’s later remark about ”being good people” seemed a bit mystical.

”How do you confirm that we are good people?” Luigi deliberately adopted a serious expression: ”Maybe we are bad people? Moreover, good and bad are not so easily defined.”

Little Red completely ignored Luigi’s expression, or rather, she didn’t even look at Luigi and said self-assuredly: ”Little Red likes cats, so Cat Brother is a good person.”

Angel: ”...” That’s a reasonable justification.

Little Red continued: ”Harp Brother and Hair Sister have the same scent as Dog Brother, so they are good people.”

”You’re all good people, Dog Brother definitely won’t refuse you.”

Little Red’s answer still carried some innocence befitting her age, perhaps even childishness. But there seemed to be profound meaning in her simple words.

Luigi didn’t continue questioning, but said in the Mind Ribbon: ”I feel like she might also have some special ability.”

Luigi, Dog Butler, and Laplace—if we dig deep, they indeed share the same origin.

Yet until today, no one had ever distinctly distinguished their shared origin. Although Little Red didn’t explicitly state their origin, her implication was similar to ”the same origin.” Just from the so-called ”scent,” she categorized them, which in Luigi’s view, is likely some special ability.

”Can’t confirm if it’s an ability, but it’s definitely peculiar.” Glaipnir spoke up; through psychic synchronization, Laplace simulated her voice in the Mind Ribbon.

Luigi: ”Anyway, I personally think her ability is definitely related to the so-called ’scent.’ By the way...”

Luigi stopped mid-sentence and suddenly turned to Angel: ”She mentioned earlier that you have the smell of cake; maybe this is a form of subtle hint?”

The smell of cake? Angel hadn’t paid much attention before, but hearing Luigi bring it up now, he pondered and seemed to find some hidden meaning.

”Her evaluation of you, one is a cat, two is the smell of cake.” Glaipnir: ”These two evaluations can actually be considered together.”

”Considered together?” Angel seemed to realize something: ”You’re implying her evaluation refers to the Witch’s Blessing Magic?”

The ”cat-like” trait in him is due to the side effect of the Witch’s Blessing Magic from the Evil Witch’s Eyes.

And regarding the ”cake scent,” it’s related to food. The effect of the blessing magic he received is bonus on making food.

So, looking at both evaluations together, the answer is: the effect of the Witch’s Blessing Magic.

Luigi now also displayed a thoughtful expression: ”Thinking about it carefully, it seems her description of you indeed relates to the Witch’s Blessing Magic. Could it be that she can smell or perceive a deeper aura?”

If her ability is indeed like this, then it’s normal for her to smell Luigi, Laplace, and Dog Butler’s shared origin.

From Luigi’s perspective, assuming this ability is real, it’s probably at the same level as the Dog Butler’s heart penetrating gaze.

Because none of them sensed any signs of Little Red using her ability.

Soundless and unfelt, yet capable of penetrating Laplace’s shell. If truly from ability, the rank must be quite high.

But then again, if Little Red possesses such powerful abilities, why is she merely an investigator?

Did the people from Everything House not discover? Or is there someone intentionally sheltering her?

Luigi’s thoughts began to wander, even conjuring up a grand drama. However, as the curtain of this drama was just rising, it was interrupted by reality.

A distinct light appeared at the front of the winding tunnel.

The exit arrived.

...

This tunnel gave Angel the same feeling as previous tunnels, all having the effect of ”shrinking distances.” However, previous tunnels Angel experienced weren’t long and nearly exited in the blink of an eye.

But now, the tunnel Little Red led them through took a full three minutes to traverse.

By the ratio of distance, the path they walked in those three minutes might exceed dozens of miles.

Yet Angel found it hard to believe the internal extension of Everything House could be so vast. Moreover, the expanded space consisting of dozens of miles worth of winding tunnels isn’t realistic either.

Therefore, it’s highly likely that this time’s tunnel crossed an even thicker space barrier.

In other words, where the Steward House is located is likely the deepest layer of Everything House. Finding it on their own would presumably be quite challenging.

Fortunately, they met Little Red.

Under Little Red’s guidance, they finally reached the exit.

Unlike other tunnel exits, this exit wasn’t concealed by walls, but displayed the doorway of a ”house surface.”

Above the door was a long sign with Mirror Domain language written on it. When translated, it can be understood as ”Dog House.”

There’s no door rail, only half a layer of cloth curtain shielding it. The curtain had plum blossom footprints patterns and a contour of a dog’s head.

Through the gap at the bottom of the curtain, the bright light and smooth wooden floor inside can be seen.

Judging from surrounding details, this is presumably the Steward House where Dog Butler resides.

As Angel was thinking this, Little Red had already started calling out loudly ”Dog Brother.”

With Little Red’s shout, a rhythmic ”dah da dah” of footsteps could be heard from inside, accompanied by faint ”Wang Wang” barking.

However, the footsteps and barking quickly stopped.

”Are there outsiders?” a crisp murmur sounded from inside the house.

Following this, the previous rhythmic ”dah da dah” turned into heavy steps moving toward the door.

Soon, a pair of polished shoes appeared beneath the curtain.