Chapter 248: Do You Like Him?

Weiss's analysis seemed quite reasonable, but Leon still couldn't immediately accept the logic behind it: as long as someone dual cultivated with him once, the progress of advancing their Blessing would be greatly accelerated, including his own?

What kind of principle was that? Could this actually be the meaning behind Moylai granting a man like him a Blessing?

If this matter got out and the witches outside learned about it, there was really no telling what might happen.

Leon thought about it and couldn't help feeling that the whole thing was rather subtle.

“There's no way to verify this yet, right?” Leon said.

“You still want to verify it?” Rena raised an eyebrow at him.

Leon understood what Rena meant and could only give an awkward yet polite smile.

If they wanted to verify whether he really had this “function”, then it seemed they could only control the variables.

“I'm only putting forward a possible hypothesis. Of course, there are other possibilities, such as that secret chamber itself being unusual and then being classified as confidential, so no records of it were left behind.” Weiss continued analyzing, “If possible, can you still let me study that secret chamber?”

“You still want to go inside?” Leon hesitated a little, “Rena and I have already fulfilled the ritual's requirements, so we can enter and leave the secret chamber freely now, but if you, who's never entered before, suddenly go in and trigger the trial, causing the secret chamber to seal itself, what then?”

“Well……” Weiss froze for a moment.

She seemed to have seen this kind of secret room where one couldn't leave without doing something in the plots of certain novels before.

The moment she thought of that, she couldn't help imagining herself and Leon being locked inside that secret chamber together.

Just imagining it made her feel blood constantly rushing to her face, and her cheeks immediately turned crimson.

“Weiss?” Rena noticed Weiss zoning out and the change in her complexion, so she spoke up to remind her.

“Huh?” Weiss abruptly snapped back to her senses.

“Your face is really red, are you okay?” Leon smiled and reminded her.

Although she had said that they shouldn't feel ashamed discussing this topic for the sake of research, it seemed that Weiss herself ultimately still couldn't completely rise above it.

“No, I just……” Weiss instinctively tried to explain, while immediately using her Blood Drain Blessing to control the flow of blood and restore her complexion to normal, “I was just thinking that if the material of the secret chamber's door can be controlled with my Blessing, then we probably don't need to worry too much about getting trapped.”

Her Tier Two Creator basic Blessing could control the form of matter, temporarily melting hard rock and metal at room temperature and turning them as soft as mud, so penetrating a solid door wasn't difficult at all.

“That's true.” Leon's eyes suddenly lit up, “If that can trigger the trial, maybe we can even create another Shapeshifter!”

The Phantom that had appeared when they triggered the trial inside the secret chamber in the past was eventually subdued and raised by Leon and Rena. It had played an enormous role in the process of killing the Count, but it had also been killed on the spot.

A Phantom was an amorphous aggregate of Moylai's magical power. Once it died, it dissipated and was difficult to extract mana from using the usual methods for processing monsters. Probably because its life form was relatively special, even Leon couldn't create a second Phantom using the Dungeon Lord's ability.

If the design of this secret chamber was that each different person who underwent the trial would generate one Phantom, then creating a new Phantom this way would allow them to keep it. There would definitely be plenty of uses for a monster like that.

“What? The Shapeshifter you used before was generated from this secret chamber?” Weiss was caught off guard.

Leon hadn't mentioned that detail just now.

“Weiss……” Rena had already realized where this was heading and let out a deep sigh before explaining, “When we entered that secret chamber back then, a Shapeshifter was generated inside. It would transform into the appearance of the person each participant considered their ideal partner. If you go inside and trigger the secret chamber's ritual requirement, then maybe……the same thing will happen.”

Weiss's expression changed halfway through hearing that. If the Phantom read her thoughts and transformed into the appearance of her ideal partner, then wouldn't that……

“Th-then let's forget it for now after all!” Weiss immediately panicked a little.

“Forget it?” Leon looked at Weiss in surprise, “Weiss, could it be that you……”

A Phantom could reveal the person someone regarded as their ideal partner. If the Shapeshifter transformed into a fictional person, or someone perfectly reasonable, there actually wouldn't be much to feel embarrassed about. For example, if the Phantom in front of him transformed into Rena, or some nonexistent peerless beauty, then it could basically be laughed off.

Given Weiss's composure and dedication to research, something like that shouldn't have shaken her.

But for Weiss's attitude to reverse so dramatically, that could only mean the Phantom's test might expose some privacy she didn't want others to know about.

Either her preferences were too strange, or……there was a specific person.

Could it be that Weiss, a Saintess of the Church who devoted herself wholeheartedly to research, actually had someone she loved?

Being asked that made Weiss panic even more. Her face reddened, and she instinctively avoided Leon's gaze: “Just don't bring it up anymore.”

The moment she finished speaking, she regained a bit of composure and only wanted to knock herself on the head. She should have denied it just now. That reaction……how was it any different from admitting it?

Leon froze at Weiss's reaction. That reaction, could it be that……

It wasn't as though he had been completely unaware of certain things, but when some thoughts had surfaced once or twice, he hadn't let himself think too deeply about them. After all, life was full of all kinds of mistaken impressions.

But this time, he suddenly recalled the many reactions Weiss had shown in front of him in the past, and it all immediately fell into place as though he had substituted in the correct answer.

Leon instinctively glanced at Rena and discovered that Rena merely looked elsewhere with a complicated expression and sighed, seeming somewhat troubled.

It appeared that Rena had noticed it earlier and more clearly than he had.

The atmosphere became somewhat awkward on an entirely different level, so Leon could only try to end the subject: “All right, then let's leave it for now. We just got back and there's still plenty of work to do, so I'll go out and take care of some things first.”

“Mm……” Weiss didn't dare look Leon directly in the eye.

Leon then looked toward Rena and found her narrowing her eyes at him, as though saying: “Just look at yourself.”

“How can you blame me for this?” Leon raised his eyebrows at Rena, responding with his eyes.

Although if one really had to say it, it wasn't as though he felt no happiness about it. That was only human nature.

“You go ahead first.” Rena gestured for Leon to leave.

With the atmosphere like this, Leon could only step out for the time being.

Only Weiss and Rena remained in the laboratory. As though trying to ease the slightly stiff atmosphere, Weiss changed the subject: “Let's start working.”

“All right.” Rena also put on her work apron.

A short while later, both of them had changed into their laboratory work clothes, when Rena suddenly spoke: “Weiss, there's something I want to ask you.”

“Mm? Go ahead.” Weiss had been asked questions by Rena many times before, so she instinctively assumed Rena wanted to ask something related to work.

At the same time, she repeatedly reminded herself inwardly to stay calm and not let what had just happened shake her.

“Tell me the truth, do you like Leon?” Rena stared calmly into Weiss's eyes, as though trying to see through them and penetrate straight into the deepest part of her heart.

At that moment, Weiss realized that this time, she probably wouldn't be able to stay calm no matter what.