Shinji could hardly believe his ears.
Invite to see a beauty?
"Um, my lady, please say that again. I think there might be a problem with my hearing."
"I'm inviting you to see a beauty, the most beautiful person in Clock Tower."
"Okay, I'm sure I didn't mishear."
Then, Shinji stood up, leaned over the desk with both hands and examined the woman before him closely, almost pressing his eyes to her face.
Lorelei was startled by Shinji's strange behavior. She shrank back slightly, her delicate eyebrows furrowing.
"What are you doing? Is there sothing wrong with ?"
"No, you told to look at a beauty. Isn't the most beautiful person in Clock Tower right in front of ?"
Shinji continued leaning forward, speaking with a serious expression.
Lorelei was stunned for a mont. When she realized what he ant, her fair face quickly turned red. She pushed Shinji away forcefully.
"You, you're talking nonsense! I didn't an ."
Even with Lorelei's aloofness and indifference, being told such things to her face still made her shy.
The Queen's bashfulness - this was a big win.
While secretly rejoicing in his heart, Shinji leaned in again.
"If not you, then who else could it be? Go out that door and ask anyone who the most beautiful person in Clock Tower is."
For so reason, Lorelei's heart started beating faster.
Really? Am I really that beautiful? No one has ever said that to from childhood till now. He's not lying to , is he?
Shinji, of course, couldn't hear these inner thoughts. If he had, he would have answered that he wasn't lying at all. As for why no one had said it before - co on, my lady, you always have that cold face and high-and-mighty attitude, plus you're so powerful. Who would dare? If it were misunderstood as flirting, they'd be lucky not to get killed.
Lorelei was, after all, the Queen who had long held a high position. Her mont of confusion was brief, and she quickly regained her composure, pushing Shinji away again.
"Whether you're sincere or not, I'm happy you said that, but I must correct you - I'm not the most beautiful person in Clock Tower."
"Then who is?"
Shinji sat back down, crossed his legs, and snorted with a sideways glance, "Let see them. If they're not as beautiful as you, I'll have to teach them a lesson for being so conceited."
"You might be disappointed then. The most beautiful in Clock Tower isn't about conceit, but a fact acknowledged by all the Lords."
"Oh?"
Shinji narrowed his eyes, seeming to ponder sothing.
Lorelei picked up her tea, took a small sip, and spoke with a transcendent attitude.
"Shinji Matou, what do you think beauty is?"
"That's quite a broad definition. In my view, beauty is sothing very subjective, belonging to spiritual recognition or resonance. It's like how so people prefer plum blossoms while others like roses. Widely recognized beauty is the recognition and resonance of collective consciousness, which is what we call popular. This resonance is influenced by factors such as region, culture, race, and era. Throughout history, there have been many beauties - Cleopatra of Egypt, Helen who caused the Trojan War, and so on. But these beauties might not be as highly regarded in a different era or region. Look at those supermodels highly praised on French catwalks who receive average responses in their own countries - that's the best example. However, since it ca from your mouth, it must be related to mystery, sothing beyond common sense, like the golden ratio that has been classic for ages. And what all Lords would acknowledge, there's only one thing - the Root. Specifically for a beauty..."
"It seems I gave too many hints," Lorelei's words undoubtedly confird Shinji's thoughts.
"As expected, that family from the Creation Departnt is going to sell their daughter again."
"...Can't you phrase it differently? It's just a customary debut party, why do you have to say it in such an unpleasant way?"
"Whether it sounds good or not, it doesn't change the essence. Indeed, that family holds such debut parties for each generation. Reaching the Root through beauty itself is quite an interesting path, but how many people have thought about the final fate of these daughters? If I rember correctly, the daughters who debut are just works, not the family's heirs. Before reaching the Root, these works aren't considered successful, and I don't need to elaborate on how unsuccessful works are treated."
At this point, Shinji let out a cold laugh.
Unsuccessful works aren't valued by their creators; whether they're destroyed or casually sold off is normal. Although he hadn't intentionally gathered information, one thing was certain: for most people, the attraction of a beauty far surpasses that of an artwork. Add to that the fact that she's the daughter of a famous lineage, her bloodline is undoubtedly valuable. How many people would want to possess her?
Lorelei remained silent for a while before asking, "It seems you dislike that family."
"I wouldn't say I dislike them that much, I just can't stand so things. The concept of magus dedicating themselves to magecraft isn't wrong, but using others' bodies as materials is hard to accept - just like the Castle Adra incident this ti. If I had encountered Geryon first, I might not have been able to resist killing him. I've always believed that magus can be emotionally detached and beyond common sense, but they shouldn't completely lose their humanity."
"So that's why you like staying in the El-lloi classroom."
"Yes, the people there live very authentically."
"They're all misfits."
"Including you and the rest of the Departnt of Policies."
"Indeed."
Lorelei let out a soft sigh.
"I didn't think this through thoroughly enough. I—"
Shinji quickly waved his hand: "Wait, I didn't say I wouldn't go."
"But don't you dislike that family?"
"Disliking them is one thing, curiosity is another. I still want to see this so-called most beautiful person in Clock Tower, this beauty used to pursue the Root. Besides, since you're asking to go, it can't be just for looking. Let guess, is it to cause trouble? I'm best at that. I've recently developed a new thod of explosion..."
"Stop, stop for a mont."
This ti it was Lorelei's turn to wave her hand to stop him.
"If you do that, Clock Tower might face destruction."
"Is it that exaggerated?"
"Not exaggerated at all. That family is the legitimate branch family of Valualeta. Lord Valualeta will also attend this banquet. If she encounters an attack at the banquet..."
The rest didn't need to be said.
Valualeta, one of the three aristocratic families, leads the Democratic faction along with fellow aristocrat Trambelio, opposing the Aristocratic faction led by luastea.
If anything were to happen to the Lord of luastea, the conflict between the Democratic and Aristocratic factions would be intensified to the extre. War wouldn't be out of the question, which would be a disaster engulfing the entire Clock Tower.
Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Shinji put aside his joking attitude and said seriously, "What do you need to do?"
"I hope you can represent the Departnt of Policies and especially greet them..."
Her voice grew weaker, but the eyes of both the man and woman grew brighter.
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