However, my feet seemed rooted to the spot; the moment I entertained the thought of leaving, I was frozen in place, unable to lift an inch. After several attempts, I discovered that approaching that strange shop had no effect whatsoever.
Just as I was trying to hypnotize myself and switch the concepts of near and far in order to break this strange phenomenon, I noticed that the woman who had been quietly drinking tea turned to me with a smile and waved.
"That guy just loves playing these kinds of pranks."
Holding the young hunting dog that had come over to show friendliness and stroking its fur repeatedly, the mentor revealed an expression of "I knew it": "The difference in your levels is too great. It would be easy for her to tamper with your subconscious and manipulate your body to get closer to her. Unless you advance to the next level and successfully condense your own magic ring, you will basically be unable to resist her actions."
"Fortunately, she has recently learned to be more restrained in everything she does, otherwise I would have definitely rushed over to confront her."
"So, your advisor really knows her?" I asked.
The mentor nodded slightly: "Lilia, well, although she's reluctant, we've known each other for a long time... She's quite playful, so she always likes to cause trouble. If there's anything you think she's gone too far, just say so. If she's unwilling to change, then let me, her mentor, stand up for my dear student!"
This is completely irrelevant...
With a sigh of relief, I continued my narration.
After receiving the invitation from the stranger, I did not approach her directly, but remained silently in place, wary of her next move.
The other party was not angry. His eyes, which were exposed like fans, still had a perfectly timed smile. He first poured himself a cup of hot tea, and then introduced himself in a low voice.
"My current body is named Lilia. I am the one who has taken on the mission you are here to undertake and needs to hand it over." Her voice was like a clear stream, flowing gently and slowly, nourishing the lungs and every pore of the body. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you, disciple of the [Lord of the Silver Gate]."
"...Where did you get that name from?" I questioned.
I found it quite strange to hear this term from the old steward of the city lord's mansion some time ago. Nowadays, the most common title and nickname for mentors is "[Omniscient Witch]", while "[Omniscient Master of the Silver Door]" is a secret known only to a few people connected to mentors. But at the time, I was convinced that it was just a task directly assigned by mentors, the reason I was asked to come here, and therefore I had no doubts.
However, the beast tide defense that had just ended, though extremely dangerous, was far less difficult than the tasks my mentor usually assigned. Even after the event was over, I didn't feel the noose around the story tightening just right. Instead, there were signs of broken threads everywhere, which made me suspicious.
Looking back now...
"Could it be that you were the one who relayed that name to others?"
Lilia tilted her head and let out a soft laugh.
I could almost picture her lips curling slightly under the fan, and I couldn't help but feel annoyed, yet also deeply powerless because my actions were controlled by her.
"Don't be angry. The reason I told him to say that was simply to make sure you didn't leave too quickly and to confirm your abilities. That's all."
She readily admitted it, adding, "But now it seems like a real shame. I thought this child who would make Tavel take notice was something extraordinary, but it turns out he's just nothing special."
"Don't be angry, don't be angry, at least for now. I'm not here to cause trouble."
Just before I was about to lose my temper, she changed the subject again: "Tavel... oh, I forgot to introduce you, you're your mentor. Did you get something from him before you left? I'm here to collect that."
The thing my mentor handed me before leaving... could it be that parchment with lots of strange skill names written on it? I thought it was homework for me to study on my own while she was away, but I never expected it was for this person.
Despite my gut feeling that my suspicions had come true, I still feigned anger and replied coldly, "I can't trust you."
"Yes, you really can't trust me, and that's good."
Lilia's eyes were still smiling: "After all, this is our first meeting, and it's a good habit to always be appropriately suspicious of others... Although that's what I'd like to say, this is, after all, a deal between me and Tavel."
"To me, a deal is a deal, even if my first impression of you wasn't good."
After a brief pause, I turned to my mentor, who was already yawning: "Mentor, did you really make any agreement with someone like that?"
"You've already handed over the stuff, why are you asking me this?" The young girl-type mentor glared at her displeasedly, but her petite body curled up comfortably in Pupu. "What a stupid disciple. How could you manage without my all-knowing mentor guiding you from time to time!"
"However, she is right. I did ask her to do something, and that thing was indeed given to her. So you can rest assured and don't need to worry about doing something wrong."
"What I'm more interested in is whether you can still be sure that the authentication methods you used were accurate after you learned that Lilia had the ability to manipulate other people's subconscious."
I pondered, but remained silent.
Indeed, to confirm that what the other party said was true, I activated multiple check spells simultaneously before the other party spoke again. Since Lilia's level was higher than mine, she would obviously have noticed it, but she still continued her narration without caring and did not notice any signs of triggering.
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