Upon hearing Maggie's question, Perkin's hand visibly paused, his ears turned red at a visible speed, and he gave an almost inaudible "hmm".
When Maggie first heard his answer, she thought she had misheard, until she saw Perkin's obviously serious expression and realized that he was not joking.
[What kind of slave asks their master for a gift? It's unbelievable....]
She muttered to herself, but her hands did the exact opposite. After a moment's thought, Maggie took off a jade brooch that matched the color of her peacock eyes from her chest.
She wore these pieces specially this morning. She doesn't usually wear so much jewelry, but she had to dress up for a splendid performance today. However, she removed two pieces before even going on stage.
Fortunately, she wore many of them, so it didn't bother her.
To ensure that the mascot, the 'Holy Maiden of Light,' could fully realize the effect of a billboard, the temple prepared an astonishing amount of jewelry for her.
"I didn't know you liked these things."
Maggie placed the brooch into Perkin's palm and asked casually.
Perkin stared at the brooch in his hand, which was a similar color to his eyes, and after a long while, a faint smile appeared in his eyes.
"..."
Perkin didn't speak, and Maggie couldn't figure out what he was thinking either. However, she was very perceptive of other people's emotional changes and easily caught the joy emanating from Perkin.
Perkin was undoubtedly happy, while Maggie's head was filled with question marks.
Have I been mistreating you? Are you trying to steal more jewelry so you can run away...?
She fell into deep self-doubt.
[You can run away if you want, but wait until I can survive in this messed-up world.]
Maggie sighed inwardly.
But just as she had this thought, she sensed that Perkin seemed unhappy again.
"?"
Maggie's head is now completely covered in question marks.
"A man's heart is like the bottom of the sea? What's wrong with you now? Do you even like him or not...?"
Perkin looked at Maggie, his lips curving down almost imperceptibly, his snake-like eyes darkening. He slowly released Maggie's hand and began to speak.
"I just want to find you faster next time."
His sudden explanation made Maggie a little uneasy, but after hearing his explanation, she suddenly understood.
Perhaps because Perkin is a snake, she is very sensitive to all kinds of scents, theoretically even more sensitive than a dog's nose, so it's quite normal for her to want a personal item.
The fact that she suddenly wanted to do this made Maggie a little confused.
As for Perkin's habit of grabbing her wrist so often, Maggie probably stopped caring because it happened so many times.
"If that's the reason, just tell me directly next time."
Maggie was helpless.
"good."
Perkin neither denied nor admitted to the previous issues, but simply promised Maggie that he would tell her directly if anything happened in the future.
Maggie, however, was unaware of his thoughts. She only knew that although things had been a bit strange today, he had at least behaved well.
As the break ended and Maggie was about to leave, Perkin's magnetic and pleasant voice suddenly came from behind her, carrying a hint of probing.
"Today's duel... may I hide in your shadow?"
Maggie turned around and saw that Perkin's expression didn't seem like he was joking, and for a moment she couldn't help but chuckle.
"A one-on-one duel? Of course not."
She gently rubbed her forehead. How could such a whimsical idea have come to Perkin's mind? Did he really think no one could discover it?
Perkin is a very strong shadow assassin, but he is no match for the mage's detection.
"I want to protect you in crucial moments."
Perkin lowered his eyes slightly, concealing the emotions in them, his tone ambiguous.
"You must trust your master; he couldn't possibly hurt me."
Maggie raised an eyebrow slightly. To be honest, she felt a little gratified when she heard these words that sounded almost caring. It was like raising a wolf cub for a long time and finally getting it a little tame.
At least now I know to take the initiative to protect her.
However, this one is unnecessary.
"Yes, I believe you."
Whether it was Maggie's imagination or not, she felt as if she heard a faint laugh when Perkin said those words.
...
When Maggie sat back down in her VIP seat, she was still thinking about Perkins.
Although it sounds a bit absurd, the current Perkin is becoming increasingly different from his character in the comics. Miracle Day is an ensemble comic, and the human forms of the Seven Gods are teammates most of the time, but they will become competitors in the later part of the comic.
The tug-of-war between friendship, interests, and memories of fighting side by side is what Maggie finds most appealing: 'socialist brotherhood'.
But now...
Because of her, the relationships between the human incarnations of each god are generally average, or even nonexistent, which is why Perkin's taciturn but ruthless cool guy persona has become what it is now.
The key issue is that he hasn't been freed from his slave status yet, so the cool guy might not be able to pull off the cool look, although that's her fault.
Thinking about this, Maggie felt a little conflicted.
Even if the plot were completely messed up, Maggie wouldn't consider any options to correct it. She didn't have the time or inclination; whether the plot was messed up or not didn't matter to her.
In the center of the arena, Laurie and Witt stood facing each other, each holding a staff. Of course, this was Laurie's first time using a staff, and she looked much more at ease than Witt, who had won every match in a sorry state.
"I know you."
Laurie looked at Witt calmly, her tone as even as if she were reminiscing with an old friend.
A student from an obscure small magic academy fought his way through the trials and tribulations to stand before him on the field to compete for first place.
In the eyes of a nobleman like Laurie, he was barely qualified to speak to him.
“I know you too, the eldest son of a magician family, but I didn’t expect that even you would participate in this type of competition.”
Witt did not feel inferior because of his family background, nor did he bow his head because of the difference in strength. He replied with a dignified and unyielding attitude.
Although he had no background to speak of, he was just an orphan who came from an orphanage.
If he hadn't met Susie, he might never have had the chance to attend a magic academy.
But so what? He's no worse than anyone else.
His exceptional talent allowed him to break through to the level of advanced mage without encountering any bottlenecks, even with the limited knowledge of the academy's instructors.
Witt never believed he would stop there; his future was bright.
Susie is still waiting for him.
"Even nobles need experience."
Laurie smiled, a polite gesture that somehow made people uncomfortable, as if she were speaking from a superior position and not treating Victor as an equal.
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