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"The matter of recruitment should be handled by me personally. I apologize once again for Derrick Redbat's rash behavior."
Ariel apologized to Allen, then bowed slightly, gesturing for Allen to take the chair opposite her so they could speak sitting down.
Their gazes met briefly.
Allen didn't move, and he remained noncommittal verbally, simply watching Ariel.
Her cerulean eyes flickered slightly. Without insisting, she elegantly twisted her body and settled into the chair.
Her hands were folded neatly on her lap, but her peripheral vision quickly swept over Isolte and Sylphy beside Allen. She then looked directly at Allen again and continued.
"You were right just now."
"Whether it's the fact that you saved me, or your dignity as a master of the Water God Style, we should not assume that you are obligated to join our faction. That would undoubtedly be a sign of disrespect and an overconfident arrogance on our part."
"Please accept my apologies again. But please believe that our desire to recruit you is sincere and comes from the heart. It's just that Derrick Redbat was a little too flustered seeing you again after such a long time."
Allen was somewhat surprised. He raised an eyebrow and looked at Derrick Redbat. "Wait, seeing me again? I don't recall ever meeting Derrick Redbat."
Ariel's eyes lowered, a smile playing at the corners.
"It seems I wasn't the only one unnoticed at the banquet. That reassures me~ Hehe, just a joke. Allen Boreas Greyrat, the third son of the Boreas family, the top student of the Water God Style main dojo, although you spent most of your time diligently training there, you might underestimate your influence in the 'Free Zone.' At least, to my knowledge, after being promoted to the top student of the 'Upper Dojo,' your name spread through both the Magic University and the Knights' Order."
Allen froze for a moment; he truly hadn't known this. After the banquet celebrating his promotion to top student of the minor dojo, that dog, James, had angered him so much that he'd packed up and completely moved into the Water God Style main dojo the very next day. Since then, he'd rarely left the dojo.
He glanced at Isolte beside him.
She, however, blinked and nodded at him.
"Princess Ariel is right."
Seeing this, Ariel continued from where Isolte left off. "Although I don't know much about swordsmanship, it seems your strength has greatly improved again. In that case, upon returning to the capital, if you express your intention to participate in the succession struggle, I'm sure both of my brothers would be more than happy to accept you."
"Status, power, money—anything I can offer you, they can offer, and more. From that perspective, I seem to have no appeal at all."
"Therefore, if I truly wish to recruit you, I undoubtedly need to show more sincerity."
As she spoke, Allen, who had been looking at Isolte, suddenly stiffened.
He sharply turned his head to Ariel. Sure enough, she was looking down, idly rubbing the fabric of her dress on her lap.
Her face was lowered, but her eyes lifted.
Gazing up at Allen.
Cerulean eyes shimmered.
A sense of foreboding welled up in Allen. Others might not know what Ariel was truly like, but how could he not?
You f*ing—
He immediately turned to Derrick Redbat, hoping his Guardian Mage could be of some use.
What met his eyes, however, was a pair of bewildered eyes.
Damn it! Derrick Redbat, why are you spacing out now! Your Princess is about to say something scandalous again!
Gods! He's got to stop her, I have my companions with me!
The next instant, just as he expected, Ariel's voice was already out.
"I, Ariel Anemoi Asura, can invite you as my 'intimate guest' as the 'price' for recruiting you."
"I believe this is the only way to prove our 'sincerity'."
With that, Ariel tilted her head and smiled at Derrick Redbat.
"Right, Derrick Redbat?"
In the Asura Kingdom's linguistic system, 'intimate guest' carried its literal meaning, without the nuanced connotations of Chinese idioms.
—"You can come to my boudoir and discuss important matters with me in the future. This is the 'price' for recruiting you."
It was that direct.
Inside the cabin, silence reigned.
This wild invitation stifled every breath except Ariel's own.
Derrick Redbat, Allen, Sylphy, and Isolte all stared in shock at the seemingly serious Second Princess of Asura, the most beautiful in history.
Everyone was completely stunned.
Rudy, on the other hand, was already numb and composed. He twitched his lips as he scanned Ariel's beautiful face and figure, then turned to Allen, once again displaying an expression as if he had seen a god.
He then wanted to give Allen a thumbs-up, but before he could raise his hand, he was startled by a sudden wail beside him.
"Your Highness!! What are you saying!! This is no time for jokes!!"
Ariel ignored the distraught, cracking voice of Derrick Redbat, her expression calm as she looked at Allen.
His right eyelid twitched uncontrollably.
"But Mr. Allen saved me. If my body can express gratitude, I wouldn't hesitate. And at the same time, I can recruit a capable retainer—isn't that a very worthwhile trade?"
Isolte's jaw dropped in astonishment as she stared at Ariel; she even wondered if she had misheard. The Princess's sudden transformation from poised to brazen left her utterly bewildered.
She instinctively reached for the hilt of the sword at her waist, but her reason held back the urge to cut this 'brazen' princess back into a 'normal person.' Finally, she just turned, looking helplessly at Allen.
Sylphy's face went pale. The child wasn't shocked, because she had always had an intuition about the Princess's sudden appearance; now, it was merely coming true. At the same time, she anxiously turned to look at Allen.
Allen was aghast: You son of a b— You might not mind, but my girls do!
Derrick Redbat quickly stepped forward, seemingly fearing Allen might agree. When he saw that Allen also had a startled expression, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He quickly stood between the two, using his body to block Ariel's line of sight, and said through gritted teeth, in a low voice.
"Your Highness! Don't be reckless—"
Ariel looked up at Derrick Redbat, tilted her head to evade his obstruction, and smiled at Allen.
"My apologies, it seems I said something that could easily be misunderstood. Derrick Redbat seems upset."
You've already said it so directly, and you're still calling it a misunderstanding! You're saying it because he's upset, right?! I bet you knew he'd try to stop you!
Allen bared his teeth, under the intense gazes of Sylphy and Isolte.
In the original story, Ariel possessed extremely high emotional intelligence in public, rarely speaking idly. Almost every word she uttered had a clear purpose.
Moreover, when encountering someone interesting and sufficiently talented, if the situation lacked 'control,' she loved to use sexually charged, clearly suggestive, or utterly absurd remarks to subtly guide the conversation or the current situation into her own rhythm, achieving her desired outcome.
Like in the original, this type of suggestive language was used with Sylphy when she first arrived at the Silver Palace, and with Rudy more than once or twice. She even used it with 'Luke,' who was misled and controlled by the Human God during the succession war. (To give one example: "Luke, you who enjoy women's charms, suddenly couldn't resist and rushed over to embrace me, playing with my body. This is an unforgivable act, but I was rather aroused by being played with, so I'll forgive you.")
Ariel's lips curved as she watched Allen's reaction with interest, raising her hand to brush golden hair from her ear.
Today, after inwardly confirming that she needed to recruit Allen in every aspect.
The purpose of this behavior was threefold.
First—to guide the situation. To interrupt the conversational rhythm, she used a shocking piece of information to override the previous one, thus changing the current dynamic and achieving her goal of guiding the conversation. This was a tactic Ariel used repeatedly and effectively in the original story.
In just a few words, she could pull Allen out of his slightly angry state and regain control of the conversation.
Second—to probe for information. She pushed the subject into an absurd choice, intensely linked to herself, for which they had no psychological preparation. This allowed her to observe their specific reaction to such a variable, thereby profiling their character and assessing whether recruiting them would be cost-effective.
Third—based on her underlying personality needs. This was her true self, another way to satisfy her 'exhibitionist' tendencies. This was the least important, yet most 'important' point.
As a princess, having worn the 'royal attire' for a long time, she instinctively sought opportunities to expose herself. This was the emotional instinct of a human craving to escape loneliness at play. Whether it was the thrill of fearing urinating in front of others, or saying things completely inappropriate for a princess in front of everyone, there was a sense of peeling away the mask of composure she always maintained.
This was precisely what she needed emotionally. It was quite 'satisfying.' Especially in front of Allen, the two 'BUFFs' stacked together really gave her a thrill.
So far, in just a few short sentences, it could be inferred:
Although Allen was a noble, he was not greedy in terms of sexual desire and had great self-control. This also aligned with Allen's self-disciplined trait of possessing great strength at just twelve years old.
Miss Sylphy and Miss Isolte beside Allen were extremely important to him, and their relationship was beyond normal. Allen valued them greatly, and now seemed somewhat flustered, which was interesting.
Lost in thought, Isolte and Sylphy both turned to look at her with varied expressions. Ariel smiled brightly and gently at both of them.
And, these two also highly valued Allen.
In that case...
She suddenly looked at Isolte and Sylphy, her smile radiant.
"In recruiting Allen Boreas Greyrat, I may lack some necessary competitiveness, so... I would like to ask Miss Isolte and Miss Sylphy, would you two consider becoming my retainers?"
Allen: F**! Are you ever going to stop?!!*
He slapped the wooden wall of the third-floor cabin, thump-thump!, drawing everyone's attention.
"Stop. Before recruiting, let's talk about the present."
Allen said, narrowing his eyes and glaring at Ariel. Ariel, suddenly interrupted by Allen, acted as if she hadn't noticed, still smiling, though her expression seemed to stiffen for a moment.
Allen turned to Derrick Redbat, held up a finger, suspended it before his eyes, and walked towards the bed.
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