CHAPTER 78: 78 SUBCONSCIOUS ESCAPE (3/4)

The mermaid lady, who inadvertently did something good due to a twist of fate, was feeling very pleased with herself at the moment.

Upon realizing she was innocent, she changed her story on the spot.

She flatly denied accidentally killing that ugly sea slug, instead claiming she did it on purpose after realizing he was a villain.

Yes, it wasn’t an accident or coincidence; it was all my meticulous design!

As for her attempt to revise her testimony, Herbert simply nodded silently in agreement—oh yes, oh sure, oh exactly, just as you said...

As long as she’s happy.

No one would come to ask the truth anyway; she could claim whatever she wanted.

After all, fooling a buddy doesn’t matter; as long as the buddy cooperates with the act, just make sure you don’t fool yourself.

No matter how much Herbert inwardly complained and mocked, Fremay was genuinely happy at this moment.

Although she did this trivial good deed unconsciously, it was of great significance to her.

For someone who had spent her life unconsciously doing bad deeds and harming others, this was almost a kind of redemption.

It turns out, her power doesn’t always bring destruction to others!

Fremay was overjoyed.

So even knowing it was not her true intention, she kept hinting to herself—this is a good deed she did!

Gradually, Herbert also noticed some clues, realizing how important this matter was to Fremay.

So, he didn’t expose her clumsy act but simply went with the flow and gave her an official commendation.

He expanded her activity area in the Deep Water Prison, reduced the Sealing Array’s suppression of the Water Element, allowing her to manipulate more water.

Finally, Herbert encouraged her to do more beneficial deeds like this in the future.

After doing all this, Herbert actively left the Deep Water Prison, leaving the space for Fremay alone, allowing her to enjoy this rare joy in peace.

Upon returning to the Prison of Darkness, he directly teleported to Svanni’s treehouse.

Compared to Fremay, who asked a couple of questions, Svanni’s reaction to his injuries was much more indifferent; she glanced at him and casually tossed him an ointment potion.

"I told you, they’re not as friendly as I am."

"Haha, it wasn’t that bad; they first warmly welcomed me and got along with me."

Herbert laughed twice, but unfortunately, the Dark Elf didn’t get his sarcastic joke, staring at him seriously and seemingly waiting for an explanation.

Explanation?

No way!

He’d rather die than explain a joke!

"Ahem."

Herbert waved his hand helplessly, directly skipping over this topic, and awkwardly shifting the conversation, asked, "By the way, did you find anything in that letter?"

?

Svanni’s face showed clear emotional fluctuations, she looked at Herbert like an idiot, and then glanced at the hourglass on the desk.

The meaning was self-evident.

Are you kidding me?

"Sir Herbert, not even an hour has passed since you left and returned."

Herbert realized as soon as he spoke that there wasn’t enough time, but since he had already chosen to engage in awkward small talk, he could only brace himself to continue asking.

"Hmm... not enough time?"

"..."

Svanni squinted at Herbert for a long moment before shaking her head and saying, "You seem a bit restless."

In her impression, Herbert wasn’t someone who would ask such naive questions.

It wasn’t a clone, nor a disguised fake; the person in front of her was indeed the Prison Warden she knew.

So, the only reasonable explanation now is that this person encountered something that troubled him and distracted his attention.

"Is it that obvious? How even you noticed..."

Herbert pouted, sighed longly, fiddling with the leaf pulled from the vine with his fingers, finally admitting his state was off.

Valentina’s unexpected straightforward approach indeed caught him off guard.

Saying not to think about it sounds simple.

But achieving a calm mind isn’t so easy.

Honestly, Herbert was feeling a bit... scared now.

Yet, this fear wasn’t due to Valentina’s alien race identity, nor was it the awe from seeing the Giant Dragon’s true form.

But... a subconscious avoidance of her emotions.

Herbert could calmly face others’ malice because he was long accustomed to this feeling, even feeling a faint excitement after encountering it.

A kind of twisted excitement of "Oh? Let’s see which impudent one wants to harm me?"

But when malice turned into kindness, he was a bit clueless.

In both past and present lives, he rarely, almost never accepted such direct passionate kindness.

When Valentina lashed out in anger because he was hurt, Herbert felt as if confronting the sun.

He saw a glaring, unapologetic, slightly impulsive yet utterly sincere, flame-like emotion.

Like the scorching sun illuminating everything, yet never asking for a return.

And precisely because she had no ulterior motives, this flame-like emotion became harder to resist.

With Valentina’s wisdom, would she expect any gain through this behavior?

Not at all.

With her mind, what can she even want?

At most, she might want me to give her a few more pieces of meat.

But if she even doesn’t care for these... why would she do this then?

Herbert felt a bit scared about this answer.

He hoped this flame could warm his soul but feared being consumed by it.

Just because he had never experienced it personally, he felt uneasy.

He longed for others’ love yet feared the potential pain it might bring him.

"Why do I feel like I’m being overly dramatic... tsk."

Herbert shook his head vigorously, dismissing the cluttered thoughts from his mind.

"Why worry so much? Seriously, what’s the big deal? In any case, would I not deserve it?"

"Forget it, there is no need to avoid it! The best way to eliminate fear is to face it!"

With his thoughts completely settled, Herbert let out a long breath, and when he opened his eyes again, his gray eyes were no longer confused.

He was never lacking in self-confidence, nor did he ever think he didn’t deserve love; it was just the sudden incident that made him instinctively resist a bit.

"Seems like, you’ve figured it out."

Svanni nodded, she had been silently observing Herbert just now.

Noticing his emotions were completely digested and contained in a short time, reverting to the familiar demeanor she knew.

"Then, please return; I’ll try to decrypt that letter for you."

"Mm."

And when Herbert bid farewell to Svanni and returned to the Endless Maze to face destiny, what greeted him wasn’t the scene he imagined...

Neither an angry confrontation nor a direct attack, not even the cold shoulder.

"Whew..."

At this moment, the protagonist who had troubled him for quite a while was comfortably curled up on the ground, blissfully lost in dreamland.

Herbert: ?