“A crystal... palace?”

Not only Ariel’s gaze, but even her consciousness wavered for a moment.

The palace of translucent crystal, shimmering with radiant light, was simply too dazzling. Combined with the handsome man standing before it, smiling at her from such close distance, ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) it was enough to make anyone feel as if their very soul might be pulled into it.

If it were someone else, her body might already have gone soft by now, collapsing straight into the man’s arms. Who would still bother continuing the date?

“...Wait.”

But Ariel was not so easily overwhelmed. She quickly recovered herself, her brows drawing together sharply.

“That’s not what I meant by a crystal palace!”

Who said a crystal palace meant an actual palace made of crystal?

Was that what she meant?

Her crystal palace meant a place where countless beautiful, adorable girls lived together with her! A wonderful paradise that existed in her dreams!

The hearts of beautiful girls were as clear as crystal. Their soft, smooth bodies were as intoxicating as a palace itself. Only when those elements gathered together could something truly be called a crystal palace!

But something without even a single beautiful girl—how could that possibly count as a crystal palace?

Something this cold couldn’t spark even the slightest interest in her!

“Really?” Muen asked. “You truly don’t like it here?”

Although in the original story the phrase “crystal palace” indeed referred to a harem of girls, Muen vaguely remembered that Ariel had once genuinely entertained the idea of building a crystal palace.

After all... beautiful girls needed somewhere to live, right?

If you didn’t even have a grand house, what kind of flirting could you possibly do?

Ariel usually behaved seriously and liked to boast about being “bold and heroic,” but in truth she still harbored pink, girlish fantasies like anyone else.

So if a place meant to house beautiful girls existed, what could possibly be more perfect than a glittering crystal palace?

“I—anyway! Something this flashy isn’t what I want!”

In the end, Ariel still didn’t say whether she liked it or not.

But after staring at the crystal palace for a long while, she suddenly realized something.

“Wait a second. How did you know about this?”

“About what?”

“The crystal palace! I’ve never told anyone about that!”

Living in a palace made of crystal filled with beautiful girls... that kind of embarrassing dream was not something Ariel would ever go around telling people.

So she stared at Muen suspiciously.

“You didn’t use some kind of despicable mind-reading magic on me while I couldn’t resist earlier, did you?”

“Mind-reading?”

Muen didn’t deny it. Instead, he stepped closer and asked quietly,

“Do you think I know how?”

As he leaned down, the distance between them shrank further.

They could see their own reflections in each other’s eyes.

They could even feel each other’s breath.

Ariel also noticed the subtle smile at the corner of his lips.

He neither denied it nor admitted it. It felt more like a deliberate tease.

This guy... has he already started trying to flirt with me?

Ridiculous.

Did he think such childish tactics would have even a millimeter of effect on her?

“I’m the one asking you,” Ariel said.

“Why assume that? Maybe we simply understand each other without words.”

“If I shared that kind of connection with you, I’d rather smash my head into a block of tofu.”

“Tofu can’t kill someone. I’ll assume that means you secretly agree but are too embarrassed to admit it.”

“Oh, shut up. Who’s embarrassed?”

Ariel ground her small canine teeth together, then looked away first, stepping back slightly.

“Forget it. It doesn’t matter. My teacher probably told you.”

So even her teacher had taken his side now?

Liya, the Heavenly Flame, even her teacher...

Without realizing it, the people and things that had once been on her side had gradually formed ties with this man.

Was this her punishment for lying about her bust size too many times?

Damn it.

Her chest felt strangely sour.

“All right, don’t overthink it.”

Muen smiled gently, interrupting her spiraling thoughts.

“Your teacher did talk to me about many things concerning you, but she would never reveal anything truly private. I told you before—I understand you very well. That’s all.”

“Tch.”

Ariel turned her head aside.

“As if I’d believe that.”

“Being tsundere doesn’t suit you.”

After that brief exchange, Muen took Ariel with him and continued forward.

Only then did she realize that besides the crystal palace, there were other structures scattered around them.

But they all looked strangely shaped.

Some were metal tracks twisting through the air in wave-like curves. Some were colorful wooden horses that rotated automatically. Others were eerie houses with bizarre designs that looked faintly sinister. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

They surrounded the crystal palace like stars orbiting a moon.

“What are these?” Ariel asked curiously, pointing at the strange things she had never seen before.

“An amusement park.”

“An amusement park?”

“A date can’t just be strolling around the streets. There should be somewhere to actually have fun. After thinking about it for a long time, I decided there probably isn’t anywhere better suited for our date than a place like this.”

In this world, something like an amusement park didn’t exist.

Electricity—such a convenient energy source—had not yet been developed or widely used. Things like roller coasters, merry-go-rounds, or Ferris wheels simply couldn’t be manufactured.

So this amusement park was different.

Everything here ran on magic.

Special magi-metal structures combined with magic-stone cores powered the mechanisms. After careful design, the attractions had reached nearly the same level as the ones in Muen’s memories, once again proving that magic truly could accomplish anything.

Of course, that also made the entire project extremely extravagant.

Every magic stone was incredibly expensive. Magical power was far from a cheap energy source in this world.

Only someone like Muen—a top noble with memories from a previous life and access to the full fortune of the duke’s estate, not to mention the Campbell family’s coffin fund—could recreate amusement rides from another world here.

Compared to these attractions, the crystal palace—created by the Truth-Rank magic of the Royal Mage Corps Commander whom Muen had invited with one favor owed by his father—was actually the cheaper part.

The Stone Cauldron Association had supplied the materials. The Origin Tower branch had provided the magic stones. The Royal Engineering Institute had built everything according to Muen’s designs. More than a thousand laborers had been hired at high prices to finish the work within three days.

In such a short time, Muen felt he had made an enormous contribution to Belrand’s economic development.

Celicia would surely feel pleased if she knew.

He only hoped that the next time they met, she would kick him a little more gently.

“A place for dates...”

Ariel had lost her strength, but not her experience. Especially with the sharp eye she had trained since childhood for judging the value of things at a glance, she immediately realized how much money it must have taken to create all of this.

At the very least, the hundred million he owed her definitely couldn’t cover it.

“You’re actually taking this pretty seriously.”

Ariel rubbed the soft fabric of the clothes she still hadn’t gotten used to wearing and snorted.

“But if you think something like this is enough to make my heart flutter, you’re way off.”

“Heartbeats aren’t decided by words.”

Finding Ariel increasingly adorable, Muen couldn’t help smiling.

He led her deeper into the carefully crafted place he had prepared for their date.

“You have to feel it with your heart.”