房客(糙汉)何璐程曜坤

The monk shook his head in disbelief at such a claim.

"I-it's my first time visiting the boy, brother. My duties never involved any sort of contact with him before. I thought that he wouldn't be put in one of the usual chambers, but... Oh, please help me, the abbot asked for me by name and I was so proud that I forgot to ask where the boy's room is..."

Zoemi cowered letting his head hang down in shame, he was taking a huge gamble, he knew close to nothing about the monks in that world – and honestly not much about monks in his previous one either - and couldn't be sure that he wasn't talking to the abbot right now...

"...haaa..."

Hearing the disguised boy's explanation the round monk sighed and shook his head.

"You youths are so hasty these days..."

"~!"

He complained in a voice brimming with annoyance, but Zoemi grinned with relief without raising his head since his bet paid off - the monk in front of him wasn't the abbot, an abbot wouldn't react like that after hearing some random guy using his name like that, and to top it all off, the round monk didn't seem all that strict with rules as he wanted to make it sound with his voice.

"Brother, please, help me, I'm already late for a sermon even though I was supposed to have the talk already. I'm ready for the punishment but if I will fail the abbot's request on top of that...!"

Zoemi went with the good flow and pleaded in a tearful voice.

"Alright, alright. Not many of our brothers don't even know that we are hosting the troublesome second prince, to begin with, so I can understand your confusion about where he is... Fine. Follow me."

The round monk said grumpily but nonetheless, he agreed and turned around before starting to walk very fast in the opposite direction that he was originally going towards.

"Thank you, brother!"

Zoemi bowed his head even lower than before chasing after him, which was rather difficult considering that the black-haired boy's body could move around as it did only because of the ice armor that supported it.

It wasn't for defense, it was literally acting as an upgraded version of crutches.

Without it, he could only muster the speed of a leisurely stroll at best.

At least, he could do that already, just a few days earlier he could barely stand up on his own.

"..."

With all of that put aside, Zoemi kept a three-step distance from his guide but while following the monk, he had thought to start talking to him for a moment, just to flesh out his story more to make it more believable.

Or maybe make some small talk, and ask about why he also wasn't attending the sermon.

But in the end, the black-haired boy gave up both of those options since they were actually too risky.

He was already being led to Surou's room so why risk compromising his disguise that clearly had worked out?

To begin with - the simpler the better.

The monk and the boy disguised as one walked for quite a bit of time and Zoemi began to get worried.

Although the ice armor was helping him move around like normal, the longer his body was in contact with the ice – even through clothes - the closer he was to hypothermia.

As bad as that sounded, it was still a better option than allowing himself to get melted with the side effects of the darkness armor, or burnt with the ones of the fire armor.

As for the stone one...

The stone armor was far too bulky and didn't allow for nearly as much mobility, so although it was by far the safest to use, it was also the most unsuitable for the current situation.

-----

After what felt like an eternity but could be at most five to ten minutes walk, the monk leading the black-haired boy started to slow down, though it wasn't clear whether it was because they were getting closer to the place where Surou was confined or just because the round monk has begun to lose his stamina after keeping the fast pace all the way.

Even though the reason for the change in the round monk was up for debate, Zoemi most certainly

was already exhausted and for comparison, the monk wasn't using any enchantments even though judging by his hair and eyes, he was a magician...

Although that said more about Oemi's current state than anything else, honestly.

Either way, Zoemi decided it was a good time to set up some additional precautions.

|Create a gate above his head and follow him, connect the gate to my shadow when I give you a sign.|

He instructed the sentinels in his mind, taking the precaution to the possibility of the monk overhearing him if he spoke, or even whispered, the same command out loud.

*whoom*

This time the sentinels didn't even respond and straight-up complied with the request – the murky-black puddle appeared above the round monk and moved together with him in perfect sync.

Still – it turned out that the slower pace of the monk leading the disguised boy was only caused by a hesitation – because once they came across the branching hallway and the man nodded to himself and picked up the speed.

Finally, after another few minutes, the monk stopped and motioned at a door that was most definitely giving off the impression of one seen in a prison...

"Here... You're in luck that it was along the way to my own destination..."

The round monk huffed and puffed and complained grumpily while pointing at the inappropriately heavy-looking door with a sturdy-looking vizor protected by a metal slab, all of which didn't really give Zoemi the monastery-like impression, but once again, the black-haired boy wasn't really familiar with monks, monasteries, and whatnots of either world.

"Just so you know... You don't have to tell the abbot that you've met me... is that clear...?"

The monk leaned forward and gave Zoemi a surprisingly thuggish look.

"Of, course, brother. Thank you very much for your help, now I can – connect."

"Huh...?"

Zoemi lowered his head for the third time and then...

*WHOOOOOM*

*WHAM!*

"Ugh...!"

He ended up plummeting down into his own shadow just to re-emerge from the darkness right above the shocked monk's head, ramming him into the ground with his weight increased by the ice armor.

"...ah, good. This one was lucky~!"

Zoemi rolled off of the unconscious man and smiled with satisfaction not seeing any twisted limbs.

"Now then..."

The black-haired boy went ahead and used the rope that the round monk originally had tied around his waist to tie him up without the use of another spell.

But still...

"Go ahead and transport him to the same room as the first guy."

"(Alright~!)"

Zoemi asked and the murky-black puddle on the ceiling turned into a single orb that then fell down and splattered on the floor next to the knocked-out monk, creating a puddle in which the man had sunk in slowly.

"Thank you~"

The boy smiled widely and nodded gratefully at the puddle, before looking up and focusing on the sturdy door.

"...'

He had to take a deep breath because his heart was pounding so hard.

Will Surou still act so naive as in the Academy, or will the theory that Burushi had about the blue-haired boy acting in such a way because of the influence of the mysterious supporter would turn out to be more than just hopes and dreams...

Zoemi's next move would depend on that outcome.