Chapter 353: Solitär-Flamme, Yearning for Understanding
Just then, Solitär-Flamme, who had been standing quietly, suddenly moved.
She walked up to Rhodes. Under his slightly puzzled gaze, she lowered her head slightly, presenting her short black hair and the small head beneath it to him.
"What are you doing?" Rhodes asked, his expression curious.
If it were Flamme, he might have thought she was jealous, but with Solitär-Flamme, it was intriguing.
Solitär-Flamme looked up. There was no shyness or emotional fluctuation in her eyes, only pure purpose. "According to my observations, this is an effective action to deepen a relationship. Therefore, I wish for you to touch my head."
Rhodes raised an eyebrow. "Reason?"
"I hope to establish a better relationship with you, thereby lowering the probability of you killing me in the future." Solitär-Flamme's answer was straightforward, revealing her plan entirely. "Survival is what I want most right now. Therefore, ingratiating myself with you is the most effective strategy under current circumstances."
Hearing such a frank statement, Rhodes found it somewhat interesting.
According to Olivia, this demon had never generated any emotions before, not even the desire to live.
Otherwise, she would have fled the moment she saw Olivia, a master of Holy Magic.
After all, Holy Magic was like a natural predator to demons.
Yet Solitär-Flamme hadn't. She had let Olivia bring her to the Magic Association and only awakened the instinct called "survival" after Rhodes threatened her with killing intent.
And now, this instinct was gradually occupying her heart.
He had to admit, this was a good thing.
This kind of ingratiation based on pure rational judgment was oddly amusing compared to the cautiousness and misgivings of interacting with others.
He reached out. Without much warmth, more like a verification action, he ruffled Solitär-Flamme's head casually.
Her hair felt cool and smooth, no different from a human's. Through his palm, he could feel a trace of warmth from her.
"How does it feel?" Rhodes withdrew his hand and asked.
Solitär-Flamme tilted her head slightly, seemingly feeling and evaluating seriously, then answered honestly, "The contact was clear, but there was no special feeling."
Rhodes's head-pat hadn't applied any pressure; he had even restrained part of his aura, so Solitär-Flamme felt no discomfort.
But similarly, she felt nothing else.
"I do not understand," she continued. "Why does Serie show obvious joy when subjected to similar contact by you?"
Rhodes looked at her with interest. "You are trying to understand that joy?"
"Yes." Solitär-Flamme admitted frankly. "I personally believe understanding emotions is a necessary existence for my survival now. To achieve this goal, I am conducting analysis."
"Then, what have you analyzed?" Rhodes walked to a chair and sat down, gesturing for her to sit too.
Solitär-Flamme sat as instructed. "Preliminary analysis suggests the feelings generated between you and Serie may stem from results formed through long-term interaction. Therefore, even a simple action like a head pat can increase the other party's sense of happiness."
Rhodes couldn't help laughing. "You are not wrong. So what do you plan to do?"
"I hope you can touch my head every day until I understand this emotion," Solitär-Flamme said solemnly.
"I don't have that time." Rhodes refused directly.
Wouldn't it be better to use that time to pet my elf lady more?
Solitär-Flamme lowered her head, appearing quite distressed. She hadn't expected the first step of her plan to be rejected.
"Moreover, I think what you need to do most right now is understand what 'fear' is."
"Fear..." Solitär-Flamme spat out the word softly, with a trace of unfamiliar hesitation. "Is that also a type of emotion?"
Rhodes didn't answer directly. Instead, he reached out and snapped his fingers.
The air in the room twisted suddenly. A thin arrow of mana shot toward Solitär-Flamme at extreme speed!
Facing this attack, Solitär-Flamme's body moved.
It wasn't a reaction based on thought, but a conditioned reflex branded into the deepest part of her survival instinct.
Her head jerked to the side, barely dodging the perilous strike. Behind where her head had been, a small hole was silently punched through the chair.
Solitär-Flamme subconsciously assumed a defensive posture. Mana began to flow around her body, but due to Serie's mental magic, this aura was very weak, unable to form even a complete magical shield.
The attack just now naturally came from Rhodes. The mana arrow dissipated after passing through the chair.
Solitär-Flamme's tense body slowly relaxed, and the aura around her began to recede. She looked at Rhodes, her eyes clearly puzzled. "The attack just now... but there was no killing intent."
"One does not need to harbor killing intent to release magic," Rhodes said calmly. "Did you feel anything?"
Solitär-Flamme carefully savored her physical and mental state in that instant. "The resistance to being hit made me subconsciously perform a dodging action. And after dodging successfully, there was a... feeling of relief? Also, my body is trembling slightly; it hasn't completely calmed down yet."
"That is fear. The emotion generated when facing death. This should be your second time facing this emotion. And in the face of fear, trembling is normal."
Solitär-Flamme looked down at her slightly trembling fingers. She seemed to want to control them to stop, but couldn't do so immediately.
This feeling of being out of control was novel to her.
She felt as if shackles somewhere in her body had been released, making her whole head feel light and floating.
"Is this fear?" Solitär-Flamme muttered. "I seem to understand a little... the instinct to want to live, born from fear."
Rhodes looked at this demon trying hard to analyze human emotions, like watching an apprentice trying to analyze magical knowledge with formulas. He spoke slowly, "If you can thoroughly understand these human emotions, then perhaps... that will be the time you no longer need to be constantly restricted."
If one day Solitär-Flamme truly understood human emotions, Rhodes felt she wouldn't do anything harmful to humans anymore.
Precisely because one understood good and evil, one had weaknesses. Because one understood love and sorrow, one understood restraint.
This was the future Rhodes hoped to see for the Demon Race.
Solitär-Flamme's eyes seemed to light up. She nodded heavily. "I understand. I will work hard to understand these feelings."
A meaningful smile appeared on Rhodes's face. "Mn. I also look forward to it. Look forward to seeing how far you can understand."
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