Initially, he didn't understand why she was following him, but the more he thought about it, the more he started to realize things.
'An assassin must be inside to kill me. The Emperor really was eager it seems. That would explain why this little demoness followed me back.'
"Do you want to stay here tonight?" he asked the Holy Priestess of Summoning. "It might just be too late to go now. We should have a few rooms available here."
"Sure." Avilia agreed. She followed Gabriel inside the mansion.
"You are coming from outside?" Callum was about to leave the mansion at around the same time that Gabriel entered. He didn't even know that Gabriel had left. The last he saw, Gabriel was going to his room.
Not long after Gabriel, Avilia also entered the mansion. The last time she came, no one saw her, but now that she came from the main entrance openly, she was seen by Callum.
"Y-you?" Callum's face turned pale momentarily as he took a step back subconsciously.
From what Gabriel had told him, Avilia already knew that he was a dark Mage. Seeing her in his mansion, his thoughts went straight to only one possibility... It was that she was here to kill him!
'But wait... If she wants to kill me because I'm Dark Mage, why isn't she attacking him first? Did the two of them come together? What is happening?'
"Don't worry. I won't kill you. You are too insignificant." Avilia reminded Duke Callum.
Even though her tone was calm, the Duke felt a chill run down his spine. Just what was this woman planning?
"Don't worry. She isn't lying. As long as you don't attack her, I don't think she will care about what we do," Gabriel affirmed the Duke, who still couldn't believe his eyes.
'These two were really working together? So they were really friends?' The Duke frowned. 'No wonder she didn't attack me even after realizing what I was. It was because of him.'
He was even more impressed with Gabriel now. He had managed to win the favor of the Crazy Priestess. What couldn't this guy achieve, he wondered.
"Oh, and one more thing. She'll be spending the night here," Gabriel informed the Duke, who was already lost in some thoughts.
Since his mind was already very cloudy, hearing Gabriel's words, he was even more shocked. "Spending the night here? You two... Ah, no worries. She can treat it as her mansion as well."
For a moment, he couldn't believe his ears.
'This guy is truly worthy of being the overlord. Not only did he sway the crazy priestess, but he also made her fall in love with him so much that she is already here to sleep with him?'
"Don't worry. I will be going out for a few hours. No one will disturb you too." He hastily ran out of the mansion, leaving a confused Gabriel behind.
'This guy... He really lacks some common sense in such things.' Even Avilia understood the thoughts of Callum, facepalming herself. 'First the misunderstanding about being his girlfriend, and now this...'
"Don't mind him. He must be busy." Gabriel led Avilia up the spiraling stairs.
He stopped before the room where he had absorbed the Spirit Stones but didn't open the door.
Avilia stood in the back with folded arms, ready for the show that was to come.
"The room is nourished by Spirit Stones and protected by a Numen. Since you're a guest, I'll let you stay here. I'll pick a different room."
"What?" Avilia's lips parted. This guy... After coming so far, was he really not going to go in? Not only was he not going in, but he was also giving this room to her?
She couldn't help but wonder if he also had some trick that helped him see inside the room.
'But if that were the case, he would have already entered and killed that guy. I'm sure he has enough strength. He wouldn't need to avoid this room. Is he really giving me this room because he thinks it's good for me? Am I really overthinking?'
On the other hand, seeing the slight hesitation of Avilia, Gabriel also confirmed his suspicions.
'I must be right. An assassin is sent to kill me. If the Emperor isn't underestimating me, the person he sent should be the Saint Knight. That guy was already eager to kill me as well. I should be able to kill him, but where's the fun in that?'
He knew that Saint Knight couldn't even scratch a hair of Avilia, so she wasn't in danger even if he sent her inside. If anything, that way he could get to see a glimpse of her skills.
'You came to watch a show. Let's give you the center stage then.'
Gabriel stepped back, giving the key to Avilia. "The rich Spiritual Energy should be very helpful for your skin and strength."
Avilia's face twitched. She was just here to watch a show and see Gabriel's skills to see how he was going to handle the situation. How did it become entirely different than she expected?
"Is something wrong?" Gabriel innocently asked, seeing Avilia standing there silently.
"I don't need any rich Spiritual Energy. I think you need it more for your growth. Isn't that right?" she asked in return. "It would be more beneficial for you."
"I already took too much before. I think it would just harm my soul if I absorbed more Spiritual Energy. It'll be a waste to me. Go in. You don't need to thank me. We'll be working together in the future after all."
Gabriel placed his hand on the back of the young lady, giving her a gentle push. No matter what, he wasn't going to let her step back unless she came clean that someone was inside.
He also knew that Avilia wasn't going to come clean about that since that meant accepting the fact that she knew there was someone in the room to harm him, yet she kept that information hidden.
"Fine. I'll take this room," Avilia unwillingly agreed. Even if she couldn't see Gabriel in action tonight, there were many opportunities in the future. She couldn't lose the future opportunities for one night.
****
Inside the room, the Saint Knight had been waiting for Gabriel to enter the room for close to an hour.
After a long time, his eyes finally lit up as he saw the doorknob turning.
He stood up excitedly. Finally, he was going to kill the person, eliminating all future threats to the Empire.
He held his Heavy Sword firmly.
