The Yellow-Haired Villain in Soaring Phoenix's Novels Also Desires Happiness

Time passed quickly, like a white bird gliding across a clear sky.

By the time Muen and Ariel walked out of the tailor shop, the sun overhead had already climbed to its highest point, casting down warm, gentle sunlight suited to the season—bright, but not scorching.

Tilting up her little face beneath the sunlight, Ariel narrowed her eyes and stretched lazily like a cat.

“Haaah... I never thought there’d be something in this world that made time pass as fast as training does.”

“I didn’t expect it to take this long either.”

Muen rolled his shoulders and stretched his limbs, loosening his stiff joints.

Not counting actually making the clothes, not even a single stitch had been sewn yet. Just selecting fabric, taking measurements, confirming styles, deciding details, sketching designs—all those steps alone had taken several full hours.

Naturally, Muen had once again been kicked out during the body measurements. But even then, a small incident still occurred—those magically enhanced pads had been recognized instantly by the experienced old woman, leaving someone blushing for a full half hour afterward.

Those were padded too?

Even Muen had been shocked for quite a while after hearing that.

Apparently, ever since the magical padding had been exposed, someone’s strategy had shifted from “instant transformation” to “gradual influence.”

There was probably even some bizarre self-deception involved, like: if massaging them bigger failed... then at least she could tell people they got bigger from massaging them.

But that was a matter for later.

After participating in so many stages of the process, even Muen had started looking forward to the final product.

Whether a certain someone’s chest was big or small, once she wore that new dress, she would definitely stun everyone.

“Where to next?” Muen asked.

“At this hour? Why are you even asking?”

Ariel raised her hand and pointed ahead dramatically.

“Food!”

“Fair enough...”

After exhausting themselves all morning—especially him, considering his fatigue was not merely mental but physical as well—it was only natural to properly replenish the energy they had consumed.

As the old saying went...

Since things had already come to this, might as well eat first.

“Got any restaurant in mind?”

“Nope. I’m not familiar with this area, so how would I know where to go? But...”

“But?”

“When we were leaving earlier, the old tailor lady gave me this.”

Ariel pulled something from her clothes. Stretching his neck for a look, Muen realized it was actually a flyer.

“Alleyway Restaurant. Grand opening special. Buy one get one free. Couples half price?”

“She said it belongs to an old coworker of hers. Apparently he also got kicked out of Saint Haze Palace after causing trouble, and recently opened this place to retire peacefully,” Ariel explained.

“A former royal chef from Saint Haze Palace?”

Muen rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

“That actually sounds pretty good.”

“Right?!”

Ariel immediately brightened with excitement.

Compared to hobbies she had only recently developed—like making dresses and wearing dresses—eating delicious food and filling her stomach had always been her greatest and most primal passion.

Now that a cheap and worthwhile dining opportunity was right in front of her, how could she possibly pass it up?

“Come on, the old lady said it’s nearby. Just three streets away and we’ll—”

“Wait!”

Muen suddenly stopped her.

“We can’t go there!”

“Huh? Why not?” Ariel asked in confusion.

“Because something’s off.”

Muen tapped the flyer with his finger.

The flyer’s black paper background was covered in eye-catching promotional text and amusing doodles. No matter how one looked at it, it was undeniably attractive.

But the problem was precisely that.

Even for a newly opened restaurant, the promotions were absurdly generous.

Buy one get one free? Couples half price?

If a couple went there, wouldn’t they only need to buy one meal to get another one free—and the purchased one would already be half-price?

It was way too targeted.

Practically tailor-made for couples.

And this restaurant supposedly belonged to a former royal chef from Saint Haze Palace, plus an acquaintance of that old tailor woman. Even if the guy wasn’t seventy or eighty, he had to at least be in his fifties or sixties.

Would some old man like that really create flashy promotions aimed specifically at couples?

No matter how he thought about it, it made no sense.

“You mean... this restaurant is a trap?” Ariel caught on quickly.

“Most likely.”

“Who’s trying to mess with us? The Salvation Society? Evil cultists?”

“No. I think it’s...”

Muen closed his eyes. Several beautiful faces appeared in his mind.

Whether it was the suspiciously perfect timing or the carefully designed setup, this had obviously been planned in advance.

Just like An’s earlier ambush, this was clearly another deliberate attempt to lure him into a trap!

Those little demons were trying to screw him over again!

Hmph. Being careless once was one thing.

But how could he possibly fall for the exact same trap twice?

“No matter who’s behind it, since we spotted the problem, we’re not going. Let’s pick somewhere else.”

“That makes sense.”

Ariel nodded.

Although she still did not quite understand how a suspicious flyer like this had ended up in the old tailor woman’s hands, Muen himself did not seem overly concerned about it, so she did not think too deeply either.

After all, she trusted this guy that much.

There was no way he was secretly hiding anything bad from her behind her back... right?

“So where are we going then?”

“Mmm... now that’s the question.”

Muen thought carefully.

If he wanted to find somewhere that would avoid detection by those troublemakers while still satisfying Ariel...

There was only one option left.

“We’ll use the method you’re best at.”

Muen picked up a tree branch nearby and solemnly handed it to Ariel.

“We’ll leave our fate to the heavens.”

...

...

Ten minutes later, the branch Ariel had tossed into the air for the thirteenth time landed perfectly in front of a restaurant entrance.

Muen looked up.

Several elegant words were written across the restaurant signboard. The place itself was not large, but the clean and refined atmosphere it projected stood out sharply amidst the poverty and cramped surroundings nearby.

“Then this is the one.”

Muen led Ariel inside.

As the deliberately weathered wooden doors creaked open, Muen quickly swept his gaze around and discovered that the restaurant was considerably larger than it appeared from outside.

There were not many guests, however. Only a few scattered tables sat beneath flickering candlelight. Despite it being lunchtime, the place had somehow created the atmosphere of a romantic candlelit dinner.

“This is nice!”

Ariel’s eyes sparkled as she stared at the candles.

“I remember our last candlelight dinner got interrupted halfway through. This time we can finally make up for it!”

“As long as you like it.”

Muen immediately raised a hand to summon a waiter.

“A private room. The best one you have, thank you.”

“My apologies, sir, but our private rooms require reservations.”

The waiter smiled apologetically.

“Please allow me to seat you in the standard—”

“One hundred thousand Aimier. Buy me a reservation slot.”

“...”

The waiter froze.

He looked Muen up and down again in a somewhat rude manner. After standing there dumbfounded for a full three seconds, he finally raised trembling hands and accepted the black crystal card with gilded edges from Muen.

“P-please wait a moment.”

The waiter hurried away.

“One hundred thousand? Just for two seats?”

Ariel tugged on Muen’s sleeve and muttered:

“Isn’t that way too wasteful?”

“How could this possibly count as wasteful?”

Muen turned back with a smile.

“Being able to buy your happiness is the most worthwhile deal in the world.”

“Hmph. Throwing money around to show off again, you filthy rich idiot. What are you gonna do when you spend your entire fortune someday?”

Ariel puffed out her cheeks in displeasure, clearly disdainful of this kind of shameless wealth-flexing behavior...

Yet anyone could tell from the way she looked at Muen that she practically seemed ready to melt.

“If I really spend all my money someday, then you can support me.”

“But then we’d only be able to eat black bread.”

“I’d gladly do it.”

“Ugh, that’s so cheesy!”

“How can sincere feelings be cheesy?”

Just as their flirtatious exchange ended, the waiter came jogging back.

“This way, sir.”

He respectfully returned the crystal card to Muen. Even his bow was noticeably more proper than before.

“Please follow me.”

“Thank you.”

Muen put away the card, naturally took Ariel’s small hand again, and led her all the way to the innermost part of the restaurant.

The private room door opened.

Then closed.

All outside noise was instantly shut away.

“The atmosphere here’s actually pretty good. I never expected a place like this to exist in an area like this.”

Muen observed the surroundings.

Many things here clearly did not belong in this district at all. For example, the compact magical audio device sitting in the corner of the room—something only nobles could afford.

“You flatter us, sir.”

The waiter maintained his professional smile while handing over the menu.

“This place simply provides a discreet location for people who need somewhere private to talk while dining.”

“What an interesting explanation.”

Muen casually handed the menu to Ariel.

“You order.”

“Huh? But I’m not familiar with noble cuisine...”

“It’s fine. Just order whatever you like.”

“Alright...”

Ariel nodded and accepted the menu, only to suddenly realize something.

“Hm? What about you, Muen?”

“Me?”

Muen stood and smiled lightly.

“I’m going to the washroom. I’ll be right back.”

...

The instant he stepped out of the room, the smile vanished from Muen’s face.

The washroom?

What was he, some Lord of Bathrooms who needed to walk backward four steps inside while chanting spells?

Or some justice superhero who needed to put his underwear on outside his pants before fighting evil?

What he actually intended to do...

Was thoroughly inspect this restaurant.

He could not help it. An’s stunt earlier had already left him deeply on edge. What if someone else tried pulling another trick later?

Although this restaurant was not the one from the flyer, and Ariel had selected it completely at random—making it nearly impossible for anyone to track them or wait in ambush—Muen still felt he could not lower his guard.

The humiliating disaster from earlier remained painfully vivid in his memory. Both his mind and body had suffered severe trauma.

So this time...

He absolutely had to ensure there was no chance of failure.

“Modified Light Spell.”

A flicker of dim light swayed.

Muen vanished on the spot.

Combining Elizabeth’s alchemical domain with his spell, Muen completely concealed both his figure and aura as he began moving silently through the restaurant.

Main hall.

Secondary hall.

Every private room.

Kitchen.

Storage rooms.

Employee lounge.

Muen inspected every room and every corner carefully. Unlike earlier at the tailor shop, he no longer trusted his senses too much. Every blind spot hidden from sight had to be personally investigated.

As a result, he ended up witnessing some extremely shocking scenes.

For example, the scandalous tale of a sixty-year-old rich woman and her eighteen-year-old pretty boy.

Or a beautiful woman dressed in gothic Lolita fashion seducing a muscular giant into a room... only to pull out something even bigger than his, leaving the poor man sobbing in despair.

“Holy hell, my eyes...”

After finishing the inspection, Muen felt like he had nearly gone blind. The sights he had just witnessed were so horrifying that even someone with enough tolerance to calmly look at Evil God creations had almost been unable to endure them.

When it came to bizarre tastes, humanity truly surpassed even the Evil Gods.

Not even those things could compete.

Fortunately, hard work paid off.

At long last, Muen completed his inspection of the restaurant.

—No problems.

Absolutely none.

This really was just an ordinary noble restaurant.

Aside from a few nobles secretly engaging in shady activities, just as the waiter had mentioned earlier, there was nothing worthy of Muen’s attention.

No hidden enemies.

No suspicious figures lurking in secret.

After searching everything thoroughly, the only thing that vaguely caught his attention were the Goddess statues placed in rooms temporarily occupied by followers of the Goddess.

The simply carved statues still wore expressions of compassionate sorrow. Whenever one looked at them, a sacred feeling naturally arose in the heart, as though they truly could cleanse away filth and sin.

But in Saint Blancfazesiya—a city where ninety percent of the population had once been believers of the Goddess—such statues were everywhere. There was nothing particularly unusual about them.

Still, just to be safe, Muen inspected them briefly as well.

They really were ordinary Goddess statues.

No problems whatsoever.

“Looks like I really am being overly paranoid. Damn it. Those evil women actually left psychological scars on me.”

“Guess I should head back.”

Dispelling the Light Spell, Muen returned to his private room and casually pushed open the door.

Creak—

He stepped inside.

“Ariel, finished ordering the foo—huh? Wrong room?”

Muen froze.

Because what greeted his eyes was not the private room from earlier, nor Ariel waiting for him after ordering food.

Instead, there stood an ancient chamber filled with drifting incense.

And beneath an enormous Goddess statue, a girl in a white dress knelt in prayer.

“The holy scriptures once said... when the Goddess walked the mortal world, She treated every statue of Herself as a pair of eyes. Only then could She witness the suffering of humanity and perceive the existence of sin...”

The girl faced away from Muen as she murmured softly. Even the sacred white dress could not fully conceal the alluring curves of her graceful figure.

Yet Muen did not even look.

He immediately turned to leave.

Click.

At some unknown moment, the door behind him had already sealed shut.

Every hair on Muen’s body stood on end. Completely ignoring the girl’s muttering, he strode forward and violently twisted the doorknob.

Clack-clack-clack—

The door did not move at all.

What had originally seemed like an ordinary door had somehow been reinforced with a powerful restriction. For a moment, even Muen could not force it open. Sweat immediately began pouring down his face.

“Open up! Open the damn door!”

Pulling became pounding.

Then smashing.

...But it still did not budge in the slightest.

Muen was furious.

Damn it all... what kind of broken door is this?!

Open already!

If it doesn’t open... if it still doesn’t open, then—

“My dear Muen...”

At that moment, a resentful voice drifted from behind him.

“Now that you’ve come all the way here... are you really that eager to leave?”