Their romance storyline only begins on the second playthrough

The reason is simple: this is a rare gift that God might bestow after listening to the heartfelt words of the most devout and gifted believers.

This blessing will greatly enhance the favored person's talents, whether in terms of attributes or skills.

In fact, after Merrick observed that Rhodes was in perfect condition, including having killed the witch who had broken into his house, she could vaguely guess this possibility.

But when she actually heard Rhodes admit it, she was still slightly shocked.

After all—even she never received a second blessing from the [Elf God]...

“Well done, Rhodes. You’ll receive a reward from the academy for this. Go on.” Merrick feigned composure and turned his attention away.

Rod nodded slightly. "We were captured about a kilometer in the heart of the eastern woodland of Phillips, in a dungeon cave."

The witches comprised three squads of [Anchitanlano's Dream], totaling nearly several hundred people. One of the squads was led by...Professor Merrick, whom she also knew.

At this point, Rhodes paused for a moment.

Merrick denied it, saying, "I don't know any inferior demons."

“It’s Cecilia Elman, your former student. She’s now a Fallen Demon Seed who has been promoted four times.”

Merrick fell silent, then snorted coldly, "Just a degenerate piece of trash, what right does he have to speak like a student?"

That tsundere... He clearly cares about Cecilia, but he acts like this.

“Hmm, maybe.” Rhodes nodded. “But anyway, that’s the situation, and the basic information I have.”

Merrick exhaled slightly:

"Hmm, I see. As expected, there was no useful information."

"It's not that there's no useful information, Professor Merrick."

There's something crucial I haven't told you yet: I've learned that the witches' goal isn't just a simple hunt, and I also know who their next target is.

“You should have mentioned this first, Rod Chivenlance,” Merrick said, slightly annoyed.

"We need to explain some basic facts first..."

"Speak quickly."

“Okay.” Rhodes nodded. “First of all, their goal is not to hunt, but to establish the base of [Anchitanlano’s Dream] in the Linlank Empire. They are trying to control Duke Sanders and use various methods to bring the country’s economic capital, Phillips, into their hands.”

“Foolish. This is trivial. In my eyes, such a goal is like a child carrying a big flag and saying he wants to rebel.” Merrick grinned mockingly.

"A bunch of corrupted demons who are only fourth-tier actually think they can control Phillips by controlling the Duke? Do they think we, or rather, do they think I don't exist?"

Arrogant, aloof, and absolutely confident—that's who she was as the former [Calamity Elf].

She has a will and attitude that disdains everything, but it is undeniable that even now, after falling and being promoted five times, her strength is far more than just that of someone who has been promoted five times. Therefore, it is only natural that she would despise Cecilia and the others.

Can……

Knowing the outcome, Rhodes couldn't laugh.

On January 1st, the 80th year of the Hymn Era, as the year's bells rang.

The [Calamity Spirit], a legendary spirit species that has existed for five hundred years, having ascended seven times, and standing at the very top of the world's power structure—

She died a tragic death at the hands of Cecilia Elman.

Chapter 16: What should I do if my mentor tells me to seduce a girl?

That was an obvious, overt conspiracy.

Cecilia captured Duke Sanders' daughter and attempted to use her special ability, [Symbiote], to summon a [Heroic] Fallen Demon Seed.

Furthermore, Cecilia wrote a letter by hand—[To the Professor]—to Merrick.

The letter stated, "I will willingly stop if Professor Merrick can come and destroy my plans." It also provided a specific location to Merrick.

Merrick, having accepted the provocation, knew it was a dead end, but driven by his guilt towards Cecilia and absolute confidence in his own strength, he went alone to the meeting.

The final result is self-evident.

Merrick died, killed by Cecilia's blade.

This is one of the "tragedies" that Rod spoke of, and also one of the things Rod wanted to change.

After all, aside from the fact that Merrick was his professor and taught him a great deal, Merrick, as a former strongman, was obviously of great help to his development and in handling the Phillips matter.

Therefore, changing Merrick's death is what Rod must do.

but……

Even if Rhodes said something like, "You'll die," Merrick would just laugh it off and not care at all.

That's just the kind of person she is...

Arrogance? No, it was her guilt over Cecilia becoming a demon, her self-reproach as a professor for failing to guide her student in the right direction, and it couldn't be explained by just two light words.

Rhodes knew this well, so he remained silent for a while and then placed the matter of change in a simpler way—

"That's right, so let's set aside their goal for now."

"The key is that their second target is the daughter of the Duke of Levi Sanders—Ivina Sanders."

"They want to use Ivina to fuse with the power of the Demon God's Echo, thereby summoning a powerful demonic force as their trump card to control Phillips."

As demonic seeds summoned by the echo of a demon god, they are all extremely dangerous... Therefore, Professor Merrick, I believe we must avoid this and protect Miss Ivina.”

That's right. Since we can't solve Merrick's problem, we might as well just solve it from the start.

As long as Ivina doesn't become a vessel for the Demon God, Merrick will have no enemy he can't defeat.

If Merrick had no enemies he couldn't defeat, wouldn't he have survived?

Merrick's expression gradually changed from arrogant to thoughtful, and after a moment, it returned to normal.

"This news is interesting... Rhodes, not bad. The Echo of the Demon God, is it? That's certainly a problem."

"It's my pleasure to be able to help you..."

Merrick interrupted Rhodes's polite remarks, "But protecting that little girl is no easy task, Rhodes."

"What do you mean?" Rhodes paused slightly, a thoughtful expression appearing on his face.

He then added, "With your abilities, you should be able to solve this easily, right?"

"You don't know?" A sneer appeared in Merrick's eyes.

Rhodes shook his head.

He, however, was unfamiliar with this information.

Because during his first playthrough he was completely focused on the quests Lilith assigned him, he knew nothing about the Duke's mansion or the little-known duke's daughter.

And by the time he learned of Ivina, it was already after Ivina had died and become a vessel—

"Let me briefly introduce you to Ivina Sanders."

She is a monster with a special physique, a [mutated] [Star God Species] that can be strengthened by feeding on human blood.

Therefore, from a young age, she suffered from extremely severe mental illness, with emotional instability, riots, and obvious bipolar disorder.

Apart from her parents, almost no one could get close to her; at the very least, anyone who did would cause her mental state to deteriorate further and she would launch extremely vicious attacks.

She was like a wild animal, only willing to stay in the Duke's mansion.

But here's the problem... It's difficult to protect her from the Duke, and I can't leave the academy. So, of course, someone needs to bring her to the academy and ensure that she stays calm and doesn't have an attack, even while she's there.

After all, the Duke couldn't possibly spend every day with his daughter at the academy.

In other words, do you understand the situation, Rhodes? Now, there is no so-called "person" who can bring her to the academy, and there is no "person" who can protect her in the Duke's mansion forever.

Unless… a new person appears who can lead her out of that cage.

Merrick's eyes were now fixed on Rhodes, and he suddenly sensed something was wrong—

Oh no, could it be...?

"So, I'll leave this matter to you, Rod Chivenlance. As the person most familiar with mental illness in the world, you should be able to do it, right?"

"The deadline is half a month. Within half a month, you will bring Ivina to our academy and keep an eye on her to protect her."

really.

Just kidding... He's busy hunting demon seeds to become stronger, how could he waste time on this?

“Wait, wait… Professor Merrick… I only lived in the Melanie Empire for nine years before I couldn’t stand it anymore and left. How could I possibly understand [mental illness]? Besides, I can’t do things that others can’t…”

"Do not.

You have another natural advantage because your good roommate, the second princess Felicity, who is just as aloof as Ivina, is one of the few people Ivina is willing to associate with, and Felicity is currently staying at the Duke's mansion.

Felicity knew almost no one else in Phillips, after all, she had come to Phillips because of you.

In other words, you're the only one with a legitimate reason to integrate into that environment and bring Ivina out with you.

"?"

At that moment, a huge question mark popped into Rhodes's head, and he completely froze.

"That's right, only you have the right to play the emotional card. Take my request and bring the girls back."

Whether it's Ivina or Felicity.

Felicity... hasn't been to school in a long time either.

As Merrick spoke, his fingertips flickered, and suddenly a piece of parchment appeared, already covered with writing.

With a flick of her finger, the parchment flew to Rhodes's feet.

"Take my envelope to the Duke, and he'll understand the situation and let you do it. It's just a small favor as your professor, isn't it? Going to rescue a young girl, don't you think it's interesting? Haha..."

"...I just feel that I will increase my ill-fated relationships."

"But you can't find a suitable partner? Why not give it a try?"

Rhodes was speechless for a moment.

Nothing more...

but--

"Since it's a commission, Professor Merrick, what is my reward?"