"Let's untie you. Since you're fixed to the bed, it's difficult to conduct a thorough examination from all angles."

"Ah... Mmm..."

Yuria untied the ropes with a slightly disappointed expression. Only then could Aslan free himself from the bed, where he had been bound in a sprawled position.

It wouldn't have been a bad idea to continue the experiment like this, but the vague fear that he might develop an unusual preference from it made him stop.

"Since the neodymium hasn't been expelled from your body, it's unlikely that it's circulating in your system. Therefore, we should focus on examining the skin and internal organs, rather than the circulatory and respiratory systems."

"Then, how about starting with the head... if that's alright?"

"Why the head first?"

"I was wondering if the neodymium might have accumulated in your head and made you... strange." Yuria's voice trailed off.

"..."

Yuria said this with such indifference, as if it was obvious that Aslan was strange, showing no awareness of the harshness of her words. Aslan was momentarily taken aback and lost for words.

"I find it hard to agree with that. How could I, a perfectly normal person, be strange?"

"Anyway, we're going to check your entire body, so what's the order matter? Hurry up and bring your face here. We need to check for mana reactions. Please."

"..."

With a slight pull, Yuria grabbed Aslan's face with both hands and brought it closer.

She intended to approach the experiment seriously and without emotion, but suddenly having his face this close made her feel embarrassed.

'It was always a face I had to look up to...'

How much taller is Aslan than her? About two and a half heads?

Looking at his face at the same level now felt completely different. She had to tilt her head so much just to see it before, but now it was directly in front of her.

Of course, the difference wasn't huge, just subtle. He still looked fierce and sly, but that didn't mean he was ugly.

It was just that his overwhelming aura made him seem so intimidating. Objectively speaking, his appearance wasn't bad at all. But that was only something someone who had been around Aslan for a while would think. When people first saw him, they all regarded him like a demon king.

A person who has necromancers and dark knights under his command, carries sword-bearing guards, and has a massive earth elemental living in his mansion, surrounded by hundreds of undead soldiers guarding his territory, and might even be researching black magic... How could people not hold such prejudices?

If only they knew, he was a little... no, actually, he was quite a decent person.

"Close your eyes."

"Why close my eyes?"

"Just... it's awkward." Yuria murmured.

"..."

With a sigh, Aslan closed his eyes. Only then did Yuria finally look at his face directly.

She couldn't bear to meet his eyes, feeling like he'd think she was staring at him because she thought he was handsome.

That thought made her uncomfortable.

Right now, Aslan might think he's not handsome, and it seemed like he wasn't even attempting to court other noblewomen. But if he believed he was handsome, he would start flirting with those noblewomen.

At first, they would reject him, but gradually, they'd get closer and eventually like him...

And that was something Yuria definitely didn't want.

"Has the measurement started?"

"Don’t open your eyes! Please."

"I understand."

Aslan slowly opened his eyes when it became quiet, and Yuria quickly lowered his eyelids with her hand.

It was too embarrassing to suddenly have their eyes meet.

She fumbled, pretending to be setting up the measuring instrument, but her hands kept brushing over Aslan’s facial features.

If not now, when else would she get to touch his face?

But she couldn't just do it without any reason...

‘Charlotte just touches him whenever...’

Now that she thought about it, Charlotte often touched Aslan’s face under the pretense of a massage. Even without an excuse, she sometimes directly asked if she could touch him.

How does she do that?! Doesn't she feel embarrassed?

Yuria, who was already flustered by the experiment, was beginning to feel more impressed with Charlotte.

‘His skin is so pale. I wonder if that contributes to people seeing him as scary...’

Maybe if she got him a little tan, it might make a difference... But then, thinking of how Aslan quickly becomes uncomfortable in the sun, that idea seemed impossible.

Come to think of it, Aslan is incredibly weak...

There was probably no one else in this mansion weaker than Aslan, other than her. And since Aslan couldn’t even handle mana, in reality, he was weaker than she was.

When she first met him, he seemed terrifying and overwhelmingly large. But the more she got to know him, the more his frailty became apparent.

He had a vulnerability that made her feel like she needed to protect him.

"Hmm..."

Aslan's breath tickled Yuria’s finger, causing her to jump slightly, and her finger brushed against Aslan's lips. His lips were a deep red against his pale skin.

"..."

Yuria pulled her finger away from his lips and looked at it for a moment.

Her finger, which had touched Aslan’s lips...

She swallowed.

She didn't know why, but her mind went blank, caught up in an impulse, and she had no time to think.

Yuria glanced at Aslan to see if his eyes were fully closed, and then, unable to control her impulse, she brought her finger to her mouth.

...It didn't taste like anything.

At that moment, Yuria suddenly felt something strange and glanced sideways.

"...Oh."

There, partially hidden in the shadows, she saw Charlotte, her eyes wide and silently staring at Yuria.

Yuria froze, her mind going blank, and after a brief moment, her face turned crimson with embarrassment.

"Ah!!!"

"What’s wrong?"

"Oh, it’s nothing! Just... a bug appeared suddenly!"

At the moment Yuria screamed, Charlotte smoothly melted back into the shadows.

Aslan, who had opened his eyes and was now confused, found Yuria flustered and babbling.

"So, how is the measurement going?"

"Ah, uh? Yes! It's going smoothly! I think there was a stronger reaction on the forehead earlier... Ah, I forgot to record it. I need to redo it! Please, close your eyes again!"

"..."

What was she talking about? She hadn't even used the 'Touch of Death' yet, so how could she have recorded anything?

Aslan noticed something was off with Yuria's behavior but decided not to focus on it for now.

He'd find out eventually.

The measurement went smoothly. She simply held a mana concentration meter to his body, and as he used the "Touch of Death" skill, they measured the changes in mana concentration and its rate of change. It was straightforward and quick.

The new discovery from this measurement was:

"The 'Touch of Death' skill doesn't seem to have any cooldown, and it only uses a tiny bit of stamina. The stamina usage is so minor that I could use it all day without tiring out."

It was so simple that he could use it as a mosquito repellent—just activate it at night and leave it on while sleeping.

"Ah, yes! The graph is coming together!"

Excitedly, Yuria transferred the results into graphs and tables. If Aslan had done it, it would have taken a while, but Yuria, now excited about her research, completed the work twice as fast.

When it was finished, the results were clear.

"This..."

The human diagram showed that the more neodymium accumulated in the body, the darker the color. The extremities had the lightest colors, and as it moved toward the torso, the color deepened, reaching the chest—near the heart—where the neodymium was concentrated, showing a strong reaction.

"I had a feeling, but I never thought it would be the heart."

"So, this means neodymium is accumulating in your heart?! Is that okay? Are you not going to die? Huh?"

"I've been like this for nearly ten years and am still healthy, so it's probably fine. Besides, I also carry a greatsword in my body. What's the big deal about this?"

"Still..."

[The evil god, Kali, urgently demands that our necromancer’s head be gently patted at least three times immediately!]

Yuria looked up at Aslan with watery eyes, and since Aslan had already planned to pat her head, he did so with the blessing of Kali's command. Yuria tilted her head slightly towards him, now forgetting her earlier complaints about ruining her hair.

"By the way, Charlotte."

"Huh? Charlotte?"

"Hehe! How did you find out!"

"...!?"

As Yuria called out while looking at the shadow behind the desk, Charlotte awkwardly scratched her head and slowly emerged.

Yuria’s eyes widened. Had she not known Charlotte was hiding?

How could she not know?

The sound and her appearance could be hidden, but Charlotte's distinctive sweet scent of sweat was impossible to mask.

Yuria had wondered how long Charlotte would stay hidden and, seeing her stay crouched in the narrow shadow all day, had finally called her out.

"Ugh, my legs hurt! I must have been crouching too long!"

"Well, you should have come out at a better time."

"Hehe, it was a bit embarrassing to come out then..."

"Embarrassing? Anyway, earlier when I had my eyes closed, what did you see that made Yuria act so strangely? Can you tell me?"

"Aaaah! Charlotte didn’t see anything, right? You didn’t see anything, did you?!"

Yuria quickly ran to Charlotte, glaring desperately at her.

A mischievous smile spread across Charlotte's face.

"Heheh! Did you see? Or did you not?"

"CHARLOOOOTTE!!!"

At last, Yuria knelt, her face a mess of frustration, and Charlotte stood confidently with one hand on her hip, full of energy.

What had Charlotte seen? Yuria was now genuinely curious.

Just as Yuria was about to bribe Charlotte with chocolate to get her to talk, a loud crash from the door interrupted them.

"Lord!"

"...What is it?"

The lab door was harshly thrown open. Turning around, Aslan saw Sylvia, standing awkwardly with a broken door panel in her hands.

That repair bill would definitely come out of Sylvia's salary.

"The Emperor has urgently summoned you! Here!"

"...!"

The imperial seal was stamped on the document Sylvia handed him. Normally, when the Emperor wanted to call, she would send a messenger, but this time, it had been delivered quickly by a relay rider, indicating an urgent matter.

'This doesn’t feel right.'

If the usually laid-back Empress was this urgent, how serious must the situation be?

Aslan could not even guess and began to sweat coldly, feeling a growing sense of unease.