"Who is Little Treasure?" Angel asked in confusion.
The Wise Sovereign: "You can think of it as that hole you saw earlier."
Upon hearing this response, everyone exchanged glances with subtle expressions. A hole actually has a name? And such a, well, cute name?
Come to think of it, the Wise Sovereign’s description of Little Treasure didn’t sound like just a hole, but more like some kind of intelligent being? Or an mechanized puppet?
The Wise Sovereign also noticed that everyone seemed puzzled by the name "Little Treasure." He originally didn’t plan to say more, but then he suddenly thought of something...
Perhaps this was a great opportunity for an explanation?
The Wise Sovereign thought about how to phrase it and said, "You all seem to care a lot about Little Treasure’s name? If it knew your reactions, even if Big Treasure hadn’t stopped it, it would’ve swallowed you all up whole."
"Big Treasure? Little Treasure? Could there be a Middle Treasure too?" Dox quipped.
The Wise Sovereign gave Dox a sidelong glance: "There’s no Middle Treasure, but there is a Second Treasure."
Angel: "We mean no harm by its name, we just didn’t expect a hole to have such an adorable name."
"They are not ordinary holes," the Wise Sovereign said with deep meaning as he looked at the Black Earl: "If they were truly just ordinary holes, why would you be monitoring their movements all the time?"
Black Earl: "With suspicion, naturally, one would want to know more."
The Wise Sovereign: "That’s normal, but while you’re watching Little Treasure, Little Treasure is also watching you. You think it’s a hole, but it’s actually its eyes, its mouth, its ears, or even, its weapon."
Angel: "Is it an alchemical creation?"
The Wise Sovereign shook his head: "No, it has a body, didn’t you already see it?"
Seeing Angel still doubtful, the Wise Sovereign didn’t continue to explain Little Treasure’s structure, but instead returned to the previous question: "Did you just say its name was ’cute’?"
Angel: "Is there a problem?"
The Wise Sovereign: "Of course there’s no problem, I also think the name is cute. However, Little Treasure doesn’t like people saying its name is cute, it yearns for a mighty and domineering name. Once it hears someone say it’s cute, it’ll swallow them up."
The Wise Sovereign squinted with a smile: "Doesn’t that behavior make it even cuter?"
Angel: "..." Do we have a different understanding of ’cute’?
The Wise Sovereign continued to speak to himself: "Little Treasure’s full name is One-Eye Little Treasure. Its two brothers are the One-Eye Big Treasure and One-Eye Second Treasure I mentioned earlier."
"Compared to the mature and steady Big Treasure and the deep and quiet Second Treasure, Little Treasure’s personality is quite mischievous. This may be because it is the youngest child and more pampered?" the Wise Sovereign continued, "Its mother dotes on it, and I also pamper it since I watched it grow up, so I can tolerate its occasional pranks."
"Speaking of pranks, I suddenly remembered an amusing story about Little Treasure."
The Wise Sovereign’s words were very casual, as if he was really sharing a funny story, but in his unnoticed inner world, he was tense, organizing his words more cautiously.
He must make what he’s about to say seem very unintentional... absolutely cannot let them see that he actually cares a lot about it.
"An amusing story?" Angel asked "knowingly."
"That’s right. I remember you said that Cicia showed you my research projects?"
Angel nodded, though what the Wise Sovereign said wasn’t quite accurate, as he had seen the niche project in a magazine before meeting Cicia, but when he saw it shouldn’t be too important.
The Wise Sovereign: "This project is among my research topics on the ecology of the Ghosteye Witch, the most inconspicuous, the least valuable, yet the most interesting one."
"I actually find it valuable." Angel wasn’t just flattering, he acknowledged that though the "Record of the Varied Postures of Witch Eye and Ghost Intermingling" is inconspicuous, saying it has no value, Angel disagreed.
It was because of this research project that Angel obtained a silver trinket belonging to a Wood Spirit without disturbing the beauty-loving Ghosteye Witch.
A project that can be featured in "The Wizard’s Little Clever Tricks" column, even if inconspicuous, is still a "clever trick."
"You find it valuable?" The Wise Sovereign was momentarily stunned, then showed an expression of understanding: "Indeed, young and vigorous, liking such ’fun’ projects, I can see that."
Angel didn’t react at first until the Wise Sovereign inexplicably winked, he then realized that the Wise Sovereign seemed to have misunderstood something...
Angel was about to explain, but saw the Wise Sovereign looking with a leisurely expression, as if waiting for him to explain.
In that kindly smile, Angel read one sentence: Go ahead, explain it to your heart’s content, I understand, I believe.
Angel swallowed his words of explanation down his throat. Forget it, a misunderstanding is just a misunderstanding, truly explaining would mean admitting he "understood" the Wise Sovereign’s implication. It’s better to not explain, just pretend the Wise Sovereign was genuinely praising him for being "young and vigorous," without any hidden meaning, even though it’s not quite a compliment either.
Without engaging, Angel’s silence was irrelevant to the Wise Sovereign, who had long prepared his words, and he continued: "Anyway, because this interesting project has no value... I personally felt it was of no value, but an interesting project cannot be savored alone, of course, it has to be shared with others."
The Wise Sovereign: "So, I decided to submit this project to a certain magazine."
"However, trivial matters like submissions I naturally wouldn’t handle personally, so I entrusted the manuscript to Little Treasure to handle it. Who knew, the magazine reached out needing a pseudonym, and Little Treasure that rascal... sigh."
The Wise Sovereign sighed, with an expression of a "doting father indulging a mischievous child" said: "Unexpectedly, Little Treasure, in its mischief, without my consent, used a nickname it privately calls me with its brothers."
The Wise Sovereign spoke casually, but the key points of "without my consent" and "chosen by Little Treasure" he deliberately portrayed with a helpless expression, deepening everyone’s impression.
"That’s how that somewhat peculiar... pseudonym came about."
After listening to the Wise Sovereign, the others showed no expression, but Dox had a look of realization: "So that’s how Blue Fattie’s name came to be. I thought..."
"You thought what?" The Wise Sovereign smiled, looking at Dox with eyes full of affection.
Dox inexplicably felt a chill run down his spine and blurted, "Nothing, nothing, I just think the name sounds quite nice."
Angel watched as Dox suddenly started stammering, unable to help but think: A pseudonym that even the Wise Sovereign himself hesitates to mention directly, yet Dox blurts it out like that, it would be surprising if he wasn’t being remembered for it.
Yes, Angel didn’t know if the others realized the Wise Sovereign’s concern over the pseudonym, but Angel had noticed it.
From the very first meeting, when the Wise Sovereign inquired what intelligence Angel got from Cicia, Angel noticed the Wise Sovereign’s awkward emotion when he mentioned the Wise Sovereign’s pseudonym.
Back then, the Wise Sovereign didn’t know Angel had an extraordinary sensitivity to emotions, so he didn’t hide it, and Angel saw it all clearly.