I, the wizard, the foolish Buddha

Roland's goal was very clear: I don't care if you resent me or not, I want my things back. We'll talk about what happens after that during our BOSS fight.

So, he was there to embarrass Katarina.

He thought that after talking so frankly, Katarina, having lost face, would definitely remember today's events and obediently send the things away.

So, the conversation would end there. She would remember today's events and obediently do as he wanted. He could leave in peace. Job done.

But he didn't expect Katarina to still want to talk to Roland.

She actually asked the following question: "Do you think it's worth risking your life for such small things?"

Roland thought to himself: 'Bullshit, am I just going to let you snatch my things away like that? How humiliating would that be?'

But he couldn't say that.

Talking like that would be too confrontational and could easily lead to a fight on the spot.

Moreover, it wouldn't fit the 'simpering simp' persona he had been cultivating.

He said, "Princess Catherine's honor is paramount."

Katarina paused slightly, then sneered, "Roland, you're a philanderer, you can't even count your lovers on one hand. Don't you feel ashamed saying such things now?"

Roland sighed.

To be honest, Katarina's words made him feel a bit defensive.

You know, if I had actually gotten some action, then I wouldn't mind people talking about it—because they wouldn't be wrong, right?

But I haven't done a damn thing! I'm practically Dou E!

He had indeed been feeling troubled lately, and he took the opportunity to complain a bit.

He said, "Your Highness, to be honest, I've had some misunderstandings with Princess Catherine recently. In fact, she should be able to guess that I'm being framed."

Katarina frowned and said, "Your affairs have already spread. Why do you think people would believe you're being framed?"

Roland shook his head and said, "She should know what I've done and what I haven't done. Your Highness, you may not know this, but your sister likes to eavesdrop."

Katarina didn't speak.

Roland continued, "The Straw Town is mysterious and somewhat strange. After I collect the straw, their karma... or rather, their destiny, will be transferred to me. So, it looks like I'm the one doing everything.

But if someone witnesses the collection with me, they can know the whole story.

So, I guess she should know the truth.

But your sister is a bit petty."

The two people present were slightly stunned. Then, Eliana covered her mouth and giggled, while Katarina narrowed her eyes slightly.

She said somewhat angrily, "Straw Town was established by my brother and Lord Usak themselves as a seal. I know very well what's going on there. What is sealed there is desire and obsession. The straw is your desire, and their thoughts are your thoughts! It's just that they acted on them first.

Roland, you are a wolf in sheep's clothing! You are a beast in human form!

My sister might not take some things to heart because she knows the reason behind them.

But shouldn't she be angry because of the evil desires deep in your heart?"

Roland's next words were very straightforward: "Yes! She should be angry, she should be very angry.

Women can get angry for days because of a dream, let alone hearing your sleep talk?

Your Highness, you're right, I'm a beast in human form, I'm a wolf in sheep's clothing.

But..."

Saying that, Roland shook his head.

Katarina became even angrier and said, "Don't leave me hanging, say it!"

Roland looked at the elder sister with a strange expression. He suddenly realized that she wasn't quite as he had imagined—at least she was quite protective of others.

Roland sighed and said, "Your Highness, in Valeria, there is an ancient saying—judge by actions, not by intentions; no one is perfect if judged by intentions. A person's good or bad should be judged by their final choices, not by whether they had certain desires during the process.

Don't interrupt, I know I'm being sophistical, but please allow me to make an analogy first."

Roland stood up straight and looked at Miss Eliana and Katarina.

He said, "Today, in this pleasure boat, there are two of the world's most beautiful goddesses painting... Goddess paintings in the Fanhansier style."

Hearing this, Eliana puffed out her proud chest, feeling a little smug—that's right, Eliana is the most beautiful.

Katarina looked at Roland and sneered—very good, sweet talk, philandering. As expected, he's the kind of dog who loves every woman he sees.

Roland felt a little baffled and continued, "A great sage accidentally enters the pleasure boat and is invited by them... This great sage will definitely refuse.

However, when he sees their bodies, which are fatally attractive to the opposite sex, even a great sage's heart will definitely beat faster. When invited, he will definitely hesitate for a second.

Because he is a healthy man, he has normal worldly aesthetics, and driven by humanity and personality, he cannot be indifferent like a god."

Roland looked at Katarina and said, "Your Highness, that second of hesitation is the desire that was once active in Straw Town.

You have repeatedly invited me to write poems and paint for you. To be honest, I am very tempted.

But I cannot accept your invitation.

Because standing in front of you is the complete me, not the incomplete me in Straw Town.

This refusal is the complete me.

Your Highness, I just said that I want to protect Princess Catherine's honor.

She is my fiancée, and I am her fiancé. I cannot allow her reputation to be tarnished by my actions."

Katarina suddenly felt a little tired and held her forehead. She waved her hand and said, "Her reputation, even her family's reputation, has already been tarnished beyond repair by your (little Roland's) actions... Get out."

Roland was slightly stunned.

Suddenly, he realized something—how would the gossip news in recent years write about it?

The noble royal princess's fiancé is philandering outside. Her Highness the Princess had a big fight with His Majesty and insisted on marrying this trash mudblood?

Roland covered his eyes.

Without saying a word, he rolled out.

When he rolled out the door, he was stunned for a long time.

Wait, what did I come here to do today?

How did I end up talking about my feelings with the elder sister?

However, she should send the things over.

In any case, the goal should have been achieved.

Looking back, Katarina was indeed acting. Many of her actions seemed to be acting.

Her acting skills are a bit amazing. Looking at it this way, her scheming is too deep. I really treated her as a 'brainless noble second generation'.

It seems that the selection of people at the top is carefully considered. This mission does require such a great actor to cover it up.

The pig teammate doesn't seem to be a pig teammate.

Well... but that Miss Eliana the elf is a bit 'scatterbrained'—she's simply a madcap!

Whether or not we can cooperate smoothly with them when we go to Bloodless Fortress, we'll see tomorrow.

From the secret route, starting tomorrow, the trio will leave the ship and act alone.

That night, as Roland was checking the scars on his wrist in his room, he heard a knock on the door.

Roland opened the door and looked forward blankly, seeing a pair of proud breasts—the beautiful lady's shoulders and face were blocked by the doorframe.

Miss Eliana the elf pushed him and rudely pushed Roland into the door, then bent over and squeezed in.

At the moment she deftly squeezed in, Roland couldn't help but recall a nightmare—back then, Anna had sneaked into his room so quietly.

Miss Eliana's height was extremely oppressive. She walked into the room while staring at Roland. Under her fierce gaze, Roland couldn't help but take several steps back.

Recalling the battle during the day, Roland was still a little weak.

He warned with a cold sweat, "You, what are you doing? I'm telling you, you can't last ten moves against me. If you lose again, I won't let you off like I did during the day!"

The word 'lose' seemed to remind the elf lady of many infuriating memories.

She raised an eyebrow, her eyes revealing a bit of fire, wishing she could tear the guy in front of her apart. She looked behind Roland, a hint of playfulness in her eyes, and took another step forward.

Roland was a little angry. He took a step back and was about to draw his sword, but he bumped into a chair and almost fell.

The elf lady reacted quickly and 'kindly' grabbed Roland, but 'accidentally' used too much force and hugged him tightly against her chest.

Roland struggled for a long time, but couldn't break free and almost suffocated.

Miss Eliana's eyes revealed a bit of sadistic pleasure from tormenting a small creature.

"Eliana~~~" A somewhat helpless and angry voice came from outside the door.

Eliana quickly released Roland from her chest. But upon closer inspection, his eyes had rolled back!

She was so frightened that she broke out in a cold sweat, shaking him cautiously a few times, but Roland didn't respond.

'Damn it! Are you okay! Why are you so fragile! Wake up!'

At this moment, Katarina had already entered the room and closed the door.

"Roland, leave your 'straw body' behind, we should set off," Katarina said as she walked over, only to find Eliana with a mournful face, looking like she had done something wrong. And Roland in her arms had already passed out.

"You two idiots! Can you cause me less trouble!"

Katarina waved her magic wand, but it seemed to have no effect.

She tried a few more tricks, but they were still useless.

At this point, Katarina felt that something was wrong, and she hurriedly leaned over to check, only to find that Roland was on the verge of death!

Moreover, he looked like he was dying after drowning.

"W-what's going on? What did you do to him?!"

Ariana anxiously spoke a string of ancient Elven words, probably saying that she had only suffocated him for a little while.

Katarina knew that Ariana had only arrived a minute earlier than her. As a wizard, it was impossible to drown so quickly.

She suddenly thought of a possibility: "Crap! He probably entered the lower world and saw the sea, so the lower world affected the surface world, and he drowned!"

She hurriedly laid Roland flat on the ground, tore open Roland's shirt, and carefully checked him, finding that he was indeed like a drowning person.

She used a few rescue spells, but they were still ineffective!

Ariana said with a tearful face: "I-is it possible that we have to do mouth-to-mouth resuscitation?"

Katarina's first reaction was bullshit!

Her second thought was...

Before she could think too much, Ariana, who was squatting beside him, hesitated for a moment and then leaned over to kiss him.

Katarina grabbed her, her eyes a little fiery: "What are you doing?"

Ariana's face turned red from her sister's glare, and she turned her head away.

Katarina said, "Press on his chest first to get the water out."

It was a good idea. Ariana was strong enough to crack two of Roland's ribs with a single press.

Ariana didn't care and continued to press at a steady rhythm. After the two of them worked together for a while, Roland vomited a few mouthfuls of water.

Katarina hurriedly straightened Roland's head, lifted the hair in front of her forehead, and then went mouth-to-mouth, exhaling and inhaling, exhaling and inhaling.

After breathing a few times, Katarina suddenly noticed that Ariana beside her suddenly stopped moving, looking towards the door as if she had seen a ghost.

Katarina turned her head in astonishment and looked towards the door, and then also showed a ghostly expression.

A hidden figure slowly appeared from in front of the door.

He looked at the two of them repeatedly with strange eyes, his expression as if he was looking at lunatics.

This person was Roland.

Katarina and Ariana were stunned on the spot. They looked at the Roland on the ground who was still vomiting water, and then looked at the Roland behind the door, their whole bodies frozen in place.

They were sure that the Roland on the ground was definitely not a clone, but the real body.

The one behind the door was also the real body.

Roland looked at the two of them with a strange expression and asked, "What are you doing?"

At this time, Katarina had already seen through the trick, and she said angrily: "Multiple Divine Soul Technique? Are you crazy, playing this kind of game with us? Is it fun?!"

Katarina was truly angry.

Roland's face was full of black question marks: "What are you talking about?"

Suddenly, Roland realized something, and he cursed in a low voice: "Damn it, so this time's mission requires three lunatics! You two are in such unstable states, don't suddenly go crazy when you get to the scene!"

Katarina's eyes went black when she heard this.

She also suddenly realized something - this kid had mental problems.

Ariana was still trying to rescue the Roland on the ground. Her Common Tongue was only average, so she didn't understand the wizards' jargon.

She only knew that the Roland on the ground could be saved, so she continued to press on his chest and give him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

Katarina couldn't tell which one was Roland now. To be on the safe side, she wanted to save the Roland on the ground first.

The Roland who was drowning on the ground seemed more likely to be the real one, because he had just entered the lower world!

Soon, the Roland on the ground vomited a few more mouthfuls of water and slowly woke up. Then he fainted again.

Katarina breathed a sigh of relief. She repaired Roland's ribs and then said, "Alright, Ariana, put him on the bed. After he wakes up, let's see which one is this kid's real body."

Roland couldn't hold back any longer.

He looked at the two lunatics, and then looked at the 'stand-in puppet' on the bed that he had just used to escape, and his whole person was not well.

That stand-in puppet was a stand-in puppet that Roland had made when he was bored in the tower. It could be used to escape.

As for the materials... he just used whatever was available. There was plenty in the fields.

Some magic puppets were woven from straw, some were woven from vines, and some were wood carvings. Anyway, the materials were varied.

The one on the bed was woven from fire vines.

His Substitute Spell was already level 6, so he didn't need any good materials to block most of the wizard's attacks for him.

If it exceeded the scope of the Substitute Spell, Leona and the clone would come out.

This trick was very useful. He used it several times when fighting with his senior brother.

Roland watched the two of them still taking good care of the vine puppet and scratched his hair fiercely: "What the hell are you doing? Are you okay? Take some medicine, okay!"

Katarina ignored Roland. She took out a bottle of magic potion, walked to the bedside, and made a gesture to feed the magic potion into Roland's mouth.

At this time, an angry high-voltage arc flew over from behind her.

— "Avada Kedavra!"

With a crackling sound, the Roland on the bed twitched a few times and died instantly.

Katarina's eyes turned red, and she picked up the magic spell to kill the Roland who she didn't know was real or fake. At this time, she suddenly saw that the Roland on the bed was not Roland at all, but a vine puppet!

The person who wove the puppet must be a master artist. He wove this magic puppet very abstractly, but it could make people feel that the puppet was somewhat similar to Roland.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Roland walked over and snatched the magic potion from Katarina's hand: "Are you okay? You weren't planning to feed this vine puppet the magic potion just now, were you?"

Ariana blinked her eyes. She tilted her head and thought for a few times, and then decided to give up thinking.

Katarina rubbed her forehead. The more she thought about it, the more she felt that she was going crazy and couldn't take it anymore. She pointed to the floor and said, "I was fine just now, but now I'm not. Look, is there any water stain there."

Roland frowned and looked over there, and then his whole person was not well.

There was a water stain on the floor.

Suddenly, Roland suddenly found that he had an extra memory.

He had just drowned, and then Katarina and Ariana took turns giving him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

"I understand!"

Roland suddenly realized.

A jade hand suddenly covered his mouth, and Katarina scolded fiercely: "Shut up, don't say it!"

[You understand! Realm Value + 3]

[You understand! Magic Puppet Construction Technique + 3]

[You understand! Forbidden Transformation Technique + 2]

Roland shouted in his heart: 'Butterflies, it's all butterflies!'

'That's a substitute, a replacement that is more profound than wearing my name!'

'So every time I use the Substitute Spell, I turn the substitute puppet into a little Roland!'

'This me, in my eyes, is a substitute puppet! It's a vine man, a scarecrow!'

'But in other people's eyes, that is the trajectory of my fate! It is my causal afterimage! It is me who can speak, walk, and flirt!'

'Wait a minute...'

'Why are there water stains?'

Suddenly, Roland gave himself a jolt, and then his figure flashed, and then a scarecrow appeared in place.

He carefully looked at the scarecrow. After a moment, the scarecrow clicked and turned its head, looking at Roland.

With two thumps, Roland and the scarecrow were both startled and fell to the ground.

So far, every time Roland used the Substitute Spell, he was hit by someone else. Basically, they were instant-kill spells. After being hit, the scarecrow was destroyed.

Therefore, the scarecrow only appeared for a moment each time before disappearing.

Therefore, the memory generated by the scarecrow was the moment it was beaten. And from Roland's perspective, when his Substitute Spell was activated, he was also beaten.

Therefore, he had never noticed that he would have an extra memory after the substitute died.

And because the scarecrow died immediately every time it came out, Roland had never discovered what they could do or what strange things they were.

"Hahaha! You've succeeded, you've succeeded! Big Roland, we've all become immortals!"

The abstract scarecrow cheered and jumped up and down on the ground.