Chapter 105
During yesterday's meal, she heard many strange rumors about the Elemental Gate on the dining table. She wanted to refute them, but Xerath told her to just listen and not everyone was suitable for knowing the truth.
"Teacher..."
Xerath seemed to know what she wanted to say, and she laughed lightly, saying, "No, I can't see."
"Why...?"
"How tall is Aimekotes?"
"Fifty yards?"
"How tall is this mountain?"
"I... I don't know. Does Uncle Virgil know?"
Virgil glanced down and said, "Probably around two hundred yards."
"And the continent is actually on a...?"
"Sphere?"
"Assuming that the Tralleur Star beneath our feet is a perfectly round shape, what is the farthest distance your eyes can see?"
Sylas said, "The line of sight and the tangent to the sphere."
"The astronomer Lox Stellar once calculated that the radius of this sphere is approximately 6.5 million yards, and our altitude is about 200 yards..."
"According to the Stoss Theorem, the distance from us to the point of tangency should be..."
After a moment of silence, Sylas came up with the number, "About 50,000 yards."
Xerath continued to ask, "What is the diameter of the Elemental Gate?"
Finally someone who knew the answer, Virgil quickly replied, "One thousand yards! We are approximately 500 yards away from Aimekotes, and we can only see up to 50 yards, so we can't see Aimekotes at all."
"Thank you for your explanation, Virgil."
"I'm glad to be of service," proudly said Virgil.
Sylas suddenly sat a little higher, blocking Xerath's view of Virgil.
This side of the mountain is much steeper than the other side. As they came down the path through the mountains, they heard the rumbling sound of water. Virgil suddenly slapped his forehead and said, "Oh right, there's a waterfall here. It's the rainy season now, so there must be a lot of water. Shall we go around and take a look?"
"Aren't we supposed to hurry?"
Virgil persuaded, "Hey, it's a rare sight, and you rarely bring Sylas out. Shouldn't we show her something beautiful? Besides, the dig site is at the end of the river. No matter what, we'll end up at the riverbank. It doesn't matter if we go early or late."
Xerath shrugged, "Since even the guide isn't worried about time, I have no objections. Let's go."
The sound of water grew louder. The gentle sound of water from above, barely audible due to the wind, became as loud as thunder below. The splashes of the water elementals jumping were very clear here. They were extremely excited because of the steep drop. Both elemental envoys could hear their excited cheers.
But Sylas squinted her eyes, seemingly lost in thought.
"Sylas?" the archmage reached out and grabbed her shoulder, "What's wrong?"
"I... I've been here before. I remember this waterfall..." She suddenly jumped down from Earth Child's back, "After jumping down from up there, I walked... walked over there."
She ran over quickly and gracefully, as if she had to run every day.
"Virgil!" the archmage called her friend. Virgil followed and even used a gentle breeze to blow on the Earth Child, urging it to run faster.
Luckily, Sylas didn't run at full speed. She stopped next to a tall bush and turned around to glance at the archmage following her. Then she looked towards another mountain in the distance.
"Strange... This should be the edge of the desert. I ran here, and the 'wind' told me not to go any further, so I ran in that direction instead."
She pointed towards the north, indicating that she had been walking along the edge of the desert. The direction ahead led to the town of Sunlight, but to go up from the edge of the desert, she had to take the mountain path.
Virgil chuckled, but the laughter didn't come out, "Truly a little wild beast... Oh, poor little wild beast..."
When Sylas was captured by Virgil and Xerath, both of them guessed that the little girl was only about eight years old. Keatler Elemental Chaos had happened three years before, and a five-year-old child had ended up at the edge of the desert while being chased by so many people. There were fierce pursuers in front and a barren land of devouring skeletons behind. This cluster of dreamgrass was her only and final hiding place, and even Virgil could imagine such despair.
Hyectra suddenly pounced, her huge and round body almost completely enveloping Sylas. She looked up and burst into tears, with two fountains shooting up into the sky.
Virgil couldn't help it either. He walked over, extended his arm, and hugged the large water ball and the little girl together. While hugging, he said, "So pitiful, truly pitiful. Uncle should have come as soon as he heard the news. It's better to be in uncle's warm embrace than to encounter these despicable villains. Oh, poor little one..."
Xerath remained silent, feeling a mix of emotions inside her.
This little girl, raised by a single mother, has had a difficult life from a young age. She has faced hardships and is now dealing with the brutal loss of her mother. Danger and violence have followed her like relentless shadows. She has been hiding and running, ending up falling from the top of a waterfall, desperate and scared...
Despite all this, she has grown up to be a graceful, polite, and beautiful young girl. It seems like these evils and dirt cannot taint her pure heart even in the slightest.
She looked silently at Sylas, who was being loved and cherished by the Water Lord and Virgil. Astonishingly, Sylas was also looking back at her.
Sylas's eyes were red, but thankfully she hadn't cried yet. She gazed at Xerath with a hint of hope, as if she wanted Xerath's hug more than anything, even though Xerath herself is not physically strong and could easily be blown away by a gust of wind.
"Sylas..." the Archmage uttered softly. His voice mixed with the breath he let out, making it sound like a sigh. The girl's longing became more evident, but Xerath hesitated and didn't dare to step forward.
Hugging would be inappropriate because she couldn't do it without any desire. She wanted to hug her, protect her, keep her in her arms, and provide warmth and tenderness. But she couldn't because the Archmage also had desires. So it's not possible.
There was a glimmer of pleading in the girl's eyes. She wanted this embrace from her King, not from anyone else. Xerath herself was aware that, for this wild creature with a high affinity for elements, only the Elemental King could provide a sense of safety.
But it would be inappropriate... She even thought of explaining to Sylas, clearly and comprehensively, why it's better for this event not to happen rather than for it to happen.
It was inappropriate to talk about this matter... It would expose her thoughts to Sylas, leading to an unforeseen disaster.
"Sylas..." She opened her arms, needing to comfort the girl somehow, or else she would have to reveal the secret that shouldn't be told. The girl's eyes sparkled like stars, she turned and threw herself into her embrace with such force that she had to take two steps back.
The little girl who had arrived in the tower years ago was now almost taller than her own eyes. In a few more years, her delicate body would gradually fill out. She clutched onto Xerath's back tightly, pressing her body close, burying her face in Xerath's neck.
The girl's unique fragrance and the soft touch that matched her imagination and memory made the archmage's heart beat faster. If there were no one around, she would gladly hug Sylas back, but there was Virgil next to them! She awkwardly withdrew her outstretched hand and lightly placed it on Sylas's back.
However, Sylas refused to let go of her embrace. Even when she tried to pull away, Sylas only nestled deeper into her shoulder. The archmage tried to persuade her, "Sylas, Sylas? Can you let go of me first?"
The stubborn little beast in her arms shook her head, while the archmage awkwardly looked up at Virgil. Virgil, who was known as a wanderer in the land, now had a red nose and was immersed in a nostalgic emotion, but he didn't tease them anymore, showing a forgiving smile.
The child was probably still afraid, returning to such a place with so many memories. Virgil fully understood this feeling. In theory, it was not wrong for her to want a hug from someone of the same gender. After all, compared to males and other creatures, a hug from the same species, especially a female, would provide more security for a young one. Even though Sylas was no longer a child, she still hadn't fully grown up.
Moreover, the archmage's awkward appearance was really amusing. Virgil couldn't help but want to laugh as he watched, but considering the possible resentment that might arise from the archmage, he quickly turned his head towards the direction of the desert, pretending to study the path for later.
Xerath, without showing any signs, glanced at Virgil and finally let her arm slide from behind Sylas to her waist.
The little creature in her arms trembled slightly, reminding her of those young animals that had left their mothers, like the adorable little Titus.
"I will protect you, don't be scared."
Sylas shook her head gently.
"And now you have the ability to protect yourself. You are my apprentice, and very few people can harm you, but we don't know if the 'Black Lantern' has given up on you."
She felt Sylas nod gently again.
The girl's soft and graceful body in her arms felt exactly like she had imagined it, even the scent was as expected. Anxious Xerath had to find something to think about, but her mind was filled with thoughts like "she is so heartwarming" and "I want to kiss and comfort her like when she was a child." Among these tangled thoughts, there wasn't a single one that she could grasp and think about properly.
"Teacher... I don't care about those things anymore." The little girl spoke in her ear, her voice sweet with a slight nasal tone, making her even more adorable.
Xerath's heart surged, and an impulse broke free from constraints, causing her to blurt out, "I care, if I had met you earlier... I would do everything I could to help you." Even if it means you won't become my apprentice in my mage tower, and we are just passing guests in each other's lives.
Sylas suddenly laughed soundlessly, warm friction from her slightly wrinkled nose, which Xerath couldn't see. But their familiarity with each other made it easy for her to imagine what it looked like.
