Chapter 135
"Alright, do you have any ideas? When can you show me the outline?"
"...Next week," grumbled the little beast.
The archmage picked up a small spoon from the table and scooped up a portion of cake with cream on it. He placed it by Sylas's mouth and said, "Have something sweet to improve your mood, then go back to work, okay?"
Sylas wanted to pout, but she ended up laughing because she realized that this was something only the archmage did for her.
Anyway, no matter what, Xerath was somewhat "one of a kind" to her. Even though she was also one of a kind to Titus, and to Virgil as well, at least she never fed any other "one of a kind" person cake with her own hands.
She bit down on the spoon and carried her own portion back to her seat. When she stole a glance at Xerath, she saw that he had already lowered his head and returned to his own work—maybe, just maybe, the corners of Xerath's mouth were still curved upwards, just like hers?
Xerath pushed aside the messy draft paper and reference books on the table, revealing the "Unicorn Observation Diary" at the bottom. When he started writing, he felt a genuine mix of shyness and shame.
But this was the "trace of time," as the archmage finally decided to faithfully record this segment.
"I enjoy talking to 'unicorns' in a relaxed manner. It makes me feel relaxed and comfortable in a way that is different from anyone else. I can't even achieve this level of relaxation in front of Virgil."
She lightly bit her lip and quietly closed the notebook, stuffing it back onto the bookshelf. After a moment of thought, she pulled it back out and spread it open on the table, adding a few more lines.
The next morning, when Sylas learned at the dining table that Xerath's work would be conducted in the laboratory for a period of time, she couldn't accept this news right away.
Yesterday, she felt like their relationship had returned to the way it used to be, where they could share an intimate atmosphere. She had planned to continue enjoying this atmosphere today, but Xerath's words completely extinguished that thought.
The library was empty and she was about to be the only one there. Xerath was in an unseen place.
The archmage seemed unaffected, her clothes flowing in the breeze as she left the living room. Did she actually enjoy seeing me unhappy? Sylas became even more upset thinking about it. She returned to the library feeling gloomy by herself. Xerath had just finished organizing some materials and was about to leave when she saw Sylas. She smiled and greeted her.
"Teacher... Do you need any help?"
"Not for now. Hetectra can assist me. If I need another person's help, I will definitely come to you. Focus on your own tasks," the archmage said, placing her warm hand on Sylas's shoulder. Before she could fully appreciate the warmth, the archmage hurriedly left, taking the warmth with her and leaving a sudden drop in temperature.
Sylas slumped at her desk, taking out a rough sheet of paper to draw and write. The door creaked open again and Xerath peeked in, saying, "If you have any questions, ask me during dinner."
Startled, Sylas jumped up and ran to the door, making sure Xerath wasn't coming up. Then, she returned to her desk and sat down.
It seemed like the desk hadn't been tidied up yet. Sylas wondered if this implied that the archmage's decision was rushed.
In the past, when one stage of their tasks was completed, Xerath would clean the desk, organize and file everything, find clarity within the process, and then move on to the next stage. This was her habit, deeply intertwined with her thinking process. If it had reached this point, it was unlikely for Xerath to change her ways.
There were many sheets of paper spread out on the table, along with several open books. Most of them were large works written by Emerson and his teachers, as well as some journals with purely theoretical content.
Sylas couldn't see any patterns and even suspected that Xerath had just spread them out. To confirm her thoughts, she lifted a little of the top "cover" and saw the book "Mountain Spring" that Xerath would read at night, along with a collection of poems by a rebellious female poet and several different translations.
Xerath read books very seriously, Sylas had known that before, but it wasn't until she saw Xerath's notes that she realized just how serious it was. All the function words were annotated with their meanings, and there was a notebook in the usual writing position, recording analysis of the imagery. There were even physical references - when explaining a word (seemingly a type of flower), she not only wrote about its shape, smell, and the implied meaning when it appeared, but also included a hand-drawn illustration. The sketch was not hastily done, as pencil draft lines could still be seen, and the shading lines were in perfect order.
At the same time, there was a large stack of draft papers on her right hand side, all seemed to have been written on. Among a pile of formulas, coordinates, and analysis charts, there was a conspicuous word that looked different from the other fonts. Though sloppy and casual, it still caught Sylas's eye.
Unicorn.
Sylas was about to pick up this sheet of paper. It wasn't the first time the word "unicorn" appeared. She had seen it once in one of Xerath's casually named project names. At the time, she even wondered if it referred to her. But appearing abruptly here seemed somewhat unreasonable. Unicorn... it seemed to have appeared somewhere else... where was it?
She held this sheet of paper in her hand and looked at the back, but there was no relevant information. However, when she shifted her gaze back to the table, she noticed another sheet of paper being revealed.
"Stay with 'unicorn'..." The rest was unclear. As she was about to move the books covering it, there was suddenly some noise outside the door. Sylas jumped up in alarm and rushed back to her own seat, afraid that the archmage had returned. But she anxiously waited on her seat for a long time and no one came in.
She let out a sigh of relief but didn't dare to go to Xerath's desk again.
"Unicorn", a pure and rare creature, difficult to be kept by humans. What special meaning does this name have for Xerath?
For this question, Sylas struggled to find more clues. Before lunchtime, Xerath returned to the library and spent about ten minutes tidying up the table, even putting away the scraps of paper in the small box next to her.
But while Xerath was away, Sylas was able to concentrate and think without constantly being distracted by glimpses of Xerath. This unknowingly accelerated the progress. After Xerath gave her some guidance, the problems and answers that she had been pondering over and couldn't seem to find a place for, seemed to come to life and found their rightful place.
The archmage occasionally came to the library during work hours to find a few books. Most of the time, they passed by hurriedly, only nodding in acknowledgment when they caught Sylas looking at them. They hardly spoke, except during the post-dinner break when they sat together on the couch, each reading their own books.
A week later, she had a rough idea of how to write the paper. After Xerath read her outline, she praised her as usual and, of course, gave her the smile she had been longing for.
"Very well done, just as I expected when I had confidence in you before. After my reminder, you knew exactly what to write. The direction is clear this time, and the proposed experiment is interesting. So, tell me, what have you learned from this experience?"
"Hmm... the focus should be narrow, not trying to write too much. It's better to thoroughly explore one point. In fact, the narrower the focus, the easier it is to organize the content. From this perspective, 'small content' is much easier to write than 'big content.'"
"That's right. Perhaps you've noticed," she opened the book she was holding, "The Blind Poet and the Awake Observer: The Narrativity of Myth and its Metaphor. I like buying books with such titles because the people who title their articles like this have a similar way of thinking. They enjoy expanding from a very tiny topic. Some people, in their old age, reread their articles from their youth. By then, a deeper and broader network has already formed in their minds. New ideas and connections make it easier for someone to comprehend seemingly vague titles."
It seems so, and it sounds reasonable.
Xerath still smiled, "I hope young people can study very small and simple things."
"I can do it!"
"I'm also waiting for you... your growth. But do you need to go back and do more experiments in the middle?" She casually asked this question, and Sylas's face instantly lit up like it was being illuminated.
"Will you... will you accompany me?"
Xerath thought for a moment and said, "If we walk a little faster... we can."
Sylas was afraid that she would change her mind and wanted to agree immediately, but in the end, her concern overcame her excitement, and she asked, "What about... your hairstyle?"
Her hair was a little long, but it still looked like a young missionary who hadn't gone bald yet. Xerath couldn't help but touch her head and sighed, saying, "I can wear a hat, and at most, I won't talk."
"Then when can we depart?"
Xerath saw her eager look and always felt that this decision might be wrong, but there was no other way. She couldn't let Sylas go alone, right?
"Are you ready to write about this part? Just like that, experiments require a written report. We need to prepare before we can start."
"Do we really need to bring so many...so many things?"
Xerath thought for a moment and said, "Yes, we can prepare for our next trip to Withered Leaf City. But first..."
"We need to write a good paper, right? I can do it, I can do it!"
In Sylas's understanding, going out with Xerath meant there might be a chance to sleep in the same room, even on the same bed. The possibility of intimate moments excited her, just the thought of it made her heart burst with joy.
On the other hand, despite knowing this, Xerath still agreed. Does that mean she also doesn't resist these intimate moments? Suddenly, scenes of Xerath helping her dress or put on socks flooded Sylas's mind. Sylas would run into the depths of the library, pretending to look for something, but actually just happy and giggling. It would be too embarrassing if Xerath saw her like that.
