Chapter 32
Virgil shrugged his shoulders, furrowing his brow, and said, "In my memory, at this age, I would be more accepting of those playful words, right?"
Xerath thought for a moment and answered with a worried look on her face, "I'm sorry, I don't think I can explain it. Besides, I think it's fine this way. Both she and I are accepting this arrangement. She has already made three promises to me, and since she is now my student, it is necessary for me to write down these promises."
"Have you really made up your mind? I mean, I can still help you communicate with those buyers..."
"Yes, I have made up my mind. I am an archmage, how can I not have a student?"
"With your reputation, there will be many wealthy children scrambling to work in your mage tower, and soon the guest rooms downstairs won't be enough."
"Virgil, one exceptionally talented student is enough for me. I may not have the desire to teach a second one. " She held Sylas's hand, with Titus following behind. The four of them went downstairs to the sandy area outside the tower, picking up the furniture and trinkets that had collided with the wind barrier and scattered around. Titus transformed back into a magic wolf. Virgil personally helped it put on a saddle, so it could carry the items upstairs. Obviously, many things inside were already damaged and had to be put in storage for later handling.
Before dinner, Xerath summoned Elvis, the Fire Lord. When he appeared, he was slightly dimmed, but the flames on top of his head heated the stone beams above to a reddish glow. Hyectra gave him a dark cloud, at least to lower his temperature a bit.
"Madam, this is the second time I have been swept away this year! I am a chef, not a firework! If something like this happens again, I will go on strike!"
"Elvis, I'm really sorry. Are you feeling better now?"
The Exile Spell would send the Elemental Lord back to the Elemental Realm, but it was blown away directly. The chaotic wind caused considerable damage to it and almost extinguished it.
"I can finish cooking and then go back to sleep, as I haven't returned to normal temperature yet."
Xerath lowered her head, but Sylas seemed to have learned her lesson. She first apologized to Elvis, causing the usually shy Fire Lord to suddenly burst into flames, only to be extinguished by dark clouds.
It said cruelly, "Young lady, I hope you will be grateful when you eat the food I make!"
"I will, it's delicious. Thank you."
The Fire Lord burst into flames again, spun around twice, and then went back into the fireplace, refusing to come out.
The living room was finally tidied up, although there were marks from sharp blades on the table, it was still intact. It had to be made of stone because the fire lord chef sometimes needed to serve dishes. That was also one of the reasons why it wasn't blown away.
Virgil, as usual, sat at the end of the table and raised his voice slightly, "You know, my old friend, your essay..."
"Which one?"
"The one that angered the old men in the tower," Xerath thought Virgil was referring to the recent one about mithril arrays and crystals. Virgil took a bite of food, nodded and said, "The blacksmith guild treasures it. Someone is already trying to make more complex arrays. The success rate of absorbing crystals is really low."
Xerath showed a little smile, "But I guess they can't produce them easily, after all, crystals are a big business, crystal merchants don't want their crystals to lose value."
Virgil said, "Maybe the crystal merchants are in the tower, doing everything they can to prevent you from publishing related papers."
Xerath was stunned, "I never thought about that... Virgil, your idea is very dangerous. The old man in the tower is already living comfortably, why take such risks?"
Virgil sneered, "Not everyone is as content as you are."
"I am not content, I pursue both a comfortable life and academic breakthroughs."
"Oh," he waved his hand, "come on, my esteemed archmage, not everyone has noble pursuits like you, money, beauty, and fame are what everyone wants."
The archmage spread his hands, "After all, we are just casually spreading rumors after dinner."
Virgil wiped his mouth, "I just want to tell you not to lose heart. We all know you are always right, even if there are technical mistakes, the overall direction won't be wrong."
The archmage curved his lips slightly, "Thank you, Virgil."
"No need to thank you, you're too polite. Oh! I almost forgot the most important thing. I brought all the letters from the City of Thousand Lakes for you." He took out the letters from a compartment in his bag, smoothed out the wrinkles, and handed them to Xerath.
"That's quite a lot. Did you read them for me?"
"Don't be joking, why would I read your letters?"
Xerath rubbed her temple wearily. "I guess most of them are from colleagues all around the world, writing to scold me. I really don't want to read them myself."
"Hey," Virgil lowered his voice, "do you remember what I said earlier? You're always right, even if there are some minor technical mistakes. Even my apprentice-level magical powers can understand that you're right."
"Thank you, I won't let these things bother me too much."
Virgil glanced at Sylas next to her and said, "Actually, I have a small request. Can I stay in your lovely living room today? Since the little beast is already your student, I should build a good relationship with her too."
Xerath didn't quite understand and blinked her eyes.
Virgil said, "Since you have an apprentice now, most of the work of writing scrolls will probably be taken over by her. I don't want to close off my own career path."
Xerath smiled and was surprised that Virgil had considered such a faraway place. But he made a good point, so Xerath agreed, "If you don't mind my couch being all broken."
The couch was originally made of cloth, but it was shattered into pieces during today's disaster. Hyectra hastily stitched them back together with the largest sewing needle, as if sewing a dissected body. Now, it could barely be sat on.
"Of course, I don't mind. I just wanted to find a place with people around."
"Would you mind helping me read this letter?"
"Okay."
After dinner, Hyectra cleared the tableware, and Virgil and Xerath sat on the couch, while Sylas and Hyectra remained on the patched plush carpet, playing a game of Four In A Row that both of them enjoyed.
"The first letter is from Star Song Castle, Maryland Star Song. Maryland is your..."
"My brother's classmate."
"Is she one of us?" Virgil opened the envelope. "Her wording doesn't seem like it... Ms. Maryland believes that you should carefully consider your future path, so as not to deviate from mainstream society. It seems like she's speaking on behalf of your entire family."
Xerath turned up her nose and said, "There is no mainstream in academia."
