Chapter 34
She walked out of the hall holding the magic wolf and Sylas, and crossed a courtyard until they reached the street outside. The noise suddenly overwhelmed them. Sylas might have never seen so many people before, anxiously pulling on Xerath's sleeve and trying to hide behind her. Xerath smiled and reassured her not to be afraid, but Sylas asked, "They won't come to catch me, right?"
Xerath smiled slightly, and golden magic traced a feather-like pattern in the air. Sylas immediately felt light as a feather, and then Xerath picked her up in her arms.
The items in the house were severely damaged. She had come this time to get supplies, and the owner of the furniture store treated her with fear and respect. When they left, they were accompanied by an Earth Child helping them carry things. The magic wolf walked on the street with an air of threat, attracting the attention of many people. Most of them were initially drawn by the Earth Child, but then captivated by Xerath's beauty, to the point of bumping into trees on the roadside. However, no one dared to approach them yet. Sylas lay on Xerath's body, feeling much safer. She held onto Xerath's neck and watched as Titus scared away the people around them with just a glare, laughing happily.
Then Xerath took her to the market. Then Sylas understood that almost all the food that could never be finished at home came from here. A water child, still emitting a cold air, wrapped a large pile of ingredients chosen by Xerath. Sylas curiously reached out to touch, but the water child was too far away. She caught the Earth Child's small gaze and signaled it to make way. The kind Earth Child fell back a bit and called the water child behind it, still emitting cold air, to make up for it.
The water child extended a frozen arm and lightly tapped Sylas's fingertips with its fist. It was so cool! Sylas quickly pulled back her hand and giggled.
Xerath bought replacement glass again. The people from the Craftsman Guild seemed to be very familiar with her, to the point that the guild president personally came to see her, and sent a very clever little attendant to follow her. However, Xerath coldly refused. The glass was hidden in the body of a slender Earth Child, and at first glance, it looked like it was embedded in it.
Even though Sylas was surrounded by so many elements, she still felt a bit scared. After Xerath let her down, she consciously avoided the gaze of the crowd, almost curling up into a ball, significantly slowing down Xerath's pace.
Then Xerath's voice suddenly appeared in her ear, "Don't be afraid, Sylas. No one is paying attention to you, and no one will harm you. Soon, you won't need to be afraid of them anymore. Stand up straight now and walk a bit faster."
Xerath's words gave her courage, and Sylas tightly held Xerath's hand and walked forward with a dramatic chest puff.
However, her courage seemed to only last until they reached the final stretch of the road to the Mage Guild. When they arrived at the courtyard gate, she couldn't help but shrink beside Xerath and clutch at her clothes, wanting to go back.
Xerath patted her and led her into a hall opposite the guild.
The hall was quite spacious, with a towering roof and neat stone pillars that extended all the way to the back. Inside, it seemed like endless white doves were flying from one side to the other.
Sylas had never seen such a spectacular sight before and couldn't help but exclaim in awe.
There weren't many people in the hall, and the busy staff behind the counter were all attracted by her voice, looking up and startling Sylas.
"Don't be afraid," Xerath whispered comfortingly and then walked to the counter, showing the staff the seal on the letter. The person on the other side was a stern-looking middle-aged woman who had been expressionless earlier but now smiled at Xerath. "Esteemed archmage, long time no see. This is quite a lot of letters."
Xerath nodded. "I think so too."
"Yes, it really is a lot, literally," the woman said, and as she spoke, something fluttered and flew over. At first, it was just a faint noise, but it gradually grew louder and Sylas was drawn to the sound. Suddenly, she saw a sea of white "doves" flying towards them.
The "pigeons" were not real pigeons. When they flew closer, it became clear that they were birds made out of paper. Each paper bird held a letter in its claws and dropped it off at the counter. They flew in different directions, but always landed surprisingly accurately. Soon, a small mountain of letters had piled up in front of Xerath.
"Oh, literally," Xerath said, sounding a bit surprised. But the surprise quickly disappeared. Her expression remained indifferent with a hint of annoyance. She casually waved her hand, causing the letters to fly up one by one. They arranged themselves neatly in front of her and slowly descended, eventually being caught by a pair of stone hands.
A tiny Earth Child, even shorter than Sylas, used its floating "hands" to hold a stack of letters above its head. It joined the group of elemental followers behind Xerath.
Xerath politely thanked the Earth Child and then turned around to go back to the Mage Guild across the street. This time, she didn't pause. She entered the hall, golden magic emanating from her fingertips. She murmured something under her breath, as if each word carried magical power. Suddenly, the stone circle of their teleportation spell started to float, and the runes surrounding it lit up one by one. In the center of the circle, a distorted illusion appeared, resembling Xerath's library.
Xerath pulled Sylas directly into the circle. Sylas was hesitant, but she was no match for Xerath's strength. Half dragged, half pushed, she was pulled into the circle. After a whirlwind-like sensation, they found themselves back in the library.
Sylas felt a slight dizziness and bumped into the small Earth Child behind her. Annoyed, the Earth Child jumped up and held out its hand, protesting with the letters.
Xerath quickly grabbed hold of the Earth Child as the letters flew away from its hand. The small Earth Child was afraid of losing Xerath's letters. It tried to argue with the mischievous wind in the air, until it realized that the flying letters were actually under the direct order of the Elemental King. Reluctantly, it halted its protest. Xerath patted its head and then banished it back to the Elemental Realm.
Leading her only disciple, Xerath walked through the house with a grand army of elements. The furniture was neatly arranged and scattered items were controlled by invisible threads, neatly organized in drawers or cabinets.
The Earth Child who had been blocking the living room terrace could finally rest and return to the Elemental Realm. Another Earth Child, responsible for carrying glass, took its place. The glass seemed to be compatible with it, able to move freely inside its body. So it "spat" the glass out and disappeared through a crack of elements.
Xerath happily went downstairs, while another Earth Child repaired the glass downstairs as instructed. Finally, she led Sylas back to the library. Sylas was still a bit fearful, but Xerath stood behind her and gave her a push. The Earth Child left behind by Xerath was nowhere to be found, but it left behind a table it was holding.
"We will probably be staying here all day from now on. Sylas, this is your desk."
"Us?" Sylas couldn't believe it and turned to confirm with Xerath.
"That's right, you and me. You will be learning here with me. Why don't you sit down and see if it's comfortable?" Xerath gently nudged Sylas from her waist, and Sylas took two steps forward, quickly walking over to the beautiful wooden writing desk. The color was almost the same as the Archmage's writing desk in front of her, just much newer and without the piles of books and loose papers like her teacher's desk.
Sylas hopped onto her new chair, which was a bit big for her. She couldn't lean back against the chairback. Xerath nodded thoughtfully, and with a swipe of her finger in the air, a soft cushion flew out from behind the nearby bookshelf and landed behind Sylas, perfectly filling the space.
At the same time, Sylas felt like she stepped on something. She looked down and saw a small Earth Child curled up into a stone under her feet.
"That way, it won't be too high." Xerath crossed her arms and sat in her own seat. From here, all she had to do was lift her head to see if Sylas was studying diligently. Sylas was delighted as she looked at Xerath. Xerath paid no attention.
"Hmm... I think you still need a bookshelf." Suddenly, the books on an empty bookshelf next to her flew up. Some flew onto another bookshelf, crowded together with other books, while some flew onto Xerath's desk, forming a stack. The empty bookshelf seemed to grow legs and moved itself next to Sylas.
Xerath said, "Sylas, try touching the bookshelf."
Sylas reached out and touched the little creature that she thought was a moving bookshelf. The bookshelf seemed to feel her touch, took two steps towards her, and then sat down, refusing to move anymore.
"Hmm, this is good."
Sylas was about three yards away from her, just enough distance to not disturb each other or be too far apart to speak softly. The archmage was very satisfied with the current arrangement and cheerfully hopped off the chair, saying, "Come, let me introduce you to the library staff."
"... library staff?" It was a strange term, but Xerath walked over to a delicate iron shelf and wrote a few words on a piece of parchment paper that was held down by an ink bottle. Suddenly, the entire shelf lit up, and the pen on the paper flew up into the air, wobbling its way towards the tall bookshelves that filled the entire room.
Before long, the feathered pen flew back, as if driving away a book.
Xerath looked at Sylas, who had her mouth wide open, and gently touched her chin. She said, "This is the library scribe. When you remember the general location of a book, you can write it down on the parchment paper, and it will help you find it."
The archmage continued walking forward, but her apprentice didn't move, only looking at the shelf that was only slightly taller than her with confusion.
"Sylas？"
