Chapter 88
Xerath wondered about the meaning of the phrase, touching her face with confusion. But she didn't waste any time and went downstairs to the library, which looked much cleaner. She walked deep inside.
The stone Portal survived the storm yesterday, and as she approached, the runes inside it lit up with a bright blue light. The stone ring faintly revealed a glimpse of the other side. She stepped into the Portal, feeling dizzy and almost stumbling upon arrival.
Hyectra timely held her up.
"Madam, you didn't rest well last night. Would you like to take a rest first?"
"No, I'll rest later when I fill out the form." She waved her hand, walked to the counter at the entrance, took a form, filled it out, and handed it in. She received a badge in return, walked into a room full of Portals, and was guided by someone to cross the Portal to Sotralo.
The dizziness made her feel nauseous. The spatial magic folded the mysterious space, making a distance of thousands of miles thin as paper. However, the tidal forces in between were intense, causing a loss of spatial awareness. It was quite exhausting to cross the Portal without a physically sturdy body. Some mages would become dizzy from the Portal and would instead choose not to travel far or opt for a much slower (and cheaper) method.
Using the Portal requires a considerable amount of energy, and there are limitations on distance. Generally, the farther the destination, the less accurate the Portal becomes. The craftsmanship of building Portals is also complex, and there are relatively few users of spatial magic, which is why teleportation services are expensive.
But she still had to go to her destination for this gathering through the Portal in Sotralo: Selonkren, Emerson's mage tower.
Her water lord suggested, "Why don't you rest a little longer or walk there? It's not far anyway."
The archmage wanted to push herself, but last night she exhausted her magical power, so now she feels weak. She feels nauseous, as if she might throw up the lunch she had eaten. Her vision occasionally goes dark. These symptoms remind her not to push herself any further, or else she might do something embarrassing in front of everyone.
Xerath had no choice but to walk, just like Hyectra had suggested. Selonklun was not far from here. The archmage sat on top of an Earth Child, moving forward at a speed only slightly faster than walking.
Hyectra was the person best able to monitor the archmage's magical condition. Last night, for a while, it could barely maintain its form in the mortal realm, because this spell really drained the archmage's magical power. But now it doesn't have that feeling anymore.
It's a good thing, otherwise it wouldn't know who to blame - the archmage for being reckless, or the little beast that caused all of this strangeness?
At 4 o'clock in the afternoon, Xerath arrived at the entrance of Selonklun. This road was hardly ever used by anyone. Emerson himself would come from the top of the tower using a Levitation Spell to slowly descend. The path was covered in tall grass, about as high as a person, but the Earth Childs weren't afraid of it. Their sturdy bodies flattened the grass, while Xerath sat on the shoulder of an Earth Child and could see this fuzzy "sea".
The unlocking spell didn't work. The mage tower was protected by strong traps, so forcibly removing them would be impolite. As a result, she triggered the enchanted stone slab downstairs. It took a while before someone came down to open the door for her. It was Diego, it seems he had arrived early, probably to take care of the preparations.
Then she saw her teacher. Her two senior classmates had already entered the library, sitting at the table where they often sat. One was writing something, the other was reading a book. Their four feet were linked together under the table, and their eyes secretly met on the table, exchanging something that others couldn't understand.
Now she suddenly understood what they were exchanging.
Mutual admiration, silent love.
Enviable.
She instinctively avoided this scene, and everyone who saw her came over to ask about her recent situation. The conversation naturally turned to the recent research work and gossip about researchers. Finally, this made Xerath feel better. She didn't like being asked about her personal life, but it was okay to talk about others, because that's how everyone chats.
She regained some of her previous feelings. In the past, on weekends, there was always a day when no one did homework and they spent the whole afternoon chatting about strange things. But Sylas would occasionally pop up in these fluctuating thoughts.
What made the archmage break out in a cold sweat was realizing that she used to be like that too.
Think about something, anything, and it reminds her of Sylas and their connection. Or think about something and, due to certain reasoning, it brings Sylas to mind.
At half-past five, the steward came to inform everyone that dinner was ready. It was a simple dish of lemon and herb steak, and they didn't stop talking about the enemies while eating.
Emerson's students didn't receive the best treatment due to his controversial status in the academic world. This situation had once led to Xerath being framed, but things greatly improved after Diego and Benson entered the guild's management. Unlike the kind-hearted Diego, Benson often spread malicious gossip privately.
"For example, that annoying Sauran. He managed to get his son a teaching position at Star Song Castle. Xerath, you must really dislike him, right?"
Xerath looked confused and said, "Sauran? You mean the idiot who failed the Logic Rhetoric test eight times? I can't say I dislike him. Why would I?"
"He has not hesitated to speak ill of you behind your back."
"There are too many people who envy me, I can't possibly dislike each and every one of them," Xerath said honestly.
Benson, with delicate lips, uttered astonishing words, "I know his thesis didn't pass the plagiarism check."
Sashara responded, "That's not surprising."
Biatris, who had been joyfully eating snacks while embracing her shoulders, took a bite and then handed one to Sashara. She said, "Sasha, don't focus all your attention on unrelated idiots. Did you teach him before? Don't you think he's particularly foolish?"
"Alright, alright, let's see what you can do, shall we? Didn't you ruin everything after just four lessons?" She held Biatris' head with both hands and cooed to her like a child.
After dinner, everyone was chatting in twos and threes in the living room. There were humans, water lords, and three-legged stools. As night fell, instead of cooling down, the atmosphere became even more heated. Xerath escaped to the terrace alone, holding a glass of wine and quietly watching the interior through expensive glass.
This distance was just right for Xerath. She didn't like being too close to people. She often interacted with everyone at this distance, separated but not too far away.
Gorrok noticed her clothes and put down his cup to chase after her, saying, "Are you alright, dear Xerath? You don't look too good today. Do you need to sit for a while?"
Xerath shook her head.
"You seem a bit distracted. What's affecting your focus?"
Xerath hesitated. She had no intentions of revealing her thoughts to anyone, but Diego's peculiar ability to make people open up was making her reconsider. She looked at this dependable mentor and older brother, her gray eyes unsure of what to do.
"Um... I'm not sure if I should tell you this. It's hard to describe, Diego."
Diego smiled gently. "I guess it's not some academic difficulty, right? Otherwise, you would have brought it up at the dinner table to share with everyone."
Xerath shook her head. "No, you're right."
"So it must be about Sylas then?"
Xerath widened her eyes in surprise. "How did you know?"
"What's bothering you? Maybe you can talk to me about it."
"I..." She bit her lip and stared at the book on the table, trying to make her words sound less surprising. "Um... a while ago, I took her to Star Song Castle - following your advice. I can't keep her at home all the time."
"Yes, children love to go out and play. Keeping her at Aimekotes would suffocate her. Being mischievous is normal at the age of fifteen or sixteen."
"But she's very well-behaved and obedient."
"What? I heard from Virgil that she caused floods and storms at Aimekotes. I thought you couldn't handle her anymore, so you sent her away!"
Xerath shook her head. "No, that's not it. The reason I made the decision was simply because I don't have the ability to teach her Gustavian language and history. And... um... because..."
"Hmm?"
"Having her in my study always distracts me, but I can't afford to be distracted. I need to focus."
"Well, that makes sense. Kids can be quite distracting," Diego nodded in agreement. However, Xerath meant something much deeper and complex. "Oh, you didn't give her a study of her own? I mean, maybe you both need some personal space."
"Um, I can't... I can't let her out of my sight," Xerath looked up. "Do you understand what I mean?"
Xerath looked at Diego with some intensity, which made him feel a little strange. But considering that Xerath was always a peculiar person and had no experience in raising children, he still comforted her and said, "I think I can manage. These powerful destructive creatures need to be watched constantly, or who knows what trouble they might cause!" He thought of his two children at home and immediately felt sympathy for Xerath. "Both Lily and I are too busy, even with servants. The little ones would take advantage of their own spellcasting abilities and run amok. Only Mom and Dad can make them behave a little. Oh dear, you're so young and have to take care of the children by yourself. It's truly an unimaginably tough job..."
"Diego, I'm almost... forty years old," Xerath kindly reminded him.
"Oh!" Diego looked quite surprised, even taking a step back. "You look almost the same as when you walked out of here all those years ago."
