Chapter 99
"This was written by Lapis."
Sylas saw the title on the cover with the author's name, "People are like their names, oh, he is your..."
"He is my senior brother, we both were attacked by the Mage Guild around the same time."
"Is it about that... that incident because of your 'obsession with intricate tricks'?"
"Yes, Lapis's work got stuck because of that, some of his apprentices left him, causing a lot of writing and organizing work to fall on him alone."
"Apprentices? Leaving their teacher? How could such a thing be allowed to happen?"
Xerath smiled, "It's not like our relationship. Some apprentices spend their whole lives unable to graduate, so they remain apprentices forever. Some mages hire these skilled apprentices to do research work for them and pay them a salary, which is quite normal. It's not like us... our relationship is more solid."
"Oh..." Hearing Xerath admit that they had a "more solid relationship" made her quite happy.
"This book was finally completed this year, he gave each of us a copy. I initially thought I might not need it."
"This book is really small."
"It is said to be the newest type of paper, thinner and stronger, but very expensive. He insisted on using this kind of paper because he thought it would be easier to carry to the wilderness. The person studying the rocks may not be able to bring back all the stones."
"Sounds like a thoughtful person."
"That's right, he is the only one among us who studies earth elementals. Shouldn't you be the one in charge of this?"
"Okay!" She looked up at Xerath, delighted in a simple way because she was entrusted with a task by the teacher, gazing at the archmage in front of her. Her gray eyes shimmered with warmth, she didn't move away, she didn't move away.
It was getting a little too long in the gaze, Xerath awkwardly rubbed his chin. "What's wrong? Do you have any more questions?"
"No..." Sylas quickly lowered her head. "I, I'll go check the book you mentioned."
She lowered her head and ran away.
Titus ran over and spun around at Xerath's feet. Virgil walked slowly towards them, squeezed his eyes and whispered, "Xerath, you seem to get along well with her?"
Xerath chuckled softly, but her gaze carried a strong threat. "Virgil, don't make inappropriate jokes. She's my student."
"Archmage, don't be stubborn. If you continue to be stubborn with such strict conditions, you'll end up like me."
"Virgil," the archmage approached Virgil with a serious expression, "being with someone is not my only choice. I can remain single. I don't have to be with someone who meets all the conditions. Would you marry someone just because they meet the conditions?"
"Do you mind her gender?"
"I don't mind the gender, but I have no connection to her," Xerath stared at him.
Virgil touched his nose and avoided Xerath's gaze. "Alright, I've said everything I wanted to say."
"I'm simply getting along with her normally, so please stop making random assumptions," Xerath arrogantly raised her hand, and several "silent" hand symbols flew out from her fingertips, leaving Virgil scared, raising his hands and stepping back.
Suddenly, Sylas's voice came, "Teacher."
Xerath continued with the promise while finishing the spell. Virgil's expression became peculiar as his mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out.
The archmage walked towards the young apprentice and asked, "Is there a problem, Sylas?"
Sylas hesitated and nodded. But it was too far away, and Virgil couldn't see clearly what Sylas said. His hearing gradually recovered after he fell, and the distant voices indicated that they had entered another world that automatically isolated outsiders.
The next morning, Xerath was still the last person to enter the living room. Sylas and Virgil were already sitting there, waiting for her. They greeted her when they saw her.
She was still wearing the dark pleated skirt from yesterday, without a word, she went straight to the table and sat down, starting to eat her own meal.
The breakfast of a standard researcher, with a delicious aroma filling the air.
In silence, Xerath glanced at Sylas and coincidentally their eyes met. The archmage raised an eyebrow at Sylas and glanced at her clothes, and Sylas immediately blushed.
Yes, white looks good, it makes me want to wear a dress.
The archmage chuckled softly, with an invisible smile still on her face.
After eating for a while, she finally noticed Virgil's suspicious gaze and awkwardly wiped away her smile. She understood that she couldn't explain anything to Virgil anymore. Any explanation would be misunderstood in his biased eyes, in a way she didn't anticipate but definitely didn't want.
"Finish eating, then set off. After reaching Tabletop Mountain City, you go and buy the necessary supplies, including dry food. I will go and retrieve the measuring instrument, then we will meet up. Have you already planned the route?"
"Yes, of course, don't worry, ma'am."
"Sylas, go prepare the luggage and wait for me at the library."
Sylas looked at Virgil doubtfully, reluctantly walked away.
"You..."
The archmage raised his hand, and the flattery wind tightly closed the door. The archmage took a few steps forward with the wind and stopped not far from Virgil. "Stop, Virgil. I am satisfied with our current relationship and have no intentions of getting closer."
Virgil scornfully laughed, as if the archmage had found someone's flaw every time. "But according to your theory, eventually there will always be one person with whom you develop a 'romantic' relationship. Everyone will be involved in your choices, and you haven't ruled out any relationships..."
"I said 'stop', stop your cleverness, don't bring things down to these vulgar matters."
If you can't argue with someone, resorting to violence is something that archmage is most ashamed of, but it's undeniable that it's always most effective for humans.
Virgil quickly lifted Titus, who was trying to jump on the sofa next to him, in front of him, although it actually had no effect.
"Let me say one last thing!"
"No talking!" The archmage's finger drew a golden mark in the air, and Virgil's mouth immediately closed.
"Whine! Whimper!"
"Woof?" The stool twisted its head in confusion as the spell narrowly missed Titus and directly attacked Virgil.
Words have completely different meanings for mages and people in other professions. It is a tool with mysterious magical power, and no one understands it better than mages. A few days ago, Virgil came and "contaminated" her pure thoughts without any defense. And when the contamination grew, he maliciously mocked her!
She could have been completely oblivious to all of this. She could have maintained this kind of relationship with Sylas without ever caring what kind of relationship they actually had.
The archmage took a deep breath, realizing that this actually had very little to do with Virgil. One day she would discover that Sylas was the only person who met all the criteria, given her underlying desires. And deep inside, she didn't have any strong evidence to prove that she didn't have this idea of "screening everyone and choosing the most suitable one to develop love" in her mind.
This is the most dangerous thing; she cannot let Virgil's words contaminate her thoughts any further.
"Just shut up, don't mention this again. Otherwise, I will really cut your throat. I mean it!" The archmage's last few words were almost forced out between clenched teeth.
Virgil shrugged his shoulders, causing the stool in his hand to move slightly up and down.
Xerath left the room just as Hyectra floated down from upstairs. But considering the time, it's possible that Hyectra had already come down and overheard everything.
Virgil touched his nose and ran downstairs with a thump, bump, thump. On the way, he met Sylas who was on her way up. She greeted him, but his silence wasn't over yet, so he just awkwardly smiled.
Sylas pushed open the door and saw Xerath standing at the table, facing away from the door. Unlike before, she was wearing a dark pleated skirt under her black robe. The hem of the skirt reached halfway down her calf, and her black knee-high socks and black soft-soled shoes covered any possible exposed areas.
Knee-high socks accentuated the shape of the legs more than pants did. And just like Sylas had imagined, the archmage had nice legs, even closer to the ideal in her aesthetic than any legs she had seen peeking out from under a skirt at school.
"Teacher..."
Xerath turned around and reached out her hand to her. "All set?"
"Where's Virgil? I thought he was with you."
"He went to release Dvořák. It's a Pegasus that can go on its own."
"Will it get stolen?"
"Dvořák is also a contract demon, its contract is covered by its mane."
"Does it know the way?"
"Virgil said it does, trust him."
"Oh..." she leaned against the table absent-mindedly, thinking about the word "contract". She and Xerath had a kind of contract relationship, but unfortunately, it was only a one-sided connection. Maybe the contract made her have some kind of "impression" on Xerath, something she didn't want to think deeply about before. But two months of school life was enough for her to observe many people, and no one could match the first impression Xerath gave to her.
"Hey! Ladies!" Virgil appeared, carrying his own luggage and hanging the saddlebag directly around his neck, looking a bit silly. "Let's go."
Sylas consciously hooked her arm with Xerath's, because that position was very convenient. One black, one white, similar attire, a slight height difference. Virgil touched his nose and choked on his words, so he touched his throat, wondering if the archmage would actually be cruel enough to stab him.
When they came out of the teleportation array, Virgil clearly saw a slight transformation in the two people in front of him. It was easy to tell that Sylas tightened her grip on Xerath's arm, as if to prevent her from falling.
