Chapter 153

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Chapter 153

The doorknob turned, and Xerath’s hair couldn’t be braided as before, but it was neatly combed, wearing a fitting wizard robe. She walked into her room slowly, with a formal and polite manner. Sylas was certain that her delusion would never appear.

"What’s wrong? Are you tired?"

"Um… What time is it?"

"It’s eight o’clock, you’re an hour late."

Saron widened her emerald-like eyes in surprise. It was unusual. She hardly ever slept in and always followed a strict schedule at school, waking up at seven, getting ready, eating, and attending classes. Every grain of sand was planned out.

Xerath tilted her head and looked at her, giving a shallow smile. The sunlight reflected on her face, making it shine as if she was glowing.

"Want to sleep a little longer, or get up to eat?"

"Yes, sorry, I woke up late."

"During the holidays, I didn’t set a wake-up time for you."

"I, I’m getting up!" She quickly jumped out of bed, rushed into the bathroom to wash up. Just as she finished drying her face, she rushed out, brushed open the wardrobe, and was about to take off her clothes when she hesitated.

A strange shyness crawled into her heart, as if inheriting the situation in the bathroom last night. Having Xerath see her body now made her blush and her heart race. As the book said, she should be a little more reserved…

Xerath sensed her hesitation, and when her eyes glanced over, she nodded expressionlessly and said, "I will avoid it."

Saying this, she turned around and Sylas, in the awkward atmosphere, changed into her apprentice shirt and pants. Following Xerath’s example from yesterday, she put on a waistcoat. She added a few new pieces to her familiar clothes, without a doubt, they were the ones Xerath picked out for her not to wear.

These were all clothes Xerath had worn back then… Realizing it once again, she couldn’t help but blush and softly call out to Xerath, "Teacher… I’m done tidying up."

Xerath turned around and looked at her contemplatively.

"Teacher, do you have any questions?"

Xerath raised her hand, took a step towards her, but then stopped and put her hand down. After a while, she extended her long and fair fingers and gestured in the air. Sylas thought it was the beginning of a spell, but there was no glow. Xerath did it again.

Finally, she realized and looked down at her button.

She buttoned it wrong again. Xerath, however, didn’t offer to help her fix it, even though she used to be able to do it… She waited for a while, then disappointedly undid the button herself, buttoned it again, and thought, in adulthood, all these intimate actions were lost. And even if she could continue to accompany Xerath in the future, and even sit on equal footing with her, these intimate moments would only be a faint glimmer of a distant memory.

When she looked up, Xerath had already turned her head away. Adult interactions were detestable, Sylas thought.

"Are you done?"

"Yes."

Hearing her footsteps, Xerath turned around, took her hand, and walked to the living room.

The Archmage suddenly turned around, furrowed his brow, and scrutinized her once again. His gaze held thoughts and a hint of probing. When she was contemplating and researching, he often wore such expressions towards her subjects.

Sylas guessed that maybe she did something significant enough for the archmage to study her, could she have noticed how I crazily imagined her as a…

Her face turned red again, but Xerath didn’t seem to notice and took a step closer, asking, "Have you… grown a bit taller?"

Sylas didn’t know why she would ask such a question. From her perspective, Xerath had always been someone she looked up to like a mountain, she felt like she would never surpass Xerath in height. However, it was true that she seemed to grow taller every year, sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less. Just when she could summon Leunen, she could only reach Xerath’s chin, but now, she could look Xerath straight in the eye.

"Probably… I guess."

"How is the food at school? Has it changed at all from the prep school?"

"It’s like eating the dishes of a master chef, but I firmly believe that Elvis makes the most delicious ones."

Xerath smiled faintly and agreed, "Of course, it tastes like home." She suddenly started stirring her milk tea.

The cook at home, burning fiercely, brought in the reheated breakfast and said, "I still want to clarify… the cooks generally follow the same recipes, and there might be clan-specific recipes, so…"

Xerath said seriously, "No, even if that’s the case, there are many things that can influence the taste of food, like the ingredients. We use ingredients from Withered Leaf City, so there will at least be the unique flavor of Withered Leaf City."

Sylas followed up and said, "That’s right, and the dry and unique air of Aimekotes makes the food taste even more different."

Of course, she was just talking nonsense. She had never tested it before and she usually wouldn’t dare say such things, especially in front of Xerath. But ever since she had been hanging out with those three lively classmates at school for a few months, she didn’t feel as worried about saying these things anymore.

The atmosphere just now was very relaxed, and she casually said it. Now she realized it was not right and anxiously looked at Xerath.

Xerath didn’t criticize her, instead smiled and said to Elvis, "See, Sylas said it too. This innocent little one doesn’t lie."

The kitchen was glowing red hot, and Elvis didn’t respond, probably flying out through the chimney. The stool happily ran around nearby.

Xerath chuckled and shook her head, shifting her attention back to the milk tea.

"I watered your plants. The small leaves that were planted last time have grown into whole plants. Their vitality is so strong that it amazes me."

"Do you like it?"

"Quite like it. I brought one to my room to take care of, but unfortunately, it seems malnourished. I asked the gardeners in town, and they said that glass can block a certain ‘factor’ that some flowers need and some flowers don’t. To figure out what exactly this ‘factor’ is, I documented the same type of plant being raised under glass and outdoors, and wrote a paper for The Garden Trowel, which is the guild’s… journal? Well, they only have one, with a lot of advertisements. I believe glass filters out certain light, and many people wrote letters of agreement, while others came to argue."

Xerath looked adorable as she carefully planted flowers. Even though she said these words without any expression on her face, Sylas thought Xerath was exceptionally cute when she imagined her spending every day with plants, taking care of them.

"What’s wrong?"

Sylas shook her head and lowered her gaze, trying to hide her amusement. "You are such a dedicated researcher. It seems like you have fulfilling days every day."

"Of course, it’s my job," Xerath said matter-of-factly as she slowly finished half of her milk tea. "Do you have any plans for the holidays?"

"Not much, I was thinking of previewing the lessons for the upcoming semester and reading some books I want to read. But your words just now made me curious…"

"What kind of curiosity?" Xerath looked at her. It was a familiar smile, filled with encouragement. Sylas often saw this look from Xerath, as if she was genuinely interested in every question she asked.

"Based on what you just said, you haven’t determined which type of light it is, have you?"

"Not yet."

"There are seven colors in a rainbow, and a rainbow is created by the sun. So, I believe a prism can separate this type of light."

Xerath frowned and thought, but looked very pleased. "It seems… quite reasonable? We can try to imitate a rainbow. But how can we imitate a rainbow?"

The two elemental envoys fell into deep thought together, then suddenly looked up at each other with a sparkle in their eyes.

"I have an idea," they both said at once.

Sylas felt happy because they were on the same wavelength and humbly said, "You go first."

"No no no, I want to hear your idea. Wait… I have an idea, let’s say it together. I’ll go find some paper."

"Ah… I… I don’t need paper."

Xerath was just about to move her chair to get up when she heard this, and she stopped and nodded. "Really? Perfect, I don’t need paper either, I’ll use magic."

"I’ll use magic too," Sylas nodded as well.

"Great, then I’ll count to three, and we’ll do it together."

"Okay! I’m ready." Sylas prepared herself, you have to be prepared for fun things.

"Three, two, one!" The two of them suddenly raised their hands together, snapped their fingers, and two water balloons appeared just above their fingertips.

They laughed in unison. The feeling of understanding each other was great. Xerath was very happy and said to Sylas, "You eat first, and then I’ll try shaping it."

Sylas obediently buried her head and ate, getting sauce on the corner of her mouth. Xerath kept changing the shape of the water droplets under the sunlight coming through the window. She took out a handkerchief and said to Sylas, "On your face."

Sylas looked up confusedly. The archmage smiled and shook his head, holding her chin with one hand and wiping off the sauce on her face and nose with a handkerchief. "Do you eat like this at school? Getting sauce all over your face?"

"No, of course not…" She couldn’t continue her words. The way she ate at school was deliberately imitating Xerath – small bites, appearing elegant and relaxed. As Xerath had once taught her, it was about appearing decent and polite in front of others. But she didn’t want Xerath to know, as if her thoughts would be revealed.

Xerath smiled again and put the handkerchief back in her pocket.

Suddenly, a beam of rainbow light shone on their faces. They both turned to look, but the rainbow light disappeared. The water balloons continued to change shape, floating in the air.

"I couldn’t completely see the shape… but it’s impossible for it to be round."

"Yes, unexpected."

"Teacher, I have an idea!"

"What kind of idea?"

"I think they must know." She said, pulling Leunen out from the depths of the void. Elemental creatures like the water lord, who are familiar with the properties of water, surely know how to create a rainbow. Sometimes, when they walk under the sunlight, colorful lights follow behind them.

The big water ball protested loudly, "You are so rude! So unladylike! How can the esteemed archmage not scold you for this!"