Chapter 158

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Chapter 158

When it suddenly lit up in front of her, she had already arrived at Star Song Castle. The cold breeze of early spring hit her face, but fortunately, she had the coat that Xerath had just personally put on her.

This coat still belonged to Xerath. It was her light gray felt overcoat, very light and soft, but unexpectedly warm. It even had the scent of the wardrobe on it.

It was a bit regretful that it wasn’t Xerath’s own scent. But she immediately felt foolish. The detergent would cover up the smell, and the spices in the wardrobe would add another layer of scent. Xerath wouldn’t simply give her unwashed clothes. This seemed to be the archmage’s principle.

But no matter what, this layer of intimacy between them would not disappear. Xerath would always let her wear her clothes unless she grew half a size larger than Xerath.

Leunen was carrying a suitcase behind her. After entering the advanced school, water lords became more common. Some well-off students had already passed the water lord summoning test and the short training through connections before entering the advanced school, and they would obtain their own water lord steward. During the semester, there would be tests for all students. Now, Leunen could freely float behind her without appearing creepy.

She arrived at the back door of the bookstore and saw Fenika still sitting by the window from the top of the slope. So she had Leunen carry her and fly over the tall thorn bushes, and she knocked on the window.

"Ma’am, water lords are not meant to be carriers!" But there was no convincing her even a bit.

"Okay, you’re not a vehicle, just a flying bed. Hyectra does the same thing too."

Fenika opened the door and smiled, saying to her, "I remember you, you’re Luna’s friend."

"Yes, hello," she got off Leunen and opened her suitcase, flipping through some books. She flipped too fast and accidentally brought out other things, so she had to hold them back with her hands before everything came out. She awkwardly smiled at Fenika and said, "I’m returning the books."

Fenika waved his hand and the books flew back into their places. "Won’t you sit for a while? There’s nobody in school now. And it’s been a month since anyone came here."

Sylas thought for a moment, "Will it not bother you?"

"I’m used to it. It can even feel a bit lonely during the summer and winter vacations."

"Then, I won’t hesitate," Sylas stepped into the room. It was indeed lacking in liveliness, even though the places touched by the sun were warm. But once inside, there was a bone-chilling coldness.

It’s usually like this on the ground floor of a house, but Sylas lived in a desert tower, and she rarely went downstairs. So she didn’t know where this coldness came from. She even cautiously investigated if there were any shadows around.

"Are you cold?" The novelist possibly had a lot of experience with people’s reactions like this. "Our house is quite cold. I always feel that old houses aren’t good at preventing dampness, and if they can’t do that, it will be cold. The second floor is warmer, but it can’t fit all these books. So I don’t have a guest room on the second floor, I’m sorry. Please sit on this side."

Sylas was about to throw money into the box next to her, but Fenika stopped her and said, "No, no, no, no need for that. Consider it my gratitude for keeping me company today. I won’t take your money, please feel free."

After thanking Sylas, Fenika stood up and carried a cup of tea while staring blankly at the flowers in the courtyard. Sylas picked a few books from the bookshelf and sat in a seat near the window. As she finished reading one of the books, she happened to see Fenika standing up.

She hesitated and approached him, "As an expert in studying… um… relationship issues, may I ask you a question?"

"Just call me ‘you,’ no need to be so polite."

"I want to ask you, what should the ‘ideal model’ of love look like?"

Fenika looked at her with great interest and replied, "’Ideal model’? Maybe it’s when two people are attracted to each other, then they get to know each other and eventually get married, have children, and spend their lives together."

"Are the last two steps necessary?"

Fenika laughed happily and said, "No, no, no, nothing is necessary. When it comes to love, if you feel it’s love, then it’s love. There’s actually no ideal model."

"But how do you define it when it happens? Sometimes, I feel like… it’s a very vague feeling, but in your books, you often assert that it has happened."

"Hmm… you’re right. Maybe I should write a story that happened after everything was defined."

Sylas looked at her in disbelief.

Fenika laughed happily and said, "Are you confused about your feelings? Do you not know if you like someone? Do you want to see if you meet the standards? You must be a bookworm, otherwise girls can naturally feel these things."

"…Oh, I see…" Sylas felt a little discouraged.

Fenika said, "It’s okay, if you don’t want it to exist, just ignore it. I have been observing students for over twenty years, their likes are very sincere and pure, but their likes also change quickly. They like someone in the spring and then change their liking in the summer. Don’t take it too seriously, it will naturally pass."

"But what if I want it?"

"Then you should enjoy the process and not worry too much about the result. ‘Liking’ should be a beautiful feeling."

"Even if the result is hard to accept?"

Fenika seemed unsure how to answer and thought for a moment. Then she said, "If I can’t handle the consequences of something, I won’t do it. Don’t worry, after you confess and if you can’t be friends, you can find other friends. No one is irreplaceable."

Sylas shook her head, "No… I cannot agree…"

Xerath is irreplaceable, there is no other archmage like her in terms of beauty, seriousness, reason, and charm. She is the only extraordinary person in the world.

"That’s too bad, then you’ll just have to not confess."

"Oh… oh, then I won’t confess."

She sounded gloomy, which amused Fenika. "Don’t be sad, cutie. But, don’t take the contents of novels as real experiences, okay?"

Sylas looked up with confusion.

Fenika shrugged, "The Education Committee thinks that children can’t distinguish between truth and fiction in novels, so they shut down my bookstore. I can’t sell novels anymore."

"Why… why…," she suddenly remembered what Luna had told her about teacher-student relationships. The unfinished discussion they had that day popped into her mind and she blurted out, "Why is a teacher-student relationship considered immoral?"

Fenika looked at her, sighed, and said, "Attraction is not something that can be cultivated as a feeling. It strengthens through drawing. There are many reasons why someone is attracted, but generally there are only two types, internal and external, in other words, physical and mental. A student can be attracted by a teacher’s knowledge and demeanor, but do you think a student who has only been studying for a few years can attract someone with their internal qualities?"

Sylas vaguely felt a sense of being hit in the heart. This answer seemed to perfectly answer the question of whether Xerath could like her or not: obviously, she couldn’t attract an archmage, a woman who had been studying tirelessly for over thirty years.

"Hmm, so there’s also physical attraction. Without asking anything else, simply desiring someone’s body sounds quite immoral," mocked Fenika, stretching out their hands sarcastically.

"But… in your writing, Lusono feels a kind of fondness towards Marianne, I believe it is much more than just physical attraction."

Fenika nodded and looked at her, speaking seriously, "That’s right, Lusono is more drawn to Marianne’s cheerful nature. But I must make it clear to you that stories have a dramatic quality. The reason why stories have drama is because they are different from boring ‘everyday events.’ In other words, this kind of attraction is rare. Most teacher-student relationships are simply older men lusting after younger bodies, don’t take the story too seriously."

Fenika treated her favorite subject with an unexpectedly cold attitude, which made Sylas very upset. She wanted to believe that she was different, but the training she received since childhood forced her to find reasons to support her own views.

The result was obvious, she couldn’t find any.

As the sky gradually darkened, she left the bookstore and headed back to school. Surprisingly, Luna had also returned. Fortunately, Xerath didn’t accompany her, otherwise they might have bumped into Luna.

"Why are you back so early?"

"I’ve been back for several days! I had an argument with my dad, so I left home early. How about you? Did you go somewhere fun?"

Sylas shook her head, stayed quiet, and lay down on the bed.

Luna sneaked closer and asked, "What happened? Are you also arguing?"

Sylas shook her head again.

Luna persisted, "Little fairy, why are you sad every day?"

"I’m not sad every day."

"Don’t deny it, it’s very obvious. You’re so bored that mushrooms might grow on you. Sharing your unhappiness will make you feel better. I can be your confidant, how about that?"

"Confidant? What does that mean?"

"Ah… you! In the land of Wuyou, the king has donkey ears, a secret only known by the barber. The king warned the barber not to tell anyone, or he would be killed. The barber is afraid but really wants to talk, so every day he shouts ‘The king has donkey ears’ into a tree hole. Do you understand?"

"Oh… um…"

"So, what’s making you unhappy?"

Sylas still had a sad expression on her face, and Luna could feel her heart melting. But Sylas shook her head.

"Don’t lie to me! You were crying in bed when school started, and you’ve been feeling down all last semester. It’s not good for you to keep it all inside."

Sylas sat up, hugging her knees, lost in thought. Luna thought she was about to speak several times, but Sylas remained silent.

Luna sat on her own bed, feeling discouraged.

"Luna…"

Luna sat up excitedly, thinking Sylas was about to open up, but instead she said, "Let’s start a club."

"…What?"

Sylas said seriously, "If we start a club, we can get our own room for activities. Swis won’t have to find ways to sneak in every time."

That sounded reasonable, and Luna was convinced (easily fooled). Her attention shifted from Sylas’s problems to the club. "But what kind of club should we start? A club needs a name."