Chapter 232

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Chapter 232

As expected, Sylas waited for a while before opening the door. She was wearing a loose and slightly stretchy old shirt as her pajamas, replacing the childish nightgowns she used to wear. Linen-colored shorts wrapped around her legs, revealing her slender and straight calves.

Xerath thought about this unrelated matter and had a somewhat funny question in her mind: Does growing up, in Sylas’s eyes, mean changing from nightgowns to pajamas and sleep shorts?

"… Teacher."

Xerath took a deep breath. "There are some things I want to talk to you about."

Sylas let her into the room, and she went to her designated seat and sat down. Sylas sat cross-legged at the foot of the bed, holding onto her own ankle.

From Xerath’s perspective, she could see Sylas’s pale pink nails. Not only that, she could also see Sylas bowing her head and absentmindedly stroking her bare legs.

It looks very smooth, and she also wants to touch it and see.

No, it’s not allowed. Can’t think about it anymore.

"…Sylas."

"…Hmm?" She seemed to interrupt Sylas’s thoughts, and the girl looked up in confusion, her green eyes covered with a hazy mist.

Xerath’s breath paused, and she had to cough twice to gather her thoughts.

"…If you’re nervous because you’re worried about not doing well in the exam, it’s unnecessary. There’s no need to set high expectations for yourself, like graduating within two or three years. It’s not about reaching a specific goal just to graduate. Just see what you can do, and there will be results. It’s okay if you don’t pass this time, there are many more opportunities, so don’t rush too much."

She thought she was being subtle but still providing enough information to Sylas about what conditions were needed to truly escape from this tower. However, Sylas seemed unaffected and even gave her a strange look.

Sylas thought it was strange. Her teacher believed she was feeling down because she was afraid of not passing the test in one go. But what was bothering her had nothing to do with her studies; it only had to do with the teacher herself.

But she couldn’t say it.

Sylas lowered her head and seemed to nod, but when Xerath understood, it meant neither yes nor no, but rather that she wanted her to leave quickly.

This naturally left her feeling very defeated. Social interaction was not her strong suit, and she had no idea what kind of special thoughts normal teenagers had.

At least Sylas was a normal teenager, but she herself was not. She didn’t even have a clue.

Xerath returned home feeling dejected and went straight to her room. Working intensively for over eight hours wouldn’t make her feel this exhausted. Her current state could only be attributed to the fact that she was truly not skilled at socializing, so it drained her a lot of extra mental energy.

After raising a question, one must find a solution. The first step to solving a problem is to observe the state and character of the subject. (Repeatedly reminding herself of this research goal), Xerath followed Sylas through the Portal soon after she left Aimekotes the next day. However, she didn’t see Sylas on the streets she looked, so she turned back to the Mage Guild to ask the staff where the black-haired girl had gone.

The staff didn’t pay no attention to their surroundings like she did. Perhaps he had already remembered that the archmage brought Sylas out almost every month (Isn’t it normal for people to remember the appearance of a beauty?), and after hearing the question, he smiled and said, "Is she your disciple? She went to Star Song Castle. Just left. Are you applying to go there too?"

Surprised by this answer, Xerath waved her hand and said softly, "No, no, I was just asking. I have other things to attend to." After speaking, she walked out the gate.

In this city, there were many places she had been, but not many she could go to. She went to the library and randomly picked up a book that seemed interesting and started reading it.

However, her mind couldn’t fully concentrate. Sylas going to Star Song Castle made her feel extremely defeated. Sometimes she worried that the authority of the Elemental King and the beauty of rationality of magic would be too appealing to Sylas. As an immature young girl, she couldn’t distinguish between this attraction and "romantic love," thus leading to a feeling of being misled.

But at the same time, she also felt very proud of her charm that came from her talent. This was her unique trait that could be loved. If there was a slight possibility, after Sylas officially graduated, something might happen between them because of this. She might struggle, but in the end, she wouldn’t resist this result.

Who can resist the beauty of the elements?

But now the truth has proven that things won’t be as she imagined. Being free with peers seems much more attractive than the beauty of the elements. Sylas is after all a human and needs to return to her habitat.

This is what she finally realized today.

Sylas is already considered an excellent apprentice mage. She has learned not to tell the truth but also rarely tell lies. She told Xerath that she was going to the library, but for the purpose of not lying, after coming back from Star Song Castle, she still planned to go to the library for a while.

She sat in the reading room she often visited and saw some familiar faces as usual. But after she sat down in her usual spot, she found that the person across from her was strangely familiar, which almost startled her backwards.

Xerath looked up, her sharp gaze piercing into her heart, giving her a feeling that one of the secrets hidden inside her had been uncovered by Xerath.

"T-Teacher?!"

Xerath nodded expressionlessly and asked, "Shall we go eat?"

It’s almost 6 o’clock. The reading room will be open until 10 o’clock at night, but the other borrowing rooms have already started to chase people out. The library is much noisier than usual, with people leaving with their bags.

Sylas looked out the window, nodded, and Xerath picked up her bag and walked past her. Sylas hurried to catch up with her, too afraid to speak. This road leads to the Nislan restaurant, and she secretly judged in her mind.

They turned a corner, passed by a bookstore, and in a while, they would reach the restaurant. She was very familiar with this road.

But something unexpected happened on the way that surprised Sylas – someone on the main street greeted Xerath. An elegant middle-aged woman (probably about the same age as Xerath) enthusiastically called out to her, using a fake name – "Hevel? Long time no see!"

With the help of the light, she could see the appearance of the person clearly. She had seaweed-like deep golden hair, a rosy face, and a cute and charming figure. Every move she made exuded a sense of playfulness.

She deeply felt the danger, much more than the fear of men approaching Xerath.

Xerath stopped walking, politely but coldly responded, "Long time no see."

"So, did you succeed?"

Xerath’s expression subtly changed. Sylas stood by, secretly observing her. This was so exciting.

Xerath should have sensed it, but she tried hard to ignore it and calmly replied, "Yes, it should be considered a success."

"That’s great! I told you hard work would bring you the results you wanted. You practiced so hard, and it paid off."

Xerath slightly awkwardly agreed, "Of course, hard work pays off."

This lady seemed very lively, and just like Virgil, she must be outgoing. She wasn’t scared off by Xerath’s cold face. Instead, she leaned in and whispered something in her ear, but her voice was too low for Sylas to hear clearly.

Sylas couldn’t hear it, but Xerath, the person involved, didn’t miss that sentence. "Is your dance partner satisfied?"

"…I guess so."

"That’s great then. I really hope it helps your relationship."

"You misunderstood, I didn’t have any expectations about it."

"Oh, you shy little bookworm. I’ll leave now, but come back to play when you’re free!"

Xerath responded coldly and walked away quickly with Sylas after saying goodbye to the lady.

Sylas was very, very curious, but she didn’t forget that Xerath had just exposed her lie in front of everyone. So now she didn’t dare to ask a single word and could only guess in her mind about the lady’s identity. She secretly turned her head and followed the lady into a shop. Sylas looked up at the store sign, "Viniorla… Dance Studio," hmm? Did she read it correctly?

"Teacher… The person just now was…?"

Xerath answered coldly, "It’s nothing, just an acquaintance."

"It seems like you have more acquaintances in town?"

Xerath nodded, "The more you go out, the more people you have to deal with."

Sylas could tell that Xerath didn’t really want to answer, so she had to give up on asking further. But she was certain she didn’t mishear just now. The lady mentioned a "ball," and she entered a dance studio. Does this mean Xerath met her at the dance studio? Could this explain why the archmage rarely attends balls but still performs with perfect and smooth moves, without any "middle-aged forgetfulness"?

Would she value that farewell ball so much?

To be honest, Sylas didn’t believe this judgment because it seemed too dreamlike to be true. The subsequent intimate contact and almost-kiss all felt fake. It was likely that Sylas had crossed Xerath’s limit.

Remembering the privilege of being awakened and the shocked reaction from Xerath the last time she touched her, it felt like Xerath was pulling back this time even more strongly. It was as if she wanted to take back all the intimate contact they had.

After ordering their food, the two of them fell silent again. They didn’t look at each other, but instead glanced at each other’s hands placed on the table with hidden thoughts.

Xerath wasn’t good at guessing what others were thinking, so for the first time in her life, she had the thought, "I wish Virgil was here."

This self-proclaimed "understander of girls’ worries" had provided her with many ways to solve teenage issues… Thinking about it, she suddenly realized that maybe what Virgil said was true. Maybe Sylas is now separated from someone she likes, so she is feeling down.

She needed to ask, so she spoke up, "Sylas."