Chapter 234
Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW
Chapter 234
"Uh… um… teacher."
"Hmm?" Xerath listened patiently, which made her wonder if Xerath had ever lost patience with her.
"I… I just dozed off a bit, so some answers got mixed up. It’s not… it’s not that I don’t know."
"Is that so?" Xerath sighed in relief. "You really scared me."
"I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to."
"Pay attention to sleep, there’s no need to extend study time to get false satisfaction, just make sure to be efficient. Hmm… Shall we go downstairs for a walk?" The sun is about to set, turning the end of the sky into a fiery red, indicating that there might be a big storm tomorrow or the day after.
But before that, the wind became less scary. They left the tower from below, stepping onto the sandy land that was harder than just sand, walking in Sylas’s little garden.
Some plants have grown very big, almost as tall as Xerath. They are colorful and beautiful, just like Xerath once wrote in her letter. The most common colors are fiery red and orange, with a pretty pale blue as a nice background for these aggressive colors. Green is the least common, only appearing in places that don’t get sunlight.
They didn’t talk, walking quietly on the "embankment," each lost in their own thoughts.
Sylas remembered Xerath saying that these plants are like her, they grow well without much effort. She suddenly felt like laughing for no reason. After going out to see, observe, and study others, she probably could tell what kind of relationships are "good." There are many couples fighting on campus, and outside of campus too. People hope their partners will change for them, but no one wants to change themselves.
And they can get along so well like this, their relationship is considered "fate" in Fenika’s novel. That means they have fate between them, but nothing else.
"Did you think of something happy?" Xerath suddenly asked.
Sylas smiled, shrugged, and said, "Nothing special, just thought about how this used to be a barren land, a lifeless desert."
"It’s all thanks to you, my little wild creature," sensing Sylas’s gaze, Xerath suddenly blinked mischievously, leaned closer and whispered, "And Leunen too."
The quick little actions disappeared in a flash, but Sylas was sure she caught them. These little actions were what she liked most about Xerath, they made her heart flutter, but then Xerath went back to being distant, as if it had nothing to do with her.
The wild beasts that the archmage raised had changed, at least in the archmage’s eyes. She believed that her little beasts used to be unable to hide anything from her, they would reveal something in their words or actions, more or less. But now it was different, she could sense that Sylas had something on her mind, something that seemed like this or that, but Sylas never wanted to talk about it directly.
She wasn’t good at pressuring others, so she could only rely on guessing. Failing to guess the answers to the questions made her feel defeated. Every day she regretted three times why she had sent Sylas to school in the first place.
But she also understood that this was the correct approach. Sylas was more like a human, more like a "normal person." She had normal social skills, a friendly and gentle temperament, and the typical concerns of a young girl.
A gemstone artisan should not forget their ultimate goal, which is to polish a rough stone into a brilliant gemstone, rather than being busy possessing the gemstone.
Sometimes she felt that if she gently embraced Sylas and softly asked her what was making her unhappy, Sylas would open up to her.
But at the same time, she was also very aware that distancing herself from Sylas was the right choice. Otherwise, the delicate balance in her heart, which was already very precarious, could deform and collapse at any time.
The storm came as expected, and it brought with it an unexpected guest.
Virgil, who hadn’t been seen in a long time, suddenly appeared outside Aimekotes’ house, like a crocodile that had just struggled to climb ashore from a dangerous flood.
Aimekotes’ butler helped him dry his cloak, and he whistled at the master and apprentice who were coming down the stairs.
"Old master, long time no see!"
"Old hunter, only the most terrible storm could have swept you here."
The old hunter’s thick skin allowed him to completely ignore this level of irony, and he turned to the beautiful and charming girl and said, "Sylas! You’re finally taller than your teacher!"
Others may not know, but Virgil was very aware that his old friend, the old master who lived in the desert tower, cared very much about this. The fearless woman was probably afraid that the wild beasts she had raised for so many years would suddenly escape her control.
The subtle difference in height would first change the balance of power between them. After being unable to intimidate the other with height, the archmage’s heart would be somewhat shaken.
Sure enough, after saying this, Virgil noticed that Xerath unconsciously straightened her back, even though her back was normally straight, and this action didn’t bring much change in height. Her female beast still appeared to be taller than her.
He suppressed the urge to burst into laughter and tried to ask his old friend for a cup of warm drink with a pleasant expression. However, his stammering words still gave him away.
The archmage also tried to warn him with a pleasant expression, "You know I can immediately throw you back into the storm, right, my old friend?"
"You won’t do it, let’s toast to our friendship!"
"I will, as long as you dare to laugh again."
Sylas thought Xerath should be quite happy to be able to freely mock others. Virgil’s face was also filled with joy. She might be the only one not so happy here.
To be honest (only confessing to Leunen), she was very jealous of Virgil, and his arrival triggered an alarm in her heart. Xerath relaxed a lot in front of Virgil. She would cross her legs and laugh at others’ flaws. A contemptuous smile appeared on her face, and her carefree yet sharp gaze looked around.
In front of her, Xerath only felt a restrained and suffocating calmness. Even the playful smile that appeared and disappeared yesterday seemed like an illusion under this long-term suppression.
Virgil’s arrival was not enough to disrupt their study plan. He was allowed to wander in the library, as long as he didn’t make any noisy distractions. But then something happened that made Sylas even more uneasy – he took Xerath outside the library during working hours. This meant that there were some things between them that she should not overhear.
Nervous and uneasy, the relationship between Virgil and Xerath had always been the main source of these two emotions for her. Even before she knew what "possessiveness" meant, she already showed obvious hostility because Virgil and Xerath were getting too close.
Now that she knows, she doesn’t know how to react.
The next day, Virgil actually called Xerath out again, which made Sylas very angry. What could possibly be so important to discuss during work hours that couldn’t be said in the living room? What could they be talking about that I couldn’t know, and they had to be alone to say it? Unable to contain her jealousy, she dropped her pen and followed them to the library door.
There is a Sunstone used for casting Illumination Spell here. Sylas pressed her hand on it. Holy spells not only include Illumination Spell and healing spells, but also a very useful spell called Light Mirror Technique. With the help of the Sunstone panel, she easily casted a Light Mirror Technique, and three mirrors appeared around her, each of which could vaguely see the nearby scene.
Looking in the mirror, they were not directly outside the door, but in a lower position. If she walked out, it would definitely make a sound and disturb the people talking, and they wouldn’t be able to hear what they were saying. She had to come up with a solution!
The archmage who was talking certainly didn’t think about guarding against Sylas. There were some things that could only be said to Virgil and not heard by Sylas.
Especially when Virgil pulled her aside, he probably just wanted to inquire about her emotional issues.
Sure enough, Virgil spoke up and asked, "Old mage, don’t you think Sylas is always watching you?"
"Of course she ‘always’ is. Why do you always give these ordinary actions extraordinary meanings? She does indeed observe me, ever since the day she arrived at Aimekotes."
Virgil lowered his head in frustration. The older ordinary people were always happy to play matchmaker for others, especially because Virgil recently felt sorry that he had been indulging in pleasure for so many years while his old friend remained single.
"What about you? I didn’t expect you to understand every dance at the ball after so many years. How long has it been since you last danced? Ten years?"
"Eighteen years."
"I don’t believe you have memories about these things in your bookworm brain! You secretly learned, didn’t you?"
Xerath smiled without saying anything.
"Actually, I know Miss Viniorla, but don’t get it wrong, we don’t have any special relationship, it’s just about money." Money relationship probably refers to when Virgil received a task from a union and completed it for money, but it seemed fake with Virgil’s deliberate winks. "Did you specially learn for Sylas’s dance party?"
Xerath didn’t back down, her sharp gaze poking at Virgil’s fluffy cheeks. "Even if you invite me as your dance partner for the party, I will still learn. Forgive me for being frank, but is it that after getting older, your brain can only hold these gossip rumors?"