Chapter 284

Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW

Chapter 284

Sylas froze, rapidly asking herself in her mind: Should I say yes? Should I nod? Should I… should I go back? Can I bear… bear seeing her every day without being able to touch her? Damn it… I want to be with her…

Seeing her hesitation, Xerath added, "If it disrupts your plans, I can… I can stay at your place for a few days? The scenery here is really beautiful…"

She pointed to Lake Yongning outside.

This reason could be questioned, evidently from the surrounding scenery of Aimekotes, she wasn’t someone who cared much about whether the scenery was good or not.

"Of course!… I mean, if you want to stay. My mage tower is still very basic, certainly not as good as yours. If you don’t mind… don’t mind me starting to make a guest room. Or… should I go back to Aimekotes?"

"No, I’m glad to see you… your work. I want to stay here for a while."

She is always like this… right? She always pauses at "you", leaving people with anticipation and disappointment.

"It is an honor! However, I… don’t… have any guest rooms," she said, frustrated. "The evenings are not well-planned… oh, you can sleep in my room, I will sleep on the living room sofa."

Xerath said, "It doesn’t seem right. You are the host, I shouldn’t… let you sleep in the living room."

Sylas smiled and said, "If you don’t mind, there is also a sofa in the bedroom."

She got up and said, "Excuse me," and walked upstairs to the bedroom. Xerath followed quietly, leaning against the door to watch Sylas instruct water lord steward Leunen to lay down a carpet and blanket on the sofa. Hyectra stood behind her and whispered, "Why make things so complicated? The bed is so big, it can easily accommodate ten of her."

Xerath glared at it, and innocently asked, "Isn’t it? My lady, don’t you think so?"

Xerath raised her hand and made a zigzag shape in the air, leaving faint traces of light. Hyectra recognized this as the starting stroke of "exile" and immediately covered its mouth, begging, "No, no, I didn’t say anything just now. Let me stay with the little beast a little longer."

After a while, the considerate water lord asked softly, "Do you need any help?"

"No, thank you."

"I think the little creature would be very happy to help you with these things." Hyectra watched as Leunen approached, changing the sheets and quilt on the bed and replacing them with a new set.

It subtly glanced down and indeed saw traces of disappointment on its owner’s face.

"I can ask Leunen to do it for you, and we won’t say anything, you can trust me on this."

Xerath said coldly, "No, I don’t trust it."

Then, as Hyectra saw Sylas turn her head, its owner immediately put on a kind expression.

In the afternoon, Sylas created a new floor beneath the living room, and she complained, "This stone was originally meant for my collection room."

"Do you have any collections?"

Sylas shook her head shyly, "Not yet."

Xerath had initially thought to persuade Sylas not to unnecessarily expand another guest room, after all, the fact was the same as what Hyectra said – the bed in the bedroom was more than enough for ten of her. And once this guest room was built, what excuse would she have to sleep with Sylas?

Sylas summoned Son of the Wind and together they flew to the center of the mage tower, carrying the mysterious Archstone. Sylas chanted a spell and suddenly clouds rose up from below. Earth Child stood on the stone and walked on the clouds, forming a pathway made of stone beams, which converged at the location of the Archstone.

Suddenly, Sylas relaxed. The Earth Children disappeared into a rift in space, and the clouds dispersed. Xerath praised at the right time, saying, "Very well done, controlling thirty-one elemental beings and two large ongoing spells at the same time."

"Of course, you see, everyone says that, ‘She is Xerath’s student, she should have such abilities.’"

Xerath suddenly laughed, "Are you complimenting me indirectly?"

Sylas said gently, "I’m just stating facts."

"Then let’s keep it in the storage room. Besides me, do you have any other guests?"

Sylas shook her head.

"So?"

"Then let’s keep this floor!" Sylas tried to smile more naturally and suggested, "How about going for a walk? You haven’t exercised for a long time, have you?"

Xerath argued, "Yes, I have. I have to walk from the bottom to the top of the mage tower twice every day, and I’ve already done it once today."

What she said is indeed true. Typically, the most exercise a mage gets in a day is walking up and down the mage tower. It’s about 50 yards tall, without any winding internal space. Walking up and down once is not an easy task. This is probably why most mages haven’t gone extinct due to long periods of inactivity.

Sylas didn’t argue back, but softly asked her, "The lake is very beautiful. Will you walk with me?"

Xerath hesitated, but Sylas’s voice became even softer. "You’ll come, won’t you?"

Xerath smiled and said, "Alright, let’s go for a walk."

They walked down the long stairs and out of the mage tower. It was a new experience for Xerath, as most of the time she would leave from the small magic circle in the library.

The cool wind outside made Sylas noticeable in just a shirt. Xerath asked, "Aren’t you going to put on something more?"

"You’ll warm up as we walk. Aren’t you going to take off your robe?"

Xerath shook her head. Sylas accepted her decision, having no other choice.

There was only a path by the lake surrounded by wild grass. Xerath, lost in thought, asked absentmindedly, "Did you make this path?"

Sylas laughed, "Of course not, my teacher… it was made by an Earth Child."

"Do you come out here every day?"

"Of course."

"You really love the outdoors…" Xerath felt sad. She had kept her little creature locked up in the mage tower for twelve years, only discovering her love for nature a year or two ago.

Luckily, she didn’t stubbornly keep Sylas captive. Luckily, she let her go.

Sensing Xerath’s distraction, Sylas asked, "Don’t you like it? Th-then let’s go back…"

As Sylas prepared to turn back, Xerath grabbed her wrist and shook her head, saying, "I don’t dislike it. Can we just go ahead and see? I want to try standing in the middle of the lake."

She was referring to a rock jutting into the lake. Sylas thought for a moment, about to chant a spell, but Xerath held her hand, "No spells. Let’s try not using spells today, okay? Just walking."

Sylas couldn’t help but wonder what Xerath’s intentions were. Her teacher was a very logical person and she had never seen her have any spontaneous ideas. Spells were like second nature to her, so imagine her saying "no need for spells," it was as if an ordinary person said "walk forward with your eyes closed" or "hop forward on one foot," full of childish fun.

"Sylas? Is there something on my face?"

"No, there isn’t," Sylas’s heart felt warm, and she impulsively added, disregarding the consequences, "You look really pretty."

Xerath, standing behind her, didn’t respond. Sylas felt nervous and uneasy with the silence, until she heard Xerath’s calm voice say, "Really? Thank you, I’m glad you like it."

Is that so? Sylas wondered in her heart, if I were to tell you how much I like you, would you really be happy?

They walked side by side along a bumpy path, reaching a cape that stretched out into the lake. The cold wind on the lake made their hearts feel calm. Birds suddenly emerged from the trees, gliding across the water and diving into another clump of trees. A herd of deer came out, passing by the stone monuments in front of the mage tower, and reached the lake, bowing their heads to drink water.

Xerath watched the young deer’s trembling ears and said, "Have I trained a druid? They are coming close to your mage tower."

She turned around, smiling, and asked, "Druid, can you make this branch bloom?"

She casually picked up a dry branch, which seemed to have been dead for a while. Sylas took the branch, thought for a moment, and suddenly started laughing.

Xerath also smiled along with her, for no particular reason, only because Sylas’s smile was pleasant. Her eyes had their own reflection. If it was possible, she would like to stay inside that smile, never coming out.

Sylas noticed Xerath’s attention on her own face, so she made an even more unexpected gesture.

She placed the dry branch near her lips and kissed the end of the branch. She kept looking at Xerath and saw her eyes widen. The branch in her hand trembled slightly, and tiny, delicate "buds" actually grew from where the branches intersected.

Xerath couldn’t help but imagine how it would feel to receive that kiss herself, and she swallowed difficultly.

"A miracle… how did you do it?" The little Earth Child on the branch started moving around, playing on the branch for a while before running back to the ground.

As an Elemental Archmage, Xerath had long noticed the fluctuations of elements, but just now she had been focused on Sylas’s lips and didn’t see any trace of incantation.

"Can you guess?"

"Hmm… you diverted my attention and I fell for it." But her expression didn’t say that. It was clear that she was happy to be deceived.

Sylas stared into her gray eyes and whispered, "Honored."

However, Xerath didn’t avoid her gaze. They looked at each other from a short distance, and for some reason, Xerath’s voice seemed a little distracted. "But you broke the rules. We had just agreed not to use magic this afternoon."

"My teacher, how do you want to punish me?"

Xerath hesitated for a moment. Sylas reminded her that she was Sylas’s teacher and nothing else. She lowered her head, looking at her own hands, and sighed. "I can’t think of a punishment right now. Let’s leave it for later."