Chapter 289

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Chapter 289

"Do you need to bring anything?" Sylas asked. After Xerath shook her head, the young owner of Lake Yongning told her to wait a moment while quietly instructing Leunen to bring something.

Xerath rarely left the mage tower’s gate by herself. Outside Aimekotes, there was a desert, while outside the Colorun clan where she used to study, there was only grass and wheat fields. Neither of them were suitable for human walking like outside Sylas’s gate. She was eagerly imagining how her unicorn would roam through these beautiful woodland scenes. Her former apprentice had already summoned the Earth Child, waiting for her to ride.

Lake Yongning was a mountain lake, and there was a steep terrain difference between it and the vaguely visible mountain road below. But this had no effect on Sylas at all. Only those who had mediocre magic skills would be troubled by this. The earth elemental responded to the strong call of the new queen who had just arrived and automatically formed uneven steps on the smooth and steep cliff. The two mages walked down from the long cliff top, where two rumbling Earth Children had been waiting for them at the end of the steps.

The morning mist had not yet dispersed, the air was still slightly cool, and the damp scent hit Xerath’s face. She closed her eyes and the corners of her mouth slightly curved, seeming to enjoy the morning breeze. Sensing Sylas looking at her, her relaxed and satisfied expression stiffened slightly. The elder mage adjusted her posture, feeling a bit uncomfortable, and said, "Aimekotes has never had such scenery, so it is a rare experience for me."

This statement made Sylas skeptical. Xerath had recently been attending various discussion meetings. The luxurious and hedonistic mages in the guild liked to choose places with beautiful scenery. Xerath should have had many opportunities to be close to such a natural environment.

Probably realizing the flaw in her words, Xerath seemed to hear Sylas’s doubt and added, "I always lack the motivation to go out, so even when I go to meetings, I mostly stay on the balcony reading."

It’s something a lazy and unwilling-to-exercise old mage would do. Sylas imagined Xerath lazily lounging on the sofa and couldn’t help but silently laugh, thinking not to let Xerath notice.

The sunlight pierced through the mist, and the pale lemon yellow haze slowly dissipated. The village and the marketplace outside the village were clearly visible from a high place, but they were also very distant and could be covered by a finger.

The two elemental envoys had already started talking about topics that interested both of them. When Sylas recalled, she realized she didn’t even know what made them strike up a conversation. When she came to her senses, they were already discussing Gu Gaoboren’s epic poems transitioning into short poems, and the marketplace was almost within sight.

Xerath looked back and realized that they had unknowingly descended a considerable distance. Lake Yongning was surrounded by mountains, and the mountains were guarded by snow-capped peaks that seemed to appear and disappear. The snow-capped peaks stood tall and strong, and the white giants embraced the rising sun with their chests, which were gilded by sunlight.

And the loud noise has faintly reached their ears.

They walked down with the land lord and entered the area of the market. The stalls, big and small, were mostly ready. However, some people continued to take out their goods and wiped them with their sleeves before placing them on the top of the stalls.

Without Sylas’s prompting, the old magician narrowed her eyes and walked while showing a pensive expression. Sylas looked at her expression and thought to herself that she probably already figured out why I’m here.

Sure enough, Xerath asked, "Are you here to listen to these things?"

Sylas nodded happily and discreetly bent one arm. "Here, people are far from the city, so they mostly use the local dialect instead of the common language to converse. But young people who study in schools funded by the country will use the common language more. The dialects have lost a lot of content."

"Do you have… a detailed plan?"

"Not… not yet. This plan just started, and I’m not sure if it’s feasible or not."

"I think you should hurry. Do you have any difficulties?"

"Yes!" Sylas replied confidently, but then deflated under Xerath’s gaze. "I think our method of analyzing speech is very wrong, and very inefficient."

Xerath thought for a moment and said confidently, "There will be a way." After a while, she continued, "I’m curious about how you thought of all this. It’s…very coincidental, isn’t it? I want to know your thought process and motivation."

Xerath subtly hooked her arm with Sylas’s bent arm and they walked forward together. Sylas clicked her tongue where Xerath couldn’t see, thinking to herself, "Of course, I chose to continue studying witchcraft so that I could have a chance to get closer to you. Otherwise, I could have studied easier and more organized demon spells. I even have a demon buddy."

But how could she say these words?

The atmosphere now had a subtle beauty. Xerath unexpectedly appeared in her tower and requested to stay for a vacation (not stated by Xerath herself but guessed by Sylas), they went out for a walk without any problems, ate at the same table, and talked about the topics both of them were interested in. It was an intimate and sometimes overly intimate atmosphere that enveloped the two of them. Isn’t it just perfect now?

But at that moment, Xerath suddenly turned around, squinted her eyes, causing the silver light to shine even sharper and directly into Sylas’s heart.

Sylas was very familiar with that scrutinizing gaze. It had always been able to distinguish between truth and falsehood. Sylas had to tilt her head and avoid the questioning look.

It seemed like Xerath wasn’t going to let her off the hook. She stared at Sylas for a long time, so long that Sylas couldn’t help but admit her mistake, and only then did Xerath redirect her gaze back to the front.

The market was bustling with all kinds of goods. Colorful fruits and vegetables, seasonal clothes, beautiful crafts with colors that reflected the aesthetic of the mountain region. Xerath even saw someone making boots on the street.

Just like what Sylas said, everyone was speaking with a very heavy accent, even the local dialect, as they enthusiastically bargained.

The old master gently tugged on Sylas’s arm and asked, "Can you understand what they’re saying?"

The young apprentice smiled shyly and said, "Actually, most of us can’t. It’s one of the biggest challenges in my studies, I don’t really understand what they’re saying."

As she spoke, Sylas’s tone changed and she raised her hand to greet someone who she didn’t know where they were. Xerath was listening attentively to her talk, and when she heard that, she looked up and saw a big aunty who was about the same height as Sylas, but three times her size, smiling at Sylas.

She stood at the entrance of the grocery store, just like everyone else here, her accent in the common language was very, very strong.

"Is the young apprentice here to buy things for the teacher?"

At this moment, Sylas quickly explained to Xerath’s ear, "She always thought that a highly respected old master with white hair and beard lived in Lake Yongning, while I am just a young apprentice, at most."

Xerath wanted to laugh, and she restrained herself and leaned closer to Sylas’s ear, asking, "How should I introduce myself? If necessary."

Sylas whispered, "You’ll find out soon."

"Auntie Beck, long time no see."

The auntie said with a deep voice, "Pretty little girl brings another pretty little girl. Who is this?"

"This is another disciple of the respected archmage. She is my senior sister. She just came back from outside, so I brought her here for a visit. It’s her first time here."

"Then you must show her around our bountiful harvest market!"

But Sylas clearly didn’t understand this sentence. The cute apprentice furrowed her brows shyly and asked, "What? Please say it again, I didn’t quite hear clearly."

It was no surprise that she couldn’t hear this sentence clearly. Even if Mrs. Baker repeated it a hundred times, Sylas couldn’t possibly understand the meaning of this sentence on her own.

It’s a typical saying in the Nislan dialect.

Xerath grabbed Sylas, took over the conversation, and smiled, "Of course, she has been describing this market to me for a long time. Early this morning, she couldn’t wait to drag me out. We’re planning to taste the handmade candies over there now."

Sylas became more and more surprised as she listened to Xerath’s long speech, her mouth opening wider.

The little wizard who was fluent in many ancient languages now heard a completely new language coming out of the old wizard’s cold and sarcastic mouth, and she had never heard it before.

Mrs. Baker exclaimed in surprise and then excitedly introduced the market to Xerath, pointing in different directions, speaking very fast, not considering Sylas’s listening ability. They both said goodbye with joyful smiles.

Next, it was Xerath who showed Xerath around the market, explaining the origins and stories of the inconspicuous little trinkets by the roadside.

Sylas obediently followed along, her admiration for Xerath deepening, as it always had been.

As they sat at a round table by the road, drinking nectar, Sylas couldn’t help but ask, "How do you know that language?"

Xerath blinked and replied, "Of course I do! I am from Nislan. Remember, the area you live in is part of Nislan territory?" Sylas, who didn’t have a nationality, chose to live in Nislan, while the archmage with Nislan nationality chose to live in the Elemental Gate, which was not part of any country. It was an interesting exchange.

"Oh, I see. I thought you would speak a dialect closer to the local language of Methylani. The dialect here is very different from the Methylani dialect."

Xerath suddenly smiled, saying, "That’s right, your judgment is correct."

Sylas was stunned, looking at Xerath in confusion. Then Xerath explained with a suppressed laughter, "My grandmother was born in a nearby town, and she raised me."

Although Sylas was teased again, she didn’t feel angry at all. She just thought the old mage was being mischievous. After giving Xerath a look with a slightly reproachful tone, she enviedly said, "If only I could understand some dialects like you, it would be even better if I could speak them."