Chapter 292

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Chapter 292

Because of this, Xerath came here. The mist in her eyes mixed with silver light, making it appear as colorful as the sky. Her gaze on Sylas was hazy and over time, it made Sylas’s heart skip a beat.

"I have a little free time, so I can rest for a while. And as a teacher, I have the responsibility to inspect your mage tower construction work, so that’s why I chose to come and see you." It was the perfect answer, with sufficient objective and subjective reasons, unique to Xerath. However, her expression looked too beautiful and soft, to the point that Sylas couldn’t tell who was affecting whom.

Some kind of impulse made her want to lower her head and kiss, but now her wild heartbeat was caught on a thorn, causing pain with each beat.

But Xerath didn’t give her much time to hesitate. Her attention turned to the food. She left the railing she was leaning on, walked to the shelf where the food was placed, took some, and sat down where Sylas usually relaxed and read, focusing on eating.

Sylas stared at her, too reluctant to look away, until Xerath looked up and expressed her hidden displeasure, "Don’t just watch me eat, come and eat together. There’s still a lot left, and your tower doesn’t have a stool to help digest the leftovers."

Sylas suddenly smiled, realizing that Titus had such a purpose. No wonder it had already grown round when she saw it. She walked over, and Xerath reached out a hand, pinching her fingertips and gently guiding her to sit down. Taking a sip of water, Xerath asked seriously, "What kind of water is this exactly? It’s sweet, but not sugary."

"Um, lake water," Sylas also answered seriously, continuing where Xerath left off. "Boiled and cooled. We used a volcanic rock lava pot, so I’m not sure if it’s the source or the method that gives it this sweet taste."

Xerath carefully tasted it, with some powdery spices sprinkled on her mouth from the grilled beef strips. She instantly looked much younger.

"Hmm… I have to say it tastes very similar to some mountain spring water I’ve had before. I guess it has the unique flavor of the lake water, but I’ll test it tomorrow."

"You really can’t sit still for a moment," Sylas exclaimed sincerely, after all, rest time shouldn’t be spent on any experiments, which should be considered some unspoken rule she learned in the mortal realm.

"No no no, this isn’t work at all," Xerath waved her hand, then rhythmically tapped the surface of the table with her knuckles. "It’s the basic tool for me to understand the world, just like touch and listening. You can’t say that writing with a pen is using it for work, so I shouldn’t touch pen and ink during my leisure time."

Sylas pursed her lips and smiled, continuing to eat her own food. It was because of this that Xerath appeared adorable.

This pattern of being together seemed to be set, with Sylas always putting off asking when Xerath would leave, and the old mage pretending not to know that she would still be leaving. Usually, Sylas would wake up slightly earlier in the morning and add some different variations to her breakfast while Xerath was still asleep. Over time, not only did she accompany her through her entire adolescence of secretly loving Xerath, even the fire lord chef could not bear to see her face filled with happiness.

During the time at Lake Yongning, Xerath seemed to never have insomnia again. She always looked energetic when she came downstairs for breakfast in the morning. Sylas almost forgot that Xerath used to have trouble sleeping until she realized that it had been over ten days since those days.

She simply and without any other choice attributed it to the "beautiful natural environment that helps treat problems caused by insomnia and low spirits." It was the same when they were in Saint Trelanxi and when they traveled to Mordant. It seemed that whenever Xerath was in a beautiful and fresh place, all her hidden restlessness would fade away.

Sylas thought optimistically yet bittersweetly: maybe she also realized this, which is why she chose to stay at Lake Yongning. It wasn’t because she wanted to confirm her suspicion by observing me but wasn’t certain.

They took much longer to finish their breakfast. It usually took an hour for them to finish the meal completely. Afterward, Xerath would find a book and sit on the terrace that Sylas loved so much to read. Sylas herself would always be around Xerath, wandering back and forth. Xerath seemed accustomed to this kind of companionship, and it took her more than ten days to finally ask, "Am I delaying your work progress by being here?"

"Of course not, absolutely not. I’m also clueless."

Xerath pushed her glasses and slowly said, "Extensive reading is necessary. After all, inspiration doesn’t always come. It’s the product of many materials fermenting and stirring in your consciousness. Without materials, there would be no fermentation."

It was unknown whether the old mage’s words were excuses made for Sylas. In any case, Sylas, who was indulged, still lazily spent her days on the couch or the lounge chair on the terrace, reading various idle books, just like before Xerath came. If buying books was like a mountain collapsing, then reading was slow and difficult, like pulling threads. There were still many books in her newly expanded library that she hadn’t read.

This was because Luna borrowed her several novels again. Rereading these novels took up some of her time. Now that Xerath was here, these books were immediately hidden in a secret box, which directly increased her reading speed.

However, even though Lake Yongning was peaceful and the tower was tall enough and silent enough, Sylas still noticed that Xerath would appear pale and tired around four in the afternoon.

"What exactly happened?" Sylas couldn’t help but ask after observing for two days.

"My head hurts a bit," Xerath, with a mouthful of lemon tea, explained expressionlessly, "It’s an old problem."

"How long have you had it? Why didn’t I notice before?"

Xerath took another sip silently, the warmth and sweetness temporarily relieving the pain. "It started after coming back from Saint Trelanxi. I’ve seen a doctor who said it’s probably a form of continuous intolerance to stimuli. I can’t speak too loudly or listen to loud noises. And visually, the pain accumulates from the moment I open my eyes, becoming unbearable at this time of day." She rubbed her temples, but direct pressure would only bring another kind of pain, so she had a look of helplessness on her face.

Sylas asked softly, "So… will massaging it help relieve the pain?"

"… I suppose."

"Then let me do it! I’ll help massage it for you."

Xerath looked at her in surprise. Sylas suddenly realized that perhaps she had startled Xerath because she was too eager. She quickly explained, "It seems like many people have this problem. Even the twins, Jeannie and Slote, sometimes get headaches from being too tired. Mrs. Slote has an effective massage technique that can relieve this kind of pain. If you’re feeling uncomfortable, why not let me give it a try?"

She eagerly awaited Xerath’s agreement. There’s nothing more exciting than sharing the pain and troubles of a king. Xerath hesitated and nodded, and Sylas happily moved closer.

Trouble appeared suddenly. Usually, when she and her classmates massaged each other’s heads, their heartbeats didn’t accelerate like this. But now, her fingertips have touched Xerath’s cheek.

She had touched Xerath’s cheek before. After Xerath fell asleep on her leg for no reason last time, she had touched it to make Xerath more comfortable. Archmage’s face was smooth for her age. She held Xerath’s chin with one hand to keep her head steady, and with the other hand, she lightly pressed the base of her skull by sliding her fingers in between her hair.

This made the distance between them suddenly ambiguous. Sylas’s arm curved around Xerath’s head, and as a result, Archmage almost found herself embracing her. Xerath looked at her with curiosity and confusion, while Sylas looked down at her, breathing becoming gradually faster. She didn’t want to disappoint these pure expectations, but at the same time, she wanted to destroy them fiercely.

She still held Xerath’s chin, and by lowering her head, she could kiss her soft lips.

Perhaps Sylas’s gaze was too intense. Just as Sylas was hesitating, Xerath slightly lowered her head, avoiding her gaze, and closed her own eyes. Xerath remained docilely in her arms, and her head would sway with her gentle movements, giving Sylas the illusion that "Xerath let her do whatever she wanted."

"Sylas… Is it starting now?"

"…Hmm, yes." She slowly applied pressure around the temples, kneading the parts around the cheeks with her fingertips. Sometimes, she would also move to the shoulders and the back of the neck.

The girl’s fingertips moved across Xerath’s body, and she silently enjoyed it, sinking into the warm, fragrant air. Her eyes, which couldn’t help but open, ended up resisting closing, while her feelings of tranquility and relaxation wanted to drag her into the depths of her dreams.

But what was even more enticing was that in this dream, she wanted Sylas to lower her head and return to that kiss. She closed her eyes, feeling the warm and moist breath on her face, wanting to raise her eyes, and yet unable to do so.

Until Sylas said, "Is it okay now? How do you feel?"

She woke up from her dream with some regret, but then she felt much more relaxed. She forced herself to focus on discussing the massage effect, at least to ignore her shameless longing for a girl’s embrace. "It feels much better. Why does Miss Slote have this skill?"

Sylas released her head as if slowly letting go of a precious porcelain on display.

Maybe it’s because of her eyes? I just found out that she can’t see… To compensate for her lack of visual perception, her eyes are under a lot of strain. So she came up with this technique herself… I can give you a massage every day, if you don’t mind. We do this in our studio as well." She tried to act as if she didn’t care, subtly hinting that this was just a common help between classmates. In her heart, she optimistically thought, "If she won’t refuse a hug under the riverbed, she probably won’t refuse this kind of massage either, right?

As she hoped, Xerath nodded and said, "If it’s not too much trouble, I think I really need it."