Chapter 332: Chapter 179: Let Master Get a Taste of Harsh Reality (2-in-1) (Part 2)
"No matter what you just said, please shout it again immediately."
"No."
She smiled, lifted the hem of her pristine white dress, and twirled.
"But—"
The Golden Elf blinked, half-closing one eye, the cunning in the other eye deepened a bit.
"If Shiayar you’re willing to accompany me back to the Lost Island, I’ll call you that every day."
Whew—
Shiayar let out a long breath.
I must admit, the cuteness of the youthful Master is quite terrifying in exercising self-restraint.
If it were someone else, it might be okay.
However, Shiayar has seen Hathaway from childhood, with such majesty and solemnity on the future throne, mysterious and indescribably beautiful.
This stark contrast is purely a double-edged attack exclusive to Shiayar.
Quite aesthetic like a purple-haired old lady poking through a happy lamppost king.
But indeed.
According to the Mercury Serpent’s statement, the lifespan of supernatural races in the Shining Era is extremely long.
A pureblooded Golden Elf, its lifespan easily spans thousands of years.
That is to say, by the lifespan of pre-contaminated advanced elves, the current Hathaway is indeed just barely an adult.
And she fell onto the Lost Island shortly after birth, in this silent Royal Court engaged in the research of Magic Power and the Astral Realm... indeed, she couldn’t have much experience.
Although currently holding the highest rank and status on the Lost Island, occasionally, she still reveals a slight youthful mindset.
At least, he couldn’t imagine the Fourth Epoch’s Master saying this to him.
Shiayar calmed the surge stirred by the Golden Elf and looked again at the Golden Elf girl before him.
Without the playful mindset, but with a serious expression, he spoke earnestly, word by word.
"Hathaway."
"What if I said I wanted to take you away from the Lost Island, away from your people."
"To cross the Endless Ocean Domain, back to the Western Continent..."
"Would you come with me?"
Noticing the seriousness in Shiayar’s words.
The Golden Elf girl also withdrew the faint smile from her charming face.
She blinked her light golden eyes, the slight hesitation and indecision flashed briefly, not lingering.
"I’m sorry, Shiayar."
The Golden Elf spoke softly.
"I’m really thankful to you, if it weren’t for you, Shiayar, I might have already become another corpse drifting in the Dimensional Void."
"The days of learning Arcane Arts and Magic in this little house with you were really joyful too."
"I really wish I could continue to delve into the ocean of Arcane, to explore that truth you spoke of, hidden behind the stars."
"I want even more to become a powerful Wizard like you."
"But—"
Her gaze shifted slightly.
Then, it paused outside "Xaya’s Flying House," beyond the window sill, into the dark and quiet depth of The Void.
After completing the arcane model and Spell Primer of Hathaway. Dimensional Anchor as a forbidden spell, she already has the ability to position herself within the boundless void without any reference.
What Hathaway looked at was the direction of the Lost Island.
"I cannot leave."
She said lightly, "That burden of the future of the Elf Clan, once taken upon by the ancestral Council Elders who fell while seeking the path of light, is now borne upon me."
"Though this hefty burden was not initially my choice, but a mission imposed on me by those old Council Elders seeing my outstanding talent... however, to this day, I can’t abandon it."
"After nearly a millennium, it has become an obsession."
She did not evade, but looked straight at Shiayar with her light golden eyes: "Clearly, after so much effort, traversing the endless Sub-space, I have only now sought out the magical gem that can reflect the future of the Elf Clan."
"But to abandon the entire Lost Island, and disregard the entire race for a moment of my capriciousness—"
"If I truly were to do so, I wouldn’t know how to face the eyes of those elders who raised me in the afterlife Sage’s Wonderland."
"Of course—"
"All the Arcane knowledge I’ve learned was taught by you, Shiayar."
"Without you, even if I found Magic Power deep in the Astral Realm, I still couldn’t have learned to construct the arcane model and complete the casting of Magic so quickly."
The Golden Elf gazed at Shiayar calmly, her eyes clear and pure.
"So, if you want to erase my memories about magic, or forcibly take me away, or even kill me, I would have no complaints."
"I know you’re strong, stronger than I ever imagined."
"Although you’ve been saying in recent days that in the realm of the Arcane Arts and magic, I am catching up to you, Shiayar, I have a vague premonition that neither the Arcane Arts nor magic constitutes all of you."
"The real you is far more powerful than you are as a wizard."
...
Tsk—
Looking at the clear, unclouded beautiful eyes of the Golden Elf girl in front of him, Shiayar couldn’t help but feel a heaviness in his heart.
Teacher, are you putting me to the test?
Shiayar believed he was not so magnanimous; the matters of the Lost Island were far from simple.
The Elf King, the creator known as the Sun God from the Glorious Era, the World Tree... all these were shrouded in layers of mist and gloom, involving too many things.
For a group of elves, with whom he had never interacted before, and who might have already disappeared into the dust of history, Shiayar naturally thought it best to keep things to a minimum.
Though he would often jokingly talk about writing an "Evaluation Guide to Customs of Exotic Tribes," Shiayar certainly didn’t care for the entire Elf Clan to the extent of loving the house and its crow.
In the Western Continent, those he truly cared about, from beginning to end, were but a handful of people.
Only—
"Even if I were to tell my teacher about the matters on the Lost Island now, I suppose she wouldn’t believe it..."
Shiayar sighed softly in his heart.
But indeed, this was in line with the style of the teacher he knew well.
If the girl in front of him had readily agreed to his proposal and followed him without a care, Shiayar would instead have questioned whether he had found the wrong person.
"Alright."
He reached out his hand, gently stroking the light golden hair in front of him, under the somewhat surprised gaze of the Golden Elf.
The texture felt somewhere between Silvia Babe and Ennie; in short, very smooth, quite pleasant.
"King of Patting Heads" achievement progress +1.
"I will go back with you to the Lost Island."
Shiayar smiled.
"After all, Hathaway, you are my most outstanding and most cared-for first disciple, aren’t you?"
Shiayar had made up his mind that he would certainly fulfill the role of his Master, Hathaway, the inversely-starbound teacher.
Not even the gods could stop him, he said.
"Really?"
The Golden Elf girl’s eyes, which had been calm at first, instantly became much brighter, carrying a hint of joy.
For a moment, she didn’t mind Shiayar’s somewhat intimate gesture earlier; instead, she happily lifted her skirt and twirled lightly around the small room.
But soon, the Golden Elf looked at Shiayar with some concern.
She wasn’t a fool; Shiayar must have had his difficulties when he asked earlier if he should go with her.
"Shiayar, is entering the Lost Island too difficult?"
"I heard the Eternal Night’s curtain was designed specifically for the Royal Court... Non-elves entering might be greatly affected."
She opened her mouth with some regret: "If that’s the case, I can go alone..."
"No need."
Shiayar interrupted Hathaway’s words, smiling placidly: "It’s just that outsiders will be severely restricted, unable to use spiritual power, but they’ll recover once they leave."
"There’s really no big deal."
"Is that so?"
Hathaway didn’t think much of it, only nodding slightly.
As a result, she didn’t notice the depth of meaning in Shiayar’s eyes.
Though now her teacher in the early stages was indeed very cute.
However, such a teacher can hardly assume the future role of the head of the 8th Page of the Black Tower— "Eternal One Page."
His gaze fell silent, looking towards the direction of that Lost Island in The Void.
The future can be changed.
Only—
Before then.
This young Golden Elf Master may have to come to terms with the harshness of reality.