Chapter 91
Xerath had to change the subject and said, "I really like the moose you gave me, thank you."
"Really!?" Sylas jumped out of her arms, full of excitement, and looked at her, "You really like it? That's great! That's great!"
She wanted to jump back, but Xerath wouldn't allow it. She pushed the girl's shoulders and apologetically looked at the two dumbfounded youngsters behind her, "Sylas, your friends are waiting for you. Go greet them."
There is a natural barrier between people of different generations. Although they have some connection, when she sent herself to the "mortal realm" with her own hands, it was destined that she would have to stay with people of her age. She gave Sylas a push and watched her walk towards her friends.
She sat back down and Hyectra floated back, "Ma'am, are you just letting her go with others like that? What will you do?"
Xerath looked at it in surprise, "What else can I do? I'll wait for her to finish and then take her home."
"I mean... I mean... you should have..."
"If you can't say it, then be quiet."
The water lord closed his mouth.
While Xerath stirred the remaining liquid in her cup with boredom, Swis from the Rost Family secretly observed her.
"Swis, stop staring at the lady," Caroline scolded him.
Swis snapped out of it and whispered, "Hey, do you remember our small conjecture about Sylas?"
Caroline gave him a knowing look, but Sylas pressed on, "What is going on? Are there any small conjectures about me that I don't know?"
"No."
"I heard it, tell me quickly."
Swis reluctantly said, "Well, because it was just a guess and we didn't have to take responsibility, we were just talking nonsense. We originally thought that your teacher was a wealthy woman in her fifties who adopted you for some kind of family alliance."
"What made you change your opinion?"
Swis exclaimed, "No need to say it! She's too beautiful! You're saying she's still single! Let her handle the marriage herself!"
"Yes, she is very beautiful. I've always said she stands out from the crowd," Sylas happily replied, as if she had been praised herself.
Caroline remained unusually silent and suddenly said, "Why don't we call the teacher over?"
"Hmm... I think you two would be afraid of her. She always looks stern and isn't very easy to get along with. That way, you wouldn't dare to talk, right?"
"But you can't just leave a beauty like her sitting alone! That's not right!" Swis protested quickly.
Sylas smiled and said, "So you guys talk, I'll go keep her company. I'll pay for your meals, go ahead and order."
"You can't do that," Caroline raised her voice a little, "Don't just randomly pay for others. You're spending money that isn't even yours!"
"Got it," Sylas's voice carried a hint of amusement as she sat down across from Xerath. The seemingly cold sorceress couldn't help but smile.
Caroline turned back and whispered softly to Swis, "Well done earlier."
Swis whispered, "Why did you want to sit there just now?"
"Do I even need to say it? Based on her appearance, age, and profession, there is no way to rule out the suspicion that she wants to turn Sylas into a forbidden prisoner. Sylas even has her last name! We need to investigate her ourselves."
"With a teacher like that, I would gladly become a forbidden prisoner," he said in a longing tone.
"That's enough," Caroline pushed him, and he pushed back. The two of them started fighting, completely forgetting about Sylas and Xerath's presence.
"The new friend is quite interesting, isn't she?"
Sylas smiled and said, "Sometimes she can be a bit childish."
"Did you do well on the test?"
"I think I did well."
"The intermediate exam shouldn't be too difficult. After I entered the tower, Teacher Emerson requested that I participate in the intermediate exam and achieve outstanding results to enter the tower school legally and reasonably. I studied for half a year and took the exam in winter."
"So you mean to say that you can learn and memorize three years' worth of material in just six months? You're really amazing."
"It's not that I'm amazing... The ones who helped me review back then were Sashara and Biatris. Sashara was a really talented teacher. People often joked that if she opened a tutoring class, she would have made a fortune."
"But she didn't."
Xerath noticed that Sylas's way of talking to her had become more natural, as if the past two months of school life had erased her restraint and allowed her to express herself freely. As a result, Xerath's attitude also became more casual. "Actually... I just said goodbye to them this morning. I've been attending gatherings these days and stayed at Emerson teacher's tower for a few days, just like before graduation."
"You must be very happy, right?"
Xerath nodded insincerely, trying hard to force a smile that wouldn't reveal any flaws to Sylas. "Are you going home today? Or will you be playing with your friends for a few more days? I just came... um, is it a bit sudden? I just... I didn't necessarily mean to take you home right away, I just realized that I forgot to tell you when and where I would pick you up."
"I was afraid you wouldn't come," the little creature showed her familiar cautious and sad look, clutching her sleeve. "I thought, if you didn't come today, maybe I would really be left behind."
"I won't... I won't leave you behind." Xerath felt at a loss, held her hand, and then suddenly let go. "I promised to teach you until you graduate, trust me, okay?"
It didn't take long for the surrounding seats to fill up, and their food was quickly brought out. Sylas asked Xerath curiously when they had ordered the dishes, and Xerath pointed to Hyectra.
This person who knew each other well and was familiar with the taste of this shop's water lord helped to order food and even sent dessert to the child next to them.
Looking in Sylas's direction, the twins were arguing about something again. She guessed it might be the answer to a certain question. She didn't want to answer, she just wanted to stay with Xerath. If good grades could make her catch more glances from Xerath, then it would be worth the effort.
"If I... couldn't come because of an accident, what would you do?"
Sylas lowered her head, her voice sounding a bit low. Xerath couldn't help but smile. If this mood appeared in Titus, his ears would definitely droop down.
"I... I would stay at the twins' house for a few days, then write you a letter to confirm whether you intentionally left me or accidentally forgot about me."
"Accidentally?"
"You often focus on your work, maybe... maybe you forgot about my exam."
Xerath chuckled, "Is that how I am in your heart? So focused that I forget living people exist?"
Sylas nodded seriously, and Xerath couldn't resist patting her head, but quickly pulled her hand away, feeling embarrassed.
"No worries, I am counting the days. If I can't come, I will tell Maryland in advance and ask her to help take care of you. She and I are..."
Sylas suddenly perked up her ears, listening to her conclusion.
Xerath smiled gently, her tender look further escalating the nervousness in her heart.
"The bond of copying homework." She repeated the words Virgil said, thinking about their years together and unexpectedly finding it quite amusing. "Did anyone copy your homework? It was quite common back then."
"Um... not yet."
"Maybe in the future. Although copying homework is not right, but actually... it's a kind of social activity, I think. I used to think it wasn't right, but Sashara suggested that I treat it as a serious social activity. Including helping classmates hide their cheating behaviors from teachers. My bottom line is... not helping others cheat on exams."
She turned her head and saw Sylas stifling laughter while looking at her. Their gazes met and they suddenly burst into laughter together.
The school gate remained closed until all the students finished their exams. After lunch, the gate reopened and Xerath followed her back to the temporary dormitory. It was quite small, only enough for a bed and a desk, but fortunately, it had its own bathroom. Different from when she first came two months ago, the place was now filled with traces of life, with many stickers (not the magical kind) on the walls, including one depicting a moose that looked quite similar.
Luckily, there weren't too many books, probably only around twenty pounds, Xerath estimated. She pointed to a book, and it flew up in the air. "Shall I tidy up these?" She then reached out with her other hand. "Or these?" The drawer opened with a "snap," and things inside started to stir.
Sylas suddenly leaned over and said, "Don't... no, let me do it myself."
Xerath curiously put her hands down, and the wind element that was holding up the book scattered and ran away because it lost its command, and the book fell onto the bed.
Sylas turned around, looked up shyly and said, "Could you please leave for a moment? I will tidy up by myself."
"Sylas," the feeling of nervousness alerted Xerath that there must be a deeper reason behind this, so she asked, "Why? I hope there is a reasonable explanation."
"Nothing, it's just too messy."
Xerath then held Sylas's shoulder and stared at her with a knowing gaze, "There's something you don't want me to know, right?"
"Um..." Sylas avoided her gaze.
"I hope it's not something dangerous. Can you assure me of that? I don't intend to pry into your privacy, but I want to eliminate any dangers."
"It's not, it's not..." Sylas softly argued, gently pushing Xerath towards the door. Xerath had no choice but to leave first, locking the door behind her. Sylas hurried to the desk, took out a golden badge, examined it in the light, and threw it into a box. Then, she buried the badge deep in a drawer with all the small trinkets inside.
There are shops near the school, mostly selling stationery or toys that children love. Among them, what could make both adults and children happier than a wizard badge? A respectable wizard with deep and wise eyes, paired with a famous quote. Sometimes, these things are even hung in the classroom.
