Chapter 92: A Girl Only Mine
“A banquet?”
The Golden Elf maiden’s clear and cold voice echoed in the Astral Realm.
She raised her eyes slightly, looking at Shaya before her.
The next moment, her left eye, which had been closed until then, silently opened.
A wisp of deep blue flame pulsed slowly within her crimson gold beautiful eyes.
This wisp of deep blue flame was incredibly magnificent, dazzling, and flickering erratically.
It was what the Black Tower disciples called the “Secret Fire of the Goddess of Magic,” and it was also the origin of Hathaway’s title “Golden Calamity.”
Unlike the deities with clear titles worshiped by various orders, the Goddess of Magic had no true form. She was merely the manifestation of the rules of various elements, magical creatures, and spells in the Multiverse, or rather, an Incarnation of a concept.
The instant that wisp of deep blue secret fire appeared, Shaya distinctly felt.
The time imprint engraved on his Star Spirit Body, like tree rings, which even he couldn’t detect, was now trembling.
Following that, in the flowing time and space.
A illusory, seemingly severed river of time was thus silently reflected in the Golden Elf’s eyes under the illumination of the deep blue secret fire.
The next moment, that trace of deep blue flickered and vanished.
The Golden Elf’s left eye closed again.
She crossed her arms, her lips curving slightly, and looked at Shaya with a half-smile.
“In the dimensional abyss, I didn’t quite feel it, but seeing you just now, I realized so much time has passed.”
The Golden Elf took a step closer to Shaya and reached out her hand.
Then, with her plain white, slender fingers, she gently caressed Shaya’s face.
“Looking closely, you have indeed grown up.”
“You’re no longer the little boy pretending to be deep when I first met you in Arcane City Lokiia five years ago.”
Her cool fingertips brushed across Shaya’s side profile, with a slightly ticklish sensation.
“You’ve grown taller, even taller than me now.”
“And you’ve gotten thinner too; your face doesn’t feel as chubby as it used to be…”
The Golden Elf studied the slender, well-defined young man before her.
Her light golden beautiful eyes held a mixture of relief and a hint of nostalgia.
“You truly are a handsome youth now.”
“Given this, it’s no wonder Gudrian Borgia is willing to marry his only daughter to you…”
“Although the initial reason was largely due to considerations of interest, this marriage wouldn’t have happened if you yourself weren’t outstanding.”
“In your words, young Shaya has become quite popular now…”
Shaya was slightly stunned and didn’t pay attention to the teasing in Hathaway’s words.
“Teacher, do you also know the head of the Borgia Family?”
As far as he knew, his Golden Elf teacher from the Black Tower had existed for an incredibly long time, making her one of the most mysterious legends on the Western Continent.
Even ancient powers like the Holy See, with thousands of years of history, had no idea when Hathaway, a Page of the Black Tower, had ascended to legend.
However, perhaps due to the long passage of time after achieving legend, Hathaway had developed a rather casual personality, prioritizing spontaneity in her actions.
She could break her thousand-year-old norm simply because she liked the look of Shaya, taking him, who hadn’t even reached the First Ring and was like an ant in the eyes of legends, as her final disciple…
She could also stand up a meeting with other eight-page mages over trivial matters.
In Hathaway’s eyes, if she didn’t care for someone, she wouldn’t bother to look at them twice, even if they were fellow legends.
“It must have been about a decade ago. Gudrian was attempting to break through the Throne limit, so I remember him.”
“Although he didn’t succeed then, after more than ten years…”
“He, and that person from the Imperial Royal Family, it’s really hard to say who is stronger now.”
The old geezer Borgia is that strong?
Shaya was somewhat surprised.
However, this also explained why they dared to openly provoke the Imperial Royal Family; they had ample confidence.
“But… since you summoned me.”
“It means you’ve made a decision about this matter.”
The Golden Elf removed her plain white hand from Shaya’s face.
She took two steps back, and against the backdrop of the illusory starry sky behind her, a silent throne woven from pitch-black thorns slowly appeared.
Hathaway sat on the pitch-black thorn throne, turned her head to look at Shaya, a hint of a smile in her eyes.
“That’s a chance to ascend to the heavens in one step. Accepting the olive branch they’ve extended to you is equivalent to having the backing of at least three legends.”
“And among them are even two beings comparable to demigods…”
“You would make such a choice…”
The Golden Elf crossed her slender legs and leaned lazily on the throne.
“Is it because of your little girlfriend?”
“Yes.”
“Are you really going to do this?”
The Golden Elf’s clear and cold words carried a hint of temptation, “Wouldn’t it be more beneficial to pretend to accept their goodwill first, then silently integrate into their faction?”
“Then, absorb their nourishment to strengthen yourself, gather intelligence, and when you’re fully prepared, draw your sword at a crucial moment… This would be more in line with your interests, just as you’ve always done.”
“Exposing yourself to great risk out of impulse isn’t consistent with the philosophy of ‘think three times before acting’ that you’ve always adhered to.”
Shaya nodded, “If it were just me, I might have done as you suggested, Teacher. After all, I’ve never thought my pride was worth much. The one who laughs last is the winner.”
He smiled silently, “But this is a promise I made to Little Ai.”
Hathaway said faintly, “She doesn’t care anymore.”
“But I do.”
Shaya shook his head, “During that fire in Ceylon…”
“Little Ai entrusted everything she had, her past, present, and future to me.”
“She’s the girl I’ve raised since childhood, who belongs only to me.”
“Everything about Aerora, whether joy or sorrow, laughter or tears… she should only exist for me. I want her to smile only because of me, and cry only for me.”
“But—”
Shaya’s voice turned slightly cold.
“That night, I saw her cry with my own eyes… crying for someone other than me.”
“Then, someone must pay the price for it.”
The Golden Elf’s cold gaze lingered on Shaya for a long time, her previously leisurely gaze disappearing.
In its place was a stern majesty in her crimson gold eyes, like that of royalty, with an interrogative and scrutinizing tone.
Shaya’s gaze did not falter.
After a long while, the Golden Elf on the Thorn Throne slowly nodded, “I’ll send Little Death to the Imperial Capital.”
“Thank you, Teacher, for your trouble.”
Shaya’s Star Spirit Body began to dissipate into light points, gradually returning from the Astral Realm to the Prime Material Plane.
Just as his figure began to become illusory and hazy, Shaya spoke again, “Teacher, I’ve always wanted to ask a question.”
“Back then in Arcane City Lokiia, why did you take an interest in me from the crowd at first sight?”
A hint of remembrance flashed in the Golden Elf’s eyes, “Because from you at that time, I felt a familiar aura.”
“A traveler far from home, wandering abroad.”
“Someone who has lost their place to live, a wanderer with nowhere to go.”
“Exactly like me back then…”
“Is that so?”
Shaya nodded, a smile playing on his lips.
“I thought it was because you were too lonely from being single for too long.”
“So, you wanted to raise a perfect child husband yourself.”
Shaya’s Star Spirit Body rapidly faded.
Leaving only his last words, echoing in the illusory starry sea of the Astral Realm.
“I’ve been working towards becoming ‘the male lead that would move Teacher’ all these years, what a shame.”
