Chapter 640: 118. Ex
“On my 20th birthday, I accidentally blew open the door to the Spirit Realm with my self-created magic.
Before turning 20, I had only been a magic apprentice, traveling and training in various countries thanks to a relatively solid family background. Until one winter so cold that I could scarcely move, I settled in the Northern Region. By chance, I used an extremely clever spatial magic to open a passage to the Spirit Realm.
That was just the beginning, for at that time, I was still unaware that the other side of magic was the outer layer of this world. Caution and carefulness instinctively made me aware of the danger within, but what left a lasting impression on me was the faint wailing of my deceased mother’s voice echoing inside. I thought I had discovered paradise—not just a magical paradise but also a paradise for souls. However, at the start, I only focused on the magical aspect, disregarding everything else.
From the occasional magical fluctuations that came from the space connected to magic, I gained numerous insights about magic. You can imagine the excitement of a devout magic apprentice bowing down before the desire for knowledge, recording the patterns of those magical fluctuations every night, matching them with the records and theories, and creating my own magic.
It was a long winter, full of harvest.
After that, when Heilson Lacazette closed the magic of the Spirit Realm and left the Northern Region to return to his hometown of Nali, he truly began to gain fame.
Young as I was, I acted more recklessly than any genius; I did everything imaginable that could be deemed bad. I even went to spy on the maids bathing with the old king (Godlin VIII, Elizabeth’s grandfather) and Damien. He helped me write love letters to pursue the lady I fancied and would comfort me after we met, due to my poor verbal skills.
By then, I had completely forgotten the Spirit Realm magic I constructed in the Northern Region, because that magic ceased to work after I returned to Nali. I thought the Frost Phoenix of the Northern Region had awakened, manifesting Utopia before me.
However, as I grew older and my close friends and loved ones passed away one by one, the flame burning in my heart as a man in his fifties began to wane. You are still young and may not know that desires can sometimes fade with age. Perhaps it isn’t that they truly diminish, but simply that their variety decreases.
The youthful desires such as lust and appetite had all abated. At that time, besides the love for my children and the prayers for peace, I was left with a burning curiosity—curiosity about truth and about magic.
Naturally, I once again thought of that magic I had unintentionally inscribed in the Northern Region when I was young and considered the world on the other side of that magic.
A terrible thought surged in my mind: since I had become so powerful, why should I not enter it for a closer look?
Yes, at that moment, a human mage who had mastered up to fourteen rings of magic actually had such an idea, which truly was somewhat ignorant of the sky and the earth. But of course, that is a story for later. At the time, I foolishly prepared to head to the Northern Region, where a rather thrilling adventure unfolded.
There, I encountered many mysteries that humans could hardly imagine, made many unforgettable friends, and, of course, faced dangers and curses that threatened my life.
Do you remember the soul magic you first showed me when you returned from the Southern Continent? At that time, my soul kept leaving my body and wouldn’t return. That old coot Damien even thought I was dead. Thankfully, I had a resurrection magic saved, or I would have died that time.
You might think it was because I was too old, making the physical body’s attraction to the soul weaker, leading to the separation. However, it was entirely because I had once entered the Spirit Realm, causing the Sea of Souls to record my essence before my death, which is why it was so eager to take me away.
During my long journey in the Spirit Realm, most of the time I experienced alongside the stars. I forged deep friendships with them, facing a common enemy together.
My disciple, perhaps you have gained some understanding of that crimson eerie entity in the Spirit Realm, because when I wrote this, I had just learned that you were still in the Northern Region and had provoked Elizabeth’s wrath by going with a certain woman.
You may already know that the crimson entity is an unconscious deity, or perhaps know that it is trying to enter this world through the relics of the ancient phoenix, but you certainly do not know why it is so obsessed with entering this world.
It is a deity who holds authority but possesses no soul, and its only purpose in entering reality is to desperately search for its long-lost soul.”
“Big brother, big brother.”
“…Heilson teacher?”
Fisher groggily opened his eyes and saw little Alicia standing beside him, looking all around as if searching for Fisher’s figure. But clearly, he was sleeping right in front of her, yet due to the hidden blessing, she could not find him.
It was at this moment that Fisher finally returned from his rare deep sleep. He quickly sat up, bringing down Emhart, who was still sleeping on his chest, along with the notes left by Heilson teacher from last night that he hadn’t finished reading, tumbling to the floor.
“Ah!”
“Mr. Book, you are here! Is big brother still resting? You need to wake him up quickly; it seems that the funeral over there is about to start.”
Fisher rubbed his temples and turned to look outside the wooden house. The sky was just beginning to lighten, but the time was already very close to the scheduled time for the funeral. He quickly stood up and said to Emhart,
“Tell her we are setting off now.”
“Ugh, what a hassle.”
Emhart passed on Fisher’s words, and Alicia nodded, then began to run around the room, looking for something to change into in the wardrobe nearby. Her movements were nimble, and it appeared that she wasn’t someone who usually needed taking care of. After confirming everything, Fisher left the room, giving her some privacy.
In the distance, the city of Kitel was already bustling with noise, even before dawn had fully broken. It was evident that the people who had arrived to stay here last night had already started to stream into the funeral venue.
As Heilson’s nominally adopted granddaughter, even though Vaili herself did not like her presence, the servants still had a duty to seek her out and take her to the funeral to meet Heilson for the last time, after which it would no longer be their concern.
While Fisher waited outside, shouts from servants soon echoed from the morning forest nearby,
“Miss Alicia, are you inside the house?”
“Everyone is waiting for you, if you can hear us…”
“Crack.”
The door behind opened, and Alicia had changed into a suitable little black dress. However, the hair accessory on her head was somewhat disheveled. While she could adeptly change her clothes, she still couldn’t manage to tie her hair appropriately.
Her expression remained faintly stoic, yet she seemed a bit awkward, perhaps feeling uncertain about the upcoming funeral or about the servants who came to find her.
Perhaps after Heilson’s death, this granddaughter, raised by him, just wanted to be devoured by Fisher upon seeing him. But now that Fisher suddenly did not do so, her mind was filled with blankness.
“Big brother, what… should I do?”
Not seeing Fisher, she asked Emhart, who floated in mid-air.
Fisher glanced at Emhart and thought for a moment before telling him,
“Emhart, you stay beside Alicia for now. I will follow you both. At least until the funeral is over, let’s try to avoid drawing too much attention.”
“Alright, little one, let’s go. He will follow beside us.”
“Okay.”
Alicia bit her lip, carefully moving her steps toward the direction of the servants’ calls. Just as she prepared to respond that she was here, she suddenly felt a subtle change in her hair accessory atop her head.
She froze for a moment, reaching up to touch her hair, and sure enough, the hairstyle she had awkwardly tied had straightened out. Meanwhile, the secretly blessed Fisher just retracted his hand, thinking she would take some time to notice. Yet in the next moment, her voice suddenly came,
“Thank you, big brother.”
“…No need to mention it.”
Fisher replied, and Emhart yawned, not having the time to relay this line. It was unclear whether she heard it, but afterwards, she walked toward the direction of the sound.
“Oh, miss, have you already changed your clothes?”
“It’s about to start over there; we forgot to tell you to stay inside the magic tower yesterday.”
“Sorry for the trouble.”
As soon as the two servants found Alicia, they didn’t speak further, quickly leading her toward the direction of the magic tower. In reality, the magic tower wasn’t far from here, as its location was on the outskirts of Kitel.
As Fisher followed Alicia out of the dense forest, he immediately saw the magic banners fluttering in the morning light, soaring straight from the ground into the clouds. Meanwhile, the mechanisms responsible for monitoring flew around, and outside the church, the guards of Kitel were maintaining order.
“Everyone, please place your offerings in an orderly fashion and do not crowd!”
“Buzz, buzz, buzz!”
The sounds of flutes, horns, and tubas from the orchestra began tuning. The large golden decorations above and portraits of Heilson during his lifetime soon came into Fisher’s view. He stood beside the magic tower, yet hadn’t had time to observe much, when the whispering of the servants around suddenly pulled his attention back.
“That cursed Alicia has returned.”
“Didn’t Miss Vaili want to never see her again? Why call her back? Was it the son-in-law who did this?”
“After all, she is also Lord Heilson’s adopted child. This is his funeral, so she should attend.”
“There will only be our Miss Vaili from now on; everything should center around her.”
Fisher looked around. The former Heilson teacher actually did not require servants; this was his old home, and returning after such a long time didn’t necessitate it either. These servants had been employed after Miss Vaili married, so theoretically, when the retired Heilson returned, he relied on his granddaughter’s care, making Vaili the true master here now.
Since Heilson’s death, this place had essentially already become Vaili and her husband’s home, and it seemed to have nothing to do with Alicia.
Alicia bit her lip, holding the closed-eyed Emhart disguised as a book in her arms. Yet, she still felt uncomfortable and could only glance around but still did not see Fisher’s figure.
Just then, it seemed as if a large hand rested on her head, like the touch of the wind or her deceased grandfather, soothing her slightly.
She seemed to suddenly have a slight awareness of Fisher’s presence beside her.
“Since we’re here, let’s set off to the church. It has been prepared, and His Majesty is likely to arrive shortly. The son-in-law and miss have been there for a long time; we should hurry.”
“Alicia, please come this way.”
The Mother God Church has always had the custom of offering gifts at funerals. Fisher still remembers when he and Emhart went to the grand cathedral in Saint Nali; there were many letters and items for the deceased being burned below. Schwali was particularly popular in this regard; their people enjoyed gifting the family with items that could be preserved as a token of condolence at funerals. This custom even influenced Nali, which had no such habits a century ago, to such an extent that people still engage in such practices today when holding funerals.
Due to Alicia’s late arrival, all the various noble guests had already taken their seats, followed by the gifts their servants prepared for Vaili and them. These gifts, transported by one or two servants, were topped with offerings from the Mother God Church, stating the name of the giver, the person being condolenced, and some words of condolences.
Alicia could only follow the procession of gift-laden carts into the church to attend the funeral. Once all the gifts were delivered inside, only after that would the nation’s most prominent empress drive her carriage from the outer court to the church’s inner sanctuary to attend the funeral.
Fisher followed in the middle of the procession, watching the church gradually grow larger before him while reflecting on the notes of Heilson teacher he read last night, feeling a complex surge of emotions.
Yet amidst his thoughts about last night’s contents and reminiscing about his teacher, a sense of foreboding unexpectedly blossomed in his heart.
He didn’t know where this ominous feeling came from until the next moment when his peripheral vision suddenly swept towards the cart of gifts in front of Alicia, reading the accompanying text,
“Northern Region, Haldor Tulan, gifted to the great wizard Heilson Lacazette and his family.”
“With sincere respect and regret, let us commemorate the passing of a great man.”
Haldor?
Wait a minute, isn’t that Valentina’s teacher?
How could his gift have appeared? Hadn’t he long since…
But before his astonishment could fully seep into his mind, the next moment, below that line of text, another line that sent a shiver down his spine struck his eyes. It read,
“Northern Region, Valentina, gifted to the pathetic former Elizabeth Godlin of Fisher Benavides.”
“Are you wondering who the phoenix, who referred to herself as Fisher’s wife in the letter, really is? Or perhaps Fisher never intended to share his marriage news with you, the worthless former?”
What what what?
Fisher swallowed hard, and even wrapped in the hidden blessing, he couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat.
You see, Azanros’s blessing can ward off the gaze and power of chaotic deities, but it can’t protect him from intimate partners’ daggers!
And the gift being sent in wasn’t any consolation for Heilson’s family, but a barrel of gunpowder that could send him flying into the sky!!
But how on earth did Valentina send something like this across such a distance? Was it a slime?
But hadn’t Keken already said that slimes could no longer enter Nali?
Fisher pressed his lips together, still trying to react when the loud horn blared nearby, a golden wave swept through the crowd, and they cheered thunderously,
“It’s Her Majesty Elizabeth!! The monarch is coming!!”
“Boom!”
What could be worse than lying atop massive quantities of explosives?
Of course, at this moment, the spark to ignite the gunpowder was already within reach!
Please cast your votes, tip, and support; it’s extremely important to me!
Thank you immensely for the support!
(End of Chapter)
