Wanting to Meet Early

Isabel suddenly let out a sigh of relief and opened her eyes.

She covered her forehead and slowly woke up from the soft feather hammock.

"You're awake?"

With her back to Isabel, Yanis was painting in Isabel's bedroom. In a cheerful tone, she asked, "How was your experience with the ritual?"

Isabel turned around and saw a radiant Rising Sun.

Over the rippling lake, the newborn crimson sun seemed to set the entire lake ablaze.

Below was scarlet and gold, while above was pale blue and deep blue...

This strange and beautiful scene reminded Isabel of Mr. Fox's eyes when he resonated with the Dedication Path.

"Hmm, why aren't you saying anything?"

After waiting a long time without hearing Isabel's reply, Yanis turned back curiously and joked, "Don't tell me you failed to advance?"

"...No, I succeeded," Isabel said softly.

"You actually succeeded?" Yanis sounded surprised.

"Teacher Yanis, why do you sound so surprised?"

"Because I really did consider the possibility that you might fail to advance."

Yanis casually twirled the paintbrush in her hand and tilted her head. "What, are you blaming me for not telling you the various precautions for the ritual beforehand?"

"...It's fine. Failure is also a form of training."

Isabel spoke softly.

"Heh."

The elven artist chuckled and walked over, lightly tapping Isabel. "You were clearly badmouthing me in your heart. You little dummy."

Seeing this, Isabel stopped pretending.

She rubbed against Yanis pitifully. "Teacher, I think you should still teach me some common knowledge. Otherwise, a setback when I'm completely unprepared doesn't have much meaning... I've already failed quite a few times."

This was basically what Sherlock had said to her before. Now, she had simply repeated it word for word.

"Someone else taught you to say that, didn't they?"

But Yanis saw through the truth with ease.

"...Huh? How did you—"

"With your personality, when you say something that's 'your own words,' you wouldn't be so fluent or precise. You'd hesitate over your own judgment. Just as you said yourself—you've failed too many times. To the point that you've lost confidence in yourself."

Yanis sighed and came over to stroke Isabel's hair. "Then do you know why I didn't want you to succeed on your first try?"

"...Why?"

"Because sooner or later, an advancement ritual will end in failure."

Yanis answered slowly and patiently, "Whether it's the New Moon Ritual or the Full Moon Ritual, their essence is competition with other people. The only difference is whether that competition is direct or indirect. Since it's competition with others, there will inevitably be winners and losers. Some people may fail again and again, but no one can win forever.

"If you keep winning, you'll only build up more and more pressure. That's precisely why failing the first time is actually a valuable opportunity. It can help balance your mindset and keep you from becoming nervous."

"Why do you say failure is an opportunity?"

Isabel stubbornly pressed her. "I'd rather win."

Yanis silently stroked her hair, then lovingly pinched her soft cheeks.

The elf spoke seriously. "It's simple, little Isa. Failing during your first advancement won't cause you any actual losses. All you lose is time—you can participate in another ritual after half a month or a month. In other words, if you failed this time, you could still participate in another New Moon Ritual and experience true competition. Then, when you went back to perform the Full Moon Ritual, you'd have experience.

"You were deceived by others during the ritual and defeated by them. They tricked you into revealing your real identity and used you like a tool—yes, those things were indeed 'failures.'

"But at the same time, it was only a dream. Even if they learned your true identity, what could they do? You're the Princess of Avalon. Could they really do anything to you? That's your greatest advantage, Isa. They can't do anything to you. Your failure was nothing more than failure. It wouldn't cause any actual loss that couldn't be recovered.

"In a place where no one knows you, people won't take your identity into consideration, nor will they show you the slightest mercy. There will only be cruel competition, survival, deception, betrayal... Without a doubt, that will make you grow quickly.

"And all you need to pay is the price of 'time.' By participating in a few more rituals, you can expose a princess who has been well protected and enjoys a noble status to the unrestrained malice in people's hearts, while ensuring your own safety. In my opinion, that's more valuable for your growth than the advancement ritual itself."

Yanis revealed a truth she hadn't mentioned before. "Competing fairly against people who are prepared when you have neither knowledge nor understanding is indeed unfair. But reality is often like that... You'll be ambushed by people who were prepared while you were neither wary nor ready."

"...If that's the case," Isabel said somewhat frantically, "did I do something wrong by succeeding in my advancement? If so, I won't be able to fail next time, because failure will come with a real cost..."

Upon hearing this, Yanis blinked.

For a moment, she failed to react. Then she couldn't help laughing.

"My little Isa, how can you be so adorable—"

As if hugging a puppy, Yanis raised her voice and fussed while pulling the soft Isabel into her arms.

Her gaze was filled with tenderness and affirmation. "What are you talking about, my little darling? The fact that you advanced smoothly means you really are outstanding.

"You've already done very well. As for the next ritual... you don't need to worry about that either.

"No matter what method you used to win, it proves that you're at least not the worst. You were able to win without knowing anything at all. Wouldn't you do even better after I've properly taught you?"

Yanis comforted her gently. "Don't worry about those things, little Isa. What characteristic of your Path did you choose?"

Although she looked like an older sister only three or four years older than Isabel, she acted more like an elder.

"...Speaking of that."

In Yanis's arms, Isabel complained softly, "You never told me what I should choose, either. I hesitated for a long time and finally chose 'Nimble Voice.'"

"It increases the difficulty of chanting magic songs? That's pretty good, too. In any case, you're an All-rounder, so you can choose whatever you want. Following your own wishes is what makes it 'beautiful.'"

Yanis raised her eyebrows. "As expected, you sang during this dream, didn't you? I thought you wouldn't even be able to find any teammates."

"It wasn't that bad—"

Isabel said stubbornly, "I could find teammates. I found them right at the beginning!"

"All right, all right..."

Yanis smiled and tilted her head as she sized Isabel up. "How about I paint you a picture? To commemorate your first ritual victory.

"Just as you are now, in this pose—with the laziness of just waking up, surprise, shyness, a little confidence quietly rising like the dawn, and your adorable hint of timidity..."

"...Teacher!"

Suddenly, Isabel interrupted Yanis. "There's one more thing!"

A trace of astonishment appeared in Yanis's eyes.

She couldn't help smiling. "What is it, my little darling?"

She was delighted that her student had gained confidence... but she had never imagined that Isabel would improve enough after just one ritual to have the courage to interrupt her.

She grew increasingly curious about what Isabel had experienced.

But she respected Isabel. If Isabel didn't bring it up herself, she wouldn't ask—because she knew that if she asked, her obedient student would definitely tell her.

That wouldn't be good. It would be as if she were using her authority as a teacher to force Isabel to hand over her secrets, ruining the natural harmony and tacit understanding between them.

"I remember that you said before, Teacher... that you hoped to invite Mr. Iver to sit for a while at the Silver and Tin Palace."

Isabel whispered impatiently, "Can we invite him sooner?

"I want to see what he's like now as soon as possible... and chat with him."

She had just hugged Iver as a child for four whole hours, and now she felt she wouldn't be afraid of interacting with the real Iver at all. If she had originally been merely "somewhat expectant," she was now "eager."

The fear and distance she felt when first meeting any stranger had completely dissipated during those four hours.

Thinking of this, she instead wanted to meet Iver as soon as possible. It was like seeing a character from a story appear in reality. The feeling was incredibly strange.

The odd position of being familiar with him while he didn't know her gave Isabel a rare sense of security. That was precisely what she constantly lacked in her daily life.

When the time came and Isabel met Mr. Iver, she wanted to secretly say in her heart:

I used to be your mother, you know, and I even sang you lullabies!

She could only say it in her heart, because saying it aloud would make her seem impolite. But even so, she would definitely be able to secretly laugh to herself.

That would definitely be fun! Upon hearing this, Yanis raised her eyebrows with interest but made no comment.