A Small Wish

Chapter 46 - A Small Wish

Outside the seaside villa in Luya City, Ivette stood on the white sand, her expressionless gaze fixed on the sea before her.

The clear, clean water was like a giant mirror, reflecting the entire starry sky amidst its shimmering waves. Naturally, a magnificent aurora, which had suddenly appeared, was also visible within it.

Precisely overhead.

This isn't right, she thought.

This is very wrong.

She had heard Rosaline speak about the Aurora Belt and the Remnant Abyss. The most crucial point was that such celestial phenomena appeared only once a century, and for most ordinary people on the Radiant Continent, seeing it even once in their lifetime was rare. So why was it that a place like Ish Island was experiencing it again after only 12 years?

Coincidence?

Was it truly just a coincidence?

She looked at the aurora above, at the brilliant galaxy, at the bright full moon, and at the transparent whirlpools appearing and disappearing over the shallow sea. She remained still for a very, very long time.

Whether it was minutes or a condensation of centuries, the low roar of the Magitech Motorcycle's engine broke the thick silence, pulling Ivette from the deep sea of her thoughts. She turned her head slightly, seeing Rosaline leap off the vehicle before it had even come to a complete stop, her breath slightly ragged, "Teacher, I..."

Ivette didn't give her a chance to finish, directly asking, "Did you bring everything?"

Behind the lenses of her gold-rimmed glasses, Rosaline's eyes instantly reddened. She fell silent for a few seconds before replying in a low voice, "It's all at the manor..."

Although the chances of returning were slim, she had actually been ready to go home for many years. There were two large suitcases in her room, filled with clothes, novels, magazines, professional books on rune knowledge, pillows, sheets, useless wasteland trinkets, plant seeds, and small notebooks recording daily life, learning experiences, or culinary tips.

However, after seeing the aurora, she had immediately gone to the seaside villa on the north side of the island, and naturally, she didn't have time to grab any of it.

"Did you bring the ring and the knife?" the teacher asked.

"...I did."

"And the flying board?"

"It's in the car."

"That's good."

The air suddenly became quiet. Rosaline saw her teacher walk towards the Magitech Motorcycle, point at a barely perceptible transparent whirlpool on the distant horizon, and say calmly, "I'll take you there."

She paused, seeing Rosaline still standing in place, and added, "Get in the car first. We can talk on the way."

This time, Rosaline did not refuse.

The Magitech Motorcycle soared through the air, the rushing sea breeze whipping their long hair and robes. Rosaline, sitting in the passenger seat, turned her face sharply, fixated on her teacher's emotionless, doll-like profile. She saw her teacher's silver hair flying wildly, like a fearsome evil god; countless monsters were pierced by her hair the moment they emerged from the water and fell away.

But if her teacher was an evil god, then she herself was an fallen angel beneath that evil god, she thought.

Perhaps because the power of the tentacles was too terrifying, the attacks from sea monsters gradually subsided after they had traveled four or five kilometers.

Everything returned to silence; only the aurora continued to pulse, unfurling and surging in the vast starry night, casting a hazy veil of light over the two of them.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" the teacher suddenly said as she drove.

"Teacher, you didn't even try to keep me," Rosaline said, looking down dejectedly. "I was perfectly prepared. If you wanted me to stay, I could have."

"Being able to go home is a good thing. Some people want to go home but can't," the teacher said, not specifying who she was referring to, but implying something.

"I've also been here..."

"You have a home, I know," the teacher's tone remained as calm as ever, betraying no hint of sadness at their parting. "That's why I hope that after reuniting with your family, after doing everything you want to do, one day in the future, you can return here, return here without any ties."

Rosaline was stunned. Something seemed to lodge in her throat, and she nodded forcefully, "I will."

"That's good." A gentle smile appeared on the teacher's face, like a thawing river in spring.

As the floating Magitech Motorcycle sped along, the transparent whirlpool, resembling a mirage, finally became clearer, like a doorway close at hand, quietly awaiting its fated passenger.

However, having experienced traversing the Remnant Abyss before, Rosaline knew this was not the same as a teleportation portal. Its entrance might exist for tens of seconds or hours, the passage through it might take tens of seconds, but the exit would only be an instant.

In other words, this was a one-way channel. Once one landed, to return, they would have to quickly find other nearby Remnant Abysses, but this was undoubtedly a very risky undertaking.

After all, this mysterious Aurora Belt itself only existed for a few hours, and any wasted time was fraught with danger.

Moreover, it was unclear whether, the moment the Remnant Abyss disappeared, an arm would be severed if someone reached into it and couldn't pull it back out.

More than ten minutes later, the Magitech Motorcycle stopped at the entrance of the Remnant Abyss. It was a vortex about 50 meters above the sea level, and its width was considerable, theoretically large enough to accommodate a vehicle.

Although she had been sad just moments ago, the thought of reuniting with her father, mother, eldest brother, and second brother after a full 12 years, even returning home in glory and becoming the pillar of her family, immediately made her feelings complex, a mix of excitement and sorrow.

"Here," Ivette said, suddenly pulling a small blue ornament from her clothes as she stood on the vehicle.

Rosaline took it and looked at it, her expression immediately showing surprise.

It was a small brooch made from a dried flower from a Magic Light Vine, a "Magic Light Orchid," encased in a material similar to amber.

Since the Magic Light Vine bloomed only once a century and its flowering period lasted just half a month, this was an extremely precious item. If it were in Ish City, as in her dreams, its market price would not be inferior to "Elemental Decay Completion Technology," the book the teacher had bought.

Despite cutting so many Magic Light Vines in the Abyss Base to use as nightlights over the years, she had never seen one with her own eyes, only images.

She solemnly pinned the flower to the chest area of her mage robe, promising, "I'll never take it off."

The teacher nodded, then suddenly fell silent for a few seconds before saying, "Actually, it's not that I don't..."

"No, Teacher, you can't," Rosaline quickly shook her head. "Teacher, that would be too dangerous for you."

She knew what her teacher was going to say, just like the "it's not impossible" she'd said when she first became a disciple. Her teacher was actually a very reserved and soft-hearted person, whose true nature was hidden behind a cold exterior, making it hard to discern.

But she couldn't let her teacher go to the Radiant Continent with her.

For her, the Radiant Continent was her homeland, but for her teacher, it was a perilous forbidden land.

After all, the Radiant Continent was a high-magic world, where dragons and even gods truly existed.

Take the Kingdom of Eton, where the Sien family resided, for example. They worshipped the true god of the Three Saints Church, the "Lord of Unity." This true god wasn't a fictional being; He possessed a genuine celestial kingdom on land, the paradise that all believers yearned for.

Even the human-demon wars between the Eastern and Western Continents were subtly fueled by the power struggles between demon gods and true gods.

A being like her teacher, once exposed, would undoubtedly be mistaken for the legendary evil god, the "Witch of Finale." At that point, not only would she be hunted by the church and become an enemy of the world, but in a severe case, divine descent might even be invoked.

After her teacher fell silent, Rosaline wiped the corners of her eyes. She picked up a Magic Light Vine from the vehicle and, along with her ring, brooch, and battle blade, as her meager belongings, she soared into the wind, gradually approaching the Remnant Abyss.

"Teacher," she said, standing at the edge of the translucent vortex, speaking word by word, "I will definitely, definitely come back."

After speaking, she gave Ivette a deep look, as if to imprint her teacher's image onto her soul. Then, stepping on the green wind, she walked into the Remnant Abyss and vanished without a trace.

On the sea's surface, after waiting for a few minutes, seeing the Remnant Abyss suddenly disappear, Ivette, with neither joy nor sorrow, returned to the driver's seat and headed back.

She felt that this was no big deal. In her nearly 300 years of life, a mere 12 years was like the blink of an eye. However, for Rosaline, a 22-year-old young woman, 12 years was more than half of her life, even more than the time spent with her parents. It was perfectly normal for her to experience a bit of tearful emotion.

But as a former male, now an ageless witch, she was by no means such an emotional creature.

She drove the car to the seaside villa and looked at the bundles of Magic Light Vines on the back seat, which Rosaline had tied up. After some thought, she decided to discard them all in the villa's utility room.

These soft furnishings were prepared for two people. Now that she was alone, making do was enough; what need was there for these?

Then, feeling inexplicably agitated, she drove back to Ish City, to the familiar manor, to her room on the top floor. She lay down on the bed, closed her eyes, and struggled to fall asleep for several hours.

After a night of chaotic dreams, she wearily opened her eyes the next morning, but quickly closed them to rest. It wasn't until nearly noon, when no one had brought her breakfast, that she belatedly remembered something and sat up in bed, lost in thought for a while.

She thought that while twelve years wasn't long, it wasn't that short either. Some habits, once formed, truly couldn't be changed so quickly.

So, in the following days, she began to force herself to forget and re-adapt to this life, to days without anyone serving tea, without anyone waking her up or cooking for her, without anyone doing her laundry or tending the manor, without anyone surrounding her with boring questions, cheerfully dragging her to various places for outings and adventures.

This forced forgetting was effective. The sands of time covered her layer by layer, and she felt herself gradually forgetting the little blonde girl she had watched grow up, returning to her solitary life of wandering in the apocalypse many years ago.

Until three months later, on a quiet afternoon, while idly cleaning a bedroom on the second floor, she found a letter in a desk drawer.

She immediately began to read—

"Teacher, I worry that my departure might be too sudden, and I wouldn't have time to say many things to you, so I'm leaving this letter. But I suspect, given your usual relaxed pace, you'll likely see this letter a long time from now, won't you? A month after I leave, two months, or perhaps even longer?"

"When I was by your side, I felt it didn't matter; I enjoyed every moment of serving you. But now that I'm gone, I'm sure you'll need some reminders from me, like the details of wheat field maintenance, mold removal methods, or where to find wild eggs. I've written all of this in the notebook I left in the suitcase, along with my sword fighting insights."

"As for me now, I've surely returned home. Perhaps I'm fighting for the survival of the human race, or maybe I'm raising money to build a school. You know, I've always wanted to do that, and I thank you for your permission and support..."

"My feelings for you are actually very complex. In my heart, you are my teacher, my idol, my guardian, and my older sister. But sometimes, I also feel like you act like a younger sister who needs my constant care... Hmm, I only dare to write such disrespectful words now, haha, I hope you won't be angry."

"But please believe that my respect for you will always be paramount, far exceeding that for the deity I believe in, or even my father. So, sometimes I also get very troubled. What if one day, you tell me you are an evil god and intend to destroy the world? Should I stand behind you then? I used to think this question was simple, but now it's becoming increasingly difficult to face."

"Oh, right. There are many more letters like this in the drawer below. I prepared them beforehand, many of them written long ago, so their timeliness might be off, and my writing isn't great either. I hope you won't read them. If you must, then read one every few years."

"This is my small wish."

"Because only by doing so can I linger longer in your long, long, long memories."

"—Your eternal student, Rosaline Sien."

Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains, filtering through a layer of dust and landing on the yellowed letter like scattered gold dust.

Ivette took a deep breath, then opened the second drawer. As expected, she found countless envelopes.

They were labeled "Open in the second year," "Open in the fifth year," "This is the tenth year, please be more patient," and even—"The one hundredth year, Teacher, I am very sorry, but please don't forget me."

She closed the drawer again and, taking the first letter she had opened, walked to the manor's lounge chair. Under the bright daylight, she began to read it for the second time.

And so, the winds of time swept through the courtyard, rustling a few newly fallen leaves.

Unknowingly.

Five years, ten years, twenty years, fifty years... a hundred years.

Spring passed and autumn arrived, the frost and winds of the seasons rotated endlessly, scattering countless dawns and dusks onto the ground, but Ivette never considered moving out of this manor or leaving this island.

She often leaned quietly on that old lounge chair, gazing at the sky, then picked up the letter she had read many times and read it again.

She thought she would probably wait here forever, waiting here until the day her only student returned.

(End of Volume 1)