Younger Sister

"Achoo!"

In the Sanctuary plaza, Elvily, who was walking with Iris, suddenly sneezed. She quickly covered her mouth to maintain her image, then muttered softly, "How strange, why am I sneezing in the Void Arts Space..."

Iris teased, "Maybe someone in the Void Arts Space is thinking of you?"

Elvily rolled her eyes, too lazy to bother with her.

Iris chuckled and got down to business, "Have you ever thought about what you'll call Lord Black if he's really still alive?"

Elvily snorted, "Definitely not 'brother-in-law'."

In truth, she didn't have any real enmity with Karl Black; all her dislike stemmed from personal dissatisfaction.

There were three things that had always bothered her.

The first was her sister, Delilah.

Her sister was originally a very aloof person with exceptional talent in mysticism. Their mother had groomed her as a successor since childhood. She herself was very dedicated to her work, enjoyed researching academics alone, and never showed any favor to the opposite sex. She also had little patience for her own gender, but she doted on her younger sister, Elvily. However, ever since meeting Black, her sister had "fallen" – at least, that's how Elvily saw it.

Elvily's memories hadn't fully returned, but she remembered that after her sister fell in love with Black, she spent much less time with her. Especially in the year Elvily turned 14, her sister was supposed to attend her coming-of-age ceremony on time. But because she had been doing "shameful things" with Black the night before and was overly exhausted, she ended up missing half the banquet.

Elvily was very jealous!

The second matter was the Holy See's Saintess, Oliya.

That guy already had her sister, yet he went and provoked the Saintess – Elvily didn't know who came first or second, but it was all the same. In short, he was thoroughly wicked. What's more, her sister indulged him. Knowing he had someone else on the side, she chose to turn a blind eye. Was this still the same aloof, proud sister who couldn't tolerate a speck of dust in her eye?

Elvily felt indignant on her sister's behalf.

The third matter was Black's "death."

Judging by the statue's sudden blink last time, Black was very likely not dead. But this made Elvily even more displeased – if he was still alive, why hadn't he contacted her sister?

In her existing memories, Black had been "confirmed" dead. Not just her, everyone thought so.

At the time, Black was enthusiastic about the Divine Path. One day, he was gone without a word. They didn't even know how Black had died; only the concept of "death" existed in their minds.

Her sister had lost her appetite over it and began researching day and night like those mad mystics, trying to distract herself. It broke Elvily's heart to see it.

But now, it seemed Black might not have died at all. He might have simply cast a mental Forbidden Spell and altered everyone's perception.

He had the ability to do so, as evidenced by the statues.

Many people assumed the statues' faces were blurry due to erosion

If Sean had really done it on purpose, it would be fine. But if he hadn't, and had actually seen her during his meditation, who knew what might have happened between them.

Elvily bit her lip slightly, wanting to wake up this strange guy and tell him not to overthink things, but she was afraid of disturbing Sean's cultivation.

Meditation was a long process. Whether it could increase magic depended entirely on whether the final step was successful. It was like one day you were hungry and wanted to eat a good meal. You worked hard to prepare a royal feast for yourself, but if you didn't eat it, you would still feel hungry.

If Sean was at a crucial moment and she woke him up, all his efforts would be in vain, wasting several hours.

She didn't want to be a petty, bad woman.

But if she didn't do this, should she just let this guy keep shouting her name in public?

This feeling was really strange!

Elvily realized she was still too soft-hearted and ultimately couldn't bring herself to do it.

However, Sean woke up on his own.

The moment he opened his eyes, he saw Elvily and Iris standing in front of him, one on each side.

"Huh?"

"Why did you guys come over?"

Sean patted his butt and stood up, thinking that North Street wasn't a good place to chat, so he said, "Shall we talk outside?"

Iris: "Okay."

Elvily remained silent, staring fiercely at Sean as if she wanted to devour him whole, but in a cute, ferocious way.

This made Sean very confused.

What's wrong with my sister-in-law?

Iris chuckled secretly, "It seems Mr. Sean doesn't know he was talking in his sleep just now?"

Sean: "?"

Talking in his sleep?

Did Wizards talk in their sleep while meditating?

Recalling the earth-shattering, intense scene just now, Sean couldn't help but feel nervous. "What did I say? It wasn't anything indecent, was it?"

"No, quite the opposite. Mr. Sean's sleep-talking was very elegant." Iris glanced at Elvily and said with a rather ambiguous tone, "You were mumbling our Miss Flame Crow's name."

Sean: "Ah?"

He couldn't help but look at the girl, immediately meeting her fierce gaze.

Sean: "..."

No wonder she looked like she wanted to eat him.

Iris, never one to miss a chance to stir up trouble, blinked and asked, "I'm curious about what Mr. Sean was meditating on this time. Can you share it with us?"

Elvily added angrily, "No lying!"

Sean: "..."

If I don't lie, you might eat me.

So Sean put on a confused expression and said blankly, "Did you guys hear wrong? I didn't see Miss Elvily, so how could I have called her name?"

"Is that so?" Iris's smile was enigmatic. "Then there must have been something related to her, right?"

"I don't think so?" Sean pretended to think, his eyes showing a hint of recollection. "If I had to say, this meditation was indeed different from before because I took a Spirit Potion. When I was at my most helpless, about to starve to death, a light appeared that shouldn't have..."

"A light?"

"Yes." Sean nodded. "There was a goddess in the light. I couldn't see her face clearly, but I could feel that she was very beautiful. She gave me food, and that's how I didn't starve to death. Besides her and me, there was no one else in the entire process... Wait a minute!"

As he spoke, Sean seemed to suddenly realize something and looked at the girl with great surprise. "Could that goddess be you?"

Elvily: "?"

Iris: "?"

So this guy, under the effect of the Spirit Potion, saw an incredibly beautiful goddess. He didn't know her originally, but subconsciously thought Elvily was as beautiful as the goddess, and thus unconsciously called her name, mistaking the goddess for Elvily?

Elvily: "..."

What a jumbled mess of a story.

But strangely, she didn't seem as angry anymore.

"It wasn't me." If it really had been her, she wouldn't have saved Sean. She would have let the guy starve to death... Elvily huffed. "Don't call out names randomly anymore."

He might not care about his reputation, but I do.

Sean said innocently, "I can't control that either. I didn't even know meditation could involve sleep-talking."

Iris teased, "Maybe you think about her too much usually?"

Elvily: "?"

"Shut up, Iris."

"Yes, Miss Flame Crow."

Iris smiled and agreed, then gave Sean a meaningful glance. Her intuition told her this man was definitely not just dreaming of a goddess; there had to be more to his story.

Sean felt uncomfortable under her gaze and quickly changed the subject. "Are you guys here for Meditation too?"

"No, if we were going to Meditate, we wouldn't come to North Street. We'd go to the Sanctuary," Iris replied.

The Hall of Truth was an "academy" in the Scholar Era itself. Wizards who could enter the Sanctuary would naturally choose to Meditate there. Both the first and second floors had libraries, and most questions encountered during Meditation could be answered within.

Iris deliberately mentioning the Sanctuary wasn't to show off to Sean... well, maybe a little. People always unconsciously emphasized their own superiority, but she more so wanted to encourage Sean.

Iris always felt Sean had good talent. If he worked hard, he should be able to enter the Hall of Truth. Then he could find an empty dormitory to live in, and no one would discover any sleep-talking he might do.

She didn't know Sean could already access the second floor of the Sanctuary, and Sean had also overlooked the fact that he could Meditate at the Sanctuary. Iris's words made him realize he was too integrated with the lower levels. He decided not to come to North Street next time.

He continued, "Then why are you guys here?"

"Looking for you," Elvily answered.

She actually didn't know if Sean was here or not. She just came to check. If he wasn't, so be it. If he was, she wanted to remind Sean that it would be best for him to avoid the Void Arts Space these few days, as his current situation might be very unsafe.

"The police department in Old Sigel City has already made a move. Be careful."