Methods and Costs

He glanced at William and saw that William had a look of amusement on his face, so he said dejectedly, "Okay, where are you taking me?"

"Don't say anything! Come with us, you'll know when we get there."

Little Jeanne seemed to say, "Don't try to get close to us," but her innocent and adorable face didn't intimidate her at all; instead, it made Mars laugh.

"Don't laugh!" Little Jeanne seemed to know what Mars was laughing at, and scolded him again with a stern face.

"Okay, okay, I won't laugh." Mars raised his hands in surrender, then turned to Jack behind him and said, "Could you put the dagger away? It's pretty scary."

Jack thought for a moment, and since the man couldn't escape anyway, he put the dagger away.

The group carried Mars back, just like when they came out. Little Jeanne and the others walked in front of Mars, while William brought up the rear of the group.

Yuxian was resting when a sudden commotion outside made him frown.

At that moment, several children burst into his room, grabbed him, and tried to pull him outside.

Before Yuxian could react, he quickly asked, "Didn't you guys go out to play? Why are you back so soon?"

"Master, come with us quickly, we've captured someone."

"Who did you catch?" Yuxian asked, a little puzzled. "Don't cause trouble for others."

"You'll know when you come out."

Yuxian was also very curious. Who could it be? These children were saying it together; it couldn't be a prank or anything like that. He began to speculate.

Seeing Mars being watched by Jack in the hall, Yuxian blinked and asked, "Who is he?"

William stepped forward and introduced him, "He is my teacher, Mars."

"Mars?" Yuxian frowned and scrutinized the somewhat aged man in front of him.

He asked curiously, "How did you find him?"

"We caught him!"

The children began to boast to Yuxian their achievements.

"Yes, he's leaving. Let's grab him and stop him from leaving, then bring him to see the Master."

Yuxian was very satisfied with the little ones' behavior this time, but he couldn't show it on his face. The person in question was still here, and he had to be considerate of his feelings. After all, they weren't enemies, and he couldn't go too far.

William explained, "Mars came to say goodbye to me, and then they dragged him here."

As he spoke, he couldn't help but laugh. The thought of Mars's embarrassing state at the time made William feel ridiculous and he had no intention of giving Mars any face.

Yuxian roughly understood what had happened. He could easily recall the scene from that time; he knew these little guys too well.

After calming herself down a bit, Yuxian walked up to Mars and greeted him politely, "Hello, Mars."

While greeting him, Yuxian's eyes didn't stop. He carefully examined the mysterious man, whose unkempt appearance made him look very weathered.

Mars is not only a former hero of humanity, but also William and his friends' mentor, and the behind-the-scenes leader of the 'True Realm Reimagining Choir'.

He comes from another world, yet he stirs up trouble in this one, searching for so-called miracles.

His character Yuxian are not very clear, but his abilities are certainly commendable.

Yuxian has many questions, so he can ask him; he should be able to give Yuxian the answers.

As for whether he was a good person or a bad person, Yuxian didn't know and didn't want to know. It was meaningless for someone who was about to leave this world to talk about such things.

While Yuxian was observing Mars was also observing him.

Yuxian struck him as very ordinary, so ordinary that he wondered if he was imagining things.

All signs clearly indicate that the young man in front of them is the core and the most important person among everyone here.

However, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't see Yuxian.

Was it hidden? That was the only plausible explanation he could come up with.

In response to Yuxian's greeting, Mars gave a faint smile and replied, "Hello."

"I'm sorry for the children's antics, I hope you don't mind," Yuxian said calmly. "I'm very sorry for disrupting your schedule."

Mars waved his hand and said, "It won't make a difference to take a little more time."

"I wonder if I could take up a little more of Mr. Mars' time? I happen to have some questions I'd like to ask you."

Yuxian didn't stand on ceremony. Now that Mars was here, it was impossible for him to just turn around and leave.

Mars was well aware of this, and he nodded without hesitation, indicating that he was happy to talk to Yuxian.

Section 166, Chapter Twenty-One: Methods and Costs

Yuxian first calmed the children down.

They went to great lengths to bring Mars back, even sacrificing their own time for sightseeing. If they didn't praise him properly, he would definitely hold a grudge.

Yuxian said many kind words to each of them, which made them smile with satisfaction and skip away, leaving space for Yuxian and Mars.

Everyone else tactfully left, Yuxian and Mars sat facing each other and began their conversation.

Yuxian spoke first, asking, "Is Mr. Mars looking for a miracle?"

Mars nodded. "Yes."

"What is a miracle?" Yuxian, somewhat curious.

Simply taking the literal meaning of the words, Yuxian certainly knew what a miracle meant.

However, everyone's understanding of what constitutes a miracle is different.

It's a miracle to me, but you might not think it's a miracle.

For example, many people regard the Holy Grail as a miracle.

However, in Chaldea, the Holy Grail is a vessel for drinking wine for some, a pretty vase for decoration for others, and a superfluous item for propping up table legs for still others.

Last Yuxian I was in Chaldea, I saw a dusty Holy Grail in the storeroom. Someone probably picked it up and threw it there.

Therefore, the Holy Grail cannot be considered a miracle in Chaldea.

What exactly was Mars's miracle? Yuxian was very curious.

"Miracles are human."

Mars gave a very philosophical answer.

Yuxian rolled his eyes inwardly. This answer, which sounded mysterious and reasonable, was actually no different from saying nothing at all.

"You seem to disagree?" Mars sensed Yuxian's disapproval.

Yuxian replied dismissively, "What you said makes a lot of sense."

Mars smiled but remained silent. He was well-informed and knew very well that persuading someone to change their opinion was extremely difficult.

He said no more.

Yuxian stopped dwelling on the question. In fact, it was just his curiosity that got the better of him, and it had nothing to do with what he wanted to know now.

"Can you talk about the extinction of humanity? The Star God Elco has already been killed, so why did you disappear at the last moment?" Yuxian steered the conversation back to the main topic and asked seriously.

This is a very pointed question. To put it bluntly, half the responsibility for the extinction of humanity can be attributed to Mars.

Mars sighed, narrowed his eyes slightly, and said slowly, "That's not a real solution."

Yuxian countered, "But that's better than doing nothing, isn't it?"

Mars shook his head. "I don't think so. To me, it's pointless to prolong the existence of this mortal being for a few more years."

Yuxian began to understand Mars's thoughts.

He hesitated for a moment, then asked, "You should have seen Elco by now. Is there any way to resolve her condition?"

Mars looked directly at Yuxian and said seriously, "That depends on what kind of result you want to achieve. Different methods will yield different results."

Yuxian hesitation, Yu Xian said firmly, "I want the most perfect result!"

Mars laughed. From the brief conversation, he had probably figured out Yuxian's personality a bit.

A somewhat naive young man.

Such a person is impossible to dislike at any time, and Mars is no exception.

But he still showed no mercy in revealing the cruelty to Yuxian.

He said, "Nothing is perfect. Behind every seemingly happy outcome, there will always be victims."

"Humans wanted to perpetuate their civilization, so they killed Elco."

"The races on the Floating Continent wanted to find someone who could use the Relic Weapon, and that's how the Golden Fairies came to be."

"So what do you want?"

After Mars finished speaking, he leaned back in his chair and waited quietly for Yuxian's reply.

He threw the question back at Yuxian.

What does Yuxian want? He wants these children to be able to live like normal people.

He spoke frankly about this.

Silence...

"The method is actually very simple, and my disciple Swan can do it too," Mars said calmly after a moment of silence.

"The key question is, Elco willing?"

"I'm fine." Just as Mars finished speaking, Elco's voice came from outside as she walked in.

She had heard everything Mars said, which is why she couldn't help but come in and express her opinion.

"Elco, do you know what this means?" Mars frowned as he looked at Elco.

Elco's face remained expressionless as she calmly said, "It's alright, they're like my sisters."

"I feel very happy being with them, which is much more interesting than spending long years alone in a spaceship."

Mars kept scrutinizing Elco's expression, trying to tell from her face whether she was joking, but he failed; Elco serious.

"Since you've already made your decision, I won't say anything more. I hope you won't regret it."

"I should leave now."

After speaking, Mars stood up, politely greeted Yuxian, and then turned and left.

Yuxian stared blankly at Mars' departing figure, lost in thought.

After he came to his senses, he asked Elco, "What did Mars mean by that?"

Elco replied, "You don't need to worry about it. I've said it before, they are my sisters. This is just a private matter between us, and I will handle it."

"Is the price too high? Perhaps I can..."

"No need!" Elco interrupted Yuxian she could say anything. "Perhaps you have other ways, but I think this is the best one."

Elco's attitude was firm, Yuxian could not change her mind.

Moreover, this matter truly was between them. In the end, Yuxian Xian, like Mars, was merely a passerby in this world.

After a moment of silence, Yuxian asked softly, "Could you tell me what the method is?"

"Life Sharing".

Yuxian suddenly realized that if there was any way to match the life force and soul of those children, was there anything more suitable than Elco's life force?

However, the price to pay is...

The Star God Elco appears to possess endless life.

However, that is only in comparison to the short lifespan of humans; in reality, her life still has its limits.

Now, not only is her soul missing, but she also has to share her life force, which will definitely have a great impact on her.

As for exactly how big it is, Elco say, and it's hard for outsiders to know.

Yuxian didn't know what to say. For those children who were Golden Fairies, Elco's approach was the best solution, without any side effects.

But for her, it might not be so; one could say it was a very reckless decision.