Chapter 39: Chapter 26: Younger Sister
ACHOO!
In Holy Temple Square, Elvire, who was walking with Elise, suddenly sneezed. She quickly covered her mouth to maintain her image, then complained under her breath, "How strange. Why would I sneeze in the Void Technique Space..."
Elise teased, "Maybe someone in the Void Technique Space is thinking about you?"
Elvire rolled her eyes, not bothering to reply.
Elise smiled and brought up a more serious topic. "Have you ever thought about what you’d call Lord Blake if he’s really still alive?"
Elvire huffed. "Anything but ’brother-in-law’."
In truth, she and Carl Black had no real feud. All of her animosity stemmed from her own personal grievances.
There were three things that she could never get over.
The first was her sister, Daeli.
Her sister had originally been a very aloof person. She had an extraordinary Talent for Mysticism and was raised by their mother to be her successor. Daeli herself was career-focused, preferring to immerse herself in her studies alone. She never gave men the time of day and had little patience for women either. The only person she doted on was Elvire, her younger sister. But ever since meeting Blake, her sister had "fallen"—at least, that’s how Elvire saw it.
Elvire’s memories hadn’t fully returned, but she remembered that after her sister fell in love with Blake, she spent far less time with her. This was especially true the year Elvire turned fourteen. Her sister was supposed to be there for her coming-of-age ceremony, but because she and Blake had been up to some "hanky-panky" the night before, she was too exhausted and missed half the banquet.
She was so jealous!
The second thing was the Church Saintess, Olivia.
That man already had her sister, yet he still went after the Saintess. Elvire didn’t know who came first, but it didn’t matter; he was rotten to the core either way. And her sister actually tolerated it. She knew he had another woman but chose to turn a blind eye. How could this be the same proud, aloof sister she once knew, the one who wouldn’t stand for the slightest imperfection?
She was indignant on her sister’s behalf.
The third thing was Blake’s "death."
Judging by the way the statue’s eyes blinked last time, Blake was very likely not dead. But this only made Elvire more resentful—if he was alive, why hadn’t he contacted her sister?
In her existing memories, Blake’s death had been "confirmed." It wasn’t just her; everyone believed it.
Back then, Blake had been passionate about the Path of Divinity. Then one day, he was just gone, without a word of warning. They didn’t even know how he had died; they were only left with the concept of his "death."
Her sister was so devastated she lost her appetite, and began burying herself in academic research day and night like one of those crazed Mystic Scholars, trying to distract herself. It broke Elvire’s heart to watch.
But now, it seemed Blake might not have died at all. He might have just cast a mind-altering Forbidden Spell to tamper with everyone’s memories.
He was certainly capable of it. The statues, for instance.
Many people assumed the statues’ faces were blurry because they had been eroded by time. But they forgot one thing: the Void Technique Space is a Spiritual Domain. Where would the ravages of time come from? It was simply Carl Black himself who, for reasons unknown, had added a perception-distorting effect to the statues so that no one could see them clearly.
And memories too.
Every Wizard here knew of the man Carl Black, but none could remember his face. Even Kate, who fanatically worshipped Blake, could only produce a portrait of a faceless man if asked to draw him.
In short, Elvire did not like this brother-in-law of hers.
To this day, she still couldn’t understand what was so great about that man. Did her sister really have to love him that much?
If it were her, she would never fall for such a two-timing scoundrel.
But in the end, this was all just family drama from long ago. She wouldn’t let too many of those emotions carry over into this life.
The Void Technique Space needed Blake, as did the hunted Wizards. Besides, if Blake were still alive, he would be the only family she had in this life, as far as she knew. So, dislike him as she might, Elvire still hoped he wasn’t really dead.
"I’m glad you think so," Elise said playfully. "Now I won’t have to worry about making enemies of Kate and his group by siding with you."
If Blake really did appear one day and Elvire started a fight with him, Kate and the others would definitely defend Blake. Although Elise also admired the legendary figure who founded the Era of Polymath, she would have to brave the pressure and side with Elvire. What could she say? Miss Flame Crow and she were best friends.
For her, personal loyalty came before principle.
"Don’t worry, I know what’s important," said Elvire.
’Besides, I don’t even look the same as I used to. Blake might not even recognize me.’
The two women chatted as they walked toward North Street. As they reached the entrance to the street, they suddenly heard a murmur:
"Elvire..."
The voice belonged to a man, and it sounded faintly familiar.
Elvire instinctively looked toward the sound and was shocked to see that the person who had called her name was Sean...?!
And to top it off, his eyes were closed.
Elvire: "?"
Elise couldn’t hold back a laugh. She shot Elvire a teasing glance. "See? I was right. I told you someone in the Void Technique Space was thinking about you."
Elvire: "..."
’Wait, isn’t he meditating?’
’Why would he call out my name?’
’Could the visions in his Meditation have something to do with me??’
Some of the surrounding Wizards had already started to cast strange glances their way, thinking, ’Did that kid notice Miss Elvire arriving and call out her name on purpose?’
’Otherwise, how could someone see other Wizards during Meditation, let alone one who just happened to walk up right next to him?’
"I bet he’s just trying to get Miss Elvire’s attention!"
Hearing the crowd’s hushed speculation, even Elvire, who was used to being the center of attention, felt her cheeks flush.
’It would be one thing if Sean were doing this on purpose,’ Elvire thought. ’But if he wasn’t—if he really saw me during his Meditation—then heaven knows what might be happening between us in there.’
Elvire bit her lip. She desperately wanted to wake this weirdo up and tell him to stop his mind from wandering, but she was afraid of interrupting Sean’s Cultivation.
Meditation was a long process, and whether one’s Magic Power increased all depended on the final step. It was like going to the trouble of cooking a magnificent feast when you were starving—if you didn’t get to eat it, you would still be hungry.
If Sean was at a critical juncture and she woke him, all his progress would be lost, and hours of effort would go down the drain.
’I don’t want to be a petty, spiteful woman.’
’But if I don’t, am I just going to let this guy keep shouting my name in front of everyone?’
’This feels so weird!’
Elvire realized she was too soft-hearted. In the end, she couldn’t bring herself to do it.
But then, Sean woke up on his own.
He opened his eyes to see Elvire and Elise standing before him, one on each side.
"Huh?"
"What are you two doing here?"
Sean patted the dust from his clothes and stood up. Figuring North Street wasn’t the best place for a conversation, he said, "Want to talk somewhere else?"
Elise: "Sure."
Elvire, however, remained silent, just glaring daggers at Sean as if she wanted to eat him alive. She looked adorably fierce.
Sean was completely baffled.
’What’s up with my little sister-in-law?’
Elise stifled a laugh. "It seems Mr. Sean doesn’t realize he was just talking in his sleep."
Sean: "?"
’Sleep-talking?’
’Can Wizards talk in their sleep during Meditation?’
Remembering the intense and rather... stimulating scene from just now, Sean grew nervous. "What did I say? It wasn’t anything... uncouth, was it?"
"Not at all. On the contrary, your sleep-talking was very elegant, Mr. Sean." Elise slanted a glance at Elvire, her tone suggestive. "You were murmuring the name of our dear Miss Flame Crow."
Sean: "Huh?"
He couldn’t help but look at the young woman, only to be met by her ferocious glare.
Sean: "..."
’No wonder she looks like she wants to eat me alive.’
Elise, one to never let a good drama go to waste, batted her eyelashes. "I’m so curious about what you were meditating on this time, Mr. Sean. Would you care to share?"
Elvire added irritably, "And don’t you dare lie!"
Sean: "..."
’If I don’t lie, you might just murder someone.’
So Sean put on a bewildered expression and said with a look of pure confusion, "Are you sure you didn’t mishear? I didn’t see Miss Elvire, so how could I have called out her name?"
"Is that so?" Elise’s smile was unreadable. "Then it must have been about something related to her, right?"
"I don’t think so?" Sean pretended to think, a look of recollection on his face. "Well, if I had to say, this Meditation was different from usual because I took a Demon Spirit Potion. When I was at my most helpless, on the verge of starving, a light appeared that shouldn’t have..."
"A light?"
"Mhm," Sean nodded. "There was a goddess in the light. I couldn’t see her face, but I could sense that she was incredibly beautiful. She gave me food, which saved me from starving. There was no one else there besides her and me... Oh, wait a minute!"
As he spoke, Sean seemed to have a sudden realization. He looked at Elvire in astonishment. "Could that goddess have been you?"
Elvire: "?"
Elise: "?"
So, under the influence of the Demon Spirit Potion, this guy saw an impossibly beautiful goddess he didn’t recognize, but he subconsciously equated Elvire’s beauty with the goddess’s, and that’s why he unconsciously called her name, mistaking the goddess for Elvire?
Elvire: "..."
’What a ridiculous explanation.’
’But for some reason, I don’t feel as angry anymore.’
"It wasn’t me." ’If it really had been me, I would have let him starve to death,’ Elvire thought with a huff. "Don’t go shouting my name anymore."
’He might not care about his reputation, but I care about mine.’
Sean said innocently, "I can’t control it. I didn’t even know you could talk in your sleep during Meditation."
Elise teased, "Maybe it’s because you think about her too much in your waking life?"
Elvire: "?"
"Shut up, Elise."
"Alright, Miss Flame Crow."
Elise agreed with a smile, shooting Sean another meaningful glance. Her intuition told her there was more to his story than just dreaming of a goddess.
Sean felt uneasy under her gaze and quickly changed the subject. "Are you two here to meditate as well?"
"No. If we wanted to meditate, we wouldn’t come to North Street. We’d go to the Holy Sanctuary," said Elise.
The Hall of Truth was basically an "academy" during the Era of Polymath. Any Wizard who could enter the Holy Sanctuary would naturally choose to meditate there. Besides, the first and second floors have libraries where you can find answers to most problems you might encounter during Meditation.
Elise hadn’t mentioned the Holy Sanctuary just to show off to Sean... alright, maybe a little. People can’t help but flaunt their advantages. But her main goal was to motivate him.
Elise had always thought Sean’s Talent was quite good. If he worked hard, he could probably get into the Hall of Truth. Then he could find an empty dorm, and no one would ever hear whatever he mumbled in his sleep.
She had no idea that Sean could already access the second floor of the Holy Sanctuary. Sean himself had also overlooked the fact that he could meditate there. Elise’s words made him realize he’d gotten too used to the grassroots level. ’Next time, I’m not coming to North Street,’ he thought.
He continued, "So what did you two come here for?"
"To find you," Elvire answered.
In truth, she hadn’t known if Sean would be here; she had just come to check. If he wasn’t, she would have given up. But since he was, she had to warn him that it would be best to stay away from the Void Technique Space for the next few days, because his current situation was likely very dangerous.
"The Old Segal City police department has already made a move. You need to be careful."
...
