The Cornflower Witch

Sitting on the sofa, listening to Aitos converse with that Sage Xialanni, Sylutia found herself growing drowsy once again. Perhaps it was because she had spent the entire night crafting and competing, which had consumed a great deal of energy, and she had never really had the chance to rest. The dozen or so minutes of sleep she had caught earlier in the room had already been spent by now.

Moreover, the warm and pleasant environment of this room was also a major factor in lulling her to sleep. So while the two Sages were deeply engrossed in their conversation, Sylutia leaned against Amelie and slowly drifted off again.

Seeing how sleepy she was, Amelie gently placed Sylutia across her lap, her eyes gazing at the other girl's sleeping posture with mild curiosity.

Compared to herself, Hedra slept very peacefully, not moving around at all, she thought to herself, making the comparison.

After a while, Aitos and Xialanni finally finished their conversation, only then noticing that the two of them had been sitting there for quite some time.

"Sorry for making the two of you wait so long."

Sages, or rather, Transcendents of the Seventh Tier and above, had a different concept of time compared to ordinary people. Their bodies had gradually ceased aging, and they had various methods to maintain that state, so a year or two of time was to them like a week or two, not something they paid particular attention to. This conversation had been so absorbing that they had lost track of time. Fortunately, the two of them still came to their senses, noticing Sylutia asleep behind them, and ended the conversation early.

Xialanni walked over with Aitos at this moment. She bent down, and under Amelie's slightly nervous gaze, lightly pressed her finger to Sylutia's brow before withdrawing it.

"Quite special." She propped her chin on her hand in thought, time slowly passing.

"Could it really be that lucky?" She examined Sylutia a while longer, her finger gently brushing across the young girl's brow. A faint silver radiance spread out.

This thin layer of light emerged, then vaguely formed the ethereal outline of a moon, before quickly dissipating.

"What is this?" Sage Aitos asked, somewhat puzzled.

Xialanni stood up, thought for a moment, then spoke: "How about letting Hedra join our Salt Faction?"

"Senior Xialanni, is there any particular basis for what you're saying?" Aitos was quite confused. He knew this Sage was not the type to take things from others without reason.

"Hehe, you really can keep your composure, Aitos." Xialanni walked back to the table and poured two more cups of tea.

"You didn't refuse immediately, but instead asked me for my reasoning."

She handed a cup of freshly brewed tea to Aitos, then picked up one for herself. As she drank, her gaze fell upon the sleeping Sylutia.

"If my test results aren't wrong, this child, like Amelie, is naturally born with an 'Aspect' rank, meaning she is someone inherently favored by a certain Aspect Path."

"Amelie is a child favored by 'Secret Word,' while Hedra is favored by 'Luminous Moon.' So I said, why not let her join our school? She's still at the Fourth Tier now and hasn't entered the Fifth Tier yet, so she can just choose 'Luminous Moon' as her compound secondary Aspect when she reaches the Fifth Tier."

Upon hearing Xialanni's words, not only was Aitos surprised, but Amelie, sitting nearby, also showed a look of astonishment in her eyes. Then a strange closeness welled up in her heart.

So she was just like her, born with a special destiny.

"This... are you sure you didn't make a mistake?" Aitos didn't even bother with the honorifics now, his emotions complicated and somewhat incredulous.

"Of course I wouldn't make a mistake. I am a Sage who has achieved perfect balance among the three Aspects of 'Gold Steam,' 'Secret Word,' and 'Luminous Moon.' What do you think?" Xialanni wagged her finger and set down her cup.

"Then... then I'm afraid that's not something you can decide." At that moment, Amelie finally confirmed it, and her mood gradually calmed down as well.

"You'll have to report this to Their Eminences, and let them make the final call."

"Hmm, let him go report it. But I bet that after he finishes reporting, the three Eminences will definitely argue about it, especially those two." Xialanni smiled, using two fingers to point vaguely upward.

"Sigh, there's nothing we can do about that. Who told you to be so fond of her?" Aitos also let out a wry smile and shook his head.

Not understanding what kind of riddle the two were talking about, Lovier could only continue guarding the sleeping Sylutia. Her fingers gently brushed through the other girl's silky hair, letting it curl around her fingertips. Occasionally, she would bend down to compare her own hair with Sylutia's, carefully observing any differences.

After a while, Aitos and Xialanni finally finished their conversation. Then, thinking for a moment, Aitos raised his hand and waved. Lovier found that she and Sylutia were floating up, wrapped in a soft, transparent bubble.

"I'll take you two to a room to get some sleep. Later, you can wake up around noon and go eat." He told Amelie, then led the two away from the floating manor, heading down to a private lounge below. It had a bed, a bathroom, a vanity, a desk, and other amenities.

After bringing them there, Amelie helped Sylutia into bed to sleep, then leaned nearby and slowly drifted off as well.

At noon, Amelie woke up ahead of time. She blinked, and in her pupils, clockwork dials and pointers seemed to appear, letting her know the current time.

It was already noon. She turned her head to look at Sylutia, who was still sleeping, unsure whether she should wake the black-haired girl. After all, the way she slept was indeed quite adorable.

However, Amelie still remembered Sage Aitos' words, to stay with Hedra. Otherwise, she wouldn't be able to go to the restaurant alone to pick up food and bring it back.

So Amelie gently shook Sylutia's body, watching as the girl let out a lazy sound, then slowly sat up, rubbing her still-sleepy eyes.

"Hedra, it's noon. Let's go get something to eat." Amelie said, observing the current situation.

"Ah, I slept that long? This is..." Sylutia looked around. Wasn't she just with Amelie in that courtyard full of Sages? When did they leave? Could she really have slept that deeply? That shouldn't be possible.

Sylutia thought about it. Maybe it was because she had been working so hard in the competition last night that her drowsiness exploded. After those three-plus hours of sleep, she had recovered quite a bit of energy, and her head quickly cleared up.

Like Amelie, Sylutia blinked and immediately knew the current time. Then she led Amelie out of the room, heading towards the restaurant atop the tall tower.

The 'Tower of All Things,' as one of the Mage Alliance's three central towers, had always been above the clouds. Generally, only a few Sages would reside there permanently, so the restaurant wasn't very big. It was only during the triennial College Grand Competition, when the crowds were large, that the restaurant would be packed to the brim.

Seeing that she and Amelie would have to wait in a very long line for a long time, Sylutia shook her head and decided to give up.

"Let's go check out other places."

After leaving, Sylutia thought about the various colleges' lodgings. Tetis College should have its own dedicated dining spot, so she led Amelie in that direction.

However, before the two of them could even reach that spot, they ran into an acquaintance on the way.

Lovier and Aurora were walking together, each holding an ice cream. When they saw Sylutia, they happily waved and called out.

"Hedra, we're over here~" Then she saw Amelie walking over with Hedra.

Seeing the blue-haired girl, Lovier's eyes widened in surprise. She raised her finger, as if to ask something, but at that moment, Aurora beside her reached out and pressed it back down.

"Hedra, are you two going to eat? Why don't you join us?" She pulled Lovier over, then her gaze swept over Amelie beside Sylutia, a hint of curiosity and scrutiny in her eyes.

"This... of course, no problem." Actually, everything was perfectly normal, so why did she feel a pang of guilt when she spoke? Sylutia walked alongside the two, holding Amelie's hand on her right side, while her left arm was linked with Lovier's. On the other side, Aurora's eyes held a trace of amusement and mirth.