The Cornflower Witch

Tetis District, Grand Library section.

This is the central branch of the Alliance’s Grand Library, holding backups of countless books, arranged on different floors according to rarity.

Climbing the library’s endless corridor-like stairways leads to a tower that reaches into the clouds; yes, this is one of the Mage Alliance’s central three towers, the Tower of All Things.

Books and knowledge are the most important assets to the Mage Alliance. To mages, these mean far more than gold or gems, so the library was built in the safest location—the bases of the three towering spires that pierce the sky.

It is said that the three Named Ones who pull the Alliance’s strings live at the very tops of these towers, overlooking and governing this vast world.

Although called a library, the halls lined with shelves had almost no people; the place was utterly quiet, only a few specks of dust drifting in the sunlight that filtered in.

Officially it is a library, but in practice it functions more like an archive: its purpose is to protect and preserve these organized books and the knowledge within, not to lend them out for casual reading.

One day, the library’s great doors were opened after a long time. An elderly man entered, and once he had come inside the doors closed again. Complex gears in the doorwork turned, sealing the library once more.

After stepping in, the old man’s gaze swept across the dust-covered hall, then he walked up the adjacent stairs.

His steps did not look fast, yet his figure seemed accelerated, appearing in flashes along various stair landings as he climbed rapidly upward. In just a few minutes he reached the tower’s top and then his silhouette slowly disappeared.

An hour later, he stood on the tower’s five hundred sixty-seventh floor, then stopped.

This floor also held countless shelves and books, but on one side of the hall there was an unusual small door.

He approached the door, knocked lightly a few times, and when there was no answer he lowered his hand and walked toward the deep row of shelves in the hall, finally finding a sleeping figure tucked into a corner.

Her blue hair lay behind her like a beautiful work of art, a little spiraling as it coiled around her waist and calves, falling to her bare, snow-white feet. She was a sleeping girl who looked about seventeen; her age seemed permanently frozen at that stage. From the gap in her skirt a thigh showed, and on the exposed side could be seen a faint bluish floral ornament, like a birthmark tattoo.

If any scholar familiar with such patterns were here, they would be astonished that anyone on the Fourth Continent still bore a blessing from the Elf Holy Tree.

It is said that in the era before the World Tree was burned, the Fairy Queen prayed during festival ceremonies so that dew condensed from the World Tree’s sap would become blessing potions; drinking them granted ageless youth.

But after the World Tree was destroyed, such blessing rites ceased. People had to beg upper-tier Fairies beside the Hours for similar blessings.

Although the elves on the Second Continent have cultivated a holy tree, its power is far weaker than the ancient World Tree. The blessings distilled from its sap and dew can only preserve a person’s youth for a century rather than grant true immortality.

As the Alliance is the strongest force on the Fourth Continent, it rarely socializes with the elves, but it nevertheless acquired a small number of blessing potions through certain channels. One of those vials was used on this sleeping girl.

"Amelie." The old man softly called the girl’s name. His voice pierced the air and touched the girl’s sleeping consciousness, waking her.

Rubbing her drowsy eyes, the girl in a pale blue-and-white dress slowly woke and sat up, looking at the old man in front of her.

"Ah, Professor Aitos." Her voice was soft and syrupy, almost infantile.

The old man shook his head slightly, then spoke.

"You can say I’m filling in for His Majesty’s professor on some matters, not exactly his teacher."

"But the books say so." The girl sounded troubled. The pale blue and white-laced cuff revealed a delicate wrist as she propped a hand to her cheek.

"The books only apply in special circumstances." Amelie looked at him with an expression that carried both curiosity and helplessness. The old man then led her to a nearby rest area.

There, blue-haired Duo Nan sat like a duck on a soft sofa, listening to the old man recount various recent Alliance matters.

"This is the seventh time you’ve mentioned that child Aitos. Is he as young as you?" Hedra’s faintly golden eyes carried a teasing glint.

"Yes, he looks somewhat younger than you." Amelie nodded.

"If everything goes smoothly, he’ll probably become your partner and classmate, studying under His Majesty together."

"Really?" Amelie sounded a little pleased; perhaps her past life of solitude had made her long for companionship.

"However, his study began later than yours; it may be a few more years before he arrives." Aitos looked at the blue-haired girl before him. Although her appearance and actual age were very young, she was already a Fifth Tier mage.

If Amelie’s entry into the Fifth Tier were made public, it would break records that had stood in the Alliance for centuries.

"Ah, still a few years..." Amelie lowered her head, her fingers tracing patterns on her spread skirt. A wisp of pale blue hair fell beside her ear.

"Yes, she’s been very busy lately." The sage Aitos thought for a moment and drew a newspaper from a folded-space artifact. The paper reported the explosive sales of the new model Starry Night carriage.

Seeing the paper, Amelie quickly took it and ran her fingers over the lines of text, finally stopping at the small illustration below. In the black-and-white print was Sylutia’s profile; her long black hair tied with a ribbon, a lock looping around her neck and falling in front.

"This is the ‘Hedra’ you mentioned, right?" Her gaze fixed on that silhouette as if trying to memorize it.

"That's right." The current Dean of Tetis, Aitos, nodded.

"She doesn’t seem all that different from how I described; she looks like someone whose age hasn’t changed."

"Mm..." Amelie responded softly, her gaze still fixed.

"That’s wonderful. If she comes later, what should I call her? She should be younger than me, so should I call her ‘Hedra little sister’?" Amelie chattered rapidly.

Watching her like this, Aitos suddenly realized how much this girl, who had grown up alone in the library and tower, longed for family and warmth.

Aitos remained silent for a long moment, then nodded.

"You may call her that." His voice held a tinge of apology. Though these decisions served the Alliance’s future plans, Amelie’s childhood and life had been rather harsh.

Where possible, he would make up for it. If Hedra ever asked, he would explain the reasons.

Aitos then told Amelie many stories about the new carriage, the fashions presently popular in the Alliance, and amusing events from the academy, so that the girl who had long dwelt in the tower would not feel utterly isolated or ignorant of the outside world.

Time passed slowly. When the sun leaned westward, it was time to leave.

After teaching Amelie a few more things, Sage Aitos stood.

"I will come again in two months."

"Goodbye, Amelie."

The girl on the sofa raised her hand and gave a slight wave, watching the old man depart.

A few minutes later, when she could no longer see Sage Aitos’s figure, she lowered her hand and hugged a nearby pillow to her chest.

"Two months...two years..." she silently counted the time, waiting for the moment of another meeting to arrive.