Hate me, Miss Witch!

"A banquet?"

The Golden Elf girl's cool voice echoed in the Astral Realm.

She slightly lifted her eyes, looking toward Shiayar in front of her.

The next moment, her normally closed left eye quietly opened. A wisp of cerulean blue flame danced slowly within her reddish-gold beautiful eyes. This thread of blue flame was incredibly magnificent, dazzling and flickering unpredictably. It was what the Black Tower referred to as "the Secret Fire of the Magic Goddess," and it was also the origin of Hathaway's nickname, "Golden Calamity."

Unlike the well-named deities worshipped by various Religious Orders, the Goddess of Magic did not have a so-called physical body but was merely the manifestation of the rules of various elements, magical creatures, and Spells in the Multiverse, or rather, the incarnation of a certain concept.

When that wisp of cerulean Secret Flame appeared, Shiayar could clearly feel it. The marks of time imprinted upon his astral spirit body, resembling tree rings and invisible even to himself, had suddenly begun to tremble at this moment.

Immediately after, in the flowing stream of time and space, a fragment of an illusory, seemingly truncated river of time, quietly reflected in the Golden Elf's eyes under the light of the blue Secret Flame.

The next moment, that hint of blue flashed and was gone, vanishing from sight.

The Golden Elf's left eye closed once more.

She crossed her arms and slightly curled the corners of her mouth, looking at Shiayar with a smile that was not quite a smile.

"I didn't feel much reality in the Dimensional Abyss until I saw you and realized that so much time had already passed."

The Golden Elf stepped closer to Shiayar, extending her hand. Then, with those slender white fingers, she gently stroked Shiayar's cheek.

"Take a good look; you've indeed grown up."

"You're no longer the little boy pretending to be deep that I first met in the Arcane Arts City Lokiya five years ago."

The cold fingertips brushed past Shiayar's cheek, carrying a slightly ticklish sensation.

"You've grown taller, even taller than me."

"And you've slimmed down too; your cheeks no longer have that chubby feel they used to have..."

The Golden Elf sized up the tall, clear-faced young man in front of her. In those pale golden eyes, there was contentment and a touch of nostalgia.

"You're truly a handsome young man now."

"With that said, it's no wonder Guderian Borgia agreed to marry his only daughter to you..."

"Although most of it is due to considerations of interest, if you yourself weren't excellent, this marriage arrangement wouldn't have happened."

"Using your terms, the current little Shiayar has also become a hot commodity..."

Shiayar was slightly stunned and paid no attention to Hathaway's teasing tone.

"Teacher, you also know the head of the Borgia family?"

As far as he knew, his Golden Elf Instructor from the Black Tower had been around for an unimaginably long time and was one of the most mysterious Legendary figures of the entire Western Continent. Even an ancient power like the theocratic kingdom, with its thousand-year heritage, was unclear about when Hathaway of the 8th Page had ascended to Legendary status. But perhaps, because of the long time spent after becoming a Legendary, Hathaway developed quite an easygoing personality, with a laissez-faire approach in most things she did. She could break her centuries-long habits on a whim because she took a liking to someone at first sight, taking Shiayar, who at the time hadn't even reached the First Circle and was no different than an ant in the eyes of a Legendary, as her exclusive disciple… She might also skip a gathering with other Eight-Page Mages over some trivial matter. In Hathaway's eyes, if she didn't care for someone, even if they were also a Legendary, she might not bother to give them a second glance.

"It must have been about a decade or so ago. Guderian attempted to break through the Throne realm boundary, so he left an impression."

"Although he didn't succeed at the time, after more than a decade has passed..."

"Whether he or that member of the Empire's Royal Family is stronger or weaker by now is really quite hard to say."

That old bastard Borgia was that strong? Shiayar was somewhat surprised. But in light of this, it was no wonder the other party dared to so openly provoke the Empire's Royal Family, as he had a solid foundation of confidence.

"However... since you've called for me," Hathaway continued, "it implies that you've already made a choice regarding this matter."

The Golden Elf removed her pale hand from Shiayar's face. She took two steps back, and beneath the backdrop of that illusory starry sky, a silent Throne of Thorns woven from pitch-black thorns slowly emerged. Hathaway sat upon the black Throne of Thorns, tilted her head toward Shiayar, and a hint of a smile flickered across her eyes.

"That's a golden opportunity to rise to the heavens, you know. Accept the olive branch they have thrown to you, and it's akin to securing the backing of at least three Legendary figures."

"Moreover, this even includes two beings akin to Demigods..."

"Your choice to do this..."

The Golden Elf crossed her slender legs and leaned back lazily on the Throne.

"Is it because of your little girlfriend?"

"Mm."

"Do you really want to go through with it?"

With a hint of seductive intrigue, the Golden Elf's cool voice added, "You could have simply pretended to accept their kindness at first, and then silently infiltrated their ranks."

"Then, siphoning their resources to strengthen yourself, gathering intelligence, and waiting until you're fully prepared, before striking at a key moment... That would align much better with your interests, just like you have always done."

"To expose yourself to great risk out of a moment of passion is not like you. It doesn't conform to the philosophy you've always practiced: think thrice before acting."

Shiayar nodded. "If it were just me, perhaps I really would do as you suggest. After all, I have never thought my pride was worth much; the true winner is the one who laughs last."

He smiled silently. "However, this is a promise I made to Ennie."

Hathaway spoke indifferently, "She's long stopped caring."

"But I care."

Shiayar shook his head. "In that great fire in Ceylon..."

"Ennie entrusted everything of hers to me—her past, her present, along with her future."

"She's the girl I've raised since she was little, the one who belongs to me and me alone."

"All of Enola's joys and sorrows, laughter and tears... they should exist only for me. I hope she smiles for me and cries for me alone."

"But—"

Shiayar's tone turned colder.

"That night, I saw her cry with my own eyes... crying for someone other than me."

"For that, someone must pay the price."

The Golden Elf gazed at Shiayar for a long moment, her previously cool and laid-back expression vanishing. In its place was a sovereign-like, stern majesty within her reddish-gold eyes, filled with challenge and scrutiny.

Shiayar's eyes did not waver.

After a long while, the Golden Elf on the Throne of Thorns nodded slowly. "I'll send Little Death to the Empire Capital."

"Then I'll trouble you, Teacher."

Shiayar's astral spirit body began to radiate points of light, gradually returning from the Astral Realm to the Main Material Plane.

Just then, Shiayar, whose form was becoming ethereal and hazy, spoke again, "Teacher, I've actually always wanted to ask a question."

"Back in the Arcane Arts City Lokiya, why did you pick me out from the crowd at first glance?"

Nostalgia flickered in the eyes of the Golden Elf upon the Throne. "Because from you at that time, I sensed a familiar aura."

"A traveler who has left their homeland, wandering abroad."

"A lost soul with no refuge, no place to return to."

"Just like me back in those days... exactly the same."

"Is that so?" Shiayar nodded, a slight smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

"And here I thought perhaps you'd been single and lonely for too long,"

"so you wanted to raise a perfect child groom for yourself from a young age."

Shiayar's astral spirit body quickly faded, leaving only his final words echoing in the ethereal Sea of Stars in the Astral Realm.

"It's such a pity, considering I've been striving all these years to become 'the hero who could move Teacher's heart'."