Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 1306: Section 1307: Warmth

The warmth of brotherhood, despite the years apart, had never diminished. It was like an unending river that flowed regardless of time and space, silently yet slowly trickling on this snowy night.

“The reconstruction of the manor can begin once Eulica awakens,” Lyon gazed at the castle below that had not been cleared for a long time and was now covered with a large expanse of moss: “If left for a while longer, it would look like a haunted house.”

“That’s good— it’s been a while since any renovation, and when the time comes, Mana can re-plan…” Lyon started but suddenly halted, his gaze growing dim: “I almost forgot, Head Maid Mana has already… No matter, there’s always a way.”

Lyon smiled at Angel, seemingly trying to cover the other emotions that he inadvertently revealed.

From when Lyon mentioned before that “Lionheart’s Flame has never been extinguished,” Angel thought that Lyon could look at it optimistically, but in fact, deep in his heart, there were still scars, he just didn’t want to show it in front of him.

Angel: “Head Maid Mana, and those affected by Crimson Authority, there will always be a way to deal with it.”

...
Lyon was somewhat incredulous, for he knew that they were actually dead. Not having eaten or drunk for half a month, there was simply no chance of bringing them back to life; they were merely being kept alive by an energy force. When that energy was expelled, it would be their actual time of death.

But since Angel said so, Lyon didn’t object and took it as Angel comforting him.

Because White Bear was here, Angel didn’t prepare to explain and instead changed the subject: “By the way, what brought you here?”

“I just finished meditation and wasn’t tired yet, so I went for a walk. That’s when I encountered White Bear at the stairwell. He said he saw you spacing out on the cloud soil, so I came along with him to check on you,” Lyon said.

“Oh?” A hint of suspicion flashed in Angel’s eyes. Lyon lived in the master bedroom on the third floor. White Bear, on the other hand, lived at the other end of the second floor, and he didn’t need to go to Lyon’s side when he came downstairs since there was a staircase right next to him.

Therefore, the fact that Lyon encountered White Bear probably meant that White Bear was deliberately waiting there.

The cloud soil was high in the sky, and with Lyon’s abilities, he couldn’t possibly fly up there now; he surely must have been brought up by White Bear. Why would White Bear do this?

Angel looked at White Bear: “You too? Taking a walk late at night, and then wandering to the east side stairwell?”

White Bear gave an awkward smile: “I, I just came to see you, Angel.”

Angel fell silent, waiting for White Bear’s explanation.

“Lord Illusion Demon and Red, they went together to capture Rolando, which should be easily accomplished. It shouldn’t be long before my sister wakes up.” White Bear paused: “I just hope… that you can forgive her.”

When White Bear mentioned Eulica, Angel had an idea of what he wanted to say.

White Bear probably brought Lyon along because he was worried about another cold confrontation, like the last time they went to Conniea and the matter was brought up. He thought that having Lyon there would help ease the atmosphere.

Angel remained silent for a moment, then asked: “Do you think, would you forgive King Gumman? He killed your aunt’s family; would you forgive him?”

White Bear was startled, seemingly understanding Angel’s point: “But…” It was incomparable.

“I understand your position, and I know the nature of these two incidents is different, and the tragedy at Pat Manor wasn’t something Eulica actively did, but from my standpoint…” In Angel’s mind, the friendly visage of Head Maid Mana and the shy, timid Maid Ollie, as well as many other intimate servants who had grown up with him appeared, “I cannot forgive her. At least, not right now.”

“As I told you before, hate and not hate, it’s all relative. I don’t hate her, but to ask me to forgive what she did, I can’t do it now.”

Angel’s stance was clear; to some extent, he understood what Eulica had done; it was all the play of fate. However, from a consequential viewpoint, he couldn’t forgive Eulica.

White Bear fell silent: “I understand.”

For White Bear, Angel’s attitude was probably the limit he could accept. He also understood Angel’s position, he even thought before that Angel would be more radical; to get such a moderated response was unexpected.

White Bear wasn’t wrong; when Angel saw those servants, indeed, he had radical thoughts, but he wasn’t a person controlled by emotions.

Eulica had once saved Jon, and because of Eulica, his older brother Lyon had stepped into the Wizards’ Realm ahead of time, and Lyon’s mentor was also Eulica’s lover… Taking into account these factors, Angel made such a choice.

White Bear received his answer, bowed his head to apologize to both Angel and Lyon, and then left the cloud soil. He could tell that Angel seemed to have something to say, meant for Lyon alone, that he hadn’t spoken of before due to his presence.

Lyon was still a bit puzzled: “Why is he apologizing to me? Is it about Eulica again? But that matter is unrelated to him.”

“Do you think a person who lives near the western stairwell would wander to the east stairwell late at night? Moreover, in an empty castle?”

Lyon furrowed his brows: “You mean to say, he was deliberately waiting for me? But why would he know that I would leave at that time?”

“Don’t forget, he’s an apprentice in Prophecy.”

Lyon murmured, “Even so, there’s no need for an apology. This person is really odd. Speaking of which, I’ve never understood what’s the point of him wearing that White Bear costume all day long?”

“When you truly step into the world of Wizards, you’ll find that the White Bear is actually quite normal. He’s just obsessed with what he wears. There are many who, from their inner selves to their external appearance, and even down to their pronunciation and tone of voice, carry a strong individual style. To call them eccentric might even be an understatement,”

“Like who?” Lyon asked curiously. The most eccentric thing he had witnessed was the tangled private relationships within certain Noble families when he had attended a gathering at Waterford.

“For instance, there’s a Wizard who is fiercely obsessed with blond-haired, blue-eyed people. If he encounters anyone with those features, regardless of gender, regardless of whether you’re human or not, he’d think about killing them to create his own Puppet.”

Lyon, looking at Angel’s shining blond hair under the moon and snow, and those deep blue eyes that resembled the ocean, asked somewhat worriedly, “Have you encountered such a madman?”

“I’ve never met one, just heard about it. What I meant is, in the realm of Wizards you might even fall into misfortune without knowing what you did wrong, or even if you did nothing wrong at all, just because you have beautiful blond hair and blue eyes,” Angel paused, “Such people are everywhere in the realm of Wizards, so the White Bear is really nothing special.”

“Are the people of the Wizards’ Realm all so eccentric? Angel, you don’t have any obsessions… do you?” Lyon looked at Angel suspiciously.

“What do you think?” Angel replied annoyedly, thinking his words would frighten Lyon, but instead Lyon’s reaction was quite unexpected.

“I remember you’re quite obsessive about Milk.” Lyon had only gotten halfway through his sentence when he suddenly realized he couldn’t speak anymore.

Magic power ripples were still emanating from Angel. He smiled and said, “Let’s end this topic here. I don’t have an obsession with Milk, so stop guessing.”

Lyon, silenced, obediently nodded his head.

It was only then that Angel lifted the silencing spell. “Once Pat Manor is rebuilt, you might as well go out for a walk. There’s a newcomer’s competition in Sky Mechanical City soon, you could give it a try.”

With Lyon’s strength, Angel didn’t think he would make it past the preliminaries, but since he had set foot in the Wizards’ Realm, it was always necessary to gain experience.

“As for leaving, we’ll see about that when the time comes,” Lyon hesitated before replying.

Lyon’s response was within Angel’s expectations. Had it been before, Lyon probably would have outright refused.

Having taken on the title of the Pat family, a sense of responsibility had weighed heavily on his shoulders. The recent incident had helped Lyon see many things more clearly. Staying safe in one place was fine, but strength and insight were also important. If he had Angel’s power, able to combat Eulica on even terms, perhaps the Servants and people of the manor wouldn’t have encountered misfortune.

…

At the entrance to Marine Theater in Originheart City.

Angel had brought Lyon here, who was still slightly bewildered, but having already come to the Wilderness of Dreams using a one-use pocket watch as his Log-in Device, he was relatively calm about this abrupt change in time and space.

“Is this the Dream Realm that that guy Frode talked about?” Lyon asked curiously as he looked around. “Now that you mention it, this building looks a lot like Waterford’s Marine Theater.”

“This is the Wilderness of Dreams, and you can think of it as the world of dreams. As for this building, it indeed is the Marine Theater, crafted here in the Wilderness of Dreams using certain methods.” Angel paused, “You haven’t told anyone else about this place, have you?”

Lyon shook his head, “Frode told me not to tell anyone, and at that time, Mentor was always in the Exile Space, so he never asked me.”

“Good, you haven’t said anything. The Wilderness of Dreams is a special place, and currently in the entire Wizards’ Realm, very few are aware of it. Because it’s not yet complete, it’s best to keep the existence of this place to yourself for the time being.”

After saying this, Angel briefly explained the concept of the Wilderness of Dreams to Lyon.

Lyon had already been told about it by Frode when he came here last time, so he roughly understood. However, what he didn’t understand was, this place seemed no different from the outside world; what was the point of creating this Dream Realm?

“It’s hard to explain, but remember I mentioned there might be a way to save Head Maid Mana? We could transform them into a different kind of existence, to live here,” Angel pointed to the Wilderness of Dreams, “The permanent residents here are almost all already dead in the real world.”

Lyon looked around in surprise, “You mean they’re all undead?”

Angel shook his head, “No, they are residents of the Dream Realm.”

Angel went on to explain what Dream Realm residents were. While Lyon still didn’t fully understand, he was starting to grasp why Angel had advised him to keep the Wilderness of Dreams a secret.

“If people like Head Maid Mana could live here, it would indeed be a relatively better ending,” Lyon remarked with a sigh.

While Lyon was reflecting, a call suddenly came from behind, “Angel, Lyon?”

Lyon turned around in confusion, “Old man Jon?”