Ch. 71 Past and Present Vows

Just as Sellen said.

It is common for master and apprentice to part ways.

Once Sellen acknowledged Mia’s magic, it meant that Mia had already achieved the goal of her initial journey south.

Having become a glintstone sorcerer, she could set off again, heading north to Stormveil to fulfill her destiny.

To become the Elden Lord.

How could Mia not wish for this light, daily life to continue just like this?

She, Sellen, Kalé, and Wilden just living easily here in the Waystation Street Ruins, ignoring the chaos of the outside world…

Surely there would be subsequent Tarnished who would challenge this path, become the Elden Lord, and restore order to The Lands Between.

Before that, it might be better to just stay here in this quiet corner…

But, Mia still hoped to be the one to do the saving.

She hoped that if one day The Lands Between regained its former vitality, she would be able to say: For this day, I gave it my all.

Rather than waiting like a beggar for the charity of others, to enjoy the fruits of someone else’s hard work.

Whether it be Sellen, Wilden, Kalé, or even Patches, they all deserved a better future than “spending the rest of their lives unchanged in the Waystation Street Ruins.”

Mia hoped Sellen could see the flowing stars once more.

She hoped Kalé’s people would no longer drift and wander. She hoped that for the countless Soldiers like Wilden in The Lands Between, a different color would appear in those memories filled with the gray of war.

Even Patches…

Mia also did not wish for more Tarnished to arrive in The Lands Between in confusion like him, fighting to the death because of some “grand plan” by someone they had never heard of.

Although, Mia should probably be considered such a Tarnished as well.

But even if it was just because she wanted to rise above others, to be respected, to be admired, to become the kind of leader role she could only look up to in her previous life.

This childish and selfish thought.

Mia also wanted to become the Elden Lord.

Therefore, it was time to say goodbye.

The girl took a breath: “Master Sellen, I think I must leave.”

Sellen nodded, looking at the girl’s face before her.

Eyes should be the windows to the soul, but Sellen could not see her eyes, which were obscured.

Neither of them could probably mock the other for this; after all, a glintstone Sorcerer’s headstone was much thicker than any blindfold.

“Actually, if you’re willing, you can come with us,”

Mia said.

Sellen shook her head. “This body is merely a physical projection. Its existence depends entirely on the glintstones and the magic circle within these ruins.”

“I can help you…”

“Shh—” Sellen raised a finger, signaling Mia to be quiet for a moment.

Sellen originally had more to say to Mia, things she wanted to ask of her…

Her true body was currently imprisoned in the Weeping Peninsula, thousands of miles away.

If Mia could find that body and extract the substance her soul had turned into—a Primal Glintstone.

And then find a suitable body, perhaps she could help her escape the constraints imposed by the Academy.

Allowing her to return to the Academy once more.

But Sellen opened her mouth and found she couldn’t bring herself to ask Mia for another favor.

‘Am I relying too much on my apprentice…?’

Such thoughts echoed in the sorceress’s mind.

Even if Mia could find her Primal Glintstone, she might not be able to find a suitable body to house it.

Someone else would be the one to help Sellen regain a new body, and the current Mia was unlikely to cross paths with that person.

As an elder and a teacher, her role should have been to secure a path forward for her apprentice.

But now, she was relying on her apprentice like this…

Even imposing her own unfulfilled wishes onto her.

It reminded her of those incompetent people who forced things they couldn’t achieve onto their descendants, thrusting their own desires upon others.

She had already made a request like ‘Please restore Glintstone Magic with me.’

Mia had even made a grand vow to defeat the Demigods and set the stars in motion once again.

And yet, as an unfit teacher, I still want to rely on her for even more.

Until the very end of the silence, Sellen couldn’t convince herself.

At least not for now.

“Apprentice,” she said, “you cannot help me yet.”

“So, for now, please continue forward on your path to becoming the Elden Lord.”

“If you feel sad or lost… your master will always be here waiting for you.”

Even Sellen wanted to see her apprentice rely on her.

Rather than being a teacher who could only achieve her dreams by constantly asking favors of her apprentice.

Sellen didn’t believe that the knowledge she had taught Mia in this short month was enough to make her weep with gratitude.

Regarding the origins of Glintstone Magic, how to explore the starry sky in a world where the stars had stopped moving—there was still too much knowledge Sellen hadn’t had time to pass on.

“Whenever you want a lesson, I am always willing to teach you.”

“If the knowledge I’ve given you allows you to reach the shores of Liurnia… and you haven’t forgotten this teacher of yours, please come here again. I have something I hope you will do.”

Perhaps by then, Sellen could comfort herself with the thought that it was she who had allowed Mia to travel so far in The Lands Between, and that the debt between them wasn’t so lopsided.

Only then could Sellen ask for her help again with a clear conscience.

“Okay,” Mia nodded.

Then she smiled playfully. “But it’s too late today. It won’t be too late to say goodbye tomorrow.”

With that, she said goodbye to her teacher as she usually did after a day’s lessons.

Sellen watched the girl’s light-footed retreat and returned to her desk.

She opened the book she had been writing since the day she took Mia as her apprentice, deciding to give it a peaceful conclusion.

When Mia returned to the surface, she announced the news of their upcoming departure to her companions.

“I told you so!”

The most boisterous one was, of course, Patches.

“It’s about time we left this place; my joints are starting to rust.”

When did you ever say that…

Mia looked at the fellow, completely speechless.

But unusually, Kalé, who always bickered with Patches, didn’t retort.

Instead, he rubbed his chin. “Come to think of it, it really is about time.”

As one of the Nomadic People, staying in one place for too long wasn’t normal.

Especially back when he was alone.

Without companions to watch his back, being alone anywhere was often dangerous.

Kalé looked around the campsite.

Kalé and Wilden had put a lot of effort into making this place feel like a home.

The overhead shelter, the wooden walls blocking the gaps, the crooked furniture…

Not just Kalé, even Mia felt a bit reluctant to leave these things behind.

“Is that sorceress coming along?” Kalé asked.

In over a month, Mia was the only one who had much contact with Sellen.

The others only knew her as a mysterious sorceress who rarely appeared and never left her study.

Mia sat on a wooden crate. “She’s staying here. We leave tomorrow.” She stared blankly into the empty air.

No one knew what she was thinking.

But Kalé could sense that Mia’s heart was a bit heavy.

The merchant looked up at the sky.

It was still afternoon, and the sky was bright enough even without a campfire.

“Since we’re leaving tomorrow, how about we have a good meal?” he suddenly suggested.

Everyone, including the Spirit Wolves, turned their heads to look at him in unison.

—

And so.

At dusk.

A pink, whole sheep was mounted over the camp’s bonfire.

The source of the sheep was, naturally, the three Spirit Wolves.