Chapter 437: Miracle
Smith looked up from the pile of documents he was looking through and looked at a tense Maya. She stood before him stiffly, her posture straight and her expression composed, though the slight stiffness in her shoulders betrayed her more than she likely realised.
The lenses on his monocle moved around as he studied her form from head to toe. One would think he was a merchant studying a package of valuable goods rather than a father looking at his very own daughter.
A moment later, Smith nodded to himself, visibly pleased with whatever he had seen.
"You seem to have gained quite a bit from the trials," he said. "You have grown stronger in a very short period of time."
"Yes, Father," Maya responded respectfully.
Smith beckoned for her to come forward, then pointed toward the chair in front of his desk, "Sit down."
Maya did as she was told.
She sat neatly, placing both hands on her thighs while keeping her back straight. She waited for her father to speak, but he said nothing for a long while, and the silence was grating on her. Eventually, he cleared his throat.
"So, what bloodline and artefacts did you get? It had better be something useful."
Maya nodded lightly, "I received a Greater Orikari Bloodline, a powerful Legendary Grade mage’s staff, and a drop of water from the Fountain of Eternal Youth. The drop is also a Legendary Grade item."
Smith’s brows drew together at the mention of the bloodline.
The Orikari.
He had heard that name before.
As a dedicated scholar and a widely read man, Smith had always taken an interest in ancient history, lost races, extinct cultures, and forgotten branches of magic. As far as he knew, the Orikari were rumoured to have been the first humans to discover magic and develop it into the system the world knew today.
But such a thing was nothing more than a myth, not just to him, but to most scholars and everyone else in the world who considered themselves rational. And now, Maya was telling him that she had received their bloodline.
The implications excited him; however, excitement alone was not enough.
He would need to observe the results first before confirming the bloodline’s credibility. In all likelihood, it was simply another derivative of what could be considered the human bloodline, if such a thing could even be said to exist.
Still, if there was even a fragment of truth behind that myth... Smith’s fingers tapped lightly against the desk.
Eventually, his thoughts moved on to the next item she had mentioned. The staff was far easier to understand.
It suited Maya’s profile perfectly. The fact that it was Legendary Grade meant that whatever enchantments it carried were bound to be beyond anything most people would ever see in their lifetime.
It would no doubt take her ability as a mage to the next level. The staff he had commissioned for her previously was only of the Rare Grade. Compared to that, this was a tremendous leap.
In truth, the only Legendary Grade artefact either he or the Triad Alliance possessed was his monocle, and not many people knew the true extent of its lofty capabilities.
Not even his so-called peers. So he would have been lying to himself if he said Maya’s gains did not make him envious.
However, what truly made him green with envy was the final reward. The drop of water from the Fountain of Eternal Youth.
Smith was well aware that Maya thought he resented her, but even though he could not say he loved his daughter, saying he hated her would also be far from the truth.
To him, love was nothing more than a concept made up to chain people’s hearts. His heart had long since closed itself off from such feelings, even toward his own child.
Only he knew why he had pushed Maya so hard. He wanted her to excel where he had failed.
He knew she was capable of reaching heights he could no longer reach, so long as she received the right guidance. Perhaps he had gone too far at times, but he did not care. No legacy was built by pampering one’s children.
If he had to make her walk through flames or even force her through the gates of hell themselves, then so be it. As long as the future he envisioned was fulfilled, the pain along the way was nothing more than a necessary cost.
The only reason he had gone so far was because he had all but given up on achieving his ambitions through his own power.
He lacked the talent, and he lacked the benefit of youth. But Maya had both.
However, if this drop of water did what he suspected it could do, then one of his greatest weaknesses would finally be removed.
Youth.
He could regain time, and time was the most important part of his goals.
’If only I had more time.’ Smith could not count how many times he had thought those exact words.
The regret of his wasted youth had gnawed at his sanity for years, especially those humiliating days he spent at the flying academy, trampled beneath peers who had greater influence, greater talent, and greater backing.
He was still proud of the fact that he had chosen not to send Maya there. Instead, he had kept her under his own instruction, and now, she had grown into a piece he could be proud of.
She still had a long way to go before she could be entirely useful to his goals, but that day was no longer so far away.
Smith looked at her seriously, "Give me the drop of water from the Fountain."
Maya nodded. She did not even hesitate. After all, she had already suspected something like this might happen. She did not need something like that yet, since she was still so young, but her father certainly did.
His hair was already beginning to show streaks of grey. She didn’t know his exact age since he had never spoken of it, but he had to be fairly aged.
Though it pained her to lose something she had worked so hard to earn, she was not too surprised, nor was she truly devastated.
He was the one who had discovered this opportunity, and if it wasn’t for the strict requirements to enter, perhaps he would have entered the trials himself.
Besides, she still had the other two rewards, and in truth, the same thing would likely happen to Manfred, Uta, and Yaana if they had obtained something their elders wanted badly enough.
A vial flashed into Maya’s hand. Inside it was a strange, translucent blue liquid. She calmly placed it on the desk in front of her father.
The liquid glowed faintly, and even though the cork was tightly fastened, a soothing scent still drifted from it, calming the mind with every faint breath.
Smith’s hands trembled slightly as he reached forward and picked up the vial with a look of wonder in his eyes.
For a brief moment, Maya saw something she had rarely ever seen on her father’s face. Raw and undisguised desire.
Smith held the vial up to the light, watching the blue liquid move inside the glass. Very softly, he muttered, "So this is what a miracle looks like."