The sun was setting, and the entire Jialan Academy was plated with a golden outline.

Lina, or Miss Idriel, returned from the library as usual.

On the way, she was the first to spread out her senses, trying to avoid running into someone. It's a habit I've been getting over since that birthday dinner, but it's a little bit of a chocobo feeling like it's burying its head in the sand when it's in distress.

Arriving home safely as always, the girl looked up at the apartment next door, where the chimney on the roof was curling with smoke, and it seemed that she had thought too much about it.

How long has it been since I went to eat?

It seems like a long time......

The mood is not lonely, after all, elves always have to live with loneliness for a lifetime, especially elves who live in the human world and have lost their lover early.

She thought that the door of her heart would be closed from now on, and no one would be able to enter until she met Ah Yin.

He gave her a different feeling, and there was an inexplicable sense of familiarity in the other party, which would always make her subconsciously mistake someone else. And she once indulged in this illusion, refusing to recognize the reality and not waking herself up.

Fortunately, all this ended on the day of the king's birthday dinner, and the sudden change made her completely sober up and began to re-examine the issue and her own heart.

She can decisively refuse the marriage arranged by Lawrence II because she has no feelings for Fellow.

But if Ah Yin takes the initiative to show favor to himself one day, can he refuse?

She didn't dare to assume this situation, nor did she want to think deeply, she seemed to want to maintain this hazy and ambiguous relationship, to see the shadow of her deceased lover, but also to be true to her heart.

That's how she is greedy, full of delusions, and ashamed of it.

Amather is irreplaceable, and so is Ah Yin, he shouldn't be a stand-in for anyone, and that's not fair to them.

So the half-elf girl came to her senses and didn't fall too deep before she fell. She got out of it with apologies, and then lived a lonely life again, only with some envy when she saw the smoke of the cooking stove close at hand.

She had felt the atmosphere of "home" in that room for a long time, a luxury that she had never felt since she was born.

The girl withdrew her envious gaze, and while considering whether to eat dinner, she pushed open the door, but was surprised to find that there was a person standing in the room.

A somewhat familiar back......

"Father?"

She screamed.

In 709 A.D., she came to Falan City with her father, first lived alone for 60 years, and then entered the Jialan Academy under the pseudonym Lina Imbas. During this period, the father and daughter met once a year, but there was no communication.

At first, she thought that her father had a grudge against her because of her mother's death, but after hearing the rumors circulating from the Mage Guild, she couldn't help but wonder if this was the shackles and restrictions of legendary mages, such as not being able to communicate with "ordinary people......

But speculation is always speculation, and because of the lack of communication, her doubts have not been solved after all.

"Any new instructions? Father? ”

She asked, then searching for a note on the table.

Instructions are usually written on letterhead, and he should be gone soon, she thought. A legendary mage's time is always precious, as in a hurry.

"You're here earlier than usual...... "The girl smiled, as if she was used to talking to herself, "It's a pity that I didn't prepare in advance, otherwise I could have made you a good dinner...... Recently I learned a lot from Mr. Ah Yin next door, he ......"

At the mention of Ah Yin, the girl hesitated slightly, but still shook her head and shook off the mustard.

"Ellie."

"Huh?"

Idril froze.

She looked up and looked ahead, a little unable to believe her ears.

The figure in front of him turned, and the setting sun poured in through the window, gilding him with a layer of gold, but the lines did not seem stiff at all, for his voice was incomparably gentle, satisfying all the fantasies that Idril had enveloped in the word "father" since childhood.

She had never seen her father since she was born, and although they said that he was a vile and shameless human being who had hurt her mother deeply, her mother told her again and again with a smile that her father was a gentle, upright man, as bright as the sun in spring, that the letter could not have been written by him, and that he must have been in some danger to leave him.

"My daughter ......"

The old mage did not keep a straight face as usual, but showed a smile that was more ugly than crying. Because he hadn't hugged anyone for too long, his outstretched hand was trembling slightly, and his movements were even stiffer. The old man is like a clumsy but conscientious actor, acting as hard as he can.

However, he was still too restrained, too cautious, too concerned about these external things, and from the moment he heard that gentle call, Idril's vision was blurred, and the girl's ears could not hear any sound, and there was only one thought in her heart.

She threw herself into the old man's arms and cried like a child.

Glazer was a little at a loss, but the identity of "father" seemed to give men an innate emotional intelligence, and he almost subconsciously patted Idriel's back, gently rubbed her long hair, and muttered something that he didn't know what he was talking about.

Soon, his vision also became blurred, and tears were out of control, and of course, the old man did not want to control them.

He let tears fall into his mouth, as if all the humiliation, despair, and pain he had suffered over the years had turned into tears and swallowed into his stomach.

In a trance, the old man seemed to see Ethella. His beloved came to this room at some point, stretched out his hand to hug the father and daughter, and when their eyes met, they all thought about it, and the family was immersed in a moment of beauty.

……

……

Idriel couldn't remember how long she had been crying, and the half-elf girl had never known that she could hold up so many tears. If it weren't for Glazer's sentence "It is said that girls are made of water, I didn't believe it before, but now I believe it", which made her burst into tears and laughed, she would probably have to cry again.

"Father...... Why did you suddenly come to me today? The girl asked.

Glazer didn't respond, smiled and wiped the tears from her daughter's face, and pulled a lock of hair behind her ear for her.

"I'm thinking, there are some things you have to know, like what kind of person I am, what I've been doing all these years, where I've gone...... In fact, I am not in Lokan, but in Heru, wandering like a revenant......"

"Heru...... What is that place? ”

Glazer couldn't help but laugh, he realized that he had been around a group of rebellious necromancers all day, and he had long been accustomed to this kind of rhetoric, and a decent traditional mage would not be exposed to the vocabulary of the necromancer, so he gently explained about the necromancer, about the pursuit on the River Styx, about the confusion and the inevitable madness after all.

After going through so many things, he didn't want to hide anything from his daughter, he had a kind of confidence that his daughter would believe in himself and accept all this.

Hearing her father confess her identity as a necromancer was a shock to Idriel at first, but when she heard that his purpose was to find her deceased mother, Ethella, the girl was relieved. The path is chosen by each person, especially for the mage, there are countless paths in front of him, and the thorns on each one must be broken by himself.

There is no doubt that my father paid a terrible price on this road, his freedom, his life, and himself. But as a daughter, she didn't resent him.

"So...... ...... I've seen over the years"

"That's just a puppet." Glazer rubbed the side of Idriel's face, thought about it, but still didn't tell the truth. "It's the puppet I left behind before I left, and it acts according to the rules, like taking care of you, or like the annual speech, eh...... Those students should hate me to death. ”

Idril couldn't help but laugh too. The legendary mage Glazer's speeches have been a part of Jialan's back-to-school season for decades, but they're slowly dyed with comedy.

"I'm sorry, I haven't been able to find your mother yet." "I think it will take a while, but to make up for the mistakes I made, I found Amatho. ”

"Amathe?"

"That's right, I found him for you......" Glazer lied, "He is indeed dead, but the child loves you so much that his soul does not dissipate even in the River Styx, and I brought him back for you." It's just that my abilities are limited, and he lost some of his memories when he was reborn, so he won't necessarily become an elf...... But I'm sure you'll meet him sooner or later, because there's an inseparable bond between you that will draw you to each other. ”

Hearing such words suddenly, Idril looked a little dazed, she instinctively thought of Ah Yin, the familiar feeling, and the inexplicable attraction of the other party......

Could it be that the father brought it all in? But in that case, why did he only show up today......

"And you, father, don't you have to go back?" The girl clutched his sleeve nervously, for fear that he would disappear as soon as she let go.

The old mage seemed to sense his daughter's panic, and patiently explained: "Even a legendary mage can't travel between two worlds out of thin air, and if you want to save people, you have to pay a price. Heru is missing a soul that I have to fill in for him, so I have to go back there and become the ferryman of the River Styx, where the necromancer belongs.

"Of course, the greatest force that supports a soul to condense at all times and not dissipate is the inner bond, as long as my daughter can live happily, then even if I am in the River Styx, I will be safe after all. Child, you have the capital to advance to the legend, if you become a legendary mage one day, you will be able to break the barrier between the two worlds, and you will be able to see me when the time comes, so our separation is not goodbye. ”

Instinctively, Idriel felt bad, and tears welled up again, and she clung to Glazer and pursed her lips like a wronged little girl, but she choked up so much that she couldn't speak.

"Look, I'm such a terrible fellow, that's how I made your mother cry." The old mage was a little helpless, got up and kissed his daughter lightly on the forehead.

"Of course, you cry exactly like her...... I will not give up, I will continue to search for Aethera until I find it, and you must also remember our agreement, only if you live happily, I can be safe. ”

With that, he stood up.

"No, no, no......"

Idril hurriedly got up, but her hands were empty, and she could only watch him walk away.

The girl hurriedly chased after her, but accidentally stumbled and fell forward.

This fall, she suddenly woke up.

The surrounding light was dim, and it had already turned from dusk to night.

There was no soft warm light, no gentle air, no kind father, just she stood alone in the empty room, still leaning forward.

Everything was like a dream, but it was so real that she could feel the pain in her throat and her swollen eyes from crying.

……

Outside, Glazer glanced at Idril's apartment from afar, and finally fixed his gaze on the lighted window next to it.

He was sure that soon his daughter would break the knot and return to Amacer, and that the troubled relationship between the two would be resolved, and even something interesting would happen.

The thought of this brought a mischievous smile to the old man's face, and he felt that there had never been a moment in his life that was so satisfying as he was now.