Chapter 222: Unrequited Love
Chapter 222: Unrequited Love
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
By nightfall, the Brotherhood of Fire Wyverns had already made arrangements for Baiyi and his party to settle down at a grand mansion for dignitaries, which an ongoing party was in full swing. Aya, looking like a total bombshell, was naturally the center of attention. She could barely find the chance to excuse herself; the little rascals, under Mordred's lead, immediately went to explore the incredible spread of food in this extravagant feast. Baiyi, who was clad in an unassuming suit of armor, was cast aside as though he was a ward to someone important; he was not at all associated with the pensive, prestigious Sir Hope.
He felt contented, in a relaxing manner. Alone, he slipped away from the crowd and settled by the corridor outside the ballroom. It was situated on the third floor and had an ample height for a wide field of vision, promising a clear view of the skies. Baiyi was in a good mood. As he looked down at the bustling street filled with bobbing heads, he took out his little plants from within his armor and watered them on the spot.
Soon, the most important part of the harvest festival — the fireworks show — commenced. It was organized by the royal sorcerer's association; their combat abilities were unknown, but at least their performance was very impressive. Merely the opening ceremony was enough to arouse cheers of awe from the entire city.
Hence, the ball was put on hold momentarily, as dignitaries made their way to the corridor gracefully with their glasses of wine. They leaned against the white marble balcony, resuming their interrupted conversations as they enjoyed the fireworks.
"Sir Hope!" Mia's voice suddenly appeared behind Baiyi. As he glanced back, the little girl was rushing towards him with a slight smile on her lips.
Mia was wearing a light-sensitive, color-changing dress that he had given her a while ago. Under the light of the fireworks, her dress was transformed into a magical, holographic spectacle. Mia looked so enchanting, and so ethereal — like an elfling from the night sky itself.
"Mmm... my Mia is even prettier than the fireworks." Baiyi nodded in satisfaction. He waved at her, beckoning her to come over. She did and stood next to him, with her head against his hip as she enjoyed the fireworks in the air with him.
"How beautiful..." said Mia in awe.
"It is... Rarely have we had the chance to properly enjoy certain festivities; this is indeed one of the rare occasions we had to go to," said Baiyi. Seeing that Mia was relaxed, he extended his arm and slung it around her slender shoulders.
Mia did not flinch from his touch; in fact, she leaned deeper against him, diverting the focus of her attention from the fireworks to Baiyi. Recalling the legend behind the harvest festival, she balled her hands into fists and mustered up her courage.
"Sir Hope, I like you," she confessed, finally.
"I know, I know," replied Baiyi nonchalantly, as he nodded and caressed her head. "I like you too, Mia."
Although she had gotten a response from Baiyi, it was clearly not the answer that Mia had in mind; it was simply not the kind of like she was looking for! She lowered her head slightly, and her cheeks tinted red from her confession, as a low whine escaped her lips.
Thank heavens — during that awkward moment, Mordred appeared out of nowhere. She grabbed Mia's wrist and said enthusiastically, "Mia, Mia! Come here quickly — this position has a better view of the fireworks!"
"Eh? Eh? W-wait..." Mia wanted to refuse initially, but Mordred was much stronger than her. She was forcefully dragged away by Mordred, so Baiyi was unaccompanied momentarily.
As if on cue, Aya, dressed bewitchingly young for the night, appeared by Baiyi's side.
"Mister Hope," Aya acknowledge Baiyi with a smile and a gentle nod. Her face was enveloped with a sheer layer of crimson — probably from the wine — making her look extra alluring. At that moment, she was cloaked by the million colors of the sky; she was truly a sight to behold
"Oh? Did you manage to excuse yourself? You seemed very popular, the last I saw..." said Baiyi half-jokingly, as he took time to savor the sight of her beauty.
"Just my father's friends, all of them," replied Aya. To Baiyi's surprised, she stuck her tongue out like a little girl. "It took me quite some effort to escape to somewhere quiet."
"Ah, this must be the price of beauty..." said Baiyi, looking up into the night sky once more to enjoy the extravagant fireworks performance. To him, the chance to celebrate a festival did not come often enough. It was unknown when will he be able to experience it again in the future.
As Baiyi diverted his gaze to focus once more on the fireworks, Aya took this opportunity to make her move. Her gloved hand balled into a rounded fist before her chest — like she had come to a decision and was determined to do something — and she walked a few steps towards Baiyi.
Intentionally or not, the distance between the two of them was much shorter now, but Aya was not satisfied just yet. She made an even bolder move by circling her hand around Baiyi's wrist.
Baiyi tilted his head slightly and saw Aya's enchantingly beautiful face closing in the distance between them — her emerald green eyes filled with desire, staring into his.
This distance was... too close. Baiyi could even smell the faint scent of sweetness from her body. He felt momentarily awkward and protested gruffly, "About that... I..."
But it was Aya who spoke first, interrupting his sentence.
"Mister Hope, can I be Mia's mother?"
As soon as she finished, she averted her gaze from his, abashed to witness the impossible expression on Baiyi's face.
"How can this be possible?" said Baiyi in a serious manner, as he pulled his arm away from Aya's grip. "Little Mia is a very important student of mine; no one can take her away from me!"
In just a quick few seconds, tears gushed out from Aya's eyes, like water from a broken dam. The sides of her lips trembled slightly as she took two steps back. "Idiot! You big idiot!" she choked. She turned her back and left the scene, leaving Baiyi only with her beautiful silhouette and a trail of tears. The water droplets merged with the light from the colorful sky, bursting into a kaleidoscope of vibrant colors.
"Did you have to do that?" demanded the Assassin in the Void. "Look at her! She looks so hurt."
"I was thinking that this would make her feel better, but... she still cried eventually," said Baiyi helplessly.
"You did the right thing. She was not suitable for you," said the Warrior, who gave the second reply unexpectedly, as she was not one with many words. Her response justified Baiyi's actions.
"Sigh... I was hoping I'd be able to spend a good time with these few beautiful ladies today, but here am I alone, watching the fireworks by myself." Baiyi reflected curiously and raised his head once more towards the sky.
"I'm still here," the Warrior murmured softly. No matter how hard Baiyi tried to ask her what she meant by that, there was not a single reply from her again.
'Such a queer fellow indeed…' Baiyi pondered internally. In no time, he reorganized his emotions and continued to enjoy the amazing spectacle in the sky. The fireworks display had coincidentally entered the climax of its performance, and the night sky was so bright, it was as though it was lit on fire.
"This performance is extraordinary!" exclaimed Baiyi in awe. "Look at those meteors, they looked incredibly real, wow! And they actually crashed onto the sky island? This explosion effect is so realistic, I wonder how they managed to pull this off?!"
"Eh? Wait a second..." Baiyi further scrutinized the incredibly intense commotion. "Isn't this a little too realistic...?"
A huge crack could be heard across the sky the moment his voice faltered. The noise was so loud, it was as though the realm itself had cracked apart; following that, pieces of ignited meteorites appeared across the dark horizon, crashing on to the land and the sea mercilessly.
"C-could this be... the realm collapsing?" the Bard in the Void shouted in panic.
The Void burst into pandemonium.
"Calm down, it's only a technical glitch!" commanded Baiyi in the Void. "How can the realm collapse without prior warning?"
"Warning? What would you call the thing you're looking at, then?" said the Third Walker coldly. "This clearly isn't the collapse of a realm; how did meteorites even exist in a world like ours?"
Considered one of the more experienced Walkers in the Void, the Third Walker was much more composed than the Bard.
"This couldn't be my fault, right?" asked Baiyi.
"And you could still think about these now? Think of a way to help!" the Paladin exclaimed in frustration and panic.
As his words left his lips, Baiyi felt emptiness beneath his feet, as though someone had taken away the ground beneath them. He started plunging downwards, enveloped with shrill screams and turmoil around him.
"The islands! They're falling!" realized Baiyi as he analyzed the commotion before his eyes. Looking at the sky, he realized that the islands that were originally floating amidst the sky were plunging one by one to the ground quickly; the highest islands were falling at such a high speed, the friction had caused them to ignite with fire. That was the so-called meteorite observed by Baiyi earlier.
"Seems like the Voidwalker was not fated for a simple celebration, after all!" Baiyi smiled ruefully. He quickly cast a levitation spell and started to hover in the air, searching for the girls and the mother-and-daughter who were panicking within the crowds and bringing them to safety by his side.
Before the traumatized girls could start asking questions, a huge noise was heard, sounding as if a large object had fallen into the water. It was followed by another that sounded like the roar of a thunder from all directions.
As the girls looked on in horror, a wave even taller than the altitude they were hovering at headed towards their direction, encompassing the surrounding darkness like a massive black wall.
Undoubtedly, the huge wave could not be stopped even by the waterproofing enchantment surrounding the realm.
The girls let out a fearful scream so filled with terror, they almost disrupted Baiyi's chants.
At that moment, the Saint Quartz Staff was already in Baiyi's palm. He had begun the chants calmly the moment the waves appeared; three azure rays emerged from his chest, his feet and the tip of his head simultaneously.
"May the essence of the element be captured. May the mystery be revealed; bestow it to me, the three touches of frost; freeze — with an endless shudder!"
This was an ice-based forbidden curse — a curse with an instant freezing effect.