The wooden boat Enya rode slowly came to a halt at the boundary between the Starry River and the Void, where light and darkness transitioned in a distorted blur.
She lifted her foot, clad in a high-heeled shoe, and stepped onto the warped starlight. Faint ripples spread from where she trod.
Enya walked forward with measured steps toward the light that seemed infinitely distant.
Crossing the riverbank, she finally stepped into the darkness.
From that point on, the white speck of light expanded with every few steps she took.
Walking through the dark without any other reference points created an illusion—as if she were not moving toward the light, but rather the light was approaching her.
In reality, both were true.
Enya and the speck of light were drawing closer to each other.
Before long, the light that had once been so far away transformed into a white wooden door right before Enya’s eyes.
She reached out, grasped the handle, and slowly pushed it open.
Behind the door lay a pale gray room.
The room was not particularly large, but it was filled with many furnishings, giving it the feel of a refined little home.
It filled Enya with a deep sense of nostalgia.
After entering, she began to observe everything within the space.
There were two large wardrobes, a shelf packed with books, a desk near the window, a chair, and a dressing table—everything one would expect.
On the small two-meter bed, soft peach and white bedding was laid out, piled with various plush toys. Those had all been made by Antiros.
‘If it weren’t for the fact that she sewed them with her own hands, I would never have allowed such childish things on my bed,’ she thought.
‘If people knew a Sword Saint slept every night hugging plushies when she was young, they would surely laugh, wouldn’t they?’
“Heh.”
Enya couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.
This was her private bedroom—the place where she lived with Antiros during her time in Tarlonde. It was her home during her youth.
Enya walked to the desk and looked at the small trinkets scattered upon it.
They were magic tools she had tinkered with while learning from Antiros.
Although most of the items kept here were useless failures that couldn’t be sold, they carried many of her cherished memories.
She reached out and picked up a pale blue gem from the table. It wasn’t covered in dust; it remained as clear and bright as the day she left.
“I picked this up from the black market, didn’t I?”
Enya spoke to herself.
In Academy City, a black market did indeed exist.
The academy’s administrators never stopped it, and many people even used it to earn extra money on the side.
Enya had done similar things back then.
She sold potions and magic tools, then used the money she earned to buy the materials she needed.
She had relied on potions to assist her advancement.
Back then, she had been busy trying to reach the Fifth Magicka Stage, which had cost her a great deal of effort.
Her days had been full and busy.
Enya placed the gem back on the desk.
She walked past the bookshelf, her gaze scanning the titles, and finally stopped before the wardrobe.
She grabbed the handle and pulled. With a faint creak, the wardrobe opened.
Inside hung dresses of various colors, many times flashier than the clothes she had prepared for Rosily. These had all been procured by Antiros.
When Enya had first seen this wardrobe full of skirts, she had been filled with resentment.
Although she had grown up wearing dresses while locked away in the castle and was used to them, that didn’t mean she liked them!
Back then, she hadn’t said a word; she had simply put on her school uniform and gone to classes.
Enya pulled out a dark blue dress.
“The fabric is quite nice. It must have cost a lot of money. She had money to buy me dresses, but wouldn’t give me a single coin for potion materials.”
After grumbling about Antiros, Enya continued to examine the long dress in her hand. She felt that both Estelle and Rosily could wear it, as their height and figures were quite similar.
Leaving it here seemed like a waste, and it was impossible for her to wear it herself, right?
‘I’m no longer a young girl.’
Enya looked down at her own body.
While she wouldn’t say she was overly voluptuous, she was confident she could stand tall against ninety-nine percent of women.
Thinking about the women she had encountered lately, she realized that once a woman became a mother, she could never truly return to that “young girl” state.
‘Am… Am I like that too?!’
“Sigh…”
Enya let out a long sigh and hung the dress back up.
She turned and walked toward the floor-length mirror.
This mirror was extremely special. It did not show a reflection of the room, but rather a completely different room altogether.
Enya looked at the Black Nun in the mirror.
She only then remembered she was still wearing this mask.
She reached up to touch her face but couldn’t feel any gap where the mask met her skin.
The Black Sister’s Raiment wrapped around her entire body, isolating her from everything external.
It used demonic aura as a cover to achieve its purpose as a disguise.
It was just a bit too form-fitting and particularly tight. It was fine when she stood still, but she felt somewhat uncomfortable when moving around.
Enya stepped into the mirror and emerged into a living room.
This was Tarlonde.
From the Mirror Meeting into the inner space, crossing the Starry River and the Void, entering the white door, and finally stepping out of the mirror.
Her consciousness had leaped across thousands of miles to reach this holy city of knowledge.
Enya walked out the front door of the living room and into the courtyard. There was a small field here, but instead of magical medicinal plants, it contained common farm crops.
They hadn’t grown wild after Enya left. The field was not abandoned; someone was still tending to them.
This was a courtyard situated at the peak of a small mountain, folded away by a magic array.
From the inside, one could see the outside, but no uninvited outsider could enter.
She lifted the skirt of her Black Sister’s Raiment, walked to a large tree outside the courtyard, and sat on a swing, looking down at the view below.
The sun was bright today, and there weren’t many clouds obscuring the mountains.
Enya could clearly see the bustling city built halfway down the slope.
“Does it feel familiar?”
Just as Enya was about to reminisce, a soft female voice interrupted her thoughts. Antiros walked up to her side.
Immediately after, Enya watched as she sat down on her lap without the slightest bit of hesitation.
Enya couldn’t help but smile as she reached out to wrap her arms around her.
“Antiros, my daughter is already bigger than you.”
“…”
Antiros ignored her comment.
The Witch Lady leaned forward, then suddenly leaned back with force, slamming into the soft mounds on Enya’s chest.
Enya couldn’t help but let out a delicate cry.
“Ow! Why did you hit my chest?!”
Rosily was barely a month old, so Enya was in that special period.
Her breasts were quite full, and being struck so hard by Antiros actually caused a bit of sharp pain.
Enya let go of her and rubbed herself.
Antiros wiggled her body in Enya’s arms to make herself more comfortable. After a long while, she finally spoke.
“That’s right. You’re already a mother.”
“What’s wrong?”
Enya sensed that Antiros seemed a bit unhappy—or perhaps she was feeling a sense of melancholy.
Antiros broke free from her arms, jumped down, and used her small hands to straighten her ornate black Gothic dress.
“Walk and talk with me.”
“Alright…”
Enya rose from the swing and followed beside Antiros.
Under the Witch Lady’s lead, they began to walk down the mountain path.
As they walked, Enya asked, “You know about that mysterious existence with the spider form, don’t you? The one who uses silk threads to control people, can create a massive number of puppets, and can even create Seventh-Tier puppet clones with their own consciousness.”
“Does it also have the ability to create masks?” Antiros asked indifferently.
Enya nodded quickly.
As expected, as an ancient witch and the Great Sage, Antiros certainly knew these things. Usually, she just enjoyed speaking in riddles.
Antiros’s deep black eyes gazed toward the far end of the mountain path.
“She is called the Lord of a Thousand Faces.”
“Mhm.”
Enya wore a mask, hiding her expectant gaze, but she believed Antiros could surely sense her emotions and would finish what she had to say.
However, Antiros did not do as she wished. Instead, she took Enya’s hand.
Enya was startled for a moment but held on nonetheless.
Antiros said, “Don’t you want to know what I’ve been doing lately?”
“What have you been doing lately?” Enya replied helplessly, her lips twitching slightly.
Antiros lifted her head slightly.
Having gained some interest, she began to tell Enya about several major projects she had been busy with recently.
To put it simply, the Witch Lady had been working on a brand-new aircraft—a magic device that could stay airborne for long periods to monitor the ground.
Another project was the Magic Strike Device, which had power equivalent to Transcendent Magic.
It was a massive firework capable of destroying an entire city!
“In about three months, we’ll be able to conduct experiments. You must come and watch then. Did you hear me, little Enya?”
Antiros was speaking with great enthusiasm, waving her little fists. It was clear that she truly loved oversized fireworks.
“Yes, yes, I’ll definitely come.”
Enya chimed in with a few words of agreement, which made the Witch Lady even more excited.
However, Enya suddenly seemed to think of something and stopped in her tracks.
She turned toward the black-haired girl beside her.
“I currently have something in my possession—a potential Goddess’s Shroud from the Goddess of Night.”
“A Goddess’s Shroud?” Antiros showed some interest.
“Did you just say that’s the Goddess’s Shroud of the Goddess of Night?”
“Supposedly.”
Enya emphasized that word because she couldn’t be entirely certain.
But for Antiros, who was a living history book, she should be able to make a judgment.
Perhaps Antiros had actually met the Goddess of Night in person, or maybe they were even good friends?
No, probably not…
Looking at Antiros’s expression—which looked like she had discovered a new toy—Enya felt that she either wasn’t close with the Goddess of Night or had some sort of grudge against her.
“Quick, give it to me!”
Antiros tugged on Enya’s hand, wanting her to take the item out immediately so she could get her hands on it right then and there.
Seeing how impatient she was, Enya wondered if it was a bad idea to just hand it over.
‘If Antiros ends up making something strange out of it… won’t I be in trouble again?’
“About that…”
Facing Antiros’s waiting eyes, she chose to turn her head away and avoid the gaze.
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