Chapter 209 | Jormungandr in the Labyrinth River

"Alright, that's all for the magic of time reversal. Class dismissed." Clo gathered the materials she had prepared. Several students surrounded her to ask questions, and perhaps because she was in a good mood, she patiently explained the key points she had just covered.

She looked toward the classroom door. Amidst the starlight, a familiar figure stood there.

"I'll explain the rest next time; I have something urgent to attend to." Clo waved a hand in front of her chest and stepped out from the crowd. She looked at the lady with long black hair standing at the door, momentarily unsure of how to address her.

"How have you been lately? It must be a relief not having to nag me about official business every day, right?" Clo thought for a moment and picked a casual topic to start the conversation. The woman before her was Ansai, the assistant who had been helping her last year when she served as the resident Five Staves proxy for the East Academy.

"I happened to be passing by and saw that your class was almost over, so I came to chat." Ansai pushed up her glasses and looked at Clo, letting out a small sigh. "Now that you've much more free time, I'm stuck running around for another member of the Five Staves."

"The current proxy for the East Academy is Kurong of the Five Staves, right? What's it like assisting her? In my memory, she was a woman of few words." Clo rested her chin on her hand and thought. Looking at Ansai, she noticed the woman seemed a bit haggard; the recent affairs in the Western Continent had likely taken a toll on her.

"Miss Ishtar is someone who doesn't like going out. She's always cooped up in the Garden Hall, only occasionally coming out for a stroll." Ansai let out a helpless sigh. "She just glances at most matters and then seems unable to make a decision, tossing all the documents back to me."

"In that case, would you say I'm the more considerate type?" Clo laughed. On second thought, Ishtar truly was the type of person who didn't care about anything. The only things that could possibly worry her were likely her potted plants.

"You were about the same, except you'd occasionally say something nice when you were in a good mood, giving me a bit of emotional support while I was swamped with work." Ansai gave a faint smile. She looked at the azure sky, her mouth opening as if she wanted to say something, but she seemed unsure of how to phrase it.

"Miss Clo..." Ansai paused. She looked at Clo, who always wore a gentle smile, and the image slowly overlapped with the memory of that indifferent figure whose eyes always carried a hint of pain. She smiled and shook her head, not saying anything more.

"Perhaps before... I wasn't much different from Kurong." Clo smiled. The memories on the high tower were still vivid; the pain of unrequited love had always haunted her. But now, all of that had vanished like smoke.

"There's no need to reminisce anymore. Let's end the small talk here." Ansai smiled. "Your classes for today are over, right? Are you heading home now?"

"Yes, going home."

"Someone is waiting for you at home... go on then." Ansai nodded and forced a smile for Clo. Clo had always known her background; her family had passed away one after another, and only because of her lifespan as a magic user did she still look relatively young.

I used to be... perhaps just as lonely. In fact, before she appeared... I had long since grown used to it. It's just that once I got used to a life with her, I could never go back...

...

Various magic recordings were projected onto the snow-white walls. Scene after scene of group photos made Li Yue involuntarily recall the past. From Yakutsk to the academy, pieces of god's remains had paved a long staircase to godhood before her. She had often been acting against her will, only able to step through death after death, walking from one death to another.

Her gaze lowered for a moment. She tried to take another small piece of apple from the fruit plate, but as she picked it up, a small hand nimbly snatched it away.

"Clo? Oh, welcome home." Li Yue looked at the smirking figure, took an orange from the plate, and slowly began to peel it.

"Your old magic recordings? I've never seen these before. Are these the people you mentioned in your letters?" Clo smiled and lay sideways on the sofa, resting her head on Li Yue's lap. Feeling the skin contact, Clo couldn't resist rubbing her face against Li Yue's smooth thigh.

Li Yue was only wearing a pair of pajamas. She gently stroked Clo's head, remaining silent for a moment.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling nostalgic too?" Clo slowly turned over, shifting her gaze from the recordings upward. Clo stared at Li Yue's face, and it suddenly occurred to her that Li Yue's chest didn't seem large enough to block her own line of sight.

A Yue is so small... hehe.

"I was just... just looking at the past and gaining some insight into fate..." Li Yue hesitated. Even she didn't know why she had suddenly felt like looking at those old magic recordings.

"Have you ever thought about reunions? You know, those sappy happy endings where everyone reunites?"

"No."

"Eh~ did you ever fantasize about it when we reunited?"

"That time was too sudden... I didn't even have time to react..." Li Yue's face flushed slightly.

"Still, for them, the last time they reunited with you was probably at the upper reaches of the River of the Dead." Clo thought for a moment. "In that case, reunions don't seem like they'd turn into scenes that make people weep."

"Reunions are always fewer than goodbyes," Li Yue mused. "Exactly one fewer."

Clo's gaze darkened. She pressed her face against Li Yue's abdomen and whispered softly.

"We won't be separated, right?"

"We... we won't be separated." Li Yue smiled. She gently stroked Clo's head, smoothing out her slightly messy hair.

"A Yue, is there still something we haven't done?"

"What is it?"

"Are we... still missing a wedding?" Clo stayed pressed against Li Yue's abdomen, seemingly to hide her reddening face. Her voice was very soft, but Li Yue heard it clearly.