Chapter 20

This young druid looked very melancholic, and Sigma even felt a gust of wind swirling around him, wailing mournfully. This phenomenon indicated that the druid had an extremely high affinity with the wind element, and his intense emotions unconsciously interfered with the elemental order of the surroundings. In this aspect, Sigma, whose affinity with death power was off the charts, was even more exaggerated. It was said that if he went berserk in a cemetery, he could even make all the dead rise from their coffins, truly bringing the dead back to life.

According to the mainstream academic view, the world is composed of four fundamental elements: water, fire, earth, and air. Other natural phenomena and elemental phenomena, such as life and death, light and darkness, wind and lightning, etc., are all extensions and combinations of these four elements. Wind is one of the derivative elements of air, and mages with wind element affinity are almost all kings of the sky, naturally suited for aerial combat. For example, the former ace aerial combat king, Hartmann, who now teaches at Atlas Academy, has a dual high affinity with air and fire elements. Whenever he appears on the battlefield, enemies all avoid him.

However, it was clearly not the time to think about this.

Hearing the druid's profound insight, "I will never be able to change a bitch," Sigma was even affected by his emotions, feeling a bit choked up. He patted the druid's shoulder and tried to mobilize his meager vocabulary—after all, his life experiences had made him an unqualified counselor, usually more inclined to revel in others' misfortunes or add to their troubles.

So he tried to sound as sincere as possible: "Hey, friend, look, the world is so beautiful, where can't you find beautiful flowers? Why linger over a flower that has been touched and poked by others, one that isn't so clean? Uh, that might not be the right way to put it. Let me rephrase: Look at the vast forest, with so many lush and thriving trees. Why would you choose to hang yourself from a tree where many have already hanged themselves?"

The druid looked at him with teary eyes, his lips trembling, seemingly on the verge of tears: "Why are you so cold? Haven't you ever experienced emotional setbacks?"

Sigma recalled hard and shook his head: "... No."

The other's expression instantly became arrogant and full of superiority, looking down at Sigma and snorting: "So you're just a rookie... You won't understand the emotional life of the adult world. Only by persistently enduring repeated failures can you find your true love. When you recall the past with your destined partner, you'll realize that all the hardships and sorrows you endured were worth it..."

Sigma remained silent for a moment, then pulled out a pendant from his collar. The pendant's chain was woven from mithril threads and ice silk, and the pendant itself was encircled by eight top-grade water crystals, which continuously provided magic power to maintain the water mirror within. Sigma showed the image in the pendant to the druid and said slowly, "My wife."

The druid glanced at it, and his eyes widened. In the mirror, a beautiful woman with long pink hair smiled gently, exuding grace and elegance. She wore casual home clothes and an apron, and her noble aura was only enhanced by her homely appearance, making her seem like the perfect housewife who could handle both the kitchen and the living room...

He looked at the image in the pendant, then at Sigma, who seemed calm but was actually subtly showing off, and his right hand involuntarily produced a flame. The emotionally wounded young druid's bitter and resentful gaze indicated that he wanted to burn Sigma, who had a girlfriend, at the stake. In the end, he sighed dejectedly: "How long have you been together? She looks like a good girl, so beautiful and willing to cook..."

... No, no, no, she wore this outfit specially for the photo. Usually, this pampered lady is even more delicate than I am and wouldn't do such things. She even told me to take it out and show it off more often to blind people's eyes, which would give her a great sense of superiority—what a self-satisfied woman.

Sigma put away the pendant, which his fiancée had named "The Legendary Flash Grenade of the Eight-Star Eight-Arrow Anti-Fire and Defense Prayer Halo Blessed by the Holy Maiden," and said softly, "We were betrothed at twelve, and it's been about seven or eight years. She's a good woman. Although she has a strong control desire and tried to turn me into her puppet since we were twelve, we've been at odds for eight years, and neither of us has dominated the other. Only when we are alone does she let her guard down and say and do whatever she wants. And only when we are alone do I let go of my fiery temper and let her have her way. After all, we are going to spend our lives together. If even in a marriage, there must be a hierarchy and a struggle for dominance, leading to mutual destruction, such a marriage would be too tragic."

The druid listened intently and asked dazedly, "Do you love your fiancée very much?"

Sigma remained silent for a moment and nodded, "I guess so. I entered the royal noble school in the capital at fourteen and was taken to Atlas at eighteen. When I was alone, I often thought of her. No matter where I go, she silently prepares everything for me, taking care of my monthly needs, but she never says anything. Instead, she enthusiastically and publicly threatens all the brothels to refuse me, and picks my erotic books to distort my aesthetic, making sure I know about it... In short, I miss her a lot, the one who makes me happy, moved, angry, and laugh and cry. Good or bad, I think of her. And then I realize that the person I like the most has always been by my side..."

"Always by my side... always by my side..." The druid seemed to have an epiphany, then suddenly thought of something and stood up excitedly, "Always by my side... always by my side... Elisa... Elisa..."

His whole body was trembling, seemingly recalling something, with emotions of love, tenderness, shame, and gratitude... He must have thought of the girl who had been silently supporting and waiting for him, never receiving a response, and only now, after Sigma's confession, did he discover the small, hidden happiness...

Sigma kicked him and laughed, "Go on, quickly."

The druid stood up abruptly and bowed deeply, "Your Highness Sigma, I am very grateful for your advice and warning. I will always remember this. I will not forget today's kindness. Now I must go to find the most precious treasure I once ignored. Please excuse me. My name is Lycos, and I will come to thank you tomorrow, with Elisa!"

"... Huh, you know me?" Sigma was surprised, but the druid named Lycos had already run far away. Looking at his departing back, the necromancer felt a bit uncertain and muttered, "I have a feeling this guy is going to have a tragic end. Is it just my imagination?"

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