Mage Manual

Chapter 1629 - 1196: Cold, Scalding

"We’re back."

The maid’s small leather boots and white socks turned into a wave of flames, her bare feet stepping onto the carpet. Instead, Ash had to leisurely remove his short boots, and Dedarose came over to help him take off his coat, saying, "The pool is ready, do you want to bathe again?"

"No rush," Vishi said, "Just now some mages offended us. Although Ash has already punished them, I feel it’s still not enough. You and Felix go and check, if they have supporters behind them, give them a little lesson."

Dedarose nodded and asked, "Leave no one behind?"

"That’s too cruel, Ash would dislike you for that," Vishi laughed, "At least the children are innocent."

"Understood, Felix, let’s go out for a bit."

"Huh?" The pajama-clad girl painting her nails looked up, confused, "This late? It’s raining outside..."

"No need to go," Ash pinched Vishi’s cheek, saying irritably, "Don’t listen to Vishi’s nonsense."

Dedarose asked, "Then should Felix and I go rest first?"

"It’s up to you, but I suggest attending the meeting first," Ash said, "Although it’s our affair, since you’re in the team, you probably can’t avoid it."

Both Dedarose and Vishi knew that "punishing mages" was just an excuse, Vishi’s real intention was to temporarily drive the two "outsiders" away. Dedarose understood they were going to have a secret conversation, so she promptly accepted the task without any doubt, taking Felix out for a few hours and returning with a bloody hand as a token.

But Ash thought it was unnecessary, not because he trusted Dedarose and Felix, but behind Dedarose were the Gods of Four Pillars, and behind Felix was Dazzling Star—how could the Gods of Four Pillars and Dazzling Star not know about the Six-wing Trial before the Heavenly Kingdom was raised?

When Ash and the others took the World Secret Domain, Dazzling Star, the Divine Lords, and the Gods of Four Pillars must know they next encounter the Drama Poet because the Drama Poet appears before every mage about to undergo the Six-wing Trial!

Since everyone knew, what was the need to hide?

Moreover, unless they were driven away, they would be exposed during the trial anyway, so there was no need to hide. But Dedarose was the touch of the Gods of Four Pillars, and Felix had already betrayed Dazzling Star. If they were driven away, the former would surely bring disaster to earth, and the latter would end up lonely and wandering... Plus, after these few months of interaction, even if Ash didn’t trust them, he still regarded them somewhat as friends, thinking over and over again to keep them by his side.

At this moment, the witch jumped from small to large and rushed over, hugging Ash like a koala, chirping, "Why did you come back so late!? And with Vishi!"

"We encountered something special just now..." Ash said as the witch sniffed him, sniffed Vishi emphatically, focusing on the taste from Vishi’s lips, making Vishi’s face turn dark.

"Hmm, only a faint smell," Diya said with satisfaction, "At least the maid didn’t sneak some midnight snack."

"I happened to see Ash sharing a midnight snack with a young girl," Vishi said quietly.

"What!?" The witch was shocked, and Felix also turned her head to look over.

"That was a mage coming to trade for Sun Technique Spirit!" Ash handed the Technique Spirit box to Vishi, saying irritably, "I saw she seemed hungry, so I just ate a bowl of noodles together with her."

"And cunningly stole a young lady’s heart in the process," Vishi joked, "That girl wants to follow Ash, and Ash declined, making her so sad she almost cried."

"Was it on purpose or accidental?" Diya interrogated.

"Don’t listen to Vishi’s sowing discord," Ash pulled the witch over, activating a Wonder to check her soul body, leaning down as she did to sniff her scent. Diya’s face blushed lightly, stuttering, "I-I didn’t reward myself while you were away."

Ash gave her a karate chop on the head, "Liss hasn’t slept yet, watch your influence!"

The witch immediately shrank back to small, angrily saying, "Why is it that every time you chat it avoids me, always playing games when I’m asleep! Why can the sisters play with dad, but not me?"

Ash bent down to hug Liss, smiling, "How about I play games with you tomorrow? Haven’t played ’Mage Duel 14’ in a long time."

"Oh..." Liss looked concerned, "Dad, you always use cheap tricks... It’s no fun playing against you... But recently there’s a new game ’Dual Slacker’, let’s play together!"

"Sure," Ash asked, "Where’s Sword Maiden sister now?"

The witch pouted, puffing up enough to hang a kettle, "You just came back and look for Sword Maiden, would you inquire about the witch if you saw only Sword Maiden without the witch when you return?"

Ash found it amusing, "Is this question from Liss or Diya?"

"If it’s from Liss?"

"Then I would certainly care about where Liss went, Liss is my most important family, might be kidnapped by bad people!"

"And if it’s from Diya?"

"I would be super nervous," Ash gently pinched her nose, "After all, Liss knows how to get home even if she’s lost, only Diya gets lost needing someone to fetch her!"

"I won’t get lost!" the witch chuckled, pinching Ash’s cheek hard, satisfied, saying, "Sword Maiden is over by the library area."

"Having a meeting there sounds good too. You guys should come over later."

As Ash passed by the sofa, he wrapped his arms around Weiser, who was reading a book, from behind. Weiser asked, "Is it an emergency?"

Ash whispered in her ear, "No, we should have enough time to respond."

"Alright." Weiser lifted her finger, brushed it against Ash’s lips, and then turned the page with it. "Go notify the Sword Maiden."

After experiencing the last amnesia incident, when Ash came to his senses after the memory loss, he saw himself kissing Weiser, and naturally knew that she was the person he had forgotten. Later, when he fell unconscious and woke up, he quickly gathered information about Weiser and did his best to act like he hadn’t lost his memory. However, Ash felt Weiser might have vaguely guessed that he had amnesia, as she always subtly guided him to make the right interactions.

Ash opened the library door and saw Sonia lounging lazily on the sofa, seemingly just after a bath, her red hair still steaming. She wasn’t holding a book; instead, she had a Light Screen open, watching a play. Ash gestured for her to move a bit, then sat down and held the Sword Maiden in his arms, glancing at the Light Screen: "What show is this?"

"Last year’s Weaving Festival," Sonia said, "It’s quite interesting. Because both of your friends were forgotten by the world, all the matters on the ’Deceit List’ and ’Family List’ were pinned on you. Ash the Conspirator and Ash the Necromancer... pfft."

Ash asked, "Why are you watching videos in the library?"

"It’s quiet here," Sonia turned her head to glance at him, "And it’s a rebellious joy to watch videos surrounded by so many books."

"I get it." Ash smiled, hugged her neck, and pressed his forehead to hers, feeling her body temperature. Sonia blinked, leaned in to peck his lips, her eyes full of charm, clinging to him as she playfully asked, "Why the sudden inspection of my body conditions?"

"I just met the Drama Poet with Vishi." Ash glanced at the people entering the library and said, "Since you guys hold the Secret Realm of the world, the Void Realm is going to impose the Six-winged Trial on you..."

Except for the Prophetic Card, Ash didn’t hide any details of the trial: "...Although the specific form of the trial is not yet known, since the Drama Poet said I could help you, obviously this trial isn’t in a closed format. So, whatever happens, you must inform me immediately, understand?"

At this moment, the Witch squeezed beside Ash, hugged his arm, and yawned, muttering, "If I could return to the Imperial Palace, I could complete the trial with the power of the whole nation..."

"The risk is too great. The Angel can come over from Dazzling Star at any time to give the Gospel," Weiser pondered. "But it’s not impossible. For instance, if we only need the Gospel to assist in one large-scale operation, we can leave immediately after their assistance, allowing the Witch to make an appearance as the Empress——"

"Aww——" The Witch drooped her head gloomily, "We still have to leave the Gospel, huh?"

Ash asked, "How much more for the Sun Technique Spirits?"

"Progress is about 90%." Vishi leaned lazily against the desk, "Probably just a few more to meet the minimum operational requirements of the ’Profanity Ode’."

"That means it’s just a matter of days. I hope the trial doesn’t begin until the ’Profanity Ode’ is completed, as our wounds aren’t fully healed yet..." Ash poked at the spot over his heart, still hollow, the wound from when the Extreme Master of Blood Moon pierced his chest hasn’t healed yet.

Originally, they had the ultimate healing weapon ’Illusory Promise’, but when Ash woke up and checked, he found that ’Illusory Promise’ had somehow become overloaded. The only comforting news is that it remains intact without collapsing. The bad news is that it’s uncertain when it will return to normal operation, and it can’t be used in the short term. As a result, they had no choice but to gather Sun Technique Spirits to construct a new healing Wonder to resolve everyone’s injuries.

With untreated wounds and another trial coming, searching for traces remains inevitable. The Supreme Star keeps a close watch... thinking about it gave Ash a headache. He said, "That’s basically it. Everyone go and digest this information; I’m going to take a bath first."

He tried to stand up but failed. The Sword Maiden and the Witch hugged him from both sides, their eyelids drooping, practically treating him as a sleeping aid pillow. Ash found it amusing: "If you’re sleepy, go to bed. Do you want me to carry you there?"

The Witch let out a kitten-like whining sound, holding his arm tightly as if trying to snuggle into his embrace: "I want to sleep with you tonight."

Ash hadn’t even responded when the Sword Maiden immediately clutched him tighter, resting her head on his shoulder, her sleepy, charming voice saying, "I do too!"

What? Really?

Ash was dumbfounded by the sudden wave of happiness. Although they had previously shared a bed with multiple people, it was always respectful and innocent since anyone misbehaving would be harshly punished by the vigilant Sword Maiden, treating Ash like some precious treasure that no one was allowed to secretly enjoy until it was ripe for the picking.

Now, Sonia’s state clearly showed she was willing to sleep with him, together with the Witch. Although it was just a small step of simply sleeping together, it was also a big step toward a happy future life. Now that they could sleep together, who knows what could happen in the future!

"Alright, I’ll go take a bath, and then I’ll——"

Ash just tried to stand up again, but Sonia pulled him back. She made a soft sound and hugged Ash tighter, her body trembled slightly, and she whispered softly, "Cold..."

There was a towel blanket on the sofa, and Ash took it to cover them, smiling, "Of course, you’ll feel cold sleeping out here. Let me carry you inside——"

Ash’s voice suddenly stopped.

Cold?

A swordsmanship demigod, cold?

Bang. Vishi, who was sleeping on the desk, suddenly slid off. If Weiser hadn’t caught her, the Ghost Prophet would have fallen to the floor.

Ash looked at the flushed faces of the Sword Maiden and the Witch, breathing shallowly. They held onto him tightly, as if he were the only source of warmth they could find on a snowy night. Even as they were about to fall asleep, they refused to let go... He held them in his arms and touched their foreheads.

On this slightly stuffy rainy summer night, both his hand and heart were suddenly warmed.