Just as everyone was happily eating and drinking, Schubert arrived with news: "Miss Adina, the Edmonds family has sent a birthday gift. Gifts from Dumont and Catherine arrived with it as well."
The hall instantly fell silent. Adina paused. "Bring them in. Some things just have to be dealt with."
The First Elder stroked his beard. "Are you planning to settle things once and for all?"
"Yes," Adina said, setting down her knife and fork. "For the past ten years, I’ve avoided them. On one hand, I had to study hard to keep up with my teacher’s pace. On the other, I wasn’t sure if I could face them calmly."
"But I’ve matured enough now. It’s time to put an end to it all."
Fiers chimed in, "If you ask me, you should’ve settled this long ago. Honestly, Lilith has actually managed to make quite a name for herself in the Imperial City all these years. She’s a Four-star Mage now."
"Ever since the Divine Hall of Light was rebuilt, she’s spent most of her time training there. The Hall holds a baptism ceremony every month, and she never misses one. She’s done a pretty good job building up her reputation these past few years."
"That’s her business," Adina said dismissively. "I haven’t deliberately kept tabs on her, but I am glad she’s stopped focusing all her attention on men."
"I know you, Her Highness the Saintess, aren’t wired for that sort of thing." Fiers clinked his glass with Adina’s. "But what we’re after is true power. All that lovey-dovey stuff... it’s just not that important in the end."
The words had barely left his mouth when Adina deftly sidestepped. Sure enough, a magic wand came down on Fiers’s head. It was the First Elder.
Fiers saw stars from the blow. "Granduncle, did you have to hit me that hard? What if you permanently damaged me?"
The First Elder snorted. "Adina can say that because she’s still young, so there’s no hurry for her. But you’re nearly two hundred years old and still haven’t produced an heir! Are you trying to be the death of me?"
"Granduncle, I wouldn’t dare! I just haven’t met the right one yet!" Fiers cried, clutching his head as he scrambled away. He didn’t dare fight back; he was afraid he’d break the little old man.
Adina watched with relaxed amusement from the sidelines. A scene like this was a common occurrence, happening every few days.
"The First Elder sure is busy. Besides managing the hall, he also has to push people to get married and have children. He’s a very busy man."
Adina murmured her complaint to the Second Elder as she snuggled up against her. The Second Elder was a female Mage, and though she appeared stern and serious, Adina always loved to be near her.
It was something Tan You had told her: the more stern and serious people seemed on the outside, the softer they usually were on the inside. After years of persistence, Adina now got along wonderfully with the Second Elder.
The Second Elder stroked Adina’s forehead. "Have you really thought this through? Do you want me to go with you?"
Adina leaned against her shoulder. "There’s no need. If you came along, they’d think we were there to start a fight. It’s just a small matter, I can handle it."
The Second Elder sighed faintly. "You’ve rarely gone out in public all these years, while Lilith’s fame has skyrocketed. Does that not bother you at all?"
"Why would I be bothered?" Adina asked, amused. "All she has is fame. What I have is real power. And in the face of real power, fame doesn’t mean much."
"Besides, our paths are completely different. I’m a fighter. She... will probably go her whole life without ever stepping onto a battlefield, don’t you think?"
The Second Elder’s shoulders twitched. "My, aren’t we proud?"
"I’m just self-aware," Adina declared confidently. "Second Elder, once this business with the Edmonds is over, let’s go traveling together! I’ve been stuck in the hall all these years; I haven’t been anywhere else."
"What do you say?"
She hugged the Second Elder’s arm and shook it, nuzzling her cheek against the woman’s shoulder, determined to get a firm answer.
As expected, the Second Elder couldn’t resist Adina’s insistent pleading. A smile bloomed on her face without her realizing it. "Alright, we’ll go traveling. It must have been difficult for you, being cooped up in the hall all this time."
"A few years ago, even when we were in hiding, we still managed to see many of the world’s sights. But you... you’re a complete and utter country bumpkin."
Tan You’s ears perked up. "Take me with you! I haven’t really been anywhere either. We can go broaden our horizons together! I heard there are sirens in the seas—is that true?"
"I’ve already seen the Giant Dragon in the Mist Forest, and I’ve seen most kinds of Magic Beasts. But I haven’t seen other Giant Dragons, or any Elves, Dwarves, Goblins, and the like."
The First Elder, having finally cornered Fiers to give him a proper scolding, returned to hear everyone discussing plans to go traveling.
"It is time for Adina to get out and see the world," he said, proving to be quite open-minded. "We kept you from going out before because you were little. Now that you’re grown, you should go get to know the world."
"Just be sure to take several guards with you."
Adina held up a small fist. "The Second Elder is coming with me, along with my teacher and the Holy Beast teachers. We’re all going. We don’t need guards, do we? I’m a combat-oriented Undead Mage. If anyone dares to bully me, I’ll hit them right back."
"So warlike," the First Elder said, pressing her fist down. "Let Davidson go with you. Having someone with a Dark Element affinity nearby might help keep your... impulses in check."
Adina glanced at Davidson. "Having a Nine-Star Mage come travel with me... isn’t that a waste of his talents? Let’s have him stay at the hall where he can shine."
Davidson put down his wine glass. "You are the hall’s noble Saintess, and the Second Elder is advanced in years. I can tag along to do the manual labor. And having a guard around will guarantee your safety."
Adina wrinkled her nose. "We really don’t need one. My teacher always said that if you meet an old man, a child, or a young maiden traveling alone, you must be on high alert, because anyone who dares to act alone like that must have an ace up their sleeve."
"Or what, does my Second Elder not look like a hidden master to you?"
Davidson sighed at her stubbornness. "The truth is, I want to go traveling with you all. Even though I’m older than you, I’ve been training in the Divine Hall of Light since I was six. I’ve hardly ever been outside all these years. I want to see the world, too."
When he put it that way, what could Adina say? In the end, she was the proud new owner of a Nine-Star Dark Element Mage for an escort. And so, the traveling party was set: Second Elder Amelia, Adina, Davidson, the host of Holy Beasts, and, of course, Tan You as a Soul Body.
Truth be told, Tan You could go anywhere in the world now. It was only because she had to teach Adina that she’d ended up merely trading one prison for another.
It felt like ever since she’d come to this world, she’d done nothing but voluntarily serve prison sentences. First, she was holed up in the Mage Tower in the Mist Forest for sixteen years. Then, just when she finally turned her fate around, well, great—Adina woke up, and her sentence was extended.