Chapter 2223: Explosive Tarot Cards and the Theory of Lifespan

Chapter 2223: Chapter 2223: Explosive Tarot Cards and the Theory of Lifespan

The slender fingers clearly already picked up a divination card, yet were placed back by Luviya. Behind her, the shadow of long-haired Luviya emerged and turned to look southwest toward the direction of the Moon Bay region together with short-haired Luviya.

Unlike any previous Sixth Era, this time the Sixth Era has Shard as the "God Summoner" at the forefront, and Luviya Annette has never drawn attention in any major event, she has not even appeared in front of the True God Church. This has led to the "Luviya Annette" in this Sixth Era not attracting anyone’s attention, and therefore no one has attempted to divine her during this Sixth Era.

And being divined after a long absence plunged that long-haired girl into reminiscing past stories. As for anti-divination, she is not worried at all. Unlike Shard, who possesses innate anti-divination abilities due to his special origin, Luviya Fiocchi Annette has undergone countless trials of blood and fire, tests of life and death. The trait of anti-divination has long been engraved into her soul, and although this version of Luviya has not inherited many past experiences and memories, only anti-divination remains their unlosable instinct.

Short-haired Luviya didn’t realize what appeared behind her but roughly guessed who was divining her. With a slight raise of her eyebrows to cover her pause, she planned to make a small joke in response to this impolite offense.

Then, she continued to explain to the lady in front of her who had come to divine her fortune about her future love:

"Yes, love will visit anyone who desires their heart to be filled. I see your future, beware of deception, but also do not forsake true feelings."

As for Shard, who was in the Belindel Estate’s basement led by the maid, suddenly heard a not very loud but very muffled explosion.

He suddenly panicked:

"Explosion? Enemy attack? No, did Emilia mess up the alchemical experiment? No, that’s the upstairs sound!"

Taking out spellcasting materials, he closed his eyes to perceive the space, then with a step vanished from the corridor, reappearing directly in the third-floor study.

Originally prepared to face an attack, his raised right hand was even ready to cast moonlight, but all he saw was a carpet scorched by the exploded divination cards, and the befuddled Miss Matilda and a witch acting as if nothing happened here.

The beautiful Countess with a red birthmark on her brow shared a momentary gaze with Shard, and facing Shard’s probing gaze, she eventually said softly:

"Divination, quite magical, isn’t it?"

The carpet between them was blasted open with a hole and still smoked upwards, with even charred marks left on the floor underneath. Seeing the witch holding that compass made by Luviya, Shard, who was originally confused about what happened here, felt like he guessed the truth.

Knowing that for professional diviners, casually divining another professional diviner is a very rude act, he didn’t ask if his guess was correct but gently reminded:

"Stay cautious, if the patrols passing outside the estate have good ears and heard the explosion just now, we’ll be in trouble."

The Countess, who was acting composed just now, had her ears turn slightly red upon hearing his words. She gently nodded and returned the compass to Shard. After Shard left again, she turned her back against the door and covered her face, neglecting to mention that when the divination cards exploded just now, she seemed to see eyes similar to the purple ones frequently appearing in nightmares.

Miss Matilda pretended as if she hadn’t seen anything, immediately walked out to call other maids to prepare to replace the carpet and clean up, making up her mind to never mention this incident again.

Finding the matter amusing, Shard quickly reached the alchemical workshop in the basement and met Emilia and the little unicorn Leanna.

Whether due to the witch’s preparation or Emilia’s carefulness, there was a soft mat in the corner at the moment for the little unicorn to rest upon. Seeing Shard appear, especially without the cat this time, it happily stood up to greet him.

As for Emilia, the sharp-eared elf girl was standing at the experimental table by the east, dressed in a white robe, wearing subdragon hide gloves resistant to corrosion and high temperatures, using tongs to clasp a gray-green square metal piece looking as if covered with fungal spots, heating it over an alcohol lamp.

Turning around to see Shard stroking the little unicorn’s fur with a smile, she called out in delight, put the heated metal piece into a metal tray on the table, extinguished the lamp with its cover, then removed her gloves to greet him:

"Mr. Watson, good morning."

"Good morning, I came to see you, what’s this you’re doing? I remember Saint Byrons doesn’t assign summer homework."

Emilia pulled over two chairs for them to sit down, saying:

"Not homework, I’m making a protective amulet..."

It was actually a gift for Shard, but since it wasn’t finished, she didn’t mention this detail.

"Even though there’s no summer homework, in order to keep up with the courses once the fall semester begins, you can’t just focus on playing during the vacation."

She sat facing Shard, with the little unicorn nestled between them. The elf girl’s hands rested on her knees, presenting a ladylike appearance:

"Originally, I planned to return to school and handle those matters in the latter half of the summer vacation. But since there’s time now, why not prepare a bit first? The alchemical laboratory and potion workshop here are quite good, even better than the ones the academy opens to us Inner Ring sorcerers."

"But for immortal races like you, does a year in the eyes of humans look the same as it does in yours? I hope you truly enjoy your summer outside of school and don’t need to put so much pressure on yourself."

Shard said, initially just trying to persuade her to relax a bit, but unexpectedly, the elf girl’s eyes suddenly flickered, revealing a somewhat sad expression, which didn’t quite match her age:

"In ancient times, the elves’ age was far longer than it is now. At least, the tree bark documents preserved by our clan at the end of the Fifth Era indicate that elves of that time typically lived up to five hundred years, and that was just the average young age."

Shard looked at her curiously. While he had knowledge about the elven race, it was mostly about ancient elves; his understanding of modern elves wasn’t extensive:

"So how about now?"

"According to the academy’s statistics, the natural age limit for modern ordinary elves is around 260 years. And the regulation for the age at which elves come of age has still been inherited from the past, so I’ve heard about the matter of changing the age of maturity. However, like myself as a High Elf..."

She pointed to herself, looking a bit embarrassed:

"What I mean by High Elf is noble elves with the talent to become priests. In the distant past, High Elves like me were seen as guardians chosen by the World Tree. But the elven World Tree has long disappeared, and so-called High Elves are merely those with better talent, who live slightly longer. Life force overflows in my soul and body—I can probably live up to six hundred years, and if I break through to High Ring before the age of 100, my maximum age might even exceed 800 years."

"Hum~"

The little beast emitting holy white light softly cried out, Emilia seemed to understand what it was saying, and bent over to gently stroke its back:

"Compared to me, most people around me will only occupy a period in my life, but will certainly leave earlier than I do. And I’ll watch one by one as people pass by me, only understanding their interaction and feelings with me after familiar people die... I don’t really like discussing age with people."

The sharp-eared elf girl didn’t look at Shard:

"There’s a living old elf nanny in our clan who is 700 years old. She told me that our long lives are destined to meet many people and then part forever, but to avoid leaving too many regrets, sometimes we have to ponder for a brief moment in life about the significance of certain stories and encounters for our lifetime... I will cherish this summer, Shard."

She lowered her head, finally saying Shard’s name again:

"Cherish this, your summer with me."

After saying this, she raised her head, her eyes slightly red, and looked at Shard. The outlander didn’t understand how he had made the elf girl cry; she seemed particularly sad. Then, he belatedly realized that talking about age issues only made Emilia, who was reluctant for this delightful summer to just pass, want even more to seize the time she held in her hands.

Actually, Shard really wanted to tell her that the apocalypse would arrive in fifty years, or even ten years, and if no one survives, everyone will disappear, then the maximum age wouldn’t matter at all. But to prevent the elf girl from becoming even more sorrowful, Shard didn’t say this; instead, he gently leaned forward and reached out to embrace her.

He didn’t have to say anything. This hug alone calmed Emilia down. She closed her eyes to feel the warmth of this silent embrace, while the little unicorn looked at them with its water-blue eyes full of curiosity, and then let out a joyful soft cry again.

"I... I don’t want to wait for this summer to end, for you to die before my eyes, to say anything more, or anything more..."

Ultimately, she didn’t say what lay in her heart, but rather embraced Shard too. The two didn’t speak again for a long time until Emilia took the initiative to push him away, stood up, and smoothed out the folds in her robe, smiling at Shard as she said:

"Thank you for giving me this summer."

"The summer hasn’t ended yet."

Shard stood up:

"You still have many stories left to see, Emilia, wish you enjoy the summer of 1854, wish you enjoy... the stories birthed because of me."