Supreme Magus novel Chapter 299

After Lith paid the bill, they took a stroll along the promenade. Despite the late hour, the city was still bustling with carriages and small taxi boats.

Everything moved slowly. Unlike Earth’s metropolis, nor the coachmen or the ferrymen seemed to be in a hurry and so were their passengers. To Lith, it almost appeared as the city of Vinea was lazily falling asleep.

Suddenly the silence between the two was broken by a sigh, shortly followed by another.

"What’s wrong? Having second thoughts about the plan?" Lith asked.

"No." Phloria shook her head. "It’s so odd. I feel so happy yet so scared at the same time." She sat on a wooden bench, inviting him to do the same.

"I’m happy because despite last year has been a nightmare, it made me realize how lucky I am. I have a loving family, wealth, status, and talent. All things that I took for granted before meeting you guys." She leaned against Lith, putting her head on his shoulder.

"I even managed to get this old without being forced to kill another human being." Lith had still a hard time hearing a sixteen year girl calling herself ’old’, but after Rena’s marriage, he was starting to wrap his head around it.

Especially after his sister got pregnant.

"The reason I’m afraid, it’s because I know the fairy tale that has been my life is going to end soon." She sighed again.

"I finally understand why my mom is so pushy and my dad is so lenient. They are both trying to protect me their own way from life as they know it. Since I’m almost an adult, I must start acting like one. I can’t keep relying on others for protection.

"Once I graduate, the army will send me away from home for the gods know how long. It will not be like with the academy, I will not be able to come back for months. For the first time in my life, I will be really alone.

"No matter my family name, my path is my own. Every decision I make will have consequences and I must be strong enough to live with them."

She paused for a moment, looking at the stars shining over their heads, while the crescent moon was partially covered by a passing cloud.

"It’s so quiet tonight, while my future is so scary. I would like for this moment to last forever, but I know it’s impossible."

Lith said nothing, his mind was blank. Even though he wanted nothing more than for the fifth year to end, to get over the accursed vision, the idea they had less than nine months together before breaking up made him feel empty.

***

The next morning, Lith served as a clerk for the Mage Association. It was the hardest thing he had ever done in all his three lives. He would receive new documents every few seconds, give his magical stamp as proof of receipt, and then catalog them according to protocol.

After that, he had to read them and forward the paperwork based on their priority. Despite the senior clerks provided him with an amulet that allowed him to easily find the correct rules and regulations for each document, the job was mind numbing.

Seconds seemed to last hours, while the two hours of duty could as well been years. He returned to the academy, feeling as his soul had been sucked dry.