Chapter 245:

76. A Thousand Years and Yesterday

This… this seemed a bit inappropriate, didn’t it?

You damn pervert, damn pervert—of all the ways to construct a magic power circuit, why did you have to choose the most extreme one!

Sheffy paced back and forth. Every time she lowered her head to glance at the Holy Sword lying flat on the ground, a trace of heat and embarrassment would flash across her slightly petite face.

Even though she complained endlessly in her heart, Sheffy Harl was ultimately a person of action.

The reason she had carried the Holy Sword all the way here was to let it see the sparks as well. She couldn’t possibly back down just because of a little difficulty.

After estimating the time, there were less than fifteen minutes left.

Damn it, there were countless paths in this world, yet sometimes only this one could be taken.

Finally.

The silver-haired girl let out a heavy sigh, stomped her foot, and stood back in front of the Holy Sword, clenching her small fists as she made up her mind.

What was there to be afraid of?

What was the big deal! A kiss didn’t have to carry that kind of meaning. This was just a necessary step to awaken that damn pervert. As long as her mind stayed pure, kissing would be the same as not kissing. Just like when Sylatrella constructed 【Destiny】 and came straight at her mouth—I didn’t even know it at the time!

After repeatedly explaining it to herself in her heart, Sheffy nodded again and again, feeling as if her state of mind had ascended to a higher level.

“My heart is originally a clear mirror, yet impure thoughts stir up dust.”^

She understood.

This time, without further hesitation, Sheffy once again lifted the Holy Sword. Just as she was about to go in for a quick and decisive kiss…

She suddenly discovered another problem.

Uh.

Where… was the Holy Sword’s mouth?

Where exactly was she supposed to kiss?!

The bewildered silver-haired loli blinked her confused eyes and turned to look back at the stone gate, but the blue light upon it seemed just as bewildered.

“Your Highness the Princess, why think so much? This is merely the activation of magic.”

“Don’t say that. I already overcame that line of thinking just now. I’m asking—where should I kiss?”

“……”

Don’t go silent!

Aren’t you supposed to be knowledgeable? If even you don’t know, then how am I supposed to do this!

For some reason, Sheffy suddenly thought of the stubborn horses raised by Xiarette’s family of Heroes.

It wasn’t their hardworking nature she recalled, but rather, through the image of “horse,” she remembered a saying from her previous life.

—Treat a dead horse as if it were alive.

Not knowing where to kiss, instead of hesitating here and wasting time, it would be better to act and try more. What if she guessed right?

Do it!

Sheffy’s eyes sharpened as she decisively leaned forward toward the hilt of the Holy Sword…!

Biu~~

Everything fell quiet.

Soft lips met cold steel.

These two extremes of the world should have felt abrupt and discordant, yet the actual scene was so harmonious and tranquil.

The girl lightly kissed the sword, like in ancient times on the battlefield, bidding farewell to a beloved blade before marching to death—an unending, lingering sorrow.

The gentle breeze did not stir ripples upon the lake, for this scene was as beautiful as a painting. If disturbed, even the wind would be unwilling, and the lake would refuse.

Silver threads shone like a galaxy, beneath the moonlit night where even fish sank in awe.

Kissing the hilt had no effect, so Sheffy could only continue downward, removing the Holy Sword’s scabbard and placing that extravagant kiss upon the blade, which reflected mountains, lake, stars, and moon.

The kiss was careful, light.

Not because she was particularly meticulous, but because Sheffy Harl feared that the sharp edge might cut her tongue—it would hurt.

Each time her lips touched the surface of the Holy Sword, pressed by the urgency of time, a strand of silver thread would always trail from her lips, and she had no time to mind it.

The height of the Holy Sword was about the same as Sheffy’s, making it difficult to hold it steady with both hands.

Sheffy was also getting a bit anxious. She simply used both hands and feet—sitting on the ground, clamping the sword’s body between her legs, wrapping her arms around it to maintain balance—and then began kissing it in a flurry.

The blue light at the entrance of the Forbidden Book Repository remained silent for a long while.

At this moment, it finally spoke, its tone somewhat strange, yet enough to send Sheffy’s blood pressure soaring.

“Princess Sheffy, forgive my bluntness, but what you are doing is not only ineffective, it also… resembles a certain abnormal state recorded in the Forbidden Book Repository, namely, unsatisfied desire. Has your emotional life not been properly fulfilled? That will not do. As a Demon Clan Princess, your status is noble—please do not deprive yourself in matters of affection. Acting as you please is the dominance of the Demon Clan.”

“Unsatisfied desire?! What the hell do you know! I’m practically getting crushed to death by them and you’re saying I’m desi—! Wait, you’re saying what I’m doing is useless?”

“Yes. Although it looks very nice… no, although I can tell you are very earnest, it is futile effort.”

“I feel like you just said something weird… forget it, there’s no time. Could your vast knowledge be of use again?”

“Imagination.”

“?”

Reading more books was indeed useful.

Sheffy Harl did not know why this gatekeeper hadn’t said it from the start.

But now, it was not too late.

“The foundation of 【Destiny】, and even the root of magic itself, is inseparable from imagination. Whether it is flame magic, teleportation, or even domain magic, all require constructing—”

“Stop. I only have twelve minutes left. You can prove that you’re knowledgeable, but you don’t need to drag me to death.”

“Understood, Princess. You are very perceptive, so I will be direct. If you wish to awaken her, then placing countless kisses upon a soulless sword body will have no effect. You must imagine that the true form of the Holy Sword is right before you. If you think this way, her soul will respond to you. The activation of 【Destiny】 will then become natural, and the bridge that has already been established will not collapse.”

“Imagination… it kind of feels like something out of a fairy tale?”

In Sheffy’s mind, she naturally recalled a fairy tale she had once heard—“Sleeping Beauty.”

Awakening a princess through a kiss—this story had practically become a fundamental memory everyone knew not long after birth in her previous life. An old, overused tale.

But Sheffy had never imagined that one day, she herself would become the “prince” who awakened the princess in that story.

Even the most cliché story, when placed right before one’s eyes, could still bring a hint of nervousness…

It didn’t matter.

She had already said she would take her to see the sparks—she didn’t want to break her promise by saying she couldn’t do it.

Because in the past… she already had too many regrets from things she failed to accomplish.

Sheffy slowly released her legs from around the sword, braced herself on her knees, and stood up.

She gripped the hilt tightly and forcefully drove the Holy Sword into the ground—then closed her eyes.

She carefully listened to the flow of magic in her ears, imagining it gathering into the form of that lonely child.

Imagine…

【Wah… is this a new dress you bought for me? Thank you, Lady Sheffy! I’ve never received a gift before! I’ll cherish it forever, forever!】

Imagine…?

【No matter how powerful you are, it doesn’t matter. I won’t be afraid of you.】

Actually.

Why was imagination even necessary?

【Because.】

【You are my hero.】

The blue light at the entrance of the Forbidden Book Repository completely went out this time.

Like the wind and the lake, it no longer chose to be an observer of this scene.

Instead, it left time to beauty itself.

The Holy Sword shed its golden radiance, and before it, strands of dreamy blue hair drifted like a galaxy, swaying in the wind, shimmering with starlight.

A petite figure, clad in a blue dress with delicate patterns, stood barefoot upon the ground. Like a fairy descended into the mortal world, she resembled a little princess stepping out of a storybook—so serene and at ease.

The reason for that serenity.

Could only be the silver stream of light that, amidst the fluttering blue hair, quietly fell into her presence.

With her eyes closed, Sheffy kissed the lips of the Sylatrella she had constructed through imagination—yet she did not realize that this illusory figure was rapidly taking form.

Sylatrella seemed to be resisting some kind of force. Beneath her tightly furrowed brows, her closed eyelids trembled, struggling to open—like a butterfly breaking free from its cocoon, making its first and final effort to spread its wings and fly toward a dreamlike hillside of lakes and seas.

Finally…

After what felt like a long time—or perhaps not long at all, yet as if a thousand years had passed—

Sheffy Harl once again heard that faint yet delighted childish voice.

“Sheffy… my lady?”

“Mm…?!”

Sheffy quickly moved her lips away.

Though “quickly” was relative—just to ensure the smooth activation of 【Destiny】, she had lingered for a few extra seconds.

Reflected in Sheffy’s violet eyes—

And within Sylatrella’s gaze, as she struggled to keep her eyes open, refusing to let them close again—

The two spoke in unison, even more in sync than when they first met.

“You’re awake…?” “I… I finally get to see you again… I missed you!”

Their voices overlapped.

Yet each could clearly hear every word the other spoke.

Because sometimes, when she closed her eyes and slept for just a few days, upon opening them again, it felt as though a thousand years had passed.

But even after a thousand years, seeing her surprised yet relieved expression—

It felt as though it had only been yesterday.

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