Fulilian: The Little Master Who Doesn't Understand Love

Chapter 277 Lord's Favorite

At the Magic Association Tower, Lord stood at the window of his room—or rather, the room he shared with Celie—looking down at the silhouette of the capital city of El.

His trip south was already planned, but he needed to make some arrangements before leaving.

He thought of his disciples, at least to handle things properly at the Magic Association.

However, if we're really talking about it, the only one who can be considered his formal disciple is actually Vlamé.

Ella only occasionally gives advice out of respect for Celia, so she's only half a mentor.

As for Frilian, she was a disciple of Vlamed, but a generation removed, and he did not directly teach her.

Moreover, the other party has a very good foundation. Even if I don't interfere, the other party will definitely become a legendary mage in the future.

Lord sensed that Vlamé's presence was in her own research lab.

What bothered him was that he had heard she frequently visited the library, seemingly frantically searching for something, but she had completely disappeared recently.

Have you found what you're looking for, or have you hit a bottleneck?
Lord moved slightly and soon appeared outside Vlame's room, gently knocking on the door.

Although given his relationship with Vlamé, there was absolutely no need for such actions, Lord at least wanted to take concrete steps to maintain this distant relationship.

"Please come in," came Vladimir's clear voice from inside.

Lord pushed open the door and entered.

Vlame's laboratory was simple, and although it contained many magic books and experimental notes, it was not almost overflowing with them like Celie's.

She was sitting at the table, with a notebook open in front of her, filled with her handwriting, calculating some complex magic.

Upon seeing that the person who came was Lord, a barely perceptible ripple flashed in her eyes, and she immediately stood up: "Teacher Lord."

"Hmm, did I disturb you?"

Lord walked over and glanced at her notes, which were about optimizing magic efficiency—a perfectly normal magical study.

“No. Teacher, is there something you need?” Vlame asked, his tone respectful yet maintaining a proper distance.

This is what Lord wanted to see, and clearly Vlamé did a good job in this regard.

“Seria and I will be leaving the association for a while to handle some matters in the Southern Unified Empire,” Lord stated his purpose directly. “During our absence, the association’s daily affairs will be handled jointly by you and Ella.”

Vlame frowned slightly: "I can handle routine matters, but some decisions... such as the mage level assessments, especially the assessments for level two and promotion to level one, have always been personally overseen and decided by Teacher Celie."

If there happen to be any mage applications for assessment during this period, should we postpone them until the two teachers return?

Lord pondered for a moment.

The assessment criteria for second- and third-level mages are relatively fixed, mainly examining magical power, the ability to control magic, the types of magic they possess, and a certain level of practical combat ability.

Although the difficulty is high, at least there is a general range, unlike the first-level mage, whose assessment content depends entirely on Celie's mood.

"The assessments for Level 2 mages and below will be decided jointly by you and Ella," Lord authorized. "As for the assessment content and standards, you can refer to past precedents and adjust them according to the specific circumstances of the applicants."

You've all witnessed this quite a few times; you should know what's going on.

He paused, then added, "As for the assessment of first-level mages, it will be postponed for now."

The last batch of people who passed the assessment were not many, and with the recent war in the north, many powerful mages have gone to provide support.

"There's no rush. Let's talk about it when we get back."

“Okay, I understand.” Vlame nodded in agreement, without saying anything more.

After the important matters were settled, the atmosphere in the research room eased up a bit.

Lord then pointed out a few minor problems that Volame had encountered in his magical research recently.

Vlame listened attentively and grasped the concepts immediately, which was very much in line with her outstanding magical talent.

Looking at his disciple who was making steady progress on the path of magic, Lord felt both gratified and a complex mix of emotions.

He remembered what Celia had mentioned before: Volamey had recently been going to her to discuss fusion magic.

"How's the fusion magic research going lately?" Lord asked.

Vlame looked up: "It's alright. Most of the problem with the magic rage has been solved, but it's still difficult to control it freely. We're still far from true fusion. However, Teacher Celie has given me a lot of inspiration."

“This area is dangerous, so please be careful,” Lord cautioned, but did not stop him.

He knew that Vlamé was a calm and steady person, not a rash one.

Of course, this is on the premise that it does not involve romantic relationships.

It's absolutely true that love can make people lose their minds.

“I understand,” Vlame replied.

After a brief silence, Lord looked at Vlame and softened his tone: "I've been busy with other things lately and have neglected your teachings somewhat."

Is there any magic you desire? Or are you facing a bottleneck in some area that you can't seem to overcome? Perhaps you can mention it before I leave, even divine strike magic would be appreciated.

The Divine Strike Magic is something only I and Celie know; even Ella didn't teach it to me.

Perhaps out of guilt, or perhaps out of trust in Volamere, believing that the other would not use the magic casually, Lord decided to teach the magic to Volamere.

He had assumed that Vlamé would readily accept, after all, this was the most powerful offensive magic in the world; however, Vlamé gently shook his head.

"Thank you, teacher, but I don't have the magic I want for now." Her voice was soft, yet carried a clear and firm tone. "I've found a direction I want to study in depth. Perhaps it's different from the path you've taken, teacher, but I want to try to walk it on my own."

These words startled Lord slightly.

He could clearly sense that something about Vlamé was different.

She was no longer the little girl who followed behind him and blindly obeyed his and Seria's teachings, but had truly begun to have her own independent pursuit of magic.

This feeling is complicated, but it should be a good thing in essence.

However, just when Lord thought the conversation was about to end, Vlame seemed to suddenly remember something and said, "Teacher, if I had to say something... I've recently become very interested in some ancient life magic runes."

I recall that some of your early research manuscripts contained research notes on this topic?

Vlamé said this because he was thinking of Carlo.

Since the other party is trying to study the true meaning of life magic from the discarded manuscripts left behind by Master Lord, I must help them out.

With my help last time, their research has made considerable progress, but true success is still a long way off.

Vlamé was unwilling to wait that long.

So she decided to help the other person again, which would help both the other person and herself.

She didn't mention Carlo's name, nor did she say it was to help others; she simply expressed her interest and hoped to see the earlier version of Lord's research in order to better understand its essence.

Lord was somewhat surprised that Vlamé would be interested in this direction, but he didn't think about it deeply.

In his view, perhaps Vlame wanted to take a further step in holy magic, since the other party had never been very good at this area.

He didn't hold back; a faint light flickered at his fingertips, and a series of complex magical rune formulas floated in the air, displayed before Vlamem. "These are indeed my initial ideas, far more complex than those in the current spellbook. If you are interested, you can study them on your own, but remember, do not be reckless; many of the structures are not stable."

Vlame stared intently at the flowing runes, imprinting them deeply into his mind.

Her heart pounded slightly; she could sense that these original formulas were the crucial missing parts of Carlo's discarded manuscript.

"Thank you, teacher!" Vlame suppressed his excitement and bowed respectfully.

"It doesn't matter."

After Vlame quickly jotted down the magical runes in his notebook, Lord dismissed them, checked the time, and said, "That's settled then. The association is temporarily in your hands."

He turned to leave.

The moment his hand touched the doorknob, he suddenly stopped, turned around, and looked at the red-haired girl who was still standing in the same spot.

Sunlight streamed in through the window, casting a soft glow on her. Lord was silent for a moment, then suddenly said softly:
"Volame."

"Teacher?" Vlame looked up.

“I…” Lord seemed to choose his words carefully, “I really like you the way you are now. You’re focused on the path of magic and have found your own way. That’s good.”

His tone was sincere, carrying the praise and satisfaction of a teacher for an outstanding student.

If it were the old Volamete, hearing Professor Lord say this would have made him incredibly happy, feeling that all his efforts had been rewarded and that his affections had been reciprocated.

But now, Vlamé understands.

She understood the "like" that Professor Lord was referring to. It was the appreciation of a teacher for their favorite student, or, to put it more bluntly, the recognition that a work met their expectations.

It has absolutely nothing to do with romantic love.

It was precisely because she put away those inappropriate thoughts and became more sensible that he liked her even more and felt less troubled by her.

A sharp, aching pain suddenly appeared.

She subconsciously bit her lower lip, so hard she could almost taste blood. Even her hands, hanging by her sides, clenched tightly, her nails digging deep into her palms.

But she finally endured it.

All the turmoil in his heart was forcibly suppressed back into the depths of his eyes.

Vlamé lowered his head slightly, avoiding Lord's gaze, and answered in as calm a voice as possible, "It is an honor for a disciple to receive the teacher's approval."

Lord seemed oblivious to her momentary unease, or perhaps he deliberately chose not to notice. He nodded and finally turned to leave.

The door closed gently.

Only Vlamé remained in the study room.

She remained with her head slightly bowed, motionless for a long time.

The clenched fist slowly loosened, revealing a clear crescent-shaped imprint on the palm.

She raised her head, her eyes now calm, but deep within, a profound obsession remained.

It's ok.

With these...

Carlo, don't let me down.

She sincerely hoped that the stubborn, almost foolish, magician could use this key to open the door to the unknown.

For his wish, and also for... her own liberation and proof.

Meanwhile, Lord found Ella.

The blonde elven girl looked travel-worn; she had recently returned from a trip to the Elven Kingdom using teleportation magic to research information about the holy sword Esterian for Lord.

Upon entering the other person's room, the door was not closed. Ella was sitting at the table, diligently organizing the documents in her hands, her eyes unusually focused.

"Lord Lord!" Ella immediately stood up upon seeing Lord appear. "I was actually looking for you."

“Let me check on how things are going on your end.” Lord’s gaze fell on the documents in her hand. “I also want to let you know that Celia and I will be leaving the Association soon to handle some business in the south.”

"Heading south? To that unified empire?" Ella had obviously heard some rumors through various channels and immediately made the connection. "Is it because of their recent unusual movements?"

"I suppose so." Lord didn't elaborate, instead asking, "What about your side? Have you found anything?"

Mentioning this, Ella immediately perked up. She picked up the documents in her hand and said excitedly, "Lord Lord, you would never believe it, but I actually found records about Esterian in the library of the Elven Kingdom!"

Lord's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately took the documents from her hand.

The text above was in an extremely ancient Elvish language, even containing some earlier symbols, but fortunately, Ella had thoughtfully provided a translation below, making it easy for him to read.

“These records are very vague, more like fragments of legends pieced together,” Ella explained from the side. “They mention that the hero’s sword Esterian did not originate in the age of mythology, but appeared in a much more ancient primordial era.”

She pointed to one of the extremely rudimentary topographic maps: "Moreover, it mentions a general direction, somewhere in the south where the land has sunk."

Although the place names here have long been lost, a general area can be deduced based on verification from other sources.

Lord carefully examined the information and the blurry map. Although there were still no precise coordinates, this was undoubtedly a huge breakthrough.

The search area was narrowed down from the entire continent to a specific region in the south, which happened to be in the same direction as their next move.

“Well done, Ella!” Lord praised sincerely. “You’ve worked hard these past few days!”

Having received Lord's affirmation, Ella nodded emphatically, a faint smile appearing on her lips.

"But teacher, if you and Lady Celia are going to the Southern Empire, please be careful," Ella said with concern.

"Yes, I know. During this period, everything in the association will be handled by you and Vlame, including those magician assessments. As long as it's not Level 1, you can make the decisions."

"I understand."

"By the way, I heard from Celie last time that you wanted to go to the northern battlefield?"

"Hmm, it's been a long time since I've used magic, and I feel like my magical skills have become quite rusty."

Lord smiled as he looked at Ella's belligerent appearance. She truly was a disciple trained by Celia.

However, the threat from the northern demons is also a problem that cannot be ignored.

"Let's be patient for now. We'll discuss the Northern Demon Clan matter when Celie and I return."

“Okay!” Ella nodded vigorously.

Lord knew he had to figure out the Southern Empire's schemes as soon as possible and find the Sword of the Warrior before he could travel north with peace of mind.

But this time, Celia will be with her.

The future is uncertain, and he must protect her and never let her step into that prophesied future.

(End of this chapter)