Shut up, brave man! I don't want to atone for my sins to you!

"Even if you are a hero, you'd better not let her down, otherwise..."

She gave Charles a meaningful look.

[To be continued]

-

31. Get ready

Charles knew that Ms. Verliden was most likely warning him.

In other words, it is not a bad idea to interpret it as a test of some kind.

Charles had already prepared himself mentally. Ever since he discovered that Lacie was one of the co-founders of the White Tower, the legendary Witch of Twilight and Dawn, he had been ready to go through the test.

And now, just as he had expected, the test had arrived.

How should he deal with this test?

In fact, it is not difficult, he has thought about it long ago - just say what you really think.

Even Rachel supported him in doing so.

Ms. Verliden probably didn't expect that, long before her test began, an insider had revealed all the secrets. As long as he responded according to the words that Rachel taught him, even if he couldn't completely satisfy Ms. Verliden, at least she wouldn't be able to find any fault.

Although Charles didn't intend to do that.

That would be a bit too insincere. Telling the truth has always been his life creed.

Having made up his mind, Charles raised his head and prepared to explain his purpose to Ms. Verliden:

Regarding the upcoming trip to Victoria, he couldn't guarantee that Rachel would be safe, but at least, he could guarantee that he would never repeat the same mistake as last time...

——He could guarantee that no one would be able to hurt Rachel before he died of exhaustion.

However, before he could open his mouth, the Lord of the White Tower seemed to read his thoughts.

"Are you going to make me a promise?" The old man smiled. "Yes, you are a brave man, a brave man who keeps his promise."

"Other people's promises may be worthless and lack credibility, but your promises are different. I heard that in many places, your promise can even be exchanged for cash and some precious materials. Because of this, you rarely make promises, right?"

Charles was stunned for a moment after hearing this, feeling a little awkward, but he still nodded:

"it seems to be like this."

"So, your promise is really important..." The Lord of the White Tower sighed half-jokingly and half-seriously, and asked, "Then have you promised Laceer? To give her happiness or something like that?"

Charles didn't understand why she suddenly asked this, but out of respect for her, he recalled it carefully and then answered:

“…It seems not.”

The Lord of the White Tower raised his eyebrows with interest:

"Not really? Oh, that's right, at least from the rumors outside, you seem to be like that."

"..." Upon hearing this, Charles wanted to scratch his head, but then he felt that it was a bit inappropriate to do so, so he raised his hand halfway and then put it down again.

He was at a loss for words and didn't know how to respond to the Lord of the White Tower.

Perhaps the Lord of the White Tower did not need his response.

The old man just shook his head:

"I really don't understand you young people... Although Lacie doesn't seem to be a young person anymore. But how did she fall in love with you? You two have completely opposite personalities and don't seem to have the same interests, just like birds in the sky and fish in the sea..."

After an exceptionally long sigh, the Lord of the White Tower gently stroked the fat cat lying on her lap and said to Charles with a smile:

"Love is really a confusing thing. Hey, an old man like me who has never been favored by the goddess of love in my whole life will probably never be able to taste the taste of love in this life."

Charles thought that might not be the case.

Because Rachel once said to him:

"Old Deng looks quite lonely, but in fact her life is much more fulfilling than 99% of the people in Pangaea, because she has long been prepared to devote all her energy to the great cause and the White Tower."

She also said:

"In fact, it's not that no one proposed to Lao Deng in the early years, but without exception, she rejected them all, saying that she didn't need a partner - but I think Lao Deng is right, she really doesn't need a partner, because she already has a lover..."

"——Her lover is the entire White Tower."

Charles didn't understand whether the feelings the Lord of the White Tower had for the White Tower could be called "love", but now was obviously not the time to care about that.

Because the test is still going on.

He had to find a way to respond to Ms. Veridon.

But Ms. Verliden seemed to have anticipated his reaction again.

She suddenly asked:

"Ciel... Oh, you don't mind me calling you by your first name like that, right?"

After getting the answer of "I don't care", the old man asked Charles a very strange question:

"Do you want to know what kind of personality Laciel had when I first met her?"

All of Charles' attention was instantly drawn to the question raised by the Lord of the White Tower. Like a dog that had seen a bone, he said unconsciously:

"You mean, compared to that time, Rachel's personality has changed a lot now?"

Upon hearing this, the Lord of the White Tower finally revealed a slightly gratified expression and praised:

"She's quite smart. Yes, compared to that time, Lacie is now a completely different person."

Without waiting for Charles to ask her how she looked so different, she narrowed her eyes and took the initiative to say while recalling:

"I've said it before, you and Lacier are a bird in the sky and a fish in the sea..."

"How about you guess," she winked at Charles playfully like a child, "which of you is the flying bird and which is the swimming fish?"

Charles hesitated and guessed:

"I am a swimming fish, and Laceel is a flying bird?"

"Congratulations, you got it right."

The Lord of the White Tower raised his hand, and a magic wand appeared in his hand. Under Charles's gaze, the tip of the magic wand quickly blossomed like a flower bud. With a gentle "bang", a small firework bloomed between the two of them, emitting ribbons and many scattered sequins.

Apart from feeling a little surprised, Charles didn't have any special reaction.

This result obviously could not satisfy the Lord of the White Tower.

She shook her head helplessly and sighed, "How strange, it turns out that Laciel likes this type of person." Then she put away her wand and once again displayed the reliable aura of an elder.

"Yes," she said, "you are the fish, and Rachel is the bird."

"—She is a bird that strayed into Pangaea, with nowhere to go and no home to return to."

The Lord of the White Tower lowered his eyes:

"You are a swimming fish, so the sea that contains you is also our home, the Pangaea that provides us with a place to live."

"We are all children of Pangea, we were born and raised here, so we have natural adaptations to the environment here - just like animals or plants that have evolved gills and fins or other organs to survive in the sea."

"But Rachel doesn't have similar organs. She is a bird, a one-of-a-kind bird that strayed into this place."

"Before her, there had probably never been a concept like 'flying birds' in Pangaea. Therefore, there were no compatriots or relatives of hers here, and there was not even a piece of land for her to settle down."

"This is Pangaea. All we have here is the boundless ocean, the endless water, and us swimming freely in the ocean."

The Lord of the White Tower suddenly sighed when he said this.

She took out her wand again and waved it lightly, and used her magic to draw a simple picture -

The boundless sea was connected to the vast sky of almost the same color. There was no sign of even a piece of land. A bird, a lonely bird, was flapping its wings, tiredly heading towards the almost endless distance, hoping to find a piece of dry ground for her to land and rest temporarily.

"This is Lacey."

The Lord of the White Tower said this, pointing the tip of his staff at the flying bird, his expression dazed, as if he was completely immersed in the memories of the past.

"When I first met her, she gave me this feeling - tired, lonely, even on the verge of despair, and she could fall into the sea and end her life at any time."

She said softly, then turned her head and looked at Charles with a serious expression:

"Although I claimed to others that I was Laceel's teacher, in fact, it was she who saved me in the beginning and gave me hope to continue living."

"At that time, she always liked to wrap herself in a thick and large cloak, hiding her face in the hood. She rarely spoke unless necessary, and she was very wary even of me."

"Later, as we got to know each other better, she gradually became more lively. I was surprised to find that she could laugh, and she laughed beautifully. Perhaps that was the real her. Perhaps at that time, I, a rebellious fish, finally became a companion recognized by her, so she let down her guard against me."

"For many years, we have always had this kind of teacher-student and friend relationship."

The Lord of the White Tower said this and waved his wand again, adding the outline of a flying fish next to the lonely bird in the sky.

Then she turned her head, looked Charles in the eye, and said to him:

"But in fact, I have always regarded Lacie as my daughter. Even though she is not much older than me, or even older than me, she has always been a child in my eyes. I don't know if this is due to the racial characteristics of witches or her personality."

When the old man said this, he suddenly smiled and shook his head:

"But in fact, she is probably not as immature as I imagined. On the contrary - birds have their own way of living, so how can fish interfere?"

"Besides," she paused and admitted frankly, "I'm afraid I won't be able to stay with her until the end."

Charles was stunned.

He subconsciously wanted to ask how this could happen, but before he could open his mouth, the Lord of the White Tower spoke first:

"Because of life span - compared to immortal species like witches, mortals' life span is too short after all."

"Even if a powerful wizard tries every possible way to prolong his life, he can probably only live for a few hundred years at most. However, a witch can easily live for thousands or even tens of thousands of years."

"I am almost a hundred years old this year," the old man said with a hint of regret, "How many hundred years do I have left in my life? I don't know."

Then, she raised her head and looked at Charles calmly, without joy or sadness, like an athlete who had completed her task in a relay race, and she passed the baton to Charles:

"Behind me, I'm afraid it's you..."

"So, brave hero of this world, please answer me seriously - are you really ready to shoulder the long and almost despairing life of the Twilight Witch Lacier?"

[To be continued]

-

32. Go see the sea

"So what?" Hearing this, Lacier couldn't help but urge, "What was your answer afterwards?"

But she didn't seem to be in a hurry to find out how Charles answered Lao Deng.

She had faith in Charles.

After all, Charles had told her more than once that he was willing to carry her for the rest of her long life.

In addition, she had confidence in herself - when she heard Charles say that he was going to the White Tower, she guessed that Charles would definitely "accidentally meet" Old Deng.

Based on her understanding of Lao Deng, no matter how busy he was or how many things he had on his plate, he would definitely be aware of Charles' arrival after he realized that she had sent Charles to the White Tower with her warp spell.

Then she would definitely find time to "accidentally" meet Charles and torture him at the same time.

She couldn't say exactly what Lao Deng would torture Charles with, but generally speaking, the probability was within a predictable range.

So, she specially gave Charles some "tips".

As long as Charles responded to Lao Deng according to the methods given in the "Tips", it would be difficult for Lao Deng to find any fault with him.

So the question is, which "treasure bag" did Charles open?

The tips she gave to Charles were of different levels. If she just picked up any "tip" to deal with Lao Deng, Lao Deng might not be satisfied.

Although whether Lao Deng is satisfied with Charles or not has nothing to do with her, on the contrary, she used to dislike Lao Deng for being disloyal. If Charles really makes Lao Deng dissatisfied, then won’t Lao Deng be on her side again?

Is this a good thing...?

Lacee thought about it in a mess, but finally decided to give up thinking and listen to what Charles had to say.

Then she elbowed Charles again and asked:

"Charles, come on, Charles, what's going on? How did you answer Old Deng?"

Charles turned his head when he heard this, stared at Lacier for a moment, and suddenly answered her without thinking: