Chapter 366: Pursuing Eternity
Night fell, and everything quieted down.
In the top-floor room of the Magic Association, only a few magic lamps were lit, emitting a warm yellow glow.
Thanks to ores mined from the Dwarven Kingdom and specially crafted magical items, lamps like these, which absorbed sunlight during the day and re-emitted it at night, were now common throughout the Imperial Capital.
The air in the room was permeated with a faint incense, mixed with the fresh scent of Serie after her bath.
When Rhodes temporarily finished the work at hand, he raised his head, his gaze naturally falling to the other side of the room.
Serie was curled up on a wide, soft divan, several fluffy cushions behind her back.
She wasn't reading Association documents or researching magic. Instead, she was holding a book with a plain but thick binding, reading intently.
Judging by its appearance, it clearly wasn't a magic-related book.
For the elf lady, reading such non-magical books was rare. At least the last time Rhodes saw her reading such a book, it was when she was reading that so-called most popular trashy romance novel in the capital.
She had changed into a silk nightgown. Her long golden hair was still slightly damp, draped casually over her shoulders. Her profile looked exceptionally soft under the lamplight.
Rhodes watched quietly for a while, then stood up and walked over. Without making much noise, he sat on the edge of the divan beside her.
The slight sinking of the divan made Serie look up from her book. "Research finished?"
"Mn." Rhodes responded. He reached out naturally, tucking a damp lock of her hair behind her ear, his fingertips touching her cool earlobe. "Your hair isn't completely dry yet. Careful you don't catch a cold."
Mana surged at his fingertips, and a spell activated, quickly drying the damp strands.
"It is fine. The room is warm."
Although she said this, Serie leaned toward him, resting her head on his lap and finding a comfortable position. She didn't put down the book, just held it up high. "I just saw an interesting passage. Shall I read it to you?"
Rhodes adjusted his sitting posture to make her more comfortable. His arm wrapped loosely around her front. "What book? If it is one of those meaningless romance novels, I do not want to hear it."
"No, it is a personal travelogue written by a human. Quite interesting."
"Oh? Let me hear it." Hearing Serie say this, Rhodes's interest was piqued.
Serie cleared her throat and began reading in her clear, pleasant voice:
"...Thus, the immortal child of the forest said to the human chasing the unextinguishable sun: 'The light you chase and crave cannot be touched, only observed from afar. Stop, human. Eternity is not a benefit for all beings; you should focus more on what is beneath your feet.'"
She paused after reading, seeming to savor the words, then turned her head to look up at Rhodes. "How is it? The author of this travelogue is a human who lived in the Elven Kingdom for decades. The writing isn't bad. I found this passage interesting."
Rhodes's fingers were twirling the ends of her hair. Hearing this, he raised an eyebrow. "Hearing an elf with infinite lifespan say eternity isn't a good thing feels weird. Was he trying to fool that human?"
"What do you mean fool!" Serie bumped the back of her head against his stomach lightly in dissatisfaction. "That is wisdom! It is our elven understanding of eternal life!"
"You humans... live too short and fast, that is why you always obsess over these things!"
"Yes, yes, elven wisdom." Rhodes went with the flow. "So, my wise elf lady, did you taste any special meaning from this passage?"
Serie closed the book and set it aside. She turned over, lying on her side facing Rhodes's abdomen.
"I was thinking... doesn't this human author resemble those people desperately trying to obtain and research the immortality runes now?"
"Eyes fixed only on the eternal sun in the sky, ignoring everything they already possess beside them."
She paused, poking Rhodes's chest lightly with her finger. "Though this doesn't seem applicable to you. You, a human, seem to have already obtained eternity."
The last sentence carried a hint of teasing.
Rhodes caught her mischievous finger, wrapping it in his palm.
Serie's small hand was a bit cold, so he naturally enclosed it with both hands, transferring his warmth.
"Me?" He pondered. "I am probably... a rather greedy human."
"I want to see if the unextinguishable sun exists, but I also don't want to miss what is beneath my feet. For example—" He lowered his head, looking at her close face. "A certain elf right beside me now."
Hearing Rhodes say this, the tips of Serie's ears turned red involuntarily.
Even after a thousand years, the elf lady's resistance to such direct sweet talk was still zero.
Her eyes fluttered slightly. She seemed to want to glare at him, but for some reason didn't. She just muttered in a small voice, "...Getting better and better at sweet talk. Who did you learn from?"
She remembered the Rhodes of a thousand years ago didn't know so many cheesy lines.
"Self-taught." Rhodes chuckled low.
Serie buried her head in his embrace, rubbing against him. After a long while, she lifted her face again, her expression back to normal.
Looking at him, she suddenly asked, "How is your research going? The one about rewriting the life structure formula."
Rhodes's hand patting her back paused for a moment, then resumed as usual.
"Same as before. Slow progress. This path... is more complex, and more... dangerous than anticipated."
He didn't hide the difficulties and risks.
Serie's heart clenched slightly.
She knew Rhodes's capabilities. For him to use the word "dangerous," it was definitely not trivial.
She gripped his hand tightly. "If it is too dangerous..."
She would rather Rhodes reincarnate every hundred years like before than risk danger to achieve true eternity.
"Relax. I know my limits." Rhodes interrupted her. "Every step is within controllable range. Moreover, precisely because of my greed to spend more time with you, I must be even more cautious."
He lowered his head, resting his forehead lightly against hers. "I will not risk myself, and certainly not our future. Believe me, Serie."
Gazing at each other from such close range, they could see the subtlest emotions in each other's eyes.
Serie saw the unreserved honesty in his eyes.
Worry remained, but trust in him gradually gained the upper hand.
"Mn." She responded softly, closing her eyes and feeling the warmth of his forehead. "I believe you. But... you must remember your words. I do not want to become... a widow."
This sudden sentence made Rhodes laugh subconsciously. He wondered where the elf lady learned these strange words.
"You won't. I promise." Rhodes hugged her tightly, promising.
The two snuggled quietly for a moment. Serie's emotions calmed down slowly. She opened her eyes, suddenly remembering something. "By the way, Frieren came to find me again this afternoon."
"Oh? What did she harass you about?" Rhodes loosened his embrace slightly but still let her lean against his chest.
He hadn't forgotten the days when Frieren relentlessly visited his laboratory every night.
"Not harassment, business." Serie said lazily. "She seems interested in the spatial teleportation magic used by demons in the Mythical Era—the one they used against the Sky-Winged."
The demons had managed to ambush the Sky-Winged on their retreat route back then precisely because of teleportation magic.
"She dug out several fragmented records from the library and came to ask me questions about coordinate anchoring and mana interference. Some questions were quite tricky; even Flamme probably couldn't answer them."
Mentioning Frieren, Serie's tone carried a trace of helplessness, but mostly pride.
In her view, apart from not being her disciple, Frieren's talent was perfect. Her poor melee ability was the only headache.
"Demon spatial teleportation?" Rhodes was slightly surprised. "Why is she suddenly interested in that? That is not simple magic; the technology involved is complex."
"And magic from the Mythical Era demons... much of it is built on unstable mana foundations. No one can say what accidents might happen when using it."
"Who knows what that child thinks about all day?" Serie shrugged. "She said she saw a description in an ancient book and thought it was efficient. She wants to research if it can be improved for large-scale army transport or material transfer."
Current teleportation magic not only required astronomical mana but also limited the number of people transported, insufficient to support an entire army.
Of course, Rhodes could create magic to transport an entire army, but he felt it unnecessary.
Even if he created it, probably fewer than five people in the entire world could learn it—including himself and Serie.
Moreover, he didn't want to see a future where human nations used this magic to launch surprise attacks on each other.
"Interesting idea. Letting her explore it is fine, but keep an eye on her. Much of that Mythical Era magic has certain dangers. Don't let her run wild."
"Relax. I already told her. All experiments must be reported in advance and conducted under my supervision."
Serie lifted her chin, looking like "leave it to me."
"That is good." Rhodes nodded. "What about Flamme? Did the southern delegation cause any trouble today?"
"No, they are extremely well-behaved. Flamme said those people are overly polite now, almost sharing all their research results." Serie snorted. "It seems they were scared witless by you. That is good; saves trouble."
The two chatted idly about Association trifles, their disciples' recent situations, occasionally interjecting a few memories or jokes about the long years past.
The night deepened, and the lights of the capital grew sparse.
As Serie spoke, her voice gradually lowered, thick with drowsiness, and she yawned slightly.
"Sleepy?" Rhodes asked softly.
"Mmph..." Serie responded vaguely, shrinking into his arms to find the most comfortable position. "Read so many reports today..."
"Then sleep." Rhodes adjusted his posture carefully, picking her up princess-style.
Serie wrapped her arms around his neck obediently, burying her face in the crook of his neck, her breathing quickly becoming steady and long.
Rhodes carried her to the connected bedroom, placed her gently on the soft large bed, and covered her with a thin quilt.
He leaned down, placing a gentle goodnight kiss on her forehead, then lay down beside her, pulling her and the quilt into his embrace.
Serie nuzzled into his arms, finding the most secure position, and sank into deep sleep.
Rhodes didn't fall asleep immediately. In the moonlight from the window, he gazed at the sleeping face of the person in his arms.
What is eternity?
Perhaps, for this greedy human who had chased the unextinguishable sun and now possessed everything... eternity was right here.
He tightened his arms, holding the person in his embrace closer, and slowly closed his eyes.
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