This wouldn't do; Francesca Findabair felt a persistent itch in her heart.
What one cannot obtain is often what stirs the soul most. It would have been fine if she hadn't heard news of this black-haired man before, but after learning of her mission from the Elven Sage, and especially given Tissaia's evasive attitude, Francesca Findabair's curiosity about her destined intimate partner grew increasingly intense.
Since Tissaia refused to reveal even a hint, she would find him herself.
Francesca Findabair's prestige among the elves was immeasurable. When her compatriots were praising the black-haired man's appearance earlier, she had already obtained a likeness of him through some of her kin who were skilled in painting.
How should she put it? He had sharp features, a high bridge to his nose, and delicate eyes.
Compared to the male elves of today with their receding hairlines, this black-haired man was indeed exceptionally handsome.
Half of Francesca Findabair's resistance vanished.
Rumors suggested that he maintained close relationships with two other Sorceresses.
Compared to the mysterious black-haired man, the identities of those two Sorceresses were easy to discover:
Sabrina and Yennefer, both outstanding graduates of Aretuza Academy of Magic and students of Dean Tissaia. From the shouts occasionally overheard by elven women at night, it wasn't hard to imagine how intimate the relationship between the black-haired man and these two Sorceresses was.
Knowing that the possessor of the Elder Blood from the prophecy might have an intimate relationship with her, Francesca Findabair felt quite displeased.
But she had to bottle up that displeasure for now.
Currently, one of the two Sorceresses was in Vengerberg, serving as the court mage for the Kingdom of Aedirn, while the other was in the Kingdom of Kaedwen, serving as an advisor to the King.
Would the black-haired man be with them?
Recalling Tissaia's meaningful smile, Francesca Findabair shook her head instinctively.
The two Sorceresses likely relied on teleportation magic for private meetings, but exclusive possession was almost impossible. Considering he was a genius Wizard who graduated from Tissaia's tutelage in just two years, how could such a man be tied down by a single Sorceress?
With Tissaia intentionally hiding things, an increasingly irritable Francesca Findabair stayed on Thanedd Island to continue her investigation.
Her goal, of course, was not just for a meeting; the Elder Blood was too important and had to return to the elven bloodline.
Francesca Findabair's prolonged stay on Thanedd Island eventually caught the attention of the other three members of the Council of Wizards.
Normally, as one of the bases for the Brotherhood of Sorcerers, Thanedd Island was usually only occupied by Tissaia of The Council, while the other four members traveled across the territories of the Northern Kingdoms.
For instance, while Thanedd Island was Tissaia's domain, the Brotherhood of Sorcerers' other stronghold, the Ban Ard Academy for male magic users, was the territory of another elder, Hen Gedymdeith.
The power of the Sorcerers was independent of royal authority, stemming from treaties signed between the Brotherhood of Sorcerers and the Northern Kingdoms in the early years.
So now, why wasn't Francesca Findabair, this elven Sorceress, staying in her own Dol Blathanna, and what was she doing in Tissaia's territory?
Though they were both women, her relationship with the magical mentor wasn't that close.
With just a bit of thought, one could reach a conclusion:
There was something on Thanedd Island that Francesca Findabair, or rather the elven race, cared about.
The other elders of the Council of Wizards were equally interested in treasures.
Among them, Mage Vilgefortz was the most attentive.
Mage Vilgefortz of Roggeveen was a tall, burly man who appeared to be no older than thirty-five. With thick eyebrows and large eyes, he looked exceptionally handsome and was often a focus of attention among male Sorcerers.
He stayed in his Castle, carefully reading a letter.
A subordinate within the Brotherhood of Sorcerers loyal to Mage Vilgefortz had sent him a message:
"The elven Sorceress Francesca Findabair is searching for a student of Tissaia, a young black-haired male named Asa, a name with strange syllables."
Then came the relevant data regarding this male:
The elves praised his appearance, and the magical mentor Tissaia marveled at his talent.
In a short span of two years, based on the Alchemy materials he purchased on Thanedd Island, he had learned Alchemy as well as basic spells like Elemental Magic and Mind Magic in just two years.
Furthermore, the origin of this black-haired man was unknown; it was only known that he was brought by Yennefer from Vengerberg, and the rest of his background was completely untraceable.
One more thing: Francesca Findabair had recently been making great efforts to find the whereabouts of this black-haired man.
Upon receiving this news, Mage Vilgefortz's heart jolted.
An appearance even elves could approve of, outstanding magical talent, an unknown background, and a human being closely watched by the elven Sorceress Francesca Findabair—with so many conditions stacked together, the answer was obvious!
It was the Elder Blood!
The power to travel between worlds as told in legends, the most precious bloodline of the elven race in any world.
It was common knowledge that the Elder Blood was currently in human hands. Lara Dorren had ultimately entrusted her child to the care of the Queen of Redania, and subsequently, the bloodline had seemingly died out unnoticed.
Countless people had searched for the connection during that period, but with hundreds of years having passed, it was already impossible to verify.
Mage Vilgefortz was now one of the five members of the Council of Wizards and had almost reached the pinnacle of the path of magic, but his ambition didn't stop there; he was also intensely interested in the Elder Blood.
Years ago, Mage Vilgefortz had despairingly discovered:
Every human in the world with magical talent possessed, to a greater or lesser extent, some elven blood in their ancestry.
This meant that humans were not naturally a race capable of magic; only those with a certain amount of elven blood could manipulate it.
The authority the elves left to humans was not the most powerful kind.
In Ithlinne's Prophecy, the Elder Blood possessed powerful magical talent. Those with this bloodline could not only travel between worlds but also control time and space, reaching a realm that even Elven Sages could not attain.
Though the male Sorcerer had nearly reached the peak for human Sorcerers, he still hoped his magic could go further, even to the point of controlling the entire world.
After leafing through ancient texts, he realized only the Elder Blood held that possibility.
The previously lost bloodline had been impossible to track; no one knew where Lara Dorren's child had gone.
But now, as long as there was a direction, tracing such a thing would be much easier.
Thinking of this, Mage Vilgefortz no longer hesitated and used a Megascope spell to contact another elder of the Council of Wizards, his ally: Artaud Terranova.
A short, stout, bald man appeared in the Megascope's image. He had a fierce countenance and looked like someone not to be trifled with; this was Artaud Terranova.
As one of the most influential Sorcerers of this generation, Artaud's image wasn't great, but his strength was unquestionably formidable.
"My good friend, it has been quite a long time since we last met."
Through the connected Megascope, the fat Artaud spoke with a sinister smile.
"Friend, I have a deal here that you will definitely be interested in."
After some conversation, the two reached an agreement. To avoid drawing the attention of Francesca Findabair, Tissaia, and the last elder Wizard, Hen Gedymdeith, they decided to plant their own subordinates on Thanedd Island to investigate the black-haired man's existence themselves.
To avoid leaking the secret of the Elder Blood, the two referred to the target as: 'The Great Tit'.
Implying that no matter how big the titmouse was, it could not escape the hunter's trap.
After delegating the task, Mage Vilgefortz began new research.
Inspiration sparked in his mind. This time, he planned to research a blood transfusion device that could replace a person's entire blood supply with another's. Achieving the power of the Elder Blood through a blood transfusion would not be difficult.
Before the concept in his mind could be put into practice, Mage Vilgefortz performed a divination.
The future is elusive, and destiny is the domain of the gods. Since clues regarding this black-haired man were too scarce, Mage Vilgefortz had to make deductions through a prophecy concerning Francesca Findabair.
If he could obtain the blood or even a hair of this black-haired man, he could perform a precise prophecy.
However, things exceeded Mage Vilgefortz's expectations.
In the image within the water mirror, a circle of Sorceresses with lithe and explosive figures formed a ring. The other figures were all blurred shadows; only the figure of the elven Sorceress Francesca Findabair was solid.
She wore a light green dress and held a black-haired man whose face could not be seen clearly, her expression unable to hide her sorrow.
The black-haired man was Mage Vilgefortz's target.
Judging by Francesca Findabair's sad expression and the dying state of the black-haired man in her arms—his body looking as if it had been drained dry—Mage Vilgefortz received a revelation of death from it:
The black-haired man would die surrounded by Sorceresses.
Rare and expensive materials were reduced to ashes, and his golden hair turned white in an instant; in a flash, his face aged by more than a dozen years.
"Good, good, good!"
Despite paying a huge price to prophesy about a Sorcerer of the same level, Mage Vilgefortz couldn't help but marvel.
Being drained and dying clearly represented the grand success of his blood transfusion plan!
It indirectly confirmed the existence of the Elder Blood.
The brief prophecy set Mage Vilgefortz's mind at ease. He decided that from now on, his primary goal would be to develop the blood transfusion device, while occasionally checking the investigation results on Thanedd Island.
Once the target's whereabouts were confirmed, he would strike first!
...
Asa, located in the Brotherhood of Sorcerers' library, was still seriously browsing through the books in his hand.
At this moment, he didn't know that by virtue of his outstanding appearance, magical talent, and extraordinary attraction to elves, he had actually caused a massive stir within the Council of Wizards, the highest level of the Brotherhood of Sorcerers.
Francesca Findabair, Tissaia, Mage Vilgefortz, and Artaud—four of the most influential Sorcerers of the era—were each acting because of his existence.
Since Tissaia had arranged for Asa to take this library management position shortly after his graduation and strictly ordered him to change his appearance and not show his face for the time being, at least until the magical mentor personally confirmed certain results.
Out of trust for this teacher who had always looked after him, Asa followed her suggestion.
Using magic to transform, he now had a thick head of white hair, wore black-rimmed glasses, and sat in the chair of the library management room, looking every bit the knowledgeable old man.
Actually, there was one thing Asa hadn't expected: the Brotherhood of Sorcerers' magical library was actually located within the grounds of Aretuza Academy of Magic.
The first floor served as a book room where students could borrow books freely, but the second and third floors were only accessible to mages of the Brotherhood of Sorcerers and mentors of the academy.
The fourth floor was the meeting place for The Council, and the fifth floor was set with magical barriers that only the five elders could enter.
As the old librarian of the magic academy, Asa was a bit nervous.
Fortunately, Tissaia had used disguise magic to forcibly suppress Asa singular charm.
Among the students of this magic academy, there were quite a few with prominent elven blood. If Asa, were allowed to be himself, the story that followed might have been called "The Tale of Old man Asa the Caretaker."
Asa didn't have much of an issue with this. He studied magic and occasionally had private trysts with Yennefer and Sabrina; life was peaceful, yet full of explosive passion.
Using his original appearance, of course.
In his occasional spare time, Asa, would have meals with the other two senior sisters. They were only slightly younger than Yennefer and Sabrina. Sheala was keen on magical research, while Margarita was fond of teaching Asa, magic usage techniques.
Today, in the Cyberpunk world, he had just sent off a confused David Martinez. Out of the need to change his spells, Asa, returned to the Wizarding World.
While picking out his favorite magic books, Asa, unexpectedly received a message from Tissaia, asking him to come to the Dean's office as soon as possible.
In the Dean's office, Tissaia looked solemn as she called Asa, over.
"Is there something you're hiding from me?"
"Huh?"
Asa, was dazed. He was grateful to this mentor who had high moral standards and was dedicated to her work.
In this world, aside from the system and his ability to travel between worlds, there was almost nothing Tissaia didn't know about, including his scandalous affairs with Yennefer and Sabrina.
"No."
Asa, nodded with certainty.
Tissaia pulled a portrait from her robes; the image showed a blonde elf with pointed ears.
"She is..." Asa, looked up, puzzled.
Since he had only played the games, he was only familiar with the few women mentioned there. As for the blonde elf in this portrait, though she was beautiful, he really didn't recognize her.
"Francesca Findabair, an elder of the Council of Wizards and one of my colleagues."
Tissaia said calmly.
"She has been looking for you lately."
"I told you before, stop radiating your masculine charm so freely."
Tissaia sighed helplessly. she always felt that perhaps it was the singular charm on Asa, body that had unconsciously attracted the single Francesca Findabair. Being too close to the situation, Tissaia never thought of other possibilities because of the attraction Asa, possessed.
As a single woman who was also hundreds of years old, Tissaia knew that once a woman who hadn't tasted love for centuries set her sights on someone, she would want nothing more than to crush them into her own body.
A body long neglected—how terrifying.
"Perhaps I should have you become a court mage. Hiding in the human world is much more discreet than being on Thanedd Island."
Tissaia knew that as a position she had personally arranged, there were traces to be found within the Brotherhood of Sorcerers.
"I forgot to ask for your opinion. What do you think? Do you want to meet her? Or should I find you a new, more discreet job?"