Chapter 372: A Slow Farewell
At the end of a relatively secluded corridor inside the Magic Association was a room that very few people knew about. This was the room Kurtz had specially prepared for Olivia.
Flamme stopped outside the door. She took a deep breath, straightened her clothes, then swept her long red hair behind her ear to make sure she looked presentable before gently knocking on the door.
"Please come in," Olivia's gentle voice came from inside. Olivia had already sensed Flamme's presence the moment she approached.
Flamme pushed the door open and entered. Olivia's room was completely different from the rooms of the other mages within the association. There were no towering stacks of magic books or complicated research tools. Instead, the room was exceptionally tidy.
Apart from a table, chairs, and a bed, only a few simple flower arrangements decorated the space. Those flowers had all been personally picked by Olivia from the small garden reserved for the association's upper management.
She often helped care for the garden during her free time and occasionally selected a few beautiful flowers to place in her room.
After living among humans for so long, she had gradually learned many of their habits, including decorating both herself and her surroundings.
Olivia sat quietly in her chair with a cup of floral tea resting on the table before her. Her pale golden hair was loosely tied back, exposing her smooth forehead.
When she saw Flamme enter, she smiled faintly and gestured toward the chair opposite her. "Please sit, Flamme."
"Excuse me, Senior Olivia." Flamme sat down properly, her posture straight and composed.
However, the determination hidden within her eyes did not escape Olivia's notice.
"You're here because of what we discussed before, aren't you?" Olivia gently poured her a cup of herbal tea.
Previously, Olivia had mentioned that she planned to return to the Heavenly Kingdom soon. Combined with Flamme's sudden visit and the request she once made before, Olivia already had a rough idea of why she had come.
"Yes, Senior."
Flamme accepted the teacup with both hands but did not drink from it immediately. "I've thought it through. I wish to go to the Heavenly Kingdom with you... and meet my end there."
Olivia quietly stared at her without speaking. For a moment, only the faint sound of wind outside the window remained within the room. The silence lasted long enough that Flamme almost believed Olivia would reject her outright.
Finally, Olivia gently set down her teacup and sighed softly. "Flamme, you don't necessarily need to return to the Heavenly Kingdom with me."
This time, Olivia planned to return simply because she had stayed in the mortal world for too long.
Long enough that she had gradually become attached to the prosperity and liveliness of human civilization.
Unlike elves, Skywings, despite their long lives, were not late bloomers in emotions; instead, they possessed emotions that were much closer to humans. Naturally, Olivia had grown fond of the countless interesting things found within human society.
Although Kurtz once said this was precisely the kind of future he hoped to see, Olivia still did not wish to completely abandon the oath she had made a thousand years ago.
At the very least, she needed time to gradually readjust herself. Moreover, she was also worried about the condition of the Heavenly Kingdom after all these years.
Although most mages could never reach that floating city, and even if they did, they could not break through its outer defensive barriers, the city still required periodic maintenance and replenishment of magical power.
Otherwise, one day, the entire Heavenly Kingdom might truly collapse due to insufficient magical support. That was the main reason Olivia intended to return.
"Actually, after speaking with Kurtz, I came to understand many things," Olivia continued calmly. "This isn't a permanent farewell. Perhaps after a few hundred years, I may return to continue my unfinished responsibilities."
She looked directly at Flamme. "So you can stay here. Stay beside Kurtz and Lady Serie. Stay with Frieren and the others. Spend the remainder of your time here. When the day truly comes when you need the Heavenly Kingdom, its gates will remain open for you."
What Olivia said was reasonable.
She knew how deeply attached Flamme was to the Magic Association, her two teachers, and Frieren.
In Olivia's eyes, Flamme should cherish these final years together with the people she loved most.
However, Flamme slowly shook her head.
"Thank you for your kindness, Senior. But if that time truly comes..." She lowered her gaze slightly. "I'm afraid I won't be able to leave anymore."
Those words carried immense weight. She could not bear to leave Kurtz. She could not bear to leave Lady Serie. She could not bear to leave Frieren. Nor could she bear to leave the Magic Association into which she had poured countless years of effort.
And precisely because she could not bear to part with them, she needed to leave while she could still make a rational decision.
If the flame of her life weakened further, if fear of death or attachment to the world eroded her judgment, she feared she would begin to cling desperately.
Everyone feared death to some extent. Flamme was no exception. Unfortunately, she simply had too many attachments in this world.
Olivia quietly nodded. Understanding Flamme's determination, she no longer attempted to persuade her.
Instead, she softly asked, "How much time do you think you have left?"
Flamme answered honestly. "About five years. If I use certain forbidden life-extending magic, perhaps I could stretch it to ten. But if I do that, the final years would likely become painful and miserable. And eventually... the issue with my appearance would also become impossible to hide."
Hearing this, Olivia's lips moved slightly, as though she wished to say something. In the end, however, she swallowed those words.
Naturally, she hoped Flamme could spend more time with the people she treasured. But Olivia also understood that, for someone as proud and considerate as Flamme, leaving now was perhaps the gentlest ending she could choose.
"That child, Frieren..." Olivia quietly murmured.
Flamme immediately understood the meaning behind those unfinished words. Her eyes dimmed slightly before determination returned to them once more.
"Yes. My biggest concern is Frieren. That girl appears cold, but in truth, she's more sentimental than anyone else. If she watched me weaken day by day, watched the Solidification Magic gradually fail, and watched me age..." Flamme paused briefly. "She would definitely suffer terribly because of it. She might even do something irrational."
No one understood Frieren better than Flamme herself. Beneath Frieren's cold exterior lay an almost obsessive protectiveness toward the people she cared about.
Flamme could not allow herself to become the reason Frieren made the wrong choice.
Silence once again filled the room.
Finally, Olivia gently nodded. "I understand, Flamme."
She reached across the table and gently placed her hand atop Flamme's. "I promise you. We will go to the Heavenly Kingdom together."
After a brief pause, Olivia added, "I plan to leave tomorrow morning. I'll wait for you outside the main gate of the Magic Association at sunrise."
Flamme tightly held Olivia's hand in return and nodded firmly. "I'll definitely be there."
...
After leaving Olivia's room, Flamme did not immediately return to her own office. Nor did she head toward the top floor. Instead, she followed a familiar corridor until she stopped outside another room.
Pushing the door open, she saw Ayla struggling with a pile of documents.
Ayla had never been particularly good at handling administrative work, but over the years, Serie had practically forced her to learn.
Fortunately, many capable mages within the association helped manage the majority of the workload, leaving Ayla responsible only for the more important matters.
"Flamme?" Ayla scratched her head in confusion before smiling brightly upon seeing her. "What brings you here? Weren't you supposed to finish handling the Southern Territory budget today?"
Compared to the early days of the association, when everyone practically worked themselves to death, Flamme was now arguably one of the most relaxed senior members.
Over the years, she had gradually delegated most responsibilities to trusted subordinates while leaving a portion behind for Ayla to learn from.
"It's already finished." Flamme walked over to the desk and quietly looked at her senior.
"Sister Ayla ... I'm leaving the association soon, so I came to say goodbye."
Ayla's smile froze slightly. As an elf, she did not fully understand what several decades truly meant for a human. Yet even so, she instinctively sensed something strange within Flamme's tone. It sounded almost like someone making final arrangements before death.
She carefully looked Flamme up and down.
"Flamme... what's wrong?" Ayla half-jokingly asked. "You sound like you're leaving forever."
Flamme avoided her gaze and forced her tone to remain light. "It's nothing. I just need to handle some personal matters outside the association for a while."
"Leave? For how long? And where are you going?" Ayla immediately asked.
As Flamme's senior within the association, Ayla knew better than anyone how strong Flamme's sense of responsibility was.
Unless something extremely important happened, Flamme would never leave the association so casually.
"The timing is uncertain," Flamme vaguely answered before quickly changing the subject. "Don't worry, Senior Sister. Over the years, I've already arranged and distributed most of my responsibilities properly."
Ayla still clearly failed to grasp the true situation. In the end, she simply stood up, walked around the table, and gently hugged Flamme.
"No matter where you go or what you do, take care of yourself, Flamme." Her voice was filled with genuine concern.
Flamme's eyes stung slightly. However, she quickly suppressed those emotions, hugged Ayla back, and softly replied, "Mm. I know."
After leaving Ayla's office, Flamme stood alone within the empty corridor for quite some time. She quietly took several deep breaths before finally calming herself down again.
Then came the final stop. The most important stop of all.
She slowly walked toward the staircase leading to the association's top floor. Every step was steady and deliberate, as though she wished to engrave this familiar path into her memory one last time.
Finally, she arrived before that familiar door. Behind it were the two most important people in her life. And also the beginning and end of all the emotions she had hidden for so many years.
[End of Chapter]