Miss Orlanode smiled and reached into the ice coffin, touching her student's cheek, her fingers brushing across the girl's lips.
"My student truly is a handful. When the blizzard turned into black snow, we were outside searching for other entrances to the library. I had raised a barrier to block the black snowflakes, but she just had to flick her tail..."
The smile on her face became more pronounced.
"Shade, when I cast a barrier, I don't calculate the length of the tail."
The description was very vivid.
Miss Orlanode slapped her forehead, sighing at her apprentice's lack of composure. Miss Samuel, wearing round-rimmed glasses, smiled and reached out to pick up the limp-looking tail, pointing to a black spot at the tip.
"Look, right here. This young lady unfortunately came into contact with the black snow. Fortunately, her red dragon bloodline granted her strength beyond that of humans, so with timely rescue, I used the Zaras Academy secret art [Sleeping Ice Coffin] to temporarily seal her. She can only be awakened after we leave this place."
Saying this, she put the tail down and signaled Shade to close the ice coffin.
"Oh, so she's just asleep."
Shade felt relieved. It sounded like this ice coffin secret art was even more powerful than his [False Undead]. After all, False Undead had a duration, but the ice coffin could exist for a long time.
Carefully closing the ice coffin, the three returned to sit by the campfire. Shade remained seated with his back to the black snow outside, while the two witches avoided the pile of old books where the shrine was placed; there were more books now than when Shade had last visited.
"May I ask, how long have I been gone?"
As Shade spoke, he unbuttoned his bulky overcoat. After shedding the heavy coat, he first warmed his hands by the campfire, then began taking small toys out of the inner pockets of the coat.
To make transport easier for Shade, the supplies Miss Galina had prepared were placed in wooden crates, which Shade could turn into toys by covering them with canvas. As for the canvas, once folded, it also became a toy.
"Just like the Forest of a Thousand Trees, time and space here are not uniformly continuous," Miss Orlanode said. "Sometimes you just close your eyes to rest for a moment, and when you open them, it feels as though a long time has passed."
"Chaotic time and space are normal for places like this; the Academy has specialized research on the matter," Miss Samuel added, standing up to look at the crates Shade had brought out. As the only Thirteenth-Tier Witch in the party, Miss Orlanode did not move, continuing her conversation with Shade.
"Aside from the task given by that deity," she glanced cautiously at the shrine, "we have our own mission for coming here. Every book scattered within the ruins of this library will have a significant impact on the study of the Ancient Era. If Teacher Felianna didn't have more important matters to attend to, she would have led this expedition herself."
Shade instinctively wanted to ask what those "more important matters" were, but he felt that while in a past timeline, it was best to avoid meddling in things he wasn't supposed to know.
"Oh, these weren't cheap, were they?"
A voice came from beside him. Miss Samuel was feeling the fabric of a hooded robe. "Look, while it's not Eris silkworm silk, it's definitely not ordinary fabric."
This caused Miss Orlanode, by the campfire, to frown slightly. "Shade, how much did you spend?"
"I didn't spend any money," Shade replied immediately. "It was sponsored by a witch from my era. She said she admires you all."
With a flick of his right hand toward the flames, using the power of the spell [Flame Shaping], he made a distant view of Miss Galina's luxurious estate appear within the fire. "The witches of my era are quite wealthy."
"So, have you slept with them?" Miss Samuel teased with a smile, pulling out a pair of boots and muttering, "Look, the style of these boots is quite nice. I just didn't expect that in your era, there would still be wit—"
Her sentence cut off halfway, and Miss Samuel froze in place as if struck by lightning. Then, the boots fell from her hand back into the crate, and blood with a slight golden hue began to leak from the corners of her eyes, nose, and mouth. Behind her, the Eleventh-Tier Golden Stairs automatically manifested, but the stairs were flickering and cracks were spreading across their surface.
"Do the witches of Zaras Academy not take courses on [Time Stability Theory]? She actually dared to probe into future events," Miss Orlanode said, sounding helpless and somewhat angry, as she stood up and walked quickly to Miss Samuel's side.
"She's about to lose control. Shade, stabilize the time."
"Witches can lose control? Wait, how do I stabilize time?"
Shade only had a [Spatial Stability Aura], not a [Time Stability Aura].
"What on earth is the future Saint Balance teaching?"
She was quite dissatisfied with Shade's education. She reached out, grabbed Shade's wrist, and pressed it against Miss Samuel's forehead. "Summon your Life Ring and shine your spiritual light on her. Simultaneously use power related to time; use the spirit of Ringcaster Order to guide the disordered time."
Shade understood this time; it was simply a basic technique. Thus, the Life Ring of a Third-Ring Caster appeared amidst the sound of steam whistles and bells. As the spiritual light shone upon the three people below, Miss Orlanode reached out and embraced the trembling witch. More accurately, she tilted her neck and held her head.
The light symbolizing the [Guidance] power of the Yellow Moon flickered, helping the Eleventh-Tier Witch of Zaras Academy stabilize her power alongside Shade.
After a long while, the flickering Golden Stairs behind the witch, which had seemed on the verge of collapse, finally stabilized. Coming back to her senses, Miss Samuel was pale. After softly thanking the two, she slumped back by the campfire, looking to be in very poor condition.
"Every single one of them is such a handful. I finally understand why Teacher Felianna dislikes taking students on adventures. Though, I was very well-behaved back in my day."
Miss Orlanode shook her head, glanced at the haggard Miss Samuel, then reached into a nearby crate to take out a red apple. She wiped it on her clothes, took a bite, and a smile appeared on her face.
"Is this an autumn apple?"
"Yes, autumn—just the beginning of late autumn. But can you perceive the season through the taste of fruit? Is that a special ability regarding taste?" Shade asked curiously.
"No, no, this is the power of my bloodline, allowing me to perceive the growth stage of plants and the date. Before I met my teacher, I survived as a flower girl relying on this power. Speaking of which, my bloodline is a distant branch of the Elven Royalty."
Miss Orlanode, who possessed one-eighth elven blood, took out another apple and tossed it to Shade, then returned to the campfire. Shade sat back down as well.
"Shade, I know your time is limited, so let's get to business. Your miracle [Silent Moonlight] is very effective. Yes, this primitive and ancient power exceeds the scope of my understanding of moonlight."
She flicked her hand upward, and the solidified pale-yellow moon floating above the campfire immediately began to rotate slowly.
"With [Silent Moonlight] helping us, we can continue exploring the ruins of the Cadis Library after you leave. You may have noticed that there are more old books here; these are the books Teacher Felianna and Zaras Academy are searching for. As for the books the grey-robed sage needs, we have found them, but we haven't managed to get our hands on them yet."
(End of Chapter)