I don't want to be an elf!

Tohka Yatogami swallowed hard, not understanding what was happening.

"here it is......?"

She instinctively asked the question.

"This is the forbidden library of the Tower of Sages in the Imperial Capital, a library that gathers all the wisdom of mankind."

She didn't think she would get an answer to what was originally just a question she was asking herself.

But behind her, a boy's voice rang out, answering her question.

Yatogami Tohka turned around to look.

A boy of about twelve or thirteen years old answered her question while tidying up the books.

The boy had shoulder-length light golden hair and wore a white robe, looking handsome and cute.

Yatogami Tohka had never seen this boy before.

But for some inexplicable reason, he looked somewhat familiar.

But in any case, everything that is happening now is beyond her control.

The Divine Armor and the Fiery Blade appeared on her body, and she warily pointed the tip of her sword at the boy not far away.

"Haha, I didn't recognize you after all. But then again, it seems you've never seen what I looked like before."

The boy placed the last book on the shelf, dusted off his hands, and smiled at Tohka Yatogami.

"My name is Swan Kandel. Welcome to my consciousness."

Chapter Sixty-One: The Passing of the Wise

After hearing the boy's self-identification and the name of this space, the girl understood what had happened, even though she didn't show it on the surface.

Clearly, after the curse within Swann went berserk due to the spirit crystal, he lost his physical body in reality, while his consciousness remained attached to the spirit crystal, leaving him in a state of being half-dead.

When she released her spiritual power, trying to pull the spirit crystal out of the source of distortion, Swan, who was residing in the spirit crystal, also sensed what was happening in the outside world and activated the spirit crystal to pull her into his own consciousness space.

"Can you tell me about the outside world?" Swan pleaded. "Since I lost my physical body, I have no idea what's going on outside."

"But isn't your consciousness still inside the spirit crystal?"

“It’s just that it resides in the spirit crystal; it doesn’t mean I control it,” Swan said helplessly. “You could also think of it as me being trapped inside the spirit crystal.”

"Alright, then I'll get straight to the point."

Yatogami Tohka cleared her throat and said briefly, "The curse within you and the spiritual power of the spirit crystal have merged to become a source of distortion capable of destroying the entire floating continent archipelago. It is currently being suppressed by Kurozuki, and I was asked by him to take out the spirit crystal from the source of distortion so that it will dissipate automatically."

"Is that really the case?"

After listening to Tohka Yatogami's retelling, Shi Wan showed no surprise on his face and agreed, saying, "This is the best course of action. It's fortunate that you came, otherwise that guy Kurozuki might not have been able to suppress it for long."

"Yes, he said he could suppress it for a maximum of two months."

Tohka Yatogami nodded, then asked, "Speaking of which, your body in the real world has disappeared. What will you do after I retrieve the spirit crystal?"

"Well, my consciousness will probably disappear too."

Swan answered calmly, slowly turning his neck to look at the vast library: "My curse affected the spirit crystal, which is why my consciousness was able to reside in it. If the spirit crystal is removed, this space of my consciousness will lose its foothold, and I will naturally disappear."

"this......"

Tohka Yatogami opened her mouth, then hesitated before asking, "Can you accept this?"

The people in this world are really hard to like, especially these brave souls who know the truth about the world but still choose to betray it.

Adding to this the Golden Fairy incident, she felt absolutely no goodwill towards Swan.

She was willing to hand over the spirit crystal to him purely in order to cooperate with him and find a way to complete the mission.

However, when faced with this person calmly speaking of his impending death, her heart told her that she couldn't just leave him alone.

Looking at the kind girl in front of him, Swan's face lit up with a smile.

“I should have died five hundred years ago. To be honest, I’m tired of living this long.”

Swan took a deep breath, looked out the library window, and slowly exhaled.

This is his consciousness space.

There was nothing outside the library.

But it seemed as if he could really see something; a touch of vicissitude appeared in the boy's clear blue eyes.

"Child, what are your dreams?"

After a long silence, Swan suddenly asked, "I know this might be a difficult question for you with your amnesia, but I still want to know your answer."

"Ideal? What's that?" Tohka Yatogami looked puzzled.

"It's something you want to do, something you absolutely must do, something you have to accomplish no matter what sacrifices you have to make."

"Well......"

Yatogami Tohka pondered for a long time.

Under Swan's gaze, as if she had thought of something, she tentatively spoke:

"I want to... protect Nephren and the others."

I want Nephren to travel the world and hone her culinary skills, I want Chtholly to live with Willem as lovers, I want Asya to be carefree forever, I want Nigoran to stop worrying about us, I want Landor to learn what she wants to learn, and I want Nephren to be free to go wherever she wants...

I don't have any grand ideals; I don't want to change the world, nor do I want to save everyone.

I just want to protect the people I love.

I want them to be able to live happily.

Can something like this be considered ideal?

Seemingly aware that what she wanted to do was far too insignificant compared to Swan's ideal of reclaiming the ground, Yatogami Tohka lowered her head in embarrassment.

After waiting for a long time without receiving a response from Swan, she cautiously raised her head again and studied his expression.

But what she saw was not contempt and mockery, but a smiling face.

"What are you talking about?" Swan said with a grin. "Protecting the people you want to protect, that's the best ideal."

“Is… is that so?”

"Of course."

Swan said it as if it were some established truth.

Although he was acknowledging someone else's ideals, Swan's expression was as if his own ideals had been recognized.

He shook his head, calming himself down a bit.

He raised his hand, flicked his fingers, and a thick book flew into his hand from who knows where.

"Okay."

Swan tossed the book to Tohka Yatogami and said, "This is a method for purifying the soul fragments of the Star God. Just follow this method and you're sure to succeed."

The moment Yatogami Tohka received the book, it transformed into a beam of white light and merged into her brow.

In an instant, a flood of knowledge rushed into her mind.

"So fast? Kurozuki said it would take him several months to do that," Yatogami Tohka said in surprise.

"Well, I didn't spend all my time in the consciousness space thinking about the past. I also conducted quite a few experiments using the spirit crystals."

Swan gave a thumbs up and grinned, "And don't forget, I'm a genius."

Then, as if he had remembered something, he patted his head.

He casually reached into his body and, after searching for a moment, retrieved a jet-black spirit crystal.

"It's time to return this thing to its rightful owner."

Swan gently pushed the spirit crystal in front of her.

Looking at the spirit crystal before her, Yatogami Tohka hesitated and said, "If I take it, won't you disappear?"

"I don't have many years left to live anyway. If you can help me reclaim the land and fulfill my long-cherished wish, I can die in peace."

"But......"

“My greatest dream has failed, but yours may still be fulfilled, isn’t it?” Swan said with a smile. “Go, child, for the sake of those who are still alive. It’s time to realize your dream.”

With Shiwan's encouragement, the hesitation on Yatogami Tohka's face was gradually replaced by determination.

She reached out and grasped the spirit crystal in front of her.

"Buzz!"

This time, the spirit crystal did not resist.

From then on, its owner became Yatogami Tohka.

And it was precisely because of this that, in the next moment, this space of consciousness began to collapse little by little.

"Farewell, Swan."

Before severing the connection with this space of consciousness, Tohka Yatogami solemnly said, "I will take back the ground. Don't worry, I will fulfill your last dream for you."

"In that case, could you also pass on a message to William for me?"

"What?"

"Let's say... his old friend sincerely wishes him that he can live without regrets in this world five hundred years from now."

"Okay, I'll bring it."

"Well, please."

Swan flashed a bright smile and waved at the vanished Tohka Yatogami.

Soon, her figure completely disappeared from the spot.

This space of consciousness will also come to an end.

"Hehe, dying in familiar surroundings doesn't seem so bad."

Standing in the forbidden library of the Sage's Tower, the place he remembered most vividly from his time as a human, he calmly stood with his hands behind his back, waiting for his consciousness to fade away.