Starting from Ainz Ooal Gown, simultaneously traveling through time

Chapter 221 Einzbern Castle

Sakura was silent for a moment, then couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Qinglong, you're like a ghost now; no one else can see you, only I can hear your voice through the imaginary space, right?"

The voice sighed, a hint of helplessness in its tone: "I've already said, I'm not a ghost. My true form is currently far beyond the reach of humans. I only established a connection with you through a drop of blood, which is why you can hear me. Others don't have my blood or your imaginary attribute, so naturally they can't hear me."

Sakura recalled the dreamlike scene from just now, in which a drop of golden liquid landed on her forehead, and suddenly realized, "So Mr. Seiryu is that golden drop of water, and now it's on my head?" As she spoke, she reached out and touched her forehead, but felt nothing.

"—That's a drop of my blood." The voice paused. "Never mind, you can consider it an extension of me. My blood also carries my will."

Sakura touched her forehead again, tilted her head and thought for a moment: "It's not on my head—could it have gone inside my head?"

Is Mr. Qinglong inside my head right now?

"My blood has flowed into your body, and my will is firmly attached to your soul. Theoretically, you can now consider me to be inside your head, after all, the head is the main dwelling place of the soul."

Sakura's eyes lit up, and her tone was filled with excitement: "Then isn't Mr. Azure Dragon my guardian spirit?"

'

"————You can say that if you want."

"So Mr. Seiryu is a guardian spirit!" Sakura's voice unconsciously rose a few decibels, filled with the unique excitement of a child. "No wonder he could protect me and defeat Grandpa! Mr. Seiryu is so amazing!"

The voice seemed to be infected by her enthusiasm, and its tone became a little lighter: "I feel you're a bit too lively. Were you always like this?"

Sakura nodded matter-of-factly: "Of course that's how I am, Mr. Seiryu."

"Then keep it that way," the voice said. "Don't become lifeless."

Sakura nodded vigorously, her eyes crinkling with a smile: "Okay, Mr. Seiryu!"

After laughing for a while, she began to look around again: the luxurious bed, the carved bedside table, the hanging gauze curtains, and the flickering flames in the fireplace.

Everything was so unfamiliar, yet so exquisite.

She couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Qinglong, where are we now?"

She felt that the layout here was very luxurious, with a strong Western style. Although the Tohsaka family's residence was also Western-style, it was not as classic and dignified as this place.

The feeling here is like that of a centuries-old royal castle from a fairy tale, where every stone is imbued with the marks of time.

"You're not mistaken, this is a castle," the voice said. "A bedroom in Einzbern Castle."

'

o

Sakura repeated the tongue-twisting name several times, but still couldn't remember it: "Ein-Zbern? Never heard of it—"

'

"They have some connection to the Tohsaka family's ancestors." The voice's tone became subtle. "They're birds of a feather—ugh, they're in cahoots—ugh, they're accomplices—ugh. Anyway, that's the gist of it, their ancestors were in cahoots."

Sakura couldn't understand those strange idioms, but she at least gleaned one piece of information: this Einzbern family was connected to the Tohsaka family.

She tentatively asked, "So—was this Einzbern family originally friends with my family?"

The voice paused for a moment, then retorted, "Do you still consider that your home? Your father doesn't want you anymore."

These words were like a needle, gently piercing Xiaoying's heart. Her originally cheerful face instantly fell, her lips began to tremble, and her eyes quickly filled with tears.

She remembered the day she was sent away, her father's calm expression, and "Grandpa's" sinister smile.

She is no longer a member of the Tohsaka family; she is now Matou Sakura.

"Stop crying." The voice was unusually gentle. "Crying won't solve anything. You can go back to your father and ask him if he loves you or not, instead of hiding in a corner and crying by yourself."

Sakura's tears still fell, pattering onto the blanket.

After crying for a while, she forcefully wiped away her tears, raised her head, her eyes red but with a hint of determination: "Mr. Qinglong, you're right. I'm going to find my father and ask him why he gave me to that terrifying grandfather, why he was so cruel."

After saying that, she threw off the covers, climbed out of bed, and stepped onto the smooth floor. She looked around, found the doorway, pushed it open, and went out.

Then, she froze.

Outside the door was a long corridor covered with a dark red carpet, with huge oil paintings hanging on both sides, and an antique-style wall lamp every few steps.

The corridor branched off into several forks, each leading into deeper unknowns. The castle was so vast that she couldn't tell which way was which.

Sakura wandered around in the corridor for ten minutes.

Then she got lost.

Eindzbern Castle was much larger than she had imagined, with corridors stretching one after another and staircases leading to another. Every few steps there was a door that looked almost identical. She walked back and forth several times and found herself back at the starting point.

Sakura grew anxious and couldn't help but whisper, "Mr. Seiryu, please help me—"

"The layout here isn't complicated, is it?" the voice asked with a hint of mockery. "How could you get lost here?"

As soon as she finished speaking, a clear overhead view of the route appeared in Sakura's field of vision. The winding lines and the dense room markings dazzled Sakura.

She stared at it for a while, still not understanding, and her voice carried a hint of embarrassment: "Mr. Qinglong, I—I don't understand—could you make something simpler?"

"—" The voice paused for a second, "Never mind, just follow the arrows."

The route map disappeared. In its place, large, bright green arrows suddenly appeared on the walls, floor, and ceiling.

Those arrows were thick and shiny, like the signs next to emergency exits in a shopping mall, only several times larger, so eye-catching that they were hard to ignore. They pointed clearly and were easy to understand.

The sunlight streaming in from outside the door was overwhelming.

She stood at the castle gate, squinting to adjust to the light for a moment.

Before me lay a neatly trimmed lawn, in the distance a dense forest, and above me a clear blue sky.

She turned to look at the magnificent castle behind her, with its white stone walls, pointed towers, and stained-glass windows; it was indeed as beautiful as depicted in a fairy tale.

But this is not her home.

She turned to leave.

"Wait." The voice suddenly rang out, "There are many protective spells around this castle. If you wander around, you could easily trigger them."

Sakura immediately stopped in her tracks. Although she didn't quite understand the specific effects of barrier magic, she had heard her father say that some areas of the house were protected by barriers and that one should not wander into them, otherwise the consequences would be severe and she would be severely punished by her father.

She quickly asked, "What should we do now, Mr. Qinglong?"

"Follow the arrows, don't deviate even slightly."

On the ground, a thin green arrow appeared out of thin air, extending forward, across the lawn, into the distant woods, and stretching to the horizon.

Sakura cautiously took her first step, then her second, then her third—she walked very slowly, making sure she was perfectly on the arrows before she dared to move.

They walked on thin ice, as if traversing a minefield, afraid that a single misstep would trigger something terrible.

"You can walk a little faster." The voice was getting impatient. "At your pace, you won't even get there by dark."

Home."

"But—I'm afraid of touching the barrier." Sakura's voice was filled with grievance.

"There aren't many barriers here. I drew the arrows mainly so you wouldn't get lost, not so you wouldn't step on a landmine." The voice paused, "Never mind, I'll make the arrows a little bigger."

The slender arrow instantly expanded into a thick and wide road, almost filling the entire road surface.

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief and confidently started walking, turning her small steps into a jog.

As she ran, she asked, "By the way, Mr. Qinglong, are you familiar with this place?"

"Nonsense, I know how to get out, just like I did in."

Sakura asked curiously, "So how did you get in?"

"It flew in."

Sakura's eyes lit up as she recalled the video replay, showing herself soaring into the sky surrounded by flames and flying into the clouds. Flying—that's the dream of all humankind!

She couldn't help but ask wistfully, "Then why don't we fly out?"

"I'm tired, I don't want to fly." The voice was crisp and clear. "Besides, if everything depends on flying, what's the use of legs?"

'

Sakura's little expectations were dashed, but she didn't persist. Mr. Seiryu said he was tired, so she shouldn't bother him anymore. Her mother had taught her that she should do things for herself.

She clenched her small fist and said earnestly, "Mr. Qinglong, please rest well. We won't trouble you anymore."

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