“It seems you've already arrived at your answer,” the Watcher said. “By the way, the treasure bound to this question is this.”
A sorcery spirit appeared in the Watcher's hand. “This is the sorcery spirit you cherish most—the Substitute.”
Yaxiu looked at the Substitute sorcery spirit as though looking upon his own beloved, his expression instantly turning solemn. “I can feel it. It truly is immensely important to me!”
“So choose carefully,” the Watcher said leisurely. “State your answer.”
“Though I'd really love to pick one of those backgrounds that would let me sweep through the ages or reverse causality—after all, who wouldn't want to have been a transcendent figure who braved wind and fire?” Yaxiu shrugged. “Unfortunately, I'm someone favored by the Mistress (Denzel). My intellect won't permit me to deceive myself.”
“Option Three. I'm just an ordinary person who knows nothing.”
The Watcher glanced at him and closed his hand over the Substitute sorcery spirit. The Substitute looked as if it could hardly breathe.
Then he squeezed viciously—
“Congratulations, you got it right.”
The Watcher opened his right hand; there was nothing inside. He then opened his left hand, and two streams of light sank into Yaxiu's body. “Your reward is the Directive sorcery spirit.”
Yaxiu breathed a sigh of relief. “Don't scare me like that.”
“If it frightened you, so much the better.” The Watcher lowered his eyelids. “That way, when you need to relinquish what you cherish in the future, you might be mentally prepared.”
Yaxiu blinked. He felt as though there were deeper meaning behind this phantom's words. But the Watcher was clearly committed to playing the role of a cryptic riddler—something Yaxiu could understand, as he loved playing the riddler himself—and promptly skipped past the topic, moving into the final stage in the wooden cabin.
“And now comes your final question. This time I can assure you, it really, really, really is simple,” the Watcher said in a brisk tone. “Please relax, and welcome the conclusion of this amnesia exam in high spirits.”
Yaxiu scooted his chair backward, as if half expecting the Watcher to pull out a time bomb for him to defuse.
The Watcher opened the picture album on the table. “Your final question here happens to be identical to your first question here: among the following women, please select the one who holds the highest place in your heart.”
Yaxiu let out a sigh of relief. This truly was simple. He knew very well that he was a superficial sucker for looks; all he had to do was pick the prettiest one.
“First, Candidate One.”
The Watcher turned to the first page. The illustration depicted someone they knew well: long burgundy hair, ruby eyes, a short black dress, holding a longsword, radiating youthful vitality—it was Sonia.
Sonia blushed slightly and couldn't resist lightly thumping Yaxiu's shoulder.
“Next, Candidate Two.”
He turned to the second page, another person familiar to them: a black-and-white checkered dress, one leg clad in a white stocking, the other in black, hair split half-black and half-white—it was Diya.
“Next, Candidate Three.”
He turned to the third page. This was not someone they recognized: amethyst earrings, holding an elegant orange velvet folding fan, dressed in a purple trench coat, even wearing lavender gloves—a beautiful woman blooming like a violet. If one had to draw a comparison, she looked somewhat similar to Denzel, though only slightly.
“Next, Candidate Four.”
He turned to the fourth page, another stranger: the woman in the painting wore loose black robes and held a crow mask. She seemed to be lifting the mask, revealing half of her face. Her sleek black hair shone with the luster of raven feathers, her rose-red lips looked tantalizingly plump, and her crimson eyes seemed capable of capturing one's soul.
By now, Sonia's expression had already shifted slightly.
“Next, Candidate Five—”
“Stop!”
Yaxiu pressed down on the Watcher's hand just as it was about to turn the page. The Watcher blinked. “What? Aren't you going to look at the remaining options?”
“No need,” Yaxiu said. “I choose the first one.”
“So decisive?” The Watcher smiled faintly. “Who knows, the next one might be a fine woman you'd fall in love with at first sight.”
“First of all, no matter how I look at it, in both reason and sentiment, I can only choose among the three who ended up in this cabin with me. Now I know the Mistress isn't my mistress, the Little Sister probably isn't my sister, and only the Lover could possibly be my lover.”
“Besides,” Yaxiu shrugged, “calling her my lover in here, only to pick someone else as my greatest love in the end... even I couldn't bring myself to do something like that.”
“Don't hold back on my account,” Sonia said calmly. “Everything is just your speculation anyway. Who knows, maybe I'm not your lover at all?”
Yaxiu tilted his head to look at her, then suddenly said, “Personality determines memory.”
“Hm?”
“If you weren't my lover, I truly wouldn't need to hold back on your account,” Yaxiu said with a smile. “Yet I distinctly realize that I do care about your feelings. What do you think that means?”
Sonia huffed. “It means you're the kind of greedy scoundrel who eats what's in his mouth, clutches what's in his bowl, and still keeps his eyes on the pot.”
“The treasure bound to this question is... your second most cherished sorcery spirit, 'Reverse Day.'”
Noticing the Sword Princess was reaching for her sword hilt again, the Watcher forcefully cut short their emotional sparring. “Please state your answer.”
“Option One.”
“Not changing it?”
“Not changing it.”
“Very well.” The Watcher leaned back against his chair, stretched lazily, looked at Yaxiu, Sonia, and Denzel, and spread his hands. “You answered wrong. *Poof!* Your Reverse Day sorcery spirit is gone.”
After a moment of silence, Sonia's voice rang out in the cabin.
“Could you let me see what Candidate Five looks like?”
The Watcher was taken aback. “Why?”
“I'm just a little curious...” Sonia replied. “By the way, are there a Candidate Six and a Candidate Seven?”
“You clearly just want to memorize everyone's faces so you can settle scores with me after getting your memories back!” Yaxiu saw right through Sonia's sinister intentions. “You really are a treacherous, petty, spiteful woman! Please, show mercy and pretend this never happened!”
“Sorry,” the Watcher said. “The quiz game is over. Viewing previous questions is not permitted. Examinees, please exit in an orderly fashion.”
Witch: [I am so looking forward to their reactions once they step outside the cabin...]
Sword Princess: [It actually wasn't?]
Witch: [Hm?]
Sword Princess: [I thought the person he values most right now would be... Watcher, what is the answer?]
Watcher: [The cabin didn't tell me. It only determines right or wrong. Still, I can make a fair guess. The woman Yaxiu values most at this moment should still be her.]
...
Meanwhile.
Beneath the Void Realm's Time Continent, in the Sea of Knowledge.
A small boat was moored beside an islet. Freya sat on a chair, holding pen and paper, undergoing the Destiny Q&A.
Even she hadn't expected that only a few days after becoming a sorcerer, she would run into a fortuitous encounter that ordinary sorcerers could only miss across their entire lifetimes.
What excited her even more was that she had already answered a question correctly—and the question had been about Yaxiu!
[Question · Single Choice: What plan will Freya Hoyle undertake together with Yaxiu Heath in the future?]
[① A plan to rewrite destiny]
[② A plan to reverse time]
[③ A plan to turn the world upside down]
[④ All of the above]
Aside from being thrilled that she would meet Yaxiu again in the future, Freya had had no clue about the question and had simply picked an answer at random. Who would have thought she would actually guess right!
Just thinking about how she and Yaxiu would both become prominent figures driving a magnificent plan in the future made the Veela's heart surge with emotion, to the point where she almost wanted to log out of the Void Realm immediately to seek solace for her desires.
Even so, she had to continue the Destiny Q&A; learning even a little more about the future was a gain. Freya took a deep breath to steady her nerves and focused on the paper. Several lines of text promptly surfaced upon it:
[Question · Single Choice: Who is the woman holding the highest place in Yaxiu Heath's heart at present?]
[① Dead Frenzy Sword Princess]
[② Black and White Witch]
[③ Crow Doctor]
[④ Veela Freya Hoyle]
[⑤ Purple Moth Annan Doran]
[⑥ Weeping Red Hat Cleios Baimu]
[⑦ His mother]
Freya looked at the seventh option and fell into deep thought.
“...What does 'mother' mean?”
Chapter 313