Excuse Me, Are You a Veela?

In truth, Yaxiu could have chosen to withdraw from the inheritance right away. The Spectre Secret Key was right on him. However, even if they withdrew this time, they would still encounter this stage next time. Yaxiu guessed that the main reason he had managed to retain his memories was most likely because he had used the Soul Refining sorcery spirit to strengthen his soul, allowing him to barely withstand the effects of Return of the Soul to Youth. Return of the Soul to Youth was silent and traceless; Slumber Under the Overcoat might not work a second time. Moreover, this stage required them to paint individually, which meant Sword Princess and the other two had to remain awake and could not stay in the state of Slumber Under the Overcoat indefinitely. In other words, if they wanted all four of them to retain their memories and clear the stage, they would have to deduce a brand-new soul miracle. It might only take a few days, but it could also take several weeks. Yet the real issue was that Stage 35 was nowhere near the end—by their estimation, the Spectre Inheritance likely had a hundred stages! If they stopped to spend several days inventing a new miracle every time they ran into a difficult trial, they would certainly miss out on the Spectre Inheritance and the blank concept! The Void Realm was open to all sorcerers. Even if elves were scarce now and elven Sanctuary Sorcerers with soul talent were few, there were bound to be brilliantly gifted individuals out there! If nothing else, among the people Yaxiu knew, Qinna's progress was definitely far ahead of theirs! That elven matriarch wasn't just about indulging in lewd desires; she was a genuine soul Sanctuary Sorcerer whose soul faction realm was certainly at the Sanctuary rank. On top of that, she had the Gospel System available for inquiries at any time to help analyze difficult challenges. By now, she had likely cleared the first fifty stages! If they truly wanted to seize the Spectre Inheritance, they couldn't cower or retreat from stages like Stage 35, which could still be pushed through with effort; they had to break through aggressively! This was a consensus the four of them had reached early on! Since Yaxiu could lead everyone away at any moment, they would keep pressing forward, giving up only if they ran into real danger! Standing beside Little Sword Princess, Yaxiu asked, "What do you want to paint?" "Two people!" Little Sword Princess held up two fingers, her eyes full of yearning. "The girl has long red hair as pretty as silk, and a pair of sparkling red eyes, wearing a really pretty wedding dress. The man is wearing really nice formal wear, tall, handsome, cool, and proud! They're hugging each other and looking into each other's eyes, like they're about to kiss!" By the end, her tone grew thoroughly excited; clearly, she had watched no shortage of such scenes in dramas. Still, Yaxiu scratched his head. 'Tall, handsome, cool, and proud'—had Little Sword Princess misread the image, or did the actual Sword Princess have some sort of misunderstanding about him? "Then how about you start with the faces? Just trace the outlines, and then paint the clothes and the wedding dress." Little Sword Princess nodded obediently. As she reached out a finger to paint, she asked, "Hey, why do I have to paint these two? They look like stars in movie trailers." She didn't even recognize herself? Yaxiu blinked. "Don't you think the pretty girl you're going to paint looks like you when you grow up? Both red hair and red eyes..." "Impossible!" Little Sword Princess shook her head. "How could I be that pretty when I grow up? I look so plain and rustic." Yaxiu was just about to say she was very cute right now, but he suddenly realized something—Sword Princess really hadn't been that pretty as a child. He had seen what she looked like when young in the cabin of lost memories: thin, frail, hair dull and dry, her features yet to open up. With another thought, he understood. Return of the Soul to Youth didn't genuinely revert them back to childhood; it merely compressed their souls to the level of children and blocked their memories after childhood. Therefore, their current appearance was simply an adorable, childlike version of their adult selves. Take the Little Witch and Little Weise, for example: though their features had turned childish, their overall contours hadn't changed at all. That was normally impossible; as children grew, their facial bone structures changed constantly. There was an old saying, "The child has grown so much I didn't even recognize them." Conversely, if an adult reverted into a child, it was only natural not to recognize them! So in Little Sword Princess's mind, she was still that dowdy, frail village girl, completely unable to imagine that she could become so confident and beautiful in the future. Even so, Yaxiu said, "Actually, you're very cute right now." Little Sword Princess raised her right fist once again. But Yaxiu caught it and said, "I don't mean your appearance. I think your personality is cute." Little Sword Princess raised her left fist. "You're mocking me! Do you think I don't understand?!" "Yes, exactly that is what's cute," Yaxiu said earnestly. "You might be a little oversensitive, but no matter what kind of malicious suppression you face, you'll never admit defeat and will always punch back resolutely. Even if you weren't pretty as a child, would you give in or give up when you grow up? "By the way, I remember you like Daidalos. Even though I've never seen Daidalos myself, she's probably very beautiful. Didn't you want to grow up to be as dazzling and beautiful as Daidalos? With a wish like that, how could you possibly not be pretty in the future?" Little Sword Princess blinked at him, and after a moment lowered her fist, murmuring softly, "You actually know I want to be as pretty as Daidalos... I've never told that to anyone. That means... you weren't lying to me?" So sharing that bit of info was all it took to win her trust. Yaxiu nodded. "Really. And the red-haired girl you want to paint is exactly how you look when you grow up." Although Little Sword Princess was still somewhat skeptical, she didn't dwell on it. Instead, she asked, "Why do you know I like Daidalos? Are we on very good terms?" "A relationship just a little bit closer than friends," Yaxiu could only answer. Little Sword Princess asked, "If the woman I'm painting is me, then who's the man holding her?" Yaxiu stared back at her blankly. After quite a while, he said, "I can't see who it is. I'll only know once you paint him. But..." "Do you think that man looks like me?" Little Sword Princess froze, her lips twitching slightly, before she slammed a sudden punch that knocked Yaxiu flat on the floor. "You're picking on me again!" Yaxiu couldn't help marveling at the strength of the Soul Refining sorcery spirit; after taking so many hits, he didn't feel a thing. He scrambled to his feet and said, "First paint the outline of the faces, then the clothes. Big shapes first, then small shapes, and gradually refine the details... Can you do that?" "I can." Yaxiu glanced over at the Little Witch and Little Weise, seeing that neither of them had begun painting either, and decided to check on their situation. But he had only taken two steps when Little Sword Princess pulled on him. "Where are you going?" "To teach them how to paint," Yaxiu said. "We can only pass this trial if everyone works together." Dissatisfaction was written all over Little Sword Princess's face. She hesitated for a moment, then hung her head and said, "I'm sorry. I won't hit you anymore." "It's fine." Of course Yaxiu wouldn't hold a grudge against an amnesiac child. "It's all the trial's fault; you were only reacting in your own way." "Then don't go, okay?" Little Sword Princess's nervous tone carried a faint trace of hope. Yaxiu froze. He realized Little Sword Princess's dependence on him. It was quite natural; after all, he had gained her trust, and he had carried himself with confidence throughout. It would be strange if Sword Princess, reverted to childhood, didn't depend on him. Still, this inexplicable possessiveness felt odd, tinged with a fretful fear of being cast aside... Yaxiu suddenly remembered how Little Sword Princess had acted toward the Little Witch earlier—cautious, timid, almost humble. He had initially thought it was the Little Witch's leadership charisma, but thinking about it carefully, Little Sword Princess's inferiority complex was likely at play too. Seeing how cute and pretty the Little Witch was, she instinctively felt lesser. Especially when the Little Witch acted so calm and collected, she felt even more inadequate, able to ease her inferiority only by mounting Yaxiu and asserting her martial might. The same reason explained why she hadn't asked the Little Witch or Little Weise for painting advice. All pretty little girls knew how to paint except her; she surely felt ashamed, so she only dared ask the one person she felt comfortable bullying. It was the same now. Little Sword Princess feared that once Yaxiu went over to them, he would leave her behind, which was why she didn't want him to walk away. A child's world was just that raw and simple. So Yaxiu said, "After I finish showing them, I'll come right back to give you a second lesson. Only you get a second one. How about that?" "You're not lying to me, are you?" "I won't." "All right." Little Sword Princess let go of his hand and obediently began painting on the whiteboard. Having finally settled one of them, Yaxiu headed over to the Little Witch and asked, "Are you running into any trouble?" The Little Witch glanced at him and said, "There are so many people I have to paint, and I barely recognize any of them." Yaxiu thought to himself that if he hadn't retained his memories, he would certainly be completely baffled by what he was supposed to paint as well. Who was this blond man? Who was that dark-skinned man sitting on a coffin? Why was a crow having a barbecue? Such bewilderment would surely plague him. "None of your sisters are around?" Yaxiu asked. The Witch replied, "What sisters?" The miracle Return of the Soul to Youth really was something, managing even to suppress the Witch's sister personalities. Still, since the sister personalities were companion manifestations latent within her soul, it wasn't surprising that they were affected too. This was far better than back in the cabin of lost memories, where the Witch had almost been driven mad by her sisters. Yet perhaps because her sisters were temporarily suppressed, although her hair remained mostly black, a few strands of solid, vibrant colors were woven through it. Evidently, the Witch right now wasn't her actual childhood self either, but an adorable, softened version of her adult state. "You can start by painting the simpler parts," Yaxiu said. "This stage's trial might have a time limit, so finish as quickly as you can." The Little Witch gave an "mm," then suddenly said, "I see someone in my painting who looks a lot like you. "If what you said is true and we've only temporarily reverted to childhood, then that person is probably the real you." Yaxiu nodded. "That's right, that's me." The Little Witch continued, "But in this painting, there are also four pretty girls with different demeanors and similar appearances. Whether through their gazes or their gestures, they show their affection for you from every conceivable angle—even I can see it. "In my picture books, I read about a wondrous creature called a Veela. Everyone loves a creature like that." The Little Witch stared at Yaxiu and asked curiously: "Excuse me, are you a Veela?"