Chapter 137 - Nathan And His High Elf Hair

  Nathan Evenhart:

  I was standing in front of the mirror ihroom of my room at the Evenhart mansion in Apsalon, trying to make sure my hair still mao hide the stubborn streak of silver that insisted on showing. The number of strands turning silver was increasing quickly, way beyond what a simple trim could fix.

  I desperately hat dye...

  Apsalon, being a city famous for its etipanies and specialty products, was the perfect pce to find what I needed. As a ral zoweehree kingdoms, many businesses set up shop here, making it easier to import materials for everything from healing potions to specialized etics. And I definitely needed something to keep my hair bck.

  If this ge keeps going, I’ll have to say goodbye to bck hair auck using dye forever. I hope the day es soon when I reveal I’m desded from a High Elf.

  “Nathan, are you do?” my mother asked, knog on the door.

  I opehe bathroom door and showed her the problem.

  “You said there was dye here at the mansion. I use it?” I asked, a little desperate.

  She stepped closer, running her fihrough my hair, iing each strand carefully.

  “It’s getting worse. And what’s this?” she excimed, pulling out a rge silver streak in surprise.

  “I told you, it’s gotten worse.”

  She sighed, but started fixing my hair. "Don’t worry, we still hide it. You just o tie your hair up ahe silver uhe bck strands. We’ll let Aunt Margie take a look before you head out."

  She brushed my hair skillfully, hiding the silver with the darker strands.

  “We still dye it, there’s time,” I suggested.

  “We don’t have time for that now,” my mother said. “You o wet your hair, apply the dye, and as it dries naturally, activate the mana strand by strand.”

  Just hearing that nearly gave me a heart attack.

  “That sounds way too plicated! How am I supposed to do that at the academy?” I asked, horrified.

  She ughed.

  “This is nothing pared to what women gh to look good every day,” she teased. “Don’t worry, I’ll help and teach you how to apply the magic dye,” she said, finishing up with my hair and pnting a loving kiss on top of my head.

  “Mom!” I pined, embarrassed. “I’m already 15…”

  “You could be 100, and you’d still be my son,” she replied with a smile.

  “And if… I were more than 500 years old?” I asked, remembering my true age.

  She kept smiling, not missing a beat. “You could be a thousand, and you’d still be my baby,” she said, gently ping my cheek.

  Only she make a General feel this way…

  We left the bathroom, and she helped me tie my hair back. I was dressed i clothes for the initiation ceremony of the udents and their parents at Apsalon Academy. The night was calm, and tomorrow would mark the official start of my jour the academy.

  ‘Meow,’ I heard a familiar sound. It was Cyl in her small Moon Panther form.

  “You’re staying here, Cyl. Tonight’s a private event,” I informed her.

  “I’ll rest and sleep. Call me tomorrow,” she responded, jumping onto my bed.

  I headed downstairs, where my aunt was waiting for me. Before I could say anything, I was interrupted by Chloe’s voice.

  “How do I look?” she asked, appearing in a stunning red dress.

  I had to quickly avert my gaze, which had, out of reflex, been drawn a little lower than her neck... to where two soft, round things were.

  "You... you look great," I said, trying to maintain trol and avoid direct eye tact.

  "You look really handsome too," she replied, grabbing my arm. And then, without warning, I felt my arm pressed against those two soft, round things.

  "Wait... hold on... don't hold me like that..." I stammered, embarrassed.

  "I see you're finally ready," my aunt said, standing up to meet us.

  Martha appeared from some er of the house.

  "The carriage is waiting for you outside," Martha announced with her usual efficy.

  My mother and my aunt exged gnces, and we headed toward the door. I walked alongside them, but Aunt Margie stopped me just before we reached the exit.

  "Hold on a sed, dear. Let me take a look at you," she said as she began to i my hair.

  Aunt Margie carefully exami, making sure the silver strands were well hidden. When she finished, her eyes locked onto mine, her expression showing more than just over my appearance.

  "And stly, those beautiful eyes," she ented with a soft smile. "The blue shade is ging slowly. It's subtle, but noticeable to anyone paying close attention. Are you sure those is with your eyes have stopped?"

  "Yes, ma'am. They haven't happened," I replied firmly.

  She sighed, still a little worried. "The bleeding was worse than the usual tears of blood you used to have. I know you're responsible, Nathan, but if it happens agai your mother or Adrihna know. We 't let anyone find out about your Special Eyes... at least, not yet."

  The memory of the bleeding uled me for a moment.

  It was the result of me overdoing my training with the Celestial Aspects...

  Once I was sure I was ready, we headed for the carriage. The driver atiently waiting for us. I gnced out the window, letting my eyes wander over the city. Apsalon, the city that would be my home for the five years.

  What does the future hold?

  My thoughts mingled with the lights that gleamed along the streets of Apsalon, while the sound of the carriage wheels filled the air. This was just the beginning, and I hoped the few years would be peaceful, without any trouble.

  ***

  As roached, I couldn’t help but admire the viesalon was a magical city, vibrant and brimming with diversity. Everywhere my eyes wandered, I saw different races. Oreets, it was on to see an elf walking alongside a demi-human, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. And, in truth, it was.

  The city not only housed inhabitants from the three kingdoms but also weled visitors from other tries, something rare in ions.In that moment, I began to grasp what it truly meant to live in a magical city. Everything seemed to run on magical devices, from the floating lights to the meisms that kept the city moving. Apsalon was surrounded by wild regions from the other kingdoms, but this didn’t seem to intimidate its residents. On the trary, the city thrived because of its proximity to an a magical byrinth, where many adventurers earheir living by hunting creatures arag crystals.

  The crystals, small and gleaming, tained mana withihey were the power source for the magical devices, providing a solution for those who didn’t possess mana gems like mages did.

  In addition, the byrinths hid rare creatures, whose materials were highly valuable. For example, minotaur horn powder was an excelleilizer when mixed with manure from two-headed goats. This kind of knowledge was essential in my family’s agricultural duchy, but here, in Apsalon, the focus was on the abundanagical teology.

  Our duchy, with its ey rooted in agriculture, seemed worlds apart from this reality, but within the kingdom, magical teology was vital, especially in the Royal Capital and Apsalon, where innovations flowed in from all three realms. Even the academy where I would study had its own dungeo Apsalon offered more than just that for adventurers: the wild forests, the vast byrinth, and another dungeon farther out, where only the most experienced dared to venture.

  The dungeon of Apsalon Academy was a key training ground for students. It was no wohat the academy was sidered the best of the three realms; it had its own dungeon. It wasn’t just a pce for theoretical study but an arena where each student had to put their skills to the test. Until graduation, it was mandatory to reach a certain level in the dungeon floors. This art of the process that produced the best mages. They didn’t just learn in the but faced practical challenges where theory met reality.

  But the academy wasn’t only for battle mages. There were various specializations, from engio healing mages, and even those students, at some point, had to desd into the dungeon. Aside from training, many essential materials were found there, rare ingredients and artifacts that could only be obtained in its depths.

  As I looked at the city through the carriage window, a new feeling began to grow inside me. Apsalon, with its massive walls, seemed like a protected fortress but also a hub of teology. The streetmps, with magical globes that lit up automatically at dusk, were just one example of how advahe city was.

  Oreets, I saw carriages pulled by exotiimals I had never seen before, and various shops dispyed magical devices in their windows, highlighting the practical and teological aspect of the city. Every er seemed filled with opportunities and mysteries waiting to be uncovered.

  I’ll miss the castle.

  When we left Evenhart Castle, we bid farewell to the legacies still there. In truth, we had already said oodbyes to most of them over the past month, as not everyone would be present on the day of our departure. My old bat instructor, the monk Sifu, promised he would visit me occasionally, bringing a sense of tinuity. Martha apanied us, as always, but Hugo had to stay at the castle, given his important role in the family’s army.

  Looking out the carriage window again, I took in the vastness of the city that would now be my home for the ing years.

  I’ve lived as Nathan Evenhart for 15 years. Slowly, the feneral I once was feels like the memory of a story from a distant past, something that ruly existed. Emperor Icarus and Sn Icarus are hat belong to a time I no longer wish to revisit. Today, I am simply Nathan.

  Over time, I’ve experienced something I never had before: childhood. I pyed in a peaceful home, surrounded by the love of a devoted mother. I ate simple, wholesome meals, and I was treated with kindness.

  I no longer want to be an Emperor. I no longer wish to bear the burden of being the Sn. I am tent to be human, with human worries. I will tiing my age, enjoying my youth, but I’ll also have the caution o ehing disrupts my future. After all, what I desire most now is this simple, peaceful life.