Mage Manual-Chapter 1319 - 963: They Aren’t Wrong Either

On the bench in the Central Square, Vishi glanced at the phone: "It’s almost time and still not here... but there’s a smell of rain in the air, I wonder if the fireworks festival will be canceled."

At this moment, Rose suddenly said: "Nia, can you do me a favor?"

Nia was slightly taken aback, then nodded: "Sure, what do you need?"

"Just sit still." Rose hooked her arm around Nia’s and rested her head on Nia’s shoulder, closing her eyes to nap, "Ash isn’t here, so I’ll take a little nap."

"Are you very tired?"

"Lately, my sleep time has decreased, and I start feeling sleepy as soon as night falls."

"Are you also suffering from insomnia?" Vishi casually asked, but then quickly realized something and turned to look at Rose.

"It’s not me who’s insomniac." Rose replied.

...

...

Filly was crying so much she could hardly breathe, continually wiping her tears with her hands, but the more she wiped, the more tears flowed.

She knew she must look hideous now, her eye makeup was smudged, and her sobs wouldn’t stop, even causing snot bubbles to form, showing Ash her most disgraceful side.

But she felt she deserved it, that she was just this ugly, just this disgraceful, just a crybaby coward who couldn’t even voice the words she’d mulled over in her heart for days and still had to trouble Ash to comfort her.

She wasn’t crying for Ash, she was crying for her own powerlessness, her lack of courage, her lack of responsibility.

She knew clearly that Ash had no obligation to sacrifice for this world.

She so dearly wished for Ash to find happiness, even if it meant not being with her, even if it was in some place she knew nothing about.

She wished to triumph over those rivals in love, yet she couldn’t even be good to Ash.

If... if only...

"If only I were the Sword Maiden."

Filly took a deep breath, her tear-filled eyes gazing at Ash: "If I were the Sword Maiden, I could surely say the words I can’t now, do the things I can’t now..."

"Why did you have to find a way to save the world... why do you want to save the world..." She lightly pounded on Ash’s shoulder, large teardrops falling, "Why can’t I care about you as much as the Sword Maiden..."

"You pinning the responsibility on me is very much in the style of the Sword Maiden," Ash said with a wry smile: "It makes me doubt whether I actually bear any responsibility."

"But you’re not wrong; if it were the Sword Maiden, she might directly bind me up until the Angel Hunt ends." He shrugged, "As for the Witch, she might be a bit more lenient, perhaps just cuffing herself to me, going wherever I go..."

"But in any case, they would stop me from risking angering all the Divine Lords to save a world unrelated to them. It’s not that they don’t care about innocent lives, but they’re more decisive in killing, more ruthless."

"I’m sorry..." Filly wailed, wiping her eyes with her sleeve: "I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!"

"Why apologize, I’m actually praising you." Ash said, half-laughing, half-crying: "Besides, I’m quite afraid you’ll say something to make me abandon my plan, because saving Allstars was initially your idea, and if even you gave up, I’d actually be quite disappointed that you betrayed your original intent."

"But, but," Filly pursed her lips tightly, like a sad little kitten: "If I don’t stop you, it’s like I’m consenting to you risking your life... I can’t utter words of encouragement, nor can I say words to stop you, so I just rely on you..."

"That’s why I’m really happy." Ash propped his chin with his hand, smiling: "Because that’s truly Filly’s style."

"I’ve always felt that Filly, you and I are of the same kind, and I wasn’t wrong about it."

Filly sniffled back her snot, looking blankly at Ash, then nodded heavily, accepting this claim with aggrieved resignation:

"That’s right, I’m as lousy as you..."

Ash almost spat out a mouthful of old blood, hurriedly explaining: "That’s not what I meant, and I don’t... lousy (super quietly)... What I meant is, the reason why you’re so conflicted is that, like me, you’re a greedy person."

"Huh?"

"It’s like the trolley problem now, with the Dazzling Star Magic Master as the trolley, one side being the Kingdom of Allstars, the other side being me, either let the Dazzling Star Magic Master run over me, or let the Dazzling Star Magic Master run over Allstars." Ash said, "You can’t choose, because you don’t want to give up either, you want to save both."

"I’m the same." He smiled: "I’m not heading toward sacrifice, I want to preserve Allstars and come back unscathed."

Filly sniffled, nodded: "It really is greedy."

"We’re the kind of people who want it all." Ash lifted his hand toward the starry sky of the Allstars curtain, "In a world where miracles exist, why can’t everyone find happiness?"

Filly looked at Ash in a daze, timidly asking: "Is that really possible?"

"Of course, I’m a Mage, and Mages are just a bunch of thieves pursuing miracles." Ash laughed: "Filly, your kind of mentality is very Mage-like, if there’s a chance, you could definitely become a successful Mage, and then don’t forget little Ash when you’re soaring high."

Filly smiled through her tears, "Sometimes I dream of wandering through the starry sky, can Mages do that?"

"Probably...possible?" Ash wasn’t certain: "Though I’ve never heard of a layer of the Void Realm that’s a starry sky... but even if there isn’t, you can steal a piece of the starry sky! Whatever you want, just steal it, that’s the law of Mages!"