Vesper was a little surprised to see Finis smile. She pretty much never did. He was still struggling to wrap his mind around the fact that Lam, a girl he met as the result of a series of coincidences, was Aurora, Finis’s first disciple.
What are the odds?
Vesper knew of reincarnation spells, but they were so risky that he’d never attempt one. It was the kind of magic one would try as a last resort in case of an emergency.
He’d only met Finis’s other disciple once. Being a male elfin, he was unable to use magic, but he had produced countless advanced items. It had been so long ago that Vesper’s memories of their meeting were a little hazy, but he remembered the man’s expensive knowledge leaving an impression on him. Both of their goals were similar: They wanted to find a way for male elfins to be able to use magic. Most elfins had grown tired of looking for a solution and had given up on it, but Finis’s disciple hadn’t. Then again, perhaps that had only been because he was on the younger side.
My goal is to become an elfin. Not a half elfin like I am right now but a full elfin.
Vesper’s reasons for it were simple. First, elfins had a much longer lifespan. Being half human, Vesper would likely only live for about half as long as his brethren. He’d never met anyone else like himself before, but the elfin men in the village had told him that his development was twice as fast as theirs.
My body currently looks like that of a human in his early twenties, but it took me half as long as them to reach that stage. That’s why I can safely assume that my lifespan is probably much shorter as well.
But Vesper wanted to live a long life—and without the need to rely on spells to lengthen it if he could help it. He wanted to learn even more things about magic. He wanted to keep pursuing knowledge with the elfins. He wanted to truly become one of them.
That’s not all...
He also wanted to stay by Finis’s side forever.
Lam’s her first disciple, and her second disciple is a human I never met. The third one is an elfin, and the fourth one is me, a half elfin.
Neither her third nor her fourth disciples had been human. Vesper surmised that Finis was purposefully avoiding forming relationships with those who would die far sooner than she would. While part of it might stem from the fact that she disliked the mundanity of the human world, she seemingly didn’t want to be involved with humans whatsoever. As such, Vesper wanted to stay with her until the end of her life. Who knew when that would be?
However, there was an issue with his plan.
Male elfins can’t use magic.
Vesper wanted to keep his ability to use magic and become a full elfin.
While we’re at it, Aurora should become an elfin too.
That sounded like a great idea. Vesper had always felt like he was inadequate as an elfin, yet he’d never managed to get used to living among humans. He didn’t belong in either world. But with his mother figure and the woman who was basically his older sister by his side, Vesper had a feeling that his life could become much more enjoyable than it had been so far.