Hate Me, Witch!-Chapter 180: “Fire Thief” Xia Ya

And to find a brand-new path for the Elves trapped on the Lost Isle, where the Fallen Sun still lingered and the bloodlines of transcendent races had been tainted by the First Era…

Then these foundational spell codices held even greater value than forbidden-tier originals.

After all, no matter how powerful a forbidden spell was, it could never help someone who had never touched magic to complete their Arcane awakening or take that first step to becoming a so-called “Wizard Apprentice.”

Now, with a spell codex collection already comparable to a small library—

Fulfilling the wishes those predecessors had placed on her, illuminating the future of the Elven Royal Court, now had a tangible foundation.

And once she had freed the entire Elven race from its long and troubled predicament, and put down that millennia-old burden—

Then, she would no longer be bound. No longer restricted.

She could freely do what she wished, follow whomever she wanted to follow.

Speaking of which—

Xia Ya once said he planned to build a Wizard Tower on the Western Continent, one that accepted all races and taught Arcana and magic.

And,

He also said he wanted to invite me to be the very first member of that Wizard Tower…

Thinking this, the Golden Elf girl’s humming became even lighter and more cheerful.

……

Got it. So Teacher likes to hum songs while bathing.

Notebook knowledge point +1.

Hope this trivia comes in handy back in reality.

Xia Ya closed his notebook.

Then suddenly, he felt he had noticed something important.

Xia Ya’s Flying House was a metallic construct entirely created by himself.

He was, in fact, the true master of this little flying house.

In other words, if he wanted to, he could use mental energy at any time to perceive detailed information about any part of it.

The bathroom, naturally, was no exception.

Pa—

Just as that thought arose, a fluffy, snow-white tail swept across his vision.

With a soft and ticklish touch, it covered his eyes.

“Ying-ying~ (Master’s not allowed to be unfaithful.)”

Silver let out a dissatisfied whimper.

As Xia Ya’s longest-contracted summoned beast, with soul resonance already maxed out and their connection best described as complete mutual understanding, even a flicker of Xia Ya’s thoughts was enough for Little Snow Ferret to guess what he was thinking.

Normally, whatever Xia Ya did, Silver stayed pretty nonchalant.

After all, as the Party Leader of Team Little Ai and the largest shareholder of the “Ai stock,” Silver had long since secured her position and usually carried herself in a lazy, carefree manner.

Even though the women constantly surrounding Xia Ya each had their own charms,

as someone who had witnessed everything between Airola and Xia Ya, Silver knew full well—her “madam” held a place in Xia Ya’s heart that none of them could ever shake.

Other girls come and go, but the childhood friend is eternal.

Put simply, it was already a face-sitting dragon situation—how do you even lose at that point?

But the Golden Elf was the one exception.

Whether it was Xia Ya, Airola, or even Silver herself, all of them had once personally experienced the terror of being dominated by that Eternal Page of the Black Tower.

Even though she wasn’t the same type as Airola, Silver knew very well that this Golden Elf—just like Airola—

also held a unique, irreplaceable place in Xia Ya’s heart.

If there was still any possible loss to be had even after a face-sitting dragon, then it was probably here.

Which is exactly why, ever since seeing that Golden Elf again in the First Era, Little Snow Ferret had become extremely alert.

Afraid that her recognized madam might get upstaged and ousted someday.

But then—

Grr.

A weak dragon roar rang out.

Silver looked on in confusion as Ye flapped her dragon wings, glaring at her full of hostility.

Oh, right. Almost forgot.

This new party member apparently had the best relationship with the Golden Elf.

And she was super possessive, too.

It wasn’t even clear whether this newbie was stepping up to defend the Golden Elf or just jealous of Silver playing around with their master.

“No fighting, no fighting.”

“The one who gives the best answer gets a bonus stat point.”

Xia Ya rubbed the head of the little black Night Dragon who had been baring her teeth at Silver.

Which made her narrow her eyes with delight and retract her claws and fangs.

Watching this, Silver felt a wave of bitter jealousy.

When will this d*mn newbie’s party member perks finally run out...

But before long, Little Snow Ferret was also picked up by Xia Ya and placed on his shoulder.

“Silver, you’re underestimating your master.”

“Sure, the male lead in Shī-chan’s story is definitely already pre-assigned to be me, but I’m not that desperate.”

“I haven’t even maxed out Favorability with the First Era version of young Shī-chan… and we’ve never even confirmed our relationship. Peeking on her bathing right now? That’s just being a straight-up creep.”

“Your master’s not that low-class.”

Silver gave Xia Ya a skeptical look.

“Ying-ying-ying~ (Then Master, what were you thinking just now?)”

“Obviously I was thinking about serious matters. What, you think I was being pervy or something?”

Xia Ya lightly knocked Little Snow Ferret on the head.

With a face full of righteous indignation, he said, “I was thinking about the future of the Lost Isle.”

“And the future of the Elven race.”

“Even if I’m not part of the Elven race, since that’s Teacher’s mission, then as the male lead in Teacher’s story, it naturally becomes my mission too.”

“That’s only right.”

“Ying~ (Is that so?)”

Silver flicked her tail, still a bit suspicious.

But then she saw Night obediently crouched on Xia Ya’s shoulder.

Those crimson-gold dragon eyes were filled with trust and admiration, almost twinkling with stars.

Sigh, newbie…

Clearly someone who hadn’t been scammed by Master yet—the innocence in those eyes was blinding.

Little Snow Ferret sighed internally and dropped her suspicions.

“Night, have you ever heard the story of Prometheus?”

Xia Ya quite enjoyed the way Night looked at him.

After all, his other summoned beasts were already all too familiar with his sly and shady ways. Not so easy to fool anymore.

And that’s exactly why everyone loves a good newbie.

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“Awuu~ (Never heard of it.)”

Night shook her head, flapping her tiny wings expectantly as she waited for the rest.

These days, Xia Ya had been telling her bedtime stories every night in order to boost Favorability.

From Little Red Riding Hood to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, from The Little Mermaid to One Thousand and One Nights.

With no experience of her own, Night was completely enthralled. The thing she looked forward to most each day was storytime with Xia Ya.

“They say that in the earliest of eras—”

“Fire was a divine privilege, reserved for the gods of the heavens.”

“And the humans on Earth could only wander, lost in the endless dark.”

“To seek shelter and survive the beasts and disasters of the night, they had to accept the gods’ cruel terms—offering harsh sacrifices just to earn a sliver of divine protection.”

“But among those exalted gods, there was one traitor named Prometheus.”

“He stole the Fireseed, which only gods were supposed to possess, and brought it to the mortal realm.”

“From then on, the night that once blinded people’s vision, leaving them helpless, could be lit with torches. People could move freely.”

“They no longer had to eat raw flesh and blood. They could cook and eat warm food.”

“Even the fearsome wolves, tigers, and leopards could now be repelled with bonfires, no longer threatening their lives.”

He gently stroked Night’s deep, shadowy scales and spoke softly: “Don’t you think Teacher and I are like Prometheus to the Lost Isle?”

“Bringing the Fireseed of Arcana and magic to that lightless land veiled by Eternal Night.”

“And with it, lighting the way for the Elven race.”

“Awuu~”

Night nodded with half understanding.

She had only recently hatched, with little life experience, so she couldn’t quite grasp the deeper meaning behind Xia Ya’s words.

And being born of the night, bearing dominion over shadows, she naturally didn’t understand what “fire” could mean to races that yearned for light.

She simply made a mental note of that strange and complex name—Prometheus.

But with the stature of a Dragon of the Night, even a clumsy recollection was enough to etch it into memory for life.

What she truly cared about was the rest of the story.

“Awuu~ (So what happened after that? What about that Pro… Prometheus?)”

Based on the usual pattern of Xia Ya’s stories, most fairy tales had some kind of happy ending.

Like how Snow White and Cinderella would always live happily ever after with their princes, and how the evil queen with the mirror and Cinderella’s cruel stepmother and stepsisters would all get what they deserved.

However, facing Night’s gaze, Xia Ya simply shook his head.

“Night—”

“You have to understand, the reason fairy tales are fairy tales is because they’re dreamy, beautiful, and just out of reach.”

“Not every story ends in a perfect happily-ever-after.”

“Prometheus brought fire to mankind.”

“But when the King of the Gods looked down from Olympus and saw the flames rising in the mortal world, he naturally realized the truth behind the stolen fire—and flew into a rage, ordering the capture of that despicable fire thief.”

“Originally, Prometheus had hidden among humans. Not even the gods could find him easily and could only vent their anger with fruitless lightning bolts.”

“But the wrath of the gods sparked fear among the people.”

“They began to blame the fire thief for provoking the King of the Gods, bringing divine punishment and disaster upon the world. They chose to help the gods and captured Prometheus, who had been hiding among them.”

“The gods took him to the mountains and chained him to a steep cliff with an unbreakable iron chain, leaving him forever sleepless, his tired knees unable to bend, and a diamond nail driven into his chest.”

“Prometheus was made to endure hunger, sun, wind, and rain day and night.”

“A wicked eagle was sent to peck out his liver—formed from all human emotion—every day. It would grow back each night, and the cycle repeated for years on end.”

Listening to the tale, Night beat her wings in confusion.

“Uwu… (Why?)”

“Uwu… (Didn’t Prometheus bring fire to help people? Why was he betrayed?)”

“Because… that’s reality.”

“Time changes everything. A thousand years is long enough for gratitude to turn into apathy and contempt.”

Xia Ya’s voice turned distant.

“Forgetfulness is a disaster… and also a weapon.”

“People begin by taking their memories, destroying their books, their culture, their history.”

“Then someone writes them new books, gives them a new culture, fabricates a new history.”

“Eventually, the people forget who they were, who they are. And the world around them forgets them even faster.”

Xia Ya paused for a moment.

“There’s nothing new under the sun.”

“It’s not just the tale of Prometheus…”

“It’s what’s happening right now on the Lost Isle, too.”

“But.”

A faint curve lifted the corner of his lips.

“She is, after all, my teacher.”

Night lay on top of Xia Ya’s head, nodding as if she understood.

“Xia Ya, what are you and Night chatting about?”

A clear, pleasant voice rang out from the direction of the bathroom.

Xia Ya looked up and saw the Golden Elf girl had already changed back into her pure white robe. She was drying her damp hair with Heat Wind Spell while braiding her pale golden locks into a princess braid.

“I think I heard something about Prometheus and fire thieves? Is that a new story?”

Meeting the curious gaze of the Golden Elf, Xia Ya simply chuckled and shook his head. “Nothing.”

He opened the door of the little flying house.

Then, in the void, he reached out his hand toward Hathaway.

“Since you’re ready to return to the Lost Isle—”

“Then let’s go.”