Su Cheng hesitated, the words dying on her lips before she wanted to speak again.
For a moment, she suspected she had misheard.
Su Cheng: "Do you mean what I think you mean? Could you be a bit more direct? So, you want to go on a date with me?"
Ian tilted his head slightly. "I was just interpreting your words, so I thought you wanted to go on a date with me?"
Su Cheng couldn't help but cross her arms again, ready to have a proper talk with him.
"However," the blonde young man revealed a slightly puzzled expression, "I am also very willing to try, if you have this idea. It's just, what exactly are we supposed to do?"
"Huh?" Su Cheng was a bit surprised. "You don't know? That's impossible, right? Even if you haven't experienced it yourself, you must have at least seen it? After all, there seem to be couples in the Holy City. Of course, you and I aren't a couple, we're just in the getting-to-know-each-other stage—"
"I have indeed seen various ways of dating," he fell silent for two seconds. "I was just wondering what we should do."
"Oh," Su Cheng blanked out for a moment. "You've stumped me."
Playing games or watching movies wouldn't work.
There were no parks with amusement rides here either.
That seemed to leave only eating and shopping.
Su Cheng: "...How did those people you've seen go on dates?"
Ian thought about it. "The library, the training grounds, the commercial street, hotels, or going out to the wilderness to see the scenery."
Su Cheng: "Are there any you like?"
Ian looked down at her. "I think any of them are fine—as long as it helps us further know and understand each other. If you have an idea, then you can decide."
The morning sun in the sky rose higher, and the dappled, scattered light in the corridor shifted diagonally, casting faint shadows over the young man's lowered eyelashes.
His eyes were like a tranquil lake flowing with the morning light, the surface reflecting her own face.
Su Cheng met his gaze, and the words she wanted to say caught in her throat. "...Are you not going back to the Holy City?"
"It is very convenient to travel between the Holy City and the Beliante Temple," he said mildly. "I can come over often."
As the most prosperous political and economic center of the Northern Continent, the capital of the Silver Moon Empire was naturally an area of utmost importance to the Church.
Therefore, as the head of the imperial capital's temple, they had dispatched Flavia, who was highly trusted by the College of Cardinals, and she had stayed here for decades.
Furthermore, the various facilities of the imperial capital's temple could be considered the most top-tier and complete among all the dioceses in the Northern Continent.
If needed, people from the Church could travel from here to almost anywhere—provided that a Church temple was established there, as many one-way teleportation magic arrays could operate.
Ian explained briefly, indicating that while other places might require approval, clerics of a certain rank could freely use the teleportation arrays to travel between the Holy City and the imperial capital.
Of course, the consumption and expenses of the magic arrays had to be borne by themselves.
He said this rather casually.
Su Cheng pondered to herself, knowing upon careful thought that this so-called certain rank definitely had high requirements.
Otherwise, given the Church's massive number of clerics, even if there were thousands of teleportation magic arrays, they would probably be packed to the brim.
Su Cheng knew that he most likely had an extraordinary status, or even if he was low-key on the surface, he was actually an important figure in the Church.
Hearing this, she couldn't help but look at him. "...So what are you doing over here right now?"
"Some things that have already been completed," Ian said casually. "I believe helping you can also be part of it."
Su Cheng was expressionless: "...And I believe you are just being sarcastic with me."
They had already had a similar conversation during their first meeting.
It was truly absurd.
Why would she want to go on a date with this kind of person?
"So—"
Ian elegantly spread his hands in an inviting gesture. "If you have an inspiration and want to put it into action, then we can start at any time."
Su Cheng looked at him a bit stiffly.
Inspiration?
She had absolutely none.
Nor did she want to replicate any of her previous dates—besides, the conditions here didn't allow for it anyway.
However, watching a great beauty stand right here, she felt she probably ought to take the opportunity to do something. Anyway, the commander wouldn't return to the hotel until night, so there was probably no rush right now.
Su Cheng: "How about you help me figure out my course selections?"
This question sounded a bit bizarre and out of tune with their previous rhythm, yet the man in front of her did not question it in the slightest.
"Okay," Ian answered without hesitation. "Is there anything troubling you?"
Su Cheng was actually a bit surprised. "I thought you were going to mock me."
He sighed softly. "If I were to mock you, it would be because of what you just said."
"Is that so," Su Cheng rubbed her forehead. "Then pretend I didn't say it, otherwise the theme of our first date will be arguing in the temple garden."
She reached out, grabbed the blonde young man's sleeve, and led him all the way back to the room where she had woken up.
Her original clothes were neatly piled on the sofa. She pulled a thick scroll of course selection lists from her coat pocket and slapped it onto the table with a smack.
"This thing is also unbelievable."
Su Cheng couldn't help but complain. "At first, I thought having only five compulsory courses didn't seem like a lot, but it turns out—"
She pointed to the Outline of the Magical History of the Northern and Southern Continents on the first page. "For this one course alone, there are a full sixty books... and each one is super huge!"
Su Cheng couldn't help but gesture in the air with her hands.
Ian looked at her waving hands and the size of the outlined shape. "Are you sure these are books and not someone's tombstones?"
Su Cheng puffed out her cheeks. "Okay, that was a bit of an exaggeration, but anyway, you get it—you get it, right? You must be a very powerful mage too. Where did you graduate from?"
"I am a very powerful mage?" The blonde young man chuckled softly. "Thank you for the compliment, but the school I used to attend is no longer around."
He paused. "And I wasn't really a proper student either. I just worked as an assistant to a professor, and later participated in some projects in the academy—"
Ian paused again. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Su Cheng made no secret of the admiration on her face. "It sounds amazing, like a typical genius background."
She wasn't deliberately flattering him; she genuinely thought so.
"In fact," Ian glanced at her, "given your comprehension and understanding of magic, with some time, you could achieve the same level of success."
His tone was very calm, not sounding like he was praising someone, but simply stating a thought.
But the more it was like this, the more convincing it became.
"Anyway," he looked carefully at the details on the course selection list again, "this part of the magical history outline is unavoidable. Even when I... was still in school, it was a compulsory course for mages. It's just that I am a bit older than you, so the textbooks back then probably had a few fewer pages than they do now."
When he said this last sentence, his tone sounded very much like he was joking.
Su Cheng never considered that the so-called few fewer pages actually meant, to some extent, a few dozen fewer books.
She just felt a slight headache coming on.
The contents of those books were nothing more than the origin and development of magic, the deeds of famous magicians, and major magic-related events in the history of the Northern and Southern Continents.
Reading the stories of the God-Favored was actually quite nice, since there was so little information about them.
But magic—
Especially elemental magic, which already had an extremely well-established and comprehensive system in an ancient academy like Cross Star.
"...My time isn't infinite, you know," she couldn't help but continue complaining. "I would much rather go learn a few more spells."
"Is that so?" Ian did not look like he agreed. "The study of spells certainly has its pleasures, but these histories themselves are a grander, more profound narrative. If you can find a way to unlock them, you probably wouldn't find them boring either. Have you read those books?"
"I probably have one or two at home. I flipped through them a few times, and it was all just names, places, and theories that went out of date eight hundred years ago—"
"You can focus on the stories themselves. Some fumbled through the chaos to pioneer new magical systems, or challenged deities with mortal bodies. And when those glorious, peak magical dynasties ultimately fell into decline or even perished because of a seemingly insignificant decision or a certain weakness of human nature, do these things not provoke your thoughts?"
Su Cheng couldn't help but nod upon hearing this. "...That does seem to make sense."
But as for whether the destruction of so-called powerful kingdoms was actually due to human weakness, or simply because the God of Light found them displeasing to the eye, that was hard to say.
Ian paused slightly, then suddenly let out a soft chuckle.
Su Cheng looked up.
"Think about it," the blond young man continued casually. "Even if those people have turned to dust, their brilliance and stupidity, love and hate, merits and faults are all condensed in these words. You can ponder over these intelligent creatures, humans, beastmen, elves, and their humanity, and then understand the motives that drove people to make those choices, whether noble or despicable. It records the past, reflects the present, and can even illuminate the future. From those successes and failures, glory and humiliation, you can draw lessons, avoid repeating past mistakes, and make wiser judgments when facing complex situations."
Su Cheng fell into deep thought.
"This is a very precious kind of wisdom," he continued. "I used to have many doubts, and I found quite a few answers through this method."
Su Cheng nodded. "And you still say you're a mundane person. Just listen to what you're saying—"
"On the contrary, if I wasn't, I wouldn't need to think about these things at all."
He interrupted her. "Think about it. Because we are mundane, we are chasing a certain goal, love, wealth, power, status, or perhaps strength. That is why we must understand this world."
Su Cheng: "..."
How truly bizarre.
She had never imagined that there would come a day when she would actually feel her heart skip a beat upon hearing someone say something like we are all mundane.
Su Cheng: "So what are you chasing?"
Ian smiled faintly. "I have already obtained what I once wanted, and now, I am exploring what other answers there might be to your question."
Su Cheng pursed her lips. "I thought you were going to say perhaps it is love."
"I am not sure," he looked at her deeply, "but if I can reap it during this process, I would be more than happy to."
For a moment, Su Cheng felt her cheeks grow a little hot.
Even though this didn't sound like some moving confession of love.
She coughed lightly. "Speaking of which, I still don't know your... title in the Holy Church?"
Ian didn't look surprised, as if he had long expected her to ask this. "Information about certain positions and member identities is only open to clerics."
He paused. "Or legally married spouses."
Su Cheng: "?"
Then never mind.
As a Favored of the God of Contracts, she already had to be very cautious when it came to marriage; one could even say it was best not to marry at all.
Otherwise, certain behaviors could easily be seen as a betrayal of promises.
Su Cheng subconsciously imagined some extreme scenarios. Even though they had a high probability of never happening, when it involved one's life, it was hard not to overthink.
For example, a person might be able to guarantee they wouldn't cheat physically, but mentally, sometimes it just wasn't up to them.
If a similar promise had been made in the past, would that count as breaking an oath?
Then again, if one didn't make such absolute vows when getting married, perhaps that could solve the problem?
Never mind.
She was thinking way too far ahead.
Though she wasn't just pondering her relationship with Ian, but rather considering all sorts of situations related to marriage.
Su Cheng: "Then I won't ask. But to be fair, if I have things I don't want to tell you, you can't badger me about them either."
Ian nodded slightly. "Of course."
He agreed without a second thought, looking as if he had never even considered asking her anything.
Su Cheng felt a bit displeased, but she didn't really want to admit her displeasure. She couldn't help but take a deep breath and continued to look at the course selection list.
"As for this!"
She poked at the row below, Magical Ethics and Precepts. "When I saw this kind of mandatory course, I thought it would probably just be one book, or at most two or three!"
The reality, however, was far from what she had imagined.
"...It turned out to be only a few books less than the Outline of Magical History."
Su Cheng said, feeling entirely exasperated, "Look at what it says: This course aims to cultivate magicians who possess both morality and wisdom, enabling them to profoundly understand the social, ethical, and historical responsibilities of magic. Through the systematic study of the Magic Guild's laws and classic historical cases, students will master the legal boundaries of magical power..."
"Yes, that's the official wording. Every magic school provides a version like that."
Ian smiled. "If you haven't taken this kind of course before, it's easy to think its original intent is to reprimand you. But in reality, it is more about teaching people how to control the taboo powers in magic and how to identify those dangerous elements."
Su Cheng paused. "Taboo spells often stem from the reverse deduction of rules. If I can thoroughly understand those cases, does that mean I could also create some powerful spells?"
"The true value of this kind of course is teaching you how to weigh the costs. Sometimes, you want to learn how to master more power without violating essential taboos not because you are noble, nor because you care whether it will hurt others, but because those taboos themselves will bring you trouble and danger."
Ian said lightly, "Oh, I'm not talking about you, but rather—"
"Yourself."
Su Cheng rested her chin on her hand and looked at him. "How to retain one's humanity while possessing power isn't because it aligns with universal moral values, but because you need humanity to survive better. After all, you are still in this society, and you always have to conform to the rules to a certain extent. Hmm, I'm not talking about you either, but rather—"
"Yourself."
The blond young man raised his hand and patted the top of her head, revealing a satisfied look in his eyes. "Very good."
