Yustisa glanced at the cat's eye nonchalantly, a hint of surprise appeared on her calm face, she opened the door casually and said, "You are really well-informed, Kishua."
The old man with white hair and beard walked into the entrance hall: "I came to visit as agreed."
Shinji, who was in the living room, heard the conversation and leaned over to ask, "An acquaintance?"
"Old friend." Yustisa said, welcoming the old man into the living room.
Before she could even start introducing him, Lorelaia stood up with an undisguised tremor in her voice: "The, the, the second magician!"
"What! Is this the 'Jewel Man' and the 'Magic Marshal'?" Shinji also stood up, with the same expression on his face as Loreleija.
It's no wonder that the two were so shocked. The old man's reputation was too loud. He was an insurmountable peak in the Magic Association and even the entire mysterious world. He had dominated the world for more than a thousand years and was considered the biggest boss among big bosses.
In front of such an old monster with unfathomable strength, even the top figures of the new generation such as Loreley and Shinji could not help but feel nervous.
"Oh, you all know each other, that's easy." And Yustisa's answer also proved that Lorelaia did not recognize the wrong person.
The old man endured everyone's gazes, his expression did not change at all, he nodded to Lorelaia and said, "I didn't expect you to be here too, the new lord of Barthelmero. I heard that you have been very active recently."
"The new lord of Barthelmero?" Shinji reacted instantly, "You have already succeeded as lord?"
"Yes." Loreleija nodded proudly, her white neck reminiscent of a white swan. "Not long after you disappeared."
"No wonder you acted so exaggerated when your magic got out of control just now - anyway, congratulations to you, Your Majesty, even though it's a little late." Shinji gave his blessings from the bottom of his heart.
"Not too late, not at all." Loreleija shook her head slightly, "Why did Lord Zelrich come here-?"
"I'm looking for Matou Shinji."
"Looking for me?" Shinji was stunned at the time. Could it be that the fact that I was a time traveler was exposed
"Exactly."
The old man nodded, his serious expression making Shinji more and more nervous.
"Um, what's going on?"
"Don't be so restrained. You are no worse now than when you faced White Wing," the old man said jokingly.
"You are better than Ottenroche."
The old man was indifferent to Shinji's flattery or temptation, and just said: "Okay, don't worry, I have no ill intentions. I was the one who sent the nightmare to you. It seems that you two get along well?"
"You—it's you."
Shinji's pupils shrank, but soon relaxed. Indeed, a rare monster like the Dream Demon could not appear out of thin air. With the help of the second magician, everything can be explained. The problem is -
"Why are you helping me? If I remember correctly, you and I don't seem to have any direct interactions."
"No, there is more to our connection than you think, you just don't know it, but you will soon."
As the old man spoke, he raised his left hand. On his five strong fingers were five rings of different colors. One of them was shining red and was particularly dazzling.
"What is this?" Shinji asked in confusion.
"This is a message from your teacher."
Upon hearing these words, the eyes of all the members of the Matou family lit up.
It was at this time that Shinji suddenly remembered that Kishura and Scathach had a connection, and it was Kishura's use of the second magic that allowed Scathach to come into the world as a Servant.
Feeling the eager gazes of Shinji and others, the old man stopped talking and activated the magic stored in the ruby.
A familiar, magnetic, deep female voice flowed out from the gem, calling the names of the members of the Matou family one by one.
"Shinji—"
"Yes, Master."
"cherry-"
"Yes, Master."
"Karaiya—"
"Yes, Master."
"Tsuruya—"
"Yes, Master."
"And Yustisa."
"Yes."
"Long time no see, are you all okay? Has Shinji grown taller?"
"Yes, yes, I've grown 20 centimeters taller." Shinji answered with a smile, and there was a softness in the corners of his eyes and eyebrows that Lorelaia had never seen before.
"Has Sakura become more beautiful?"
"Yes, but I'm still not as good as my master." Sakura stuck out her tongue cutely.
"Kareya, has the distance between you and your beloved shortened? Calculating the time, the obstacles between you should have disappeared."
"Master, this..." Kariya lowered his head in embarrassment.
"Tsuruya, you can't slack off on your physical training. Your foundation is already poor. If you want to eliminate the previous negative effects, you must continue to exercise."
"Got it, Master." Tsuruya seemed reluctant. He had indeed been a bit slack after getting married, but he didn't expect that the Master still remembered it.
"Yustisa, I think you have a deeper understanding of human beings. I wonder if you are satisfied with your current life."
"Satisfied, of course I'm satisfied. I'll be even more satisfied if you can stay." Yustisa said softly - because you are my first friend.
"You are my disciples, my friends, and my last cause and effect in this world. You must live well, work hard towards your respective goals, and make your life more wonderful. I will be watching you from afar."
"Yes, we will, Master."
Some people said this, such as Shinji and Sakura, but many others did not.
The message in the gem continued: "The next words are for Shinji."
"Shinji, when you heard this message, it means that Zelrich has found you. Like me, he has been secretly paying attention to your existence. He seems to want to achieve one or more goals through you."
"I didn't ask what it was specifically, and he didn't tell me, but given his personality and style, it must not be a bad thing. So, I agreed to let you help. Helping him may be dangerous, but it is also an opportunity for you to grow. Didn't you say you would fulfill my wish? This is the test for you."
"You can talk to him about it yourself. He has a lot of good stuff in his hands. How much you can dig out depends on your ability. You don't have to ask too much about what he is planning. He will tell you what he can tell you. What he can't tell you means that it is beyond your reach now. Don't add to your troubles."
"Also, I want to remind you that you can help, but if he wants to take you in as his disciple, don't agree. Becoming his disciple is equivalent to becoming a useless person. That old guy likes to take in talented children as his disciples. I don't want you to die young. Tell the same thing to Ying."
Hearing this, Shinji looked at "Jewel Master" thoughtfully, but the latter remained expressionless, obviously having expected this.
"Finally, Shinji, my most promising disciple, become stronger. Work hard to become stronger. Be strong enough to overcome all obstacles and come to me. I will be waiting for you behind the seven walls."
PS: Legend has it that there are seven walls in the Shadow Kingdom, separating life and death.