Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 844 - 108: Nothing is Un-sacrificeable

Chapter 844: Chapter 108: Nothing is Un-sacrificeable

"Dad, Dad." Just as Felic’s hand touched the dining room door, the door suddenly opened from the inside, and two children who looked about ten years old and a bit taller than one meter burst out from the dining room. They grabbed the hem of Felic’s robe, one on each side. These two cute kids, a boy and a girl, bore a strong resemblance to Felic, except they weren’t as serious. Instead, their expressions betrayed a mischievous charm. It seemed like they hadn’t been up to much good in the restaurant, and despite attempts to clean up, traces of grease on the corners of their mouths were still visible. Obviously, part of the food originally prepared for the representatives in the restaurant’s kitchen had already fallen victim to their mischief. As for the traces left on their bodies after their escapade, one could guess from the grease stains on their sleeves. Of course, one could also easily imagine the punishment they would receive from their mother once they got home.

"What are you doing here?" Felic was stunned for a moment, then bent down to pat the heads of the children and asked, "How long have you been here? Why didn’t I see you at the entrance? And why did you come running over now?"

"It’s going to rain heavily soon." The boy glanced curiously at the seven people standing by and said loudly, "Mom asked us to come and ask if you were going to come home for lunch and whether you were going out this afternoon or not."

"So you came here to sneak some food?" Felic gently patted the children’s heads a few times as a light reprimand and then indulgently tousled their hair, "Hurry back home before it starts raining, and tell Mom that Dad has guests today and won’t be coming back. You two eat first; don’t wait for me."

"Okay, Dad." The little girl, holding her head, crisply replied and, pulling her brother, fled from their father’s reach. As they were leaving, she turned back to stick her tongue out at the adventure team and didn’t forget to shout to her father, "You should come back early too, Dad. You promised Mom yesterday, since you owe her for the past few days when you weren’t home, you should stay at home these next few days."

"Yeah, you two little rascals." Felic shook his head with a wry smile, straightened up, and sighed, "My apologies, everyone. These are my two children. I didn’t do very well with their upbringing; they haven’t learned manners at all, what a spectacle they must be for you."

"Not at all, they seem very adorable." Catherine’s expression softened significantly, and she spoke with a smile, "It’s clear they love you very much and see you as their pride. They’re really good kids."

"Ha, thanks for the praise." Felic smiled, his satisfaction with his children evident in his expression, "Ah, I apologize, distracted by those two, I forgot to invite you all in. Let’s go inside and sit together, and regardless of what happens, we’ll have a simple lunch first. Then I will take you to a place, the place you have wanted to visit most on this trip."

"Perhaps we could skip lunch," Catherine slowly withdrew her gentle smile and, squinting like Pannis, said, "How about we just go straight to the place you mentioned? Otherwise, I fear everyone will feel very tired if we have lunch first, don’t you think?"

"Indeed, let’s keep it simple." Felic thought for a moment, then nodded, "Lately, I’ve been feeling a strong urge not just to keep things easy for myself. However, having been a magistrate for these many years, certain things have become an instinct, even if I want to relax a bit, I’m not quite sure how to go about it, haha, it’s truly ironic. Everyone, please follow me, the destination is deep inside the City Hall, we’ll be there shortly."

"If you want to make things easier for yourself, why bother with the unnecessary?" Pannis walked behind Catherine, his head bowed, asking, "So you see, by not doing those things, you wouldn’t be as exhausted as you are now. Aren’t you scared that Philarx will be upset when he finds out?"

"The teacher? Heh, does he really not know? I’m not sure anymore." Felic chuckled, shaking his head, "But what I do know is that the teacher’s age is really excelling; he has lost the passion he once had for knowledge and magic. He is still respected by us, but I know that such a teacher is unable to guide us through the unknown seas to conquer the unknown and make it known. So, what we need to do is to leave the protection of the teacher’s wings and pursue the path of seeking knowledge with our strength, ready to pay any price for knowledge."

"Even if it means innocent lives?" Catherine frowned, "Can they also be the price to pay?"

"You finally asked it," Felic sighed. "Truth be told, you have more patience than I thought. I figured you’d ask that question right when we met, but you held off until now, hehe, if it were up to me, I might not have been able to be so patient."

"You also surprised us," Catherine said pointedly, "Pannis kept saying there was no rush, that you would definitely be waiting here for us; we had our doubts, but you really were waiting at the gates to meet us."

"Heh heh, Tower Mages, in their pursuit of efficiency, never engage in meaningless activities," Felic said calmly. "Engaging in other activities would have been no different from waiting here to greet you. Why should I choose to do those pointless things then? Moreover, the situation isn’t final yet. Who can say whether standing here and waiting might actually turn out to be the best decision? Heh heh, wouldn’t you agree, Miss Catherine?"

"Hmm, that’s also true," Catherine nodded and replied, "The cards haven’t been revealed yet, and the outcome is still uncertain; it’s too early to conclude anything now. However, can you answer my question? For the pursuit of knowledge, can you pay any price, including the lives of the innocent? Do you feel no guilt for those innocents who have perished?"

"Of course, even if the price is the lives of the innocent," Felic answered as if it were obvious, "In the pursuit of knowledge, nothing is sacrosanct; that’s the cost of curiosity, so why should I feel guilty?"

"Have you considered this?" Catherine asked softly, "What if the ones sacrificed were those two lovely children just now? What would you feel in your heart then? If that time actually came, would you still say the same?"

"I’ve said it, nothing is beyond sacrifice," Felic appeared to have considered this question before, his expression unflinching, calmly stating, "In the face of exploring knowledge, no one is special, including you and me, and including them."

Catherine’s countenance turned ugly in an instant; she could never have expected that Felic, as a father, would give such a response, and she could clearly see that the governor before her wasn’t merely making frivolous remarks. What he said was truly his genuine belief, without any disguise. That is to say, his resolve was extremely strong; if needed, he could indeed sacrifice his own children without hesitation. The knight girl took a deep breath, suppressing the complex emotions in her heart, instinctively avoiding this distressing question, she said gravely, "So you orchestrated those tragedies just for your own purposes?"

"Heh, to put it precisely, not for my purposes, but for ’our’ purposes," Felic said with a light chuckle, "However, you are slightly mistaken – although I planned all the experiments, I was merely the planner, not the leader. The real leader is someone else, and he is also waiting for you."

"Is that the place you are taking us to?" Catherine asked, "Is he waiting there for us?"

"Of course," Felic nodded, "Now that you’ve successfully found this place, as a reward, how could I not lead you to meet him? Both he and I think it’s time to face the final confrontation. So, when you were still ten kilometers from the city, we were already waiting for you."

"The person who’s waiting for us is called Victor, right?" Pannis said, "Philarx’s other student whom he once mentioned, your predecessor. The one rumored to have died five years ago. He hasn’t actually died, has he? Unable to extend his own life through time magic like Philarx, he had to resort to other methods to siphon others’ lifespans to prolong his own, correct? Regarding what you two have done, Philarx is also aware but chose to protect you by diverting us with plausible denials. That isn’t like his former character; it seems his heart has softened with age. And you guys are more thorough, wanting to lead us away from Butte Plateau directly, but I am curious – even if we leave, we can always come back, so why must you make us leave at this time? Is it because you guys needed to execute some plan?"

"Victor, Victor, it’s been years since I’ve addressed my brother in such a way, I almost forgot his name," Felic ignored Pannis’s further inquiry, merely repeating the name and chuckling softly, "Yes, that’s him. Come with me, and you will learn everything you want to know. So, what do you say, will you come? I must warn you though, it might be a trap."

"What do you think?" Catherine’s smile turned dangerously meaningful as she spoke, "No wonder you just told the children that there’s no need to wait for you anymore, not that there’s no need to wait today. It seems you are also prepared, aren’t you?"

"On the contrary, I have told them that I would spend more time with them these coming days," Felic was not perturbed at all, speaking with ease, "So you see, I am confident enough to continue being a good father tonight."

"Then let the facts speak." Pannis patted Catherine’s shoulder; she nodded, no longer pursuing her psychological attack, tightening her grip on her shield, "Please lead the way, thank you."