The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 103

Despite the dawn terror, there were no changes to the Olympiad schedule.

There were three main reasons for this decision.

First. The attack was unrelated to the Olympiad in the first place.

Second. It was not a terror caused by humans, but a monster attack. In other words, a natural disaster.

Third. Although the incident was significant, there were no casualties. Therefore, there was no reason to postpone it due to social norms.

The biggest reason among these was the third, that there were no casualties.

If all the people staying at the hotel had died, the Olympiad would have been postponed at the very least. If things had gone badly, it could have been canceled.

And the cancellation of the Olympiad would mean that the great work the Black Magic Tower had been preparing for a long time would be ruined.

In short, the parade’s actions could have thwarted the Black Magic Tower’s grand plan.

“It’s a good thing the Blue Magic Tower Lord prevented the damage. Otherwise, all our plans would have gone down the drain.”

Tksh glared at Parade with murderous eyes.

It was natural anger, as their grand plan had almost been ruined.

“That nagging is for real. It was resolved well, so what’s the problem?”

Parade casually brushed off Tksh’s gaze and picked at his ear. He clearly showed that he didn’t want to listen.

“I’ve said it countless times, but that’s just a result of the outcome…”

Tksh sighed, stopping mid-sentence.

“Tsk. I shouldn’t even bother talking.”

It was like casting pearls before swine to talk any further.

Tksh turned his gaze away from Parade with a very annoyed expression.

“Don’t be too harsh. Parade probably had a plan when he acted that way.”

Another executive, Shadow, who had been listening quietly with his arms crossed, subtly defended Parade.

“He must have used the Blue Magic Tower Lord’s personality, taking the citizens hostage.”

The Blue Magic Tower Lord’s kind nature was well known. A person with such a personality usually prioritizes the safety of the general public over their own. Parade must have known that and attacked the hotel.

“Huh? Oh, yeah. That’s exactly what I was thinking. How did you know?”

Parade nodded, looking clearly flustered.

He clearly didn’t have that thought at all.

“…Shadow. Do you think Parade has that level of intelligence?”

If Parade was the type of person who could think that far, they wouldn’t have such a bad relationship in the first place.

“What the hell are you saying?”

Parade flared up and stood up from his seat.

“Hmm. I think I overestimated Parade too much, just looking at his past mission success rate.”

Shadow shook his head a couple of times.

“These bastards are really…”

Veins popped out on Parade’s forehead.

“Do you think I live without thinking…”

“Is there anyone who doesn’t know that you’re a guy who moves with emotions instead of thoughts?”

Tksh sneered, tapping his head with his index finger.

“I can see right through your head. You were probably thinking something sloppy like, ‘It’s annoying to wait and look for an opportunity, so let’s just attack when they’re at the hotel.'”

“……”

Parade was speechless.

“You probably also thought that this level of casualties wouldn’t affect the Olympiad. Am I wrong?”

“……”

Parade subtly turned his gaze away and lay back down on the hammock.

“…I should remember this. Parade doesn’t think. It’s better to avoid joint operations if possible.”

Shadow muttered in a sincere tone.

“Shadow, shut up.”

“That’s a great idea.”

Parade gritted his teeth, and Tksh raised one corner of his mouth.

“It’s unbelievable that someone with such sloppy thinking has a mission success rate of 94.5%.”

Shadow stared intently at Parade. His expression was hidden in the shadows, but it felt like he was looking at some incomprehensible alien life form.

“The reason his mission success rate is high is because the missions assigned to him are simple and easy.”

“…Indeed. That was the reason.”

“If you don’t stop, I’ll really kill both of you?”

Parade gritted his teeth, looking like he was about to explode.

“Threats from a moron who couldn’t even finish the job properly after taking over 500 citizens hostage aren’t scary at all.”

“What?”

Parade jumped out of the hammock, looking like he couldn’t stand it anymore.

“If I had brought Fenrir or Gigantos, the Blue Magic Tower Lord and everyone else would have died. Huh? You know? If it wasn’t in the middle of an American city…”

In this terror attack, Parade could only use wyverns.

Among the monsters Parade possessed, only wyverns could avoid mana detection.

If this battle hadn’t required stealth, the Blue Magic Tower Lord wouldn’t have lasted even a minute, let alone seven.

“Well, I don’t think you could have guaranteed victory even if you had used all your power in a 1:1 fight.”

Parade wasn’t the only one carrying a penalty.

Rather, the Blue Magic Tower Lord had a much bigger penalty.

Even if both of them were in perfect condition, it wouldn’t have been any different.

“Since you have no rebuttal, it seems you know it yourself.”

“……”

Parade couldn’t answer.

He had been hit right on the mark.

He had thought that the Magic Tower Lord was no match for him, but when he actually fought, he was quite formidable. If the Blue Magic Tower Lord hadn’t had anything to protect, it would have been dangerous.

At least, he wouldn’t have been able to handle it with just the Black Bell Wyvern.

“Still, it’s true that the result is good.”

Shadow spoke up again.

Regardless of the process, he agreed a hundred times with Parade’s statement that the result was good.

He had managed to separate the Blue Magic Tower Lord with just one Black Bell Wyvern.

This was a great achievement.

“Shadow. That means…”

Tksh’s eyes lit up at Shadow’s defense.

“Yes. I’ve confirmed that about half of the security personnel in charge of the third magic stone warehouse have been additionally assigned to the Olympiad security.”

Shadow’s shadow rippled with satisfaction.

“In this state, there’s no need to wait for four days.”

The Blue Magic Tower Lord, one of the most powerful forces, was out of action, having been transported to the hospital.

And starting tomorrow, the battle survival, the most manpower-intensive event, would begin, requiring the most personnel.

“Tomorrow night. When the first area reduction takes place. I recommend executing the operation at that time.”

Tomorrow night at 9:30 PM.

That’s when they will steal the Keystone.

* * *

Olympiad Day 15.

About 11 hours had passed since the start of the Battle Survival.

The current time is 8:30 PM.

In one hour, the first area reduction will begin.

The first area reduction, which requires the most manpower at the Olympiad.

‘If I were a black magician, I would definitely target this timing.’

Almost all the manpower was focused on the Olympiad, and Kim Kangin, a major force, was out of action.

Additionally, due to yesterday’s terror attack, all eyes were on the Olympiad.

In many ways, it was the perfect timing for the Black Magic Tower to act.

“I’ve never seen you so restless before. Yesterday, you told me to trust the seniors…”

Adela, who was sitting next to me, spoke cautiously.

She seemed to think I was worried about the results of the matches.

“…I guess so. It’s a bit nerve-wracking to watch.”

I was actually feeling impatient because of my worries about the Black Magic Tower’s attack, but there was no reason to explain it to Adela, so I just agreed vaguely.

“You seem more nervous than the seniors who are actually competing.”

“Is it that bad?”

“Yes. It’s the first time I’ve seen you look so agitated.”

“Really?”

I glanced at the mirror next to the hotel lobby. I could see my face. It looked a bit stiff, but it didn’t look like I was agitated as Adela said.

It just looked like my usual self.

“Isn’t it just the same as usual?”

“No. It’s different. For example, here, between your eyebrows. It’s sharper than usual.”

Adela pointed to my forehead and explained something.

I looked in the mirror again. It looked the same as usual.

“Your lips are also a bit drier than usual. You’ve been unconsciously licking your lips. And besides that…”

Adela pointed to various parts of my face and explained something. I kept looking in the mirror, but I couldn’t tell what was different.

“See? It’s very different, right?”

“…No. I don’t know if my expression is different, but I can tell that you know me better than I know myself.”

At this rate, my poker face wouldn’t work on Adela.

Or was it because there was such a big event today?

“Why don’t you know? There’s such a clear difference.”

“…Most people wouldn’t know?”

Adela sank into contemplation with a very serious expression.

“Well, Heeyun and Soonchan also said they didn’t know how you could tell.”

“You told them about this too?”

“Yes. I explained it in detail because they said they couldn’t understand your expression no matter how much they looked…”

“What did they say?”

“Heeyun said she was tired of it. And Soonchan said you were a bit scary.”

“……”

It was a very typical reaction for both of them.

“Why did they say that?”

And it was a very typical reaction for Adela.

I chuckled as I watched Adela tilt her head, genuinely looking like she didn’t understand.

“…Why are you laughing?”

“No. It’s just. You’re so you.”

I thought this quirky side was Adela’s charm.

Is this why people call someone who is innocent and beautiful ‘baekchimi’ [a Korean term for someone who is beautiful but naive]?

“…Are you teasing me again?”

“No? I’m not teasing you?”

“It feels like you’re teasing me…”

“I’m not. No, more than that, you can immediately catch that I’m feeling impatient, but why can’t you tell when I’m joking?”

How could she analyze my blank expression so well, but not notice when I was joking?

“That’s…”

Adela hesitated and fidgeted with her fingers.

“When you’re smiling… I don’t really know.”

“Huh?”

“When you’re smiling. I’ve been seeing your blank expression since I was young, so I can roughly tell… but I’ve hardly ever seen you smile…”

“When I was young, did I not smile that much?”

“Yes. You always had a blank expression.”

“……”

It felt like that, but also not.

I remembered my childhood, but I hadn’t seen my own expression, so I couldn’t say for sure.

“If you put it that way, you’re the same.”

“Me? What about me?”

“You’ve started smiling a lot too. You were called doll-like because you had no change in expression.”

“…Me? Was I?”

“Yeah. You were. Didn’t you know? What? So you thought being called doll-like meant you were small, cute, and pretty?”

“Th, that’s…”

Adela’s cheeks flushed slightly.

It was a very faint change in expression, but it was certain. It was the expression of being caught off guard.

“Ah. So you’re the type with a strong sense of self-admiration. Okay. Noted.”

“It’s not that… Everyone just kept praising me, saying I was like a doll…”

Of course, Adela was called doll-like because she was cute. In short, it was a double meaning.

“No. It’s okay. You don’t have to deny it. It’s a fact that you’re cute, and you know it, the world knows it, and I know it.”

“Ugh…”

Adela glared at me with a slightly sulky expression. It was an expression that told me to stop teasing her.

“Really… You’re just like Soonchan in that aspect. Like two peas in a pod.”

“Well, I actually learned it from Soonchan.”

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that all my jokes originated from Soonchan.

Before that, I didn’t have any friends to joke around with.

“If you were going to learn, you should have learned the good things…”

Adela looked at me with a strange expression. It was like she was seeing a friend she hadn’t seen in a while hanging out with a bad friend.

“Why? I think this is a good thing.”

“Well, it is…”

“You’ll get used to it. That’s all.”

“Are you indirectly saying you’re going to keep teasing me? Is that it?”

“Oh… Is the effect already showing? You’re getting quick-witted?”

“Really…”

Adela and I continued talking for a long time.

As we talked about trivial things, my tension completely eased.

9:30 PM.

The time had come.

“The first area reduction. It starts from here.”

“…I guess so.”

The first turning point of the Olympiad Battle Survival, and also the very important time of the Black Magic Tower’s planned attack.

With a somewhat relaxed mind, I silently waited for contact.

And at 9:33 PM.

About three minutes after the scheduled time.

The contact I had been waiting for finally came.

[Sender: Red Magic Tower Lord]

[Bingo, kid.]