The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 132

After the open raid preliminaries ended, I returned straight to the hotel. Before heading back to my room, I had a light lunch with Adela and Soonchan.

“So, you’re going to rest in your room until tomorrow morning?” Soonchan asked, finishing the bread he was eating.

“Yeah. It’s the last match, so I’m going to adjust my condition and try to get rid of all the accumulated fatigue.”

“You’re not planning to just sleep for 16 hours, are you? Come on. That’ll just mess up your condition even more.”

“…Do you think I wouldn’t know that?” I scoffed. As if I wouldn’t know such a basic thing.

“Well, yeah, the condition management master, Shin Ha-yul, wouldn’t not know that,” Soonchan chuckled and shoved the remaining half of his bread back into his mouth. The speed at which his jaw moved was unusual. It was in stark contrast to Adela, who was nibbling on her bread like a squirrel next to him.

If Soonchan’s chewing speed was like a KTX [Korean high-speed rail] train, Adela’s nibbling speed was like a toy train. ‘Adela really eats like a squirrel.’ She was tearing off small pieces little by little, chewing thoroughly, which made her look like a small animal and quite cute.

“Then what, are you going to meditate alone in your room or something?” Soonchan, who had finished his bread in the meantime, asked again.

“Meditate, sleep, circulate mana. Just a bunch of things.” Actually, I was going to go into the fifth trial page for 16 hours, but there was no need to explain, so I just made something up.

“Okay. Well, you’ll take care of it, since it’s you. Got it. I’ll tell the seniors not to look for you until tomorrow morning.”

“Okay. Thanks.” With this, no one would be looking for me until tomorrow morning. Unless there was a Black Tower raid or a mana disaster-level event, no one would come to my room. ‘Just in case, I should tell Mr. Seokhyun too.’ To make sure no one enters my room until tomorrow morning. If I asked him, he would definitely take care of it. I thought so and took a bite of bread. The luxurious sweetness filled my mouth. Even my palate, which prefers salty flavors, liked it so much. As expected of a high-end hotel’s Chinese cuisine, the quality was amazing. I enjoyed the subtle sweetness, chewed the bread several times, and swallowed it.

“This hotel’s food is really delicious.” Soonchan ate his fourth bread as if inhaling it and licked the sugar off his thumb.

“Isn’t that right, Adela?” Soonchan subtly asked for Adela’s agreement. “……” However, Adela didn’t respond. Chew, chew. She seemed to be focusing all her attention on the bread, moving her jaw diligently. It was as if she couldn’t even hear Soonchan’s words.

“…Tsk. It’s kind of embarrassing,” Soonchan laughed awkwardly.

“Just leave her alone. She can’t hear anything right now.”

“Yeah. She’s almost lost her soul, isn’t she?” Then he stared at Adela. He had an expression as if he was looking at some rare beast.

“That’s unexpected. I thought you were only interested in magic and had no appetite at all.” He seemed very fascinated by Adela, who was engrossed in eating.

“Would someone with no appetite be obsessed with banana milk?”

“Oh. Now that you mention it, that’s true.” Adela’s favorite foods can be classified into three categories: banana milk, bread, and sweets. In short, she goes crazy for sweet bread. It was only natural that she would lose her soul to such excellent bread. Moreover, this wasn’t just ordinary bread, but a limited edition, a limited edition among limited editions.

“But this is really amazing. How did they make this bread with banana milk?” Bread made with ‘banana milk’ instead of regular milk. It was a bread developed by the hotel’s chef for Adela, who was obsessed with banana milk. It was only natural that Adela would be in that state.

“They say the chef is amazing. He has over a hundred awards.” The main chef of this hotel is renowned as one of the top three in the world. In fact, there wasn’t a single dish in this hotel that wasn’t delicious. When I go back to Korea later, I think I’ll miss this hotel’s food.

“Huu. Tomorrow is the last day I’ll be eating here. Thinking about it makes me feel a bit sad.” Soonchan seemed to have the same thought as me.

“You were saying you wanted to go back to Korea as soon as possible.”

“I do miss Korea a bit… but it’s a bit sad that I won’t be able to eat this food.” The food at this hotel was so special that it suppressed his longing for Korea. That was what he meant.

“Ah, right. I’ve got a good idea. Let’s come again later.”

“Come again?”

“Yeah. Like during vacation or holidays. We’ll come for a trip.”

“Just the two of us? That’s a bit…” When I made a face as if I hated the idea, Soonchan scoffed as if he was dumbfounded.

“Hey. I don’t want to travel with another dark-skinned guy either? Are you crazy? Of course, Adela has to come too.”

“The three of us?”

“Yeah. The golden trio of the second year. Sounds good, right?” Soonchan smiled slyly.

“Don’t worry. I’m good at reading the room. If the three of us go on a trip, I’ll make sure to leave you two alone. You two have fun.” His eyebrows wiggling was quite annoying. After Senior Hee-yoon said something strange last time, everyone seems to misunderstand the relationship between me and Adela. That’s really not the case.

“Stop talking nonsense and eat your bread.”

“There, there, you’re changing the subject again. Are you embarrassed? You can’t even be honest with your own feelings. Our Ha-yul. You’re unexpectedly a pure-hearted guy?” Soonchan licked his tongue and laughed heartily. His annoying expression made me want to punch him.

“Ah, should I have left this place too? I guess I wasn’t paying attention. Sorry.” His expression didn’t look even a bit sorry.

“I wasn’t paying attention today, but when we go on a trip, I’ll make sure to leave you two alone, so don’t worry.” He seemed unable to contain his excitement at having a chance to attack me, teasing me endlessly. It was as if he thought it was his turn all along today, and Soonchan looked quite pathetic.

“Okay. A trip sounds good.” Well then, shall I lightly counterattack?

“But, it’s a bit weird with two guys and one girl. Let’s take one more person.”

“……” Soonchan seemed to sense something and looked uneasy.

“It would be perfect with four of us, including Senior Hee-yoon, wouldn’t it?”

“W-w-why is Senior Hee-yoon coming out of nowhere…?”

“Why? She’s close to Adela too…” I looked at Soonchan, who had a strange expression, and smiled brightly.

“Soonchan, you have feelings for Senior Hee-yoon, don’t you?” Soonchan lost his words for a moment.

“M-m-m-me, me, where do you see me having feelings for such a violent and selfish senior…?” ‘Me’ was repeated six times. With words and expressions that clearly showed his agitation, Soonchan vehemently denied it.

“Oh? Soonchan, do you have feelings for Hee-yoon?” And at that moment, Adela came to her senses.

“Hey! Why are you being quiet all the time and coming to your senses now? Did you two plan something? No, more than that. No! It’s definitely not like that, so don’t misunderstand.” He really does have feelings. I just poked him to see, but it turned out to be true.

“Hey. What’s with that expression? No, I’m telling you it’s not like that.” Ji Soonchan. My friend was a much more innocent boy than I thought. ‘Who’s calling who a pure-hearted guy?’ I smiled brightly like a child who had found a new toy. This information seems like it will be useful for a while.

* * *

After that, we finished our light lunch. I went straight back to my room and headed to Mimir. I briefly reported the results of today’s open raid to Mimir, and I heard about the fifth trial page.

“The fifth trial page is full of traps hidden by illusion magic. It’s so subtle that it’s hard to see even with the Eye of Insight, so you always have to be careful.” No, it would be more accurate to say that I was listening to the points to be careful about when entering the fifth trial page, rather than talking about the fifth trial page itself.

“And if you encounter a jellyfish-like monster, be careful. It’s a dangerous creature with powerful poison. If you see it, run without looking back.” That makes 13 warnings already.

“And also…”

“Wait a minute. Sorry for interrupting, but can I ask you a question?” I cut off Mimir’s words and asked.

“How dangerous is the fifth trial page that you’re making such a fuss about it? You didn’t say anything when I entered the third trial page.” The third trial page. It was Mimir who just laughed playfully, saying it wouldn’t be fun if he told me anything, even when I was entering the Greenwood Forest where a monster called Drake lived. But Mimir was explaining everything in detail and being so cautious. How dangerous is the fifth trial page that he’s making such a fuss about it?

“The reason I didn’t say anything about the third trial page was because Elena was waiting there. As long as Elena is there, nothing will happen to the successor’s body, no matter what Drake is.” No matter what Drake is, as long as Elena is there, nothing will happen to my body. That’s what he meant, and he kept quiet.

“But the fifth trial page is different. As I said, the vassal waiting in the fifth trial page is not so friendly to the successor. Even if your safety is in danger, he won’t help you.”

“That vassal. He seems to be the type who thinks you have to protect yourself.”

“That’s right. I don’t know about ordinary people, but he will never help the successor.”

“…I get a rough idea of what kind of personality he has. He’s like, ‘If my master’s disciple can’t even do this much, then he’s not worthy,’ right?”

“Exactly.” Adding that to the information I got earlier that he was a loyal knight type, I could roughly see what kind of person the vassal was.

“I understand. It’s understandable that you’re making a fuss.” In short, it was like I was in a situation where I had to survive alone in the Greenwood Forest without Elena’s help. In other words, it was a situation where my life could be in danger. It was only natural that Mimir was making such a fuss.

“Are your questions answered? Then shall we continue what we were talking about?”

“Yeah. I’m listening.” I met Mimir’s serious gaze.

“When you enter the fifth trial page… um. But where did I leave off?” Mimir tilted his head. He seemed to have forgotten where he had left off because he was interrupted.

“You said to run if you encounter a jellyfish-like monster.”

“Ah. That’s where I was.” Mimir cleared his throat.

“I don’t know where the starting point of the fifth trial page will be, but if you fall into a place like an abandoned cathedral…” Mimir continued to recite the precautions. 20, 30, 40. As Mimir’s warnings continued, my expression gradually hardened. Just by listening to the story, I could tell how dangerous the fifth trial page was. This, the 13 precautions I mentioned earlier were just the tip of the iceberg. If I had heard this story first, I wouldn’t have asked why he was making such a fuss.

“And lastly. This is the most important thing…” Mimir made the most serious expression possible and met my eyes. My already serious expression became even more serious.

“Don’t trust anyone.”

“Don’t trust anyone?”

“That’s exactly what it means. In the fifth trial page, you shouldn’t trust anyone.” It was a meaningful statement and at the same time, it was a very unsettling statement. Don’t trust anyone.

“…Then, does that mean I shouldn’t trust the vassal who’s supposed to be waiting in the fifth trial page?”

“No. You can trust him. Except for him, don’t trust anyone…” Mimir, who was about to say that, suddenly frowned.

“No, that won’t work either…” Then he changed his words with an even more serious expression.

“Don’t trust him either. Just doubt everything.” Mimir looked straight into my eyes and urged me. “That’s the only way to get out of the fifth trial page safely.”