The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 170

Stone of Covenant.

The medium for the second Mythic Magic, ‘Factio’ [Latin for ‘making’ or ‘doing’].

With it around my neck, I headed towards Mimir.

“Welcome, Successor…?”

The red gem around my neck.

“…You passed.”

Mimir, having confirmed the Stone of Covenant, smiled with a subtle expression.

It was a smile that seemed bitter, yet also like one of relief.

It was a smile that clearly showed her complex feelings.

“That idiot Aslan. How could he just leave like that?”

Mimir muttered quietly, looking down.

Mimir had always said she hated Aslan, but she couldn’t have truly hated him.

She seemed to feel a sense of disappointment towards Aslan, who had left without even a final goodbye.

“Seeing how quickly he left, he probably didn’t even properly explain about the Stone of Covenant, did he?”

“…Yeah.”

“That guy, even until the very end…”

Mimir pouted.

Just like Aslan said, she seemed annoyed that he had skipped the explanation again, saying it was a hassle.

“Can I ask what kind of relationship you two had?”

Aslan and Mimir.

Their relationship didn’t seem as simple as I had thought.

“My relationship with Aslan?”

Mimir tucked her lips back in, which had been sticking out like a duck’s, and looked at me with serious eyes.

“If it’s something difficult to answer, you don’t have to tell me.”

I’m not the type to pry into someone’s personal life.

“It’s not a big deal. It’s not that important.”

Mimir stared blankly into the air.

“Do you know why I started hating Aslan?”

“Isn’t it because he played a lot of mean pranks on you?”

“No, it’s not.”

…That’s not the reason?

Mimir met my eyes and chuckled.

“Do I look like the type of person who would openly hate someone just because they play a few pranks?”

“Well, you’re not really that type.”

Mimir is easygoing and outgoing.

She’s the typical extroverted social butterfly.

She wouldn’t hate someone just because they played a few pranks.

“The reason I hate Aslan is because he treats me like a child.”

“…Treats you like a child?”

“Yeah. Not just any child, but almost like a newborn baby.”

I did get the feeling that she was being treated like a child.

But it was more like looking at a cute niece, not like treating her like a newborn baby.

“Successor, do you know why Aslan says he’s bad at explaining things?”

“Didn’t he say it was just to pass the buck because he was too lazy to explain?”

He had said something like that when the two of them were talking before.

“Successor, you really have no sense when it comes to human relationships, do you?”

Mimir smiled with a smug look. It was a look that said, ‘You couldn’t even figure out something this simple?’

“That stubborn man, who is the embodiment of a sense of duty and responsibility, wouldn’t just pass the explanation to someone else just because he’s too lazy to explain.”

“That’s… true.”

Now that I think about it, that makes sense.

“There’s only one reason why Aslan would pass the explanation to someone else.”

“…But he passed the explanation quite a lot, didn’t he?”

I’ve seen it happen three times already.

“That’s because they all fit the condition.”

Mimir smiled bitterly.

“Aslan only passes the explanation to someone else when he can pass it to me.”

“Only to you?”

“Yeah.”

He only passes the explanation to Mimir?

“…Why?”

“Why do you think?”

“Well… it’s not to annoy you…”

Judging by the flow of the conversation, he wouldn’t have passed the responsibility for that reason.

“The answer is, it’s to give me a chance.”

Mimir’s expression darkened.

“Give you a chance? What kind of chance?”

“A chance to explain. Or a chance to prove my worth.”

“A chance to prove your worth…”

What does that mean?

“You don’t understand, do you? Yeah, you wouldn’t. To understand this, you need to know my story first. It’s natural that the Successor, who doesn’t know my past, can’t understand.”

A melancholic atmosphere settled around Mimir.

“…Where should I start?”

She had her head down, so her face was hidden by her bangs, and I couldn’t see her expression.

But just by looking at her drooping head, I could tell.

Mimir was currently sad.

“I am the sole descendant of Ray Bell Vaitener. The First Princess, Mimir Bell Vaitener.”

Mimir slowly began to tell her story.

“Since I was born after 30 years, I was naturally the center of attention for all the people of the Vaitener Empire, including the vassals.”

As Mimir said, it was a natural expectation.

“…But I failed to meet everyone’s expectations.”

Why?

It was impossible to ask.

Mimir’s sorrowful eyes, visible through the gaps in her bangs, stopped me from speaking.

“I had absolutely no talent for magic.”

Mimir raised her head and smiled.

She was trying to act cheerful, but the sadness hidden within could not be concealed.

“Even though I inherited my father’s blood, I couldn’t even form a proper mana circle, let alone an Infinity Circle. I wasn’t just average. I was a complete dunce.”

The strongest mage of that era.

The daughter of Ray Bell Vaitener, the origin of magic.

The First Princess of the Vaitener Empire has no talent for magic.

What kind of feeling would that be?

“Everyone’s expectations quickly turned into disappointment, and before long, I became like a useless sack of barley. It was natural. A successor who can’t use magic is not a successor.”

She must have tasted a level of despair that I couldn’t even imagine.

It was incomparable to my own situation.

“But even when the sky falls, there’s always a way out. Fortunately, I had a talent as a scholar.”

Mimir stroked the book placed next to her.

“After realizing that, I read books like crazy. I put everything into analyzing the structure of magic, predicting magical phenomena, and reading the flow of magic.”

Even though she had found hope, Mimir’s expression was still dark.

“But… even so, the way people looked at me didn’t change. A princess who can’t use magic. A descendant who can’t be a successor. A useless sack of barley. A burden…”

“…”

It was a description that reminded me of myself a year ago.

Expectations turned into disappointment, and disappointment turned into criticism.

The feeling when the friendly gazes towards me suddenly turned cold… it was an indescribable pain.

“But I kept… kept trying. Even though I was a dunce, it wasn’t like I couldn’t form a mana circle… and fortunately, I was smart, so I made some achievements academically, you know?”

Mimir’s lips trembled.

“But… no one paid any attention to me.”

She looked like she was about to cry.

“I formed a 3-circle, a 4-circle, and a 5-circle, but… I didn’t get any congratulations from anyone.”

Suddenly, a past remark Mimir had made came to mind.

‘How sad it is not to be congratulated even when your circle has risen…’

That remark came from Mimir’s own experience.

My mouth felt bitter.

“The only person who paid attention to me during that time was Aslan.”

Mimir pouted.

“That’s probably when it started. Every time something happened, Aslan started passing the explanation to me.”

Her expression was full of resentment.

“He said he wasn’t good at explaining things. That Mimir would explain it… that she must know it since she’s one of the top three scholars in our empire… He made all sorts of excuses and made me explain.”

After hearing this, I think I understand what she means.

“At the time, I was just happy. I thought, ‘Finally, someone recognizes my worth…’ I was just purely happy.”

“…”

“But. It wasn’t like that. The reason Aslan passed the explanation to me wasn’t because he really needed my knowledge, but because he wanted to give me a chance.”

A hint of anger could be seen in Mimir’s expression.

It was an expression of wounded pride.

“So… he did it out of pity.”

Then she scoffed.

“He’s treating me like a newborn baby, isn’t he? What does he think I am? How can I not be angry?”

“…I think I understand what you mean.”

“Yeah. I thought the Successor would understand.”

When you fall into the abyss, the most miserable thing isn’t when someone points a finger at you.

It’s when someone pities you.

That’s the most miserable time.

“Anyway, that’s why I told him not to do that, you know? And do you know what he said?”

“What did he say?”

“He said he wasn’t pitying me. That he was just passing the explanation because he was too lazy to explain. Who does he think he’s fooling?”

Mimir’s lips stuck out again.

“And then he kept passing the explanation to me. Ah, I get angry just thinking about it again.”

She crossed her arms, turned her head slightly, and just pouted.

It was an expression that clearly showed she was sulking.

“So, is that why you hate Aslan?”

“…No. It’s not like I truly hate him or anything.”

Mimir uncrossed her arms and gave a bitter smile.

“It’s just like a resolution I made for myself. I decided to hate him until Aslan stops passing the explanation to me.”

Mimir’s cheeks puffed up slightly.

“You should have said that.”

“I did say it. Do you think I wouldn’t? I even told him not to talk to me until he stopped that awful passing of explanations. But Aslan, that idiot…”

Mimir chewed her lips. She must be cursing Aslan in her mind.

“He’s always treating me like a child… Aslan, I really hate him.”

The strength disappeared from Mimir’s expression.

“He’s so selfish. He doesn’t even think about my feelings… It’s the last time… and he didn’t even come when he disappeared… He said he’d come again…”

It was an expression that couldn’t be expressed in just one sentence.

Even if I could read Mimir’s inner thoughts right now, it would be impossible for me to understand 100% of Mimir’s true feelings.

“So, we can’t meet again?”

“…Yeah. Aslan is already dead. The Aslan that I… that the Successor met was just an illusion that recreated a past record. Once it disappears, that’s the end.”

I had hoped.

That maybe I would have a chance to meet Aslan or Elena again someday.

I had such hopeful thoughts.

But it seems that was just a hopeful observation.

“And that’s…”

Mimir lowered her head and muttered.

“That’s?”

The rest of her words were inaudible.

“…Uh-huh. It’s nothing.”

Mimir raised her head again and smiled.

“Okay. Now you roughly know what kind of relationship I had with Aslan, right?”

She forcefully changed the subject, as if she didn’t want to talk about it anymore.

“Then, let’s end this conversation. It’s gotten too long. Now, let’s move on to the explanation about the Stone of Covenant and ‘Factio’.”

I wanted to delve deeper, but I decided to stop.

If Mimir didn’t want to talk about it, I didn’t want to pry any further.

Everyone has secrets they don’t want to talk about.

“Okay. This Stone of Covenant. How do I use it?”

I went along with Mimir’s forced change of subject.

It was my own way of showing consideration.

“…Thank you.”

Mimir lowered her head and said that.

She seemed to have noticed my consideration, and she smiled warmly as she looked me straight in the eye.

I shrugged my shoulders at Mimir.

“For what?”

“…Just because.”

Mimir raised her face.

“I’m thankful for everything.”

Then, she met my eyes with a casual smile and laughed brightly.

* * *

That afternoon.

I was sitting alone in my room, concentrating.

‘Mythic Magic cannot be used here. First, go outside, and with the Stone of Covenant around your neck, synchronize your Infinity Circle and mana core to 100%.’

‘And then, in the same way as when you chant, recite the magic formula.’

‘Then, the Stone of Covenant will react.’

Recalling Mimir’s words,

I engraved the activation phrase for the second Mythic Magic, ‘Factio’, in my mind.

“The cycle of seasons cannot be broken by anything—”

The ancient characters of the Vaitener Empire were reproduced from my mouth.

A language system where one sentence contains more than ten meanings.

It was similar to the permafrost I had used before, but the ‘level’ itself was different, a true magic character.

“The thread of fate also revolves with the seasons—”

I chanted it for a minute, dozens of sentences.

Whirr, whirr, whirr!

The red gem around my neck.

The light emitted by the Stone of Covenant grew stronger and stronger.

“The promise between you and I will also circulate according to the proper flow—”

Flash!

The red light emitted by the gem soon filled the room.

In the center of the room, which seemed to be painted entirely red.

I recited the final activation phrase.

“This covenant cannot be broken even by death.”

“Factio (páctĭo)”

Thump!

The next moment, the room shimmered like a mirage.

Mana rejoiced.

As if celebrating the birth of something. As if celebrating what was about to be born. It was as if it was dancing.

“Come forth.”

I stretched out both hands towards the center of the distorted space.

And at that moment.

Thwack!

Something popped out from the center.

A white fur ball and bright, sparkling eyes.

The only difference from before was that the nine tails had been reduced to five.

“Nice to meet you.”

The Divine Beast Gumiho [a mythical nine-tailed fox in Korean folklore].

It snuggled into my arms and acted cute.