The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 187

“I’ll say it one more time. Show yourself. Assassin.”

Adela’s aura sharpened even further. It was like a masterfully honed sword, freshly sharpened on a whetstone.

It was even clearer and sharper than during the open raid incident before.

A sense of intimidation that couldn’t be seen during training.

‘Is she truly a once-in-a-lifetime genius who absorbed the grace of a god?’

She seemed like a completely different person than she was two weeks ago.

“If you don’t intend to come out…”

Adela’s eyes turned golden.

The Staret family’s secret magic, the Mind’s Eye, was fully activated.

Whoosh!

The light from the light spheres floating around Adela intensified even more.

They shone brilliantly, as if they were determined to completely erase any impurities before her.

“I will respond forcefully.”

Adela’s light spheres spread out in all directions.

The light spheres spread out as if to surround the opponent.

Swish!

The light spheres flew towards the empty air all at once.

The aura contained within those light spheres was extraordinary.

Not only would it be difficult for other 5th Circle mages to deal with that attack, but even 6th Circle mages would struggle.

The magic Adela had just unleashed was at that level.

“…Tsk.”

However.

“This wasn’t in my plan.”

The opponent wasn’t a 6th Circle mage, nor a 7th Circle mage, but an 8th Circle mage.

Adela was no match for him.

“This is troublesome. …Hey, is your friend tight-lipped?”

Charles lightly waved his hand.

The mana concentrated in Charles’s hand spread out in all directions.

“Well, she does look like she’s got a lot to say.”

And the next moment, Adela’s light spheres vanished in an instant.

The mana that Charles had scattered enveloped Adela’s light spheres, then crushed them with pressure.

“… !”

Adela’s face was filled with shock.

She realized just how extraordinary the magic Charles had just displayed was.

“…He’s a Grand Mage. We have to run.”

Adela, having quickly assessed the situation, grabbed my hand and turned around.

Or rather, she tried to.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to run.”

If I had been relaxed, that’s what would have happened.

“Yeah. It’s okay. I’m not a bad guy.”

The figure of Commander Charles, who had been hiding, slowly began to reveal himself.

He was scratching the back of his head with a troubled expression.

“Ah, of course, I can be a very, very bad person to certain groups, but that doesn’t apply to you guys.”

He walked out, shuffling his feet.

All the lights of Seoul illuminated Commander Charles’s face, which had been hidden in the darkness.

“You are…”

Adela’s pupils trembled.

The wariness that had filled her eyes vanished in an instant, replaced by confusion.

“Oh. What? You know me?”

Adela’s reaction was that of someone who knew who Charles was.

That’s why her wariness disappeared, and confusion took its place.

“An unofficial terrorist response group. No official name. Commonly known as the leader of the Hounds, Charles.”

“What? You really know me?”

Charles chuckled.

“How does a student living in a safe country like Korea know me?”

The unofficial terrorist response group.

The Hounds, an unapproved mercenary group, isn’t very well-known in Korea.

It’s only natural.

Korea is a relatively safe country with little connection to war.

There was no reason for them to be interested in the Hounds, who travel around the world’s war zones carrying out missions.

“No, more importantly, how do you know my face? There shouldn’t be any photos or anything left.”

As a dangerous war mercenary, exposure of one’s identity is directly linked to death.

That’s why the information of the Hounds’ members, including Commander Charles himself, is not disclosed.

“I happened to see a picture once.”

“…Tsk. That guy, Wi Sang-cheol. I told him to delete all the photos if he had them.”

Charles growled fiercely.

“Well, everyone who knows, knows. As long as it’s not spread on the internet, it’s fine…”

Charles muttered, ‘Still, it’s a bit annoying.’

“Hmm. Anyway, what should I do about this?”

Charles looked at me with a strange expression.

He had an expression that said he didn’t know what to do about this situation.

“What else? You have no choice but to ask them to keep it a secret.”

“…I guess that’s the only way, huh?”

“Yes.”

My gaze and Commander Charles’s gaze simultaneously turned to Adela.

“I can’t go into detail, but there’s a kind of deal between me and Commander Charles.”

“A deal…”

Adela’s eyes narrowed.

“He came here today because he had something to discuss with me regarding that deal.”

The relationship between Commander Charles and me is something I can’t talk about even if I wanted to.

I’m sorry to Adela, but this is all I can say.

“…I understand.”

Adela nodded.

She must have a lot of questions, but she realized that I had no intention of saying more, so she just nodded.

“Then I’ll keep this matter confidential as well.”

“Thank you.”

I expressed my sincere gratitude for Adela’s generosity and understanding.

“…This matter as well?”

Charles tilted his head slightly and muttered quietly.

“You seem to be leaking a lot of secrets to her? Judging by the way you said ‘this matter as well’?”

“…Yeah, well.”

I vaguely trailed off.

* * *

“Then, I’ll go back to the party venue first.”

“Sorry. Go ahead. I’ll be there soon.”

“Let’s see each other again when we have the chance~”

Adela left Shin Ha-yul and Charles behind and returned to the party venue first.

It seemed like the two of them had something to talk about separately, so she had the sense to leave them alone.

‘…Does someone like the leader of the Hounds have anything to gain from a mere student?’

Adela sat on one side of the party venue lobby, lost in thought.

Shin Ha-yul and Charles.

Charles and Shin Ha-yul.

It was a completely unexpected combination.

‘What on earth is it?’

What could a mercenary possibly have to offer a deal to a mere student?

No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t think of anything.

‘He’s not being scammed… is he?’

Anyone else might be, but Shin Ha-yul would never be scammed.

He definitely wouldn’t be getting scammed.

‘The Hounds aren’t the kind of group that would scam a mere student.’

The unapproved mercenary group, the Hounds, isn’t well-known in Korea, but they are quite famous in other countries.

The one and only mercenary group established to oppose the Black Magic Tower, the world’s worst criminal organization.

Unlike other mercenaries and war corporations, they are quite famous as righteous outlaws who help good citizens and realize justice.

It didn’t seem likely that such beings would come all the way to Korea to scam a mere student.

‘Then that means they really want something from Ha-yul…’

What could an 8th Circle Grand Mage want from a mere 18-year-old promising talent?

Adela’s brain spun like a top.

A deal is about getting something from someone else that you don’t have.

That means that what the 8th Circle mage doesn’t have but Shin Ha-yul does is the core of the deal.

‘If it’s something only Ha-yul has…’

Innate intelligence.

Creative use of magic.

Innate sense.

Innate talent and the effort to support it.

And so on.

‘There’s too much…’

There were too many things that were special about Shin Ha-yul.

‘No. This is my subjective view. I have to think objectively.’

Something that anyone in the world would think is special.

What could that be?

The conclusion came quickly.

‘The Incompatible. And the Divine Eye.’

If there was anything special that only Shin Ha-yul had, it would be those two things.

And among them, being an Incompatible isn’t exactly an advantage, so it’s excluded.

Then there’s only one thing left.

‘The Divine Eye.’

The reason Charles approached Shin Ha-yul was because of the Divine Eye.

‘The timing is also right.’

It’s even more certain when you see that he approached him right after he returned to Korea.

The hypothesis became even more credible.

‘Then the key now is what Commander Charles is trying to get through Ha-yul’s Divine Eye…’

Adela’s thoughts began to accelerate rapidly.

She formed a plausible hypothesis, refuted it herself, and combined it with a new hypothesis.

Dozens, hundreds of hypotheses flashed through Adela’s mind.

‘The Divine Eye is a magic eye that is particularly good at detection… That means, is he trying to ask Ha-yul to find something for him?’

Quite a long time passed like that.

Adela succeeded in reaching a conclusion.

‘Yes. That makes sense why Commander Charles approached him while cloaked.’

She wondered why he had approached while cloaked when they were making a deal.

It makes sense if it was to check the detection power of Shin Ha-yul’s Divine Eye.

‘Then what is he going to ask him to find?’

There was no need to think about this for too long.

The unapproved mercenary group, the Hounds.

Another name is the Black Magic Tower Special Task Force.

There is only one thing they desire.

‘The Black Magic Tower.’

The mysterious criminal group, the Black Magic Tower, about which they haven’t been able to obtain proper information for decades.

Is it possible that they are trying to borrow the power of the Divine Eye to obtain information about that tower?

‘It’s plausible enough. If so…’

Adela’s thoughts continued to accelerate, one after another.

* * *

The party, which lasted about 4 hours, was finally over.

It was after midnight when I returned to my room.

As soon as I returned to my room, I quickly changed and went straight into Mimir’s Library.

I didn’t forget to put on ‘Aeth’ to relieve my fatigue.

“Mimir. I’m here.”

I spoke as quietly as possible because Miho was sleeping on one side of the sofa.

“You’re late?”

Mimir, who had been lying face down reading a book, sat up straight.

“It took a bit longer than I thought while we were talking.”

I sat down next to Mimir.

Miho jumped onto my lap.

“Did you wake up? You could have slept more.”

Miho wagged her tail. She made a seductive sound, as if to say that sleep wasn’t a problem now that I was here.

“Yeah. You’re the only one for me, Miho.”

I gently stroked Miho’s head.

“Tsk. That fox.”

“She is a fox.”

“That’s right. I said the right thing.”

Suddenly, the book Mimir was reading caught my eye over Mimir’s shoulder.

“I thought you were going to answer right away. You weren’t reading a comic book, were you?”

“…Anyone would think I read comic books 24 hours a day if they heard that.”

“Aren’t you?”

“No, I’m not? It’s just that I happened to be reading comic books whenever the successor came. I only read comic books for about 8 hours a day!”

“…”

8 hours seems like a lot, enough to be sufficient…

Well, if she’s so confident, I have nothing to say.

“Tell me if you need any more books.”

“I need them now.”

“…Again? You’ve already read all the ones I gave you yesterday?”

I had prepared over 100 books.

She’s already read them all?

“No. Not comic books. I need some academic books related to modern magic.”

“Ah.”

That’s what she meant.

Come to think of it, there weren’t any books related to modern magic among the books I got her yesterday.

“What kind of books? Should I just get you all the popular books like last time?”

“Hmm. It would be good to get all the famous ones… And also, I’d like a variety of books on artificial intelligence AI chips.”

“Artificial intelligence AI chips…? Why suddenly that?”

“It’s the culmination of modern magic technology. My scholarly blood is boiling.”

Mimir had the look of a researcher thirsty for research.

Her eyes were greedy, full of longing for new knowledge.

“If that’s the reason, then I have to do my best to help you.”

I love knowledge, and I love those who love knowledge.

If that’s the reason, there’s no reason not to help her.

I should bring all the top-secret materials that are kept separately within the family.

That’s what I decided.

“Thanks.”

Mimir smiled as if she was excited.

Looking at her like that, I felt good for no reason.

“Ah. That’s right, Mimir. You know, the staff of the master.”

“Why that? What, did the results come out?”

“Yeah. They came out.”

I recalled the conversation I had with Commander Charles earlier.

‘I came as quickly as possible because I thought you’d be waiting. If I had known her senses were this good, I would have come later. Tsk.’

After cutting off the topic, Commander Charles continued.

‘The staff you asked me to get. It seems like we’ll be able to get it soon.’

“The talks with the museum are over. We’ll sign the contract this week and officially receive it.”

He said that the talks went very well.