The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 189

Silence filled the air.

Shadow’s expression was quite serious. It wasn’t that he was making that face because my attitude was unpleasant. He simply didn’t have the mental space to care about my attitude. He was focusing all his attention on processing what I had said.

I didn’t push Shadow; I waited patiently. If this were a ‘deal’ conducted on equal footing, I wouldn’t have waited. Because pressuring your opponent before they regain their composure is a fundamental tactic in negotiation. But now, Shadow and I were not equals, not even in pretense. I was the ‘Gap,’ and Shadow was the ‘Eul’ [a Korean term referring to the weaker party in a relationship]. In this deal, Shadow was overwhelmingly the weaker party. He could never refuse my offer.

‘In a deal, eagerness is just another name for defeat.’ Because he was eager, he couldn’t refuse even if the conditions were somewhat unfavorable. That was exactly the situation now. Shadow couldn’t openly refuse my offer to provide information first.

‘I just have to wait patiently.’ I just had to wait quietly while Shadow finished his thoughts, while he pondered my words, formed illusions about me, and until his expectations amplified. Just wait, and wait. It wouldn’t take long. As I said, Shadow was eager. Because the hope he had been dreaming of was right in front of him. ‘At most, one minute.’ Shadow would finish organizing all his thoughts within a minute and start talking again. I was sure his first comment would be something like this: ‘I’ve been completely drawn in from the start.’

“…I completely misjudged the situation from the start.”

Bingo.

“First of all, I’ll retract what I said earlier. You are also a Black Magic King, just like him. You are a monster standing in a place I can’t dare to judge.”

Shadow chuckled, his expression somewhat calmer.

“Congratulations. Monster. You are equal to, or perhaps something more than, the Black Magic King.”

Shadow clapped exactly three times with an exaggerated motion.

“…A monster, huh? It’s a strangely unpleasant compliment. A monster. There are many other good expressions, you know.”

“Hmm. Was the noun ‘monster’ an expression that could be heard as a criticism? I see. I’ll keep that in mind.”

Shadow stared straight into my eyes. No, since he couldn’t see, I should say he was pretending to stare.

“Understood. It’s because of my personality. I haven’t had a chance to read someone’s face or try to please them.”

His expression looked strangely complicated.

“Well, honestly, that doesn’t matter. What’s important is…”

“What’s important is whether I’ll provide the information first, right?”

“Yes.”

I nodded.

“I’ll say it again. The essential condition I’m presenting is that you will provide the information first.”

“Hmm. You have no trust in me at all.”

“You’re stating the obvious. How can I trust you, who has been freed from all the shackles, unless you are desperate because of that curse right now?”

“That’s the right thing to say.”

Shadow chuckled.

“Since it’s the right thing to say, I’ll return those words to you as they are.”

Shadow’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“How can I trust you, who needs information about the Black Magic Tower right now, after you hear the necessary information and have no more use for me?”

“Well, I think I’m a hundred times more trustworthy than an evil person like you.”

“Your trust and goodwill are only done for the sake of good. Breaking a promise with an evil person is treated as trust, isn’t it? Hypocrite?”

Shadow answered without backing down.

His rhetoric was quite skillful. If it were a normal deal, I might have had a hard time.

“Both sides have no intention of yielding…”

But this wasn’t a normal deal, a negotiation between equals.

“Then this negotiation is broken.”

“…”

As I’d said many times, the power dynamic in this deal had already been decided. No matter how much the other party tried to deceive me with fancy words, it was meaningless. The outcome was already set.

“…You’re quite impatient.”

“I hate wasting time unnecessarily.”

“Unnecessary time, huh?”

Shadow laughed softly.

“I see. I thought that if I pressured you with words, you might waver a little, but it was a vain hope.”

He shook his head slightly and then focused his gaze on me again.

“Okay. Then I’ll exclude all the small talk and get straight to the point.”

Shadow’s demeanor became serious.

“As you suggested, I will provide the information first. Since I’m the one who’s eager, I have to yield first.”

“Hmm. Is it okay for you to say so openly that you’re more eager? You’ll be much more disadvantaged.”

Saying such words was like admitting defeat in the negotiation.

“Is there anything that changes if I say what you already know to someone who already knows it?”

Shadow scoffed.

“The power dynamic of this deal has already been decided. Both sides know that. Then, is there any reason to hide it? No. Rather, it can be said that not hiding it is an advantage. If I declare that I’m the weaker party, I can use the weaker party’s method.”

The weaker party’s way of dealing. With those words, I could predict what Shadow would say next.

“This time, I, the weaker party, will make a proposal. I will provide the information first, but…”

“You can’t provide all the information right now?”

I cut off Shadow’s words and continued.

“That’s correct.”

Shadow clapped twice again.

“I need my own safety net, too. I’ll only provide half of the information.”

“And you’ll give me the remaining information after I eliminate your shadow. That’s it, right?”

“Yes.”

He would yield first, but only halfway.

“And one more thing. Apart from you knowing about my shadow, you must show me the certainty or possibility that you can erase my shadow. That’s the premise of this deal.”

It was a very reasonable proposal.

“I’ll tell you in advance, there will be no more negotiations than this. This is the maximum concession. If you refuse this offer, the negotiation will be broken. I’m not a fool either. I have no intention of becoming a pushover who gives everything away without any safety net.”

Shadow’s expression and gestures conveyed a resolute will. He was claiming with his whole body that there would be no more concessions than this.

“So, what’s your answer?”

If it were a normal person, they would have tried to get something more here. Seeing that the other party was losing, they could have easily pushed for more conditions. Thinking like this. But that was a bad move.

“Okay.”

The best move in this situation was not to negotiate or probe, but simply to agree.

“It perfectly matches the deal conditions I was thinking of. Let’s do that.”

Shadow had already presented the maximum conditions he could offer. To ask for more than this was just greed.

“…You’re really smart. You’re the perfect person to deal with.”

Shadow, who had paused for a moment and looked at my expression, chuckled and said that.

“Then can we consider the deal to be established?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. I won’t ask for a handshake separately. Even so, I think it would be difficult to counterattack in a situation where our hands are touching.”

“You’re thorough to the end. I like you even more.”

Shadow laughed as if he was amused.

“Then, I’ll fulfill my conditions first. Miho.”

I called Miho, who had been wary of Shadow in my arms.

“Just a little bit. Just eat the shadow that’s roughly engulfing his right hand.”

Miho nodded slightly.

“Extend your right hand.”

“…Okay.”

Shadow, who was muttering ‘eat it?’, slowly extended his right hand. Then, Miho bit the hand that Shadow extended.

Fwoooosh-!

At that moment, light burst out. The brilliant light filled the inside of the weak shadow barrier that Shadow had created. It was concentrated on Miho’s mouth in an instant. No, should I say it was concentrated on Shadow’s hand?

“…!”

At that moment, Shadow’s eyes widened. As if he felt something, his lips trembled.

Saaa…

The light slowly disappeared. And when almost all the light had disappeared.

“Kuh!”

Shadow let out a scream. His face was contorted, and his body was twitching. He was feeling pain. ‘You shouldn’t feel pain when removing a shadow.’ Why was he in pain? The reason why Shadow was feeling pain was quickly found.

“Ah.”

Crunch!

Miho was still chewing on Shadow’s right hand.

“Miho!”

Shadow seemed to hate it so much that he didn’t let go of the hand he was biting, even with my persuasion.

“Our Miho is good, right? Let’s let go.”

Was it because my earnestness was conveyed? Miho made a face that she really, really hated it, but she had no choice but to open her mouth. There were clear teeth marks on Shadow’s right hand. There was a little blood, but it didn’t look like a serious wound. It seemed that Miho controlled her strength. Well, if Miho had bitten with all her might, she could have torn it apart like cutting a cake.

“…”

Shadow’s eyes trembled as he looked at his right hand. Tears welled up in his eyes. Was it that painful?

“I, I’m sorry. Our kid is a bit…”

I looked at Shadow and carefully apologized.

“…”

However, Shadow still showed no reaction. With tears in his eyes, he was just staring blankly at his hand with trembling lips.

“It hurts…”

His voice was also trembling.

“It hurts… it hurts…”

He grabbed his right hand and lowered his head. Tears dripped from his eyes, which were covered by his bangs.

‘Ah.’ Only then did I realize why Shadow was reacting like that. When I thought about it, it was obvious. ‘He’s happy to have regained his sense of touch.’ Shadow had all his senses taken away by Umbra’s shadow. Shadow had lost all five senses. Such a Shadow became aware of his sense of touch through pain. Even though it was pain, he felt a sensation. That’s what he was happy about. I understood. Even for me, when I lost my five senses during my training with Elena before, I had experienced considerable hell. If only my sense of touch had returned in that desperate situation, I would have reacted as violently as Shadow.

“Ah, ah… No… Don’t disappear…”

As the shadow began to engulf his right hand again, and the pain seemed to be disappearing, Shadow murmured not to leave in an earnest voice. It was quite a pathetic voice.

“…”

Soon, as if the pain had completely disappeared, Shadow’s actions also stopped. I had been quietly watching Shadow for a long time. Since he was quite shaken, he would need some time to regain his composure.

“…I showed you an unsightly sight. Forget it.”

After about 3 minutes had passed, Shadow, who had regained his composure to some extent, said that in a slightly trembling voice. It was a tremor caused by shame.

“I heard that you can indirectly experience the five senses through shadows. Is feeling pain such a touching thing?”

“…You really know a lot about my shadow. Do you even know that?”

“Yes. I probably know more than you do, if not less.”

Indirectly experiencing through shadows wasn’t just about sight and hearing. You could also indirectly feel things like touch through the amount of impact the shadow absorbed.

“It’s certainly possible to indirectly feel the five senses. But…”

Shadow looked at his right hand with murderous eyes.

“That’s all. A fake is just a fake.”

Shadow clenched his fist tightly.

“I wish I couldn’t even feel it indirectly…”

A clench of anger. As if he resented everything in the world, his eyes were blazing with anger.

“Hoo. Let’s stop talking about this. Anyway, there’s no way you can understand even if I explain it more.”

As if he didn’t want to think about it anymore, he cut off the topic altogether. Then he brought up the main point again.

“I know that you can really remove my shadow. The condition has been met.”

Shadow turned his gaze to me.

“Then it’s my turn to fulfill the conditions I presented.”

The conditions Shadow presented. Providing information about the Black Magic Tower. I listened to Shadow’s words. I wondered what kind of information would come out.

“Originally, I was going to talk about this later… but I’ve changed my mind. If it’s this certain, it’s better to prevent anything that could endanger your safety in advance.”

“…Danger to my safety?”

“Yes.”

Shadow narrowed his eyes and said.

“Shin Hayul. You are currently designated as a special S-class dangerous person within the Black Magic Tower.”

My eyes sharpened.

“…Could you explain in detail?”