The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 228

After that, we pretended not to know each other, quietly sipped our drinks, and left the bar at an appropriate time.

It was a pretty perfect rendezvous.

Even the bartender probably didn’t realize we knew each other.

‘Adela is surprisingly good at acting.’

Adela’s genius is only evident in magic.

Everything else is so clumsy that it deserves the modifier ‘atrocious.’

So, I naturally thought she would be somewhat awkward at acting too.

But, unexpectedly, she was very good at it.

Is it because she doesn’t have many facial expressions to begin with?

It was so natural that I was surprised.

‘She would glance at me from time to time, then turn her head as if she wasn’t interested, and that was also very natural.’

Her gaze and reactions only showed a level of curiosity, like ‘Who is that person?’

Thinking about it again, it was the epitome of naturalness.

At this level, even if Hermes were monitoring Adela, he would never suspect anything.

The exchange of notes was also as natural as it could be.

‘At this rate, I don’t have to worry separately.’

I had been worried that Adela might make a mistake.

But I don’t think I need to worry.

It seems she’ll handle it well on her own.

“Welcome.”

Thinking that, I walked along, and before I knew it, I had arrived at the accommodation.

“Room 704.”

I approached the lobby staff who greeted me indifferently and recited my room number.

“Yes. Confirmed.”

The staff immediately handed over the key card.

Their movements were so fast that it was almost bewildering.

And, mind you, I wasn’t bewildered in a good way.

‘They just hand over the key without even properly checking my face?’

Currently, I’m covering my lower face with a mask.

I’m even wearing a hat pulled down low.

And they just give the key to someone like that.

It was clear how messed up the security of this hotel was.

‘……I should probably set up some security magic circles in the room.’

I guess cheap hotels are cheap for a reason.

I decided to enhance the security of my room and got on the elevator.

After arriving at my room.

I immediately headed to Mimir’s place.

“Mimir. I’m here.”

“Ah, Successor. Welcome.”

Mimir, who had been engrossed in studying with a serious expression, instantly changed her expression and smiled.

“Welcome.”

She put the pen between the pages, closed the book, and got up from her seat to approach me.

“You’re a bit late?”

“Yeah. After arriving at the accommodation, I had some extra time. Before coming here, I went to check out the shopping district lightly.”

“Really? Then you must have met Adela too?”

“Yeah. I met her. Here. I also received information through a note.”

I took out the note I had put in my inner pocket.

At that moment, a business card that I had put in with the note also slipped out.

“Stella Vinoche? What’s this business card?”

Mimir picked up the fallen business card and asked.

She read the name written in large letters in the middle of the business card, tilting her head.

“This? Well, it’s a bit of a long story……”

I immediately told her about what happened with Stella Vinoche.

From what happened at the airport to the chance encounter during the investigation.

And finally, her request for a duel.

I explained only the main points as briefly as possible.

“So, I got it. I need to investigate the National Knight School anyway. If I make a connection like this, it will be helpful.”

Since it was a good thing, I explained it as it was.

Thinking about it again, I was lucky.

Even when we met at the airport, I just thought it was a bit of trouble.

To think we’d end up like this.

“……Is that so?”

Mimir replied with a rather sulky expression.

Even though we had taken a step closer to our goal, she didn’t seem happy at all.

“Why? Is there something bothering you?”

Did she notice something that I didn’t?

“No. It’s not that something is bothering me……”

Mimir fidgeted with her right hand fingers.

“That woman named Stella. Did you like her quite a bit?”

“Huh?”

That was a very sudden question.

“No. You said you received the business card last. And the duel request was also last. But the fact that you had such an enjoyable conversation before that means you liked her quite a bit, right?”

“Well, um…… I didn’t dislike her? I was also quite interested.”

The genius knight called the hope of the knights. Stella Vinoche.

If there is Shin Ha-yul in magic, there is Stella in swordsmanship.

That’s what people say, so how could I not be interested?

Considering her personality, she’s also the type you can’t dislike.

“Hmm…… I see.”

Mimir’s expression brightened a little.

But that’s just pretending to be bright.

That artificial smile is claiming, ‘I’m still very dissatisfied.’

“That’s nice. As soon as you arrive overseas, you meet a woman you like.”

Mimir’s smile became even brighter.

It was a very scary smile.

“While some people are working tirelessly on research…… some people are just chatting with a woman they just met…… It’s good that the result was good, but if it wasn’t, it would have just been a waste of time……”

And then she grumbled.

She started talking to herself.

“Ah.”

After listening to her muttering, I think I know why Mimir is angry.

‘She thinks I’m not focusing properly on the mission.’

She seems angry that I didn’t approach with a purpose from the beginning.

Why waste time like that when there was no purpose?

Was I being careless?

I think she had thoughts like that.

‘From Mimir’s perspective, who is working tirelessly on research 24/7, it’s understandable that she’s angry.’

As Mimir said, it was just that the result was good.

The previous conversation was just idle chatter that had no impact on achieving the goal.

It was just that I was interested and continued the conversation.

Realizing that, I felt a growing sense of guilt.

I think I was trying to handle things too casually.

I need to reflect.

“I’ll be careful from now on.”

I looked directly into Mimir’s eyes.

Then, I sincerely apologized.

“I won’t look elsewhere from now on. Please forgive me just this once.”

“……Huh? Th, uh?”

Mimir was flustered.

She had an expression that said she hadn’t expected this reaction. Did she not expect me to apologize?

‘Well, it’s not like I did anything terribly wrong. It was also using time outside of the operation…… And the result was good.’

I just feel sorry that I didn’t live up to Mimir’s total effort, passion, and support. It’s not like I did something that really warrants an apology.

“So, you not looking elsewhere…… does that mean you’ll prioritize me?”

Mimir asked hesitantly.

“Prioritize…… yeah.”

I will always prioritize Mimir’s efforts and do my best in my assigned mission.

“……I, I see. Um.”

Mimir looked away with a somewhat flustered expression.

Then, she twisted her hair with her index finger.

I can tell just by looking at her profile.

She seems quite happy.

My sincerity seems to have gotten through.

“Well, if that’s the case……”

Mimir made a ‘ahem’ sound and returned her expression to normal.

Her expression changed so quickly that she instantly became her usual self.

“Then, you’ll be meeting that knight named Stella soon?”

“Yeah. I’m going to take Miho and investigate the shopping district again tonight at dawn. If nothing comes up, I’ll have to meet her.”

“You’re taking Miho again at night?”

Mimir tilted her head.

“Ah, right. You said you also investigated the shopping district. I completely forgot. I was wondering why you said ‘again’.”

Mimir nodded as if she understood.

“So, taking Miho again at night means you didn’t find any clues there?”

“Yeah. There was nothing.”

“You checked with Shinan, right?”

“Of course.”

The area was very clean.

At least, that’s how it looked to me.

“Hmm. Then, as expected, the medium of Ignis isn’t split into three parts.”

“Right. If it were split, there’s no way I wouldn’t have been able to confirm it with Shinan.”

In the first place, if the medium of a mythical magic, a huge power, were split into three parts, the area would have been devastated.

It’s not even just any medium, but the medium of Ignis, which is called the pinnacle of destructive power.

Not just this area, but even the nearby countries would have been completely engulfed in flames.

It’s definitely not split.

“I don’t understand. It’s not split, but Ignis is being detected in three areas simultaneously.”

Mimir glanced at Miho, who was sleeping on one side of the sofa, and groaned.

“Anyway, I agree with taking Miho directly. It’s risky to be in a crowded place, but……”

“We have to take that risk. What else can we do?”

“Right. There’s no other way.”

For reference, after Miho’s sixth tail grew, she sleeps for 20 hours a day.

It’s said to be sleep to adapt to her increased power.

“Then, what about the Palace of Versailles? How is it there?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t checked the note yet either.”

“Ah. You just came straight here.”

“Yeah. Since I can only check it after returning to the room, it’s better to come and see it with you than to see it alone, right? We can think together too.”

“That’s true. It’s more efficient too.”

Mimir took out the note placed on the table.

“Then, let’s see what she wrote……”

And then she unfolded it.

We quietly read the note.

[I couldn’t find anything unusual outside the Palace of Versailles.]

It seemed like she had a lot to say, as there was a considerable amount of text for the size of the paper.

It was packed tightly, even without any greetings.

[Some mana reactions were detected in the garden, but these were from the mana emitted by the garden maintenance equipment, including sprinklers.]

[Next, the palace entrance. Mana reactions were also detected here, but these were also just from the palace’s equipment. I didn’t find anything unusual.]

From the garden to the outside of the palace.

Information about what she saw and felt in the areas accessible to the public was recorded in considerable detail.

“It’s neat and good.”

Even Mimir, who is quite picky about documents, said it was good out loud, so that says it all.

“You’ve read everything in the front, right? Then I’ll turn it over?”

“Yeah.”

Mimir turned the note over.

The back had considerably larger text.

Only about half of the space was used.

It seems it wasn’t enough to fill the back completely.

“……Huh?”

But it wasn’t just the text that wasn’t completely filled.

The content was just as substantial as the front page.

No, it was much more substantial than the front page.

[And with my mother’s help, I was lucky enough to enter the palace.]

“Successor. You said the inside of the Palace of Versailles is off-limits to the public, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Then this information. It’s quite big, isn’t it?”

“It’s not just quite big, it’s very big.”

“……Hmm. She’s something else.”

Mimir smiled as if she was satisfied.

[And I was really, really lucky to have even gone into the basement of the Palace of Versailles.]

“……The basement too?”

If the difficulty of entering the interior of the Palace of Versailles is about 2.

The difficulty of entering the basement is about 10.

The basement of the Palace of Versailles is that difficult to enter.

‘If it’s the basement, it wouldn’t be strange if Adela saw something.’

If I had to pick the most suspicious place in the Palace of Versailles, I would definitely say it’s the basement.

It’s perfect for hiding something, and it’s also perfect for something to be hidden.

Since she went directly into such a place, she might have gotten some clues.

[And I detected suspicious mana here.]

“……Really?”

Did she really find something?

“Hey. She’s really something else……?”

Mimir clicked her tongue again.

[In the deepest part of the east side of the basement, in a solitary cell. From the wall of that room, I detected a strange feeling of mana residue flowing out.]

I swallowed hard and read the next sentence.

[That mana contained a powerful fire energy.]

“Jackpot……”

Adela hit the jackpot.