The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 358

I almost died.

No exaggeration.

I was nearly devoured by Dissolutio, turned to dust, and left to wander the nine heavens.

“I’m sorry. If I had known about Dissolutio beforehand, this wouldn’t have happened.”

Mimir’s face was full of shame as she bowed her head deeply.

As my support, she felt ashamed that she couldn’t properly filter out such a danger.

That was the expression she seemed to have.

“It’s not your fault.”

This incident was no one’s fault.

It was just an accident, close to a natural disaster.

“If I had thought about the fact that it was a mythical magic that Father had never used, this wouldn’t have happened. This incident is a disaster caused by my complacency.”

Dissolutio.

A mythical magic that my teacher created, yet no one had ever seen him use.

If I had thought about why my teacher never used it.

Then this dangerous situation wouldn’t have happened.

Mimir seemed to want to say that.

“Even if you had warned me it was dangerous, I would have ended up using Dissolutio anyway.”

But it probably wouldn’t have made much difference. I know my personality best. I wouldn’t have stopped using it just because there was a ‘possibility’ of danger.

“Whatever the case, the result would have been the same. You have no reason to blame yourself.”

“Still…”

Despite my consolation, Mimir’s expression remained dark.

No matter what I said, it didn’t seem to comfort her at all.

That was the look on her face.

“No. No matter how I think about it, I was too complacent. It’s fortunate that I tested Dissolutio after the successor had exhausted all their power. If that hadn’t been the case…”

Even though I used it when I was on the verge of exhaustion, it had enough power to blow away this entire area.

What if I hadn’t been on the verge of exhaustion, but in my best condition?

Then I would have disappeared from this world along with Seoul.

No, if things had gone wrong, the entire Korean peninsula might have been blown away.

‘That was close.’

It was such a difficult magic. I thought it would be hard to control with a lot of mana, so I was just going to try it after training.

I applaud my past self for choosing to practice with less mana instead of being reckless.

That choice saved my life.

“I also feel so sorry to Adela Sterett and Elena…”

Mimir’s head bowed even lower.

She must have felt sorry for the two who had no choice but to push themselves because of her complacency.

“I feel just as sorry to Adela and Elena.”

No amount of apologies would be enough for Adela and Elena.

“Let’s go apologize together later.”

“…Okay.”

“And thank them for helping.”

“…Okay.”

If Adela hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t be in such good shape.

I need to express my sincere gratitude to Adela and Elena, who did their best to stop Dissolutio.

It was then.

Knock knock.

A knock on the hospital room door was heard.

“It’s me. May I come in?”

Before I could answer, the hospital room door opened.

“If you’re going to come in without waiting for an answer, what’s the point of knocking?”

It was Terun.

“Normally, I would have waited long enough for an answer. Unfortunately, I’m not in a state where I have that much patience right now. Please understand.”

Terun had a full smile on his face.

A smile that didn’t convey even 0.001% of joy or happiness, just the form of a smile.

Looking at that smile, I felt a cold sweat break out.

If ten people were to face that smile, all ten would surely say it was scary.

“Some great person, who I don’t know, completely destroyed the research lab. So, I’m not thinking straight right now. So, please understand this much?”

“…Yes.”

I could only nod my head.

“Well, it’s not entirely bad. Thanks to that great person, the main drive of the research lab is broken, so the research has to be suspended for about a week. Wow. I get to take a good rest for the first time in two years? Aren’t you jealous?”

“……”

I was the one who destroyed the research lab, so what could I say?

I just had to keep my mouth shut and nod my head.

“Well, as a result, the completion of the research will be delayed a bit… It will be very tight to meet the schedule in six months… But our kind major shareholder can understand, right?”

“…Yes. Of course, I understand.”

The anger of the researchers who lost their lab because of me was more brutal than I could have imagined.

This was a thorny seat like no other.

“…Ugh.”

Mimir’s expression darkened even more.

She seemed to have taken more damage from Terun’s sarcasm than I did.

As Mimir believed that the cause of this rampage was her own complacency, it was a natural reaction.

“Still, well…”

Terun’s expression returned to normal.

“It’s a relief that there’s nothing seriously wrong with your body.”

I’m glad you’re safe.

I was very worried.

That was the expression he seemed to have.

* * *

After that, many people, including my father and Mr. Seok-hyun, visited my hospital room.

Because of that, I’m very tired now.

…No.

If it was just because of the many visitors, I wouldn’t be this tired.

There’s another reason for my fatigue.

“It’s no different now than it was in the Empire era. Those opportunistic bastards. Do they have to act like that when someone is sick?”

It wasn’t the visits that were the problem, but the people who came to visit.

More than 70% of them were business partners I only met in official settings.

I got so tired from having to be careful in my responses.

“…I know. Everyone else is understandable. But the person who handed over a proposal right there, that was just…”

I can’t understand it no matter how hard I try.

“Ugh. Just cut him off. He’s not going to be of any help to the successor’s future.”

“I can’t do that. There are relationships between companies. If you make an enemy of one side, it becomes troublesome in many ways.”

The most important thing in the relationship between companies is not to make enemies.

Whether that person was incompetent or not, I couldn’t turn him into an enemy.

“I just have to keep coaxing them and refuse nicely, like I’ve been doing.”

Mimir shook her head.

“You must be very tired… That guy. From his face, he doesn’t seem like someone who gives up easily.”

“I’ll be tired, but what can I do? It’s something I have to do. I have to do it.”

When my father retires and I officially take the position of head of the Mado Shin family.

I’ll meet countless people like that.

I can think of it as practice.

“Ah, more importantly, what about Adela? Still no contact?”

“I just checked a moment ago. She’s still sleeping.”

“What about Elena?”

“Elena too.”

“There’s nothing wrong with their bodies, right?”

It’s been 12 hours since my rampage.

They still haven’t woken up.

“You don’t have to worry about that. I checked the test data separately. There’s nothing wrong with their bodies. I think they just haven’t woken up yet because of the accumulated fatigue.”

“…I guess so. They already have a tough schedule, and they must have been pushing themselves even harder because of me…”

They must have accumulated a lot of fatigue.

“I’ll let you know right away if either of them wakes up. Don’t worry too much. The successor is a patient too. You should rest first.”

Mimir pointed to the bed with her finger.

It was a gesture that meant if I had time to worry about other things, I should lie down and rest first.

“What about the analysis of the Dissolutio rampage data?”

I ignored Mimir’s gesture and asked again.

“I’ll take care of that too.”

Mimir smiled and pointed to the bed with her hand, openly.

“So, the successor shouldn’t worry and just lie down and rest. And get a good night’s sleep today. Okay?”

“But still…”

“But still what? Just go to sleep. I’ll take care of everything else.”

I refuse to be refused.

Mimir’s will was as strong as steel.

“…Okay.”

There’s no point in saying anything to Mimir right now.

It seems like it would be best to just rest until tomorrow.

“Then, one last thing. I’ll make one phone call and then sleep.”

“A phone call? To whom?”

“Stella.”

Mimir frowned.

“Why are you calling that ungrateful woman who didn’t even send a text, let alone visit you when the successor is sick?”

It’s been 12 hours since the rampage incident.

Stella still hasn’t contacted me.

Mimir had a point in calling her ungrateful.

But.

“That’s why I’m calling. She’s someone who should have contacted me faster than anyone else.”

My thoughts were a little different.

“She’s someone who wouldn’t be strange if she had flown to Korea right away, let alone call… It’s a bit strange that she hasn’t contacted me yet.”

There must be a reason why Stella hasn’t been able to contact me.

“Is it possible that she’s caught up in some incident?”

“Incident is too much.”

“Is she in some kind of trouble?”

“Yeah.”

Even if it’s not an incident, there’s a very high possibility that something big has happened.

That’s why I’m trying to call her.

“That could be the case.”

Mimir nodded with a cold expression.

“Then, I’ll take that as permission and make one phone call.”

“…Okay.”

Mimir nodded with a somewhat dissatisfied expression.

She looked like something was bothering her.

‘…What’s bothering her so much?’

I don’t know.

I ignored Mimir’s expression and took the phone from the shelf. I dialed Stella’s number.

However.

—The phone is unavailable. You will be connected to voicemail.

Stella didn’t answer the phone.

Just in case, I called her two more times, but nothing changed.

“…She’s not answering?”

“No.”

Mimir’s expression also became serious.

“Isn’t she on a mission?”

“If she was on a mission, her phone would have been completely off.”

“Ah, is that so?”

It seems like something has definitely happened to Stella.

“I think I should contact the commander and ask him to check the situation in France.”

“That would be a good idea.”

This time, I called Commander Charles.

However.

—The phone is unavailable….

Commander Charles also didn’t answer the phone.

‘Even Commander Charles?’

I felt uneasy.

I made one last call to the Blue Magic Tower Lord.

However.

—The phone is unavailable….

Like the previous two, the Blue Magic Tower Lord also didn’t answer the phone.

“Both of them are out of contact…”

“Successor. This seems like something has happened, doesn’t it?”

Not just one, but three people simultaneously out of contact.

The faint unease began to grow slowly.

No matter how I think about it, this situation is too coincidental to be dismissed as such.

“Mimir. Where is Father right now?”

Just as I was about to go find my father to assess the current situation.

“Young Master!”

The hospital room door burst open, and Mr. Seok-hyun appeared.

His expression was extremely urgent.

It was the first time in two years that I had seen Mr. Seok-hyun looking so flustered.

“Something terrible has happened.”

Mr. Seok-hyun approached me and handed me a terminal for delivering top-secret information.

“We’ve received simultaneous support requests from seven countries, including France.”

“France…?”

My unease soon became a reality.

“Show me.”

“Yes, here.”

I quickly checked the terminal that Mr. Seok-hyun had handed me.

There were copies of support requests from seven neighboring countries, including France, and about ten photos attached below.

I quickly skimmed through the documents and checked the photos.

“This is…”

“Successor. This photo…”

The photos showed a monster from various angles.

Golden eyes with the unique vertical split of a reptile.

Red scales.

And huge wings and a body as huge as those wings.

“A dragon…?”

A dragon.

A mythical monster, much larger and clearer in form than the one I saw at the Rid furniture factory before, was there.