Genius Wizard Hides His Sword Skills [EN]: Chapter 21

21. Adonis Khan (2)

Admun Dolph. A boy born and raised on this land, waiting only for its master.

‘……I’m sorry, Father.’

Something leaked out from the tightly closed eyes of the boy. It was a teardrop.

It wasn’t because of the dagger pointed at his neck. It was certainly not because of the fear of death.

‘In the end, I don’t think I’ll be able to keep my promise.’

It was a teardrop born of frustration.

The reason the Dolph family had protected this place was only one: to welcome the master of this land who might return someday. But, to think that a boy he suddenly encountered would hold him back.

‘He must have been sent from the Magic Tower.’

Otherwise, there was no way someone barely fifteen years old could corner him like this.

‘Haa. I was foolish. I didn’t think he was a mage…….’

He was too careless, seeing him hidden without wearing a robe, blathering on about secret spaces and whatnot. He felt utterly pathetic.

There was only one thing he could do now.

‘I’d rather choose death.’

He would never reveal how to undo the absolute barrier. Even if they didn’t kill him and tortured him, he vowed never to tell.

Suddenly, the sensation of the blade against his neck gradually faded away.

‘So, they’re trying to coax me into revealing how to undo the barrier.’

He wished they would just stab him in the neck with the dagger. Just as he was thinking that.

“You said your name was Dolph?”

The boy’s voice lingered in his ear. He slowly opened his eyes to face him.

‘…….’

It was strange. The boy was wearing a slightly different expression than he had expected. In the eyes looking at him, there was an emotion that didn’t suit his age.

Pity. Compassion. Regret. He couldn’t clearly explain what it was.

But why? He felt the same emotion he could only feel from his already deceased father.

“……What are you doing?”

It was Admun Dolph who was flustered.

“Why aren’t you killing me? Even if you spare me, you’ll never learn how to open the barrier.”

Unusually, his voice trembled. But, the opponent’s gaze remained calm. A deep gaze with an unfathomable end.

“I asked if your surname was really Dolph.”

But this was probably just a trick. He was obviously trying to lower his guard and get him to reveal how to undo the barrier.

“What is it? Do you know me?”

He frowned and blurted out.

“Do you perhaps know the name Adonis Khan?”

However, he couldn’t hide his emotions even at the boy’s following words. He couldn’t even control the subtle trembling of his pupils at the question.

‘How did that damn mage know his name!’

The master of this place he had been so eagerly waiting for. The name the Dolph family had so desperately yearned for had come out.

“How dare you speak that name!”

He struggled to escape the boy’s grasp, but there was a limit with his hand cut by the dagger and his injured leg. In the end, all he could do was shout again.

“How do you know that name! You must be a spy sent by the Pentagram [a powerful organization of mages]!”

A statement hostile to the Pentagram. Words that would normally enrage a mage and cause them to cut off his head, but.

“You asked how I know Adonis Khan?”

This damn boy looked down at him without a flicker of emotion.

“Don’t utter that name from your mouth!”

But, his struggle was only up to that point. He couldn’t help but stiffen at the following voice.

“My name is Ein Khan, his descendant.”

Another Khan’s name suddenly heard. Thanks to that, it wasn’t just his body that stiffened.

‘……What?’

In this sudden situation, he couldn’t connect any thoughts. Time seemed to have stopped. His mind had stopped like that.

Thud-. Trickle.

Instead, only the tears flowing down his cheeks wet the floor. Because of the tears flowing down his cheeks for no reason, he couldn’t see anything.

“I’m sorry. I’m so late, I’m sorry…….”

Why was it? His figure coming into view through the blurry vision didn’t look like a young boy at that moment.

‘Khan…….’

A delusion that Adonis, who had only been heard of in legends, was reflected. In that delusion, he simply accepted the warm touch that embraced him.

* * *

Ein Khan. Using a pseudonym was the best he could do right now. He couldn’t just say he was Adonis Khan.

A moment of silence fell.

Dolph and Khan. Khan and Dolph.

It was the influence those names had on each other.

‘Dolph…….’

How much time had passed?

The guy barely stopped sobbing and began to ask about Adonis Khan.

His birth, age, and even the incidents he had been involved in.

It was his story, so he naturally answered without hesitation, and the hostility in the guy’s eyes seemed to have subsided a little.

“Haa. Still, it’s hard to believe.”

He was even using honorifics now.

“Of course, it would be. I didn’t believe it either.”

Rather, it was he who gained more certainty through the conversation.

‘……He’s a real descendant of Dolph.’

Knowing his story like a chronicle. Being able to undo the barrier in the underground space. Moreover, even using the martial arts he had bestowed upon Dolph…….

All the circumstances were telling him that the boy in front of him was Dolph.

‘Dolph.’

Sometimes as a comrade to trust his back to.

Sometimes as his father.

And sometimes as an irreplaceable friend.

‘Is it really you.’

The name that had always been by his side.

‘You were still protecting this place.’

A corner of his heart ached.

Perhaps he had noticed it a long time ago, but he might have been refusing to accept the truth.

Because he was too sorry. Because he had no face to show this beggar.

‘I’m sorry, Dolph. You’ve been stuck here for a thousand years as a price for following me.’

At that silent sob, Admun embraced him instead.

“There’s no need to be sorry.”

He hadn’t even said sorry out loud. Just like Dolph, he was a guy who could see through his inner thoughts.

“But, I still can’t be sure that you are a descendant of Adonis. Please understand my cautious heart.”

When he raised his head, his eyes were shining brightly towards him. Clear eyes without malice.

“Of course, you can be.”

He could understand. The one who had been waiting for generations in a family had appeared after a thousand years. No matter how much he talked, it would be difficult to believe easily.

“What can I show you to make you believe? Should I show you the martial arts passed down in your family? Or should I recite more of Adonis’s chronicles?”

He wanted to do anything. But, Admun shook his head slightly.

“That’s also a good idea, but I think there’s an easier and more certain way.”

“An easy and certain way?”

“Yes. Show me the sight of you opening that place with me.”

Admun’s hand pointed to a tent. The place where the mages had come out.

* * *

Admun takes the lead and lifts the tent. He was a little nervous, but as he said, there was no one inside the tent.

[So, it was really here!]

Instead, an orange circular pattern spread out on the floor greeted them.

Whoo-oong!

Various drawings and phrases shining and rotating gently.

‘It’s been a while.’

It was a barrier he had created in collaboration with the Guigwang Clan.

“Can you undo this?”

A thousand years ago. There were only three people who could undo this at the time: him, the Guigwang Clan who had created this barrier together, and even his butler, Dolph.

“Of course. I also inherited it from my family.”

The way to undo the barrier was to answer twenty questions. It was about him, so it wasn’t difficult.

“Then please answer half first. I will undo the remaining half.”

It was his will to prove that he was also a descendant of Dolph and to undo the barrier together.

‘That’s why I liked Dolph.’

He was a guy who always presented the best option so that he didn’t have to think twice.

“Okay. I’ll show you first.”

He confidently raised his hand over the barrier. Then, orange letters floated in the center of the circular barrier.

But his confident heart soon shrank.

– Who is the strongest swordsman in this world?

The questions were like this.

‘……It’s embarrassing again.’

Hmm. He hid his embarrassment with a dry cough and opened his mouth quietly.

“Adonis Khan.”

Whoo-oong!

Then the barrier rotated violently as if it was the correct answer. The next phrase appeared.

– What is the strongest swordsman’s favorite color?

“Black.”

The difficulty gradually increased, but these were questions he couldn’t get wrong.

Whoo-oong! Whoong! Whooo-oong!

Each time the vibration announcing the correct answer rang, Admun’s eyes were filled with astonishment as he looked at him. These were questions that could not be solved unless he was truly a descendant of Khan.

“Hoo. I’ve solved ten questions, so Admun, you can try the rest.”

“……I understand.”

Admun, who was already teary-eyed, also solved the problems without hesitation.

– What is the best sword in this world?

“Of course, it’s Adonis Khan’s Fragarach [his legendary sword].”

– What dragon did the strongest swordsman catch when he was 34 years old?

“Of course, it’s the Blue Dragon Kargis.”

The Q&A proceeded smoothly, and suddenly the content of the last question came to mind.

‘Ah, no way……!’

His face flushed again.

– Who is the most handsome person in this world?

In the end, he lowered his head.

“Of course, it’s Adonis Khan!”

It was Admun who shouted confidently.

[Kyahahaha! He said he’s the most handsome. Keh-ack!]

‘Shut up. This isn’t the time for that.’

Ignoring Oberon, who was rolling around holding his stomach, he approached Admun. There was no one to do it first.

Whack!

A rough hug and a hot sensation were felt on his spine.

“Sniff! Sniff…….”

It was Admun’s tears as he sobbed.

“I’m sorry. I should have come sooner.”

Those were the only words he could say.

‘I will never leave you alone again.’

The rest was his share to repay from now on. He would show it with actions, not words.

“Let’s go in and talk more. The barrier will close again.”

Behind Admun, who was nodding, the barrier shone even brighter. The stairs revealed through the gap stretched downwards.

“Yes. I will go in first and guide you.”

“No. You hurt your leg because of me. I’ll lead the way, so follow me carefully.”

Continuing to dissuade Admun, who kept saying he would go down first, he headed down the stairs.

* * *

The hideout he had found after a thousand years. The first emotion he felt was surprise.

‘How can it be so identical…….’

Even though a thousand years had passed, it was maintaining the same state as he remembered.

[That means Dolph’s descendants have been managing it with care.]

That fact made his gaze towards Admun even more affectionate.

“I formally greet you.”

As soon as he arrived, the guy bent his knees and bowed.

“A descendant of Ru Dolph, this is Admun Dolph. I am honored to kneel like this to see the descendant of Adonis Khan.”

He wanted to tell him not to do that, but he couldn’t stop him from doing this. He knew that this was the moment he had been waiting for his whole life.

“Although I have nothing, it was our mission to manage and protect this place. Our ancestors taught us to gladly hand it over when the master comes and to serve him with all our heart.”

After bowing, Admun knelt on one knee and held out his right hand.

“Please allow me to serve Khan, who created our family, as our master again.”

In the old days. It was just that he had saved Ru Dolph’s life once, but it was too much kindness.

He took the boy’s hand and raised him.

“I promise. I will never forget your family again. I will never leave you again. Please forgive your incompetent master.”

“……Thank you.”

The ground beneath Admun’s feet became damp. He was quite a crybaby.

‘Do you have to be like Dolph in things like this.’

There was one thing he wanted to point out to such Admun.

“But why do you put ‘of course’ in front of everything?”

He was a guy who insisted on adding unnecessary particles in front when he was dismantling the barrier earlier.

“Yes? I don’t know either. I just memorized what has been passed down from generation to generation.”

“Passed down?”

“Yes. I can’t read the appearing phrases because they are in ancient language. I just memorized the twenty answers in order.”

He had been spouting such embarrassing words without knowing the meaning.

‘Ah, maybe it’s a relief.’

[That’s right. If I were a descendant of Dolph, I would have quit the moment I knew the meaning.]

Was it just his imagination that he felt a dry cough coming out?

“From now on, you don’t have to put the word ‘of course’ in front.”

“Ah! I understand.”

It seemed like he had to quickly find the descendants of the Guigwang Clan and change all the questions themselves.

“Then, let’s look around here.”

His residence he had found after a thousand years. It was time to examine his belongings hidden in this place.