Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 1169

After finishing my conversation with the clown, I boarded the cruise ship docked at the island.

I walked down the slanted corridor toward the bedroom where I had stayed for the past few days.

Just as I was about to gather the few belongings I had left in the room, a voice came from behind.

“Are you going to leave all alone like this?”

“…The objectives discussed in the operation have all been achieved.”

Freya, with her arms crossed and leaning against the door, was looking at Lenok with a sulky expression.

“The operation is completely over the moment we met the Commander. There’s no reason to stay here any longer.”

There were plenty of ways to cross the Arctic Ocean alone, like the night raven made in the Machine City.

There was no need to waste time traveling by ship.

Lenok pulled his robe over his head and turned around.

“Where are the others?”

“They’re downstairs, repairing the ship.”

Freya shrugged.

“They’re trying to freeze the broken keel using Soryu’s ability. They were arguing about whether to use Chebien’s dolls as materials. It looks like it’ll take a while.”

“……”

“What did you get from the Commander?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Just curious. You’ve known the Underworld King since before you joined Pandemonium.”

She tilted her head with a nonchalant expression.

“The Underworld King is a monster who wouldn’t even bother with someone who didn’t catch his eye. So, I was curious to know what a talented mage like you received as a ‘wish’.”

“It seems like you still have desires even though you’re making astronomical amounts of money.”

“Oh, shall I show you what I received?”

Freya chuckled and pulled out a thin stack of papers from her waist.

Lenok frowned as he examined the symbols densely written between the papers.

“What is this?”

“It’s sheet music.”

Freya said in a strange voice as she looked at Lenok.

“It’s the prelude to the sheet music I’ll write someday.”

“……”

“I sing, but I don’t compose. I was just thinking about composing when I quit being a singer.”

She asked with a troubled expression.

“Did the Commander give this to me as an implication that I’ll quit singing someday?”

“That’s not something I can answer.”

Lenok replied indifferently.

“He’s just giving you something you’ll have someday ahead of time. As a result, it might be there because you wanted it.”

“……”

“If you don’t understand, it’s better to try composing along with the sheet music.”

Lenok, who had gathered his belongings, turned around and sneered.

“If it’s sheet music written by your future self, wouldn’t you be able to imitate it, even with your current clumsy skills?”

“Hey, I’m not clumsy at all, okay?”

Freya grumbled and followed Lenok out into the hallway.

“It’s just that I wasn’t interested in composing, but if I put my mind to it, I’m better than any producer.”

“What do you want me to do about it?”

“Oh, right.”

Freya, cleanly ignoring Lenok’s indifferent question, took out her phone from her pocket.

She tapped the screen, wrote down a number, and then held it out in front of Lenok’s eyes.

“Here, this is my number. A mage like you will remember it once you see it, so this is enough, right?”

“…What do you suddenly want to do?”

“I have to continue my tour even after this operation is over.”

She gracefully swept her hair back and smiled.

“I’m going to the Eastern Continent after finishing my performances in the Western Continent, and I’m planning to visit Balkan after a long time.”

“……”

“You go to Balkan sometimes because of Hylea, right? Let’s meet up if you’re there. I heard there are so many famous bars in the back alleys of Balkan. I also want to see the Adamantine Tower in advance.”

“Why should I do that?”

A world tour schedule that goes through Tokerphos and Kabahim.

It seems she’s going to continue her planned world tour even after Pandemonium’s work is done.

Should I call this professional, or is it amazing that she came up with such an idea in the midst of all this?

Even with Lenok’s sharp refusal, Freya didn’t react much and smiled with her arms crossed.

“The concert ended ambiguously because of what happened in Tokerphos, right? If you come to Balkan, watch it to the end this time.”

“I don’t think it was that great to watch twice.”

“Hey!!”

“Well, I understand what you’re saying.”

Lenok chuckled and turned around.

“I’ll consider it positively if I have time.”

“Okay, you’ve worked hard this time too. You know what I mean, right?”

Freya chuckled and nodded with her arms crossed.

“I’ll buy you a drink if you contact me in Balkan. Don’t forget. I won’t let you off if you ignore me on purpose!”

She is a person who is honest and strong with herself, as much as she is proud and true to her emotions.

She is more focused on the present than the past or the future, and she doesn’t think deeply about anything beyond that.

That’s why she can be famous throughout the continent and still live safely in Pandemonium.

Lenok didn’t think negatively about Freya’s attitude of being friendly with him, regardless of Victor’s personality.

Creak!!

After a brief greeting with Freya, he extended his mana thread toward the lower deck.

He had already informed Soryu and Agneta. Except for one person, there was nothing more to see here.

Lenok thought as he hung his mana thread outside the ship and lowered himself. At that moment.

Swoosh!!!

Lenok stopped walking as he found a man standing on the sandy beach where the waves were crashing.

“Manipulator.”

Avesta Chapman, the Joint-Art Magician, who was looking at the tablet he was holding, glanced over.

“You were there. I was waiting.”

“What were you looking at so intently?”

“The news from the Northern Continent. To be precise, the recent situation in the Central Front.”

The Magician replied with an indifferent expression.

“Jinwa and the Underworld King clashed in the Lost Paradise. It seems that the Central Front has been completely turned upside down because of that.”

“……”

“As expected, you’re not surprised.”

The Magician turned his body toward Lenok and looked at him with an indifferent gaze.

“I heard you’re an acquaintance of the Underworld King, and somehow I thought you would already know. I even thought it might be related to your work.”

“There’s a limit to how much you can be mistaken, Magician.”

Lenok sneered.

“To make judgments based on unfounded hunches. It seems you still haven’t come to your senses.”

“It wouldn’t be strange. If you’re a Special-Type, you should know, right?”

The Magician said calmly as he walked on the sandy beach.

“We have different standards and concepts from others. Not only in the way we see the world, but also in terms of senses and intuition.”

“……”

“You and I use completely different spells, but we are the same in that we stand outside the baseline that cannot be classified by system.”

The Magician looked back at Lenok.

“But you are especially strange among the Special-Type magicians I’ve met. You’re so excessively twisted that you seem no different from other humans, as if you’ve gone full circle.”

“……”

“Is that evidence that there is still humanity left in you, or is it the result of imitating it with your ‘Manipulation Spell’?”

Click, a clear metallic sound echoed from the Magician’s hand.

“Either way, it’s clear that you are a very special subject and specimen. So, I’ll give you this.”

The Magician took out a small chip from inside the tablet and handed it to Lenok.

“It’s the key to the new operating room I’m building. If you’re interested in dissecting or extracting your own body, come visit anytime.”

“I won’t do that unless I split my brain in half like you, so don’t worry.”

“It’s been quite a while since ‘I’ lost at the first gate.”

Chapman raised his gaze with an indifferent expression.

“By now, the Alliance must have started preparing to rebuild the Great Connection by finding my successor within the Alliance. So, I’m going to finish my preparations before that.”

“……”

“A mage like you must have already received a scouting offer from the Order Alliance. You might have even met the Alliance Leader in person.”

The Magician gave a strange smile.

“If you come to my operating room, I’ll tell you about the secrets the Alliance is hiding. And why I left a spare even after extracting my brain like this.”

I knew it.

The rebuilding of the Great Connection that the Alliance Leader himself had asked Adamantine for. The preparation of the stage to hunt the Second Apostle of the Order.

Just as the Order and the Legion were actively moving, the Alliance was also preparing for a huge undertaking.

In order for Lenok to advance to the Central Front, he would inevitably have to cooperate or clash with them.

I had already decided what to do.

“I don’t care what your preparations mean.”

Swish!!

Lenok flicked his mana thread, snatched the chip from the Magician’s hand, and turned away without hesitation.

“But next time, you’ll have to decide where you stand.”

Lenok said coldly as he passed by the Magician standing on the sandy beach.

“A madman who plays with embalmed humans. If you’re useless, there’s no reason to keep you alive for long.”

“Including that impression, you are definitely a unique being.”

Whoooong……!!!

The Magician shrugged as he watched Lenok’s back as he chanted a teleportation spell, drawing up his mana.

“I hope to see you on my operating table next time.”

There was no celebratory speech, no party, no reward, or merit-based compensation to commemorate the success of the operation.

Until the end, they were either scattered and focused on their own work, or only threats were exchanged.

But even the chaos of gathering and dispersing as needed wasn’t so bad.

There must be an organization somewhere that is suited to this kind of gathering and disbanding.

The moment Lenok’s figure, who had tilted his head as if sneering, flickered faintly, a new figure wrapped in a shadow robe crossed the sea and disappeared into the distance.

The Kabahim Royal Capital Operation was finally coming to a complete end.

* * *

The giant city of Balkan. A helicopter landing pad located near the satellite city.

Whoooosh!!!

A huge night raven, scattering a dark glow, spreads its wings and lands gracefully.

At the same time as getting off the back of the night raven, he takes off his mask and releases his disguise magic.

Lenok, who had returned to his original face, rubbed his neck and looked back at the night raven with a sullen expression.

“It seems much faster than when it was made in Machina. It wasn’t like this before, was it?”

[It has been constantly improved in performance even when Master wasn’t riding it.]

Davie manipulated the night raven, folded its wings, and proudly puffed out his chest.

[Especially the engine, propulsion system, and balance control system have been updated with my algorithm to be comparable to a small fighter jet-]

“Instead, the fuel efficiency has dropped significantly. In the first place, we came by the cross-country train while traveling on land.”

[There are things you gain and things you lose. I’m bragging, and that kind of talk is a foul!]

“……”

Lenok, at a loss for words, quietly turned his gaze outside the landing pad.

In any case, it was undeniable that the night raven had been a great help in crossing the sea.

“I’m back sooner than I thought. Thanks to that, I have some time left.”

Lenok had participated in the operation under the identity of Victor for about ten days.

It was a shorter schedule than expected, but the things that happened during that time were all unexpected.

The Apostle of the Order he encountered in Tokerphos. The existence of the Mandala hidden in the Royal Capital. And finally, the Commander he met in the Demon Realm.

Even though he had planned and entered the Royal Capital, many things went in a different direction than planned along the way.

If Lenok hadn’t quickly settled things with Aron Baiger and finished the fight, things would have been much more complicated now.

He didn’t expect to be able to return to Balkan sooner than expected, but thanks to that, he saw something.

“The pier built in the satellite city of La Haven. It’s already this complete……”

Kugugugugu!!!!

A huge, steep cliff that occupies a corner of the horizon, and the vast sea landscape that stretches out below it.

The entire cliff overlooking the sea is covered with smooth metal and surrounded by all sorts of complex and diverse structures.

Skyscrapers that soar high into the sky. A huge plaza with a streamlined curve like an opera house.

Even the super-large control towers that are being built at regular intervals around the pier.

The satellite city of La Haven in the giant city of Balkan.

The forward base that was decided to be the first to benefit after the investment of the Thorben Tower was decided.

The place that will be the first to handle and supply the trade demand between the giant city of Balkan and other cities.

The largest airfield and pier that began to be built as the skyway opened in Balkan was nearing completion.

Lenok had a strange expression as he watched the citizens freely walking around the pier.

“It seems they’ve already started accepting residents in La Haven. The commercial district also seems to be complete…… If this continues, it might properly function as a new city built outside of Balkan.”

[The noses of the organisms that have settled in the tower will get even higher.]

The helicopter landing pad where Lenok landed on the night raven was also a newly constructed facility, so it was very clean.

Hundreds and thousands of such landing pads were waiting, having completed construction around the pier.

Once the pier begins to open in earnest, the entire sky of La Haven will be covered with countless flying objects.

Is the result of the anti-gravity paper submitted under the name of Evan Bailon finally coming to fruition in a proper form?

Lenok thought as he immediately left the landing pad and boarded a bus heading to Balkan.

[Oh, weren’t you going straight back to the tower?]

“Considering the schedule ahead, this is the first thing I need to take care of.”

Lenok said as he took out his phone from his pocket and quickly checked the news section.

“The fourth paper that needs to be submitted under the name of Evan Bailon. I need to write the first draft now to make it on time.”

[Ah, then-]

“I’m going to the Lavatenon Magic University. Show me the bus route on my phone.”

Following Davie’s guidance, he calculated the bus arrival time, transferred, and arrived at the Lavatenon Magic University.

He opened the back gate, which was restricted to authorized personnel, with his key card and headed to the Elemental Department research building.

Click.

He grabbed the doorknob, which opened smoothly despite not having visited for a long time, and entered the laboratory.

“I haven’t been here much since the third paper was published, but there’s almost no dust…….”

[Are you going to work on the paper right here?]

“No. Let’s just grab the reference materials and leave.”

Lenok said as he began to pick out the books and papers piled up on the laboratory shelves one by one.

“I’ve roughly decided what to write for the fourth paper. But I think I need a simple experiment before writing the first draft.”

[If it’s a simple simulation, you can use the research building’s supercomputer.]

“That’s not the problem. In the first place, what I mean by experiment is…… wait.”

Lenok tilted his head for a moment.

“The Attribute Yield Study and the Chanting Displacement Theory. Where did I put them?”

[Oh, that’s unexpected. Master.]

Davie, who was rolling around in Lenok’s pocket, added as if he was amazed.

[It seems like it’s the first time I’ve seen Master forget something related to spells or magic?]

“Is it a problem with my memory?”

Lenok couldn’t deny Davie’s words and frowned.

“Annoying. The side effects of the No-Chant Incantation are still…….”

Lenok doesn’t have a perfect memory that remembers everything, but he also doesn’t easily forget things.

It’s true that he hasn’t visited the research building for a long time, but even so, it’s unusual for Lenok to forget the location of the books he had placed himself.

Lenok’s expression changed to one of bewilderment as he continued to search between the bookshelves in the laboratory.

“I can’t find the Particle Fission Paper and the Elemental Arrangement Theory either. It’s been a long time since I’ve forgotten this much.”

[Should we look for supplements that help with memory on the auction right now?]

“Davie. I always say this, but your leaps of logic are too extreme-”

At that moment, Lenok stopped in his tracks as if he had frozen.

“……No. That’s not it.”

[Master?]

“No matter how bad my memory gets, there’s no way I’d forget the location of all the magic books. Unless the location of the books I placed has been completely changed.”

“……Then?”

“Someone else has been in the laboratory.”

Lenok muttered blankly as he looked at the quiet laboratory.

“Not me, but the only person who has access to this laboratory is-”

The one person who had been using this laboratory before Lenok started using it.

Thud!!

The moment he thought that far, Lenok immediately closed the laboratory door and ran out.

He went back the way he came, got on his bike, and headed to the downtown area.

At the end of the bustling street where people come and go, there was a particularly eye-catching beautiful glass structure.

A place of memories that Lenok would occasionally visit when he returned to Balkan.

The Balkan City Library.

Especially the magic-related book storage on the 8th floor.

Creak……!!

He opened the door, feeling like he didn’t know how he had gotten up here.

The setting sun pouring in from the wide-open window as soon as he entered.

The beautiful crimson sunset, so bright it hurt his eyes, warmly dyed the library.

Lenok, who unconsciously shielded the sunlight with one hand, lowered his gaze and slowly moved his feet.

“……”

In the quiet silence where no one was present, only the sound of his heartbeat seemed to echo.

Lenok, who couldn’t even organize his hardened expression, stopped in his tracks.

Beyond the quiet library corridor where a refreshing breeze was blowing.

Beyond the sunset light that seemed to have stopped the time of the world.

A blonde woman was standing with her back turned.