The Rebirth Of The Hero’S Party’S Archmage [EN]: Chapter 115

115

“You met Frisvia?!”

Kasena’s face, after hearing our whole story, turned as white as a sheet, and then she burst into tears and rolled around in the snow. Is she always this childish?

“No way! I wanted to meet her too! Why does Rain get to meet her again! I could have gone too!”

“I thought it would be dangerous. And she seemed like a very dangerous person.”

“She’s not dangerous! She has a quirky personality, but she’s actually very kind, and she’s accomplished so much!”

That’s what Kasena, a huge fan of adventures and adventurers, said.

While most adventurers operate south of Harvadonia, near Trident Point, Frisvia is said to possess overwhelming power and is active in mainland Harvadonia.

Moreover, she’s made significant contributions to biological and geological research in the region and has excavated relics from the Age of the Gods, advancing technology by leaps and bounds.

“Besides, Frisvia’s base is the Battleship Base!”

“Yes, she told me to come there if things go wrong.”

“Really? That’s the warship that the ‘Ones Who Came’ [ancient alien civilization] brought to the Harvadonia subjugation war, but it was wrecked on an ice floe. And the ‘Ones Who Came’ used that ship as their forward base! That’s the Battleship Base!”

I nodded enthusiastically at her explanation of the adventurer Frisvia, and the young lady seemed to feel a little better.

I didn’t know much about Frisvia, but I knew the Battleship Base well. An adventurer using a super-large relic of the ‘Ones Who Came’ as a base.

Moreover, she’s active in Harvadonia without any problems, and she’s even defeating the Old Ones [powerful, ancient monsters].

– Her personality is quirky, but she’s actually very kind, and she’s accomplished so much?!

Could Kasena be right?

Looking back, her personality was certainly strange, but she kindly explained everything to me…

I can think about this later. There was a more pressing problem in my head right now.

“Alakish, is what Frisvia said true? That the White Wolf Squad was annihilated…”

Alakish, who was staring with a worried look at the giant peaks piercing the sky at the end of the world to the north, stroked his chin.

“It’s twisted here and there, but she is not one to speak falsehoods.”

“Then…!”

“But it would be difficult to say that it is accurate. Because it was a rumor.”

Alakish put his hand on my head as if telling me not to worry too much, but now I really had to hurry.

There were too many variables. If the White Wolves’ patrol really was annihilated, if the power to control the Old Ones really awakened…

In the biting cold and sleepless worries, Alakish would come out in the form of a dragon every night and warmly embrace Kasena like a mother.

‘If it weren’t for Alakish, I would have collapsed from the extreme cold and sleepless fatigue…’

I didn’t know how to express my gratitude, and so we were able to move south busily for ten days.

It wasn’t like we could hurry because of the elderly or children, but Chief Beduel still sped up more than before.

Alakish even stood guard alone, so even the warriors could sleep soundly at night.

“We have arrived.”

Thus, when Alakish stopped at the edge of the plateau where the flat ground ended and the steep downhill began, Kasena opened her mouth brightly.

“Wow…!”

The scenery of the vast nature where the frozen river slowly melted and merged into the vast sea, the North Sea, spread before us.

If we take a boat along that sea route, we will be able to return to the territory of the Holy Human Empire.

And next to that silver-shining bay, an ancient city built firmly with stone, wood, and earth revealed its heavy dignity.

“That is LavenFell (Winter Harbor).”

* * *

Two months and fifteen days after the appearance of the black spot, the students of had to undergo in-depth investigations by the special task force mages.

The investigation focused on those who had a relationship with the student council president, Valensidies, whether big or small, and most of the students defended Valensidies, so the investigation was facing difficulties.

‘There’s no way our president would do that, you must be mistaken…’ something like that.

“Wow, it’s vacation time, but the 2nd and 3rd year students are really being called out for everything.”

Ilin of the Chaihark School muttered, sticking out his tongue.

In the training room of , just now, two 2nd year students were called out by the special task force mage while they were training.

Even though it was vacation time, all the students were prohibited from leaving the city, so returning to their hometown was out of the question.

“Still, it’s all refreshing, isn’t it?”

While lifting weights, Ilin looked up at Logan, who was assisting him.

“The Disaster Genius is gone.”

“What?”

“Now you don’t have to act anymore, so you don’t have to listen to those sixteen bastards saying that Chaihark has become Ludwig’s lackey or anything like that.”

The Disaster Genius is gone…

Yes, he’s gone.

With the appearance of the black spot, the Papal State incident, Rain Ludwig, who went there that day, disappeared. Even after two months.

“Oh… that’s right.”

Logan nodded blankly after a long time and left the training room like a soulless person.

“Hey, hey! Logan! Oh, shit, it’s heavy! Hey, where are you going without helping! Hey!”

The next day, quite by chance, the latecomers of the Eight Great Schools all gathered at the school cafeteria.

I thought we had become quite close, but for some reason, something felt awkward. Everyone knew the reason, but no one said it out loud.

The existence that could be called the center, Rain Ludwig, had disappeared.

“Hmm, it’s no fun~ It was fun because every day was new when the Genius was here★”

Nora sighed, holding a fork in her mouth, and Kayden took out a notebook and agreed with that opinion.

[Agreed;;]

Wiber, who had become sharp again, scolded Nora for that.

“If it’s not fun, go eat somewhere else. Why are you whining next to me?”

Lilian, who was just eating silently, expressed her doubts in a relatively calm voice.

“But what really happened? Is he dead like the rumors say?”

“He’s not dead.”

The one who answered that was Logan. It wasn’t intentional, but he raised his voice without realizing it. Everyone looked at Logan with surprised faces.

“No, I mean… sorry.”

Logan got up from his seat without eating even half of the plate that he usually finished two or three bowls of. The latecomers exchanged bewildered glances.

“It’s really the first time that guy has raised his voice in front of me.”

“Well, no matter what anyone says, he was the closest to us♣”

[He just looks very tired.]

“How stupid. What if he’s not? There are only rumors that he’s dead.”

Wiber forcibly ended the conversation by stuffing garlic salad into his mouth nervously.

Meanwhile, Logan, as if he had lost something, came out to the campus where the setting sun was shining and walked aimlessly, and the next moment, he bumped into something hard.

Stepping back, he looked up and saw Professor Owen looking down with a pitiful expression.

“What a fucking thing to see! Logan, you monkey, with that face of yours carrying all the world’s shit, the whole school smells like shit!”

“Grandmaster… no, Professor. I’m sorry.”

He grabbed my head as if to wake me up, but the emotion felt in the tone of his voice and the strength of his fist was more pity than reproach.

“Professor, I, um… can I ask what happened to Rain Ludwig?”

Owen, who looked back at Logan with a bitter gaze, looked up at the summer twilight with a big sigh.

“President Madelia is bedridden, and Professor Elin has returned to her mansion with the momentum to exchange her professorship for *yeot* [Korean taffy, implying a worthless trade], so… you should think he’s dead.”

“D, did I hear you wrong?”

“The ghosts of the special task force, who are good at finding people and *jojida* [a Korean slang term meaning to mess up or destroy], haven’t found even a strand of hair for two months, so how can he be alive?”

“So, you’re saying… you’re saying he’s dead now? Rain Ludwig?”

“What the fuck! Answer me, Logan! How can Ludwig’s brat survive in that fucking situation where the Yellow Dragon Corps was half annihilated and the Papal State’s guards were wiped out?”

Logan, who had been staring up at Owen with a blank expression, finally dropped his head. Owen spoke in a scolding tone.

“Is there even a reason why that self-important piece of shit should come back alive? Answer me, Logan!”

“Well, it’s just that we were supposed to play magic volleyball together more, and we just… we just promised to do it again the other day…”

A tear streamed down Logan’s cheek as he hung his head dejectedly, leaving a stain on the ground.

“Suddenly, you’re saying he’s dead…”

And as his sturdy shoulders shook greatly and sadly, Owen placed a hand on the disciple’s back with a sigh.

“Ha, what a pathetic guy!”

At that moment, Owen’s gesture of patting Logan’s back was so affectionate that it was hard to believe it was him.

“You’ve become such a pathetic guy in the past six months. Now you’re finally worthy of being called the future pillar of our Chaihark.”

* * *

I thought I was prepared to some extent, but entering Lavenfell caused far more problems than I had anticipated.

At first, there wasn’t a problem.

Initially, we were all impressed by the size of Lavenfell and the number of tents spread out wide beyond the walls, and we talked about it.

“It’s really the first time so many tribes have gathered in one place…”

Barsen said, blankly scanning the scenery unfolding to the left and right of the city’s entrance, as if the sight was unfamiliar.

“It’s truly an enormous number. The scent of my own kind is vibrating so strongly.”

“Are you happy about that?”

“Hmph, a warrior doesn’t rejoice over something like this. I’m just amazed. Anyway, judging by the situation, it seems we’re not too late.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. Look at the tents half-folded. They’re preparing to leave at any time. They were probably planning to go to the wall within two or three days.”

A sigh of relief escaped. It would have been a real disaster if we had been just a little later.

Non-combat personnel were stationed outside the city, and the beastmen within sight were generally less wild and more similar in appearance to humans.

Casena’s eyes sparkled at the sounds of laughter and traditional tribal songs echoing from various tents.

“We’ll set up camp here. Barsen, take those children to meet the griffons.”

Chieftain Beduel set up tents in the northeast of the city for the exhausted tribesmen after the long march.

Seeing the tents out here, the city’s interior must already be saturated, so it’s a reasonable decision.

There were a total of four of us who moved to Lavenfell, including me, Alakish, Barsen, and Casena.

“Alakish!”

“It’s Alakish!”

Alakish, as expected, was trusted by many tribes, and many children gathered, begging Alakish to breathe fire or tell them interesting stories.

‘Well, thankfully, everyone is full of energy.’

That moment of enjoying such leisure was short-lived. A little kid who seemed to be staring intently at me and Casena screamed at the top of his lungs the next moment.

“H, human?!”

That scream was the signal for the chaos to begin.

Frightened children screamed and scattered in panic, and warriors from all directions rushed in, howling eerily.

In an instant, we were surrounded by dozens of warriors, and even as I thought that, more warriors were gathering.

“Calm down, these children are…”

Alakish quickly tried to mediate the situation, but then closed his mouth and stepped aside.

Because I asked him to.

In the chaos where murderous intent was taut, the beastmen bared their claws and fangs… with gazes of hatred as if looking at a monster.

“Human…”

“It’s a human…”

Casena stepped back, clutching the hem of my fur cloak tightly.

“What should we do? What should we do, Rain?”

Even if she asks that, in this situation where even a conversation is impossible…

“Kill him!”

“Kill them!”

Did I tell Alakish not to step forward too actively for nothing? I felt like suppressing the situation with Alakish’s power would somehow make the situation worse.

“Um, please listen to me.”

I shouted desperately, but no one listened.

Kill, kill… They bared their teeth and claws eerily and moved closer.

Then, surprisingly, it was War Chief Barsen who stepped forward to protect us.

“These two kids are friends of our Durankus tribe!”

“What?”

“Anyone who bares their teeth will be considered to be attacking our tribe, and I, Barsen, son of Batu, will personally break all those teeth!”

Friends with humans? The warriors were dumbfounded and began to murmur, looking at each other. Then someone walked out from among the warriors.

It was a warrior with the head of a pure white polar bear. He was much taller and larger than Barsen, who was already big among the warriors.

“How dare you bring a hairless beast to this Lavenfell?”

He was one-eyed with a long scar on his left eye, and his one remaining eyeball scanned us up and down eerily.

“At first, I watched, thinking I had seen wrong, but did you grow up in the depths and your head rotted in the abyss, Barsen!”

“My eyes and head are as healthy as my father gave them to me, Opus. Get that damn bulk out of the way and open the path. I have to meet the griffions.”

“With those human brats?”

“That’s right.”

“I can’t let the griffions suffer such humiliation. I’ll kill you here and now with those hairless brats!”

In that very instant, the moment Opus’s words were not even finished, the moment several warriors lunged at our necks──

The moment Barsen grabbed the shoulder of the warrior who rushed in first and slammed him into the ground──

The moment Alakish, who couldn’t stand it any longer, finally decided to suppress the situation with force and tried to take on the form of a dragon──

“Stop it!”

With a shrill shout, the letters that were beautifully drawn in the air and emitting light were transformed into some kind of power.

A translucent gravity field spread out around us in a circle, gently pushing away the beastmen who had rushed right in front of us, without hurting them in the slightest.

The state of tension that had reached its limit subsided for a moment, and a strange silence fell.

‘This is… telekinetic barrier?’

The wind magic circle rotating on my palm crumbled powerlessly.

I was originally planning to summon a whirlwind to push away the excited warriors. Of course, it would have been a rough method, so the situation might have become more serious.

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen telekinesis with such perfect control of power…

“Why don’t you listen to our story? Why do you only try to fight from the start!”

The owner of that magic… there was no need to think of anyone else. We looked at the girl with surprised faces.

Casena Page, who has made remarkable progress under Alakish’s guidance over the past three months.

That hair color is… Polar Bear Opus, who was staring blankly at her light purple hair, let out a fierce roar.

“What story are we supposed to share with a hairless beast!”

Then Casena fearlessly strode forward to Opus and kicked Opus’s thick shin with her small foot.

“What does it matter if you have hair or not! Aren’t you and I the same human being?!”

Opus blinked his one eye, forgetting even the shock that a human brat had dared to kick him.

It wouldn’t be unreasonable. Even we, who knew Casena’s personality, had to look at Casena with surprised eyes.

If purity is a weapon, Casena might have the most powerful weapon in the world.

It was obvious that the unadulterated purity contained in that voice and eyes had thrown the beastman warriors into confusion.

‘The same human being…’

‘Does she think of us as the same human being?’

In that confusion, Casena pointed at me with all her might.

“We, Rain, came all the way here to help you! So please listen to what Rain has to say! You can do that much, can’t you!”