The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 139

Silence filled the library.

Mimir’s unexpected words seemed to freeze my brain, halting my thoughts completely.

‘……The First Princess?’

Mimir Bell Vaitainer.

To be the Master’s daughter.

‘I knew Mimir was a figure from the Master’s past, but I never imagined she was his daughter…’

This was a truly unimaginable identity.

‘Seeing how surprised you are, I guess you really didn’t expect it at all?’

Mimir grinned, amused by my expression.

‘……Yeah. I didn’t see it coming at all.’

‘Really? That’s surprising. I thought you might have figured it out while training with Elena.’

‘There was nothing to suggest that…?’

During the training in the third trial’s page, the only new information I gained was that Elena and Mimir were close, and that they had made some kind of promise.

It was impossible to guess Mimir’s identity with just that information.

‘So, Elena really didn’t say anything at all?’

‘She didn’t say a word. Whenever your name came up, she’d change the subject like lightning. She’d say, ‘You should hear about Mimir directly from her.”

‘……I see. That’s just like Elena. There was no need to hide it that much.’

Mimir smiled faintly.

I wondered what she was thinking; a bitter emotion was evident in her expression.

‘Anyway, I was a princess of the Vaitainer Empire. How about it? Do I look any different now?’

Mimir placed her hand on her hip and haughtily raised her head.

She looked like a somewhat arrogant and bold young lady.

But, if you asked if she looked different from her usual self, the answer would be no.

‘Not really? You look the same as always?’

There was no sign of the dignity befitting a princess. Mimir was just Mimir.

‘……I see. I’m the same, huh?’

Mimir gave a wry smile with a subtle expression.

She seemed to be deep in thought.

Mimir’s expression made my head spin.

‘……Is she sulking?’

Perhaps Mimir wanted to show off her dignity as a princess.

And maybe she was feeling a bit disappointed by my answer that she looked the same as always.

‘Should I have said she looked a little different?’

My senior, Majinseok, once said that you should always be very careful when a woman asks, ‘Do I look any different today?’

If this situation was anything like that, then my careless answer might have been a landmine.

I glanced at Mimir’s face.

She was now completely hanging her head.

It was certain. She was upset.

‘I should have thought before answering.’

I regretted it inwardly and spoke to Mimir.

‘Mimir. Now that I look at you again, you seem more…’

I needed to cheer her up first.

Just as I was about to start speaking, she said,

‘Thank you.’

‘……Huh?’

Mimir suddenly thanked me.

‘It’s the first time.’

‘First time? For what?’

‘You’re the first successor who hasn’t changed their attitude after hearing that I’m a princess.’

Mimir raised her head and looked me straight in the eye.

The subtle expression from before was gone, replaced by a bright smile.

‘Everyone changed their attitude the moment they found out I was a princess. Some trembled, some bowed their heads, and some begged for their lives…’

‘……What kind of mischief did you get up to that made them tremble?’

‘What?’

Mimir scoffed, looking dumbfounded.

‘Successor. I’m a princess. The only direct descendant and rightful heir to the Vaitainer Empire, the greatest power in the world. How many people do you think wouldn’t tremble before me?’

‘I’d be more surprised if someone trembled at the sight of you.’

To tremble at the sight of Mimir.

I couldn’t imagine it.

‘Tell me honestly. Did you use your status as a princess to bully your subordinates when you were young?’

‘I didn’t! What do you take me for?’

Mimir turned her head away.

Her slightly puffed-up cheeks were a testament to her hurt feelings.

If this went on, she would really sulk this time.

‘Sorry. It’s just that, seeing your usual friendly self, I couldn’t imagine anyone trembling before you, so I exaggerated a bit as a joke. I’m sorry if I made you feel bad.’

‘Friendly self…’

Mimir glanced at me. The air quickly deflated from her puffed-up cheeks.

‘Ahem. Well, if it was a joke, then it’s fine.’

Mimir, who had quickly cheered up, looked me straight in the eye again.

‘But I’m telling you again, I was a really good princess, okay? The maids even called me an angel. You know?’

‘……Yeah. I think the maids would have liked you.’

Who would dislike a boss with that kind of personality? Well, there might be some who dislike her, but there wouldn’t be many.

‘Well, it’s true that you wouldn’t do anything bad.’

‘Okay, okay.’

Mimir crossed her arms and smiled brightly.

‘Sigh. If I had known that the Successor would react so nonchalantly, I would have revealed it from the beginning.’

‘……What do you mean?’

What does my reaction have to do with Mimir not revealing her identity?

‘It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.’

Mimir waved her hand, gesturing for me not to mind it.

‘The Successor can just act as usual.’

‘……Yeah. I was going to act as usual anyway.’

‘Yeah. That’s all that matters.’

My head tilted involuntarily. I couldn’t follow the flow of the conversation. What was going on? What was the situation?

‘Okay, then. Let’s leave this topic here. We still have a lot to talk about, and we can’t just keep talking about this, right?’

‘Ah. That’s right.’

I cleared the questions filling my head and focused on Mimir’s words.

‘First, let’s talk about the hostile nation that has been at war with the Vaitainer Empire for decades. The Veil Four Nations.’

‘Veil… Four Nations?’

Even the proper noun itself was a question.

First, the suffix ‘Four Nations’.

‘I’ve heard of empires, kingdoms, and theocratic states… but what is a Four Nation?’

‘It’s exactly what it sounds like. It’s called the Four Nations because it’s written as the nation of death [死, the character for death].’

‘Ah. That’s what it means.’

So, the ‘sa’ (死) means death.

One question was solved.

Then, the remaining question.

‘Then, Veil is…’

About Veil in the Veil Four Nations.

‘Is it perhaps the Veil from Veil Stoll?’

The origin of black magic that Mimir had once mentioned.

The seeker of destruction, Veil Stoll.

The name of the hostile nation was the same as his name.

‘Yeah. That’s the Veil.’

‘I see.’

My guess was correct.

‘The nation of the dead, led by Veil Stoll. That’s the enemy of the Vaitainer Empire and the world. The Veil Four Nations.’

‘The nation of the dead… can I ask what that means?’

‘It means exactly what it sounds like. 99% of the citizens of the Veil Four Nations were dead. Undead.’

‘A nation of undead…’

Do the undead have enough intelligence to create a nation?

‘Actually, it’s hard to call it a nation. Except for the fact that they had territories, they didn’t have any of the structures of a nation. You can just think of it as an undead army led by Veil. In fact, no one thought of his army as a real nation.’

Ah. So it wasn’t a real nation.

‘But why is it called the Four Nations?’

Even though no one recognized it as a nation, the name ‘Four Nations’ seemed to be commonly used.

What was the reason?

‘It’s simple. Veil Stoll’s army, the undead army, was so large that it surpassed the scale of a nation. In terms of the number of troops and size, it was even bigger than the Vaitainer Empire.’

‘Ah, I see. That’s why it’s called the Four Nations.’

‘That’s right. Well, the title of Four Nations is a kind of mockery. Veil Stoll, you are just the king of the kingdom of the dead. You can’t defeat us. That’s the meaning behind it.’

The king of the dead.

I understood.

‘Anyway, the main enemy of the Vaitainer Empire was the Veil Four Nations led by Veil Stoll.’

‘Yeah. I roughly understand the relationship.’

I roughly understood the structure.

In short, it was a clash between good and evil.

The Master, the creator of magic, was good, and Veil Stoll, the creator of black magic, was evil.

‘The goal of the Veil Four Nations would have been the destruction or domination of the world, and the Master’s goal was to stop it. Is that about right?’

‘Exactly.’

‘I see.’

It was a predictable story.

‘Then, the ending is probably something like this?’

And predictable stories usually end with predictable endings.

‘After a long war, they succeeded in defeating evil, but at the cost of the good losing their life.’

They defeated Veil Stoll, and the Master lost his life as a result.

That would have been the ending.

‘……That’s right. Ray couldn’t undo the curse that Veil Stoll cast with his last ounce of strength and passed away.’

Mimir lowered her head with a somber expression. She looked like she was about to cry, as if she was remembering her father’s death.

‘Was it such a powerful curse? So powerful that the Master couldn’t do anything about it?’

‘Yeah. It was a curse cast by the very originator of black magic, Veil Stoll, using his own life as a sacrifice. No matter how much Ray… Father was, it was a curse he couldn’t do anything about.’

Curses are still present in this era.

It’s a black magic that literally curses the target by offering all sorts of sacrifices, including human sacrifices.

The greater the ‘sacrifice’, the greater the effect.

‘A curse that a black magician like Veil Stoll realized by offering himself as a sacrifice…’

It was a story from another world, so it was hard to imagine, but it must have been something tremendous.

It was understandable that the Master couldn’t undo it.

‘That left Ray with only one year to live. Yes, just one year…’

It was too short a time to enjoy the peace they had waited so long for.

Mimir paused for a moment with a sad expression. It seemed like a surge of emotion was welling up inside her.

‘And Ray decided to use that one year… for the future Successor.’

I remembered the first time I obtained the Book of Idred in the past.

At that time, the Master had clearly said this.

‘I have left this book behind in order to find a Successor who will carry on my magic, even in the distant future.’

‘……So, even if he died, he wanted the Vaitainer style to not be forgotten.’

‘That’s also true, but it’s a little different.’

Mimir shook her head slightly.

‘It’s true that Ray didn’t want the Vaitainer style to disappear. But it wasn’t just because he wanted to leave behind his achievements, honor, or glory.’

‘……Then?’

‘For the future.’

The future.

It was a very vague word that could be interpreted in many ways.

‘To be precise, it was to prevent Veil Stoll from resurrecting in the future. For that, Ray decided to leave behind his magic.’

‘……Resurrect?’

My eyes widened.

‘You’re saying Veil Stoll will resurrect?’

‘Yeah.’

Mimir raised her head and stared into the empty air with distant eyes.

‘The day Veil Stoll was defeated by Ray, he said this.’

Mimir spoke in a cold voice, as if imitating Veil Stoll’s voice.

‘I have lost for now. But this defeat will bring me a perfect victory.’

Mimir added quietly.

‘……It certainly sounds like he’ll come back.’

I have lost for now, but in the end, I will win.

That was the meaning of Veil Stoll’s words.

‘But… isn’t that just the ramblings of a loser?’

I don’t know exactly how much time has passed since the era of the Vaitainer Empire.

There are no accurate records left.

However, it is certain that a considerable amount of time has passed.

But Veil Stoll has not resurrected during that long period.

This means that there is a high probability that Veil Stoll’s last words were just empty words, the ravings of a loser.

‘No. Veil Stoll will resurrect.’

‘……How can you be so sure?’

‘Because Ray said so. Veil Stoll will definitely resurrect someday.’

Mimir narrowed her eyes.

‘Ray said that someday, when the stars of good and evil align again, Veil Stoll will appear on this land again. He said that we need to prepare for that time.’

‘What do you mean by the day the stars of good and evil align?’

‘I don’t know what it means either. He didn’t tell me.’

Mimir turned her gaze again and stared into the empty air with distant eyes.

‘Anyway, Ray said. On the day the stars of good and evil align, Veil Stoll will return. So…’

Mimir looked me straight in the eye.

‘We must pass on my magic to the future in preparation for that time.’

‘……’

‘On the day the stars of good and evil align. On the day evil resurrects. For the good that will be born together, the future Successor.’