The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 148

“Since we saw you’re awake, we’ll be going now. Other guests will be swarming in soon. Let’s meet again next time.”

“……Goodbye.”

With those words, Shin Ji-han and Se-ah noona immediately got up from their seats.

Then, they turned around and walked out of the hospital room.

“……”

While leaving, Se-ah noona subtly turned her body.

Standing sideways, she looked at me with one eye.

The expression on Se-ah noona’s half-visible face looked very sorrowful.

‘……Why?’

It was an expression I couldn’t understand.

I could understand if she clicked her tongue or glared at me with a displeased expression.

But to send such a forlorn and mournful gaze.

It wasn’t an expression that Se-ah noona, who clearly disliked me, would make.

‘Why that expression……’

While I was pondering that question.

Se-ah noona pointed downwards with her gaze.

What could that gaze mean?

“Then, Ha-yul, let’s meet again while we’re in the States. I know a lot of good restaurants here.”

As Shin Ji-han opened the door and turned his head, Se-ah noona’s gaze turned away.

It was as if she was avoiding Shin Ji-han’s eyes.

That made my question even bigger.

“Ha-yul?”

“Ah. I’m sorry. My head is a bit foggy…… Yes. Sure. I’ll wait for your call.”

I quickly responded to Shin Ji-han’s words.

I don’t know why Se-ah noona is acting like that, but it’s best to avoid Shin Ji-han’s suspicion for now.

“Okay. I’ll call you.”

Shin Ji-han smiled one last time, waved his hand, and disappeared outside.

Se-ah noona followed behind Shin Ji-han.

After the two of them disappeared, silence fell in the hospital room.

‘……Below?’

I immediately thought about what Se-ah noona’s gaze from earlier meant.

What could it possibly mean?

‘Judging by how she avoided Shin Ji-han’s gaze, there’s a high chance that gaze was a signal just for me.’

If that’s the case, then the gaze pointing downwards means……

‘Look below.’

I forced my still-aching body to move and touched the area below the bed.

Right in front of where Se-ah noona was sitting.

If my guess is right, there should definitely be……

‘There it is.’

I felt the smooth texture of paper on my fingertips.

It seems to be attached with mana, I can feel the mana’s presence.

I immediately took out the paper and unfolded it.

[I have something to tell you about Ji-han oppa [older brother]. If you’re willing to listen, please send a text to this number after you’re discharged. It’s my secret line that Ji-han oppa doesn’t know about.]

[It’s really important. You might not want to hear about someone like me, but please. Just trust me once.]

[Then, I’ll be waiting for your call.]

“……What is this.”

My mind went blank for a moment at the unexpected content.

And at that moment.

Drrrrrrr!

“Patient Ha-yul! We heard you woke up……!”

“Young Master!”

The hospital room door opened, and the nurse, the doctor, and Mr. Seok-hyun entered.

Looking at the three of them, I crumpled the note and erased it with mana.

‘957-55896-A7545.’

I repeated the secret line number that Se-ah noona left in my mind.

* * *

After that.

I finished a light physical examination.

And was told that there were no major problems with my body.

Ah, it wasn’t that there were no problems at all.

They said that my mana circle was going crazy due to overexertion.

They said the numbers were so high that it wouldn’t be strange if the circle exploded right away.

It’s calm now, but it’s a ticking time bomb, and they said I need to be monitored a little longer because of it.

They even said with a serious expression that I might need to prepare myself mentally.

‘……It’s not like that though.’

But that was something the doctor could say because they didn’t know the uniqueness of my circle.

My body’s circle isn’t a normal mana circle, but an Infinity Circle.

The vastness of mana is significantly different from existing mana circles, so the test results showed that it was going out of control.

To be more precise, it’s just that the overload of the Infinity Circle caused a problem with control, creating a mana graph that looked like it was going out of control.

In reality, there isn’t any major problem with my body.

‘The external wounds from the Three-Colored Tiger’s breath were almost completely healed while I was sleeping for two days.’

External injuries can be healed in two days.

The reason my body hurts now is because of the aftereffects of excessive mana use, not because I was injured somewhere.

Honestly, instead of being hospitalized here, it would be much faster to recover if I went back and wore my teacher’s robe.

……Of course, there’s no way to explain all of this, so I’ll have to stay hospitalized here for at least two days.

‘They’ll probably discharge me when the Infinity Circle stabilizes.’

Let’s just think of it as resting for two days. I organized my thoughts like that.

‘By the way…… what the heck happened?’

As soon as I finished organizing my thoughts, a new question consumed my mind.

The whole story of this monster rampage.

I was very curious about it.

Knock knock-!

At that moment, someone knocked on the hospital room door.

The doctor or nurse wouldn’t bother knocking.

Is it a visitor?

That seems likely.

They must have heard that the examination was over and came to visit.

‘Is it the seniors?’

Or it could be Kim Kang-in or my father.

Whatever it is, it’s perfect timing.

I wanted to hear about the detailed situation.

“Come in.”

With my answer, the hospital room door opened.

And the moment two women appeared beyond the door, my eyes widened like saucers.

The visitors were completely unexpected people.

“May we come in?”

The unofficial name ‘Hunting Dog’.

The official name, the leader of ‘Longinus’, Charles.

“Excuse us.”

And Sophia Anetscheff, Charles’ secret superior.

“Why the face? What? You didn’t expect us to come?”

Charles closed the hospital room door and chuckled.

“……Yes.”

Who could have expected that?

“Well, yeah. I guess you wouldn’t have expected it.”

Charles laughed heartily and sat down in front of me.

After her, Sophia also moved and sat next to Charles.

“……Weren’t you supposed to keep your relationship a secret?”

“That’s right. It’s a secret.”

Charles answered nonchalantly.

“But is it okay to come to the hospital together like this?”

“We didn’t come openly? Your father doesn’t even know that we came here together. He still thinks you’re just getting examined.”

“……Ah.”

Well, if you’re in a position like Sophia, coming to the hospital room secretly like this wouldn’t be a big deal.

“Well, we can’t stay long anyway.”

If the tail is too long, it will get stepped on [If you stay too long, you’ll get caught].

Unless they’ve captured all the hospital staff, if the conversation gets too long, someone will definitely get suspicious.

“Charles. How much time do we have?”

“Hmm. About 20 minutes?”

Charles answered while checking her smartphone.

“It’s better to finish within 15 minutes if possible. But if the conversation gets too long, it could be up to 25 minutes. Madam’s money went into 20% of this hospital’s establishment.”

Charles answered with a slight wink.

“20 minutes. That’s enough.”

Sophia answered with a gentle smile, then turned her gaze to me.

“But it’s not like we have enough time to relax. I’m sorry to say this, but I’ll skip the formalities and get straight to the point.”

“If you mean the point……”

Sophia’s expression immediately became serious.

“It’s about what I saw and realized through this The Feast transfer incident.”

“……The Feast transfer? Wasn’t The Feast transfer supposed to be tomorrow?”

The Feast’s transfer was three days after the open raid finals.

Since I slept for two days, the transfer should be tomorrow.

“The Feast transfer was two days ago. It was held on the day of the open raid finals. It was moved up three days to deceive the enemies’ eyes and ears.”

“Ah.”

They didn’t tell me that it was moved up three days.

Well, since I wasn’t involved in the transfer at all, there was no need to tell me.

“……Wait a minute.”

The Feast’s transfer started on the day of the open raid finals?

That means……

“Then, on the day of the open raid finals. Is it related to the monsters going berserk and the stadium’s facilities going haywire?”

Isn’t that saying that there’s a connection between the two incidents?

“Oh. You’re smart?”

It wasn’t Sophia who answered my question, but Charles.

“That’s right. The Feast transfer is the cause.”

“……I knew it.”

My guess was right.

My head spun like a top.

I replayed the things I experienced in the blacked-out stadium.

“If that’s the case, then the mastermind behind this is……”

And soon, I arrived at one reasonable hypothesis.

“Is it the Black Magic King?”

“……!”

“……!”

At my mutter, Charles and Sophia widened their eyes at the same time.

“You, you. How did you know that? Did someone already tell you?”

Charles shouted, spitting as she brought her face close to mine with a shocked expression.

“No, there’s no way someone told you…… The only people you met after waking up were your brother and sister…… There’s no way they would know that information……”

Charles glared at me with sharp eyes.

“……How did you know?”

It was a look that seemed to suspect me of something. Could she be thinking that I’m a spy from the Black Magic Tower for knowing information I shouldn’t know?

“Charles. That’s not possible.”

Sophia stopped Charles’ gaze.

“But Madam…… Knowing that information is……”

It would be best to clear up the misunderstanding before it gets any bigger.

“I didn’t hear it from anyone.”

I spoke before Sophia could say anything.

“And I’m not a spy from the Black Magic Tower like you’re thinking, Charles.”

“Then how did you know?”

“……I saw it.”

“Saw what?”

“The very end of the open raid stadium. While fighting the Three-Colored Tiger. The corrupted mana that filled the depths of its body.”

“……You saw that?”

“Yes.”

I recalled the memory from that time.

“Mana that was dirtier, more hideous, and more unsettling than any mana I’ve ever seen…… It was on a level that couldn’t even be compared to the mana of a high-ranking officer.”

Just thinking about it again made my spine tingle.

It was that unsettling of mana.

“If it’s that kind of mana, I just thought it must be the Black Magic King’s mana. Especially since it’s even related to The Feast transfer, I thought it was 100% certain.”

“……”

Charles was silent.

She had her mouth half-open, looking at me with eyes that couldn’t believe it.

Sophia, who was sitting next to her, was the same.

She had her eyes wide open, as if she couldn’t believe what I was saying.

“Madam. Is it possible to see an individual’s mana deep within them with a skill like that…… even with the Jewel Eye?”

“……No. It might be possible to see mana that’s exposed externally, but it’s impossible to see the essence of mana that’s hidden deep within the target. Moreover, the skill to directly capture the deep mana from the inside of monsters that were indirectly affected by the Black Magic King’s mana is absolutely……”

Sophia was lost in thought with a serious expression.

She seemed to be thinking a lot, muttering something and staring straight into my eyes.

“If that’s possible, it would also be possible to uncover the secret movements of the Black Magic Tower…… If that’s the case……”

Sophia looked straight at me.

“Perhaps, before. The information that there would be an attack on the 3rd Magic Stone Warehouse that you provided to the Red Magic Tower Lord……”

“Yes. It was me.”

“I knew it.”

Sophia nodded as if everything finally made sense.

“What?”

Charles was shocked again.

“That, you were the one who provided that information?”

“Yes.”

“You crazy! You were the person I was looking for so desperately? Wow, it’s true that the darkest place is under the lamp [the answer was right in front of me].”

Charles grabbed her forehead and let out a hollow laugh as if she was dumbfounded.

“……I guess there’s no need to ask why you didn’t mention this when we talked before……”

“Yes.”

There was no time, and it wasn’t something to talk about during the first meeting.

I didn’t have the time to do that because I was talking about other important things.

“……It’s a shame. If I had heard this beforehand…… It’s my mistake. If I had created one more opportunity to talk……”

Sophia smiled bitterly while blaming herself.

“No, now is not the time to blame yourself. We know now……”

But that self-blame was only for a moment. She immediately returned to a serious look.

“……Charles. I’m sorry, but could you go outside and buy us some time? It seems like the conversation is going to be a bit longer than expected.”

“Okay. 30 minutes. I’ll somehow make that time.”

Charles got up from her seat and immediately went out of the hospital room.

“I’m sorry. I said I’d get straight to the point, but the digression got really long.”

“It’s alright.”

In the hospital room where only the two of us were left.

Sophia hesitated as if she was pondering something. She opened her mouth. Then closed it. Repeatedly.

“I wasn’t planning on talking about this right now…… But if Ha-yul’s divine eye has that level of power……”

Then, as if she had made up her mind.

“Ha-yul.”

She looked straight into my eyes and said this.

“Do you have any intention of becoming my disciple?”

“If you mean disciple……”

“Yes.”

The only existence standing above the 12 Magic Towers.

The seat where only the unique mage who stands at the pinnacle of all colors, and therefore is not given any color, can sit.

The glory of sitting in that seat is said to be beyond any words, and it is the uncrowned throne that has no title.

“Become my official successor and take over my next position. That’s what I mean.”

She was offering me to sit in that seat.