The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 178

The Rebirth of the Mythical Archmage-179

Incheon International Airport.

The long flight from the United States was over.

I had finally returned to Korea.

“Hoo. It’s good to be back in Korea.”

Leaving Incheon International Airport, I was on my way back home.

I stared intently at the night view, unique to Korea.

It felt somehow new.

Well, it was only natural to feel new, since it was the first time I’d seen the night view in two months.

“Are you really going straight to the dorm? Wouldn’t it be better to rest at your family home today?”

Mr. Seok-hyun, who was driving, made eye contact with me through the rearview mirror.

His eyes clearly conveyed feelings of regret and worry.

Since the incidents centered around me were quite serious, it was only natural for him to be worried about me staying alone in the dorm.

“I just want to be alone today. I plan to go to my family home tomorrow morning.”

“…I see, you’re more comfortable in the dorm.”

“Yes. Well, I’ve lived there for a year.”

He seemed to regret that I felt more comfortable in the dorm than at my family home.

“I guess that’s understandable. You’ve been away for a whole year…”

No, is he thinking that I’m subtly avoiding going to my family home?

It seems like it.

“It’s not that I’m avoiding going to my family home. It’s just that my head is complicated. The dorm is better for contemplating alone.”

“Well, if you go back to your family home, there will be a lot of people bothering you.”

“Yes. It hasn’t been announced that I’ve returned to Korea yet, and today is likely the last chance I’ll have to enjoy some alone time.”

“…I understand. It’s definitely better to go to the dorm now.”

Mr. Seok-hyun smiled wryly.

“Ah, on the way back to my dorm room, it would be troublesome if someone saw me, so could you please cast an invisibility spell?”

“Yes. Of course.”

Mr. Seok-hyun nodded, looking like he was saying to leave it to him.

“It’s 3:30 AM, so it’s unlikely anyone will be around, though.”

“Still, it’s better to be careful.”

“That’s right.”

I turned my gaze back to the window.

The car was currently driving on an elevated highway.

The city that never sleeps, Seoul.

True to its reputation, beautiful lights were spread out below the elevated highway.

I stared blankly at the night view of Seoul for a long time.

“Tomorrow.”

How much time had passed?

We were passing over a bridge that was brilliantly lit with colorful lights.

I spoke again.

“Before going to my family home, could we stop by Se-ah noona’s and… Ji-han hyung’s columbarium?”

“……”

In the rearview mirror, Mr. Seok-hyun looked at me with a surprised expression.

What was he surprised about?

Was he surprised that I called Shin Ji-han, Ji-han hyung?

Or was he surprised that I wanted to visit their graves first?

I don’t know.

“Yes. I will adjust the schedule accordingly.”

Mr. Seok-hyun nodded with a somewhat somber expression.

I didn’t know for sure, but he looked somewhat sad and relieved at the same time.

* * *

Thanks to Mr. Seok-hyun’s invisibility magic, I returned to my room without being noticed by anyone.

The familiar scent of old books.

The scent of my room, which I hadn’t smelled in two months, welcomed me.

My heart swelled.

I thought I wasn’t prone to homesickness. But it seems that wasn’t the case.

I stood in front of my bed.

And with a fluttering heart, I dove onto the bed…

“…Wow.”

…Nothing really happened.

I wanted to jump straight into bed, but I couldn’t.

“There’s so much dust.”

If I jumped into bed now, my lifespan would probably be reduced by about a month.

The amount of dust that had accumulated was so bad that I couldn’t help but think that.

I gently touched the bed.

Goodness, the amount of dust was so much that I could feel a rough texture on my hand.

This isn’t dust, it’s more like sand?

“Heh.”

If I had known it would be like this, I should have just requested a cleaning service before leaving.

I had marked [X] on the cleaning service because there were so many old books inside. I regret it so much.

“…I guess I should clean first.”

I roughly shoved my suitcase into the closet and opened the window.

Then, I took out the hand towel that I had left in the bathroom, and was about to wet it when…

“Ah.”

I suddenly realized I was doing something stupid.

‘Why was I trying to wipe the dust with a rag?’

Has it become a habit?

Well, I had been cleaning my room with rags and brooms for the past year.

It was only natural that my hand would reach for a rag.

I smiled wryly and put the rag back where it was.

Then, I went back to my room and moved my mana.

‘Precisely separate and remove only the dust.’

Mana filled the entire room.

The formless mana, moving here and there according to my will, embraced the thick dust filling the room.

‘And gather it in one place…’

Floating, floating.

A lump of dust quickly gathering in front of me.

Goodness. How much dust was there in this room? The size of the gathered dust lump was almost the size of my face. What’s even more shocking is that I haven’t even dealt with all the dust yet.

“…Wow.”

About a minute passed.

A lump of dust 1.5 times the size of my head was created.

I put it straight into a trash bag and tied it up.

“That’s it.”

I’m very satisfied.

This kind of precise manipulation is the true essence of the Bytener style.

Perhaps even my father or the Magic Tower Lords wouldn’t be able to do this level of precise control.

‘I’ve grown a lot.’

Only four months have passed.

So much has changed.

It feels new.

“Hoo.”

The room was completely clean.

I lay down on the bed in a starfish shape.

My room is definitely the best.

It’s an ordinary room that can’t be compared to the hotel rooms in the US where I stayed for the past two months, but the comfort is incomparable.

It was so comfortable that I wanted to fall asleep right away.

Of course, I didn’t really intend to sleep.

Since I don’t need to sleep, sleeping is just a waste of time.

I got up from the bed again.

That’s enough to enjoy the joy of returning home.

‘I should report to Mimir first.’

I brought my right hand to my left shoulder.

And with the feeling of pulling something from the air, I moved my hand.

Swish!

My teacher’s robe, ‘Aeth’, was draped over my body.

And immediately, I took out Mimir’s book from Aeth and opened it.

“Mimir. I’m back.”

I approached Mimir, who was lying face down on the sofa, which had now become Mimir’s designated spot, reading a book.

“Mimir?”

Even when I called her, Mimir didn’t respond.

She was focused on reading the book, as if she was possessed.

Her cheeks were flushed, and her two legs were rhythmically crossing.

It was clear that she was enjoying herself.

What book is she reading that’s so interesting?

I quietly went behind Mimir and checked the book she was reading.

“Ah. A comic book.”

“… !”

At that moment, Mimir’s body jumped like a live fish.

She stood up with an indescribable exclamation, and looked at me with a face as if she had seen a ghost.

“Successor! I told you not to whisper in my ear! You scared me!”

Mimir shouted, pressing her left ear and her face flushed.

“Ah, sorry.”

Mimir really, really hates it when someone blows air into her ear or does something like that. I knew it, but I was so surprised that the words came out of my mouth without thinking.

“Ugh. Seriously. It’s creepy.”

Mimir rubbed her ears and shuddered.

It seems like just thinking about it makes her shudder.

Is it like the feeling of shuddering again after hearing the sound of chalk scratching a blackboard?

“…Ah.”

Mimir, who was rubbing her arm, suddenly froze.

It seems like she saw something.

I slowly followed Mimir’s gaze.

“…It’s torn.”

The book Mimir was reading just now was torn in half.

It seems like she tore the book while doing that horrified live fish dance.

“……”

Mimir’s head and shoulders drooped. Her teary eyes were filled with sadness.

Is she that sad that the book is torn?

“But it’s torn cleanly, so you can still read it.”

“…What?”

Mimir’s head tilted with a creaking sound. Her face was turned towards me, with her head half-lowered and her neck twisted.

Her eyes were also shining eerily, making her look like a ghost.

“You can still read it? Is that what the perpetrator should say?”

“…No. You tore it yourself, so why am I…”

“Enough with the excuses! My book! This comic book that I’ve been cherishing and reading twice a day! What are you going to do!”

Mimir looked like she was about to cry.

She liked it so much that she read it twice.

I didn’t know that.

“No, um… uh. Sorry. I’ll buy you a new one.”

Mimir’s body, which had been jumping around, suddenly stopped.

“…Really?”

“Of course. Really. I can buy you as many as you want.”

What’s a comic book?

“With the first edition limited edition…?”

It doesn’t seem like just one book.

Whatever it is, it doesn’t matter.

“If you want. I’ll get you the entire series in the first edition limited edition.”

Mimir’s eyes sparkled.

“Since you’re reading it for the second time, it seems like you’ve finished it. I’ll get you some other comic books too.”

Mimir’s face brightened.

It was a smile like a flower blooming.

“You promised?”

“Yeah.”

“Then it’s okay.”

Mimir laughed, making a ‘hee hee’ sound. Are comic books that fun?

‘Well, cultural content is evolving as we go into the future, so it’s understandable that Mimir is so crazy about it.’

I have a feeling that I’ll be getting her comic books regularly from now on.

“Hoo. So, Successor, does this mean you’ve returned to Korea?”

“Yeah. I just arrived.”

“You came back really fast? It seemed like it took a long time when you left.”

“Well, this time I skipped all the procedures and just flew here.”

Since I skipped the procedures that would have taken an additional 3-4 hours, it was only natural that I arrived much faster.

“I see. Did anything happen on the way?”

“Nothing really happened this time.”

“Really? That’s unexpected. I thought something would happen since you’re a natural troublemaker.”

“Well, I’ve taken care of most of the problems.”

The Shin Ji-han related issues were all resolved.

Triksh, who was on Shin Ji-han’s side and was targeting me, was also dead.

There was no room for problems to arise.

“That… what was it? The escaped executive. Shadow, was it? He left after saying something very meaningful. So I thought he might be doing something again.”

Mimir leaned back on the sofa and stretched.

“Well, nothing happened. That’s a relief. That’s a relief~”

Her gestures and tone didn’t feel like she was relieved at all.

No, she just looked bored.

“You…”

I was about to call Mimir out on that when…

Mee-!

A small furball jumped into my arms.

“Miho, you’re awake?”

The divine beast. The nine-tailed fox.

Miho, who had been asleep since the Triksh incident, had finally woken up.

Miho rubbed her face against my chest.

“Sorry for pushing you too hard.”

I made her push herself too hard before she had even properly grown.

As an inadequate master, I felt a great sense of guilt.

Whether she knew my guilt or not, Miho was just snuggling in my arms, acting cute as if she was in the best mood in the world.

“Tsk. So haughty. She doesn’t even wag her tail at me.”

Mimir rested her chin on her hand and grumbled, looking envious.

“Hey. We haven’t seen each other in a long time. Can’t you at least let me touch your head?”

Mimir gently brought her hand to Miho’s head.

However.

Thwack!

Miho smacked Mimir’s hand away with her tail.

A perfect iron wall. It was a firm reaction that said not to even think about touching my body.

“…She’s still as haughty as ever.”

Mimir pouted, touching her hand that was stinging from being hit by the tail.

“Miho. Are you okay?”

Miho had torn, chewed, tasted, and enjoyed Triksh’s corrupted spirit.

Since she ate such impure things, there might be something wrong with her body.

“Corrupted souls or whatever, they get purified and become an energy source when they enter her body. You don’t have to worry about that.”

“Ah.”

It was an unnecessary worry.

“Ah, and I should have asked this too. Miho and I, is this our first meeting?”

“Yeah. That’s right. The nine-tailed fox we met on the fifth page is just a remnant of the past, so she doesn’t remember it now.”

“I see.”

In other words, I’m familiar with her, but it’s Miho’s first time meeting me. That’s what it meant.

“Ah, and one more thing. About Pactio [A magical contract]. You can have more than one contract, right? Besides Miho, with other divine beasts…”

Sting.

At that moment, I felt a murderous aura from under my chin.

A gaze so sharp and hot that cold sweat broke out on my back.

I slowly lowered my gaze.

Miho was glaring at me.

It was as if she was saying, ‘Try saying that one more time.’

“I, I have no intention of making a contract with any other divine beast besides Miho, even if I could. So I don’t see the point.”

I desperately changed my words.

Only then did Miho return to her original cute expression.

‘…Phew. That’s a relief.’

I felt a threat to my life for a moment.

I should avoid talking about that in front of Miho in the future.

“For reference, there are no restrictions on the number or type of contracts.”

Mimir, who had been laughing as if it was funny, casually said a word.

“…Hey!”

“Why?”

What if Miho gets angry again after I finally calmed her down!

I slowly checked Miho’s mood.

Mee-

Miho didn’t show any particular reaction. It seems like she didn’t even hear Mimir’s words.

“…Bad guy. She’s completely ignoring me.”

Mimir pouted again.

Of course, Miho didn’t react at all, whether Mimir pouted or not. Even a pebble on the street would be more concerned than that?

“Just you wait. I’ll definitely touch you…”

Mimir clenched her fist and vowed. In my opinion, that’s never going to happen…

Well, dreaming is free.

“Hoo. Anyway, now that you’ve safely returned home, are you going to start weaving the sixth ring right away?”

Mimir turned her attention away from Miho and focused on me.

“Yeah. I have to.”

I’ve put out all the fires on my feet.

And the security in Korea is incomparable to that of the United States.

From today, I plan to focus on the work of weaving the sixth Infinity Circle.

“Then here.”

Mimir picked up the book that was on the table and handed it to me as if she was throwing it.

“Read that book first.”

“You’re really quick with the preparations.”

“Of course. That’s me.”

I stroked Miho’s head once more and turned my gaze to the book.

[The Sixth Infinity Circle, ‘The Ring of Awakening’]

The Ring of Awakening.

It was the name of the new destination I had to go to next.