The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 191

Silence descended.

Adela was trying to understand the situation, looking back and forth between Miho, who had settled in her lap, and me.

I, on the other hand, was speechless with surprise that Miho was being so friendly with someone else.

It was inevitable that the atmosphere would become awkward.

‘So… what’s going on here?’

Breaking through the awkward silence, Adela spoke first.

Her green eyes, staring directly at me, were filled with unease.

She seemed to be afraid of Miho, who was now comfortably on her lap.

‘A monster… right?’

There were no animals with five tails in this world.

In other words, Miho looked like a monster to anyone.

And a monster was considered an enemy of humanity and a scourge of the world.

It was only natural that she would be uneasy, with such a creature currently on her lap.

‘She is a monster, but she’s not dangerous at all, so you don’t have to worry.’

‘……’

‘Look. Her eyes are so gentle.’

I tried my best to convey that Miho was not a threat.

However, Adela’s expression did not improve at all. She still looked like she was about to panic from anxiety.

‘……Do you know? That there are an average of 10 accidents per year where people are killed by their tamed monsters.’

It was understandable.

As I said, monsters are considered enemies of humanity.

Their innate ferocity cannot be completely suppressed by taming.

Even if they are tamed and bound with leashes and collars, it is impossible to control them 100%.

As Adela said, about 10 people lose their lives to their tamed monsters every year.

Such a being was now on her lap, yawning. Who wouldn’t be nervous?

‘Trust me. Our Miho would never harm anyone.’

‘If you say so, then I guess that’s how it is…’

Adela looked at Miho with eyes that seemed to have lost some of their anxiety.

‘Her name is Miho… right?’

Miho reacted to the word ‘Miho’ that had just come out of Adela’s mouth.

She perked up her ears and cried out in the cutest way possible.

‘……She is cute, though.’

Her cry and eye smile were so bewitching that Adela’s guard was instantly lowered.

As expected of a nine-tailed fox, she was charming people with just her cry.

Adela stared intently at Miho.

Miho’s head tilted slightly.

She had a look that seemed to say she didn’t know why she was just being stared at.

The two of them made eye contact for about 10 seconds.

Then, suddenly, Miho turned her gaze. Miho’s gaze was directed at Adela’s hand.

As Miho settled on her lap, she stared intently at Adela’s right hand, which was inevitably left hanging awkwardly in the air.

Then, as if something had occurred to her, she brought her head to Adela’s right hand.

Then, she cried cutely and rubbed her face against it.

It was as if she was asking to be petted.

My goodness, how adorable she was.

Who wouldn’t fall for that charm?

‘……’

Adela’s pupils trembled as if there had been an earthquake.

I could almost see an illusion of a speech bubble above her head saying, ‘What is this cute creature?’

It seemed that even Adela couldn’t resist Miho’s ultimate charm.

‘Pet her. She’ll like it.’

I gave her a little advice, as her mind seemed to have stopped working due to the overwhelming cuteness.

Only then did Adela come to her senses.

‘Ah, yes… I guess it’s okay to pet her, right?’

It seemed that all her wariness had completely disappeared with that, as Adela slowly brought her hand to Miho’s head.

And then, she petted her gently.

‘So soft…’

She continued to pet her.

A brilliant light poured from Adela’s eyes.

She looked like she was about to die from happiness.

Why was she so wary when she liked her so much?

‘See? She’s very gentle, right?’

‘……Yes. I wonder why I was so nervous… she’s so kind.’

Now she started petting her with both hands.

Her right hand petted her head, and her left hand gently stroked her from her back to her tailbone.

She slowly moved her hand down, and finally petted her tail.

Miho’s tail began to sway, as if she was quite pleased with Adela’s touch.

‘Fluffy, soft…’

It was like she was completely out of it.

Did she always like animals?

I don’t think I’ve ever seen her play with animals before. Seeing how much she likes her, it seems like she’s always liked them.

Or is it just that our Miho’s charm is out of this world?

The latter possibility was not small.

Miho’s charm was so fatal that it could even blow away preferences.

‘Where did you… get her?’

‘In the United States. We met by chance.’

I couldn’t tell her the truth, so I just gave a vague answer.

‘It’s not like a monster is a stray cat, what do you mean you met by chance…’

Adela trailed off, looking dumbfounded at my answer.

‘No, more than that, if you met her directly, does that mean you tamed her yourself?’

‘Yeah.’

‘You’re even taming monsters yourself now…’

Taming is a high-level magic that requires considerable skill and experience.

It was only natural that she was surprised that I had succeeded in such magic so easily.

‘I thought I wouldn’t be surprised by anything anymore, but I’m surprised again like this.’

‘What do you mean by just taming?’

‘Just taming? You didn’t say that in front of the Taming Association, did you?’

‘……Of course not.’

They were people who had pride in the magic of taming, so if I used a word like ‘just’ in front of the magic of taming, I don’t know what would happen.

They might come at me with the faces of beasts whose pride had been hurt.

They might even try to kill me.

‘……Well, with such perfect taming, it’s understandable that you would use the modifier ‘just’.’

Adela smiled faintly, still gazing at the docile Miho.

‘I’ve never seen a monster tamed so perfectly before.’

A different light flowed from Adela’s eyes. It was a vivid gaze mixed with admiration, astonishment, and various other emotions.

‘Moreover, it’s not even an ordinary monster, but a disaster-class monster that is not even ranked… Doesn’t the Taming Association contact you? To learn your secrets.’

‘They contact me every day, it’s so annoying.’

Every day, three times a day, morning, noon, and evening, they contact me asking me to teach them the secrets of taming.

It was so annoying.

It’s not like I can teach them in the first place.

I didn’t tame the monster using taming magic, but rather, I made a divine beast my partner using mythical magic.

‘No, more than that, how did you know she was a disaster-class monster that is not even ranked?’

‘Isn’t it strange not to know? The name Miho, five tails, and a fox-like appearance. There are so many hints.’

Adela gently petted Miho’s head again.

Like Miho’s soft fur, Adela’s smile became even softer.

‘She’s a baby nine-tailed fox, right?’

‘I thought you wouldn’t know because she’s a legendary monster that only appears occasionally in ancient literature.’

‘I was once obsessed with studying monsters. I happened to see it then.’

As expected of the embodiment of intellectual curiosity.

It seemed that when she was studying monsters, she had even researched ancient monsters.

‘I didn’t know they were real, though.’

Adela’s hand stopped.

She seemed to have forgotten to move her hand, lost in thought.

Miho gently nudged her head, urging her to continue petting her head.

Adela, who had emerged from the gap in her thoughts due to Miho’s not-so-subtle coercion, began to pet Miho’s head again.

‘They look good together.’

A beautiful woman and a baby fox.

It was a very well-matched pair.

‘By the way…’

Why was Miho so fond of Adela?

According to Aslan and Mimir, she had never given her head to anyone except me and my master.

‘Is it because of the grace of God?’

Adela, who had absorbed the grace of God and gained a talent like a god.

Could it be that Miho was attracted to Adela’s talent?

‘No, that can’t be it.’

There must have been many people with outstanding magical talent in the past.

Especially around my master.

If Miho was choosing people based on their magical talent, she should have followed someone back then.

However, Miho had never shown affection to anyone other than me and my master.

That meant that magical talent had nothing to do with Miho’s interest.

‘Of course, Adela’s talent is a step above… but it’s not that big of a difference.’

It was strange that she would express such affection just because her talent was a little better.

Therefore, magical talent had little to do with this situation.

‘Then what is it?’

I accelerated my thoughts as I watched Adela and Miho cuddling.

What aspect of Adela did Miho see that made her like her so much?

‘Miho. The nine-tailed fox is a divine beast that deals with souls. A special being that sees everything in the world as a soul, whether it’s inanimate or living.’

Although it wasn’t certain, I thought that Miho might be seeing something in Adela’s soul that made her show such interest.

‘Is there something special about Adela’s soul?’

* * *

After that, I returned to my room, took a quick shower, and went straight to Mimir.

And I explained everything that had happened today.

‘That’s about it?’

I told her everything, including what happened with Shadow and the fact that Miho was following Adela.

‘Do you have any questions?’

‘……’

‘Mimir?’

Mimir’s expression after hearing everything was as grim as it could be.

It was the kind of expression you would make when you met the enemy who killed your parents right in front of you.

I could tell from that expression.

‘There’s something I didn’t notice.’

Something I missed.

She had grasped the trap hidden in Shadow’s words.

Otherwise, there was no way Mimir would make such an expression.

I was so sure of it.

‘……Traitor.’

As expected, the first word that came out of Mimir’s mouth was quite extreme.

Traitor.

Did that mean Shadow had betrayed me?

If so, did that mean Shadow had lied to me, and Mimir had noticed it?

My head became complicated in an instant.

‘I… I’ve been working hard for 20 years!’

20 years of hard work?

It became difficult to grasp the point of the conversation in an instant.

‘How dare you wag your tail at another woman?’

‘……Huh?’

Wagging her tail at another woman…

Huh?

‘I won’t stand for it anymore. You. Come here. I’m going to touch you today.’

Mimir, enraged, pounced on Miho.

Her expression showed a firm determination to ‘hug Miho and indulge in her head and tail!’

Seeing Mimir like that, Miho jumped back.

She snorted as if to say, ‘You think you can touch my head? How pathetic.’

Then, she used her tail to slap Mimir on the cheek.

‘Eek! You won’t come here!’

Mimir, who was enraged by Miho’s tail slap, gritted her teeth and rushed at Miho again.

However, it was not enough to catch up with Miho’s speed. The scene from before was repeated again.

‘Come here! You bad guy! It’s not like I’m asking for much! You can at least let me pet your head and tail one last time!’

Mimir stomped her feet with a face that looked like she was the most wronged person in the world.

‘……’

Mimir, blinded by jealousy, and Miho, who was mocking her.

The two of them continued their tag game for a long time.

‘……I was worried for nothing.’

I chuckled as I watched the ongoing tag game.

The two of them continued their tag game for a full hour.

The winner was Miho.

Mimir was unable to even touch Miho’s body with a single fingertip.

Mimir slumped onto the sofa, as if she had exhausted all her energy.

‘I don’t know why Miho is following Adela Stear, and I think we can trust Shadow’s suggestion. For the same reason, I think it’s right to go to Mount Baekdu now while we’re at it…’

Her expression was gloomy and her voice was weak.

‘Ah, yeah…’

And so, my trip to Mount Baekdu was confirmed.

* * *

Two days later.

Near the (former) 38th parallel near Paju.

I was meeting with Charles to prepare to go to Mount Baekdu.

‘Wait here for a moment. I’ll go check if I’ve forgotten anything.’

‘Yes.’

The northern part of the Korean Peninsula, which was once North Korea, was now part of South Korea.

Anyone could go to Pyongyang anytime they wanted.

However, going to Pyongyang was the end of it. You couldn’t go any further.

It wasn’t because of political or social reasons that you couldn’t go.

The reason why entry above Pyongyang was prohibited was simply because the area above Pyongyang was dangerous.

‘A land of monsters…’

The northern part of the Korean Peninsula had become a land of death due to the phenomenon called the ‘Monster Parade’ that occurred 17 years ago.

High-ranking monsters had nested everywhere, and the land had rotted due to the influence of the monsters.

That was why it was called the land of death.

It was also a dangerous place that was always included when choosing the most famous places in the world.

And Mount Baekdu was the core of such a dangerous place.

It was the third most dangerous place in the world.

‘Hoo. I’m nervous.’

It was inevitable that I would be nervous, as I was going to such a dangerous place.

‘Why? Are you nervous now that you’re actually going?’

Charles, who had finished the final check, smiled slyly and poked my side with her elbow.

‘Yes. I’m a little nervous.’

‘What? You were really nervous? Wow, my little brother. You have a surprisingly cute side?’

There was no sign of tension or anxiety on Charles’s face.

As a mercenary, it was her daily life to roam dangerous places, so there was no way she would be nervous already.

‘Don’t worry too much. Just trust this older sister.’

‘Yes. I’m counting on you.’

‘Alright, alright.’

Charles laughed and patted my back.

I don’t know why, but she seemed very happy.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve been in the wild. My blood is boiling after a long time.’

Was she the same person who was reluctant to go to Mount Baekdu?

‘Then let’s go.’

Since Mount Baekdu was a prohibited area, just entering it was a task.

Of course, it was impossible to use a car or anything like that.

A special method was needed to enter Mount Baekdu.

‘Grab on.’

‘Yes.’

I grabbed the hand that Charles held out.

‘I’m just asking in case, but you don’t have a fear of heights, do you?’

‘No, I don’t.’

The method was none other than using flight magic.

More precisely, it was to enter by targeting the blind spots in the air that were not detected by ground and air radars.

‘Okay. Then we’ll go the shortest route.’

Mana concentrated on Charles’s body and my body.

‘Hold on tight!’

And the next moment.

‘Whoa!’

My body shot up like a missile.