The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 210

The next day, early in the morning.

I was focused on preparing to absorb the Tears of Heaven and weave the Ring of Awakening. [The Tears of Heaven is likely a powerful magical substance, and the Ring of Awakening is probably a significant magical artifact.]

I received a message from Commander Charles.

[I have something to discuss regarding the data you gave me. I’ll arrive in Korea in about 3 hours. Can you make some time then?]

It wasn’t a message asking to set a meeting place, but a message that seemed like a demand to make time.

It seemed like a rather urgent matter.

[Yes, I understand. Then, should I go to the hotel in time?]

In 3 hours, the preparations would be almost complete. Making time was no problem at all.

I sent a reply saying that I could gladly make time.

[It’ll be suspicious if you’re in front of the hotel. Go inside first. It’s an unmanned hotel, so no one will stop you. I’ll take care of the security code and entry.]

[Yes, I’ll go inside.]

With my reply, the messages ended.

I immediately resumed preparations to absorb the Tears of Heaven.

To arrive at the hotel in 3 hours, I needed to leave in 2 hours and 30 minutes.

I needed to hurry a bit.

I quickly moved my hands and feet.

* * *

About 3 hours passed.

I arrived at the hotel room where Commander Charles was staying.

For a luxury hotel, the inside was quite messy.

She must have left without ordering room service.

Considering the level of the hotel, she probably wasn’t worried about theft.

Maybe she just didn’t want to show her room to others?

Or maybe she thought her belongings would reveal that she was a mercenary.

‘She could have at least organized her clothes a bit.’

I started to gather and organize the clothes scattered everywhere.

I used magic to deal with the sweaty clothes and then neatly folded them.

‘I thought she always wore the same clothes. Turns out she just has a lot of similar styles.’

The majority of the clothes I was organizing were the rider jackets, crop tops, and short shorts that Commander Charles usually wore.

They all looked similar with their dark colors. Was there a need to have so many of them?

‘It would be better to just manage one set of clothes with magic and wear them in rotation.’

Cleaning magic existed, after all.

I didn’t know why she bought so many similar clothes.

While I was pondering such trivial questions and folding clothes.

“Sorry. I’m a bit late.”

Commander Charles arrived.

I thought she would come in with a serious expression.

But unexpectedly, she was no different from usual.

…Was it not that serious of a matter, unlike my expectations?

“No. I just arrived too.”

I thought that in my head and replied appropriately.

“Just arrived? It’s been at least 20 minutes, just by looking at you.”

Commander Charles scratched the back of her head, looking at the pile of clothes in front of me.

“You didn’t have to do that. Sorry.”

“It’s okay. I just did it since I had some time left.”

“Really? Well, then, thanks.”

Commander Charles gave a slight thumbs up and sat next to me.

Then, she chugged the half-drunk bottled water that was lying on the table.

“Um, can I ask you one thing?”

“Huh? What is it?”

“Why do you wear the same clothes in rotation?”

“You mean why don’t I use cleaning magic?”

“Yes. It would be more troublesome to manage them that way. I was wondering why you do that.”

“It’s definitely easier to just wear one set of clothes in rotation. I actually do that during missions.”

Commander Charles chuckled, slightly lifting the rider jacket she was currently wearing with her thumb and index finger.

“But this isn’t a mission, right? I also change my outfits depending on my mood. That’s what I mean.”

“…Huh?”

Change outfits… depending on her mood?

“Why? Does it not fit my image that a mercenary changes outfits?”

“No, it’s not that…”

I looked at the clothes I was holding and the clothes I had already organized again.

‘They all look the same. It doesn’t look like a different outfit at all…’

Of course, I couldn’t say that out loud.

I felt like I shouldn’t say it.

“Ah, the ones you’re folding now. You don’t have to fold them separately.”

Commander Charles said, looking at the gray crop top I was holding.

It looked no different from the slightly darker gray crop top she was wearing now.

“Are you going to change into this?”

“Yeah. The weather is nice. I feel like wearing something bright.”

“…”

Bright? This?

“…Um. No, never mind. I’ll just keep wearing this. Thinking about what I have to say is making me feel depressed.”

She checked the slightly darker crop top she was wearing again and said she would just keep wearing it.

‘Is ‘bright’ and ‘dark’ determined by the shade of gray?’

Certainly, when you think about it, gray is the brightest color.

The others are all black or dark green, dark clothes.

But this isn’t a bright outfit.

Is this a preference she developed from her long mercenary life?

Since bright clothes are forbidden in war, it might be an unavoidable sensibility.

That’s what I thought.

“Why? Is there something weird about my clothes? Koreans seem to dress very well. Do I look old to Korean eyes?”

“No. It’s not that. They look good on you.”

It wasn’t a lie.

Clothes are just clothes.

She looks good in anything she wears.

“Really? That’s a relief.”

Commander Charles laughed heartily.

“More importantly, you said you felt depressed thinking about what you had to say?”

“…Yeah.”

The smile on Commander Charles’s face vanished in an instant.

I could tell from that reaction.

It was indeed serious.

It seemed like there were names that shouldn’t have been on the spy list I gave her.

“Kid, you don’t know anything about the USB content, right?”

“Yes, I don’t. I haven’t learned how to interpret mana codes separately.”

The data that Shadow gave me was all in mana code. [Mana code is likely a form of magical encryption or data storage.]

I had complained about why he gave it to me in such a difficult-to-understand format.

He had replied that it was in that state because it was directly extracted from the data stored inside the Magic Tower.

He had also added that he would have decoded it for me if he had more time, but he had no choice but to give it to me as is.

That’s why I hadn’t seen any of the data on the USB.

“…I see.”

Commander Charles’s expression darkened a little more.

“Then, don’t be surprised when you see this.”

With that expression, she handed me a single sheet of paper.

I thought she would give me a stack of documents, but it was just one sheet, which was a bit unexpected.

Were there not that many spies?

I focused my gaze on the document, thinking that.

And as soon as I confirmed the first sentence, my eyes widened like saucers.

“What is this…”

“I know it’s hard to believe. But it’s real.”

The top of the document had this sentence written on it.

[List of spies within the Magic God Family who are trading with the Black Magic Tower.]

And below that, there were countless names listed.

The total number of names listed was 32.

That meant.

“Are you saying that there are 32 people within the Magic God Family who are trading with the Black Magic Tower?”

“…To be exact, it was 33. Now that Shin Ji-han is gone.”

“No…”

I was speechless.

I was completely dumbfounded.

Was the inside of the Magic God Family this rotten?

‘Of course, I thought there would be other spies besides Shin Ji-han. His work was too clean to be alone. But 32 people…’

Considering Shin Ji-han’s clean work, the probability of having collaborators inside was very high.

There must have been someone who helped Shin Ji-han manipulate internal documents and conceal information.

I was sure of that from the start.

But I never thought there would be 32 of them.

“And even 5 out of the 13 elders are spies…”

Moreover, the list wasn’t made up of just anyone.

The 32 people included five elders and other executives who held significant positions in the Magic God Family.

At this point, about 20% of the Magic God Family had already fallen to the Black Magic Tower.

My head was spinning.

I felt like something was about to explode inside me.

“The only good thing is that there isn’t a single spy in the Magic God Family’s shadow organization.”

“…Yes.”

As Commander Charles said, that was the only good thing.

If there were spies in the shadow organization, the Magic God Family would have been even more rotten than it was now.

If the shadow organization had turned, it wouldn’t have been strange if all the internal documents of the Magic God Family had been lost or altered.

I let out a sigh of relief.

“The Black Magic Tower’s goal was to use Shin Ji-han as a puppet to swallow the Magic God Family, it seems.”

They would control the Magic God Family by controlling Shin Ji-han.

They would use the Magic God Family to control Korea. That seemed to be the Black Magic Tower’s goal.

Otherwise, there was no reason to create 32 spies.

“No. Their goal isn’t just that.”

“Just… you say?”

Swallowing the Magic God Family was just that?

“Yeah. Just that.”

A murderous hostility flowed from Commander Charles’s eyes.

“You’ll understand when you see this.”

This time, Commander Charles handed me a stack of documents.

The stack of documents looked scary.

It felt like I was opening a Pandora’s Box that shouldn’t be opened.

I swallowed hard and took the stack of documents, then opened it.

“…”

And I was speechless.

“The Black Magic Tower’s goal isn’t to swallow the Magic God Family. It’s to swallow Korea itself.”

The documents listed the names of various prestigious families in Korea.

Not only Shin Mu-gang, Senior Kang Shin-woo’s family, but also the Red Moon Beauty family in Busan and the Ho Sun-man family in Daegu. [Busan and Daegu are major cities in South Korea.]

All the prominent families in Korea were listed.

And under the names of those families, there were 5 to 10 names listed.

“A total of 167 people. If you add the 32 from the Magic God Family, it’s 199.”

About 200 people.

Since it was a list of people in important positions.

If you added the numbers of the ordinary people, it could easily reach a thousand.

“…Korea was rotting from the inside.”

It was deplorable.

To be unable to resist the temptation of such a criminal group and join hands with them.

I felt genuine anger towards the spies.

“It’s not just Korea.”

Commander Charles shook her head with a bitter smile.

“This is happening in all 26 countries that are considered magical powerhouses, including Korea.”

“…”

I thought there was nothing more to be surprised about. But there was still more.

26 countries, including Korea, were in this situation…

“Those damn bastards. Are they planning to conquer the world?”

“…Yes.”

I had already expected that the Black Magic Tower’s goal was world domination.

I had heard the story of the past through Mimir. [Mimir is likely a character or entity that provides knowledge or historical information.]

The Black Magic Tower’s goal of world domination wasn’t surprising.

What was surprising was how close they had come to achieving that goal.

And that they had spread so many spies without being caught by anyone.

‘If this situation had continued, the world would have fallen into the hands of the Black Magic Tower soon.’

If they continued to accumulate internal enemies like this.

And if they moved all the spies at once, starting with the death of Sophia?

And if the Black Magic Tower’s advance began?

Could the world stop the Black Magic Tower without Sophia, without the unity of the world, and without the Black Magic King who had reached the 10th circle? [The 10th circle likely refers to a high level of magical power.]

No way.

They would never have been able to stop them.

“The Black Magic King. He’s a really scary guy.”

Thinking about the Black Magic King’s meticulousness, I got goosebumps.

“I knew he was a scary guy from the start, so I’m not surprised. But the problem now is that there’s no way to deal with the spies.”

“Right. No matter what, it’s impossible to wipe them all out with this many numbers.”

“Even if it were possible to wipe them all out, it would be a problem. If this many spies were caught at once, it would 100% cause problems for Shadow. That would be a problem, right?”

“Yes. We can’t let anything happen to Shadow until we receive other information.”

“Exactly.”

Even though he was a trading partner, Shadow was a villain.

I didn’t really care if a villain died at the hands of another villain.

Honestly, I thought it was his own fault.

But regardless of that, Shadow couldn’t die right now.

Shadow hadn’t shared all the information yet.

Shadow should only die after sharing all the information.

“…Anyway. That’s the situation. I’m trying to find a way in many ways. But there’s no good way yet.”

It was good to get the information, but it was frustrating that there was no way to use it.

“Since it’s also your family’s matter, I thought it would be good for you to know. If the spies try to do something, stop them somehow. You can tell Shin In-hyuk too.”

“Yes. Thank you. I will.”

It seemed right to pass this information on to my father.

Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to prepare.

“Ah, and here. Shin Bi-wi. Isn’t that your girlfriend’s family?”

“She’s just a friend.”

“Anyway. Shin Bi-wi. It seems like the most dangerous situation right now, you know?”

“Yes. I think so too.”

Shin Bi-wi’s family head, Wi Sang-cheol’s younger brother, Wi Sang-hyun. The second-in-command of the family was a spy for the Black Magic Tower.

That alone was a dangerous situation. To make matters worse, Wi Sang-hyun was currently preparing a large project within the family.

If this continued, Wi Sang-hyun’s position would become even stronger.

And if that happened, it would be easier for the Black Magic Tower to run rampant later.

That was a problem.

“We need to prioritize that side somehow.”

For Adela’s sake, to hinder the Black Magic Tower’s goals, and to prevent Korea from being played by them.

We had to stop Wi Sang-hyun’s schemes.