The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 216

“I-I’ll conclude the negotiation with this.”

The moderator announced the end of the negotiation, his voice trembling with shock.

“Negotiation results. The Shinbiwi family’s magic stone refining method is judged to be an illegal act of stealing the Mado Shin family’s refining method. The refining rights will be confiscated. In addition, a fine will be imposed for infringement of rights.”

Shin Ha-yul had dismantled all of Shinbiwi’s claims in about three hours.

After fully grasping the characteristics of each improved magic stone, he meticulously explained how each one had been altered.

Feeling the pressure of his flawless logic, Wi Sang-hyun began to make mistakes, one after another, and the tide of the negotiation turned rapidly.

The negotiation quickly tilted decisively in favor of the Mado Shin family.

“Regarding Shinbiwi’s infringement of rights, it is deemed necessary to address it further in court. We will transfer the case to the court.”

“…….”

Despair washed over Wi Sang-hyun’s face.

‘This can’t be… This can’t be happening…’ he repeated in his mind, a hollow laugh escaping his lips.

‘Why… Why did it turn out like this?’

Wi Sang-hyun glared at Shin Ha-yul with a venomous look.

‘It’s all because of that bastard.’

A detestable brat.

If he could, he would tear out that silver tongue.

‘If only that bastard hadn’t appeared… Shinbiwi would have been in my hands!’

Resentment burned within him.

He wanted to rip that smiling face to shreds.

‘You dog-like bastards! It’s not what you said!’

The ‘dog-like bastards’ here were not referring to Shin Ha-yul specifically.

It was a curse directed at the black magicians who had given Wi Sang-hyun the faulty information.

‘They didn’t even know that the Rohalain magic stone was improved. They didn’t even know that other magic stones had such weaknesses! You useless bastards!’

If the Black Magic Tower had done their job properly, things wouldn’t have turned out this way, no matter what Shin Ha-yul did.

The reason he was in this predicament was entirely the fault of the Black Magic Tower.

‘I’ll kill them. I’m going to kill them!’

He felt betrayed, like being stabbed in the back by a trusted ally.

He had trusted them, and now he was going to end up in prison for no reason.

No, it wasn’t that he was going to end up in prison. He would end up in prison.

Now that the infringement of rights was a foregone conclusion, there was no way he could escape.

If the opponent was an insignificant family, it might have been different, but the opponent was the Mado Shin family.

The most prestigious family in Korea.

With such a family as an enemy, Wi Sang-hyun was as good as finished.

‘My brother won’t protect me…’

Wi Sang-hyun’s older brother, and the current head of the Shinbiwi family, Wi Sang-cheol.

He had opposed this project from the beginning.

He had proceeded despite the opposition, and the result was an infringement of rights.

No matter how close they were, there was no way he would help.

No, it would be more accurate to say that there was no way to help.

‘What if… What should I do?’

Wi Sang-hyun bit his nails, a habit that surfaced when he was impatient.

‘I have to do something. I have to do something… I’ll do anything…’

“That’s all. Do either of you have any additional questions?”

“No.”

“N-No…”

Even while answering the moderator’s last question, he continued to bite his nails.

He felt like he was going crazy with anxiety and impatience.

‘I can’t go to prison. Am I going to rot in prison like this?’

Wi Sang-hyun’s eyes were filled with a dark, sticky desperation.

* * *

After the negotiation was over.

I quickly changed my clothes and headed to the waiting room where my father and Commander Charles were waiting.

“I’m here.”

“Kya~ Here comes the hero~”

As soon as I entered the room, Commander Charles greeted me with loud applause.

“…What’s with the sudden ‘hero’ thing?”

“What else? It means you were that awesome.”

Commander Charles chuckled and patted me on the back repeatedly.

He looked like he had gotten rid of ten years of indigestion.

“No, more than that, what the heck? You weren’t doing magic training for 11 days, were you preparing to screw over those Shinbiwi bastards?”

“Of course not. If I was going to prepare for that, would I have been holed up in a small room by myself? I would have discussed it with the Commander and prepared together.”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

Commander Charles narrowed his eyes with a subtle expression.

“But it doesn’t make sense that you came up with a solution on the spot at this meeting.”

“Well, isn’t it possible to come up with something?”

“Does that make sense?”

Commander Charles snorted.

“I could understand if it was a normal solution. But to come up with a professional and specialized solution on the spot, using the characteristics of each magic stone to refute the Shinbiwi family’s refining method itself? Even a dog passing by would laugh.”

“…Haha.”

The expression was a bit harsh, but it was true.

The response I made this time was by no means a response that could be made on the spot.

‘If I hadn’t learned about the 11 types of magic stones from Mimir [a reference to Norse mythology, a source of great wisdom] and studied them in advance before going to the training ground, I would never have been able to do it.’

If I hadn’t heard from Mimir at that time that there was an optimal refining method for each magic stone, and that problems would occur if I tried to change something more, I wouldn’t have even thought of responding like this.

I silently thanked Mimir once again.

“At least…”

At that moment, my father, who had been quietly listening to our conversation, spoke up.

“I can somehow understand how you presented evidence that the 8 types of magic stones improved by Shinbiwi were inferior copies. I had heard from the Blue Magic Tower Lord in advance that you had an exceptional talent for refining magic stones.”

My father looked at me with a serious expression.

“Roughly, you used your Divine Eye to analyze and interpret the magic stones, and you saw through the flaws in the magic stones presented by Shinbiwi. From those flaws, you traced back to find evidence that Shinbiwi’s magic stones originated from the Mado Shin family’s magic stones. Something like that, right?”

“Similar.”

It was true that I used the power of the Divine Eye to refine the magic stones.

Well, Mimir’s knowledge played a more important role, though.

“But I can’t understand how you improved the Rohalain magic stone. Improving a magic stone is as difficult as improving a magic spell for a magician. How could you succeed on the spot?”

My father’s eyes were serious.

He was genuinely asking about the truth of what I had done today.

“Hmm. The answer is in what you just said, Father.”

“…The answer is in my words?”

“Yes. You said it’s as difficult as improving a magic spell for a magician.”

I smiled slightly.

“And I’m the one and only magician who can freely improve magic.”

My father’s eyes sharpened.

“Are you saying that improving the refining method of a magic stone is no different from improving magic?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“…That’s something that would make the jewelers faint if they heard it.”

“Would it?”

“Yes. Don’t say such things outside. You might end up making enemies with the Jewelers’ Association.”

“Yes. I’ll keep that in mind.”

Silence fell after my answer.

My father, as well as Commander Charles, seemed to be pondering what I had just said.

“Anyway, your eyes… the Divine Eye’s power is also exerted in the refining of magic stones… Is that how I should understand it?”

“Yes.”

It was a little different, but it was roughly correct.

“I thought I was overestimating you, but it seems I was still underestimating you.”

My father smiled slightly, looking somewhat impressed.

“They said your eyes were an upgrade of the Jewel Eye. Madam was right.”

Commander Charles was completely shocked.

I was also shocked.

‘If you say such things here…’

The relationship between Sophia and Commander Charles was supposed to be top secret.

If he said such things now, my father would notice something.

I anxiously watched the two of them.

“I’ve already heard about the relationship between the Hunting Dog and Sophia. You don’t need to be so anxious.”

At that moment, my father chuckled and said a word.

“…Ah?”

He already knew.

I was worried for nothing.

“That guy is so stubborn. I thought he wouldn’t even listen if I didn’t tell him, so I just told him. By the way, I got permission from Madam, so you don’t have to worry.”

The Commander glared at my father and smiled.

It was a very scary smile.

“By the way, the Green Magic Tower Lord and the Red Magic Tower Lord also know about the relationship between the Hunting Dog and Sophia.”

Another unexpected word came out of my father’s mouth.

“Those two too?”

“Yeah. In order to respond to the Black Magic Tower’s tricks, we have to make our own preparations. I told people I could trust.”

“I see. That’s a good decision.”

Now that the Black Magic Tower has infiltrated society so deeply, there are many problems with Sophia dealing with it alone.

We also need to form our own forces.

“What about the Blue Magic Tower Lord?”

But if they are trustworthy people, the Blue Magic Tower Lord can’t be left out.

Why was he left out?

“The Blue Magic Tower Lord himself is trustworthy, but there are some suspicious guys among those who belong to him. So we decided to put it on hold for now.”

“…Ah.”

Come to think of it, there were about four spies in the Blue Magic Tower.

That’s probably why it was put on hold for now.

“That means… there were no spies in the Red Magic Tower and the Green Magic Tower?”

If the Blue Magic Tower Lord was put on hold, but the Green Magic Tower Lord and the Red Magic Tower Lord were okay, that’s what it would mean.

“Yeah. There weren’t any.”

“…That’s a bit surprising.”

Zero spies is honestly a bit surprising. Even if you just glanced at the list, it seemed like there were spies in most of the well-known forces.

“…I see. I understand roughly.”

I understand very well how things are going now.

“You’re still quick-witted. That’s why I like you.”

Commander Charles chuckled.

It was probably because the hassle of giving unnecessary explanations had disappeared.

“Anyway, you really worked hard today. Those damn black bug bastards must be trembling because of you.”

His smile deepened.

He looked like the Black Magic Tower’s failure was very sweet.

“So.”

My father glared at me with a solemn expression.

“You’ve been holed up in the training ground for 11 days, so you must have gained an equivalent enlightenment, right?”

His expression was pretending to be solemn, but his eyes were filled with undisguised anticipation.

He looked very excited to see what kind of achievement I had made.

“Oh, right. I was curious about that too. What kind of enlightenment did you get that made you stay there for 11 days?”

Commander Charles’s eyes quickly became similar to my father’s.

They looked very curious about what I had gained.

“Aren’t you roughly expecting it, Father?”

Before, when I asked my father to gather the ingredients for the elixir.

I had mentioned it briefly.

That I needed an elixir to weave the sixth ring.

Since I had said that, he would roughly expect what kind of achievement I had made.

“Expectations and results are different.”

‘I want to hear it directly from your mouth.’

That’s what it meant.

“Stop stalling and tell me quickly.”

Commander Charles brought his face closer to me with an impatient expression.

The sparkling eyes were quite burdensome.

“Hmm. It’s nothing much. I just…”

I smiled slightly, meeting his gaze directly.

“I wove the sixth ring.”

Silence flowed for a moment at my answer.

“…Indeed.”

After that, my father smiled slightly.

“Hey. How is that nothing much! Isn’t this guy a complete psycho? Hahaha!”

Commander Charles laughed loudly.

“Congratulations! This is a double blessing! A double blessing!”

Commander Charles patted me on the back repeatedly.

“…It hurts.”

He was hitting me so hard that it hurt quite a bit, even though my body was quite well-trained.

* * *

That night.

I returned to the dormitory and immediately headed to Mimir’s room.

Since I had been MIA for 11 days, he must be very worried.

I had to go as soon as possible and let him know that I was safe.

“Mimir. I’m here.”

I quickly informed Mimir of my return.

Now Mimir would probably get angry. He would definitely complain about where I had been and what I had been doing for 11 days.

“Oh. Successor. You’re here?”

“…Huh?”

But contrary to my expectations.

Mimir’s expression was very calm.

“Did you weave the ring of awakening well?”

“Uh… I did weave it well, but…”

“Really? Let’s see.”

Mimir got up from his seat and came closer to me.

“Yeah. It’s well-placed. Perfect.”

He smiled brightly, as if he had felt the ring of awakening circulating in my body.

There was not a trace of worry in his expression as he looked at me.

“Were you expecting it to take a long time?”

“Yeah. I was roughly expecting it. It wasn’t just any elixir, it was the Tears of Heaven. I thought it might take up to 20 days if necessary. But it ended sooner than expected?”

“…But why didn’t you tell me?”

“It’s not good to have unnecessary thoughts? I thought you were doing a good job of mind control, so I didn’t think there was a need to bring it up and shake you.”

It was a pretty plausible answer.

But.

“You’re good with words. Just be honest. You forgot to mention it, didn’t you?”

It was obviously an excuse.

“…No, I didn’t?”

Mimir slightly turned his gaze away.

It was a reaction that clearly showed he had forgotten.

“Ahem. Congratulations on weaving the sixth circle. Now you can go anywhere and say you’re a Bytener-style user.”

Mimir smiled bashfully.

It was obvious that he was trying to get away from the unfavorable topic, but I decided to let it go, thinking that it was good to be good.

“Yeah. Thanks. I got this far quickly thanks to you.”

“Hey. What did I do? It’s all thanks to the Successor’s efforts.”

The atmosphere became friendly in an instant.

Kang!

At that moment, a huge ball of fur rushed into my arms.

“Miho.”

As if asking where I had been, she rubbed her face against my chest, smiling sadly.

“You’ve grown a lot?”

Her body was a little bigger than before, and one more tail had grown, making it six.

As I succeeded in weaving the sixth ring, Miho had also grown along with it.

“You’re still cute even when you’re big.”

I stroked Miho’s head repeatedly. Miho smiled as if she was in a very good mood.

“…You two were a couple in your past life.”

Mimir pouted and grumbled. It seemed like he was exploding with jealousy at Miho’s affectionate reaction.

“Stop being lovey-dovey and sit here.”

Mimir pointed to the seat next to him with a blunt expression.

“Why?”

“Why else?”

Mimir pointed his chin at the luxurious carrier on the table.

“You’ve reached the 6th circle, so you have to wake that up first, right?”

It was the carrier containing one of the artifacts left by the Master, Kailum.