The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 339

After that, we each scattered to gather the necessary information and agreed to meet up again.

“There’s nothing here?” Mimir said, her expression rather displeased.

“I know. I didn’t expect the traces to be erased so cleanly.”

“If it’s this bad for us, Elena and Aslan probably didn’t find much either.”

“Probably.”

I took charge of the area that seemed most likely to yield information, but even then, there was absolutely nothing. The situation is probably similar on the other side. We’ll probably return without any information.

“At this point, isn’t it possible that Sophia Anescheff is really alive?”

“The probability is gradually increasing.”

If this were a trap, there should have been some bait left to lure us. It’s strange that there’s absolutely no information, so cleanly erased. This very cleanliness is proof that it’s not a trap. And if it’s not a trap, the person who created this situation is likely the real Sophia.

“There’s no way someone in the Black Magic Tower could erase traces this cleanly.”

From the start, erasing traces to this extent is absurd. Black magic is magic for power and destruction. Such work requiring detailed control is nearly impossible. You can erase traces, but erasing them this cleanly is impossible. The only black mages capable of this would be the Black Magic King or Veil Stoll.

‘No, even if it were the Black Magic King or Veil Stoll, it’s impossible for them to completely deceive my eyes and senses to this extent.’ It’s inherently more difficult to erase traces than to find them. Even if the Black Magic King and Veil Stoll are one or two levels higher than me, it’s nearly impossible to completely deceive my senses. The only two people I know who can achieve such perfect trace removal are my master and Sophia…

In many ways, the theory of Sophia’s survival is gaining weight.

“But…” One question remains. “If Sophia is really alive… why isn’t she showing herself to us?” Why is Sophia hiding so thoroughly? I don’t know.

“With the Black Magic King dead and Veil Stoll not properly resurrected, why would she hide from us?”

“…Hmm.” Mimir groaned softly, lost in thought.

“That’s the question. There’s no real enemy right now, so there’s no reason to hide. Unless the Black Magic King were alive…” Mimir stopped talking and widened her eyes. “If the Black Magic King were alive…?” Then, she stared directly into my eyes. “Successor. Could the Black Magic King be alive? If the Black Magic King is still alive, and Sophia Anescheff is being chased by him…”

“No. The Black Magic King is dead. There’s no way he’s alive,” I cut off Mimir’s words firmly.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I’m sure.”

I confirmed the Black Magic King’s corpse with my own eyes. The Black Magic King is definitely dead.

“100%. Are you absolutely sure?”

“I don’t know about 100%. The Black Magic King used magic I didn’t know. It’s possible he escaped using magic I don’t know.”

“Then…”

“But the probability is less than 0.01%. Miho couldn’t find the Black Magic King’s soul with soul detection.”

Using Miho’s soul detection, I tried to detect the Black Magic King’s soul, but found nothing. The Black Magic King’s soul could not be found anywhere in this world.

“No matter how powerful black magic is, it can’t do anything to the soul.”

“That’s right. The soul can’t be replaced.”

Mimir clicked her tongue with a ‘then maybe not?’ expression.

“And even if your theory is correct, it doesn’t make sense. If Sophia were alive and being chased by the Black Magic King, she would have asked us for help.”

“No. If the Black Magic King is alive, he’d be watching you, wouldn’t he? If she approached you, her location would be revealed. If I were Sophia Anescheff, I wouldn’t let you know I was alive.”

To deceive the enemy, deceive your allies first. Is that it?

“…Thinking about it that way, it’s not impossible.”

“Right?”

If both Sophia and the Black Magic King are alive, and if the Black Magic King’s goal is to capture Sophia alive, it’s not impossible. Considering Sophia’s personality, she would definitely choose to act alone, as Mimir said.

“But well, since you confirmed that the Black Magic King’s soul was destroyed, it’s probably not the case.”

Mimir pursed her lips and fell into thought again.

“It’s a headache. All we got was that her trace-erasing skills are on par with Father’s… There’s no way to even form a hypothesis.”

“Tell me about it.”

The probability of Sophia being alive is increasing in real-time, making me feel more impatient. It’s a headache in many ways.

“There’s no point in us racking our brains in this situation… Let’s join up with Elena first. Considering the search routes, she should be nearby by now.”

“Hmm. She should be in the vicinity at this time.”

Since I created the search routes, the information is firmly in my head. By now, Soonchan should be gathering information at the bar on the opposite side, and Adela should be gathering information at the factory nearby.

“Then let’s contact them and join up. They might have gotten some new information…” Mimir smiled faintly with eyes full of goodwill. “I’d like to hear Elena’s opinion too.”

“Elena’s opinion?”

“Yeah. We might have missed something, right?”

I definitely want to hear Elena’s opinion too. Elena might think of something different.

“Okay. That’s a good idea.” Instead of just going back to the meeting point and waiting, it’s more efficient to join up first. It’s better to join up.

“Let’s see, around this time, she should be in the furniture factory complex?”

“Probably around there.”

“Then it should be around here on the map. It’ll take about 10 minutes.”

Mimir smiled brightly, as if excited. “Do you like Elena that much? It hasn’t even been two hours since you separated.”

“Yeah. I like her.”

Mimir is practically an Elena-fanatic right now. She just sticks to Elena whenever she has time. She sticks so close that when Adela and I are together, they’re just chatting in the virtual space. That’s why Mimir and Elena didn’t show up when the three of us were talking at the convenience store earlier.

“If you like Elena that much, Aslan will be upset.”

“Hmph. Let Aslan stay upset. That kind of jerk who only thinks about teasing me…”

Oh, by the way, the reason Aslan didn’t show up is the same. Aslan was also chatting with Mimir and Elena in the virtual space.

‘I’m curious. What do they usually talk about when it’s just the three of them?’ Aslan, Elena, and Mimir. How does their conversation go? ‘I should arrange a time for the four of us to talk later.’ Come to think of it, I haven’t even properly greeted Aslan yet. I should definitely make time for it after this is over. I made up my mind.

“Oh, right. It’s funny to ask now, but how’s the virtual space? Is there anything awkward?”

“Of course not.” Mimir puffed out her chest and made a boastful expression. “There’s no way there would be anything strange. Who made it?”

“Who made it? Terun made it.”

“What?” Mimir glared at me with an angry expression. “Terun Sitrea just made it according to my instructions. I’m the one who actually made it.”

She’s pressuring me with her eyes to correct myself. If I don’t correct myself now, she’ll kill me. It was a murderous gaze that showed such determination.

“Calm down. I’m kidding. Kidding,” I tried my best to emphasize that it was a joke.

“Oh, it was a joke? I thought…” Mimir’s expression returned to her usual bright one. “Sorry. I was too serious.”

…It wasn’t just serious. Is this the murderous intent of a researcher who almost had their research results stolen? ‘Scary.’ I shouldn’t make jokes like that again. If I make one more joke, a bloody incident might occur.

“But well, I won’t deny that Terun Sitrea, that researcher, had a big part. I didn’t know she could understand my words so perfectly and produce results right there. You found a great researcher?”

“She’s too great for my level. Talk to her sometime. It’ll be a good time for both of you.”

“Oh, I’m always welcome to talk to someone like that. I feel like we’d get along well…”

“If Terun heard that, she’d be very happy.”

“…Why would she be happy?”

“Because she’s your fan.”

“My fan? Terun Sitrea?”

“Yeah.”

“Why is she my fan?”

“She was deeply moved by the paper you left behind.”

“By that paper…?” Mimir closed her mouth with a strange expression, one that seemed somewhat embarrassed. “…I’m embarrassed.”

She must be embarrassed that someone was moved by her research results. ‘That’s unexpected. I thought Mimir would just be arrogant and happy.’ I thought she’d react with something like, ‘It’s a natural reaction if you’ve seen my paper.’ This is very unexpected.

“To show that sloppy paper to someone…”

“…Huh?” …Sloppy paper?

“That paper. Now that I think about it, there were too many flaws. Maybe it was because I wrote it in a hurry back then. There were dozens of better ways…”

“…”

“Ah, I’m embarrassed. Can you tell Terun Sitrea? I’ll write a new paper and give it to her, so please have the old paper completely discarded.”

It was an unimaginable reason. I never thought she’d treat her own paper like a dark history.

“It’s a very you answer from start to finish.”

The way she’s ashamed of a paper that Terun was shocked by, or the genius that came up with a new research method that surpasses that paper, just after waking up, etc. Everything from start to finish is so Mimir-like that I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Huh? What?”

“It’s nothing. Just. You’re a genius.”

“…Are you teasing me?” Mimir glared at me with narrowed eyes. It was a look that asked if I was planning to tease her again with some kind of build-up.

“I’m not teasing you? I’m serious.”

“It doesn’t seem like it…” Mimir looked at my face from this angle and that angle with suspicious eyes. Maybe it’s because she’s been tricked by me too much lately. She’s become too suspicious.

“Ah.” At that moment, Mimir seemed to sense something and turned her body with a brightened expression. She turned her body 180 degrees, turned her back to me, and waved her hand towards Adela, who was approaching from afar.

“Elenaa!” To be precise, she wasn’t waving her hand at Adela, but rather at Elena, who was probably following behind Adela.

“…?” Adela tilted her head, looking at me. It was an expression that seemed to ask why I was here.

“Why are you here…?” After getting somewhat closer, Adela asked.

“The investigation finished a bit early. I didn’t want to go back first, so I came to help. The location was close too.”

“Ah.” Adela nodded with an expression that showed no particular emotion. It was an expression that said she had expected it.

“Elena!”

“Mimir.” Elena smiled wryly as she embraced Mimir, who was running into her arms. “I told you to do this when we’re alone.”

About 5 seconds had passed since Adela got somewhat closer. Elena’s figure began to appear clearly. My choker and Adela’s were connected, and our vision began to be shared.

“What does it matter? Aslan isn’t here.” Mimir was being clingy in Elena’s arms.

‘Mimir is being affectionate?’ It was such an unexpected sight that I wondered for a moment if this was the Mimir I knew.

“Really… You’ve suddenly become so clingy…” Elena stroked Mimir’s head with an expression that wasn’t entirely displeased.

“How was it? Did you have any luck?” Elena turned her gaze to me while stroking Mimir’s head.

“No. Not much luck. How about you, Elena?” I didn’t have high expectations. As I said, I took charge of all the important points. If I couldn’t find anything to this extent, it meant that the other side was no different from me.

“I see. So you didn’t have any luck either?” However, my expectations were completely wrong.

“Then it seems we’ve done something big.” Elena smiled with a confident expression. Adela was the same. “We’ve obtained one very important piece of information.”

Both Adela and Elena had the expressions of fishermen who had caught a big fish, with vivid smiles.