The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 70

“Well, I can’t give you a definite answer right now. I’ll actively review it and get back to you.”

Kim Kangin said that as his final words.

Actively review.

Depending on a person’s personality, those words could be taken as a subtle rejection, but for Kim Kangin, it wasn’t a subtle rejection but rather meant he would agree to the request 99% of the time.

There was a slight doubt remaining, so he would personally investigate it and after resolving the remaining 1% of doubt, he would accept the proposal.

That’s roughly what it meant.

If he couldn’t resolve the 1% of doubt, there was a possibility he might reject it. But in this case, that wouldn’t happen.

The Black Mana Tower’s involvement was a fact, so what was there to doubt? The more Kim Kangin investigated, the more credibility my words would gain.

I was confident that I would receive a positive response as early as tomorrow.

‘Anyway, with this, my safety during the Olympiad has been secured to some extent.’

Having succeeded in getting Kim Kangin to be my life insurance, my risk had been greatly reduced.

Of course, greatly reduced didn’t mean the risk was completely eliminated.

‘Given how aggressively Shin Jihan is moving, and how extensively the Black Mana Tower is operating, Kim Kangin alone isn’t enough.’

No matter how great Kim Kangin was, the opponent was the Black Mana Tower.

Considering their elusive methods, Kim Kangin alone was honestly a bit unsettling.

‘I need to get at least one more insurance policy of Kim Kangin’s caliber.’

And when it came to insurance policies of Kim Kangin’s caliber around me, there was only one person.

I picked up my phone and immediately made a call.

—What is it?

“Father.”

My father.

Shin Inhyuk. The top powerhouse in Korea, on par with Kim Kangin.

“I have something to tell you.”

—Is it important?

“Yes.”

I planned to tell my father the same thing I had told Kim Kangin.

‘Before, during the Leng Smith incident, I lacked trust, so I couldn’t tell the truth, but…’

It was different now.

The situation was what it was, and my father wouldn’t dismiss my words as nonsense now.

“It’s a very important matter that could determine the fate of the Mado Shin family. I would appreciate it if you could make time for me.”

—Fate, you say…

My father’s sharp exclamation came through the receiver.

—Come home right now.

“Yes, I understand.”

I headed straight home.

* * *

On the way to my father’s study after arriving at the mansion.

I encountered an unexpected person in the garden.

“Hayul.”

“…Brother.”

Shin Jihan.

He smiled brightly as he approached me.

“It’s been hard to catch a glimpse of you lately?”

“It’s not that it’s hard to see my face, but rather that it’s hard to see your face, brother. You’re so busy…”

“Haha. Now that I think about it, that’s true.”

Shin Jihan responded with a good-natured smile.

“Mr. Shin Jihan, there isn’t much time left until your next schedule. You need to leave right away.”

“I know. It’ll be over soon, so don’t worry.”

Shin Jihan smiled again at his secretary, as if telling them not to worry.

“Keep in touch from time to time. If you need anything, just say so. What are brothers for?”

Shin Jihan patted my shoulder a couple of times.

It was a seemingly kind gesture, but the force in his fingertips accurately revealed his true feelings.

He was probably thinking he wanted to tear me to shreds with that hand right now.

“Yes. I’ll visit one of the affiliates you’re in charge of next time.”

“Okay. Be sure to contact me when you come. I might not be there if you come suddenly.”

“I will definitely contact you.”

Shin Jihan and I looked at each other and smiled.

“I heard about Baekryeong Island. I should have contacted you first. I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright. You must be very busy. I understand.”

After that, we continued with trivial small talk.

We completely hid our true intentions and acted like close brothers.

“Hahaha. With the two brothers being so amicable, the future of the Mado Shin family is truly bright.”

“Of course. The Mado Shin family led by Shin Jihan will probably expand to the world.”

The Mado Shin family led by Shin Jihan.

At those words, Shin Jihan’s brow twitched very slightly.

For Shin Jihan, who was currently troubled by the issue of the next family head, it must have been an uncomfortable remark in many ways.

“Haha. There’s no rule that I have to lead it. Our Hayul, who is a hot topic these days, could also lead the next generation of the Mado Shin family.”

It was a statement that contained 0.001% of sincerity.

A piece of trash who even commissioned the Black Mana Tower because he was afraid of losing the position of the next family head to me, what? Me leading the Mado Shin family?

As if he would ever think that.

“Hey. How can I sit in the position of the next family head when you’re here, brother?”

I swallowed those thoughts and acted like a kind younger brother who cared for his older brother.

“I’ve heard rumors within the family that I should be the next family head. Don’t worry too much about it, brother.”

At the same time, I gave him a subtle jab. To others, it would sound like a considerate remark, but to Shin Jihan, it would only sound like a sarcastic remark.

“……”

As expected, Shin Jihan’s smile deepened.

Or rather, it should be said that his murderous intent deepened.

It was an intangible murderous intent that I could feel because I knew Shin Jihan’s true nature.

“Haha. What do you mean worry? I’m rather happy. I have a younger brother who will support me strongly from behind.”

“Of course. I’ll grow even stronger and support you firmly from behind, brother.”

In a warm atmosphere, Shin Jihan and I hid our true intentions and smiled. However, Shin Jihan’s smile was much deeper than when we first met.

‘Shin Jihan has a tendency to deepen his smile when he hides negative emotions like anger or annoyance and acts out his expressions.’

Shin Jihan’s anger had reached its limit.

I liked it very much.

I also smiled inwardly.

Of course, I didn’t do anything like showing it on my face like Shin Jihan did.

“So, I heard that your goal is to win a gold medal at the Olympiad this time?”

“Yes. Since I’m participating, I should give it my all. If I happen to win a gold medal, it will be a great help to the Mado Shin family as well.”

More than being a help to the Mado Shin family, it would be a help to me, though.

“Okay. Since you’re capable, you’ll definitely be able to win. I’ll be looking forward to it.”

“Yes. Thanks to your support, brother, I feel like I can really win.”

“Hmm. Is that so?”

What did he feel from my words?

What was he thinking?

A strange light flashed in Shin Jihan’s eyes. It seemed like he was thinking something bad.

“Ah, look at the time. It’s already this late. It’s a shame, but I have to go now. Let’s meet again next time.”

Shin Jihan checked his watch and smiled as if he was disappointed.

He wasn’t disappointed at all, his acting was truly superb.

“It’s a shame.”

Well, if it came to acting, I wouldn’t be second to anyone either.

I smiled sadly, with a look of the world’s greatest disappointment.

“I hope we can meet in a good place next time.”

Like a prison, for example. I swallowed the last words and smiled even more sadly.

“…Yes. We will definitely meet in a good place.”

Shin Jihan smiled.

It was a smile that was subtly different from his usual smile.

It was a smile that felt somewhat bizarre.

Watching Shin Jihan turn and walk away, I reaffirmed my conviction.

‘As expected, Shin Jihan is planning something during the Olympiad.’

That was the conviction.

* * *

Three hours had passed since then.

In that time, I had a long talk with my father.

From the story about Leng Smith, to the story about Baek Sahyuk. And finally, the story about Baekryeong Island.

Just like I had done with Kim Kangin, I told my father all the truth.

The only things I didn’t mention were that the mastermind behind this was ‘Shin Jihan’ and that the magic I possessed was ‘Bytenar style’.

Other than that, I told him everything without missing a single detail.

And as a result, I succeeded in getting a positive answer.

‘From now until the end of the Olympiad, I will assign the elite members of the Shadow, including Seokhyun, to you.’

He didn’t directly say that he believed me or anything like that.

However, the fact that he said he would assign Kim Seokhyun to me was proof of his trust in my words.

My father believed my words and decided to strengthen my personal protection.

‘With this, the probability of any danger to my person until the end of the Olympiad has become infinitely close to 0%.’

Following Kim Kangin, my father also decided to take responsibility for my safety.

Two of Korea’s top mages were taking care of my protection.

Could there be anything more reassuring than this?

If they could harm me by breaking through the protection of these two, then let them try.

‘I’ve done everything I can do with this.’

I had taken out as much insurance as I could.

Now, all that was left was to win a gold medal at the Olympiad.

‘Win a gold medal at the Olympiad. Then, create a power base within the family and pressure Shin Jihan, then bring him down.’

That was my immediate master plan.

‘It would be even better if evidence came out that Shin Jihan was colluding with the Black Mana Tower.’

It would be best if Shin Jihan made a mistake during this Olympiad. If I had evidence, I could eliminate Shin Jihan for sure.

Of course, the probability of this happening was very low. But if I continued to perform well, he might rush things out of impatience and leave evidence behind.

‘Whatever happens, winning the Olympiad is important.’

Whether it was to build my power base or to make Shin Jihan impatient.

Winning the Olympiad was a prerequisite.

‘And since training is starting again tomorrow. I should go today and re-plan the training schedule and strategy.’

There were fifteen days left.

How much could I improve my skills in that time?

* * *

A week passed in an instant.

“Then, we’ll end today’s training here. There are only 8 days left until the Olympiad, so from today, we’ll move on to a cool-down for conditioning.”

D-8.

There were only 8 days left until the start of the Olympiad.

“It feels bittersweet.”

“I know, right?”

“Maybe I’ve become conditioned to Hayul’s training style?”

“…Get away from me. You pervert.”

Laughter erupted around the seniors’ jokes.

“If you liked my training style, would you like to train with me after the Olympiad as well?”

“…Sorry. Please spare me.”

“Ahahaha!!”

The laughter among the seniors grew louder.

The atmosphere couldn’t be better.

“Ah. I’m excited. I wonder how well we’ll do in the world.”

“I wonder if we’ll actually win a gold medal.”

Jin Heeyoon and Ma Jinseok said, catching their breath.

“Jinseok hyung. Trust me. If Hayul said it’s possible, then it’s possible.”

Soonchan interjected between the two.

“And there’s also a secret weapon like me! Mwahaha!”

Soonchan laughed confidently.

He’s been like that often since becoming a 4-circle mage. His confidence is sky-high.

“The secret weapon isn’t you, it’s our Jisu, right, Jisu~?”

“U-Unnie… Sweat. Sweat…”

Jin Heeyoon hugged Adela.

Adela was in pain.

Right after training, they were both soaked in sweat, so it must be very uncomfortable.

Regardless of Adela, Jin Heeyoon hugged Adela with a look of pure happiness.

Anyone who saw them would think they were real sisters who couldn’t live without each other.

“Good work.”

Kang Shinwoo said, throwing me a sports drink.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

I lightly caught the plastic bottle and replied.

“You’ve become quite a great team.”

Kang Shinwoo watched the scene of the eight of them joking around and laughed as if he found it amusing.

“I can expect good results.”

“Yes.”

I was a bit worried because the training schedule was cut short by a week due to the Baekryeong Island core explosion incident, but those worries were unfounded as everyone quickly succeeded in coordinating with each other.

Was it because everyone’s bond had grown stronger through the life-threatening incident of the Baekryeong Island core explosion?

Their coordination was so perfect that it was no exaggeration to say they were one body.

“Ah, right. Shin leader! What time is the flight tomorrow? I heard there was some issue with the schedule?”

Jin Heeyoon asked me while still hugging Adela.

Adela was groaning, looking like she was about to suffocate.

“Ah. It’s not that there was an issue. We got sponsored a better plane. I was adjusting the schedule for that.”

“A better plane?”

“Yes.”

I operated my phone and projected an email that had just arrived 2 hours ago onto a hologram screen, showing it to everyone.

“The Blue Mana Tower’s private jet. We will be heading to the United States on this at 10 AM tomorrow morning.”