The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 98

“I-I’m sorry. Could you say that one more time?”

For a moment, I wondered if I was hallucinating, so I asked again.

As if amused by my reaction, the corners of my father’s lips slightly curled upwards.

“I said that we’re sending out an official notice that you will be formally appointed as the next head of the family.”

“…….”

I hadn’t misheard him.

Appointing me as the next head of the family.

My father had definitely said that.

“…What’s the reason?”

It’s true that my reputation within the family has improved because of this incident.

I’ve heard that there have been numerous opinions suggesting that I should be appointed as the next head of the family.

However, the forces supporting Shin Ji-han and Shin Se-ah are still much larger.

In that situation, sending out an official notice that I will be appointed as the next head of the family?

It would definitely cause problems.

My father wouldn’t be unaware of this.

What on earth is his intention in sending out an official notice that I will be appointed as the next head of the family?

“Reason. Hmm. A reason, you say.”

The corners of my father’s lips curled up slightly.

“An owner of a mana eye comparable to an S-class Tier 1 jewel eye [A rare and powerful type of magical eye]. An 18-year-old 6-circle user [A high-level magic user]. Do we need more reasons than this to appoint you as the next head of the family?”

My father praised me.

However, I could immediately tell that he wasn’t being sincere.

The slightly upturned corners of his lips, as if he found it amusing, were proof of that.

“If that were the reason, you would have issued the notice after the Olympiad, after returning to Korea, not now.”

If my father had decided to pass the position of the next head of the family to me based on my specs, he would have said that he would issue the notice after I had won the first gold medal and the youngest MVP in the Olympiad, which is another spec.

There’s no way he would say such a thing at this ambiguous time.

“And you’re not the type of person who would decide on a successor based solely on such short-term achievements and specs.”

Unless I had maintained this kind of evaluation for about three years, he wouldn’t make such a major decision based on a momentary flash of popularity.

“Isn’t there another reason?”

“You’re more composed than I thought. I thought you’d be a little more excited.”

The corners of my father’s lips slightly curled upwards. His expression showed that he was quite pleased with my calm reaction.

“Alright. As you said, there’s another reason.”

My father’s expression changed.

The faint smile that had been visible disappeared, and he became the complete face of the family head.

“In short, this official notice is bait.”

“Bait…”

I mulled over my father’s words.

The word ‘bait’ means a trap to catch something.

Then, who is he trying to catch with the official notice?

The answer came quickly.

“Does that mean it’s bait to lure out the Black Magic Tower’s mole hiding within the family?”

“That’s right.”

My father’s eyes held a cold fury.

“Based on your words, the events so far, and the actions they’ve shown, it’s clear that the mole’s goal is to prevent you from becoming the next head of the family.”

I had told my father everything about the truth of the Leng Smith incident and the Baekryeong Island incident.

Everything, including the fact that the mole’s target was me.

The only thing I didn’t tell my father was that Shin Ji-han was suspected of being the mole.

“In this situation where you’re in the global spotlight, if we send out an official notice that you’re being appointed as the next head of the family, the mole will have no choice but to move.”

My father’s anger grew colder. It was a raw anger directed at the mole who had made a deal with the Black Magic Tower.

“We’ll take that opportunity to catch him. This official notice is for that purpose.”

* * *

Shin Ji-han’s mansion in Korea.

Shin Ji-han and Shin Se-ah were reading the official notice that had just been delivered.

The more they read the notice, the more their expressions twisted.

[For the above reasons, it has been decided that Shin Ha-yul will be appointed as the next head of the Mado Shin family.]

[Head of the Mado Shin Family, Shin In-hyuk]

“…What should we do? What should we do?”

Shin Se-ah, who finished reading the notice first, muttered with an extremely anxious expression.

Her eyes and lips trembled with anxiety and impatience.

In that state, she was just biting her fingernails.

“They’re appointing Ha-yul as the next head of the family… No, this can’t be happening.”

Anger and impatience. Anxiety and despair. All sorts of negative emotions flashed through Shin Se-ah’s mind.

“If this goes on, it’ll be like a year ago again… No. No. No. No…”

She had bitten her nails so much that the flesh under her nails was exposed, and blood was coming out.

It must have been painful, but she didn’t seem to feel any pain, as if she was mentally overwhelmed, and she kept biting the bleeding flesh under her nails.

“Th-that’s right. I can just kill him. If I kill Ha-yul, everything will be solved.”

She was like a person with a mental illness. No, she was actually a person with a mental illness.

The mental trauma caused by her inferiority complex towards Shin Ha-yul had long since entered the realm of mental illness.

“Se-ah, calm down.”

Shin Ji-han, who had been quiet all along, grabbed Shin Se-ah’s hand and pulled it away from her mouth.

Then, he took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped away the blood that was flowing.

“Oppa. Ha-yul, Ha-yul is… The family is making Ha-yul the next head of the family… It says so in this letter…”

Extreme anxiety symptoms.

Shin Se-ah was in a state of mental breakdown, unable to even speak properly.

“If I kill Ha-yul, it’ll be okay. I’ll kill him. Okay? Oppa. If I kill him, it’ll be okay, right?”

She looked at Shin Ji-han with unfocused eyes and just kept repeating that she would kill Shin Ha-yul.

Her trauma had properly manifested.

The past years of living in indifference, overshadowed by Shin Ha-yul and receiving no attention, had become a blade that was gnawing at her mind.

“Let’s calm down first. You don’t have to be so anxious.”

Shin Ji-han gently hugged Shin Se-ah and patted her back.

“Oppa…”

The only family member who had given attention to Shin Se-ah, who had been alone.

Shin Se-ah’s mind quickly stabilized with Shin Ji-han’s comfort and warmth.

“Oppa, are you okay?”

About three minutes later, Shin Se-ah, who was able to think somewhat properly, asked about Shin Ji-han’s well-being.

It wasn’t just Shin Se-ah who had trauma from Shin Ha-yul.

Shin Ji-han also had trauma from Shin Ha-yul.

This situation must have been a great shock to Shin Ji-han’s mind as well.

No, Shin Ji-han’s shock would probably be even greater.

“Of course. I’m fine.”

However, contrary to Shin Se-ah’s expectations, Shin Ji-han seemed very calm.

He didn’t seem angry, nor did he seem impatient.

Shin Ji-han was maintaining his composure.

“…Why are you okay?”

Shin Se-ah couldn’t understand his calmness.

Shin Ji-han was in a position closer than anyone else to the position of the next head of the family.

How could such a person be so calm when he had been deprived of the position of the next head of the family? Especially by Shin Ha-yul, whom he hated the most.

“Why wouldn’t I be okay?”

Shin Ji-han smiled.

It was a twisted smile that Shin Ha-yul would have definitely called a ‘rotten smile’.

“There’s no reason to be anxious when I know that Ha-yul will never become the next head of the family.”

“Ha-yul… will never become the next head of the family?”

Shin Se-ah asked back with eyes that seemed to ask what he meant.

“Yeah. Never.”

The corners of Shin Ji-han’s lips twisted even more.

“Because I’m going to kill him before that.”

“Ah!”

A dead person cannot become the next head of the family. It was a very obvious fact.

“B-but even if you kill him, how…”

When she panicked earlier, Shin Se-ah had also said that she would kill Shin Ha-yul.

However, that was just something she said because she was in a panic.

Thinking about it now that she had calmed down, it was almost impossible to eliminate Shin Ha-yul right away.

“You don’t have to worry about the method. I have everything planned out.”

Shin Ji-han took out a phone for secret communication from his pocket and checked the last text message he had exchanged.

[Shin Ha-yul will die in 5 days anyway. So don’t bother calling me. If you call me one more time, I will cancel the mission.]

The death sentence had already been handed down.

Shin Ha-yul would die in 5 days.

“The preparations are all done.”

“Ah!”

Shin Se-ah looked up at Shin Ji-han with eyes full of admiration.

“You made a preemptive move! You’re amazing, Oppa!”

Shin Ji-han shrugged his shoulders.

As if this was only natural.

“Is there anything I can help you with?”

Shin Se-ah said with an expression that showed she wanted to lend a hand.

“Help? Hmm.”

Shin Ji-han narrowed his eyes and pondered.

Something to help with.

Normally, there would be nothing to think about.

Since everything had been entrusted to the Black Magic Tower, there was nothing more that Shin Se-ah or Shin Ji-han could do.

However, if they were to do something separately from what was requested by the Black Magic Tower, the story would be different.

‘They’ve already failed twice. There’s no guarantee they won’t fail a third time.’

In case they failed, it was necessary to prepare a new plan on their side as well.

‘Moving directly has a big penalty, but…’

If something were to go wrong, then Shin Se-ah could just be used as a disposable pawn.

Over the past two months, they had finished all the preparations to do so.

“If there’s nothing in particular…”

“No. Actually, there was something I wanted to ask you, Se-ah.”

“Really?”

Shin Se-ah replied with a happy expression.

“Yeah. It’s something only you can do.”

Shin Ji-han smiled.

It was a monstrous smile.

* * *

Day 13 of the Olympiad.

The preliminary round of the Magic Quiz Battle had ended.

Through the preliminary matches that lasted a total of 8 hours, 8 teams were selected to participate in the main match tomorrow.

And of course, Korea, the United States, and the United Kingdom were included in those 8 teams.

The detailed rankings were a joint first place for Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Sara Silone of the United States, Maia Nerontia of the United Kingdom, and I all received perfect scores in the preliminary round, and Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States all tied for first place.

To be honest, I was a bit surprised by this result.

I didn’t expect that there would be two other people besides me who would get a perfect score.

The difficulty of the questions in the preliminary round was somewhat lower, but the last two questions were not at a level that a student could solve.

Sara Silone and Maia Nerontia.

The title of genius was not given in vain.

‘Well, even so, I’ll win in the main round tomorrow.’

I admit that they are more outstanding than I expected, but they are no match for me. I am confident that I will not be defeated by anyone in terms of knowledge and calculation ability.

‘Still, I should pay a little more attention.’

If I make even a minor calculation error, I could lose. Complacency is forbidden.

Just in case, it would be good to pick out the things that are likely to come up in tomorrow’s quiz and study them again tonight.

‘I have a rough idea of what style the questioner is this year through the questions from today’s preliminary round. If I prepare accordingly…’

I was thinking that when it happened.

Knock knock.

I heard someone knocking on my door.

“Come in. It’s open.”

There was no need to ask who it was. The person who knocked was Kim Seok-hyun. I had received a call in advance that he would come at this time, so it was certain.

The door opened immediately, and Kim Seok-hyun entered the room.

“I apologize for coming late at night.”

He closed the door and bowed his head.

Then, he sat down directly opposite me.

I immediately used the remote control to return the room’s security settings to their original state. With this, there was little chance that the conversation we had here would leak out.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

In addition, Kim Seok-hyun used a barrier.

‘A 7-circle level multi-complex security barrier.’

It was the highest level of security barrier that Kim Seok-hyun could use.

With this, the security was perfect.

“Then, since we don’t have much time, let’s get straight to the point.”

Kim Seok-hyun created a serious atmosphere with a grave expression.

“One hour ago. The 2nd and 3rd security teams of the Olympiad were attacked by black mages belonging to the Black Magic Tower.”