Chapter 205
After leaving Mt. Baekdu, we arrived at a relatively safe place.
From this area and below, monsters of A rank or higher will not appear.
B-Rank monsters are relatively safe for us, as even the current Captain Charles can deal with dozens of them alone, so it can be said that it is a very, very safe place.
“Let’s take a break here.”
“okay. It’s just right.”
I lowered Captain Charles from my back and took out my backpack again from A.S. and handed it to me.
“Then I’ll go get some firewood while you heal your wounds.”
“Why? It’s firewood, you just need to cut it with magic and use it.”
“… … It also doubles as reconnaissance.”
“What are you doing doing reconnaissance in an area where only B-rank or lower smallfish come out? just here… … . aha.”
Captain Charles opened his backpack and took out items before turning his attention to me.
It’s a pretty sly expression.
“Right. our little boy Weren’t you almost immune to women?”
Then he giggles as if the world is fun.
“It’s really fresh. fresh To think that he would vacate his seat just to treat his wounds. My kids will laugh when they hear it, hey.”
“It’s not freshness, but manners… … .”
“okay. Then what do you do with something like that?”
“It’s not something like that… … .”
Captain Charles is in a state where he has received countless large and small wounds all over his body.
In order to treat those wounds, you must take off all of your clothes.
Then, as a man, it is proper manners for me to leave my seat.
That’s why I’d like to keep my seat.
“Anyway, go. I was wondering if I would personally serve as a teaching aid for my brother’s younger brother. Unfortunately, my body is not a body that I can show off to anyone. It’s ugly.”
Director Charles finished setting up the first-aid kit with quick hands.
“Are you ugly?”
“hmm. There are a lot of wounds.”
Finally, I spread the cloth wide, took off my walker, and stood on top of it.
“wound… … I didn’t see much to say.”
“Not much on the back.”
Captain Charles smiled and pointed at his chest with his thumb.
“All wounds are this way. it’s in front The legs are too ugly to speak of.”
“… … okay.”
It was amazing.
There are no wounds on the back.
That means never turning your back on anyone.
In short, Captain Charles has hardly ever run away from the battlefield.
‘It also means that all my colleagues who will take care of the rear during the battle are strong.’
Even the skills of the mercenary teammates who guarded Captain Charles’ back were glimpsed.
‘There’s something different about the recognized mercenaries.’
A mercenary’s tidy back.
That appearance seemed to me a badge of honor and a proof of skill.
“Then I’ll look around and come back.”
“okay. Come and watch it for about 20 minutes. Call me if it’s dangerous. Well, there are no dangerous ones around here.”
“yes. See you later.”
I left Captain Charles behind and moved on.
‘… … I need to learn some recovery magic before taking the skipping test.’
Recovery magic is quite different from general magic, so it is very difficult to learn.
So, until now, I hadn’t bothered to learn it.
There was no time to learn in the first place.
It was like a mountain of things to learn, including the Infinity Circle.
If it had helped the Olympiad, I would have learned it somehow,
Unfortunately, recovery magic is prohibited in the Olympiad.
There was no reason to even learn.
That’s why I didn’t learn recovery magic… … .
‘The skipping exam is over. If you get an early graduation certificate. From then on, I’ll be hurt a lot too. I should prepare for that time.’
Although the effect of recovery magic is not that great compared to the name, reputation, and difficulty of learning.
Still, there’s nothing to lose by learning it.
With that thought in mind, I started gathering branches that could be used as firewood.
* * *
About 10 hours passed.
We crossed the (old) 38th parallel and safely arrived in Paju, northern Gyeonggi-do.
“Whoa. Tired, tired.”
“Iknow, right.”
Captain Charles lowered me from his arms to the ground and turned his shoulders around.
My body seems to be tired from the long flight.
“If I hadn’t been hurt, I would have arrived 10 hours sooner. Thanks, it took a little longer.”
In order to pass the vicinity of Pyongyang and cross the (old) 38th parallel, Captain Charles’ flying magic is indispensable.
Without using it, there is no way to escape the radar net and enter the interior.
So, I took a break earlier.
After treating Captain Charles’ wounds and waiting for his condition to return to some extent, he slowly completed preparations for his return.
“I originally thought it might take five days, but what? In about three days, it is very compliant.”
Thanks to Captain Charles’ subjugation of the Thunderbirds in advance, the exploration time was extremely shortened.
I don’t know if this was to their advantage, but thanks to Parade taming the Velvet Tiger and other endangered species outside the two ranks, the ecological power balance changed, and there were almost no attacks by other monsters.
I saw a lot of time gains in many ways.
“Then the mission is complete? You have no complaints?”
“yes. It was a perfect mission clear.”
The purpose of collecting Laplace was also completed safely.
In addition to that, he succeeded in subjugating the giant called Parade.
This alone is a sufficient achievement, but in addition to this, I succeeded in spreading false information about me inside the Black Mage Tower.
‘In addition, thanks to Captain Charles, I also gained insight into the 6th Circle.’
What I gained from this trip to Mt. Baekdu is indescribably great.
To put it bluntly, this operation was more than perfect.
“Then is it your turn to carry out your promise?”
Captain Charles’ expression slightly sharpened.
“Where is the base of the Black Mage Tower?”
I promised Captain Charles that if he would accompany me to Mt. Baekdu, I would give him information about the base of the Black Mage Tower in return.
Now that the trip to Mt. Baekdu has ended safely, it’s my turn to keep my promise.
… … only.
“I-I am very sorry to say this. You may have to wait a bit longer for information about the base of the Black Mage Tower.”
At my words, Captain Charles’ brow furrowed.
It was a momentary expression of anger, but he desperately endured it.
“… … Please explain in detail.”
Then, once he heard it, he changed his expression to become angry.
As much as you know about my trading relationship with Shadow, it seems that you have judged that there must be a good reason for my words.
“Did I tell you that I have a deal with Shadow?”
“uh. Before, I lied about casting a location detection spell on Shadow.”
Captain Charles’ eyes narrowed even more.
If it keeps coming out like this, is it troublesome? It’s a look that seems to say
“I never meant to lie. In the first place, it was when I hadn’t made a deal with Shadow.”
“… … huh? okay?”
“yes. It’s been less than a week since Shadow showed up to me and offered me a deal.”
“… … Did he appear in front of you? But why didn’t you call me? Then what if something happens?”
“When we first met, it was not a situation to call someone. I’m trapped in his barrier. At his second meeting, I was sure that Shadow would not be hostile to me. So I didn’t say anything.”
“Do you think things will turn weird if I intervene?”
“yes. If it’s a black mage tower, it’s going to take a hit. It seemed like they were going to fight first.”
“… … I cannot deny it.”
I do not believe the words of the wicked.
This is what Commander Charles said during his trip to Mt. Baekdu this time.
“Then, did you put a real location detection spell on before that?”
“yes. Based on that detection information, I was thinking of building up data and guessing the location of the base.”
“… … okay. Then you really didn’t lie.”
“yes. I don’t lie. I know very well how toxic lies can be to trust.”
“Is that also Shin In-hyeok’s teaching?”
“yes.”
“… … Did you receive such a proper education? Something is surprising.”
Captain Charles, who had a very surprised expression on his face, gave me a small pat on the back.
“You learned well. huh. Great.”
“… … hmm. Thank you for the compliment?”
“Why are you reacting like that?”
“no. He complimented me on something so trivial.”
Being praised for something so obvious, I feel very shy.
It feels like I was praised for breathing well.
“Little things… … hmm. If you look at it, it’s not a trivial thing. But, in this world, 99% of people can’t do that trivial thing.”
Captain Charles lightly stroked my hair.
“What you are doing deserves praise.”
The sincerity drips from Captain Charles’ eyes.
That expression was strangely unfamiliar.
“… … thank you.”
“okay.”
Captain Charles removed his hand from my head and smiled.
“The talk has gone awry. Keep talking.”
“Ah, yes.”
I quickly explained what had happened with Shadow.
I explained what I could explain, and I continued to explain as coherently as possible, not mentioning what I couldn’t explain.
After about 3 minutes, all the explanations were over.
“That’s why you thought that the information about the black magicians mimicking each other as spies was more important. is this?”
“yes.”
Captain Charles’ expression immediately relaxed.
“Good job. It was a good decision.”
Contrary to the promise that information on the base of the Black Mage Tower could not be revealed, the sharpened eyes disappeared like snow melting and became bright eyes like spring.
“What does the information about the base mean? that’s more important good job. You did really well.”
It’s a look that I really like.
“That information. As soon as you get it, share it.”
“yes. of course. The people who will use this information the best are Captain Charles and Sofia-sama. I was thinking of sharing it right away.”
“okay. Kuk-kuk.”
Captain Charles’ expression sharpened again.
However, this time it wasn’t me who was looking at it.
Captain Charles’s gaze was directed toward the void. To be precise, they are spies hiding in each country.
“How should I deal with it so that rumors spread that I handled it well?”
Captain Charles’ smile grew thicker.
* * *
About 3 hours passed after that.
I arrived at the dormitory safely.
I arrived in Seoul an hour and a half ago, but I still couldn’t come to the dormitory with that scruffy face, so I needed time to tidy up.
So, on the way, I stopped at the hotel where Captain Charles was staying, took a shower, changed into my preliminary uniform, and returned to the dormitory.
“Mimir. I’m here.”
Upon returning to the dormitory, I immediately headed for Mimir’s office.
It was to report on this incident, but it was also to ask for help with Laplace’s grooming.
“Heir. Did you come very soon?”
Mimir reacted immediately.
Judging by the immediate reaction, it seems that he was not reading a comic book.
“uh. The schedule ended sooner than expected.”
I sat down next to Mimir.
“What were you reading?”
“me? this.”
Mimir sneakily showed the cover.
[The invention and evolution of artificial intelligence AI]
It was a professional book prepared by me. you were studying
“Is it worth reading?”
“huh. It is very interesting.”
A tear flowed from Mimir’s eyes.
The expression of sincere joy is transmitted without filtering.
Is it really the best scholar of the Bytenor Empire?
Mimir put a bookmark on the book and closed it.
“Well, seeing how tired Miho is, I’m sure he would have found it… … . What about Laplace?”
“Of course I found it.”
I donned Aes and took out Laplace from inside.
A flower that blooms in the air. Laplace.
The special herb with a translucent appearance was still emitting a lively light.
“Right?”
“for a moment. It’s my first time seeing it myself. Let me check.”
Mimir checked all over Laplace as it was.
Petals, stems, leaves, and finally roots. Mimir, who confirmed everything, grinned and nodded her head.
“That’s right, Laplace. It’s also top-notch. It’s much more vivid than what I’ve seen in the literature. Probably at least 600 years old.”
Mimir turned his gaze to me.
The two eyes looking at me were shining with joy.
“Probably at this level, half of it will remain even after using it to make an elixir.”
“… … half left?”
“uh. stay. I can make other elixirs in half.”
Mimir hurriedly got up from his seat and looked around the bookshelf.
“What shall I make with the remaining half? I also have AES, so there is no need to make one right now… … .”
I open this book and that book and close it again.
Then go to another bookshelf and repeat the action.
“If you choose the most efficient elixir, this is it… … . This is another subject matter. Oh, I’m worried… … .”
What to do with the remaining half of Laplace? Mimir seemed preoccupied with the thought.
“Then you’re not going to clean up right now, are you?”
“uh? Ah oh. It would be better to do it after the other materials arrive. Laplace works best immediately after grooming.”
“okay.”
I put Laplace back into Aes.
You don’t have to leave it outside if you don’t need to clean it right now.
“Then I’ll weave some rings of awakening.”
“uh. okay. High awakening… … huh?”
Mimir stopped rummaging through the bookshelves.
Then he slowly turned his head.
“Heir. What did you say now?”
“I’m going to weave some rings of awakening.”
Of course, you won’t be able to connect right away.
Circles aren’t that easy to make.
All I can do today is to follow the path that the ring of awakening will take in advance.
“That means… … .”
Mimir’s pupils widened slightly.
“I gained a realization through this trip to Mt. Baekdu. I want to try some tests.”
Mana is not something special made entirely of mana.
Something that makes up mana.
There is something that can be called the source of mana.
… … It is a short but intense realization.
