(EP-287.2)

287 – Archmage

Tefer’s mistake will be buried. After all, the White Mage Tower had enough power to make that happen. Moreover, it wouldn’t benefit anyone if the blunder of Tefer, who was next in line as Tower Master, were to become public knowledge.

Dolches and I agreed on that.

Tefer, being smart enough to be called a genius, quickly realized she had no choice in the matter and fell silent.

“So, I’d like to ask you about the Crown of Dominion.”

“Ah.”

I asked Tefer various questions, starting with how she came to wear the Crown of Dominion and what led her to the bandits’ hideout.

“At some point, I started hearing a voice. It was like a hallucination. A voice that only I could hear…”

“Was that Solomon, the one who took control of your body?”

Tefer nodded in response to my question.

“Yes.”

“But, it didn’t quite feel like the real Demon King Solomon. It seemed… a bit more lacking.”

At my words, Tefer appeared to drift into thought for a moment. As she had been connected to the Crown of Dominion, it seemed there was a lot for her to contemplate.

A brief silence fell between us.

As I used that moment to quietly observe the bustling party hall, Tefer spoke up, as if she had made a decision.

“It was a residual thought.”

“A residual thought?”

“Solomon created several objects with a portion of his life force and will. For various purposes.”

“And that crown was one of them….”

Tefer nodded.

“Are there more of these items?”

“I’m not sure myself… But just as the voice was able to look into me, I was able to catch a glimpse of the residual thought’s memories.”

Memories of Solomon?

“Can you tell me what it is?”

“Baby…, I saw something like a baby’s cradle placed in a giant magic circle. But I don’t know what that means.”

“A baby…?”

“It seemed like a deep memory… It felt like a very important memory. The baby was crying…”

A baby in Solomon’s memories?

“Is there anything else you can remember?”

“Just a burning desire for revenge and hatred… The residual thought in the crown was a manifestation of pure hatred. It harbored murderous intent towards all living things…”

Tefer grimaced, as if the memory itself was painful.

It seemed that the trauma from being controlled hadn’t yet subsided. So, I decided to offer her a moment of respite. Just as I was about to get up, Tefer asked me.

“When you fell into the river…”

“Yes?”

“The magic I saw then… If you had used that against me, you could have easily won. But you didn’t. Why?”

The memory of falling into the river wasn’t something I was eager to recall. But Tefer’s expression was so earnest that I couldn’t leave her hanging.

“That’s because… Great magic isn’t meant to be used on people.”

“Then… what is great magic good for? Why do mages need to keep advancing to higher ranks?”

Tefer seemed confused at the end of the path of magic.

I could have given her an answer right then, but I didn’t and simply stood up. I thought I should go help Narmi who was struggling surrounded by the imps.

“Theo! There are so many imps! They’re everywhere!”

━Don’t be silly and give more of that cotton candy to Dordor…!

“This isn’t cotton candy, it’s Yingying!”

━Yingyingyaing.

* * *

In the end, our time in Big River lasted two days. A lot happened during that time, but fortunately, everything was resolved smoothly.

As we prepared to leave the city, the mage tower people expressed their regret, asking if we could stay a few more days. However, our journey was on a tight schedule.

Thanks to their generous hospitality, we were able to fully recover our strength and supplies.

“I got the latest map and a pass to Sandora. They’ve recently made a new path due to the bandits and monsters.”

Flap, flap.

I just nodded as I watched Stella wave the map.

With that, we boarded the hippogriff carriage and set off on our journey once again. As we traveled along the long upstream of the river, a chilling sensation crept in.

We all looked out the window. Despite it being the height of summer, the source of the chill felt cold. There was something about it that didn’t quite feel real.

At that moment, Stella spoke up.

“So, Theo-kun, when do you think that will melt?”

“… I’m not sure.”

Stella frowned as she looked at the frozen waterfall and the upper part of the river.

Because I had frozen the river after being thrown into the water by the imps, this area was now experiencing an untimely winter.

“… So that’s what great magic is like. No one but you would freeze a river just because they fell in.”

“My control was lacking. I gave it everything I had to survive… with the sunlight being so strong, I think it’ll probably melt in about two days.”

The Rank 6 great magic ‘Absolute Zero: Frozen Zone’ was far more powerful than I had anticipated.

It must have been because the safety limits in my mind were lifted, since it wasn’t used against humans.

Jejeok, jejeok-.

Looking at the rock-solid ice under the scorching sun, I realized once again that great magic should not be used against humans.

It was not meant to be used against people.

Such magic should only be used to face the world.

That was what great magic was.

After all, an archmage was someone who stood against the world.

Not to mention the Rank 10 Demon King.

“A baby….”

“Theo, what about a baby?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

I calmly sorted through the keywords floating in my mind. There was plenty of time to think, and the road ahead was long. It would be foolish to draw conclusions now.

And so, our carriage headed toward Sandora.

Edited by: faker