Ch.229Episode 12 – The Strongest Mage in History

# Heroes of the Dark World

In the game created by a small Eastern European developer, numerous races appear.

Goblins, elves, beastmen, dwarves, humans, demons… It’s a world where even devils exist.

And among all races, the one that appears most frequently after humans is the orc.

“I didn’t know there would be a suit that fits an orc. Didn’t you always complain that even military uniforms were too small?”

“You’re such a country bumpkin from Abas, so ignorant. Don’t you know how many orcs serve in the Imperial Army?”

In a safe house near the Magic Tower slums.

The orc I was meeting after several years held a tiny matchstick in his hand—comically small compared to his massive frame—and continued speaking in fluent Kiyen.

“Ready-made suits might be a problem, but custom tailoring is no issue for my build. A skilled tailor could probably make clothes for a dragon.”

“I see. It suits you well, Viktor.”

“The same goes for you.”

In the darkened safe house.

The orc, relying on the small matchstick for light, smiled in the pitch-black darkness, revealing his tusks.

“It’s been a while, Freddy.”

## Episode 12 – The World’s Strongest Mage

Jamer-Viktor, who appeared at the safe house, has an identity befitting his unusual name.

As his name Viktor suggests, he’s from the Kiyen Empire, not from Abas or the Magic Tower.

The prefix “Jamer” comes from the name of his hometown, essentially meaning “Viktor from Jamer.”

Considering that the Kiyen Empire’s naming convention follows Slavic culture—first name, father’s name, and surname—”Jamer-Viktor” is quite an unusual name.

But neither I, nor his former unit members, nor even Francesca upon first meeting him found his name strange.

Because Viktor wasn’t human—he was an orc.

“You’re a bit late?”

“I’m not late, you’re the one who’s late, Freddy.”

“Sit down. Don’t stand there making your legs tired.”

Viktor took the single chair prepared in the safe house.

True to the typical orc physique that easily exceeded 2 meters, the fragile chair couldn’t withstand Viktor’s massive weight.

Creak. Creeeak. The chair screamed in protest the moment he sat down, and Viktor covered his embarrassment with an awkward smile.

“Oh dear.”

“You should lose some weight, Viktor. That chair is about to collapse completely.”

At my playful joke, the orc burst into hearty laughter.

“Still better than someone who looks like they’d snap in a breeze. And among orcs, I’m considered quite slim.”

Right, of course you are.

I shook my head in a “what am I going to do with you” manner as Viktor teased me for being scrawny. My reaction seemed to amuse him, as his laughter grew even louder.

“Ah… excuse me for a moment.”

After laughing for a while, he pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the tears from his eyes.

“It’s been a while since I laughed like that. I’ve become more generous with my laughter since retiring.”

“You seem to be doing well. It’s good to see you after so long.”

“Likewise, Freddy.”

Viktor addressed me by my nickname with a casual attitude, acting friendly.

“It’s nice to see you after so long. Doubly nice to see you with all limbs intact.”

“Please save those kinds of jokes for your fellow orcs. Anyway, it’s good to see you too.”

“I was surprised when you contacted me first. You do take advice to heart. By the way… who is this lady?”

The orc gestured politely toward Francesca. Then, looking at me, he asked:

“Is she someone who knows about me?”

He was asking if she was in the business—specifically, if she was an intelligence officer from Military Intelligence.

I shook my head.

“She’s not from the Defense Department. She’s from Fatalia, not Abas. A Fatalian affiliated with the Magic Tower.”

“Ah, a mage then.”

Viktor extended his hand politely, observing aristocratic etiquette. Whether commoner or noble, all mages receive treatment equivalent to nobility regardless of their origins.

After making a show of kissing Francesca’s hand, Viktor glanced at me.

Understanding the meaning behind his glance, I clarified his doubt.

“She speaks Kiyen.”

“Pleased to meet you, Mr. Viktor. I am Francesca of the Ranieri family.”

“…Ranieri?”

Viktor’s eyes widened.

“Is that THE Ranieri family I know?”

“Indeed it is.”

“Oh my, I apologize for not recognizing you sooner. Viktor of Jamer greets a descendant of the great Ranieri family.”

Rising from his chair and buttoning his jacket, Viktor bowed deeply to Francesca.

Viktor didn’t bother asking about the relationship between Francesca and me. No matter how out of touch he might be, he couldn’t possibly be unaware of someone who made front-page news and prime-time broadcasts.

For a moment, Francesca’s gaze as she looked down at his bowed head seemed to grow slightly colder, but she quickly composed her expression and acknowledged his greeting.

“There’s no need for such formality with me, Mr. Viktor. I’m not a guest of the Ranieris, but a guest of the officer.”

“If you insist.”

After paying his respects to Francesca, Viktor straightened up.

As he returned to his chair, Francesca’s gaze shifted from him to me.

What kind of relationship do you two have?

Her eyes seemed to be asking exactly that question.

I shrugged my shoulders and began speaking as if it were nothing special.

“Francesca, this is Jamer-Viktor. He’s a former Lieutenant in the Kiyen Imperial Army and, as you can see, an orc.”

“Lieutenant?”

“It means he was a soldier. Though he’s in the reserves now.”

Viktor, who had been listening to my introduction, put on a kind—or rather, businesslike—smile.

“That’s right. I was in the military until two years ago.”

“What is your relationship with the officer?”

“Ah, I’m an old friend of Freddy’s. We met through official channels, but our relationship developed into a personal one.”

After introducing himself as a friend, Viktor added, “Now I’m doing business overseas—”

With a face full of un-orclike smiles and narrowed eyes, Viktor rolled his eyeballs between his green skin to check my expression.

“……”

I nodded slightly toward him. Seemingly relieved, the orc smiled with relaxed tension and looked at Francesca.

“I’m curious about how you two met.”

“It’s not a story I can’t share with others.”

While Viktor explained to Francesca how he and I had met, I quietly closed my eyes, leaned back on the sofa, and let out a faint sigh.

As my vision was blocked, my hearing became more acute.

Beyond the silence, I could hear the conversation between the ‘informants.’

*

My connection with Jamer-Viktor goes back five years.

At that time, Viktor was serving as a Lieutenant, and I was working in the field under various cover identities.

Viktor was an informant I had recruited when I was still on active duty.

According to the common sense in the intelligence community, and according to the strict internal regulations of intelligence agencies, intelligence officers must “terminate” their employment relationship with informants for various reasons (end of operation, loss of informant value, superior’s disposal order, etc.).

And this applied to me as well when I had to return home urgently due to counterintelligence activities by the Imperial Guard and other imperial intelligence agencies.

According to Military Intelligence’s overseas department regulations, I should have severed ties with Viktor before returning home, but instead of firing my informant and retreating to a safe house, I sought him out and gave him a contact network. He was still too valuable an informant to let go.

In the end, my judgment was correct.

Although I received all kinds of curses from my seniors who said I could have been in mortal danger, thanks to not firing Viktor then, I was able to maintain a good relationship with him for over five years.

“…I was in Abas when I had a traffic accident and got caught by the police. It was far from the embassy, and I couldn’t speak the language, so I was in a difficult situation. Freddy helped me out. That’s how our relationship began.”

“I see.”

Viktor recited one of the scenarios I had prepared five years ago.

It was one of the scenarios I had created in case it might be needed someday, and Viktor was using it now. He remembered it well.

Viktor added vivid details to make the story convincing so Francesca wouldn’t be suspicious.

“It’s certainly inconvenient when communication is difficult in a foreign country. I experienced that when I first came to the Magic Tower.”

“Very inconvenient. I should have learned foreign languages at the academy earlier… I still regret it a lot.”

“Hmm…”

But Francesca didn’t seem to believe the story Viktor was telling at all.

Knowing that I was an intelligence officer, how could she fall for such a lie? Francesca had long since realized that Viktor was no ordinary person.

“Five years…”

Francesca murmured in a low voice, as if recalling a vague past.

“That’s quite a long-standing relationship.”

“What is your relationship with Freddy, Lady Ranieri? Of course, I’ve read a lot about it in the newspapers. But it’s always better to hear it directly.”

“Well… I think it would be better to hear that directly from him…”

Francesca, who had been talking with Viktor, turned her head to look at me. Her hair, as soft as silk, flowed over her shoulders and covered half her face.

Beyond her hair, where the orc’s gaze couldn’t reach, Francesca, with an unusually expressionless face, shot me a slightly cold look.

I opened my mouth, inwardly sighing at the violet eyes that seemed to be stabbing my face.

“She says you should hear it directly. So, what kind of relationship do I have with the lady, Freddy?”

“Hmm…”

I pretended to hesitate, drawing out the moment. After capturing the attention of both Francesca and Viktor with a brief silence, I gently placed my hand on Francesca’s shoulder.

“This kind of relationship?”

Francesca’s usually expressionless face filled with bewilderment.

When my hand touched her shoulder, Francesca’s body stiffened. She tensed her entire body without realizing it, and I pulled her slightly toward me.

Thus, Francesca lost her balance and fell halfway into my arms. Realizing the situation a beat late, she hurriedly raised her head.

“……”

“What’s wrong?”

She looked as if she couldn’t believe I would do such a thing.

Indeed, what madman would touch an unmarried noble lady’s body and pull her close at will? If Francesca’s family had seen this, they would have thrown gloves in my face and challenged me to a duel right away, and if paparazzi had witnessed it, it wouldn’t be strange to see it on the front page of Fatalia’s newspapers tomorrow.

However, Francesca neither raised her voice nor slapped my face with a scream.

Still hiding half her face with her hair, she looked up at me with eyes mixed with bewilderment and reproach.

I met Francesca’s gaze as if there was nothing wrong.

“Francesca?”

“…You startled me.”

Francesca rose, pushing against me with her hand.

From a distance, it might look like “Ah, these bastards are rubbing salt in my wounds,” but if one could see how her sharply raised fingernails dug into my flesh as if they would tear through my shirt, such thoughts would quickly disappear.

“Ahem, ahem…”

Having managed to rise, Francesca very naturally tidied her disheveled hair and clothes. As if she had forgotten that this was a safe house, as if hoping no one had seen this scene.

But unfortunately, there was an audience here.

“……”

Jamer-Viktor, the former Lieutenant of the Kiyen Imperial Army, froze with his eyes wide open and his mouth agape. This is not a metaphorical expression. He really seemed to have forgotten to breathe, frozen in place.

Viktor, who had been alternately looking at Francesca tidying her clothes slightly apart from me and me sitting nonchalantly, met my gaze and kept opening and closing his mouth before blurting out something unexpected.

“…Um, am I being insensitive sitting here?”

“What are you talking about?”

“…Uh, nothing.”

*

Viktor, who was clearly flustered to anyone watching, stammered as he waved his pot lid-sized hands.

Francesca, after glancing at Viktor who was avoiding eye contact, sent me a cold look and tightly closed her shirt.

It was somewhat regrettable for Francesca, but this was necessary for the conversation we were about to have.

In orc society, which revolves around tribes and families, bringing an outsider who is neither a lover nor family to an important conversation is a tremendous breach of etiquette.

Even though Viktor is an imperial citizen, tribal customs don’t disappear so easily.

I waited for the shocked Francesca and Viktor to calm down. After about 2 minutes and 15 seconds had passed, Viktor cleared his throat to dispel the awkward atmosphere.

“Ahem, well, I see what kind of relationship you have with the lady, Freddy. I know you haven’t been together long… Don’t tell me you’re already engaged?”

“Not yet.”

“And here I thought you called me all the way here to give me a wedding invitation.”

Perhaps intending to create a soft atmosphere, Viktor avoided eye contact while making jokes. He really seemed to believe that Francesca and I were lovers.

And Francesca glared at Viktor as if she wanted to kill him. It was such a fierce look that if Viktor’s head had been facing forward, he would have fallen over in shock.

To calm her down, I placed my hand over the back of hers.

“Smile. Relax your expression.”

“……”

Belatedly recognizing the situation, Francesca put on a smile that looked painted on her face. Then, pretending to hold my hand, she pinched the back of it.

Viktor, who inadvertently witnessed this scene, cleared his throat loudly and turned his head away completely.

“Ahem! Um. Excuse me for a moment.”

Having finally regained his composure, Viktor looked at me. Seeing Viktor, who was gritting his teeth and refusing to look at Francesca, I felt sorry for both of them in many ways.

Viktor, who had been startled, still seemed unable to calm his surprised heart. He looked at me with a bewildered face.

“Freddy. To be honest, I thought you weren’t interested in women.”

“…What?”

“I thought you were gay. You always pushed away women who clung to you, so I thought you were interested in men…”

What nonsense is this?

I was too shocked to speak. For a moment, I heard a sound like someone trying hard not to laugh from beside me, but I couldn’t bring myself to look.

Viktor, who wiped his cold sweat with a handkerchief, muttered that it was a joke. And he kept babbling strange congratulatory words about finding a good love.

I wanted to refute him, but I couldn’t.

I barely managed to smile while enduring the pain I felt on the back of my hand.

“So, Freddy. What made you look for me?”

“I have a favor to ask.”

“A favor?”

“More precisely, it should be seen as a business proposal.”

At the word “business,” Viktor’s eyes changed. The bewildered, helpless appearance disappeared, and a businesslike demeanor took its place.

With a clearly different look, Viktor muttered as if slightly surprised.

“I didn’t expect you to bring up business with me.”

“I didn’t expect it myself until a few months ago. Until I met Francesca.”

That wasn’t a lie.

If I hadn’t met Francesca, I wouldn’t have proposed business to Viktor at all.

He seemed to sense something from those words. Viktor abandoned his previous demeanor of showing proper respect to nobility and looked at Francesca. Francesca also washed away the bewilderment that had filled her face and showed a cold expression.

Yes.

Just like when she and I faced each other alone on the day she was kidnapped by thugs.

After briefly exchanging glances with Francesca, Viktor asked me in a rather serious voice. As if he had some idea of what this was about.

“Does the lady know what kind of work I do?”

“I didn’t tell her specifically. Because you wouldn’t like it. Instead, I told her you have the ability to help.”

“You told the lady, not me?”

“Yes.”

Viktor’s gaze turned to Francesca again.

Looking at Francesca slowly with an interested gaze, he murmured as if surprised, with his eyes slightly closed.

“I never expected a high-ranking official from the Magic Tower’s Secretariat, a colleague chosen by the Oracle, to be interested in smuggling.”

Former Lieutenant of the Kiyen Imperial Army.

Current arms broker.

The merchant who travels around conflict zones worldwide, supplying weapons to government forces and rebels, said:

“Tell me, friend. How can I help you?”