Ch.274Episode 12 – The Strongest Mage in History

After passing through vast caverns and tunnels for quite some time, we finally emerged to the surface.

Covered in dust and filth, with our bodies scratched all over by debris, we looked so pitiful that even a drowned rat would click its tongue in sympathy.

With Veronica’s arm draped over my shoulder, I staggered out of the tunnel with Lucia’s help.

“……”

Suddenly sensing the surroundings brighten, I lifted my head to look ahead.

In the distance stretched the vast northern snowfield.

Along the gentle foothills, across the horizon,

A brilliant dawn was driving away the long darkness,

Rising as if to bless us.

Episode 12 – The Strongest Mage in History

The battle with the demon, necromancer, and monsters from hell had ended.

After passing through the tunnel and escaping the darkness, I learned that the underground place we had just been in was the northern sewer system.

“That was a sewer?”

“Yes.”

The tunnel entrance was bustling with numerous priests, monks, and nuns. Occasionally, there were also troops from the Internal Security Forces under the Military Government Command, wearing blue uniforms.

I looked back at the tunnel we had just passed through.

Veronica wiggled her arm that was draped over my shoulder and said:

“Major, do you have any suspicions or memories? Like the scenery suddenly changing as you passed through an alley? Or you must have lost consciousness at some point.”

“I did lose my memory. Right after feeling like I was falling downward.”

“Ah, I see. Then you must have been dragged into the sewer at that moment. Fortunately, it seems you didn’t experience anything too problematic.”

Veronica, with her tired face, let out a sigh of relief. Then she tightened her arm around my shoulder with a grunt.

As she applied pressure, our bodies naturally pressed together.

“Ah! This is tough.”

“Stand up straight.”

“I’m just tired. Because I’m tired…”

I put my hand around Veronica’s waist to support her, and slightly leaned against Lucia who was supporting me from the other side.

Lucia, who had been walking with her eyes downcast, let out a small gasp and thankfully supported me with both arms.

“Thank you, Lucia.”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

The situation was quite awkward, as if I were caught between two people, but at this point, I didn’t really mind.

“Hmm…”

Veronica, leaning on my shoulder, made an interested humming sound.

“Major.”

“Yes?”

“Lend me your ear for a moment.”

She pulled my neck closer with the arm holding her revolver. She brought her lips close to my ear, seemingly about to say something.

But our conversation was interrupted.

“Lady Veronica…!”

A priest, followed by several clergy members, came running breathlessly, calling her name.

Veronica, meeting the eyes of the priest looking for her, frowned, clicked her tongue softly, and lowered her arm from my neck.

The breathless priest started talking rapidly.

Veronica listened quietly with a poor posture, then nodded and tied up her hair that had fallen down.

“What report… These old-fashioned people just can’t leave me alone for a minute…”

After tying up her hair, Veronica ordered him to ‘go away now that you understand’ in a somewhat tired or irritable voice.

“Understood. I’ll first inform the State Council that you’ve returned safely.”

“Yes, yes-“

The priest bowed deeply and left. Veronica waved him off casually.

Several clergy members approached, asking to see if we had any injuries, but Veronica dismissed them all. Following the saint’s instructions, the nuns and monks respectfully bowed and quietly disappeared.

“Sigh…”

After clearing the area, Veronica exhaled deeply. She stretched and spread her arms wide to take a deep breath.

After being silent, she suddenly spoke quietly.

Veronica looked up at the sky and murmured in a low voice.

“They want me to report what happened down there, but honestly, I don’t want to do the paperwork, and there are plenty of people who can do it for me…”

She trailed off and turned to look at me.

“Let’s go rest for now.”

*

After a night that felt like a fantasy or mirage, morning dawned. Ordinary people threw themselves back into their hamster-wheel routines, unaware of what had transpired the previous night.

“…a demon and a necromancer?”

“Yes.”

“By necromancer, you mean? A necromancer? The kind of bastard that, once identified, requires the full force of the Magic Department, Intelligence Department, and military police to take down?”

“Yes.”

“You’re saying something even more terrifying than a Tower exile has appeared in the north…?”

“That’s right.”

Veronica had recommended that I rest, but I couldn’t afford to. I got into a vehicle, went to the hotel, and explained everything that had happened the night before to my subordinates.

“A demon and a necromancer appeared in the north. I tried to take down the demon bastard with Saint Lucia, but suddenly monsters and a necromancer bastard showed up and everything went wrong.”

“……”

“I was barely able to escape from that chaos thanks to Veronica and the Inquisition forces of the joint investigation team. I nearly died.”

Pippin, Jake, and Charnoi reacted as if they couldn’t believe it. But when I pulled out the withered wrist of the necromancer, they quickly fell silent.

A heavy silence descended on the hotel room.

Placing the mummy-like wrist on the table, I sat down on the sofa with difficulty and assessed the situation.

“Did you report to the company?”

“Yes.”

Jake, who was looking at the wrist with a sour expression, answered.

“Since you were late returning and not answering calls, we sent a non-return message to the situation room through the embassy, according to regulations.”

The measures taken by Pippin, Jake, and Charnoi were textbook perfect.

First, they informed the company that there was an intelligence officer who had lost contact and failed to return.

Following the standby order that came through the embassy, they stayed in the hotel room, but they tracked each other’s positions in real-time, prepared to shred various equipment and documents in case of emergency, and tried to contact me while searching for my whereabouts.

I nodded lightly, praising them.

“Good job. What about the Military Government Command, the joint investigation team, and the Magic Tower?”

“They didn’t seem to know exactly what had happened either. I checked with familiar officials and even foreign military officers, but got nothing useful.”

“The Palm Tree Guild seemed unaware of the details too. Everything was normal there. The joint investigation team was in a similar situation.”

“The same goes for those Magic Tower wizards! Those garbage people had the audacity to approach Charnoi with a contract, offering to answer questions and pay a large sum in exchange for taking Charnoi’s wrist bones after death!”

Pippin, Jake, and Charnoi reported the intelligence they had each collected.

Most of it was useless, but the intelligence that “sudden movements began to appear, such as increased communication volume from the Military Government Command and the Palm Tree Guild around dawn” was somewhat meaningful. The surge in communications meant that the Imperial bastards and the dark elves of the guild had noticed something.

I cleared my throat softly and continued.

“What did the company say?”

“They instructed us to prepare for evacuation just in case, but to report to the embassy without delay once you returned.”

“Anything else?”

“Due to concerns about wiretapping, we didn’t receive specific instructions, but it seems the company wants to recall you to the home country. You disappeared suddenly without notice, after all.”

The Military Intelligence Agency ordered me to visit the embassy as soon as I returned safely.

Since I had disappeared without reporting, they probably wanted to investigate what had happened. Given that more than a few employees had been caught by the Empire’s counterintelligence activities in recent years, they seemed to want to ensure my safety and check if I was involved in any problems. If I’m unlucky, I might have to have a chat with an inspector in the investigation room before the new year.

As I pressed my throbbing head, Pippin, who had been standing quietly, spoke up.

“Sir.”

“Yeah.”

“What should we do now?”

The analyst asked.

“We can’t verify what you experienced last night, but… this seems like a serious situation. It’s something we can’t resolve on our own.”

“……”

“What should we do?”

Jake, standing next to Pippin, quietly called her name with a troubled expression. But despite the intelligence officer’s attempt to stop her, the analyst continued.

“Shouldn’t we at least leave the north, even if we don’t return home?”

“…Pippin.”

“I think your condition isn’t normal either, sir.”

Just as Charnoi, caught between Pippin and Jake, blinked with a puzzled look.

I dropped my hand that had been pressing my temple onto the armrest.

I put my hand into my inside pocket. Rummaging through my clothes, I pulled out a bundle of passports and passes and tossed them.

“Here are the passports and passes. Report that I’ve returned safely and completed the assigned task, so send the staff in first.”

Pippin and Jake caught the bundle of passports as if embracing them. Charnoi’s eyes sparkled as he looked at the passes stamped with Military Governor Mikhail’s seal.

“Send all of these to headquarters and lie low for now. If the Imperial bastards have noticed something, whether it’s counterintelligence or the Guardian Office, they’ll cause trouble, so stay put for the time being.”

“Aren’t you going to report your return, sir?”

“I’ll take care of that, so just focus on keeping yourselves safe.”

After finishing the task Leoni had assigned, I got up, dusted off my seat, and grabbed my coat.

“Be careful for the time being.”

*

The sun in the northern part of the Kiyen Empire has a habit of rising early and setting quickly.

When people were still in dreamland, the sun began to peek shyly from the east, and by the time the hamster-wheel routines and struggles for survival began to sprout, the sun was already crossing the sky with vigor.

Around noon, when the sun crossing the sky was at its highest, I passed through the large doors of St. Basilius Cathedral.

“Welcome. How may I help you, brother?”

“I would like to see Saint Veronica.”

“This way, please. Saint Veronica is waiting for your visit.”

The middle-aged priest extended his hand politely with a kind smile. I followed the priest’s guidance and walked deep into the cathedral.

After passing through a magnificent corridor paved with white marble, I began to see an elegant wooden door in the distance. Two people who looked like holy knights were guarding the door.

The priest, who walked ahead with brisk steps while his black fascia fluttered, spoke to the holy knights guarding the door.

The holy knights listened attentively to the priest with a respectful attitude, glanced at me, and quietly opened the door.

“You can go inside.”

“Thank you, Father.”

I passed by the priest and holy knights and entered the room.

Like the corridor, the room was paved with white marble. It was filled with high-quality wooden furniture, and one wall was lined with bookshelves packed with books. The scent of fountain pen ink tickled my nose, mixed with the breeze coming through the open window.

The highest room in St. Basilius Cathedral in the northern part of the Kiyen Empire. A place overlooking gentle hills, where the chirping of birds nesting in the bell tower could be heard.

Behind the desk in the office, with her back to the door, a black-haired clergy member stood gazing out the window.

Her long, flowing black hair sparkled in the sunlight. At the same time, her spotless white fascia fluttered like a swaying leaf.

I carefully called her name.

“Veronica.”

Veronica didn’t respond.

She must have already heard the door opening and my footsteps, but she didn’t turn her head.

She kept her gaze fixed outside the window and slowly, very slowly, opened her mouth.

“After experiencing so much, you went to work instead of resting.”

I lowered my gaze and sighed softly.

“It’s my job.”

“Your job…”

She trailed off and turned to look at me.

The sunlight, diffused through the glass, illuminated her hair. Slowly turning her body, she looked at me with the backlight behind her.

“I have a lot to say, but I should say this first.”

It was right after that when her gentle voice echoed in my ears.

“You worked hard today.”

“……”

“So rest for now.”

Veronica smiled brightly.

“We can think about the aftermath later.”