Book 19 Chapter 3

You and I,

The Archmage's Apprentice (1)

"From now on, we're heading to the Western Front."

The next story is the Siege of Rambarud. At that time, humanity's front lines were divided into three.

The Eastern Front of the Red Holy Land, <Shuriganakyus>. And the Western Front of the Vermillion City, <Rambarud>.

Both fronts were purely defensive, and only the Southern Front, where the Dragonkin were the main force, saw an endless back-and-forth of offense and defense.

"A distress signal has arrived from <Rambarud>. It seems the siege has intensified, and the defensive line is expected to collapse within a month or two."

This Siege of <Rambarud> is historically very important!

Right on that battlefield!

Lister's party will face off directly against the notorious 'Old Noble'!

"The <Rambarud> front, huh. Then the enemy must be the Uruk & Troll alliance."

These were the words of Muchen Ryuminik, who knew the battlefield situation better than anyone present. Nils said,

"Uruk… they're not an easy opponent. I wonder if there's any race that can withstand the sheer numbers generated by their explosive reproductive rate."

"Aren't the trolls the annoying ones individually? The books say their bodies are all made of stone, right? Like Link here."

"Link, Link, Link?"

"If they were ordinary Uruk, that might be true, but the tribes leading the forces on the battlefield now are the High Tark, consisting of up to 21 clans. Each one is a formidable enemy."

"High Tark?"

Lin's eyes gleamed.

As expected of the youngest Archmage, did he already know about the High Tark?

"If they meet us, they'll exit in an instant… So, will High Tark become Bye Tark?"

The Archmage's wit, interpreting High Tark's 'High' as 'Hi'!

If his followers had been here, they would have been clutching their stomachs with laughter, rolling on the ground, but this was a hero's party with neither blood nor tears!

Frieda's fist came down on the boy's delicate crown.

"Kk-ang!"

Ryuminik, who had seemed lost in thought with his arms crossed, gave a thumbs-up and flashed his perfectly straight front teeth.

"I really wanted to join this expedition, but… I just remembered my 'Strength Training with Ryuminik' schedule with my precious members, so I must take my leave."

And with that, he suddenly vanished beyond the sandstorm.

"Ah, that bastard's running! Catch him!"

By the time Frieda shouted and pulled out her broom, it was too late! Insane footwork! Insane master!

"Wow! That crazy bastard, he's damn fast! Lister, use your footwork to stomp him and bring him back!"

Lister smiled faintly and shook her head.

"Let's go, Frieda."

"No, I told you, we can't just let trash like that loose in the world!"

"We'll meet Mr. Ryuminik again soon. I have a feeling."

Lister's 'hunch' showed an extremely high hit rate in a wide range of fields. No, when Lister said something like that, it usually happened.

Behold!

Ryuminik, grabbed by the back of his neck by Lister, with dozens of bumps protruding from his crown, rubbing his hands together in apology!

"S-sorry! Save me! Actually, I was going to gather the scattered rogues in the rear and rejoin later!"

Lister playfully tapped her forehead with her fist.

"Ah, my body moved first, contrary to what I thought. Ahahaha, silly me. I really need to fix this habit of acting before thinking~!"

"Seriously, Lister~ If you're like this already, what will happen?"

The members of the Hero's Party outwardly laughed along with Lister's smile, but inwardly, they trembled with fear.

'What do you mean, "We'll meet Mr. Ryuminik again soon. I have a feeling"? Well, strictly speaking, we did meet again… What a crazy hero.'

* * *

To go from <Orwardan> to <Rambarud>, one had to use two roads passing through Interchange 18, and the area those roads traversed was the Rambrus region.

In both ancient and modern times, this region was famous as the 'Golden Granary,' where corn and wheat ripened to a golden hue, rustling in the wind.

However, as the <Rambarud> Western Front suffered from the fierce attacks of Uruk and Trolls, the Rambrus area was being devastated.

Rambrus…

Yes, it's this Rambrus.

The hometown of the genius mage and witch later known as the 'Priestess of Cigarette Ash.'

"Then, let's meet again in <Rambarud>."

Ryuminik, his face bruised, once again gave a thumbs-up, and Lister nodded.

"Yes, please be safe."

Frieda vigorously swung her fist.

"Alright! Then, let's pump ourselves up and depart! Let's go, Lin!"

"…"

"What are you doing, not coming? I said let's go!"

At Frieda's urging, Lin shook his head with a sigh and pointed to the mage insignia pinned to his chest.

"My name isn't Lin, it's Archmage Lin. Call me by my full name."

"?"

"From now on, if you just call me Lin, I won't answer, so know that."

Frieda beamed.

Then, in an instant, like lightning, she grabbed his head with both fists and twisted it! A truly insane master!

"Hey, you crazy bastard! So, should I try not answering until you call me Frieda, Priestess of the Fire Dragon? What kind of crazy jerk is this! You should know how to be humble!"

Even Pipi joined in, pecking the boy's forehead like mad!

"Crazy, crazy, crazy, then from now on, call Pipi 'Pipi, the Strongest Sun Parrot'."

"Archmage, ugh, I said, arrgh, I wouldn't, ooh, answer, ugh, until you, arrgh, call me, ugh, that! Humph!"

"Oh, don't. Who asked you to? I'd be grateful if you kept your mouth shut forever. From now on, just use emojis like Kiess over there. Why don't you learn how to use them now?"

Kiess, suddenly dragged into it, showed an emoji with a hurt expression!

[(ㅠ-ㅜ)…]

Lin puffed out both cheeks.

He would endure any hardship. Until he was called Archmage Lin!

"Hey, Archmage Lin. Don't be like that, let's go. You're an 'Archmage,' a title equivalent to a Meister. What time does an Archmage have to waste?"

Nils said, emphasizing the word 'Archmage'!

Hehe… A bright smile immediately formed on Lin's face! And so he trotted over to Nils's side.

Link greeted Lin warmly.

"Link, Link, Link!"

"What, you're going to carry this Archmage on your shoulder? Why not! Because I'm an Archmage! I'm an Archmage aiming to be the [Strongest Mage]!"

"Link, Link, Link!"

Lin presumptuously crossed his arms and smirked.

"No, shouldn't I be called [Strongest Archmage] now? That sounds so cool."

"Kkyung!"

"Bow down. I, the Strongest Archmage, have arrived."

Frieda, watching from a distance, let out a hollow laugh, finding it absurdly funny.

"Honestly, at times like this, he's completely a child."

Lister chuckled.

"For Lin to express his excitement like that, he must be incredibly happy."

"Well, he did want to be recognized as the [Strongest Mage] so badly, so he must feel infinitely closer to his goal."

"It's not just because of that…"

When Lister took Lin around, that is, when his official title was only the youngest Gladoss (4-star) mage, she often had to defend Lin from others.

Did that hurt him?

Lister was just stating facts, not defending, but his high pride might have been wounded by someone carelessly discussing his qualifications.

"Lin really loves his family at the magic tower. Don't you think he's happy thinking about his magic tower family hearing the news that he's become an Archmage? He also follows the Dean there like a mother."

Hearing those words, Frieda couldn't help but form a very sad smile.

"Kya, his family in his hometown, huh…"

She probably wore the same face when she became the youngest priestess. She must have had such an excited expression.

'Because his own achievement was satisfying?'

No, that was a secondary reason…

Just thinking about the moment that happy news…

Would reach his family made his heart pound so much…

"If that's the case, should I play along for a while?"

* * *

The day we arrived in the Rambrus area, that memory is still vivid.

It was different.

The landscape itself was different.

It was literally drenched in blood; the entire village lay slumped amidst gruesome bloodstains.

"There's so much blood, but not a single corpse or piece of flesh."

It was something I blurted out thoughtlessly, and Nils, who frequently visited the anti-demon front lines when he was under Greta Vyser, answered.

"Uruks raise monstrous wolves called Blashurfs. They must have fed the flesh to them. It's clear they committed brutal atrocities."

Frieda frowned.

"These bastards…"

Link looked around, making "Link, Link, Link" noises, expressing anger.

"It happened recently… The blood hasn't completely clotted yet. Although the temperature also plays a part."

A devastated expression showed in Lister's eyes as she touched the scattered bloodstains.

They killed with such glee.

What was their goal? Just for fun? Happy to kill? Merely out of such malice?

- Lin.

No… I'm not in a position to blame anyone.

Dean…

Back then, during the [4-star selection], I think I'm slowly beginning to understand why you wore such a sad expression…

[(!-!)]

At that moment, Kiess sensed something.

Kiess's presence detection ability was truly top-notch; when focused, she could accurately count even the number of sewer rats.

"You mean there's a life sign? Wait a moment!"

Nils deployed a detection artifact in the direction Kiess specified.

The coordinates that soon appeared were a two-story private house on the outskirts of the village, and…

Several barrels of wine were placed in its attic.

'You' were hiding there.

Covered in dirt, dust, and blood, a squalid figure, curled up inside a barrel… You looked like you were crying, but you weren't.

"You're drenched in alcohol. Was that an attempt to avoid the Blashurfs' sense of smell? Clever."

An expression utterly devoid of emotion.

In your hollow eyes, as if all the tears you could shed had already dried up, I could see 'myself'.

"Oh, what should we do…"

Lister tried to pull 'you' out of the barrel and hug you tightly, but 'you' stubbornly retreated back into the barrel.

"Lister, what do we do? It seems like you have selective mutism."

"We can't leave you here, Frieda. They might come back anytime. We'll have to hand you over to the city."

"Then Kiess will have to use some force. I don't really like this method, but there's no choice."

From the moment I first saw 'you,' 'you' were like 'me.'

- Come, follow me.

The moment I saw 'you,' that distant day… the day He found me, He let me know what was in His heart.

- You will become a mage's apprentice.

Later, you asked me countless times why I took you as an apprentice.

To answer properly now…

It would have to be because your eyes and expression at that time were so similar to 'my' former self.

- To return as an adult who can share the light of magic with anyone…

And at that time, I didn't fully understand my own feelings, and even if I had, it would have been hard to admit, but I wanted to be like the Dean.

That's why…

Just as the Dean came into my life as a light, I simply believed that, as His apprentice, I too must emulate that action.

Tureyna…

My first apprentice…

Just as I became like the Dean, I should have stayed with you longer so that you too could become like me…

"You guys go ahead."

I'm sorry…

"Huh?"

For not being able to do the same for you as He did for me.

As He did for me.

When you were about to go astray, I should have strictly disciplined you to walk the right path again.

"I'll take you. I don't know how long it will take."