Book 19 Chapter 33

Episode 167

The Bond Connecting the Archmage, Before and After the Battle of Langbard (2)

"Hahaha, Lynn, you too! Are you shy because your disciple is next to you?"

Leonia, princess of Hosen and platinum-ranked mercenary number 4, laughed as she slapped Lynn's back.

Seeing the lionesses rubbing their faces against Lynn's thigh, her memories finally returned.

That's right. This woman was the benefactor who kidnapped Lynn and helped her complete one of her bucket list items: [The Strongest Mage Pretending to Be Kidnapped].

"Hahahahaha! Your Highness the Prince Consort is truly full of wit!"

100 volunteer soldiers, whose appearance, location, and reason for being there Lynn didn't know, laughed along.

Their identity was the Hosen Rapid-Fire Archers!

They were the pride of the Hosen Kingdom's Royal Guards, boasting incredible archery skills. This time, too, they played a significant role alongside the Ain Artillery.

"Shh!"

Leonia quickly put her index finger to her lips and whispered.

"Lynn doesn't like blatant pressure like that! You have to be subtly, slyly, and coolly chic, like me!"

"Gasp! I apologize!"

"Lynn, did you happen to hear the Lion's Roar I just let out? Oh, wait wait wait! You don't have to say anything. I know your heart better than anyone. Why did I come here? To help Lynn, of course!"

Leonia eagerly grabbed Lynn's right hand with both of hers, her eyes shining. For some reason, Turayna didn't like that sight.

"Master is busy."

What mad eloquence!

Where had her usual stutter gone!

"So this is what they mean by a rolling stone dislodging a set one."

What a profound analogy!

However, Leonia, who interpreted everything positively, was already contemplating how to adopt Turayna as a royal daughter once Lynn completed her journey and returned to the kingdom, even planning the process.

Thus, there was no way she would feel hostility in Turayna's words! She wasn't a rival to begin with!

"Busy? Lynn, where do you have to go?"

"Going to the library."

"Oh my, how can that be! Your precious feet and knees might get hurt? Senru!"

Senru, the lioness, leaped up and Lynn climbed onto her back.

"Let's go too. Horu, take Lynn to the library!"

"Roar (Okay)!"

"Rooooar (Okay)!"

Turayna quickly climbed up behind Lynn and held her tightly.

She couldn't possibly allow a 'rolling stone' to have private time with her master.

The lions, accustomed to all sorts of rough terrain while traversing Trident Point, began to effortlessly leap over castle walls and cliffs!

"Ma'am, why are you speaking so well?"

Lynn asked.

Turayna, her face flushed like a red radish, began to stutter again.

"Th-this was a crucial moment in life, so, th-that's probably why."

Lynn thought.

'Is this kid's dream perhaps [The Strongest Mage Pretending Not To Be Able To Speak]?'

It was similar in nature to [The Strongest Mage Pretending To Be Weak], but it seemed like a more painful and difficult path. If so, as a master who had walked a similar path first, it was her duty to cheer her on.

"Hmph, keep up the good work in the future."

Turayna, not understanding what Lynn had just said, raised her head blankly.

'Keep up the good work, she said? Is Master thinking the same thing as me?'

Leonia, who had swiftly taken Lynn to the 'Hero's Library', brought the lioness Horu right next to Senru, carrying Lynn and Turayna, and said.

"Lynn, do you know why I helped you?"

"?"

"It's because I like you."

Did she mean she liked riding a lion? Thanks to it, she arrived comfortably, so she decided to give a thumbs up.

"!!!!!!"

Leonia felt her heart pound at Lynn's reaction.

'No, Leonia! If I act clingy here, Lynn's cool and chic personality might make her think ill of me. I should also let her go coolly. There will be many more opportunities to score points in the future!'

After Leonia left coolly (?), Lynn buried herself in the mountain of books in the library. It was evening, half a day later, when she went to meet Link.

"Link."

"Link, Link, Link!"

As soon as Lynn called, Link, still in his heavy armor, shook the ground as he joyfully ran over.

"From now on, don't answer if I call you Link."

"Link, Link, Link?"

"Because your name isn't Link anymore."

The reason Lynn went to the Hero's Library was to find the 『Historical Encyclopedia of People』!

"From now on, Link's name is Cassel. No objections accepted."

Lynn had found all the names and surnames starting with 'Ling' there and picked the most suitable one.

"Hey, you crazy Archmage Lynn. No matter how you look at it, isn't there too big a discrepancy between Link and Cassel? Do you think he'll say Cassel, Cassel, Cassel just because you say so?"

Chief Tinkerer Nils Blanc immediately intervened, but Lynn was undeterred.

"The name is Cassel, and there's a surname too. The surname is Lingkan."

"Cassel Lingkan?"

"It's the best result after combining all the cool-sounding names and surnames I could find."

"Link isn't a noble, though."

"If he performs well in the future, he'll become like a noble after the war, so what's the problem?"

That's right. Lynn couldn't stand the ignorant fools making fun of Link.

That's why she did this.

The two had no way of knowing why Lynn did this or the process, but her sincerity was clearly conveyed and more.

"Link, Link, Link!"

As Link excitedly tapped his breastplate with both hands, Nils tapped his palm with a spanner and said.

"He likes it. He seems to have understood properly. He doesn't have a problem with hearing, after all."

"Then we should do something about how he speaks now."

As Lynn understood it, Link had sacrificed his 'speaking ability' as a price to become the strongest being.

So, super respect!

Was it said that he had a congenital problem? Anyway, Link speaking like that was completely unfitting for the strongest being.

"Well, once the war is over, something will work out."

Nils said.

Because the plan was to use the 'Deep Burst' to revert him to his state before the chimera modification once the war was over.

"That's too late."

Nils raised an eyebrow.

Too late?

Is she thinking of reverting Link?

"No, it's fine. This is Link's judgment and decision. It's not for us to argue about."

"I'm not arguing. I'm going to use magic. Because I'm an archmage."

"?"

She had read medical books on the brain, which stated that the brain is a collection of tiny nerve networks and communication between them occurs through minute electrical reactions.

It also said that if there's an obstruction in the generation or transport of this electricity, it manifests as a physical disability.

Lynn prided herself as a master of electric magic. So, if she set her mind to interpreting the brain's electrical signals and solving linguistic problems, it seemed nothing was impossible.

'Originally, I was thinking about it because of Turayna, but since that guy's dream is [The Strongest Pretending Not To Be Able To Speak], I'll pretend not to know.'

* * *

The matter to be discussed from now on is the Battle of <Suriganaquius>, which is described so grandly in various archives.

I tend to think that all the archives covering our achievements add a lot of seasoning, but I can confidently say that there is absolutely no exaggeration regarding this battle.

This story, a fierce battle just before the decisive battle of <Raptas>, had an ominous atmosphere from the very beginning.

"Lynn, let's go. His Imperial Majesty wants to meet you so much."

Of course, until that began, the axis of daily life, ordinary if ordinary and not ordinary if not ordinary, was turning.

"[The Strongest Archmage] should not fawn over those in power."

That was the excuse, but she simply preferred to be buried in study at the 'Hero's Library'.

The war situation in <Suriganaquius> was already ominous, and they were deploying troops this afternoon, so reading even one more book was better.

Then Friede blew pipe smoke into my face.

"Idiot. If you properly flatter the Emperor just a few times, your Magic Tower might be rolling in money, you know?"

Osarius Magic Tower… Speaking of which, what state is the Magic Tower in now?

The Dean was someone who picked up orphans like stray cats, so it wouldn't be surprising if there were hundreds of them now, four years later.

It was hard enough just feeding a hundred; now hundreds?

"Hmph, I really don't want to go! As [The Strongest Archmage], I really don't want to go to such a place, but if you beg me that much, there's no reason not to go."

"Oh, then don't come."

"No, I'm going."

"You crazy contrarian, you said you didn't want to go!"

"Ah, I said I'm going!"

This would be a good opportunity to complete the bucket list item [The Strongest Archmage Dealing with the Highest Authority].

Since Friede was currently the leader of the Republic, the meeting proceeded as an equal discussion, not an audience based on a vertical hierarchy of status.

The Emperor and the newly appointed Prime Minister Hwanghasamuseong sat on the far side of the table, and we sat on this side, and it was a moment where one realized the extent of Friede's power.

"So, you are Lynn, I presume? My Prime Minister, Madoseong, praised you so effusively that I always wanted to meet you, and now I finally have the chance."

"Kyuung!"

"Hey, it's splattering everywhere! You useless bastard, if you can't even eat properly, what *are* you good at? Eat elegantly like Pipi over there."

Perhaps because Pipi had experience participating in various public events under the shaman Friede, she was eating very gracefully! A master!

"An Archmage leading a dragon… Indeed, as your epithet [Archmage of the Ice Dragon] suggests. It's unprecedented. Madoseong, isn't a dragon considered a divine beast, a symbol of the pinnacle for both mages and witches?"

Madoseong was the old woman who visited the Magic Tower when I took the 3-star exam. If I recall correctly, she was a squire of the Keffel family, a member of the Madose household.

"That is correct, Your Majesty. She was chosen by such a dragon."

I was very disappointed.

Perhaps because I had seen Friede, a complete package of both civil and martial arts, as the leader of the Republic, I had assumed the Emperor also possessed immense power.

However, the Emperor was corpulent, and I sensed only an amateur level of mana from him.

"How did you become Emperor?"

"Lynn!"

"Ouch! Why did you pinch me? I genuinely asked because I was curious."

I had thought the Emperor was just a fat and incompetent man, but his next words changed that impression slightly.

"Lynn, if one could seize power through a hierarchy based on strength, what difference would there be between humans and demonkind? I believe the one who truly thinks of their subjects and has the will and ability to raise them to an equal standing should be the ruler."

"…!"

"Hahahaha! Anyway, you are a truly direct friend. To run an empire, one needs friends who speak their mind. I will call upon you again once this war is over. Let us realize our dreams together."

The old woman Madoseong, who was sitting opposite me, spoke.

"Lynn, I will step down from the position of Madoseong after this war. Do you understand what this means?"

I don't know.

But one shouldn't pretend not to know what one doesn't know, which is perhaps why [The Strongest Archmage] is [The Strongest].

"Hmph, it's only natural…"

Using informal speech was unavoidable to uphold the pride of [The Strongest], but I am a 5-star, and that old woman is merely a 4-star, so there's no problem hierarchically.

"Huh, as expected…!"

"Becoming the next Madoseong, the dream of all mages, is merely a 'natural' thing…!"

"Watch your mouth, you scoundrel! Lady Lynn is an Archmage! It's only natural…!"

However, the reactions of the people standing around were a bit strange. The Emperor merely laughed heartily.

"Yes, Kiess will also return after the war, so the two of you will get along well in the palace. But Kiess, you… Huh, how surprising. It's as if you've become a different person."

[┌(ㅇ-ㅇ)┘?]

"Isn't there life in her eyes? Back then, she always had a look that made it seem she could commit suicide at any moment, so I always made her accompany me on hunts or drinking parties, but now there's no need for that. Hahahaha!"

The Emperor valued gastronomy, so he traveled with dozens of personal chefs, and the meal served at the table was so astonishing it made one's mouth gape.

"A full course of traditional regional dishes from the Empire! Please enjoy yourselves to your heart's content, and if you need anything, let me know immediately."

Lista seemed uncomfortable with such a lavish banquet during wartime.

I, too, was uncomfortable, if one could call it that.

Until now, I thought the food I was eating was delicious, but the people at the Magic Tower probably don't even know such food exists, do they?

"Hmm…"

Friede said if I flattered the Emperor well, I'd be rolling in money. What should I do?

"Aren't you hungry? It's understandable, given you've been on the battlefield. That's why I've prepared a gift to stimulate your appetite."

The moment the Emperor clapped his hands, my pupils widened enormously.

It couldn't be helped.

I realized then that the act of being startled by something and involuntarily jumping to one's feet was actually possible.

"Senior Brother Pomas?"

Senior Brother, *that* Senior Brother!

The eldest brother of the Osarius Magic Tower.

He had always cared for everyone with utmost attention, so if all the disciples of the Magic Tower revered the Dean as a mother, they revered their Senior Brother as a father.

"How did you get here…?"