The Great Mage Returns After 4000 Years

Book 2: Chapter 348

They watched the backs of the departing Swordnaz, the sun setting behind them.

When their figures finally disappeared over the horizon, Lukas opened his mouth.

“Is what you said before true?”

“What do you mean?”

“The story about Cairo joining Diablo.”

Peran nodded his head slowly instead of responding.

“Cairo Wilsemann is a 9-star Wizard.”

“Right.”

“Enlightenment. And a desire to be taught. Did you notice? According to your words, Diablo will teach a 9-star Wizard.”

“…”

There was no answer, but he could tell from looking at Peran’s expression. This man was also considering that possibility.

“…we need to contemplate this situation more carefully, but I don’t believe most Wizards will be able to refuse Diablo’s temptation. As you said before, they are on the verge of going crazy from their hunger for teaching. They will accept it regardless of what he asks for in return.”

“That’s not teaching.”

Lukas’ voice was cold. Teaching wasn’t something that should be paid for. That was what Lukas always believed.

“But why didn’t you fall for Diablo’s tricks?”

“Huh?”

“You’re 8-stars. The higher the level, the greater the desire for enlightenment.”

“…”

Peran gave a small smile.

“Well. Perhaps it’s because I am less desperate. It hasn’t been so long since I reached 8-stars.”

Lukas didn’t think he was being completely honest, but he decided not to question him more deeply.

“In any case, now is not the time for us to worry about Diablo and the Wizards. Firstly, we need to focus on Snow’s treatment and resuscitation. To do that, we will need to find Anastasia like you said.”

“You said there was a place you thought she might be.”

“That’s true, but you shouldn’t trust that too much. It is outdated information.”

Peran spoke with a slightly troubled expression, but Lukas didn’t mind. This was because he hadn’t expected that Peran would have any contact with Anastasia in the first place.

But when he asked Peran about her, his strange expression told him that there was some story there.

“Even outdated information is fine. So where were we…”

Lukas turned his head slightly, and when he stopped, his gaze was resting upon Torkunta who was standing in the distance. He was half hidden behind a burnt tree.

Lukas beckoned towards him.

“The Swordnaz have already left, Torkunta. You can come over.”

“…”

“Torkun…”

Lukas paused for a moment.

…Nix and Torkunta.

They were two consciousnesses, two souls that shared the same body.

It was possible to tell which one was in control by looking at the colour of their eyes.

When Torkunta was in control, the eyes were golden and slit like a predator.

And when it was Nix, the eyes were red.

The reason Lukas paused was for one reason.

The eyes looking at him from behind the tree were bright red.

It was clear.

The one who was currently in control was Nix.

“Be careful.”

When Lukas spoke in a low tone, Peran, who also noticed something strange, began to draw upon his mana so that he would be able to cast a spell at any time.

‘…there are still a lot of things I wanted to ask Torkunta.’

Nix had woken up much faster than they expected.

Then what would happen now?

If she were to decide to kill them, there was nothing Lukas and Peran could do to fight back. In other words, they would have no choice but to run away. But did they really have enough time to escape from Nix?

‘I might need to try calling out Torkunta again.’

No, that would be difficult too.

There were two reasons why Torkunta’s consciousness was able to come forward so easily last time.

One of them was because Nix’s mind was unstable, and the other was because Lukas had successfully managed to threaten her life to an extent.

Now, it would be difficult for him to satisfy either condition.

“…”

It was strange.

He had been thinking for quite a while already, but Nix still continued to look at him without saying a word. To be more precise, her gaze was glued to Lukas’ face.

When he lifted his gaze to meet hers, she turned her head to the side and folded her arms with a slight huff.

“…why is she acting like that?”

“Well.”

Lukas and Peran weren’t sure of what was going on.

But they could at least be certain about one thing.

For now, Nix wasn’t showing any hostility to them.

“…”

Lukas and Peran exchanged glances while lifting their guards ever so slightly.

“It doesn’t seem like she plans to kill us.”

“…that seems to be the case.”

“Then what should we do? If we talk to her…”

“We might end up stimulating her again…”

“She doesn’t look as unstable as before.”

“That might just be how she looks. Those who are mentally and emotionally unstable don’t always show it on the outside.”

“…so you’re saying if we try to approach her, we might get turned to ashes.”

“Should we just act like we don’t care? Maybe we should head to the main road.”

“…”

That wasn’t a bad idea.

With a slight nod, they slowly turned around and began walking side by side through the forest. Despite this, almost all of the attention of the two men were focused on the woman who was looking at them.

After taking about ten steps.

Tap tap-

They heard the sound of footsteps behind them.

“…she’s following us.”

“That’s right.”

“You don’t think that she will… hunt us down and try to kill… do you?”

“I don’t think so, but I’m also not sure what she’s thinking.”

“Should we use the Warp spell to try and shake her off?”

“That’s too risky.”

Lukas pondered for a moment before making a suggestion.

“Let’s leave the forest first before deciding what to do next. Don’t let your guard down.”

“Right.”

“…by the way, where are we going?”

When he heard this, Peran pulled a half broken compass from his pocket. Lukas guessed that it might have become like that during the fight with Nix.

Peran pointed to the northwest and spoke.

“Yuterdam.”

“…Yuterdam?”

This was his first time hearing that name.

Peran chuckled slightly as he added.

“It is the so-called City of Pleasure.” (TL: This scene was so funny to me.)

* * *

“…”

Nix, who was walking at a fixed distance behind them, suddenly frowned and mumbled.

“…why are you so noisy? Shut up.”

[…]

“The headache? It’s fine for now. It doesn’t hurt anymore. In fact, I’m sure…”

There was a strange glint in the eyes of Nix, which had been locked onto Lukas’ back since he turned around.

“It won’t hurt anymore.”

* * *

“It’s fine now.”

The doctor announced as they finished wrapping the bandage tightly.

Lukas bowed his head slightly.

“Thank you.”

“It is something you paid for. But you should be more careful in the future. The surgery was a success, but that was no minor wound. If you were to move too much, you might cause it to reopen.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

“Take these medicinal herbs twice a day after a meal for one week. Once in the morning and again in the evening. You may go now.”

Lukas nodded, put on his shirt, and left the room.

As he climbed the creaking stairs, he was greeted with a panoramic view.

The blue horizon that stretched endlessly, and the sails swaying in the salty breeze which brushed past the tip of his nose.

He was on a ship. A transport vessel headed towards Yuterdam.

It seemed that there were no Warp Stones in Yuterdam. In addition, since it would be the first time that Peran was visiting it too, he didn’t know its coordinates. In other words, it meant that they had no choice but to travel there themselves.

‘It is safer to travel by sea than by land.’

For one, it would help them avoid Diablo’s tracking, and it would shorten their journey by a considerable amount.

Above all, it allowed Lukas to get the required rest to heal his wounds while they travelled. Thanks to this, his physical condition was able to improve rapidly over the past two weeks.

According to the doctor, as long as he didn’t overdo it, he wouldn’t have any trouble moving around.

‘I can’t tell if this body is weak or strong…’

It was surprisingly sturdy.

When his stomach had been pierced, he really thought that he would die.

…In any case, after leaving the Amalgam Forest, they received some proper treatment in a nearby town before heading to the nearest port town after a short rest. Then they immediately found a ship heading towards their destination and got on board.

It had already been two weeks since they’d left the Amalgam Forest, and five days since they’d stepped onto the ship.

According to the schedule, they would be able to see Yuterdam by sunset.

“Is your treatment over?”

He turned around when he heard the sudden voice behind him.

It was Peran.

Even though the sun was high in the sky, his skin was clammy and his hair was tousled as if he had just woken up. This wasn’t strange. He had been constantly locked in his cabin, using the numerous communication stones he’d set up there to calm the chaos in the Anti Circle Alliance.

Lukas couldn’t tell just how busy he was, but he was certainly busier than him, who just had to focus on his recovery.

“Right. You?”

“It was a bit rushed, but I’ve done everything I can. All that’s left to do is pray.”

“…I see.”

Silence fell.

The two men stood side by side, staring out at the open ocean.

It wasn’t particularly awkward. In fact, the silence was actually comfortable.

But this fact was even stranger.

It had been so long since Lukas had felt something similar to this that he’d already forgotten it.

“She’s doing it again.”

Lukas looked over when he heard Peran’s laughter filled murmur.

There, not so far away, stood Nix, partially hidden in the shadows.

“Have you spoken to her yet?”

“No. Whenever I get close, she runs away.”

“Really?… Well. It doesn’t seem like she wants to kill us anymore, so I guess we can count ourselves lucky.”

That was something he could definitely agree with.

Of course, Lukas wanted to know a bit more about what was currently going through Nix’s mind, but her power was too intimidating to provoke.

It was too risky to pursue her and ask her questions when she was avoiding him herself.

At the very least, it was something he had to avoid until he was absolutely certain that it was safe.

“…on a ship.”

Peran spoke slowly.

His expression and tone were completely different from before.

“That’s where we met for the first time.”

There was no subject.

But it was easy to tell who Peran was talking about.

Frey Blake.

“…”

Until now, Peran hadn’t mentioned anything. They had been too busy in the Amalgam Forest. And even afterward, they’d been focused on finding a ship and seeking treatment from a doctor.

They’d had a few minutes of conversation between those times.

Nevertheless, Peran didn’t say anything, nor did he ask anything.

It was only now that he was bringing up Frey.

Lukas wondered why.

“Right.”

He nodded.

Peran paused for a moment before opening his mouth again.

“I didn’t really care about the pirates, but the Lich was a problem.”

“With your level at the time, he could be considered a formidable opponent. But compared to Diablo, he’s like a newborn.”

“Haha. That’s natural.”

Lukas looked up at the sky for a moment before muttering.

“I just realised something.”

“What is it?”

“Both then and now, our enemy was a Lich.”

“…”

Peran turned to Lukas with a look of confusion for a moment before he burst into laughter.

“Ha, hahaha. Hahaha…”

His smile was as refreshing as the ocean breeze.

Lukas didn’t think his words were particularly funny, but Peran laughed so hard that tears appeared at the corners of his eyes. Nix, who was standing a bit away, seemed to become curious as she inched closer. But when her eyes met Lukas’, she stopped moving and went back to her original spot.

“…right. That’s right.”

Peran muttered to himself while nodding as though he understood something.

When he looked at Lukas once again, his expression seemed a bit brighter, as though he’d let go of some kind of burden.

“By the way, what should I… No. What do I call you?” (TL: Hard to portray in English. The first ‘what do’ is formal, the second is more casual, like the way you’d speak to a friend.)

For some reason, it felt like this was something that was important to him.

Lukas cleared his throat and answered in a clear voice.

“Lukas, Lukas Trowman.”

“Lukas Trowman… Good.”

Peran smiled brightly and stuck out his hand.

“I’m Peran Jun. Please take care of me, Lukas.”

“Right.”

He grabbed his outstretched hand.

Perhaps it was just a feeling. But Lukas felt like a refreshing air was blowing in his chest.