The Great Mage Returns After 4000 Years

Chapter 35 - Friend (4)

Translator: Seven

‘What is it?’

Shepard was unsettled.

He had felt that he had misunderstood after hearing Frey’s words.

Nevertheless, it did not completely dispel his doubts and he still felt like he was in control of the flow of the conversation.

That fact was very important, but suddenly the flow had changed.

When he had mentioned the Demigod, the wariness on Frey’s face had disappeared as if it had been washed off.

There was even a smile on his lips.

Of course, the smile disappeared just as fast as it appeared.

“Please continue.”

“…do you know of the Demigod?”

If he didn’t know then his reaction could not be explained.

Frey nodded.

“A little.”

“How?”

“When I got my hands on these earrings, there was a note from Schweiser near to them.”

Shepard was shocked.

“Sch-, Schweiser’s notes? Do you still have it?”

“Maybe. First of all, I’d like to keep listening to your story.”

“…”

Shepard was forced to admit that he’d lost the initiative. He could only swallow his questions for now and continue his story.

“…fine. Demigods. Half-God beings that transcended humans. There’s no way for us to know just how many of them exist or how much power they can exert. However, the tip of the iceberg is, they have revealed enough to dominate the entire continent.”

It was certain that there weren’t many.

Frey knew that their numbers didn’t surpass one hundred.

However, every one of them was so powerful that it wasn’t an exaggeration to call them a disaster.

“We don’t know how many of them exist, what their purpose is or why they choose to remain hidden. But there are some things that we can be sure of.”

Shepards gaze sank.

“That it is possible for them to destroy every race other than themselves on a whim…And that it has been done a few times before.”

They knew the most important thing, so that was enough.

“4,000 years ago, there were five heroes who fought bravely against them.”

Shepard listed each of them.

The Great Mage, the Sage, the Magic Warrior King, the Sword King and the Black Witch.

“But after Lucas disappeared, the relationship between the rest became fractured. There was fighting between the King of Magic and the Swordmaster, the Black Witch disappeared and the Sage struggled on his own, but it wasn’t enough. That was the point when the most powerful rebels against the Demigods disappeared from history.”

Shepard said this and pointed at his tattoo and the magic tattoo shined slightly as if in response.

“Our Circle is an organization that inherited their will.”

Frey didn’t expect Shepard to claim to be their successors.

He felt a bit odd.

“Is Circle the name of the organization?”

“That’s how it’s usually called, but it is actually a bit more complicated than that. As the years have passed, the Circle’s will could not be united as one.”

“…so there are multiple circles?”

“In a way. They’re basically…keeping each other in check.”

Frey didn’t know what to say, he was speechless.

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What were they doing in this time where the odds of them winning were low even if they gathered together?

Shepard sighed as if he had noticed his thoughts.

“There are many big and small circles, but three largest at the present are the Strow Necklaces, Phisfounder Armlets and Lucid Swords.”

“…”

The names were familiar.

They were like the clubs at the Westroad Academy.

Other than that, there was still a question.

Two of the names were missing.

“…I don’t know much about the other circles, but I’ve heard that the current situation of the Traumen Rings isn’t very good. There are rumors that they are on the verge of collapsing. Not long ago, the Circle Master died and half of the executives moved to other circles.”

“What about the King of Magic Kasajin?”

“King Kasajin’s inheritance is said to be passed down to one person at a time but no successors have appeared in a long while. We are looking for the whereabouts, but so far we haven’t found anything.”

“What is the relationship with the clubs in the academy?”

Shepard laughed at that.

“Most of the club members don’t know of our existence, but we know who all of them are. The circles are always in need of talent. If anyone stands out in a club, we approach them first.”

“Was it necessary to pick the same names?”

“It looks pretty simple at first but it’s actually pretty effective. In fact, there are many groups with similar names around the continent and there is a benefit to it. After all, the Demigods’ eyes and ears could be anywhere.”

He spoke calmly but in truth his heart was a bit restless.

If the Demigods had any misunderstandings then their lives would be ended as easily as bugs. (Note: is it a misunderstanding when they actually do wanna stop the demigods?)

While recognizing that fact, Shepard’s expression remained unchanged.

“As I said, the circles keep each other in check. Just a decade ago, there weren’t three large groups, but four. It included the Traument Rings.”

After saying that, he looked at Frey with a complicated gaze.

“That was why I was confused. You have the Typhoon Earrings so I thought that you were a member of the Traumen Rings.”

From what he’d heard, Frey knew that it was a natural misunderstanding.

Nevertheless, Frey clicked his tongue.

It was certainly good news that there was a group called Circle who were against the Demigods, but it was not good news that they were not united as one.

The Demigods weren’t something that they could handle with decentralized power.

“I’ve told you everything I could. Now it’s your turn. Did you obtain those earrings in the Ispania Mountains?”

“Yes.”

“Hm…”

Shepard sank into thought and Frey made a guess from looking at his attitude.

“Do you know about it?”

“I heard rumors that there was a high probability that there were artifacts of the heroes there. But among those who went there, only a handful made it back alive and none of them had anything to show for it.”

This was natural.

Frey knew that there was a dungeon under the volcanic lake on Drake Mountain, but others didn’t.

Even an ordinary mountain would take a long time to search even with over a hundred people. But the Ispania Mountains were called the Paradise for Monsters.

And even if they were lucky enough to find the dungeon, there was still Torkunta waiting for them when they left.

Frey spoke after a moment.

“The Typhoon Earrings are the legacy of Lucas. If I had these would that mean I am a member of the Traumen Rings?”

“It’s not like that.”

“Then why did you mistake me for one of you.”

“You were wearing them with such pride. Most of us feel a strong sense of belonging to our circles.”

Frey looked at Shepard’s tattoo which caused the man to laugh proudly.

“I admire Sage Schweiser more than anyone else in this world.”

‘Congrats, Schweiser.’

Frey was lost in thought for a moment, offering heartfelt congratulations to his long dead friend.

‘Circle. I don’t need to go back to the academy now that I’ve found them.’

In the first place, the reason he continued at the academy was to gain an understanding of the current world and he had intended to find out the true identity of the academy’s dean Syris Triznine.

Now that he thought of it, wouldn’t Shepard know the answer?

“Syris Triznine. The Dean of Westroad Academy, her abilities are much higher than is revealed to the public. Is she also in Circle?”

“I believe she is an executive of the Phisfounder Armlets. I don’t know more than that.”

He had even learned the identity of the dean, his only real reason for returning to the academy had disappeared.

Frey tried to organize his thoughts.

He could feel that Shepard was still looking at him with a suspicious gaze.

“Is there anything else you want to ask?”

“…I must say that I am curious about your reaction. I’ll tell you in advance, I still don’t trust you fully.”

It was rather sudden.

Frey looked on curiously as Shepard slowly opened his mouth.

“First of all, I want you to show me one thing. Try using the Typhoon Earrings.”

Was he asking him to use the barrier magic?

Frey was curious about Shepard’s intentions, but it wasn’t difficult so he played alone.

Woowoong.

He activated the barrier spell.

Then he could feel the glimmer of doubt fading from Shepard’s eyes.

“Hoo. Okay. It’s not the worst case.”

“What are you talking about?”

“It wasn’t because I mistook you for a member of the Traumen Rings that I was wary of you. There’s a bigger reason for that.”

Frey didn’t rush him and instead simply looked at him.

Shepard opened his mouth slowly and spoke.

“Isaka Blake.”

This was Frey’s father’s name, but why had it appeared now?

After carefully checking the reaction of Frey who simply tilted his head, Shepard continued.

“After the tower meeting a month ago, I heard reports that he had been in contact with the Demigods.”

* * *

That evening, the banquet was held.

Members of the most prestigious families in the capital made sure to attend and the addition of the finest drinks and food made the atmosphere in the banquet hall very warm.

Frey looked around at all those who came dressed in stylish clothes, but his gaze was only drawn to certain items.

There were a lot of people there, but eventually, he found what he was looking for.

Those who were from the circle organizations were the ones that he was looking for.

But the situation wasn’t too good.

Other than that, he still had a few scattered problems.

Manufacturing Anastasia.

Fully digesting the Frozen River.

What kind of place was the circle and just how far could he trust Shepard.

There was also the news about Isaka Blake.

“…”

Shepard also didn’t fully trust him yet.

No, he was still rather suspicious.

One reason was Isaka Blake’s suspicious behavior.

At the same time, he had gained another piece of important information.

It was the fact that the Demigod’s informants can’t use the heroes’ legacies.

This was why after he’d used the Typhoon Earrings, Shepard’s doubts had lessened a bit.

‘It’s best to not reveal the Staff of the Great Sage if possible.’

It was the symbol of Schweiser.

The reaction would be completely different from the Typhoon Earrings.

He didn’t need to reveal it and complicate matters even more.

Frey shook his head.

All of his problems were rather difficult and it was impossible for him to solve all of them at once.

He would take it one step at a time as though untangling a knotted thread.

Frey felt that the most pressing matter was to make the Frozen River’s power completely his. At the same time it would restore his currently unbalanced body.

He saw someone walking toward him as he tried to think of how to solve his problems.

After a glance, he realised it was Sonia.

She was wearing a white dress which seemed to go well with her blue hair.

“Frey, you’re here.”

Perhaps she’d walked around the banquet looking for Frey.

When he thought about it, he realised that as a foreigner, Sonia probably didn’t have any other acquaintances at this banquet.

The main character of the banquet, Peran, would show up when the atmosphere in the banquet had reached its peak.

“You’re attending as well?”

“Right.”

“I see.”

Frey tried to continue thinking, but Sonia didn’t leave and it seemed that she still wanted something.

“Sonia.”

“H-, huh?”

When she heard her name she looked into his eyes.

Frey asked a question after seeing her attitude.

“Do you have something to say?”

“…”

“…?”

“…it’s nothing.”

Then she shook her head with a sigh.

Frey handed her a glass of wine, thinking she was thirsty.

‘Come to think of it, what about the engagement?’

He thought for a moment. In truth it was very easy to ask, but he wasn’t actually that interested.

As soon as he was about to think again, Frey saw that a fat man was looking at him.

His clothes looked like they were about to burst and his face was covered in oil.

The moment their eyes met, the man approached him.

“Frey, right?”

“You are?”

“Haha! What. Are you trying to look cool? Huh?”

Frey tried to jog his memory.

His attitude suggested that he was ‘Frey’s’ acquaintance…

‘I think I met him at the academy.’

Just as he was trying to dig deeper into his memories.

The mouth of the man who’d walked towards him twisted into a sneer.

“It’s been a long time loser Frey.”

Frey stopped trying to jog his memory.

It was clear that this guy hadn’t approached with good intentions.