Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 166: The Third Archmage
After returning to the room, Salaar went upstairs again. He said he wanted to carefully examine Tass’s condition and, while he was at it, calm Earl and Lawler down a little more. Of course, when he said “calm them down,” Myss suspected the bastard really meant adjusting his mental magic depending on the situation.
In any case, Myss had no interest in the trivial affairs of those two humans. So, with his freshly braided hair still in place, he simply flopped back down in the sunlight.
After daybreak, everyone fetched water and washed up, but there really was very little food to be found in the room. If they wanted full stomachs, they would have to leave earlier than planned. The only good news was that the money “Marcela” had pointed Earl toward was real. He had at least repaid the amount on the IOU, so they wouldn’t need to waste any more time over it.
In other words, they wouldn’t remain here much longer.
Faced with a Salaar who wasn’t nearly as irritating, Myss seemed to have become much better at waiting. He hummed some tuneless little melody while idly playing with the magical threads in his hand.
Emotions truly were peculiar things. Tass had taken over that flesh dandelion, Professor Elephant had lost half a teacher, and Myss’s feelings hadn’t fluctuated in the slightest.
Even though that dandelion had genuinely possessed some skill and had been thoroughly treated by Salaar, Myss still couldn’t be bothered to think about it.
And yet, even though he knew Salaar wasn’t the sort of person to abandon something halfway through, he had still subconsciously suspected Salaar might make use of that divine power, while also feeling annoyed that Salaar might stupidly let such an opportunity slip by.
Then, once he confirmed Salaar had voluntarily given it up, he became absurdly pleased. As expected, Salaar really wasn’t someone who gave up halfway.
He had been fairly certain deep down. Yet his emotions still rose and fell like waves, while his thoughts swayed back and forth.
Still, compared with feeling nothing at all, this emotional roller coaster was rather interesting. Just think, that sinister and cunning bastard had actually failed to seize the opportunity to make him add another clause to the contract.
…Though Myss truly couldn’t be bothered going back on his word anyway.
The magical threads twisted together between his fingers and formed a pitch-black bubble. Inside that invisible hollow was the black space he had constructed.
“Is it really okay for me to just leave like this?” Kai’s voice came from near the fireplace. “Uh, I mean, the orders I got from above were originally to go to Evening Star City…”
Myss pricked up his ears, and the bubble between his fingers popped.
Come to think of it, treating Tass had only been an unexpected side matter. Setting that little incident aside, they were supposed to investigate the Order of Shadows.
Evening Star City had originally been intended as the final stop, where they would seek treatment for the Dragon Fae. Now, whether they needed to go there at all was uncertain.
“That’s right. You don’t need to go to Evening Star City anymore.”
At the moment, only Myss, Kai, and Gentry were on the first floor, and the Kingdom Archmage made no effort to avoid speaking openly.
“Lady Marcela’s matter reaches too far. I need to handle it personally. I’ll take Earl Nebula to Evening Star City in your place. You should rest properly for a while.”
Kai froze for a moment. “Uncle Gentry… sir, you’re the one who needs rest more. After all, Lady Marcela…”
Gentry only shook his head, his expression somewhat bitter.
“No. I want to do a little more for her. As for you, go home more often when you have the chance.”
Kai fell silent.
…Nothing interesting there. Myss yawned and rolled over so the sunlight could warm the other side of his body.
As long as they didn’t randomly run into more members of the Stargazers Society, everything else was manageable.
Then again, they had only tried to get a Dragon Fae treated and somehow uncovered a nameless god of mysterious origin. After having such terrible luck already, surely the investigation into the Order of Shadows ought to go a little more smoothly?
Myss closed his eyes beneath the brilliant sunlight.
He completely ignored Gentry and Kai chatting about family matters and focused only on the sounds from the staircase, waiting for Salaar’s footsteps.
The voices upstairs were quiet, almost completely covered by the conversation below. Salaar had probably used some kind of soundproofing method.
Myss couldn’t make out the words, but he could distinguish Salaar’s voice.
Mm, Salaar was still in the palm of his hand.
Myss happily curled his fingers together and admired the sunlight flowing across his palm.
……
“Kairos is still wandering around outside?” a deep male voice said.
The speaker was a tall, thin man with long brass-colored hair tied into a long bundle behind his head. Yet the long hair did nothing to soften his cold, severe appearance.
He had a pair of yellow-green eyes like a leopard’s, narrow in shape. His features were fairly handsome, but unfortunately they had settled into a perpetually stern expression.
Perhaps because he rarely smiled, there were few wrinkles on his face, making him look considerably younger than his actual age.
If someone claimed he was Kai’s elder brother, people might actually believe it.
He wore the formal robes of a high-ranking clergyman of the Church of Candance, both hands clasped behind his back. Unfortunately, to be honest, neither his hair color nor his overall presence matched the snow-white clothing very well.
“Yes, Lord Firth. Young Master Kairos was last sighted near Emerald Cliff.”
A middle-aged man dressed as a priest lowered his head.
“Emerald Cliff… Oh, Marcela’s territory,” the man called Lord Firth said. “Forget it. That area is safe.”
“As for Young Master Kairos joining the Stargazers Society…”
“Let him.” Firth replied at an unhurried pace. “Young people can be rebellious. As long as he doesn’t cause serious trouble, it’ll all pass eventually.”
“Yes, Lord Firth.”
“Wait.” The man suddenly spoke again.
“Please, Lord Firth.”
“If I remember correctly, he’s close to Gentry. Keep more of an eye on Gentry. That man is the real trouble.”
Firth lowered his eyes, his tone flat.
It was as though he were talking not about one of the seven Kingdom Archmages, but some drunk loitering by the roadside.
“…Yes, Lord Firth.” The priest gave a standard Church salute.
Firth turned his face toward the window. It was early morning in Serpantia City, and the sunlight was just right. Beyond the magnificent arched window, the city was gradually waking. People moved endlessly through the streets like ants, never seeming to tire.
He watched for a while, then withdrew his gaze in boredom.
Down below, amid the endless flow of pedestrians.
A handsome young man pressed down the brim of his hat. Young women passing nearby all slowed slightly, whispering about the face hidden in the shadow beneath the brim.
Unfortunately, they weren’t close enough to see the two horrific scars running across his cheeks beneath the disguise.
From outside in the bright morning light, the inside of the church’s arched windows looked almost completely black, nothing more than an insignificant piece of scenery in the brilliant dawn.
And yet he stared at that window, or more precisely, at a streak of white behind it, for a long time before lowering his gaze without a trace.
Then the disguised Mr. Hermit started walking.
When he relaxed his body, his left foot had a slight limp, and his left hand hung loosely at his side, looking somewhat weak. The moment those originally interested glances noticed this, they evaporated completely.
Hermit didn’t care.
He casually bought a bright yellow-orange fruit from a roadside stall. As he walked slowly along, he peeled the fresh orange with his right hand at an equally leisurely pace, leaving behind a faint trail of fragrance.
But when the morning breeze blew through, that thin scent scattered like morning fog and vanished in an instant.
……
“The fog really has cleared completely,” Father Kalen remarked.
Then he looked toward Tass, who was crouched on Myss’s shoulder.
For some reason, ever since Tass recovered, he seemed to be deliberately keeping his distance from Kalen.
The priest thought about it for a long time and eventually decided he was simply imagining things.
“We’re very close to Gemstone Lake. Aren’t you going back for a look?” he asked the Dragon Fae gently.
The Dragon Fae took a moment to react, then gave an awkward laugh.
“Forget it. I’ll wait until I’m a little more used to things.”
The thought that all his kin were actually disguised chunks of flesh made every part of him uncomfortable. Then, thinking about how he himself had now become “King of the Flesh Chunks”, or rather, the “God of the Dragon Faes”, made every scale on his body want to stand on end.
Then again, in a sense, these scales were fake too…
The Dragon Fae sank into melancholy. Back then, he had only wanted to help his friend get revenge and enjoy an exciting adventure on the side.
Now look at him.
The adventure had become so exciting it had reached all the way back to his own homeland.
“Speaking of which, haven’t you been home in a long time too?” Tass hurriedly changed the subject. “You said earlier your hometown was called…”
“Ember Village,” Father Kalen repeated. “It has indeed been many years since I went back.”
“Hermit is my only relative. He isn’t there, so I have no reason to return.”
Tass leaned forward and immediately threw the possibility of “Lord of Shadows contamination” to the back of his mind.
“Huh? You didn’t have any elders you were close to?”
From what he understood of humans, as long as a region wasn’t extremely poor, people would usually take some care of nearby orphans.
“No, because my brother took very good care of me.” Kalen answered sincerely. “Later, once we both grew up, there was even less need.”
Tass froze for a moment and couldn’t help exchanging a glance with Salaar. No, this was probably not a question of whether Hermit had taken good care of him.
Hermit and Kalen had clearly not been especially popular in their hometown, at least not when they were children.
Salaar asked tactfully, “Your parents…?”
“I have no memory of them at all. Hermit mentioned once that our grandfather was an ordinary shepherd.”
Kalen showed no hesitation about discussing the subject. “But I never met him either. We merely inherited the old house he left behind.”
That didn’t sound like the sort of family background that would make people hate them.
Perhaps Ember Village simply had unusual local customs, Salaar thought.
After all, neither the widely traveled Tass nor Salaar, who had inherited countless people’s memories, had ever heard the slightest thing about that village.
“Whatever. Didn’t the divination say there was nothing wrong?” When it came to his companions’ life histories, Mr. Myss had always possessed the sensitivity of sandpaper.
“In terms of the result, there was nothing wrong with this ‘return to my homeland’ either but is that really the same thing?” the Dragon Fae said sadly.
When had their divination results ever been wrong?
Exactly. Their journey so far had been incredibly smooth…assuming one counted the face of a sheer cliff as “smooth”.
Myss: “…”
Myss turned toward Kalen. “Maybe this time we’ll dig up the Lord of Shadows. When you meet Him, tell Him to improve His technique.”
Father Kalen immediately placed a hand over his heart and murmured a couple of prayers in response to such irreverent words.
Salaar shook his head and extended an arm, pulling the casually provocative Myss against his side. Pressed there by Salaar, Myss actually quieted down for a while.
He turned his bright red eyes toward the road ahead. Professor Gentry was walking in front of them with Earl, Lawler, and Kai.
Myss’s hand, however, was nowhere near as serious as his gaze. He casually wrapped an arm around Salaar’s waist, his claws poking here and pinching there as though checking something.
“…I really won’t turn into a funnel again,” Salaar said helplessly.
“Maybe I just want to pinch you.”
“Then you wouldn’t pinch my waist.” Salaar lowered his head slightly and muttered under his breath. “We both know it doesn’t feel that good there.”
Myss clicked his tongue exceptionally loudly.
True enough. They had fought, and they had slept together. He still preferred his Hero Cushion’s sturdy, muscular build.
“All right. I was just thinking about what you’ll look like someday after you become a true god. Not because some weird thing catalyzes you, but after you find your own path.”
Myss sounded thoughtful, with faint anticipation in his voice.
“After all, that hourglass form was completely beyond anything I could have imagined. To seal me, are you going to turn into a flask? Or maybe a wine barrel?”
Salaar looked at the head bobbing around beside him and couldn’t help bending down to kiss the warm crown of his enemy’s head.
“Who knows?” he said with a smile.
At the kiss, Myss gave a small grunt and finally withdrew his wandering hands.
“True. It’s too early to think about that now.”
“Let’s drag the Lord of Shadows out first.”
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