The Great Mage Returns after 4000 Years – Chapter 122 – When to Crouch (2)
Translator: Seven
Editors: Ana_Banana, Yahiko
Frey looked at Leita’s expression as they walked.
She had a slight smile on her face and seemed to bounce slightly with each step.
‘She doesn’t know who I am.’
Leyrin was in the basement.
But it didn’t seem like Leita was taking him there as a trap or to kill him.
At least, he could say that it was okay.
‘It’s not that it’s not dangerous.’
Within Frey was divine power that once belonged to Indra.
That wasn’t all.
The mask he obtained from Hector and the marble he took from Riki’s ashes were also in his bag.
If Leyrin noticed any of these things, he would get caught, and she would try to kill him.
“…”
But there was no way he could justify turning back at this point.
Frey clicked his tongue inwardly. The only way for him to overcome his present crisis was to adapt to the situation.
When they arrived at the final door in the dungeon, Leita stopped walking.
She then turned to Frey and spoke in a serious voice.
“Inside this room is our Master.”
“By Master…”
“Leyrin, the Demigod with the power of wind. The Emperor… no. Think of her as a being even higher than the Emperor, and pay special attention to what you say and do.”
“Understood.”
“Good.”
Leita nodded and opened the door.
All the rooms they had walked through so far had been dirty and gloomy, but this place was different.
It was clean and well lit. It was also quite wide.
The room wasn’t luxurious, but it had all the furnishings one would expect to find.
It felt like someone’s bedroom rather than a room in the basement.
A grey-haired woman stood in the center of the room.
“You arrived early.”
“I hope we didn’t disturb you, True Master of the Continent.”
Leita knelt down.
Frey also knelt down, following suit.
He felt offended by the title, True Master of the Continent, but he didn’t show it.
Leyrin simply nodded her head.
Her youthful appearance was a stark contrast from those of the other Apocalypses.
Frey paid attention to her grey hair.
Grey hair that was unique to the Blake family.
That wasn’t all.
Some of Leyrin’s features had some similarities to himself.
‘Perhaps.’
It was highly likely that the genes of the Blake family had been taken from her body.
After all, the simplest way to obtain samples of divine power was to take them from her own body.
“Nothing happened, right?”
“Thanks to you, everything is fine.”
Leita was being extremely polite and there was no sign of her previous haughtiness.
Even when the Lady of one of the five greatest families in the empire bowed to her, Leyrin’s expression didn’t change.
“That’s great. Then I’ll listen to your report. How much Harkon have you collected?”
“We’ve already accumulated half of the target amount.”
“That’s too slow. I don’t think we’ll meet the deadline.”
“I’m sorry. Plans are in progress to bring down the Third Princess. Please wait a while longer.”
“…The Third Princess. She’s such a nuisance. If it wasn’t for the Eleventh Tower Master and Paragon…”
Paragon?
Frey tilted his head slightly at the new word.
Perhaps that was the group that the Eleventh Tower Master, Cairo, was a part of.
“In any case, the recovery of my brothers is going better than expe…”
It was then.
Leyrin stopped talking and turned her head to look at Frey.
“Who is this? This isn’t Heinz… or Mischael… Ah. Really, you humans all look alike. Leita, who is this guy?” (TL: Author put ‘Leyrin’ here, but I’m sure it was just a mistake.)
“This is my third son.”
“Third son? You had three children?”
“That’s right.”
“…”
She’d never heard of this before.
The Blake family had never bothered to make a report about Frey, who had been branded as a failure.
Leyrin’s sharp gaze turned to Frey, and he bowed his head and said.
“True Master of the Continent, I am Frey Blake, the third son of the Blake family.”
Leyrin didn’t respond.
She walked up to Frey and inspected him closely.
Frey bowed his head even more, the tip of his chin was shaking slightly.
Originally, he intended to act pressured by Leyrin’s aura, but when she did release her aura, he realised that it was much more bearable than he expected.
As soon as he had that thought, he subconsciously raised his head slightly.
It was bearable?
‘…’
Frey had fought many Demigods before.
Therefore, it was possible for him to gauge the power of Demigods by the density of the divine power they subconsciously released.
But now, Leyrin… didn’t seem that strong.
All the Demigods classified as Apocalypses that he’d met so far. Nozdog, Agni, Ananta.
The aura they exuded showed their strength as transcendent beings.
Riki, who was much more powerful than them, didn’t count.
However, even when compared to the other three Apocalypses, the divine power Leyrin was now exuding was not powerful.
No, to be precise. She seemed to be much weaker than she had been during the meeting.
‘Why?’
Leyrin grabbed Frey’s arm.
“…!”
“…!”
Shock appeared on both of their faces at the same time.
Leyrin’s jaw dropped.
“You…”
She noticed.
She felt Indra’s divine power flowing within him.
His head became cold as though someone had poured cold water over it.
His eyes and chin, which had just been ‘shaking’ due to the pressure, became completely still, and his confused mind calmed.
At his current stage, it was easier for Frey to stabilize his body and mind than flipping his palm over.
‘Think.’
What was the best course of action he could take at that moment?
He had to do something to break out of his current situation.
Frey’s eyes turned to Leita.
If he killed her Apostle-
“…he’s a good material.”
Leyrin fixed her expression as she said those words.
But Frey’s expression became stiff as he heard that.
What did she just say?
“I believe he will be helpful in bringing down the Third Princess.”
Leita, who didn’t seem to realise the tense situation that had just occurred between them, spoke gently.
“Is that so? Hmm. He’s certainly more useful than Mischael. Well then, leave first.”
“…huh?”
Frey was confused.
Leyrin shrugged.
“I have something to discuss with Leita, so leave.”
“Ah. Yes.”
She was letting him go?
Despite knowing that he had Indra’s divine power in his body?
Why?
Was she playing with him because she could catch him later?
‘That’s not it.’
But I don’t know why.
He didn’t think that was the reason, but he couldn’t find a better one.
Firstly, he needed to get out of his current situation.
Leita and Leyrin.
It would take a long time for him to organise his thoughts while staying on guard against them.
Frey bowed his head.
And then, without hesitation, he turned and left the room.
“…”
Shortly after he disappeared, the smile on Leyrin’s face disappeared.
She quickly turned and spoke to Leita.
“I want to ask you one question, Leita.”
“P-, please ask.”
Her voice trembled slightly.
Leita could feel the anger hidden in her voice, and as Leyrin approached her, the pressure she released increased.
“That guy named Frey. Has he accepted divine power yet?”
“H-, he hasn’t accepted it yet. We only explained the secret of the family to him today…”
“You stupid bitch.” (TL: choke)
Leyrin’s anger was palpable as she strode over and lifted Leita off the ground by her delicate neck.
“K-, kuk…”
“I told you. I don’t care if you make ten small mistakes. But don’t you dare make even one crucial mistake… you fool.”
“T-, that’s right… kuk…”
Kurk.
The blood was gradually draining from Leita’s face.
“Tell me, Leita. Are you an idiot? Did I really take an idiot as my Apostle?”
“I, I’m not….”
Crunch!
Leyrin grit her teeth and threw Leita to the floor.
Then, she looked at her with a cold gaze.
“If you hadn’t been my Apostle, I would have already chopped you into small pieces and fed you to a dog!”
“H-, huk… huk…”
“Shut up.”
Only
“…”
Leita couldn’t imagine why her master was suddenly so angry.
This was the first time she’d seen Leyrin, who was always smiling and cheerful, this angry.
Leyrin bit her nails.
This wasn’t a situation that could be fixed with anger alone.
She had to think.
Think of a way to escape her current situation…