The Great Mage Returns after 4000 Years – Chapter 158 – Silkid (4)
Translator: Seven
Editors: Ana_Banana, Yahiko
Urha went to report what happened to the Warchief, so Frey returned to the barracks alone.
Snow and Nora had an idea about Frey’s power, so they weren’t very surprised by the fact that he could freeze thousands of creatures in an instant.
Instead, the one who was the most surprised was the Wizard, Beniang.
She looked at Frey and couldn’t help but ask in a shocked tone.
“Rounder Frey really is 9 stars?”
“Didn’t I tell you?”
“…ah. Yes. You did. Ahaha.”
Beniang let out a weak laugh.
“…”
Frey saw through her intentions.
At that moment, Frey turned his head and opened his mouth.
“Agni should have noticed that spell.”
“I guess so.”
Snow’s eyes lit up.
“Are you intentionally trying to draw attention?”
“It’s said that Agni is still in Talhadun. We need to know if he’s tied to that area.”
“That’s a risky gamble. What if he comes here personally?”
“He probably won’t.”
Frey knew that there was a hidden hierarchy among the Demigods. Of course, this didn’t mean there was a clear separation between the upper and lower levels.
Basically, it was true that all Demigods under Lord were equal.
However, there was a bit of a line between them.
Just like Hydra, who Riki had killed in the past. She was one of Ananta’s subordinates.
The three Demigods who rushed to help Leyrin should be her subordinates.
And perhaps the Demigods who were currently in Silkid were Agni’s subordinates.
‘Rumours about me will definitely spread all over Silkid.’
Snowflakes appearing in the desert would certainly have such an effect.
There was no doubt that news of this would reach Agni soon.
Nora spoke in a calm voice.
“What if a Demigod comes? The damage could spread to this city.”
“That’s why I’m thinking about moving in separate groups from now on.”
“Mm?”
Snow furrowed her eyebrows.
“Please explain.”
“From now on, I will go around Silkid and attract as much attention as possible. I will deal with whatever Demigod creatures I encounter at random, and if I encounter a Demigod, I won’t avoid a fight.”
Agni was the only exception.
An Apocalypse was not something Frey could deal with at the moment.
“In the meantime, you will join Ivan, go to the Great Chief of Silkid, and try to propose to fight against Agni with him.”
Nora’s eyes lit up.
“Join Ivan. I like that idea.”
“I’m not sure if the Great Chief will agree as Silkid has lost a majority of its forces.”
“We’ll have to make him agree somehow.”
The Great Chief Tuarik was indispensable when it came to uniting the warriors of Silkid.
Nora tilted her head.
“But Frey, without you, it’ll be annoying to deal with the creatures. It’s gonna be tricky if we are unable to avoid a fight with a Demigod.”
The presence of a Wizard during a fight with a Demigod was like the difference between heaven and earth.
But Frey shook his head.
“That worry is unnecessary. There is an excellent Wizard right beside me.”
Frey’s gaze turned to Beniang.
She was visibly shaken.
“M-, me?”
“With the skills that Master Beniang has now. She is more than enough to take my place.”
“Bu-, but…”
Her eyes shook. Her hands, which were being clasped gracefully, began shaking.
She seemed to be much more intimidated than when she was at the Circle meeting before. Beniang’s imposing appearance at that time was took quite a toll.
So he was disappointed.
If Frey hadn’t shown up, he was sure that her guts would have grown even more.
Frey got up from his seat.
“Master Beniang.”
“Ye-, yes?”
“Shall we go talk for a moment? Just the two of us.”
“Th-, the two of us?”
Frey nodded and looked at Beniang’s wide eyes.
“Yes. The two of us.”
* * *
The desert night was exceptionally cold. Perhaps it was a result of Frey’s Blizzard spell.
A cold wind blew, as if it would freeze her heart.
Frey went up to the spire with Beniang. When they got there, he asked the guards to kindly give them some time.
The guards nodded without hesitation before heading down.
“A-, Archmage.”
“So amazing…”
They could hear the guards murmur to each other as they left.
“You’re amazing, Frey.”
Beniang’s voice reverberated in the cold, winter air. She was staring at the black horizon with a blank gaze.
The darkened desert looked like a sea of darkness, whose depths couldn’t be seen. The shards of ice that sat there perfectly represented the beauty of the moment.
Frey didn’t respond.
“I’ve thought so since the beginning. You always move confidently, without any hesitation. As if you looked ahead a few steps before making the right decisions. Compared to you, I’m…”
“Pathetic?”
Beniang flinched before nodding.
“Yes.”
“…”
Frey could see her worries. It wasn’t jealousy or an inferiority complex. She was not the type of person to be jealous of others, nor did she think so highly of herself to have an inferiority complex.
She just had deep doubts about herself.
“…Frey, I’ve wanted to say this for a long time. I’m sure you are the one who will lead the Trowman Rings-”
“Just a while ago, my friend woke up.”
Beniang paused at the unexpected words.
“Huh?”
“From a very long sleep. I thought I’d never see him again. Indeed… it was a really long time since I last saw him.”
“Ah. Congratulations.”
Despite her confusion, Beniang still congratulated him. This was because she could hear the sincerity in Frey’s voice.
His face was also filled with joy.
Since Frey was usually a very reserved person, she couldn’t help but wonder just who was able to bring such joy to him.
‘A long sleep.’
What did that mean? Was his friend injured?
Or did he have an incurable disease?
Even while Beniang contemplated in silence, Frey continued.
“He’s a much better guy than I am. The same way Master Beniang thinks of me, I thought of him. He was a good, strong, wise friend. He was a good friend who always respected my beliefs.”
He meant it.
For Frey – no, for Lukas – Schweiser was the best friend and life coach.
He was able to learn a lot from watching his attitude towards life.
“He was an amazing guy, but strangely enough, he never took any disciples. It’s been that way for a long time. He was definitely better at teaching than I was, and he’s much more compassionate, but in the end, I was the one who was called the Great Teacher.”
“Great… Teacher?”
A ripple of shock flowed through Beniang’s eyes.
Frey quietly continued.
“Not so long ago, he became interested when he found out about the Circle. I understood it completely. After all, I was the same. He was curious about how the younger generation inherited our will to fight against the Demigods. And he was definitely the most interested in the Strow Necklaces.”
That was natural since it was a group that inherited his name.
“…”
Beniang couldn’t speak anymore.
She couldn’t even lift a finger. Her entire body was frozen.
Yet, her gaze remained locked on Frey’s lips.
Frey was still in his reverie.
“But I didn’t tell him everything about the Strow Necklaces. If I did, he would’ve been disappointed. I didn’t want to see his bitter expression.”
Frey frowned slightly.
“…that friend’s name.”
Beniang could finally open her mouth. Frey kept looking into the distance as he said.
“Schweiser Strow.”
“T-, the Great Sage…”
Beniang almost collapsed as she lost feelings in her legs.
“I shouldn’t have, but when I found out the Strow Necklaces was rotten, the first thing that crossed my mind was…”
A small smile spread across Frey’s lips.
“I’m a lucky guy.”
“A-, ahh…”
“I was very happy. Even after 4,000 years had passed, my will was still being carried on perfectly. No, it was even better. I was so proud that you guys were the ones to carry my name.”
“F-, Frey. N-, no, you can’t…”
Frey’s eyes finally turned to Beniang.
His eyes were filled with warmth and kindness that she’d never seen before.
“Thank you.”
“…!!”
When she heard those words, Beniang became emotional, and she couldn’t help but tear up a little.
“I wanted to say this ever since I met you. Thank you very much.”
Tears fell from Beniang’s eyes.
“N-, no. I, I… I just did… e-, everything was collapsing… everything was falling apart…”
She fell silent, but there was a slight sound coming from her throat.
“The circle was falling apart… so I led. It was hard. I wanted to die… I wanted to throw in the towel and run so many times! But I couldn’t. I, I…”
Her face burned with shame. She was whining.
She knew this, but she couldn’t stop. Her feeling just poured out like water from a dam that had just collapsed.
It was so hard she wanted to die.
It wasn’t just hard.
Everyone left. The Circle Master, the Rounder, the executives. Even the magic tools and relics were taken away.
All that had remained was the shell of the ‘Trowman Rings’. Nevertheless, the pressure from the other powers didn’t stop.
Their few assets were continually taken away, and the talented members of their circle left day after day.
Their power leaked out endlessly, like water flowing off the edge of a cliff.
She felt like she was falling into a never-ending abyss.
Still, she held on.
When she was a child, Osel would always read the fairytale of the Great Mage to her.
Lukas Trowman.
She loved his story. He was respectable and amazing, and she couldn’t help but want to be like him.
After the fight with Nozdog, those who remained in the circle were those who had similar thoughts.
So she couldn’t run away.
She couldn’t abandon the Trowman Rings.
“I…! Really….!”
“I know.”
Frey laughed as Beniang sobbed and blurted out her feelings.
‘I see.’
Now, she understood why she saw Osel in Frey. Why she felt so relieved when she was around him.
Just his presence was enough to fill her with confidence.
She felt a cool touch on her head.
“I am truly proud of you.”
“A-, ahh…”
How could she accept such an honour?
Beniang began to cry once again.
It wasn’t because she was sad. They were tears of joy.
Only
Frey stroked Beniang’s head while saying.
“You did well. And you will do even better in the future. I trust you, Beniang Argento.”
What she needed wasn’t teaching. Nor was it a word of warning.
It was comfort. Frey could see that.
The reason he was called the Great Teacher wasn’t anything special.
Frey simply had the ability to tell a person exactly what one needed to hear when one was going through the toughest situations.
That was all.