Merhen (2)

The mansion’s training grounds were spacious and sturdy. With tight security to boot, they were the perfect place to test Merhen. I headed there with Naye in my arms.

On the way, I asked her a question.

“Merhen.”

“Yes?”

“About your magic. How many different spells can you use?”

“Pretty much anything in the death category.”

“What about other elements?”

“Well, I’m not sure myself.”

“You’re not sure?”

“No. This has never happened before. Even after I became a banshee, no other kind of magic manifested. Only death magic.”

That Death Lord bastard. He’d told Merhen her body was a prison and that her magic would only manifest if she died.

‘Was that bullshit too?’

It certainly seemed so. Otherwise, there was no reason Merhen, who had an aptitude for all four great elements, would have manifested only one kind of magic.

“Even after practicing?”

“... Yes. And honestly, I didn’t try very hard. It would only have benefited the Death Lord anyway.”

“You could’ve tried getting stronger to break free of his control, couldn’t you?”

Merhen stared at Kim Minwoo.

“... You really do take the initiative, Minwoo. You were like that at the academy too.”

A faint smile crossed her face.

“... If I’d really met you in the past, maybe I would have tried.”

I nodded. I felt I had a rough idea of her past now. Apparently, Merhen hadn’t been a thrall who actively served the Death Lord.

Perhaps she had simply followed her orders like a machine.

“What are you two talking about?”

“Nothing. We’re here. Sit over here.”

After seating Naye in a corner, I summoned Cedric. Her eyes lit up at the sight.

“Oh! It’s the talking skeleton man! I saw you! On NewTube!”

“... A pleasure to meet you.”

Cedric waved awkwardly. Crying, “Wow! Wow!” Naye latched onto his leg.

“Hehe. You’re cold.”

At a loss for what to do, Cedric stared at Kim Minwoo.

“... Is this the younger sister you mentioned, Master?”

“Yeah. Her name’s Naye. She’s the youngest in our family.”

“A lively child.”

Then his gaze shifted to Merhen.

“... It has been a long time.”

“Yes.”

The two legion commanders exchanged greetings. Sensing an inexplicable awkwardness between them, Kim Minwoo tilted his head.

“Were you two not very close?”

“We rarely had occasion to meet in the first place. Three of the legion commanders, myself included, each managed our own territory. Merhen managed the spirit realm.”

“That’s right. Capturing souls and turning them into undead. That was my job.”

“And to add one more thing...”

Cedric stared at Merhen, then shook his head.

“She was hostile toward everyone. To be honest, I had little desire to befriend her.”

“Yes. That was how I was back then. I’m sorry. I owe you an apology.”

“... There is no need. I understood to some extent. I heard the Lord put you through a great deal.”

“... Yes.”

Listening to their conversation, Kim Minwoo asked Cedric a question.

“He didn’t do that to you?”

“When I became the Lord’s thrall, he already had three legion commanders at his side. In other words, the world had already been half turned upside down.”

“And?”

“I think the Lord was probably... somewhat more at ease by then. At the very least, he did not use such violent methods to persuade me as he did Merhen. Besides, from the outset... there was something I had to do, even if it meant becoming undead.”

I didn’t ask what that something was. That was Cedric’s personal business. As he was an undead with a mind of his own, it was best to respect his privacy.

‘And I’ve learned what I needed to.’

Those questions had given me a few pieces of information.

‘Seems the Death Lord changed between the early days and the later ones.’

When he acquired the balrog and turned Merhen into his thrall, his name had yet to spread across the continent. In other words, the continent had still been quite peaceful.

I recalled what he had said during the first provision.

[“I pursued revenge. I steeped the continent in death. I thought I had achieved my purpose.”]

Revenge.

I didn’t know what it entailed, but apparently he’d been rather ruthless in the early days to achieve it. Merhen’s case made that clear. When she refused to become his thrall, he had started killing the students around her without hesitation.

He was practically a textbook example of an evil lich. Perhaps he’d become more relaxed later, when his revenge was nearly complete.

Kim Minwoo looked at Merhen.

“Want to try using magic of another element?”

“Which element?”

“Just any...”

Naye suddenly cut into the conversation.

“Me! I want to see water magic! Water!”

“... Water?”

“Yeah! Look at this!”

She already had a NewTube video up on her smartphone.

[Magic Demonstration by Angela, an Overseas S-Rank Mage]

[120 million views]

A blonde mage named Angela chanted a spell. Then a massive dragon made of water flew through the air, with the crowd cheering at the sight.

Merhen didn’t know much about NewTube yet, but she could grasp the gist of the video. Some mage was putting on a magic show.

“The water goes and turns into this! What do you think? Isn’t it cool?”

“It sure is.”

“Yeah! Angela’s suuuper famous in America! I’ve even hugged her, you know? Hehe.”

“Really? Our Naye’s got connections. You’re even friends with an amazing awakener like her.”

I suspected Angela had befriended her because she was Ilseong Group’s youngest daughter, but that wasn’t important.

What mattered was sharing her enthusiasm. If I started saying Angela was actually a lousy mage, I’d be a complete asshole.

“Tell me if you come to America! I have Angela’s number! I’ll introduce you.”

“Really? I’ll be sure to tell you if I go. I’m already looking forward to it.”

What a cutie.

Minwoo nodded with a warm smile. He was simply playing along without much thought.

Just then...

“... That isn’t how you use water magic.”

A very sulky voice reached his ears. Merhen had come right up to him and was glaring at Kim Minwoo.

“Huh? Yes, it is! Angela’s great at magic! They said she’s one of the top ten in America!”

“... This is?”

“Yeah!”

“She’s terrible.”

Merhen’s reply was blunt.

She had never used water-attribute magic herself, but her memories of fighting the Death Lord in the past told her all she needed to know.

That wasn’t how you used water.

Water-attribute magic needed cohesion. The mage in the video was merely an amateur imitating its outward appearance.

So why was her master grinning from ear to ear over a mage of such meager skill?

For some reason, seeing that made her mood plummet.

‘Idiot.’

He really was an idiot.

That meant she had to prove it. Prove that this level of magic was nothing at all.

“Then you show us some magic!”

“... All right. I’ll give it a try.”

Merhen closed her eyes in concentration. Mana circulated within her body.

The bonds between the water had to be tighter, yet still flow smoothly. She pictured a dragon like the one she had seen in the video—a blue dragon brimming with water, soaring through the air.

[Merhen visualizes ‘water’!]

[She shapes water-attribute magic!]

[Archmage (SS) activates!]

[She comprehends the origin of water!]

[She replicates the magic she has seen!]

[S-rank magic, ‘Water Dragon Strike (S),’ is being generated...]

[The caster’s skill overwhelmingly surpasses that of the spell being copied!]

[A new spell is created!]

[Merhen uses Water Dragon Storm (SS)!]

The water gathered above her hand transformed into a massive dragon, far larger and more imposing than the one in the NewTube video.

“W-wow...!”

Naye gasped in wonder.

Every last whisker on the dragon’s face was sculpted in exquisite detail. Not only that, but every droplet within the dragon Merhen had created swirled furiously.

It was as though a storm raged inside its body. Blue on the outside, the dragon churned with a white tempest within.

Naye knew little about magic beyond how cool it looked, but this was on an entirely different level.

“Th-that’s amazing...”

Naye’s eyes sparkled. When Merhen had said Angela was bad at magic, she’d wondered if she was lying. After all, Angela really was an incredible mage.

But it had been true.

“... What do you think, Minwoo?”

Merhen glanced at him as she spoke. It was written all over her eyes.

Praise. Me.

Naturally, Kim Minwoo’s response was:

“Wow. You’re way better than Angela.”

“R-right?”

“There’s no comparison. Oh, come to think of it, I know there are more videos like this.”

He opened NewTube and played videos of mages using the four great elements. He’d gotten a rough idea of how to unlock her magic.

Wind, earth, fire.

After showing her those three kinds of magic, he made a fuss over how amazing the mages were. Sure enough...

“... I’m better than them.”

She pulled off the remarkable feat of creating SS-rank spells on the spot.

‘Ahh.’

Now this was what I was talking about.

Other mages might have coughed up blood at the sight. They had to go through hell just to obtain bound skill books and learn spells, while Merhen was copying them left and right simply by watching.

And she was raising them a rank in the process. Thanks to that, her spell list was growing rapidly.

Naye was clapping away like a seal too. No wonder, given how spectacular it all was.

Thanks to that, both child and adult had a wonderful time.

After I’d played with Naye for several hours and put her to sleep, my smartphone rang.

It was the head of security.

“What is it?”

“Young master. Could you come out for a moment? We have visitors from the government.”

“... The government?”

“Yes. They say they should explain their business after meeting you...”

The government was looking for me?

It seemed I ought to meet them.

I unsummoned Merhen and left the training grounds. One of the bodyguards approached and whispered to me.

“Young master. The government representatives are waiting.”

I nodded. Before long, I met them.

“A pleasure to meet you. I’m Han Yeonggil, a team leader with Korea’s Gate Management Department.”

The Gate Management Department.

That was a department with some serious clout. Even there, a team leader was a Grade 3 official—one of the elite among elites.

Not that he outranked Ilseong Group’s eldest son, of course.

“A pleasure. I’m Kim Minwoo. What brings you here?”

“Would you be willing to accompany us to the Blue House?”

“The Blue House?”

“Yes. His Excellency the President would like to meet you.”

“Is there a particular reason, or is this simply a courtesy meeting? If it’s the latter, I don’t think I can leave right away.”

If he was summoning me just to exchange pleasantries, I intended to refuse.

I had a mountain of things to do, and it wasn’t as if I were some lackey. Normally, you scheduled an appointment for that sort of thing instead of calling someone over out of the blue.

Then Han Yeonggil shook his head. He looked around before whispering quietly.

“... It isn’t anything so simple. The ‘System’ has issued a message. I’m telling you because you may... fall within its scope as well, Mr. Kim.”

The System?

Kim Minwoo’s expression turned serious.