21st Century Archmage

Chapter 67: Narmias

“As expected, leaving the house brings so much toil.”

After leaving the Elven Village, we headed straight for home, the covert.

It was late at night. Judging from the position of the moon, we would be arriving at the covert 4 am in the morning.

‘So frickin’ skilled.’

The things Bebeto did really made one speechless. The traitor Bebeto who slept peacefully even while his master was imprisoned was currently showing me a new skill.

And that was flying with his eyes closed.

After catching an orc sleeping on the ground to eat because he was hungry, Bebeto flew towards the covert. I saw his eyes after he started moving his wings mechanically, and they were frickin’ closed.

Surprisingly, Bebeto was able to fly in his sleep. Because he didn’t have an in-built navigation device, I had to control the reins all the way to the covert, which we finally reached. His actions were abominable, but his only sin was meeting the wrong owner, so I couldn’t reproach him.

“Bebeto, it’s a beautiful female!”

Flash!

‘Dammit…’

This dozing brat opened his eyes wide at the mention of a female.

Bang!

“Take this, you blockhead wyvern!”

I punched Bebeto’s head.

GUOO!

Whooooshh.

The female was a lie and the top of his head hurt, so Bebeto angrily circled once in the air. I felt it necessary to ship him off to Marine Corps Bootcamp one day.

‘Hm?’

Passing the covert guards who were dozing off without even seeing us, I spotted a certain silhouette. Someone was standing next to Bebeto’s hangar.

‘Aramis?’

It was so late at night, but Aramis was staring into the empty sky.

Flap, flap, flap flap flap.

Bebeto assumed the correct position and slowly landed in front of his hangar.

‘Aramis….’

Was she waiting for me? Aramis sent a bright smile my way as we landed.

The white robe she wore and her blue hair fluttered in the wind.

Guoooooo.

Bebeto expressed his happiness to see her before I could. As expected for a guy who grew up drinking holy water from his time in the shell, he was good at kissing priest ass.

Whoosh.

I jumped down in front of Aramis, who must have been waiting for me late into the night.

“You are back late,” Aramis said, looking at me with a tender smile, like a wife waiting for her husband.

“Why are you out here without sleeping, Aramis-nim?”

“I woke up and came out to get some air.”

The dark circles under her eyes were evidence of her lie. She must be exhausted after treating the sick and weary all day long, but she was out here worrying about me instead of sleeping.

‘Aramis….’

I called her name with a low voice in my heart. Even my mother didn’t show this level of care for me. For some reason, I was struck with an emotion that I had never felt in my life.

“The night wind is cold. Please, go in and rest.”

I had the impulse to grab her hand at least, but what came out of my mouth was something contrary to my feelings.

“Yes, it’s time to sleep now.” Aramis nodded with happy eyes, as if finally able to settle down after confirming my return. “May the gods grant thee rest.”

Drawing a cross, Aramis granted me a small blessing. Her head bowed, she walked towards the hangar remodeled into a temple.

“Thank you.”

I expressed my feelings towards the girl walking with her back to me.

Aramis’ steps halted abruptly.

“T-Thank you from me as well…”

After a slight pause, she relayed her thanks with an emotional voice.

“…..”

The distance to her was just 5 meters.

I had the urge to run over and hug her.

“I will see you tomorrow.”

But she was a priestess living in the service of a god. I bowed my head towards Aramis.

I stood there listening to her footsteps pattering away, light as a bird.

‘Mm…’

An inexplicable groan sounded in my heart.

Because of that feeling, that strange feeling I couldn’t quite put my finger on…

* * *

“Sir Janice, Sir Ryker, Sir Berketh, and Sir Atisann, as well as 500 cavalry, 2,000 infantry, and 1,000 archers will form the First Army.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Also, Sir Cedrian and his Skyknights, the 500 men of the First Order, 2,000 infantry, and 1,000 archers will form the Second Army.”

“Yes, sir!”

After sunrise, I summoned the important knights to the headquarters, which I had turned into my office. They responded to my orders with vigorous salutes.

“As you know, we must soon go into large-scale battle against the monsters. However, against these monsters with such strong vitality that even the empire gave up, just pushing them back once will not be the end.”

That went without saying.

“Starting from the part of the Lovent River that begins here, at the Havis Kingdom borders, all the way to the headwaters at the Rual Mountains, we will first subjugate the monsters within a time period of one month.” As I explained the plan, I gestured at a map of the Nerman Plains. “Our primary goal is to clear this area and reconstruct a broken fort before the rainy season begins.”

“My liege, it is presumptuous of me to say so, but even though the subjugation is not a problem, I wonder if the fort reconstruction is beyond our means. As you know, most of them fell to monsters and are in a half-destroyed state. In order to repair them, we will need a considerable amount of money and laborers. However, procuring those is not easy in Nerman’s current situation. It could do more harm than good.”

Janice, who was well informed about Nerman, precisely pointed out the problem.

“I am well aware. I have a secret plan regarding that, so do not worry.”

“Yes, sir!”

I wasn’t an idiot who would do something without countermeasures.

“Sir Derval, how goes the procurement of munitions?”

“The procurement of all munitions, including rations, is complete. You do not need to worry.”

“You did well.”

Our group was small, but strong. That was exactly what I wanted, and exactly what I had.

“Sir Cedrian, is the Skyknight training progressing well?”

“Yes, my liege!” responded Cedrian energetically. “The people who have received Skyknight training in the past from various kingdoms and empires could go into battle right this instant and they would be able to perform perfectly.”

If you just looked at the number of mercenaries under him who could use Aura Blade, Cedrian possessed an even stronger force than me. However, through the twisting hardships of life, he ended up serving me. He was someone to be thankful for.

“The soldiers from Orakk Castle will arrive in a few days. An army will be made with those soldiers and the soldiers here, so everyone, seek out the best training method!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Today’s meeting ends here. Sir Derval, stay behind, everyone else is dismissed.”

“Yes, sir!”

At first, I barely had any knights, but as time passed, their numbers had grown. I felt satisfaction listening to their energetic responses.

“Derval.”

“Please speak, my liege.”

“You aren’t tired?”

“I am alright, my liege. In my short years of life, I have never enjoyed myself as much as I am doing now.”

Unlike the other knights, who could use mana, Derval only had one arm. I sometimes felt regret seeing him run himself ragged with more enthusiasm than anyone. However, Derval was the only one who could provide administrative support while I was gone.

“I have a question for you.”

“Your word is my command.”

“I saw salt among the procured items–why is that so? The sea is but a short distance away.”

“That is because of this place’s environment. The salt currently distributed in the continent is white salt produced from Delphiran Kingdom’s salt lake, the thermal salt of Tove Kingdom, and the rock salt of the Opern Empire. Of course, kingdoms next to the sea like Dapis and Indesse do produce salt, but they only make enough for their own consumption.”

‘White salt? Thermal salt? Rock salt?’

I could figure out what a salt lake was–it must be an inland salt field. There were places like that on Earth too, where the earth under a former sea was lifted in tectonic shifts, creating a salt lake. However, I’d never heard of ‘thermal salt.’

‘Ah! Could it be salt that you get by putting sea water in earthenware and boiling it?’

That was a method used to produce salt before there were salt flats. I learned in history class that there was a method to get salt by boiling sea water in large earthenware pots.

“A salt lake refers to a salt mountain located inland. Interestingly, it isn’t the sea, but there is a large lake full of salt on land. Rock salt refers to salt stones mined from the Ossis Mountains. And lastly, thermal salt refers to the salt produced after putting sea salt in large earthenware pots and boiling it.”

My guess was pretty much right on the money.

“How are the prices?”

“Normally, 10 kg costs around 1 Gold.”

‘Hooh, that’s quite a sum.’

“The problem is that as the salt lake and salt mines are continuously mined, the expenditures are rising. I would have to ask a merchant group to find out the exact figures, but I think that they may even rise to 2 Gold by next year.”

Salt was an absolute necessity to live. You couldn’t just not buy it because the prices went up.

“Got it. That aside, find out if there are places rich with limestone, gypsum, and clay nearby.”

“Understood.”

I had spent the last few days thinking a lot about Nerman. Most minerals were located in hard-to-access mountains, and it was difficult to make use of the fertile land because of monsters.

But then, I suddenly thought of two things.

And those were cement and salt.

We could plant grain at any time once the monsters were repelled, but building castle walls and expanding the roads for ease of travel were vital.

On top of that, Nerman absolutely needed a specialty that could bring in wealth.

‘Just what in the world did Master do on Earth?’

In order to make cement, you had to mix the main ingredients, which were limestone, gypsum, clay, silica, alumina oxide, and iron oxide together in the correct ratios.

Stored in my head were those ratios and even a detailed blueprint for equipment to make the cement. It seemed that cement production was among the many businesses Master was involved in on Earth.

‘Cement is a by-product of pure minerals. It’ll be more than safe enough if it’s not mixed with pollutants like on Earth.’

I didn’t want to introduce the polluting production methods used on 21st century Earth. I didn’t come to this world by choice, but I didn’t want to go so far as to pollute the clear, pure air and perfectly clean soil in order to satisfy my greed.

The paradise I dreamed of was in harmony with nature.

“Today will be busy as well, so go ahead and finish everything. If there’s something we need, place an order at Rubis and the other merchant groups.”

“Understood, my liege.”

There was no need for a long conversation. Derval knew exactly where he was needed. He was completely trustworthy.

‘It’s time to go to the Elven Village now.’

It was a rare disease that even the elves didn’t know about.

However, I had a dependable assistant.

‘Aramis….’

A noble soul permitted to me by the gods.

* * *

“I apologize, Tower Master.”

“Tsk tsk… What a disgrace. For the great Gauss Magic Tower’s Vice-masters to suffer a defeat… I can only imagine how much the other magic towers must be looking down on us.”

Vice-master of the Gauss Magic Tower, Andrike, had returned from Nerman. Unable to ride his wyvern because of the physical and mental aftereffects of the magic attack, he was forced to return on horseback.

And the Tower Master was in front of him now, clicking his tongue.

At the young age of 65, he became a 7th Circle Master and ascended to the position of Tower Master of the Gauss Magic Tower, the foremost magic tower among the continent’s major 7. He was a legendary figure of the magic world. He sat on a chair wearing a white robe cleaned with magic and holding a staff made with a Grade 1 magic crystal.

Even though he was a 7th Circle mage said to have understood the meaning of mana, Tower Master Orbiton had an irritated expression on his face. He was having a grave conversation with the four Vice-masters, no, now only three.

“Tower Master, it won’t be good if we don’t do something. If the rumor spreads that Gauss Skyknights that included two of our Vice-masters were defeated, then our magic tower’s position on the continent will fall.”

Vice-master Andrike was unable to raise his head at the Tower Master’s interrogation, so Vice-master Inovess, a master of attack magic, spoke in Andrike’s stead.

“That’s right, Tower Master. Moreover, it’s said that the bastard is a magic swordsman who reached the 6th Circle at a young age. We need to catch him and confirm that.”

“Don’t tell me you believe that too, Vice-master Urkine? Are you telling me right now to believe that a kid not even twenty years old reached the 6th Circle?”

“Tower Master, I am not saying to believe it, but to confirm it. If he happens to have some kind of unique magic item or something, then…”

Vice-master Urkine trailed off.

“Hm…”

Even if Urkine didn’t spell it out, the meaning was clear.

Even the greatest human mage in the history of the continent, Golden-Eyed Reaper Aidal, had only been a 4th Circle mage at that age.

Since that was the case, there was only one answer.

Either Kyre wasn’t a human, or he was in possession of a unique magic item that could cast 6th Circle spells.

“From what I have found out, we are not his only enemies. He has offended other magic towers and mercenary groups on the continent, and most damning of all, someone within the Bajran Empire. I confirmed through the Information Guild that the Crown Prince and a high-ranking noble family have their sights firmly set on him. Even if we kill him, there will be no consequences.”

Vice-master Urkine, who was called the brains of Gauss, shared the information he had collected.

“I believe we will need to be careful. Among his forces are several thousand soldiers and even the Herz Mercenaries that surrendered. In addition, he has over ten Skyknights.”

“Be quiet! This is all the fault of that dead Harkline and you, Vice-master Andrike!” bellowed Tower Master Orbiton to Vice-master Andrike, who was cautiously giving a warning.

Among mages, there was a saying: Circle is King. In the Gauss Magic Tower, the authority of the Tower Master, a 7th Circle Master, was no less than that of an emperor. A 7th Circle mage was no different from a magic tower’s symbol.

“Just as Vice-master Andrike says, the danger will be great if we do this alone. We should handle it by allying with another magic tower or merchant group.”

“The Corvain Merchants won’t stay still. They themselves are aware that the moment their trade with the dwarves is stolen, their strength will fall by at least half, so they won’t just stand there twiddling their thumbs.”

“Then are you saying we should wait for now?”

“That’s right, Tower Master. In any case, the bastard is no different from a rat in a vase. There isn’t much he can do in Nerman, a place that even the Bajran Empire gave up on.”

“Got it. Then let us do that.”

Tower Master Orbiton nodded.

Even if you shook it upside down, only dust would come out of Nerman’s pockets.

There would be plenty of opportunities to repair their damaged pride.

* * *

‘Damn, already over.’

Aramis was clinging to my back.

She was wearing a clerical robe imbued with the blessing of holy power, so she was able to withstand most cold and heat. Resting her head on my back, she was lightly holding onto my cloak with both arms.

We flew in that fashion for several hours before reaching our destination, the Elven Village.

“We have arrived. Please hold on tight.”

“Yes…”

Swoooosh.

Putting my regret behind me, I directed Bebeto into the illusion magic circle made by the elves.

Whirr.

I felt a brief shock of mana, and then the Elven Village appeared before us.

“Ah!”

Behind me came a low cry of surprise. This was Aramis’ first time seeing the Elven Village, something she had only heard about.

Guoooooo!

‘Narmias….’

When we reached the skies above the Elven Village, a familiar king eagle came flying towards us. According to the Elder, the king eagles were called ‘harpies.’ Riding the harpy was Narmias, who wasn’t wearing an airplate.

She smiled at me like she was happy to see me.

“…..”

While coming closer, Narmias’ face suddenly stiffened. She had definitely seen Aramis.

‘Is this how it feels to get caught cheating?’

Narmias and Aramis weren’t even my girlfriends, but I started to worry a little inside.

Flap flap, flap flap flap.

Bebeto landed slowly on the Elven Village clearing. It wasn’t like the first time, but dozens of elves were watching curiously.

“It’s safe to go down now, Aramis-nim.”

“So this is the Elven Village. It is as beautiful as I imagined.”

Like a true priest who loved the gods and was loved by the gods, she was stricken with emotion at the sight of the height of natural beauty, the Elven Village. Just like how truth didn’t contradict truth, it was only natural that the pure-hearted Aramis would be happy to see the eco-friendly Elven Village.

The saddle was at least 2 meters above the ground. Her face reddening as usual, Aramis held onto my neck as I held her. The thumping sound of her heart accompanied me as I leapt to the ground with her in my arms.

Flap flap flap flap.

Just then, Narmias’ harpy landed next to me. The silver-haired elf gave me a pure smile with sadness in her eyes.

“May green serenity be with thee. Kyre-nim, the Chief Elder is waiting.”

“We meet again, Narmias-nim.”

“Yes… But may I ask who this person is?”

Narmias accepted my greeting and asked about Aramis.

“Faithful servant of Neran, Aramis, greets the noble people of the forest.”

“So you were a priestess of Neran-nim. I thank the gods with all my heart for allowing me to meet a person touched profoundly by the warmth of the gods.”

It seemed priests got special treatment from the elves, unlike other humans.

The two women were peacefully exchanging greetings in front of me.

However, I felt distinctly uncomfortable.

This situation… It felt like getting caught red-handed in the middle of putting my master key into many locks.

“Where is the Chief Elder?” I said, trying to quickly vacate the premises because it was so awkward.

“Please follow me.”

There were elven warriors too, but Narmias took the lead.

‘But why?’

Her eyes met briefly with mine before moving away. The sight of her misty eyes filled with sadness was engraved deep in my heart.

With Narmias at the lead, Aramis and I walked forward. Our destination was the large tree where the elves’ hospital was located.

* * *

“There is no need to worry too much. A disease of this level can be treated with the mercy of Neran-nim.”

“I give my thanks to Neran-nim.”

After Aramis checked the elves’ illness and said it could be healed, Chief Elder Parciano bowed to show his thanks. He had lived a whopping 400 years at least, far longer than Jonathan the tortoise in the Guinness World Records, but he was respectfully lowering his head to a priestess of the faith.

“All creatures created by the Great God have the right to receive Neran-nim’s love. I will proceed right away with the treatment,” said Aramis the angel with a saintly smile

“Narmias, assist Aramis-nim.”

“I humbly receive the Chief Elder’s order.”

“Young man, come outside with me.”

“Understood.”

There were quite a few ailing elves, so there was no real need for me to stick around. I left the two women and went outside with the Chief Elder.

“She is someone with incredible holy power. With that level of holy power, she must be at least a pontiff in the human world.”

Outside the hospital, Parciano expressed his admiration.

‘No, sir, she is only an assistant priestess, let alone a pontiff.’

But I couldn’t say that to the elf.

“Follow me. I will take you to the place with the mithril.”

“Huh?”

The Chief Elder moved briskly.

‘They keep their promises as if it were a blade on their hearts,’ I mused. A human might conveniently forget their promise after the urgent need was settled, but Chief Elder Parciano was fulfilling his side of the agreement right away. I followed him deep into the forest on a path lined with big trees.

‘Kya, how nice. It’s a perfect place for a villa.’

The Elven Village was perfect for a stroll through the woods.

I breathed in the refreshing fragrance of the wind as we walked. For a short while, I let myself forget everything.

* * *

‘Woah! I-is that all mithril?’

An intermediate earth spirit, Gnomae, held up a chunk of mithril completely free of impurities and approached with a cheerful wriggle. A single glance was enough to see that the chunk of pure mithril weighed at least a hundred kilograms.

“Thank you, friend.”

The Chief Elder smiled at the Gnomae, which silently returned to the soil.

‘So they use spirits like this.’

I felt like I could understand why the dwarves were so jealous.

Following Chief Elder Parciano, we entered a certain cave within the forest, and as soon as I entered, the silver luster piercing my eyes made me close them for a moment.

There were enormous mithril ores all over the walls of the huge cave. There wasn’t even anything for the dwarves to dig up. The earth spirit Gnomae had brought a few big chunks and piled them up at the entrance.

“Is this enough?”

“I believe this will work for now, yes.”

“Take them whenever you need. Only, the dwarves cannot come here. We held a Symposium of Elders and came to the conclusion that the dwarves could break the peace within the forest.”

The elves were basically living in a bubble only a few kilometers in diameter.

It seemed they were afraid of change.

If the elves hadn’t gotten sick, they likely would have never given me permission, either.

“I will come get them whenever we need them.”

“On your own, you mean?”

“Yes, sir. I am also a summoner.”

“You are? Hooh, impressive. I feel the mana of a mage and even the energy of a swordsman from you, but to say you are also a summoner… Now that you mention it, your circle is quite unique. Mana is gathered at your waist rather than your chest… Ohhh! You, you are using merged mana!”

Because he was an 8th Circle mage, he was able to immediately puzzle out the concealed disposition of my mana.

“Astonishing, how very astonishing. For someone who has only lived a handful of years to have this much mana… This amount of mana is nearly reaching the 7th Circle.”

Because I habitually scattered my mana to conceal its peculiarity, Parciano had only noticed after taking a closer look. As expected for a mage at the 8th Circle, he started thoroughly examining my mana even without a mana scan.

“What are you?”

And then came a question.

“I am a human.”

“Hmm, the purity of the mana in you does clearly say you are a human. But how in the world can you explain this enormous amount of mana? To put into context, the stage I was able to reach when I was nearly 200 years old has been conquered by you, who are not much older than a newborn babe. If you were me, could you accept it?”

The Chief Elder tried to get an answer from me, but I could never, ever tell him the truth, the truth that the human mage who stripped the elves’ armor and dipped was my Master.

“Haha, I have a slightly unique constitution. Aren’t there also people among the elves who have progressed as quickly as me?”

“No,” said Parciano at once without even thinking.

“This much mithril will suffice. The quality is also very good.”

Changing the subject, I approached the nearly 300 kg of mithril gathered at my feet.

‘He gives the illness, I bring the medicine. Master, you’re playing with me even all the way from Earth!’

Behind me, I could feel a hot gaze boring into my back.

It seemed I had to quickly leave before my identity was uncovered.

* * *

“This is holy water. If you happen to see any symptoms, it can be cured with this holy water.”

“We give our sincere thanks to Neran-nim.”

With no heed to his age, the Chief Elder expressed his sincere thanks. The elves followed his lead and bowed their heads with gratitude.

The news that a priestess had cured the illness must have traveled through the village, because all the elves came out to send me, or rather, Aramis, off.

Aramis was giving the bowing elves an unshakeable smile. You could call her an angel, seriously.

“Aramis-nim, parting from you like this pains my heart.”

“Narmias-nim, please come over whenever you wish to see me.”

“Really?”

“Hoho. Of course.”

‘Well whaddya know? When did they become so close?’

They weren’t together for long, but the two ladies were laughing as they held each other’s hands.

“Kyre-nim, that’s okay with you, right?” Aramis turned to me with a bright smile.

“Haha, of course. If it’s Narmias-nim, you are welcome any time.”

As soon as I finished, Narmias’ eyes trembled intensely. It seemed she had something to say, but Narmias didn’t open her mouth and say it.

Just like how her name was similar to Aramis, the two of them were like a matchless pair of stars.

“Then, I will come see you next time.”

“Please do so.”

Chief Elder Parciano nodded.

It was a relief that matters were resolved more easily than I expected.

‘We should go to the Dwarven Village right away.’

The elves had tied up the mithril ore for me. Chaos would ensue if I went to Denfors with this mithril ore, which was at least ten times as expensive as gold, so the best plan was to bring it to the dwarves.

“Aramis-nim, let us go.”

“Yes.”

Hundreds of pairs of elven eyes were watching, but I had no choice but to take Aramis into my embrace.

Then, with an easy leap, I leapt onto Bebeto’s back.

‘Narmias…’

Among the countless elven gazes following my movements were the sparkling eyes of a certain woman.

I gave Narmias a slight nod.

Click.

Setting Aramis down carefully on the backseat, I secured my safety ring.

“Bebeto, let’s go!”

Guooooooooooo!

Without any female wyverns around, Bebeto had spent an extremely boring time here. He was more than happy to flap his wings and depart.

Before long, I felt Bebeto lifting from the ground.

Above us, the blue sky was beaming at me.