Published at 21st of November 2020 09:28:21 PM
Translator: Seven
Editor: Ana_Banana
(TL: So you might notice some changes in this chapter . These are explained in the notes below . )
Beniang went back to her residence, saying that she had something to think about, and Frey was escorted to a room where he would be staying, which turned out to be a small house on the outskirts of the village .
After he’d washed himself and changed his clothes, he heard a knock on the door .
It was Gisellan, a Force Honor of the Trowman Rings .
“Do you have a minute?”
“Yeah . ”
“Thanks . ”
Gisellan walked in and sat on a nearby chair .
He appeared a bit disheveled as though he had not been able to clean up before arriving .
Gisellan looked down at himself and smiled bitterly .
“I couldn’t wash up because I was in a hurry . ”
“It’s fine . ”
“That’s a relief . I’ve embarrassed myself before you . ”
He was talking about what had happened before .
Frey did not think too much about it .
“I have a few questions that I’d like to ask . ”
“Please go ahead . ”
“What exactly is Relic Battle?”
For a moment, their gazes met .
Gisellan hesitated for a moment before slowly opening his mouth .
“It’s exactly that . It is a duel where the winner takes one of the Heroes’ relics from the loser . Originally it was organized as a way to promote and foster friendships between the circles…now, the meaning has changed a great deal . ”
“Can’t you refuse?”
“We have a few tricks up our sleeves but…the way things are now…”
At that moment, Frey realised that the circles weren’t really getting along with each other .
They called themselves the Circle, but in truth, they were like a group of individual forces who were forced together and were more preoccupied with keeping each other in check than actually helping .
‘…’
His eyes sank faintly but Gisellan just gave a bitter laugh without realising it .
“I understand it roughly . So, a circle called Basilisk Tails is fighting for the Trowman Rings’ artifacts?”
“That…”
Gisellan hesitated for a moment, but Beniang’s advice resounded in his head .
‘She said it was better to tell him everything in an honest way than hide it from him . ’
He was a man who still came personally to check out the Trowman Rings despite their desperate situation .
It was better to be honest than to get caught lying and appear deceitful .
Gisellan nodded .
“You’re right . It has happened many times already and it’s not over yet . It’s not as though the Basilisk Tails are the only jackals . ”
“What do you mean?”
“Relic Battles between circles can only happen once a month . The small and medium sized circles near to us have already joined forces . They are taking turns every month to fight for artifacts . And they will only do it when Master Beniang and the other executives are away from the circle . ”
Gisellan looked at Frey, who was speechless and spoke bitterly .
If they fought 1 on 1 they might win, but when the groups joined forces then it wasn’t so easy .
Since they had no allies to rely on, the Trowman rings were completely isolated .
“You know that the situation of the Trowman Rings is not very good right?”
“Yes . ”
“In fact, it’s a lot worse than it seems . Our scale is less than a tenth of when we were at our peak and our talented members are all on long term missions to build results . Otherwise, our circle might break apart and be absorbed by other circles . ”
Frey was also surprised .
This was because he had so simply and honestly told him about the extremely precarious situation that they were in .
He was well aware of the fact that the Trowman Rings was desperate for talent .
For them, even if they had to lie, they would want to do everything they needed to attract them .
Gisellan, who guessed what he was thinking from his expression, answered his unspoken question .
“It was Master Beniang who told me to be completely honest with you . ”
“…Master Beniang . ”
“A young hero who managed to become a 7 star Archmage and defeat an Apostle . All the major forces in the Circle are watching you . I heard that you were scouted by all three of the major circles . Is that true?”
Dugenjar hadn’t been there for that purpose, but Frey still nodded because Mikel from the Phisfounder Armlets had made him an offer before .
“That’s right . ”
“Hoo . ”
Gisellan’s attitude experienced a slight change .
He really wanted to attract Frey somehow .
But with the little bit of composure that he still had, he realised how pointless his thoughts were .
Even if he managed to attract him with a lie, it wouldn’t be difficult for Frey to leave the circle if he was really determined .
Gisellan knew this better than anyone .
It was an incredibly painful feeling when the Circle Master Osel Argento left and many of the Force Honors and even the most trusted Circle Rounders, left the Trowman Rings .
It was a lie to say that he wasn’t hopeful at all .
If it was Frey, who was said to have defeated an Apostle, then he would not find an opponent in the Trowman Rings .
If he did enter the circle, that fact alone would be enough to prevent those small and medium circles from appearing whenever they felt like it .
Everyone knew how powerful a 7 star wizard was .
But it would literally take a miracle .
‘It’s impossible for things to go so smoothly . ’
There was no merit for Frey to join the crumbling Trowman Rings .
From this little conversation, Gisellan realised that this young man in front of him was truly worthy of the name Wizard .
He was the type of man who did not blink even once when he tried to appeal to his compassionate side .
This wasn’t to say that Frey was wrong .
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Instead, he should be considered wise .
After all, there was no person who would decide to climb onto a sinking ship .
“That’s all I have to ask . ”
“…right . Then I’ll take my leave . Have a good rest . ”
“If it’s no problem, I’d like to take a look around the village . Would that be okay?”
Gisellan nodded .
“There’s no problem . But don’t snoop around Master Beniang’s house on the far west end . That might lead to unnecessary suspicion . If there’s anything you need, come to my house . It’s the one directly opposite . ”
“I will keep that in mind . ”
Gisellan left the room, and after a while, Frey followed him .
Although it was supposed to be the headquarters of a circle, Frey couldn’t help but be reminded of a normal village .
Frey walked slowly down the street while looking around .
Then he stopped .
“…”
There was a statue .
A very big statue which didn’t seem to fit in at all in this little village .
The statue was off a man, who appeared to be in his thirties, wore a blue robe, and seemed to be looking into the distance with a lonely expression .
On his left shoulder sat a small Phoenix and in his right hand was a crooked, old, wooden staff .
His name was written below the statue .
[Lukas Trowman] (TL: this is in English)
“Do you admire Mr . Lukas too?”
When he heard the voice, he turned around to see a young man .
He was a handsome young man with a gentle expression and a smile in his eyes .
He bowed his head politely when Frey turned to look at him .
“I’m sorry if I startled you . ”
“It’s fine . More importantly . I wonder why you think I like Lukas . ”
“Because you look captivated . Well . It seemed to me that you had many thoughts about Lukas . ”
Frey turned back to look at the statue of Lukas .
“I don’t like him that much . ”
“Ah…I see . I’m sorry . ”
He bowed his head again while apologizing .
“My introduction is a bit late . My name is Fianne . It’s not much, but I hold the position of Force Honor in the Trowman Rings . ”
Force Honor .
He didn’t expect that this young man would actually be an executive in the Trowman Rings .
Was it because they lacked talented personnel?
No .
Frey could see that Fianne was actually quite outstanding . He seemed to be at a similar level to Gisellan, with whom Frey had just been speaking .
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‘Is it because they’re numbers are too small that they lose to the small and medium sized circles?’
Frey had this thought while introducing himself .
“I’m Frey Blake . ”
“I’ve heard a lot about you . It’s said that you defeated an Apostle . That’s an amazing achievement . I was so thrilled when I learned of it…I would like to express my sincere respect to Mr . Frey for your achievement . ”
“Thank you . ”
Frey politely bowed his head as well .
And the conversation ended there .
Fianne gave an embarrassed smile at Frey’s reaction which was much calmer than he’d anticipated .
“It seems that I am in the way . I will take my leave . ”
Then Frey stopped him just as he was about to turn around .
“One minute, can I ask you something?”
“Ah . Of course . ”
“I apologize in advance for my rudeness . Honor Fianne, why are you staying in this crumbling circle?”
“Yes?”
Fianne’s face stiffened for a moment .
But Frey’s eyes remained firm .
This was the most important problem to him .
“With your skill, wouldn’t you be able to get into another circle easily? Not just you . Master Beniang, Honor Gisellan and all the other members here . I don’t understand why you all are bailing(2) water out of a sinking ship . ”
If it stayed the way it was, then the Trowman Rings would disappear someday .
Their actions were nothing more than delaying when it actually happened .
“…you are a very reasonable person . Truly the model wizard . ”
Fianne gave a bitter smile .
Frey knew it wasn’t a compliment but did not say anything about it .
“A sinking ship . That is an appropriate analogy . It is true . And we all know the most realistic outcome . To be distributed among the other circles together with our remaining artifacts . ”
It was true .
In the end the purpose of the Circle was to overthrow the Demigods .
The collapse of the Trowman Rings didn’t mean that someone had to die or live a miserable life .
So he didn’t understand .
“But we can’t be so cold . ”
“Why?”
“Because that would mean that the Trowman Rings disappeared . ”
“What does it matter?”
“The Circle is an organization connected through the will of the heroes of old, Mr . Frey . If we break apart, then Lukas’ name will also be cut off . ”
“…”
“I know it sounds stupid . I have no intentions of forcing others to understand either . But Frey . In the first place, the Circle began because of our respect for those great legends . ”
Fianne gave a soft laugh .
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“Do you know why Lukas is the only human in history to be given the name Great Mage?”
Frey didn’t answer .
Fianne continued to speak, perhaps thinking that he didn’t know .
“It’s because he is the pioneer for everyone walking along the path of magic . 4,000 years ago, it’s not enough to say that the relationship between the wizards and the magic warriors was the worst .
Ignoring or despising each other, there would even be fights to the death happening every day . It is the same for witches . They were treated like heretics instead of comrades who followed the same path . ”
“…”
“Lukas wasn’t like that . As long as they used mana, then they were the same kin . He said that they were all comrades who also shared the purpose of pursuing the long road known as magic . ”
Fianne laughed again .
“It was a small start, but someone had to do it . It was Mr . Lukas who made the first step . At that time, there were many who were unconvinced . Many who were hostile towards Lukas . Even wizards just like him . But…Lukas overcame it . ”
“…”
“Mr . Frey, I…no . Our circle is a simple group . We admire Lukas, who was able to embrace even those who wanted to take his life and lead them along the path of magic, more than anyone else in the world .
And if possible, we all wish to be able to imitate that sublime spirit, even a little . We never want his traces to disappear from our world . ”
Frey thought of Shepard and Peran again .
He thought of the smiles that came across their faces when they talked about the heroes they admired .
‘Ah . ’
Frey realised at that moment how they really thought of the heroes .
It wasn’t simply about respect or paying homage to the great people who lived in the past .
To them, Lukas was like their soul . He was a spiritual pillar that was more important than even their own lives .
At that moment, Frey truly understood their hearts .
“I understand . ”
Frey turned his head away from Fianne and scratched his cheek like he was embarrassed .
“Lukas must be happy . ”
“Yes?”
“He’d be very pleased to have successors who have inherited his spirit . ”
“Haha . I sincerely hope so . ”
Frey was grateful for their respect . As much as they respected and admired him, Frey respected and admired them .
He hadn’t thought about joining the Trowman Rings, but Frey wanted to at least give them something in return for their appreciation .
And that was not something difficult to achieve .
Frey’s footsteps lead him toward Beniang’s house .
(Note:
1 . The name ‘Lucas Traumen’ has been changed to ‘Lukas Trowman’ because the author actually put the name in English .
I feel like it is my duty as the Translator to keep the author’s desires for their novel in mind, hence in situations like this where English is used, I will stick to the author’s desires . Even for those cases where I find the choice to be strange .
Of course, this doesn’t mean that I will go back and change all the ‘Lucas Traumen’ in the chapters before, this change is only for the chapters going forward . And in the event I encounter another similar situation, e . g . ‘Schweiser’ being ‘Schwezer’, I will also change those according to the author’s decisions .
2 . To bail is to clear (water) from a boat by dipping and throwing over the side .
The ‘Mr . ’s that I use are my way of portraying ‘님’ but it always feels a bit odd because ‘Mr’ doesn’t quite cut it, in my opinion .
This was such a heartwarming chapter…do you think it’s enough for you to forgive my delays?)