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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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The Head Mage of the Emerald Tower.
Esmeralda of the North Wind.
That was my master.
About 130 years ago, as a member of the Hero’s party, she had played a crucial role in defeating the previous Demon Lord and was subsequently appointed as the Head Mage of the tower.
Unsatisfied with the inefficient magic system of the time, my master developed her own secret breathing technique and founded a new school of magic: the Eternal Snow school.
A fusion of Eastern Ki Arts and Western elemental magic, something no one had ever successfully achieved before.
It caused a sensation in the academic world, but my master insisted on a single line of succession and refused to teach her new magic to anyone. A hundred years later, I was born, and I became the heir to her legacy.
…It made me feel the generation gap.
Anyway, my master had a secret.
She was a reincarnator, with memories of her past life.
Unlike me, who had been reborn in this world from the modern world, my master had been a martial artist in a world where martial arts sects and demonic cults were a reality.
She had been the 17th sect leader of the Changbai sect, which was located at the Heavenly Lake of Mount Paektu, a sacred mountain. Her name had been Bai Ruyu (白如玉).
When I first heard this, I was stunned.
Although we were born in different worlds, we shared the same roots.
Perhaps that was why the secret techniques of our school, which I had learned with a sense of national pride, felt more like martial arts than magic.
That was why the names of my spells had a martial arts novel feel.
It was all my master’s fault.
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After my meeting with my master, I left the Emerald Tower, promising to return soon.
Of course, I had to keep my identity a secret, so I asked her secretary, Olivia, to keep quiet.
We hadn’t set a date for the operation yet.
Timing was crucial.
We had to assassinate King Oscar at the right moment, not too early, not too late, so that the Demon Lord’s army could advance and conquer the chaotic capital.
A new Hero might appear in the meantime, but if a few months of sword training was enough to defeat the Demon Lord, humans would have conquered the continent long ago.
Anyway, I was in a good mood after seeing my master, and since I was back in the capital, I decided to enjoy myself.
Dorothea, her mouth watering, asked,
“So, are we going drinking now?”
“No, we’re going to find a place to stay.”
Dorothea’s face fell, but it was only 3 PM. I wasn’t about to start drinking this early.
Vanessa, who wasn’t much of a drinker, asked,
“So, where are we going? Another inn?”
I wagged my finger.
“Why would we do that? This is Oz, and I have a house here.”
I hadn’t been idle during my ten years of training under my master.
I had used my knowledge from my previous life to create various convenient magical tools, and the royalties from their sales had earned me enough money to live comfortably for the rest of my life.
And since I had entrusted my finances to my master before leaving on my journey, my accounts hadn’t been frozen.
I knew that if news of my death spread, the shrewd bankers would have seized my assets, so I had taken precautions.
We entered a high-end residential area, a short distance from the city center.
As expected of one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the capital, everyone was dressed in fine clothes.
Some of them frowned at my shabby attire, but their glares vanished as soon as I pinned my medal to my chest.
A high-ranking mage dressed like this wasn’t shabby; it was fashion.
I strode confidently to the front of a three-story mansion.
The mailbox was overflowing, but there were no signs of a break-in.
That was because the mansion was equipped with an electric trap that would automatically activate if anyone tried to enter unlawfully.
If anyone tried to climb the walls?
They would be in for a nasty surprise.
They were probably dead or dying.
I dusted off the keyhole, inserted the key from my pocket, and turned it.
Click!
The gate swung open.
I had hired a maid to look after the place, but since I had been embarking on a potentially fatal journey, I had dismissed her on the day I left.
I had given her a generous severance package, so she probably hadn’t been too upset.
I had also bought her a house for her and her siblings, so she was likely doing well.
“It’s not much, but welcome to my humble abode.”
I grabbed the mail from the mailbox and entered the garden.
The overgrown grass tickled my knees, but I cleared it in a minute with a wave of my hand.
I piled the cut grass in a corner of the garden and then used wind magic to blow the dust into the neighbor’s yard.
Dorothea, who had been looking around with curiosity, asked if I was going to burn the pile of weeds. When I said yes, she shot a beam of fire from her fingertip, turning it to ash.
I asked her what that awesome technique was, and she, puffing out her chest, replied that it was a plasma beam.
When I asked if she could shoot it from her eyes, she looked at me like I was crazy.
“Tch, that would have been cool.”
“My eyes would evaporate if I did that.”
Disappointing, but I couldn’t argue with the creator of the technique.
I entered the mansion, and it was just as I had left it.
While a bit dusty, the wooden furniture was still in good condition.
I told the two to choose a room and then opened all the windows on the first floor to air out the place.
As the fresh air filled the room, I finally felt like I could breathe.
I then used wind magic to suck up all the dust on the first floor, like a vacuum cleaner, and then spat it out into the garden. The once dusty living room was now sparkling clean.
After I finished cleaning, the two, who had been unpacking in their rooms on the second floor, came downstairs and gasped in awe at the transformed first floor.
“Wow, wind magic is so versatile.”
“It’s especially useful for everyday life.”
I shrugged at Vanessa’s compliment, and Dorothea gave me a smug look.
Anyway, with the basic cleaning done, and feeling a bit peckish, we decided to have a late lunch.
I got the ingredients from the pantry.
Thanks to a preservation spell, the food was still fresh, even after a year and a half.
I chopped the vegetables and, along with the remaining jerky, added them to a pot of milk to make a stew.
Besides rice soup, stew was the easiest, most versatile, and most cost-effective dish I knew.
In a way, stew was the Western version of rice soup.
Bubble, bubble!
The stew, cooked quickly thanks to the high heat, was served directly from the pot.
The savory and sweet aroma of milk filled the air, stimulating our appetites.
We all dug in, scooping up generous portions.
The crunchy vegetables, the strong, wild flavor of the jerky, and the creamy milk base made the stew incredibly addictive.
Hunger was the best seasoning. We hadn’t eaten since a few pieces of bread in the early morning, and we devoured the stew in a flash.
Vanessa, who had claimed to eat only for pleasure, was scraping the bottom of the pot with her ladle.
With full bellies, a warm house, and plenty of space to rest, we decided to take a nap until evening.
Wasn’t this paradise?
“…”
I woke up at 6 PM.
We gathered on the first floor and, as Dorothea had suggested, headed out into the city for a drink.
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