Memoirs of a Wicked Magician - Chapter 77

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 77
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“Liriope…. I know Caliona must be hurt, but please understand. There’s actually some merit to what she said.”
After Caliona left, Milena tried to comfort Liriope.
“The thing is, in all this time, only Stella has ever reached the twentieth floor so quickly and earned Cameron’s favor like this. So there are some who see Caliona as a thorn in their side.”
Without Milena needing to spell it out, Liriope already understood that Caliona’s desire to distance herself stemmed from worry over her younger sibling alone.
Since Liriope had made a similar choice last year—staying alone in the Outer Estate to save Caliona—perhaps she had no right to feel aggrieved.
But why was it that—
The sisters’ situation seemed to be unfolding in a pattern disturbingly similar to the past.
Could it be that, regardless of the Time Regression, the two of them were simply fated never to be together?
“But I have you! I’m here for you! Caliona even asked me to look after you, didn’t she? From now on, I’ll always be by your side! I’ll protect you no matter what! I… I admit I was careless when I was with Stella last time, and I showed you a shameful side of myself, but… honestly, I’m not that weak. Stella only trains the threatening ones, after all! Since you said I was cool, I won’t let you down…!”
Still, after a brief moment of thought, Liriope found it was not difficult to discern what she needed to do.
It was simple.
The things keeping Caliona and Liriope apart.
If Liriope handled the elements that worried Caliona first, that would solve it.
After all, this was the path Liriope had intended to take after the Time Regression anyway, so there was no need for further hesitation or doubt.
Thus Liriope waited with the eerie quiet of the eye of a storm, patience made flesh, for her opportunity to arrive.
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“What’s this? Anyone seeing you’d think you were walking into a coffin.”
Days later, on the day of the Search Team deployment to the Contaminated Sanctuary.
Unlike Liriope, who looked relatively fine save for a hint of weariness, the children who had emerged from the Underground Solitary Chamber after a week bore the ashen pallor of the dead.
“Tch. Already losing your nerve like this? Can’t you keep your wits about you?”
Cameron frowned, clearly displeased with the trembling children.
But facing something far more terrifying than Cameron’s reproach, his rebuke would hardly land.
Even if they had experienced something similar beforehand in the Outer Estate, actually going to the Contaminated Sanctuary was an entirely different matter.
Still, Cameron did not punish the children again for ignoring his words.
Instead, sensing the need to bolster morale before a major ordeal, he tempered his sharp tone considerably and continued.
“Hmph. But count yourselves fortunate. I won’t send you alone into the Contaminated Sanctuary without mercy…. Ah, here comes the guide now.”
Cameron turned his head upon noticing someone. A girl in a deep blue robe appeared, trailing a sweet fragrance in her wake.
“Good morning! It’s lovely to see you, Cameron.”
But as the approaching girl’s face came into view, Cameron’s brow furrowed. Meanwhile, a sharp glint flashed across Liriope’s eyes.
“Stella? What brings you here?”
“I’ve come to guide these precious juniors of ours, of course.”
Even though Cameron usually doted on Stella, his expression seemed dimly displeased by this development.
Stella, leaving Cameron behind, approached the children.
The children who faced her directly opened their mouths in astonishment.
“Hello, my name is Stella. I’m so glad to meet you all.”
The instant she smiled softly in greeting, the children even experienced a fleeting illusion—as though their surroundings had transformed into a blooming meadow.
For the children who had been cooped up underground with Cameron since arriving at the Inner Estate, seeing a peer mage for the first time today made an indelible impression.
Long, honey-blonde hair so lustrous and smooth that even dewdrops seemed to roll off it, and eyes that gleamed like liquid gold in the sunlight—unblemished and serene.
Unlike the gaunt children fresh from the Outer Estate, she was pleasantly rounded, with rosy cheeks, soft fragrant hands, and meticulously groomed nails.
She wore a costly-looking pale pink dress, and over it a Blue Robe marked with a Silver Ornament indicating she was an Official Mage of the Magic Tower.
But what struck them most profoundly was something else entirely.
The expression on her face commanded their gaze instantly—so poised and self-assured that it was almost unbelievable she had undergone the same process to join the Northern Magic Tower.
Two other girls followed behind Stella down the stairs, but beside her they seemed mere attendants.
“I know today’s sudden deployment to the Search Team must have frightened you. I was in exactly your position three years ago, so I understand how terrified and anxious you all must feel right now.”
Her words of sympathy, the sorrowful expression, and the tender light in her eyes were more than capable of enchanting these children.
“But don’t worry. You’ll all make it back safely, I’m sure. The three of us here have made multiple trips to the Contaminated Sanctuary. Of course, each time we’ve returned without a single scratch.”
Unlike the fearsome adult mages who had done nothing but torture, coerce, and intimidate them for a week, Stella seemed like a kindred spirit—someone who could truly understand and comfort them.
“Besides, today we’re being deployed to Zone 7, which is considered the safest area on the periphery. We usually operate within Zone 6 as our range. So today, just trust us and follow along. Then you’ll all return with good results and smiling faces.”
Her gentle encouragement was more than enough to soothe the children’s trembling hearts.
As the atmosphere visibly eased, Cameron’s lips slanted wryly.
“Stella, I distinctly remember telling you I’d assign someone else to this today?”
“But isn’t it my role to lighten your burden, Cameron? Taking care of adorable juniors now and then is refreshing for me too. So please, allow it? Yes?”
Stella continued to persuade Cameron with her pretty, gentle smile.
Her tone and manner toward him carried a distinctive warmth and charm—as though addressing a kind neighbor or a dear uncle.
Remarkably, it worked. Cameron’s rigid bearing began to soften.
He seemed to be wavering.
“Then….”
“That would be inconvenient, I’m afraid, Stella.”
But just as Cameron was about to reach his decision and speak, someone cut him off, appearing from behind.
“I’m the one who agreed to guide the recruits today.”
It was a dark-haired girl with an exceedingly cold expression.
She wore nothing but black from head to toe, save for a Blue Cloak, lending her an air stern and sharp beyond her years.
If Stella was like a graceful spring breeze, the dark-haired girl who had just appeared was like a cruel, unforgiving winter wind.
Even the faint smile drawn across her pale, refined face carried a desolate, shadowed quality.
The moment she saw her, Liriope exhaled softly. Her gaze grew subtly complex.
Liriope had expected Caliona to appear today and was unsurprised; Stella, however, was not.
Stella’s smile dimmed upon seeing Caliona.
The golden-brown eyes that had brimmed with sunlight now darkened with cold shadow.
“Oh my? What a remarkable coincidence. So today’s caretaker for our adorable recruits is Junior Caliona? I thought it was Junior Milena….”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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