The Mage’s Nemesis Has Reincarnated - Chapter 150

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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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The Natural Enemy of Mages Has Been Reincarnated – Episode 150
“Who is our escort target?”
“It’s Raber Archbishop.”
“The… Archbishop?”
The surprise erupted not from Zeke, but from those around him.
Peter too had widened his eyes slightly.
“Peter, why is everyone reacting like that? Is the Archbishop’s position really that high?”
“Of course it is! In the Holy Empire, he’s second only to the Pontiff—the highest authority you could say. And you claim to have read so many books yet don’t know this?”
How could I not know?
I had gathered extensive information about the Holy Empire from Rant in Dion Village.
“I was just wondering if it was something to be that surprised about.”
“Meeting the Archbishop is far more difficult than having an audience with a king from another realm. For us, this is an enormous responsibility we’ve been entrusted with.”
“Is that so?”
“I was puzzled by why so many troops were being mobilized, but now it makes sense. He truly is among the greatest of the great.”
Peter muttered as if he’d finally grasped the situation, but Zeke found himself perplexed instead.
‘Why would someone of the Archbishop’s stature forgo the Teleport Gate and insist on traveling with an escort instead?’
Just then, another member who shared the same question raised his hand to ask.
Kalos, receiving the question, provided an answer.
“The Teleport Gate is a perfect invention for shortening distances, but it has a critical weakness in security. If someone seizes control of the Teleport Gate on the other end, you become trapped in an inescapable snare.”
“Ah…”
“So even if it takes several days, he preferred to travel safely with an escort. Hiring our Escort Guard was a wise choice—and now is the time to prove it.”
As Kalos spoke, his gaze turned toward Zeke and his companions.
He looked at them with the confidence that having a Sword Saint and a Dragonian together was utterly reassuring.
Zeke himself, feeling the weight of that expectation, averted his eyes uncomfortably.
‘An escort mission for the Archbishop… something about this feels off.’
Heavy escort numbers meant proportionally greater danger.
It was true that someone of such high station would be more cautious about safety, but my instincts were uneasy.
The Quest Navigator itself wanting to assign this mission felt suspicious.
‘Well, nothing serious should happen. I have Carbollearos and Carse with me.’
Setting aside his concerns, Zeke simply waited for the Quest to appear.

* * *
The next day.
Eighty-two members of the Hormos Escort Unit set out toward the Holy Empire.
After arriving, they waited for quite some time before a magical carriage finally appeared for escort.
“Wow, that magical carriage is absolutely stunning!”
“It looks incredibly luxurious.”
It was clearly the sort of carriage befitting a high-ranking dignitary, yet Raber Archbishop himself never showed his face.
‘Is he riding inside the carriage?’
My hunter’s senses detected a single person within, though it hardly mattered.
A Quest had appeared.
【Main Quest: Escort Raber Archbishop】
└You have been tasked with escorting the Archbishop at the request of the Holy Empire.
└Escort Raber Archbishop to the Braham Kingdom, your destination.
【Conditions】
└Escort Raber Archbishop
【Rewards】
└Obtain the buff ‘Holy Blessing’
“Everyone! Take your positions as we discussed beforehand. We’re departing shortly!”
Though I never caught sight of Raber Archbishop’s face, the magical carriage began to move.
The formal escort mission had commenced.

* * *
The distance from the Holy Empire to the Braham Kingdom was not particularly great.
One could arrive within a week if traveling diligently.
However, with eighty-two escorts in tow, matters became considerably different.
“We’ll rest here for a moment!”
At Kalos’s shout, the escort unit collapsed to the ground as if they had been waiting for those very words.
Eight hours of continuous walking was exhausting, even for Aura users with enhanced stamina.
“Why won’t the Archbishop come out of the carriage? Isn’t he hungry?”
“Look at the size of that carriage. It’s big enough to fit ten people inside. There must be plenty of food stored in there.”
“Even so, shouldn’t he at least show his face for a moment? I was hoping to catch a glimpse of the Archbishop.”
“Shh, watch your tongue. He might hear you.”
Listening to the unit members’ chatter, I sat down and pulled out some jerky.
This moment of chewing on dried meat was the only snack time permitted to the escort unit.
“Zeke. Is that enough to fill your stomach?”
“What else can I do? They won’t give us proper meals because of the time constraints.”
I answered Carbollearos’s remark and resumed chewing my jerky.
It might have sounded like I was complaining, but I harbored no actual discontent.
By using Aura as a substitute for nutrition, I could regulate my hunger.
That was why the other Aura users chewed their jerky without complaint as well.
Regardless, Carbollearos wore an expression of utter boredom.
“How much longer must I trudge along like this? I’m dying of tedium.”
“I heard it takes ten days, didn’t you?”
“What? Ten days?”
Carbollearos’s mouth fell open as if shocked by such a duration.
“And that’s supposedly the shortened version?”
“Shortened?”
“We’re taking the shortcut through the Labteran Mountain Range. I’ve heard there are plenty of monsters there.”
This was no leisurely stroll along flat terrain.
To save time, we had to contend with monsters as well.
“Then if we don’t fight the monsters… does that mean we could save even more time?”
“Exactly.”
Carbollearos’s eyes gleamed at those words.
The gaze of someone desperate to end this tedious escort duty as quickly as possible.
Watching him, I let out a quiet chuckle.
‘If he wants to save time, let him try radiating dragon energy without restraint.’

* * *
The Labteran Mountain Range had been closed to regular passage for ages.
Because monsters appeared there frequently.
Trivial creatures like goblins posed no real threat.
The problem was that the forest was populated by mid-to-high tier monsters—trolls, ogres, and the like.
Perhaps for that reason, tension etched itself across the faces of the Escort Guard members as they entered the mountain range’s domain.
“Everyone, stay sharp. Monsters could appear at any moment.”
At Kalos’s words, the members swallowed hard without responding.
They were that tense, their full attention devoted to surveying their surroundings.
Trolls and ogres were dangerous creatures that only Aura Masters could reliably defeat.
Henk, who participated in this mission, felt the same tension.
“Henk, is your leg alright?”
“Can’t you see for yourself?”
“Why must you be so difficult?”
“Don’t make me talk.”
Thanks to my mercy, Henk’s leg had been spared from permanent disability—it was perfectly sound.
Healing magic had worked well, but swift action was what truly saved his leg.
‘Yet I never wanted to participate in this mission in the first place…’
Even if his leg had healed, after experiencing something like that, there was no way he’d want to join the mission.
Especially not working alongside the one who had driven him to the brink of death.
But Kalos had not excluded Henk from the mission.
Using a wager with me as justification.
―Zeke said so himself—that even with your leg healed, you must participate in the mission. He said he couldn’t let you slack off alone. If you have complaints, go find him yourself, he said. What can you do about that?
―I’ll participate in this mission.
‘Damn it. Why did I make such a stupid bet?’
Regret, no matter how swift, always arrives too late.
How was I supposed to know my opponent was concealing their strength?
Of course, they hadn’t intentionally hidden it, but judging by appearances alone, they looked like nothing more than a greenhorn, didn’t they?
‘It’s my fault for picking the wrong person. Hell.’
Henk, grinding his teeth at his own pathetic judgment, raised his aura-infused sword and advanced slowly.
Even as a low-rank Aura Master, he couldn’t help but feel dread at the sight of ogres appearing in swarms.
Though it paled in comparison to the terror of nearly losing a leg.
For some reason, his gaze drifted toward Zeke and his companions.
‘Are they fearless? They’re walking around like they just stepped out of a tavern.’
He couldn’t fathom why they strolled about with such leisure, as if sightseeing at a tourist destination.
Was this the mark of such confidence?
‘I mean, they can easily handle me and half the Escort Guard…’
They might even be stronger than Kalos, the captain of the guard.
‘No way they’re a high-rank Aura Master, right? At that age?’
He’d heard they could cast 5th Circle magic, but an Aura Master too?
It was monstrous talent, but he doubted it was even possible.
Aura and Circle were fundamentally incompatible by nature.
‘Even so, they’re being far too relaxed.’
Though he watched them with suspicion, as time passed, Henk came to realize something.
The strange ones weren’t Zeke and his companions at all—it was his own group, wound so tightly with tension.
Throughout their entire journey into the forest, they hadn’t glimpsed a single monster.

* * *
The Braham Kingdom boasted four renowned Forerunners of considerable renown.
Azrahil Johnston, known as Brahm’s Illusionist.
Pyreo, called the incarnation of indomitable will.
Lillis Lin, the Forerunner of lightning, and Iron Man Clifford Stewart.
Among them, Azrahil had been branded a traitor and fell by Esca’s hand, though the world remained ignorant of this fact.
Ilena, present here as well.
“My goodness, that famous Illusionist Azrahil is dead?”
“You didn’t know that, even though you’re a fellow Forerunner?”
“Why would I, ranked sixth in the hierarchy, concern myself with the affairs of the lower ranks? It’s possible I wouldn’t know.”
“Fine, fine. Let’s just focus on the work.”
“Why do you dislike me so much? I don’t see a shred of courtesy toward your superior.”
“I’m speaking respectfully to you right now with proper grammar. What do you mean you don’t see it…?”
“Be honest with me. You actually like me, but you’re pretending to hate me so I don’t find out, right?”
“Ha… what kind of ridiculous nonsense is that?”
“What did you just say?”
“…That it makes no sense.”
When Ilena fixed me with a stern gaze, I had no choice but to offer a feeble excuse.
No matter what, she was my superior, and I’d lose if we clashed.
The matchup was unfavorable for me as well.
‘I specialize in fire, and she specializes in water.’
Ilena Yeats.
A ninth-circle mage of the Albitz Kingdom who wielded water magic.
Unlike myself, she didn’t have as much fame, but I knew the truth.
I knew how terrifying Ilena was.
After all, when we first met, we’d argued over rank and she’d beaten me down like a dog.
“If you don’t like me, then what is it? Why do you avoid me? Don’t tell me you’re still holding a grudge about what happened back then?”
“…”
“That’s it, isn’t it? Even though it was our first meeting, I nearly beat you to death, and it must have wounded your pride deeply. You’d just been selected as a Forerunner with your head in the clouds, so the hurt cut even deeper.”
“Wounded pride… never mind. Let’s not bring that up again.”
“What kind of man has such a narrow heart? Like a petty child?”
“Seriously. Are we going to work or not? We’ll be entering the Labteran Mountain Range soon.”
“Right, right, let’s work. Who am I supposed to kill?”
At those words, I exhaled a weary sigh before speaking.
“Raber Archbishop.”

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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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