The Mage’s Nemesis Has Reincarnated - Chapter 208

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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 208
Following the Attendant’s guidance, Christina soon beheld what she had been longing to see.
Her second son, whom she had yearned for without ceasing.
“Russell!”
“M-Mother!”
Russell, who had been greeting Gerard, rushed toward Christina.
The moment he embraced her, he burst into tears like a child.
“I… I missed you so much, Mother. Sob!”
“Russell. You were alive, my son.”
“Yes, sob, this is all thanks to Zeke.”
The name that suddenly spilled forth—Zeke.
At that irritating name, which stood like an obstacle in her path, Christina’s mood soured.
“Zeke? Why Zeke? What happened?”
“Well, I explained it to Father too. What happened was…”
Russell recounted how he had taken on a temporary mercenary contract escorting the Merchant Caravan, nearly meeting his death at the hands of an ogre.
And how Zeke had appeared during that ordeal and saved his life.
Upon hearing the circumstances, Christina’s sharp gaze softened considerably.
She had worried whether Zeke had once again obstructed her family’s path, but such was not the case.
“Zeke is my savior. I truly believed I would die that day.”
“Are you unharmed?”
“Yes. Thanks to Zeke, I am unscathed.”
“How fortunate indeed. Zeke mentioned he would search for Russell first, and it seems fortune favored us elsewhere. Would you not agree, Christina?”
“Y-Yes, it appears so.”
Gerard chuckled with relief, and though Christina did not show it outwardly, she felt gratitude toward Zeke’s actions.
Saving her son was certainly worthy of praise.
Yet this did not mean all the resentment she had accumulated was suddenly resolved.
‘I am grateful he saved him, but surely he had ulterior motives. Such heartwarming tales would influence the successor trial scores.’
However, Christina’s thoughts were shattered by Russell’s next words.
“Zeke asked me to relay a message when the family returns.”
“What message?”
“That he has no interest in the position of family head, so he will withdraw from the successor trial.”
“What?”
Both Gerard and Christina were astonished.
Peter showed no surprise, as if he already knew.
“Is that truly the case?”
“Yes. Zeke asked me to tell you directly when he returns… Has Zeke not yet arrived from the Western Continent? If he has, you could ask him yourself…”
“No. I believe him.”
Gerard accepted it readily, as though he had never been surprised.
“I had already sensed that Zeke harbored no ambition for the family head position. Otherwise, he would not have broached the subject with me first, suggesting we abandon the successor trial since circumstances were unfavorable.”
“Yes. He also told me that he participated in the trial to fuel my competitive spirit. It seems he hoped I would become someone more worthy of the family head position. Thanks to him, I have gained various experiences and grown mentally.”
“What in the world have you been through? Tell me step by step.”
“Ah, well, at first I was doing….”
Russell began unraveling, one by one, the events he had experienced over the past year and three months.
Yet Christina found it difficult to focus on his account.
It was because of what Zeke had said moments before—it was shocking.
‘What…? He’s renouncing the position of Family Head? He deliberately became a rival to train Russell?’
She had believed he was desperately taking tests to become Family Head, revealing his talents without reservation.
That he was coveting the position, building his reputation, and acting with pretense.
But that assumption had been completely wrong.
‘Zeke never had ambitions for the Family Head position. He yielded from the start. All because he wanted Russell to become the Family Head.’
Considering all that Zeke had contributed to the McLafflin Family, the position of future Family Head was as good as decided.
Yet he abandoned that seat and handed it over to his brother as if to prove something?
It was an impossible act without genuine indifference to the position of Family Head.
‘I’ve been misunderstanding Zeke all this time….’
From Alex to Peter.
She had thought of them only as demons’ spawn, obstacles in life—children who dragged themselves into ruin.
But today, they appeared different.
Having torn off his own wings and attached them to Russell, how could she see him any other way?
‘And I didn’t even know….’
Just as an inexplicable shame began to torment Christina, Russell was in the midst of recounting his own anecdotes.
“…After doing that, even working as a shoe shiner, I then started working as a mercenary. Where I began was….”
“Family Head!”
At the Attendant’s urgent cry, Gerard’s expression turned grave as well.
“What is it? What’s all this commotion?”
“That’s not it—he’s here!”
“Who?”
“Young Master Zeke!”

* * *
Gerard was both delighted and surprised by Zeke’s unexpectedly swift return from the Western Continent.
“Zeke! You said you were heading to the Western Continent, yet you’re back already?”
“Yes. Was it too fast?”
“Too fast indeed. Russell just arrived a moment ago himself.”
“Welcome back, Zeke.”
Russell greeted Zeke with a warm smile.
“You made it back safely? Second Brother?”
“Of course. Did you finish your business on the Western Continent?”
“Yes. I went looking for another Dragonian like myself, but… there wasn’t one. It was a wasted trip, really.”
I rattled off the lie without hesitation, and they believed every word.
By now, I had become someone indispensable to the McLafflin Family.
It was only natural, given that I had saved the family from crisis.
‘Still, Grandmother must be viewing me with displeasure.’
She would be glaring at me as usual, I thought.
With that in mind, I glanced toward Christina.
Nod—
But instead of glaring, Christina suddenly gave me a respectful nod, and my thoughts came to an abrupt halt.
‘What? Why is she greeting me? And why is she looking at me like that…?’
Her eyes no longer held their usual coldness, but rather warmth and gratitude, which left me thoroughly bewildered.
‘Should I read her mind?’
Curious about this sudden shift, I briefly peered into her true thoughts and quickly understood.
‘Ah… she’s reacting to my decision to withdraw from the successor trials.’
Christina, who had viewed me negatively until now, had finally shed her prejudices and resolved her misunderstandings.
‘I accepted the successor trials because of the system, not really because of Second Brother, but… well, this works out better anyway.’
There was no point in explaining the truth when she wouldn’t believe me about the system anyway.
‘First, I need to handle the task I came here for.’
But before that, there was something else I needed to do.
‘Should I grab something to eat first?’
I was quite hungry.

* * *
After a long time, I gathered with my family for breakfast together.
Following that warm and pleasant meal,
three people—or rather, three dragons—came to my room.
“How did it go, Zeke?”
“Did you finish your business on the Western Continent successfully?”
“Did you find the enslaved dragons there?”
Carbollearos, Carse, and Cardiplian fired off their questions in succession.
I had told the humans I was going to search for Dragonians, but in truth, I had gone to find enslaved dragons.
‘It’s only natural they’re so curious.’
I reported to the dragons everything that had happened on the Western Continent.
“There were eighty enslaved dragons there. So I freed them all. And I completely eradicated the Lich Dragon.”
“Excellent!”
“Truly?”
“Well done!”
“Now the enslaved dragons won’t face oppression from the Lich Dragon anymore. In fact, the very word ‘enslaved’ will disappear.”
“That’s right. If the Lich Dragon has gone extinct, only pure dragons remain.”
“Could it be that the glory of dragons from three thousand years ago is being restored before our very eyes?”
“Just hearing about it makes my heart race!”
“If that comes to pass, would you take the position of leader of us dragons, Carbollearos?”
“What?”
“That’s right. Among the remaining dragons, there’s none as old as you, is there?”
“You lot, are you calling me old?”
Carbollearos, who had been gazing with sleepy eyes, let out a sigh before speaking.
“Troublesome as it may be, I accept! Since there’s no one else to do it, I suppose I must take the position of leader!”
Despite his words of reluctance, Carbollearos’s expression was quite bright.
“As someone with experience founding an empire three thousand years ago, I shall guide my brethren well!”
Watching Carbollearos speak thus, something suddenly came to mind.
“Ah, Carbollearos. Since we’re on the subject, did you really found an empire three thousand years ago?”
“Didn’t I tell you before? I was the emperor of an empire called Akidelphia.”
“Really? As it happens, this fellow here was a guardian knight of that very empire. Did you know?”
“What? Who are you talking about?”
Before answering, I chanted a spell.
“This one.”
Emerging from the smoke was the sentient undead, Clifford Stewart.
“You called for me, Master?”
“Yeah, introduce yourselves to each other.”
“…?”
“Who is this… huh?”
Carbollearos seemed uncertain, as if he’d seen the face somewhere before.
But Clifford showed no sign of recognizing Carbollearos.
It was unavoidable.
Since he had taken over Carrocksina’s body, his appearance would be entirely different.
“Clifford.”
“Yes, Master.”
“You mentioned that when you were wandering as a human before, you served as a guardian knight of Akidelphia, correct?”
“That is correct.”
“And this Carbollearos here was supposedly the emperor who ruled Akidelphia?”
Clifford blinked for a moment, then stared at Carbollearos with an expression of disbelief.
“That cannot be.”
“Your name is Clifford? Could it be… Clifford Ashstein?”
At the sound of his true name, spoken for the first time in three thousand years, Clifford’s eyes widened.
“How do you know the name I used three thousand years ago?”
“Are you truly Clifford Ashstein? The very Sir Ashstein who served as the emperor’s guardian knight?”
“Y-yes, but… could you possibly be… Your Majesty Aros?”
“That’s right! I am Aros, the empress who founded Akidelphia!”
“Ah… ah…!”
Two souls separated for three thousand years were reuniting in this moment.

* * *
In the past, the two of them had led the empire together as empress and knight for a time.
All the while, each firmly believing the other was human.
“I truly never knew you were a dragon.”
“Neither did I. That Your Majesty was also a dragon polymorphed into human form…”
“How well did you conceal your draconic power? We never realized each other’s true nature.”
Zeke interjected with an expression of exasperation.
“How does it feel to reunite after three thousand years? Carbollearos?”
“It is both astounding and delightful. I had resigned myself to never seeing the people of Akidelphia again.”
“I too am truly honored to see you again, Your Majesty.”
“How have you been? What have you been doing all this time?”
Perhaps the warm atmosphere displeased him?
Zeke threw cold water on the moment with his next words.
“Clifford was one of the 12 Pioneers until recently. So he must have died at my hands and become an intelligent undead.”
“What…?”
At this revelation, Carbollearos’s expression turned fierce in an instant.
“Is this true? Sir Ashstein?”
“Y-yes, that is correct. Until recently, I was assisting the Pioneers under the name Clifford Stewart.”
“Clifford was no ordinary dragon. He was a Lich Dragon, no less.”
Zeke’s words were enough to set Carbollearos’s temper ablaze.
“A knight of the empire, transformed into a Lich Dragon? Have you lost your mind? Why on earth did you become a Lich Dragon?”
“Ah, that is….”
Clifford stammered, offering a feeble excuse that he had been intoxicated by the power of demonic energy and could not help himself—but naturally, it fell far short of appeasing Carbollearos’s wrath.
“You’ve lost your mind! Absolutely lost it! No matter what, you should never have abandoned a dragon’s pride!”
“I sincerely apologize….”
“Enough! I don’t even want to look at your face—get inside!”
Carbollearos, thoroughly disappointed, turned his head away sharply, and Clifford, his face fallen and dejected, bowed his head before vanishing at my command to unsummon him.
“Tsk, tsk. What a pathetic creature. Consider my welcome retracted.”
“By the way, Carbollearos. There’s something I wanted to ask you.”
“What is it, Zeke.”
“Where is Esca?”

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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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