The Mage’s Nemesis Has Reincarnated - Chapter 49

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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 49
A Secret Chamber shrouded in darkness.
Within it, several shadows moved about.
The 12 Pioneers—individuals wielding power and influence capable of shaking the world itself.
These rarely-assembled figures had gathered once more.
A crisis more grave than any before had erupted.
“Damn it, why did that idiot get himself captured and cause us all this trouble? Seriously?”
“I told you, didn’t I? That man seemed mentally unstable from the start. I had a bad feeling about him the moment we first met.”
“He’s always been like that. The guy’s naturally gloomy.”
“And yet that fool ranks seventh among us Pioneers. It’s embarrassing to even claim kinship with him.”
“My thoughts exactly.”
The target of their scathing criticism was none other than Nox, the Pioneer of Extreme Toxin.
They had already learned through spies within the Royal Palace that the Pioneer of Extreme Toxin had been apprehended.
“But who captured him? Anyone capable of subduing Nox would have to be quite formidable.”
“Could the Royal Guard have intervened?”
“How strong could Decan’s Royal Guard possibly be?”
“This is purely speculation on my part, but… could the Five Lords have gotten involved?”
“There’s no way they could capture Nox, even if they did.”
“Why not? Regardless of anything else, aren’t they the ones with some resistance to poison? That aura they’re so proud of?”
“Even so, could mere aura users really handle a 9th Circle mage? Besides, the very notion that the Five Lords would support the Decan Kingdom makes no sense to begin with.”
“You’re right. There’s no evidence anywhere that the Five Lords were involved. Don’t jump to conclusions. Anyway…”
The Expressionless Man, ranked third among them, lowered his voice.
“Enough idle chatter. We need to formulate a countermeasure. Does anyone have a decent suggestion?”
The group that had been so eager to disparage Nox fell silent in an instant.
Not a single person offered a plan.
Except for Baluduk.
“Kehehehe, there’s no way these fools have anything resembling a strategy in those heads of theirs. They’re all the type to stand idle with their hands behind their backs, claiming it’s not their problem.”
“Old man! This whole mess happened because of Nox, whom you recruited!”
“Hold your tongue, boy. If you show me disrespect one more time in my presence, I’ll make sure you never taste ice cream again for the rest of your life.”
“Ha! You won’t take responsibility for your own mistakes, and now you’re taking it out on us!”
The young man grumbled, but he dared not challenge Baluduk further.
The authority of the second-ranked Pioneer was not to be trifled with.
“By the way, is that person absent again today?”
“I heard they had business elsewhere and couldn’t attend. But speaking of which, Baluduk…”
The man regarded Baluduk with an expressionless gaze.
“Ethan didn’t say anything wrong. Wasn’t it you who devised this plan in the first place? What’s your strategy going forward?”
“Ha! Our iron man finally says something sensible!”
Baluduk, glancing between the young man and the expressionless man’s faces, offered a reassuring smile.
“Kehehehe, you all seem worried that news of the Pioneer of Extreme Toxin’s capture might bring harm to yourselves… but don’t fret too much. Naturally, I’ve already devised countermeasures for this situation.”
“Then tell us what those countermeasures are, already.”
“Won, your impatience will be your undoing.”
Baluduk spoke in an unhurried tone as he presented his contingency plan.
“The Royal Palace harbors two of our agents. Mary assists us within the Royal Mage Unit, and Corel Shadow’s disguise remains undetected. We still have an opportunity to extract Nox.”
“What of the planned assassination? Do you intend to cancel it?”
“Originally, that was the plan. But now that Nox has been captured, there’s no need to proceed quietly. We’ll push forward with the operation.”
“You truly intend to break Nox out of prison?”
“Why not simply let that bastard die?”
Baluduk shook his head.
“Nox bears no seal of binding. Unlike with Gregor, cleanup would be difficult.”
“Then what? If Nox talks and reveals everything about us, we’re finished, aren’t we?”
“There’s no need to worry about that. Despite everything, his loyalty to the Albitz Kingdom runs deep. He won’t break under mere torture.”
Baluduk added his explanation as if agreeing with the man’s assessment.
“And Nox will be waiting. Waiting for us to extract him using our agents.”
“Then there’s no problem.”
“However.”
Baluduk, cutting off the conversation, suddenly smiled.
“We must prepare for contingencies, just in case. Khehehe.”

* * *
After the Pioneers’ meeting concluded, Baluduk returned to his quarters and picked up the communication device.
Light flickered several times before the connection was established.
-Ah, Baluduk.
“We’ve decided to proceed with the plan. Make contact with Corel within the coming days. He’s currently disguised as Zeke McLafflin.”
-Understood.
The conversation ended there.
Baluduk exhaled a long breath, having weathered this crisis.
“That fool. I warned him the atmosphere felt wrong, yet he still got himself captured?”
As Baluduk cursed the already-imprisoned Nox, one thing troubled him.
“But how did the Royal Guard manage to capture Nox? Even so, they shouldn’t have any countermeasure against his poison….”
The reason the Extreme Poison Pioneer was locked away made no sense to him.
Even if all five of the Five Lords descended upon him, subduing Nox would be no simple feat.
“If they learned Nox’s location, it must have come from information Mallock provided. We must accelerate the assassination—every day matters.”
Baluduk’s eyes gleamed with intensity.

* * *
-Zeke, what’s your plan now? How are you going to find this Baluduk?
‘Ah, wait. Give me a moment. That’s not the problem right now.’
I bit back at the dragon’s soul, annoyed by its pestering.
Carbollearos would have preferred to hunt down Baluduk as soon as possible, but now wasn’t the time.
‘If there really is a spy in the Royal Palace, they already know that Nox has been imprisoned. They would have reported it to Baluduk by now.’
Therefore, Baluduk would try to accelerate his plan as quickly as possible.
His plan to use poison on someone in the Royal Palace.
Since he’s already been captured, he’d have nothing to lose.
-Then shouldn’t we first figure out who the spy is?
‘Is it really that simple? It’s not like the spy has “spy” written on their forehead.’
Of course, if we tortured Nox in his cell, we could extract considerable information.
But I didn’t hold much hope in that direction.
‘If Father could torture Nox and extract information, that would be ideal… but it won’t be easy. If he were the type to break easily under torture, he never would have risen to the rank of one of the 12 Pioneers.’
-So do you have another plan?
‘Well, there is one plan…’
-What is it?
‘I’ll step forward myself. Like I did with Alex.’
To extract evidence from Alex, I had personally disguised myself as a Black Moon assassin and approached him.
The method I was considering now was similar to that.
‘Baluduk still doesn’t know that Corel Shadow is dead. Mary will still think she’s being threatened. So he’ll believe I’m a fake disguised as Corel. Not the real Zeke.’
-Then…?
‘Right. Soon, the spy in the Royal Palace will approach me. To give orders for an assassination.’
In other words, I just need to wait.
The spy will approach me on their own.
When that happens, I’ll simply play along naturally.
Pretending to be Corel Shadow disguised as Zeke.
Since I already roughly understand their plan, the acting shouldn’t be difficult.
I was fairly confident in my ability to act anyway.
‘I’ve already told Mary to act like a spy, so there shouldn’t be any problems with the plan.’
Mary was a thorough actress by nature, so I wasn’t worried about her being exposed.
The problem was when they would approach.
And whether I should reveal this to Father.
‘Hmm. I suppose I should tell him.’
The situation was growing too large to handle alone.
“Surely you won’t tell me to back out because it’s dangerous, right?”
I muttered somewhat anxiously.

* * *
“That concludes today’s training! Everyone, well done.”
“Thank you for your guidance!”
Walking back to the Dormitory after the Royal Court Mage Order’s training session ended.
Zeke McLafflin was heading to his room as usual, intending to raise his proficiency.
Until a mysterious man approached him.
“You’re Zeke McLafflin, aren’t you?”
“Yes, who are you?”
“Pleased to meet you. I’m Corel Shadow.”
Zeke’s eyes shifted in an instant.
He knew better than anyone that this man was not Corel Shadow.
After all, he had witnessed Corel Shadow’s death with his own eyes.
The man’s eyes changed as well, as if he had noticed the shift.
His tone transformed too.
“Let’s talk somewhere quiet.”
Zeke nodded, his suspicion confirmed.
‘A spy.’
His prediction that a spy would approach him had proven correct.
‘Just act naturally. Stay natural.’
Since a dormitory supervisor was on guard, he led the man to a nearby Alley.
Then the man revealed his true colors.
“The item?”
“I have it.”
“Show me.”
Anticipating this, Zeke carefully withdrew a small vial from his pocket and displayed it.
It was a poison manufactured by Nox.
“Good.”
“What’s the plan now?”
As far as Zeke knew, Corel Shadow had only been briefed on the initial deception.
Beyond that, he knew nothing, so his question was natural.
The man’s expression showed no suspicion either.
“It’s better not to know the details. You just do as you’re told.”
“What do I need to do?”
“There’s another spy inside the Royal Palace besides me. The Court Chef. I’ll give you the time and meeting point—go meet him and hand over the item.”
“That’s all? I just need to deliver this to the Court Chef and that’s it?”
“That’s right. He’ll handle the rest himself. But….”
The spy suddenly looked Zeke up and down.
“Are you really the true power behind the Mage Order?”
“Yes. There should be rumors spreading throughout the Mage Tower and the Royal Palace by now, shouldn’t there?”
“That may be true, but… I simply can’t believe it. A boy not even fifteen years old has already reached the 6th Circle. And what’s this about shadowless casting? It’s absurd.”
I could have used Shadowless Creation, but my opponent was dismissing it as mere inflated rumors.
“In any case, it’s certain that you defeated Gawen Baldor in a duel. Mary vouched for it as well.”
“If she vouched for it, there’s nothing more to ask.”
For just a moment, my eyes gleamed.
‘He knows about Mary despite meeting me for the first time? That means he knew exactly what Corel Shadow’s mission was.’
In other words, this bastard was someone I couldn’t afford to let live either.
“By the way, what is your name? I’m not sure what to call you….”
“Jesse Garner. Call me Garner.”
[The target you are currently observing is speaking the ‘truth’.]
Upon reading the message, I smirked.
“Jesse Garner. That’s a fine name. But what mission are you undertaking, Garner?”
“Why would you need to know that?”
“I can’t help but be curious about things. Haha.”
“Knowing won’t do you any good.”
As he refused to speak easily, my fist suddenly clenched.
‘Should I just beat it out of him?’
No.
He hadn’t yet mentioned the promised location and time, had he?
There was no guarantee I could extract information through torture either.
“Who are you planning to poison with the toxin?”
“You ask a lot of questions.”
“As I said, I can’t help but be curious.”
“I told you knowing won’t do you any good.”
“Still, knowing the target would help me handle variables more effectively, wouldn’t it?”
“….”
Faced with my relentless questioning, Garner stared directly at me.
I was putting on a sincere performance, as if genuinely curious, and fortunately, it seemed to work.
“Well, I suppose I can tell you the target.”
Garner opened his mouth.
“The poisoning target is Shane II.”
[The target you are currently observing is speaking the ‘truth’.]
‘The King… is it?’
My pupils dilated.

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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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