The Mage’s Nemesis Has Reincarnated - Chapter 72

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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 72
“I have no interest in such matters.”
“I see….”
At his firm refusal, Count Agos smacked his lips.
He had anticipated some resistance when the man declined the reward, but to reject it so decisively was unexpected.
Had he known the mercenary was a member of the Duke Family—someone of higher station than himself—he would never have made such an offer. But ignorant of this fact, Count Agos found himself fascinated by a man seemingly devoid of ambition.
‘Heh, it’s been ages since I’ve met a young man so impressive. I’d even consider making him my son-in-law. Though of course, my daughter’s feelings matter most.’
With such thoughts, he glanced sideways at Tracy, only to find her gaze fixed not on him, but on Zeke McLafflin.
It seemed to stem from remorse over the attack.
“By the way, what do you intend to do with the prisoners?”
“You mean Count Agos and Kierus Barton?”
“Yes.”
The Lord of Hamilton, confronted with reality, furrowed his brow in contemplation.
“I’d prefer to execute them, but given the likelihood of conflict, I suppose I’ll settle for stripping them of their territories and banishing them. Of course, that applies only to Count Agos. Barton can be executed immediately without issue.”
The Lord of Hamilton cast a subtle glance toward his daughter.
“You have no objections to this, Tracy?”
“I don’t require your permission for this decision. It’s unavoidable, after all.”
“Still, I wanted to know your thoughts. You might attempt something reckless again….”
“I won’t. I didn’t understand before, but I do now. Why I cannot kill him. And I’ve come to realize something else—that taking the Count’s life won’t change my own.”
Tracy’s words rang with sincerity.
The Count’s death would not alter her circumstances.
It would bring no catharsis, no healing from her trauma.
If anything, it would only worsen the situation.
An uncomfortable and harsh reality.
That was the revelation she had gained from attacking Zeke McLafflin.
Even to Zeke’s eyes, Tracy bore an expression of resignation.
The system had read her truthfully as well.
‘A pitiful situation all around.’
With that thought, I turned my gaze away.
The attack had been a misunderstanding, so I had already forgotten it.
In any case, there was nothing more for me to accomplish here.
The territorial conflict had concluded, and there were no more mages whose skills I could replicate.
All that remained was to rest for a time and await the next territorial dispute.
‘Yet something still feels unresolved.’
One of the 12 Pioneers had been revealed as the mastermind behind the territorial conflict.
Considering that I needed to target the 12 Pioneers, perhaps I should have involved myself more deeply in this matter.
‘But there are no leads to follow. I’ve already extracted all information from those imprisoned.’
Beyond the revelation that Brahm’s Illusionist was behind it, there were no real clues to pursue.
And even if I ventured toward the Braham Kingdom, there was no guarantee I’d encounter the 12 Pioneers.
‘Most importantly, no Quest has appeared, so there’s no reason to move further.’
To Zeke, Quests were a form of navigation.
They showed him which path to take, rewarded him, and made him stronger.
‘I receive rewards, and the system guides me toward its desired destination.’
A mutually beneficial arrangement.
Which meant that when the Quest didn’t point the way, I could simply rest without concern.
Though the system’s ultimate objective remained unknowable.
‘For now, I should finally take some time to recover….’
Just as I was thinking this, something caught my eye.
An unexpected Quest materialized before me.

* * *
The fate of a traitor who had driven the territory to ruin was predictable.
Execution.
But Barton showed no concern, as if it were someone else’s problem.
‘The Lord will have no choice but to let me live. If only to discover who’s backing me.’
Unaware that Zeke had already extracted the information while impersonating Count Agos, Barton harbored a certain optimism.
As long as he possessed valuable intelligence, he would eventually be released.
It was nothing but a hollow hope.
Still, it struck him as odd that no one had sought him out until now.
‘The Lord should finish his meeting with the Vassals soon and come to propose negotiations….’
Barton, who had been languishing in the Solitary Cell, lifted his head.
Clang—click!
The door suddenly swung open.
“At last you’ve come.”
As the Guard approached, Barton was certain.
They had come to fetch him.
They would take him before the Lord to propose negotiations.
He believed this without doubt, but Barton did not know.
Thud!
That his life would end by the hand of a mere Guard.
“Hck….”
The Guard withdrew the dagger from Barton’s heart and looked down at his fallen form.
Death had been instantaneous.
The Guard turned coldly and left, then opened the door to another Solitary Cell.
Clang—
“Why does this door keep opening so much?”
Count Agos regarded the Guard with obvious irritation.
Unaware that death itself had come calling.
“Gack!”
The Guard pierced Count Agos’s heart with the same efficiency he had used on Barton.
The Guard, who had swiftly murdered two men, discarded his dagger and stepped outside the cell.
‘Tsk, so they’ve forced me to act myself.’
I had hoped it wouldn’t come to this—to killing those men.
But the territorial war had ended in defeat, and the Mine had slipped through my fingers as planned.
How could I face him now with such failure?
‘Still, to think he even planted me as a spy just in case of failure. Azrahil truly is magnificent.’
The Guard, having completed his task, left the Prison marveling at Azrahil’s foresight.
With Count Agos dead, the justification had been established.
Now I could rally the various territories allied with the Count and launch an attack on Hamilton Territory.
‘Then I’ll be able to secure the Mine as planned.’
Yet there remained one troubling matter.
The existence of a Demon Swordsman named Zeke.
‘That bastard—I don’t know how he managed it, but he altered not just his appearance but his voice as well.’
Though they claimed it was done through magic, the Guard didn’t accept the explanation at face value.
No matter how great magic was, could a 6-Circle mage truly mimic both a face and a voice?
Only ignorant Vassals would believe such nonsense. Any mage with even a modicum of knowledge would scoff at such an obvious lie.
‘I don’t know why he’d spread such a falsehood, but I’ve obtained useful information. Azrahil will be pleased to hear this.’
The Guard’s lips curled upward, but only briefly.
His expression hardened rapidly.
An unexpected figure stood blocking his path.
“Where are you off to in such a hurry?”
It was none other than Zeke.
The Guard stared at Zeke with startled eyes.
‘What… what is that bastard doing here…?’
There was no reason he couldn’t be here, given that he’d been coming and going to conduct interrogations under the guise of an accomplice, but the timing was remarkably coincidental.
For a Guard who had just committed murder, it was decidedly awkward timing.
“Lord Zeke. What brings you here? Didn’t you finish your business earlier?”
“I have another person to interrogate.”
“Who?”
“You.”
“Pardon?”
The Guard’s expression turned blank.
Of course, it was merely a facade. Internally, he was startled as if burned by fire.
‘What? Seriously? Has my cover as a spy been blown? Why would he suddenly suspect me?’
There was certainly nothing that should have exposed him.
He hadn’t made a single mistake.
Yet the gaze piercing through him was no mere suspicion—it was the certainty of conviction.
That he was another spy.
Of course, the Guard found this utterly absurd.
Zeke’s suspicion of him had no particular reason behind it.
【Sudden Quest: Stop Another Spy】
└A spy from Hamilton disguised as a Guard is attempting to murder prisoners and escape.
└Hurry to the Prison and prevent his escape.
【Conditions】
└Prevent the Guard’s escape
【Rewards】
└5th Circle Skill Proficiency increased by 5,000
‘I came here trusting the Quest, and sure enough, the Guard is actually doing something.’
My belief that the Guard was a spy stemmed purely from the Quest.
To be honest, before the Quest appeared, I hadn’t even considered the possibility of another spy.
‘Now I understand for certain. The system doesn’t see the future or anything like that. It simply grasps the situation belatedly, just like I do, and then issues a Quest.’
Otherwise, why would it trigger a Quest at such a late moment?
If it had known the spy’s identity beforehand, it would have ordered me to capture him long ago.
‘Is some divine entity monitoring my surroundings? And when a situation develops, does it belatedly send me a Quest?’
Regardless, the Quest proves genuinely useful to me.
Even if I don’t know the destination, there’s no harm in receiving navigation assistance, is there?
“Listen here, Spy. Why so quiet? You’ll cooperate, won’t you?”
“Lord Zeke… if I may be so bold, have you been drinking? What nonsense are you spouting? Me, a spy?”
“You are a spy.”
“That makes no sense whatsoever. Didn’t you just cooperate with me earlier by releasing prisoners so you could gather information? And now you call me a spy? This is unjust.”
His expression and eyes conveyed genuine grievance, but they couldn’t deceive my perception.
More precisely, the system’s perception.
[The target you are currently observing is speaking ‘falsehoods’.]
“Drop the act, will you? I can sense blood in the cells right now.”
“…Can you detect even murder through magic? That’s impressive.”
The Guard revealed his true nature.
He hadn’t expected me to discern murder simply by detecting the scent of blood.
But truthfully, there was no blood scent at all.
I had merely sensed it with a hunter’s instinct.
The hearts of Count Agos and Kierus Barton, imprisoned in the Solitary Cell, had stopped beating.
That wasn’t the only suspicious detail.
“Now you’re pretending not to understand magic?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re a mage. A 5th Circle one at that.”
The Guard’s expression shifted—clearly information he’d wanted to hide.
“You’ve seen through that I’m a mage?”
“I’ve known from the start. It always felt strange that a Guard would practice magic. But I never imagined you were a spy.”
“I wish you hadn’t noticed…”
“Why?”
“Well…”
The Guard concealed his hand, quietly gathering mana.
“You’ll die by my hand!”
In one swift motion, he seized Zeke with a grip crackling with lightning.
The attack was sudden, leaving no time to react.
That’s how it should have been.
“What are you doing?”
“…?”
Zeke stood unharmed, though he should have been convulsing from the Lightning Hands spell.
“Did you really think that would work?”
Having absorbed the magic, Zeke seized the Guard’s body.
Crackle-crackle-crackle!
“Gaaahhhhh!”
The Guard, struck by his own spell turned against him, collapsed flat on the ground.
Fortunately, he survived—his body protected by Mana Skin.
“Ugh….”
“Get up. I have mountains of questions for you.”
The moment I grabbed his collar and hauled him to his feet—
“Gack, hack!”
“Hey, what’s wrong?”
His eyes suddenly rolled back, foam frothing from his mouth as his body went limp.
With no heartbeat, he was clearly dead.
‘Did he have poison hidden in his mouth?’
I stared into the void, deflated.
Fortunately, the Quest registered as cleared.
[Preventing the Guard’s Escape: Complete!]
[Sudden Quest Cleared!]
[You gain 5,000 Proficiency for 5th Circle Skills as a reward.]
[Proficiency Remaining Until 7-Star Achievement: 29,710/30,000]
I also noticed another message.
[Randomly duplicating 6 of Nathan’s spells.]

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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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