Book 2: Chapter 357

The mana reverberation was very faint.

If this wasn’t a city, but in the middle of the wilderness filled with ambient mana, Lukas might have had a hard time tracking it down.

Thump-

It had been about an hour since he’d begun his search.

When he’d first noticed the sensation, it had only been a slight tickle. Now, it had clearly taken shape and took a form closer to pressure.

Gradually, the number of people and buildings in his surroundings began to reduce, and before long, it seemed like he left the city entirely.

At some point, the artificial light from the street lamps also became natural moonlight.

Although few, buildings lined the road, which was still paved. However, it appeared that these buildings hadn’t been maintained in a long time, and there were many cracks in the stone, almost as if they would collapse at any moment.

The road was in a similar state. Here and there, weeds could be seen sticking out from some of the countless cracks.

It was a deserted area.

A place that was almost a ruin. Instead of being a different part of the city, a different city, or even a different country, it was almost like a completely different world. A world of the dead.

Lukas didn’t expect such a place to exist just an hour away from the Gold House.

It was almost as if it was signifying that the darkness was as dark as the light was bright.

It was even possible that most of the people living in Yuterdam didn’t even know of this place’s existence. Because the light of Yuterdam was just that brilliant.

..In any case, for Lukas, who wanted to move stealthily, it was regrettable that his surroundings had become deserted.

As he looked at the dark road that even moonlight seemed unwilling to enter, he pondered.

‘..what should I do?’

He was basically at a choice crossroad.

If he went any further, the risk would increase exponentially.

Should he continue his search? Or should he go back to the Gold House and call Peran?

The latter choice was much safer, but by the time he went back to get Peran, it was highly likely that the mana trace would disappear and it would be impossible to track it any further.

Lukas quickly made a decision.

‘A bit further.’

He didn’t feel like he’d reached the ‘source’ yet. If it had to be expressed, it felt like he was still hovering on the outskirts. In addition, although it was deserted, there was still plenty of cover, so hiding wouldn’t be a problem. (TL: Don’t Wizards have some kind of magic sense, especially high level ones?) (PR: But Lukas currently has no mana so could they even detect him?)

With that in mind, Lukas continued his search while staying close to the shabby buildings outlining the dark road.

It was a pity, if his legs were fine, he could have moved at twice the speed.

After a while.

Taht.

“..”

He could no longer see any buildings in front of him.

This was probably the true end of the city called Yuterdam.

Lukas stood on the roof of a 4 story building and looked down.

There, not too far from the end of the city line, was a dark green meadow and a black forest that stretched behind it.

The mana reverberation was coming from there.

‘It’s here.’

There was no more cover after that point.

Even though it would be fine to walk through the forest, it would be dangerous to walk through the meadow in an open manner.

If we were to be discovered by the enemy halfway across the meadow, he may not have had the chance to advance or retreat before he received a baptism of magic.

Fortunately, he had already managed to find the source.

Now was the time to step back and get Peran and Nix.

“ —smart.”

A sweet voice whispered in his ear.

But it didn’t come from behind him.

Instead, the voice came from above.

Lukas raised his head and was immediately met with the sight of a beautiful woman looking down at him with her back to the moon, a glint of interest in her eyes.

“..”

At an unexpected moment, he’d encountered an unexpected person.

But it was strange.

His heart wasn’t thumping as violently in his chest as it had when they’d met before.

Lukas could now face this woman, Iris Phisfounder, while remaining relatively calm.

He wondered why.

When he briefly inspected his thoughts, he came upon a surprisingly simple answer.

It turned out that Lukas had already accepted the fact that he’d been forgotten.

“Your body would have been turned into a sieve if you had gotten any closer.”

“Are you talking about the alarm spells in the meadow?”

“Oh my. So you knew.” (Tl: For all my weebs, Iris’ ‘oh my’s are basically ‘ara’s)

As she said that, Iris slowly descended.

Taht, with a soft sound, she landed beside Lukas. Her uniquely mysterious smile hung on her lips.

“We met in the meeting before, didn’t we? I believe your name was Lukas Trowman?”

..A common name, although the last name was a bit odd.

When Iris added this softly under her breath, it left a bitter taste in Lukas’ mouth.

..Not like this. Lukas swallowed the words that threatened to spill out and instead said.

“Do you have some business with me?”

“Huhu. There’s no need to be on edge. I have entered a temporary partnership with Peran. Naturally, that means I won’t hurt you, his subordinate.”

Lukas didn’t think Peran would ever call him his subordinate. This was probably just Iris’ guess. Well. Ninety-nine out of a hundred would think the same thing.

“I heard a bit about Diablo and the alliance. I know this isn’t the time to put pressure on you.”

“..”

“While I’m sure this is hard to believe, I assure you..”

Iris went on to slowly and logically lay down the evidence for him to believe her words.

..Lukas was almost certain that she had already formulated it before she revealed herself to him. He knew. Iris’ preparedness. And what kind of woman she was.

Lukas looked at her face.

Her hair, which swayed in the gentle night breeze, her voice, which swam into his ears like a pleasant song, and her gaze, which remained unshakeable.

These things that he was so accustomed to, he missed.

“..”

A thought suddenly came to him that he might have been wrong about something.

He thought that everyone he knew had undergone many major and minor changes over the past 10 years. In fact, it was natural.

But Iris had managed to endure 4,000 years on her own. During those long years, she had continued being that amazing and confident woman whose faith did not waver despite getting swept by the winds and waves of time.

—Even if Lukas had disappeared from her memory.

Iris Phisfounder was still Iris Phisfounder.

It felt like he had only just realised that fact.

“Huht.”

He couldn’t suppress the soft chuckle that leaked out.

Iris paused slightly and tilted her head to the side.

“Did I say something funny?”

The corners of her lips only stretched ever so slightly, but he could tell that she was upset.

Lukas pretended not to notice.

“There are about four more spells in the meadow besides the alarm spell.”

After a while, he decided to speak with a faint smile on his lips.

“..so?”

“I have a way of removing those spells without the caster noticing. So let’s enter the forest. We should be able to cross the meadow in about five minutes.”

“..”

Iris blinked for a moment.

It was one of the habitual things she did when she was surprised.

“..you.. Do you know who I am?”

“The Black Witch Iris Phisfounder. You’re one of the heroes from 4,000 years ago.”

“You know that, and yet you still dare to order me around?”

“It’s not an order, I’m describing a plan I have.”

“Ah. I see.”

Iris smiled again.

“Then let me explain the plan this time. There is no need to remove the spells. I can enter the forest on my own without triggering the spells, so you should just return to Yuterdam.”

“You can’t. It’s too..”

He stopped himself just before saying the word ‘dangerous’.

If he did that, it might end up stimulating Iris’ pride. At the moment, she didn’t even acknowledge Lukas. Instead, she treated him as a burden. If he were to make such a presumptuous remark, she would directly send him away without hesitation.

“..it would be safer if you didn’t go alone.”

“I think it would be better if I did go alone.”

“No. Firstly, you can’t go in by leaping through space.”

“Why not?”

“9-star Wizards have a deep understanding of the concept of space. If there is a 9-star Wizard in the forest, and they are the ones who set up the barrier on the meadow, then it would be impossible for you to enter it without leaving a trace.”

“You’re underestimating me.”

“If you really think so then look for yourself. If you’re confident that you can cross the meadow without a trace, then I will return to Yuterdam as you said.”

“..”

When she heard those words, Iris turned to look at the meadow again.

Perhaps she was trying to tell if Lukas was really telling the truth. Lukas, on the other hand, quietly waited until she was convinced.

“..uht.”

After a while, a soft sound leaked out of her mouth, but it was quickly carried away by the wind.

Lukas pretended not to hear.

“..so you.”

Iris turned her head slightly and spoke.

“..have a way to remove that barrier?”

She had taken a step back. That was enough.

Lukas took the dagger from his pocket.

Then he went downstairs and walked toward the front of the meadow. The elaborately woven alarm spell had been set to sensitively react to ‘any disturbances in space’. In other words, the Wizard who set up this barrier likely knew of Iris’ presence in the city.

‘However..’

They had focused too much on Iris’ ability, which resulted in them creating gaps in other places.

Shuk.

The moment his dagger fell through the air, the barrier split apart without warning.

“..”

Iris was silent.

She could already tell that the barrier was no longer functional.

“..wow.”

Clap.

His new partner, Iris, gave him a brief applause with a small smile.historical

“Amazing. Did you always have this ability?”

“..”

“I can understand a bit why Peran carries you around now. Wow. Truly amazing~”

There was no fakeness in Iris’ tone of acknowledgement and praise.

But Lukas could tell.

Others might not notice, but he could never miss it.

The tips of Iris’ brightly smiling lips were twitching slightly.

This..

‘..she’s being sarcastic.’

Was also a habit.

(TL: Sorry guys, I wasn’t feeling well, hence my impromptu break. Not 100% better now, but enough to do a few chapters)