Chapter 57
"You are back, Joshua?"
"Yes, Mother, I'm back."
Joshua smiled from ear to ear as Lucia greeted him with a warm smile.
It was a sight that he had always missed whenever he thought of his mother in his previous life. It was excruciatingly terrible then that he couldn't see her anymore.
Even now, as Joshua looked at his mother, it felt like a dream.
'I will undoubtedly protect you this time.'?Joshua made a silent commitment to himself.
Lucia turned her gaze away from Joshua and shifted it to Cain.
"Thank you, Sir Cain, for looking after my son, who is always in need."
"Oh no, Lady Lucia."
Seeing Lucia bowing her head gracefully, Cain waved his hand swiftly, his befuddled expression was apparent.
"Rather, I am eternally grateful to the Young Master for allowing me to serve him; it may be a little rude of me to say so, but—"
Cain continued after noticing Lucia's dubious expression.
"The Lady has a great son."
"Oh—"
Lucia exclaimed and grinned warmly in response to Cain's remark. She had been so preoccupied with her work at the duke's mansion that she hadn't paid much attention to Joshua.
As a mother, she felt bad for Joshua. Despite all that, her son has blossomed into a great young man. How could she not be happy about that?
Lucia walked toward the kitchen, unable to disguise her delight about the compliments regarding her child.
"Both of you have not eaten, right? It's been a long time since I've had the opportunity to demonstrate my culinary skills."
"Lady Lucia! My word….there is a maid… you should utilize the manpower the Duke has given—"
Cain kept his mouth shut as he noticed Joshua quietly raise his hand.
With a tiny shake of his head, Joshua addressed Cain, "It's embarrassing to say it myself, but my mother is a fantastic cook; her specialty lamb soup, in particular, is—"
Joshua feigned swallowing saliva.
"It's something to look forward to."
Cain shook his head as Joshua gave a thumbs up.
"More importantly… I have a question."
Cain continued, his gaze falling in the direction of the kitchen where Lucia had vanished.
"It's that ring. Does the heirloom of the fallen Orbis family have any unique powers? I mean, the way everyone sees it, it appears to be just an ordinary ring.”
"A unique object that is sleeping must be awakened in a unique way. Right now, its powers are just sealed."
Joshua raised the ring in his hand in response to Cain's comments.
"..."
Joshua suddenly began mubling something incoherent, which made Cain's expression turn perplexed.
And then, at that exact moment, as if in response to Joshua's murmurs, the ring in his hand floated upward on its own as the air around it began to reverberate.
"...!"
Cain's eyes widened in surprise.
As the ring's outer surface gradually peeled away, characters with strange shapes emerged.
Cain instantly recognized the letters.
"Runes?! Are these runes?!"
Cain's surprised voice echoed.
'How does the lord know about the runes, which are the sole possession and knowledge of powerful mages?'
A rune was more than just a collection of characters. Each rune character possessed its own unique power. Recreating the appearance of a rune did not mean that the imitation would have the power of a true rune, if any power at all.
High-ranking mages, Class 5 and above, worked through intricate formulas and calculations, granting extraordinary powers that could not be articulated in words to these characters.
That was the only way of creating real runes.
Yet, Joshua was reading such runes as if they were common language.
'What is the lord's true identity… Is he really a magic swordsman?'
Cain's astonishment increased by the second.
On the other hand, Joshua felt like dying.
'I?thought I?was ready, but—'
Biting on his lower lip, Joshua had to force his eyes to keep focused on the ring. Unlike what Cain seemed to believe, it was not easy at all for him to recite the runes.
Cain, who knew nothing about runes, only assumed that what he was speaking was the rune language widely employed by high-ranking mages. However, Joshua's mutterings were not any typical rune language. The continent's mages would pass out from the shock if they heard him.
Joshua was actually muttering in an ancient rune language.
'This is the last one.'
"R."
Joshua eventually spit out the final rune.
A swarm of pure white lights erupted at the same time as the resonance reached its peak. The surroundings were immediately engulfed in a dazzling light that blinded one's vision.
* * *
At the very center of the vast huge Igrant Continent.
Even with three great empires surrounding it, a pure white ivory tower rose above them all towards the sky, boasting its lofty dignity.
It was a sight to behold. It was the holy place of all mages, the Magic Tower.
On the highest floor, a big round table stood in the center of the marble floor, with seven chairs surrounding it.
It was the meeting spot of the seven highest-ranking mages, the ones with the greatest abilities among the tower's mages.
They were dubbed the 'Seven Mages'.
The Seven Mages would gather at this circular table to conduct a meeting when an important topic needed to be handled at the expense of the tower. This was not a common occurrence, due to strong individualist impulses and the nature of the busy mages.
But now, the mages were now gathered around, sitting at the table for the first time after a very long while.
An old man with a crooked back sat at the table on a comfortable-looking chair.
At first glance, the elderly man with a long white robe draping his figure and a matching long beard that went all the way down to his chest appeared so frail that he looked as if he was not able to lift a feather without straining himself.
Yet, on the continent, no one would dare to underestimate him. He was the undisputed first seat of the Seven Mages, their mighty leader—the Magic Tower's very own Ian tun Murray.
Ian's perfect black eyes twitched for a brief second as he looked around the table.
"Red Flame, Thunder, and Void's seats are empty… what's with these empty seats that I'm seeing?"
"As you are aware, Red Flame and Void are always uncontactable, and even if they can be contacted, it's hard to make them come here. Thunder, however... I believe he left the capital yesterday…due to this meeting."
With a heavy voice, a middle-aged man on the left side of Ian responded.
He was a large man with a haphazardly grown beard who did not appear to be a mage in the least.
"Tsk," Ian clicked his tongue, dissatisfied by the man's response.
"This is the start of our twenty-seventh regular meeting. Despite the fact that there are just four of us, the meeting cannot be postponed because the agenda item is on the schedule."
"..."
"The conference's main agenda item is the Primordial Stone."
Unlike the man on the left, who still had an expressionless face at Ian's words, the two other members, one man and woman, seemed to suddenly gain some interest in the contents of the meeting.
The fairly young man who seemed to have just entered his thirties said, "Going straight to the point. How refreshing, old man."
"—Be courteous, Storm. This is a plenary session.”
"Yes sir… I will do that, Uncle Earth."
At the words of Earth, Storm, who was sitting on his left, pouted and shut his mouth.
Seeing that, Ian said, "To think that the guy who usually doesn't show up actually showed up today."
"Well said, my Lord… I mean, as the Tower Master said, we have an issue to resolve. I believe I heard a rumor that Magma has vanished."
"Not only has Magma vanished, but so has Bronto." Earth added on.
Storm's eyes widened.
"What… That's new information."
"Only the Magic Tower has access to the information regarding the Primordial Stones… if it was leaked by the members, it would be a big deal, right?!" Having kept silent from the start of the meeting, the middle-aged woman finally spoke.
Her hair was entirely white, as if she were an elderly woman, but her pristine blue eyes were as clear as a lake. Moreover, even though she was well into her forties, she still exuded undeniable charm.
This woman held the seat of 'Frost'.
As he shifted his gaze to the icy-cold middle-aged woman, Ian remarked, "It's exactly as you say. Although there is some information regarding the individual who took Magma, it is unknown whether Bronto truly rose into the sky or was returned to the ground."
"Thunder left suddenly… does it have anything to do with this or is he just trying to find out more about the situation?" The young man said with an intrigued expression on his face.
"It's not that there isn't any information. I'm not sure if it has anything to do with Bronto, but there was another odd bit of information nearby," the middle-aged man replied.
"Odd bit of information?" The young man questioned.
Earth nodded in response.
"There are rumors that a magic swordsman appeared near Bronto's location."
"Ma–Magic swordsman?"
Storm's jaws dropped as he stared blankly. Earth's remark had caught him by surprise.
Bang!
Kicking her desk, Frost stood up and said:
"Don't tell me… Did he?show up?"
Earth silently shook his head in response to Frost's words.
"Unfortunately, it isn't him. This time, the magic swordsman who appeared is..."
Earth hesitated for a moment before he proceeded to speak in a hushed voice.
"They said he's a child that's turning nine this year."
"Wh-what?!"
"Oh, my God—"
Frost's mouth was left agape and the Storm's eyes widened in shock.
Just when everyone present was reeling from the after-effects of the shocking information, Ian spoke in a low voice, "There is no definitive information. But the place where Bronto was discovered, was it in the Avalon Empire?"
"Yes."
"Since Thunder is already in Avalon, Marcus, follow up on Magma instead. If the information is accurate, there is little we can do even if we find out for sure that Magma was discovered."
"Understood."
Marcus, also called Earth, nodded.
"And Theta, I say this to you since you're still young, but don't be conceited… If you make a mistake because of your rushed manner of doing things, you won't be getting away scot-free, regardless of your power and status. Trust me... I am talking from experience."
"Do you think I'm running around causing mishaps every day?"
Theta, also called Storm, pouted.
"Could it be his descendent? I can't imagine there being another magic swordsman other than him!" Frost shouted in a slightly excited tone.
Ian sighed and said, "Really… I think you're jumping to conclusions."
"..."
Frost bit her lips.
"There is the off chance that the kid might be his descendant, but... it's more likely that they're unrelated."
Frost turned her head towards Marcus and questioned, “Why?”
"According to the circulating rumors, it was the son of Duke Aden von Agnus."
The woman's eyes widened in shock for a brief moment, and she looked dazed, as if she wasn't sure whether she had actually heard what she thought she had heard.
"If it's Aden von Agnus, perhaps—?"
Ian raised his bare fist and slammed the table hard in an instant.
"..."
In the quiet silence, Ian scanned the audience before he spoke with a glint in his eyes.
"At this point, nothing is certain. Please keep an eye on the situation and refrain from taking rash actions."
"All right."
"You may leave."
The three of them stood up and walked out the door. Only Ian was left in the room, alone on the top floor of the tall tower.
"The world... is changing at a breakneck pace. It remains to be seen if it's for the better or for the worse..."
Ian's anguished words echoed silently in the room.
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