21st Century Archmage

“Master, how is your health?”

“Y-You’ve come…”

I smiled at Master Bumdalf. Before I reached the 8th Circle, this shameless scammer had no qualms about conjuring some ridiculous BS to snatch my room, in my mansion. But now, I could only see him by coming to the magic tower built next to the mansion, and his expression was the epitome of bitterness.

“Thank you for your hard work. If you hadn’t sent me to the Kallian Continent, how could I have possibly become a Demon Slayer? This is all thanks to you, Master. Well, I very nearly died a few times to get here, but I’m not a petty man who would resent you for such a minor thing.”

Master Bumdalf’s face stiffened at my words. He knew as well as I that after I swallowed the demon’s manaheart, I surpassed him.

“Ha-Haha. I’ve always been sorry about that. The magic crystal exploded, so there was nothing I could do. Still, you’re fortunate. You’re now an emperor thanks to the mana cultivation method I gave you.”

Master laughed awkwardly as scrambled for excuses.

“That’s true. I’m sitting on the throne now thanks to that unproven mana cultivation method, so I really should thank you time and time again.”

I especially emphasized the ‘unproven’ part. Now, I feared no one, not even Master. No matter how hard he worked, there was no guarantee he would ever land a lucky jackpot and jump by sheer coincidence to the 9th Circle like I did.

Between mages, there was an unwritten law. There was no such thing as seniority among mages. Your rank was decided purely by whether your circles were lower or higher than the other person.

‘Huhu. I’m just being easy on you since you’re my master.’

Even between master and disciple, the moment the circles were reversed, the master had to bow their head to the mage with the higher circle. Enlightenments regarding circles that were enabled by the mana mages revered were sacrosanct. Even Master could not be exempt from the rule.

An awkward smile was fixed on Master’s face as he tried to come up with some vague praise. I chortled to myself thinking of how much his insides must be churning to treat a greenling brat like me in such a way.

“You have a nice room here. I can see you’re not lacking for anything.”

“Th-Those mage brats must have cleaned out their magic towers and dumped everything here. I don’t really need all this, but they were saying it was necessary for Nerman or something…”

After every single Tower Master took a one-way express trip to hell, the mages of each of the Continent’s magic towers lost their clues to high-circle magic. According to Derval, they were all closing down their magic towers and swarming to Nerman. The only mages of the 7th Circle left on the Kallian Continent were the Tower Masters of the Bajran Imperial Family and a few kingdoms. None of them had fame and reputation even close to my 8th Circle master and the 9th Circle me, so mages were making a mad rush to the territory.

‘Will we become the Continent’s only magic tower?’

It could change in the future, but for the time being, it was impossible to hold the Nerman Magic Tower in check. It instantly became the locus of the Continent’s several thousand mages.

“As expected of you, Master. You’ve accrued the mages’ respect in such a short time.”

“Not like I did much…”

Master was uncharacteristically modest even towards praise. He snuck uneasy glances at me. The I’m-on-top-of-the-world confidence he’d wrapped around himself like a glamorous cape when he first came here had been blown entirely off his shoulders.

‘Work hard for me for a while. Huhuhu.’

Only Master could take my place in leading the mages. Circles aside, Master was a hundred years ahead of me in notoriety. He was crucial to be able to exploit the luxury resources called mages. I was planning on putting them to work in necessary civil engineering projects in the Laviter Empire once the work was done in Nerman.

“Please work hard, Master. Unfortunately, I think I’ll be getting a little busy. I’ll be going on a trip to go learn 9th Circle magic knowledge soon.”

“9th Circle magic… knowledge!”

I was pretty impressed by his calmness, but his calm facade cracked at the mention of 9th Circle magic knowledge.

‘Huhu. Game over.’

Master didn’t know, but I had my own little fishing method that I had polished and perfected on the Kallian Continent. I knew Master had fallen, hook, line, and sinker. To a mage, higher level magic knowledge was a forbidden fruit of temptation comparable to no other.

“Well then, I’m busy, so I’ll leave you to it…”

I dipped my head to show my respect for my master. He might have tricked me into all this, but Master Bumdalf was still the great archmage who made me the man I was now. There was a very small part of my heart that respected him.

I, the Emperor of the Nerman Empire, Kyre, was absolutely not a petty man.

* * *

Swooooooooooooooooooosh. Flap flap flap flap flap flap. Guoooooooooooooooo!

Before I knew it, it was mid September. Golden fields of autumn wheat were ripening all over the expansive plains that made up my territory. I relished the feeling of flying over the endless fields. The 9th Circle I attained after duking it out with Altakas and the demon and sleeping for ten days straight enabled me to teleport instantly to any place in Nerman, but I liked the feeling of Bebeto’s vigorous wingbeats under me as the wind surged past us. It was as refreshing as getting a kiss from a woman I loved.

‘Time has really flown by…’

Three years had already passed since I jumped to the Kallian Continent. A kid who knew nothing was about to become an emperor who could make the Continent move. If I were in Korea, I would either be preparing for the national college exam or putting in applications, living an ordinary, unremarkable life. But in the time I should have been memorizing English words and solving math formulas, I became an emperor. People on Earth would call me crazy, but in Kallian, my name was a legend.

‘The elves were a big help this time…’

The contribution of Nerman’s other citizens, the dwarves and elves, was undisputable. If the dwarves hadn’t made us weapons, Nerman would have fallen long ago, and if the elves hadn’t joined the final battle, our losses would have been far greater.

‘The world is a place where you help one another. Even the biggest tree cannot make a forest.’

What use was 9th Circle magic if I had to live trapped on a deserted island? In that regard, I was a blessed person. I had the support of kind, loyal knights and elves and dwarves who couldn’t work with any other kingdom on the Continent. Like the old saying, ‘Birds of a virtuous feather flock together,’ I was a truly good fellow, no doubt about it.

Guoooooooooooooooo!

‘We’re already here.’

I lost track of time looking at my territory that was developing day by day, and before I knew it, we reached the joint city of the dwarves and elves. It was far smaller in scale compared to Nerman Castle, but it was plenty big enough for the two races.

Flap flap.

Upon spotting me, a harpy went aloft and quickly approached, the giant eagle so familiar to us that Bebeto even sent it a bugling greeting. On its back was the pure elf, Narmias.

‘Just the thought of her makes my heart warm.’

My lips curled into an involuntary smile. Like a mother’s warm embrace, the elf Narmias always greeted me with all her heart. Our races might be different, but that meant nothing.

Swooooooosh.

The harpy flew swiftly to my side.

“Lord Kyre!”

Narmias pulled off her helmet and called my name with a bright grin.

“Narmias, I missed you!”

“Yes, I missed you too.”

Words of confession flitted between us as we flew side by side, smiling at each other.

“Let’s fly today. To the end of this sky!”

“Yes! If it’s with you, I’m happy no matter where we go!”

The elves didn’t want much. All they wanted was a sincere heart that cared about them. That alone was enough to fill their stomachs. I took a page from their book and let my stomach be full from this moment, this flight, and the infinite love of this woman.

* * *

“Drink! Today, we’ll drink ‘til we really drop!”

“Wh-What? Yes sir…”

After an exhilarating flight with Narmias, we returned to the city of the dwarves and elves and found ourselves in the middle of a drinking party. Patriarch Cassiars, a dwarf who could invent an excuse to drink at every turn, came rambling our way with a huge tin mug overflowing with beer. 

‘They really are easygoing folk.’

Unlike the dwarves knocking back their cups, the elves were sitting on the city walls plucking harps or immersed in quiet meditation. The two groups could not be any more different, but strangely, they complemented each other nicely.

Sizzzzzle.

‘Fuck. The territory’s pig stock will get eaten up at this rate.’

Peanuts or other light snacks went well with beer, but the dwarves were fully converted by my tastes and were grilling pork belly directly on stone slabs. And that wasn’t just an isolated occurrence, but an act repeated by hundreds of dwarves. They were jovially cooking up a heap of grilled pork, raising their glasses all the while.

‘Th-They even have kimchi!’

When the meat was almost ready, the dwarves brought out kimchi from a wooden container and grilled it along with the meat.

“It’s the kim-chee we had at your castle. Eating it with meat is quite addictive, so we tried making some. What do you think? Doesn’t it taste similar?”

I gave an order to supply the dwarves with whatever they needed or wanted, so they had plentiful access to the ingredients and created this kimchi. As expected of a race with excellent craftsmanship, the product wasn’t much different from what I made. They probably got the method from Lucia’s mom.

PR/N: RIP Lucia’s Mom who still doesn’t have an actual name.

‘Wait… What if kimchi really becomes a trend on the Continent?’

Kimchi, the representative food of Korea. There was no cure for it once you were addicted, but it was too late for them, the dwarves had crossed a bridge they shouldn’t have crossed.

‘Mm… smells amazing.’

The kimchi was cooked in savory pork belly fat, and on stone slabs, no less. It was nothing short of an art. My mouth filled with drool.

“Please give me a glass too.”

“Eh?”

“Ohhh! I see we have ourselves a courageous elf here!”

Narmias, who refused to leave my side, was extending a mug to ask for beer.

“N-Narmias…”

“It’s alright. I’ve always wanted to try drinking at least once. I was curious as to why you like it so much.”

Narmias smiled as she gazed at the beer Patriarch Cassiars poured her, the gates opening to the path of her corruption.

“Come! Let’s give a toast then! Congratulations to Emperor Kyre on his ascension! Cheers!”

“Cheers!!!”

As the Patriarch raised his mug high, the dwarves shouted a hearty cheer and emptied their mugs.

“Kyaaa—!”

“Ahhhh!”

Naked exclamations of delight rang out.

“Ah…!”

Narmias was no exception. The corrupted elf gulped down the beer sloshing to the brim in her mug in a single moment.

“Ahh~”

I, too, was the same. The magic refrigerated beer went down in an explosion of fizz and refreshing coolness, and a surge of happiness washed away all the fatigue I’d accumulated.

“It’s delicious!”

Narmias recognized the deliciousness of alcohol from the start. I started worrying that she would make a dash for the grilled pork belly next.

“Hahaha, I like you. Narmias, was it? I’ll give you the right to participate in our festivals from now on.”

Patriarch Cassiars let out a good natured laugh, clearly liking Narmias, the first elf to drink alcohol. 

‘Things on the Continent are getting sorted out… guess it’s time to make a trip to Earth.’

I couldn’t see any more issues that could become problematic on the Kallian Continent. Now, I could easily go to Earth on my own even without Master. The bracelet still on my wrist held the dimensional coordinates to teleport to Earth.

‘Before that, I should meet Ryker.’

I hadn’t formally taken over the Laviter Empire yet, and I needed to go meet Ryker, who was still boldly occupying the Imperial City. Once the inauguration was finished, I couldn’t allow a “foreigner” to loiter on my land, which would be guarded by Nerman’s Skyknights. I was just intending on letting Ryker handle the Empire’s protection for the time being.

“Narmias, what are you doing?”

‘Hrm?’

A familiar voice broke my wandering thoughts.

“E-Elder!”

Narmias jumped to her feet, clutching the mug she’d been happily drinking from.

“Hey, no need to startle a gal having a good time,” complained Cassiars.

I didn’t think Elder Parciano of the elves would show up here. The elders were said to seldom leave the Elven Village, but the Chief Elder who appeared silently and unannounced was stroking his white beard as he looked at Narmias.

“W-Welcome to the party, Elder. Haha, thank you so much for your assistance in the last battle.”

I jumped in, not willing to sit back and watch my beloved Narmias get an earful of scolding.

“Narmias…” called out Elder Parciano, his voice quiet and calm.

“Yes… Elder.”

Narmias tearfully bowed her head, her cheeks flushed from a single mug of beer.

‘Uh oh.’

The elves were strict adherents of abstinent life. It was already incredible that they were getting along with humans and dwarves, but they weren’t permitted to drink yet.

“Is it that tasty?”

“Pardon?”

“I’m asking, is the beer that tasty?”

“W-Well… It’s delicious. An intense burst of flavor very unlike the dew we drink in the morning gives off a sweet fragrance in the mouth. And… the feeling of it going down the throat and warming the stomach is very novel.”

Narmias’ earnest, detailed explanation was very becoming of her race; elves were honest and true in all things.

“Then give me a cup as well.”

“P-Pardon?”

‘Holy moly! Way to go, Parciano.’

An elf—an elf elder!—was asking for beer.

“Ohhhhhhhhhh! Happy day, happy day! To think that elven elders would deign to drink beer with our people! Hahahahaha! Come, take your drink. I hereby take back what I said about you guys being emotionless sticks!”

Cassiars took delight in making new drinking buddies. He topped up his emptied mug and passed it to Elder Parciano.

“Come! Let’s do another toast. Cheers to the elves, who have earned the right to become friends with our people, and cheers to our eternal emperor, Kyre!”

“Cheers!”

A chorus of dwarven voices burst out all around us.

Bringing my mug to my lips, I savored the harmonious moment in the paradise I had dreamed of. 

One by one, things were coming together.

* * *

“Help me out a little longer.”

“Sigh, you’re too much. To think you swallowed such a huge piece of land in the blink of an eye! Your prowess exceeds my imagination, my liege.”

“No, I didn’t expect your status to be what it is.”

I was in the Laviter Imperial City, a place I had visited under very different circumstances before. There were only a few days left until the coronation, but I still made the time to come, wanting to praise Ryker, who had been guarding the Empire very nicely for me in my stead.

“It’s not fair. You were just a count not long ago, and all of a sudden you’ve become the emperor of an empire. Until my spry Imperial Father passes away, I’ll still be stuck speaking respectfully to you.”

This rascal who spoke without a filter had tidied up the Imperial City Altakas had made a total mess of. He brought Opern Empire mages and summoners to completely turn the Imperial City upside down and rout out any remaining enemies. And then, he waited for me inside the inner castle of the capital where a million people had perished.

“Have you heard this saying?”

“What saying?”

Even though he was the crown prince of an empire, Ryker possessed a freewheeling spirit unshackled by his status.

“Once a liege, always a liege.”

“Tch. Who said that nonsense? It’s not like you would die for me…”

As I expected, Ryker showed an apathetic reaction to my words.

“But why didn’t you come to help? In my heart, I was waiting for you.”

“Well… I didn’t think I could be much help even if I went, and I figured it would be better to clean out Altakas’ base while he was away, so I came here instead. And to be honest, a small, small part of me was wondering if there might be some kind of loot in the treasury of an empire famous all over the Continent. But it was a total bust. The place is as empty as a beggar’s bowl.”

‘Of course. As if the 8th Circle mage Altakas would be so naive as to leave his treasures unprotected. Huhuhu.’

However, I could sense it. Inside the castle was a room hidden with magic that only a mage of the 8th Circle and up could detect. That had to be the unimaginable treasury Altakas had kindly saved up over decades of rule for my use.

“What a shame. I was going to concede that much to you, at least.”

“Seriously. I was gonna empty this place out before you came…”

Ryker “abandoned” me in the middle of a crisis and disappeared, but I didn’t blame him for it. I could see that he had wanted to help me in his own way.

“That aside, when do you plan on taking her back?”

“Taking who?”

“If you don’t come and collect her during my coronation, I’ll appoint her as a duchess of the Nerman Empire. And then, I’ll introduce her to a very dashing man.”

“You wound me with your words, my liege! Of course I’ll be present at your coronation. I’ll ask her for her hand, so please prepare the personnel expenses she is owed and an amount befitting a ducal peerage as her dowry.”

“Yes, of course. In exchange, take care of my land for me until Nerman’s Imperial Army gets its bearings here.”

“Worry not. I will protect this place perfectly.”

“Thanks.”

“No thanks needed for such a thing between us. That aside, the environment here is hardly suitable for a long-awaited reunion…”

Ryker’s eyes suddenly gleamed.

“No!” I glared at him.

“Come now, why’s a hot blooded man like yourself holding back? Let’s get some teleportation magic going and go to the Araktch Imperial City right away. I used the Imperial Family’s intelligence agency to get the deets on a place flowing with boundless delights for the eyes. Huhuhu.”

‘Goddamn… is he really a crown prince?’

Like always, Ryker enjoyed his life with plenty of humor, like me.

Bzzt.

My gaze met his in midair, and a smile appeared on my lips.

No words were needed in this tacit friendship between absolute powers who would have to get along from now on.

A single smile coming from the depths of our hearts was enough.

—-

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