Chapter 139

“Just whеn is hе gоing tо comе?”

“I knоw. It’s driving mе сrаzy. Not knowing whеn hе’ll arrive just mаkes me еvеn mоrе аnхious.”

Silvia аnd Darenvаlt stоod mоtiоnlеss in frоnt оf the inn whеre Кhan was stауing, thеir еxprеssions tеnse with nervousnеss.

Вoth were skilled аdvеnturers, and their high-quality еquiрment drew the attentiоn оf passеrsby оn thе strееt.

“Wow, those pеoplе… thеу look inсrеdiblу strong.”

“Hеy, don’t stаre. You might pick а fight fоr no reаsоn!”

“Wow, thеy both lоok amazing….”

Еspесially the other аdventurеrs whо hаd cоme to Еrindеl tо partiсipаtе in thе Undеrgrоund Arеnа Тournаmеnt immediately recognized Darenvalt and Silvia as high-ranking adventurers at a glance.

As members of the fairly large mid-sized guild, the Jet Black Guild, Darenvalt and Silvia were quite famous among other adventurers.

“Um, excuse me… could you possibly give me an autograph? You are Darenvalt, right…?”

“Unni Silvia! I’m a fan of yours!”

Thanks to this, there were adventurers who would ask for autographs or handshakes while they were walking.

“We’re a bit busy right now. We’re waiting for someone…!”

Silvia spoke as kindly as possible to the adventurers approaching her and sent them away.

“Should we just… run away?”

“No, it’s only been about an hour; it’s too early to give up. Let’s wait until he returns. That’s the only way we can survive.”

As Silvia let out a sigh, Darenvalt spoke to her in a comforting tone.

“It doesn’t seem like he’ll be away for long. I have a feeling he’ll be back soon.”

“Really…? Alright. Let’s wait a bit longer.”

Darenvalt and Silvia continued to hold their position.

A short while later.

Whoosh…!!!!

Swish.

Just as Darenvalt had said, the man appeared as if by magic.

* * *

Inside the Hidden Gate, Khan, having finished his business, used a Skill.

Fortunately, the Cooldown for ‘Space-Time Leap’ had fully reset, allowing him to return immediately.

[Skill ‘Space-Time Leap’ has been used.]

The destination was in front of the inn in Erindel where Khan was staying.

‘The adventurers who were watching me using advanced stealth are a bit concerning… But I should head back first.’

Khan planned to track them down as soon as he returned.

If they were people with a grudge against him, it would be better to nip it in the bud.

When he closed and opened his eyes, Khan had arrived in front of the inn.

This meant he encountered the man and woman who had been waiting for him.

Khan was slightly taken aback upon seeing the man and woman.

This time, they were standing openly without even using a stealth skill.

[LV.121 Adventurer of Arcana Darenvalt]

[LV.124 Adventurer of Arcana Silvia]

‘They’re definitely here to kill me.’

Having been thinking about these adventurers since the Hidden Gate, Khan concluded that Darenvalt and Silvia were here to kill him.

Whoosh…!!!

Vrrrrrrrrrrr…!!!

As Khan drew in his Mana, the three Circles in his heart spun rapidly.

He was about to use the most powerful combination of Skills he could cast immediately.

But then.

“Wait! S-sorry!!”

“Calm down, Sir Mage! We sincerely apologize for secretly tailing you!”

Suddenly, Darenvalt and Silvia bowed at a ninety-degree angle toward Khan.

A heartfelt apology.

Both were completely defenseless; if Khan used a Skill, they likely couldn’t dodge or block it.

‘What on earth are these guys up to…?’

Although their sudden apology was a bit puzzling, Khan withdrew his Mana for now.

He planned to have a brief conversation with them first.

“Who are you?”

“Ah, we should have introduced ourselves first… I am Silvia, an adventurer belonging to the Jet Black Guild!”

“Likewise, I am Darenvalt, also a member of the Jet Black Guild. May I ask your name?”

“It’s Khan.”

Both said they belonged to the Jet Black Guild, a guild Khan was hearing about for the first time.

‘They don’t seem hostile. I must have been mistaken.’

He didn’t know why they had been tailing him, but since neither showed any hostility toward him, Khan lowered his guard slightly.

Upon hearing Khan’s name, Silvia hurriedly spoke up.

“So it’s Sir Khan! Actually, the reason we were waiting here in front of the inn was to apologize to you. You knew we were watching you using Stealth Magic about an hour ago…? No, no. Actually, it seems you’ve known since yesterday… is that right?”

“…….”

Khan listened to Silvia’s words and said nothing.

‘They’ve been following me since yesterday? I had no idea. If these guys had intended to kill me, I’d have been dead long ago.’

Khan remained silent, thinking he needed to be more vigilant of his surroundings from now on.

Just as he was about to say something, Silvia had already started speaking again.

“As expected…! I thought someone like Sir Khan, an Archmage, would naturally know!”

Khan hadn’t said a word, but Silvia concluded as if Khan knew everything.

“I’m participating in the Underground Arena Tournament this time! The same goes for Darenvalt here. So we were checking the level of adventurers who came to Erindel, and that’s when we happened to see you passing by, Sir Khan? I have a good eye, you know. The moment I saw you, I sensed an overwhelming aura, so I secretly tailed you. I’m truly sorry…!”

Khan fell into brief thought as he listened to Silvia ramble on with all sorts of fuss, excuses, and justifications.

‘Should I accept this apology?’

In truth, Silvia and Darenvalt hadn’t really done anything wrong to Khan.

They hadn’t attacked him or anything.

“I also sincerely apologize. I should have stopped Silvia when she suggested tailing you in the first place… Please, with a generous heart, accept our apology.”

Following Silvia, Darenvalt also bowed his head deeply once more and apologized.

Because of this, the attention of all the adventurers passing by on the street was drawn to them.

“Who on earth is that person, making Lady Silvia and Sir Darenvalt bow their heads like that to apologize?”

“I know, right. From what I could hear, he seems to be a mage…”

“Is he an incredibly powerful mage?”

“How fascinating. Darenvalt is known as an adventurer with strong pride…”

The adventurers passing by whispered in hushed tones as they watched the scene.

Silvia and Darenvalt, bowing their heads to Khan, could hear the words of the passing adventurers but paid no mind.

‘Right now, pride and such are unnecessary. We have to survive somehow…!’

‘Pride isn’t more important than life.’

The Archmage named Khan standing before them was so immensely powerful that he could kill them with just a flick of his finger.

Meanwhile, Khan looked down at Silvia and Darenvalt and pondered.

People’s attention was drawn, and it seemed like it might become a bit bothersome, so he considered just accepting the apology.

But then.

‘Wait a minute. Their equipment looks pretty good, doesn’t it?’

The staff Silvia was holding and the hat she was wearing looked quite impressive.

The armor Darenvalt was wearing also looked good; it seemed like at least an Epic Rank item.

‘Should I ask for this?’

The hat Silvia was wearing, if Khan’s guess was correct, was probably the ‘Arcane Helm.’

Although the item name was ‘Helm,’ it had a design suitable for mages, like a pointed hat.

‘It would look really good on Sharin. It’d be cute.’

Moreover, the Arcane Helm increased the wearer’s Mana rotation speed, so it would definitely be helpful.

‘I don’t know what this armor he’s wearing is, but it looks good, so I can give it to Byutek.’

So, Khan looked at the two people bowing their heads and slowly opened his mouth.

“Why should I forgive you?”

The moment the low, bass voice reached them, Darenvalt and Silvia’s minds were filled with despair.

‘He won’t accept the apology? Then am I going to die like this?’

‘This is insane, really…!’

But they couldn’t give up like this.

“I’m sorry! Could you please forgive us just once…?”

“I also apologize like this! Please forgive us!”

The two people’s waists and heads were bowing even lower than ninety degrees.

Especially Silvia seemed particularly frightened, trembling all over.

‘When he appeared just now, there was no presence felt in the surroundings at all. He used Long-Distance Teleport Magic again.’

As far as she knew, Long-Distance Teleport Magic required an enormous amount of Mana each time it was used.

She had heard that even Archmages borrowed a bit of Mana from their disciples to use Long-Distance Teleport Magic.

‘Just how much Mana does he have…!’

That’s why Silvia trembled all over when Khan didn’t accept the apology.

To her, running away from this spot or teaming up with Darenvalt to fight Khan was truly unthinkable.

‘If we run or fight, we’ll die in an instant….’

Silvia trembled like an aspen leaf and glanced at Darenvalt.

For a moment, their eyes met, and seeing Silvia’s reaction, he too could guess just how overwhelming a presence the mage named Khan was.

‘What on earth should I do?’

What must they do to survive?

‘We have to try everything we can.’

Then, a decent idea popped into Darenvalt’s head.