Legacy of the Dark Sage

[It's her...? But how...? Why...?]

Shaiha quivered slightly while looking at Leif through Kyran's eyes.

'You know her?'

[She's Oceanus's daughter. At least, I believe it is her. Her appearance changed a little, but Leif was the title Oceanus's daughter uses.]

Even without Shaiha elaborating on that, it was easy to guess how grievous their situation had become. If Kyran ignored Leif's invitation and insisted on escaping, his identity could be in danger of being exposed.

Oceanus's people could easily track his research history inside the city library, and using that, they could have guessed he was new in the Higher Realm.

From there, it would be easy to pinpoint his identity. After all, the Higher Realm did not receive many visitors. This was considering that there was any truth to the rumor that the War of the Sovereigns' winner could enter the Higher Realm.

In any case, the information available in Ogen, especially to the public, might be limited, but its Overlord should be privy to more in-depth news.

It had been a month since Kyran entered the Higher Realm. No matter how zealous The Emperor was in wanting to capture him in the Lower Realm, it would not be to the point that his judgment would be clouded.

The Emperor would have already realized that Kyran managed to slip through the Land of Desolation and enter the Higher Realm. The former would have also mobilized his people to look for the latter in the Higher Realm.

Whether The Emperor decided to return to the Higher Realm to look for Kyran— who possessed the Void core, or stayed in the Lower Realm to continue searching for Kyran— who possessed the Draconic core and the Shaiha, Kyran had no way of confirming.

At least, not at that moment.

However, suppose Kyran properly dealt with Leif's invitation. In that case, he might gain the opportunity to access exclusive information in the Higher Realm that would only be privy to the High Sovereigns or Overlords.

Leif did not take offense when Kyran did not respond to her immediately. From her point of view, he might have been rendered speechless after learning who she was. After all, what were the chances of her approaching someone like him?

Zero.

Leif is Overlord Oceanus's daughter, the Young Lady of Ogen. Her rank and authority far outreach any of them.

Leif showed Kyran a bright and friendly smile and added, "Fret not. We only want to get to know you a little."

Kyran snapped out of his thoughts while keeping an indifferent expression. He noted how Leif used plural words like us and we. This meant she was only here to invite him, but the people who wanted to speak with him might be someone other than her and her friends behind her.

As Kyran thought this, he looked at the young men and women up the steps, who were observing them with keen eyes. His brow twitched slightly when he saw a few young men scowling at him.

Those young men obviously liked Leif, and Kyran more or less guessed they had the wrong impression when she approached him.

From this seemingly irrelevant detail, Kyran gleaned that Leif did not tell her entourage why she invited him. This meant whoever told her to approach him asked her to be discreet with her intentions.

"I'm... not in trouble, am I?" Kyran asked, looking back at Leif with a troubled expression.

[W-Wait... you're not planning on entertaining her?]

Shaiha asked, full of concern.

Kyran did not answer her and focused on playing the role of a troubled visitor.

Leif giggled slightly, then shook her head, "Like I said, fret not."

She gestured toward her right and added, "I have a small villa nearby. We can talk while having some tea."

"I..." Kyran stammered and looked uneasily at the people up the steps.

Leif saw this and misunderstood the reason he felt uneasy. She raised her brows in amusement and assured him, "Oh, they will not be joining. However, they will return with us to the villa."

Kyran frowned inwardly. From her words, he guessed that the young men and women were her guests and were staying at the villa. If that was true, and she wanted him over, how would the other people wanting to speak with him enter the picture?

Did he misunderstand the clues he gleaned from her?

"...Okay."

"Great!" Leif beamed as she swiftly took the remaining steps, separating them. She grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the villa, saying, "I hope you don't mind if we walk there. I can summon a portal, but then we won't be able to enjoy the view."

"Wai— 'enjoy the view'?" Kyran repeated, not knowing what she meant because there was no view they could enjoy on the streets.

Leif did not seem to have heard his question and continued to lead the way to the villa, with the rest of the young men and women following suit.

In an instant, they caught everyone's attention, making Kyran uneasy. He did not mind the attention when he was in disguise, but at that moment, he was himself. Although he did not use his real name when the need to introduce himself arose, that did not make him less uneasy.

Meanwhile, Shaiha, who stayed silent until then, sighed hopelessly.

[I do hope you remember... You have the Young Mistress back at home.]

'Huh?' Kyran could not help but frown at Shaiha's reminder.

Why was she suddenly bringing Cyneah into their conversation?

[Leif is Oceanus's only daughter, and he spoils her far too much. She is outgoing and has a pleasant personality. However, it is due to this that whenever something or someone piqued her interest, she can win them over with ease.]

'...'

[And now, she has set her eyes on you.]

'... You do know she's... probably the same age as Ames— Zane— my ancestor's wife, right?'

[Age doesn't matter in the Higher Realm. A mage can choose to look young for as long as they live. And to clarify, Ames is younger than Leif.]

'...'

[You read her invitation too deeply when she only wants to win you.]

'...'

[I've had this strange feeling that you don't give yourself proper credit for your appearance. At first, I thought it was because you've been using Nar's image for so long and have gotten used to being ignored by others because of your average looks. The Young Mistress's condition may have also fueled that misconception. Thus, you only think people will be interested in you for your strength.

But that is not the case. Your black hair only made you stand out even more, but your overall appearance, how you carried yourself, and that seemingly mysterious aura you have are enough to garner attention.]

'...'

Sensing Kyran's doubt, Shaiha sighed in exasperation. She guessed he doubted her because almost everyone had ignored him all this time. But the truth was, they did not want to stare too much in fear that their stares might trigger the city's array if they appeared malicious.

Of course, they would not have triggered the array's detainment formula; instead, the array might have registered their behavior as suspicious and alerted the city guards to investigate.

That would have been embarrassing if it happened.

Besides, didn't Kyran notice that the shop owners who greeted him on his way to the library were mainly the opposite sex? They would even give him some of their goods when possible.

Moreover, what Leif meant about enjoying the view was that she wanted everyone to see that she had already taken hold of him and that it was in their best interest to forget any thoughts about approaching him moving forward.

[... Just be careful. If the worst thing happens, you can tell Oceanus about who you are— or at least about you being the Void Master. Don't tell him about possessing the Draconic Core or me. His relationship with the Ancients had been amiable, and he stayed neutral after all these years. Nonetheless, that did not mean his view of what transpired in the past remained unchanged.]

'... 'what happened in the past'? Do you mean when the Higher Being tried to steal from the Ancients?'

[Yes.]

Shaiha replied with a sigh.

[Oceanus was one of the few who did not respond to the Higher Being's summon when he decided to destroy the Ancients and steal their research. This spoke volumes of his character, at least. Hopefully, Oceanus remained the same after all this time and would not show interest when the result of the Ancients' research appeared before him—.]

Shaiha abruptly stopped, realizing what she had just told Kyran.

Kyran sensed Shaiha's internal struggle at her slip of the tongue and chose to remain silent. He did not tease or force her to say more. He did not need to, at least not at that moment. What she said was enough to make him connect the things he already knew and come closer to the truth about what had happened in the past.

Kyran was correct in thinking that the Ancients were the ones who created the Four Ancient Magic Cores.

No.

Rather than create them, the Ancients found a method of producing them. The Higher Being wanted that method. However, the Ancients likely declined his request, which resulted in the war.

Obviously, the Higher Being wanted to destroy them because if he did not, even if he successfully stole their research, the chances of the Ancients producing the Magic Cores first were higher.

Kyran was convinced that the Ancients did not manage to produce the Ancient Magic Cores because human mages possessing them only appeared during the time of Caelan, Layla, Stella, and Zane.

Now, the keyword there was human mages. Because there were, in fact, other beings who possessed Ancient Magic Cores.

Kyran believed the Ancients were trying to create artificial Magic Cores that human mages could possess.

The Ancient Magic book also stated that specific requirements must be fulfilled for the Ancient Magic Core to appear. It did not list the requirements but did mention the four families where they could appear.

Still, there was one thing Kyran noticed: these four had something in common.

They were a family of humans.

Why did the Ancients devise a method of artificially producing the Ancient Magic Cores for humans?

Kyran had yet to find the answer to that.

True to her words, they arrived at Leif's villa in less than ten minutes. In fact, they would have arrived much faster if not for her trying to be an excellent guide to Kyran and introducing every known establishment along the way.

Frankly, Kyran did not need the introductions because he already knew them. Memorizing the city's map and key establishments was one of the first things he did upon entering the city's library.

Then again, Kyran did not know that the villa near the library belonged to Oceanus's daughter. He remembered it was registered under an unknown Sovereign called Curos.

Leif gently tugged on Kyran's sleeves as if to tell him to level his ears to her reach. As he did, she leaned closer and whispered, "Let me tell you a secret. I recently purchased this villa and haven't explored it yet."

She then looked at him imploringly, expecting him to follow through on what she said.

Kyran caught on to Leif's innuendo but feigned ignorance. He simply nodded his head, straightened his back, and replied with a deadpan expression, "I see."

Leif did not find his indifference annoying. Instead, she was amused. It made her wonder whether he was truly aware of her identity as Oceanus's daughter.

Based on her people's initial investigation, it had only been a month since he first came to the city. However, he did not stay in one of the inns or hotels. Instead, he would leave the city before it gets dark.

This went on for days.

Then, days turn to a week.

Leif had recently come to the city to attend to some business when she chanced upon Kyran. He stood out from the crowd because of his black hair. But apart from his hair, what truly caught her attention was his ability to conceal his presence. In fact, if not for his hair, she would not have noticed him.

After that, Leif had her people investigate Kyran. She then learned that he was called Null— a strange name, in her opinion, especially when it meant nothing in the Ancients' old language.

Leif also learned that Kyran would only come to the city to visit the library. She asked her people to find where he was staying, but they easily lost track of him because of his ability.

When Leif asked her people to investigate what he was researching in the library, she was surprised to learn that he was mainly focused on reading History and Branches of Magic books. Moreover, he was interested in quite a number of branches of magic, naming a few: Alchemy, Array, Smithing, Runes, and more.

The more Leif got to know Kyran, the more she got interested in him. Thus, she decided to approach him.

Besides, she particularly wanted his ability.