The Great Mage Returns after 4000 Years – Chapter 124 – When to Crouch (4)
Translator: Seven
Editors: Ana_Banana, Yahiko
Frey headed towards Heinz’s room, and as soon as he knocked on the door, he heard a heavy voice from within.
“Come in.”
He opened the door and headed in.
Heinz was sitting at his desk, leisurely flipping through the pages of a book.
He didn’t appear surprised to see Frey.
“I came because I have something to say.”
“…I see.”
Heinz closed his book and pointed toward a chair in front of him.
Frey sat without any hesitation and looked at Heinz.
“…”
Looking at him like this, Frey immediately noticed the many similarities between him and Heinz.
If they walked down the street together, everyone would immediately know that they were brothers.
Frey shook his head.
He didn’t come here for that.
There was also no need for him to be indirect.
He didn’t have time for that.
Instead, Frey immediately said the main reason why he’d come to Heinz.
“From today, I will be devising a strategy to kill Leita.”
Heinz’s mouth became a thin line.
“Why?”
“Because she’s Leyrin’s Apostle.”
Frey looked Heinz straight in the face as if he didn’t want to miss even the slightest reaction.
There was no immediate response.
Heinz paused heavily for a moment before sighing.
“…I see.”
“Did you expect it?”
“Naturally. My mother had always been one of the suspects. Even so, I always thought Father would be the Apostle… but how did you find out?”
“That’s not important.”
Frey crossed his hands.
“I came here to find out what your goal is.”
“My goal?”
“What exactly do you want?”
Frey’s question was quite natural.
Even now, he had yet to learn Heinz’s goal.
At the moment, it seemed that he assisted the Circle by being a spy in the Demigods’ camp.
But he had once advised Frey to not put too much trust in the Circle.
If he really was on the Circle’s side, Heinz would have never said those words.
Heinz also knew just how big the ripple that would spread through the Circle would be if they learned that he could control divine power.
If that fact was revealed, he would have to be wary of violent backlash at any moment.
So was he a spy for the Demigods instead?
Frey believed that that was also unlikely.
After all, Heinz had no reason to cooperate with him if he was a spy for the Demigods.
Regardless of what his intentions were, as a spy, he would never bring Frey to the Blake family when Leyrin was in such a weakened condition.
Instead, he would have found any excuse to prevent it.
Frey could tell from Leyrin’s reaction that it was never in their plan for Heinz to bring him back to the Blake family.
‘If I had come to the house alone.’
He wouldn’t have been able to meet Leyrin so easily.
Instead, he probably would have been suspected by Isaka and Leita.
It was only because Frey had returned with Heinz that he had been able to win their trust and subsequently be exposed to such vital information.
“…then, I would also like to ask a question.”
Heinz then spoke in a heavy voice.
“Where is the real Frey?”
“…”
Frey’s expression didn’t change.
After all, he’d expected that something like this would happen someday.
This was because he and Frey were too different.
Their personalities, values, habits and the steps he’d taken to reach this point.
If Frey had had any number of friends, or if he had many people who knew him, then he would have been suspected much sooner.
But few people knew the previous Frey.
Most of them had never even spoken to him. Instead, all they knew about him had been from what they’d heard.
This was why Frey’s sudden change had never aroused any doubt.
However… family would always be different.
“…at first, I thought it was just a great awakening that caused you to change so much. After all, anyone would change given the circumstances. But… this isn’t something that could be explained away with mere ‘change’.”
“…”
“…answer me. Please.”
Heinz’s voice gradually began shaking.
The same was true for his eyes.
His appearance was similar to a stone statue that was beginning to crack.
“What happened to my younger brother…?”
“He’s dead.”
Frey gave a simple answer.
“What…”
“What do you mean ‘what’? What are you trying to say now?”
Frey got up from his seat, approached Heinz and lifted him up by his collar.
Kwak.
Heinz’s body was limp.
It seemed that his reaction to the news was genuine, but there was no sympathy in Frey’s gaze.
Instead, his eyes seemed to burn brightly.
“Frey Blake is dead. Exhausted and distressed by the poor treatment he received from you and your family. In the end, he could find no salvation, and while struggling in pain and solitude, he killed himself.”
Heinz’s mouth opened wide.
Frey frowned slightly.
This wasn’t it.
He didn’t intend to blame Heinz for what he’d done.
What he really wanted to say was…
“What right do you have to mourn Frey’s death?”
“…!”
Shepard had said that Heinz was different.
He didn’t know if that was true, but in truth, it was none of his business.
No matter what his intentions were or how he’d felt while doing what he’d done, it wouldn’t change the fact that ‘Frey Blake’ had died.
If it was really Frey who was standing there at that moment, maybe he would’ve forgiven Heinz.
If you thought about his personality, the probability of that was actually really high.
But he wasn’t Frey.
Instead, he was just someone who was using Frey’s body.
That was why he didn’t believe he had the right to listen to Heinz’s explanation nor the right to forgive him.
For him, there was only one thing that mattered.
And that was the fact that Heinz Blake was one of the causes of Frey Blake’s death.
This was the qualification which granted him the right to vent his anger at Heinz, who had helped drive that child to death.
Taht.
When Frey let go of him, Heinz lost his balance and fell to the floor.
‘…’
Frey shook his head, annoyed.
He hadn’t gone there to talk about this.
Instead, after confirming Heinz’s true intentions, he had intended to persuade him and get his help in killing Leita.
However, when he saw the pathetic look on Heinz’s face, Frey felt emotional.
His mind and body were both disturbed, and the thing that upset him the most was the fact that he felt sympathy for Heinz.
Of course, these weren’t his own feelings.
‘Don’t do that, Frey Blake.’
Frey spoke to himself.
He could feel ‘Frey’ shouting within him.
Only
Something must have happened to his brother.
He wanted to hear his explanation.
…He wanted to forgive him.
‘What a soft-hearted guy.’
Frey sighed as he looked down at Heinz’s shivering figure.
(TL: and so ends this chapter of the novel. Just from the title, I’m sure the next chapter will be quite intense.
See you guys soon for ‘Family Extermination (1)’).