Chapter 828: To the Astonishment of the Protagonist
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The room was once again plunged into a sudden silence.
The three members of the Mages Inheritance Union were all startled at the same time. The two mages looked at each other with strange expressions. As for the old madam herself, she narrowed her eyes and sized Benjamin up, glancing at him up and down with a rare look of perplexity upon her face.
"...What did you say?"
She sounded extremely cautious, and did not seem to recognize Benjamin. Seeing this, Benjamin rubbed his head. He felt that something was not right, somehow.
Had he mistaken her for another person?
However… How was that possible? They were exactly the same in terms of both appearance and personality!
Benjamin's brain was already about to crash. It was shocking enough that the long lost madam had suddenly reappeared, and had even become the big boss mage of some Mages Inheritance Union. If he were told that he had mistaken her for the wrong person, the awkwardness in the room was going to be too much to bear.
To be frank, he was still digesting the 'old madam is a mage' fact.
As a mage, not only had she been in Havenwright, she had even lingered right under the noses of the Church for who knew how many years. How was this different from a fantasy story? Even if she would not have been discovered by the Church, had she not felt anything in her heart, seeing the Church persecute the other mages every day?
Right then, with a heart full of mixed emotions, Benjamin did not even know if he hoped to have made a mistake or not.
Finally, it was Elizabeth who spoke to ease the awkwardness.
"...Old madam has lost all her previous memories. She does not remember that she had lived in the capital before, and did not know that she was an elder in the Lithur family. She only remembers that, a few years ago, she suffered a very serious trauma to her spiritual energy, subsequently losing all magical ability. She woke up in one of the secret headquarters of the Mages Inheritance Union, and has been protected by these two mage elders… Until now."
Hearing that, Benjamin let out a small sigh. He had not made a mistake.
Only… This story still seemed to be a little too extraordinary.
"Is that really so?" He looked to the other two mages.
They nodded, as they seem to begin understanding the situation before them. They deliberated Benjamin for a while with odd looks in their eyes, before one of them spoke, saying, "So this is to say that you are her other grandson?"
"...You may say so."
"This is shocking." The old mage was in disbelief, "Director sir, forgive our impertinence. We had never imagined you to be that Benjamin Lithur."
Hearing this, Benjamin chuckled bitterly, not knowing what else to say.
The old madam, seated upon the chair, frowned and gave Benjamin a few more glances. Suddenly, she asked, "Are you my other grandson who is capable of magic?"
"...Yes."
"Then that Academy of Magic place was established by you?"
"Yes, I built it."
For a moment, the old madam tapped on the table, speaking steadily, "You had better shut it down quickly."
"..."
Benjamin was speechless for a few seconds.
Here is a long lost relative that he had not met for so many years. Finally, through some difficulty, they got to meet, and yet one of the first things she said was this. It was really… Really the old madam's style.
The other old mages hurriedly stopped the old madam. One of them came forward to advise, "Director sir, please do not be mad. She has lost all her memories, and her temper is bad. She often spouts nonsense, please do not take it to heart."
Benjamin gave a wry smile, "I am well acquainted with her temper, but… How did she lose her memories? And as for the Mages Inheritance Union, is she one of the member mages? Is she even a mage? This… Before this, no one seemed to know about this, the entire Lithur family included."
There were too many questions in his mind. He really would not be able to stand it if he did not take the opportunity to get a few out.
"I understand your confusion, however… Too many things have happened in between." The old mage said slowly, "That's right. She is a mage. In actual fact, she is the most gifted mage in the world. The elders of the Mages Inheritance Union regarded her highly when she was just a child and took her in as an apprentice. She achieved the highest pinnacle of magic when she was in her twenties, and was called the 'Soul's Fire'. No one could rival her."
"..."
Benjamin's brain crashed once again.
Soul's Fire?
The legendary mage who sealed up part of their powers and ran off to single-handedly challenge the Church, before disappearing without a trace? The arrogant genius who caused Michelle's death, the birth of the System smileys, and almost got Benjamin killed?
This was too…
At that moment, Benjamin could find no words to describe what he was feeling. Too much information had surged in. He felt as though he really did not recognize this grandmother.
Not only had she survived challenging the Church alone, but she had become the mistress of the Lithur family, living in the capital for dozens of years. Honestly, not even the Qi Dian novels would dare come up with this.
"She… How could it be?" Benjamin was not even aware he was asking the question; the words were automatically coming out of his mouth.
"We also felt that it was preposterous, and yet, here she is." The old mage gave a bitter smile. "Initially, the teachers had chosen her to be the next leader of the Mages Inheritance Union, but she had no desire at all for it and ran off by herself, even getting involved in an extremely violent feud with the Church."
"In the end, she killed the Pope and all the mages that surrounded her. However, her magical powers were lost because she had used forbidden magic. No one knows where they have gone. We were not able to contact her and had left her for dead, until several years later when she returned to our headquarters. It was only then we understood everything that had happened."
"Nevertheless, at the time, she had already become the mistress of the Lithur family, keeping her secret identity as a mage hidden very well. So she decided not to return to the Mages Inheritance Union, and only to keep in touch occasionally. After that, which was a few years ago, she mysteriously turned up at our headquarters, having lost all her magic and memories. It was obviously the result of using forbidden magic again. We don't know what has happened, so we could only keep her protected first, until now… And so we meet, sir. That's about it."
On the other side, Benjamin could not help but take a deep breath after listening to the entire story. The expression on his face could no longer be described as merely astonished.
Was she still human?
He turned his head to look at the old madam. At that moment, she had finished listening to the old mage talking about her. However, all she did was to raise an eyebrow as though everything was a matter of fact, and seemed to be thinking about other things.
...Alright. This really looked like something she was capable of doing.
Benjamin did not know what to say anymore. If the old madam's experiences were really so fascinating, then all the "brilliant feats and contributions" he had achieved could be considered null.
At least, he had never gotten rid of a Pope. Not in a meaningful sense.
Speaking of which…
Suddenly, Benjamin seemed to have thought of something, and his expression grew solemn as he spoke, "Then… The current pope, Grant Lithur. You guys would know about him as well, yes?"