Rebirth of the 8th-Circle Mage - Chapter 385: Returning the Favor (6)

The Taejae didn’t contemplate for long about Henry’s proposal. He knew that since he had formed an alliance with the Eurasian Empire, there would eventually be some cultural exchange anyway.

Moreover, after witnessing Henry’s outstanding display of magic, the Taejae had a good impression of magic.

“Thank you, Archmage.”

“Not at all. I’m just grateful that you accepted my offer. Oh, and just in case, I ask that you keep my ability to see the future a secret.”

“You don’t have to worry about that, Archmage.”

Just like Henry had done with Herabola, he made sure that word wouldn’t go out in regards to his ability to foresee the future.

And now, Henry figured he had repaid Hongwol for the kindness had shown him. He left the guest annex after shaking hands with Chungang.

‘So there’s just Zipan left, huh…’

Zipan had participated in the fight against the Imperial Ten Swords, but not in the final expedition. Henry was still grateful for their contributions, but he nonetheless had to make distinctions. He had already prepared his present for Doyle.

Henry immediately set out for the annex designated to Zipan, and as soon as he arrived, one of the envoys from Zipan immediately recognized Henry and bowed.

“Archmage, what brings you here this morning? Is there anything I can do to help…?”

Henry couldn’t remember who this envoy was. In any case, the envoy seemed confused about Henry’s sudden appearance at this time of the day.

“I came to visit Elder Doyle and see how he’s doing. Is he inside?”

“Of course! I’ll tell him right away that you’ve come to visit!”

The envoy promptly went inside after making a racket. A few minutes later, Henry was walking toward the reception room set up in the annex. Doyle and the other envoys were waiting for him with extremely nervous expressions.

“Archmage, it’s an honor to meet you!”

With that, everyone in the room, including Doyle, bowed to Henry. At this, Henry also greeted them with the same level of politeness and took a seat.

“Everyone, you don’t have to be nervous,” said Henry. “The reason I came here this morning was simply to express my gratitude to all of you who attended the founding ceremony of the empire.”

“Oh, oh…! I wouldn’t have expected anything less from you, Archmage.”

Just like the people from the Sore Empire, everyone seemed touched by Henry’s gesture.

After taking a closer look at Doyle, Henry realized just how young he looked. Last time he saw him, Doyle was as old as him. But perhaps the most surprising thing about the current Doyle was the fact that he could see.

The Doyle Henry met after his reincarnation was blind, and people would refer to him as the Sage of Zipan because they thought he saw everything with his mind.

But seeing him like this, Henry felt a bit awkward. His image of Doyle was that of a kind sage who could still smile despite having faced countless hardships. However, even though this Doyle had the same small frame, he seemed more like a strategist than a sage to Henry.

“…So, I would like to offer a small gift to Zipan.”

“A-a gift, Archmage?”

“Yes. Sir Doyle, may we talk in private for a bit?”

At Henry’s request, everyone except Doyle left the room.

“Hehe, I’m not sure if I should be nervous or excited about this gift that you’re talking about, Archmage. Even sending everyone outside…”

“No need to worry, Sir Doyle. It’s just something small.”

“Something small?”

“Yes, Sir Doyle. Are you perhaps interested in visiting the Eastern continent?”

At that, Doyle flinched, pausing with his teacup right in front of his face. He was frozen for a few moments, but he eventually put down the teacup.

“…Have you heard anything about the Eastern continent from somewhere?”

“What do you mean?”

“…Oh, nothing.”

As Henry pretended not to notice, Doyle didn’t bother to ask any more questions. An awkward silence hung in the room, which caused Henry to feel that something was off.

‘Something’s not right.’

Doyle’s condition for joining the Allied Powers was for Henry to eventually take him to the Eastern continent. However, the current Doyle seemed quite apprehensive about that, as if there was some backstory that Henry wasn’t aware of.

‘Is there something he’s not able to tell me?’’

Henry intended to take Doyle to the Eastern continent, thinking that it would be the perfect gift for the homesick leader of Zipan. He figured that Doyle could stay there for as long as he wanted, as he would only be responsible for taking Doyle there.

To Henry, this wasn’t even a gift but the reward that Doyle deserved for having helped Henry against the Imperial Ten Swords.

After thinking for a while, Henry decided to be more careful with his words, since he was the one trying to return the favor, regardless of what situation Doyle was in.

“I was thinking to myself the other day, and it occurred to me that Zipan has quite a long history. Aren’t the people currently living in Zipan from the Eastern continent?”

“Ye-yes, that’s right.”

“I’m not sure why everyone came all the way here to the Eurasian continent, but then it suddenly occurred to me that there could be some folks who miss the Eastern continent.”

“…”

Henry continued speaking as if he didn’t know anything, and Doyle stayed silent at this. But regardless, his eyes answered for him.

“So then, I thought I could use my power to heal those who are struggling with homesickness.”

“Healing homesickness…? Archmage, are you saying…?!”

“Yes, my magic will allow you to set foot on the Eastern continent.”

Henry finally revealed to Doyle what his small gift was, and now, it was up to Doyle to make a decision. As he looked at Doyle for an answer, Henry could see that his eyes were glinting with an admiration he hadn’t seen earlier.

“…”

Doyle pursed his lips, but that was all he did. Every time he opened his mouth to give Henry an answer, he hesitated and closed his mouth again. He almost seemed afraid to give Henry an answer.

Seeing him like this frustrated Henry a little, as he knew that Doyle had longed to visit his homeland in the previous timeline.

Doyle had a lot to consider; things were complicated for him, and his status in Zipan didn’t help either. He wanted to leave for the Eastern continent right away, but deep down, he knew that there was a good chance he wouldn’t come back, and that would mean abandoning the people of Zipan.

Of course, Doyle didn’t want to do such a thing, as he wasn’t a selfish person. But even so, he couldn’t lie to himself, which was why it was difficult for him to give Henry an answer.

Doyle wavered, agonizing over what to do. He finally had the chance to fulfill his dream and be reunited with his homeland. But he didn’t trust that he would be able to control his emotions once he stepped foot on the Eastern continent.

However, he needed to give Henry an answer right then and there. After contemplating for a while, Doyle opened his mouth again, ready to voice his decision, but Henry interrupted him.

“Sir Doyle.”

“Yes?”

“If you need more time to think about this, you can give me an answer later. I’m not trying to make any assumptions, but I really hope there’s nothing preventing you from accepting my offer and getting what you truly want…”

At that, Doyle flinched, not expecting Henry to interrupt him and say that. He had been ready to give Henry an answer, but Henry’s words made him reconsider.

Henry had more or less pointed out why Doyle was hesitating, as though he could read his mind.

Seeing Doyle’s eyes twitch, Henry smiled, realizing that his assumption about Doyle’s hesitation was correct.

In any case, this was everything Henry could do for Doyle at the moment. He didn’t know much about what Doyle was going through, but he could tell that the leader of Zipan was torn between sticking to his duties and embracing his desire.

Doyle then burst into laughter and placed one hand on his forehead.

“I wouldn’t have expected anything less from you, Archmage.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Archmage, I believe you understand what I’m referring to. Thank you for your consideration. I shall take your advice and think about your offer and give you an answer at a later time. Would that be alright?”

Doyle understood why Henry was being considerate and decided to follow his advice.

“Of course. Please take your time. Oh, by the way…”

“Yes?”

Just before Henry was about to leave, he raised his index finger and tapped the area around his right eye.

“Take care of your eyes.”

“My eyes?”

“Yes, just be careful with your eyesight. What if you go back to your hometown later and can’t see? I don’t think there could be anything worse than that.”

“Haha, yes, that’s true.”

“Alright then, I’ll get going now. I’ll keep quiet about my offer to you, just to make sure there won’t be any trouble.”

“Thank you, Archmage.”

“Alright then.”

With that, Henry left the annex. He had initially thought about telling Doyle the same story about his so-called ability to see the future, but then he thought it wouldn’t be necessary. As Doyle would now have a strong desire to return to his homeland, he would take care of himself even more.

With that, Henry had repaid his debt to all of his five allies. He felt relieved, and his heart felt lighter, as though he had shed all the burdens that had been weighing down on him.

“I guess there won’t be any work for a while,” Henry muttered to himself.

With a slight smile on his face, Henry made his way back to the Magical Spire.

***

A couple of years passed, and just like in the previous timeline, the empire enjoyed an unprecedented period of peace. It truly was a golden age.

In the meantime, Henry eventually announced that he was the first wizard to reach the 8th Circle. Everyone was amazed by his achievement, but Henry didn’t feel much, given that he had already awakened the 8th Circle before.

Instead, he focused on initiatives that would’ve taken several years in the past—things and policies that would benefit the empire and improve the lives of its citizens—and managed to accomplish them much sooner. Thanks to this achievement, his status rose several times higher than in the past, and the people of the empire were praising Henry on a daily basis.

But even so, Henry didn’t take a break as he thought the biggest mistake he had made in the past was to finish his work to a certain extent and retire. He personally handled all matters regarding the empire and the palace.

As for Golden, he had no issues with Henry involving himself so much in state affairs. In fact, he was quite pleased that Henry was willing to take care of so many things, as Golden thought that dealing with them himself would be a hassle.

Of course, even though Henry took on most of the state affairs, Golden had the final say in everything.

Henry helped Golden as much as he could, but he wasn’t the emperor. However, this didn’t mean that Golden didn’t do anything. In fact, Henry had assigned Golden a very important mission.

“Stretch your back!”

A sharp voice echoed through the practice grounds. It was Golden. He was wearing comfortable clothes and held a wooden sword with the tip on his shoulder.

“Again!”

“Ah!”

Golden wasn’t alone at the practice grounds. Beside him was Silver, panting heavily, sweating profusely as he swung his own wooden sword.

The crucial mission that Henry had entrusted to Golden was to teach Silver, who had grown up fatherless in the previous timeline, the right values.

Henry silently entered the training grounds and saw Silver drenched in sweat as though he had been standing in the rain. Seeing him like this, he nodded in approval and then quietly slipped away.

‘Physical training is surely the best way to get your values straight.’

Of course, Golden wasn’t responsible for all aspects of Silver’s education. Golden focused on physical training, including swordsmanship, while Henry took charge of molding his character and bestowing knowledge upon him.

Many would’ve considered Henry’s undertaking to be a nuisance, but for Henry, Silver’s education was a form of entertainment, not a chore.

‘You’ll be the greatest emperor in history by the end of your training.’

It was discipline disguised as education; preparing the future emperor of Eurasia was a joy that Henry couldn’t give up on.

Henry walked toward the Magical Spire. The Church of Nephram still resided in the secret mansion, and beneath the tower, numerous disciples were studying anthropology for the convenience of the people.

Henry lay down in his chair. Then, for the first time in a while, he picked up his planner. He flipped through the pages and then picked up the Magical Spire directory. After flipping through a couple pages in the directory, he stopped at a certain page.

‘The time to find him has finally come.’

It had been several years since the empire’s founding. All the necessary infrastructure and facilities had been established, and now all that remained was to further develop the empire to make it more prosperous.

That essentially meant that the empire had achieved enough stability, which in turn would allow for advancement. And so, Henry decided to take care of the things he had been putting off one by one.

After all, his grand plan was still ongoing.