Chapter 1337 Grand Mage Of The Kingdom

Chapter 1337 Grand Mage Of The Kingdom

"U-urgh..."

Neron slowly groaned as he opened his eyes.

He was currently lying atop a bed, and based on his brief notice of his surroundings, he was in a cool and dark room.

'T-this is...?'

The bed he laid on felt warm and soft. This was the first time he was experiencing a proper bed, so the sensation was foreign to him.

Other than that, though, he felt relaxed—safe—as the foamy mattress sucked him in.

'Where is this place? What's going on?' Neron's thoughts trailed.

Right as he was having these thoughts, he heard a freaking sound from the far end of the room.

A door was being opened, and someone was coming in.

"Arh!" Streaks of light found their way inside, causing Neron to wince at the sight.

As he covered his face with his hands, he heard a voice reverberate across the room.

"Sorry about that. I guess I should have knocked first."

The deep, yet soothing voice felt familiar.

Neron was sure that he had heard it before.

"I thought you were still asleep, so I just welcomed myself in..."

The man who said these things grabbed a chair that was located at a far corner of the room and brought it closer to the bed.

Neron watched all of this silently, his eyes slowly acclimating to the darkness.

Before long, he could properly see.

The stranger appeared to be in his early thirties, and while he had no beards, streaks of gray seemed to decorate his brown hair.

He was dressed in a plain white shirt and some casual trousers—a comfortable wear for someone who was in their home.

"This is your house?" Neron blurted out.

The man nodded as he sat on the chair.

"Correct." He said with a sigh. "Sharp lad."

Despite the small chuckles the man gave, Neron was not amused.

His vacant eyes stared at his benefactor as his mind traveled to the past.

"I see. So it wasn't just a dream. My friends, they're all dead, aren't they?"

As Neron muttered those words, the man fell silent.

"Yera, Legris, Kid... all of them... they're all gone now."

Being a five-year-old boy, it was perfectly understandable for him to weep for his dead friends.

No one in the room would judge, and he had every right to.

But Neron did not shed a single tear.

In fact, his voice was terribly calm as he mentioned those things—almost as if he was just stating facts.

This emotionless tone disturbed the man who watched him.

"I don't know who your friends are... but when I found you, you were the sole survivor of that explosion."

Neron remembered now. This was the man who appeared behind him right after he executed Me. Duffy.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"My name is—"

"Mordred Kaelid; Grand Mage of the Kingdom..." Neron whispered, interrupting the man before he could say another word. n..o)-V-(e-.l/(b))1.-n

For a moment, the two only stared at each other in silence.

"That's what you said before I passed out."

Grand Mage Mordred Kaelid—or Mordred for short—nodded slowly as he smiled at the young boy.

"You really are a sharp lad."

"My name is Neron." He responded calmly. "It's only right you know my name as well."

Mordred had never seen a five-year-old child act like this before.

For a moment, there was silence.

And then...

"Hahahahahahahahahahaha!"

Modred burst out laughing, unable to control the amusement that Neron was causing him.

"Never... never before have I met a kid like you! Hahahahaha!"

Neron watched in silence as the old man laughed his heart out. Once Mordred was done, he cleared his throat while keeping a smile on.

"And what's in it for me? If I offer you so many benefits, how's it a good deal for me?"

"I'm very talented in Magic. I'm sure you'd want a very capable heir as a son. Well, with enough formal education, I'm sure I can do that for you."

"And who says I don't have one already?"

"You said it yourself. You've never met a kid like me." Neron said, his face completely stoic.

He was perfectly serious.

'This kid...' Mordred couldn't help but tremble within for the slightest bit.

He didn't know if Neron was speaking merely from a child's sense of immaturity and entitlement... or if this was just the result of absolute confidence.

However, there was one thing that bothered him.

"I was of the impression that you didn't like Magic."

"What gave you that impression?" Was Neron's reply.

Mordred let out a slight chuckle.

He could see how the boy frowned when he mentioned Magic. Neron probably blamed the death of his friends on Magic, this despising the practice.

"You're not wrong. I don't like Magic."

If that was the case, then why would he want to be the child of a Grand Mage? Mordred wanted to know.

"You could say I have gotten curious. I genuinely want to know... what could push a man to go to such extreme lengths for such power? Why do the eyes of people glow so much when talking about Magic? What makes it so special?"

Neron seemed to be in contemplation as he uttered these words. Something else remained, but it seemed stuck in his throat somehow.

After a few seconds of silence, he finally said it.

"It's also... what my friends wanted. I want to do it for their sake. To fulfill their dreams, and to understand why they had it, to begin with."

Right now, Neron felt empty and purposeless.

The only reason he kept living was because of the lack of the very thing that everyone who had died possessed.

"This concept called Magic... I want to understand it."

Once he did, Neron thought he would perhaps be able to answer the question Mr. Duffy was unable to answer.

Mordred took his time to study Neron—especially looking at his eyes.

He could tell the boy was serious.

"I see. Very well."

The Grand Mage—soon to be retired—placed his hand on Neron's shoulder and smiled.

"Let's do that, then. Become my son, Neron."

Neron didn't smile back.

Perhaps it was because he was too tired, or he just didn't feel the need to.

His expression was simply blank.

Mordred didn't mind, though. These sorts of things took time, and they had enough of it.

'I just need to complete some paperwork, and it should be done...'

He was already getting pretty excited about the whole thing—perhaps even more than the boy who proposed the whole thing.

"From now on, you'll be called Neron Kaelid."

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[A/N]

And so, the tale of Neron Kaelid begins!

I hope you enjoy the story!