The Returned Magician Prevents the End

Chapter 5

“What kind of nonsense trick is this!”

At my sudden accusation, Hank’s face flushed red with anger as he stormed forward.

He pointed at me, spitting furiously in his excitement.

I, feigning fear at Hank’s demeanor, stammered and hesitated.

“I-I don’t really know. But I’m sure I can feel the aura of the artifact I found coming from Master Hank.”

“Feel its aura? Is that even possible!”

Junk, intrigued, questioned me.

I cautiously nodded.

“Yes, all of a sudden, I could feel it. Like something bursting open. I followed that feeling to find the artifacts…”

“Cut the nonsense! I don’t even know what this artifact you’re talking about is and you say I stole it?”

“I never said you stole it, did I?”

At my innocent-sounding words, Hank’s face showed a flicker of realization.

Suspicion began to fill the eyes of the collectors watching him.

Panicked, Hank turned and shouted desperately.

“You…! Are you all suspecting me just because of some mongrel kid’s words?”

“That makes it even more believable! There’s no one here but this mongrel kid who can tell what an artifact is.”

“Shut up!”

At Hank’s enraged shout, the collector who raised the doubt shrank back, intimidated.

Hank glared at the speaker with murderous intent.

“Damn it, if you were going to talk about sorcerer blood or whatever, you should’ve done it ages ago! Don’t you remember this guy was useless for the past ten years?”

“That’s…”

Hank appealed to them desperately.

“Come on, get a grip! Has anyone ever seen this guy babble about magic? Of course not. He doesn’t have that ability!”

His plausible words turned the collectors’ gazes back to me.

I looked at Hank with an intrigued expression.

‘I thought he was just a dumb thug, but he’s pretty sharp.’

In my mind, I raised my evaluation of Hank by a notch.

Though it was only to the level of ‘smarter-than-expected trash.’

Unaware of my thoughts, Hank, seeing me fall silent, spoke triumphantly as if driving in the final nail.

“It’s true he brought some strange items! But there’s no guarantee they’re artifacts! It’s definitely a trick. You all know how rare artifacts are! A worthless kid finding three of them in an instant?”

As Hank passionately argued, the collectors’ gazes grew increasingly hostile.

But I quietly watched the scene, offering no defense.

I merely observed Hank fervently inciting the nodding collectors.

‘Alright, it’s about time to make my move.’

As the gathered collectors began casting suspicious glances at me, ready to curse me as a filthy slave telling outrageous lies, a piercing sound cut through.

Screech!

The sharp sound of a rusty prosthetic leg moving sliced between the collectors and me.

Stepping forward to defend me was the leader of the collectors, Junk.

Having watched the situation with sharp eyes, he declared in a firm voice.

“No, the items this kid showed are all artifacts.”

Looking at Junk’s plump back as he stepped forward, I recalled the memories of the boy still lingering in me.

‘This fat guy was oddly obsessed with artifacts.’

The boy’s memories in my body revealed that Junk was abnormally fixated on ancient artifacts.

Of course, all collectors were enthusiastic about valuable artifacts, but Junk’s obsession was peculiar.

His office was always filled with all sorts of suspicious artifacts bought from across Scrap City.

Even if they were trivial items barely worthy of being called artifacts, or even objects that had lost all mana and turned into mere scrap, it didn’t matter.

As long as they were from the distant past, he collected them indiscriminately.

No one knew the exact reason for Junk’s obsession.

Only cautious jokes circulated that he might be collecting artifacts to extend his lifespan.

Well aware of their boss’s peculiar taste, the collectors, and even the frenzied Hank, had no choice but to shut their mouths at Junk’s resolute voice.

Junk gave a cold order to the collectors standing by him.

“Search him right now.”

The declaration was so overly calm that Hank didn’t comprehend Junk’s words for quite a while.

As collectors strode forward and firmly grabbed his arms, Hank cried out in despair.

“Boss! How could you… to me! It’s me, Hank, your brother!”

“If you’re truly innocent, shut up and stay still. So, stay still.”

“You’re falling for some filthy kid’s tricks! You’d better be ready if nothing comes up!”

“Be ready, you say?”

At Hank’s bold declaration, Junk’s eyebrow twitched.

Hank flinched under Junk’s fierce gaze but soon gritted his teeth and shouted.

“Honestly, plenty of us are fed up with you! Always holed up with your artifacts while ignoring us! It doesn’t even make sense that you let a mongrel like him stick around for years! Have you lost your mind?”

His voice dripping with venom, Hank spoke as if seizing the moment.

I watched their exchange, feeling like I was enjoying an intriguing play.

‘This is getting interesting.’

Originally, I planned to use the artifacts to escape this hellhole while getting revenge on Hank, but it seemed like an even better opportunity might arise.

As I thought this, Junk spoke in a low, trembling voice of anger.

“Fine… If nothing comes up on you, I’ll step down from this position.”

At Junk’s declaration, the faces of Hank and several collectors lit up.

But the moment Junk’s next words followed, their faces twisted in unison.

“But if something is found on you, as this kid says… you’re dead.”

“Hah! You’re completely taken in by some kid’s tricks.”

Hank, unfazed by Junk’s terrifying declaration, tried to act composed.

At Junk’s nod, the collectors immediately began roughly searching Hank’s body.

Hank, glaring at Junk, didn’t resist the collectors’ hands searching him.

With all eyes focused, a collector rummaging through Hank’s bag shouted loudly.

“Something’s here!”

The collector held up a small, palm-sized notebook.

Seeing the unfamiliar object from his bag, Hank’s face twisted instantly.

“N-no. What the…!”

“Bring it here. Hold him.”

As Hank tried to approach the collector holding the notebook, he was forcefully brought to his knees by rough hands, and Junk, taking the notebook, opened it with utmost caution.

A radiant burst of light erupted from inside the notebook.

Against the backdrop of the collectors’ gasps, the light swirled around Junk’s body before coalescing into a single form, taking on an intricate shape.

Soon, the light transformed into an elegant deer, prancing among the people.

Even Hank, struggling on his knees, watched the scene with a dazed expression.

After weaving through the crowd for a while, the deer leaped back into the notebook, and the light emanating from it vanished without a trace.

Only then did the collectors, as if waking from a dream, regain focus in their eyes.

But Junk still seemed unable to shake off the lingering effect of the light deer.

In a choked voice, he struggled to speak.

“It seems this is indeed an artifact.”

“And not just any artifact, but a remarkably rare one.”

At my added comment, Junk nodded unconsciously.

Seeing him completely taken in, Hank thrashed his limbs in a frenzy.

“Eeeek! This is an outrageous frame-up! I didn’t even see that kid today. How could I have stolen it!”

Hank grew increasingly frantic.

Beads of sweat began forming on his once-composed forehead.

Aware of the collectors’ ferocious gazes, Hank moved his parched lips to make an excuse.

Just then, an unfamiliar voice rose from among the collectors.

“Come to think of it, I saw Hank taking that kid somewhere this morning.”

Hank scanned the crowd with a terrifying, predatory glare.

“What? Who was that? Who just spouted that nonsense!”

But despite his desperate efforts, the owner of the voice showed no sign of appearing.

Junk, as if he had no need to hear more, spoke to me.

“Kid, is what he said true? Did that guy really take you somewhere?”

“Well, you see…”

“Don’t worry, speak freely. He won’t lay a finger on you.”

“Brother!”

The difference in how Junk treated me versus Hank was now stark.

At Junk’s cold gesture, the collectors holding Hank immediately pinned him roughly to the ground.

As Hank screamed, his face scraped against the dirt, I nodded, feigning fear.

“Yes, Master Hank took me away. I clearly told him I had to show the boss the precious items I found… Sob!”

The sob I deliberately inserted had a tremendous effect.

Junk, as if he’d heard enough, waved his hand in fury.

“How dare he! Robbing me! Touching an artifact! Lock him up now! I’ll kill him myself!”

The collectors roughly dragged Hank’s body.

Hank tried to resist, but his firmly held body didn’t budge.

“This, this isn’t right! Something’s wrong. It’s wrong! Boss! Brother! Please, don’t do this!”

I cried out in a blood-frothed voice, but my voice merely echoed vainly among the collectors.

While the seething Junk glared at the dragged-away Hank, I lowered my head, trembling.

Partly to suppress the laughter threatening to burst out, but also because, having only recently awakened, I had overused my meager mana to activate the artifacts.

‘Things will be much easier from now on.’

Satisfied with Junk’s gaze, looking at me as if I were a prized artifact, I fainted from mana exhaustion.