The Male Lead Is Obsessed With My Health – Chapter 242

Author: Asternkm

The Albert Imperial Palace was protected by a powerful barrier capable of nullifying most artifacts and magic.

It was said to have been laid down by the First Archmage himself—revered as a god among mages—and had safeguarded the palace for generations.

That’s probably why Pession felt reassured.

But who am I?

The direct disciple of a Grand Archmage.

A certified genius recognized by the Mage Tower, blessed by every single star.

I wasn’t being arrogant—since I had completely analyzed the barrier’s mana, I activated my spell with full confidence that I could push through even if it interfered.

“Still… this easily?”

I thought it would fail at least two or three times.

But it worked in one go, to my own surprise.

“No, wait—the barrier isn’t interfering with my magic at all…?”

Interfering? Hardly.

The barrier’s mana actively helped me.

Thanks to that, I arrived safely at the Mage Tower—but that only made things more serious.

The mana that resonated with mine when the barrier assisted my spell was identical to the mana my master had transferred to me during my treatment.

Why…?

There was only one conclusion to draw.

“So the First Archmage really is connected to my master?”

Both were Grand Archmages, so some connection was inevitable—but all the small feelings of unease I’d had while living with my master suddenly snapped together like puzzle pieces.

Don’t tell me they’re the same person…?

Now that I was a full-fledged member of the Mage Tower, I was well aware of its Three Great Stains. I hadn’t just learned magic during my treatment—I’d studied magical history diligently, too.

The murder of the Mage God.

And the imperfect Mage God created through the experiments that followed.

But—

If the Mage God who was killed was the First Archmage, and my master is the imperfect Mage God… then it makes no sense that mages would revere my master the way they do now, does it?

The Star’s Nightmare was an existence that destroyed and shattered all stars. That clearly didn’t apply to my master, who was loved by the stars.

Still, my master wasn’t just any mage—he was an immortal.

In that case, wasn’t it more reasonable to assume that my master was actually the First Archmage who had once been praised as the Mage God?

Could it be that the Mage God was never killed at all?

It felt like the list of things I needed to ask my master after rescuing my dad was growing longer by the minute.

I’d only planned to hear a short story about his past.

“Have you arrived?”

A mage from the tower appeared just then, snapping me out of my thoughts.

“Will you be departing immediately?”

“No. I’m going to see my master first. Ah—before that, I need to go buy a few things.”

First, bread and drinks.

And while I was at it, a couple of teddy bears.

“…Why teddy bears?”

Not only the Mage Tower mages, but even the high-ranking mages of the Sky Tower stared at me in confusion as I showed up hugging teddy bears.

“Our master gets lonely easily, so I bought these to fill the space while I’m gone.”

“…? Who gets lonely easily?”

“Our master. What if he gets lonely without me? Hah—if I don’t take care of him, he’ll probably skip meals again and just stare at the stars.”

“Are you… talking about the Grand Master right now, Arellin?”

“No, this sounds like a completely different person to me.”

The mages tilted their heads in unison.

This was how the mages saw my master: the lofty, worldly-detached, ideal and perfect teacher—the great archmage!

Tsk tsk. These people really don’t know my master yet.

For reference, this is how I see him:

A chronic lazybones who teleports everywhere because walking is too much work, a grumpy-but-caring old man, and a truth-obsessed hermit who only looks at the stars.

Honestly, how did this man even survive if he hadn’t been a Grand Archmage?

****

I had only gone to say goodbye to my master before leaving, but somehow I ended up with a whole group heading to Gairen with me.

“Master Jemello?”

“Why callin’ me?”

A man of few words with a strange way of speaking—the mage most obsessed with research even within the Sky Tower.

He was the most proactive when it came to developing new magic, and before I appeared, he had been widely considered the greatest genius in the Mage Tower. That was Jemello.

“I’m not goin’ because of you. The imperial family requested it, so I’m investigatin’.”

“Yes, I know.”

“The anomalies in Gairen are interestin’. They say it’s a ruin eruption—know anything?”

“If I did, do you think I’d be standing around like this?”

“Fair point. Still got a long way to go before you catch up to me in research.”

“Yes, yes.”

The investigation team had departed later than planned because there was a lot to prepare, so we normally wouldn’t have overlapped. But since I got briefly held up by Pession, our schedules lined up.

Excluding me, the team—one high-ranking mage and ten regular mages—arrived in Gairen with remarkable ease.

“Why use a warp gate? You can just use spatial transfer.”

“Most people can’t use spatial transfer, you know……”

When I first used it, they nearly lost their minds, demanding to know how I’d done it because spatial transfer was supposed to be high-tier magic. Honestly, mages were a funny bunch.

Still, it’s nice not being alone. At least I won’t be bored.

“Then I’ll go speak with the dispatched knights.”

“Go on.”

High-ranking mages usually didn’t like stepping forward, so whenever an investigation team was sent out at an external request, a separate mage was assigned to handle negotiations.

“So that’s Gairen……”

Hearing about it was one thing, but seeing an entire city wrapped in an opaque dome was quite overwhelming—especially knowing we had to go inside.

“Not scared?”

“Not really.”

“I—I’m not scared either!”

You look scared, though……

Still, mages were as cowardly as they were curious, so I decided to be generous and let it slide.

“But why do you talk like that?”

“Easier to understand. Economical.”

“I see.”

I had no idea what that meant.

“By the way, I haven’t seen Master Robert lately. Do you know where he went?”

Jemello rolled his eyes.

“That guy? Who knows. He said he found some ruins a few years back, then vanished.”

“Ruins?”

“Woulda been nice if he were here! Coulda dumped the work on him!”

Sir, your persona is falling apart.

I thought he’d volunteered out of passion for research, but it seemed he’d actually been saddled with the job due to some internal power dynamics in the Sky Tower.

Meanwhile, the mages—excluding the one sent to negotiate—returned after taking preliminary measurements.

“The mana flow is stable. Mana density is about three times the average. The dome appears to be a barrier—specifically, a city defense barrier from the southern Mage Tower… though the reason for its activation is unknown.”

“Obvious. They said it was a ruin eruption, right? The barrier activated automatically to contain hazardous materials leaking from inside. Probably triggered at the same time as the eruption.”

“Is entry possible?”

Instead of answering, Jemello deployed several magic circles.

All of them were detection spells—large-scale magic that scanned the entire city. The sheer spectacle drew gasps of admiration from the surrounding mages.

It was grand enough that anyone watching would be impressed.

“?”

Jemello looked at me, his eyes full of mischief.

“What does our genius mage think?”

You’re asking me now?

All the mages turned to look at me. It was more than enough pressure for anyone—but……

“If the barrier is designed to prevent things from escaping from the inside, then entering from the outside should be relatively easy, shouldn’t it?”

“Correct.”

Jemello chuckled approvingly. Just then, the mage who had gone into the tent returned.

“I’ve finished speaking with the dispatched knights. We’re clear to enter.”

At that, Jemello shouted excitedly, tension written all over his face.

“Then let’s dig in! Let’s find out what the hell happened to this city!”