Mythology: Ragnarok

After the dungeon was destroyed, the Archmage King of Augustus immediately announced the good news and the whole country celebrated. At the same time, Agreed, who was the discoverer and participant, and the legendary mages were summoned to the palace for commendation.

Entering the luxurious palace crafted from mithril, Agreed was summoned to the main hall. Following etiquette, Agreed knelt and bowed, proclaiming, "Great King of Mages, your humble subject Agreed Rael hereby expresses my highest respect to you."

The mage king, seated on the mithril throne, which resembled the Iron Throne, looked at Agreed kneeling on the ground and waved his hand, saying, "Rise, young hero who saved my Augustus. I have heard of your deeds. Very good, very good! It is our good fortune to have a young talent like you in Augustus."

In the following time, the mage king praised Agred highly, and then began the ceremony of awarding and bestowing titles.

"I, Ackerman Kallesto Augustus, the 244th Mage King of the Augustus Empire, hereby bestow upon Agred Rael the honor of First-Class Chief Mage in recognition of his merit in discovering the hidden dangers of the dungeon and participating in its subjugation. He is granted the qualification to study in the library of the Mage Tower, and is also rewarded with fifty top-grade magic crystals as encouragement!"

Argreed quickly expressed his gratitude, saying, "Thank you, great Mage King, for your great gift!"

After expressing his gratitude, Agreed stood up and waited to the side. The Mage King then conferred titles upon the next meritorious person. Half a day later, under the setting sun, Agreed rubbed his stiff thighs and walked out of the conferment hall. After warming up his muscles, Agreed slowly walked out of the palace. When he came out, he was holding a spatial ring that the palace had bestowed upon him, containing the fifty top-grade magic crystals and his medal of honor.

Upon seeing the ring, Agred felt that spending half a day here, feigning friendship with the Mage King, was worthwhile. Moreover, he had gained the right to freely enter and exit the Mage Tower's library from now on. The thought of royal treasures was exciting. Agred rubbed his hands together and licked his lips, wishing he could dive into the library and read it until the world turned upside down.

However, Agreed abandoned the idea. It was getting late, so he decided to go tomorrow and there was no need to rush.

As he was walking home, a mischievous, petite figure suddenly appeared in front of him and called out, "Great hero, why are you still so dejected after receiving the reward? Don't you even know how to treat your friends to a good meal?"

Agreed glanced at her and smiled with delight, "Hepburn?! What brings you here? I thought you'd been staying home lately."

Hepburn pursed her lips and said, "What, can't I come to you?"

Agreed quickly waved his hand and said, "No, no, I just didn't expect you to come looking for me, I'm just surprised."

Hepburn walked over, took his arm, and said, "Since I risked sneaking out, aren't you going to treat me to a proper meal?"

Agreed's mouth almost stretched to his ears as he smiled and agreed, "No problem, no problem, let's go."

……

The following days were very simple. Due to his participation in the siege of the dungeon and his great contributions, the Adventurers' Guild directly upgraded Agred to the Steel level. Agred then completed the Academy's mission and found himself with nothing to do.

So Agreed would spend his days studying in the library of the mage tower, occasionally taking Hepburn out to play and teaching her cultivation along the way. At night, he would practice the two sets of techniques he had created and constantly improve them by combining them with what he had learned during the day.

Days passed by, and before he knew it, the familiar holiday had arrived. Agreed returned to the cozy cabin that he and Milton had funded to renovate. As soon as he opened the door, he saw Milton staring at him with a big, warm smile.

“I swear, if you ever see that smile again, I’ll beat you up!” Agreed threatened, half-jokingly, looking at Milton (or rather, the smile on his face) with disgust.

Milton scoffed, "Oh, you're shy now? When you made me feel like a third wheel, so embarrassed I could dig my toes out of a three-bedroom apartment, didn't you ever think about how you'd end up like this? How far have you and your junior sister gotten?"

Agreed corrected, "I'll say it again, there's no possibility between her and me. Stop saying these things. If you're feeling horny and want to date, find someone yourself. What's the point of you prying into my life?"

Milton waved his hand and said, "Forget it, women will only slow down my enchanting speed. If it's impossible as you say, why haven't you rejected her yet? If she comes knocking on your door again this holiday, are you going to welcome her? Or welcome her? Or... welcome her?"

"I...you...we really are just fellow disciples."

"You mean you never had any other thoughts, and just wanted to make friends with this person with a pure heart? You even kindly took this person out to eat, drink, and have fun every day, and even guided them in learning magic like a loving father?"

Agred shouted angrily, "I admit, who doesn't have a little crush on someone of the opposite sex? But, but, I really won't cross the line of friendship right now."

Milton raised an eyebrow mischievously and said, "Oh? What if she takes the initiative?"

“There’s no such thing as ‘what if’, I think you’re just asking for a beating!” Agreed went up and jokingly started wrestling with Milton.

Milton quickly smiled and surrendered, saying, "I was wrong, I was wrong, okay, okay, I won't ask anymore, alright?"

Just as the two grown men were still bickering like children, the door to the cabin rang again. Milton and Agreed immediately fell silent. Milton winked smugly and said at the same time, "Go on, welcome them in."

Speechless, Agreed walked to the door and opened it. There she was again, the familiar beauty. So, for the rest of the holiday, Agreed spent another happy time with Hepburn, playing and learning at the same time.

For Agred, this life was like a dream. Sometimes he was afraid that he and Hepburn would go their separate ways after the fifth grade, but neither of them expected that this life would end much sooner than they anticipated.

It was in the middle of the first semester of the third year when a bombshell announcement caused an uproar throughout Augustus: the Mage King was to arrange a political marriage with the Church of Light, and the two engaged were Kara Salvia Cain, the eldest son of the Pope of the Church of Light who had come to study, and Hepburn Isabel Augustus, the youngest daughter of the Mage King.

The news came like a bolt from the blue, and people talked about it with great interest, but the strongest reaction came from Agred and Hepburn.