~~~

It was due to the existence of an archmage with a monster-like talent called 'Simon Terroan.

He was someone who stood alongside Kalia, a hero revered as 'The Iron Lady' and 'The Goddess of War.'

Simon Terroan was a once-in-a-century type of wizard.

His silver hair was something only those who crossed the line of 'Enlightenment' (1) were allowed to possess and it was proof of his abilities.

TL Note (1): Enlightenment is a level of magic wizards in this world can obtain

In the almost 700 years of imperial history, Simon was the only one who passed Enlightenment at the young age of twenty and he also inherited the breathtaking beauty of his ancestors, the Elf Race!

There were no women in the empire who had not imagined what it'd be like to fall in love with him except for only one.

The problem was, the one in question was the one that Simon loved.

Either way, the thought that one could work with a wizard so powerful and beautiful for a century and possibly leave behind a legacy of achievements together was inevitably the reason the imperial department of magic saw an increase in size and popularity among young wizards.

Though he was like a main character, his colleagues who worked alongside him treated him as if he were the devil.

In fact, the business trip this time had been expected to take about a month.

The business trip agenda was brutal. During that month, they were scheduled to visit 7 cities, repair 17 magic circles and visit 3 magic branches for meetings. However, it was Simon Terroan who mercilessly cut the duration of the schedule in half from a month to fourteen days. All the work from the initial month-long schedule was crammed into a short 2 week period.

He busted through the vice minister's blood-like magic circles (2).

TL Note (2): I think this is referring to the magic circles Simon had to repair…

Even if we lost against a 12th class (3), we just entered the 8th class! Scoundrel! Dirty man! Eat all by yourself you pretty-looking bastard!'

TL Note (3): I was very confused tl-ing this sentence. My Korean editor said the raws literally said 12th class. I'm assuming it means someone of the 12th rank (in magic power).

The curses stayed stuck in their throats because they couldn't utter them aloud.

He was a being born into an era of great power…

Not only was he highly ranked, but he also had a great talent for magic. They couldn't go against a man who was so loved by God.

Those with a bad temper, were late with their work or made excuses without valid reason, were all demoted on the spot.

The only one who could raise his head in front of Simon to express his opinion was the torrei (4), Derek. However, even he was useless right now because he was listless these days.

TL Note (4): torrei is slang for crazy person

Simon's mood had been fluctuating up and down these past few months after the trouble that Derek had caused with his masterpiece.

'…No, it couldn't have failed (5).' TL Note (5): here, the 'it' that Derek is referring to his masterpiece

That pink scroll really was his masterpiece.

The scroll prodigy, otherwise known as the genius mage, Derrick Descartes, had honed his love spell to the fullest with all his might and written it into the pink scroll.

Ah~ The magic of lust. When a heart holds feelings of love as small as even an earthworm, with the scroll, those feelings could be amplified to be as big as a golden dragon!

It was a powerful scroll with no secondary side-effects because it was based on the 'feelings' you harbored, not on hypnosis or psychic shackles.

'I studied for 165 days and stayed up 7 nights to make this…!'

Whether it was friendship or brotherhood, General Kalia had feelings for Simon so Derek was sure that she would react to the scroll.

Not to mention, Simon had no intention of hiding his feelings6.

TL Note (6): Derek created a magic scroll where if both parties that tore it had even slight feelings towards each other, it will arouse lust within them. Above, he's saying that Kalia had feelings for Simon (or at the very least, considers him a very important person to her) and Simon himself made no effort to hide his feelings towards her. Thus, he believes his scroll couldn't have possibly failed, unless…

"Get rid of it. I don't need something like this, Derek," Simon flatly refused, but Derek left it nicely wrapped in his lab.

The next day, when he went to look for the scroll, it had already been accidentally triggered.

The problem was, even though it was activated, it seemed to have been activated incorrectly.

Originally, the scroll should have elevated the surrounding temperature with blinding sparks which, in turn, should have triggered heart pounding, eye blurring and whitening effects.

The scroll should have caused a situation so dramatic that they (7) couldn't help but stare blankly at each other.

TL Note (7): Derek is referring to the 2 people who triggered the scroll. In this case, Simon and Kalia.

So, why- why the hell did Simon's lab become messy to the extent it seemed like a battlefield?