I Became the Hero While Paving a Flower Path for My Niece - Chapter 26

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Spoiling My Younger Cousin Turned Me Into a Hero — Episode 26
That night.
“Today was absolutely amazing, Uncle! The outing was so fun and the lunch was delicious and the village from the top of the stone tower looked so incredibly cool and the Fireworks Magic was so so beautiful!”
Leo, brimming with excitement, chattered away merrily as he washed up, changed into his pajamas, and climbed into bed.
‘It was an incredible day, I’ll admit.’
‘But I think my ears are going to start bleeding.’
Even for Ibaeq, keeping up with a six-year-old’s energy proved difficult.
“You’ll get to see plenty of wonderful places in the future.”
“Really? Yay! I’m so excited! Uncle, where are we going? Will we go to the sea?”
“We’ll have to visit the sea.”
Watching Leo’s sky-blue eyes sparkle as he imagined all the places they’d visit, it was clear sleep was the last thing on his mind.
“It’s time for bed now, Leo.”
Alex, deftly catching Leo as he thrashed about in bed like a freshly caught fish, tucked him under the blankets and patted him gently with a smile.
“Come on, close your eyes.”
“Okay!”
Leo squeezed his eyes shut. But his mouth remained curved in a smile.
“Hehe!”
Alex patted Leo’s belly, and gradually the child’s laughter faded.
‘He’s asleep.’
After playing so hard all day, Leo drifted off quickly.
Once Leo was asleep, Alex sat at the table by the window and began unpacking the luggage he’d brought from the Carriage.
‘What are you doing?’
“Making a pouch to hold the Paralysis Powder.”
Clean cloth, needle, thread, and scissors were laid out on the table.
‘Right, you said you were giving it to Leo?’
‘But since it’s just a Lowest-Grade Mana Stone, the effect probably won’t be that strong.’
“If I used something too powerful and Leo threw it wrong, it could be dangerous. This will be enough.”
‘I see.’
Alex also took out the Paralysis Powder and some soil.
‘Why the soil?’
“To make practice pouches for him to train with. If he practices until it becomes second nature, his body will move on instinct before his mind catches up — that’ll help him a lot.”
‘That makes sense.’
Lich agreed.
‘But you’re making these yourself? You know how to sew?’
“Of course. I’ve been mending Leo’s clothes all this time.”
When Leo was a baby, Alex had relied on the village women’s help, but since learning to sew, he’d put the skill to good use.
“If I want them to fit Leo’s hand size, I have to make them myself.”
Alex held the cloth against the sleeping child’s small hand to measure it.
“Hehe….”
Perhaps tickled by the fabric, Leo smiled even in his sleep, and both Alex and Lich couldn’t help but smile along with him.
Snip, snip.
Beneath the moonlight streaming through the window, Alex’s scissors worked with practiced ease as he sewed the cut cloth.
‘So there’s no Poison Magic or Weakening Magic here?’
‘I didn’t recognize the faces of Jak or Young Lord So.’
“The Holy Kingdom suppresses magic used by the Demon Race and Black Mages, so many people still don’t know about it.”
Black Mages.
Those who contracted with the Demon Race and gained tremendous power.
Because of this, they became the limbs of the Demon Race and led the charge in the continent’s destruction.
They were naturally entities the Holy Kingdom had to deal with.
‘Ah, I see.’
‘They must have hidden it very thoroughly.’
Such thoroughness from the Holy Kingdom — Alex wondered how they would react if they discovered that Lich’s soul resided within his body.
Alex let out a sigh he’d grown used to and continued sewing.
“By the way, is there a way to learn Tracking Magic?”
‘Tracking Magic?’
‘Are you planning to place it on Leo?’
“Yeah. Whenever I go to places like the Dungeon, there’ll be times he’s alone.”
He intended to leave Leo in places he could trust as much as possible, but the future was uncertain. There was always the risk of kidnapping or accidents like him getting lost.
‘It exists, but you can’t learn it at the 1st Circle.’
At Lich’s words, Alex felt disappointed. Even so, his hands didn’t stop sewing.
[Try using Mana Detection instead.]
“Mana Detection? But wouldn’t all mana be the same, so I couldn’t tell them apart?”
A Swordsman’s Aura or a Mage’s Magical Power differed slightly, making them distinguishable, but ordinary people’s mana—their life force—all appeared the same blue, making it difficult to tell apart.
[That’s why you have to leave a Mana Trace behind.]
“A Mana Trace?”
Alex, who had just finished one pouch and was carefully adding Paralysis Powder to it, asked the question.
[When you use magic, a residue of magical power gets left behind. That’s what we call a Mana Trace.]
“Ah, that.”
Alex had seen that often enough in the “future.”
Whenever a river ran dry or a fire broke out, the mages would investigate the area and discover that a Black Mage had been responsible.
“So you just follow that trail, then.”
[Exactly! Like Hansel and Gretel!]
[Except with Mana instead of bread.]
“…What’s that?”
[Tsk, not knowing this masterpiece of a fairy tale.]
[Want me to tell you the story?]
Ibaeq began eagerly, his voice bright with excitement. Alex shook his head while making another pouch.
“No, let’s just focus on the tracking method first.”
[Right. Got it.]
[You give Leo a few Lowest-Grade Mana Stones with your mana infused in them.]
[And tell him to break them when things get dangerous.]
“That’ll leave a Mana Trace, then?”
Ibaeq nodded in response to Alex’s question.
[Exactly. When a cup full of water breaks, the water spills out through the cracks and flows across the floor, right? It’s like that.]
Suddenly.
He remembered Leo coming home from playing by the stream all afternoon, leaving wet footprints as he wandered through the house.
‘Leo, where are you! Wipe up this water! You’ll catch a cold!’
‘Hehehehe!’
‘Leo! Come out before I count to three! One—two—!’
And himself, chasing after with a towel in hand.
“So you follow that water, that Mana Trace.”
[Right. As long as Leo carries the broken Mana Stone, your mana will keep flowing out until it’s completely drained.]
[A trace that ordinary people—not brilliant mages—can’t even see or erase.]
“That’s good.”
If anyone could erase traces, finding Leo would be much harder.
[But it’ll fade with time, so you need to be careful about that.]
“Understood.”
Having made five pouches of Paralysis Powder, Alex made two dirt pouches as well. The practice pouches were stitched carefully so they could withstand repeated throws.
“Done.”
Once the pouches were finished, Alex took out several Lowest-Grade Mana Stones to prepare the Tracking Mana Stone.
“How do I do this?”
[First, you need to empty the mana from the Mana Stone.]
“Empty the mana?”
Alex asked, sounding confused.
[Basically, a Mana Stone already has mana inside it.]
[Like a battery. Though, I guess there are no batteries here, right?]
“That’s right.”
Alex nodded, half-listening to the mention of this other world.
[You can’t pour wine into a bottle that already has water in it, so first you have to empty the bottle.]
Alex, who understood, spoke up.
“Then I’d just use magic.”
Using magic would be the most reliable way to drain the mana.
[Right. And let’s use this chance to learn how to use a Mana Stone properly.]
[Next time when you run low on mana, use a Mana Stone. Don’t squeeze your poor Circle dry.]
“…Okay.”
Alex smiled ruefully and listened to Ibaeq’s explanation.
[It’s not difficult. You absorb the mana from the Mana Stone and fill your mana channels with it.]
[But don’t send it all the way to your heart Circle.]
Alex tried it exactly as Ibaeq instructed.
Holding a Lowest-Grade Mana Stone in hand, he drew in the mana inside it. Tiny currents of mana flowed into his body.
“Ugh.”
Then it happened.
The tainted quality of the Mana made Alex wince without thinking.
[Hahahaha!]
[Crude Mana, right? That’s just what Lowest-Grade Mana Stones are like.]
[The purity is filthy. Like stagnant rainwater pooled at the bottom of a ditch. You *could* drink it if you were desperately thirsty, but normally you wouldn’t.]
Now Alex understood why mages were so fussy about Mana Stone purity.
[I didn’t send it to your heart’s Circle for that exact reason. The Mana’s too crude.]
[Later, if you get Spirit Medicine or mid-grade Mana Stones or better, you can send those to your heart’s Circle.]
[Though you’ll need to filter it first, of course.]
Ibaeq continued enthusiastically.
[But Highest-Grade Mana Stones you can use as-is. It’s almost like a second heart. Absolutely incredible!]
[Ah, Demon Energy—think of it like sewage. Drink it and you’re guaranteed to get sick.]
[All right!]
[Enough explanation. Let’s try it now.]
At Ibaeq’s word, Alex smoothed the frown from his face and moved the Mana within the Lowest-Grade Mana Stone.
Strange as it was, he could distinguish his own Mana from the stone’s.
If his heart’s Mana was a perfectly tamed horse of his own making, then the Mana Stone’s Mana felt like riding someone else’s horse for the first time—and the natural Mana around him felt like a wild stallion.
That strange, subtle feeling of riding another’s steed.
Alex concentrated as hard as he could, gripping the reins of this awkwardly foreign horse.
Then the Mana Stone’s Mana began to move according to Alex’s will.
“Fire.”
A small flame flickered into existence in empty air.
It was smaller and weaker than any Fire Alex had cast before.
At the same time, the Lowest-Grade Mana Stone’s Mana began to drain rapidly. Despite barely using it, the stone’s Mana vanished almost instantly.
“Now I see why Lowest-Grade Mana Stones are so cheap.”
Alex spoke, staring at the now-emptied Lowest-Grade Mana Stone.
[Right. That’s why they’re usually ground into powder and used as material for Magic Circles or experiments.]
Now that he thought about it.
Alex recalled the mages from the “future,” grinding Lowest-Grade and Low-Grade Mana Stones into powder to build a massive defensive Magic Circle.
‘Are we there yet?!’
‘Wait, wait—!’
‘We’re dying out here too!’
They’d suffered terribly because their basic stamina was weak.
And yet the Hero Leo and his companions, along with the knights, couldn’t help them either.
‘It must not break through!’
‘I will go!’
They’d been too busy holding back the swarms of monsters.
Alex smiled bitterly at the memory—one he’d rather forget.
[Now pour your own Mana into the empty stone.]
“Got it.”
Alex picked up the now-transparent Lowest-Grade Mana Stone and moved his own Mana, letting it flow into the stone.
At the same time, he activated Mana Detection.
The transparent Lowest-Grade Mana Stone began to fill with verdant Mana from the bottom up—he could feel it happening.
[Fill it right to the edge.]
[That makes the stone unstable, so it’ll shatter more easily.]
“Isn’t that dangerous?”
[For a six-year-old to break, you want it that weak.]
“Ah. Right.”
Certainly, Leo would have a hard time breaking a stone that was properly solid.
[I’ve got a plan for everything!]
[Oh, but if you fill it too full, it’ll shatter anyway?]
What was he supposed to make of that.
Still, Alex did his best to fill the Lowest-Grade Mana Stone right to the verge of shattering.
[Done!]
The stone now glowed nearly full with verdant Mana, visible even to Alex’s eyes.
[I can’t believe you got it right the first try!]
[See? You really do have a talent for handling Mana.]
Alex looked at his Lowest-Grade Mana Stone, now brimming with his own Mana.
A stone gleaming with pale-green light.
“…But why on earth is it green?”
[I think it might be because of me.]
Ibaeq, who possessed green Mana, chuckled and spoke.
[All right. Let’s fill in the rest too!]
Listening to Ibaeq’s words, Alex picked up the next Lowest-Grade Mana Stone.
Beneath the moonlight.
An uncle carefully pouring his Mana into the stones for the safety of his beloved nephew.

* * *
The next morning.
It was the day Alex and Leo would depart.
As he had done until now, Alex finished his Swordsmanship training in the inn’s backyard, organized the Carriage’s luggage, and checked on Max’s condition.
“We’re leaving today, Max. I’m counting on you.”
Neigh—
Max, who had been eating feed, whinnied loudly as if understanding. Alex laughed and patted the horse’s neck.
Once his preparations were complete, Alex climbed to the second floor. There he found Leo already awake, gazing out the window.
[Even from behind, you can see how gloomy he is.]
That’s true.
Alex smiled wryly and called to Leo.
“Leo, you’re up?”
“Yeah… Did you sleep well, Uncle?”
Leo managed to greet him despite his glumness, and both Alex and Ibaeq laughed.
“I slept great. How about you?”
“…I only slept a little.”
[Only a little, he says.]
Ibaeq giggled.
[Last night he was so excited, but now that morning’s here and it’s really goodbye, I guess it’s sinking in.]
Alex sat beside Leo and pulled out a Map.
It was a map of the eastern region.
“Leo, do you know where we’re going?”
“No.”
Alex pointed with his finger to a small Fiefdom in the upper left—Caldis.
“This is the Caldis Fiefdom where we are now.”
Leo, who had been gloomy, perked up at the sight of the map, his sky-blue eyes sparkling.
[Of course it’s a medieval fantasy map. They’ve just roughly marked the Fiefdom locations.]
[How are we supposed to find our way with this?]
Well, we’ll just have to go slowly. What else can we do?
Alex smiled wryly and traced a winding path with his finger from Caldis to the Royal Capital, Mitera.
“We’ll follow the road like this all the way to the Royal Capital, Mitera.”
“The Royal Capital! Mitera! I’ve heard of it. That’s where the King lives, right? And the Princess and Prince too!”
“That’s right. And there’s a huge castle there.”
“Wow!”
Leo’s eyes sparkled at the sight of the Royal Capital marked so much larger than Caldis. The sadness about parting seemed to have faded considerably.
“And today we’re going to camp out too.”
[Oh! Camping!]
[A campfire!]
“Camping! Sleeping outside, right?”
“Right. We’ll gather branches and make a fire, eat, and look at the stars in the night sky.”
That was something from long ago, before settling in Belo Village.
It was something his sister, barely a teenager then, had done for Alex when he was young.
‘Back then we didn’t even have a Carriage.’
Two orphans wandered the streets, relying on each other. But those times weren’t painful or difficult—all of that was thanks to his sister.
“Wow! That sounds like so much fun!”
Watching Leo’s joy, Alex couldn’t help but smile.
[A child’s heart changes so quickly.]
That’s for sure.
Still, he was grateful that Leo’s sadness hadn’t lingered long.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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