I Became the Hero While Paving a Flower Path for My Niece - Chapter 39

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

The Hero Who Paved the Way with Flowers — Episode 39
With the Magic Circle complete, all that remained was the Mana Stone’s mana, so even with Mana Detection, there was no way to tell who had made it.
But typically, consumables like this were made by the shop assistants.
“This scroll must’ve been made by you.”
At Alex’s remark, Adela behind the counter started in surprise and answered.
“Yes, that’s right! I made it. Though it’s a bit lacking.”
“No, it’s amazing!”
Adela felt something like her flagging confidence lifting a little at the sight of the child’s bright, sparkling eyes.
[Alex, let’s buy some scrolls!]
[I’m curious how Magic Circles work in this world.]
Alex agreed.
It seemed like a good idea to buy a few and give them to Leo as emergency supplies.
After choosing scrolls, they moved on to look at the Magic Tools.
“There’s not much here?”
To Leo, who’d only ever seen boxes overflowing with fruit and vegetables, the Magic Tools arranged one by one seemed unfamiliar.
“Magic Tools are hard to make, so there aren’t many. Usually we bring them in from the Magic Tower Federation.”
“I see. What’s this one, Uncle?”
Alex read the instruction manual aloud.
A Shield-Generating Necklace, a Fireball Ring, a Wind-Producing Music Box….
“This one ignites fire for cooking.”
[It’s basically a gas burner!]
Yibek marveled at the boxy Magic Tool.
[People here think the same way as people there.]
“But it only works twenty times.”
Adela explained.
“The Magic Tower Federation has ones you can use if you replace the Mana Stone, but we haven’t received them at our shop yet.”
Given the distance from the Magic Tower Federation, there was no way to know when they’d arrive.
[That’s wasteful.]
[Though I guess it doesn’t matter if I just ignite fire with magic!]
After looking over the Magic Tools, Alex paid for the Magic Scrolls.
“And twenty Lowest-Grade Mana Stones as well, please.”
“Of course! Just a moment.”
Adela pulled out a box of Mana Stones from beneath the counter. She counted out twenty and set them on top.
“And I’d like to sell this.”
Alex placed a Wolf Monster Fang on the counter.
“It’s a fang from a wolf-type monster.”
“Our uncle caught it!”
“Wow! That’s impressive.”
A Mage who fights monsters.
To Adela, who had only conducted magical research in a laboratory, it was something remarkable.
“Don’t you have any hide or bone?”
“No hide, but the bone is at the inn. It’s too large.”
At Alex’s words, Adela nodded.
She then went to a corner and brought back something that looked like a scale.
[What’s that?]
“What’s that for?” Leo asked, stretching his neck over the counter. Adela smiled at his adorable expression and explained.
“This is a Magic Tool that measures the mana in materials. The stronger the monster, the more expensive the materials are. It checks how much mana is in this fang you’ve brought.”
“Ah, I see!”
[Oh, there’s a Magic Tool for that too?]
Alex suspected that the Magic Tool was developed because the 1st and 2nd Circle shop assistants dispatched to Magic Tool shops often struggled to distinguish quality materials from poor ones.
Adela placed the fang on the scale. A low humming sound came from the device, and the needle moved to the side.
“The price looks to be about this much. Will you sell it?”
At the reasonable price, Alex nodded.
“You mentioned you also have bone? We’d like to purchase that at our shop as well.”
“Yes. I’ll bring it by tomorrow morning.”
After finishing the transaction, Alex and Leo left the Magic Tool shop.
“Thank you. Please visit again. Leo, take care!”
“Goodbye!”
The two customers left, and

Adela, as always, was heading toward the inner study to continue her magical research.
Crash!
“Ugh!”
Of course, the moment she opened the door, the items she’d carelessly crammed inside came tumbling down, sweeping her away in the avalanche.

* * *
After leaving the Blue Tower Magic Tool Shop, Alex went to explore the Market with Leo, stopping at a busy restaurant for dinner along the way.
“Uncle, do you think Jake and his brother met up?”
Leo asked between bites of spaghetti that Alex had placed on his plate.
“Probably. They’re likely having dinner together just like we are.”
“That’d make sense, right?”
Leo broke into a wide smile.

* * *
Back at the Blue Forest Inn, Alex tucked Leo into bed and settled into a chair.
Yibek had suggested that today, instead of Sword Training, they should study Magic Scrolls.
That was the reason.
Besides, he needed to convert the twenty Lowest-Grade Mana Stones he’d bought today into Tracking Mana Stones.
“Done.”
Having practiced a few times already, he managed to create twenty Tracking Mana Stones without difficulty. All that remained was to hand them over to Leo.
[Now it’s my turn?]
[Come on, pull out the scrolls.]
At Yibek’s urging, Alex took out the Magic Scrolls he’d purchased. He’d only bought two 1st Circle spells: Shield and Fire.
[Good.]
[Activate your Mana Detection ability.]
Alex activated Mana Detection.
Immediately, he could sense the mana converted from magical power emanating from the Magic Scroll.
“Wow.”
Alex gasped in wonder.
In the darkened room with only a single candle burning,
luminescent blue magical power drifted across the paper like patterns and characters—a mystical sight resembling a constellation in the night sky.
[Ooh! These are Magic Characters from another world?!]
[The Magic Circle is strange too!]
[That blue ink looks like it was made using Mana Stones….]
Yibek, too, examined the otherworldly Magic Circle with great interest, having never seen one before.
[Hmm.]
[I see!]
“Do you understand what it says?”
[Not at all!]
Alex’s brow furrowed slightly at Yibek’s confident tone despite his ignorance. Yibek chuckled and continued,
[Looks like only words and language get translated, not Magic Characters.]
[Since you don’t understand Magic Characters, I can’t read them either, it seems.]
That made sense.
It seemed plausible.
[And there appear to be unnecessary characters and symbols mixed in too.]
To Alex’s eye, it was all the same anyway.
Certainly, it appeared jumbled together without any discernible pattern.
[Adela’s skill level probably isn’t high enough yet.]
“She’s still just a 2nd Circle Mage.”
[Still, I can roughly grasp the meaning.]
Yibek, this other-world Lich, spoke with confidence.
[It’s like how cooks can predict the flavor of a dish they’ve never seen just by looking at it!]
[I can tell roughly what kind of magic it is just from a glance.]
Alex’s expression softened a bit.
[Still, to understand it more precisely, it seems like you’d need to learn this world’s Magic Characters.]
[How about buying a Magic textbook tomorrow?]
[I’m currently practicing my own magic, so I’m not sure whether I can learn this world’s magic or not, but even just understanding the theory could be helpful.]
[Oh! And a Magic Circle Theory Book too!]
Alex, who had been thinking for a moment, nodded.
“Let’s do that.”
[Let me take another look at that Magic Scroll!]
Yibek analyzed the Magic Scroll through Alex’s eyes.
[Hmm.]
[So that’s how it works!]
Alex barely understood half of Yibek’s muttering and nearly dozed off, but
[Eyes open!]
For Yibek, it was an exhilarating night—the first in a long time when his muscles didn’t ache and his thirst for knowledge could be satisfied.

* * *
The next day.
After stopping by the Blue Tower Magic Tool Shop to sell a Wolf Monster Bone, Alex asked whether they had any Basic Magic Textbooks or Magic Circle Theory Books for sale.
“Oh, are you going to teach Leo?”
Leo, who had been browsing the Magic Tools at the sound of his name, looked up sharply—but quickly realized it wasn’t about him and returned his gaze to the merchandise.
“No. I’m the one who’ll be learning.”
At that, Adela nodded. Since Alex wasn’t affiliated with the Magic Tower Federation, she figured he wanted to solidify his foundations a bit more.
“We do have them. Though they’re a bit pricey.”
Adela recommended two books.
“These two are the textbooks we use when teaching apprentice Mages at our Blue Tower. Of course, some of the important parts are left out.”
[Probably so other Magic Towers don’t steal them.]
“Still, since our Tower Master wrote them, they’ll be really helpful. They were for me too.”
As Adela explained, Alex examined the books she held out.
Introduction to Magic Theory Even Fish Can Understand
Magic Circle Theory Even Crabs Can Draw
[…Why are the titles like this?]
Seeing Alex fall silent at the covers, Adela laughed awkwardly and said,
“The first part was added by our Tower Master, apparently.”
[The one they call the king of the Magic Tower Federation?]
[The strongest Mage alive right now?]
Alex recalled the Blue Tower’s Tower Master from the “future” he’d glimpsed.
That personality certainly fit.
Alex ignored the titles and examined the content.
Of course, it was Yibek who read it.
[The contents are well-made.]
[If someone has talent, they could learn a lot just from reading this book.]
“I’ll take these.”
“Of course. Thank you.”
Adela, whose business had been good these past two days, answered with a bright smile.
Ding.
After buying the two Magic Textbooks, Alex headed to the Mercenary Guild with Leo, hoping there might be some decent commissions around here or toward the mid-tier dungeons.
“It’s huge!”
Though it was only a two-story building, the Mercenary Guild was larger than Caldis’s territory.
Alex pushed open the door and approached the bulletin board where requests were posted.
Just then.
“…Uncle Alex! Leo!”
A small voice called out to the two of them.
Reflexively turning his head to look,
“Jake?”
“Jake?”
Jake stood there, looking even more disheveled than yesterday, hugging a bundle and draped in a blanket, his face tear-stained.
“What are you doing here?”
Leo bolted toward Jake in shock. Alex was about to follow when
“Do you know him?”
the Mercenary Guild receptionist, who had been checking the bulletin board, asked.
“Yes.”
“He’s been standing out front since dawn. Says he was waiting for someone.”
So the receptionist had called Jake inside, given him warm water and a blanket, and let him wait within the building.
In return, Jake had tidied up the trash the mercenaries left scattered and straightened the overturned chairs.
“Good kid. I don’t know what’s going on, but take good care of him.”
“Yes. Thank you very much.”
At Alex’s gratitude, the receptionist waved his hand dismissively and headed back to the counter.
[Why is he alone?]
[What about his brother? He said he was going to meet his brother?]
That’s what I thought too.
Alex hurried over to the two children. Jake was gripping Leo’s hand tightly.
“Jake, what’s wrong?”
“It’s… hic.”
Jake opened his mouth, his voice trembling with tears.

* * *
Several years ago.
Jake’s family had fled from another territory to Brodell Territory to escape taxes.
It was unthinkable that fugitive commoners would possess any land.
So Jake’s family ventured into the forest and settled in the Slash-and-Burn Settlement Village.
But the village had poor productivity, and with the dangers of wild animals and monsters, it was a difficult place to live.
It had gotten by well enough until his parents passed away from illness, and then only his newly-adult brother and he remained — and things grew harder.
It was difficult to ask for help from the villagers, who themselves struggled to feed their own families.
Then one day.
A wandering peddler who sold goods in the Slash-and-Burn Settlement Village told Jake’s brother there was a way to earn a great sum of money.
‘We’ll earn money and buy land and a house in a village near the Lord’s Castle! Then we’ll be safe and live much more comfortably!’
‘Really?’
‘Yes. So Jake, you wait here until I return. I’ll be back soon!’
With those words, Jake’s brother set out toward Brodell Lord’s Castle.
And a month had passed without him returning. No word either.
“Some people said my brother made a lot of money and didn’t come back… but he would never do something like that.”
Even when they were younger, his brother had always let Jake eat first, even when there wasn’t much. There was no way such a brother would abandon him.
So Jake gathered what food there was at home — though there was hardly any — and set out toward Brodell Lord’s Castle.
Setting aside the suspicion and fear of being abandoned, at least for now.
Hoping his brother would laugh and greet him warmly, saying he’d been too busy with work to send word, asking how Jake had managed to come all this way.
Walking forward with courage.
[That took guts.]
Alex silently handed Jake a cup of water.
“Thank you….”
Jake’s throat had grown parched from speaking, and he drained the water in one gulp. Leo squeezed Jake’s hand tightly.
“Yesterday, I went to the meeting place my brother told me about.”

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