The Knight Who Devours Magic - 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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Episode 26. If We Meet Again Next Time……
“Why of all times…….”
Playing an active role in subjugating his enemies was something he had wanted.
But the circumstances were not favorable.
“It’s good for you too. Unless the Demon Cult bastards have lost their minds, they won’t touch Roanna and her group at this juncture.”
His father’s words weren’t wrong, either.
‘Roanna is planning to run away…….’
Muno swallowed the words that had risen to his throat and studied his father with a long look.
Given the time of year, his father’s frame appeared slightly fuller than usual, which only made his smile seem all the warmer.
“Why are you looking at me like that all of a sudden?”
“Ah, it’s nothing.”
A thoughtful and capable father.
A benefactor who had given him the family that Han Mun-ho from his past life had so desperately longed for.
And yet Muno’s father, Ryan Drasen, was a knight through and through.
A loyal knight who followed Count Enoch Trian, the “Bulwark of the North.”
If he learned of Roanna’s escape plan, the chance he would help…….
‘Was almost nothing.’
Even less so if he knew that Princess Roanna might actually go to ‘that person’ and influence the succession to the throne.
So he had decided to keep that plan to himself alone.
But there was one problem he couldn’t avoid.
If Roanna and her group disappeared after leaving Drasen, it would be Trian’s soldiers guarding her who would face the most difficulty.
But now he himself had been included in that force.
What’s more, as probably the only outsider among them, he would likely be suspected first if the princess vanished.
No matter how he thought about it, this was…….
‘……a disaster.’
If he went back quietly to Trian for now and convinced her to escape later, would Roanna agree?
– But if she went back, she might not be able to leave again until her marriage was decided…….
……There was no way that would happen.
“What is it? Do you have something to say?”
“No, sir. I’ll prepare as instructed.”
“You seem like you do.”
“I’m fine.”
“……Well. I trust you’ll do well, but beyond our lands, you are the face of Drasen. Be especially careful about your conduct.”
“Of course.”
“This is your first time leaving Drasen, isn’t it. I understand the desire to see the world, but I hope you don’t get recklessly excited and bungle the task.”
“No, what do you take me for…….”
“What do I take you for? A foolish son seeking freedom and running away from home, that’s what.”
That struck home.
“…….”
“If I had my way, I’d marry you off to Lady Karina right here and send you on your way…….”
“Eh!?”
“Well, Lady Karina has her own thoughts on the matter. Do your best while you’re gone.”
……That was unexpected.
“Why are you so shocked? It seems both you and she have feelings for each other. I’d like to see my daughter-in-law soon.”
“Ha. Haha……. That is…….”
Cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
He couldn’t very well tell him that his future bride was planning to disappear with the princess soon.
At that, his father chuckled and gave his shoulder a light tap.
“Just joking. As I promised, I won’t rush you, so just come back safe. Be especially careful.”
“……Yes. I understand.”
Should he be more cautious of the Demon Cult, or of the Trian family?
Muno’s chest filled with nothing but worry.
* * *
A series of terrorist acts by a mage in the Drasen domain.
It was enough to rouse the vigilance of Trian, which had grown complacent since the incident ten years prior.
Ryan Drasen had not wanted to cancel the Hunt Festival, but after the attack by the 4th Circle mage, most of the nobility had refrained from heading toward the Northern Mountains.
In the end, Drasen was forced to declare the Hunt Festival concluded and present a handsome purse to the outsider who had achieved the highest score.
And so the ambitious event that had been held alongside Muno’s Coming of Age Ceremony ended in hasty fashion.
The assembled nobility began to depart from Drasen one by one.
“……In total, we have eliminated approximately six hundred magical beasts. At this rate, we’ve actually suffered a loss.”
Ryan caught Palmer’s brief report even as he was bowing to Ashnam’s departing procession, and his expression tightened almost imperceptibly.
“This is going to make for a harder winter than I’d counted on.”
“It seems they were hoping to get away with less effort than expected.”
“Can’t be helped. Still, it’s better than doing nothing at all, isn’t it?”
“True enough. Though I must say, expectations were higher than last year. It’s a shame.”
“Yes. I’d hoped that Muno would prove useful too, but……well, given how things have turned out, there’s nothing to be done.”
“Speaking of which, here he comes now.”
Following Palmer’s gesture, Ryan turned to see a richly appointed four-horse carriage approaching, its accompanying banner emblazoned with the grey rose sigil fluttering in the wind.
Some thirty soldiers in polished armor, along with servants and attendants—a force of roughly ten in all.
A procession that made clear just how much Earl Enoch Trian cherished the princess.
The enormous frame of Rokam occupied the driver’s seat of the carriage alongside the actual driver.
To the right of that carriage rode Karina on a white horse. And……
To the left, Muno followed on a dark horse, his expression distinctly uncomfortable.
Troubled by his son’s sullen look, Ryan found himself fixing on the giant sitting in the driver’s seat for no particular reason.
“That man’s a knight—why is he driving?”
“No horse could bear that frame. It’s likely the same reason the lord himself walked this far.”
“Ah. That’s right.”
Palmer’s offhand remark won immediate assent.
Then, at that very moment, the carriage window swung open and the princess appeared.
“Uncle……wait!?”
Catching sight of Ryan, Roanna’s eyes flickered for just a moment before her face broke into a smile.
“My, you look quite impressive these days, Uncle. I’ve only heard rumors of your…expansive appetite. What an honor to witness it firsthand.”
“Haha. You’re welcome to laugh, princess. Though there are others watching, and perhaps we might adjust the form of address……?”
“Why not? They’re all my people anyway. Besides, I’ve decided Muno and I will call each other as cousins now.”
……This boy?
As Ryan glared, Muno shook his head desperately.
Clearly not of his own choosing.
‘Well, officially he is a cousin, after all.’
Ryan couldn’t help but let out a quiet laugh.
“Very well. I’ll trust you to look after our son, Roanna.”
“Rather, I should be the one asking for your care. Shouldn’t I, Muno?”
“Sigh……”
This boy.
Ryan fixed his son with a glare as he breathed out heavily, though even he was aware that in his current condition, the gesture carried precious little authority.
“I’ll pay my respects to your aunt before we leave. We’ll meet again soon, Uncle.”
“……Yes. Do that.”
Catching the unusually bright gleam in Roanna’s eye, Ryan turned back to his son with deliberate emphasis.
“See that you serve the princess well all the way to Trian, Muno. And when you meet Earl Enoch, explain the situation to him…’carefully.'”
It was the sort of thing a sharp boy should understand without further elaboration, yet his son’s expression only grew darker.
“Yes, I understand.”
Only after Ryan’s meaningful glances did he answer, his tone utterly flat.
He couldn’t quite fathom why the boy was being like this.
“Ha. The young lord seems troubled at leaving Drasen for the first time.”
Palmer’s interjection from beside him gave Ryan insight into his son’s heart.
‘Ah.’
The boy speaks of wanting to see the world and other such foolish things, but after all, he’s still young.
Watching his son—who had grown so much more mature since his Awakening—slip back into something like his old self brought an unbidden smile to Ryan’s face.
“Drasen will always be here, my son. Mind yourself, and return home in good health.”
“Yes.”
At these words, the boy’s expression eased, and Ryan felt his heart warm.
That day, Ryan stood at the southern gate of Drasen, waving his hand until the four-horse carriage and its procession disappeared from sight—waving not to Roanna’s company, but to his son’s receding back.
* * *
Crackle, crackle.
At the campsite in the middle of the night, Roanna spoke by the firelight, having discussed the next day’s plans, and smiled as she added her observation.
“Your uncle really does treasure you, doesn’t he, Muno?”
……Now she was speaking in casual familiarity without pretense.
Watching her unilaterally establish their connection (?), Muno offered a wry smile.
“……My father’s quite an odd one, isn’t he?”
A strange child whose very origins were beyond knowing—yet his parents had brought him home and raised him with utmost sincerity.
His heart was full of the desire to repay that debt of kindness, yet he still knew not the way, leaving him only with frustration.
‘I’ve read stories about people getting reincarnated into fantasy worlds and developing their territories by leaps and bounds using knowledge from their past lives.’
Only by living through it myself did I truly grasp how absurd that notion was.
What ordinary person from the modern world would memorize things like papermaking or gunpowder manufacturing?
‘Even if someone did know, actually producing those things would be a different matter entirely…. Damn it.’
I grumbled inwardly, but that didn’t suddenly conjure up any brilliant ideas.
Still, there had to be some knowledge from my past life that could prove useful in this world.
Ever since Muno had consumed the demon that had plagued him like a chronic disease these past ten years, he’d been wrestling with that very question.
More than anything.
‘The social structures are different, the culture is different, but the people here aren’t stupid.’
Of course, that’s speaking by the standard of educated people.
In any case, most of the basic civilized tools he could imagine already existed in this world.
Though the setting resembled medieval Western Europe, the presence of diverse supernatural abilities meant he occasionally stumbled upon unexpected marvels—like that tent-like artifact the young lady beside him had just folded down to the size of a small bag with a gesture.
The way it had compressed with a snapping sound was proof enough.
“Maybe I should have gone into the sciences….”
“What?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
At her question, he feigned indifference and let out a sigh.
“I told you to call me sister. And speak more casually too!”
Am I out of my mind?
I absolutely didn’t want to get entangled with her.
……But I couldn’t very well say that.
“How could I possibly presume to do such a thing….”
I offered an awkward smile and trailed off, whereupon Roanna let out a soft laugh.
“You’re so stiff sometimes. Well, anyway, since Uncle took such care of you, and you’ve ended up caught in this mess because of me…. I’m sorry.”
Despite my best efforts to avoid it by forcing my mind elsewhere, reality came crashing down in front of me.
“Are you leaving now?”
“The farther from Trian, the better.”
“Sigh….”
“Are you just going to keep sighing like some old soul?”
Try being in my position. How could anyone not sigh?
Instead of answering, I sighed once more, and Roanna quietly extended her hand.
What she held was….
“Don’t worry too much. If you deliver this letter to Grandfather, I’m sure he’ll understand.”
Looking at the letter Roanna offered, I couldn’t help but sigh again.
Now, with most of the company asleep except for the soldiers standing guard outside the camp.
Alone…. No, the three of them awake—Roanna, Karina, and Rokam—were already fully armed.
“I received my Coming of Age Ceremony commission as a Free Knight, and my first report to you is that I failed to prevent your beloved granddaughter from running away. What a life….”
At his lament, a bitter smile spread across the faces of Roanna’s companions.
Yet.
“I think it’s better this way, actually, brother.”
What are you saying?
Roanna’s words made his head snap around.
“At least if you’re carrying my letter, the retainers here can avoid punishment.”
“So you’re saying…. If I take the fall alone, the rest will be safe, correct?”
Muno’s tone was growing increasingly bitter.
But Roanna simply laughed.
“Hah. That’s ridiculous.”
“Then what?”
“If you, a renowned knight of Drasen, couldn’t stop us, how could anyone blame mere soldiers or servants?”
……Besides, with the three of you moving together, who here could possibly have stopped you?
“And it doesn’t hurt that we’ll have a ‘high-ranking’ witness to events.”
“What do you—”
“That way Grandfather won’t worry so much.”
Roanna’s reasoning wasn’t entirely without merit.
And more than that, Muno already had his own words to fall back on.
“I have no choice. I made a promise, and I intend to keep it. Though I didn’t expect to become part of this company in doing so.”
“Thank you, brother. Next time we meet, you really will call me sister?”
At Roanna’s gentle pressure, Muno could only offer an awkward smile.
Then she turned her head away with a slightly pout.
“Well then, everyone….”
At his words, the three of them bowed slightly in respect before turning to leave.
Karina looked as though she had something she wanted to say.
“Wait, just a moment!”
But this wasn’t why Muno was stopping them now.
“Yes?”
“Surely you’re not just leaving like this?”
“What do you mean?”
Roanna looked bewildered.
Muno gritted his teeth, forced to say something he absolutely despised.
“If I look too unscathed, what will others think?”
“Ah……”
“Please. Just a bit. Nothing that’ll leave lasting damage.”
As he spoke those bizarre words with his eyes squeezed shut—the kind only a pervert would utter—
Roanna’s eyes widened with understanding, and she broke into a grin.
“I feel worse now, Muno. Next time, I’ll make sure you call me sister for real.”
…Fine.
His answer came through gritted teeth and a sour expression.
Following the knowing glint in Roanna’s smiling eyes—
“Well then, I won’t hold back.”
Thud.
‘Damn it, both—!’
Rokam, the giant, stepped forward and threw his fist without hesitation.
Bang!

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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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