The Knight Who Devours Magic - Chapter 29

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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 29. Identifying the Suspect
“Yes. They existed. The remnants of those cursed Cult bastards…….”
The earl answered readily enough, but Munno’s expression only darkened slightly.
It was clear from his tone that he didn’t regard the matter as nearly as serious as his granddaughter’s elopement.
“It may not be just remnants. There could be someone behind them…….”
“Yes, I heard that too. But you lack sufficient evidence. Isn’t that what you said—that this comes from memory? And only now do you recall it.”
It seemed Father had relayed quite a lot of the story to the earl.
But it didn’t appear to have persuaded him.
“I’m not saying I don’t believe your memory at all. But I’m a man who risked his life ten years ago to eliminate those Cult bastards. Having experienced that fierce war firsthand, it’s not easy for me to accept what you’re saying.”
“Sir?”
Munno had been frowning, wondering what this old man was getting at, but seeing the regret that surfaced on the earl’s face, he could only close his mouth again.
“……It was a brutal war. So much so that half of my loyal knights died in it. If what you say is true—if Kreymel had someone behind him—our territory would have been destroyed by them, and I would have died. And the entire kingdom would have fallen into chaos.”
“…….”
“But the elimination was ultimately successful, and ten years have passed since then. And now you say there was someone behind it? It only makes sense if they’re merely remnants.”
The earl’s words carried his own hopes, but they also had a certain logic to them.
Yet the memory Munno had salvaged from his trauma was vivid, as if he were experiencing that time all over again.
“Still, I remember it clearly. Kreymel was definitely afraid of being held accountable to someone. I’m certain of it.”
He added this because, had the story only been relayed through his father, he wouldn’t have heard such a detail.
And sure enough, upon hearing those words, the earl’s eyes grew heavy.
“……Can you take responsibility for that claim?”
“Yes.”
The answer came without hesitation, and the earl’s expression twisted slightly.
“Have you ever heard the saying that mages don’t even regard non-mages as human?”
“I’ve also heard they disdain mages of lower rank than themselves.”
“Right. They conjure fire and lightning in empty air, freeze deserts solid. Using power that defies the laws of the world, the higher-ranking the mage, the more arrogant they become.”
The earl confirmed facts that Munno already knew, almost as if interrogating him, and continued.
“So it goes that high-ranking mages never listen to those beneath them.”
“I’m aw……”
“The Demon Lord Kreymel was a Circle 6 mage. And among Circle 6, he ranked high.”
“……aware of that too.”
“Then by your account, his backer would have to be at least a SevenStar. Yet you can take responsibility for that claim?”
“I told Father I was certain of it.”
“Huh…….”
The earl exhaled a long sigh, then straightened his spine against the chair once more.
“Your past resentment could have distorted your memory. You might have unconsciously fabricated a pretext to hunt down the remnants. Have you considered that possibility?”
“……If we uproot them and find there was no one behind them after all, and it was all my mistake? Then it would still be good for this land and this kingdom, wouldn’t it?”
Munno met that blazing gaze—now turning into pure fire—without blinking once.
‘I will uproot them. If possible, with my own hands.’
The death of his biological parents, whose faces he could no longer remember, and the horrible experiments and torture he’d endured as a child.
He hoped all the rage and resolve that bubbled up at the thought of those things would be transmitted directly to the earl.
“If you intend to act on my word, you’ll first have to admit that everything you and your father accomplished ten years ago was a mistake. Do you say this knowing that?”
He flinched for a moment, but this too was a problem he’d already heard from his father and thought through sufficiently.
“That won’t be necessary. The Cult bastards wouldn’t know what information I possess anyway, so revealing it would only sharpen their vigilance. You need only announce publicly that you’re moving to eliminate the remnants.”
“Hm……. You certainly have more sense than your father, at least.”
The earl gave a hollow laugh, though his manner clearly suggested he’d accepted Munno’s argument.
“You’re saying you believe me?”
“If your words are true, the very kingdom itself will be shaken. If there really is someone worse than that demon lord, I can’t begin to imagine what he’s plotting……. Let’s assume it for now and investigate.”
“Thank you.”
No matter how they framed it as eliminating remnants, it would amount to admitting they hadn’t concluded matters ten years prior.
That was why Munno had suggested it, but the earl shook his head.
“What’s there to thank me for? It’s simply my own unfinished business. I can bear losing some face. Were you worried you might become their first target? Or are you grateful because now you can have your revenge?”
“Honestly, the latter.”
“Shameless as ever, heh. Well, fine. In any case, stay in Trian for a while.”
“Sir?”
“We wasted time chasing a false lead and investigating Toyzen Territory. The investigation into Konnel Marquisate has only just begun, so let’s see those results first before we talk further. And if they’re targeting you, this place will be safer than Drasen.”
What?
“I’ve no desire to stay safe…….”
“If something goes wrong with you, how am I to face your father……? You want to fight, don’t you?”
The earl chuckled, his eyes gleaming, and Munno answered with unwavering resolve.
“Yes! Of course. Fresh bait is what makes the fish bite, isn’t it?”
“Fuhaha. Yes, you’re right—quite fresh indeed. Well then, I should send that bait to where the fish are most plentiful.”
“Sir?”
“Head for the Konnel Marquisate. I’ve already dispatched a reliable investigation team, but if that Moeno Konnel truly is connected to them, finding clues won’t be easy.”
“Then…….”
“But if they really can’t let you go, we’ll get a proper bite.”
The count smiled coldly and made his decision.
* * *
The Remnants of the Cult that had wrought carnage in this land ten years ago had surfaced once more.
The rumor that began in Drasen Territory had already been quietly spreading throughout all of Trian, but after the count acknowledged it directly, it ignited like wildfire.
“That… the Cult that sacrificed people as offerings?”
“Oh my. How could such a thing…….”
“Then His Lordship didn’t manage to wipe them all out?”
“Hush! Don’t say such things.”
Anxiety rippled through the seven territories under Trian in an instant.
“But His Lordship will handle it himself, surely?”
“Of course. He’s the hero of the North.”
“He succeeded in their subjugation ten years ago too.”
“We must trust in His Lordship.”
The thirty-year legacy of Enoch Trian, the bulwark of the North who had guarded and governed these lands through three decades, suppressed that dread.
And at that very moment, Munno was riding hard southeastward, away from Trian.
Neeeigh!
“We should make camp here for the night.”
“Very well.”
Only one companion would travel with him all the way to the Konnel Marquisate.
It was Klam, the knight who had guided Munno to the count back in Trian.
And he was a knight of higher rank than Munno had expected.
“I say this again, but please speak freely with me. If you use formal speech with my father’s friend, it makes me uncomfortable.”
“That simply cannot be. I’ve been ordered by His Lordship to escort a guest. And let me be clear—Raian Drasen and I are not friends.”
“What? But surely…….”
“I’m his senior. Seven years older, in fact. Well, his swordplay is perhaps juuuust a touch better than mine.”
“Ah…….”
When that strange inflection suddenly landed on Munno, he wore a dazed expression.
Pfft.
“Just joking. Hehehehe.”
Klam began to laugh by himself.
‘……So this is the kind of person he is.’
A joke he had no idea how to respond to left Munno with only an awkward smile.
He learned later that Klam too had been granted the title of baron for his service in the incident ten years ago.
Though unlike others, he had received no territory—a titleless noble by comparative merit alone.
– Your father achieved an exceptionally distinguished service. He was from a fallen noble house to begin with.
– Klam is also a worthy knight who rose from commoner stock to receive his title. He’s more than sufficient as a companion for this Fishing Operation.
Even without the count’s words, Munno had no thought of looking down on Klam, a commoner raised to nobility through ability alone in this world.
Moreover, Klam was proving to be a curious sort of person the more Munno knew him.
“The fact that His Lordship specifically requested me suggests he holds the young lord in high favor. I suspected as much from when you met with Grand Prince Kaine, but you are indeed remarkable.”
He spoke to his father in casual speech, yet addressed Munno with formal courtesy.
Solely because Munno was currently the count’s guest.
Good grief.
“……You do lead a complicated life.”
That mouth of his.
The moment the words left his lips, he regretted them—but Klam merely grinned.
“Everyone leads a complicated life. Just as you seem to observe propriety while saying exactly what you think, and some find that unsettling. Though I personally find it charming. Very much so. Hehehehe.”
He laughs again.
Though Munno still couldn’t fathom why.
‘I just can’t hold back what bothers me, that’s all.’
Munno instinctively took a half-step back, and when their eyes met, he laughed awkwardly.
This time Klam dropped the smile entirely and brought up something wholly unexpected.
“Few people know that the two of us are heading to Konnel.”
“Sir?”
“The Fishing Operation, remember? That’s what His Lordship called it.”
“Ah. Yes. At the Konnel Marquisate…….”
“When traces of Magic first appeared in Drasen, there were those who reported the Toyzen Territory. Anonymously, of course. They even enclosed what looked like solid evidence. Though of course, it was all fabrication.”
“Ah…….”
“So when the real incident broke, His Excellency was in the Toyzen Territory to the northwest. On the opposite end from the Konnel Marquisate.”
“Yes, I’ve heard as much.”
“It means someone in Trian has been touched by their hands. And the investigative team leader currently in the Konnel Marquisate is quite a frightening person—and he’ll be furious. The Konnel Marquisate may already be turned upside down.”
“Pardon?”
“In other words, if they’re targeting you, you could be ambushed on the way to Konnel.”
……Surely not.
“To prepare for that possibility, His Excellency gave different routes to several suspects. Some were even given different destinations. And there are those disguised like us who will be following those routes.”
“Ah, so…….”
“Yes. Whether an ambush comes or not, the suspect will be identified either way. Since we’ve only set out today, time will tell, but…….”
Munno smiled back as he watched Klam trail off with a grin.
“Ah. Just as I thought. Haha.”
“Just as you thought?”
“……Is there perhaps someone very close to the Count among those suspects?”
“Hmm?”
“We’re getting bites already. And quite a lot of them…….”
“That’s, well…….”
“Don’t show it—just laugh with me. The official party is in the forest to the right. Ah. Haha!”
“Ah……? Ha, haha!”
“Mages. Plural. At least three.”
Munno’s words, thin and low beneath the laughter.
“Ah. Ha. Ha. Ha. You’re quite the joker, young master.”
Klam’s voice was forced and loud, but his expression had gone rigid.

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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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