The Knight Who Devours Magic - Chapter 34

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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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Chapter 34. Look at this guy, will you?
“What……?”
The Identification Badge that Klam pulled out gleamed with a bright silvery light.
Even for those without a trained eye, it was plain to see that it was something of value.
Besides, ordinary travelers and merchants would never carry such a thing.
And here they were, just two of them, yet on such high alert.
“Open the gates at once!”
– That’s impossible. Konnel is under an Emergency Alert. Your Identification Badge…….
Those words shattered what little remained of the injured knight’s patience after five days sleeping rough.
“Whoosh!”
In an instant, Klam launched himself from his horse, his body soaring through the air to land atop the ten-meter stone wall.
“What!?”
That man——!
Startled by this sudden recklessness, Muno reflexively hurled himself toward the wall as well.
Wheeee!
Bang!
Fireworks erupted from atop the wall, signaling the alarm against enemy intrusion.
Crack.
Neigh!
Unlike Klam, who ascended lightly as the wind itself, Muno’s leap sent the horse stumbling beneath him in shock, lifting him barely five meters off the ground.
‘Damn.’
Snap.
Crack-crack-crack.
Unwilling to draw his chains in plain sight, he pushed off the wall and jumped twice.
Only then could he see Klam standing over a Konnel knight, the tip of his spear pressed to the man’s throat.
“……Do you know who we are? Seven Star, and you think two of us can assault a castle? How could——!”
“Sir! Stop!!”
At Muno’s belated shout, the soldiers flinched.
Muno was already at Klam’s side, gripping his spear firmly.
Not that Klam would actually strike, but the soldiers needed to see clearly that they were not enemies.
Fortunately.
“Sir? Hmph. Well, it beats some of those stuffier titles, at least.”
Klam lowered his spear in turn, as if answering to the name.
He seemed to be trying to look cool as he slung it across his back again, but to Muno’s eye, it was just pitiful.
Because.
“Your leg wound has torn open. Show some restraint…….”
“What? Ugh. Damn!”
When Klam grimaced, noticing blood seeping from the nearly healed puncture wound on his right calf.
Muno turned to the Konnel knight, whose face had gone pale.
“Do we need to provide further proof that we’ve come from Trian?”
“But……your appearance doesn’t quite look like that of knights…….”
Ah!
Only then did Muno glance down at himself, taking in his own condition.
The armor he and Klam had worn when departing Trian had been reduced to tatters long ago in the battles with the mages.
Now they were both wearing whatever roughly fit from the belongings of the bandit gang they’d dealt with days ago.
Added to their relatively shabby equipment, Muno was also wearing an unusual set of bulky black armor across his limbs——the kind you rarely saw.
It was certainly suspicious enough.
“Well, Sir Klam, please show your Identification Badge clearly. Since you’re already up here.”
“I was about to do just that.”
Klam tightened the blood-stained bandage further, wiped away some of the seeping blood, and held up the Identification Badge he’d retrieved.
Then.
Shimmer.
The softly glowing badge conjured forth a phantom of a grey rose——tall as a man’s torso.
“Oh!?”
“What, what is that!”
“Wow!?”
As the soldiers surrounding them gasped in astonishment, Muno too stared at the grey rose phantom in wide-eyed surprise.
‘A hologram?’
The badge had that kind of function?
Surprising as it was, it was also absurd.
“If that were possible, wouldn’t you have shown it to us earlier?”
“……This needs blood on it. I wasn’t planning to wound you on purpose.”
As Klam flinched and offered a lame excuse,
Konnel’s knight’s eyes widened slightly as he stared at the hologram, then he nodded promptly.
“……I see. My apologies for the misunderstanding.”
Only after hearing that did Klam’s expression ease slightly, and he asked immediately,
“Then, can you explain why Konnel is controlling the city gates in the first place? I haven’t heard anything about it.”
“Ah, well…….”
Just as the knight was about to speak, an unfamiliar voice rang out.
“I’ll explain that for you, brother.”
At the sound of a voice from above, everyone’s heads naturally tilted upward,
and they saw a woman with long blue hair descending onto the city wall, wrapped in a gust of pure white wind.
‘Magic?’
Muno, who had never seen any supernatural power besides magic, instinctively reached for the greatsword at his back,
“Rasmia!?”
but stopped short upon hearing Klam’s delighted voice.
“I thought it was another bunch of mages. Why are you barging in so roughly? It’s not like you.”
The middle-aged beauty, with faint lines at her eyes and brow that spoke of years lived, smiled softly and chided Klam.
‘Blue hair? Brother? Could it be……?’
Though reluctant to admit it, Klam was quite handsome himself, so her identity became apparent naturally.
And if it was this form of supernatural ability, not magic……
“……Spirit Magic?”
“You’re a new knight I haven’t seen before. You look young, though. I’m Rasmia, a Spirit Mage. I’m also this man’s sister here.”
“Muno Drasen. I’ve been traveling with Klam from Trian.”
“Ah, not a new knight from Trian but…… wait, Muno Drasen? You’re that young genius who’s been famous recently, aren’t you?”
Seeing the Spirit Mage’s eyes light up, Muno could only smile awkwardly.
‘A genius……’
In both his past life and this one, he’d been too busy scraping by to deserve such extravagant praise, and the thought made him embarrassed.
But Klam enthusiastically seconded her words.
“That’s him. If anything, the rumors undersell it. He’s not just talented—he’s a monster.”
“Oh! Really……?”
“Excuse me, but didn’t you mention this was an emergency?”
“Right, I did. Rasmia, explain it to me. What exactly happened?”
Muno, unused to receiving compliments, successfully changed the subject,
but even afterward, the Spirit Mage Rasmia continued staring at him intently before tilting her head.
“Is something the matter?”
“The feeling is subtly…… No, never mind. It must be my mistake.”
“……??”
As Muno looked confused,
Rasmia turned her gaze back to Klam and began explaining the situation.
“As you know, brother, the Investigation Team came here convinced that Count Moeno Konnel had colluded with mages. But for a while, we found no evidence of wrongdoing whatsoever. Then…….”
Rasmia’s words came quickly.
Though the Investigation Team couldn’t find direct traces of mages, they discovered through administrative audits that massive sums of money had been diverted out of Konnel.
So they began interrogating both the administrator Gaion and the lord Count Moeno Konnel together,
and in that gathering where investigators and Konnel’s key figures had all assembled, this administrator Gaion suddenly unleashed an enormous amount of magical power, she said.
And because of that,
“……Tinel was injured seriously while shielding me, and Count Moeno Konnel, caught in the blast, is still hovering between life and death. At the same time, mages launched sporadic terror attacks throughout the city, causing massive casualties among the knights and soldiers. And while pursuing Gaion, we lost two of our knights—Riks and Rondo.”
“What, Tinel was!? No, so that bastard……!?”
“……We lost him.”
“What!? What exactly were you doing? And why didn’t a Spirit Mage sense the presence of mages in the first place?”
Seeing Klam’s wide, furious eyes, Rasmia bowed her head with a grave expression.
“I’m ashamed to say it, but he was using some kind of magical tool. He hid his magical power so perfectly that even the priests didn’t notice. Moreover…….”
The moment Muno heard those words, his eyes lit up.
‘As I thought……’
He’d been uncertain until now, but now it was clear. At least when it came to exposing the identities of those who hid their magical power, he was superior to both priests and Spirit Mages.
“……A mage who appeared to be 4-Circle kept launching magic beyond his level in rapid succession, sacrificing his own fingers in the process, so in the end…….”
As everyone listening heard this, their faces grew stern.
“Still, we did confirm that all his fingers were severed, so even if he appears again, he won’t be able to muster that much power.”
Though Rasmia hastily added this excuse, the heavy atmosphere didn’t lift.
“If he appears again, that is. So that’s why…… Sigh…… Has the General been informed?”
There were subtle accusations woven between the lines—that they had strengthened their guard posture too late, like closing the stable door after the horse had bolted—but Rasmia offered a wry smile and nodded.
“Yes. I reported it that very day.”
“What of the suspicion against Moeno Konnel?”
“Looking at his behavior during the explosion and his current state, it doesn’t seem to be a staged affair. His life is genuinely in danger, after all.”
“No suspicion, then?”
“He simply hasn’t died yet. But without a miracle, recovery will be difficult—that’s the priests’ conclusion. Before we can speak of whether there’s suspicion or not, the question has become meaningless.”
“Damn it all.”
Klam spat out a curse, his frustration evident, and Muno’s heart was no less bitter.
‘Have the threads connecting me to them been cut? No, no. As long as they’re targeting me….’
His teeth ground together of their own accord.
“Let’s go see Tinel first. After that, have them connect a communications channel. I have something to report separately to your lord father.”
“I’ve already heard that you’re running late, so I was worried something might have happened. I was confident my brother would be fine, but….”
Rasmia trailed off, her gaze shifting to Muno.
……Could I be mistaken?
A sigh escaped her, though it was certainly a natural concern.
“Let’s go together. Klam needs rest too—he’s not fully recovered yet.”
“Hmm?”
“Don’t worry about it. This much injury is everyday for a knight. And Muno, you called me ‘old man’ before—when did that become ‘sir’ again?”
“Does… honorific speech bother you that much? I. Can. Use. Your. Name.”
“That’s better. Don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings.”
Truly an incomprehensible man.
Muno sighed again and followed Klam down from the rampart.
And.
“My brother seems to have taken quite a liking to you. Normally he only speaks casually to friends or those he needs to kill.”
At Rasmia’s addition, Muno could only laugh.
But the faces of the Konnel knights behind them had gone visibly pale.
* * *
“Uh…? Klam?”
Upon being shown in, the first thing that caught the eye in the spacious room deep within the inner fortress was a “short and thickset” man lying on a bed with bandages wrapped around his upper body.
Though he could scarcely have been 160 centimeters tall, his shoulders were unusually broad compared to his height, and his muscular frame gave the impression of solid, unyielding strength.
This man stroked his salt-and-pepper brown beard and offered a bitter smile.
“Well, this is an embarrassing sight to show.”
“Are you alright?”
“Still the same, aren’t you? But your companion over there….”
“Muno Drasen. Son of Raion.”
At Klam’s introduction, Muno bowed slightly, and a flicker of surprise crossed Tinel’s pallid face.
“Ah. That prodigy adopted…. Hmm, yes. Good to meet you. Sorry to meet under such circumstances. Ugh.”
As Tinel struggled to rise, a sudden wind swept through the sealed room and helped lift him upright.
“Thank you, Rasmia.”
“No need for thanks. But your condition still hasn’t improved….”
“It’s a vicious curse. Magical power lingers in the wound and won’t dissipate. As you said, it seems to be a curse intertwined with the magic itself.”
“……I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help.”
“Don’t be. Even a high-ranking priest couldn’t break this curse—what could a 4-Circle Spirit Mage accomplish? It’ll fade with time.”
Watching Tinel and Rasmia converse calmly, Muno’s eyes brightened and he stepped forward at once.
“If it’s a matter of Magical Power, I believe I can resolve it.”
“You can?”
“I have an Artifact capable of countering magic.”
This lie had become so habitual that it felt awkward now, but the Combat Gauntlet thrust forward on his right hand certainly drew all eyes around him.
“What? Such a rare item? Wait, hold on….”
Tinel, who had been pleased, suddenly frowned before shaking his head.
“No, there’s no need for that. This is at least a 4-Circle curse, possibly 5-Circle or higher. If it’s an Anti-Magic Artifact, it must be rare, but its limits will be just as clear—you could end up damaging your own artifact for nothing.”
“It will be sufficient. Probably….”
Even before his growth, he had consumed some 4-Circle magic.
Now, after his second evolution, he could handle mere traces of magic with ease.
“Let me handle it, Tinel. We were attacked by a mage on our way here, and this one noticed first. He and this Artifact are truly trustworthy.”
“……Is that so?”
Tinel’s eyes still held a trace of doubt.
But.
“Then would you mind doing this carefully?”
With that, he offered an apologetic cough, and Muno smiled as he steadied the man’s shoulder.
And then.
Whoosh.
The moment the black smoke—visible only to Muno’s eyes—was sucked into his Combat Gauntlet and vanished.
Rasmia looked at him with an expression of surprise.
“Oh!?”
Tinel let out an exclamation.
Those watching might not have noticed, but the 5-Star Knight himself had quickly sensed the change in his body.
“Just like that? You possess quite the treasure, my friend.”
“…Well. I was fortunate.”
“Hmm. Would it perhaps be possible to do this again?”
“Pardon?”
“Moeno Konnel the Marquis—he’s hovering at death’s door as well. If we can just deal with the Curse, surely the Priests could heal him, yes?”
At Tinel’s proposal, delivered with eyes alight, the eyes of everyone listening widened slightly.
“I see.”
“Then perhaps…”
“If Moeno regains consciousness, we might just pick up the trail of those damned mages again. Whether he’s actually involved or not.”
There was no one in that room who failed to grasp his meaning.
And so Muno was at once guided to Moeno Konnel’s chamber by the Konnel knights.
And then.
‘…Well, well? Look at this one?’
The instant he laid eyes on the figure of Marquis Moeno Konnel hovering between life and death, an odd smile spread across his face.

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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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