The Knight Who Devours Magic - Chapter 40

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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 40. A Spy?
“Welcome back to Trian, sir!”
Klam and Lasmia nodded in acknowledgment of the salute.
The knight guarding the gates raised his sword before them and stepped aside.
Three horses ambled slowly through the broad avenue, where Trian’s assembled forces held back the merchants.
The sight naturally drew every eye.
Especially since all three of them had uncommon hair—blue and black.
The young black-haired knight in particular wore thick, distinctive armor on his limbs and carried an entirely black sword across his back.
“Are they knights?”
“They look to be of considerable rank.”
“That black-haired youth looks so young, though?”
“Must be some nobleman’s son. That outfit isn’t ordinary…”
“Is there a black-haired noble in the Northern Region? Not from the Eastern or Southern lands…”
Muno heard the merchants’ whispers in one ear and let them pass, sweeping the surroundings once more with his Demon Devourer senses.
‘Still nothing…’
Even after scanning the area, he detected no one carrying magical energy.
‘Have they truly given up?’
He’d made the journey to Trian on high alert, expecting an ambush at any moment, yet the continued silence felt strangely unsettling.
It had taken only four days after he’d dealt with Amers before the next mage appeared in Drasen.
The ambush on the road with Klam had come just one day after leaving Trian.
By that pattern, plenty of time had already passed for them to strike again.
‘They haven’t given up. It must be because Klam and Lasmia are traveling with me.’
That was the only explanation that made sense.
He didn’t want to entertain the thought that they’d simply given up and gone to ground.
– If Kreymel is merely a pawn, then Sevenstar is the real hand behind this. Assuming that feels too dangerous, and it doesn’t even make sense…
He understood his father’s and Enok’s concerns well enough.
But even a superhuman like Sevenstar was ultimately just one person.
A figure of such importance to the kingdom wouldn’t personally come after him.
‘I don’t need to strike down whoever’s behind this myself. If I can expose these minions as they reveal themselves and trace their operations back to their base, the kingdom will be eager enough to root them out.’
His role was simply to be bait. If he were being generous with himself, a blade sharp enough to dispatch the small fry before the real predator arrived.
‘It’s unfortunate, but…’
If he could settle his grudge through nothing more than that, he could accept it readily enough.
‘My strength still isn’t enough.’
Crunch.
His grip tightened in his fist, but he held no illusions about his current capabilities.
His companions, however, seemed to think rather differently.
“Stop gawping about like a country boy and keep up. We’re pressed for time.”
“Brother, honestly—this boy’s lived his whole life in Drasen. No wonder he finds Trian dazzling.”
…As if.
As the party passed through the gates, Muno’s attention drifted toward the market stalls.
– Silk from the capital…um, from ‘that country’!
– Fresh fruit from the Southern Region…!
– Meat from Rentan, good for vigor, for just a few coins…!
Buzz, bustle.
Of course, unlike Drasen’s simple leather and provision vendors, this sprawling marketplace thronged with such crowds that it held a certain appeal.
And yet.
‘In the end, it’s just a larger village market. With some exotic goods thrown in.’
Muno’s gaze lingered briefly on a massive monster head with three horns displayed in the market’s center.
‘That one still has some magical energy left in it. Who killed that, I wonder…’
Tsk.
With memories from his past life in a city of ten million still vivid, a market in this fantasy world of perhaps a hundred thousand at best felt cramped rather than grand.
“This matter’s more pressing anyway, Muno!”
“Yes. Coming.”
No matter how thoroughly he scanned, he sensed no magical energy.
Of course, a mage or their minion wouldn’t be hawking wares in the marketplace, but the absence of any bait left Muno increasingly frustrated.
As he followed his companions toward the Inner Castle.
In a corner of the market where his senses couldn’t reach, a gaze was fixed upon him.
“Tell him his orders. Confirm whether he can truly pierce through the Veil.”
“Yes. But are you certain about this? It seems wasteful to throw away someone so capable…”
“It’s an opportunity to verify his abilities. Success is welcome, but even failure will only sow more discord in the Northern Region. This too is the Master’s will, so raise no objections.”
“…Yes.”
The shadows vanished into the darkness, their voices echoing briefly through the alley before fading away entirely.
* * *
“Well, you’ve earned your rest. So Kreymel was a Mage all along—what’s the world coming to, that such an absurd thing could happen….”
Enok, whom Muno had not seen in nearly a fortnight, appeared to have aged slightly in the interim.
Rather than the mountain-like presence that had once intimidated those around him, he now radiated a gloomy aura that pressed down heavily on everything nearby.
What mattered was that this wasn’t mere impression—it was real.
The space around the large elderly figure of Enok seemed to be turning gray, as though the air itself were being drained of color.
An official who had been reporting to him was actually backing away step by step, until he stumbled backward and fell hard on his backside.
“I apologize, sir.”
“No matter. You may go inside.”
“Thank you, sir!”
As the official hurried away, dabbing cold sweat from his brow, Muno observed the Count and the aura surrounding him with fascination.
Muno watched both the nobleman’s bearing and the energy emanating from him with curious eyes.
‘I didn’t notice it before, but that too is Mana. Mana influences the surroundings based on the master’s emotions.’
A Sixth-rank Knight who had completed six evolutions—a Superhuman—would naturally generate Mana, wouldn’t they?
Or perhaps the Trian line possessed a Secret Art passed down through generations.
‘The Count might be a Spirit Master.’
It was likely one of those three, though the atmosphere hardly seemed right for asking directly.
‘It’s probably a Secret Art, I’d wager.’
According to his father, the Drasen Family’s ancestor had risen to Sevenstar through the Gluttony Hardening Technique and the Drasen Great Sword Technique alone.
If that was true, then even that forebear had never learned to wield Mana despite reaching Sevenstar.
Or perhaps he had learned it himself but failed to leave it behind as a Secret Art.
Muno felt a spark of curiosity—he was searching for a way to compensate for the weaknesses of the Drasen Great Sword Technique.
‘Even if the Demon Devourer cannot be taught to others, there must be a Secret Art somewhere that describes the secret to generating Mana, mustn’t there?’
It was part of his project to repay the Family’s kindness.
His parents said there was no need, but there was no better way for him to feel at peace with himself—he couldn’t help but be interested.
‘But even if such a Secret Art exists, it wouldn’t be shared with an outsider….’
“Muno! Muno Drasen!”
His endless train of thought shattered at the sound of that deep, resonant voice calling his name.
“Ah. Yes!?”
“I’ve been calling you since earlier—what are you daydreaming about? Is the young fellow deliberately ignoring his grandfather to provoke him? Or have you already grown so powerful you’re puffing yourself up?”
The Count’s light laugh had already dispelled much of his earlier gloom.
Perhaps the fact that Muno had already reached Second-rank had lifted his spirits somewhat.
“That’s not it at all. I was simply preoccupied with other thoughts. My apologies. Would you mind repeating what you said?”
“I was asking how you managed your second evolution so quickly—your account of the experience. I knew you had talent, but if you’ve completed two evolutions by sixteen, that’s an entirely different matter. Can you satisfy this old man’s curiosity?”
“Well, it happened while I was fighting against Mages, so….”
“Life-or-death battles certainly drive a person’s growth, but for someone who’s only recently completed an evolution to leap forward again so soon—that’s genuinely rare….”
“I suppose I’m simply overflowing with talent.”
“Hah! This brat really….”
He’d meant to brush it off with a casual bit of audacity, but Klam’s expression beside him had turned rigid, as had Lasmia’s.
‘What, is it really such a grave offense? Surely I can manage something like that?’
He felt slightly taken aback.
Klam turned to the Count with a hardened expression and challenged him directly.
“Grandfather, sir? Surely you’re not saying you’re officially recognizing Muno as your grandson….”
“Nonsense! As if I don’t already have enough headaches with Kain and Roanna—are you about to start spouting foolishness too!?”
“But sir….”
“Enough! He is the son my daughter has accepted. This is not a formal occasion, so don’t quibble over a single title when we’re among ourselves.”
Technically speaking, he was an external grandson, and the fact of his adoption made it difficult for him to be formally recognized.
‘Nobility really is….’
An unpleasant taste had begun to settle in his mouth anew.
“Still, though….”
“Once you get married and have a son of your own, I’ll treat him as my grandson. A granddaughter would be even better. Tsk, tsk. You’re nearly fifty and still thinking of excuses instead of getting married—all because of your sister….”
“When did I ever…!”
“No, brother! Are you still blaming me for that!?”
“What? You cried and swore you’d definitely attend my wedding—said you had only one family! How can you say such a thing now, after showing up thirty years later!?”
“It was twenty-five years, not thirty—and are you seriously blaming your failure to marry on me!?”
The conversation had suddenly shifted to a quarrel between Klam and his sister, leaving Muno bewildered.
‘Is this really how people in their forties talk….’
This brother and sister pair were indeed peculiar.
Muno watched the middle-aged siblings bicker absurdly, clicking his tongue the whole while.
The Earl added fuel to the fire.
“That’s right. Lasmia, you’ve never even been married, and now you’re saying you want to leave home again to go back to that tower or whatever you’ve been stuck in for thirty years?”
“It’s twenty-five years, not thirty—no, Your Excellency! You promised you’d let me go whenever I wanted!”
“Do you know how much I’ve invested in you? And you want to use it for just a few years?”
“What? You’re leaving again? Have you lost your mind? You should be thinking about marriage, especially when you’re already—”
“Brother, I look exactly like you! And you should get married yourself. Why are you—”
“Tsk. You two have no sense whatsoever.”
Grandfather, no less.
‘Because Grandfather looks remarkably similar right now.’
Muno swallowed the words he couldn’t possibly say aloud, and now watched their quarrel unfold with genuine fascination.
He wondered how far this chaos would escalate.
Then the Earl suddenly overturned the table.
“Enough, both of you! Aren’t you ashamed in front of the boy?”
…After he’d just poured gasoline on the fire himself.
As Muno regarded the Earl with poorly concealed disappointment, their eyes met.
And at last, the real business began.
“I’ll ask again, Muno. Is it true that you broke through a mage’s tricks without even Lasmia or the priests noticing?”
“Yes, sir. It’s true.”
“Hmm. When I received the report, I was genuinely bewildered—that’s precisely why.”
The answer was so confident that the Earl’s confused gaze shifted toward the thoughtless middle-aged siblings.
“I’m certain of it.”
“We’ve confirmed it as well.”
The siblings, who’d been growling at each other until moments before, nodded in unison.
The Earl’s eyes returned to Muno with a bitter smile.
“It’s unbelievable, but I have to believe it.”
It was impossible by any rational measure, yet it had actually happened, so belief was necessary.
That seemed to be what he meant.
“Is this method possible for others as well?”
“Ah, I doubt it very much. It’s something I perceive purely through intuition…”
He couldn’t speak at length about the Demon Devourer, so he muddied the waters appropriately—but fortunately, the Earl didn’t press further.
“As I thought. Well. You’ve probably heard on the way, but first you’ll need to examine my son and his immediate circle. The route where you were ambushed on the way to Konnel—I only shared that information with Kain.”
As the Earl spoke, Muno sensed his dark aura deepening, but he nodded calmly.
“I’ve already met with the Crown Prince before. There were definitely no traces of magic on him.”
Perhaps that offered some comfort.
The Earl seemed somewhat relieved.
“Well. At least that’s something.”
His expression didn’t change, but the oppressive aura that had darkened the surroundings noticeably diminished.
‘Wait, only I can see this?’
Yet when he observed that neither Klam nor Lasmia stirred at all, a peculiar thought crossed his mind.
“In any case, examine not just Kain, but everyone close to him as well. I’ve given advance notice, so there shouldn’t be any resistance.”
The Earl’s confident tone actually made Muno uneasy.
Recalling Kain’s sinister expression from before he’d met the Earl in Trian.
‘There’s no way there won’t be resistance.’
In any case, there was nothing else to say in this situation.
“I’ll look into it at once.”
“Good. You’ve traveled far, and I’m sorry to give you no rest. I’ll make sure to compensate you properly later. Just push a little harder for now.”
Oh. Compensation.
The Earl wouldn’t speak carelessly with his name on the line, so there was reason to look forward to it.
Besides.
“You others go with Muno as well. The boy needs your strength now.”
“Yes, sir.”
With such solid reinforcements secured, his steps couldn’t help but lighten.
Of course, regardless.
“The Drasen brat wants to investigate my household now?”
Kain Trian’s attitude was exactly as anticipated.

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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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