The Knight Who Devours Magic - Chapter 65

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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 65. The Reason for Sudden Change
“Rian’s Awakening? Already!?”
“Yes. The Lord woke up and immediately started making a fuss about celebrating in that condition, so he and the Lady had quite the quarrel. And so…….”
Munno listened to Esna prattle on in her usual talkative manner before his sense of reality finally returned.
“Good grief…….”
He’d come home after a long time, slept deeply, and woke to news he’d never heard before — his younger brother, who would soon turn thirteen, had Awakened.
“Mother must be disappointed…….”
“Pardon?”
“If that brat had Awakened too, he’d have grown quite a bit by now.”
“Ah……. Ah? Prince Rian remained the same size, though?”
“Hmm? Ah, was I the unusual case?”
“Yes, sir! You were told to be unusual! Anyway, the Lord has been looking for you, saying the family should have a meal together. If you’d like to confirm for yourself, go find him.”
“Mm.”
Esna’s words only deepened Munno’s curiosity about Rian’s situation.
He left his room at once.
* * *
Knock, knock.
“Father, Mother. It’s me. Munno.”
— Come in.
Creak.
Step. Step.
As soon as the door opened and he entered the room——
“Huh……?”
The sight before him was oddly unfamiliar.
An elaborately spread dining table, unusual for a typical Drasen lunch, even had a cake — something rarely seen.
And his younger brother, sitting in the head seat where Father usually sat, his expression awkward.
His parents on either side of him, their faces beaming with pleasure.
Though Father’s gaunt, skeletal frame did give him some concern.
But as the man himself was smiling contentedly, Munno saw that pleased expression crease slightly as it turned toward him — and immediately lowered his head.
“Father, are you well?”
“I’m not doing quite so well now.”
Munno sensed the reason behind his father’s words but chose to ignore it, and instead offered his congratulations to his younger brother first.
“Oh, Rian. So it’s true? You’ve really Awakened?”
“Yes, older brother. That is…….”
“Munno.”
“Wow, what is all this food…….”
“Munno.”
“You never did this for me. Discrimination just because I’m adopted…….”
“Munno!”
“Yes, sir!”
He tried to brush off the piercing glare with humor, but it seemed impossible.
At his father’s stern rebuke, his mother’s scolding immediately followed.
“What’s that getup? Did you come to a family meal ready for battle?”
“That is…….”
In truth, his parents’ reaction was entirely understandable.
After all, he’d woken up and immediately deployed and donned his Armor just as he was.
But he had his reasons for it.
“……It’s actually very comfortable, you see. As you know, this metal is practically an extension of my body. It feels light to me…….”
“Brother, then you’re essentially walking around naked right now?”
“……Cough.”
His lengthy excuses crumbled under Rian’s single cutting remark.
“Enough. It bothers us to look at. Take it off!”
“……Yes.”
With his parents’ rebuke added to the mix, Munno had no choice but to deactivate the Armor and retract it into wristband form.
And immediately after doing so, he received another reproach.
“Good heavens, still in your pajamas like that…….”
“Good grief, this boy…….”
“Brother, now that I look, you have eye boogers.”
“Rian! Hush!”
He’d tried to brush past it all with shameless audacity, but under the mounting disapproving gazes, he could only lower his head once more.
“I’m sorry. It’s just more comfortable…….”
“Munno, making excuses for a clear mistake……!”
“……isn’t wise. Yes, I apologize.”
“It’s all for your sake. We can overlook it, but when you visit other noble houses, it’ll cause problems. Don’t develop such strange habits.”
His father’s point was both true and not true at all.
That Dragon Sword Duke also wore armor while dining, or so he’d heard.
‘Even when dining with the King, for that matter.’
In a world where a single Seven-Star could defeat an entire army.
Even as Munno thought that everything would be resolved if he simply grew stronger, he bowed his head repeatedly.
“I understand.”
“Growing strong so rapidly in such a short time is certainly something to take pride in, but I hope it doesn’t lead to arrogance, Munno.”
“My son, I’d like you to live a life that fits well with many people. Without standing out, with joy. You understand, don’t you?”
He understood perfectly what his parents were worried about.
“I’ll be careful. Father, Mother.”
With Munno’s glib smile, the time for admonishment came to an end.
And then the family’s boisterous celebration party began in earnest.
“An Awakening before you’re even thirteen. No matter how grim things are, a family celebration is in order.”
“Fuhaha. Why are our sons so accomplished?”
“At least it’s good news in such dark times……. Oh, I’m sorry, dear.”
“Oh, no, my lady. This too shall pass. For now, we can simply be happy. Understand?”
“……Yes.”
Though worries they’d been trying to forget nearly surfaced for a moment, the family lunch, gathered after so long, proceeded with genuine warmth.
And the more it did.
Crunch. Crunch.
Smack smack.
“One more plate of this.”
“Me too!”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Yes, young master.”
Before Raian and Rian, the two Drasen nobles, empty plates began to pile up.
Barely a crumb of food was left behind—an utterly voracious appetite.
‘If only they’d learned the Gluttony Body Technique and done mukbang videos, they’d have made a fortune…….’
As Munno entertained such pointless thoughts while staring blankly at the spectacle.
“Butler Palmer, your hair’s getting whiter, I see.”
At that carelessly dropped remark, the two nobles flinched simultaneously.
And from that moment on, their movements began to change.
But then.
Munch munch.
Even as they glanced nervously at the servants, they continued eating steadily, and at the sight of them, laughter burst naturally from Munno and Elina’s lips.
“Fuhahahaha!”
“Ahahaha. Come on, dear. Just eat! You’re still recovering.”
“Well……should I?”
“Is it alright?”
The meal that began by making the family laugh continued on for quite some time after that.
But as it turned out, there was more than one reason to celebrate.
“To reach Fourth Circle, you need enlightenment?”
“Yes. Up to Third Circle, it’s a matter that can be managed somehow through talent and effort, but from Fourth Circle onward, you must also firmly establish your own ‘path.’ Now that I’ve broken through the wall again, I see it clearly.”
Munno was about to ask his father more about this ‘own path’ when.
‘Wait.’
His focus shifted to the last part of what his father said.
“Father, you don’t mean the fifth evolution……?”
“Yes. It seems to have succeeded. I won’t know for certain until my body fully recovers, but I’m sure of it.”
“Amazing!”
“Father!”
“Congratulations, Father!”
“Darling, then you’re at the level of Count Tinel or Commander Roberto…….”
“Oh, not quite their level yet, I’d say. Even with the same evolution count, there are differences in combat power.”
Raian expressed humility, but his self-assured expression told a different story.
“Father’s specialty was always short-term combat anyway. And with the Slayer on top of that, isn’t he essentially unbeatable one-on-one among his peers?”
“Wow. Father, that’s amazing…….”
“It was bound to happen sooner or later. Don’t make too much of it.”
In a world where it was common knowledge that the higher one’s mastery of the Hard Body Technique, the fewer practitioners existed at that level, Raian had displayed a somewhat arrogant confidence.
‘Well, I’ve proven it through action anyway.’
He found himself smiling anew, finally understanding why Count Enoch Trian treasured his father so.
‘The Gluttony Body Technique is truly remarkable in that regard.’
And now that legacy would pass to his younger brother.
As his gaze lingered on Rian, he could already see how much the boy had changed.
“By the way, little Rian has grown a bit too, hasn’t he?”
Munno had dropped the remark casually during their tea service—a rare indulgence in Drasen—after finishing dessert.
The comment made Elina flinch.
“What!?”
In the same moment, she stopped stroking Rian’s head and suddenly pulled the boy into a tight embrace.
“M-Mother?”
“No, Rian. You mustn’t grow as quickly as your brother did. Understand?”
“Ah. Hehe…….”
Rian laughed awkwardly, caught between confusion and resignation.
Raian, who despite having eaten so much still remained gaunt, his skin only now regaining a hint of color, let out a weary sigh.
“My dear, most of the Hard Body Techniques passed down through noble houses don’t typically cause such dramatic physical changes. Of course, our Gluttony Body Technique strengthens the body through consumption, so the boy will naturally mature faster than his years—but…….”
“I don’t like it. I wish Rian would grow slowly. Just… healthy and slow, here in my arms…….”
“I understand your feelings, but…….”
As the tender gazes of husband and wife crossed.
Munno caught the desperate look in his younger brother’s eye—a silent plea for rescue—and cleared his throat unnecessarily.
“Ahem. Well, Father, what about the situation now? On the way here, we spotted lower-class monsters even in the southern reaches of Drasen. It seems it could become quite a serious problem.”
That pragmatic interjection, so at odds with the celebratory mood, was enough to make the couple lower their tender gazes.
“……Mm. For now, we should fortify the castle’s defenses and deal with the approaching monsters as best we can.”
“Is there enough food for the commoners we’ve brought into the castle?”
“Our domain has always been prepared for such circumstances. We can endure the winter.”
“What about the other territories?”
“……They’ll face considerable hardship.”
The father’s face darkened once more as he spoke.
Realizing the conversation had taken too grim a turn, Munno hurried to offer an explanation—or rather, a correction.
“Since we’re at the mouth of the mountains, we’re hit harder than most. But Monster Waves are a winter event across all of Trian. The damage won’t be as severe as you might think.”
“Still, there has always been damage. And given that this situation is unprecedented, the toll will be far greater.”
“How could such a thing have happened, my love?”
“That’s precisely what troubles me, my dear. We simply don’t know.”
Everyone exhaled in resignation.
Then a small voice drew their attention.
“Um, I read something in a book…….”
“Hmm?”
“Rian? What is it?”
“There was something similar about three hundred years ago.”
“What!?”
“Back then, the reason was eventually revealed—some mad mage had hidden in the Northern Mountain Range and stolen a Monster Lord’s offspring, then fled.”
“You’re saying what!?”
It was shocking news.
“Rian, are you certain about this!?”
Raian, still barely able to walk properly, staggered to his feet and approached his younger brother.
“Yes, yes. It was written in a book I bought at the market yesterday.”
The market? A book?
It was a startling claim, but they couldn’t leave it unchecked.
“B-bring that book here, will you?”
“Yes. Yes, Father.”
Rian bolted from his seat and shortly returned carrying a thick, decidedly ancient-looking tome.
And then.
“If you look here…….”
Midway through the book, the passage was unmistakably there.
“The heretic mage Heriment, who was researching immortality, stole what was believed to be the offspring of a hydra—the creature thought to rule the Southern Forest—from deep within the Northern Mountain Range and fled. The hydra’s rampage caused all the monsters scattered throughout the middle and lower slopes of the Northern Mountain Range to pour southward en masse…….”
As Raian continued reading, the faces of all who listened grew steadily graver.
“What if this crisis was caused by someone doing something similar?”
At Rian’s tentatively voiced question, everyone could only slowly nod in agreement.
“It’s possible.”
“Darling, should we tell Father about this…?”
“Yes, we ought to. He may already know, but….”
As his parents worked through their bewilderment,
Munno found himself inevitably recalling that sect’s followers who had been pursuing him.
‘Could it be…?’
And in that moment, he failed to notice his younger sister beside him watching with gleaming eyes.

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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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