The Knight Who Devours Magic - Chapter 76

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 76. A Brief Rest, Desperately Needed
“……You’re saying something like that happened?”
“Yes.”
For some reason, his father was studying him with suspicion, so Munno nodded emphatically on purpose.
Miya’s situation had wrapped up miraculously, but.
– ……Is it the power of that bloodline?
– If that bloodline…….
The words that Miya’s mother—the dragon—had left behind summoned past trauma once more.
– ……the bloodline. Kill them all. Keep only the child alive as a test subject…….
‘Those Demon Cult bastards……. At least the higher-ups know about my bloodline. Maybe that’s why they’re so fixated on me.’
The thought that he’d need to crush the Demon Cult again crossed his mind, but he didn’t feel like telling his father about it right now.
It would only pile worry upon worry.
So he decided to keep it to himself for now.
“A demonic energy that covered the sky, and a dragon that could speak……. I didn’t see any of that here.”
“But I saw it!”
“……All right, I have to believe you, then.”
“You don’t look like you believe me at all!?”
“I believe you, I do. What father wouldn’t trust his own son?”
“Your expression says otherwise.”
“That’s casual speech, by the way.”
His father nodded while still seeming half-convinced.
But even so.
“So the upper part of the Gorge is covered with monster corpses, is it?”
“Of course! Since all the monsters that would have scavenged on those bodies are dead too, they’ll just lie there for a while.”
“Then we should go dig up that goldmine.”
“……Yes.”
He wasn’t about to forget securing Drasen’s main source of income.
* * *
– You see! Now you’ll believe me, won’t you!?
– I told you from the start. I believe you.
– Hehe……!
Listening to his father and brother bickering somewhere up in the Gorge, Rean let the words pass through one ear and surveyed his surroundings with bright eyes.
Even so, he didn’t forget to make one point.
“You knights, please continue with your work. Don’t mind me. The soldiers might get the wrong idea.”
“Yes, yes. Young master.”
“Understood.”
At that, Roider and Pearson and the other knights began gathering the scattered monster corpses, picking out hides and horns and other things worth money.
Watching their retreating figures, Rean smiled again, a subtle smile.
“A dragon, he says. Do you believe it, Larry?”
By now he’d probably awakened too. He’d heard that all the monsters were dead.
Still, just to be safe, he’d come to the Northern Mountain Range for the first time under Larry’s guard.
And wasn’t it really, genuinely peaceful?
“I find it hard to believe, but seeing this situation……I really can’t disbelieve it.”
“Do you believe it?”
“Ah, yes. It is believable that the Crown Prince encountered something truly monstrous. But…….”
“It won’t be a dragon?”
“Yes. It’s a mythical beast, after all.”
“Right, that’s true. But somehow I believe it.”
Rean watched his older brother up there, bickering with their father while moving an impossibly long chain to transport monster corpses downward, and let out a soft laugh.
Then he brought up something sudden.
“I think my limit will probably be Count of Trian.”
“Yes!? Yo-young master. Your words…….”
“Why does it matter? There’s no one listening anyway.”
Rean gestured toward the knights absorbed in their work and chuckled softly.
“Why do you think?”
“Sir?”
Larry asked back with a still-confused expression, but Rean, as if he’d never expected an answer in the first place, continued naturally.
“Because that’s the highest position I can seize with even a forced pretext. And more than that…….”
“Young master…….”
“……to reach any position beyond that, I’d have to start a war. And that’s something neither Father nor Mother would ever wish for.”
In Rean’s expression as he spoke, there mingled subtle emotions difficult to articulate.
Regret? Relief?
Though Larry couldn’t quite grasp what his young master felt, instinct moved him to comfort him at once.
“If that is what you wish, I shall do anything—”
“No. What my family wants is what I want.”
……
“I’m someone who, once I start something on my own terms, loses all sense of restraint. So this path is also for me.”
“Whatever you desire, I will always remain at your side.”
At Larry’s reply, Rean’s eyes—twisted in a wry smile—remained fixed on his brother above the Gorge.
— Live like a human. You must. Rean.
— Excessive desire…will destroy a person.
— Be on your guard. Against yourself. Against greed.
My foolish—or rather, compassionate—brother, who’d dispensed such sage counsel since I was very young.
At times it seemed he didn’t fully understand his own words, yet his advice became an excellent compass through my wandering childhood.
“But my brother is different.”
“Sir?”
“He doesn’t desire much himself, yet countless things find their way to him of their own accord. Even a legend like this one has sought him out.”
And I too……
“A man who overcame and conquered even the cruelest ordeals with his own strength from the moment he was born. Doesn’t that sound like a familiar story?”
……
“My brother will become a hero. Now I’m certain of it.”
“You yourself are more than capable—”
“You know, Larry? I can play the hero, but I can never truly be one.”
“Yet you will become a ruler more wise than any other.”
“Hmm?”
Surprised by the unexpected answer, Rean turned his head for the first time to look squarely at his first knight.
Seeing that loyal gaze, which carried not the slightest hint of flattery, he let out a quiet laugh.
“Right. That will be the case. But the time isn’t yet. Three more years until I come of age and can act under my own name.”
“In that time, you will establish an even firmer foundation.”
“By then, my brother will have soared far, far away.”
“Sir?”
— Father! Over there, beyond the mountain too—!
— What!?
— Call the soldiers. Clear that side first—!
— Now this one’s ordering his father around with a finger……
— Is that what matters right now!?
A soft chuckle.
“I’d hoped to be an umbrella for my brother, but perhaps instead I’ll find myself bearing his name upon my back.”
“Sir?”
“Well…that wouldn’t be so bad. Actually, it’s rather good. Perhaps because of it, I too……”
Along with Rean’s smile, the situation in the Gorge began to resolve swiftly.
* * *
The dragon’s “gift” was larger in scale than expected.
From the Gorge at the mouth of the Northern Mountain Range all the way to the two peaks above it, every monster bearing even a trace of Demonic Energy had been utterly exterminated.
And that naturally led to a sharp decline in the monsters descending toward Drasen along the Gorge.
This winter’s Monster Wave was effectively over!
It became a sensation in Drasen, and word naturally spread as Munno’s fame.
Since only Munno had seen the dragon, rumor credited him with eliminating all the monsters.
As a result.
“Long live the Black Knight!”
“The Black Knight, our lord!”
“Long live Lord Munno!”
Drasen’s soldiers, their wagons endless and laden with monster byproducts, paraded into the territory.
The cheers of the townsfolk for those soldiers were concentrated almost entirely on Munno at the front.
Of course, the man himself was anything but pleased.
“Ugh, I’m embarrassed…the Black Knight, really…”
“Shouldn’t you be used to it by now?”
“It’s mortifying to receive such praise for something I didn’t even do.”
“It’s no different from something you did. You should take pride in it.”
Rayan laughed and patted his son’s shoulder—
Whump!
The horse Munno was riding staggered slightly under the impact.
“What’s wrong?”
“This one’s about to collapse. I told you I’d just walk, didn’t I?”
“Just how much do you weigh, anyway?”
“I’m not sure exactly, but it’s probably about the same as this horse.”
“What?!”
“She can carry her own body weight and walk fine. So that means….”
“Still, it’s unbecoming. Why not remove that Armor?”
“Removing the Armor won’t change the weight. Look—I’ve done nothing but walk since leaving the Outer Fortress, and already she’s foaming at the mouth. I’ll dismount the moment we reach the Inner Fortress. Besides, we’ve finished cleaning up all the monster corpses anyway.”
“Ugh. Very well.”
“I’m going to rest now. Truly rest—wildly, intensely, deeply.”
“…All right.”
Rayan could only offer a wry smile and nod at such an absurd turn of phrase.
And Munno, true to his word, spent the next three days and nights doing nothing but sprawling in his room.
* * *
“Yaaaa~awn.”
Blink. Blink.
The moment Munno opened his eyes in the morning, he felt his entire body aching.
Even after stretching languidly and yawning widely, the drowsiness wouldn’t lift—a heavy, dull fatigue.
“Did I rest too much…?”
Crack.
Pop.
It seemed he’d only now learned, across his entire previous life, that pain could arise simply from resting.
Yet he was satisfied.
His spirit, which had seemed utterly depleted after brushing with death several times and enduring great trials these past months, finally felt soft and alive again.
‘Time to move around a bit.’
He’d intended to spend a whole week doing nothing but eating and sleeping in his room.
But it seemed that merely sprawling about didn’t suit his nature.
“Heave-ho!”
Thud.
He sprang cheerfully from the bed with a bounce.
Creak.
The door opened at just that moment.
“Oh no! Young master! If you keep jumping and throwing yourself onto the bed like that, it’s going to…!”
“No more jumping—I’m getting up!”
“…Pardon?”
At the sight of Esna’s dazed expression, he was reminded of that ridiculous moment four days ago when he’d gleefully pounced on the bed and destroyed the poor thing he’d grown fond of for a decade.
‘At least the building’s all stone, so that’s fortunate.’
Munno cleared his throat and gave the sturdy replacement bed a tentative pat before turning his gaze to the food cart Esna had wheeled in.
Warm foods radiating savory aromas.
“Bring the meal. After I eat, I’ll train.”
“No more lounging about?”
“That’s right. I’ve had enough.”
“Wonderful!”
“You’re that pleased?”
“Of course! I mean, it’s not like we’re raising a pig—three days of eating, sleeping, and… well, that’s all. Ahem, not that I’m calling you a pig, sir. Ahem.”
“You really need to watch your tongue around others. I only let it slide because it’s me.”
“I only speak like this with you, anyway. Hmph.”
Chuckle.
Bickering back and forth with Esna like this, Munno realized that these ordinary moments themselves were what made life joyful and worth living.
And so, to protect that—
“I need to train.”
“Sir?”
“No, never mind. Let me eat first.”
“Yes! Please sit at the table! Here’s the water for washing, and here’s the meat….”
Tap-tap-tap.
The food piling up before him was happiness in another form.
‘Though sometimes I do crave ramen or kimchi….’
To wish for that here would be asking for far too much.
Munno set down his dishes, brushing aside a small disappointment.
* * *
Clang!
“So that’s a Spirit Technique mimicking the Slayer.”
Rayan let out a hollow laugh, watching the two-handed sword that looked identical to his own beloved blade.
“Yes. It won’t be easy, Father.”
“Mmm. It certainly looks that way.”
Three days had passed sorting through the dragon’s gift, and another three while Munno rested—
During that time, his father had fortunately recovered in full.
The father wanted to confirm his health and the power of a 5-Star Knight, the son wanted to see his own achievements validated, and so naturally they had moved into a sparring match.
The result.
“Too slow!”
Clang!
…Father’s just too fast. Hmm.
Munno felt the Slayer’s blade streak past his ear once more and hurriedly deployed his Metal Chains.
‘And he’s not even using the Slayer’s abilities.’
His father’s speed was in no way inferior to the Demon Knight Collid whom he’d seen in Trian.
And beyond that.
Crack!
“Ugh!”
His strength clearly surpassed that of the old man as well.
“If your armor gets cut, it causes pain—that’s a weakness! Master how to deflect attacks with your armor!”
“That’s easier said than done…!”
Screech!
The moment Munno barely dodged the blade strike, seeing the Training Grounds floor split beneath him, he cried out without thinking.
“Ah, if you actually try to cut me, what am I supposed to do!? It hurts like hell! It’s like my bones are breaking!”
“That’s why you practice!”
How could he practice if his father didn’t deliver attacks worth defending against?
“No, I’m serious…!”
Bang!
“Eek!”
“Are you just going to scurry around dodging like a rat!?”
“Then you want me to die!?”
Munno repeatedly deployed and retracted his Metal Chains like four limbs, maneuvering three-dimensionally to barely evade the attacks.
It was the only way to bridge this overwhelming speed gap.
‘I’ve definitely grown tremendously…’
So why did this feel exactly like when he’d just awakened?
“If my armor and chains are as solid as bone!”
Clang!
“Then Chain Deployment…!”
Crack!
“…and you need to shorten your retraction intervals too!”
Bang!
“That’s easier said than done!”
Just as in past sparring sessions, Munno still scrambled along the Training Grounds walls and ceiling like a spider, barely evading his father’s attacks.
And then.
He witnessed a sight like déjà vu.
“Dodge well. Make a mistake and you die.”
A terrible momentum rose from his father’s entire body as he raised the Slayer overhead.
“Oh, come on…!”
Flash.
The moment the Slayer swung.
Everything along its trajectory seemed to be severing.
‘Space Cutting…’
The difference from before was that now he could read its path and force clearly.
And as that blow descended toward him.
‘Whoosh!’
Munno’s body slid sideways, ignoring its forward momentum.
Not Space Cutting like his father, but the Space Shortening Technique—something his body had grasped instead of his sword.
The blade that passed through him tore an entire wall section of the Training Grounds clean away.
Crash!
“No, you’re actually trying to kill your own son…!?”
“No, wait—how did you even…!?”
The father’s voice tangled with the son’s in a dizzying overlap.
– My lord!
A familiar yet urgent shout rang out from beyond the Training Grounds, and both their heads snapped toward it in unison.
What appeared was an elderly butler with snow-white hair, his face flushed crimson.
The father began spilling out something like an excuse before Palmer could even speak.
“Still, we earned quite a bit this time, so the repair costs should be…!”
“That’s not it, sir!”
“What?”
“A message has come from the Royal Palace, from the Palace itself!!! Direct orders!!”
The eyes of both father and son widened at the same moment.
The brief respite had come to an end.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————