The Knight Who Devours Magic - Chapter 78

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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 78. Am I built for the streets?
“Damn it…….”
Crackle-crackle.
Munno cursed without thinking as he rolled up his makeshift homeless shelter—a tent of sorts ringed with Metal Chains.
In his dream, things had been going wonderfully with Karina, about to reach something far more intimate.
“I have no interest in men weaker than myself.”
Then those words came out of nowhere, and he’d taken a thorough beating to wrap it all up.
It seemed the memory of that sparring match—where he’d wrung himself to the point of collapse without even grazing her—had lodged itself painfully in his bones.
So.
“Next time, I’ll win. I swear it.”
Thud.
He’d slept with his armor still on, using a bundle of Metal Chains as a pillow, but his condition was excellent.
By ordinary standards, it wasn’t much different from sleeping naked and comfortable.
His body wouldn’t freeze in the depths of winter; he’d built a campfire and ringed himself with Metal Chains stretched into a tent formation, which was more than enough protection against wandering nocturnal beasts or surprise attacks from Mages.
His sense of smell, already sharp before, had become almost canine now, and his physical prowess was such that he could handle most predators with ease. Hunting was simple work.
The only annoyance was plucking feathers and cleaning innards when roasting meat, but once he folded his armor around himself and unfolded it again, any grease, fur, and blood that clung to him vanished.
In short, his current state could be summed up as:
“Somehow I’ve become a wilderness camping specialist…….”
The moment the words left his lips, he felt a pang of something pathetic.
He’d developed such formidable abilities that he thought life in this world would be comfortable, let him live with some confidence and ease.
But the days he was living now were the kind even someone born with the worst fortune wouldn’t endure.
‘Though really, it’s not all that inconvenient…….’
Which only made it feel more pathetic.
“Why does eating and sleeping on the road feel so natural…….”
Could it be that fate had already written me into this kind of existence?
He shook his head to dispel the ominous thought and rose from where he sat.
He couldn’t predict what would happen once he reached the capital, which was probably why his mind kept spinning with these foolish concerns.
‘There’s no point worrying about it anyway.’
When the mind grew tangled, the answer was to push the body to its limit.
“Hah…….”
Munno watched the sun rise, then turned his footsteps toward the south once more.
And soon that walk became a tempestuous gale that tore across the plains.
* * *
The morning the city gates opened.
Crash-crash-crash-crash.
“What—what is that!?”
“Everyone, stand guard!”
A mercenary at the rear of a merchant caravan approaching Ironheart, the capital of the Iron Kingdom, cried out at the whirlwind of dust bearing down from behind.
The commotion that rippled outward reached even the gateguard forces watching the city gates.
The Black Knight who had summoned this wind came to a halt at the edge of the roadway.
“Phew……. That must be it.”
Munno ignored the countless gazes fixed upon him and cast his eyes toward the distant city walls.
“Quite impressive…….”
Massive walls, tall enough that a single glance couldn’t take them all in, encircled an enormous city.
“If they look that high from here, they must be over twenty meters…….”
Ironheart—a metropolis where the resident population alone exceeded two hundred thousand, and with the small towns ringing the city walls, the total reached over a million.
Thanks to the Blessing of numerous spirits woven into the city walls, the capital was known far and wide as a clean, pleasant place to live, unusual for such a massive city and free from the stench of waste. Yet Munno felt only a detached appreciation.
Ten days of sleeping rough and High-Speed Running had finally come to an end, and the relief of that was all he could muster—the grandeur of the sight before him barely registered.
“That armor is intimidating…….”
“He crossed all that distance at that speed, wearing something like that? Without a sound?”
“Though he looks rather young…….”
“Wait……. Black Armor, Black Great Sword, black hair. I feel like I’ve heard of something like that…….”
Fortunately, the embarrassing epithet “Black Knight” hadn’t reached the capital yet, and Munno felt relief wash over him once more.
Thud-thud-thud-thud.
“The Gate Guard Force!”
“There are knights with them!”
A mounted contingent approached from the distance.
And before they even reached him:
“Are you Sir Munno Drassen, the ‘Black Knight’!?”
“We have been awaiting you, Black Knight!”
“Ugh, damn it…….”
Humiliating.
With shouts ringing out all around him in a deafening chorus, Munno found himself wiping his face without thinking.
“Indeed, quite as I’ve heard—peculiar, yes, quite. I’d heard many stories about you. You’ve arrived three days earlier than expected. Without so much as……a word, as it were.”
A blonde, mustached man of middle years dismounted from his horse, quickly erasing his expression of embarrassment and extending his hand.
“Ah. I am Rantus Mcdowell, captain of the North Gate of the Royal Capital Guard Force. I’ve been awaiting you on His Majesty’s orders, Lord Munno.”
Munno immediately extended his hand in return.
‘By the look of him, he’s at least a four-star.’
Judging by the weight carried through the air with his movements, that seemed about right.
And as captain of the North Gate of the Royal Capital Guard Force, it was hardly a minor post, and given that he had a family name, he likely bore a title as well.
“I seem quite a bit younger than you, so please feel free to speak more casually, Rantus.”
Rantus smiled warmly as they shook hands, but then immediately shook his head.
“That simply won’t do. Not for someone summoned here by His Majesty’s command. If we should meet again in the future, I’d hope we might adjust our manner of address then.”
A four-star knight bearing a title was showing such courtesy simply because the king had summoned him.
Recalling what his father had told him about the power of the royal house, Munno nodded at once.
“I’m grateful for your consideration, Rantus.”
“Think nothing of it. I shall escort you to the Royal Palace now. However…….”
Rantus, who had been nodding and smiling, quickly changed his tone as he took in Munno’s dust-covered state.
“Would you care to stop by the Guard Force barracks to freshen up and change?”
“Ah…….”
Only then realizing his condition, Munno retracted his armor for a moment, then deployed it again.
Swoosh.
Pff.
As he retracted it, all manner of grime fell away completely.
As he deployed it again, the armor gleamed with spotless brilliance.
“Oh……!”
“Truly a remarkable Artifact.”
“As expected……. One needs something like that.”
Hearing the exclamations of the Guard Force knights who had been watching, Munno gave a wry smile.
‘No wonder rumors about me have spread.’
Well, it hardly mattered.
He simply felt the persistent unease of the actual body(?) beneath, even though no dust clung to the armor itself.
“……I really should wash, though. I’d appreciate your help with that.”
“I understand. Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
But there was another problem.
When Rantus, about to mount his horse, saw him and extended a hand.
Munno had no choice but to decline his goodwill.
“Ah, if I were to ride, the horse wouldn’t be able to bear it.”
“……I beg your pardon?”
“This armor is far heavier than it looks, so there’s no horse that can carry me. That’s actually why I ran here.”
“I……see……?”
As Rantus’s expression turned bewildered.
“Conner.”
“……Yes.”
At a gesture from what appeared to be his aide, a large knight who looked the youngest among them dismounted from his horse with a scowl.
“Please take my horse, Lord Munno. He’s quite sturdy.”
“Still, that must be difficult……. Well, yes. If he’s only walking, he should manage. Thank you, Conner.”
It would be rude to keep declining kindness.
Munno carefully mounted the horse the knight had offered.
And then.
“Whinny!”
The horse stumbled momentarily, looked back at his own back as if startled, then glared at his owner again.
“As you can see…….”
“Ahem. Nice and slow now, nice and slow.”
“……Yes.”
Whinny!
The party, escorted directly by the North Gate captain himself, advanced unimpeded through all the lines that had stretched before the castle gates.
As a result.
“Who is that?”
“Is it because of that Black Knight in the dark armor?”
“Who on earth is he?”
“I feel like I’ve heard of him somewhere before.”
“But why does he speak in such a timid way?”
Even so, Munno stood out unmistakably in his black armor, alone among all the others.
‘Good grief.’
The man himself could barely hold his head up.
Yet there was one stroke of good fortune.
He’d arrived three days ahead of schedule.
Rantus, showing no sign of impatience whatsoever, had the thoughtfulness to prepare washing water and formal attire for him at the Guard Force’s quarters.
Thanks to that, Munno emerged from scrubbing away the grime of sleeping rough, and with lightened spirits made his way toward the inner city alongside Rantus.
“Ah, your appearance is refreshed indeed.”
“…Yes. Thank you.”
The formal dress of the Iron Kingdom, with its exaggerated shoulder padding and the way certain parts were uncomfortably emphasized, was the height of discomfort—but there was nothing for it but to answer politely.
“But leaving the armor aside, that great sword of yours…?”
“Ah… I made do with a quick arrangement.”
Munno tapped the ‘blade’ he’d reshaped and wound around his waist, offering a vague excuse.
He worried that if he mentioned Spirit Magic or anything like that, it would only draw more attention.
“Remarkable as always—so that blade is an Artifact as well?”
Fortunately, Rantus had leapt to a misunderstanding all on his own.
But then came something he hadn’t anticipated.
“However, before the Royal Audience, you must surrender all Artifacts. Such is the protocol.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“…Why do you seem surprised? Surely it stands to reason. When visiting the sovereign of this realm, one cannot bear weapons. The Sword Duke is the sole exception.”
“Ah, yes. Of course. Ha… haha…”
What am I going to do about this.
The blade born of Spirit Magic was one thing—but the armor was part of his very body.
How could he possibly set that aside?
Everyone in the Guard Force had already seen the way he could compress the armor into band-like wrappings around his limbs.
His mind grew tangled, and his eyes began to dart about.
Rantus seemed to read something into that movement.
“You needn’t fear the Crown seizing your Artifacts. No matter how renowned an anti-Mage Artifact might be, the royal treasury is hardly so impoverished as to covet such things.”
“Ah, yes. Haha. That’s not it, though…”
Ah, what am I really going to do.
The only thought that came to mind was to reveal his power.
But if he did, the fact that what had been known as an anti-Mage Artifact was actually his own ability would be laid bare before the world.
He would become the number-one target all the Mages of the Mage Empire marked for death.
‘Ah. Hell… this is driving me mad.’
Actually, now that he thought about it, those cultists probably already knew.
In the end, it might only be a matter of time before word of his existence reached the Empire itself.
But then.
“Before the Royal Audience, the Royal Attendants Office will inspect for Artifacts and weapons. Simply surrender everything pertaining to that, and they will be returned to you intact once the Audience is concluded. There’s no need to worry.”
“Ah, an inspection?”
“Yes.”
In that moment, he felt a measure of relief wash over him.
Then the armor wouldn’t be caught.
Of course, if the Royal Attendants Office and Rantus were to compare notes and cross-examine, they might discover that the Black Knight’s famous armor was not an Artifact after all.
“Will you only be escorting me as far as the inner city, then?”
“That would be correct. I too have duties awaiting me.”
It was rare for secretaries who stood at a great CEO’s side to communicate directly with rank-and-file employees.
Even respectable corporations upheld such formality, let alone a nation.
“That’s fortunate.”
“Pardon?”
“Ah, nothing.”
This mouth of mine—this time I really do need to watch my tongue.
Reproaching himself inwardly for the unguarded thought that had escaped, he fixed his eyes forward and walked on.
“‘That kingdom’s’ specialty goods for only a pittance…!”
“Monster hides from the Northern Region!”
“Rare fruits from the Southern Region—we have rare fruits!”
The bustling market alley, and beyond it the elegant streets of the nobility.
“What do you make of it, Ironheart? Quite remarkable, wouldn’t you say?”
“Yes. It’s certainly interesting.”
Everything was new, certainly, but only to that degree.
Rantus’s expression tightened slightly at the underwhelming response.
Fortunately, it wasn’t long before their destination came into view.
The Royal Palace rose before them—grand and formidable all at once.
“So that’s the Royal Palace……”
Just as Rantus began to point toward the palace gates and launch into an explanation,
Munno’s attention shifted elsewhere entirely.
The woman he’d carried in his mind’s eye for so long was standing before him now.
“……Hmm?”
“Forgive the interruption, Rantus. And……it’s been a while, hasn’t it, Munno.”
She smiled, radiant and beautiful.
The Knight of the Storm Wind herself—Karina.

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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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