The Knight Who Devours Magic - Chapter 91

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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 91. Royal Report
“Hmm? Munno Drasen, even you? A promising knight like yourself choosing money over an artifact?”
Unlike when he had answered the White Silver Knight Elorang’s request, the King’s voice carried a distinct note of surprise.
The fortunate part was that what Munno sensed was closer to curiosity than reproach.
‘If I play this right……?’
Munno saw hope in that moment.
“In the course of pursuing the mages, I inadvertently caused considerable damage to civilian settlements. Initially, I had planned to cover the reconstruction costs through the kindness of Commander Paren, but the expenditure proved far greater than anticipated, and I understand this has created a significant strain on the Iron Knight Order’s budget.”
“Hmm……?”
The instant Munno felt his humble demeanor winning the King’s favor, it resonated in that very utterance.
‘Yes. This is it.’
Munno clenched his fist, bringing his social gambit to its natural conclusion.
“I would be grateful if Your Majesty would consider my reward fulfilled by restoring those missing funds to the treasury.”
“Aha……. Hehehehe.”
The moment Munno heard the King’s laughter, he instinctively knew his words had struck home.
But then.
“Indeed, you show remarkable consideration for one so young. Well done. I shall grant that request as well.”
The King’s immediate response made Munno’s heart drop.
‘That’s it? Surely not, Your Majesty? I was told you’d make me a hero!?’
He wanted nothing more than to lift his head and protest, but such a thing was possible only in his imagination.
He couldn’t even bring himself to look up, for fear his true thoughts might somehow be revealed.
Fortunately.
“However, it would not do for the victor of this competition to receive only a budget appropriation for the Royal Knight Order. As I had originally intended to grant you…….”
Yes!
The moment the King spoke the words Munno had been hoping for, his head snapped up of its own accord.
But then.
“Your Majesty, if I may…….”
An elderly man who appeared to be the chief steward leaned in and whispered something to the King.
The King’s expression clouded slightly, and his gaze began to alternate between Paren, who stood ready for the audience, and Munno himself.
In that instant, as though he had suddenly awakened to telepathy, Munno read the emotion in the King’s eyes with perfect clarity.
It was the look of a man asking: ‘What in the world did you do to rack up such a sum?’
Damn.
“”……Ahem. I shall reduce the reward by one tier and bestow upon you a Treasure-grade Artifact—the Hemogladiator.”
How could he describe this feeling?
It was good, certainly, but there was a faint aftertaste of disappointment lingering.
Yet there was only one thing he could say now.
“I am deeply grateful for Your Majesty’s benevolence!”
* * *
King Lockhart was as hearty as ever.
— The reward would be executed immediately, and following today’s events, the Iron Knight Order would begin operations throughout the kingdom to eradicate the mages.
While follow-up measures to capture the Cult Organization weighed on his mind, Munno could not help but focus on the artifact he was about to receive.
“Immediately, you said?”
“Yes, immediately. Follow me, please. Knight Munno, Knight Anthony.”
Trauni Halren, the Royal Steward, Count.
Though the wrinkles at his eyes and brow were faint, his neatly combed white hair and the sparse white beard beneath his chin made his age abundantly clear.
An elderly man who, despite his years, appeared remarkably vigorous and robust. Munno could readily guess the reason.
He might be a knight who had undergone an unusual evolutionary path that extended his lifespan.
But the sight of the spirits clinging contentedly to his frame told only one story.
‘A Spirit User. At least third-class…….’
Considering that the position of royal steward typically fell to a personal attendant the King had kept since his princely days, this was remarkable.
And it seemed the other man had sensed something similar about Munno.
“There is reason the Black Knight’s name carries such renown. A friend to spirits—it is good to meet you.”
Trauni bowed with a smile.
Anthony, the Hemogladiator, who had been walking ahead with an expressionless face, turned sharply back toward Munno.
“It was fortune.”
Meeting his slightly widened eyes, Munno hastily offered a modest reply.
“Hardly so. Excessive humility can read as mockery of those less capable. Be a little arrogant now and then—it suits a junior.”
High praise from a man who had risen to the rank of six-star knight in his thirties.
Munno bowed lightly in acknowledgment.
“I appreciate the advice…….”
But Anthony had already turned his head away before the words left his mouth, leaving Munno bowing to the back of his skull.
“……will do.”
Munno could not help but offer a wry smile.
‘Is this man always like this?’
Of course.
“Heh. I am delighted to guide the next generation and those who will follow—the sacred talents who shall lead this kingdom. Pray, follow me.”
At Trauni Halren’s next words, his face brightened despite himself.
And then.
After descending deeper still into the Royal Palace’s bowels alongside Trauni Halren.
When they stood before the massive iron doors that sealed the Underground Vault.
He realized a grave oversight.
Clang!
“By royal command. Verify.”
“Yes, sir.”
The knights in pristine white armor who guarded the vault’s iron gates examined the documents Trauni Halren produced, then accepted a silver seal and inserted it into one side of the door.
“And what manner of Artifact would you two prefer?”
“For my part, it must be a sword, absolutely. Baron.”
Only after hearing the exchange between Trauni Halren and Anthony did the thought strike him.
Ah, damn it. Hell!
“And you, Sir Munno?”
“……One moment, please.”
Cursed be this.
The word ‘Artifact’ had blinded him to his own circumstances.
Usually, with Artifacts, weapons and armor ranked first—swords, helms, the like.
But then.
‘I don’t need weapons!’
The armor already sheathing his body far exceeded ordinary steel in strength.
True, he had no helm yet, but once he reached the fourth star, that too would be resolved, or so he reckoned.
And alongside the growth of his Spirit Magic, his own ‘blade’ would only grow stronger—more than enough to serve as his primary weapon, Artifact or no.
‘Ah, vertigo…….’
The moment the weight of it sank in, his legs nearly gave way.
Damn it.
‘Should have just asked the family for support…….’
Greed had clouded his mind; his thinking had been far too shallow.
‘What a fool’s errand…….’
Even as he berated himself.
“Sir Munno?”
“Ah, no—I beg your pardon. Might I be allowed to look first and then choose?”
He could give no other answer to Trauni Halren.
“Of course. Though you understand, you may select only one. And depending on the nature of the Spirit housed within the Artifact, it may reject you?”
“Naturally.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Should the Spirit’s power within prove incompatible with its bearer, the Artifact would be nothing more than pretty scrap metal—no better, no worse.
This was why men said an Artifact chooses its master.
Yet he could hardly ask to swap his reward for something else now.
If the royal vault held nothing he could use.
‘Then I’d have to choose something Father or Mother—or perhaps Rian—could wield.’
For that, he would need to find an Artifact without prejudice—one versatile enough to suit anyone.
Munno’s eyes gleamed with that resolve.
In the deepest reaches of the palace’s underground.
Where torchlight alone granted illumination, the method for opening the massive iron doors was simple, yet crude.
‘Fire element?’
The moment Trauni Halren worked some Spirit Magic on the door.
Grrrrung.
A sound like titanic metal groaning issued from within.
And then.
“Uoooohhh!”
“Hrraaagh!”
Two of the pale-armored ‘Iron Knight’ sentries flanking the royal vault’s entrance seized the pulley-like mechanisms on either side and began to turn them with all their might.
The wheels turned in rhythm, turned by fourth-star-rank knights whose faces burned crimson with strain.
The sheer weight of it was beyond imagining.
“What you two may examine is limited to the Treasure-Grade collection—the tier just below what we call Named-Grade Artifacts, which are Transcendent-class. Originally, His Majesty intended to grant you a Transcendent-Grade Artifact as well, both for its symbolic value and in honor of your service, but…….”
Trauni Halren regarded Munno with a look of regret, but Munno himself felt little disappointment.
After all, named Transcendent-Grade Artifacts like his father’s Slayer were almost invariably particular about their wielders.
Moreover, had he not resolved that debt, his family might have faced bankruptcy, or his own future might have been mortgaged away entirely.
‘Chainman is sealed forever. Damn it.’
He found himself imagining a sharp rebuke directed at his younger self.
“It’s quite all right. Treasures that exceed one’s station tend to invite calamity, after all.”
He offered a composed smile, feigning indifference.
Trauni Halren nodded in admiration at what he took to be genuine resignation, not a mask worn against disappointment.
“Ah, as expected…….”
What sort of image of him was taking shape in the mind of Count Trauni Halren?
The question stirred a fresh curiosity.
Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang.
The iron door swung open just then, and the auspicious light spilling from within swept away all such idle musings in a single breath.
Gleaming and glittering.
The onomatopoeia felt real against his skin in a way he hadn’t expected.
The first thing visible through the iron door was a mountain of precious metals heaped without measure.
Gold coins of indeterminate age—their minting date lost to time, knowable only to experts—and gemstones so exquisitely worked that even an untrained eye could perceive their beauty.
“Wow…….”
“This is……tremendous.”
If they liquidated all this, wouldn’t poverty vanish from the realm? Or would it trigger catastrophic inflation instead?
The thought rose unbidden.
“Come deeper. This is merely bait—meant to distract any thief who breaks in and make them think to rob only this chamber.”
This is bait?
Trauni Halren strode past the mountain of treasure with a casual remark that belied its enormity.
“Follow me, please. Your true destination lies much deeper within.”
His composure quickly steadied the wonder rising in both their hearts at the sight of such abundance.
And then.
Beyond the treasure mound, deeper in the vault, he shifted an unremarkable-looking pedestal aside.
A doorway appeared—barely large enough for a single person to pass through.
“This is what you’ve come to see.”
Trauni Halren’s silver badge slipped into the door’s narrow gap once more, and flames danced at his fingertips as his Spirit Magic activated something unseen.
Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang.
With a heavy sound, the small door swung wide.
And within, some thirty treasures lay arranged in neat compartments, displayed with austere elegance.
“This is the Treasure-Grade Artifact Chamber. We currently keep thirty-six pieces. You need only select one each.”
Though less ornate than the mountain of treasure they had just seen.
“Ah…….”
To Munno, who was a Spirit User, the brilliant flow of Mana suffusing this chamber appeared far more beautiful.
As if understanding his heart.
“Is it not beautiful?”
The vigorous elderly man spread both arms wide in welcome, smiling as he introduced the space to him.
Munno could only nod in agreement.
A conversation only a Spirit User would comprehend.
Perhaps for that reason.
Tap-tap-tap-tap.
Anthony seemed wholly uninterested in their exchange, and the moment he entered the chamber, he began walking toward a longsword visible in the distance.
“Now then, why don’t you choose as well? A Spirit User should be able to recognize an Artifact suited to him at a glance.”
The remark struck Munno with a fresh wave of melancholy.
“……Yes. Thank you.”
Though it won’t be for me—it’ll be for my family to use.
Sigh.
He exhaled and began surveying the chamber.
Fortunately, for the benefit of those who were not Spirit Users, each artifact bore a helpful description inscribed beneath it.
As with, for instance, the helmet before his eyes.
[Blazing Flame Helmet]
[Abilities: Grants its wearer powerful resistance to flame and light; provides perfect clarity of vision even in absolute darkness, as though in daylight. Its defensive capacity as a helm is flawless, capable of deflecting even a Knight’s charged strike once by expending Mana.]
‘……It’s a fine piece, but it’s not for me.’
The Mana he sensed was that of scorching flame.
He could feel the Fire Spirits dancing about it turning their attention eagerly toward Trauni Halren beside him.
Of course, the report seemed to contain treasures that would stir the Mana of metals he possessed.
“Hmm…”
If those weapons held no use for him, it would be better to find something his family could wield instead.
‘Items imbued with neutral Mana, that is.’
Yet the more he reasoned this way, the more seductive the presence of the metal spirits drawing him toward them became.
And then—
“Shall we take a look, Munno?”
When Trauni Halren added his words to the pull,
Munno, as if yielding to a force he could not resist, began to move like one bewitched, following the spirits’ call that drew him onward.

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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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