The Book Eating Magician - chapter-157

Elsid’s group also wanted to sort out the confusing situation, so they
accepted Theodore’s proposal without raising any objections. However,
unlike Baek Jongmyung and his two children who were looking at the
mansion, Elsid and Marquis Piris were busy thinking about the unexpected
situation.

This was because the plan they had thought of in advance would no longer
work.

‘What should I do in this situation?’

The awkward atmosphere continued as the group walked through the front
door and into the mansion’s reception room.

Following Theodore’s direction, Elsid sat down and worried about what
to say. He had planned to question the two people whose identities were
unclear and then buy back this mansion. However, the opponents were much
bigger than he had imagined. One was a senior magician praised by a sword
master, while the other was a sword master who could be a marquis in any
country.

However, Marquis Piris managed to calm his mind.

‘…No, it makes no difference even if they are bigger than I thought.
Piris is our territory. No matter what status they have, they need to
bend down in the presence of the crown prince!’

He didn’t know why these people were hiding here, but it didn’t have
anything to do with his task. After that, he spoke to the two people on
behalf of the crown prince, whose status had yet to be disclosed.

“First of all, I would like to apologize for the sudden visit, Sir
Ted.”

“No, Marquis Piris. This territory is Marquis Piris’. As guests, we
shouldn’t disrespect the owner.”

“I appreciate your understanding.” Marquis Piris’ eyes shone.
“However, before I get to the point, I would like you to identify
yourself. If I am the master of this land as you said, shouldn’t I have
a right to know the secret?”

“They are fair words,” Theodore said, nodding politely, “If this
was a year ago.”

“C-Cough!”

It was a sharp admonishment. Theodore had previously spoken such golden
words, and now he was saying this? It was a truly sarcastic remark.

Marquis Piris coughed a few times with a red face before continuing,
“Please understand that many things have changed since that time. I
wouldn’t have accepted the deal if I had known your companion was a
sword master.”

“Umm.”

“Today’s topic isn’t for me to say. This person here…”The
marquis paused. Then Elsid nodded, giving him permission, and so the
marquis continued, “He is the next king of the Soldun Kingdom, Prince
Elsid.”

If Marquis Piris thought that his disclosure would make the duo panic, he
was mistaken. Theodore’s and Randolph’s expressions remained calm.

“It is great to meet Your Highness.”

“…It is good to meet you, unknown guests.”

Elsid’s greeting showed he wanted them to give up their identities, but
the duo stayed silent. It meant they wouldn’t speak up even if the
opponent was a crown prince instead of a marquis.

Elsid understood the meaning of their silence and frowned, but it was
difficult to pursue it at this stage. They weren’t opponents he
couldn’t overpower through force. However, his national power was
divided in half due to infighting. The crown prince couldn’t afford to
increase the number of enemies.

Theodore grasped his feelings and changed the subject, “Then Crown
Prince, why are you visiting this humble place?”

Then the marquis replied on behalf of Elsid, “There is a story behind
it, but I want to buy back this mansion.”

“This mansion?”

“That’s right. It is hard to find a suitable residence for Master
Baek here, with this mansion being the only candidate.”

To be honest, he didn’t want to pay the price, but he had to take a big
loss now. While the marquis vowed to reduce the damage somehow, Theodore
made a strange expression and said, “How much were you thinking?”

“The same amount of gold that you originally paid?”

“Then I see no benefit in this.”

Theodore still had a lot of gold left, so he intended to profit from
something other than gold. In order to achieve that purpose, the marquis
and crown prince had to owe him something. They would be deeply indebted
to him if they refused his request.

However, Marquis Piris’ mind wasn’t as good as Theodore had thought.

“…There is no benefit… Can you really say so?” The marquis asked.

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know your identity yet, but haven’t you spent a year in
Piris?”

The marquis was advising Theodore to be satisfied with a little gold in
exchange for having hidden him and Randolph for a year. In the first
place, it was a loss for the marquis to buy it at 1,000 gold. Marquis
Piris might’ve retreated because he couldn’t use coercive means, but
he couldn’t tolerate more damage to his funds. The marquis was
determined not to give way any further.

Despite reading these signs, Theodore laughed slightly. He didn’t
intend to get anything from Prince Elsid and Marquis Piris from the very
beginning.

“Well, Lord Piris’ words make sense,” Theo remarked.

“Then…”

“However, I have a few conditions.”

Before the marquis could protest, Theodore turned to Baek Jongmyung and
said, “These conditions are for the one who will become the owner of
the mansion, not the prince and the marquis.”

“Hrmm? Me?”

“Yes, I would like to ask for three simple things.”

Simultaneously, Theodore raised his fingers as he began to explain the
conditions. The flow of the story naturally switched to Theodore and Baek
Jongmyung, with the marquis and prince becoming spectators. In fact,
Theodore had no interest in them at all.

“First of all, we are going to leave here quite soon. I hope you will
let us stay until that time.”

“That isn’t a problem. Rather, I am excited at the chance to develop
a relationship with natives of foreign countries.”

“I am thankful for your words.”

Theodore was afraid there would be opposition from the prince or marquis,
but they didn’t move as expected. The best thing was for Theodore to
leave this kingdom quickly, but the next best thing was for them to be
able to keep an eye on Theodore.

If Theodore and Randolph stayed at the mansion with Baek Jongmyung, a
sword master who was equal to them, then it would be less likely for the
prince and the marquis to miss Theodore’s trail. If Theodore couldn’t
be controlled, keep him in a visible place and monitor him.

Theodore had accurately perceived that choice. Then Baek Jongmyung, who
calmly accepted the first condition, prompted Theodore to say what was
next. “Now, Sir Ted! Please tell us the second condition.”

“The second thing that I want to ask…”

As soon as the condition flowed from Theodore’s mouth, everyone in the
room looked at him with a surprised expression. Only Randolph, who had
been with Theodore for a year, laughed with an understanding expression.

Baek Jongmyung also accepted the strange second condition.

* * *

“-Hoh, you were hiding such a good place!”

Baek Jongmyung looked around the area with admiration. There was a vacant
lot with a 100-meter radius on a flat area under the hill.

Additionally, around the boundaries of the empty space, there was magic
to alleviate any impact and block off noise, as well as hallucination
magic which tricked one’s gaze. This was why Marquis Piris hadn’t
discovered their skills despite keeping surveillance of them.

Rather than being pleased by the explanation, Baek Jongmyung just stood
in the empty lot. The sword at his waist and his clothing which didn’t
obstruct movements were preparations for the second condition.

Prepared to fight at any time, Baek Jongmyung stared at Theodore and
asked, “Umm… By the way, are we really going to do it in this vacant
lot?”

Theodore replied without any hesitation, “That’s right.”

“But this place… It is advantageous to me, no matter how I think
about it. I don’t mean to demean your skills, but isn’t it hard for a
mage to deal with a warrior in such a narrow space?”

The second condition proposed by Theodore was a spar with Baek Jongmyung.
Everyone had been confused by Theo’s words as it wasn’t a knight but
a magician who was challenging a sword master. As far as they knew, a
magician who hadn’t reached the 7th Circle couldn’t fight against a
sword master.

…That was if he was a typical magician.

“Master Baek,” Theodore replied with an expressionless face to Baek
Jongmyung’s concerns, “You know mages, but you still aren’t aware
of what a ‘magician’ is yet. I appreciate your concern, but you
shouldn’t treat me so lightly.”

Over the past year, Theodore had tried many ways to break his limits. In
order to develop new magic and master existing ones, he had frequently
sparred with Randolph, who was a sword master. Theodore hadn’t been
able to come to terms with aura’s mobility, but he had figured out
other things.

At first, it had been hard to last for 10 minutes while using all his
skills, including Umbra. However, that duration gradually increased. 10
minutes increased to 20 minutes, 20 minutes became 30, and so on, as he
gradually increased the number of conditions.

These conditions ranged from fighting without using Umbra’s powers,
sealing the magic of a particular attribute on that day, or not using the
features of Gluttony. In this harsh year, Theodore’s odds of defeating
a sword master had increased to nearly 45%. This meant that if the Aura
Ability was sealed, even a sword master couldn’t be sure of winning.

“Both of you, please greet each other!” Elsid, who had become the
referee due to his status, looked between the two of them and confirmed
the rules again.

“Master Baek, you can’t use your Aura Ability.”

“Yes, I’m aware of that.”

“Sir Ted, you can’t use wide-area magic that is over half the size of
this space.”

“Yes, I’m aware.”

The magician from the west and the warrior from the east looked at each
other. Of course, wide-area magic could overcome aura’s mobility.
However, a special concession was given since this was just a friendly
spar.

Despite Theodore’s warning, Baek Jongmyung wasn’t vigilant.

‘Sir Ted can’t do anything at this distance… It is best to subdue
him moderately.’

The stereotypes which existed on the continent couldn’t be removed with
just a few words of warning. If mages could only attack from a distance,
that meant a warrior had a lot of room if they didn’t give the mage
time to chant a spell.

As Baek Jongmyung’s hand reached for his sword, Elsid’s clear voice
rang through the air, “Then I will start!”

However, at that moment…

It started! As the last syllable was heard, Theodore’s fingers moved.

“Um?!”

It was a blue flash. Baek Jongmyung’s eyebrows raised as he saw the
flash of light heading toward his forehead. His senses, which were beyond
human standards, instinctively recognized that Theodore’s flash was
extremely dangerous.

The flash wasn’t just fast. If it hit Baek Jongmyung’s body while it
was in a defenseless state, the flash would have the power to wreak havoc
on his body!

Kakiing!

Of course, Baek Jongmyung was a sword master and managed to cleave the
magic bullet into two pieces. The shine of his blade was beautiful as it
split the flash of light apart. However, the person who produced the
scene was stiff. It was because the repulsive force transmitted through
his palm was quite strong, despite the good amount of aura he used.

That said, that wasn’t the only problem.

‘Kuk, I was caught!’

Despite the unpredictable nature of this attack, Theodore fired off
another Magic Bullet straight away. The blue flash of light emerged
continuously like a comet, giving Baek Jongmyung no room to breathe. He
worried about what the result of the attacks would be.

“-It is up to here!”

However, Baek Jongmyung wouldn’t be qualified as a master if he was
caught by an attack like this. Baek Jongmyung’s sword moved at a
terrifying speed, creating a storm which aimed for the Magic Bullets
approaching him.

Kakiing! King! Kiiing- Kakiing!

The Magic Bullets were deflected into the ground and trees, creating deep
holes. Five times a second—no, ten times… or maybe a little more than
that. It was a sight which would cause anyone to shudder, but Theodore
continued casting, ‘Memorize. All Slots Open. Sixfold Thunderbolt.
Spell Fusion: Keraunos.’

Lightning emerged from his right arm.

Kwarururung!

It exploded from the sky without a loud roar, hitting Baek Jongmyung who
was concentrating on defending against the Magic Bullets. The lightning
bolt could turn a huge tree into charcoal instantly, and it was twice as
strong as what he had used to surprise ‘Pride’ in the battle one year
ago.

The ground melted from the blow, and the people watching couldn’t help
gulping.

Then a voice rang out, “…Indeed, Sir Ted’s words were right.”

Baek Jongmyung walked out from the epicenter of the attack. He was a
mess, but he didn’t have any wounds. Theodore had expected this. He had
used it several times against Randolph, but he never had this much fun.

“Maybe I am out of touch with what a ‘magician’ is. I just received
a great lesson.” Baek Jongmyung laughed with a bitter expression and
raised his sword. The unsmiling face was proof that he recognized
Theodore as an ‘opponent,’ not a ‘sparring partner.’

“Then, this time I will teach you what a ‘warrior’ is.”