Book Eater

Chapter 52: The Voices Calling Him (1)

A few days later...

It’s only the fourth day, so I should have three more days to sort things out here.?

Theo had sent word to the Magic Society the day after they had defeated the Arch Lich. Normally, they would have to return and report in person, but this situation was serious enough to warrant sending word ahead. Theo expected a senior investigator to be dispatched from Manavil immediately, and anticipated they would arrive in three days.

He gave himself that long to solidify his unstable circles.

Wuuuong...

Sweat beaded on his forehead as Theo sat in meditation. He had spent almost half a day attempting to calm his newly created 5th Circle, but it kept trembling inside him. Theo could only attribute his difficulty in stabilizing this new Circle to the fact that it had formed from Gluttony’s consumption of the Life Vessel and not through normal means. After all, it had taken Theo less than a fortnight to jump from the 4th Circle to the 5th Circle.

“... Hoo, it’s like they actively discriminate against taking shortcuts.” Theo grumbled as he rose to his feet and wiped the sweat off his forehead.

Still, it was fortunate that he could sense the trembling slowly subsiding. A magician’s Circles were no different from a vital organ. As such, their instability was no different from a heart disease on the verge of erupting.

Grimoires really are completely absurd things.

He didn’t exclude Death’s Worship in his thoughts. From what he could tell, Giovanni had just barely entered the 5th Circle when he had discovered the grimoire. Yet, his sense of inferiority had propelled him into becoming an Elder Lich in two months. In that light, Theo’s 5th Circle didn’t seem like an amazing achievement.

“How do I tell Master about this?” Theo mused quietly as he made his way to the living room.

His father raised his hand in greeting from the table as he swallowed a piece of bread. The disappearance of the undead had done a great deal to alleviate his father’s worries.

“Oh, my eldest son is finally up. Did you sleep well last night?”

“Yes, Father.”

“My worries are lifting by the moment, now that a trustworthy son has come home. Hehehe!”

Dennis Miller might only be a village noble, but he wasn’t a fool. If Theo hadn’t shown up when he had, Dennis couldn’t even imagine what the village would have suffered. His son, who he had considered a child, had ended up quelling a catastrophe. The elder Miller had no real knowledge of magicians or the monster his son had faced, but he was sure of one thing: he had raised his son well. Theo smiled as his father’s happy laughter filled the living room.

He coughed. “Cough. Father’s words are too much.”

Dennis slapped his knee. “Oh, that reminds me about that child, Sylvia.”

“Huh? Ah, yes?” Theo blinked as Sylvia’s name appeared out of nowhere.

He wasn’t sure what his father was going to say, so he couldn’t help waiting nervously. Fortunately, there was nothing to worry about.

“She went to the front gate as soon as she got up. I think someone came?”

“Who would come?”

“Ah, what did that child say?”

Theo figured that his message would have reached the capital by now. But unless they rode a pegasus right out of legend, there was no way the Magic Society’s investigator would be at the Miller Barony already.

Did someone else come?

As Theo cocked his head in confusion, Dennis Miller snapped his fingers.

“I think she said it was an elder from the White Tower?”

The elder Miller casually dropped a bomb on Theo as he munched on his bread.

***

Sylvia, what happened to that famed intelligence of yours?!

Theo sprinted out of the house as soon as he registered Dennis Miller’s words. He had to get to the front gates as quickly as possible. Sylvia might be comfortable with that elder, but what kind of new magician would keep their elders waiting?

Furthermore, the Magic Society often referred to Prime rank magicians as elders, which meant that this magician was even senior to Vince. Theo might be in trouble if such a magician was offended by his lack of respect. Theo cast Haste on himself as he flashed out of the front door and through the village.

He found Sylvia near the entrance to the village. “Sylvia!”

“Oh, Theo! You’re here alread- huh?” Sylvia turned happily to greet him, but her smile morphed into confusion at his disheveled appearance. “Theo, why are you in such a rush? I thought you would be tired, so I asked someone to send word when you wake up.”

Theo stared at her for a moment. “... Never mind. Has an elder of the White Tower come?”

Sylvia nodded. “Yes, Grandfather Shugel.”

Theo looked around. “Do you know where he is?”

Sylvia nodded and pointed to the right of the village entrance. Theo followed her finger and found a tent that hadn’t been there a few days ago. He also noticed that the destroyed earth walls around the village had been reshaped into a neat, sturdy defensive structure.

It seemed the elder of the White Tower, Shugel, had taken up residence there.

Theo tried to calm down his breathing as he gestured to Sylvia. “Shall we go in?”

Sylvia looked at him weirdly. “Yes, he asked me to bring you today.”

“... It seems I rushed here for nothing.” Theo cooled off his body with magic and tidied his clothes.

He didn’t feel as tense as he’d expected. Perhaps he had already learned how to deal with pressure from meeting the Blue Tower Master and King Kurt III? He politely walked into the tent and bowed calmly as Sylvia followed him in.

A deep and aged voice welcomed the two. “Ohh... You came.”

A magician with a beard and hair as white as his robes smiled at the two. Unlike his hair, the old magician’s skin was taut without any evidence of age. His bright eyes were reminiscent of a child as they brimmed with energy.

Sylvia walked over to the old magician. “Grandfather Shugel, this is Theo.”

“Yes, thank you for the hard work.” He patted Sylvia’s head gently and turned to examine Theo. Theo bowed as soon as the magician looked at him. There was no pressure weighing on him, he was simply showing his respect to an adult magician.

“Theodore Miller, disciple of Vince Haidel, greets Elder Shugel of the White Tower.”

Shugel nodded. “Yes, I am Shugel from the White Tower. This time, I’ve come as an examiner of the situation that you reported.”

“What is an examiner?” Theo knew about investigators, but it was the first time he had heard of examiners.

Shugel laughed as he stroked his beard. No matter the era, a senior always had to answer the curiosity of his juniors.

“Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t be dispatched. However, this is an extraordinary incident, so I was sent down to determine the truth. That’s why examiners are almost completely unknown entities,” Shugel explained.

“Ah... I see.”

“Isn’t there one more thing that you’d like to ask?”

Theodore flinched. He did have one more question. It should have taken one week for anyone making their way to the capital and back to the Miller Barony. However, Shugel had seemingly arrived less than a day after the news had reached the capital. It just didn’t make sense.

However, Theo found the answer on his own. “Elder Shugel is a space magician.”

His voice was filled with respect. Space magic was a highly difficult magic system. Wind attribute magicians could make decent forays into space magic, but only a rare few in Meltor could actually be called space magicians. Now, one of those rare few was sitting right in front of Theo’s eyes.

Shugel smiled. “Huh… That is the right answer. You should feel bad for stealing the words out of this old man’s mouth.”

Theo blinked. “Huh? Ah, I’m sorry.”

Shugel chortled. “Hahaha! It was a joke, a joke. It isn’t bad to be serious, but life will get tiring if you don’t have a sense of humor.”

“I-Is that so?” Just like the Blue Tower Master, it was difficult for Theo to deal with the elder magicians of the magic towers.

Theo sighed inwardly as he felt tiredness creeping up on him. Meanwhile, Sylvia was just leaning against Elder Shugel as she pored through a book. She must have already finished her conversation, or Shugel must want to hear the report entirely from Theo.

***

Indeed, the old man soon changed the topic to the Elder Lich.

“Finally, I heard that you were the target of an Elder Lich...” Shugel smiled as he looked kindly at Theo and continued, “Even if you were transferred to the Core Room, how did you destroy the Life Vessel? Theoretically, it should be impervious to anything below the level of a sword master or a 7th Circle magician.”

“It was a last ditch effort that I got lucky with.” Theo had prepared a simple answer for the difficult question a long time ago. “I put the Life Vessel into the dimension pocket I borrowed from Master and destroyed the entire pouch. I’ll admit, it sure sounds crazy when I say it aloud now.”

Gluttony had told him that the Life Vessel was only protected by that mysterious ability, so there was indeed a theoretical possibility of destroying it if it was isolated in a dimension pocket. However, it wasn’t certain. Nevertheless, there was no way to verify it now and it sounded reasonably plausible. It was also a great excuse for how he managed to destroy the dimension pocket.

The astonished Shugel repeated his words, “You destroyed a dimension pocket?”

Theo nodded. “Yes, it happened by accident.”

“Dimension pocket… Oh, the dimension pocket? I didn’t think it could be used for such a purpose… Indeed, truly creative...” Shugel muttered as his eyes unfocused. Anyone who saw him would be afraid that the old man had lost his soul. However, Elder Shugel of the White Tower gradually regained his original complexion.

“I was thinking in the wrong direction… It does sound possible. In the end, it seems to have worked.”

Theo shuffled awkwardly. “O-Of course.”

Elder Shugel leaned back. “Huh... Killing an Elder Lich with a dimension pocket… It is truly lucky.”

In fact, it was. If the Elder Lich hadn’t forcibly transported Theodore, the owner of Gluttony, down to the core room, then the Elder Lich would’ve won. He would have then destroyed the Miller Barony and completely devoured his host’s soul, causing a worldwide catastrophe. As Shugel said, the catastrophe had been averted due to luck.

Shugel continued, “Thank you for cooperating. Your words make sense. It also matches the testimonies of the other people... I’m sorry that I thought you were an accomplice in this situation.”

“No. You were just doing your job.” Theo politely bowed.

His preparation had paid off, and he had convinced the examiner without revealing any inconsistencies.

Shugel looked at Theo warmly, like he was impressed by Theo’s attitude. “Your words have eased my heart. Then I will give you the final message to end my job here.”

Theo’s eyebrow twitched as the warm atmosphere started to change. His work as an examiner was over, so what was left? Sylvia also looked up from her book. Was Theo's peaceful routine going to be caught up in a big whirlpool again?

Shugel continued, “If this situation only required an examiner, someone else would’ve come. But I was dispatched personally because I received an order to bring you.”

Theo repeated slowly, “Bring… me?”

“That’s right.” Shugel reached into his robes and pulled out a piece of paper before reading it out loud. “The investigators dispatched to the Miller Barony, Theodore Miller and Sylvia, should return as soon as possible. These are your instructions, Elder Shugel of the White Tower…”

“There are only three people in the entirety of Meltor Kingdom who can directly dispatch me like this.” The old man held up three wrinkled fingers and folded them one by one. “Red Tower Master Veronica, Blue Tower Master Blundell, and His Majesty Kurt III.”

Theo’s tension had reached its peak. Who had given the order? Was it the unknown Red Tower Master? The Blue Tower Master who had dispatched him? Or His Majesty the King? Theo could see any one of them sending down the directive, but none of them really had a reason to do so.

As his thoughts spun, Elder Shugel finished, “But this is the first time I’ve seen all three names on the order. Theodore Miller, you seem to have caught the eyes of some rather important people.”