The Book Eating Magician

Heinrich was surprised by the unexpected situation, but he decided to get rid of Brahms first before talking.

The shock Brahms suffered from Circle Sealing was too great, so he was eventually dragged and thrown out like garbage onto the streets of Sipoto. Perhaps it was better that he had lost consciousness. Now that Brahms wasn’t a magician anymore, his position would obviously collapse.

Anyway, that wasn’t any of Theodore and Heinrich’s business.

Clink. A steaming cup of tea was placed in front of Theodore. His nose was hit with the scent of herbal tea. After Heinrich placed two cups of handmade tea on the table, they started talking in earnest.

“So, what brings you to find this old man?”

In the past, Heinrich had been a member of a royal court, but few people knew this. Furthermore, Heinrich was a person who had cut off all his connections. This meant he didn’t have the strength to do favors for anyone.

If so, there was only one reason why Theodore would come to see him. Theodore also knew this fact and spoke straight away, “You might’ve already guessed, but I have a great interest in Sir Heinrich’s collection.”

“That reminds me, you bought books at the underground auction.” Thinking about it again, Heinrich found it a little strange.

Be it an original copy or duplicate, magic books could be found in Meltor. Nevertheless, Theodore had used a lot of money to buy the books at auction. Was Theodore a type of collector? Or was this purely out of interest?

Heinrich’s elderly eyes gazed at Theodore with curiosity and caution. However, Heinrich couldn’t figure out the correct answer without knowing about the existence of Gluttony. Heinrich spoke before posing a question, “I would like to say something first.”

Theodore didn’t seem like Brahms, but Heinrich’s preconceived notions had accumulated over many years.

“You might be acting gracious, but will you demand a book for my life?”

“Huh? I have no intention of doing that.”

“You can be honest. If you want anything from my library, you can just take it.”

Theodore immediately denied it, but Heinrich didn’t believe him. No, the old man was already tired. He didn’t know that his hobby of collecting books as a scholar would cause him to be harassed like this.

Heinrich was tired of magicians coming to demands books, as well as being threatened with death in broad daylight. If Theodore asked for a book now, he was just going to hand it over. However, Theodore wasn’t such a shameful person.

“How can a magician not respect someone who worships wisdom? If I was going to be so brazen, I would’ve hit the pig after he killed you.”

“This…”

It was true. As Theodore spoke to him in a calm voice, Heinrich was speechless. He was a person who didn’t know about fighting. The memory of being threatened a short time ago still filled his body.

Theodore spoke calmly, “You yielded a few books to me at the auction house, so I was thinking of paying you back today. If it hadn’t been for that day, this reunion would be uncertain.”

Heinrich’s face turned red as he regained his composure. Had he become too whiny or cynical in his old age? Heinrich gave a deep bow of apology from his seat. “Cough, my words were too shameless. Please think of it as an old man’s nonsense.”

“I didn’t hear anything.” Theodore shrugged while taking a sip of tea, before speaking again. “Let’s return to the main point. Sir Heinrich, I know that you are interested in books in many fields.”

“Yes, my curiosity doesn’t stop at this age. I only have money, so my hobby is reading interesting books.”

“So, are you interested in books from the East?”

“Hrmm?” Heinrich’s eyes opened wider at the mention of the East. The existence of the East had been known for a long time, but it still wasn’t easy to go beyond the ocean. For this reason, the culture of the East wasn’t often transmitted to the West.

Heinrich tried to regain his composure, but it had already long been revealed to Theodore. The old man coughed a few times before replying, “Hmm, it does interest me, but… it is hard to get a properly translated book. The interpretation of the same words is different, and there are many dialects that aren’t understood…”

“Please read this once before answering.” Theodore reacted like he understood and pulled out a magic book. It was one of the books he had translated while staying with the Baek Family.

The original had already been eaten, but the translations he had written during the process of increasing his understanding were still intact. This book was the handcrafted interpretation of Theodore, who had been given the memories and language skills of Lee Yoonsung. The result couldn’t be compared to those of a shabby translator.

Heinrich received the book with a strange expression. However, he soon forgot to blink as he indulged in the contents.

‘Good. It is as I thought.’ Theodore smiled darkly as he sensed that this was a success.

The two people didn’t talk again until the contents of the cups cooled.

* * *

An hour passed by.

“P-Please excuse me. This old man was too rude to my guest…” Heinrich read to the middle of the book and only realized the situation after he reached a portion he couldn’t understand.

This guest… Wasn’t he currently the most well-known hero on the continent? Yet Heinrich hadn’t maintained decorum and was too rude. If Theodore’s mood had turned sour, then Heinrich wouldn’t be able to say anything.

However, Theodore shook his head with a bright expression. “No. This was what I asked for. Rather, how are the translations?”

“Ohh, these translations? They are amazing!” Heinrich praised before carefully lifting the magic book. It was the type of behavior seen from those who sincerely loved books. “I don’t know which famous scholar translated this book, but they understand Chinese very well. I can almost believe he is a local. To be able to translate the proverbs, dialects, and strange adjectives… It is easy to understand, even for a person who doesn’t know much about magic.”

Theodore was embarrassed by the praise and scratched his nose. Heinrich’s eyes widened as he noticed the reaction. Surely this young master hadn’t mastered the language and knowledge from beyond the sea…? Theodore read the question in Heinrich’s gaze and nodded. “Yes, your thinking is correct.”

“Oh, my god. I don’t know how many times I can be surprised today!”

Theodore understood Heinrich’s astonishment.

The structure of the Chinese language was fundamentally different from the common language of the West Continent. It would take a long period of time, research, and talent to smoothly compensate for the difference. This wasn’t a field which could be fully mastered by someone who was less than 30 years old.

How could Theodore have broken down the boundaries of both languages and translated the professional knowledge without any errors? It was beyond the level of some Eastern scholars in academia. Theodore wouldn’t have been capable of it if it wasn’t for Lee Yoonsung.

“I have one more thing to say.” Theodore raised 10 fingers in front of the surprised Heinrich. “I have dozens of similar books.”

“Hoh.” Heinrich smiled as he grasped Theodore’s intentions. “Do you want an exchange with my collection?”

“That’s right.”

“Indeed, it isn’t bad for me. Changing old books for new ones. It is really tempting.” Heinrich gestured for Theodore to follow.

Then Heinrich picked up a book at the corner of the bookshelf. The massive bookcase creaked as it slid open, revealing a secret space inside. This was the real study of Sipoto’s Old Books Maniac.

“It is a little shabby, but the books I’ve put here can’t be easily seen by others,” Heinrich started to explain as he entered the secret library. Each book was worth at least 100 gold, so it was obvious why they couldn’t be shown to others.

There was a signed book of poetry by a legendary bard, as well as original books. The Book of Clouds, which Viscount Brahms had wanted, was such a book.

“Sir Theodore should know this.”

Theodore nodded as he looked at the magic book that Heinrich had taken out. It had a white cover made of unknown material.

‘The Book of Clouds… It is clearly a book left by a previous white tower master.’

Space magic was famous due to Orta, but the root of the white tower was wind magic. Among them, there had been a white tower master who reached the peak of weather magic and could manipulate climate.

“There is an anecdote about snow appearing in the middle of the desert, or dozens of kilometers of coastline being dried out. This magic book contains such wisdom. It is no wonder that someone like Brahms desired it.”

“I heard that a duplicate copy of it doesn’t exist?”

“That’s right. For some reason, duplication magic doesn’t work on this magic book. So, there are some people who think that the Book of Clouds is a grimoire.” Theodore laughed at the thoughts of the foolish people as he looked down at the Book of Clouds.

Was it courage or ignorance? Anyone who had seen a true grimoire wouldn’t use its name so easily. Theodore had looked at the ominous bottomless hell, so he knew it better than anyone.

‘Appraisal.’

Theodore examined the cover of the book and naturally placed his left hand on it.

[Book of Clouds]

[-This book explains the laws of climate, atmospheric currents, and weather phenomenon. The author, who was once well-known as a white tower master of Meltor, retired and wandered around the continent to observe the weather. After decades of research, he reached a point where he could reproduce the phenomena magically.

* This magic book is rated ‘Precious.’

* When consumed, affinity to the ‘wind’ attribute will increase greatly.

* When consumed, knowledge of ‘meteorology’ will be acquired.

* Clues to the Supercell magic have been recorded. You must be at least the 8th Circle to acquire this spell, or your wind attribute must be at the maximum. The conditions required are high.]

There was a saying about a pearl necklace around a pig’s neck, but this was more like a diamond than a pearl. The book’s difficulty and depth of wisdom were similar to space magic. Theodore was able to know this just from Appraisal and flipping through a few pages.

‘…Excellent. It was worth it coming to Sipoto.’

Of course, not all the books would be like the Book of Clouds. Nevertheless, Theodore couldn’t help but smile. He was someone who had spent his youth in the library and had then become more aware after consuming hundreds of books for Gluttony.

This was Heinrich’s secret library… and the bookshelves lined up all over the study were giving off a delicious smell.

“Sir Heinrich,” Theodore pointed to the Book of Clouds and opened his mouth, “Let’s start with this one.”