Book Eater

Verus lost his mind after being hit back and forth, but Veronica didn’t care and grabbed the back of his neck.

She started to drag him like she was moving a sack of wheat.

Vernus, who had nothing to fear in the world, actually had a natural enemy. It was his mother Veronica, whom his appearance and background were all meaningless against.

Magic skills that had reached the 4th circle?

The physical ability at the level of an intermediate warrior?

His mother was too strong for him to believe in that. He learned in history class that she reduced an army to ashes when double digit masters clashed during the war. There was no magician who could face her other than his father.

Puberty, which came around one year ago, was a difficult time for him, but he was able to deal with it after seeing a castle during a family trip that was said to have collapsed due to his mother’s fist. His life was more important than any meaningless rebellion.

‘...From now on, I have to choose my words well.’

Verus opened his eyes while being dragged and spoke carefully, “Excuse me, Mom?”

“What is it?”

His complexion brightened at Veronica’s sullen answer. If she was really angry then she wouldn’t have answered him.

“The back of my neck keeps chafing which hurts a bit.”

“So?”

“Can’t I walk on my own feet from here?”

His voice was uncharacteristically pathetic.

If the girls following Verus had heard it, they would’ve felt their hearts thumping.

However, Veronica only snorted.

“What? Do you want to walk?”

It was only then that she looked back and slowly raised the hand that was holding Verus’ collar. The grown boy’s body shook like a pine cone and his eyes rolled.

Veronica met his gaze and said coldly, “Why should you walk? You should fly.”

“Huh?”

“Seeing you going around like a swallow, you must have wings. Isn’t that right? My son has such talent. I really want to see it.”

Was it an illusion that the grip on the back of his neck had become stronger? Verus’ complexion turned pale after he realized what was going on.

It was something he had been reprimanded for several times.

‘I happened to be caught by Mom...!’

His other mother usually overlooked it with light admonitions, but he couldn’t expect such luck this time.

“You skip breakfast whenever you can and your grades are below average except for practical tests. Still, I let you be because you are my son. But now a little boy, who still has a long way to go to become an adult, is playing with girls?”

Contrary to her dry voice, Veronica’s fangs, which were exposed, trembled. Even putting his head in a tiger’s mouth wouldn’t be as frightening.

Barely managing to open his mouth, Verus’ voice trembled.

“M-Mom. It isn’t like that...”

“Oho, do you still have something to say? If you are so confident, you can say it in front of our other family members. Yes?”

Veronica ignored Verus’ excuses and made a simple seal with her free hand.

At the same time, the two of them were bathed in a dazzling light.

“Aack!”

Before he could be surprised by the sudden movement in space, Verus’ body briefly flew through the air and slammed into something hard when he left Veronica’s hand. Based on the height, it was clear that it was a chair.

Of course, Verus wasn’t injured. His physical strength was already equal to or higher than a heavily armored knight.

Verus belatedly opened his eyes, only to freeze immediately without being able to become angry.

“You are a bit late, Verus. Keep your appointments.”

The silver hair that flowed like moonlight and the deep blue eyes like a lake robbed him of the strength to speak. The robe without any accessories looked like a dress.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that she was the great beauty among the masters of the four great magic towers.

Sylvia, the master of the Blue Tower, had become more beautiful over the years. She was a second mother to Verus and she smiled gently.

“I’m sorry for being late.”

Verus blushed with an embarrassed expression and lowered his head.

Veronica smiled as she pulled out a chair and sat down beside Sylvia.

“You are sorry for being late. Anything else?”

“...”

Verus was speechless while Sylvia cocked her head.

“Sister, what is going on?”

“Ah, it is like this.”

Veronica’s explanation was short and to the point. It was over less than five minutes later and Sylvia made a small, bitter smile.

Did you do it again? It was a smile that felt like this.

Verus felt guilty for no reason and couldn’t help muttering, “...You didn’t say anything about Dad.”

“What?”

Veronica looked at him with a dumbfounded expression and Verus retorted in a slightly louder voice.

“My dad got married to three moms, so why can’t I meet girls? I don’t aim for them in the first place. They know everything and are still trying to do it!”

“Verus, you...!”

“Can’t you think of this as my own compromise? If I push away all the people who come because they like me, I will become a loner. But if I choose one person to go out with, it will be a nuisance at home! I know my position and status. I know that those people don’t approach me just because they really like me!”

Verus expressed everything he had to say with the resolve that he would be hit before he shut up. This made the other two frown with complicated expressions.

They felt embarrassed and sorry that a child who seemed so light-hearted until now actually had such inner feelings. It might be something inevitable, but wasn’t it different when he actually knew it?

At this moment—

“Is that your conclusion, Ver?”

A girl walked over from a corner of the room that had been hidden by curtains.

She had silver hair and blue eyes like Sylvia. However, she was a girl who resembled their father and was about one span taller than Verus. Her hair that fell down to her waist was tied in a ponytail and gave her an air of discipline rather than pureness.

It was the eldest daughter Adellia, who was the daughter of Theodore and Sylvia. She looked at Verus with a stern gaze.

“Then can I ask you one thing?”

Verus was suppressed by the pressure she gave off and became flustered. “W-What is it? Sister, are you going to say that this isn’t the case?”

“No, I just want to ask you one question.”

Verus, who was startled by Adellia’s appearance, held his breath. Then she spoke like she had been waiting for this moment. Logical persuasion didn’t work when emotions were intense. It was easy to convey the words after the other person had calmed down. 𝘣𝘦𝑑𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝑙．𝑐𝑜𝘮

Therefore, Adellia’s words penetrated Verus’ inner world.

“Can you guarantee that among the children who follow you, there are none who genuinely like you, regardless of their connections or background?”

“That...”

Verus was stabbed in the core and bit his lip.

Adellia then declared as if driving the nail in.

“If you can’t say that then your actions aren’t right. I’m sure you know it yourself. You just kept turning away from it.”

Verus was silent for a while after he heard this. Then he asked in an almost inaudible voice, “...Then what should I do?”

His expression as he lowered his head was like that of a lost child.

“I don’t want to push them all away but I can’t give special attention to just some people.”

Adellia knew he was ready to listen and replied with a gentle smile, “Just do what you want.”

“What?”

She pressed on Verus’ nose, who had become dumbfounded. “You can date a kid you like or give whoever you want special treatment. Honestly, it isn’t like our parents are so unreliable that they can’t fix an accident, right?”

“Ugh.”

“Do what you think is right. Be a man.”

Adellia didn’t give a clear answer, but even so, Verus seemed somewhat relieved as he slapped her finger away.

The rebelliousness in his eyes had changed back to playfulness.

“Sister, isn’t that sexist?”

“Come here if you are dissatisfied. You won’t win anyway.”

“Ugh!”

Veronica and Sylvia smiled for a moment when they saw the siblings bickering like this.

After a while, the minute hand of the table clock had moved a few more times.

“Shall we go soon?”

Sylvia nodded at Veronica’s words. “Yes. There is no need to rush just yet, however, it is easier in many ways if we can take it easy going there.”

“Ah, Mom.”

“Huh?”

At this moment, Adellia squirmed in an uncharacteristic manner.

The way her fingers twitched was cute, so Sylvia waited quietly without any further urging.

A few more seconds passed before Adellia’s lips parted.

“Dad, ah, no, Father...”

“Ah.”

Sylvia knew what she was going to say and said softly, “Don’t worry. He will definitely come.”

Sylvia knew what Theodore was doing and how important it was, but she was still certain about this.

“It is because he loves us a lot, really a lot.”

In addition, he had never forgotten the promise he made to his family.

* * *

“...It is wider than I remember,” Vince muttered while feeling a strange emotion. Was it more than 20 years ago since the last time he came?

The main hall of the Pentarium.

In the past, only the finals were held here, but the rules changed when the number of participants in the competition exceeded 1,000. It went from the challenge rule, where there was no room for luck, to the tournament rules, which was as the name suggested.

It was because there were too many people to wait for each participant to challenge and win.

“Ah, that’s right. As the number of participants grew, so did the number of interested parties. In order to accommodate the increase in spectators, I heard that the size of the Pentarium’s hall has been increased by more than 50%.”

“I see.”

This wasn’t what he meant to talk about, but Vince nodded without saying it. He looked around again and noticed that it really was much wider than before.

At the time of Theodore’s match with Sylvia, the number of spectators was around 1,000. Now it was three or four times that.

It was a different stage than the one decades ago.

‘They shouldn’t be too nervous.’

This was likely a needless worry considering whose children it was, but from Vince’s perspective, this was the son and daughter of his disciple. No matter how talented and brilliant they were, he could only see them as children.

The two people sat down in the exclusive seats for the red tower.

How many minutes passed as they had a trivial conversation?

The empty stands quickly filled up. Soon, the Pentarium was filled with loud noises from the audience.

Perhaps it was due to the barrier around the stadium but the sound echoed several more times. Vince couldn’t stand the noise and raised his finger upward.

Snap.

Immediately, an invisible sound insulation barrier wrapped around Vince and Baek Dongil.

It was a spell worthy of a Prime-level great magician. It was perfect wordless casting.

“Thank you, Master.”

“It isn’t a big deal. It was just too noisy to listen to.”

Silence was more appropriate to be the friend of a magician than noise. The two magicians sighed as they regained their tranquility. Then, a shadow appeared like it had been aiming for this moment.

As Vince’s sound insulation barrier had no physical form, the person in a robe sat down naturally next to them and spoke.

“Phew, thankfully I’m not late. Last time, I was a few minutes late and they were really upset. Today, I guess I got the time right.”

“Is that so?”

Vince responded in a friendly manner even though it was said by someone whose identity was unknown. Baek Dongil knew the close-minded aspect of his teacher and couldn’t help raising an eyebrow.

Regardless of whether he saw Baek Dongil’s strange expression or not, the man with his head covered by the robe opened his mouth.

“It is really different from the old days. It isn’t just the size or the people.”

“That is how things are. Nothing is free from the passage of time. Even rivers and mountains will change in 10 years.”

“Those words are correct.”

Why? Baek Dongil felt as if the man, whose face couldn’t be seen, was smiling bitterly.

But before his questions could be resolved, Vince asked, “You went quite far this time. Did you take care of your business?”

“Yes, I think I can rest for a while. It seems that my efforts so far haven’t been in vain.”

“I’m glad.”

Baek Dongil, who still couldn’t understand the situation, rolled his eyes. Then Vince spoke with a bit of playfulness, “By the way, who are you here to support in today’s match?”

The man wearing the robe let out a strange sigh at the words.

“Ah really...”

It was a rude attitude toward the senior elder of the Red Tower and a Prime-level magician. Before the angry Baek Dongil could say a word, the man slightly lifted his robe while saying, “Your question is so mischievous, Master.”

“Huhu, is that so?”

Baek Dongil’s mouth dropped open when he saw the face exposed under the robe.

His identity was clear even without looking at his face. Vince Haidel only had two named disciples, excluding himself, who became the second disciple through Theodore’s introduction.

“—B-Big brother?”

“It has been a while, Dongil.”

The hero who ushered in the heyday of the magic empire; the magician that every citizen of Meltor had to know.

The Imperial Guardian, Theodore Miller.

It was the name of the father who came from the other side of the planet in five minutes.