Genius Wizard Hides His Sword Skills [EN]: Chapter 116

116. Dark Aura

“Hey, boss! Ten more servings here!”

Carles shouted again. Countless empty bowls were already piled up beside him.

At first, the restaurant owner was delighted. Sales were soaring with the endless orders.

But that was only when it was within reasonable limits.

“Hic! M-more?”

The owner was now gaping in disbelief.

“Ah, no. Just give me all the ingredients you have left!”

“Y-you mean everything?”

“Ahem! I need to eat at least this much!”

Carles, who claimed to have trouble eating seafood, was now threatening to empty the entire restaurant of its supplies.

“Are you worried I don’t have money? Don’t worry.”

Carles rummaged through his robe and pulled out gold. It was the gold I had given him before.

‘Is he planning to spend it all in one day…?’

Of course, it was nearly impossible to spend that much gold just on food.

[…If it’s Carles, it might be possible.]

His enthusiasm was enough to devour all the ingredients in the store.

“Mmm! Delicious! How can it be so stimulating!”

As the empty bowls piled up endlessly, it was only natural that people started to stare.

“This is delicious too! Bring me more of this crayfish dish!”

Eventually, the owner shook his head.

“Um… sir, we’ve already run out of ingredients for that.”

“Ah, is that so? Too bad. Then hurry and bring me some steamed fish.”

The other customers couldn’t stand by any longer.

“H-here, please add more for us too!”

“Us too! Steamed fish!”

“We’ll take seasoned shellfish!”

Those who came to eat began to shout hastily. If they didn’t, Carles would snatch all the food.

“Ah…! Y-yes! Just a moment!”

It was probably the most stressful moment for the owner since the restaurant opened.

“Haa. Hey, you guys.”

A shadow fell over our table. A man as huge as Carles was glaring at us.

“Huh?”

Carles, who was busy picking apart a huge fish bone, hurriedly pulled his robe down deeper. I had repeatedly told him not to show his face to others.

“Don’t overdo it. Are you the only ones who came to eat?”

“Ah, sorry about that. But you can just order quickly, can’t you?”

Carles said, keeping his head down but saying everything he wanted to say.

“W-what?”

In the end, the man’s eyes widened.

‘Haa….’

He wasn’t a very patient person.

“Is this guy crazy! He’s hogging the whole restaurant and saying what?”

Carles’s eyes narrowed at his outburst.

“Are you calling me crazy right now?”

“Yes. I said you’re crazy. What are you going to do about it! If you’re going to hog it like that, buy the whole restaurant! You don’t even realize you’re being a nuisance!”

A tense situation.

‘Haa….’

I had no choice but to step in.

Thud-

I pushed back my chair, stood up, walked past the huge man, and headed to the restaurant owner.

“I’m really sorry for the commotion.”

“Um, it’s alright. It’s just a bit embarrassing.”

“So, I was wondering, how about working with me on this?”

“…What do you mean?”

“I’ll buy this entire place. And you can work as the chef. I’ll cover all the ingredient costs.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’ll pay you much more than you’re currently earning. Three times your current income. I guarantee that unconditionally.”

The owner couldn’t readily answer the sudden offer. He could only open and close his mouth, speechless.

[Do you really have to go that far?]

‘If I want to save face for Carles, this much is nothing.’

Carles had followed me all the way here to teach me the secret techniques of the Suwang tribe [a fictional, possibly reclusive, group]. I didn’t know his exact intentions, but I could definitely feel it was an unpayable favor.

‘If it can help me develop my swordsmanship.’

Another opportunity for me, who has mastered swordsmanship, to learn more. It was a debt I couldn’t repay even with a billion gold, so money didn’t matter at all.

‘And if I recruit this person, it will also help with the store I’ll be running in the future.’

Moreover, the reason for recruiting this restaurant wasn’t just for Carles.

‘With this level of cooking skills, it would be a hit anywhere on the continent. If I ask Anghel to create a chain of stores all over the continent, it will definitely be successful.’

[Hmm, well, you did say you’re preparing to open a general store, right?]

‘Yeah. If I run a restaurant alongside it, the money will quickly pile up. It’s a skill that can’t help but spread by word of mouth.’

Oberon’s lips twitched.

[Look at this guy. He became the best swordsman on the continent, and now he’s trying to become the richest man on the continent in this life?]

‘If possible, the more the merrier, right?’

However, it wasn’t just the owner who was dumbfounded by my proposal.

“Wh-what? Kid, are you kidding me right now, talking to adults like that?”

The behemoth who had approached our table was shouting at the back of my head.

“I’m not kidding. I’m serious.”

As I turned to face him.

“What? This little brat, I’ve been watching you, and you’re really…!”

The man stopped talking and covered his mouth. Only then did the man look into my red eyes. The red eyes were clearly affecting him as well.

“You said earlier that if I’m going to do this, I should buy the restaurant. So, what’s the problem with me doing that?”

“Th-that’s…!”

Recognizing the Delema [likely a sign of power or status], he was flustered and couldn’t even continue speaking.

“Hey, Anghel.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

“Negotiate separately with the restaurant owner. I don’t care if it costs hundreds of gold.”

As I spoke with the haughty tone typical of noble children.

“I shall obey.”

Anghel bowed even more respectfully.

[You guys are really in sync.]

Everything was just part of an effort to deflate the giant’s spirit. Under Delema’s power, he couldn’t say anything.

“Is there anything else you need?”

“N-no….”

“Then we’d like to finish our meal, so please leave.”

In the end, he turned away.

“Hehe! What a funny sight.”

Carles whispered quietly at the sight.

“I’ll have to train you even harder!”

His lips were raised in satisfaction.

* * *

“Wow, where is this?”

Drew’s head was turning in all directions.

“It’s our secret hideout.”

It was the first time he had come to my place through the portal created by Aries.

“Wow. Ias has a place like this. This is the basement of that excavation site? How did you get in here?”

“Um, it’s a long story….”

It was time to tell Drew some of the hidden stories.

“This land was where the Dolph family lived for a thousand years.”

“Huh? Dolph, as in Admun’s family?”

“That’s right. And Admun is the last remaining generation of that family.”

Drew’s eyebrow twitched at those words.

“So, the ruins that the Magic Tower was managing are Admun’s family’s land?”

“That’s right.”

“Why is the Magic Tower managing it…? When the owner of the land is still alive?”

“It’s all because of the Magic Tower’s greed. They killed all the members of the Dolph family and occupied this area to find this space.”

The Magic Tower not only killed the members of the Dolph family but also occupied the land without permission. That was the tragedy and reality that had befallen the Dolph family.

“….What? Th-they killed everyone? The Magic Tower did such a bad thing? No way.”

“That’s their true nature. You shouldn’t trust the Magic Tower too much.”

“Huh….”

I especially wanted to tell him that you, as a descendant of Gibson, should never trust them… but it would be hard for Drew to accept it yet.

“Everything is true, Prince Drew.”

Admun agreed with my words.

Perhaps because he had repeated the tragedy that had befallen him thousands and thousands of times, the look in his eyes as he spoke indifferently pierced my heart again.

“Ah….”

Drew silently took Admun’s hand. It was a night where they learned a little more about each other.

* * *

The next day at dawn, when everyone was asleep.

Hooong!

I was swinging Fragarach [likely a named sword] alone in the corner. It was the only time I could focus on personal training, so it was a time I could never give up.

[Is today the day you go to the Magic Tower?]

‘Yeah. Later, when Drew wakes up, we’ll go together.’

Moreover, once the Magic Tower classes started, there would be little time for personal training.

‘Next is a thousand horizontal slashes.’

Hooong!

The trajectory of the sword, which had been moving vertically until now, was now turned 90 degrees.

Some might say that. Why practice the basics so hard? Wouldn’t it be much more efficient to learn aura or techniques?

‘You don’t know what you’re talking about.’

No matter how good a technique is, if the basics don’t support it, it’s just a trick.

No matter how much aura you have, if the basics don’t support it, it’s just a power that even you can’t handle.

[Indeed. You’ve been doing it every day without rest, and the trajectory is becoming much more ingrained in your body.]

Moreover, I had obtained a new body. It was necessary to continue training to suit the current body.

Hoo… Hoo….

Soon, I was panting heavily. The thousand horizontal slashes ended when the smell of blood rose in my throat.

[You worked hard today too. Excellent.]

It was only after completing all the daily training that Oberon wore a satisfied smile.

‘Oberon.’

However, I still hadn’t put Fragarach back into its scabbard.

[Why?]

‘Let’s do a test.’

As I raised the sword and looked at it, Oberon tilted his head.

[What test? Are you trying to wake up Fragarach?]

‘No, not that.’

There was still a question that had been piling up since the last vacation that I hadn’t been able to solve.

‘Your power. Let’s use it again.’

The dark aura that appeared when using Oberon’s power. I needed to find out about the dark aura that was consuming my arm and masking the pain in my body.

[Wh-what?]

Oberon was suddenly flustered. I couldn’t blame him for that reaction.

[I told you, doing that makes me feel like I’m really going to die? Do you know how desperate I was in that battle? That thing is trying to devour your body!]

Oberon shook his head, as if recalling the time. He was hugging his torso tightly with both arms, not befitting his size.

‘But it’s something we have to find out about someday. It’s not like we can’t keep using your power.’

[Why now!]

‘Because now is the best time. When else would we test it if not when it’s this safe?’

Oberon was refusing unconditionally, but I couldn’t afford to take such a risk again during battle.

[That guy’s aura is so disgusting… If you face it directly, you’ll never say that again.]

‘If you really can’t stand it, you can stop using your power. There’s no opponent to fight right now, so you can stop anytime.’

Eventually, his head nodded.

[So, if it really feels uncomfortable, I’ll immediately withdraw my power and come out?]

‘Of course. I don’t want to experiment with my own body either.’

[Haa. Alright.]

With a sigh, Oberon’s figure faded like smoke. His body was being sucked into my body.