Weapon-Eating Bastard [EN]: Chapter 83

Weapon-Eating Heir 83

As Valerie had forewarned, she summoned me to the lab on the morning of the third day, instead of the training grounds.

Perhaps because I had been living in the training grounds after that terrible training session in the lab, the scenery had changed drastically.

Wait a minute.

“It’s not like I haven’t been here for months, why has it changed so much?”

“What?”

“The atmosphere of the lab, I mean.”

All sorts of linguistics books were scattered on the desk, and the sofa and precision instruments were piled high with specialized books on ancient and medieval Korean, restoration studies, and ancient Korean culture.

“……”

I hesitated to step into the lab and looked down at the floor.

Printed papers were scattered all over the neatly finished floor, leaving no place to step.

“Ah, these are all research materials. I should throw them away now. When I was at the Magic Tower, I could just use graduate students or newbie wizards, which was much easier.”

*No slaves, no slaves.*

Valerie said such chilling words and blew out the water pipe [a type of smoking pipe] she was holding in her mouth.

Instantly, magic permeated the smoke slowly rising from the end of the cigarette, and the magic circle in the lab was activated.

*Whoosh!*

The cluttered objects floated up on their own and began to pile up neatly in one corner of the lab.

The objects, piled up almost to the ceiling, managed to maintain their balance without falling.

Only then did I step into the lab.

“You’ve been through a lot.”

Her eyes were already deep-set and she had dark circles, but recently they had become particularly severe.

Looking at the state of the lab, I understood why.

Even with the interpretation skill and several degrees, it seemed to have taken her quite a while to decipher it.

Valerie yawned and shook her head.

“It’s okay. It was fun. Korea has well-preserved historical records from ancient times, so it wasn’t too difficult to decipher the language or characters. Oh, did you know? If we time travel to the distant past, we won’t be able to communicate at all? The language then is completely different from the language now, even the pronunciation. All those movies were lies. If you actually go, you’ll have to learn the language first, you know?”

Valerie chattered on as if she was very excited.

Then, she rummaged through something in the corner of the lab and brought it out.

It was the stone tablet I had asked her to interpret.

However, its appearance was quite different from when I first brought it.

“I restored it because some constellations and characters were not visible.”

“You can even do restoration work?”

“I can do simple tasks. I didn’t do enough to properly fill in damaged parts, but I did enough to revive the necessary parts.”

Valerie neatly stacked several documents next to the stone tablet.

Then, with a cigarette in her mouth, she plopped down on the sofa.

“I’ll explain it step by step from now on.”

Valerie extended a slender finger towards the first line of the stone tablet.

“This constellation. Have you ever seen it?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“I figured. This constellation is currently connected like this.”

Valerie took something out of the pile of documents and put it down.

Following Valerie’s hand as she drew lines, two constellations were connected.

The Big Dipper and Cassiopeia.

The North Star, used as a signpost by many travelers in between.

“The problem comes from here. Why were these written together as one? Look at the bottom.”

Valerie quickly crossed out the constellations and began to connect them again.

“This was a fictitious constellation from the start. The order of these stars is the key to the decipherment. So I thought it was in the first sentence……”

Valerie swept back her hair and continued.

“But that was a disguise. I wasted so many days being deceived by this. Haa.”

Valerie took out a few more documents.

“I calculated the moon’s orbit in reverse, but it was different. The ancient people might have made a mistake in their calculations…… but I didn’t think so. The constellations were also linked to things that couldn’t be seen at the time. So what could it be?”

I stared intently at the documents.

I have no knowledge of ancient characters, culture, or astronomy.

However, because the documents were kindly interpreted by Valerie, I was able to read and understand them to some extent.

‘I feel like I’ve seen this somewhere before.’

I stared at the tangled constellation map and widened my eyes.

“Wait a minute. Can I tear this?”

Valerie grinned at my words.

“Hey, do you want to be my assistant?”

“Didn’t you say something about slaves earlier?”

“Ahem, when did I?”

Valerie clicked her tongue as if she was disappointed and rummaged through the documents.

“No need to tear it. It’s here.”

Valerie took out another document.

It was a map of the Korean Peninsula.

To be exact, a map of the dragon veins [ley lines; pathways of spiritual energy].

“I’ve heard that Eastern philosophy regards the world as a single living organism. It’s similar to the Gaia theory, but…… a little different. Anyway, if the land and rocks are the skeleton, the soil is the skin, and the trees are the hair. And just like the magic circuit and magic source in the human magic system…… these were called geomantic currents and acupoints in this period.”

Spirit veins are a general term that encompasses the flow of all the world’s forces, including not only the flow of magic but also the flow of spiritual energy.

And its lower branch, dragon veins, refers to the path through which magic flows.

Just like a human’s magic circuit or magic source.

“This is a map of all the dragon veins in the Korean Peninsula. It wasn’t a constellation, but a map of the acupoints of the Korean Peninsula.”

I felt a sense of incongruity from the map of the Korean Peninsula that Valerie had taken out.

“But…… this was created in ancient times. They wouldn’t have been able to occupy this northern region yet.”

The map even showed the dragon veins of Gando and the Primorsky Krai, which are currently designated as undeveloped areas.

Valerie smirked.

“That’s why this is an important historical record. Evidence that ancient people had expanded their territory this far.”

“……!”

“And that’s all I can interpret about the ‘location’.”

I frowned at Valerie’s words.

“What on earth does that mean……”

Suddenly, a thought flashed through my mind.

‘If the dragon vein is a magic circuit, could it be.’

I took in some of the written characters.

“Do you happen to have a translation of these?”

“Yes, here.”

Valerie handed me a piece of paper as if she had prepared it in advance.

I knew those characters too.

‘The *g訣* [pronounced ‘gyeol’, a secret formula or technique] of the ancient magic of the Soongmoo Lee family.’

The old magic of the Soongmoo Lee family that operates based on the magic circuit.

It was now considered outdated and no one learned it.

I didn’t learn it either.

However, I had memorized the *g訣* while conducting research with my aunt.

I slowly drew up my magic.

I operated the magic according to the written *g訣*.

And according to the location where it was operated, I followed the constellation, no, the acupoint next to it.

“……Found it.”

A point on the map of an important dragon vein.

Gyeongju, Mount Toham.

In ancient times, during the Three Kingdoms period, it was called Dongak (東岳) and was one of the sacred mountains that was considered sacred.

* * *

Although I found out the location indicated by the stone tablet, I didn’t leave right away.

I was mentally and physically exhausted due to repeated training, and there were many things to prepare.

In addition, I also needed to buy some personal items.

All the clothes I had prepared were burned to ashes due to the training with Valerie, so now I only had one set of clothes for going out.

So the next day, as always, I told Valerie, who came to the training ground, about this fact.

“Huh? You’re not going to train?”

“I think I need to buy some necessary items in advance, because I’ll be exhausted after training anyway. Besides, Valerie burned all my training clothes, so I don’t have any clothes left.”

“Th, that’s my bad.”

Actually, I got carried away during training and raised my magic a little.

“But what kind of necessary items are you talking about?”

“It’s just preparation for any unforeseen circumstances. It’s possible that I might get stranded if I go to that place. I’m thinking of preparing everything from food to camping gear.”

“Hmm, I see.”

In my previous life, I vaguely heard that my eldest brother couldn’t come out for a while after entering the place indicated by the stone tablet.

At the time, I was already treated as an outsider in the family, so it was just a rumor I heard.

Still, there was no harm in preparing.

“Then when you’re done preparing? Are you leaving right away?”

“Yes, I think that’s likely.”

Valerie scratched her head with a disappointed expression.

After looking at Lee Cheol for a moment and pondering, Valerie nodded and jumped up from her seat.

“Okay! I’ll go shopping with you! I need to get some fresh air after a long time.”

“……”

I can’t see my own face, but I know for sure that I’m not smiling.

I have to refuse.

It was obvious that it would be annoying to go with her.

Valerie glanced at my face.

“……What’s with that expression?”

“What expression are you talking about?”

I smiled as brightly as possible.

“You don’t have a car anyway. If you’re going to buy a lot of stuff, you’ll need a car, right? I’ll drive you!”

That would definitely be a little easier.

“Haa…… of course, it was a favor from our bet, but I’ve been so devoted to you…… sob! To think I’d be swayed by such a heartless child! Am I just being used and thrown away…….”

Valerie slumped down as if she was the heroine of a tragic drama and even started acting like she was crying.

Annoying.

She’s a really annoying woman.

I sighed deeply.

“Okay, stop it. If you’re going out, hurry up and get ready. Your hair is all greasy.”

“Really?”

“Yes, I said so, didn’t I?”

“Okay! Then wait a little bit! I’ll wash up, change my clothes, and come out!”

Valerie, who had jumped up as if nothing had happened, stormed out of the training ground like the wind.

I smiled bitterly and looked at her retreating figure.

‘Well, I did owe her a favor.’

If I think of it as a change of pace, it wouldn’t be bad to hang out with her appropriately.

‘I should treat her to dinner tonight.’

I have money, so what should I buy her that she’d like?

Ah, right.

There was that.

* * *

As expected, going out to the street with Valerie was not a good choice.

I was just going to hang out with Valerie a little, but I cursed the me who had that thought three hours ago.

“This! Try this on!”

“This too! This too!”

“Wow! This looks good on you too!”

I was a guinea pig here too.

All sorts of clothes were being pushed at me, but I had no right to refuse.

“I guess it’s because you have a good body, everything looks good on you.”

I sighed and took off the jacket I was wearing.

“I can’t wear it even if I buy it because I have to go around here and there.”

You can’t wield a weapon while wearing a jacket and slacks.

There’s a reason why warriors wear fusion hanboks [modernized traditional Korean clothing] or functional clothes.

“I’m just trying it on. It’s a good change of pace. Come on, try this on!”

“Hehe…….”

So I wandered around Gyeongju with Valerie.

In fact, Gyeongju is not such a developed area, so there are not many places to see.

There are no high-rise buildings and the population is quite small.

Even though there are many historical sites and relics, there are not many tourists.

Perhaps it was because it was called the home of Korean shamanism.

Because it is a place where all kinds of energies are intertwined, it is not a good land to live or travel in.

“Did you know? Sometimes, when the yin energy becomes particularly strong, ghost-type monsters appear even in downtown Gyeongju?”

Valerie said, munching on an ice cream waffle.

“Ghost-type? As far as I know, there are no gates or dungeons around here.”

“This land is special in many ways. Well, in fact, it’s closer to goblins (*魑魅魍魎* [pronounced *chimi mangnyang*, a general term for mountain and river spirits]) in shamanistic terms than ghost-type. A similar phenomenon called Wild Hunt also happened in my hometown.”

“Was it okay? But why haven’t I heard of that?”

“It happens so rarely. And because every other house is inhabited by shamans, they think they’ve hit the jackpot when a mass outbreak occurs and are busy catching them.”

I understood immediately.

Since shamanism has a strong religious color, they would rush to use the spirits if they appeared.

“Anyway, you bought so much. Aren’t you a little too thorough in your preparations?”

Valerie shook her head as she looked at the tent, backpack, groceries, and clothes loaded in her car.

I smiled awkwardly at Valerie, who was looking at me as if she was fed up.

“This is the end. This should be enough.”

“Then are you going back now?”

Valerie looked a little disappointed.

I shook my head.

“Let’s eat out for dinner tonight and go in. I’ll treat you. I’m grateful in many ways.”

Valerie’s expression brightened.

But soon, she arrogantly raised her chin and crossed her arms.

“I have quite an expensive taste~? Did I mention that I’m from France, the country of gastronomy? Besides, did I tell you that I’m from a noble family? Most food is…….”

“Oh, is that so? Well, I’m sure you’ll like it, so let’s go.”

I chuckled and turned around.

* * *

The place I took Valerie to was a franchise chicken restaurant.

And Valerie’s expression crumpled when she saw it.

“……Cheapskate.”

“Let’s just go in. Please.”

“Even if it’s a child from a family like Soongmoo Lee, how can you bring me to a place like this? Ha! Seriously. I thought you were going to treat me to some amazing place…… ha!”

Valerie pouted and puffed out her cheeks.

“Have you ever tried it?”

“Do you think I’m so noble that I’ve never eaten chicken?”

“You haven’t eaten Korean-style chicken, have you?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Then let’s go in for now.”

I barely managed to take Valerie, who was still sulking, inside and sat down at a table.

Valerie still had a dumbfounded expression.

“Even if I treat you comfortably, you can’t do this to me. I’m not someone who eats this kind of food.”

I chuckled.

I knew from when that person had confidently said that she was staying in Korea because the chicken was delicious at the press conference.

When a reporter asked Valerie what kind of chicken she liked, she answered that it was this place.

It was famous that the company, which had seen tremendous advertising effects thanks to that, first offered Valerie an advertising model, but when Valerie refused, they gave her free coupons as a gift.

“Here, try it.”

I placed the freshly fried chicken in front of Valerie.

Valerie still had a sulky expression, but even so, the savory smell of the fried food stimulated her appetite, which was universal.

‘Hmm, it smells good.’

Still, eating at a restaurant like this.

Besides, it was the first time she had eaten in such an open place.

‘Well, since he bought it for me, should I try it?’

Valerie sighed, took a piece of chicken with tongs, and elegantly cut a piece with a knife and brought it to her mouth.

“……!”

And dropped the knife.

Valerie de Bell.

The daughter of the Bell family, a promising scholar, and a magician being taught by the Tower Master.

Today, she felt shock from food for the first time in her life.

“Th, this is…… what is it?”

*Crunch- munch.*

She had been elegantly eating the leg meat, but soon she started tearing the chicken with her bare hands.

“D, delicious.”

Valerie, who had been spouting French, began to tear the chicken apart in a hurry.

She was even using magic because she was bothered by the sauce on her hands, leaving the plastic gloves behind.

“It’s the best!”

It was the first time I had heard her shout *Très bien* [French for ‘very good’].

It was also an awkward behavior in Eastern culture to tap the plate.

The part-timer standing at the counter flinched and glanced this way.

“Eat a little more quietly, Valerie.”

“How can I? This, this is…… a gift from God…….”

I knew it from when she said something about the Evil King’s Eye of Hell, but she exaggerates in many ways.

‘How did she eat chicken in her previous life? Could it be that the incident of her naturalizing because of me is happening sooner?’

No way, would that happen just because I bought her chicken once.

“I want to eat one more!”

“Yes, go ahead. Should we order something different this time?”

“All. Is there anything else?”

Valerie happily tore the chicken apart, and after downloading an app on her phone because she heard that it could be delivered, she returned to the workshop.

The next day.

I finished preparing and headed to the place written on the stone tablet.

Gyeongju, halfway up Mount Toham.

There is a space underground there.

The place where the Records of the Black Night were discovered by my eldest brother in the future, and the place where the most records related to the founder were excavated.

The tomb of Lee Hyang-seon, the 2nd head of the Soongmoo Lee family, is there.