Weapon-Eating Bastard [EN]: Chapter 9

He Who Devours Weapons – Episode 9

“Please keep these three things in mind.”

I held up three fingers towards my aunt.

“Firstly, you are not to talk about me to anyone unless I allow it. Not even to my eldest brother or father.”

My aunt tilted her head as she watched my first finger fold down.

“Why?”

“Because I am a bastard. I don’t particularly want to be known, nor do I want to reveal myself. From your perspective, being around me won’t bring you any good reputation either.”

“……Why?”

My aunt looked puzzled again.

Family rules, status, external perceptions… there were many reasons, but none that a 9-year-old could plausibly explain, and it didn’t seem like my aunt would understand anyway.

I vaguely reassured her as if I were placating a child.

“I just don’t like it when people talk about me without my permission. You wouldn’t like that either, would you, Aunt?”

“Ah, I understand. Me neither.”

My aunt’s expression suddenly darkened as if she had remembered something.

I folded another finger and continued.

“Secondly, you must not lie to me from now on.”

“Lie? Why is that?”

“Because we need to be able to trust each other. I will also try to tell you only the truth as much as possible. So please don’t hide anything from me either.”

My aunt groaned as if facing a difficult problem, then nodded, seemingly annoyed.

“Okay. What’s the last one?”

I calmly stated my condition.

At those words, my aunt’s brow furrowed.

“……That’s too unfair. I don’t know much, but I’ve been told not to make promises like that easily.”

“I promise I won’t. And I will never make unreasonable requests. I will also do my best to keep the first two things I mentioned.”

My aunt pressed her lips together and pondered.

But true to her personality, her deliberation didn’t last long.

“Okay! Then is that it? Tell me!”

My aunt shouted, raising her arm.

Thus began my cooperative relationship with my aunt.

* * *

Nearly a year had passed since the quiet departure of the Lord [referring to the head of the family].

Lee Myung-jung was performing the duties of the Lord as the acting head of the family.

The duties of the Lord were more difficult than he had imagined. Not because there was a lot of work.

However, because each matter in the Lord’s duties was highly important, it inevitably took time to make decisions.

Even amidst this busyness, there was something Lee Myung-jung was interested in.

Young. His youngest brother, whom his father had brought from outside. And Lee Kyung-hwa, his aunt, who had decided to be with that child.

His aunt, who could be called eccentric due to her unique way of thinking, and the child, who possessed something different from others, had been doing something for several months now.

“Does the food not suit your taste?”

He asked his younger brother, who couldn’t comfortably take a spoonful and kept pausing.

Since their first meeting, Lee Myung-jung had often shared meals with his youngest brother and Lee Kyung-hwa whenever he had time.

“No. It’s very delicious. I’m enjoying it.”

Lee Myung-jung narrowed his eyes and examined his brother’s body.

‘A strange flow, indeed.’

Though he said that, his brother was moving cautiously even when taking a spoonful of rice.

It was because of magic.

Subtle magic, so faint that even he had difficulty detecting it accurately, was flowing throughout the young brother’s body.

‘……More than just strange. How is he doing something like that?’

One could do that if their level was high enough, but his brother’s magic amount was still at the 1st Stage.

In other words, it meant that such detailed control was impossible given his brother’s age and magic amount.

“It seems to be because of the training you’re doing.”

I inadvertently paused.

“You knew?”

“You too will be able to do it once you become proficient in magic. It’s not like you were hiding it, were you?”

I felt dumbfounded looking at my smiling older brother.

‘Even though I wasn’t hiding it, how can he so easily discern what’s happening inside someone else’s body?’

As expected of the eldest brother.

He says I’ll be able to do it once I become proficient in magic, but I can’t even fathom how high that level needs to be.

“What exactly are you doing with Aunt?”

“It’s more like research than training, I think.”

“Research, huh.”

Now that it had come to this, Lee Myung-jung comfortably examined his brother in more detail.

‘It’s already absurd that he’s handling magic like that at his age, but even the way he’s using it is different from any magic I’ve seen.’

It was amazing that magic flowed smoothly at that age, but it didn’t seem entirely smooth either.

It wasn’t erratic, but he was controlling it properly, so it seemed more accurate to say that the changes were diverse.

“It seems to be related to magic manipulation… but what exactly is the purpose of that?”

“Secret! It’s a secret! Myung-jung, stop! I won’t tell you! Don’t even look!”

Aunt suddenly interjected, waving her hands.

Lee Myung-jung, with a slightly hurt expression, turned his gaze from Lee Kyung-hwa to his brother.

But even his trusted brother shook his head.

“Am I being left out like this?”

“You’ll naturally find out once it’s completed, Brother.”

“What could be so great that you won’t even teach your brother?”

“It’s nothing for you to worry about, Brother.”

A subtle refusal to ask any further.

Lee Myung-jung smiled bitterly and shook his head.

“You heartless fellow.”

He couldn’t tell what that peculiar magic flow meant, but he could tell how delicate the senses required for its operation were.

‘He’s not just a child, is he.’

He’s the one who told his uncle-like brother that he was a rival.

He couldn’t just dote on him; he felt like he’d get a big surprise.

‘……Every time I see him, he’s an extraordinary child.’

A child who hasn’t even grown up properly is already at this level; what will happen if 5 or 10 years pass like this?

‘Am I… nervous? About that child?’

Nervous about a brother who’s more than twenty years younger than him; he chuckled in vain.

It’s a strange feeling.

A feeling that someone is chasing him right behind, though still far away.

How long has it been since he felt this way?

“Don’t be so wary. It will take a lot of time for you to reach where I am.”

At those words, I looked at my eldest brother.

A strange heat was felt in my eldest brother’s eyes.

I put down my spoon and said.

“It won’t take that long.”

“What? Haha!”

‘Is he finally seeing me as a rival?’

I like my eldest brother.

I respect his character, talent, and abilities, and I even feel reverence.

But at the same time, I want to beat my eldest brother. Not just my eldest brother, but anyone in this family. Even my father, who stands so aloofly alone.

Thinking that far, I couldn’t help but laugh.

‘Rival or father… I haven’t even properly mastered magic yet.’

The reason why my recent life has been difficult.

It wasn’t just because I was learning proper magic for the first time, nor was it because of the arduous training.

It was because of this magic research.

* * *

“Baby. How did you do it this time? I need an explanation.”

“I’m not a baby, I mean….”

“Okay! I’ll call you by your name! Yeol!”

“I’m not a baby, nor am I Yeol, I mean Young… Haa, call me whatever you want.”

Training Ground 1, Sungmu Hall.

As soon as Lee Kyung-hwa saw the magic her nephew showed her, she pouted and started acting like a sulky child.

“Young or Yeol, whatever! You’re not a baby anymore! You sly little brat!”

“Sly, you say.”

Lee Kyung-hwa grumbled and kicked the stone fragments in the training ground.

“I, I spent ten years struggling to achieve it, but why did you do it right away! And even apply it!”

She hadn’t even properly understood the notebook she had dedicated her whole life to creating, yet he had completed it and even applied it in such a short time.

She was happy that he had broken through what she had been stuck on. She was happy… but she didn’t know why she felt so frustrated.

“It’s been several months since I did it right away. And this is all thanks to you, Aunt….”

“Shut up! Sniff! I’m an idiot. I’m stupid. But you’re a genius….”

Lee Kyung-hwa looked at her nephew’s fist with a gloomy face.

Woo-.

A fist extended into the air.

People with low levels of magic might not know, but the flow of magic being used inside was at an incredible level.

“The magic used to unfold a sword is different from the magic used for a fist… how….”

“I just tried applying it to fist techniques and tweaked it a bit, and it worked. I just came up with a new idea, and in fact, wouldn’t you say that Aunt and I created it together?”

“Do you think so…?”

“Yes, it was possible because you were there, Aunt.”

“Am I not an idiot?”

“Of course not.”

“Hehe-.”

Lee Kyung-hwa smiled and nodded.

Then she paused.

‘Huh? But why do I feel bad?’

Why does she feel like she’s being made fun of?

She couldn’t figure it out.

“Anyway.”

Lee Kyung-hwa’s eyes sparkled.

She was jealous, but it was true that there was progress.

“The fact that you can apply it like that means you’ve gotten quite used to it, right?”

“Yes. But it’s still difficult.”

Nearly a year had passed since I made a deal with my aunt.

During that time, I started researching magic with my aunt.

The basis of that research was my aunt’s research data and the memories of Mujin that I possessed.

“It’s bound to be difficult. You know.”

“Yes, I know. I’m not complaining, I’m just saying.”

Ancient magic does not handle the mana core [the source of magical power], so it cannot efficiently change or store properties.

According to my aunt, in ancient times, the nature of magic was considered an area of talent bestowed by the heavens.

Therefore, ancient magic developed in a different way.

Detailed magic manipulation that intricately handles each of the body’s mana channels was exactly that.

Mujin’s magic falls under that category.

It is said that excellent scholars can extract dozens or hundreds of facts from just a few pieces of information.

As soon as my aunt saw the magic manipulation I unfolded, she significantly supplemented the lacking parts of the magic she had created.

“I know. It’s the path I walked too. It would be fine if we were just restoring it… but what we’re doing isn’t like that.”

Lee Kyung-hwa’s eyes sank deeply.

“A new magic that uses both the mana core and ancient magic. You can definitely do it.”

Lee Kyung-hwa had a fervent wish she wanted to fulfill.

With the mana core, the accumulation and property change of magic.

With the magic circuit, the control and practical operation of magic.

A magic that combines advanced modern magic theory with lost ancient techniques. That was the dream Lee Kyung-hwa wanted to achieve by dedicating her life to it.

“I hope you learn it quickly. That way, I can tell you everything I’ve researched so far, and also tell you about the things I’ve completed or created on my own. I started late and couldn’t fully master it, but you will.”

This was not complete. It was still a work in progress.

Therefore, it was impossible to know where the end would be, or to what extent it would reach.

‘No. I can do it. This child can.’

Lee Kyung-hwa clenched her fist.

“Why is it a problem that you started late? Does that mean you can’t master it either, Aunt?”

“Yes. To be precise, I can’t master it properly. The longer you’ve handled the mana core, the more the sense to learn both at the same time disappears. It’s as if it’s degenerating.”

“I see……. Still, operating it like this is quite tiring.”

“Think of it as a process of awakening your dull senses. To awaken the sense of using the magic circuit, it’s good to keep doing it without rest. Fortunately, you’re still only at the 1st Stage and haven’t learned it for long, so you’re adapting quickly.”

“But I still can’t operate it properly. I’ve only grasped the feeling.”

“It took me five years to get to that point, but you did it right away as soon as you heard about it. Now you’re even applying it… you really are a genius. Don’t be too impatient.”

My aunt talked about my talent, but I was feeling a hunger for my own growth.

There was my eldest brother, whom I saw today, and my third brother, who had overcome such an eldest brother.

And above them, my father, Lee Tae-shin, who had reached an unimaginable realm.

There were too many monstrous beings in this family. I wanted to defeat them all.

“Aunt.”

“Huh? Why?”

“You saw Father’s childhood, right?”

My aunt nodded.

“If I complete this and work tirelessly, will I be able to surpass Father?”

Lee Kyung-hwa fell into contemplation.

Lee Tae-shin. Her eldest brother.

Surpass him?

She couldn’t imagine it.

“I don’t know. My eldest brother is a different person.”

“A different person?”

“I’ve often felt that I’m different from other people, but my eldest brother is… different. Really different. Honestly, I can’t understand comparing him to the Magic Tower Lord, the Saint, or the Lord of the Nine Dragons… In my eyes, he’s completely different.”

“…….”

The names mentioned were all powerhouses who looked over the world.

Powerhouses that I couldn’t even dare to look at right now.

Yet my aunt placed my father above them.

The title of the strongest is not mentioned in vain for the person named Father, Lee Tae-shin.

“Hehe.”

Lee Kyung-hwa chuckled quietly.

An expression that seemed to show exactly what she was thinking.

“But I know this much. You have something that my brother doesn’t.”

“Yes?”

Lee Kyung-hwa smiled and continued.

“You’re different too. Very different. But you’re a different kind of different from my brother. And you’re walking a path that no one has ever imagined. A path that even my brother, who is a different person, hasn’t imagined. So… you’re a different person too. Ah, what am I saying. Never mind.”

I was even impressed by my aunt’s pathetic vocabulary that came out when it wasn’t related to ancient times.

But I thought I knew what she was trying to say.

I smiled at my aunt.

‘Yeah, when have I ever lived while thinking about such draining things.’

I’ve always worked fiercely.

Instead of worrying about such bothersome things, I needed to operate my magic more stably.

It was then.

“Young Master!”

I saw my nanny shouting and rushing towards the training ground entrance.

“Nanny? What brings you to the training ground?”

“Please, please receive this.”

My nanny urgently handed me something.