Book Eater

It wasn’t a particularly special day.

Just like always, the sun rose in the east, birds chirped cheerfully on branches, and clouds passed by in the blue sky, occasionally casting ambiguous shadows into the room.

Theodore got up from the bed and blinked.

‘...It is a rare day.’

In fact, sleep was unnecessary for Theodore.

It wasn’t that he didn’t know the importance of sleep.

Even a swordmaster, who had amazing physical strength, needed sleep. Sleeping was the best way to recover from fatigue. It was also the perfect time to refine the body and mind. Unless one had a body that didn’t need sleep like the undead, the vast majority of creatures needed to sleep.

Theodore, however, had transcended that distinction.

His spirit and body had been elevated to a higher realm. The limitations that should exist in living beings disappeared for him. If he wanted to, he didn’t need to sleep for 10,000 years.

Nevertheless, he slept because he felt attached to it as a human being.

‘It has been a long time since I’ve woken up alone.’

Theodore smiled bitterly and gestured a few times to the bed.

Immediately, the pillows and blanket, which were a mess due to the night’s commotion, became neatly arranged. On the now freshly washed bedding, the warm sunlight shone.

This combination of cleaning magic seemed artistic even.

In an instant, Theodore used that magic to clean every drop of sweat and saliva before leaving the room.

Thump, thump.

The sound of footsteps echoed in the deserted hallway.

Theodore had known for a long time that he was currently the only one in the mansion.

The other four members of the family were carrying out their own work.

“It is a holiday for me.”

This was a word that had little to do with Theodore.

He was the Chief Tower Master of Meltor, the guardian, and the protector of this world. He was always doing something. There was no time to relax and no need for rest.

Even a three or four-day holiday like today was due to his family’s persuasion, not because he didn’t have anything else to do.

“Geotia.”

The ring flashed along with Theodore’s summon.

[Yes, Master.]

“Tell me about my family’s routine today.”

[You mean the four people in the mansion? Wait a moment.]

Accustomed to being a secretary, Geotia was able to quickly reply.

As the control personality of the central magic tower, it didn’t even take a minute for Geotia to gather this much information.

‘I see.’

Theodore nodded upon hearing the contents.

The moment Goetia told him about where the four people were and what they were doing, he knew how to spend the day.

After cutting off communication with Geotia, Theodore took a step toward his closest family member.

* * *

Sylvia Adruncus was always busy.

She was the master of the Blue Tower, which had the most work to do among the four great magic towers. On top of that, she was also the secretary of the parliament, the unified body.

Paragranum, the Yellow Tower Master, was busy with the work of the research institute, Veronica was active by nature, and William, the new White Tower Master, wasn’t yet capable of fully acting as a tower master.

For that reason, Sylvia’s desk was never empty.

There were documents that were piled up to the height of a normal person waiting for her approval. It would take several days even if she processed them at a speed of one page per minute.

“Hah.”

Sylvia put down the document with an unknown number of pages and lifted the coffee cup that was nearby.

The hot coffee had long since cooled down.

Still, she thought that her mind seemed to clear up a bit as she took a sip.

“...Good. Let’s try a bit harder.”

She tapped her cheeks a few times before picking up another document.

It was a workload that was tiring even with the mentality of a master, but she found her work quite rewarding.

After all, unlike the era of war, these agendas depicted the future.

Every time one task was successful, people’s lives became better and Meltor became richer. There was no greater duty than this for her, who carried her grandfather’s honor.

Thus, in the tower master’s office, there was only the sound of the pen nib.

But, there was someone watching her.

‘You have a wonderful granddaughter, Blundell.’

Theodore stood behind Sylvia while smiling softly.

At first, he came with the intention of making small talk, but that idea disappeared when he saw Sylvia’s busy appearance.

No, it wasn’t sufficient to put it that way.

Currently, Theodore was on the boundary of the dimension and thus couldn’t be found even with the senses of a master.

Like this, he watched Sylvia for a while before moving toward a window in the upper part of the tower. It was because Sylvia could detect it if he used space movement here.

“Oh my?”

Was it a coincidence?

A gust of wind caught Sylvia’s attention at that moment. She took one look at the empty window, and with a faint smile, she saw off someone who had already left.

It was just unfounded intuition but Sylvia was sure of it.

“I guess I have to go and play with him after work.”

Just now, her husband had left.

* * *

The Institute of Magical Engineering.

It was only three years ago that the strange institution with this name rose to become the empire’s premier agency.

Magic engineering was a school of thought founded personally by the Imperial Guardian, who had reached the 9th circle and was a legend revived in modern times. When it first appeared, the magicians were interested in the school, but after reading the outline, their attitudes completely reversed.

-This school isn’t for magicians!

Many said.

Magic engineering might contribute to society and the nation, but it wasn’t the path to perfection as a magician.

-Why ask magicians to study something that has nothing to do with magic?

Many said.

Their lives were too short to delve into magic alone. It was too much to study magic engineering as well.

Theodore didn’t deny their words.

After all, there was nothing wrong with what they said.

It was true that magic engineering wasn’t for aspiring individual magicians and that the amount of learning was excessive.

Plus, as long as the understanding of engineering was a few steps behind magic, the days of magic engineering were bound to be long ones. There were preconceived notions of magicians and the fact that the academic foundation was lacking, so it could be said that there was still a long way to go.

‘But...!’

Adellia’s ears twitched at her excitement.

“Magic engineering is the foundation of the new era!”

She was now at the Institute of Magical Engineering.

Adellia had already reached the Superior rank and was a welcome addition to Meltor. As it was still lacking researchers, the institute accepted her without a single question.

The 8th trainee of the Institute of Magical Engineering.

That was the title given to Adellia Miller.

“...This month’s theme is the development of an energy medium to replace magic stones, which have a fixed amount. Mass production has to be taken into account, so alchemy that requires special metals is excluded...”

Adellia listened to what her senior was saying without blinking. She was famous as a genius, not only in the Blue Tower but also in all the other magic towers. However, magic engineering was indeed an unfamiliar discipline.

It was difficult and mysterious in a different sense from magic.

All of her friends tried to dissuade her from this choice, but Adellia was confident that she would never regret it.

“Teacher! I have a question!”

Adellia raised her hand with the face of a studious student.

The senior researcher presenting the research topic listened to the question and started to explain things that an orthodox magician wouldn’t understand.

As Adellia listened, she responded with continuous nods.

It was proof that she understood what they said.

‘Yes. This is how you should do it, Adell.’

Theodore was overjoyed at the sight of his grown daughter.

It was a discipline that he started himself, but he had been a bit worried. Paragranum and his blueprints showed that the early stages of magic engineering were just a few steps away.

Someone had to endure this burden, but few parents wanted it to be their own children.

‘I was wrong.’

Theodore acknowledged it.

‘She is a child who can fly.’

It was impossible with just talent.

It was hard even when putting in extra effort.

However, Adellia had a dream, and she was born with two wings to soar with it.

‘Fly to your heart’s content, Adell.’

Theodore left the institute without further observation.

He knew she would do well without having to watch, so there was no hesitation in his steps.

This time, his destination was a bit further away so he had to take two steps.

* * *

The third time he activated his movement, Theodore was met with a deafening roar as soon as he arrived.

If his eardrums weren’t protected by magic power, they would have burst.

‘W-What?’

His eyes widened with a rare bewilderment.

Such a loud roar was hard to hear even from a volcano that had just erupted.

Trying to find the source, Theodore’s eyes lit up as he infused magic power into his vision. For some reason, dust obscured his vision.

Soon after, Theodore discovered the reason.

“Hah.”

It was more accurate to say that he had no choice but to know.

Looking at the column of fire rising hundreds of meters away, there was only one person who could use this method of compressing several 7th-circle magics and throwing the result like a bomb.

Red Tower Master Veronica.

She who unleashed her power for the first time in decades was the culprit.

“Ahahahah! All of you, fly away!”

Veronica’s three Inferno shots smashed the mountainside and flattened the rough terrain.

‘I know what is going on, but this...’

Theodore sighed and stepped back.

At first glance, it was clear overkill.

She was pouring out great magic that could wipe out thousands of people if she targeted humans. The ground shook during the aftermath of the destruction. The sound of the explosion was so loud that it almost tore the clouds apart.

After quickly guessing the reason, Theodore clicked his tongue.

“She has accumulated a lot.”

The instincts of Veronica’s blood were the problem.

A red dragon.

In the era of war, there were quite a few opponents to fight. But these days, there wasn’t even a chance to warm up. Her urge to destroy things wasn’t quenched, so the desire must’ve accumulated and made her this way.

It seemed like everyone had been evacuated anyway, so it might be beneficial to let her run wild for a while.

‘I’ll have to spar with her once in a while.’

If left unchecked, he might see Veronica running rampant in the middle of the capital. Theodore quietly left her behind. She was so excited about the destruction of nature that she didn’t even know that he had come and gone.

Theodore couldn’t help praying.

Hopefully, Verus didn’t have this impulse.

* * *

Trolls were pretty strong monsters. Their size was more than three times that of an adult man, and a single blow from their roughly carved club could turn even a heavily armored soldier into well-minced meat.

In addition, their skin and flesh were thick. This made them resistant to spears and swords. They also could ignore minor wounds with their unique regenerative power. And on top of all that, their intelligence was also good enough to allow them to dig traps. All of these made them quite difficult to deal with.

Of course, that was by the standards of ordinary people.

After an explosion, the shattered troll collapsed.

No matter how good their regenerative power was, it was useless if their entire body was destroyed and they died before they could recover.

Everything lost its meaning in front of overwhelming power.

The one who proved this truth was a boy who raised his fists with all his strength.

“Yes! I got it in one shot!”

Red hair and golden eyes. His rare appearance throughout the entire empire proved his true identity.

Verus Miller.

He had come to fight trolls for his graduation exam.

“What do you think, Examiner? Is this good enough?”

Verus looked over with bright eyes. Richard, the examiner following him, quickly nodded.

“Y-Yes. You pass. I will give you a perfect score.”

“Thank you!”

Unlike the brightly smiling Verus, Richard was sweating.

He had no choice but to be like this.

‘The graduation exam isn’t supposed to be taken alone...! He also wiped out not one, but an entire village...’

Did the son of a hero also have such unique qualities?

The son of Veronica, the Red Tower Master, and Theodore, the Chief Tower Master.

If the talents of these two people were gathered in Verus, then this incident wouldn’t be a big deal. Didn’t the Chief Tower Master say that he defeated an elder lich at this age?

Richard calmly filled out the evaluation sheet with a perfect score.

Little did he know, Theodore was watching from the sidelines.

‘Well, I knew this would happen. The graduation exam of the Red Tower is to defeat monsters. Verus has learned how to fight from an early age.’

It might be different if he was asked to destroy a wyvern nest alone, but trolls were hardly a trouble for Verus.

‘Should I prepare a present for him when he gets home?’

With this thought in mind, Theodore secretly stroked Verus’ hair before turning around.

“Eh? What?”

By the time Verus turned around in astonishment, Theodore was gone.

He had gone somewhere else.

* * *

Theodore secretly visited his family one by one before going to other people.

He appeared in front of his parents, who were staying in the marquis’ land, and enjoyed tea time for the first time in ages. They were very happy that their son, who was so busy, stopped by once.

‘Ah, I needed a holiday.’

It was only then that Theodore realized the value of a holiday.

Having shared tea time with his parents, he crossed the continent in a few steps and met Ellenoa, who was quietly reading.

“Huh? Did you come here because it is a holiday?”

Her eyes widened at Theodore’s sudden arrival. Then she smiled and hugged him tightly.

It wasn’t a big deal but they were both happy.

Theodore’s final visit was to her.

“...What?”

Aquilo cocked her head when she saw an unexpected person. She was holding a wine glass on a scenic cliff. But this reaction was short-lived. She soon held out a glass of wine to welcome the uninvited guest.

To her, this encounter was joyful.

The two of them shared a glass and talked for a bit before parting casually.

After the drinking party with Aquilo, Theodore returned home.

To be exact though, he had returned to not in the house but in front of the front door.

He couldn’t explain the reason.

“Sigh...”

Now past sunset, the sky was dark and the warm winds had cooled down considerably. White breath rose into the air as he exhaled before soon scattering and leaving nothing behind.

Theodore stood still for a moment.

Today, all he did was wander around but he felt more than he usually did when he was faithful to doing his work.

‘This is my holiday.’

Nothing special happened today.

He just observed his family’s daily life and spent time visiting some people without any special reason.

That was enough.

It was the same 24 hours as usual, but it wasn’t the same for him.

“I lived ‘today’.”

He didn’t worry about the future. All he did was wander from place to place out of impulses.

Today was a day just for Theodore Miller.

No, it could have been any day.

It was just that he only realized it now.

“...I have no choice but to live for today.”

It was a fact that wouldn’t change even if he made a prediction about a thousand years in the future.

Even if he missed yesterday terribly.

Even if he was afraid of tomorrow coming.

No matter whether he moved forward without hesitation or stopped and caught his breath, today was equal for everyone.

There was no being who could live in the past or the future. Akashic, whom Theodore had met, was also living in its own present.

‘Even if there comes a day when all this happiness is gone—’

Theodore’s today remained only in this moment.

At this time, in this place, and in front of this door.

Creak.

The door opened and the hinges cried out. Several voices were heard in response.

You’re back?

Theodore paused for a moment before replying, “I’m back.”

It was the end of the adventure that was ‘today.’