Heinrich was surprised by the unexpected situation, but he decided to get rid of Brahms first. The shock Brahms suffered from Circle Sealing was too great, so he didn’t resist as he was thrown out like garbage onto the streets of Sipoto. Now that Brahms was no longer a magician, perhaps staying unconscious was the better option. His collapse was only a matter of time.
Anyway, that wasn’t any of Theo and Heinrich’s business.
Clink.?
Heinrich placed a steaming cup of tea in front of Theo and took a seat with his own cup. Theo breathed in the slightly astringent scent as they started to chat in earnest.
“So, what brings you to find this old man?”
Few people remembered that Heinrich had once been a member of a royal court, and now that he had secluded himself, he didn’t have the pull to do favors for anyone. There was only one reason Theo would come to see him.
Theo kept his words to the point. “You might’ve already guessed, but I have a great interest in Sir Heinrich’s collection.” ｂ𝚍𝚘𝚟ｌ.ｎｔ
“That reminds me, you also bought books at the underground auction.” Now that he had a chance to think about it, Heinrich found it a little strange.
Meltor was home to many magic books, be they original copies or duplicates. Then, why did Theo spend a great deal of money to buy books at auction. Was Theo a type of collector? Or was this purely out of interest?
Heinrich’s elderly eyes gazed at Theo with cautious curiosity. But Heinrich would never find the correct answer without knowing about Gluttony. But first, he had to confirm something.
“I would like to say something first.”
Theo didn’t seem like Brahms, but Heinrich’s preconceived notions had accumulated over many years.
“You might be acting gracious, but will you demand a book for my life?”
Theo blinked. “Huh? I have no intention of doing that.”
Heinrich shook his head. “You can be honest. If you want anything from my library, you can just take it.”
Theo immediately denied it, but Heinrich didn’t believe him. He was already tired of magicians coming to demand books, going so far as to threaten him with death in broad daylight. He didn’t know that his scholarly hobby would cause him to be harassed like this. If Theo wanted a book, he was just going to hand it over. However, Theo wasn’t such a shameful person.
“How can a magician not respect someone who worships wisdom? If I was going to be so brazen, I would’ve hit the pig after he killed you.”
“This…”
Heinrich was momentarily speechless at Theo’s calm bluntness. He wasn’t used to fighting or violent conflict. His body was still recovering from being threatened a few minutes ago.
Theo smiled. “You yielded a few books to me at the auction house, so I was thinking of paying you back today. If it hadn’t been for that day, this reunion may never have come to pass.”
Heinrich’s face turned crimson in mortification. Had he become too whiny or cynical in his old age?
Heinrich bowed from his seat. “Cough, my words were too shameless. Please think of it as an old man’s nonsense.”
“I didn’t hear anything.” Theo shrugged as he took a sip of tea. “Let’s return to the main point. Sir Heinrich, I know that you are interested in books from many fields.”
“Yes, my curiosity was the only thing not dulled by age. I only have money, so my hobby is reading interesting books.”
“So, are you interested in books from the East?”
“Hrmm?” Heinrich’s eyes opened wider at the mention of books from the East. The existence of the East had been known for a long time, but it still wasn’t easy to go beyond the ocean. It was very hard to learn anything about the East’s culture.
Heinrich struggled to stay calm, but Theo saw right through him. The old man coughed a few times before replying, “Hmm, it does interest me, but… it is hard to get a properly translated book. The interpretation of the same words is different, and there are many dialects that aren’t understood…”
“Please take a look at this.” Theo pulled out a magic book. It was one of the books he had translated while staying with the Baek Family.
The original had already been eaten, but the translations he had written during the process of increasing his understanding were still intact. This particular book was Theo’s personal interpretation, using the memories and language skills of Lee Yoonsung. The result couldn’t be compared to those of a shabby translator.
Heinrich received the book with a strange expression. However, he soon forgot to blink as he started reading.
Good. It is as I thought.
Theo smiled slowly as he sensed that this was a success. He settled back in the chair as the tea cooled.
***
An hour later.
“P-Please excuse me. This old man was too rude to my guest…”
Heinrich was so engrossed that he only realized what had happened when he reached a paragraph he couldn’t understand. His guest was one of the continent’s most well known heroes, and yet Heinrich had ignored him for an hour. If Theo’s mood had turned sour, then Heinrich wouldn’t be able to say anything.
However, Theo shook his head with a bright expression. “No. This was what I asked for. Rather, how are the translations?”
“Ohh, these translations? They are amazing!” Heinrich praised before carefully lifting the magic book. It was obvious how sincere his love of books was. “I don’t know which famous scholar translated this book, but they understand Chinese very well. It’s almost at the level of a mother tongue. To be able to translate proverbs, dialects, and strange adjectives… It is easy to understand, even for a person who doesn’t know much about magic.”
Theo scratched his nose, embarrassed by the praise. Heinrich’s eyes widened as he noticed the reaction. Surely this young master hadn’t mastered the language beyond the sea? Theo read the question in Heinrich’s eyes and nodded.
“Yes, your guess is correct.”
“Oh, my god. I don’t know how many times I can be surprised today!”
Theo understood Heinrich’s astonishment.
Chinese language structure was fundamentally different from the common language of the West Continent. It would take a long period of time, research, and talent to smoothly translate between the two. This wasn’t a field that someone less than thirty could master.
How could Theo have broken down the boundaries of both languages and translated an academic text without any errors? It was beyond the level of some scholars in Eastern academia. Theo wouldn’t have been capable of it if it wasn’t for Lee Yoonsung.
“I have one more thing to say.” Theo raised ten fingers. “I have dozens of similar books.”
“Hoh.” Heinrich smiled as he grasped Theo’s intentions. “Do you want an exchange?”
“That’s right.”
“Indeed, it isn’t bad for me. Changing old books for new ones is really tempting.” Heinrich gestured for Theo to follow.
He reached for a book sitting unobtrusively on a bookshelf. The massive bookcase creaked as it slid open, revealing a secret space inside. This was the real study of Sipoto’s Old Books Maniac.
“It’s a little shabby, but the books I’ve put here can’t be easily seen by others,” Heinrich started to explain as he entered the secret library.
After all, each book was worth at least a hundred gold, so it was only natural that he kept them out of easy reach. The Book of Clouds, which Viscount Brahms had wanted, was such a book. But there were more original books, and even a signed book of poetry by a legendary bard.
“Sir Theo should know this as well.”
Theo nodded as he looked at the magic book that Heinrich had taken out. The book’s white cover was made of a material he didn’t recognize.
The Book of Clouds… It is clearly a book left by a previous White Tower Master.
Orta had made space magic famous due to Orta, but the roots of the White Tower lay in wind magic. One of their Tower Masters had reached the peak of weather magic and could manipulate climate.
“There is an anecdote about snow appearing in the middle of the desert, or dozens of kilometers of coastline being dried out. This magic book contains such wisdom. It is no wonder that someone like Brahms desired it.”
“I heard that a duplicate copy of it doesn’t exist?”
“That’s right. For some reason, duplication magic doesn’t work on this magic book. So, there are some people who think that the Book of Clouds is a grimoire.”
Theo laughed at the thought as he looked down at the Book of Clouds. Was it courage or ignorance? Anyone who had seen a true grimoire wouldn’t use its name so easily. Theo had seen the abyss that lay in grimoires, so he knew them better than anyone.
Theo examined the cover of the book and naturally placed his left hand on it.
Appraisal.
[Book of Clouds]
[This book explains the laws of climate, atmospheric currents, and other weather phenomena. The author, who was once well-known as a White Tower Master of Meltor, retired and wandered around the continent to observe the weather. After decades of research, he reached a point where he could reproduce the phenomena magically.
* This magic book is rated Precious.
* When consumed, affinity for the wind attribute will increase greatly.
* When consumed, knowledge of meteorology will be acquired.
* Clues to the Supercell magic have been recorded in this book. You must reach the 8th Circle at least to acquire this spell, or your wind attribute must be at maximum. The conditions required are high.]
There was a saying about a pearl necklace around a pig’s neck, but this was more like a diamond than a pearl. The book’s difficulty and depth of wisdom were similar to space magic. Theo could tell its value just from flipping through a few pages.
… Excellent. It was worth coming to Sipoto.
Of course, not all the books would be like the Book of Clouds. Nevertheless, Theo couldn’t help but smile. He had spent his youth in the library and had only become more aware after consuming hundreds of books for Gluttony.
This was Heinrich’s secret library… and the bookshelves that lined the walls of the study were giving off a delicious smell.
“Sir Heinrich,” Theo pointed to the Book of Clouds. “Let’s start with this one.”