The Book Eating Magician Chapter 17:

At the Crossroad of Trust #1

After school, Theodore finished his dinner, like Professor Vince had said to do, and walked with a sunken expression .

He didn’t have a chance to enjoy his victory over Garcia because he knew why Vince called him . In the academy, there was no other person who knew Theo better . He realized that Theo’s abilities had increased abnormally .

‘Plus, he knows that I don’t have the money to buy magic reagents or hire a tutor . ’

Vince had cared for him more than anyone else in the past three years .

Theo had talked about his miserable money situation, which was almost like a poor peasant’s, and his horrible mana sensitivity .

Vince was different from the other professors who didn’t pay much attention to Theo . This situation was more dangerous because it was Professor Vince, who always regretted seeing Theo’s talent go to waste and tried to open up another path for him . Professor Vince would be able to grasp the authenticity of Theo’s words .

Above all, there was the problem of coming up with a way of hiding Gluttony’s existence .

‘Damn, there is no answer no matter how I think about it . I can’t make up excuses to Professor Vince . It will cause a misunderstanding, and I might not be able to salvage this . ’

Gluttony had said that there were over 100 ways to increase magic power, but it had only told him one .

In this day and age, only three or four methods were known . Other methods included black magic or fraudulent techniques, but it wasn’t rare for the magic power to decrease instead . In a situation like this, there was no hole to escape to .

How long did he worry about it? Theo had already arrived in front of Professor Vince’s laboratory .

“…I’ve arrived . ”

It was his first visit here since coming for the permit .  Theo looked at the brown door before him . At that time, he had come out of this room with a gloomy face, and he now returned with entirely different worries .

The position he was in had changed a lot . The one-time 2nd Circle dunce now had the best marks in the grade .  This was the result of facing his difficulties without turning back .

‘It is the same this time as well . ’

He wouldn’t run away . Theo decided he would face it as he raised his hand .

Knock, knock .

“Professor, it is Theodore . ”

An answer came from behind the door, as if he had been waiting .

–Come in .

Theo turned the doorknob, and he could smell the usual scent of coffee .  The parchments and books spread out on the desk showed Professor Vince’s diligence . He put down the parchment he was reading and looked at Theo with a face that was difficult to read .

“You came right on time . The faculty meeting took longer than I expected, so I just got back . ”

It was as he said .  The handling of Garcia Carter was a difficult problem for the academy . Viscount Carter was famous, so they didn’t want to punish his son and cause a problem .  The professors were so concerned that Vince was eventually forced to give up on expulsion or repeating a year .

After the meeting ran for two or three hours, it finally came to an end with Viscount Carter’s showing up personally in a crystal ball .

–I’m really sorry that my foolish son was such a nuisance .

As an upright and honourable nobleman, Viscount Cater didn’t try to make excuses for Garcia . Rather, he asked Vince to punish him strictly .  As a result, the principal of Bergen Academy decided to leave the decision to Vince .

“It is unsatisfactory . The principal was afraid of the possible future troubles if he made the wrong decision . ”

Vince described the situation up to there and stopped talking for a moment . Then he took a sip from the coffee cup on his desk, dissatisfied that the professors at the academy were bureaucrats who only cared about their own well-being .

On the other hand, Theo hadn’t expected much from the professors, so his expression was still calm .  Vince saw his reaction and put down his cup .

“I spoke for too long . Should I go straight to the point?”

Before that, Vince pulled something out .  It was an impressive pendant on a silver chain . Theo could feel a considerable amount of magic power coming from the red jewel in the middle .

Theo’s eyes naturally widened when he saw the pendant .

‘It’s an artifact! I’ve never seen such a high quality one before . ’

Thanks to spending two months at the black market trader, Theo quickly noticed it . The silver pendant was something which couldn’t be compared with any of the goods from the black market trader . Its configuration of the magic power was completely different .

It might be possible to shorten the path to the 4th Circle by more than half if he swallowed it . The pendant was like an à la carte dish .  Then Professor Vince told him the identity of the pendant .

“Roaring Flames is the name of this pendant . ”

“Roaring Flames…?”

“Yes . Garcia, that idiot, used this artifact during the spar with you . ”

Indeed, it had been due to the power of the pendant .  Theo nodded unconsciously .  This answered the question of how Garcia, a 3rd Circle magician, had been able to use the 4th Circle Blaze Shell . It was possible with the magic power of ‘Roaring Flames’ .

However, his surprise didn’t end there .

“Now, take it . ”

“—Ah?”

Professor Vince suddenly threw Roaring Flames at Theodore .

An artifact, which would be worth at least 100 gold and treasured by magicians, was being thrown through the air . Theo raised his hands reflexively and grabbed it .

Before Theo could ask anything, Vince said, “You won’t receive an apology from the academy . However, you were attacked by this artifact . I think this pendant, Roaring Flames, was sent as an apology by Viscount Carter . ”

“No, even so…”

Handing over an artifact like this as an apology… no one in the Meltor Kingdom would do it .  At the very least, Viscount Carter wasn’t known for his wealth .

Theo knew this and wasn’t convinced, but Vince casually explained the story behind the incident .

“Instead, Garcia will receive a one month suspension . I chose his punishment without consulting you, so if you have any complaints, give back the pendant and he will be expelled . ”

“…I have no complaints, Professor!”

“Well, I thought so . ”

As Theo was stunned by his sudden windfall, Vince smiled and picked up his cup of coffee again .

No matter what punishment Garcia received, Theodore wouldn’t receive any benefits . No, Garcia might hold a grudge if he received a severe punishment . Whereas, accepting the Roaring Flames would give Theo a benefit .

‘Okay, it might be possible for me to become a 4th Circle magician before graduation . ’

For a moment, there was a peaceful silence .  Theo’s hands were tingling because he wanted to use Appraisal straight away, while Vince closed his eyes and savoured the smell of coffee .  However, the silence between the two of them was broken shortly afterwards by Vince’s voice .

“From here on, it will be my personal question . ”

The inevitable checkmate had arrived .  The relaxed tension was pulled tightly like a rubber band, and Theo’s expression grew grim .

He lost the false sense of security Professor Vince had given him by handing him the artifact, and a hypothetical dialogue of how this conversation would go popped into his head .  The atmosphere in the room seemed to cool within a mere 10 seconds .

“I don’t doubt your capabilities . No, anyone who understands your nature wouldn’t feel doubt . Haven’t I told you a few times already? Theodore Miller, if you had a little more sensitivity, then you would’ve been the top graduate three years ago . ”

Theo’s expression didn’t soften even with the praise . Rather, it became more tense . Theodore was afraid of that splendid reputation .  Nobody in the academy knew, but one person had guessed about Theodore’s talent .  That person was Professor Vince .

“However, that is the limit . There is no way to increase one’s sensitivity, and I felt regret for you . ”

But—

Vince looked at him with sharp eyes .

“Since the winter break, you have changed . No, the word ‘change’ is lacking . You have become completely different . ”

It was a bit of a relief that no animosity was obviously visible .  Theo might have absorbed some of Alfred Bellontes’s talents and experience, but he wasn’t a match for the Vince .  Vince was a person who had been a war magician for decades and was a powerful person with the 6th Circle in sight .  If Theo fought Vince 100 times, then Theo would die 100 times .

Fortunately, Vince was just questioning Theo and didn’t seem to have any hostile feelings .

“It is okay if you don’t want to answer . You are sincere and not a personally flawed student . I know you wouldn’t use a dirty method for such a development . ”

“Professor…”

“But if you think of me as your teacher, I wonder if there is anything I can do to help you . ”

‘I want to teach you’ was the conclusion .  At that moment, Theodor Miller had a hunch .

‘Here, this is a crossroad . ’

His life would change depending on which side he chose .  Should he tell Vince or should he hide it?

If he concealed it, then his days would continue like they were now . He would continue eating books from the library and receive his diploma as an elite student .  No, would it really be like that?

There was a limit to how many books he could take from the library . Over the past two months, Gluttony had already eaten over 100 books . He had somehow concealed it by changing the layout of the collections or moving the desk positions, but if someone looked closely, then it would soon be clear .

However, if he had Professor Vince’s cooperation, he wouldn’t need to take such risks .

‘No, that doesn’t matter . ’

In the end, that was a secondary matter .  He had to look at the essence of the situation .

What was the meaning of this crossroad?

Theo stared solemnly at Professor Vince .  In retrospect, it was a simple question…

…Should be believe or not believe in Vince?

“Professor . ”

After a period of silence which was both long and short, Theo finally made his decision .