The Book Eating Magician Chapter 234:

Chapter 234 – Old Books Maniac Heinrich (2)

Heinrich was surprised by the unexpected situation, but he decided to get rid of Brahms first before talking .

The shock Brahms suffered from Circle Sealing was too great, so he was eventually dragged and thrown out like garbage onto the streets of Sipoto . Perhaps it was better that he had lost consciousness . Now that Brahms wasn’t a magician anymore, his position would obviously collapse .

Anyway, that wasn’t any of Theodore and Heinrich’s business .

Clink .  A steaming cup of tea was placed in front of Theodore . His nose was hit with the scent of herbal tea .  After Heinrich placed two cups of handmade tea on the table, they started talking in earnest .

“So, what brings you to find this old man?”

In the past, Heinrich had been a member of a royal court, but few people knew this . Furthermore, Heinrich was a person who had cut off all his connections . This meant he didn’t have the strength to do favors for anyone .

If so, there was only one reason why Theodore would come to see him .  Theodore also knew this fact and spoke straight away, “You might’ve already guessed, but I have a great interest in Sir Heinrich’s collection . ”

“That reminds me, you bought books at the underground auction . ” Thinking about it again, Heinrich found it a little strange .

Be it an original copy or duplicate, magic books could be found in Meltor . Nevertheless, Theodore had used a lot of money to buy the books at auction .  Was Theodore a type of collector? Or was this purely out of interest?

Heinrich’s elderly eyes gazed at Theodore with curiosity and caution . However, Heinrich couldn’t figure out the correct answer without knowing about the existence of Gluttony .  Heinrich spoke before posing a question, “I would like to say something first . ”

Theodore 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?”

“Huh? I have no intention of doing that . ”

“You can be honest . If you want anything from my library, you can just take it . ”

Theodore immediately denied it, but Heinrich didn’t believe him . No, the old man was already tired . He didn’t know that his hobby of collecting books as a scholar would cause him to be harassed like this .

Heinrich was tired of magicians coming to demands books, as well as being threatened with death in broad daylight . If Theodore asked for a book now, he was just going to hand it over .  However, Theodore 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…”

It was true . As Theodore spoke to him in a calm voice, Heinrich was speechless .  He was a person who didn’t know about fighting . The memory of being threatened a short time ago still filled his body .

Theodore spoke calmly, “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 would be uncertain . ”

Heinrich’s face turned red as he regained his composure . Had he become too whiny or cynical in his old age? Heinrich gave a deep bow of apology from his seat . “Cough, my words were too shameless . Please think of it as an old man’s nonsense . ”

“I didn’t hear anything . ” Theodore shrugged while taking a sip of tea, before speaking again . “Let’s return to the main point . Sir Heinrich, I know that you are interested in books in many fields . ”

“Yes, my curiosity doesn’t stop at this 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 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 . For this reason, the culture of the East wasn’t often transmitted to the West .

Heinrich tried to regain his composure, but it had already long been revealed to Theodore .  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 read this once before answering . ” Theodore reacted like he understood and 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 book was the handcrafted interpretation of Theodore, who had been given 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 indulged in the contents .

‘Good . It is as I thought . ’ Theodore smiled darkly as he sensed that this was a success .

The two people didn’t talk again until the contents of the cups cooled .

 

*     *     *

An hour passed by .

“P-Please excuse me . This old man was too rude to my guest…” Heinrich read to the middle of the book and only realized the situation after he reached a portion he couldn’t understand .

This guest… Wasn’t he currently the most well-known hero on the continent? Yet Heinrich hadn’t maintained decorum and was too rude . If Theodore’s mood had turned sour, then Heinrich wouldn’t be able to say anything .

However, Theodore 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 the type of behavior seen from those who sincerely loved books . “I don’t know which famous scholar translated this book, but they understand Chinese very well . I can almost believe he is a local . To be able to translate the proverbs, dialects, and strange adjectives… It is easy to understand, even for a person who doesn’t know much about magic . ”

Theodore was embarrassed by the praise and scratched his nose . Heinrich’s eyes widened as he noticed the reaction .  Surely this young master hadn’t mastered the language and knowledge from beyond the sea…? Theodore read the question in Heinrich’s gaze and nodded . “Yes, your thinking is correct . ”

“Oh, my **** . I don’t know how many times I can be surprised today!”

Theodore understood Heinrich’s astonishment .

The structure of the Chinese language was fundamentally different from the common language of the West Continent . It would take a long period of time, research, and talent to smoothly compensate for the difference . This wasn’t a field which could be fully mastered by someone who was less than 30 years old .

How could Theodore have broken down the boundaries of both languages and translated the professional knowledge without any errors? It was beyond the level of some Eastern scholars in academia . Theodore wouldn’t have been capable of it if it wasn’t for Lee Yoonsung .

“I have one more thing to say . ” Theodore raised 10 fingers in front of the surprised Heinrich . “I have dozens of similar books . ”

“Hoh . ” Heinrich smiled as he grasped Theodore’s intentions . “Do you want an exchange with my collection?”

“That’s right . ”

“Indeed, it isn’t bad for me . Changing old books for new ones . It is really tempting . ” Heinrich gestured for Theodore to follow .

Then Heinrich picked up a book at the corner of the 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 is 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 .   Each book was worth at least 100 gold, so it was obvious why they couldn’t be shown to others .

There was a signed book of poetry by a legendary bard, as well as original books .  The Book of Clouds, which Viscount Brahms had wanted, was such a book .

“Sir Theodore should know this . ”

Theodore nodded as he looked at the magic book that Heinrich had taken out . It had a white cover made of unknown material .

‘The Book of Clouds… It is clearly a book left by a previous white tower master . ’

Space magic was famous due to Orta, but the root of the white tower was wind magic .  Among them, there had been a white tower master who 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 . ” Theodore laughed at the thoughts of the foolish people 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 . Theodore had looked at the ominous bottomless hell, so he knew it better than anyone .

‘Appraisal . ’

Theodore examined the cover of the book and naturally placed his left hand on it .

 

[Book of Clouds]

[-This book explains the laws of climate, atmospheric currents, and weather phenomenon . 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 to the ‘wind’ attribute will increase greatly .

* When consumed, knowledge of ‘meteorology’ will be acquired .

* Clues to the Supercell magic have been recorded . You must be at least the 8th Circle to acquire this spell, or your wind attribute must be at the 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 . Theodore was able to know this just from Appraisal and flipping through a few pages .

‘…Excellent . It was worth it coming to Sipoto . ’

Of course, not all the books would be like the Book of Clouds . Nevertheless, Theodore couldn’t help but smile . He was someone who had spent his youth in the library and had then become more aware after consuming hundreds of books for Gluttony .

This was Heinrich’s secret library… and the bookshelves lined up all over the study were giving off a delicious smell .

“Sir Heinrich,” Theodore pointed to the Book of Clouds and opened his mouth, “Let’s start with this one . ”