Book Eater

Chapter 22: Outside the Academy (4)

Three days later, Theodore stood by the gates of Bergen Academy in the early morning. He was wearing casual clothing and carried a few large pieces of luggage on his back. If he hadn’t exercised for two months, he wouldn’t even have been able to take a few steps.

H-Heavy! I only brought what I needed, but this is still...

Theo had only packed his clothes and daily necessities, yet his backpacks were bulging. It was said that it would take ten to fourteen days to reach Manavil from Bergen. So, he had to feed between fifteen and thirty books to Gluttony. If he had a little more time, he would have learned how to enchant objects with a weight reduction spell. However, he had postponed acquiring that spell since he didn’t understand it well enough.

Do I have to ask the professor again?

Theo dropped his luggage and massaged his stiff shoulders.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. I had a lot more to do than I thought.”

Professor Vince showed up in casual clothes, which was rare. It seemed like the procedure to participate in the Annual Magic Contest was quite complicated. Even Theodore had found it difficult to meet him recently.

Vince wiped the sweat off his brow and looked at the luggage Theo had put down.

“I forgot to tell you something since I’ve been so deluged with things.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s probably better to show, than tell.”

Vince took out something.

A pouch...?

It looked like a pouch made of shabby leather.

Vince aimed the opening at Theo’s baggage and muttered, “Storage!”

The mouth of the pouch widened as it emitted a strange suction. The suction didn’t affect the air or any other objects. It just sucked up the designated target, Theo’s luggage. The scene of a backpack ten times the size of the pouch it was being sucked into almost didn’t seem real.

Theo was amazed as he realized what it was. “Dimension pocket!”

As Vince put the dimension pocket away, he agreed, “This item is famous in many ways. It’s also convenient.”

Indeed, he didn’t need to carry his baggage around like Theodore. The pouch was a high grade artifact which could carry as many things as possible.

I wonder what it’s rated as?

Theo wanted to ask but Vince walked ahead.

“Time is a little tight. We can talk while moving.”

“I understand.”

The two walked through the main gates and headed towards the city at a fast pace. At first, they walked silently, but then Vince, who was a few steps ahead, turned to ask, “Theodore, can you show me the elemental that you made a contract with?”

Vince majored in archaeology, so he couldn’t hide his overwhelming curiosity about the ancient elemental. It was an incurable disease for a magician. The usual coldness was gone from his eyes, leaving him with the bright eyes of a child.

Theodore laughed lightly and called out to the girl inside him.

Mitra?

The sleeping girl opened her eyes.

“Ohh...!” A cry of admiration emerged from Vince’s mouth.

The lump of dirt at Theo’s feet had changed into the shape of a little girl. Her eyes and nose were vague; however, a general spirit could barely take the image of a beast, let alone a human. This was only possible for upper ranked elementals. Yet the elemental, Mitra, had a human figure as soon as she’d made a contract with Theo.

“Is it possible to talk with her?” Vince asked in a trembling voice.

If it was possible to communicate, then Mitra’s potential was almost the same as an elemental king.

However, Theo shook his head with a regretful expression. “I’ve tried talking to her.”

Mitra felt Theo’s gaze.

[Huing?]

It sounded like the cry of a puppy.

“I can only hear this sound.”

“Do you know what it means?”

“Well… it’s a little subtle.”

Theo focused on the feeling coming from Mitra. The contract with the elemental was a connection of their souls, so it was a simple matter to read each other’s surface thoughts. However the situation would be overwhelming if the elemental was more mature. However, Theodore soon opened his eyes and clicked his tongue.

“It feels like I am dealing with a child who doesn’t know how to speak yet. There are only simple words like ‘good’, ‘no’, or ‘I don’t understand’.”

“But communication itself is possible. Very interesting.”

Unlike Theo, Vince’s eyes shone. It was different from the intermediate and low grade elementals who only passively followed their contractor’s will.

Vince gave some advice to Theo, who was holding Mitra in his arms, “Call her often to talk. An ancient elemental is an individual spirit, so conversations with its contractor are a great way to grow.”

“She just complained about being called all the time.”

“Hoh, there’s already a self-consciousness!”

Vince was amazed again and kept writing notes about Mitra in his notebook. There were still more things he wanted to ask. After all, where would he get such interesting study material? Talking to Theo for a few days was much more beneficial than years of research at Bergen Academy. A big smile, which didn’t seem to suit him, appeared on Vince’s face thanks to his disciple.

“Professor, do you mind if I ask you something?”

This time, Theo had a question. He waited until Vince finished writing in the notebook and asked, “How are we getting to Manavil? I know that the current transportation arrangements won’t work.”

A mountain range and the Moya River formed natural boundaries to Bergen’s west and north respectively. This dissuaded easy invasions from other lands, however, the journey to Manavil, to the northwest of Bergen, would be rather difficult. If the horse-drawn carriage didn’t rest, it could take anywhere between ten days to a month. But in order to participate in the Annual Magic Contest, they had to arrive in ten days.

“Well, don’t worry about that. I took care of that.” Vince smiled leisurely as he kept walking. “There are many people leaving for Manavil right now. There are tourists, magicians, and foreigners from another kingdom, but do you know who values this period of time the most?”

Theo was puzzled by the unexpected question, but he soon reached the answer Vince was looking for. “... Merchants?”

“Correct. When the streets of Manavil swell ten times over with magicians with thick wallets, any merchant worth their salt won’t miss it. They will try to squeeze as much profit as possible.”

The merchants of Bergen were no exception. As a result, they had forged a new path through the mountain range in order to shorten the travel time. Vince was thinking of using that.

“I’ve used it a few times in the past. Individuals rarely use it, since it passes several monster dens and is frequented by bandits. Normally, only upper ranked companies can enter."

Theo looked surprised. “I guess it’s fast enough to accept that risk.”

Vince nodded. “As I recall, it took me around a week. It’s twice as fast as other routes.”

Merchants, who viewed every moment as money, couldn’t ignore such a path. They simply calculated that double the speed equaled double the profit. Threats such as monsters and bandits were easily taken care of by hiring mercenaries to escort them. The money earned was greater than what they paid, so the upper-ranked companies almost always took this path.

Eventually, Theo saw a convoy in the distance. Their destination must be Manavil because he counted close to thirty wagons. There were also at least a hundred mercenaries resting nearby.

They were quickly hailed as they drew closer to the convoy.

“Oh! You came!” A middle-aged man in a tunic suddenly popped out of the convoy. He was a big figure in the company, but his attitude was that of a peasant who hadn’t seen a noble before. The man bowed to Vince, who now appeared as impassive as usual.

“There is no better luck than having Professor join us!”

“I should be thanking you, Boss Gordon.”

“Hahaha, you can relax! By the way, is this your disciple?”

As Vince nodded, Gordon grabbed a merchant passing by and gave him instructions.

“Prepare a carriage and bring it here. These two are precious guests and shouldn’t be disrespected.”

“Yes, I understand!”

Theo realized the reason for the hospitality was the presence of the 5th Circle master, Vince Haidel. In other words, Vince’s presence was equivalent to a hundred or more mercenaries. Being a powerful magician in itself was a precious identity.

And Theodore Miller would be one as well.