Chapter 7
I Paved the Path for My Nephew, and Ended Up
Becoming the Hero
Because the 「Fire」 spell was larger and hotter than expected, Alex had to take a couple of steps back.
Even so, he could still feel the heat.
“I think there was too much mana.”
[No, that was the appropriate amount.]
[For 1st-circle mages, that is.]
Lee Baek examined the giant fireball and Alex’s body as if it were fascinating.
[Try casting it one more time.]
“Okay. But how do I get rid of this?”
[Think of scattering the mana. Since it’s fire made from mana.]
Following Lee Baek’s instructions, as soon as he scattered the mana, the blazingly burning fireball vanished like smoke.
Alex cast 「Fire」 once again, in the exact same way as before.
“「Fire」.”
Once more, a large fire appeared in front of Alex’s hand.
[This is quite interesting.]
[Normally, 1st-circle mages who are learning magic for the first time waste their mana, you see?]
“Waste it?”
[I mean, when you cook for the first time, you don’t know the proper amount of ingredients, right? So you waste them.]
[On the other hand, experienced chefs cook with just the right amount of ingredients.]
With Lee Baek’s explanation, Alex understood.
It had been the same for him when he first cooked. Though he ended up eating it all anyway because he didn’t want to waste the ingredients.
“So magic is similar to cooking?”
[Yeah, exactly.]
[Proficiency isn’t just a random concept.]
[The more you use magic and get used to it, the less mana you waste, and the more efficiently you can use it.]
Lee Baek continued speaking.
[But this is your first time using magic.]
[So smart as I am, I calculated the extra mana you’d waste and told you the spell accordingly.]
[Yet surprisingly, not a single bit of mana was thrown away. Because you used it all without wasting any, the 「Fire」 ended up being created that large.]
“Is this also because of talent?”
Since he had been able to move mana easily thanks to his talent, Alex wondered if it was for the same reason this time as well.
[No.]
[No matter how much of a cooking genius someone is, it’s impossible to make a dish they’ve never seen in their life perfectly without wasting any ingredients, right?]
Seeing that every example was related to cooking, Alex felt like he could grasp just how vast and deep Lee Baek’s obsession with food really was.
[This is, well, how should I put it.]
[It feels like you’ve been using my magic for over ten years and have grown proficient with it.]
“I used your magic?”
Alex, who had never used even the barest basics of magic during his 20 years as a human or his 12 years as a ghost, found it puzzling.
[No, I mean it feels like that.]
[That’s why it’s even stranger. This is my magic, after all.]
[Which doesn’t exist in this world.]
Even Lee Baek, a lich from another world who had reached the pinnacle of magic, didn’t know why it felt this way.
“It’s not a bad thing, right?”
[It’s actually a good thing.]
[It means you can use my magic efficiently without wasting mana.]
“Then that’s fine.”
Alex decided not to worry about it as long as it wasn’t a problem.
After all, having an otherworldly lich living inside his body was already a major problem in itself.
[I’m curious, though.]
[Well, we can figure it out slowly.]
Having plenty of time, Lee Baek decided to set the question aside for now.
“If I want to reduce the size, I just need to use less mana?”
[That’s right.]
[Let’s reduce the size this time and try making several.]
At Lee Baek’s words, Alex slightly reduced the amount of mana, stared at the spot where the magic would appear, and cast the spell.
“「Fire」.”
Then, three small fires appeared in front of Alex.
[Nice. No wasted mana this time either. It really is strange.]
[Next, let’s try using as much mana as possible.]
As Lee Baek instructed, he used all the mana from his ring and cast the magic.
“「Fire」.”
More than twenty fires appeared in the backyard.
[Wow! People would believe it even if you said you were at the 2nd, no, early 3rd circle!]
Because his mana was depleted, his head spun slightly, but as he used the mana breathing technique Lee Baek had taught him, mana began to fill his heart again.
[Your mana recovery is fast, too.]
[Impressive, isn’t it?]
Exhaling softly, Alex looked at the 「Fire」 spells he had created, which filled the backyard.
His decent talent in swordsmanship, the magic Lee Baek was teaching him, and the memories of the ‘future’.
Feeling reassured, Alex made his decision.
“Let’s leave.”
He decided to depart immediately without delay.
For Leo’s happiness.
And to burn down the demon race’s plots and plans from the very roots before they could grow out of control.
[Leave? To where?]
The lich living in his body would surely be of help as well.
Lunchtime.
After listening happily to Leo’s story about having fun playing with his friends, Alex looked at Leo and spoke.
“Leo.”
“Huh?”
Leo looked at Alex with a face that resembled his sister, and sky-blue eyes that resembled his brother-in-law.
The face of Leo that he used to look at whenever he missed his sister and brother-in-law.
However, now, the face of ‘Hero Leo’, who had died at the hands of the Demon King before anyone else, came to mind first.
That was why Alex decided to leave, to prevent such a ‘future’ from happening.
He had wondered how to persuade Leo, but luckily, there was a plausible reason.
“Shall we… go find Leo’s mom and dad?”
‘Sister, brother-in-law, I’m sorry.’
But he actually intended to look for them.
Of course, since even ‘Hero Leo’ hadn’t been able to find them, it would be extremely difficult.
At Alex’s words, Leo’s eyes widened.
Mom and Dad.
People he had only heard about through the stories his uncle and the villagers told him.
‘Leo!’
‘Leo.’
Those faint voices gently calling his name, floating back into his memory.
Yet, those whose faces he couldn’t remember…
“Mom and… Dad…?”
At that unfamiliar title he hadn’t called out often, Leo’s small heart thumped excitedly.
“Yeah. Leo has grown a lot, and Uncle has become stronger, too.”
[Oh! You’re going to find his mom and dad!]
[I’ll help, too!]
Adeptly ignoring Lee Baek’s words, Alex looked at Leo.
“What do you think about going to find Mom and Dad?”
“They said… Mom and Dad were dead.”
Alex’s expression darkened.
The villagers weren’t the type to say such a thing in front of a child, so he must have overheard it somewhere secretly.
Of course, Alex had also thought so at times, so he didn’t blame him.
“Yeah. But they might still be alive…”
Alex’s voice trembled involuntarily.
“They might be alive and waiting for Uncle and Leo.”
A long time had passed, but they were still the sister and brother-in-law he missed. Even if it had faded, longing was still longing.
Quietly listening to Alex’s words, Leo looked up at his uncle. Along with the longing and sadness he often saw on his uncle’s face, he saw hope for the first time.
That hope was transmitted to Leo as well.
Leo missed his mom and dad just as much as his uncle did.
The mom and dad he couldn’t even remember.
“…I’ll go!”
The mom and dad he had never once called out to.
“I want to go find them!”
Before he knew it, Leo spoke with a face full of tears.
“I, I want to see Mom and Dad, too!”
Recalling the ‘future’ where the child who missed his mom and dad so much ended up losing his uncle too, Alex’s emotions surged even more.
Alex hugged Leo tightly.
“Yeah, let me take you to find them.”
In his uncle’s warm embrace, Leo burst into tears. Waaaaah! As much as he had missed them, as much as he wanted to see them.
Patting Leo on the back, Alex thought—
[Sniffle I’ll definitely help you find them.]
—looking at Lee Baek, who was crying along, ‘I really don’t think this guy is a lich.’
“We’re leaving tomorrow.”
Alex spoke to Leo, whose eyes were swollen from crying.
“Okay! But where are we going, Uncle?”
“First, we’ll go to the Lord’s castle. And then to other countries as well.”
“The Lord’s castle! Other countries!”
Leo’s eyes sparkled brightly.
“So we need to pack our things. We’ll be riding a cart, so let’s only pack what we really need.”
“Got it!”
At Alex’s words, Leo replied with a face full of motivation.
[How brave.]
[He grew up well!]
At that praise, his uncle, Alex, smiled warmly.
“And you have to say goodbye to your friends, too.”
“Yeah!”
“Aren’t you sad to part with your friends, Leo?”
“I’m sad, but we can meet again!”
Just as Lee Baek said, Leo was very brave.
“Guys! I’m going to go find my mom and dad!”
And there was no hesitation.
Shouting as if he was going to spread the news all over the village, he ran to his friends.
“You’re going to find your mom and dad?”
At Leo’s words, the children blinked.
“Yeah! Together with Uncle! We’re going to the Lord’s castle and to other countries, too!”
It seemed as if light was pouring out from Leo as he spoke with a bright smile.
“Whoa! The Lord’s castle?!”
“You’re going to other countries, too? That’s amazing!”
Without even knowing how long or how far their friend Leo was leaving, the children were simply envious.
“Mom! Dad! Leo says he’s going to find his mom and dad!”
“Leo says he’s going to the Lord’s castle with Uncle Alex!!”
That news quickly spread all across the village.
“You’re going to find Serena and Glick?”
Before long, Alex was surrounded by villagers who had rushed over upon hearing the news.
They vividly remembered eleven years ago, when sixteen-year-old Serena and nine-year-old Alex had first settled in this village.
They also remembered Glick, the mercenary Serena had brought a few years later, saying she was marrying him.
Recalling Glick’s face, which had a stern expression but clear joy, still brought a smile to their faces.
And when Leo was born, too.
The sight of Alex, Serena, and Glick smiling brightly had looked truly happy.
That was why, even while wearing worried expressions, the villagers could not bring themselves to stop Alex.
“I knew this day would come.”
Mark said as he looked at Alex, who had grown up to be twenty years old.
“Every time I saw you staring at the village entrance, waiting for Serena and Glick, and every time I saw you practicing swordsmanship alone, I thought to myself: ‘Someday, he’s going to go look for them.'”
Whenever they saw Alex’s lonely back as he held young Leo, all the villagers had thought the same thing.
At that, Alex could only offer a small smile.
‘I really was like that.’
Before being killed by wolves.
Alex had planned to go find his sister and brother-in-law once Leo grew a bit older. That was why he trained in swordsmanship every day after finishing the farm work.
It seemed the villagers had known that, too.
“What about Leo? Is he going with you?”
At a villager’s question, Alex nodded.
“Yes. I’m taking him with me.”
“It’s going to be tough.”
Traveling with a six-year-old child wouldn’t be an easy task, but seeing Alex’s face, which somehow looked so grown up, everyone simply gave him advice instead.
“Be careful not only of monsters, but also of strangers.”
“Right. Don’t let yourselves get kidnapped!”
“Yes. I will.”
Alex probably knew better than anyone how dangerous it was outside the village.
“Wait here for a moment.”
“Yeah. Stay right here!”
The villagers quickly headed to their homes. It seemed they wanted to give something to Alex, who was about to leave.
Mark was also about to head home to grab something, but Alex stopped him.
“Sir. There’s something I’d like to ask of you.”
“Ask anything!”
Mark answered with the momentum of agreeing before even hearing the request. Laughing, Alex said:
“I’d like to ask you to take care of our house.”
Our house.
The house filled with memories of Leo.
Alex hoped that whenever he finished everything and returned one day, the house would still be there just as it was now.
“And please manage the fields together with the villagers, too. You can split all the grain harvested after paying taxes among yourselves.”
Rather than leaving it completely empty, it was better for the villagers to farm the field.
[Oh, thorough.]
Mark quickly waved his hands.
“That’s unnecessary! I’ll do it even without all that!”
“It’ll make my mind feel at ease if we do it this way.”
When Alex was young, and when Leo was a baby—if it hadn’t been for the villagers’ help, they wouldn’t have been able to grow up so well.
After a few back-and-forths, Alex eventually won.
“We should at least pay tenant fees…”
“I told you it’s fine.”
In the meantime.
The villagers came out one by one, holding things in their hands.
“This is emergency medicine, so take it when you’re sick.”
“This is dried jerky.”
“Thank you. We’ll eat it well.”
Before he knew it, Alex’s arms were full of goods.
“Can you carry all of this?”
“What are you riding? It’ll be hard to go on foot.”
“I’m planning to buy a cart and a horse.”
At that, Mark, who owned a cart, and a man who owned a horse shouted loudly.
“Buy? Buy what!”
“We’ll just give them to you, so take them!”
In the end, Alex was able to buy a medium-sized cart and a brown horse to pull it at an extremely cheap price.
[This village is really a good village.]
To Lee Baek’s comment, Alex merely smiled in agreement.
