Book Eater

Some people said it was rude, but others marveled at the sight.

They had no choice but to do so.

How much did Xu Wenhui, the king of the Western Xia Kingdom, spend in order to win the favor of Theodore? The ability to do such a thing was a good result after having to live a poor life since the war decades ago.

The budget of the banquet that was to be held over seven days was thousands of crowns of gold.

The best chefs in the country had prepared dishes using ingredients that were no different from elixirs. They had also gathered acrobats and courtesans from all over the East Continent. Even during the heyday of the middle kingdom, a banquet of this scale couldn’t be easily held.

There were hundreds of people fascinated by a single gesture of a master, people who were mesmerized by the dancing and singing of the courtesans, and people who enjoyed the mountain and sea delicacies on the table.

As expected, Theodore and the Baek father and son had seats of honor and famous courtesans clung to them. Each courtesan was a beautiful woman worth dozens of gold crowns for one night.

Their beauty was naturally unmatched!

From head to toe, several beauties who were adept at captivating men clung to them and acted flirtatiously.

“You should try this too.”

“This girl would like to raise a glass for you.”

Baek Dongil had little resistance to such temptations which made this truly a spectacle for him.

“I-I will do it with my own hands...”

“Oh, what do you want to do with such sturdy hands?”

“Even if you don’t hold tightly, this girl belongs to you today, right? Huhuhu, no matter what you want, just give me orders.”

“N-No, that isn’t...!”

His hands, which were at a loss due to not knowing what to do, were grabbed. Baek Dongil couldn’t help lowering his head. His face had completely turned red.

The courtesans had dealt with a person like him more than once or twice and since they felt a unique charm from this foolish person who looked like a magician, they relieved his tension with skillful words. They narrowed the distance but didn’t make him too uncomfortable. Their skills were indeed good enough to represent a kingdom.

“Hmm! Cough.”

The situation wasn’t much different for the nearby Baek Jongmyung.

If there was one difference, it was that as a father with his son by his side, he had to maintain his physical integrity.

It had been more than 20 years since his wife left first.

His muscles twitched for no reason at the warmth and smell of the young women.

At this moment—

[Master Baek.]

Theodore, who remained calm unlike the other two, spoke to him.

[I am only going to attend today. Starting tomorrow, I will be on a trip to the New Central Kingdom and will be there for four days. Dongil has no role to play on this trip to Western Xia, so please travel with him and enjoy your hometown.]

[Umm, I don’t know how many more times I can thank you. By the way...]

Baek Jongmyung looked at Theodore’s expression as he was surrounded by three or four young ladies, like him, and thus couldn’t help asking a question.

[Sir Theodore, are you already free from lust of the seven sins?]

No matter how good a master was, they weren’t free of desire.

However, Theodore’s face was so calm.

Looking at him, people might think he was in the middle of the prairie. The whispers of the beauties flowed like the breeze, and the provocative acrobatics and intense music were silent around him.

Theodore smiled and replied.

[No. Just...]

[Just?]

[My wives are much more beautiful.]

Baek Jongmyung was dazed for a moment at the unexpected answer.

“Hahaha!”

This was indeed the case. He couldn’t help slapping his knees.

His wives weren’t just beautiful women. They were strong and wise as well. He had three companions who had endured hardships together with him.

These courtesans might be beautiful, but compared to his wives, they were fireflies in front of the moon.

Baek Jongmyung immediately put down his glass.

‘I miss you more than ever today.’

The heart which was shaken by the beautiful women had disappeared. He recalled his youthful past while looking at the clear night sky.

Due to that, Baek Dongil’s behavior became more prominent.

“Keuk.”

Theodore couldn’t help chuckling as he reminisced about yesterday.

Baek Dongil was already at the age of marriage. Unexpectedly, he didn’t have that much immunity to the opposite sex. In retrospect, he hadn’t heard rumors of Baek Dongil being in a relationship with anyone.

If it was someone like Baek Dongil, it would be easy to talk about marriage.

‘I might ask him later.’

Just as Theodore was thinking this, someone spoke from behind him.

“Oh, you came early?”

It was Tiger King.

“Did you wait for a long time?”

“No, it was just one night.”

Still, it seemed quite boring. After spending one day on the airship, Tiger King turned her itchy neck around and around.

It almost seemed like a show of force.

“Good. Then shall we leave now?”

“Yes.”

Theodore, dressed in formal attire, reached out. Tiger King placed her palm on top of his without hesitation.

The destination was the capital of New Central Kingdom.

It was the city where Lee Seol, the head of the Fairy Dance Lee Family, had invited him.

Flash!

* * *

New Central Kingdom.

It was the name of the kingdom that rose like a phoenix after the ‘Lust Apocalypse’ disaster 17 years ago.

More than 70,000 people had died at that time.

No military was left to protect the kingdom, let alone facilities to serve as national infrastructure. If it wasn’t for the full cooperation of the eastern kingdoms and their warriors, including the Fairy Dance Lee Family, at least 30% of the citizens would’ve been taken as slaves or murdered in other countries.

However, the middle kingdom eventually survived.

In the name of the old middle kingdom, New Central Kingdom was led by noble families who carried on their past history and proved that they had both honor and responsibility.

Geumneung, the new capital city, was built from the foundation stone.

The walls were shabbier than before, but the people within had become stronger as they overcame adversity. They sweated without showing any laziness, believing that tomorrow’s life would be better than today’s.

One day to a hardworking person was worth more than ten days to a lazy person.

As if to prove it, the New Central Kingdom was quickly revived.

The people rose above their painful past and weren’t easily broken. They navigated to an unknown future with their strong minds and bodies.

Then they reached this day.

“How great.”

On a hill overlooking the city of Geumneung, a man and a woman were blatantly admiring it.

“They say that the ground hardens after the rain. Isn’t this even greater than that?”

“It has been 17 years.”

Tiger King, who was standing next to the man, muttered softly, “It isn’t short but also isn’t long.

Humans can actually do this much with that amount of time.”

“I helped a bit but...”

It still exceeded his expectations.

Laughter and chatter were mixed throughout the public road where thousands of people came and went. Of course, it wasn’t all laughter. However, the wailing and screaming of 17 years ago were definitely gone.

Theodore and Tiger King looked down at the scenery for a moment. Then they similarly looked away and spoke.

“Shall we go down?”

"Of course. But before that...”

Tiger King asked with wide eyes.

“Where is Seol’s house? Can we see it from here?”

“Well... we can see it.”

“Really? Where is it?”

Unlike the excited Tiger King, Theodore’s expression was subtle.

She didn’t know it, but she had been looking at it for a while.

Theodore raised his right hand and pointed somewhere. Tiger King’s gaze naturally followed his finger.

“There, do you see the place with a collection of blue-roofed houses?”

“Ah! I see it. The place with many towers, right?”

“Yes.”

“There are a lot of houses. There looks to be around 300 houses... Where is the house she lives in?”

Theodore swallowed down a laugh, paused for a moment, and replied, “There.”

“What?”

“The houses and the five towers together. The whole area is the Fairy Dance Lee Family’s mansion.”

Tiger King’s mouth dropped open and she stiffened.

In a way, it was a normal reaction.

It was nearly ten times as large as the old residence of the Lee Family. In terms of the number and type of buildings, it was even more than that. Wasn’t it comparable to the palaces of the middle kingdom?

Similarly, Theodore was surprised at first, but then on second thought, he understood.

‘They are a contributor to the founding of the kingdom and the most powerful family in the kingdom.’

It was different from the days when they guarded the remote Baekun Mountains.

The Fairy Dance Lee Family was the foremost contributor to the reconstruction of the New Central Kingdom. They were also outstanding when it came to armed might. Regardless of their frugal nature, there was a need to prove their success.

They didn’t show it off, but even the authority of the royal family fell short compared to them.

It had been 17 years since that day. As long as there were those in the upper echelons who knew about Theodore’s relationship with Lee Seol, there wouldn’t be a single idiot who dared to attack the Lee Family.

Theodore grabbed the arm of the mesmerized Tiger King and said, “Let’s go. We are going to be late.”

“Uh? Huh? Ah, yes.”

At that moment, their bodies became hazy.

Merely three steps were sufficient.

The moment they suddenly appeared after moving from the hill to the front gate of the Fairy Dance Lee Family Street, guards aimed their spears at them.

“Who?! What are you doing here?”

“Do you know what type of place this is?!”

Contrary to their confused expressions, the tips of the spears didn’t waver.

It was proof that they diligently trained their mind and body.

Theodore took a step forward and looked around.

Perhaps it was due to the important day that the level of the guards was very high. The shaggy beards and strong smell of blood surrounding them due to the many times they were on the battlefield showed that they must’ve experienced the turmoil of 17 years ago.

If so, there was a good chance one of them would know Theodore’s face.

“Ah, Ahh...!”

Sure enough, a guard recognized him and lowered his spear.

Regardless of whether the spear rolled or not, the guard lay flat on the ground and shouted without saving any breaths.

“Forgive me! The outer warrior Kang Jun greets the great head of the family!”

“Gasp?!”

The other guards belatedly recognized Theodore’s identity and imitated him.

“I greet the great head of the family!”

It was a rare sight in broad daylight. To the citizens of Geumneung, the warriors of the Fairy Dance Lee Family were higher than the sky. Now they were greeting someone with all their might.

And that someone was a Westerner who looked to be less than 30 years old!

Theodore hadn’t heard about being the ‘great head of the family’ before but he didn’t want any more fuss.

“Please stand up.”

The moment his words came out, the guards were forced to their feet. Words containing an order. The eyes of those who had experienced something mysterious shone with deep awe.

Theodore solemnly looked at them and said, “I don’t need to tell you who I am... I am an old friend of Seol’s. Can I come in?”

“Huh? Ah, yes! Of course!”

“Thank you. Then work hard.”

Theodore skipped all the complicated entrance procedures and reached out to Tiger King again. The accustomed Tiger King grabbed his hand and the two of them turned into a haze again.

They knew Lee Seol’s location from that hill.

She was in the center of the maze-like Fairy Dance Lee Family mansion, in the middle of the great building where the immediate blood relatives stayed.

Gasp.

Was it a coincidence or an inevitability?

The moment the two of them reappeared after jumping a few hundred meters, Lee Seol happened to be looking at that exact spot.

“Ah!”

A jubilant voice rang in their ears.

The childlike appearance was now gone.

Lee Seol wore her hair like other women in the East and approached the two of them with a child in her arms.

Tiger King responded before Theodore.

“Seol!”

“Tiger King!”

Tiger King carefully embraced her and rubbed against her cheek.

“I missed you a lot! My little one has become a wife and the lady of the house!”

“Hihi! Tiger King is still the same.”

“Of course. Do you think my skin would change color?”

“Huh? Ahahaha!”

Theodore smiled happily when he saw the two of them. Unlike him, who had gone to see her from time to time, it wasn’t known how many years it had been for Tiger King.

As he stood in the yard waiting while watching, a figure approached him.

“...As expected.”

The profound voice was filled with a faint sense of relief and welcome.

Theodore didn’t answer and just turned his head to look at the person.

Lee Joonyoung, who sought to become the head of the Fairy Dance Lee Family in the distant past, stood there with the same appearance as back then.

He had reached the level of a master so his aging had slowed.

He came right up to Theodore and politely greeted him.

“It has been a long time, great head of the family.”

“Yes, it has been a while.”

After greeting him, Lee Joonyoung looked at the hugging and dancing Tiger King and Lee Seol next to him and smiled.

It wasn’t a mocking smile.

It was a smile full of love and affection.

“Tonight is the 1st birthday party, right?”

“Yes, thank you for attending.”

Lee Joonyoung replied to Theodore’s question with a smile.

“It will be the most precious day of my son’s life.”

That’s right.

Unlike the West Continent, where marriage between the same surname was forbidden, the East had distant genetic relationships between relatives and there was no perception that it was a taboo.

It was inevitable that a man and woman would grow closer after decades of hardship together. When he officiated their wedding, he even felt like he was giving away his daughter.

“Is that so?”

Theodore murmured once again with a strange emotion.

“That’s right.”