Chapter 241
Chapter 241
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: EP.54 - The Knight Hates Bean Flour (3)
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Though it was from his previous life, Lee Han had once been a literary teen dreaming of becoming a literature major.
Unfortunately, due to his impoverished surroundings and teachers worse than filth who crushed his dreams—along with the adults around him—he'd been forced to abandon that dream in short order...
Still, as an aspiring man of letters, he'd diligently devoured books back then, and even now, a touch of that youthful romance (precisely, from his past life) lingered deep in his heart.
So maybe that's why.
The fairy tale penned by a noble house's patriarch—which he'd picked up without much expectation—turned out to be...
"This guy's a legit genius writer?"
It was astonishing. No, worship-worthy. An utterly brilliant masterpiece.
Even stacked against the heavy hitters from his previous world's canon, it didn't fall short one bit—!
The story centered on a figure named Felicia de Oppen, told in a biographical style.
But that narrative was so compelling it wasn't a flaw at all.
'Given the medieval setting, it's more like an illustrated novel than a straight fairy tale, but hey, no complaints there.'
Sure, the content got brutal and realistic in places, but even so, it retained a fantastical air.
It struck a chord of shared innocence and wisdom for kids and adults alike. The illustrations were strikingly original and artistic. The plot and prose were magnetic.
Pedants might gripe about historical inaccuracies, but that's the mark of authorial craft—and fairy tale leeway to boot.
Bottom line?
Fucking incredible.
Screw adaptations or whatever. Overwhelmingly fun and artistic.
Job done.
Tak.
Lee Han nodded as he closed the final page of volume 10—the last in the [Lady Knight Series].
Deep afterglow settling in, he shut his eyes for a moment to savor it.
Chirp chirp—!
He'd pulled an all-nighter, sleep be damned, but it was worth every second. A perfect case study in why books are "food for the soul." Far from drained, his mind was sharper than ever, spirits soaring.
"You must've been pretty passionate back in the day?"
"Kuhm..."
"Still got that romantic flair, though. The bit where she smashes the boulder to save the village from the flood? Epic..."
"Kuhm!"
"Oh, and the first meeting with her husband? Solid. But why kidnap the guy? Was that the vibe fifty years ago or..."
"St-stop! Enough already! Why drag my past into this!!"
"Just curious, y'know? How much of the real lady knight's life— the muse behind this—matches the book. Fan stuff."
"Wh-when did you turn fanboy for that embarrassing trash?!"
"Moment I cracked it open?"
"!!!"
Felicia convulsed like a swordmaster struck by devilish qi, face flaming red over and over.
Not the vibe of the legend who'd cleave clouds with a wooden blade, but yeah—even he'd be mortified.
'Past life dissected, love story included, turned into a global bestseller? ...Ugh, he'd never leave the house.'
Having your reckless youth broadcast far and wide? Mortifying.
Lee Han knew he was poking the bear, but he kept going.
Not to tease, though.
Only a death-wisher messes with a pinnacle Aura User.
No, his questions sprang from genuine fanboy zeal.
Hence Felicia swallowed her shame.
"Wh-what possessed you to read that..."
"Your son suggested it. Said it'd help me get you. Figured teacher-student bonding since I'm getting your tutelage."
"Sigh... Iliad's always had that depth. Kid's got layers..."
"Totally different from the Sword Master."
"Yeah, nothing like me... Wait. That phrasing feels off?"
"Skip the fluff."
"...??"
Felicia sensed the weirdness but just cocked her head, letting it slide.
...Simple streak, for sure.
'Or has she simplified?'
Rejuvenation's terrifying.
Book paints her as peak cool and meticulous, yet here she was, total space case.
'Least talented knight in history...'
Lee Han's fingers grazed the cover.
Lee Han asked his private tutor.
"So, what's next?"
"Hm?"
"Not 'hm'—how do we proceed with training?"
"...Ah."
"Ah?"
"...Kuhm, apologies. Slipped my mind. Didn't peg you for catching on so quick."
"...Blunt's good."
Absurd, sure, but Lee Han held his tongue. No nagging.
Again: the Sword Master legend was emotionally wobbly right now.
Hadn't Iliad said as much last night, post-counsel?
- Hate to badmouth Mom, but treat her like a teen girl with dementia when dealing. ...Not actual dementia, mind— just that unstable. ...Feral cat approach might work better for chit-chat.
Mindful of the advice, Lee Han eased off.
Tone aside, on swordcraft? Deadly serious.
And lo.
"Right—by now, you've got a rough sense of willpower. Yes?"
Her demeanor shifted as instruction kicked in.
Raw authority rolling off her—fierce, heavy. Skin prickled.
"But you still don't truly grasp it. No clue how to wield that power properly."
"Th-that right?"
He conceded readily.
He got its potency now, sure. But feeling it? Nah.
'New sense organ's sprouted in me, yeah—but zero control.'
Think wings. Or a tail.
Sudden wings on a human? Tail? Instant mastery? Fat chance.
Brand new, lifelong absent—awkward as hell.
Willpower? Trickier still. A slippery "seventh sense." No knack for it yet.
Per Baltar: pure instinct before. Sword Master's lessons barely awakened awareness.
Baby's first steps, level.
"Heh, no sulking."
"Not sulking. Zero disappointment."
"I was there once. Effort conquers it, though!"
"...Not hearing me out, are ya."
Felicia steamrolled his mutter into a monologue.
"Recall my first will talk? 'Tenacity' and 'Belief'! Keys. And no, not some brute-force grind rant."
"Wasn't?"
"Think I'm that thuggish?"
"......"
"Boy?"
"...So, tenacity and belief how?"
"Boy!?"
Lee Han: allergic to even polite fibs.
...Took in a ton.
Thirty-plus minutes nonstop from Felicia.
Dizzying: how's human lung capacity allow that?
Old folks gab? Sure. But up close? Brain-melting. Non-student? Long gone.
Ears ringing, sleep shoved aside—he decoded her gist.
'...Real talk: tenacity and belief are crucial, huh.'
Ludicrous: nodding along harder with every word.
Willpower boiled down to...
'"Believe it, achieve it" doctrine?'
Humans can't fly.
Breathe underwater? Nope.
Outpace wind? Dream on.
Consensus fact. Rooftop divers turned quadriplegic? Exhibit A.
...Willpower? The "impossible"-smasher.
Sword levitation. Cloud-slicing. That jazz.
- I just believed. My blade flies skies. Cleaves clouds. Period.
Felicia's spiel, distilled. Explained Iliad dubbing it "transcendence path."
Peak intuitive breakdown.
"Dude—no, the author's killer at teaching."
Iliad fan now, "author" with respect. Felicia beamed at son-praise amid her torrent.
"Hmhm! O-our Iliad's top-tier, yeah!"
"Big time. House head and literary titan dropping masterpieces."
"Ufufu!!"
No parent hates kid props, right? Felicia chin-up, smug as sin.
Grating? Kinda. But Lee Han got it. His kid? Total brag fuel.
After all,
"World's inequality, served hot."
"Not bias—straight excellence!"
"Bronze statues count as art too. Not just paints—sculpture, crafts? Prodigy."
"Yup, sculpture too......"
—Snap.
Words died.
Eyes saucered, peering up. Lee Han nodded.
Prediction locked: sweet validation rush.
Grinned easy.
—Yup. Kid's got "talent"—the stuff Mom lacks.
"Author's no slouch."
"Wh-when..."
"Caught on?"
"......"
"Day one?"
"??"
"No memory?"
First meet: her as "grandson," statue-pointing...
"Gushing pride."
"......"
"Later figured self-carved brag? Narcissist vibes. But Sword Master's not that type."
"......"
"Own work pride? Sure. But that gaze? Worship-level. Someone else's handiwork. Disciple? Kin? Guessed."
"......"
"Elimination game: author wins."
"...Ha."
"Not all Sword Master cred. Author schooling me on will? Felt master-tier. His takes hit different from book smarts."
Teacher himself, he knew: true guidance demands personal depths.
Iliad, thus...
"Swordcraft scholar too. Swordsman chops maybe..."
"—Outshine mine."
"......"
"By miles. Crushing. Insanely..."
"...My bad, wrong tack?"
Lee Han winced apologetic.
Nerve struck?
But she languidly shook it off.
"No apologies needed from you. Truth? The one's owing eternal guilt is—"
Me...
She turned the knife inward, lips curling in a hollow, flickering smirk—like a candle snuffed to embers.