The Bookworm’s Second Life
Jonathan
애독자의 갱생 라이프 Jun 16, 2026 14 views
Chapter 7
Some readers joked that the author must have written this novel after downing several glasses of soju mixed with beer.
There was a reason for that.
Not only the protagonists and the good guys, but even the villains—finding someone who was actually sane was almost impossible.
The author seemed to enjoy that aspect as well and even held a poll titled, "Which character is the biggest lunatic?"
There were so many mentally unstable people that the competition was fierce, but the one who proudly took third place was none other than Raido.
'A wizard? A sage? What a load of crap. That guy just enjoyed beating people up so much that he learned healing magic so he could heal them and beat them up again. Then his magical talent suddenly awakened!'
Who in the world would learn healing magic because they wanted to heal someone, beat them up, heal them again, and beat them up again?
Yet Raido had accomplished exactly that impossible feat.
"Heh heh heh."
Stop laughing, you crazy old man!
Screaming inwardly, Shion unconsciously took a step back.
So far, Raido had not shown any hostility. He was simply smiling.
But to Shion, that smile looked no different from a great demon grinning eerily while walking over to throw an arm around his shoulders and invite him to cross the River Styx together.
At least Kim Yu-hyun had Lucia as a shield.
Sebastian, no matter what, was officially the Clausen family's butler. He could not recklessly harm the heir of the family.
But the man standing before him was different.
This lunatic only followed the king's orders after hearing them two or three times, openly called the crown prince a brat, and mocked the ministers by calling them baldies.
He was completely insane.
He was infinitely gentle and loving toward Lucia, but she was not here right now.
One wrong move and Shion could get beaten until he died.
Even worse, Raido might heal him right before death and start beating him again from the beginning.
"Answer me, son of Richten."
"..."
"Why do you look so troubled? You, of all people—the one who used to run wild without a care in the world."
Did he realize that the person inside had changed?
All kinds of thoughts ran through Shion's mind.
But nowhere in the novel had there ever been a setting where someone's soul could be replaced.
Even Raido, the former court wizard, probably had not considered that possibility.
'Don't panic! If I get scared, I'll show an opening!'
Show an opening, and anyone would want to exploit it.
And once they started prying, his hidden weakness would eventually come to light.
Raido was definitely not the kind of man who would say, "I'll let it slide this time. Try again."
"Sir Raido."
Since he had already let Raido's name slip earlier, pretending not to know him now would be pointless.
Shion bowed his head and addressed him politely.
Raido raised an eyebrow.
"You speak as if you know me quite well."
"What noble in this kingdom doesn't know Sir Raido, the former court wizard?"
"Are you trying to sweet-talk me?"
A smile spread across Raido's lips.
To anyone else, it might have looked like the kind smile of an old man.
But Shion shuddered as goosebumps spread over his body.
Killing intent.
This was unmistakably killing intent.
'I'm dead! Author, I'm going to die!'
Had Shion Clausen ever met Raido like this in the original story?
No.
Absolutely not.
Raido quietly trained Kim Yu-hyun in martial arts before later becoming infamous during the Holy-Demon War as a slaughtering fiend who massacred celestial beings while laughing all the way through it.
Eventually, he died in a self-destruct attack by the celestials.
Before being blown apart alongside them, he had even left behind a legendary line:
"Explosions are art, you bastards!"
A man whose insanity had long since flown beyond the Andromeda Galaxy.
And now that lunatic stood before Shion.
Radiating killing intent as if he wanted to tear him apart.
"Tell me honestly, and I'll spare you. Did Richten tell you about my identity?"
For a moment, Shion almost nodded.
The urge to say anything—anything at all—to escape that terrifying man's grasp and his horrifying gaze was overwhelming.
"No."
But his mouth moved differently from his thoughts.
The answer came out almost instantly.
Shion himself was surprised, but Raido was even more shocked.
He had deliberately released enough killing intent to overwhelm a mere brat and force him to tell the truth.
Yet his opponent acted as though nothing was wrong.
'This kid's got some guts.'
Curious—more accurately, playful—Raido increased the killing intent.
Shion's face quickly turned pale.
He looked ready to collapse from lack of breath at any moment.
Yet his answer remained unchanged.
"My father has never once mentioned your identity to me, Sir Raido. I can swear it on the name of House Clausen."
"..."
At this point, either the boy was telling the absolute truth—
—or this amount of killing intent simply was not enough.
"Then explain it. How did someone like you, who feels threatened by a five-year-old brother, discover who I am?"
"...It started with rumors from the merchants."
"Rumors?"
"The court wizard oversees all the kingdom's magicians and stands at the center of magical research. Naturally, a certain amount of magical materials is regularly delivered to the royal palace."
"And?"
"When you were at the palace, Sir Raido, the materials delivered were mostly related to healing magic. But around ten years ago, the supplies suddenly changed—to materials related to fire magic and enhancing destructive power."
Raido unconsciously let out a quiet sound of admiration.
The court wizard who had replaced him really was a woman obsessed with fire magic.
"That's a flimsy reason. Nothing more than speculation. The court wizard could simply have shifted their research from healing to fire magic."
"These are the materials that had been delivered consistently back then: Fairy Tears, Night Sky Dew, Demon Blood, and Angel Feathers. They are all top-tier magical materials that even major merchant groups struggle to acquire."
"..."
"Until a certain point, those materials were delivered to the palace. Then suddenly, they started being sent to the merchant group handling trade for the border territory instead."
"..."
"It was a sharp observation."
Raido had been careful.
He split the deliveries into smaller shipments and made them irregular.
But if someone investigated persistently enough, the truth would eventually come out.
"After being delivered to the merchant group, those materials were supposedly sold again to the magic shops inside the territory. But if someone had really bought such expensive items, those shops should have made a significant profit. Yet the tax records show otherwise."
"So they falsified the ledgers?"
"That's right. But after investigating further, I discovered that those materials had never officially been sold in the first place. They simply vanished."
"Hmm."
"My father was probably the first person to receive reports about this. Yet he remained silent and ignored it because he always puts the territory above everything else."
"And then those materials were transported elsewhere by a local resident. Do you know where they ended up?"
Raido fell silent.
He looked like a thief who had just been caught discovering his hideout.
"A small village warehouse."
"The villagers shared it in name only, but there were no farming tools or supplies inside."
"..."
"And right next to that warehouse is the house of the man standing before me."
After speaking, Shion carefully observed Raido's reaction.
The truth was, he had not investigated any of this himself.
Nor had he deduced it.
He was simply reciting information from the novel about how Raido had continued receiving expensive magical materials after leaving the palace.
Fortunately, Raido did not react with, "Now that you've learned my secret, you have to die."
Instead, he merely stroked his chin with an impressed smile.
'Did I survive? Damn it, did I actually survive?'
He could feel his chances of survival, which had nearly reached zero, rising rapidly.
Suppressing the sigh of relief threatening to escape, Shion decided it would be best to drive the final nail in before Raido had any other ideas.
"If you wish to punish me for the disrespect shown toward Lady Lucia, I will accept it willingly. A subordinate's sin is also the master's fault. I deserve whatever reprimand you give me."
Raido loved his only daughter dearly.
At the mention of Lucia, the corner of his mouth twitched.
He wanted to curse at the boy right then and there.
But if Lucia found out what happened today, he would have to face her terrifying wrath.
And Raido had no confidence he could endure that.
"Ha! You've got some nerve, kid."
Letting out a sigh, Raido walked over, pulled out a chair, and sat down.
He put both feet on the table, clasped his hands behind his head, and leaned back.
"Your name was Shion Clausen, right?"
"Yes."
"You figured out my identity and even sensed the signs of war. You're more impressive than I expected."
"Thank you."
"But why did you hide it?"
The sharp question left Shion silent.
He had not hidden anything.
The person inside had simply changed.
How was he supposed to explain that?
"You answered everything else just fine. Why shut your mouth now?"
This time, Raido did not release any killing intent.
Which somehow made him even scarier.
When a madman stopped acting crazy, that was when things were truly dangerous.
After thinking for a moment, Shion sighed and spoke hesitantly.
"I wanted to start living properly."
"What?"
Raido's expression clearly said, What kind of fresh nonsense is this?
It was understandable.
A man who had spent his entire life as a worthless troublemaker suddenly saying he wanted to live properly?
"What kind of bullshit is that?"
"I mean exactly what I said. Yes, I was worse than my five-year-old brother. But one day, I realized just how pathetic Shion Clausen truly was."
"So I made up my mind."
"I decided to live properly from now on. It's not too late yet."
"...Hmm."
"You could call it reform."
"I decided to live properly from now on. It's not too late yet."
Yes.
This was reform.
The only way for him to survive as Shion Clausen—a weak man who had lived a terrible life.
He had no desire to become an absolute powerhouse like Kim Yu-hyun.
If surviving was the trial placed before him, then he would survive no matter what.
He had spent too much time reading this novel to die like a fool.
'Yeah, I'll survive. And as Shion Clausen, I'll live one hell of a good life.'
Meanwhile, Raido quietly stared at him before tilting his head.
"Hey."
"Yes, Sir Raido."
"Right. I'm Raido. So you know exactly what kind of person I am, don't you?"
