My Uncle is the Strongest Dark Mage

Chapter 43

It has already been a week since Professor Magnus personally asked me for this favor.

Among the first-year students, rumors about the Magic Boost have started to circulate, but no one has claimed to have actually seen the app yet.

"......."

And that included Tokun Masao, whom the professors believed would be the first among the first-years to discover the app.

Staring intently at his smartphone, he was eagerly waiting for the Magic Boost App to appear today as well, but as expected, there was still no news.

At this point, like the other kids, it wouldn’t have been unreasonable to dismiss it as fake news or baseless rumors and think the professors had been misled.

However, because it was a request personally entrusted to him by Professor Magnus, who had placed his faith in him, he couldn’t easily take his eyes off his smartphone.

"What, have you gotten hooked on some fun game? Lately, it seems like you’ve been glued to your smartphone."

With a concerned expression, Heming placed a plate of food in front of him as he spoke.

Today’s main dish was stir-fried pork.

However, considering Tokun’s taste, as he couldn’t handle spicy food, the amount of red pepper powder was reduced, and extra sugar was added to bring out a sweeter flavor—Heming’s special stir-fried pork.

"Ah, thank you."

The glossy sheen of the dish, as if coated with a glaze, made his mouth water without him even realizing it.

Unable to hold back any longer, Tokun picked up his chopsticks, but Heming spoke again with a worried tone.

"It’s fine to play games, but don’t get too absorbed in them."

Could it be that Heming was worried because Tokun, already struggling to keep up with the Academy’s curriculum, seemed to be getting engrossed in something else?

Despite the usual busyness, Heming lingered in front of Tokun for quite a while, as if reluctant to leave.

Although it wasn’t because he was engrossed in a game, it was true that this matter had been bothering him so much that he couldn’t concentrate during classes.

"Don’t take it the wrong way. Or maybe it is nagging? Recently, my son has been obsessed with playing with my smartphone, so I’ve started to worry about it. For some reason, it reminded me of that, so I might have been meddling a bit."

"No, I understand you’re saying it out of concern for me. I’m actually grateful."

"Thanks for understanding it that way."

How could he not recognize that Heming’s words were spoken out of concern for him?

He wasn’t so naive as to misinterpret such genuine concern.

In other words, Tokun had matured beyond his years.

"By the way, you come here every day, huh? I don’t mind since you always keep Andy company when you do, but are you sure it’s okay? You’re not forcing yourself to come because of me, are you?"

"Not at all. I come here to eat anyway. The food here is so much better than anything I could prepare at the dormitory."

"Still, eating out every day must be quite expensive."

Even though Heming had told him it was fine to eat for free, Tokun always insisted on paying, saying he felt guilty about not contributing.

When Heming voiced his concern, Tokun shook his head as if to reassure him.

"It’s fine. My family sends me enough money."

Although he had fled to the capital after his dream of becoming a magician was dismissed as ridiculous,

He was still the only direct descendant of the Masao Family and the rightful heir of their family’s divine artifact.

Perhaps because of this, his family deposited a generous amount of money into his account every month, so paying for food wasn’t a burden.

Besides, the food here wasn’t expensive enough to be a concern.

"So, I’ll definitely pay for today’s meal too."

When Tokun preemptively declared this, as if to block any attempts to refuse his payment, Heming sighed in defeat and raised his hands.

"Alright, alright, do as you like."

With that, Heming hurriedly responded to a customer calling for him and walked away.

Now, could he finally eat?

Despite the unexpectedly long conversation, the meat was still steaming as Tokun picked up a piece with his chopsticks and placed it on top of the white rice.

And just as he scooped up the red-tinted rice, soaked with seasoning, and was about to put it in his mouth—

"Byaa!"

Heming had disappeared, and this time, his son Andy interrupted Tokun’s meal and called out to him.

As always, Andy greeted him with his signature strange remark, tapping Tokun’s leg.

Without hesitation, Andy climbed onto the chair next to Tokun without even asking for permission.

"Hurry up and eat! I’ll wait for you!"

Usually, Andy would sit next to Tokun and eat together.

Perhaps he had already eaten earlier today?

Or maybe he just wasn’t very hungry?

Since neither Aunt Anna nor Uncle Heming urged him to eat, it seemed the former was more likely.

"Alright, just wait a bit. I’ll finish quickly and play with you."

"Okay!"

Tokun placed the spoonful of rice and stir-fried pork into his mouth.

The chewy texture of the meat and the spicy seasoning blended harmoniously with the rice, creating a fantastic combination.

As expected, it was delicious.

Savoring each side dish in turn, Tokun began eating hurriedly.

Suddenly, he wondered what Andy was doing and glanced over.

"......."

Had Andy started watching right after he spoke?

Staring intently at the smartphone, Andy didn’t seem to notice Tokun’s gaze at all.

Watching him, even forgetting to blink, Tokun understood why Heming had looked at him with such concern earlier.

‘So that’s what I looked like earlier.’

Come to think of it, didn’t Heming mention that Andy had recently become obsessed with playing on his smartphone?

Then, was that Heming’s smartphone Andy was holding?

Although Andy was only six years old, he handled the smartphone quite skillfully.

Frankly, he seemed much better at it than Heming, who wasn’t particularly tech-savvy.

"Huh?"

Did Andy notice Tokun’s gaze?

Andy lifted his head and made eye contact with Tokun.

Tilting his head slightly, he seemed curious as to why Tokun was looking at him.

Then, with a bright smile, Andy spoke to Tokun.

"Hey, look at this!"

Andy held out Heming’s smartphone to Tokun.

Was it some kind of entertaining video?

Curious, Tokun looked down at the screen, but all he saw was the wallpaper—a family photo.

It was a heartwarming picture of Heming, Anna, and Andy smiling together, radiating love.

"It’s a really nice picture."

"......."

Andy’s expression turned sour, as if that wasn’t the response he was hoping for.

Oh, was he not trying to show off the family photo?

"Not that—this!"

Realizing his mistake, Tokun looked at Andy, who brought the smartphone even closer.

Then, pointing to a spot on the wallpaper, Andy asked.

"This black thing."

"Huh?"

Andy was pointing at an unnamed app on the smartphone.

"I’ll show you something cool."

With that, Andy pressed and held the app to delete it.

However, after disappearing from the screen briefly, it reappeared in the same spot moments later.

"See? Cool, right?"

"Yeah, it’s cool."

In truth, it wasn’t particularly remarkable.

Tokun was just humoring Andy to make him happy.

‘There’s no way Uncle Heming could set up something like this. Maybe Aunt Anna did it?’

It was probably a setting to prevent Andy from accidentally deleting important apps while playing with the phone.

"Right? It’s cool, isn’t it?"

Was he thrilled because Tokun acknowledged him?

Andy’s eyes sparkled as he excitedly continued speaking.

"I’m not sure when it got installed, but it’s been on Dad’s smartphone! There’s no way Dad could’ve installed something like this!"

"......."

"Uncle......."

"So, even your six-year-old son has certified you as clueless with machines?"

If Heming had heard this, he might have given a bitter smile.

'No, he did hear it.'

With that thought, Heming glanced toward where he worked, only for their eyes to meet.

Heming turned his back and walked toward a customer, his shoulders oddly slumped.

It was the bitter silhouette of a father whose dream of being remembered as a perfect, all-capable superhero in his young son’s eyes was utterly shattered.

"I never installed anything like that either, so I asked Mom, and she says she doesn’t know about it!"

Andy, completely unaware of Heming’s demeanor, excitedly continued talking.

"Dad said he doesn’t know either. I tried pressing it, but it doesn’t do anything. Then I tried deleting it, but that didn’t work either."

"......That really is strange."

As I kept listening, it really did seem odd.

'But isn’t that kind of dangerous?'

That’s hacking, isn’t it? That thing.

Maybe Heming, being clueless with machines, accidentally installed some virus-ridden app while fiddling around.

If that were the case, Heming’s personal information might already be in the hands of the hacker.

Should I tell him to report it to the police?

For a brief moment, that thought crossed my mind, and I frowned while tilting my head.

"Huh? An app that no one installed but has been there for a while?"

I’ve heard of this somewhere before.

It felt incredibly familiar.

As soon as I realized it, my eyes widened.

Crash!

I shot up from my seat, causing the chair to topple backward with a loud noise.

At the same time, the previously noisy restaurant fell silent, as if cold water had been poured over it.

Attention instantly focused on me.

"Uncle!"

But Tokun, seemingly oblivious to the stares, turned urgently toward Heming.

Snatching the smartphone from a bewildered Andy, Tokun rushed over to where Heming was.

"This app, it really just appeared all of a sudden?"

"What?"

Heming, startled by Tokun’s unusual demeanor, looked at the screen of the phone presented to him.

"Ah, this?"

"Yes! Are you sure you didn’t accidentally download it or something?"

"Uh, for now, I don’t think so......."

What is this thing, anyway?

Overwhelmed by Tokun’s intense energy, Heming unconsciously took a step back.

But Tokun closed the gap in an instant, advancing two steps forward, glaring up at Heming with fiery eyes.

"Uncle! If you’re free tomorrow, let’s go see Professor Magnus together!"

Honestly, I wanted to go right now, but Heming was busy with the restaurant, and it was already evening, so I wasn’t sure if the professor would be at the Academy.

"Well, I don’t mind."

Was refusal even an option?

Heming, unable to hide his reluctance, answered Tokun’s insistence, which wasn’t phrased as a question but as a demand.

'So, what even is this?'

What’s got that kid so worked up?

And why is Professor Magnus’s name coming up?

I couldn’t make sense of the situation at all.

One thing I was certain of, though, was that the kid wouldn’t act like this without a good reason.

'Yes!'

With Heming’s agreement, Tokun clenched both fists and cheered.

'Finally found it!'

Clues are always discovered in the most unexpected, close places.

It wasn’t just Tokun Masao or Jeon Reidel.

Heming, who had entered the Academy at an older age in pursuit of becoming a magician, was also a suitable target for the perpetrator.

'Lucky.'

That’s the only way to explain it.

Heming being so clueless that he never dared to mess with the app.

Andy, stumbling upon it by chance and proudly showing it to him.

"Ah."

At that moment, Tokun snapped back to reality.

Glancing around, he flinched at the stares directed at him from all sides.

'This is bad.'

His mind froze.

His pupils darted frantically.

His breath caught, and cold sweat trickled down his back.

"I apologize for causing a commotion during your meal!"

With that, Tokun bent his waist into a 90-degree bow, his voice ringing throughout the restaurant.

He continued bowing his head in every direction, apologizing as he returned to his seat.

"Are you okay?"

"No."

Keeping his head down, Tokun returned Andy’s smartphone and quietly began eating his food.

Watching him, Andy climbed onto his chair and patted Tokun’s back gently with his small hand.

"Cheer up, bro."

"Thanks."

Seeing the endearing exchange, a warm smile spread through the previously tense restaurant.

The people gathered here were all heads of families with children of their own.

Perhaps it was because the sight reminded them of their own childhoods.

Tokun’s blunder didn’t feel irritating to them; it felt adorable instead.

Some even bought him beverages to share as a gesture of goodwill.

'So embarrassing.......'

Hearing the laughter around him, Tokun’s face turned an even deeper shade of red.

And in proportion, the laughter of the men watching him only grew louder.