WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Reformation of the Deadbeat Noble

Chapter 102

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Reunion (3)

Footsteps thudded down the city street as a group made its way through.

Residents, merchants, even drunks too far gone to know better, all bowed their heads and stepped out of the way.

The reason walked at the front: Kora Murray, youngest son of the Murray Merchant Company.

Nobody dared meet the eyes of a man doted on by a merchant house head so powerful even the local lord couldn't push him around, not while he wore that irritated expression.

At least, nobody who actually lived in this town.

But the people following behind him looked like they'd never heard of the Murray Merchant Company at all.

The blue-haired young man walking beside Kora Murray looked that way. So did the blond young man and the orc trailing after them.

Even the cat perched on the orc's shoulder gazed around at the street with open, childlike curiosity.

Judith was no different.

Walking roughly level with Airen Farreira, or maybe half a step behind him, she was thinking to herself.

'This guy better have actually solved the homework Hall Master gave him.'

She hadn't known at first, but by now Judith understood exactly why Airen had left Krono Fencing Hall.

The result of three years spent hounding Ian, who'd never wanted to tell him in the first place.

Still, it wasn't something she fully understood herself.

'Finding your own sword, whatever that even means.'

To her, a sword was a sword.

Even when the Hall Master had told her, "You already have your sword. The problem is it's unstable," she hadn't really gotten it.

She hadn't particularly wanted to, either.

She hated that kind of riddle talk.

But she could at least imagine that it mattered to someone like Airen, who was, if anything, even more of a stiff bookworm than Brett Lloyd.

'Still... he does seem a lot better than before.'

Judith studied Airen closely.

He'd grown maybe two finger-widths taller than Brett, and his body had filled out, solid and well-balanced. Calluses lined his palms.

But more than any of that, it was his mood, his expression, his eyes that struck her.

She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but there was something warmer in him than before.

Not bad at all.

'This should be fun. A sparring match after five and a half years.'

Grinning like a mischievous kid, Judith opened her mouth to say something to Airen.

But someone beat her to it.

"Hi there?"

"...Hi."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Lulu. Airen's Sorcery master, like you already heard!"

"...Right, I see. I'm Judith. Airen's friend."

"Yeah yeah, I know! You heard it already. I just wanted to say it myself too."

Lulu finished with a little "hehe," laughing almost like a person, and Judith managed only a slightly awkward smile in return.

It wasn't as if she'd never seen a Sorcerer before.

Krono Fencing Hall got special visitors from time to time, so mages and Sorcerers weren't unheard of, maybe a handful of times a year.

What bothered her was the fact that this cat's fur was entirely black.

'Black cats are... a symbol of bad luck!'

Stories she'd rather not remember came back to her, from her days in the slums.

Stories about following a talking black cat only to find a demon waiting. About plagues breaking out in villages where black cats appeared.

She knew, of course, that all of it was baseless nonsense. But Judith happened to be rather susceptible to that kind of thing.

"Here, take this. A present!"

Lulu, apparently, felt exactly the opposite.

She seemed to have taken quite a liking to Judith, because she pulled three golden mice out of thin air and held them out to her. Kubharu swallowed hard, and one of Kora's bodyguards, who'd been keeping an eye on the group to make sure they kept up, stopped in his tracks and stared, wide-eyed.

Judith's eyes flicked between shock, delight, tension, and unease as she spoke.

"I-is this real gold?"

"Yep! Just take it, no worries. I've got tons!"

"T-tons?"

"Want more?"

"No, that's not... no, wait, more would actually be kind of nice... huh?"

"....."

Watching Judith flounder under Lulu's reckless generosity, Airen let a faint smile slip out.

She seemed different somehow, and yet not really different at all. Still just as innocent as before, but matured in a way that felt good to see.

Of course, the changes weren't only internal.

Anyone could see it at a glance. She'd grown a lot taller, and her body had filled out impressively.

Her swordsmanship was probably just as impressive.

'I want to fight her already!'

A spark lit in Airen's eyes.

He wouldn't have felt this kind of thing before. But things were different now.

Faster, he wanted to get there faster. He kept walking, hoping they'd reach Kora Murray's villa soon.

Fortunately, right around the time he thought that, Kora finally stopped.

The grounds were clearly enormous just from the outside.

Stepping inside only made it more impressive.

Judith let out an admiring whistle at the sparring ground, paved in stone instead of dirt.

"Wow, somebody spent a fortune on this place."

"...Wait a moment."

"Hm? Why? Can't we just start? I don't like waiting."

Airen didn't say anything, but he was giving Kora Murray a very similar look, and the others turned their eyes on him too.

Caught off guard by the sudden pressure bearing down on him, Kora flinched, then managed to speak.

"You lot obviously won't believe a word I say, right?"

"Hm?"

"If you two put on a lousy performance and I say you're not really Silver Plate material, you'll just write it off as a lie because you don't like me. That's how this goes, isn't it?"

"So what are you gonna do about it?"

"I'll bring in a witness. He's staying at this villa, so he'll be here soon."

"What? Isn't that the same thing? How are we supposed to trust some guy from your side..."

"He's not from my house. Sir Brian Burns, a wandering knight. A man of both skill and integrity."

"Oh, Brian Burns."

"You know him?"

Judith asked, picking up on Brett's tone of admiration.

"A man knighted in Belson Kingdom. Exactly as he said, not the type to lie about something like this. Murray, we accept the witness."

"Good."

"I'll go warm up, then."

Judith muttered to herself and started stretching, arms and legs pulled long.

She swung her sword through a few motions that looked almost playful, though anyone skilled enough would have caught the flashes of real technique hidden in them. Kora and his guards, at their level, couldn't tell the difference.

The real commotion, as it turned out, came from Airen Farreira instead.

Shwooosh!

"Gah!"

"A sword, out of nowhere, there was nothing there..."

"Whoa, what is that? Don't tell me..."

"Yeah. Sorcery."

Airen laughed a little sheepishly and swung his Greatsword through the air, whoosh, whoosh.

Even Brett, usually so composed and unshakable, couldn't help the look of surprise that crossed his face.

Judith, if anything, took it in stride faster than anyone.

She said, "Well, that settles it. You definitely weren't just slacking off for five years."

"It's a long story, I haven't gotten around to telling you yet. I'll fill you in after the match. Everything that's happened."

"Sure. Listen to me and Brett's story too, though it's not that interesting."

The two of them exchanged a grin.

Just then, a knight approached with brisk, disciplined steps, gave Kora Murray a light bow, and spoke.

"I hear a witness is needed."

"As you heard. That redhead over there, and the blond man. Watch the two of them spar, and afterward, just tell me whether you believe, in your honest judgment, that the redhead has the skill of a Silver Plate mercenary or better. A simple yes or no will do."

"Simple enough. Understood."

"You've got no complaints about that either, right?"

"No complaints."

"No complaints here!"

"And you both agree that the loser does one thing the winner asks for?"

"Of course."

"Of course! Now I can't wait any longer. Starting right now, okay?"

"Go ahead. I'll be watching."

Brian Burns, the witness, spoke in a flat, formal tone.

Judith flashed a grin, sharper than before, and dropped into an aggressive stance.

Airen Farreira mirrored her, settling into his own.

And with that, the two geniuses of Krono Fencing Hall closed in on each other.

* * *

'Damn it. Having to pull this kind of stunt again...'

Brian Burns, the famous wandering knight from Belson Kingdom, grumbled to himself. He hated what he was about to do.

There was no way around it.

With his little brother drowning in debt to loan sharks, he had no choice but to do whatever the Murray family head told him.

Which meant he pretty much had to grant any request from the man's beloved youngest son too.

'Damn it, damn it! How did I end up like this...'

He cursed silently, over and over, but there was no way out of the situation now.

For at least the next six months, he was stuck playing lapdog to the Murray family.

Steadying himself as best he could, Brian Burns quietly ran through his orders.

'So, no matter how good the match turns out, I just say they fall short of Silver Plate. That's it, right?'

Fine. Easy enough.

No physical exertion, no risk to his life, no huge time investment.

He couldn't imagine an easier job.

...Except it wasn't, not really.

Wandering knight or not, he still valued his honor, and that made this a genuinely difficult thing to do.

'...Still, small mercy.'

The one saving grace was that both swordsmen were remarkably young.

A Silver Plate mercenary credential wasn't something skill alone could earn. It required outstanding skill combined with a solid track record, a high bar by any measure.

There was one shortcut. Anyone with skill worthy of a Gold Plate could be granted a Silver Plate directly.

'But at that age, that's simply impossible.'

Neither track record nor raw skill could be built up that much at such a young age.

Thinking that, Brian Burns let out a quiet, private sigh, relieved that he wouldn't have to betray his own conscience after all.

He hoped, sincerely, that the Murray family's black sheep wouldn't do anything too cruel to these poor kids.

With that thought in mind, Brian Burns fixed his eyes on the sparring ground, and the match began.

But the moment the two young swordsmen's blades met, every one of those thoughts vanished without a trace.

Clang!

Kwang!

Clang!

The redhead and the blond collided in the center of the sparring ground, trading three exchanges.

Neither gained an advantage, and they slipped past each other before smoothly reversing their stances.

Kwaang!

Kwang!

Kwang!

Facing off again, they traded another three strikes.

Standard strikes, each aiming for the other's upper body.

But the precision and power behind them struck Brian Burns's eyes with enough force to sear themselves into his memory.

Thud!

The blond swung his sword in a wide arc.

The redhead absorbed the blow and was pushed back a good distance. It was deliberate.

She stamped her foot down hard, and her movement turned fast and dangerous, like shrapnel from an explosion.

The blond settled into a careful stance.

Whoosh!

Something astonishing happened. Right before she came into range of the Greatsword, the redhead made a move that defied explanation.

She stopped dead in an instant, as if ignoring her own momentum entirely, then whipped around behind her opponent in a flash.

And then, one decisive strike!

KWAAAANG!

The loudest crash of the match so far rang out across the sparring ground.

The blond young man blocked the hammering downward blow with a horizontal sweep of his blade.

Craaack!

The stone floor shattered under the impact!

A chill ran down Brian Burns's spine.

But the two at the center of it all paid it no mind, and kept swinging their swords.

Thrusting, swinging, swinging again.

Blocking, blocking, blocking again.

After exchanging roughly fifty strikes, the two finally put distance between themselves once more.

Their eyes, fixed on each other, carried no small amount of excitement and anticipation.

"....."

Kora Murray. His guards. The messenger who'd gone to fetch Brian Burns.

Even Brian Burns himself couldn't manage a single word.

Brett Lloyd, who'd been quietly watching along with the rest, finally spoke up.

"That's enough feeling each other out. Both of you, get serious."

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