WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Reformation of the Deadbeat Noble

Chapter 105

──────

Reunion (6)

The lazy lord.

An epithet that had clung stubbornly to Airen Farreira's name for years.

Now, though, no one used it anymore.

There was no way anyone could.

Who else worked harder with a sword and lived each day with more purpose than he did now?

Anyone who'd watched him up close would think the same.

But if someone asked exactly what effort Airen Farreira was pouring into his life right now, hardly anyone could give the right answer.

Waking up before dawn, giving up the sweetest sleep there was.

Pushing through sword training all day, more grueling than any manual labor.

Doing that, every single day, without fail.

Of course, all of that was already impressive enough.

It deserved praise, and plenty of people had already gasped in admiration at what Airen was doing.

But the ones who actually stopped to ask why he kept up that kind of hardship, and who managed to name the real reason...

There had been few.

Maybe Hall Master Ian, Lulu, and Ignet.

And now, Judith had joined that short list.

From the mouth of someone who seemed like she'd care about others least of all, out came praise for the exact thing Airen most wanted recognized.

"...Thanks."

Airen Farreira said it with a smile.

There was more he wanted to say, but he couldn't manage it. Even if he tried, he doubted he could put it into words properly.

Judith seemed to understand his state, because she said nothing more, just nodded.

A warmth that didn't suit her at all filled the room.

Brett Lloyd, who'd been watching Judith quietly, spoke to Airen.

"I raised you."

"...What?"

"I made you into a person. You went through a lot to get here, so you should thank me too."

"...Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

"What is this lunatic even saying?"

"I'm just stating facts."

Judith's eyes went sharp and she started spitting out insults. Brett didn't so much as flinch.

Airen watched the two of them with a blank expression.

He'd already noticed it earlier, but Brett really had changed a lot too. Maybe even more than Judith had.

And somehow, none of it felt bad.

'At least it's a lot better to see than the last time I saw him.'

Airen found himself smiling faintly as he watched the two of them.

Two Expert-class swordsmen threatening to kill each other.

It was a vicious sight by any measure, but Airen felt something warm in it, something almost nostalgic.

Of course, he didn't dwell on it long. If he did, those two looked ready to bolt straight back to the training grounds.

Time to change the mood.

Thinking that, Airen spoke up.

"Hey, now that I've finished my story, I want to hear about you two. That okay?"

"Hm."

"Hmm."

Both of them crossed their arms at the same time.

It looked a little funny. Airen forced himself not to laugh.

If he laughed now, the fallout might land on him.

Luckily, Judith and Brett were too focused on what to say to notice his expression.

Brett looked at Judith and spoke.

"I'll talk."

"Fine. You talk."

"Well... Judith's been stuck at the fencing hall the whole time, and aside from a few visits back to my family, so have I, so it's not going to be an especially interesting story."

"That's fine. Just tell it however's easiest."

Airen said it with a smile, and Brett's story began.

Just as he'd said, there was nothing particularly special in it.

Stories of grinding through sword training, sparring with skilled senior swordsmen, sides of the Hall Master and instructors that Airen hadn't known about, and stories about Vice Hall Master Keira Fin, who Airen barely knew at all.

They talked about all kinds of things, and before long the topics had scrambled together completely. By the time an hour had passed, they weren't even talking about the past anymore, but coordinating plans for the present and future.

Naturally enough, the three of them decided to travel together going forward.

Though in the process, Airen's original plan fell apart.

"You were planning to go to Latiohn?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"No, it's just, we were actually on our way back from there. And honestly, it's not worth it. Total, total letdown."

"Hm, I agree."

"What do you mean..."

Airen looked at them, confused.

Latiohn, in Mayos Kingdom, was one of the most prominent gathering places for fencing halls among the Western Five Kingdoms. In some ways, it stood even higher than Alkantrea, home of Krono Fencing Hall.

And yet both Judith and Brett were making faces like that?

The confusion cleared up quickly enough.

"They won't take our challenges. Once they saw the Krono Fencing Hall 27th Cohort plate, they got so nervous they just kept stalling for time. Or they'd pair us up with some hopeless opponent instead."

"Calling it nervous might be an exaggeration... no, actually, it's not an exaggeration. We definitely felt them holding back out of caution."

It was almost funny.

When Brett had only revealed his status as a Silver Plate mercenary, they'd turned him down for lacking qualifications. Once they found out he was an official Krono trainee, they came up with a different excuse to keep putting off the match.

To avoid any chance of losing, and to protect the fencing hall's reputation, they'd screened out anyone who looked like trouble ahead of time.

"Total letdown. Our fencing hall takes on any challenger who shows up, so I figured Latiohn would be the same, but nope. Their hall masters were basically impossible to even see, and the swordsmen with any kind of name for themselves act like they're high nobility, noses in the air, while their bodies are way too careful. Made me sick just watching, so we decided to head somewhere else instead."

"Somewhere else?"

"Right. We were thinking of going to Partisan."

"Ah!"

Airen let out an exclamation at Brett Lloyd's words.

He already knew the city.

He'd been planning to visit Partisan himself, after stopping in Latiohn.

Compared to Latiohn, the paradise of fencing halls, its history was short.

But Partisan, the up and coming city where much freer, more ambitious, more open minded swordsmen gathered, seemed unlikely to produce the same disaster of rejected challenges.

And so, without much fuss, the three of them settled on their next destination together.

But not everything had been settled yet.

"So, are you going to keep traveling with that orc and the cat from now on?"

"Ah."

The matter of Airen's party members, Lulu and Kubharu, still remained.

Not that it was a big deal.

Kubharu was easygoing enough that it wouldn't matter, and Lulu had already heard plenty about Airen's old classmates, so she should be fine too.

She was especially fond of Judith, in fact.

And it wasn't as if either of the two here were the type to be awkward around strangers, so...

Just as Airen was thinking that, an unexpected person showed some hesitation.

"Um... so..."

"Hm? What is it, Judith?"

"So... this is a little awkward to bring up... and I know, I know it's just superstition, but there are countries where people actually believe it's true, so, um..."

"...Don't tell me you're talking about the Black Cat Superstition."

"..."

Judith's eyes went sharp at the disbelief in Brett's tone.

But she didn't argue back. It seemed the whole thing really was bothering her.

Brett let out a sigh and spoke again.

"You believed in all kinds of weird superstitions back at the fencing hall too. Grow up already. You're eighteen years old and you still believe in the Black Cat Superstition?"

It didn't stop at a simple scolding.

Brett calmly explained where the Black Cat Superstition had originated, how it had spread so widely, then methodically picked it apart point by point as a story with no basis whatsoever.

He even added that cats were actually beneficial creatures who hunted the rats that spread disease, and that people should adore them regardless of color.

Airen, who'd been listening quietly, spoke up.

"Lulu doesn't eat rats."

"Ah, right. My mistake."

"No, but anyway, Brett's right, the unlucky Black Cat Superstition is completely wrong. In Hale Kingdom, actually, black cats are known as a symbol of good luck."

"Huh? I've never heard that."

"It's true."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Brett raised the question, and Airen answered firmly that it was true.

He usually took other people's opinions well, but on this particular point, he had no intention of backing down.

Judith spoke to him, looking a little sheepish.

"Sorry. Said something thoughtless again. She's your party member and everything..."

"Yeah. You were wrong there. You really need to fix that habit of yours, saying whatever comes to mind."

"This little..."

"It's fine, Judith. Don't worry about it too much. And Brett, don't be so hard on her."

"If I don't chew her out every time she messes up like this, she'll keep spouting nonsense out in public."

"Argh! You little..."

Knock knock knock.

Judith, finally out of patience, was just about to grab Brett by the collar when a knock sounded at the door and all three heads turned.

A moment later, Kubharu's voice came through.

"Wondering if it's all right to come in now. Or do you all need more time?"

"It's fine. We were just waiting for you, actually."

"Heh heh, well then..."

"Hi! Judith! Oh, and you're... Brat?"

"...Brett Lloyd."

"Right, Brett Lloyd! Nice to meet you! I'm Lulu!"

Right on cue, Lulu and Kubharu appeared.

Thanks to that, Brett and Judith's fight came to a stop, and the room filled with a new mood.

Of course, since these were people meeting for the first time, a little awkwardness was unavoidable.

"Ahem, well, since Lulu already introduced herself, I think it'd be good if we all took a moment for proper introductions..."

With Kubharu's experienced, skillful lead, that awkwardness dissolved before long too.

And on top of that, he happened to have a special item on hand to close the distance between them all.

"Is this... whiskey? And it looks pretty rare, at that..."

"Ha ha. Rare's right. Been saving it for a while now to share with some fine company."

It was the high quality whiskey they'd received from the merchants while passing through Alhad Den.

Brett, who had a good eye for liquor, lit up right away, and Judith's curiosity showed too.

"The bottles look pretty fancy. But isn't three bottles not enough, though?"

She hadn't even been drinking for three months yet.

The only drinking she'd done was tagging along whenever Brett occasionally had a beer, so she had no idea just how strong whiskey actually was.

Which meant she had no defense at all against the provocation Brett threw at her next.

"Not enough? If you can drink one whole bottle of this by yourself, I'll call you big brother for a week."

"What did you say, you little... wait, not even big sister, big brother? Are you insane?"

"Then go ahead and prove me wrong. Though honestly, brother or sister, does it even matter? A rookie who's barely started learning how to drink trying to handle something this strong..."

Bang!

"Fine. Let's do it."

Judith slammed the table and grabbed one of the whiskey bottles.

Knocking the neck clean off with a sharp chop of her hand, she spoke.

"Kubharu, mind if I drink this whole thing? It's expensive stuff, so I figured I should ask first."

"Huh? Uh, sure, that's fine, but drinking a whole bottle might be..."

Isn't that too much? was the question he couldn't quite bring himself to ask.

The fire blazing in Judith's eyes was far too intense for that.

In the end, Kubharu couldn't stop her. Neither could Airen.

Meanwhile, Judith knocked back the whiskey like it was beer, gulping down about a third of the bottle.

She let out a "kahh!" and set the bottle down, speaking boldly.

"Cough! It's a bit... strong, but I can handle this much, no problem."

"..."

Exactly one hour later.

A thoroughly wasted Judith clung to Lulu, repeating the same words over and over.

"Sorry, Lulu... sorry, Lulu... sorry for thinking you were an unlucky black cat..."

"It's okay, Judith. I understand completely."

"No, I'm so sorry... sorry, Lulu... sorry, Lulu..."

"Airen! Get her off me! She's too strong, I can't wriggle free!"

"Ha ha, what a heartwarming sight."

"..."

"..."

Lulu wailing to be freed, Judith still repeating the same apology over and over, Brett Lloyd watching the whole thing with delight while he drank, and Airen Farreira standing there not knowing what to do.

Watching all of them, Kubharu let out a soft chuckle.

'Things are about to get a lot louder than before.'

It wasn't a bad feeling. If anything, it was a pretty good one.

Still smiling, Kubharu tipped the last of his whiskey down his throat.

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried