WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Reformation of the Deadbeat Noble

Chapter 108

──────

How Strong Do You Think You Are (1)

For a long time, the western continent had been famous for its swordsmanship.

Five great sword houses represented the Western Five Kingdoms, and Latiohn stood as something like a paradise of fencing halls, with three more cities besides it that could hold a candle to that reputation.

The Land of Proof was another landmark impossible to leave out.

And there was one more. The rising city of Partisan.

It lacked the history and fame of the cities mentioned above, but it carried the kind of overflowing energy and free atmosphere you'd expect from a young city.

At least, that was what Airen Farreira thought as he walked through it.

Something's different here.

Countless fencing halls lined the streets, and countless swordsmen moved between them.

Watching the scene unfold, Airen felt a strange thrill building inside him.

It wasn't an unfamiliar sight. His journey hadn't even lasted half a year yet, but in that short time he'd already passed by a staggering number of swordsmen.

Most of them, though, were mercenaries who'd taken up the sword purely as a means to make money.

Hardly any of them had set their hearts on the sword itself.

But this place, the one Airen stood in now, was different.

Passion. And ambition.

The heat burning in the eyes of the people passing by seemed to seep into his own chest and set it aflame.

"Well, the mood here's definitely different from Latiohn. Feels a lot more free."

"A little like a mercenary brokerage, too."

"That's better, honestly. That place was way too stiff, packed with people who acted like they were knights or something... oh, that cat looks like Lulu. Wait, is that Lulu?"

"There's no way that's her."

Unlike the three of them, who'd headed straight for the fencing hall district the moment they dropped their bags at the inn, Lulu and Kubharu had stayed behind in their room, each buried in their own training, Spirit Magic and Sorcery respectively.

They'd probably spend most of their time in Partisan with just the three of them out and about.

Wandering the streets without any fixed destination, Airen heard Judith let out a sudden "Ah!" and point at something.

He turned and saw a fairly elegant looking fencing hall building.

But before that, what caught his eye first was a massive sword statue standing beside the front gate.

"Statue commemorating the founding of Hyram Fencing Hall... huh, guess it actually means something. But is it okay to just scribble all over it like this?"

"Whoa, seriously."

Judith was right. The surface of the statue was covered in a mess of writing, and the contents were shameless.

[The man destined to become a Sword Master, Kiyoton, was here]

[Learned a thing or two. -Paragon-]

[May Hyram Fencing Hall grow beyond Partisan into the finest fencing hall in the west]

[Won't lose next time -An Unnamed Swordsman-]

Something between a guestbook and pure vandalism, the whole surface crammed with whatever visitors felt like scrawling. It was ridiculous just to look at.

Wasn't this supposed to be a founding memorial statue? Was it really fine for visitors to treat it this way?

Just then, Brett Lloyd, who'd stayed quiet until now, nodded and spoke up.

"Hyram Fencing Hall... let's go there."

"You want to challenge this place? You know it?"

"No. But I can tell it's a place with a free atmosphere, not tied down by formality."

"Fair enough. If they let people scribble on their founding statue, they probably won't be too uptight about challengers either."

Sure enough, the surface of the statue was also covered in the whining of swordsmen who'd challenged the hall and lost.

Judging by that, the hall's fighting strength was probably considerable.

The three of them naturally settled on it and stood before the front gate.

Before Judith could knock, Airen Farreira spoke up.

"Mind if I ask for something?"

"Hm?"

"If you're both fine with it, I'd like to go first."

"...Oh."

"........."

Judith let out an impressed sound, and even Brett looked at him with mild surprise.

Their stares felt a little heavy, but Airen didn't take his words back.

The thrill and excitement he'd felt from the moment he set foot in Partisan.

It wasn't a familiar feeling, but there was nothing bad about it either.

If anything, he found himself almost moved that he could still feel something like this.

And he didn't want to hide that feeling from the two of them.

"Sure."

"Yeah! You go first. If it were Brett asking, no way, but if it's Airen, I'll grant the favor. Big sister's being generous here."

"Please."

"Hm?"

"Please just shut up."

"You shut up. Airen, go knock on the door."

The two of them traded barbs in an instant before stepping back. Airen, feeling a strange tension, swallowed hard and stared at the gate.

The moment he knocked on this door, he'd become a challenger. A faint pressure settled over him. His body grew a little hotter.

It's fine. I can do this.

He let out a breath and set his face into something resolute.

Then he knocked, thump thump thump, on the door of Hyram Fencing Hall.

A moment later, someone stepped out from inside to greet the three of them.

Click.

"Hyram Fencing Hall. What brings you here?"

"...Good day. I'm the swordsman Airen Farreira. I know it's rude to say this on our first meeting, but we knocked hoping to cross swords with the swordsmen of Hyram Fencing Hall."

Having thought through what he'd say beforehand, he managed to get his intent across clearly.

But even without any mistakes, Airen's heart kept pounding harder.

The act of challenging another fencing hall alone was enough to bring no small amount of tension.

They won't think we're being rude, will they?

Of course, nothing like that happened.

It seemed this kind of thing came up often enough, because the hall's representative showed no confusion at all and led the three of them inside.

Hyah!

Taap!

Shouts of effort rang out from somewhere inside.

A faint scent of wood tickled his nose.

Every other sensation felt sharp enough to reach out and touch.

His senses had grown that much more alert.

Airen realized clearly that he was tense.

Fortunately, he had time to settle himself down.

Led by their guide into the reception room, Airen closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and calmed his mind.

Brett and Judith were much the same.

Both of them had faced Krono's outstanding senior swordsmen with confidence before, but challenging another fencing hall like this was clearly a different kind of experience.

Of course, neither of them was as tense as Airen.

Just enough pleasant excitement to wake up their muscles. In other words, they were fully prepared.

Let's do our best.

I'll give it everything I've got.

I'll wreck every one of them!

Airen, Brett, and Judith, each steeling their own resolve in their own way.

A moment later, two swordsmen appeared before them.

"Ha ha, welcome, young friends! I'm Hyram, the Hall Master of Hyram Fencing Hall."

"...Pleasure. I hold the title of instructor. Kent."

The man's face, introduced second, was set in a stiff expression.

A faint edge of discomfort colored his tone as well. Judith's fist tightened slightly at the sound of it.

Of course, she wasn't crazy enough to flip the table over something this small.

Even back in her wild, hot-blooded days as a trainee, she'd never done anything like that.

Doesn't seem worth worrying about, really.

Her gaze drifted to the left.

Unlike the man called Kent, the middle aged man across from him wore a gentle expression as he greeted them.

She was honestly surprised. She hadn't expected the Hall Master himself, of all people, to come out and greet them personally.

Back in Latiohn, not even the Hall Master, let alone some junior instructor, came out without acting all high and mighty about it.

Of course, there was a big difference in scale between the two halls...

Glancing sideways as she thought that, she noticed Brett and Airen looked just as taken aback.

Of course, they couldn't stay silent forever.

The three of them stood and introduced themselves in turn.

"Thank you for the warm welcome. I'm Brett Lloyd."

"I'm Judith."

"Airen Farreira."

"Ha ha, I see. Shall we have some tea first and talk a little?"

"Of course."

All three nodded at once.

The conversation that followed went smoothly enough.

Hall Master Hyram seemed used to occasions like this, tossing out easy, low pressure questions to smooth over the awkwardness, and Brett Lloyd, the most well spoken of the three, handled it with polished, courteous manners.

Kent, though, kept his mouth shut with the same sour expression, which kept grating on Judith's nerves.

But none of that mattered in the slightest.

They'd come to Hyram Fencing Hall to cross swords, not to enjoy pleasant conversation.

If we're doing this, I hope we get a strong opponent.

That thought kept running through Airen's mind through the whole conversation.

The reason the three swordsmen had come here in the first place!

He wanted to get straight to the point immediately.

He wanted to toss aside all this formality and just clash blades already.

Of course, putting that into words wasn't easy at all.

Saying outright, "We're pretty confident in our skills, so we'd like a strong opponent!" was completely out of the question, and even trying to soften that sentiment into something more tactful required real caution.

In the end, the meaning underneath would come out the same either way.

Then again, if we let slip that we're from Krono, there's a chance they'll refuse to fight at all, like in Latiohn. A lot of places dodge a match entirely if the opponent seems like too much trouble... this is tricky. How do I even bring it up?

Brett's mind raced during a lull in the conversation.

Judith and Airen stared at him intently.

Whatever their skill with a blade, the two of them were completely useless for something like this.

Cheering him on silently was the best they could manage.

But surprisingly, the answer they wanted came first from Hall Master Hyram's own mouth.

"Let's get to the point. You'd rather face a strong opponent, wouldn't you?"

"Huh? Ah..."

"How about me?"

"H, Hall Master?"

Airen's group startled.

The Hall Master himself wanted to face off against people whose average age wasn't even twenty?

They welcomed it, of course, but given how fencing halls usually operated, it was an unusual move.

Even accounting for Partisan's reputation as free and open, this was something else.

And they weren't the only ones caught off guard.

Instructor Kent, who'd kept his expression stiff the whole time, stared at the Hyram Fencing Hall's Hall Master with wide, shocked eyes.

"Embarrassing to say it myself, but there's no one in this fencing hall stronger than me. Ah, well, that's a given, isn't it? I'm the Hall Master, who else would be stronger? Ha ha ha."

"........."

"Anyway, not bad, right?"

Hall Master Hyram smiled brightly. Watching him, the three of them couldn't hide their bewilderment.

Their eyes met each other's in turn.

But bewildered or not, there was only one answer to give.

"Thank you for accepting our challenge."

Airen Farreira, standing at the front of the three, answered with a firm expression.

* * *

What is even happening right now...

Watching Hall Master Hyram put on protective gear and pick up a wooden sword to accept the young swordsmen's challenge, the young instructor Kent couldn't hide his discomfort.

He liked Partisan's open culture well enough, sure, but he thought this had gone too far.

Even so, taking up a sword personally against a bunch of greenhorns like this...

He'd had plenty of complaints from the moment he first laid eyes on the challengers.

Twenty years old, if that?

Watching kids who couldn't have trained for anywhere near long enough, let alone gained any real experience, show up to challenge another fencing hall, Kent had barely managed to hold back a sigh.

Exchange between swordsmen shouldn't be rigid and closed off, the way it was at those old, stuffy fencing halls with too much to lose.

But he couldn't think well of people who exploited Partisan's open culture and went around poking at halls without any real preparation, treating it all lightly.

Just then, a voice snapped Kent back to attention.

It was Hyram, the Hall Master.

"Instructor Kent."

"Yes."

"You seem to have plenty of complaints. But think it over. If these three were the kind of opponent I could just leave to you, would I have come out here myself?"

"........."

Hyram was still smiling.

He wasn't scolding him harshly, either.

This good natured Hall Master was simply stating a fact, offering his opinion plainly, without any heat behind it.

"Those young ones there, even I might have a rough time of it."

"...!"

"It'll probably be a fierce match. I might even take a hit myself. Watching this match, I hope you'll finally break that bad habit of judging people by appearances."

Of course, they really were young enough that it was hard not to think that way...

Letting the rest of his words trail off, the Hall Master stepped forward.

The way he held his wooden sword was nothing ordinary. He spoke.

"Is a wooden sword all right? I've got a few different kinds set out for challengers, but I imagine none of them feel as natural as your own blade."

"It's fine. Thank you for the consideration."

"We'd both rather avoid anything dangerous, after all. I hope you understand."

Once he finished speaking, Hyram settled into his stance.

An even sturdier presence radiated from his whole body.

Swallowing hard, Airen Farreira took up his own large wooden sword and settled into a middle guard stance.

We're going up against the Hall Master right off the bat?

He felt thrown off balance.

The pressure weighed on him too, all the more because it was a situation he hadn't expected at all.

But that didn't mean it was a bad thing. Airen set his face with resolve and thought.

Let's put everything I have into this.

Against a Hall Master who'd devoted his whole life to the sword, he'd throw everything he had at him, without a single regret.

Of course, young instructor Kent's thoughts ran in a completely different direction.

What in the world is the Hall Master even saying...

He couldn't believe it. Even coming from someone he respected as deeply as Hyram, he simply couldn't accept it.

A twenty year old swordsman putting up a good fight against Hyram?

Impossible, even if the kid had trained with a sword since the womb.

He's probably exaggerating. Might have some real skill, sure, but this'll be over fast.

Maybe within a minute, even.

While he was thinking that, the match began.

"Here I come!"

"Come on, then."

Kent stared wide eyed at the old swordsman and the young one.

Judith and Brett Lloyd were the same.

They watched with sweaty palms, hoping Airen would show his very best against the Hall Master.

And a moment later, the outcome came.

Just as fast as Kent had expected.

Thwack!

Thwack!

Thud!

"Gwaaahh..."

Thump.

"...!"

"........."

"........."

Watching Hall Master Hyram of Hyram Fencing Hall collapse limply to the floor after taking a hit from the wooden sword, none of them could hide their shock.

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