WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Reformation of the Deadbeat Noble

Chapter 151

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New Companions (3)

Airen Farreira dreamed a mysterious dream.

A dream of a mysterious man training with his sword all day long. It used to be Airen's secret alone, but now everyone in the group knew about it.

Even so, none of them knew who the man actually was.

There simply weren't enough clues to go on.

'And you're saying you could figure out who he is?'

Kubharu's master could?

How, exactly?

"How would you even know that? Did you read some kind of fortune to figure it out? Wait, didn't you say all that stuff was fake anyway? And if you actually had that kind of ability, why didn't you say something sooner? Why keep quiet about it until now?"

Quick-tempered as ever, Judith fired off question after question.

But nobody stopped her, not even Brett, Judith's designated handler. Everyone felt the same way.

Of course, Airen knew perfectly well that not every fortune-teller in the world was a fraud like Kubharu.

Given that a cat Sorcerer existed at all, it wasn't strange to think there might be at least one genuine fortune-teller out there too.

'...Come to think of it, that first note Kubharu gave me wasn't exactly ordinary either.'

Still, what he really wanted to know was why Kubharu had kept quiet about this until now.

Airen looked at the orc fortune-teller, waiting for an answer. Kubharu hesitated a moment, then finally spoke.

"To be honest with you... I never had the courage to go see my master."

"What?"

"Where my master lives is the most prosperous place in all of orc territory, but there's someone there I don't get along with... no, that's not quite the right way to put it. Anyway, there's someone there who doesn't want me showing up."

"..."

"It's a cowardly thing to say, but I never felt confident enough to go there alone."

Kubharu kept talking, his expression a little bitter.

For someone usually so smooth with words, it came out fairly disjointed.

But the feeling behind it showed through raw and plain, like he'd pulled it straight from his chest.

'So he wasn't wandering the continent because he wanted to.'

Airen hadn't known that at all.

Up until now, Kubharu had always led them with a bright, cheerful face.

No worry, no anxiety, no sorrow that anyone could see.

Watching him roam the continent so freely, like someone detached from everything, Airen had even felt a little envious of him.

He'd been wrong.

Kubharu had simply kept it all bottled up, hidden away. He'd been carrying his own troubles all along, same as anyone.

"..."

Airen felt sorry about that.

But he was grateful too.

Watching Kubharu open up about his own story, even now, Airen felt a certainty settle into his heart that they'd grown far closer than before.

That feeling, in turn, stirred something good in him.

Of course, this alone wasn't enough to fully understand Kubharu's situation.

He'd rambled through plenty of details, but he still hadn't gotten to the part that actually mattered.

Judith took the lead again this time. Looking frustrated, she asked, raising her voice.

"So then, this person... wait, orc, right?"

"An orc."

"Right, so who is this orc? Some kind of bad guy? Insanely strong? What kind of person has you this scared?"

There was a touch of irritation in Judith's voice.

Going to meet a genuine fortune-teller wasn't a bad thing, of course.

Fraud or not, Kubharu's whole philosophy about fortune-telling was something she could get behind, in her own way.

Giving someone who lacked confidence in themselves a moment to reflect, pointing them toward a direction, and through that, granting them the strength and will to stand back up on their own.

Looked at that way, meeting Kubharu's master could end up helping not just Airen, but her too, to some degree.

'Probably that idiot Illia too.'

Still, all of that felt too abstract.

Right now, Judith wanted training that was intuitive, something that would directly help her "sword skills."

Like tracking down the old hero's insight at the grave of the Blood Demon, like she'd mentioned before.

Or asking former champion Ricardo Pinto to introduce them to his father, the Sword Master Harrison Pinto.

Or going back to Latiohn and throwing a fit until they smashed the signboard.

Compared to any of that, going to meet Kubharu's master felt far too vague, too abstract.

But after hearing what Kubharu said next, Judith's whole attitude flipped a hundred and eighty degrees.

"He's not a bad person. If anything, he's a fine... no, that's not really mine to say."

"Ugh, why is this guy being so frustrating today..."

"But I can answer your other question for certain. He's strong. Incredibly strong. Probably... stronger than everyone gathered here combined."

"..."

"..."

It was a stunning claim.

Who exactly made up the four gathered here right now?

They were the ones called the Golden 27th Cohort, the very best among Krono's overwhelming array of talents.

And Kubharu was saying that even all four of them together would struggle to beat this person?

Everyone fell silent.

But once Kubharu revealed who the man actually was, all four of them could do nothing but nod.

And it wasn't simple agreement, either.

Judith shot up from her seat and declared, as if it were already decided.

"All right. Let's go there!"

"Are you sure? I mean, I brought it up hoping you all might help me, but still..."

"Am I sure? Of course I'm sure! When the old geezers of Latiohn and the great sword houses won't even take us in, where else are we going to find a chance to test ourselves against someone that strong? Let's go. We're absolutely going there!"

"..."

Kubharu turned his gaze from the thoroughly worked-up Judith to look at the others.

His eyes, usually so easygoing, were now full of something like guilt.

Airen met that look and nodded with a smile.

"Let's go."

"Can't hurt."

"...If everyone else agrees, I'm fine with it too."

"Ooh, we're going to visit an orc tribe? I've never been to one! I'm so excited! Didn't you say they've got tons of Taihoi fruit there? Yes! Yes!"

Lulu, spinning in lazy circles through the air, along with everyone else, gladly agreed to Kubharu's request.

At that, the orc fortune-teller couldn't speak for a moment, swallowing down his emotion before finally getting out a word of thanks.

That wasn't the end of it, though.

Once he'd composed himself, Kubharu explained his situation to the group in far more detail, and the four from Krono, along with Lulu, nodded along just as readily as before.

A complicated but happy smile settled over Kubharu's face.

And so, their next destination was decided.

Durkali, the largest orc city in the continent's northwest.

A fresh sense of anticipation rose on every one of their faces.

* * *

After Illia Lindsay joined the party, and their next destination was settled at Kubharu's request,

the group each took time to wrap up their connections in Aienmarc.

"Huh? What are you talking about? What's there to wrap up? You've got some friend living here or something?"

"You antisocial lump. You've been living here four whole months. It's weirder that you didn't make a single friend."

"Heh, well, Brett and I made a few drinking buddies along the way. Guess I should say a proper goodbye to them."

"Guess spending all your time cooped up in a fencing hall does that to a personality, or maybe it's just that yours is naturally prickly..."

"You're really asking to die."

Brett Lloyd and Kubharu went around having farewell drinks with the locals they'd gotten to know.

"Thank you. If you hadn't found me, I don't even want to imagine where I'd have ended up by now."

"Thank you. Thank you so much. Because of you, I got to experience the best moment of my entire career as a reporter!"

"Come by again sometime. I'll show you an even more polished version of the John Drew style by then. Oh, and... could you tell Lulu something for me? Tell her to stop throwing money around like that next time. It makes me uncomfortable..."

Airen traded parting words with Grayson, Hints, and John Drew, leaving behind his own last memories of Aienmarc.

Illia Lindsay did the same, of course.

"Thank you, Emma."

"..."

Unlike Airen, Brett, and Kubharu, Illia hadn't made any outside connections.

But that didn't mean she had no one dear to her.

The one who'd stayed closest to her all this time.

The one who'd cared for her, looked out for her, worried over her, with the deepest and most heartfelt devotion, her guard captain, Emma Garcia.

Late as it was, far too late, there were things she absolutely had to say. Sorry. Thank you.

"How could I have been such a fool."

"..."

"Clinging so tightly to the words of idiots who had nothing to do with me, and never once really listening to the person who took care of me closer than anyone else..."

"Not at all, my lady."

Emma Garcia shook her head firmly.

But her eyes were already glistening, damp with tears.

Illia's words meant a great deal to her, but more than that, seeing her lady's face looking so much more at ease than it had in years, she couldn't hold back the emotion rising in her chest.

"Well, I'll be off, then. Don't worry too much. Tell my parents I'm sorry, and thank you, for everything up until now. Tell them I'll come back stronger, and soon."

"How could I possibly worry about a Sword Master? If anything, you should be worrying about me. If the head of the house finds out I got sent packing without even managing to do my job as your guard properly, I might lose my knighthood that very day."

"Wait, really?"

"Obviously I'm joking."

"...oh."

"Though I probably will get scolded for real, come to think of it."

"..."

"Still, it's fine."

Emma Garcia, having shed all the months of worry with just a few jokes,

slowly, gently pulled Illia Lindsay into an embrace.

An act far too familiar for a retainer to offer their lady.

But Illia said nothing at all.

She simply stayed quiet, quiet, and let herself feel the warmth of the other woman.

"Come back with good people, with fine friends by your side... come back an even finer knight, an even finer swordswoman. I'll be waiting, and believing in you."

"...I will. I promise."

With those words, Illia Lindsay left the estate where she'd stayed for nearly a year, and her guard captain, Emma Garcia, watched her lady's figure grow smaller and smaller in the distance for a long, long time.

Her face was sad, but happier than it had ever been.

Once Illia had vanished completely from sight, Emma kept praying, for a long while after, that blessings would fill her lady's road ahead.

* * *

Four days after the four of them reunited.

Having settled every last bit of business, the group left Aienmarc behind.

Officials from the Proof Land and all sorts of people involved in the dueling world begged them not to go, but nothing could stop them.

Meow!

Meeeow-

Meeeeeeoooow!

"Take care! Live long and healthy lives, you hear me!"

Whoosh!

Whip!

Lulu tossed clumps of salmon to each of the cats that had come to see her off, and with that, Airen Farreira's group finally left the city behind completely.

Watching the four of them walk on ahead, Kubharu felt something swell in his chest.

'Is there another party in the world this young, and this strong?'

It really was remarkable.

Two of the four had already reached the rank of Master, a level every swordsman in the world longed to reach, and the other two had climbed to a level among Experts that almost no one could hope to challenge.

And their average age was twenty. A party like this, appearing on the continent, was bound to shock the whole world.

'And it's not just their swordsmanship that's strong, either.'

Kubharu recalled everything he'd seen of them over the past four months, no, over the whole journey.

Brett Lloyd, who never once lost his composure no matter the situation, moving forward on his own path with a gentleness that was somehow still unshakably firm.

Judith, who turned even the most grueling, exhausting situations, the kind that could break a person, into fuel for her own growth, burning like some enormous, passionate flame.

Illia Lindsay, who had also stumbled and wandered through her own painful circumstances, but who had finally found her footing and was now moving in the right direction.

And finally...

'The one who never once ran from difficult, uncomfortable situations, no matter how hard, who faced them head on and overcame them every single time... Airen Farreira.'

Having thought this far, Kubharu let out a small, wry laugh.

Looking back on it now, it was almost absurd.

He'd thought he was here to watch these young people grow up close. Instead, he was the one who'd ended up learning the most.

If it hadn't been for them, he probably would have kept drifting around the continent forever.

Never once finding the courage, never even considering going back to the place he came from.

"Kubharu!"

"Hm? What is it?"

Just then, Judith spun around and called out to him.

Kubharu tilted his head, and she spoke with a grin.

"This trip, in a way, is us taking on your request. Right?"

"Uh, is that how it works? It's more of a favor than a request, but..."

"Same thing, basically. Anyway, since we're the ones taking the job, we'll guide you all the way to Durkali."

"Hm?"

"That means you get to relax, Kubharu, so just go with it."

"...Heh, are you sure about that?"

Kubharu said, looking a little surprised.

Sure, he'd been the one handling all the little odds and ends up until now, but that was only natural for someone acting as their guide.

Still, hearing that they'd even thought to look out for that side of things stirred a quiet, warm feeling deep in his chest.

Of course, that feeling didn't last long.

Exactly one day later.

'...Wouldn't it just be better if I handled this myself?'

Watching the party stumble through one mess after another, Kubharu couldn't help but think, once again, that he'd be far better off taking charge himself.

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