Reformation of the Deadbeat Noble - Chapter 181

WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

◈ Reformation of the Deadbeat Noble

Chapter 181

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Each Toward Their Own Path (4)

Before Airen Farreira, Illia Lindsay, and Lulu left Durkali, a small farewell gathering was held.

Actually, small might not be the right word.

Only six people were attending, but the lineup was formidable.

'I figured Kubharu would come, but Tarakhan, Karakum, and even Master Gurgar showing up too? Didn't see that coming.'

Those three hadn't joined in when Judith and Brett left, so it struck Airen as a little strange.

Not that it felt unpleasant, of course.

Gurgar was an easygoing ghost by nature, and Tarakhan and Karakum had grown fairly close to the group over the past two months.

Illia tended to be shy around new people, so Airen had wondered if things might feel a bit awkward with her...

Thud!

"A farewell party calls for drinks."

"..."

"You're planning to drink all of that?"

Looking at the mountain of bottles piled on the table, Airen decided it probably didn't matter either way.

"Shame Brett isn't here, but let's have a bottle each. Ah, you two need cups, right? Hold on..."

The three orcs and Gurgar didn't even bother pouring the strong liquor into cups, just tipped the bottles back and drank straight, all while somehow still managing to savor every last note of flavor.

"Mm, still excellent. Spicy notes and a hint of cherry filling the whole mouth."

"There's a touch of peat in there too, and I like that quite a bit. Father, another bottle?"

"Obviously. And bring these out more often, will you."

"Even a chieftain isn't wealthy enough to drink something like this often."

"Kubharu, this master wants a bottle too. Watched my health while I was alive, had to hold back, but now that I'm dead, at least there's that perk."

"...That kind of joke is hard for me to take."

"Wait, hearing you all describe it like that makes me want to drink too!"

The orcs poured out flowery, professional-sounding commentary with every sip.

Tempted by all of it, the cat Sorcerer leaped into the air and transformed, and Kubharu, watching with obvious delight, poured her a glass.

Surprisingly, Lulu showed no hesitation and downed three glasses in a row.

"Ah, everything's spinning."

Whoosh.

Of course, she didn't last long. She turned back into a cat almost immediately and curled up in Airen's arms, purring herself to sleep.

"I think... I'll stop here too..."

"Ho, already done? Last time I saw you drink, I thought you could handle quite a bit. Weaker than expected..."

"****."

"?"

The next to get tipsy was Illia Lindsay.

Unlike Judith, she had some tolerance to speak of, but even that couldn't keep pace with four orcs whose capacity for drink bordered on monstrous.

"Good night, everyone."

As if she hadn't just been cursing a moment ago, Illia offered a polite farewell and headed for her room.

Fortunately, she didn't stumble. Airen, who'd been smiling as he watched his friend's guard slip, took a sip of his own drink.

Then, with slightly hazy eyes, he looked over at Kubharu.

'If I'd never met Kubharu, what kind of day would I be having right now?'

He didn't really want to think about it.

To him, Kubharu was more than a master. He was practically a savior.

It was Kubharu who'd told him to grow the flame in his heart, Kubharu who'd given him the right advice to help him kindle spark after spark.

Even the lifelong mystery of his past life had finally been solved here in Durkali, so it wasn't an exaggeration to say that at least eighty percent of who he was now, he owed to this quack fortune-teller.

Running through their journey together like that, memory after memory, Airen felt something well up inside him.

More drunk on emotion than on drink, he felt a sudden need to express his gratitude somehow.

But he never got the chance.

Kubharu, who'd been watching him just as closely, spoke first, his voice low.

"Thank you."

"..."

"When I first approached you, I didn't have much of a plan. It was just me sticking my nose where it didn't belong. Nearly twenty years of wandering foreign lands had left me lonely, and your energy, a little different from everyone else's, stirred something in me. There was some arrogance in it too, I suppose. The idea that an elder like me ought to guide a promising young man."

"That's not arrogance at all. You're right, though. If it weren't for you, I'd probably still be wandering around right now, no idea what my own path even looks like."

"No, that's not it. Whatever I gave you was nothing special, just the kind of thing anyone could've said. Advice isn't the remarkable part. What's genuinely impressive is that you took it, made it your own, and actually put it into action."

"..."

"The one who was helped, comforted, and given a much needed wake up call... funny enough, wasn't you. It was me."

Kubharu closed his eyes for a moment, letting the journey replay in his mind, piece by piece.

The first time he'd sensed Airen's extraordinary nature had been at Alhad Den.

He'd known Airen was kind hearted, but what struck him was that Airen hadn't simply kept that kindness to himself. He'd been wrestling with how to spread it out into the world.

The look in his eyes as he threw out question after question, questions that might have earned him mockery from anyone else, all in pursuit of the best possible path.

And that hadn't been the end of it.

As time passed, Airen had grown steadier. Hotter.

This young human hadn't bent his convictions even standing before a monster like Ignet, and even facing the Proof Land Champion, he'd pushed his own will forward without a hint of hesitation.

Whether he was capable or not hadn't mattered.

He'd carried a heart more upright than anyone else's, found the courage to turn that heart into action, and in the end, he'd made a miracle happen.

He hadn't run from difficulty. He hadn't looked away from pain.

"You're the one who put an end to seventeen years of wandering, of running away. I have you to thank for that."

"..."

"Even before I confirmed the man's past life, even before you'd forged that burning conviction of yours... you were already a hero to me."

Kubharu let out a slow breath after finishing his words. The smell of alcohol reached Airen's nose.

But Kubharu wasn't drunk.

His mind was still perfectly clear, his eyes still grave and steady.

Straightening his posture, he bowed low, a full formal bow, toward Airen Farreira.

"Wait, no..."

Flustered, Airen looked at Kubharu, not knowing what to do with himself.

But that wasn't the end of it either.

"Thank you. Truly, thank you."

Gurgar the fortune-teller followed his disciple's lead and bowed as well.

"Thank you for giving my brother's heart back to him."

Tarakhan, chieftain of Durkali, moved to match them.

And last, Karakum, the great orc warrior who'd done nothing all evening but drink, dropped to his knees and bowed too.

With a solemnity unlike anything he'd shown before, he spoke.

"Thank you, young hero."

"..."

"For lifting a burden I've carried my whole life. For letting me meet my son again. I am truly, deeply grateful."

A single tear slipped from beneath his bowed head.

It wasn't the tear of a former chieftain, or of a great warrior. It was the tear of a father.

Feeling his own emotions surge, Airen let a tear fall too.

Returning the bow in the orc way, he spoke.

"I'll do everything I can to become someone who can be called a hero not just to Kubharu, but to everyone."

* * *

The next day, Airen Farreira's group ate an early lunch and left the Durkali fortress.

Lulu and Illia were both a little hungover, but it was manageable. One of the orc warriors handled the small chores for them along the way.

"This is as far as I go. Safe travels."

Of course, that kind of service couldn't be expected forever.

The orc warrior dropped the group off in a suitable town, then turned the carriage around and headed back to Durkali, leaving the three of them on their own again.

But only for a moment.

"Well hello there! What an honor to be serving such distinguished guests!"

The group wasted no time hiring a new driver.

There wasn't much choice in the matter. Up until now, Kubharu alone had handled every practical matter of the journey.

Which meant Airen, Illia, and Lulu couldn't manage a proper journey on their own.

'Not trying to nag, but don't try to handle everything yourselves. Just hire someone. You'll be much better off.'

Airen, Illia, and Lulu had all nodded along without argument.

Managing a schedule that included camping out on the road, entirely by themselves, seemed like a stretch no matter how they looked at it.

And so their number rose back to four, and Airen's group continued their journey enjoying the skills of a fine coachman.

What they didn't know, though, was just how easy a target they made.

A refined air about them, features young enough to look almost like children, and an employer who tipped generously on top of it all.

And they had no idea just how many scoundrels in this world went looking for exactly that kind of easy target.

'This is a goldmine.'

Johnson, coachman and leader of a band of bandits, drove the carriage with a look of pure fortune on his face.

He hadn't imagined, not even that morning, that a group of naive out of towners, and rich looking young ones at that, would show up in this unremarkable northwestern town.

He certainly hadn't imagined that they'd end up being his mark.

But all that luck had landed squarely in his lap, and now only the final step remained. Set up camp near his hideout, wait for his men to arrive at the agreed time, and it was done.

He liked to think of himself as a merciful man, so he planned to leave them just enough for travel money home.

'Thinking ahead, it'd be smarter to get rid of them, but they're too young for that...'

Cold blooded as Johnson could be, he wasn't quite ruthless enough to crush young saplings before they'd had a chance to grow.

This time, he figured he'd just teach them a lesson about how scary the world could be, and leave it at that.

But as it turned out, Johnson was the one who didn't understand the world nearly well enough.

The unexpected happened as the evening sky dimmed toward dark.

Shing.

Crack, crack, crack, crack!

"Airen, is this enough firewood?"

"...?"

A woman with an unmistakably noble bearing had gone to gather firewood for the campfire.

But the way she'd gone about it was more than a little strange.

Instead of picking up fallen branches off the ground, she'd taken a tree that looked like it wouldn't fall even under an axe and turned it into firewood with a few sword strokes.

And the astonishing part didn't stop there.

"That's too thick. Green wood doesn't burn well as it is... here, throw one over."

"Sure."

Whoosh.

Shhhhhrrrrk!

"Slice it thinner like this, it should burn better."

"Guess so."

"...?"

Johnson blinked, staring at the firewood that had been sliced into thirty two pieces midair before it even hit the ground.

Right after, the cat Sorcerer who'd been sleeping in Airen's bag the whole time popped up with a "yap!" and flung a fireball.

Whoosh!

"Did you see that? I can use Spirit Magic now too!"

"That's not Spirit Magic, that's Sorcery."

"Aww. I want to learn Spirit Magic too."

"Didn't you say before you didn't need to learn Spirit Magic?"

"I did, but studying it turned out to be fun. It's a shame I still can't do it, though..."

"..."

'What is this? Am I dreaming?'

Johnson, coachman and bandit leader, wore a blank expression.

A young woman who could carve up a full grown tree in an instant, a baby faced kid who could turn firewood into dozens of pieces in midair, both were absurd enough on their own.

But the strangest thing by far was a talking cat shooting flame out of its paws.

What in the world was going on? What was any of this?

Johnson's mind burned with confusion. He couldn't tell anymore whether this was a dream or reality.

Then, a little while later, one more thing happened to push him past the edge.

"Heh, well would you look at that? Such a fancy carriage on such a quiet road..."

"Well, well. Nobles, are they? Awfully refined looking... probably rolling in money too."

"Care to share a little with us poor unfortunate souls?"

'No! No, you idiots!'

Johnson snapped back to his senses.

Absolutely not. Try to rob a group like this, whatever they were, monsters or ghosts, and it would mean ruin.

Death, at the very least. Beyond that, there was no telling how far it could go.

That eerie black cat might curse them to some fate worse than death, unable to live or die.

Tossing aside the cooking supplies he'd been holding, he scrambled to plant himself in front of his men. Yanking his sword from his belt in a show of threat, he shouted urgently.

"Get lost, right now! You bastards!"

"?"

The bandits wore identical looks of confusion.

Understandable enough. Their boss, the one who'd personally lured in the prey, was suddenly saying this? Of course they couldn't make sense of it right away.

One of them assumed Johnson was joking around.

Smirking slyly, he stepped forward to play along and said.

"Hey, boss. Bold move, I'll give you..."

Thwack!

"Bold move my ass! Get out of here!"

"B, boss?"

Thwack!

"Boss? When did I ever meet you? Cut the crap!"

"Wait, hold on. Joh..."

Thwack!

Thwaaack!

"Guh..."

"Not gone yet? You all want to die by my hand?"

Johnson beat one of the bandits senseless with the flat of his blade and a few kicks, snarling out the threat.

Only then did the bandits actually look at Johnson's face.

Bloodshot eyes, an expression twisted like something out of a nightmare.

Having confirmed their boss meant every word, they hauled their unconscious friend away and slunk off into the dark.

"Faster! Move faster!"

They vanished in record time.

"Huff, huff..."

Johnson gasped for breath.

It shouldn't have taken this much out of him. But he felt like he might actually die.

Thinking about how close he'd come to having his whole life snuffed out, his heart felt ready to leap straight out of his chest.

Of course, it wasn't over. His employers, having clearly noticed something was off, might well interrogate him now.

No, it seemed already decided that they would.

'Damn it all!'

After exchanging a glance, the blond and the silver haired swordsman began walking toward him, step by step.

Neither wore any expression at all.

Watching the two of them approach, one measured step at a time, Johnson felt as if some enormous wall were closing in on him. His breath came faster.

Maybe, he thought, he was already as good as dead.

He found out soon enough just how wrong that assumption was.

"Thank you, Johnson."

"Truly. Not only handling the driving, but standing up to a whole gang of bandits like that... I've never seen anyone so brave."

Airen and Illia spoke, their voices thick with genuine admiration.

Illia's emotion ran especially deep.

For someone who'd spent her whole life aware of the crowd's mockery and whispered gossip behind her back, this kind of pure, courageous kindness felt like something she hadn't encountered in a very long time.

At least, that was how Illia saw it.

"Thanks, Johnson! Count on us to keep relying on you!"

"..."

With the black cat on top of it all, pouring treasure out of thin air, Johnson could barely hold himself together.

Of course, that feeling lasted only a moment.

Staring down at the three golden mice now sitting in his palm, he widened his eyes and declared.

"This Johnson will serve his employers with the utmost devotion, now and always!"

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