Reformation of the Deadbeat Noble - Chapter 182

WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Reformation of the Deadbeat Noble

Chapter 182

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Ancient Dungeon (1)

Johnson, former leader of a bandit gang and current devoted coachman, found himself remembering the past.

He'd been in the middle of a lively drinking session when one of his men brought it up.

Apparently a couple of Sword Masters had clashed in Aienmarc, that city famous for its arenas, and word had it the two of them were only nineteen and twenty two years old.

Naturally, he'd thought it was nonsense.

He wasn't even an Expert, let alone a Master, but he knew well enough how monstrous a thing it was to become a Master.

Fewer than a hundred such people existed across the whole continent, if that. A title so great that even the most celebrated figures in any kingdom could only dream of reaching it.

And someone hit that level at nineteen? Nineteen?

'That's not even young blood, that's a fresh baby. Where'd you hear such garbage and come running to tell me?'

'But hyung-nim, it sounded real. One of them was that famous Illia Lindsay, and the other one...'

'It's exaggerated, obviously! You know how those people talk big over there, don't you? Use some common sense!'

Back then, he was pretty sure he'd smacked his subordinate on the forehead and told him to talk about something else.

He shouldn't have done that. He should have listened more carefully back then, gathered every scrap of information he could about those two geniuses.

What they liked, what they hated. What kind of personalities they had. All of it.

Because the people he was currently serving as coachman were, as it turned out...

Kwaang!

Boom.

Kwaaaang!

Young Sword Masters straight out of the Proof Land.

'No, seriously, how do you pull an Aura Sword out that easily at that age? Does that even make sense?'

Johnson could hardly believe it.

The first time he'd watched them split firewood, it hadn't seemed quite this absurd. He'd figured that much was possible.

Whether they came from Krono Fencing Hall or one of the Western Five Kingdoms, it wasn't impossible to run into rising prospects trained at places like that, however unlucky the timing.

But he'd realized they weren't simply prospects by their third night camping out.

"Johnson-ssi, just so you know ahead of time... we sometimes spar in places without people around, the two of us."

"Huh? Ah, of course! Don't mind me!"

"Right. Wanted to give you a heads up in case it startled you. So..."

The sight that followed, Johnson was fairly sure he'd never forget it for the rest of his life.

'Everything I've seen up until now, that wasn't even swordsmanship!'

And before that, even, the thought hit him: he'd tried to rob monsters like these!

Just thinking about it made sweat pour down his back. It felt like he'd waded waist deep into the river to the afterlife and somehow made it back.

Still, it was fine. Whatever happened, his true intentions hadn't been discovered.

If he just kept doing his job as coachman diligently, like now, if he could avoid stirring up those monsters' tempers and make it to the Holy Kingdom in one piece, everything would work out.

Always smile. Always stay humble. Always work hard.

That was what Johnson was thinking as he went to do the dishes.

"Yah!"

Whoosh!

Kwaaaaang!

"Ah! Didn't control my strength again."

"........."

"Way off target too. Still, it's fine. I'll do better next time."

The mysterious creature, having launched a fireball of terrifying power with a completely casual expression, shifted back into the shape of a cat.

That one right there was the being who kept Johnson's nerves stretched tightest.

The two Sword Masters were basically well mannered, at least. They didn't look down on him for being a coachman, and their tone was always gentle.

If not for their monstrous swordsmanship, he'd have found them about as harmless as a cactus.

But this creature, whether cat or human, was completely impossible to predict.

"No way! Cats don't eat this kind of thing!"

"But if I transform and eat it, it's actually pretty good."

"But transforming is way too much effort!"

"Still, the more I do it, the more my Sorcery seems to improve, so it feels worthwhile."

"Even so, next time I'd like a proper cat dish made just for me!"

Even over the course of a single meal, her mood swung so wildly that Johnson had no idea how he was supposed to keep up with her.

Still, it was fortunate that putting Lulu, that mysterious creature, in a good mood a few times had earned him a decent side income.

His coin purse already held twelve gleaming golden mice.

Of course, until this job was safely finished, he couldn't afford to let his guard down.

"The dishes are done, and I've got the bedding ready."

"Thanks, as always."

"Thank you."

"Thanks!"

"Not at all. It's my job. Well then, I'll go take a quick look around the area."

Johnson bowed his head and set off, partly to stretch his legs and partly to stand watch. Given their strength, of course, it was a pointless gesture.

But he had to make himself scarce on purpose anyway.

'Every time I'm not around, they seem to talk about something private. Best to get out of the way on my own so I don't rub them the wrong way.'

He'd overheard a little, once.

He hadn't caught the name properly, but it seemed the three of them were headed to meet someone in the Holy Kingdom.

Their expressions at the time had left a strong impression on him. They'd looked visibly tense.

'Who on earth are they going to meet that people who are already Sword Masters would look like that?'

If those three teamed up, they could probably beat down a Demonoid, maybe even a real demon.

After mulling it over for a moment, Johnson shook his head and brushed the thought away.

Sometimes ignorance was a blessing. Sharp as he was, he decided not to involve himself in their business any further.

"Ugh, cold. Guess I'll head back now?"

Of course, deciding not to get involved didn't mean he had to wander around sleepless forever.

Thirty, forty minutes had already passed, so he figured it was fine to head back now.

Johnson walked back making sure to announce his presence loudly, then chuckled to himself.

'Wait, my opponents are a Sword Master and a cat... right? Well, something cat-like anyway. What am I even doing right now?'

Whether he made a racket or tried his hardest to stay silent wouldn't matter to them at all.

They'd have absurdly sharp senses, no doubt.

Thinking that, he approached the campsite, only to find an unexpected scene waiting for him.

The two Sword Masters sat side by side, holding hands.

"I'll say it again, you don't need to worry so much. When you were a kid, it must have felt enormous, but it won't be like that now. Once you actually meet, I bet it'll turn out to be less than you think."

"...Do you really think so?"

The mood was deeply serious, as if they were comforting each other over something.

Johnson stood there flustered, watching the two of them so absorbed in conversation that they hadn't even noticed he'd returned, when the cat, curled up in a ball, got up and spoke.

"Johnson's back?"

"Ah, you're back?"

"........."

"Huh? Ah! Yes! I'm back!"

Johnson blurted out the confirmation in a dazed voice.

Lulu nodded and drifted back to sleep, and Airen Farreira greeted him with a faint smile.

But Illia Lindsay was not the same.

"...I'll go take a short walk around."

Rising with an expressionless face, she turned and vanished somewhere.

Airen looked flustered, and Lulu woke back up too.

He said.

"What's gotten into her all of a sudden?"

"Beats me..."

"Need to pee?"

"Doesn't seem like it."

Watching the two of them talk with absolutely no read on the situation, Johnson quietly sighed to himself.

'That woman's in for some heartache.'

Honestly, they were both hopelessly oblivious.

Of course, he had no intention of getting involved. Lying down quietly for the night, he made a note to himself: from now on, announce his return even louder.

* * *

Before long the year turned over, and another month passed. The chilly winds of early February brushed past Airen Farreira's group.

Of course, time wasn't the only thing that had changed. The place they were in had changed too.

Thanks to Johnson's devoted driving, they'd reached the continent's central region earlier than planned.

Delighted by this, Lulu pulled out a treasure from her Sorcery pouch.

"Good work. Keep it up!"

"Thank you! Thank you so much!"

Johnson received the gold nugget shaped like a cat holding a fish in its mouth and bowed his head nearly to the ground.

He wasn't the least bit afraid of this cat Sorcerer anymore. She was simply too adorable.

Sure, her personality was a little erratic.

But it didn't matter one bit. Being erratic didn't mean she hurt anyone, and even when she got upset occasionally, she got over it fast.

A gentle scratch under the chin and on top of the head solved everything.

The trickier one, if anything, was the silver haired woman, Illia Lindsay.

Waking up every night as if something was tormenting her, meeting her eyes whenever it happened sent a chill straight down Johnson's spine.

He understood now.

Who exactly the gifted daughter of House Lindsay was so conscious of.

Why the three of them were heading to the Holy Kingdom.

Of course, he never once spoke his thoughts aloud. He simply kept quietly to his own duties.

"Salad and a chicken dish, one large helping of either pork or beef, and a fish dish that's easy to debone. Right this way, please!"

Johnson finished placing the order in no time and claimed a table. Two humans and one cat followed his lead without a word.

Seemingly pleased at claiming the last available table, Lulu grinned and said.

"Hope the fish here is good."

"...?"

Johnson felt a few glances land on them for a moment, but he paid it no mind.

He'd been through this plenty of times already. He waited quietly for the attention to pass, and the others waited for their food without comment either.

Fortunately, nothing came of it.

The place was noisy with all the people inside, and the few who'd caught Lulu's words seemed to assume they'd misheard.

More than anything, most people's attention was fixed on a different table entirely.

A middle aged mercenary took a sip of beer and kept talking, his voice tinged with excitement.

"I'm telling you, this dungeon's going to be something else. Probably the biggest find in the last hundred years, easy. At least dating back to the Dragon King's era, maybe even further."

"Come on, no way. Haven't most dungeons already been cleared out fifty years ago?"

"Huh, dungeon talk."

Lulu, who'd perked her ears up, turned her head with a look that said her interest had already cooled.

She used to be plenty interested in dungeons and ancient ruins, but not anymore.

That was thanks to everything she'd picked up traveling with Kubharu.

More importantly, the man who'd asked the follow up question had a point.

Ever since the demons retreated to the demon realm a hundred and fifty years ago, countless dungeons had been cleared out, one after another.

Nations had mobilized entire expeditions to claim artifacts carrying a hero's legacy or holy relics infused with divine power, so by now, whatever was left was probably just small scale hideouts belonging to nameless mages.

Illia and Johnson both knew this too, so they showed much the same attitude as Lulu.

But Airen was different.

Watching him stare at the drunk mercenary with unusually serious eyes, Lulu asked.

"What's up, Airen?"

"Just, got a feeling..."

"A feeling?"

"Yeah. Feels like there's something important coming, something that matters to me."

"Really? Then we should listen."

At Airen's words, Lulu turned her head back toward the mercenary, and even Illia, who'd been wearing a bored expression, brightened with interest.

Johnson was baffled.

Could one word, "feeling," really shift their whole attitude this much? Not understanding a Sorcerer's intuition, he had no choice but to think that.

Either way, the conversation kept flowing.

The city state of Calven, having grasped the scale of the dungeon, had tried to move quickly to claim it, only to draw pushback from neighboring kingdoms. Because of that, conflict between the three nations had nearly broken out.

And finally, to mediate the dispute, or maybe just to get a piece of the pie, the Holy Kingdom had dispatched a knight order.

"Word is the Black Knight Commander herself, Ignet Crescentia, might be coming in person."

"Wow, Airen! You called it! You've turned into quite the Sorcerer!"

"........."

Lulu praised Airen in an admiring voice, while Illia sank into her own complicated thoughts, her eyes clouded.

Johnson sat there blankly.

He'd already known these people were beyond his understanding, but somehow, one shocking thing after another kept happening.

Airen, though, didn't look particularly satisfied.

He smiled a little and thought it over carefully.

'Was Ignet who I had in mind?'

He wasn't sure.

Sure, the purpose of this journey really was Ignet, and it was good to gather related information here before making the trip for nothing, but...