WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Dionysus
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 201: You're Not Enough (3)
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“...?”
Airen Farreira looked bewildered at the words of Quincy Myers, the former Red Knight Commander.
Of course, he had prepared a strike that could not be ignored.
With unlimited preparation time, something impossible in actual combat, he had drawn out two hundred percent of his strength.
Even so, it was not enough to make his opponent speak of defeat.
‘...When it comes to swordsmanship alone, he feels even stronger than Karakum.’
Now that they stood face-to-face, Airen could tell.
It was not simply that Quincy possessed an enormous amount of Aura.
His mind shone like the stars in the sky, his body had been honed to the limit despite the passing years, and his Aura was controlled perfectly through experience and wisdom.
On top of that, some unprecedented power, likely holy power, protected his entire body.
‘And someone like that is surrendering this easily?’
He could not understand it.
Perhaps Quincy read the look in Airen’s eyes. Lowering his sword, he explained.
“It’s because I might get injured.”
“...You mean me?”
“No, of course I mean myself.”
“...?”
“It’s not that I can’t block your attack. But... I’ll be honest. You’re far stronger than I expected. Even if I focus entirely on defense, I won’t be able to avoid getting hurt. Of course, if I can block it, I win, but...”
After a brief pause, Quincy continued.
“If I get injured trying to protect my pointless pride, wouldn’t that interfere with carrying out God’s command?”
“...I see. Understood.”
Airen nodded.
He felt a little ashamed.
He had been swept up in personal desire without giving any thought to what came afterward, while Quincy placed demon subjugation and the peace of the continent above all else.
Still, he did not regret it.
At last, he understood.
He did not need to walk only one path.
He could walk the path of a hero and the path of a swordsman at the same time.
At that very moment, the conviction that such ambition would lead him higher settled firmly within him.
Naturally, Quincy had no interest in Airen’s thoughts.
Turning around, he looked at the other Sword Masters, Julius Hyul, and the Purification Order members.
“What do you think? He’s much better than we expected.”
“He’s not merely decent.”
“Did you say he’s twenty-three? What was I doing at that age...?”
“I don’t remember. It was nearly a hundred years ago.”
“I may be old, but I’m not as old as you, Senior. I remember.”
“We’re all growing old, yet you say something so hurtful...”
“Why do you old men always wander off into pointless chatter?”
The atmosphere became as noisy as a marketplace in an instant. Put kindly, it felt warm and familiar. Put badly, they looked like a group of foolish old men.
There was nothing dignified about them as Paladins.
Of course, Airen, Lulu, and Illia could not interrupt. They quietly waited for the Purification Order’s discussion to end.
One person, however, did.
Someone decades, perhaps nearly a century younger than them, yet whose skill was recognized by all.
Ignet Crescentia, the current Commander of the Black Knight Order, quietly joined their conversation.
“Isn’t it too early to make a decision?”
“Hmm? What do you mean...?”
“Airen Farreira is not the only one who came here.”
Ignet looked in a certain direction.
The Purification Order followed her gaze, and the person they had forgotten came into view.
Illia Lindsay.
The Commander of the Black Knight Order pointed toward Illia and said,
“If Airen Farreira has the qualifications, then it is only right to say that Illia Lindsay has them as well.”
“...”
“That is my opinion.”
Whoosh!
Intense attention fell upon Illia. Though it was not directed at him, Airen felt as if a fierce gust had swept past him.
The paladins’ gazes were that intense and sharp.
Ignet’s unexpected recommendation.
The sudden change in atmosphere.
Even then, Illia’s expression did not change.
“...”
No, that was not quite right.
Outwardly, little had changed.
But Airen and Lulu, who had watched her for a long time, could tell.
Behind her stiff expression, countless emotions were swirling.
“Excuse me.”
Illia turned away.
Then she disappeared at a faster pace than usual, no, faster still.
Her expression never broke. Still, a few perceptive people noticed the subtle shift in her eyes.
“What was that? What’s wrong with her?”
“Did we do something wrong?”
“Was it because we stared at her too much...?”
“Ah, I get it. That young lady, she...”
“Huh? Ah, I see.”
The Purification Order grew noisy again.
This time, though, they quickly reached a conclusion. They had finally remembered the troubled relationship between Ignet and House Lindsay.
Someone with whom Illia shared a bitter history.
What feelings could arise when she received recognition and goodwill from Ignet?
“It’s complicated, very complicated.”
“You can say that again.”
The paladins shook their heads one after another.
Airen and Lulu did not look at them.
They only kept watching Illia’s back as she disappeared into the distance.
Lulu was a Sorcerer who could peer into hearts, but even she could not read everything.
Recently, Illia had changed so much that even they struggled to understand her.
‘...She seemed so steadfast, like she had become someone else.’
The worries, anxiety, and concerns she had felt before arriving in Lavath seemed to have vanished, replaced by a proud, confident air.
She stood her ground against the nobles’ whispers, and even before Ignet, she had spoken her mind without the slightest hesitation.
Watching her, Airen and Lulu had thought their concern for Illia had been unnecessary.
They thought she had shaken everything off and stood up again without them even noticing.
...Only now did they understand.
Illia had not looked all right because she truly was all right.
The expression she had worn before leaving had nearly broken, showing that she was only barely holding back the waves raging within her.
“Let’s return to the matter at hand.”
Airen’s thoughts were cut short. The disorderly atmosphere caused by the Purification Order elders’ chatter was brought under control at once.
At Julius Hyul’s brief words, the Holy Kingdom’s strongest swordsman, everyone’s attention focused on him.
Airen swallowed at the powerful presence that made it impossible to believe Julius was an eighty-year-old man.
A moment later, a deep voice came from his mouth.
“You will not be permitted to join the subjugation force. The reason is that you lack the necessary skill.”
“...”
“You have more than enough potential. But this is not a place one can enter on potential alone.”
If there was one saving grace, Julius did not simply turn Airen away with a few words. He took the time to explain his thoughts.
It was unusual for a man who normally spoke so little.
His judgment was this.
The spread of demonic activity across the continent would bring tremendous chaos and could cause the rift to the Demon Realm to open again.
To prevent that, the subjugation force had to be formed with as few people as possible.
And Airen’s abilities fell far short of what was needed to be included among those few.
Quincy took over after Julius finished explaining.
“He’s right. Even if we increase our numbers or receive support, it won’t be your turn. It would be more reasonable to recruit Karakum from the northwest, the Five Great Sword Houses of the west, or the three house heads of Runtel Kingdom.”
“...”
“What do you say? Can you accept that?”
He had no choice but to accept it.
Airen was strong.
He was one of the hundred Sword Masters in the world and had awakened numerous abilities, including the Five Elements Divine Technique.
He had confidence that he would grow stronger, along with a will that would never break.
If the task had been to subjugate Demonoids or monsters, he could likely have made a contribution anywhere.
But if the question was whether he could do the same against a Great Demon...
Whenever he thought of those more suitable than himself, he could not hold his head high.
...At least, not yet.
“If I become stronger.”
“...”
“If I become stronger than I am now. If I gain enough strength that I will not fall before the evil power of the Jester Demon, or any other demon...”
Airen took a breath, then spoke with force.
“Will you accept me as a member of the subjugation force then?”
“Our goal is to finish this before you grow that strong.”
Whoosh!
Julius spoke. At the same time, an impenetrable, flawless pressure closed around Airen’s body.
The pressure was strong enough to raise goosebumps on Lulu’s skin.
The young hero did not back down.
The Purification Order remained silent as Airen stared at the Holy Kingdom’s strongest swordsman with an intense gaze that weighed more than a thousand words. Ignet wore a faint, curious smile.
A minute passed.
Airen was drenched in sweat, as if he had been splashed with water, when Julius spoke.
“Kun.”
“...”
“Find Kun. If you earn his recognition... then I will reconsider.”
* * *
Faster. Faster still.
Illia moved farther and farther away, eventually running rather than walking, until she stopped in an unfamiliar clearing.
Why?
There was no need to ask.
Ignet’s words had brought her back to an earlier memory, one from the banquet hall.
‘...She did not give me even the slightest attention.’
The memory remained vivid.
Ignet had emerged from a golden portal, still radiating heat like the sun. Her gaze had remained fixed on Airen from beginning to end.
As if Illia did not even exist. As if Airen, standing beside her, was the only opponent worthy of her notice.
That was when Illia realized it.
The anger, anxiety, jealousy, and obsession she had harbored were all one-sided emotions.
From then on, Illia decided to erase Ignet Crescentia, whom she had carried in her heart her entire life, from her heart.
‘I can do it. It’ll be much easier. This is right.’
She remembered the time she had cursed at the other nobles in the banquet hall.
None of the things she had worried about happened. Instead, the emotions she had suppressed for so long had poured out, leaving her refreshed and relieved.
Then she understood the freedom and release that came when she stopped caring what others thought of her.
Once she let go of every feeling she held for Ignet, that exhilaration would come to her again.
It had to.
But...
‘In the end, I couldn’t do it.’
Pant. Pant.
Her breathing grew rough.
For some reason, she could not stand still. Looking around, Illia drew her sword.
Then she began swinging it wildly.
Whoosh!
She knew.
She had said she would free herself from Ignet, but in truth, she had failed.
Whoosh!
She had overcome the dungeon’s first trial and broken through the second barrier.
All because Ignet had remained on her mind.
She had given it everything she had, and then more, so Ignet would no longer be able to ignore her. So she could somehow make Ignet turn and look at her.
For a brief time, a gentle yet fierce flame had come to her, granting strength beyond her usual limits.
Whoooooosh!
Even so, she had struggled desperately not to let it show.
She kept her face blank, as if Ignet meant nothing to her, and forced the tremor from her voice.
She struggled not to show even a trace of respect, attention, or anything else directed at Ignet. Thinking back, that was what she had done.
Illia knew the truth.
She knew it was because she had not been able to erase those feelings.
Woooooong!
Forget it. Forget all of it. I have to forget.
Illia violently shook her head and unleashed her Heart Sword. She tried to ignore the thought that it was an ability she had learned from Ignet.
Even thinking that way meant Ignet was still on her mind. She had simply made a choice that would help her future.
No, it was difficult to say this was an ability she had gained through Ignet’s help in the first place.
The Heart Sword she held was, after all, a sword born because of Airen.
She did not possess the grand desire to protect the world, but the wish to protect her precious friend alone had been enough to awaken the ability.
Yes, this was a sword created with Airen’s help, not Ignet’s.
Yet even that thought could not completely erase Illia’s anguish.
‘In the end, am I someone who can only be swayed by others?’
‘I stopped caring what others thought? Ignet is still on my mind. I’m still only receiving help from Airen.’
‘Can’t I walk my own path? Is that it? Like before, like now, even in the future, am I destined to live dependent on someone else...?’
Whoooooosh!
Illia’s sword became fiercer.
The thoughts spilling from her blade whipped up a wind, then a storm.
The Heart Sword that had blended into her Aura swayed wildly as well.
Confusion that even her inborn talent for the sword could not control began to devour her surroundings.
As if in reaction to all she had endured for so long, uncontrollable emotions tore through the air and clawed across the earth.
What stopped her was a man’s voice.
“Illia.”
A voice she had not heard in a long time.
Yet one more familiar, warmer, and more comforting than anything else.
Illia’s emotions settled. They settled so quickly that even she was surprised.
Turning her head, she saw who had called to her.
Then she spoke.
“Dad.”
“Yes, my daughter.”
A middle-aged man with fierce, cold features.
Yet his soft smile was warm enough to eclipse it all.
Joshua Lindsay, the greatest swordsman in the Adan Kingdom, appeared before his daughter.
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