WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Dionysus
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Chapter 202: An Unexpected Encounter (1)
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Joshua Lindsay.
The current head of House Lindsay, and a swordsman powerful enough to rank among the continent's Ten Great Swordsmen.
And Illia Lindsay's father.
At the sight of him, Illia could only stare blankly for a moment.
Where was she?
A territory in Lavath Kingdom, at the center of the continent.
Her father should have been in Adan Kingdom, one of the Western Five Kingdoms. It made no sense for him to be here.
Of course, that thought did not last long.
Her father. Her dad.
The moment she saw Joshua Lindsay's face, expression, and eyes for the first time in two years, Illia felt the bond of family more deeply than even her longing for him.
But then a tangle of emotions rose again and held her back.
‘What do I look like right now?’
She remembered the look on her father's face when she told him she was leaving to train two years ago.
That was when she first learned that the man known as the coldest and most composed head among the Five Great Sword Houses could make that kind of expression.
But she had not seen it then.
All she saw, all she could think of, was Ignet Crescentia.
She had left her house without looking back. Then she had continued training only to show others what she could do.
No, that was no longer true either.
Illia's thoughts grew even more tangled.
She knew her past self had been wrong.
She knew that her obsession with Ignet had ruined her, and that her fixation on others' opinions had broken her down.
It was time to walk a different path.
But she still could not do that.
‘I'm still being swayed. I'm still bound by it.’
She was weak and pathetic. Even now, her emotions were unstable enough to crumble at a single word of recognition from Ignet...
Illia Lindsay had fallen apart so completely in an instant that she wondered whether she had been mentally stronger in Proof Land.
Then what had the past two years of training meant? What had all that hardship meant, the hardship she had endured even while ignoring her parents' attempts to stop her?
One thought led to another. Waves of emotion surged through her again.
Unable to lift her sword or look into the eyes of the father she had finally met again, Illia lowered her head weakly.
She could not bring herself to say anything.
It did not matter.
“It's all right.”
Her father's voice was gentler and warmer than ever.
No. That was not it.
Her father had always been the same.
To everyone else, Joshua Lindsay was the cold and distant head of a sword house. But to his daughter, he had always been kinder and gentler than anyone.
It was not that her father had not been warm. She had simply been unable to feel that warmth.
Only after so much time had passed did she realize it.
Joshua approached her.
He pulled his daughter tightly into his arms and comforted her once more.
“It's all right. Everything will be all right.”
“...”
“You have nothing to worry about. I mean it. I'm not just saying that.”
Like a girl exhausted after a long voyage finally setting foot on solid ground, Illia Lindsay cried for a long time in her father's firm, broad, warm embrace.
She poured everything out and emptied herself, as though she were about to begin again from the start.
A short while passed.
Joshua Lindsay quietly watched his daughter, who had fallen asleep before he realized it, then spoke to Emma Garcia, the escort knight standing behind him.
“Take care of my daughter.”
“At your command, my lord.”
“She seems to have suffered greatly. Look after her well.”
“...Forgive me for speaking out of turn, but I believe the young lady is far better now than she was two years ago.”
Emma Garcia spoke without changing her expression. Joshua paused at her words, then gave an ambiguous smile.
He replied.
“That is a rather ambiguous thing to say. I cannot tell whether it is good or bad.”
“I meant it in a good way. She will only get better from here.”
“...”
“Forgive my presumption.”
“No. I am not so narrow-minded. You have watched over my daughter more closely than anyone, so you are probably right.”
After entrusting his daughter to Emma, Joshua looked in one direction.
The warmth had vanished from his face, replaced by his usual cold expression.
Remembering the information he had forced from Perry Martinez, he gave one final instruction before turning away.
“I'm counting on you.”
“Yes, my lord.”
* * *
“Earn Kun's recognition. If you do, I will acknowledge your place in the force as well.”
“...”
“Surely you know who Kun is?”
“Of course I do.”
Airen Farreira nodded.
Perhaps he would not have known just after leaving his territory, but now he had gained a fair amount of common sense thanks to Kubharu.
There was no way he would not know a swordsman as famous as Kun.
The reason he had stayed silent was that Julius Hyul's words had been unexpected.
Airen thought with a serious expression.
‘Kun? But where...?’
Where could he even find him?
That was the important part.
He could understand the condition itself, that he had to earn Kun's recognition.
This was no ordinary matter. It would determine whether he was qualified to join the Demon Subjugation Force.
He had naturally expected the name of someone on the level of one of the Ten Great Swordsmen.
But there could only be one reason Julius had specifically mentioned Kun, whose whereabouts were unknown.
‘He doesn't want me in the force.’
Was it because his dissatisfaction had shown so clearly?
Julius Hyul looked at Airen with a stern expression.
“I can plainly see what you're thinking. But I have no such intention. More importantly... are you confident?”
“...”
“You're far more absurd than I thought. You know Kun's name, but it seems you don't truly know what kind of man he is.”
The moment he heard that, Airen felt his mind clear.
He raised his head and examined the members of the Purification Order one by one.
He did more than merely look. He inspected them closely with his Eyes That See Aura and all five senses.
It could have been considered rude.
Yet it made him realize once again that not one of those participating in the subjugation force was weaker than him.
“Kun is not an easy man. He has stricter standards than anyone and a more discerning eye than anyone.”
“...”
“It means that even if you worked for years as you are now, it would not be enough.”
It was almost a reprimand.
Still, Airen could not refute it.
Perhaps he had grown a little overexcited.
After meeting his Past Life self, learning the Heart Sword from Ignet, and balancing Metal energy with Fire Energy, arrogance seemed to have filled him without his noticing.
‘Get a hold of yourself.’
Airen recalled the Jester Demon. Then he recalled the other demons as well.
He remembered the terrible, overwhelming power Karakum and Tarakhan had told him about.
He had to become stronger.
Much, much stronger than he was now.
The flame of determination rose in him again and set Airen ablaze.
The heat in his heart escaped with his breath, then shone from his eyes.
An aura no one could ignore poured from the young hero's entire body.
Yet no one was watching him.
Sensing that the atmosphere had changed, Airen turned toward where everyone was looking.
Then he was startled.
“...!”
A middle-aged man with a cold impression.
The man looked as though he had been carved from ice and stood in the training ground as if he had been there from the beginning.
He had appeared without a sound or trace of presence, as though a soft breeze had slipped in.
Still, even he could not escape Airen's Eyes That See Aura.
Airen instinctively assessed the man's full strength, then looked even more shocked.
‘He's almost as strong as the former Red Knight Commander!’
Considering that he was far younger, his Aura was truly incredible.
At that moment, Airen half realized who the man was.
There could only be one swordsman in the world with silver hair that seemed to hold moonlight, a swordsman whose skill rivaled Quincy Myers.
‘Illia's father! Why is he here...?’
“I heard this matter was meant to be handled in secret.”
Airen's thoughts went no further. Joshua Lindsay's voice, as cold as his appearance, rang through the area.
At once, the elders of the Purification Order, who seemed as though they would never care about anyone's opinion, averted their eyes. That was another shock.
‘What is going on?’
Airen's eyes darted back and forth.
Julius Hyul, Quincy Myers, Ignet Crescentia, and Joshua Lindsay all came into view.
He could not predict what would happen next.
What would Joshua do after appearing in Lavath so suddenly?
Would he settle matters with an old ill-fated connection he had not seen in a long time?
Did he already know about the demons? Was that why he had come here?
If so, would he set aside his personal feelings and speak of that matter first?
It was none of those.
After a brief pause, Joshua Lindsay looked steadily at Julius Hyul.
“I have many questions, but let's save them for later.”
“Very well.”
“More importantly, may I take this young man for a moment?”
“Do as you please. I have taken care of everything here.”
“Understood. Follow me.”
‘Huh?’
Joshua turned around. Airen watched him walk away with a flustered expression.
Julius Hyul scolded him.
“What are you doing? Why aren't you following him?”
“Ah, yes!”
“Wait, I'm coming too, Airen!”
Airen answered without thinking, then hurried after the head of House Lindsay.
Lulu, who had been standing there blankly without understanding the situation, followed him as well.
Watching the three quickly move away, Quincy Myers spoke.
“This has become troublesome.”
“Mm.”
Julius Hyul nodded.
It appeared Joshua had heard most of the story from Perry Martinez, including that his daughter had become involved with a powerful demon and that the Purification Order intended to hunt demons on their own while keeping the information under wraps.
The poor relationship between Joshua and Ignet also made the situation more uncomfortable.
Julius sighed as he thought of the conversation with Joshua Lindsay that would follow.
“At least there's one fortunate thing.”
“What do you mean, Senior?”
“That young man has distracted the House Head's attention.”
“Hmm.”
Joshua was famously devoted to his daughter. A young man around her would naturally be what bothered him most.
Julius muttered under his breath and shook his head.
Having remained single his entire life, he could not understand such behavior.
* * *
‘Amazing!’
As he followed behind Joshua Lindsay, Airen Farreira recalled what had just happened.
At first, everything had unfolded so quickly that he had not had time to think. But looking back now, it had truly been an incredible sight.
‘He subdued Paladins who would each be difficult to face alone with nothing but a look!’
Airen could see why Joshua was the head of House Lindsay.
At the same time, the desire to cross swords with him rose inside him.
What had driven Airen to become strong until now?
Of course, the greatest reason was his connection to his Past Life. But constantly meeting powerful opponents, crossing blades with them, and receiving their inspiration and guidance had also played a major part.
That was why Airen's eyes, as he looked at Joshua's back, could not help being full of admiration and longing.
The head of House Lindsay, called the greatest among the Five Great Sword Houses!
How incredible was his swordsmanship?
It had to be far greater than what Illia had shown him.
He wanted to face a complete Sky Sword!
Countless thoughts rose in his mind.
Perhaps because of Julius Hyul's words that he was still far too lacking, those thoughts only grew stronger with time.
“Airen Farreira.”
Then, in another empty training ground, Joshua Lindsay turned around.
“I heard you are very close to my daughter.”
“Huh? Ah, yes, I am.”
“You are?”
“...?”
Joshua's tone was strangely sharp as he began pressing him.
“I heard that the four of you travel together, yet now I see you are alone.”
“...?”
“Did you set this up?”
“Pardon?”
“I'm asking whether you pulled some stunt so you could deliberately be alone with my daughter.”
“Pardon?”
“Huh? No! I'm here too! Me too!”
Boing! Boing!
Lulu jumped up and down in front of Joshua Lindsay.
It was as if she were insisting that she was also a member of the party and should not be ignored.
But Joshua paid her no attention.
Even if a cat could speak, it was still a cat.
With an expression far harsher than usual, Joshua asked Airen again.
“Did you pull some stunt?”
“N-No. A stunt? What do you mean...?”
“So you did not?”
“I didn't! Really!”
“...Is that so?”
“Yes!”
Airen answered desperately.
Without even knowing exactly what he was defending himself against, he nodded for his life. The thought that he had to do so overwhelmed his mind.
But Joshua Lindsay was not easy to deal with.
After a brief pause, he spoke.
“Is my daughter so unappealing that you do not even feel like making a move?”
“Huh? What are you...?”
“This will not do. Draw your sword.”
Shiiing!
The sound of a sword leaving its sheath echoed ominously.
Airen swallowed hard.
Joshua Lindsay was staring at him with an utterly serious expression.
He spoke again.
“Draw your sword.”
“...”
“If you don't, I can't be responsible for what happens.”
Whoosh!
Thud!
Airen hastily summoned his sword. Joshua Lindsay rushed at him.
The House Head's Sky Sword that Airen had wanted so desperately to experience came at him with savage force.
Of course, he did not want to see it now.
Airen Farreira's thoughts had changed completely from moments ago, and he swung his sword to survive.
A terror entirely different from what he had felt when facing demons swept over his entire body.
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