WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Dionysus
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 209: Let's Go Together (1)
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After Ignet, Julius Hyul, and the members of the Purification Order departed, Lavath's territory became far quieter than before.
That was not to say the Holy Kingdom's guests had been especially noisy.
It simply felt emptier now that the Black Knight Order, who had officially been staying in Lavath as its guests, along with the people from Phalanke and Calven, had all returned to their respective countries at once.
Even so, one place still rang with thunderous noise.
The training grounds.
Airen Farreira had left a powerful impression on the continent's strongest figures, first during the championship match at the Proof Land, then in his battle against the Jester Demon.
Joshua Lindsay was a swordsman known as the greatest talent of the previous generation. Despite his relatively young age, he was considered stronger than the heads of the other Five Great Sword Houses.
Their sparring had been fierce and brutal both before and after the Purification Order's departure.
Boom!
“Urgh...”
“Are you going to lose your balance over something so minor?”
No, it had become even more intense.
The reason was obvious. Joshua Lindsay had decided to make it so.
As the head of House Lindsay drove Airen back relentlessly, an event from a few days ago surfaced in his mind.
His beloved daughter had come to see him in person for the first time in years and asked him for advice.
He had given Illia Lindsay the best counsel he could, with all his heart.
Drawing on the experience, maturity, and wisdom he had accumulated over the course of his fifty years, he had given an answer that even he thought was quite good. Since that day, his daughter had been much more cheerful every day.
Taken only that far, it was a wonderful and rewarding thing. There was no reason for him to be angry as he was now.
But...
‘To think the reason she ran outside the moment she heard me was to meet that brat!’
Illia hated having anyone interfere with her private life. Even her father was no exception.
Yet he had been unable to contain his curiosity, so he had quietly followed his daughter that day. And, as if it were only natural, Airen had been waiting there when Illia arrived.
He still remembered it clearly.
His daughter smiling far more brightly than she ever had for him.
What irritated him even more was that the brat had responded so lukewarmly to her.
‘Is your sword really that important to you, you bastard?!’
Of course, Joshua understood.
Airen had fought a demon, met Ignet, and spoken with Julius Hyul, one of the continent's strongest swordsmen.
He had even been given the task of earning the recognition of Kun, another of the strongest.
If, under those circumstances, he had cast aside his training to spend nothing but warm, happy moments with Joshua's daughter, Joshua would have been furious in a different way.
But.
But...
‘Still, I can't forgive you for putting my daughter completely on the back burner!’
Crunch!
Joshua tightened his grip.
Power surged alongside his boiling emotions.
The Aura Sword, refined through the secrets of the Sky Sword, stretched out. It was no longer an ordinary blade, but a sharp current of wind.
In an instant, the sword wind split into seven fragments and flew toward Airen one after another.
Thoom!
Thooom!
Thoom!
“Ugh!”
Airen let out a groan.
Each gust felt different.
One pressed down on him with crushing weight, while another felt strangely hollow, making all the tension he had built up seem pointless.
The gusts that came at him together when he lost his balance kept his hands busy. Still, he barely managed to block them.
There was no time to rest.
Joshua had already moved behind him, and this time, he charged in with his sword in hand.
Airen hurriedly twisted his body and swung his sword in a wide arc from the lower right to the upper left.
The terrifying force behind it seemed capable of blowing away even a typhoon.
Swish.
But the head of House Lindsay's sword had already become a steel butterfly.
It sharply cut through the wind, opening a gap, then moved with ease. Before Airen knew it, Joshua had placed his blade against his neck.
“Is that all you've got?”
“No!”
“Your voice still sounds fine. I can be rougher with you.”
“Please do!”
Airen bowed deeply, then took his stance once more.
His breathing was ragged. Muscles pushed past their limits screamed in pain, and his Aura, which was usually so full, was on the verge of running dry.
His senses, though, shone with sharp clarity.
Airen could clearly feel Joshua's sword path, his Aura, and even the strangely unpleasant emotions directed at him.
Still, he did not try to correct Joshua's misunderstanding.
In truth, it was closer to saying that he could not correct it. When it came to Illia, no explanation could get through to Joshua.
Yet thanks to those emotions, Airen was able to train at a far higher intensity and spar in a way much closer to real combat.
It was nearly as savage as the pressure Karakum had shown him after Airen boldly declared that he would walk the path of a hero.
He liked that harsh pressure.
He liked that murderous atmosphere.
He felt that anything less would make it difficult to catch up to Ignet Crescentia, who had already gone so far ahead.
‘Opportunities like this are rare.’
Feeling the head of House Lindsay's sword charging at him again, Airen awakened his senses.
With his blood hot but his mind cool, he calculated the best possible movement.
Joshua was not swinging his sword solely to torment him.
Though it was more violent than necessary, it still had all the qualities of an instructive spar.
He gave Airen trials that could only be overcome through sound judgment.
He presented obstacles that could only be broken through by choosing the best option.
If Airen failed, Joshua made him repeat it until he succeeded.
Rather than spell things out, he gave hints little by little through his sword, guiding Airen to think for himself and grow.
Boom!
‘The atmosphere is savage and merciless, but his way of teaching is incredibly kind and thoughtful.’
Airen smiled.
Joshua really was a good person. Naturally, he was Illia's father.
Airen scraped together every bit of strength left in his body and counterattacked. Joshua's eyes gleamed at the sight.
He really was a decent kid.
That did not mean Joshua could go easy on him!
“Hup!”
The head of House Lindsay shouted and struck with even greater power. It was an attack that Airen could never have blocked before now.
Yet for some reason, Airen felt he could block it this time.
No, that was not it.
If he can't block it, it can't be helped. He can get treatment and recover quickly enough.
Caught between pride and irritation, Joshua swung his sword as though he did not care what happened.
That was when a clear voice rang out from behind him.
“Dad.”
Fwoooong!
The moment Joshua heard his daughter's voice, he changed his sword's path. Airen let out a sigh of relief as he watched the blade pass by him.
He definitely would not have been able to block that last strike. Over Joshua's shoulder, he saw Illia smiling brightly.
That expression lasted only a moment.
Illia frowned at Joshua and spoke in a sharp voice.
“Isn't that a little too harsh?”
“No, this is... Right, Airen wanted me to go this hard.”
“Really?”
“That's right. Isn't it, Airen?”
“...Yes.”
“You seemed to hesitate.”
“...Airen looks too exhausted to answer right away. Let's take a short break while we're at it.”
“Understood.”
“Hmph.”
Airen dropped heavily to the ground while Joshua watched his daughter's reaction.
Illia looked back and forth between the two of them.
Silence hung in the air for a moment. Then Illia moved closer to Airen and sat down beside him.
“...”
Joshua's expression stiffened for an instant, but he did not show it any further.
In front of his daughter, he had to maintain a gentle expression at all times.
The head of House Lindsay repeated the thought to himself and composed his features, trying to appear mature.
Then his daughter's next words made him cry out in shock, dignity forgotten.
“Airen, do you want to come to House Lindsay?”
“Huh?”
“What?!”
“...”
“...”
The air turned cold.
Joshua's voice had been that loud.
His expression was a sight to behold. His usual dignified look had vanished, and his mouth hung so wide open that he looked foolish.
Illia glanced at her father and let out a small sigh.
That reaction drove another nail into Joshua's heart, but she paid it no attention.
Turning back to Airen, Illia said, “Dad and I are returning to House Lindsay soon. We can't stay here forever.”
“Ah, right.”
Airen nodded.
They were planning to begin a secret demon subjugation campaign, but a handful of Purification Order members could not search the entire continent on their own.
They needed support from the high-ranking figures of each country, and Joshua was one of those figures.
In other words, he could not remain tied to Lavath forever.
Besides, Illia no longer had any reason to travel in search of training.
She had told him a few days ago.
It felt as though her long wandering had finally ended. She had found her path, and now all she had to do was keep striving forward along it.
‘Come to think of it, it would be better for her to train at House Lindsay from now on.’
The thought made his heart grow heavy.
He had felt the same way when he parted with Brett, Judith, and Karakum, but saying goodbye to Illia left Airen with a deep sense of regret as well.
Other than his family, she was closer to him than anyone.
‘Wait. Didn't she just ask me to go with her?’
Airen looked at Illia.
Illia looked back at Airen with a smile.
She's been smiling a lot lately, he thought.
It was nice to see how much brighter she had become compared to before.
But something more important was at hand.
Airen kept his eyes on her, as if asking for an answer, and Illia replied.
“To keep your promise to Ignet, you're going to train all year anyway, aren't you?”
“That's right.”
“How is sparring with Dad? It's helping you a lot, isn't it?”
“...That's right.”
“Then you can stay at House Lindsay and continue your training there.”
“Uh...”
“Isn't that right?”
Fwoooong!
Airen's eyes darted rapidly.
Despite the gentle expression on his face, Joshua was giving off a murderous aura. A chill ran down Airen's spine.
It was a presence worthy of one of the Ten Great Swordsmen.
Then, at a single word from Illia, the atmosphere changed at once.
“Dad, stop.”
“...”
Swish.
As if nothing had happened, the head of House Lindsay wore a warm smile.
Airen looked slightly flustered, but this time, he felt a faint aura coming from Illia.
Her expression was impossible to read. It seemed considerate of him, yet somehow pressuring him as well.
Illia asked Airen again.
“What do you think?”
“...”
“You don't like it?”
“No, it's not that...”
“Then shall we go together?”
Wooooong...
Illia's aura steadily grew stronger.
Airen understood now. It was unmistakable pressure.
Airen swallowed at the gaze of the friend insisting that he come with her.
After carefully choosing his words, he was just about to speak.
“That won't do.”
A voice came from far away.
All three turned their heads at once.
There stood the cat Sorcerer and a woman with beautiful golden hair that seemed spun from sunlight.
For some reason, Lulu looked slightly intimidated.
‘Who is that?’
‘Who is she?’
The same question rose in the eyes of the Lindsay father and daughter.
But Airen did not share it.
He sprang to his feet and called her name in a startled yet delighted voice.
“Kiril!”
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