WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Dionysus
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 222: A Favor to Ask (2)
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“Ah, the weather’s nice.”
And it wasn’t just the weather.
Kiril Farreira was in a good mood as she looked down at the scenery from atop the Griffin.
Her brother had returned, and after only a week.
Lulu had been so confident that Kiril hadn’t expected it to take five years. Still, she had thought Airen would spend at least a few months in Alkantrea.
Of course, the barrier had formed because of a demon attack rather than her brother’s own will...
‘So what? He’s already defeated that demon twice.’
That was right.
It wasn’t just any demon, either. According to Lulu, it was powerful enough that every Paladin in the Holy Kingdom had been summoned.
Yet her brother had already driven back such a powerful creature twice. This time, he had even dealt with it alone.
Kiril turned to look at Airen Farreira.
Meditating with a peaceful expression, he looked more dependable than anyone in the world.
“Lulu, isn’t my brother cool?”
“Yep! Airen’s always cool.”
Kiril stroked Lulu’s head and chuckled. Then she unfolded the map to see how much farther they had to go.
There wasn’t much distance left. No, they would arrive any moment now.
A lone house stood in the middle of a wide field, clearly visible below. People were diligently swinging their swords in front of it.
‘At last, I’ll get to meet them.’
Kun, one of the strongest swordsmen on the continent.
And Judith, his first disciple and one of her brother’s closest friends.
Kiril was more interested in the latter, mostly because of the sweet, innocent romance she had heard about from someone at the fencing hall.
She had known nothing as a child, and during her teenage years, she had focused solely on Sorcery training to save her brother.
But now, Kiril had nothing holding her back. She was old enough to take an interest in romance.
To her, Judith was bound to seem admirable and likable. Despite the restrictions of a strict master, she had fought for her love and won.
What kind of person was she?
What sort of person could make a young lord from a high-ranking noble house lose his mind, then return that affection with equal passion?
Rosy thoughts filled Kiril’s mind.
“Airen! I’ll kill youuuuu!”
Lulu flinched.
Lulu, who had been rolling around atop the Griffin, froze.
Then she carefully turned her head to look at Airen, then Kiril.
She hadn’t misheard.
The siblings stared down in shock, as if wondering what on earth was happening.
Lulu focused more closely on Kiril.
‘...This is bad!’
Kiril’s face had gone cold.
Intense emotion shone in her eyes. Even knowing it wasn’t directed at her, Lulu was afraid. Trembling, she opened her mouth.
“Um, Kiril...”
“Be quiet.”
“...”
Lulu immediately shut her mouth.
Airen picked up the cat that had quietly approached him, then tried to calm his sister.
“Uh, Kiril? I don’t know what’s going on, but Judith...”
“It’s okay, Brother. I’m not someone who acts recklessly like I used to.”
Airen couldn’t continue for long, either.
Kiril coldly cut him off and slowly guided the Griffin down. She muttered in a low voice,
“I’ll at least hear why she insulted you.”
“...”
Airen scratched his chin.
He couldn’t think of anything to say in Judith’s defense.
It was hard to simply say that she was always like that, but he hadn’t done anything that deserved being cursed at, either.
From the perspective of someone who didn’t know Judith well, it was a situation that could only be misunderstood.
In the end, he couldn’t come up with a response, and the Griffin safely landed on the ground.
Kiril, Lulu, and Airen stepped down in that order.
Then...
“Airen! You son of a bitch!”
Thump!
Judith charged at Airen with an incredibly bright smile, leaving all three of them no choice but to stare in bewilderment.
‘What is this?’
Kiril Farreira was the most shocked of all.
Airen and Lulu already knew Judith’s personality, but Kiril didn’t.
She had heard a few stories, but she had never imagined Judith would draw her sword and charge at Airen the moment they met.
What was even more bewildering was...
Clang!
‘...I can’t get involved!’
Even as Judith’s sword collided with her brother’s, Kiril couldn’t bring herself to stop her.
Kiril gulped.
Judith wasn’t looking at her. The red-haired swordswoman’s gaze remained fixed on Airen from start to finish.
Still, Kiril was scared. To put it crudely, she was scared shitless.
The Sorcerer who had feared nothing in the world felt, for the first time, as though she had been overwhelmed in a battle of wills when she faced the fierce, terrifying fighting spirit pouring from Judith’s eyes.
Bang!
Bam!
Kraaaash!
Whether Kiril was afraid of her or not, Judith didn’t care. All she could see was Airen.
Her closest friend, and the person she wanted to defeat most of all, radiating a golden presence.
She wanted to defeat him.
She wanted to win.
Even if it happened only once, she wanted to beat him while he gave everything he had!
An overwhelming fighting spirit and desire for victory set the red-haired swordswoman’s heart ablaze.
The flames gave new strength to her exhausted body and stirred up intense Aura.
Without realizing it, Judith used the Five Elements Divine Technique and swung the Red Sword with all her might.
Kraaaash!
Amazingly, it was the best sword strike she had shown all day.
It was fast and powerful, the very best move she could produce at her current level.
Judith’s current pace was enough to make even demanding, strict Kun nod.
Yet she wasn’t satisfied.
She couldn’t be satisfied.
Breathing out air hot as fire, Kun’s disciple looked at Ian’s disciple. She glared at his still-relaxed eyes.
It was frustrating.
It was irritating.
She was so angry she couldn’t stand it.
Still, she had no choice but to admit it.
Even if she gave it everything she had. No, even if she showed something beyond her limits...
‘The gap has grown so wide that I can’t even disrupt his breathing.’
It was a cold, cruel reality.
Judith forcibly swallowed the blood rising in her throat, its unpleasant metallic taste filling her mouth, as she looked at her friend, who hadn’t even drawn an Aura Sword.
She would have felt a little better if she spat it out.
But she didn’t.
She thought of the blood flowing back down her throat as her emotions, as her anger toward herself for being so lacking and pathetic.
That was why she couldn’t waste it.
She had to hold it all inside. She had to carry every last bit of it with her.
Judith immersed herself deeply in the rage burning within her like the fires of hell, then moved without even breathing.
Whoosh!
She shot forward in a straight line.
There was nothing special about the movement. It was fast, but nowhere near as fast as her initial charge, and there was nothing mysterious in her footwork.
Compared to Judith’s old, unpredictable footwork, it was such a simple movement that it made one wonder if something was wrong.
But...
“...”
Airen Farreira didn’t dismiss it.
He couldn’t.
Judith had disappeared.
Her body, tall for a woman even if she wasn’t as tall as him, had vanished as if she had used Sorcery.
A single sword had taken her place.
The crimson blade she held filled Airen’s vision as it bore down on him.
In a way that couldn’t have been more Judith.
With more power than ever before!
“Hup!”
Wooooooong!
At that instant, Airen Farreira manifested his Aura Sword.
Then he swung it.
It wasn’t a half-hearted strike.
He drew out his physical strength, Aura, and even the Power of the Heart to their limits. It was the strongest blow he could produce in his current state!
Kraaaaaang!
The golden sword collided with the red sword.
The red sword couldn’t withstand the impact and was knocked back, leaving a crimson streak in the air. Judith, who had been invisible until then, came into view as well.
She flew back, crashing into the ground again and again with enough force to kill an ordinary person dozens of times over, yet she never let go of her sword.
That didn’t mean she was safe.
Startled, Airen realized his mistake.
‘Damn, that was too much!’
Ever since their sudden sparring match had begun, he had honestly been at ease the entire time.
It couldn’t be helped. Since Proof Land, the gap between them had grown as wide as heaven and earth.
No matter how strong Judith was at the peak of the Expert rank, she couldn’t compare to Airen, whom even Quincy Myers, a highest-ranking Paladin, had acknowledged.
It wouldn’t have been wrong to compare it to a fight between an adult and a child.
But...
‘That last strike was like a flame.’
That was right.
Even if the other person was a weak, tiny child, the story changed if they held a weapon.
One would naturally keep an eye on the blade and become wary.
And what Judith held wasn’t merely a blade.
It was flame itself.
It burned so fiercely that he couldn’t even see her. It was so hot that it made his body freeze for an instant, filling him with fear.
‘No, this isn’t the time to think about that!’
Airen Farreira forced himself to stop.
That strike had been incredible enough to linger in his mind, but Judith’s condition was far more important.
His expression hardened as he quickly ran toward Judith.
Or rather, he tried to.
Judith’s master, Kun, blocked his path.
“It’s fine. There’s nothing to worry about.”
“But...”
“Do you think I’d take someone that weak as my disciple? She’s fine. Well, maybe not fine. She’s hurt a little, but she’ll be better if you put some spit on it.”
“...”
“But it would be pitiful to only use spit, so I’ll apply a recovery potion to her injury. It works pretty well. It hurts like hell, though.”
“...Thank you.”
“What are you thanking me for? I should be the one thanking you.”
Kun smiled.
He meant it.
Watching their sparring match had made him think of a training path for Judith, one meant for Judith alone.
At the same time, he felt it was worth trying.
Just as he had caught up to Ian by focusing solely on swift swordsmanship, his one and only possibility.
If Judith could maximize the potential she had discovered today...
‘Even if she can’t be perfect in every way, if she can hone one strength to the extreme, enough to cover every weakness...’
Kun finished his thoughts and smiled even more deeply.
“Airen Farreira, you still have strength left, right? Raise your sword.”
“...Yes.”
Whoooosh!
The instant he answered, an explosive presence surged forth.
Facing a great swordsman who felt completely different from Ian, Airen Farreira raised his sword.
‘Today, I’ll gain a lot.’
An unmistakable smile appeared on his face as well, just like Kun’s.
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