WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Dionysus
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 228: A Way to Walk Long (1)
──────
“Whew.”
At the small training ground in Lloyd territory, Airen Farreira let out a long breath as he practiced his sword, as usual.
It was not because the weather was gradually growing warmer.
Even in the sweltering height of summer, and even at fifteen, when his stamina had been far worse than it was now, he had swung his sword until he collapsed from exhaustion.
He sighed because the frustration in his heart still had not eased.
Of course, he had not expected to gain enlightenment immediately just by crossing swords with Brett Lloyd and talking to him.
To begin with, Airen could not even properly grasp what state he was in.
He only had the vague feeling that something was lacking, that he was scattered and adrift...
It was shameless to ask someone else for an answer when he could not even identify the problem himself.
‘Let’s think about it slowly.’
At least his heart was no longer boiling over as it once had.
Airen recalled the time right after he had parted ways with Ignet.
Even after hearing Joshua Lindsay’s advice, he had been restless because he could not obtain what he wanted.
It had not been limited to suffering alone. Those emotions had spilled outward, worrying even his younger sibling and Lulu.
It was not like that now.
The water flowing through his heart continually cooled the heat within him and brought him peace.
One large pool of water still remained stagnant, but had he not already learned deep in his bones that he could not obtain the Heart of Water by forcing things?
After thinking that far, Airen decided to rest for a while.
His body was not tired. It was only around five in the afternoon, so there was no way he could already be exhausted. It was his mind that was weary.
Airen looked over House Lloyd’s splendid scenery and the clear sky, trying to give himself some room to breathe.
As he had learned in the Dark Barrier, effort was not only about holding on. Letting go was effort as well.
But...
“...”
Today, there was a pair of people whose presence bothered him.
Unlike the large training ground where House Lloyd’s soldiers trained, this small one was used by guests or by Brett personally, so there were few people around.
Usually, only a handful of elderly caretakers took turns watching over the place.
Yet today’s caretakers were strange.
For one thing, there were two of them instead of one, and there was an odd dignity to their every movement.
Both the man and the woman wore shabby clothes, but each possessed a nobility that could not be concealed by their attire.
The problem was that those mysterious figures had been glaring at him the entire time.
‘...Why?’
It was the same even now.
Even as he had stopped training and stared blankly at the sky, their gazes had never left him.
They watched his every move without pause.
And those gazes were incredibly sharp.
Had he not known that they possessed only a negligible amount of Aura, he might have mistaken them for assassins sent to take his life.
Whoosh.
“...”
Airen openly looked at them.
They immediately turned their gazes away and pretended to sweep the edge of the training ground as though nothing had happened.
It bothered him greatly.
Still, it was difficult to approach them carelessly.
As he had thought earlier, the two caretakers gave off an icy impression.
“Airen, those people keep staring at you...”
“I know.”
“They look really scary. Shouldn’t we run away?”
“...”
Airen could not bring himself to say there was no need.
Even knowing that suspicious people could not openly wander through Lloyd Castle, and that they did not possess threatening strength, he still could not say it.
He answered quietly.
“Let’s not make eye contact.”
“Should we?”
“Yeah. No, I think we should stop here for today. I’ll ask Brett later...”
“Ask Brett what?”
“Ah, Brett.”
Brett Lloyd appeared just then.
Lulu, frightened by an unknown terror, flew over to him with a pop. Airen also quietly walked over, careful not to let the two know he was aware of them.
Just as he was about to ask his question...
“What are you doing there, Father, Mother?”
“...”
“...”
“What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?”
Airen did not answer. After studying Brett’s face for a moment longer, he turned to look at the two people he had mistaken for training-ground caretakers.
Then he nodded.
Their eyes looked similar. If Brett’s occasional cold, blunt air were intensified several dozen times, they would probably feel like that.
He lowered his voice and asked, “I thought they were caretakers. They’ve been staring at me since this morning.”
“What kind of caretaker acts like that?”
“I did think it was a little strange...”
“If it was strange, you should have gone and asked.”
“Um, well...”
Saying their eyes were too scary felt too much like insulting his friend’s parents, so he hesitated.
Fortunately, Brett did not press further.
He strode over to his parents and said something to them. The two finally opened their tightly shut mouths.
A moment later, the close-knit family led by Brett approached Airen.
The eldest son of House Lloyd said, “Father, Mother, let me formally introduce him. This is Airen Farreira, one of my closest friends and my former classmate at Krono Fencing Hall.”
“Mm.”
“Mmm.”
“...Hello. I’m Airen Farreira, the eldest son of House Farreira.”
One of his closest friends.
Airen felt grateful as he watched Brett use that honest phrase, which could have been a little embarrassing.
Yet what bothered him even more was that Philip Lloyd and Kaya Lloyd still had sharp eyes and stiff expressions.
“...”
“...”
“...”
Silence lingered for a moment.
Lulu’s hiccup broke it.
Overwhelmed by the unbearable atmosphere, the black cat covered her mouth and vanished somewhere. Watching her leave, Brett finally seemed to understand and nodded.
“Don’t misunderstand. My parents are naturally very shy around strangers.”
“That’s right.”
“Please don’t misunderstand.”
“...I see.”
“They must have been curious about you. I used to talk about you a lot, too.”
“That’s true as well.”
“That’s right.”
“Ah, yes.”
“...”
“...”
The misunderstanding had been cleared up.
The atmosphere had not.
As the conversation continued to break off awkwardly, Airen desperately racked his brains.
‘What should I do?’
Airen had come here not only to deliver Judith’s letter and discuss swordsmanship with Brett, but also because he had wanted to speak with Brett’s parents.
The happy, cheerful atmosphere of this territory was unlike anything he had felt elsewhere.
He thought speaking with them about it would greatly help him pursue his own ideals.
But that was impossible in this atmosphere.
Airen himself was fairly shy, yet the people before him were much worse.
It was not something Brett could resolve merely by trying to mediate. It would be the same even if Lance, Kiril, and Lulu joined them.
As his worries deepened, a thought suddenly crossed Airen’s mind.
“Um, it’ll be dinner soon... I think it would be nice to talk over a light drink. Would that be all right?”
“...”
“...”
The Lloyd couple said nothing.
That did not mean they had no reaction.
Their eyes remained sharp.
Yet smiles bloomed brightly enough to conceal them.
Seeing that, Airen breathed a sigh of relief inwardly, while Brett quietly thought to himself.
‘This is bad.’
* * *
A modest party was held.
Those gathered were Lord and Lady Lloyd, their son, the Farreira siblings, Lulu, and Lance.
Bottles of liquor so precious that their names alone could make one’s head spin lined the antique table.
The problem was that there was only liquor.
“...”
“...”
“...Um, is there anything to eat with the drinks?”
Kiril asked Philip Lloyd, who wore a stern, solemn expression.
It took considerable courage. Even Kiril, who was strong-willed, felt compelled to yield before Lord Lloyd’s piercing gaze.
Pointing to the glass before him, he said, “It’s a cocktail made by mixing eggs, almonds, and rum.”
“Yes?”
“That should make an excellent bar snack.”
“...”
“...”
In the silence spreading like darkness, Lance gathered his courage and asked another question.
“Um, then what about water...?”
“Wouldn’t beer be enough?”
“...”
“...”
“...I’m joking.”
Kaya Lloyd smiled shyly and signaled to a maid.
A moment later, generous dishes filled the table.
Lulu, Kiril, and Lance sighed in relief.
Brett quietly spoke to Airen, who wore the same relieved expression across from him.
“When my parents want to become close with someone, they sometimes play pranks like this.”
“Brett, that’s enough. You’re embarrassing us.”
“Yes, Father.”
Philip Lloyd said that without the slightest hint of embarrassment. Brett obediently nodded, and the lord, wearing a faint smile, lifted his glass.
It was not some weak aperitif.
The liquor was so strong that its scent alone was enough to make one dizzy. Philip raised his glass and spoke.
“Lance, and Airen. I’ve heard a great deal about both of you from my son. I’m also very glad to meet the others... including our feline guest. We have not prepared much, but please eat your fill. No one will force you to drink, so pace yourselves.”
Though he said that, no one could refuse the first glass.
Once Lord Lloyd finished speaking, everyone except Lulu drank.
Airen thought, ‘How strong is this...?’
“Isn’t it good? It was aged for thirty years, so it goes down remarkably smoothly for something that’s fifty-eight percent alcohol. A first-time drinker might believe it’s only thirty percent.”
“I see...”
It was much stronger than Airen had expected.
As Airen smiled through the burning in his stomach, something astonishing happened.
Before he even noticed, Lord Lloyd’s glass was full again.
“...?”
That was not all.
Kaya Lloyd and Brett Lloyd were the same. At some point, every member of the Lloyd family had a full glass before them.
It had happened too quickly for even a Sword Master’s eyes to follow.
“...I’ve wanted to meet you for a long time.”
Philip Lloyd spoke after draining another glass.
Perhaps it was the alcohol, or perhaps the relaxed setting of the gathering. His expression was much gentler than it had been at the training ground.
“As I said, you need not match my pace. Drink only as much as you can handle, so don’t feel pressured.”
“...Understood.”
Airen answered politely, then quickly looked around.
Philip Lloyd and Kaya Lloyd had not taken their eyes off him, as though they had business with him alone.
Kiril, Lance, and Lulu had begun talking among themselves, seemingly eager to escape the pair’s attention.
Brett did not belong to either group, but he did not seem inclined to help Airen either.
After downing three glasses in a row, he had the air of a spectator.
‘I need to stay sharp.’
Muttering inwardly, Airen smiled at the Lloyd couple, who were still watching him.
Even as he did, their glasses continued emptying at a frightening pace.
* * *
Two hours passed.
It was neither a long nor a short time, but Airen Farreira had become drunker than he had been at any point that year.
It was not because Lord and Lady Lloyd had pressured him to drink. Their earlier words had been sincere.
They did not care whether anyone else drank. They were only focused on emptying their own glasses.
The problem was that both they and Airen were quite shy.
They all had things they wanted to say.
But they were not close enough to bring up those subjects. The atmosphere was painfully awkward.
With alcohol sitting right in front of them, their hands naturally kept reaching for it.
As a result, Airen drank the constantly offered liquor in quick succession, until even his sturdy Sword Master physique could no longer keep the intoxication at bay.
“I’ll go for a short walk.”
Fortunately, he had not become so drunk that he would completely lose his senses.
‘I’ll be in trouble if I drink any more,’ Airen muttered inwardly as he stood.
“I’ll come with you. It’s hot, and I’d like some cool night air.”
“I think I’ll stop here. I’m still a little tired from the journey... You young people should enjoy yourselves a little longer.”
Lord Lloyd rose to follow him, and soon even Kaya left the table.
Lulu also vanished through the window, saying she wanted to play with the nearby cats.
That left Brett Lloyd, Lance Patterson, and Kiril Farreira.
“Whew, I’m pretty drunk. Should I get up too?”
“...”
“...”
“But rather than going straight to sleep, I think it’d be better to take a walk outside and sober up a little...”
“...”
“...”
“Lance?”
“Yeah?”
Lance, pleasantly drunk and thinking of nothing in particular, responded when called.
Kiril smiled softly.
“Would you like to take a walk through the Garden with me?”
“Huh? Uh...”
It was not an answer. It was only a sound that slipped out as he continued thinking.
Kiril did not mind.
Watching Kiril skillfully lead the mountain of a man that was Lance outside, Brett quietly muttered, “How lonely.”
“...”
“...”
A few servants exchanged glances.
Should they offer words of comfort to the young master, who had suddenly been left alone?
Would it be right to have a drink with him?
Or should they quietly remain as they were?
The answer soon came.
“Everyone, leave. I want to be alone.”
“Yes, understood.”
“Then... we hope you have a pleasant evening.”
“...”
Brett Lloyd was left completely alone.
He quietly pulled something from his clothes.
It was Judith’s letter.
Careful not to wrinkle it even slightly, Brett read through its contents.
The handwriting was not neat, nor were the sentences particularly polished, but that did not matter.
After reading the letter closely three times in a row, he folded it neatly and placed it back inside his clothes.
Glug, glug, glug.
Brett filled a rocks glass to the brim with strong liquor, without even a single cube of ice, then emptied it in an instant.
He stared blankly out the window and muttered, “I miss you, Judith...”
Tonight, not even the moon was visible.
* * *
Meanwhile, Airen Farreira and Lord Lloyd had left the lord’s castle and were walking through the city.
They passed through well-maintained streets.
They passed through a clean plaza.
They passed smiling, happy people.
Then they arrived somewhere Airen had never even considered, a dark and uncomfortable place.
The slums of Lloyd territory.
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
