WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Dionysus
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 262: Beneath the Flowing Water (5)
──────
Ephrein Slick, the Grand Mage of Runtel, was generally not a fearful man.
His exceptional ability and background played a part in that, but the biggest reason was that he could magically analyze and understand most things in the world.
Things he already knew.
Or things he did not know yet, but could come to understand.
Those were fine.
In other words, he was the type who feared the unknown most of all.
"How..."
From that perspective, what Airen Farreira had just shown was more than enough to stir Ephrein Slick's fear.
A stealthy spell that was colorless and odorless, its mana nearly imperceptible. Once it dispersed into the air, even Ephrein himself could no longer detect it.
Yet the young man before him had caught it with his bare hand.
As though gripping dozens of strands of thread, Ephrein's spell fluttered at the slightest movement of Airen's hand.
Impossible.
A realm beyond a mage's common sense, something he had never seen or even heard of.
The word Ephrein Slick hated most slipped from his lips.
"Sorcery..."
"Hm."
Airen Farreira looked down at his hand.
In truth, he did not consider what he had just done to be Sorcery. He thought of it as a kind of swordsmanship.
Protective Will for the world.
Or, narrowing it down further, Protective Will for those precious to him.
He could shape that will into swordsmanship. It was the Hero's Sword he had learned from Ignet. No, the Heart Sword.
'The strongest force a swordsman, no, a human being can use to resist a demon's Destructive Urge.'
That did not mean Ephrein Slick was entirely wrong.
He had let it pass at the time, but now that he thought about it, even Airen could not tell whether it could truly be called swordsmanship.
Abilities woven from things like will and the heart tended to be that way.
Perhaps the Heart Sword was an ability created by Sorcery and swordsmanship becoming one.
But.
That was not what mattered right now.
Why he could seize Ephrein Slick's spell.
Why someone wholly unfamiliar with magic could see through Ephrein's mana so easily.
Malice.
A sinister, horrifying aura that was every bit as strong as a true demon's filled Airen Farreira's sight.
Sssshhh...
Golden flames bloomed from Airen's hand.
It was Aura. Dense, complete Aura, just like the Aura a Sword Master layered over a blade. It was his first time using it with his bare hand, but it was not difficult.
That was partly because he had reached a higher level, but it also felt as though his anger had allowed him to step into an even greater realm.
Of course, this was not complete growth.
Anything born from emotion, instinct, and intuition was bound to fade easily. Still, the fact that he had experienced it even once mattered.
And once again, that was not what mattered right now.
When the young hero clenched his fist, golden Aura instantly burned away all the mana inside the palanquin.
Boom!
Fwoooooosh!
"Ugh, ah! Ah!"
Ephrein Slick screamed.
Even his scream did not come out properly. Fear and panic broke it into fragments.
Of course, those were not the only emotions he felt.
Rage and hatred.
Armed with intense hostility, the Grand Mage raised his hand to begin casting. Magic circles carved throughout the large palanquin aided him.
It was futile.
Airen appeared before Ephrein in an instant and forcefully released his presence.
Whoooosh!
"...!"
There was no physical violence.
Rather than punching him, kicking him, or drawing his sword and striking him down, Airen silently manifested his power.
Golden Aura flowed from his entire body, not merely his right hand.
It was.
A light intense enough to torment even an ancient demon that had lived for thousands of years.
A radiant light that could sweep away even the lingering will of that terrible demon after its death.
And a warm flame that gave hope to good people.
But Ephrein Slick's heart was not good.
A scream escaped his lips.
"Guhhhk..."
He was not a Demonoid.
His towering pride had blocked every whisper coming from the Demon Realm.
No matter how powerful a demon might be, it could not make him its slave.
But was his heart human?
That was not the case either.
It could not be helped. Since the demons disappeared, people who were human yet possessed inhuman hearts had gradually begun appearing across the continent.
No.
Perhaps that had been true even when demons still roamed freely.
Remembering the conversation he had shared with Tarakhan, Karakum, and Kubharu in the Durkali tribe, Airen finally withdrew his power.
"Huuup! Hah, huh..."
"You felt it yourself, so you know. Your little tricks won't work on either me or the people around me."
Airen spoke.
His voice was far stiffer and colder than usual.
Yet his gaze burned fiercely.
Meeting that gaze head-on, Ephrein felt as if the fire in Airen's golden eyes were searing his heart.
"If you ever feel like trying something again, remember what happened today. And remember who I was today."
"..."
"You need not see me out."
With those final words, Airen left Slick's large palanquin.
He needed no answer.
The heart he had seen through Ephrein's eyes told him everything.
Ephrein would never be able to touch Hale Kingdom or House Farreira.
Footsteps echoed.
Sixty-four mages stood along the path out.
Airen could feel their gazes as well.
He did not avoid them. Instead, the mages lowered their heads and turned away.
After watching them for a long time, Airen left the clearing and thought to himself.
'Was this the best I could do?'
He did not know.
Two years ago.
When he had first set out on his journey, he had felt the same way. The world was truly full of uncertainty.
There was no right answer, only countless regrettable wrong ones that filled everyone with anguish.
This time was the same.
No, it was even more difficult.
It was not a matter concerning him alone. His country, his house, and his family were all involved.
Standing against injustice and doing what was right was important.
That was why Airen had never stepped back since taking up the sword.
For Kubharu, he had raised his sword before Karakum.
For the expedition, he had pointed his sword at the Jester Demon.
But if his choices caused precious people uninvolved in any of it to suffer...
Was it still right to walk the righteous path?
Or should he endure injustice for the sake of those precious to him?
'Neither is the right answer.'
The matter of how to deal with Ephrein Slick was the same.
There was a conversation he had shared with Tarakhan a year ago.
There were people in the world who saw eye to eye with you, and people who did not. There were also people who did not see eye to eye with you and could not be reasoned with.
But the most dangerous people were those who went beyond being impossible to reason with, those who resorted to violence to force their will through.
People like that could be every bit as dangerous as demons.
'That mage is the same...'
By Airen's standards, Ephrein was an evil man every bit as bad as a demon.
But because he was not a true demon, countless worries surged through Airen's mind.
'Is it right for me to punish a human who is not a demon?'
'Even if I have the right to punish him, can I truly bear the full consequences? If I stop at threatening Ephrein, perhaps I can, but...'
'Is what I did today truly right?'
'Putting right and wrong aside, could my actions be seen as the result of compromising out of wariness of Runtel?'
Thoughts following one after another tormented and shook Airen.
A stifling emotion like water gathered into heavy water, continuing to sink the young man's heart.
...No, that was not it.
Huuup.
He took a deep breath.
Then let it out.
The emotions that had been sinking began to flow again. Rather than being trapped by the past, they began moving forward.
'Thinking is good. I need to think deeply and struggle with these questions so I can find better answers in the future.'
But being unable to move forward because he was bound by whether his current choice was the best one...
That could not happen.
That was the realization he had gained from the Jester Demon, and the realization he had gained from House Lloyd.
Having regained his peace of mind relatively quickly, Airen smiled faintly.
'...I should train harder in swordsmanship too.'
Just as the heart affected the body.
The body also affected the heart.
Swordsmanship and Aura were the same. He needed to pursue overall growth through a positive cycle.
As Airen continued that resolve, a new energy began to settle within his heart.
Rrrrmmm...
It was.
Not as ever-changing and natural as Water.
Nor did it boldly reveal itself outwardly.
It was less conspicuous than the energy of Metal, with its intense presence, and the energy of Fire, blazing brightly.
It simply lay quietly across the ground.
But it was wider than anything else.
And because of that, it was steady. It did not sway this way and that, and it created a path for the currents of his heart to spread far and wide.
The fourth energy of the Five Elements Divine Technique.
Earth.
Airen Farreira, who had become a far more dependable and steady person than when he first took up the sword, appeared in the royal castle once more.
"...Master Farreira?"
"Ah, Commander of the Twilight Order. Were you looking for me? What is it?"
"Um. Well..."
"Huh? Sir Airen Farreira. Um?"
Oswaldo Odone came running over, and Hill Burnett noticed Airen a moment later.
Even though the two had been eagerly searching for him, neither could bring themselves to say anything with Airen standing before them.
Something was different.
It was not his air as a swordsman.
Airen Farreira had always been an admirable young man, worthy of respect despite being barely in his early twenties.
But now, he seemed somehow...
'It feels as though Airen has grown in stature as a person...'
'No, why am I suddenly thinking that? Could it be...'
Was it because of the duel with the Grand Mage?
Both considered this inwardly and nodded lightly.
It was not something Airen's exceptional ability alone could solve, but having witnessed such a duel with their own eyes, they could not help but feel reassured.
Was that why?
Neither could immediately say what they had come to say. In the meantime, the people most important to Airen appeared.
"Airen."
"Big brother!"
"Father. Kiril."
The young hero looked at the two with a bright smile.
He was far more honest in expressing his feelings than before he had left on his journey.
Oswaldo Odone did not know it, but Hill Burnett could vaguely sense it.
"Ahem. You have dealt with a great matter today, so I suppose you need time with your family. We will not disturb you."
"...That is true. We should be going."
"Ah, yes. Thank you for your consideration."
Watching the Commander and Vice Commander quickly disappear, Airen wore a puzzled expression.
They had clearly seemed to be in a hurry, yet they had backed off so easily.
Of course, he did not dislike it.
He had wanted to see his family more than ever.
And Harun Farreira felt the same way.
'...You've grown so much.'
Watching Airen's bright smile, Baron Farreira's eyes reddened once more.
It was not simply because his son had become a Sword Master.
Seeing his son standing before him, sturdier and more dependable than before, there was nothing more he could ask for. It truly was so.
No, come to think of it, that was not entirely true.
After smiling awkwardly for a moment, Baron Farreira spoke to Airen.
"Son."
"Yes, Father."
"Have you thought about marriage?"
"What?"
Airen Farreira asked in a dumbfounded voice.
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
