WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Dionysus
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Chapter 270: Uninvited Guest (3)
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Right after Brett Lloyd left House Farreira's territory.
Airen Farreira and Illia Lindsay threw themselves into training, same as always.
Illia especially so, having felt something after watching her friend.
'He's so much more mature than me.'
She knew Brett's goal was not to become the continent's strongest swordsman.
He learned the sword only to become a fine lord and lead Lloyd territory well.
But did that mean he had no competitive drive or fighting spirit?
Not at all.
If he had been that kind of person, he never would have understood Judith's heart in the first place, nor earned her love.
And yet...
He never lost himself.
Even as others rose up to surpass him.
Even when it stirred pain in his heart, he never let it consume him. He kept walking his own path.
'Unlike me, who spent so long standing in Ignet's shadow.'
Fwoosh!
Fwoosh!
As Illia rapidly practiced her swordsmanship, she thought of Ignet Crescentia.
It had been quite a while. Compared to the past, when she had thought of Ignet every day without fail, that much was certain.
But still...
Could she truly say that she had completely broken free of Ignet?
That was why Illia had skipped even lunch, pouring herself into her sword.
"Illia."
"Oh, Airen."
Of course, she could not keep at it forever.
As the blue sky turned orange, Airen called out to her.
She smiled.
He had stayed by her side ever since Brett left. She could not help but feel a deep fondness for him.
But what he said next was not quite what she expected, so she could not answer right away.
"Want a change of pace? Shall we eat out tonight?"
"Huh? Oh..."
Ever since the day Airen confessed, the two of them had only dated within the territory.
Partly because they had been so caught up in swordsmanship, but also because showing others what they looked like as a couple felt oddly burdensome.
"You seemed a little cooped up. Thinking about it, we've been in the territory for a whole month, haven't we? I thought it might be nice to get out and about again, like when we used to travel together... Is that a strange idea?"
"...No. I think it's good. I like it. Let's do it!"
"Yeah? You're okay with it?"
"Yeah. Thinking about it, you're right, Airen. Let's go out."
Illia spoke with a smile.
When she thought about it carefully, there was no reason at all to hide their relationship from other people.
It was not as though they were doing anything wrong.
'If anything, I should be showing it off.'
And yet, the fact that she had wanted to hide it made her wonder whether she was still letting other people's reactions sway her.
She still could not find her center.
She did not want that.
Especially after seeing how unwavering Brett had been.
That was why Illia Lindsay nodded, and why she stepped outside the lord's manor.
Why she walked the streets proudly, hand in hand with Airen, and why she pushed open the door of a tavern that was sure to be crowded with guests.
But the result...
'...Dad?'
She never would have dreamed that she would run into her own father, Joshua Lindsay, here.
There was no mistaking it.
He had changed his hair color, glued on a beard, and added several other disguises, but none of it could fool his own daughter's eyes.
"Uh..."
And Joshua was not alone.
The reason Airen beside her had frozen up was that Baron Harun Farreira was here as well.
He had swapped his usual blond hair for red, but that alone was nowhere near enough to escape a sharp Sword Master's eye.
She whispered quietly.
"...Why is Dad here? And why is the baron here too?"
"........."
Airen could not easily open his mouth.
He had a rough idea why his father was here. Harun sometimes conducted inspections himself to learn how the people were living.
But the fact that the head of House Lindsay was here was not merely difficult to explain. The entire situation made no sense at all.
How, exactly?
Shouldn't he be in Adan Kingdom?
And alone, in disguise, showing up here of all places?
'Don't tell me...'
Was he worried about his daughter?
The instant that thought crossed his mind, Airen felt the urge to get out of there.
Even though he had not done anything wrong.
Even though he felt not one shred of shame about being Illia's boyfriend.
Standing before Joshua Lindsay still made him shrink for no good reason.
"...Whew."
Airen took a deep breath.
Then he looked toward his father.
He could not bring himself to look at the head of House Lindsay at all.
Keeping his gaze fixed in one direction, he offered a greeting.
"Father, you're out inspecting the territory. I'll take my leave now."
"........."
"........."
"Well then..."
With that, Airen backed his way out of the tavern.
"Ah!"
Illia, still baffled, finally caught up with what was happening a beat late.
Well, not entirely. She did not understand it completely.
But she knew nothing good would come of staying there, so she followed Airen out, offering her own farewell.
"...Finish your talk with the baron, and I'll see you later, Dad."
Clunk.
"........."
"........."
"........."
Silence fell.
Silence like death itself.
Baron Harun Farreira, Count Joshua Lindsay, and the tavern owner who had watched the entire scene unfold, none of them could get a word out. Time stretched on like an eternity.
"........."
"...Ahem. Ahem. That... I'm sorry."
The one who finally broke the silence was Joshua Lindsay.
Thinking it over, he had been the one to pick the fight first.
Had he not practically told another father, to his face, that Harun's son was inferior to Joshua's daughter?
It was the kind of disgrace that made him want to run and hide immediately, but avoiding it now would only be a greater shame.
The head of House Lindsay apologized again, meaning every word.
"I'm sorry. I never imagined you would be Baron Harun himself. No, even setting that aside, I clearly spoke out of turn. I truly am sorry."
"...I'm sorry too. I got more worked up than I should have and showed an unsightly side of myself. Thinking about it, we both made the same mistake."
"........."
"........."
"........."
"Care for another drink?"
"...Sure, let's."
"Not beer. Something stronger, perhaps? What do you say?"
"That sounds good to me."
Joshua nodded.
He was, without question, facing a reality too difficult to bear while sober.
Beer alone would not even touch it.
He figured he would need at least something distilled to continue talking with Baron Farreira.
"Innkeeper."
"Y-yes! My lord."
"Sorry to say this, but we're taking over the place for the rest of the day. Will this cover it?"
"M-more than enough! More than enough, sir!"
Baron Farreira pressed two more gold coins into the owner's hand and found another table that was still intact.
Joshua Lindsay hesitated for a moment before sitting across from him. Then he filled a large rocks glass to the brim with strong whiskey.
Glug, glug.
And drank it in one go.
Baron Farreira did not do the same.
Instead, he knocked back a small shot glass once.
Clack.
Twice.
Clack.
A third time.
Clack!
After downing them in quick succession, he set the glass down on the table with a sharp sound.
Joshua asked him.
"How much can you hold?"
"I'm neither a heavy nor a light drinker."
"I can handle my drink well enough, but aren't you pushing yourself a little too hard?"
"It's the kind of situation that makes a man want to push himself..."
"That's true..."
"........."
"........."
"Still, though."
Baron Farreira poured strong whiskey into a fourth shot glass.
His face had already gone a little red.
He stared at the amber liquid in the glass for a moment, then lifted his gaze to Joshua.
"As parents of children we could proudly show off anywhere, children more precious to us than our own eyes. Or, to put it more bluntly..."
"We're two fathers blinded by parental pride. I find it quite enjoyable that we get to meet like this and talk."
Hearing the baron's words, Joshua felt a lump rise in his throat for just a moment, then...
"...I think that's exactly right."
"Isn't it?"
"It is. Absolutely."
In the end, he had no choice but to admit it, his voice drained of fight.
The mood after that grew far more comfortable than before.
They talked about each other, about the children they each knew, and about the sides of their children neither father had known at all.
Sometimes they laughed. Sometimes they turned gloomy.
Sometimes one grew angry, and the other soothed him with an understanding look.
The long conversation ultimately led to one conclusion.
Just as children had to graduate from their parents, fathers too needed to graduate from their children.
It was an obvious enough thing to say, but the one who felt it most keenly was Joshua Lindsay.
"Whew, let's get up and go."
"Good idea. You're quite drunk. So am I, honestly. You hold your liquor better than you first claimed."
"Ha ha, is that so? Truth be told, I could still drink a little more. But if we're drinking more, maybe somewhere a little more comfortable... Hm. What do you say to continuing this at the manor?"
"Sounds good. I'm in favor."
"Let's go, then. Let's go."
The two of them, thoroughly drunk, left the tavern and headed for the manor.
The soldier guarding the entrance looked confused at the stranger walking alongside the baron.
"It's fine. It's fine. This is the head of House Lindsay, the foremost house among the Five Great Sword Houses of the west."
"...Sir?"
"Show him in. Show me in too. Ha ha ha."
"Ah, yes..."
Of course, the soldier did not believe a word of it.
The soldier merely thought the baron must be far drunker than usual and called for the servants.
But Airen Farreira and Illia Lindsay had arrived before them.
"My lord."
"........."
Airen stepped two paces ahead of Illia.
Standing before Joshua Lindsay, he spoke in a tense voice.
Earlier, he had been too flustered and simply fled. He had not had the nerve to face Joshua's anger head-on.
But not this time.
He could not let it happen again.
If he wanted to remain Illia Lindsay's boyfriend.
If he wanted to hold her hand proudly and stand beside her, he was certain he needed Joshua Lindsay's approval.
Hummmmmm...
A presence rose from Airen's body.
It was not the aggressive force he emitted when confronting demons.
But a will just as firm and just as burning rose within him.
'If he wants a sparring match, I'll spar. If he wants to press me with words, I'll answer with words.'
Whatever form it took, he would show his sincerity!
Just as he steeled his resolve and fixed Joshua with a wide, unflinching stare, Joshua said,
"Take good care of my daughter."
"...?"
Joshua Lindsay gave his blessing far too easily.
With a smile, he walked into the building alongside Baron Farreira without so much as a glance back.
"...?"
"...?"
Airen and Illia looked at each other in bewilderment, but neither could fully make sense of what had just happened.
It was not a bad thing, of course. If anything, it was a good thing.
Airen let his presence settle and spoke.
"Whew, I still can't relax..."
"Still, I'm glad. I was so worried when I saw Dad had come all the way here. I kept wondering what he was going to say..."
"Yeah. But he did come to see us, right?"
"...Probably?"
Illia nodded, and Airen nodded along with her.
But the conversation went no further than that.
It could not be helped.
They were still too young to fully understand Joshua's heart, a father's heart.
The only one who could truly understand him now was Baron Harun Farreira, a father himself.
Of course, Baron Farreira himself had no idea that Joshua had been entertaining thoughts like these throughout their drinking.
'That Airen kid... He does seem to get stronger every time I see him, but he's still not enough. Starting tomorrow, I should train him a little more. So he can grow into a man more worthy of my daughter...'
And so another day in House Farreira's territory came to a close.
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