WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Dionysus
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 271: Uninvited Guest (4)
──────
Cold air hung in the early dawn.
Airen Farreira woke and, for the first time in a while, settled into meditation, entering the Mental Realm.
The Iron Sword still stood tall.
Flames burned without end, keeping the blade's edge from dulling.
Water flowed around it, holding those flames back from spreading too far.
At a glance, it looked almost identical to what he had found in his moment of realization at Lloyd territory.
It was not, though.
Airen nodded as he watched the river flow deeper, wider, and more solemnly than before.
'This time too... so many people helped me get here.'
He had cleared away the emotions that had been rotting in that dark pit inside him and let them flow away.
In doing so, he had found peace by connecting with the people who truly deserved his heart, the people who mattered most to him.
The important part was that word: connecting.
Just as Airen had poured out his own heart, the other people had poured out theirs too, their sincerity, feelings, and thoughts, far more intensely than what he had let go of.
There was malice as well, like that of the Grand Mage of Runtel Kingdom, but far greater goodwill kept flowing toward Airen, ceaselessly and powerfully.
A trickle became a stream.
A thin stream became a wider river.
The ever-swelling energy of Water gave Airen even greater strength.
He knew this fortune was not due to his own virtue.
Because he could feel, almost close enough to touch, the hearts and bonds flowing through that river... he found himself growing only more humble.
'Can't get complacent. If anything, this is the most dangerous time.'
It was not forced modesty.
He had not understood it before, but now, having learned the Five Elements Divine Technique from the Durkali tribe, he did.
Excess was more dangerous than lack. A surplus of energy needed some other force to hold it in check.
That was why he had sought out flames to temper Steel.
That was why he had mastered the Water Sword, to cool the heat that had spread to Ignet.
All of it traced back to that same reason.
So then, to control a river swollen by feelings he did not feel he deserved, what did he need to do?
He knew the direction, at least.
Build up the Earth Element that would support the energy of Water.
But what effort would it take to move in that direction?
That part, he still did not know.
What baffled him was that, despite not knowing, the Earth Element had grown noticeably stronger than before.
'What's going on here?'
Airen frowned.
The Earth Element had clearly grown stronger.
The ground beneath him had widened far more than before, wide enough now to easily support the deep, broad river flowing above it.
If it had stayed at its old level, trouble would have come long ago.
Whether from his own emotions or from the weight of other people's expectations, he would have been dragged under by a current too strong to handle.
"Hah."
That was enough meditation for now.
Airen opened his eyes, stood, and opened the window.
He smiled at the sky, already bright, then his expression shifted into something wistful.
Today was the day the Lindsay father and daughter would finally leave after their long stay at the territory.
Airen lingered a moment longer at the view outside before getting ready to see them off.
* * *
"I'll come again next time."
"No. Next time I'll come visit you."
"Okay."
"Mm."
The farewell between Airen and Illia was strangely composed for a couple who had only recently gotten together.
Their eyes told a different story, though.
Watching the two of them stare at each other with such intensity, Joshua muttered quietly to himself.
'Stay calm. It's fine. This is just what couples do.'
A faint aura rose from his body as he closed his eyes.
But that lasted only a moment. The instant Baron Harun Farreira's voice reached him, the tension in his expression eased a little.
"I'll come visit you next time."
"...Come whenever you like. I'll be waiting."
Short, dry words, the kind of exchange only two gruff fathers could manage.
But it was enough.
The two men had formed a friendship so deep that Airen, Illia, Amelia, Kiril, Lulu, and many others could feel it.
Of course, a few people in the crowd were thinking in far more worldly, calculating terms.
Marcus was the prime example.
'The standing of House Farreira has grown so much now that... calling it a baron's house does not even feel right anymore!'
Even by finances alone, House Farreira had always been able to hold its own against a viscount's house.
So what did that make it now?
A count's house?
Or even higher?
The math was not easy to work out.
One thing was certain: this small territory's influence had grown larger than that of the entire Hale Kingdom put together.
"Well then, we'll be on our way."
"Travel safely. You too, my lady."
"Thank you for everything. Miss Farreira's Griffin should get us home within a week... once we arrive, I'll send a letter back tied to its neck."
"Not the neck, tie it to a leg! Cherry gets uncomfortable if you tie things to her neck."
"I'll do that, then."
"I'll have them all finished by the time you come again, so look forward to it. If I've got time to spare, I'll make one more for Lord Lindsay too."
"My thanks. Now then, truly..."
With Vulcanus the last to offer a farewell, the Lindsay father and daughter climbed onto Cherry the Griffin's back.
Illia Lindsay waved, while Joshua Lindsay looked down with his usual stern expression.
They soon shrank into a small dot and vanished into the distance, and Airen kept gazing up at the sky long after they had gone.
He felt the ache of it.
He wished they could have stayed a little longer.
But it was not unbearable.
Airen finally lowered his gaze, closed his eyes, and felt the current flowing within him.
His father, his mother, his younger sister, Lulu, his friends from the fencing hall, the bonds he had made in Durkali, and all the other people who mattered to him...
Among them, Illia's heart flowed in the biggest, deepest, most intense current of all.
The thought crossed his mind that, to become someone who could hold that fully rather than be swept away by it, he would need a heart just as wide and just as solid.
"Ah."
Only then did he understand.
Why he had grown stronger so quickly these past days.
Why the Earth Element had grown so much without him even noticing.
More people's attention, more people's focus.
More people's expectations, love, and hearts.
There had been a time when all of that felt like a burden, something he wanted to run from and avoid.
Not anymore.
Now he wanted to live up to it. He wanted to repay it.
That will, that intention, was exactly what had pushed him to grow.
"...Let's work hard."
"Hm? At what?"
"It's nothing. Well, not nothing, exactly..."
"Hmm?"
Lulu tilted her head, looking at him curiously. Airen just smiled.
He petted the black cat's head, then made his way toward the training grounds.
Airen had said that focusing on others and learning about the world both counted as training and study.
But today, he just wanted to focus entirely on the sword.
* * *
'I learned a lot.'
Riding on the parrot-headed Griffin, Joshua Lindsay murmured to himself.
It was true. At the start of the trip, he had believed he was the one teaching Airen. Looking back on it now as they left, he realized he was the one who had learned something.
He had watched Airen let go of the pain of a bitter past.
Watched him walk his own path naturally and without struggle, unshackled by worry or anxiety over a future that was far from guaranteed to be bright.
And what about himself?
He was still trapped in regret over the past.
Still letting that trauma cast a shadow over his present and future.
His overprotectiveness of his daughter, Illia Lindsay, was proof enough of that.
He understood it now.
The reason he had clung so tightly to his daughter's safety and future, more than was ever necessary...
'It's because I still haven't broken free from the guilt I carry over my son, Carl Lindsay.'
Joshua Lindsay closed his eyes.
The boy's face had grown fainter in his memory with each passing year.
But his own harsh actions and cold expression remained sharp and clear.
And the way his son's mood had grown darker and darker because of it, that too, he remembered clearly.
He had to break free of it.
He had no choice. Only then could he and his house stand upright again. That would also help his daughter's happiness.
Still, two things gave him some comfort.
First, that he had finally acknowledged the uncomfortable truth he had avoided facing for so long.
Second, that Airen Farreira had shown him the direction forward.
The sword the boy had wielded rose in his mind.
So did the look in his eyes, and the will burning deep within them.
He thought, too, of the blue-haired swordsman he had briefly crossed paths with before entering Farreira territory.
"Dad. We're almost there."
"...Already?"
"Yes. I can see it up ahead."
Joshua Lindsay, lost in thought, started and asked.
She was right.
He nodded, looking at his own territory now coming into view.
He felt good.
The confusion that had gripped him the first time he had ridden a Griffin had settled into something calmer now.
Of course, the negative feelings were not entirely resolved.
There would be more time needed ahead, more effort.
Something he had avoided facing head-on for so long would be harder to fix, slower to heal.
But that was fine.
He had realized it before it was too late, and that alone was enough.
The head of House Lindsay gave his daughter a warm smile, then leaped down from the Griffin the instant it landed at the lord's keep.
That was when it happened.
A familiar voice from behind pierced his ear like a needle.
"Lord."
"..."
"The Commander of the Black Knight Order of the Holy Kingdom of Abilius, Ignet Crescentia, requests your instruction."
Joshua Lindsay, the head of one of the Five Great Sword Houses, slowly turned around.
There stood the Black-haired Knight, her eyes locked onto him with unmistakable seriousness.
He could tell at a glance.
She was stronger than when they had first crossed swords in Lavath Kingdom.
Stronger even than after her breakthrough and rebirth.
He did not bother mentioning it.
The head of House Lindsay's expression hardened, and he spoke.
"I'm not in a good mood today."
"..."
"That means it's going to be rough. Very rough. If you're expecting this to end as a friendly spar..."
Whooooosh!
"...stop talking and get out of here."
Ignet did not flinch even against the fierce wind.
No matter how vast the sky.
No matter how wild the wind that filled the air.
The sun never lost its light.
Still radiating her own presence undimmed, she spoke with a cool smile.
"I ask only for the intensity you just described."
"..."
"Anything less than that will not be enough to break through the wall I've hit..."
"Let's move somewhere else."
The head of House Lindsay cut her off.
It was not that he was avoiding the fight. If anything, he intended to fight for real.
If they fought within the territory, things would end up smashed to pieces everywhere.
Part of him wanted to give her a proper thrashing without having to worry about anyone else.
Just then, another voice called out from behind.
It was Illia Lindsay.
"I'd like to watch."
"..."
"Is that all right?"
"...Follow me."
Joshua Lindsay gave a short nod.
Illia Lindsay's eyes carried even more tension than his.
And Ignet Crescentia, still shining undimmed in the middle of the fierce storm.
The retainers did not dare follow as the three of them made their way swiftly out of the territory, but not everyone held back.
"..."
"..."
"..."
The Priest.
The Jester.
And a swordsman standing beside them quietly watched their fight.
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
