WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Dionysus
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Chapter 274: The Greatest Expert (2)
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"..."
The continent's 101st-ranked swordsman.
No, now a proper Sword Master, Zet Frost recalled what had happened a few days ago.
Master Brett Lloyd, who had reached that great realm in his early twenties.
Judith the Expert, whose talent shone brightly but whom Zet Frost had judged to be lacking by comparison.
The astonishing sparring match between the two swordsmen.
After finishing his recollection, Zet Frost let out the breath he had been holding and muttered.
"It's already been a week..."
It still felt as vivid as if it had just happened.
He had not forced himself to remember it.
It simply came to mind. It kept coming to mind.
While eating, while walking, before falling asleep, even in his dreams...
It could not be helped. That fight had produced a result so unexpected that it completely defied Zet Frost's common sense.
'I never imagined an Expert would defeat a Master.'
Of course, it was not entirely impossible.
Though exceedingly rare, there had been cases throughout history where an Expert defeated a Master.
A swordsman who had reached the pinnacle of the Expert rank was not so far behind a Master in swordsmanship.
Given a fine sword capable of enduring the destructive force of an Aura Sword, and a measure of luck, Judith's victory was entirely possible.
But that fight had not felt like that at all.
In other words, it had not been luck.
From the perspective of Zet Frost, who had reached the realm of the Master.
No, it had been a plainly one-sided result that anyone could have recognized.
Remembering Judith as she had been that day, Zet Frost shook his head.
'...Perhaps I have misunderstood Master Kun all this time as well.'
The realm of the Sword Master was one only true sword geniuses could reach.
Yet even among them, there were differences in talent.
Some reached that realm in their twenties, while Kun had only managed to manifest an Aura Sword at the age of seventy.
That was why gossips often said Kun had the least talent of all Masters.
That was not true.
No, perhaps it was. Zet Frost honestly did not know.
However, one thing had become certain after seeing that fight a week ago.
Kun and Judith, the two swordsmen, had to be understood by a completely different standard from the Expert-Master framework commonly accepted across the continent.
'An Aura Sword was not the sole path toward the ultimate realm of the sword. If there is a more efficient and powerful method, and someone can hone it thoroughly enough to reach its limits...'
What did the distinction between Expert and Master matter then?
He sincerely thought so.
"Perhaps even before becoming a Master, Master Kun was already strong enough to overwhelm an ordinary Master..."
Zet Frost's thoughts deepened.
Reaching the realm of the Master had been his sole goal, and he had achieved it.
But he could not be satisfied. It was as though he had become a completely different person before and after using the bathroom. He was already dreaming of a higher realm.
The new direction laid out before him left him bewildered and confused, but it also filled him with a joy far greater than either feeling.
"Hmm."
As Zet Frost once again thought about Judith's swordsmanship, his expression hardened.
Brett came to mind. More precisely, the emotions and thoughts Brett must be harboring now.
'A Master defeated by an Expert... The shock must be immense.'
While an Expert defeating a Master was an astonishing and glorious feat rare enough to count on one hand,
a Master losing to an Expert was humiliating and shameful to a degree nearly without precedent.
Even if Kun and Judith should not be understood by those standards, and even if Brett was perceptive enough to know that, emotions were another matter.
"...I hope Brett does not fall into despair."
Zet Frost smacked his lips.
There had been many geniuses racing unimpeded down a smooth road who tripped over an insignificant stone and never rose again.
It was not merely something he had heard about. He had seen it many times.
Thinking of the blue-haired swordsman for a little longer, Zet Frost started walking.
He wanted to return to Partisan quickly.
He wanted to swing his sword.
* * *
"What should I do about this?"
"..."
"...What? What's with that expression?"
Looking into his disciple's eyes as Judith asked the question, Kun wore an odd smile.
He could not help it.
Proud, and even more stubborn.
Judith, whose personality was absolutely foul-tempered, harboring such feelings and even seeking advice from Kun because of them was a strange sight indeed.
'Damn it.'
Judith did not understand it either.
All she had ever thought about was how to become stronger.
How to bring down those better than her, that single thought had filled her mind and made her insides boil.
She used that rage, anger, and inferiority as kindling to shape the direction of her swordsmanship, and under Kun's teachings, she had achieved results.
That was why she had defeated Brett.
'Then why...?'
Why did the murky, uncomfortable feeling outweigh the joy?
It was absurd.
She was confused and bewildered. Judith frowned at the unfamiliar version of herself.
There were mountains of people besides Brett whom she still had to bring down. Why did Brett's dark expression keep coming to mind?
Having thought that far, Judith vigorously shook her head.
It was irritating. She wanted to hit the version of herself from a moment ago, the one who had asked, "How can I comfort Brett?"
After letting out a long breath, Judith looked at Kun again.
A moment later, a new question emerged.
"...Forget what I asked before."
"Forget it?"
"Yes. Tell me this instead. How can I cut off feelings and thoughts like these?"
"..."
"I think that's the only way I can move forward. You did the same thing, didn't you, Master? That's why you threw everything away and kept training alone in a remote place like this for decades."
"So tell me quickly. How do I do it? What do I have to do to become like that?"
As question after question poured from his disciple, Kun wore another odd smile.
But it felt a little different.
The earlier smile had been bright. This one was not.
The difference was great enough for even Judith, immersed in her own emotions, to notice. She took a small step back and watched Kun's expression.
That's right.
Kun muttered inwardly.
His ill-mannered disciple was right. To overcome the immense mountain known as Ian, Kun had let go of everything.
He had let go of a close friend.
He had let go of his wife.
One by one, he had let go of countless other things. From his hands, and from his heart.
Then he filled those empty spaces entirely with thoughts of the sword.
With his own lack of talent... Kun had been consumed by the thought that unless he forced himself to make room for the sword, he could never catch up to Ian.
"Do not let go."
"What?"
"Do not let go of your bonds."
An unexpected answer came from Kun.
Judith stared at Kun with wide eyes, and he smiled again.
A bitter smile.
Yet brighter than before.
Kun watched his disciple for a moment, then continued speaking at an unhurried pace.
"If you want to stop at a moderately strong level, say, one of the continent's ten greatest swordsmen, you may follow the path I took. It truly helped quite a bit. Because I threw everything else away, I could devote myself entirely to the sword, and I became one of the continent's three greatest swordsmen."
"Then why am I only one of the ten greatest? You're one of the three greatest."
"Haa, is that your complaint? I'm not saying that because I look down on you. It's because this generation is better than mine. Am I wrong?"
"...No."
"Right. That's why I said the ten greatest. But someone as greedy as you will never be satisfied with that."
"Well, of course..."
"That is why."
Kun cut Judith off, his gaze deep and serious.
"Walk a different path from mine. Do not let go of your friends, or your lover. Do not let go of your ties to Krono Fencing Hall. Do not sacrifice every bond you will form for the sake of the sword. Be greedy. Do not let go of a single thing. Embrace it all and carry it with you."
"..."
"You will need at least that much ambition if you want a chance against not only me, but people like Ignet and Airen as well."
Having said that much, Kun suddenly burst into laughter.
He could not help it.
Even the same words carried differently depending on who said them.
There was a world of difference between a respected leader saying, "Get your act together!" and a drunken gambler saying it.
By that measure, there was likely no one less suited to saying such things than Kun.
"Ha, hahaha... Phew, it has been a long time since I laughed so much."
"..."
"Do not take it too seriously. Go swing your sword. I'm going inside to rest for a while."
"Ah, don't touch my hair."
After laughing for a long time, Kun patted Judith's head and entered the house.
Immediately afterward, blood flowed from Kun's mouth. He wiped the blood from his teeth with a cloth, panted for breath, then laughed again.
Did people change when death drew near?
Kun suddenly thought of his wife, Keira Fin.
"...If I apologized now, what would she say?"
He did not know.
He would never know.
Having come too far, Kun no longer had the courage to say such words.
He coughed up blood several more times, laughing each time. Still, he felt a little lighter than before.
Kun rinsed his mouth with water, pondered for a moment, then went back outside and picked up his sword.
"...I knew it. What rest?"
"Ha ha! A swordsman needs no rest until after death!"
"Stop talking nonsense..."
"Haap! Hah! Haap! Die, Ian! Tahat!"
"Hoo..."
Judith shook her head again. She was unusual herself, but Kun was even more so.
That did not mean she would take Kun's words lightly.
When it came to the sword, Kun was the best.
At least, he was to Judith. To her, Kun was a better Master than Ian.
Of course, what Kun had just said needed more thought...
'I'll think about that later when I sleep. For now, focus on the sword.'
Judith slowly took a deep breath and concentrated. She closed her eyes.
Many scenes passed through her mind.
Kun's swordsmanship, which moved forward in a way different from hers, yet somehow similar.
The swordsmanship of her lover, Brett Lloyd, which moved in a completely different direction.
And the swordsmanship of the black-haired swordswoman who had arrived here a little earlier.
'...I'll bring you down someday too.'
Remembering Ignet, who had not lost her dignity even while Kun's sword left her battered and broken, Judith ignited flames.
The Red Sword's blade turned crimson, and heat powerful enough to make the winter weather seem irrelevant filled the surrounding area.
Surpass Illia.
Surpass Airen.
Surpass Ignet too. And if that idiot Brett ever gives up and sits down, force him back to his feet and beat him down again.
If he falls, pick him back up and beat him down again.
'Huh? Doesn't that solve the problem I was worrying about just now?'
Whoosh.
Judith looked dazed for a moment, then grinned.
She did not know why, but the flames on her sword grew fiercer.
Judith happily swung the sword, and Kun watched with delight.
Before long, Kun too became immersed in his sword and lost himself in a trance of swordsmanship. Like master, like disciple.
And far away from them.
"..."
The Priest was there.
The Priest was alone now. The Jester and the swordsman had gone ahead to follow Ignet.
There was some concern that they would move beyond the Priest's sphere of influence, but it should not cause any major problems. The Priest had bestowed the Blessing of Stealth upon them.
Yes. What mattered more was this moment.
The Priest gazed steadily at Kun and opened their mouth.
A figure the Priest had not seen in a very long time.
The demon pondered for a long while over what to call him before finally speaking.
"Father."
It was a quiet voice that no one else could hear.
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