WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Reformation of the Deadbeat Noble

Chapter 40

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Sorcerer (1)

An impossible thing.

Something that couldn't be explained by common sense. Something so absurd it made a person doubt their own eyes.

When people witnessed a sight like that, they usually reached for the phrase "like magic."

Strictly speaking, though, that phrase was wrong.

Because magic dealt in an invisible force called Mana, it was easy to mistake for something else, but magic was, without question, a discipline that followed reason and logic.

So what word actually fit a situation that defied all understanding?

Sorcery...!

That was the answer.

Only Sorcery could ever produce something that completely ignored the laws of the world.

A cat talking, of all things...

Had a Sorcerer transformed into a cat?

Or had a cat become a Sorcerer?

Marcus the attendant was thrown into confusion. Either way, it was a bizarre turn of events.

He was stunned, and Airen Farreira couldn't help wearing a shocked expression either.

This was the first time he'd ever seen a Sorcerer besides his own sister.

What is going on all of a sudden?

Aren Gairon's confusion ran even deeper.

He too had never come face to face with a Sorcerer except for Kiril Farreira. To begin with, Sorcerers were rarer than mages.

The fifteen-year-old boy ran through every rumor he'd ever heard about Sorcerers.

They're all supposed to have broken personalities, and cause all kinds of trouble the second something rubs them the wrong way...

What if it tried to hurt him?

Or, wait, was it already doing that?

Aren Gairon's face turned a sickly shade.

This isn't good.

Jack Steward's reaction was far more level headed than the viscount's second son.

Sorcerers were unusual beings, sure, but they still had intelligence and character. They weren't monsters conjured up to scare children.

Plenty of Sorcerers served under various kingdoms, so it was hard to believe this one wouldn't be able to communicate.

But this was House Farreira's territory.

And the other party had already made its unfriendly feelings toward them clear.

And on top of that...

There's no way to guess what kind of power a Sorcerer has!

Since there was no telling how strong the opponent might be, he arrived at one conclusion: get out of here, fast.

He spoke up.

"If we've been rude to you, Sorcerer-nim, I apologize. If you're upset, please feel free to visit House Gairon at your convenience."

"What, seriously? You're not gonna fight? Just leaving?"

"House Gairon and House Farreira are on good terms, helping and relying on each other. I believe there's been some kind of misunderstanding."

"Aww."

The cat, still balanced on its hind legs, crossed its front paws.

It scrunched its face up like it wasn't satisfied, but it didn't take things any further.

Jack Steward let out a quiet sigh of relief, then turned to Airen Farreira.

"I'm sorry for taking up so much of the young master's time. You must be tired from your long journey, so we'll take our leave now. Young master, please get in the carriage."

"Huh? Ah, right!"

As if he'd been waiting for exactly that, Aren Gairon scrambled hurriedly into the carriage, with Jack Steward following behind.

The carriage kicked up a cloud of dust and quickly grew distant, leaving only House Farreira's party and the black cat behind on the road.

"What was that. Not even a little fun."

They didn't seem to like each other much, so wouldn't it have been better to just have a good clean fight?

Muttering on at length, the Sorcerer stuck a front paw into its own side. A pocket appeared out of nowhere, and a dainty little wooden sword popped out of it.

The cat caught it deftly and swung it around like it was holding a rapier, jabbing at the air.

"Like this, like this, whoosh, whoosh! Whoosh, whoosh!"

"..."

"I thought something fun was about to happen. Disappointing."

"..."

Neither Airen, nor the attendant, nor the soldiers driving the carriage could get a word out.

Their brains felt frozen solid. All they could do was stand there blankly and watch the black cat carry on, and the creature kept up its swordsman act for a good while longer.

Then it suddenly plopped down and started grooming itself.

"..."

"..."

Marcus was the first to snap out of it.

He signaled the soldiers with a look, telling them to head for the driver's seat, and waved the young master toward the carriage.

Fortunately, the cat paid them no attention at all.

As if grooming were its one sacred duty, it never so much as glanced their way, just kept licking at its own paw.

A little while later, once he'd confirmed the distance between them had grown, Airen asked Marcus.

"That Sorcerer, do you know... no, that animal... ah, I mean..."

"No, I don't know it. But..."

The attendant paused, swallowed, then went on.

"It might have something to do with Lady Kiril Farreira. They're both Sorcerers, after all."

"I see..."

"I'll look into it the moment we get back to the estate."

With that, the carriage fell into silence.

Both Airen and Marcus were too busy replaying the absurd scene that had just happened to say anything more.

The carriage kept rolling on all the same. Before long, the walls of Farreira territory came into view.

For this one moment, even the lazy lord managed to put the Sorcerer out of his mind.

Taking in the familiar landscape ahead, he drew a deep breath.

House Farreira's lazy eldest son had returned home after a year away.

* * *

"That cat is a Sorcerer named Lulu."

The attendant hadn't even needed to go looking. The entire household already knew about the cat Sorcerer named Lulu.

The family of four, reunited after so long, gathered in a room.

The topic that should have come up first was naturally Krono Fencing Hall, but that wasn't what happened.

Baron Farreira launched into the story of the Sorcerer instead.

"It showed up wanting to become Kiril's... master. It's been about ten days now."

"...Master?"

"Ah, here we are, reunited after so long, and the first thing out of my mouth is a story about a cat... Sorry about that. You worked hard this past year, son."

"Ah! No, it's fine. It was a good experience. Not that it wasn't hard... but it was good. Really."

Airen Farreira spoke from the heart, and Baron Farreira caught the sincerity in his son's words.

That alone was enough to make the father's nose sting.

His son, who had spent ten years never leaving his room, had endured a full year of that brutal fencing hall schedule.

No, not just endured it, forcing himself through. He'd genuinely come to think it was worth it.

That was nothing short of remarkable growth.

Even so, the conversation never turned toward the fencing hall.

"But, sorry... could we talk about the Sorcerer first? I'm too curious to wait..."

"Figured as much. Honestly, I've been dying to tell you too."

If the subject hadn't come up at all, that would have been one thing, but now that it had, there was no putting it off.

A Sorcerer, and a cat Sorcerer at that, was far too interesting a topic to shelve.

Clearing his throat, Harun Farreira began explaining what he knew about the mysterious creature.

There wasn't really anything all that special to say.

It wasn't a human transformed into a cat but an actual cat, and despite that it had human level intelligence, and it seemed to be the type to get obsessed with something quickly and then just as quickly grow bored of it, and surprisingly, it didn't feel particularly threatening...

"And... it's strong."

"Strong?"

"Yeah, strong."

Kiril, who had been sitting quietly on Amel Farreira's lap this whole time, finally spoke up.

"You can just tell by looking at it. Stronger than any Sorcerer I've seen back in the capital... probably."

There was no real basis for the claim, but Airen found himself nodding along anyway.

How could he possibly argue when his own talented Sorcerer sister said so?

That cat, no, that Sorcerer named Lulu, was clearly strong. Clearly skilled.

And that was exactly what was troubling him.

"It's hard to find a Sorcerer with real skill."

"I don't really know much about it, but... I imagine so."

"And it's even harder to find a Sorcerer who's capable of teaching someone."

"That's true."

He wasn't wrong.

The moment Kiril had awakened as a Sorcerer, Baron Farreira had gone straight to the capital to have an audience with the king, and at the same time, searched for a master who could bring out his daughter's talent.

But it had all been for nothing. Sorcerers fell into three types.

Those who didn't take a liking to Kiril, those Kiril didn't take a liking to, and those whose abilities simply didn't match Kiril's, making them unable to teach her anything.

Thanks to that whole ordeal, Baron Farreira had learned the hard way exactly why most Sorcerers ended up honing their abilities alone, without any master at all.

And yet...

"This Sorcerer is skilled, first of all, and second, it's taken a liking to Kiril. Its abilities probably suit Kiril too. Otherwise it wouldn't have thrown such a fit demanding... I mean, made such an earnest request to become her master."

"Is there something specific that's bothering you about it?"

"Its identity isn't confirmed, and that's the biggest problem. I've already sent someone to the Sorcerer's Association to look into it. But..."

The most important part was something else entirely. The baron's gaze drifted toward his daughter, who sat there wearing a sulky expression.

Right.

One of the reasons Kiril Farreira had never managed to find a master.

She had to actually like them.

That was the biggest obstacle of all.

Even if everything else lined up, if it didn't sit well with her, none of it mattered.

Reading the room carefully, Airen Farreira turned to his sister.

"Kiril."

"What?"

"What do you think?"

"About what?"

"That cat Sorcerer."

"What do you think, oppa?"

"Huh?"

Airen faltered when the question came right back at him.

He hadn't given it any thought at all. He'd assumed this was something between Sorcerers, and that he had no business weighing in.

He said as much, plainly.

"Uh, it's your business, so isn't what you want the most important thing here?"

"You think so?"

"Yeah, and, well, I don't really know much about Sorcerers either..."

"That's got nothing to do with it."

"Huh?"

"I already know oppa doesn't know much about Sorcerers. That's got nothing to do with it, you can just tell me what you think, easy."

"..."

A cold sweat broke out across Airen's back.

His sister got like this sometimes, digging in her heels. Whenever it happened, he'd always run out of things to say and retreat to his room, burrow under the blankets.

Obviously, he couldn't do that now.

Airen kept his silence, wearing a troubled expression.

"Kiril, why are you giving your oppa a hard time when he's just come home after so long?"

"I didn't do anything, I just asked him a question, why?"

"Because it's a hard question to answer, that's why."

"He could've just said whatever, easy."

"Relax your face before you say things like that."

Amel Farreira soothed her daughter with practiced ease, as always.

But Kiril's expression showed no sign of softening. Airen kept feeling the sweat trickle down his back.

Something's definitely bothering her.

And it was probably because of him. Either something about the way he'd talked to her, or some part of it he hadn't even imagined could be a problem.

The important thing was that Airen wasn't sharp enough to figure out which.

He found himself wanting, after so long, to flee back to his room.

Of course, he couldn't do that. He'd gone all the way to Krono Fencing Hall specifically so he wouldn't run anymore, and he wasn't about to run from his own sister now.

Fortunately, he had a better option available.

Reaching into his coat, Airen pulled something out and held it toward his sister.

The girl's eyes went round.

"What's this?"

"A gift."

"A... a gift?"

Kiril Farreira's face went slack with surprise.

And not just hers.

Their father, Harun Farreira, and their mother, Amel Farreira, both stared at their son like they couldn't quite believe what they were seeing.

Airen actually bought a gift?

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