WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Reformation of the Deadbeat Noble

Chapter 43

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Sorcerer (4)

"..."

Until Jack Steward finished his account, Phil Gairon said nothing at all.

Sitting in his chair, he propped his chin on his right hand and sank into thought.

Of course, he didn't stay that way forever.

After a moment, he asked in a calm voice.

"So then... you happened to run into the lazy little brat near the estate on your way back?"

"Yes."

"And while you were exchanging greetings, Aren acted the way he always does."

"Yes."

"And that lazy brat, unlike before, didn't run away or avert his eyes..."

"..."

"And on top of that, he made my son cower just with a look... did I get that right? That's what you're saying, isn't it?"

"...At least, that's what I saw."

"That's supposed to make sense?! Are you kidding me?! You little bastard, are your eyes even working right!"

Crash!

Shatter!

Clink! Clatter!

Phil Gairon flipped the table over with a shout. The glass cup sitting on top shattered into pieces with a grating noise.

A few drops of hot tea splashed onto Jack Steward's face. He didn't even blink.

A moment later, the expression twisted like some vengeful spirit on Phil Gairon's face smoothed out. As if nothing had happened.

Startlingly calm now, he went on.

"That's probably what you'd say if you were anyone else. If it wasn't you saying it, I mean."

"Thank you for trusting me."

"Of course I trust you. Naturally, I trust you. You're the knight I trust most, after all. Who else would I trust, if not you? Heh heh heh."

The way he grinned with his eyes wide open, the way his emotions swung without warning, both were unsettling.

But this was nothing new for Jack Steward. He waited for his lord's thoughts to settle.

"Heh, but it's a strange thing. Honestly, I still can't believe it. That pathetic brat grew a spine? That kid with the dull eyes of an old man waiting to die? Did he really change?"

"He's changed, without question. His build has visibly improved, and the way he carries himself with people is completely different. I'd guess he gained a great deal at Krono Fencing Hall."

"Heh, damn it! It's a fencing hall, not some sorcerer's workshop. Either way, it's irritating. Just thinking of that smooth-faced bastard Harun smiling turns my stomach."

Phil Gairon ground his teeth.

He'd disliked Harun Farreira for a long time.

It wasn't as if the man had actually done anything to him.

The guy was better looking than him and had a full head of hair.

Unlike Phil, who'd married for political reasons, Harun had married for love and gotten himself a beautiful wife.

Two of them, in fact. His own wife, for reference, was infamous for her plainness.

That alone was enough to make his blood boil, but on top of it, the man's territory kept growing wealthier by the day. The praise his people heaped on him only climbed higher with each passing year.

An infuriating man.

A man who turned his stomach just to think about.

That was why.

That was the reason he'd latched onto that man's son, precious to him above anyone else yet worthless as a cripple, and picked at him without mercy.

That was the good target to bite into, and now it's stirring back to life.

"Damn it. That worthless little brat! He should've stayed holed up in his room like a pathetic wreck! Why crawl out now! Why claw so hard to act like a real person now!"

Phil Gairon kept spitting curses. His words came faster, his breathing rougher.

His bloodshot eyes and his trembling knees betrayed the stress underneath.

That was when Jack Steward, who'd been silent, spoke up carefully.

"A sprouting shoot just needs to be stepped on again, doesn't it?"

"Hm? Right, right! But how?"

"The method is something we can figure out from here. It shouldn't be difficult, though. The Subjugation Campaign is coming up soon, isn't it?"

"Ahh!"

Clap!

Viscount Gairon clapped his hands. A burst of heh-heh-heh laughter followed.

Reading his lord's mood, Jack Steward wore a thin smile of his own as he continued.

"How skilled the lazy lord actually is won't matter much. If there's an incident, it won't be hard to manufacture a few problems, and picking at faults and finding fault in the middle of it all is far easier still. In the end, all we need to do is drag his name back through the mud, isn't it?"

"Right! Exactly right!"

"And if that's not enough, there are harsher methods too."

"I like that too! Yes, yes, that's my Jack! I'll leave it all to you!"

Phil Gairon praised Jack Steward, delighted like a child. The knight indulged his lord's mood appropriately, then carefully excused himself from the room.

"Madman."

Wiping the tea off his face, Jack scowled.

The treatment he received was good, sure, but every time he witnessed the viscount's fits of madness, his appetite vanished completely.

Setting that aside, this business shouldn't cause much trouble.

The boy had skipped every single event from the start, and even if he'd had some change of heart, it wasn't worth worrying about. All those schemes they'd just discussed probably wouldn't even be necessary.

It'll probably end at the heir's level.

Sharper than his father, more capable, and far more calculating. Laiyan Gairon.

Recalling the man who'd graduated from the Hale Royal Knight Academy with top marks, Jack Steward headed back to his quarters.

* * *

A week since returning from Krono Fencing Hall.

Airen Farreira kept up his physical conditioning and swordsmanship training without missing a single day.

He hadn't found a clear answer.

The boy still hadn't found any thread that told him what his sword was, or what path he should walk.

But one thing was certain: he couldn't keep relying on the man's sword any longer.

Of course, he'd received plenty of help along the way.

The fact that he'd left his room at all, the fact that he'd experienced the fencing hall and formed bonds with so many people who'd shaped him for the better, all of it he owed to the mysterious dream and the man's sword.

But at least when it came to swordsmanship, he needed to break free of that influence, so the boy gritted his teeth and trained only in the forms he'd learned at Krono Fencing Hall.

Until he forgot. Until the man's sword faded. He kept going.

"Huff, huff, huff..."

"Insane..."

"How long is he planning to keep this up?"

Watching the lazy lord, a few of the soldiers wore looks of exhaustion.

They were the ones who'd shown up at the training grounds on their own, sparked by the sight of the grown young master.

The dramatic change in a man everyone had pointed fingers at as a lazybones his whole life had lit a fire in their hearts.

But that burning enthusiasm hadn't lasted long.

Airen's stamina was simply too good to keep up with on a brief burst of motivation alone.

"Oh man, I can't do this anymore."

"Yeah. That's enough for today."

One by one, the soldiers left the training grounds.

Airen, who'd just started a break, watched them go.

And thought of the children at the fencing hall.

Illia Lindsay, Brett Lloyd, Judith, and all the countless other trainees.

They really were something else.

Realizing it all over again, they truly had been remarkable kids.

He'd had the mysterious dream's help, but they hadn't received help from anyone.

They'd endured that hellish training on nothing but pure passion, willpower, and grit alone. Their stamina hadn't just been there from the start.

Could I really stand alone without the dream?

The old anxiety surfaced again.

Airen shook his head.

Nobody could be good at something from the very start. Hadn't he been through this thought loop enough times already?

Steadying his resolve once more, he was about to swing his sword again when it happened.

Whoosh.

Flutter, flutter!

Hop!

Meow!

"Ha, still can't catch it?"

"..."

The unfamiliar sight, one he'd never seen before, broke the boy's concentration.

That was remarkable in itself. Airen Farreira, as he was now, was someone who could stay locked in on his own work without so much as blinking, no matter what.

But anyone who saw the scene in front of him would understand.

Three tabby cats chasing a bug-shaped toy dangling from a fishing rod.

And a single black cat swinging that fishing rod back and forth.

Where in the world could such a bizarre sight exist?

Thanks to the spectacle, the soldiers about to leave, the maids heading off to work, even the servant Marcus, none of them could tear their eyes away from the cats.

What in the world is she even thinking?

He'd heard the reason already.

Since Kiril Farreira seemed likely to listen to her, she planned to win her over. That was what the Sorcerer Lulu herself had said.

But ever since that day, Lulu hadn't said a single word to the boy.

Well, she did plant herself near Airen every single day.

But on the first day, she'd glanced at him for a moment before sleeping the whole time through.

On the second day, she'd found a ball from somewhere and played with it alone. Groomed herself occasionally too.

And starting yesterday, she'd just been playing with cats she'd brought in from who knew where.

Given the situation, even Airen, who tended to stay unbothered by most things, couldn't help but notice.

"Hff."

Unable to hold back his curiosity any longer, he walked over toward Lulu, the cat Sorcerer.

Right on cue, the servant Marcus followed along too.

Airen asked, looking puzzled.

"Why's Marcus coming too?"

"Well, there's hardly anyone as unusual as a cat Sorcerer, is there? So I was curious what kind of conversation you'd have..."

It was a lie. Marcus simply liked cats and wanted an excuse to watch up close.

Of course, Airen didn't mind either way. He nodded and walked toward Lulu, and the three tabbies scattered in a hurry.

Fortunately, Lulu didn't run off.

She didn't scowl, either.

She spoke.

"What?"

"No, well..."

He was dumbfounded.

She'd gone on about winning him over and everything, and now, at this point, she just asked "what?"

The boy started to speak. No, he stopped himself before he could.

Wait, should I be using honorifics with her?

After a moment's hesitation, Airen shook his head.

She was a Sorcerer, sure, but using honorifics with a cat felt strange somehow.

Deciding to just talk to her casually, he opened his mouth a beat late.

"So..."

"So?"

"You said you were going to win me over, didn't you?"

"Oh! I've heard that phrase somewhere before. Right! I saw it in a novel adult humans read!"

"...You're the one who said it."

"That's also true."

"Anyway, after all that, why haven't you said a single word to me since?"

"Because talking to you didn't seem like it'd be much fun?"

"Huh?"

"Kiril's got some spark to her. You, though, not so much. You seem about as boring as a few hundred pebbles piled up in a stream."

"..."

It was true enough. Airen Farreira, having spent so long cooped up in his room, wasn't exactly known for his conversational skills.

But hearing something like that from a cat still stung somehow. For a moment, he even felt the urge to argue back.

Just then, Lulu tucked the fishing rod into her side.

The people nearby gasped, watching a long object sink smoothly into what had just been empty space.

But that wasn't the end of it. Not content with just putting the fishing rod away, Lulu kept rummaging around with her hand.

Then, as if she'd found what she was after, her face brightened. Even across species, the emotion came through clear as day.

She said,

"I'll give you a gift."

"Hm?"

"People call this a bribe too, apparently."

"..."

"Take this, and if you like it, put in a good word with your sister for me."

"No, wait..."

The boy froze. The blunt use of the word bribe and the cat's straightforward honesty about her own motives both caught him off guard. He fell into confusion.

But the others around him weren't confused at all.

Especially the servant Marcus standing beside him, who couldn't stand not knowing what the cat Sorcerer was about to hand over.

He craned his neck to check what sat in the cat's small hand, and cried out in shock.

"Ca, Cat's Eye Stone!"

"Cat's Eye Stone?"

"For real?"

Murmurs rippled through the people nearby. Their faces showed the same shock, plain to see.

Airen was the only one who had no idea what a Cat's Eye Stone even was.

But he could tell one thing at least.

That's got to be an insanely expensive gem...

He asked.

"Marcus, is this expensive?"

"It's insanely expensive."

"It's insanely expensive."

The answer came from the cat Sorcerer Lulu and Marcus at the exact same time.

The servant paused for a beat, then continued in a trembling voice.

"If it's this size, and if it's really a genuine Cat's Eye Stone... it could probably buy a quarter of the Farreira territory."

"..."

The lazy lord lost his words at a value beyond all imagination.

Seeing his reaction, Lulu hopped up and perched herself on the servant's shoulder.

Then, stroking the man's head, she said,

"Saying something that works in my favor, how nice of you."

"I, I just stated the value as it actually is..."

"If you manage to talk him into it, I'll give you something nice too."

Feeling the cat's soft touch, the servant fought hard to keep his expression from crumbling.

Watching the scene blankly, Airen finally spoke up.

"Why do you want my sister as your student badly enough to hand over something this valuable?"

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