WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Reformation of the Deadbeat Noble

Chapter 44

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Sorcerer (5)

"I just want to make you my disciple, that's why."

"No reason at all?"

"Does there have to be a reason? What business is it of yours who I take a liking to?"

"....."

Airen Farreira found himself with nothing to say.

It was true. There was no rule that said liking someone required a reason.

Maybe there really was no reason at all. Or maybe it was something too vague to explain.

What mattered was whether this strange cat genuinely liked his younger brother. That was the important part.

'I really don't know.'

Of course he didn't. Airen, who struggled even reading other people, had no chance of reading a cat's mind.

He checked the cat's expression just in case, but of course he couldn't read a cat's face either.

That was when Marcus, the servant who'd stayed quiet until now, cautiously opened his mouth.

"Um..."

"Hm?"

"About that, though. That, um... the Cat's Eye Stone, and... what I just said, about our territory..."

His way of speaking was maddeningly indirect.

He stammered, trailed off, circled around the point. He finished without ever saying anything straightforwardly, leaving it all painfully vague.

Still, his intent came through clearly enough.

Lulu, the black cat who'd waited quietly through all of it, frowned and asked.

"What. Are you asking me if I don't understand the value of money?"

"That's not it..."

"It is too. Who do you take me for? Even if I'm a cat, I know exactly how expensive a Cat's Eye Stone is!"

"S, sorry."

"A stone this size could buy me more than a thousand servings of smoked salmon, easy."

"....."

"What? Am I wrong?"

Marcus's expression turned strange, but Lulu paid it no mind.

If anything, she launched into her own philosophy with even more confidence.

"Anyway, humans worry way too much about jewels and gold and money in general. There's so much more important stuff out there."

"Pardon?"

"Look at this."

The cat plunged a paw into her own side.

It was a strange sight, but Sorcerers were like that as a rule, so nobody made a fuss over it.

If anything, they leaned in with even more curiosity toward whatever Lulu was about to pull out.

But what landed on the cat's paw was nothing more than a plain, unremarkable Wooden Ball.

"This is?"

"A wooden ball."

"A wooden ball, I see."

"And it's a treasure I wouldn't trade for even dozens of those Cat's Eye Stones you showed me earlier."

"Pardon?"

"This wooden ball has a scent I really love, and there's no way to get another one like it."

If it were an ordinary smell, one could commission a perfumer or a mage to recreate it.

But the scent coming off the wooden ball was impossibly faint. Faint enough that only a cat's sensitive nose could catch it, not a human's.

"See? No amount of gold or jewels can buy you something like this."

"That's... true, I suppose."

"And! There's more!"

Lulu's treasures didn't stop there. The black cat kept pulling out item after item, as if showing off her collection.

A patch of foxtail grass that reminded her of memories from before she'd learned Sorcery.

A stuffed toy with a split seam, a gift from a stray cat she'd once known.

And a pile of other odds and ends besides.

Explaining each one, Lulu looked thoroughly pleased with herself.

"I see. Now I understand."

Marcus nodded as though he finally got it. Not just him, either. The people standing around seemed to nod along too, more or less convinced.

Of course, it wasn't a deep, heartfelt agreement. They understood what Lulu meant, but money was still money.

Not many humans would choose some small personal treasure over a mountain of gold and jewels.

But not none, either.

Airen Farreira was one of them.

'Maybe it's because I'm a noble.'

Unlike most people, the lazy lord had never once wanted for money.

He'd spent his whole life in comfort, never once worrying about his next meal. He was more than used to servants waiting on him hand and foot.

The fact that he genuinely agreed with what Lulu was saying might have come from exactly that kind of sheltered, naive thinking.

But he didn't think that was a bad thing.

Airen liked this cat.

'It means she cares that much about my brother.'

The bond between her and his brother, that too, belonged among the "precious things money can't buy."

That was what mattered most.

The boy watched Sorcerer Lulu with a faint smile, and the cat, feeling his gaze, quickly gathered up her treasures and hopped in front of him.

Then she held out the Cat's Eye Stone again and said.

"Anyway, take this and put in a good word for me."

"Sorry, can't do that."

"Why! I told you already! This thing is super expensive, you know!"

"You also told me there's a lot more important than money."

"Ah!"

"And like I said before, it doesn't feel right for me to butt into my brother's business."

"Butt in! How is a big brother giving advice for the sake of his precious little brother a bad thing?"

"That's true, but if I do give advice... I'll just tell him exactly what I've seen and felt about you. Not some flattering line I made up because I took a bribe."

Airen said it with a calm expression.

Not a hint of regret on his face. If anything, Marcus standing next to him showed far more emotion.

Lulu noticed too.

The black cat, tucking the Cat's Eye Stone back into her side, said.

"Hmm, I figured even if this wouldn't work on Kiril, it'd work on you."

"....."

"Well, can't be helped. Still."

"Still?"

"You seem easier to talk to than Kiril, so I'll come pester you every once in a while from now on. And..."

You're a bit more interesting than I expected, too.

With that, Lulu vanished without a trace.

Everyone gathered around was startled this time. Even Airen, who'd already seen the cat's Sorcery once, wore a look of amazement.

'I heard even famous mages struggle with teleportation, and she just does it like it's nothing.'

Maybe that was just how Sorcerers were.

He stared at the empty space where Lulu had been for a moment.

Not for long, though. Airen soon turned his head and picked up his sword again.

And, as always, swung it.

Whoosh!

* * *

"Airen."

"Hm?"

"Come here."

Ever since the bribery attempt had failed, Lulu had taken to talking to Airen Farreira more often than before.

It was never anything particularly important.

This time was no different.

"Why?"

"Just come here fast. Fast."

The black cat pressed him again, and the lazy lord approached, curious despite himself.

Lulu watched him come, then pulled out a bowl of smoked salmon.

Then she said.

"Stay next to me while I eat."

"...That's the whole reason?"

"Yep."

"Why, though?"

"I get anxious eating without someone next to me."

"....."

It wasn't just this once.

Lulu was always like this. Unpredictable requests, unpredictable topics, unpredictable behavior, all of it left Airen flustered.

She never once brought up the subject of his brother, oddly enough.

And strangely, he never found it annoying.

'This reminds me of the fencing hall.'

Krono Fencing Hall had been a brutally hard place for the lazy lord, but also one he missed.

It was where he'd made his first friend. Where he'd first talked easily with people outside his family.

And... sadly, once he'd left the fencing hall, Airen had assumed that kind of chance was gone for good.

But it wasn't.

This odd, pure, and thoroughly absurd cat treated him without a shred of hesitation.

As if there'd never been a wall between them to begin with. Or as if she simply didn't know the concept existed.

In some ways she was even more reckless than Judith, and somehow that worked in her favor.

Airen always struggled to approach people first, but he was fairly generous about letting others approach him.

"That kitten lying over there, you know what it's thinking?"

"Not really... what's it thinking?"

"I just asked you that."

"Huh?"

"I asked you, so why are you asking me back?"

"...Wasn't that supposed to be a guessing game?"

"How would I know what another cat is thinking."

"....."

Tossing out another absurd remark, Lulu settled into a corner of the training grounds.

Watching her, Airen Farreira let out a short laugh.

He still had no idea what kind of relationship they had, but at least it didn't feel bad.

"Why are you laughing?"

"No reason."

"Really? Hm."

Lulu lay down on her side like a person would, resting her head on one paw.

Strange, and a little bit cute.

Seeing that, Airen smiled faintly again. Then his expression hardened, and he looked down at his sword.

'What is my sword, really.'

The question that had followed him ever since he'd left the fencing hall.

But he had nothing to show for it.

That wasn't strange.

He already knew what wasn't his own sword.

But knowing what to avoid wasn't enough to find the answer. If anything, Airen didn't even know the process that would lead him toward the right one.

All he could do now was swing his sword without relying on the man's sword.

Obviously, that was never going to be easy.

'I'm tired.'

The old him hadn't struggled like this.

He'd swung his sword harder than anyone, pushed his body further than anyone... but none of that had mattered back then.

The man in his dreams had always shown him the direction he needed to go, and the boy had followed without a shred of doubt. All he'd had to do was chase after that back.

But now was different.

A vast, endless sea.

Feeling as though he stood in the middle of it, the lazy lord slowly closed his eyes.

"....."

The man's sword.

He knew he shouldn't use it.

He knew he had to build his own will instead of following the man's will, had to raise his own sword.

But right now, Airen was exhausted, worn down, his mind a tangled mess, and he needed something to lean on.

There was a longing to escape the endless sea, if only for a moment, and reach dry land.

And so the lazy lord drew out the man's sword once more.

Whoosh!

And swung it.

... Once the motion was complete, Airen Farreira slowly opened his eyes and looked around.

"....."

Thankfully, nothing unusual happened.

No unprecedented power boiling up like before. No ground splitting open.

Maybe it was because he hadn't been fully immersed in it. Whatever the reason, no miracle occurred.

Nobody around him showed any particular interest, either.

To them, what had just happened wasn't anything strange at all.

The young master had swung his sword like always, that was all.

Or, well, maybe a little different since he'd swung with his eyes closed? Even so, that probably just meant he'd been a bit more focused than usual. That was about as far as the thoughts of the ordinary people around him went.

But not everyone thought that way.

"Airen."

"Hm?"

Airen answered, looking at Lulu, who had drifted over to his side without him noticing.

He didn't think much of it.

It wasn't the first or second time she'd come over to say something pointless.

But what the black cat said next was far heavier, far more important than he expected.

"Have you ever learned Sorcery?"

"...What are you talking about?"

The lazy lord asked, his expression blank. Lulu, the cat Sorcerer, slowly floated up into the air and met his eyes.

Airen swallowed hard.

He could feel it now.

An atmosphere radiating from her that was completely different from before.

Then, from the black cat's mouth, came the proposal.

"You. Become my disciple."

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