WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Reformation of the Deadbeat Noble

Chapter 59

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Hidden Dragon of Hale Kingdom (3)

Hill Burnett, vice commander of the Twilight Knights, stopped talking.

He couldn't quite make sense of what he'd just heard.

What? A talent on par with Illia Lindsay, from Hale Kingdom?

He turned it over in his head for a moment, then let out a hollow laugh.

"Ha, what kind of joke is that?"

"Hm? What joke?"

"Sir?"

"You mean you really don't know?"

"What are you..."

"Well, huh. This is something. I figured everyone else might not know, but you, being from Hale Kingdom yourself, surely would."

Tom Miller shook his head slowly.

He didn't stop there either, letting out a sigh on top of it, and Hill Burnett felt his chest tighten.

If you were going to bring up something important, you finish saying it. What was this?

If it hadn't been a senior he respected, he'd have grabbed the man by the collar right then.

Maybe Tom Miller sensed it.

He didn't drag it out any further.

"Seems like you really don't know a thing, so I'll start from the beginning. You know how Krono Fencing Hall recruited trainees five years ago? Or was it six? Anyway..."

What followed was a story about Krono's monster that was nothing short of astonishing.

Top of the Mid-Term Evaluation.

Second place in the Final Evaluation.

Overwhelming results in every minor test besides.

A level of skill entirely different from the other members of that golden generation currently making waves across the continent.

"Not just compared to everyone else, either. Even against Brett Lloyd and Judith, who are supposedly unmatched among Krono's current official trainees, my disciple says there's no comparison. And even..."

"Even what?"

"Even against Illia Lindsay in the Final Evaluation, he apparently held his own. My disciple said it came down to paper-thin margins."

"..."

Hill Burnett couldn't believe it.

Who was Illia Lindsay?

A monster always brought up when people named the greatest genius in history, someone said to rival even Ignet in raw talent.

A figure everyone expected would reach the rank of Sword Master, that ultimate goal of every swordsman, without question.

'For Illia Lindsay, it's never a question of whether. Only when.'

And someone that good existed in Hale Kingdom?

"Why would someone that talented give up a spot as an official trainee at Krono? Wait, no, maybe he didn't give it up. Are you sure you're not mistaken about him being at Krono right now?"

"No. My disciple told me clearly he went back to his own territory. I don't know why... so, tell me, do you know this part?"

"Sir? Know what?"

"Ah, guess not. Doesn't look like you know anything at all..."

"Please! Just say it all at once! You're going to give me a heart attack!"

"Alright, alright, fine. Relax your face! Anyway, what I was getting at is... that monster of a young man, from what I hear, comes from the southern part of Hale Kingdom..."

"What? South?"

"Y, yes. Hold on! Calm down a moment..."

No matter what his senior said, Hill Burnett couldn't rein in his excitement.

Southern Hale Kingdom, wasn't that exactly where he was standing right now?

Even the sons of the southern houses were staying here, and he'd already laid eyes on every one of them once.

Barely a few hours had passed since then.

And yet not a single one had left any real impression, which meant...

"...he didn't join the Subjugation Campaign?"

"What, he's not here?"

Hearing Hill Burnett mutter that, Tom Miller's voice dropped with disappointment.

Truth be told, part of the reason he'd stopped by was to see a junior knight he was fond of, but another part was to catch a glimpse of the mystery genius his disciple kept talking about.

Even a quiet type who'd stayed out of sight for five years wouldn't just sit still with a demonoid appearing near his own territory, or so Tom Miller had assumed.

But judging by his junior's expression, that assumption had been wrong.

He clicked his tongue and knocked back his drink.

Not as much as Hill Burnett, but he couldn't help feeling a twinge of disappointment himself.

"...Did you hear a name?"

"Hm?"

"A name. Your disciple must have said one."

"Ah. Right. Should've led with that, come to think of it. Airen, I heard it was Airen Farreira."

"House Farre...!"

Hearing his senior say it, Hill Burnett muttered the word "Farreira" over and over.

He looked like he'd completely forgotten who was sitting across from him.

Watching that, Tom Miller shook his head.

"Yeah, I shouldn't stick around any longer."

"Ah! My apologies! I got lost in thought for a moment..."

"No, it's fine. I'll head out now. Wasn't much time to spare anyway."

"I'll come by properly next time and make time for it, but if you learn anything before then, send word by letter."

With that, Tom Miller left.

In the quiet that followed, the vice commander of the Twilight Knights sank into deep thought.

'The only notable figure I know from House Farreira is Kiril Farreira...'

Though he'd been born and raised in Hale Kingdom, he knew next to nothing about the people of southern Hale.

He'd spent most of his life in the capital.

Kiril Farreira, known as a promising Sorcerer, and Laiyan Gairon, a graduate of the Royal Knight Academy.

Those two names, and nobody else.

He'd never cared about anyone else, not even the head of House Farreira.

But not anymore.

'Airen Farreira... I need to look into this.'

Once he'd made up his mind, Hill Burnett called for a subordinate right away and gave instructions.

He managed to get the information he wanted before the army even marched out.

It hadn't been a difficult task to begin with, which was why he'd gotten it so fast.

But the contents were nothing like what he'd expected.

The evaluation of Airen Farreira, supposedly a genius among geniuses on par with Illia Lindsay, turned out to be far more dismal than he'd imagined.

'The biggest layabout in Hale Kingdom.'

'The lazy lord.'

'A fool who can't do a single thing right.'

Not even mediocre. The exact kind of person he despised most.

Reading through it, Hill Burnett let out a hollow laugh.

"What in the world is this guy?"

He wondered if it was a different person entirely, but no, that wasn't it.

Airen Farreira really had enrolled at Krono Fencing Hall once, and returned to his own territory a year later.

And apparently he'd spent the following five years trapped somewhere, caught up in some kind of Sorcery. If that was true, it explained why he hadn't done anything notable since.

But still...

'The one who earned such notoriety across the whole southern kingdom as the lazy lord...'

Was it even possible?

Krono Fencing Hall, hailed as the finest on the continent.

Within it, the golden 27th cohort, praised as the strongest cohort of all.

And within that group, being counted among the top two or three?

Was that really something to take seriously?

"It's a ridiculous story."

Crumple.

The vice commander crushed the documents in his hand without mercy.

He tossed them aside carelessly, put out the light, and lay down on the bed. He wanted to get to sleep early.

Tomorrow was the day of the subjugation, and good sleep was essential.

"..."

But Hill Burnett couldn't fall asleep easily.

His senior Tom Miller's words kept circling in his ears.

'A genius on a whole different level, he said!'

'My disciple's a proud one himself, but the way he kept praising that kid...'

'No idea why he's kept such a low profile, but if he ever shows himself, the world's going to be shocked.'

'Isn't that basically a blessing for Hale Kingdom?'

"...Enough. Enough thinking about this."

It wasn't as if he had no way to verify the truth of the story.

Airen Farreira was part of the subjugation force too, which meant tomorrow he'd be able to see the man's skill with his own eyes.

"..."

But.

Even knowing all that, Hill Burnett's curiosity about Airen Farreira refused to fade.

In the end, it took him a very long time before he finally managed to fall asleep.

* * *

One day in mid-May.

The forces gathered to subdue the demonoid finally marched out.

Fifty from the capital, a mix of knights, mages, and priests dispatched by the crown.

Another fifty made up of the southern houses' lords and their sons, along with their knights and elite soldiers.

Fewer than usual for a monster subjugation, but that was because when facing a demonoid, quality mattered far more than numbers.

In truth, though the numbers were smaller, the overall strength was leagues beyond what they'd had the year before.

"Reassuring, isn't it."

"The demonoid... a fearsome enemy, but with force like this, I doubt there will be any mishaps."

Watching the Twilight Knights and royal mages march at the head of the column, the southern nobles smiled.

Exactly as they said. The support was so excellent that not a shred of worry crept in.

If anything, what nagged at them was the fear that their own house might fail to make any real showing during the campaign.

'Our house's knights need to put on a good performance!'

'It'd be wonderful if my son could pull off something impressive enough to catch the vice commander's eye.'

Every head of house except Harun Farreira had that exact same thought crowding their mind.

And it wasn't just them.

Their sons wanted nothing more than to catch the eye of Hill Burnett, or any of the influential knights of the Twilight Knights.

To noble sons at the age where dreams still ran large, this campaign felt like the single most important opportunity of their lives.

That was why.

During the lunch break after the long march, with not a monster in sight, let alone a demonoid, they'd picked up their swords anyway.

"Hup!"

Whoosh!

"Hah!"

Whooosh!

Led by Laiyan Gairon, the young lords of the southern houses swung their swords with great energy.

Sword practice.

A performance, in a sense, meant to advertise how hard they were always working.

The knights of the Twilight Knights let out small laughs.

Their transparent little display looked kind of endearing.

"Better than doing nothing at all, I suppose."

"True enough. And honestly, the level's better than I expected."

"Especially that one... Laiyan Gairon, was it?"

"That's right. Pretty... impressive."

"Hm."

The knights' attention gradually gathered on one point, Laiyan Gairon.

Naturally so.

Years of subjugation experience meant all of them had decent enough skill, but none could match the eldest son of House Gairon.

Everyone already knew that, plain as day.

Of course, that didn't mean anyone was going to stop training.

Just as the one person working when nobody else does stands out, so does the one person slacking off when everyone else is working.

None of them wanted to get branded as lazy in front of the knights.

And who knew.

They couldn't compare to Laiyan Gairon, but if they earned a reputation as the next best thing?

Something good might come of it!

With that single-minded hope, the young lords swung their swords, harder and harder still.

That enthusiasm was set to continue right up until the rank-and-file soldiers finished their chores.

That was when it happened.

Hill Burnett, the commander of the subjugation force who'd been sitting quietly the whole time without a word, rose from his seat.

And started walking, step by step.

Watching this, Viscount Phil Gairon swallowed hard.

The direction the vice commander was heading was straight toward his own eldest son, Laiyan Gairon, where he was swinging his sword.

'Could he be about to give him personal instruction?'

Guidance from a renowned figure was always welcome.

But even more welcome was the chance to build a connection with a man destined to become a core pillar of power in Hale Kingdom.

With that thought in mind, Phil Gairon watched Hill Burnett with burning eyes.

Unlike his usual composed self, he couldn't hide his excitement.

Which was exactly why.

When the vice commander of the Twilight Knights walked right past his son.

And instead sat himself down in front of Airen Farreira, who'd been sitting quietly with his eyes closed.

He couldn't keep his expression from twisting.

'Why on earth?'

It wasn't only Viscount Gairon who thought it.

Everyone thought it.

Why in the world had the vice commander gone to Airen Farreira instead of Laiyan Gairon?

Because he wasn't doing anything while everyone else trained hard?

Was he about to be scolded?

With all eyes in the area drawn in, Hill Burnett spoke to Airen, who'd already opened his eyes.

"Airen Farreira."

"Yes, Vice Commander."

"Call me commander of the subjugation force. I'm leading this campaign right now."

"Yes, Commander."

"I'll get straight to the point. Every young person here except you is using this lunch break to train with the sword. Working hard, in other words. And yet you alone are taking it easy."

"..."

"Care to tell me why you're just sitting there while everyone else is putting in such effort?"

The onlookers' expressions turned uncertain.

The words carried the weight of a reprimand.

But the tone was far gentler than the vice commander usually used.

Was this a scolding? Or was he genuinely, simply curious?

While everyone puzzled over it, an unexpected answer came from Airen Farreira's mouth.

"Practicing swordsmanship isn't the same as putting in effort."

"...Swinging a sword right now isn't effort?"

"My apologies. That came out wrong. What I meant was... regardless of anyone else, for me right now, swordsmanship practice can't count as effort."

"Why is that?"

Hill Burnett asked again.

He hadn't asked expecting much. The answer had simply been unexpected enough that he'd reacted on reflex.

But Airen Farreira's answer went far deeper than he'd anticipated.

"Because my heart isn't in it."

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