WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Reformation of the Deadbeat Noble

Chapter 67

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Reunion (2)

After a while, once both of them had settled their emotions, they caught up on everything they'd missed.

Airen Farreira went first.

He remembered how it had been when he first came out of the Otherworldly Realm.

Back then, his father had been the one to speak first, filling him in on the family's situation. His father must have been desperate to hear about his son's five years, but he'd held back and spoken first out of consideration for Airen.

Now it was Airen's turn to return that same consideration.

He held down his own eagerness to hear Lulu's story and laid out his own, piece by piece.

The mysterious world that had matched his dream perfectly, except that he could shape it however he willed. The hardships and trials he'd faced there, and how he'd overcome them. The results he'd earned from all of it, and everything that had happened since he came out of the Otherworldly Realm.

Lulu listened to the whole thing, absorbed, as if it were Lulu's own story.

And then said,

"Ah, that was fun to hear! Sorcery really is mysterious! I didn't know something like that was even possible!"

"Yeah. I didn't expect my friends from the fencing hall to show up in there either."

"The stuff that happened outside was interesting too. Not that I didn't already know most of it."

"Um... Lulu, since when? Since when have you been watching over me?"

Airen asked, curious.

He'd already guessed that Lulu had been secretly following him around.

Ever since he'd received that note during the subjugation campaign.

He'd figured that the only one who could have sent him a message without his knowledge, the only one who cared about him that much, had to be Lulu.

Maybe Lulu had come to find him right before he left for the demonoid subjugation?

That wasn't it.

Lulu floated through the air and landed lightly on the bed, tail flicking. Then Lulu answered.

"I was there from the start."

"Huh? The start?"

"I've been by your side ever since you came out of the Otherworldly Realm. The whole time, until now."

"...What?"

Airen was stunned.

Embarrassed by the reaction, Lulu ducked under the blanket in a hurry.

Only the black cat's face peeked out as Lulu slowly unwound the story of those five years.

"After you got pulled into the Otherworldly Realm..."

It wasn't a story with any particularly dramatic plot.

For about a year, Lulu had tried everything to find a way into the Otherworldly Realm, and once it became clear that was impossible, had prayed every single day in front of the circular barrier instead.

Praying that Airen would get what he wanted safely, and come back to reality as soon as possible, back into his family's arms.

Which meant Lulu had spent all five of those years entirely devoted to him.

"Actually..."

"Actually what?"

"That white cat in your room. That was me too. I just used Sorcery to change the color."

"What? Why?"

"I couldn't face you as I was... and I was worried about the black cat superstition too. But not anymore! I'm not going to be sad about it anymore, and I'm not going to think about that stupid superstition ever again!"

Airen wouldn't want to see me looking like that anyway!

So I'm never going to apologize about it again either! Got it?

Lulu burst out from under the blanket and declared this like a proclamation. Watching, Airen Farreira let out a small laugh.

It felt good. Happy.

Good enough that the worry he'd been carrying just moments ago felt almost foolish now.

Of course, it wasn't a problem he could just brush aside. But emotionally, he felt lighter by a wide margin.

Looking much brighter now, he asked Lulu for advice about his changed dream.

"Ohh, so that's what it was. No wonder these last few days felt so strange. But that's really fascinating."

Lulu flew around the room after hearing about the man in the dream.

But even a Sorcerer as skilled as Lulu didn't have much to offer.

There simply wasn't enough known to begin with.

Whether the man in the dream was a real person or not.

What relationship the man in the dream had to Airen Farreira.

What the man in the dream actually wanted.

None of it had been revealed.

The one thing Lulu could venture a guess about was the last part.

"That guy seems to hate demonoids a whole lot. Might even be that he hates the root of it all, the demons themselves, rather than just demonoids. If he's from about a hundred and fifty years ago, that could make sense."

"Hm."

"But honestly, that's not the important part. Who cares what he thinks or doesn't think? What actually matters is that your heart keeps getting pulled around by the will of some guy whose identity you don't even know."

Airen Farreira nodded.

Honestly, it stung a little to hear.

Back when he'd first picked up a sword, sure, it made sense that he'd moved like a puppet, dragged along by the man's will. Back then he'd had no thoughts of his own, no will of his own, just letting the days drift past.

But now he understood exactly what his sword was, and he'd poured everything he had into building it up on his own terms. Hadn't he?

Just as those negative thoughts started to shake him,

"It's fine."

The black cat had already flown right up to his face without him noticing. Lulu.

Lulu tapped Airen Farreira's shoulder with one soft paw.

Still that unreadable expression.

But the feeling coming through those eyes was unmistakable.

Faith in him.

Lulu said,

"You might waver sometimes. There'll be days you're too worn out to keep holding the sword up. But in the end, you'll pick it back up and swing it hard again, won't you?"

"..."

"And if it's too heavy, I'll help you hold it up! I've been working out like crazy for five years, so I'm strong now too! I'm the strongest cat in the whole Farreira territory!"

Lulu puffed out that chest and struck a pose.

Airen burst out laughing. Something Lulu had said long ago came back to him.

When you can't believe in yourself, believe in the one who believes in you. And later, when that person is struggling, pay back the faith you were given.

It was a relief.

Without Lulu, the worry weighing on him right now probably would have spiraled out of control. More than he could have handled alone.

But Lulu was by his side now.

And so were his parents. His sister too, even far away as she was, still believed in him and loved him.

And he couldn't leave out the bonds he'd made at Krono Fencing Hall either.

Come to think of it, there were still things left unresolved.

His promise to Illia Lindsay.

His promise to Hall Master Ian.

The deadlines had long since passed, but they were promises he could never abandon.

Setting all that aside, he just wanted to see them again, plain and simple.

I want to see Judith too... and how's Brett Lloyd doing? I remember he wasn't in great shape, last I saw him...

"Hm."

Picturing the people from the fencing hall one by one, Airen's expression suddenly stiffened.

Sure, he'd had something like their avatars with him inside the Otherworldly Realm, but from their side of things, he was an old acquaintance they hadn't seen in five years.

Wait, don't tell me I'm the only one who's been thinking of us as friends this whole time?

The kind of timidity that made it hard to believe this was the same person who'd single-handedly taken down a powerful demonoid.

But that was the real Airen Farreira underneath it all.

Wrapped up in needless anxiety, he gave a small shudder.

But there was someone even more anxious than Airen right now.

"Airen, Airen."

"Hm?"

"I have a favor to ask..."

"What is it?"

"So, um... Kiril... I want to talk to Kiril, and make up, and, uh... make up, and... that's what I want to do... could you help me?"

"...Of course."

"That's a promise! You promised!"

Airen pictured his little sister's prim, sulky face and nodded.

Compared to Lulu's worries, his own worries hardly counted as worries at all.

* * *

The Farreira household, having spent the night at Viscount Gairon's estate, left the territory early the next morning.

The atmosphere had already been uncomfortable, and things had gotten far too chaotic besides.

"A shame. Honestly, I'd love to tag along myself and hear more of your stories, but there's simply too much to handle here. I can't afford to."

Vice Commander Hill Burnett of the Twilight Order seemed especially disappointed, but true to his word, there was too much work waiting, so he didn't come along.

Instead, the cat Sorcerer Lulu came along.

Not openly with Airen Farreira, of course. Lulu kept acting in secret, same as before.

Facing the family head on still felt like too much, for now.

But that couldn't go on forever.

A day after arriving back at Farreira territory, Lulu finally appeared before Baron and Baroness Farreira.

"It's fine. We already know it wasn't intentional. If anything, you helped our son grow into someone this remarkable, so it's us who should be thanking you."

"That's right. If you've been carrying yourself with a heavy heart over this, you don't need to anymore."

Naturally, the Farreira couple welcomed Lulu warmly.

All's well that ends well, they figured. It had taken a long time, but their son had made it out of the Otherworldly Realm safely.

Not just safely, either. He'd come back as an unbelievably skilled swordsman.

You truly have a remarkable son!

Your son is a treasure of the kingdom, no, a treasure of the continent!

You must be so proud. I'm almost jealous!

The words Hill Burnett and the Twilight Order knights had said still rang fresh in his head.

Harun Farreira barely managed to hold down his swelling emotions again as he spoke.

"You don't need to feel uncomfortable here anymore. Make yourself at home."

"Thank you! Thank you so much!"

Lulu pressed flat against the table in a deep bow of gratitude.

Of course, the meeting with Kiril Farreira didn't go quite as smoothly.

"..."

"..."

"...Not going to say anything?"

"No, I mean..."

Kiril Farreira had gotten her master's permission and visited the estate right around the time the subjugation campaign ended.

Her expression was ice cold.

Granted, she didn't push Lulu away or shut Lulu out the way she had before. They'd reconciled, awkwardly, and thanks to Airen's efforts, there'd even been a handshake and a hug.

Kiril's still-cold expression left Lulu a little down, but even so, the outcome had gone far more smoothly than expected.

Time would take care of the rest.

While the Farreira family and Lulu spent their days working toward a brighter tomorrow, Viscount Gairon's household was living through the exact opposite. Nothing but storm clouds, day after day.

Crash!

"What is wrong with this tea! How could anyone serve garbage like this? Who made this?"

"Th, that would be..."

"Was it you? Was it you, you wretch?"

"Eek!"

At Viscount Gairon's roar, the maid's face crumpled. She trembled all over, a pitiful sight.

But the viscount had no mercy in him. He kicked the maid as hard as he could and shouted,

"Get out! I don't want to look at you, get out of my sight!"

"Ugh! Y, yes! I'm sorry..."

"Shut up and get out, now!"

Ever since the demonoid subjugation ended, Phil Gairon's hysterics had only gotten worse.

It couldn't be helped. His eldest son, once the pride of the family, had been humiliated in front of everyone, and the house itself now faced a serious crisis.

That leech Hill Burnett kept demanding answers for what had happened on the last day of the campaign.

Fortunately, public opinion hadn't turned entirely against them. Since so many people really had been mentally manipulated, their excuses carried some weight, and plenty of voices argued there was no need to stir up more trouble when the subjugation itself hadn't even failed.

Still, that was only a small mercy. The damage this whole affair had done to House Gairon was beyond anything money could measure.

And it wasn't over yet.

Jack Steward, who'd been holed up in his quarters and showing no sign of coming out.

The moment his mouth finally opened, everything spiraled downward, fast.

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