WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Reformation of the Deadbeat Noble

Chapter 68

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Reunion (3)

"Damn it! I have to crush this somehow..."

Hill Burnett, vice commander of the Twilight Order, muttered under his breath.

Irritation clung thick to his face. Naturally, it was because of House Gairon.

'I was only confused for a moment because of the wicked demonoid's mental domination. I never intended any of it myself.'

'This is the demonoid's scheme. It arranged things so that discord would spread through the kingdom even after its death.'

That was Viscount Gairon's excuse, and both House Russell and House Lester had fallen in line behind it.

The other houses were watching the situation unfold with a stance of "well, it could be true, couldn't it?"

Of course, even granting such excuses, defying the subjugation commander's orders was a grave problem in itself.

That alone was enough to wring a considerable indemnity out of House Gairon.

But what Hill Burnett wanted went well beyond that.

'For the kingdom's peace, for the continent's peace, we cannot afford to set a lenient precedent!'

This was, without question, an age of peace. Demons existed nowhere outside storybooks, and even demonoids appeared far less often than they had decades ago.

But that was precisely what made it dangerous.

Fewer and fewer people remembered how terrifying demonoids truly were.

'The moment people start treating demonoids lightly, start treating subjugation campaigns as a trivial matter, peace ends. The continent will destabilize again, and the border with the demon realm will crumble.'

For that reason, House Gairon had to be made an example of.

Grinding his teeth, Hill Burnett continued turning the problem over in his mind.

And then, to him.

"Vice Commander Hill Burnett. Sir Jack Steward wishes to see you..."

"Hm? Sir Jack Steward?"

Jack Steward's testimony was as welcome and refreshing as a splash of cold water clearing away a headache.

"My lord... honestly, I don't know whether Viscount Phil Gairon was truly under mental domination or not. I think he's lying, but it's possible he's telling the truth. He always had a streak of madness in him."

"But there's something more important than that."

What came after was truly shocking.

Out of envy for Airen Farreira, the subjugation force's strongest fighter, Gairon had poisoned his food.

Not once, but several times. And when that failed, he had given orders to sabotage Airen even during a standoff with a monster.

An utterly unforgivable act.

Hill Burnett's expression twisted. His feelings toward Viscount Phil Gairon, already at rock bottom, sank even further.

Of course, this feeling was not confined to Phil Gairon alone.

'Whatever guilt I felt just vanished.'

Hill Burnett fixed Jack Steward with a stare full of killing intent.

Because of what had happened when he'd been taken hostage by the demonoid, he had carried no small debt of gratitude toward the man.

He had also seen Jack carry out his duties cleanly, so his opinion of him hadn't been bad, generally.

But the story was different now.

The vice commander spoke, his voice cold.

"You didn't actually think following your lord's orders would earn you forgiveness, did you?"

"Not at all. I'll accept whatever punishment is given."

"As you should."

Jack Steward admitted his wrongdoing without resistance.

He looked like a man regretting a past choice, but Hill Burnett felt no sympathy for him.

His crime was simply too great for that.

Still, separate from all that, Jack Steward's testimony proved to be a powerful weapon.

"This is absurd! Lies, all of it! Jack Steward acted on his own! No, wait! That bastard must have been mind-controlled too! Yes, that's it! That has to be it! Either way, it's not my fault! It's not!"

"Still more to say, Viscount Gairon? You truly are something."

Everyone knew, not just House Gairon's own people but all Six Southern Houses.

They knew exactly what kind of position Jack Steward held.

With Phil Gairon's own First Knight turning against him, there was nothing left for House Lester or House Russell to do.

Even Viscount Gairon, the one man who should have kept his composure above all, began babbling incoherently.

Unable to bear the mounting pressure, his mind had simply snapped.

And so House Gairon fell. Along with the entire Demonoid Subjugation Campaign.

But no one grieved for either.

* * *

"Phew. Things are finally settling down."

Having wrapped up his report on the demonoid subjugation and the matter of House Gairon without incident, Hill Burnett had one more task.

Visiting House Farreira, the barony.

He pushed the schedule as fast as he could, but the vice commander's heart remained anything but calm.

The thought that Hale Kingdom's greatest treasure might get snatched up by another nation gnawed at him.

'I need to get him enlisted before word spreads!'

As mentioned before, Hale Kingdom was militarily weak. Its royal authority was weak too.

Frankly, it was too small a vessel to hold Airen Farreira's talent.

If any of the Western Five Kingdoms, famous for their knights, or even a lesser nation that was still stronger than Hale, offered to recruit him, there would be little anyone could do to stop it.

Still, doing nothing wasn't an option either.

He would promise the finest treatment the kingdom could offer.

Wearing a determined expression, he arrived at the Farreira territory.

"You've traveled a long way, and I'm afraid your trip was wasted."

"I'm sorry? What do you mean..."

"My son isn't in the territory right now."

His heart dropped.

Had another kingdom already snatched him away?

Fortunately, that wasn't it.

But what Harun Farreira said next wasn't exactly welcome news either.

"He went to Krono Fencing Hall, you said?"

"That's right. Said he had business there. I suppose I should mention it now. He formally enrolled there five years ago."

"Ah... I see."

'It did seem odd. A talent like that couldn't have simply failed to place.'

He felt hollow.

Of course, graduating from a fencing hall didn't mean abandoning one's nationality or refusing to join a knight order.

But those who came out of Krono Fencing Hall tended to prefer wandering freely rather than settling under any one banner.

Airen might be different, of course, but...

'Either way, I've come up empty.'

For now, all he could do was work on earning Baron Farreira's goodwill.

He brought out the valuable gifts he had carried along and began heaping praise on Airen Farreira.

"Ha, I'm grateful you think so highly of him."

Harun Farreira couldn't hold back his smile.

It wasn't the expensive gift. To a father, there was no better gift than praise for his son.

And that was especially true for a man who had endured more than fifteen hard years for that son's sake.

Still, Hill Burnett's words didn't sway him completely.

His son's future was his son's to decide.

Once, perhaps, it might have been different, but Airen had grown enough to look after himself, and Harun had no intention of steering him by force.

In the end, Hill Burnett could only swallow his disappointment and leave the room.

Watching his retreating back, Kiril Farreira, who had stayed quiet the whole time, finally spoke up.

"Brother's really made something of himself. I heard that man's really strict, and here he was, practically bowing and scraping."

"..."

"Well, I guess our brother wouldn't lose to anyone anywhere. Not bad-looking, incredible with a sword, and now Sorcery on top of it... though plenty of things about him are still a mess."

Kiril Farreira poured out praise and complaints about her brother in equal measure, her face utterly blank.

Her current appearance, meanwhile, was strange beyond words.

Ten orbs, each about the size of an adult's palm, stood upright in a vertical row, and she balanced on one foot atop them.

In that position, eyes closed, she meditated.

Watching his daughter perform this feat the moment Hill Burnett was gone, Harun Farreira asked.

"What exactly are you doing?"

"A Sorcery training method. I'm sharpening my sense."

"Sense?"

"I need to get back to Cesar."

"What do you mean by that?"

Even Amel Farreira, who understood her daughter better than anyone, looked baffled.

But Kiril explained her actions in the same composed voice as always.

"I'm refining my senses so I can time my return to match exactly when Brother comes back. If I wait to hear the news and then travel, I'll be that much later. I don't want that."

"..."

"You know what? My master stacks thirty orbs and still meditates without any trouble."

I'll be able to do that too someday, right?

At that question, the Farreira couple managed, with some effort, to offer words of encouragement.

"Sure you will."

"Of course you can."

Their daughter grew harder to understand the more her mastery of Sorcery deepened.

But regardless of that, both of them loved Kiril Farreira more than anyone else in the world.

* * *

"Are you sure you'll be all right going alone?"

"I'm fine. And I'm not alone. Lulu's coming with me."

Airen answered Marcus, his attendant, with energy. The man looked worried, which only made Airen play it up more.

In truth, there was nothing to worry about at all.

What use would an escort be to someone far stronger than most knights?

The road wasn't complicated either. The main branch of Krono Fencing Hall was actually closer than the local chapter.

After sending Marcus off, Airen said his goodbyes to his parents and Kiril, then strolled leisurely out of the castle.

As he walked at an easy pace, faces from five years ago drifted through his mind.

'I wonder how everyone's changed. Will the Hall Master look the same? I can't really picture him any older.'

The reason Airen Farreira decided to visit Krono Fencing Hall before House Lindsay was the dream.

His resolve, shaken by that dream.

The one who had first given direction to an empty, hollow him.

Alongside Lulu, the presence that had made him who he was now.

'The Hall Master... he might be able to give me some advice about where I stand right now.'

Of course, if he kept his promise, he should have gone to House Lindsay first. He'd promised Illia he would visit them before the fencing hall.

But with five years gone by, he found himself thinking that the order didn't matter much anymore.

More honestly, he simply wanted to settle what was troubling him first.

He was walking forward, lost in that thought, when it happened.

Swoosh!

"Ta-da!"

A black cat dropped straight out of the sky.

Lulu. Passersby on the street stopped and stared, eyes wide at the dramatic entrance.

But what actually surprised Airen Farreira was something else entirely.

"You're wearing clothes?"

"Yep! This is our first trip together, so I put in some effort!"

Airen looked her outfit up and down.

A wide-brimmed hat styled with feathers.

Over a white cloth shirt, a stylish leather vest and leather pants, and a pair of black boots that clearly meant business.

There was even a sword at her hip. Thin, like a rapier, and somehow it looked both ridiculous and oddly fitting on her.

He gave her a thumbs up.

"Looking good."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Really good."

"Ha! My fashion sense strikes again! I just don't usually bother, but when I actually try, this is nothing!"

Wait for us, Krono Fencing Hall! The strongest swordsman and swordswoman are coming through!

Yip, yip, she shouted, stepping forward with a bounce in her step, and Airen burst out laughing.

'This trip's not going to be boring for a second.'

Behind the black cat sprinting off ahead, the blond young man followed along, cheerful and bright.

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