WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Reformation of the Deadbeat Noble

Chapter 69

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Krono Fencing Hall (1)

"Ahh... hate having to work."

Wilson, the owner of a clothing shop in a small town, yawned and muttered to himself.

He thought this every single day, but opening a shop this early in the morning was hardly efficient.

Still, a person had to be diligent to earn even a single coin more.

Who could say?

Maybe some rich young lord would wander in from the morning and buy up all his expensive clothes.

'No, that's not going to happen. Not a chance.'

Wilson shook his head firmly.

Business had been tight lately, and it showed in how often these little fantasies crept into his head.

He grumbled a few more times, then stretched with a low groan.

Just as he reached for the feather duster.

Ding-!

"Welcome, come right in!"

The smile came automatically.

It wasn't forced, either. A customer, this early in the day? He figured his luck was pretty good today.

He set down the duster and hurried over to greet his guest.

Then he froze solid, like a stone statue.

'A... cat?'

Wilson blinked, dazed, and rubbed his eyes.

He must have seen it wrong.

There was no way a cat was his customer. Probably just a kid wearing a cat mask, and he'd misread it.

Satisfied with that conclusion, he opened his eyes and looked again.

"........."

But the customer in front of him hadn't changed one bit.

A black cat.

Except it wasn't just a cat.

It wore a sharp leather outfit with leather boots, and a hat accented with feathers.

The whole look was like something out of a fairy tale, some beastfolk come to life.

It even spoke.

"You the owner?"

"Gah! Ah, yes! I'm Wilson, owner of Wilson's Clothing Shop. Is there something you're looking for?"

Despite the shock, Wilson didn't forget his lines.

Years in the business had drilled the habit into him.

The black cat answered his question.

"Hmm! Not sure."

"Sorry?"

"I don't know what I want to buy. I feel like something's missing, but I have no idea what it is."

"........."

"What do I do?"

Wilson stood there flustered by the cat's counter-question when another customer walked into the shop.

This one, thankfully, was human. A rather handsome young man with a kind face.

He spoke.

"Lulu, if you wanted to visit a clothing shop, you should've said something. I had to go find you."

"Ah, sorry! The sign looked cool, so I just walked in."

"Fine. What do you want to buy?"

"Not sure. But I definitely want to buy something."

"What kind of answer is that."

Watching the blond young man chat with the cat like it was nothing unusual, Wilson felt another wave of confusion wash over him.

What was this. Was he still half asleep? Was he dreaming?

Or had the whole world just changed overnight?

"Excuse me, you're the owner here, right?"

"Ah, yes!"

"My friend wants to look around at a few things. Mind if we browse?"

"O, of course! Please, take your time!"

Nodding quickly, Wilson led the customers deeper into the shop. And that was the end of his role in things.

Normally he'd chat with them, get a feel for their taste, recommend items they might like. But Wilson still couldn't quite wrap his head around the situation.

In the end, all he could manage was to stand there blankly and watch the two of them browse.

A little time passed like that.

Then a delighted cry burst from the black cat's mouth.

"Ooh! This one, this is it!"

The cat had spotted a child-sized red cape and reached out a paw.

The cape floated smoothly through the air and wrapped itself around its back.

Flying up to the mirror, the cat struck a few poses, then turned to the young man.

"Does it look good?"

"It looks good. Really good."

"Great! I'm buying this. Here, payment!"

"Gah! Ah, yes!"

Wilson jumped back in surprise when the cat flew right up to his face, eye to eye.

The cat paid it no mind. It reached a paw into its own chest and pulled something out, saying,

"Hand."

"Sorry?"

"Open your hand."

"Ah... wait, huh?"

"There. Now let's go, Airen!"

"Hold on, did you actually check the price before you..."

"It's fine! I gave what felt right! The owner'll be happy too!"

The cat paid up in an instant and left the shop, the blond young man trailing behind.

In the aftermath, as if a storm had just blown through, all that remained was shopkeeper Wilson and the small gold mouse-shaped coin sitting in his palm.

* * *

The journey of Airen Farreira and the cat Sorcerer Lulu unfolded at a fairly leisurely pace.

Five years had already passed, so there was no need to rush, but more than that, Lulu simply seemed to be enjoying every moment of traveling with Airen.

"This is my first time traveling with someone!"

"Wait, really?"

"Yep. It's way more fun than I expected."

Lulu said this while flying through the city streets.

The cape fluttering behind her cut quite the striking image.

Of course, people's eyes were drawn less to the cape and more to the flying cat itself, but the black cat paid no attention.

She was fully focused on her conversation with the person beside her.

Watching her, Airen found himself puzzled.

'This is her first time traveling with someone?'

That was unexpected.

He knew most Sorcerers had eccentric personalities, which tended to make them poor at socializing.

To be fair, this cat's personality was far from normal too.

But hadn't Lulu said it herself, over and over?

'How important trust between two people is for Sorcery. I think I've heard that speech about fifty times by now.'

Given that, he'd naturally assumed she must have other precious bonds besides him, people she'd spent long stretches of time with.

But hearing that this was her first trip with anyone else at all...

'Wait, is it possible that person isn't around anymore?'

Or had something gone wrong between them along the way?

However he turned it over, his thoughts kept drifting somewhere unpleasant.

He decided it'd be better to change the subject.

Just as Airen started searching for something else to talk about, Lulu beat him to it.

"By the way, that Ian guy? The Hall Master? Is he really that impressive?"

"You haven't heard of him?"

"I've heard the name, but I don't really pay attention to stuff I'm not interested in."

"I see. Hmm..."

Airen pictured Ian's face in his mind.

Old, unremarkable in appearance.

But a superhuman swordsman who might well be the strongest on the continent.

And someone he could call his first master.

"Ahh, right, I think I heard about this before! You said 'first master' and it clicked. So that makes me the second?"

"Yeah. You're my second master."

"Hehe. Nice."

Lulu grinned like a little kid, clearly pleased to be called a master.

Airen smiled too, and went on.

"If it's him, he might actually be able to give me some advice about my unstable state right now. Though I doubt even the Hall Master can do anything about the dream."

"You never know. Maybe he can solve that too."

"Hmm, I don't think that's very likely."

Airen shook his head.

It was a mysterious phenomenon that magic couldn't explain, something that seemed to be influenced by Sorcery.

Even Lulu, an accomplished Sorcerer, hadn't been able to solve the mystery, so he doubted Hall Master Ian, a swordsman, could manage it.

He voiced this thought aloud.

Lulu shook her head.

"But that guy's supposed to be the best swordsman on the continent, right?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"Anyone who's the best on the continent in any field is basically no different from a Sorcerer. They've got abilities and willpower that don't make sense by normal standards."

Might not work out, sure, but that doesn't mean there's zero chance.

Having said this much, Lulu suddenly pulled off her hat.

And not just the hat. She yanked off the cape, the vest, and every other piece of clothing, stuffing them all into her pocket dimension, then moved onto Airen's back.

She opened his bag and slipped right inside.

"Suddenly sleepy."

"........."

"Gonna sleep a bit. Don't wake me unless something happens."

"...Sure."

Truly, an unpredictable personality.

Muttering that to himself, Airen quickened his pace.

* * *

"We're here!"

"Wow, we're here!"

A few days after buying the cape at the small town's clothing shop, Airen Farreira's group arrived in Alkantrea, home of Krono Fencing Hall.

They weren't the only ones who'd arrived.

Behind Airen, five stray cats were clustered together, leaping up and down trying to catch something.

It was Lulu's doing.

With just her upper body poking out of the bag, she was dangling a fishing-rod toy meant for cats, driving the strays wild.

Swish, swoosh!

"Haha, bet that's frustrating! Can't catch it, can you?"

Meow-!

Meoooow!

"Lulu, quit it. If we bring them inside with us, it'll get noisy."

"Really? Well, am I fine, though?"

"Hmm, I think you'll be fine as long as you don't talk."

"Guess I'll stay quiet, then."

She climbed out of the bag and up onto his shoulder, saying this.

Lulu usually didn't care one bit what people around her thought, but she'd learned that staying quiet at the city gates was for the best.

The guards at the gate, upon first seeing a talking cat Sorcerer, tended to ask endless nosy questions, and that was more trouble than it was worth.

"When I'm traveling alone, I just teleport straight in. Should I do that now too?"

"Hmm. Might be easier. I'll meet you inside."

"Okay!"

Fwip-!

The black cat vanished in an instant.

With Lulu gone, the fishing rod toy disappeared along with her.

The stray cats blinked at Airen for a moment, then wandered off somewhere. He watched the whole scene with a smile on his face.

'I laugh a lot more than I used to.'

Not a bad feeling at all.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped into the great city of Alkantrea.

Then his expression shifted to surprise.

"There are so many magic lamps lining the streets..."

Though it was fairly late, close to when the gates would shut for the night, the streets weren't dark at all.

Magic lamps installed all over the city took care of that.

There was plenty else to catch the eye, too.

Sophisticated architecture unlike anything he'd seen in small towns or villages.

People passing by carrying unfamiliar scents.

Beautiful statues and fountains scattered throughout.

It was beautiful. Even before entering, he'd felt overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the place, but this was something else.

'The place I grew up in was a total backwater.'

He'd more or less expected as much, given that Hale Kingdom was a small country and his home was even further out in the provinces, but it was still a shock.

Of course, part of it was that Alkantrea itself was an especially developed city.

Founded by merchants and industrialists who'd gathered here, it already had enormous capital behind it, and once Krono Fencing Hall's main branch moved in, the city grew into a power that rivaled a fair number of nations.

That was the truth of it.

In the end, this city owed most of its growth to Krono Fencing Hall.

'So that's how significant Krono Fencing Hall really is.'

Airen felt the weight of Krono Fencing Hall's influence all over again.

He sat by a fountain, watching people stroll through the city, then went looking for a place to stay.

It was late, so he figured he'd sleep first and visit the fencing hall the next day.

A suitable spot caught his eye right away.

An inn called Weapon's Cradle, sitting close to the main branch of Krono Fencing Hall.

'Lulu will find her way in eventually.'

He looked the building over, then opened the door and stepped inside.

Creak.

The door let out an unpleasant sound, clearly overdue for some oil.

Fortunately, the interior was reasonably clean.

At the tables scattered across the wide first-floor hall, people sat eating, most of them with sturdy, muscular builds.

No, not most. Every single one of them.

'What's going on here?'

Every last person also had a sword strapped to their hip.

Strange.

Sure, a city this large would naturally have plenty of mercenaries or traveling sword-bearers passing through, but every single guest in the inn being a swordsman?

Even as that thought crossed his mind, Airen walked toward the counter.

He needed to talk to the innkeeper to get a room, after all.

Just then, a hulking figure approached him.

"Hey, you here for Krono Fencing Hall too?"

The blunt, casual tone didn't bother him.

Airen wasn't the type to throw his noble status around.

Part of it was that the man looked considerably older than him, too.

But the question itself, asked so bluntly, "here for Krono Fencing Hall?", was hard to ignore.

He answered.

"Yeah, why? How did you..."

"Hahahahahahaha!"

"Ahaha, ahaha, ahahahaha!"

"That kid's here for the hall too? Unbelievable..."

"Seriously, they'll let anyone in these days."

Laughter erupted from all around, along with plenty of mockery.

Airen Farreira could only stand there, caught off guard.

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