WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Reformation of the Deadbeat Noble

Chapter 76

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Krono Fencing Hall (8)

The Hall Master let out a hearty laugh.

It was true. He hadn't intended to use his Aura Sword.

Not because he thought little of Airen Farreira, but because he trusted his own skill.

There was, after all, a gap between them that words could hardly measure.

But the moment his student's sword closed the distance, he'd felt it.

His own blade might actually chip.

That was the reason Ian had drawn on his Aura Sword.

It was nothing short of astonishing.

'A cheap iron sword, and yet the strike behind it was enough to threaten the blade in my hand...'

He could barely hold back a smile.

Still, the Hall Master forced his expression into something more composed.

Not for the sake of Krono Fencing Hall's guests.

He was not a man who cared much for other people's opinions, or for his own dignity.

The only thing Ian cared about was his students.

He spoke.

"Well done. You've found what your sword is."

"Yes. But..."

"I know. Your heart is unsettled. You want to ask about that."

Ian looked at Airen Farreira.

The boy had grown more mysterious than before.

And yet, in some ways, easier to read than before too. Probably because he'd found his own color now.

The old Airen had felt hollow, empty inside.

'Couldn't see anything in there. Well...'

This version was far better.

Thinking that to himself, Hall Master Ian said,

"Come with me. We've had our conversation of swords. Now we should have a real one."

"Understood."

"Can I come too?"

"Hm... go ahead. Though I'm not sure whether I should speak formally to you or not..."

"Speak however's comfortable! I'm Airen's master too, you know!"

Lulu stepped up in front of the Hall Master, holding out a paw.

"For the record, I'm his Sorcery master! Let's get along, fellow masters!"

"...Ha, hah. Yes, let's do that!"

Ian burst into a hearty laugh.

He'd thought there was something unusual about her from the first look, but her personality was far from ordinary too.

Wiping away a stray tear, he continued.

"Well, we'll talk inside... Lance?"

"Yes, Master!"

"Good work handling the Guest Reception. Go rest inside."

"Understood."

Lance Patterson bowed his head and left, relieved.

His body still had plenty of strength left, but his mind was a tangle. Because of Airen. His face set and grim, he walked off the training grounds.

Hall Master Ian didn't linger long either.

He looked around at the crowd and said,

"And to our guests... I'm sorry, but today's Guest Reception ends here. I trust you'll understand."

Polite in tone. But the meaning underneath was an unmistakable dismissal.

With those words, the Hall Master left the training grounds too, flanked by a blond young man and a black cat Sorcerer.

And just like that, the training grounds of Krono Fencing Hall emptied of its main attraction, leaving only the onlookers behind.

The host was gone. Only the guests remained.

They might have been annoyed, considering they'd just lost a chance that only came once every two weeks. But not a single swordsman among them showed any irritation.

What they had seen and heard today was far too extraordinary to complain about.

They had crossed blades directly with the greatest prospect of Krono's golden 27th cohort.

And they had witnessed a mysterious young swordsman overwhelm that very prospect.

None of them had the eye to fully grasp the extent of his skill, but even the fraction they'd glimpsed would be an enormous asset for their own growth going forward.

And that wasn't even the end of it.

One of the swordsmen let out a breath he'd been holding and muttered to himself.

"An Aura Sword, from a Sword Master... to think I'd get to see one in my lifetime..."

The pinnacle of every swordsman.

A mysterious power gathered by focusing within the body, that inner universe, cultivated to its absolute limit and given form as a blazing blade. To actually witness it with his own eyes!

That alone made today's visit worth every bit of the trip.

A fire lit in the hearts of the swordsmen.

One of them spoke.

"I can't just stand here. I need to go train."

Something felt wrong in his body. Excitement, exhilaration, and some strange feeling he couldn't quite name, all tangled together, made his blood feel like it was boiling.

Something was building in his throat, threatening to burst out.

To settle that overwhelming feeling, he felt like he needed to swing a sword right now, this instant.

Like a man possessed, he walked off the training grounds.

"M, me too!"

"I need to go train too!"

"I can't just sit still after seeing that!"

The others were the same.

Not everyone gathered here had come for the same reason.

Some had come seriously, seeking their own growth. Others had simply wanted a spectacle. And some had come blinded by the chance to make a name for themselves.

But in the end, they were all swordsmen.

People who walked the path of the sword, whose hearts pounded fit to burst just from watching skilled swordsmen cross blades.

"...Let's go."

"Yes, brother. Back to the lodging house?"

"No. The open lot behind the mercenary brokerage."

"What?"

His younger companion asked again. But Gilbert didn't answer, just strode off with long steps.

Before long, he broke into a run. Worried there might not be space left.

'I'll take this seriously. Seriously...'

Gilbert, the nameless swordsman who had come to Krono Fencing Hall with the lightest of hearts.

In his heart too, just like the other swordsmen, a fire had caught and was burning.

* * *

At that same hour, the Hall Master and his companions were touring the grounds of Krono Fencing Hall.

It was Ian's suggestion, since it was Airen's first real visit, that he ought to at least see the inside of the place. Airen welcomed the idea.

Worn out from the sparring match, he took the leisurely tour as a chance to recover his strength.

"So, what do you think of the fencing hall?"

"It feels clean and practical. And... it's actually smaller than the branch."

"The branch? Ah, you mean the place where the trainee candidates were housed. That one's hardly worth calling a branch. It only gets rented out once every few years, when we're recruiting."

"I see."

"Well, we've got just under a hundred people here in total, so this much space is plenty."

That was true. The branch had simply been oversized. This place was more than large enough for a hundred people.

After a short tour of the interior, the group headed for the reception room.

Watching the Hall Master and Lulu step inside, Airen Farreira moved to close the door behind them.

Except there was one more person already there.

A white-haired woman, middle-aged.

She had appeared without so much as a hint of presence, and Airen jumped back, startled.

"Gah!"

"Ha, another one caught by Keira's little prank."

"That wasn't a prank."

"Then you could have at least said something so you wouldn't startle him. You've been trailing along without a trace this whole time."

"I just didn't have anything to say."

'She's been with us this whole time?'

Airen's expression hardened.

Since his awakening in the Otherworldly Realm, his senses had sharpened to something beyond human.

And even he hadn't caught the sound of her footsteps, her breathing, nothing at all.

Just who in the world was this white-haired woman?

At that moment, Lulu, who had been studying the woman intently, spoke up.

"This person's really strong too. Is she your master?"

This time, it was the middle-aged woman who looked startled.

The reaction wasn't dramatic, but for someone who was always expressionless, even a slight crease of the eyebrows was remarkable.

"Not bad, for a cat."

"What do you mean, 'for a cat'! Cats and humans are the exact same kind of creature! No, actually, cats are better than humans! Cats are way faster, they can climb higher, and they're cuter!"

"Lulu... was it? Let me apologize on her behalf. Vice Hall Master, watch that sharp tongue of yours a little. What kind of manners is that for a first meeting?"

"...Fair. Sorry."

"If you're sorry, that's fine. I'll also take back what I said about cats being better than humans."

Quick to offend, quick to bristle, quick to apologize, quick to make up.

It was a dizzying exchange, but Airen paid it no mind.

What held his attention instead was Lulu's question about "master" and the Hall Master's mention of "Vice Hall Master."

Only then did it click.

'Krono Fencing Hall's Vice Hall Master, Keira Fin.'

The second strongest person in all of Krono. No wonder he hadn't been able to sense her presence at all.

Still, her appearance was younger than he'd expected, and that surprised him.

'I heard she was around the same age as the Hall Master...'

She looked thirty years younger. Maybe more.

Of course, he didn't let any of that show on his face.

The Hall Master, oddly enough, was sensitive about looking old.

Even back in his trainee candidate days, when he'd cared little about anyone else, Airen had known that much.

"Well, this got chaotic. Everyone, sit. Vice Hall Master, did you come here because you had something to say?"

"No."

"So you came to listen, then. Airen?"

"Yes, Hall Master."

"The introductions are overdue, but let's handle them now. This is Krono Fencing Hall's Vice Hall Master, Keira Fin. And this is our 27th cohort official trainee, Airen Farreira... though for whatever reason, he arrived here a full four years past the date we'd agreed on."

"...I apologize."

"No, no. I wasn't fishing for an apology. I was asking you to explain what happened, going forward. I got a letter from your parents four years ago saying your return would take some time, but I never imagined it would take this long. So. What exactly happened over these past five years?"

Ian finished the introductions quickly and looked at Airen.

He'd tried to play it casual, but truthfully, he was practically dying of curiosity about this mysterious student's five years.

Seeing the boy's sword had only made it worse.

Just what had happened, that he was wielding Judith's, Brett's, even Illia's swordsmanship?

And what had happened, that despite growing so remarkably, there was still a shadow of worry and unease in one corner of his face?

Facing that gaze from Hall Master Ian, so full of questions,

"...To explain that, there's something I need to tell you first."

"Hm?"

"It's about my dream."

Airen Farreira laid bare a truth he had kept hidden for a long time.

A secret that not even his father, mother, or younger brother knew.

A dream story that only Lulu, in the entire world, had ever known about. One that made no rational sense at all.

He walked through that strange, mysterious story with care.

And that wasn't all.

Leaving the fencing hall and meeting Lulu.

Realizing his own heart through conflict with another house.

Training in Sorcery to raise a sword that could protect that heart, and in the process, entering the Otherworldly Realm.

Meeting the illusory Illia Lindsay, Judith, and Brett Lloyd there...

And finally, the dream that had changed once more after his encounter with the demonoid, and the way it had shaken his heart ever since.

Explaining all of this took no small amount of time. Airen wasn't much of a talker, which made it take even longer.

"..."

"..."

But no one in the room noticed the time passing.

Not even the notoriously exacting Vice Hall Master, Keira Fin.

The young man's story was so gripping that, at a few points, she'd let slip an unguarded, almost dazed expression.

Of course, now that Airen had stopped speaking, she'd returned completely to her usual composed self.

She glanced sideways at the Hall Master beside her.

Her friend, who seemed simple on the surface yet was wise underneath, and who, once you got to know him, turned out to be a strange one after all. What advice would he give his student?

At last, Hall Master Ian opened his mouth.

"There's a lot I want to say, but let's skip past that and get straight to advice. Ah, I don't mean I have some fundamental solution for the dream itself. Even a Sorcerer couldn't crack that problem, so there's no way a swordsman like me could manage it."

"Too bad. I thought a swordsman as good as you might actually be able to."

Lulu said it with genuine disappointment.

She even climbed up onto the table. Drawing her sword and swinging it, she added,

"Like this, whoosh! I thought you'd slice the dream right open or something."

"Ha, I like to think there's nothing in this world I can't cut, but slicing a dream open sounds like a stretch, even for me. Well, thank you for shattering my pride a little. Anyway, moving on."

The Hall Master raised his hand.

And, right in front of Airen's eyes, folded down three fingers.

Leaving only his index and middle fingers up, he continued.

"There are two ways to steady that unsettled sword of yours. The first is to train here, at Krono Fencing Hall."

Ian went on to explain further. Airen nodded along.

It made sense.

Krono Fencing Hall was home to countless outstanding swordsmen, Hall Master Ian and Vice Hall Master Keira Fin included.

And every one of them was honing their own sword. Not the sword in their hand, but the sword within their heart.

Seniors who had raised their own swords long before he ever had.

Crossing blades with them, learning from their teaching, following their wisdom, that would surely make it far easier to steady his wavering sword than struggling with it alone.

"But the method I'd recommend is the second one."

Inwardly, Airen was taken aback.

That Ian, the master of this very fencing hall, wouldn't recommend the first option.

Just what could the second method possibly be, to make him say that?

The question was answered at once.

"Go find a master better than me."

And with that, another question rose in his mind.

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