WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Reformation of the Deadbeat Noble

Chapter 77

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Krono Fencing Hall (9)

As far as Airen Farreira knew, Ian was the finest swordsmanship master on the continent.

That wasn't just his own opinion, either. Everyone said so, unanimously.

Krono's master might not be the greatest swordsman on the continent, but he was, without question, the greatest teacher of swordsmanship.

And yet...

'A master better than the Hall Master? Who could that even be?'

Not a single name came to mind.

That was when Keira Fin, Krono Fencing Hall's Vice Hall Master, who had stayed quiet until now, spoke up with a look of alarm.

"What? Don't tell me you mean that lunatic. No. Absolutely not him!"

Her voice climbed in pitch, her expression twisted. She looked flustered, no question about it.

Just who was this person, to get such a reaction out of her?

Airen and Lulu both turned to her, eyes bright with curiosity.

They weren't the only ones, either.

Even the Hall Master looked at Keira Fin with a face full of confusion.

"What are you talking about? Who do you think I meant?"

"Huh?"

"Don't tell me you thought I meant Kun."

"..."

"So that's it. I suppose that's a fair guess. Ha, hahaha."

"...Never mind, then."

"Why so embarrassed about it? It's a reasonable thought. Kun does have his own firm philosophy about teaching, after all. But... still, I'd say I'm the better teacher, wouldn't I? I suppose that's just a husband and wife favoring their own..."

"Stop right there."

Keira Fin's eyes turned cold.

It wasn't just her eyes. A chill swept through the air, sharp as a midwinter wind, and Airen found himself rubbing his thighs without meaning to.

Lulu's fur stood on end, and she fled behind Airen.

Even Ian glanced around warily.

Of course, it didn't last forever.

Clearing his throat to smooth over the awkward mood, the Hall Master picked the conversation back up.

"...Let me say it again. The better master I mentioned wasn't referring to a person. It was only a figure of speech."

"A figure of speech?"

"That's right. The world. I meant for you to step out into a much wider world than the one you've lived in until now."

'...So that's what he meant.'

Airen nodded.

That, at least, made sense to him.

Plenty of people said it.

That to grow, a person needed to experience a bigger environment and meet more people.

Ian's meaning surely didn't fall outside that same idea.

And in truth, it didn't.

"I don't mean you should go seeking out opponents stronger than yourself, or throw yourself into mortal danger to temper your sword, or take on the kind of reckless adventures that only swordsmen in novels attempt. I simply want you to see, hear, and feel far more than you have. Until now, you've been confined to just two narrow worlds, your house and Krono Fencing Hall."

"...That's true."

"When your surroundings change, what you see changes. When what you see changes, what you think changes, and that eventually leads to a change of heart. There may be more turbulence along the way, but in the end, that too is just part of the process of steadying a wavering sword."

"You might discover something that makes the sword you're carrying even sturdier.

You might end up taking up an entirely different sword than the one you carry now.

Or, you might come to hold a sword of a far greater concept, one that includes the heart you carry today."

Having finished his gentle explanation, the Hall Master looked into his student's eyes.

And asked,

"What do you think?"

"..."

Airen couldn't answer right away.

He didn't think Ian was wrong. If anything, he agreed.

What the Hall Master said was the kind of thing anyone might tell him, but that was exactly why it rang true.

He needed broader experience.

Just as he'd grown little by little only after stepping outside the narrow fence of his house, he needed to widen the narrow world he lived in now.

'But... my family?'

Still, his family weighed on his mind.

He'd spent his entire childhood shut away in his room, and on top of that, he'd been trapped in the Otherworldly Realm for five years.

It was fair to say he'd only recently started enjoying happy time with his family.

For someone like that, being told to leave his house and step out into the wider world...

'It's bound to give him something to agonize over.'

Hall Master Ian thought to himself.

He had no intention of forcing the matter.

A master could only advise a student.

You could lead a cow to water, but whether it drank was up to the cow alone.

Having watched countless people over the years, Ian understood that better than anyone.

Still...

'In the end, this boy will step out into the world.'

He smiled faintly and spoke again.

"For what it's worth, Brett Lloyd and Judith set out on their journeys a few days ago, on my advice."

"...!"

"Ah, I wonder if you'd heard. Illia Lindsay has also left for a training journey. I hear it's been nearly two months for her already."

Three names, appearing out of nowhere.

Strictly speaking, they had nothing to do with the matter at hand.

This conversation had been entirely about Airen Farreira.

Each of them had their own disposition, their own circumstances. What did it matter what someone else had done?

No, that wasn't true.

To Airen Farreira, they weren't just someone else.

They were precious bonds, ones with real weight in shaping his decisions.

Friends who had done so much to help him become who he was now.

...As he pictured the faces of his fellow trainees, his hesitation only deepened.

After a moment, Airen bowed his head and answered.

"...I'll think about it a bit more."

"Yes, this isn't something to decide in a rush. Go rest for now. I'll show you the way."

Ian didn't push for a decision either.

He clapped his student on the shoulder and personally showed him to a place to rest, and Airen gratefully accepted the gesture.

His face was still heavy with thought.

"Those people the old man mentioned, they're your friends, right?"

"Yeah."

"I see. I'm curious. What kind of people are they? Mm, but I'm sleepy..."

"Want to nap a bit?"

"Yeah. Airen, don't work yourself up too much, just take it easy. It's not like it's a bad thing to think about..."

With that, Lulu drifted off to sleep almost instantly. A soft, rhythmic purring filled the room.

Airen let out a small laugh.

'Right. Let me think about this without pushing so hard.'

This wasn't about picking the lesser of two bad options.

It was a question about which better future to choose. There was no need to torment himself over it.

Looking noticeably more at ease than before, Airen Farreira quietly kept turning the thought over in his mind.

* * *

"So? A good kid, isn't he?"

"Not really."

"Not really? Seriously?"

Hearing Keira Fin's words, Ian frowned.

By swordsmanship, by character, the boy was flawless. And she was saying not really?

That was just pure spite. Letting out a dry laugh, he said to the Vice Hall Master,

"Come on now. Just because I brought up Kun doesn't mean you need to take it out on some poor kid who has nothing to do with..."

"Just stop, seriously! Why do you keep bringing up someone who ran off from home more than five years ago!"

"Ran off from home? Calling a training journey that is a bit much... and he's been sending letters regularly, too..."

"Just stop it, I said!"

Keira Fin snapped, her voice sharp.

It was a hard sight to reconcile with her usual composed, dignified demeanor, but for Ian, this was nothing new.

They'd known each other for decades, after all.

'Better not push it any further. It's not like I even brought this up first...'

While Ian grumbled to himself inwardly, Keira Fin, having reined in her temper, muttered a single line.

"He lacks passion."

"What? Ah..."

"He lacks passion for the sword. Pick any random kid from the 27th cohort, and they'd probably beat him on that front. He's talented, and his character is solid, but... he still falls short of being called a true swordsman of Krono."

"Hm."

Ian stroked his chin.

She wasn't wrong.

It was true that, for all his ability, Airen Farreira didn't burn with the same passion for the sword itself.

Especially compared to Krono's people, who'd throw themselves into a pit of fire just to climb another step in swordsmanship.

Still, Ian didn't see it as a serious flaw.

"Isn't that about right, though? He's bound to be influenced one way or another once he meets Judith, don't you think? And Judith will end up influenced by Airen in turn."

"..."

"They'll fill in each other's gaps, that sort of thing. Isn't that what fellow trainees are for?"

This time, Keira Fin didn't push back out of spite.

The two of them had been fellow trainees at Krono once, after all.

Her becoming a Sword Master, Ian becoming one of the continent's finest swordsmen, none of it would have been possible without the other's help.

There was no arguing with that.

But at Ian's next words, her face couldn't help but twist.

"Airen and Ignet meeting, though, now that could make for quite an interesting picture."

"...Don't bring that woman up either."

"Ha ha. As you wish."

Ian nodded easily.

Unlike him, Keira didn't think much of Ignet. And it had only gotten worse over the past year.

Ever since Ignet had shown up out of nowhere and demanded a sparring match.

'Her skill was one thing, but to think she'd been carrying a thought like that all along...'

Most people would call it an outlandish, hopeless goal and shake their heads.

A handful of the more elitist types would sneer at it as pure arrogance.

But Ian saw it differently. For an old man like him, what could be more exciting than a young person's reckless ambition?

A faint smile touched the corner of Ian's mouth.

"Tch."

Seeing that, Keira Fin turned away.

Watching the Vice Hall Master vanish into the distance, the Hall Master called out,

"Where are you off to?"

"None of your business."

"Take care, then."

"...For the record, Airen still isn't my student. I'll be watching him a bit longer."

Her voice was dripping with spite.

Ian let out a soft laugh. He knew better.

No matter what she said, she'd end up doting on Airen in the end.

On the surface, Keira Fin seemed prickly and exacting, but she was, in truth, the warmest heart in all of Krono.

Even now, it held true. Ian could already guess exactly where she was headed.

"Thank you. Truly."

Watching his old friend's back grow smaller in the distance, he too left his spot.

* * *

Deep within Krono Fencing Hall lay a training ground.

It was much smaller than the space used for the Guest Reception, but plenty of people were fond of its cozy atmosphere.

Because of that, three or four swordsmen could always be found occupying it, no matter the hour.

But not right now.

Because of Lance Patterson.

Out of consideration for him, starting his training with a face he clearly didn't want anyone else to see, the swordsmen who'd arrived earlier had quietly cleared out.

Left alone in the training ground, he swung his sword through streaming tears, weeping openly as he did.

Whoosh!

He hadn't expected to win.

Not against Airen Farreira, of all people.

Airen Farreira, who had reached a level neither the monstrous Brett Lloyd nor Judith had managed to touch.

It wasn't as if the man had no weaknesses. But given that unbelievable potential of his, if he'd kept swinging his sword all this time, losing to him was only natural.

Still, he hadn't expected the gap to have grown quite this wide.

Not even in his dreams.

Whoosh!

Lance Patterson swung his sword. Swung it again and again.

To cut down his own heart, which kept growing weaker. To master his own mind, which kept feeling more and more hollow. To forget the sense of deprivation that felt bigger than it ever had before.

Lost in that trance, he didn't even notice someone approaching.

It was Keira Fin.

Lance Patterson startled and stopped his sword, and then the Vice Hall Master's voice reached him.

"Don't let your inferiority complex swallow you whole."

"..."

"Every single senior swordsman who's reached a higher level than you has, at some point, been crushed by a defeat and a sense of deprivation far more painful than yours. The ones who couldn't endure it fell by the wayside. Only the ones who endured climbed higher."

Her voice was calm, and unshakably firm.

It was her own story. And it was the story of the person she loved most in the world.

She could say it because she'd lived through an experience more bitter than most anyone's, and because she knew that at the end of it waited a fruit sweeter than anything else.

"Don't let your inferiority complex swallow you whole. Feed on it and grow. Get back up and keep moving forward, just like you've always done."

"...Yes, Vice Hall Master."

Lance Patterson still hadn't stopped crying, and for his sake, Keira Fin quietly stepped away as well.

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