WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Reformation of the Deadbeat Noble

Chapter 78

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Krono Fencing Hall (10)

After his sparring match with Hall Master Ian, Airen Farreira spent ten days at Krono Fencing Hall.

The first day alone was eaten up entirely by greetings and catching up.

"It's been a while, Airen Farreira."

"That it has."

"Good to see you, Instructor Ahmed. Instructor Karaka."

"Instructor, please. I don't even remember the last time anyone called me that. Call me senior."

"Yes, Senior Ahmed."

Ahmed and Karaka, the instructors.

"Wait, is that really Airen?"

"When did you get here?"

"No, seriously, why did it take you this long?"

"Ha ha... things came up."

"What kind of things? Judith said you'd be back within a year, and it's already been five!"

"You never put down the sword this whole time?"

"Hey, didn't you hear? Lance got wrecked yesterday."

"Quiet, you."

Lance Patterson, Nicholas Vaughn, and Marlon Davidson, once known collectively as the "Brett Lloyd Royal Guard."

Along with countless other classmates, all practically bursting to talk to him.

Honestly, it caught him off guard.

Not that Airen ever thought of his classmates as strangers.

Plenty of time had passed, but he still remembered every single name and face.

Still, calling them close friends would have been a stretch.

Back then, his people skills had been an even bigger mess than they were now, and outside of the Brett family, Judith, and Illia Lindsay, he'd had no one he was truly close with.

And yet here they all were, showing this much interest in him.

"Hello there, Airen's friends? I'm Airen's teacher, the dashing Sorcerer, Lulu."

"Oh, what?"

"A cat! A talking cat!"

"Move, let me shake hands with the cat too!"

"Can I pet its head?"

"..."

Even Lulu, meeting them for the first time, stole the spotlight from him, but Airen was grateful for their warm welcome all the same.

Thanks to that, he ended up talking about himself far longer, and in far more detail, than he'd expected. Everything except the dream.

His old instructors and classmates hung on every word of Airen's story, losing track of time, and eventually even seniors who were meeting him for the first time gathered around, eyes shining with interest.

But that was only true for the first day.

"How about we see what you've got?"

"Hey, hey, don't get cocky. Didn't you hear about Lance? One hit and you're done."

"Well, Lance is Lance and I'm me... Senior?"

"Ahem. Once you and Junior Airen finish your match, I was wondering if I might join in too."

Was it because they were all people of Krono Fencing Hall?

Or was every swordsman in the world like this?

They came at Airen like people obsessed with the sword, plain and simple.

More than thirty of them, familiar faces and strangers alike, stared at him with expressions as giddy as someone waiting for a first date with a new lover, and it never ended after just one round either.

Even with his considerable stamina, he couldn't help running out of steam eventually.

He hadn't been this exhausted since he'd first stepped out of the Otherworldly Realm.

But it taught him something.

Every single one of them, seniors included, even a few classmates he'd once thought of as lightweights, had been tempering themselves in their own way.

Everyone had put in relentless effort to raise their own sword a little higher toward the sky.

'... I'm the only one who's been drifting back and forth.'

Of course, they all had their own struggles too. Some had already been through them. Some were going through them now. Some would face them later.

But that thought brought him no comfort at all.

'Maybe it's just because my head's such a mess.'

On the tenth night at Krono Fencing Hall, Airen went out for a walk and let out a sigh.

He still couldn't make up his mind.

If he hadn't heard about Judith, Brett, and Illia Lindsay, he probably would have chosen to go back to House Farreira and spend time with his family.

Or he might have chosen to keep studying at Krono Fencing Hall while visiting home regularly.

But the moment he'd heard news of them, the scale in his chest had tipped into perfect, unbearable balance.

'I want to see Judith.'

'I want to tell Illia I'm sorry for breaking my promise.'

'I want to hear from Brett himself, how he found the strength to get past that pain.'

'Even if I can't walk beside them, I want to stand where my friends stand and look at the world from there.'

The voices in his heart echoed loud.

'But I've barely had any time with my family.'

'All I've ever done is cause them trouble.'

'I finally started acting like a real son, and now I'm just going to leave?'

'And my little brother, who's only ever received from me and never had the chance to give anything back, still needs looking after.'

Then another voice rose up to shake him all over again.

Round and round, always back where he started.

In the end, Airen left the fencing hall without making a decision.

For now, he decided he'd go home, see his parents, and make up his mind there.

"Too bad. You could've stayed a little longer."

"Ha ha. If I keep adding one more day at a time, I feel like I'll never leave."

After saying his goodbyes to everyone, including the Hall Master and Vice Hall Master, he made his way out of the great city of Alkantrea.

Lance Patterson stayed until the very end to see him off.

His eyes, meeting Airen's, gleamed like polished gems.

'Somehow he feels even more solid than he did on the first day...'

Airen was thinking that as they shook hands.

"Airen."

"Hm?"

"When your heart's in a tangle, think about the reasons to do something, not the reasons not to. That works better when you're young."

"..."

"Ah, that's not something I came up with. A senior told me that once, back when I was struggling with something. Just felt like passing it on."

Lance Patterson grinned and let go of his hand.

Airen stared at him, a little dazed, and Lance added one more thing.

"Brett and Judith probably went west."

"... West?"

"Yeah. The Western Five Kingdoms are famous for swordsmanship. Plenty of fencing halls, and some famous dueling arenas too."

"Just so you know, with a head that tangled up, you won't beat them. They're both crazy strong."

With that, Lance Patterson left.

His retreating back looked like a man who'd just shed something heavy.

"..."

Airen Farreira watched him go for a long while.

His figure shrank to a finger's width, then to a speck, and finally vanished, swallowed by the crowd.

Only then did a single word slip from Airen's mouth as he turned to leave.

"Thanks."

* * *

[Side Story - Judith & Brett Lloyd]

"Ugh, is someone talking trash about me?"

"What are you on about."

"My ear just started itching out of nowhere. Bet it's that bastard Lance. Seriously, no matter how many times we crush him, he never learns."

"You're insane."

Watching Judith turn pure speculation into established fact, Brett Lloyd muttered a curse under his breath.

He'd sworn a bit even before, but his mouth had gotten a lot dirtier lately.

Couldn't be helped. Living alongside a hopeless classmate had rubbed off on him.

He sighed and spoke again.

"Cut the nonsense and go get your Mercenary Plate."

"Do I really have to? It's such a hassle. Why don't you do it?"

"I keep a low profile. If you're willing to keep your temper in check and behave, you don't need one either."

"I'm getting it. I'll be back soon, so don't you dare eat without me, or you're dead."

With that colorful send off, Judith got up from the table and headed toward the mercenary broker's office.

Brett Lloyd shook his head watching her go.

In Alkantrea, the two of them were recognizable enough, but the rest of the continent had no idea who they were.

To adventurers from other regions, they just looked like a pair of young, green newcomers.

But Judith couldn't care less about any of that. She said what she wanted and did what she wanted.

Which meant she kept picking fights with foul tempered types, brawls kept breaking out, and those brawls kept spiraling into bigger trouble...

'We can't keep living like this. If she's carrying a high-ranked Mercenary Plate, people will think twice before messing with her.'

Of course, they technically had the "27th Cohort Trainee Certification Plate" issued by Krono Fencing Hall for that exact purpose, but the problem was that nobody believed it was real.

Unfair, but there was nothing to be done about it. Only two official trainees of the 27th cohort had actually made it out into the world.

That was the reason Judith had gone off to register at the mercenary broker's office.

"I don't get why she goes looking for trouble."

"Your meal is here."

"Ah, thanks."

Brett gave a short nod of thanks and brought a piece of pork to his mouth. Then he thought.

It would have been so much easier if he'd come out here with someone calmer instead of Judith.

Pointless thought, of course.

At Krono Fencing Hall, the instruction to "go experience the world" was essentially the final gate to graduation, the "final test" given to official trainees.

Through it, a trainee was meant to recognize their own shortcomings, overcome them, and return to the fencing hall.

And right now, the only members of the 27th cohort who qualified for that were Judith and himself.

Well, strictly speaking, he was excluded, but...

"... What a hassle."

Brett finished his meal quickly and muttered to himself.

He didn't regret coming out here with Judith.

But the thought that "she could've caused a little less trouble" never went away.

Just thinking about everything she'd stirred up in this short stretch of time gave him a headache.

And then, out of nowhere, a certain name surfaced in his mind.

'Airen Farreira... wonder what he's up to.'

A guy with talent that even outshone their own, "objectively excellent" as they were, someone who might have gone through the "final test" alongside them if he'd returned to Krono Fencing Hall on schedule.

If he'd been here too, maybe the days would have felt a little calmer...

The door banged open.

"Hey, I'm done! And guess what, only Silver Plate is... you bastard! I told you not to eat without me first!"

"Forgot to clear the dishes."

"You shameless little..."

'Exhausting.'

Watching Judith grab him by the collar and shout at the top of her lungs, Brett let out a sigh.

It had been half a month since the two geniuses of Krono Fencing Hall stepped out into the continent.

* * *

[Side Story - Illia Lindsay]

Caliad Kingdom, one of the Western Five Kingdoms famous for swordsmanship.

There stood a dueling arena where the world's finest swordsmen gathered to test themselves.

Founded personally by Caliad's own Sword Master, giving it a pedigree few could match.

Veteran mercenaries, skilled graduates of major fencing halls, wandering knights, even fully certified knights of the kingdom, all came here to measure their own strength.

Ever since Ignet, the continent's greatest genius, had passed through, the place had only grown more famous, transformed into an even fiercer arena of competition than before.

The Proof Land.

There, someone beautiful enough to seem soaked in moonlight appeared.

Illia Lindsay.

"..."

After staring at the entrance for a long while, the gifted daughter of House Lindsay stepped inside without a word.

Her escort knight watched her with a pained expression.

Because she knew exactly why her lady had come here.

Whose name her lady carried carved into her heart.

'You don't need to push yourself this hard...'

The Illia Lindsay the knight knew shouldn't need to wear an expression that stern.

She shouldn't have to act like someone being chased, and she certainly shouldn't have to live so aware of others' eyes on her.

Her lady deserved to be far happier than this.

"... I'm counting on you."

The escort knight gave a short bow, addressed to the priest who had recently joined them.

A thought that maybe, with the help of divine power, her lady's heart might find a little peace.

It was regrettable, but it was the best she could do.

"I will do my best, so that peace may find its way into Lady Lindsay's heart."

At least the priest's reputation was excellent.

Their features looked gentle too. At the calm, soothing voice, the escort knight bowed her head once more.

It had been a little over two months since Illia Lindsay had set out on her journey of training.

* * *

And at that very moment.

On the journey home from Krono Fencing Hall's main branch, near its end, Airen Farreira and Lulu had just entered a small town.

Something strange caught their eyes.

"Argh! Argh! Somebody save this orc!"

"You little punk! If you can't pay, you'll pay with your hide!"

"Whoa. An orc!"

Lulu's eyes went round as she murmured to herself.

Seeing an orc, something you'd normally only find in the continent's northwest, was strange enough on its own, but seeing one getting beaten up on top of that made it downright fascinating.

Airen felt the same way. If anything, he approached the orc with even more interest than Lulu.

Something about it felt familiar.

He was pretty sure he'd seen an orc before too, back when he'd been on his way home from the fencing hall...

He was still turning that thought over when the orc's eyes met his, and its face lit up like it had just spotted a savior.

"Hey, you! Young man! You know me, right?"

"Sorry?"

"You know me! The orc who read your fortune five years ago!"

"Ah!"

A sound of recognition burst from Airen Farreira's mouth as the memory came rushing back.

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