WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Reformation of the Deadbeat Noble

Chapter 82

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The Continent's Strongest Swordsman (2)

"Um... no, I don't really know. Only that Ian-nim, the Inspection Hall Master of Krono, is counted among the continent's best."

"That's really all?"

"Yes. Ah, I've also heard that Joshua Lindsay, head of House Lindsay, is amazing."

"You're even more out of touch with the world than I thought, young man. For a swordsman to know this little, though..."

Airen Farreira made an embarrassed face.

They said 'the ten strongest,' but honestly, that list was bound to be filled entirely with swordsmen. Mages needed all sorts of preconditions to use magic, and often long preparation times besides. Sorcerers were beings whose power couldn't be measured objectively, so they had to be excluded too.

The only swordsmen I actually know are the people from Krono Fencing Hall.

If he added one more name, it would be Hill Burnett, vice commander of the Twilight Order, at best.

But someone at that level couldn't even be mentioned in a conversation like this.

Kubharu took a sip of water, cleared his throat, and began.

"For generations, the continent's ten strongest have been monopolized by people from the Western Five Kingdoms and the Holy Kingdom. The heads of the five great sword houses alone, plus the White Knight Commander and Red Knight Commander of the Holy Kingdom, that's already seven seats. Most of the remaining three usually came from there too."

But starting fifty or sixty years ago, that tradition faded into history.

Swordsmen who weren't from the West, and weren't from the Holy Kingdom, began standing out like an awl poking through a pocket.

The best among them was, naturally, Ian, master of Krono Fencing Hall.

Despite being a commoner from the continent's central region, he'd shown brilliant talent, reaching the rank of Sword Master at twenty-five. By fifty, he'd become one of the five strongest on the continent.

His name still came up first whenever anyone asked who the greatest swordsman was, and to commoners, he was practically greater than a king.

"But personally, I think the strongest swordsman on the continent isn't Ian."

"Someone else...?"

"He's also a commoner. A man named Kun."

"Kun?"

Airen's expression creased slightly.

The name sounded familiar somehow, but he couldn't quite place it. He thought he might have heard it at Krono Fencing Hall...

"For what it's worth, Kun is apparently married to the Vice Hall Master of Krono Fencing Hall. Both husband and wife are Sword Masters, isn't that incredible?"

"Ah, I have heard that before."

"Right? Well, it's a fairly famous story. Anyway..."

Airen listened with growing interest to what Kubharu had to say.

This was a man the Vice Hall Master of Krono Fencing Hall had apparently mistaken for "a better master than Ian."

Someone like that couldn't have lived an ordinary life.

And the story that followed was impressive enough to meet his expectations.

Except it turned out to be very different from what he'd imagined.

"What? Seventy?"

"That's right. They say he didn't reach the rank of Sword Master until he was seventy."

"Uh..."

Airen was at a loss for words.

He knew perfectly well how foolish it was to judge the lofty rank of Sword Master by "how fast" someone achieved it.

Still, seventy years old. That was an age where an ordinary person dying of natural causes wouldn't raise an eyebrow.

Becoming a Sword Master at that age meant he hadn't let up on his effort even as he drew close to death.

"...That's amazing."

"Right? Actually, they say most people in the world didn't even know a swordsman named Kun existed. Only the people of Krono and a handful of central-region swordsmen knew him at all. That's because the man burned with a one-sided rivalry toward Ian. Ah, I did hear that's part of why a few more people came to know of him."

Kubharu said, letting out a booming laugh.

"Apparently people mocked him mercilessly for it."

What he said was true. Most people who knew of Kun blamed him for his foolishness, and mocked him for it.

Who did he think he was, challenging a genius swordsman ranked among the continent's best, someone who stood beyond even Sword Master? Everyone said the same thing: give it up now and live a life that suited his station.

But Kun never stopped challenging him.

And Ian never once turned away his blade.

Time passed like that, until last year.

When a Sword Master from the West asked who he thought was the strongest on the continent, the master of Krono answered like this.

'Up until ten years ago, I'd have said me. The White Knight Commander of the Holy Kingdom might not like hearing that, but at least I ought to root for myself, ha ha.'

'From five years ago, I can't say for sure anymore. Kun and I fought to a draw.'

'Now? Now I honestly don't know. He might have grown stronger, or I might have. Guess we'd have to cross swords to find out. Either way, I couldn't tell you who it is right now.'

A statement that shook the entire world.

After that, nobody dared look down on Kun anywhere.

Every renowned swordsman on the continent longed to cross blades with him, and countless commoners rushed to sing his praises.

A few impatient gossips had already started calling him the strongest on the continent outright.

Honestly, Kubharu himself had been swept up in that a little.

Of course, what mattered wasn't whether he really was the strongest on the continent or not.

It was the heart that hadn't bent even at the age of ninety, and the actions that backed that heart up.

The staggering effort it had taken to bloom into a result the whole world looked up to.

At least, that was what Airen thought.

"Ahem, shall we talk about someone else this time? Sir Julius Hyul, the White Knight Commander of the Holy Kingdom, is also a tremendous swordsman. People often call Ian, Kun, and Julius Hyul the continent's three great swordsmen. And..."

Julius Hyul, the Holy Kingdom's knight, known for cutting down even demonoids of terrifying strength with ease.

Joshua Lindsay, descendant of the great hero Dion Lindsay from four hundred years ago and head of one of the five great sword houses.

The heads of the other four great sword houses, Ray, Clifford, Preston, and Page, the orc tribe's great warrior Karakum, and the Holy Kingdom's Red Knight Commander.

And finally, though she didn't quite make the top ten, Ignet, famous as the youngest Sword Master ever, no, she was now Ignet Crescentia, still the youngest Sword Master on record.

Story after story of these towering figures poured out, each one enough to swell the chest with awe.

But Airen couldn't focus on what Kubharu was saying.

His thoughts had gone deep, tangled up in the story of Kun and everything it had stirred loose.

"I've got a lot on my mind now."

"Hm? Still thinking about Kun?"

"Yes. I honestly can't imagine what kind of heart it takes to keep holding a sword like that, all the way through."

"Same here. An ordinary person, or really anyone at all, should have given up before turning fifty by rights. But he never bent, became a Sword Master at seventy, and now past ninety he's being called the strongest on the continent... it sounds like something out of a novel. Truly an incredible man."

"Kun must have been amazing even at fifty, right?"

"Hm?"

"Back then, Kun was probably just an ordinary swordsman people pointed at and mocked for not knowing his place... but even so, he must have already been someone amazing, don't you think?"

"..."

Kubharu fell silent, and Airen kept talking.

It wasn't a long story.

Kun at fifty, Kun at seventy, and Kun at ninety.

They were swordsmen with completely different levels of skill, but weren't they all amazing people, each in his own right?

Kun at fifty hadn't yet earned the shining result that Kun at ninety had. But even so, wasn't he still someone with more to learn from than most?

In the same way, weren't there probably other people like that scattered among the countless souls who hadn't bloomed yet?

Even if, for now, nobody recognized them at all.

Kubharu's expression slowly turned serious as he listened.

What a curious young man.

He hadn't brought up "the continent's strongest" for any particular reason.

It was simply an entertaining topic.

Talk of who's stronger, who's the best, might look childish on the surface, but it hooked just about anyone.

Even more so if the listener happened to be a swordsman.

And yet Airen Farreira's reaction had been nothing like what Kubharu expected.

His thinking wasn't confined to swords at all. He took in the story with a much wider view.

An ordinary swordsman probably would have asked something else entirely. Whether the man was really that strong, what kind of swordsmanship he used to earn such high regard, how impressive the opponents he'd beaten were...

Airen Farreira hadn't asked any of that.

He'd tried to see what was hidden inside, not what shone on the surface.

He doesn't know much of anything, and yet the way he thinks is like some little old man.

Of course, Kubharu didn't mind that about Airen at all. If anything, he liked seeing it.

That was exactly the kind of attitude he needed.

It was good for him to keep generating things to think about like this.

If those thoughts piled up like firewood, someday the flame would flare up bright and strong.

Kubharu smiled broadly and said,

"Well said. Like you say... there are probably a great many amazing people in this world who haven't borne their fruit yet."

"You think so?"

"Probably even here in the artisan city of Derinku."

"Maybe even in this very place. Maybe the innkeeper who cooked this dish, or some elderly stranger we passed on the road... or even that potbellied man we saw at the clothing shop yesterday, might have something worth learning from. Just like Kun."

"Of course. To someone, that potbellied man from yesterday might turn out to be a better master than Ian."

"Exactly."

Airen Farreira nodded.

He poked Lulu awake, then picked up his fork with a smile.

The freshly served, steaming hot food looked especially delicious today.

But the peaceful mealtime didn't last long. To be precise, it fell apart before it even really began.

A group of mercenaries had been drinking at the next table over.

The biggest one among them, a young man, came stomping over.

"I've heard enough. You've got some nerve saying whatever you please."

"Hm?"

"What? You're saying the Hall Master of Krono Fencing Hall is no different from some potbellied old man at a clothing shop? You little punks, do you have any idea how great Ian-nim is, talking like that..."

"..."

"A greenhorn's greenhorn who leaves his sword behind even during a meal, and he talks that easy. You think Sword Masters are a joke? That easy to talk down, huh? Huh!"

Airen Farreira was too stunned to speak.

What he'd said had only ever been meant as an example.

He'd meant that even someone who looked ordinary on the surface might turn out to carry something remarkable inside, not to belittle Ian or any other Sword Master.

He genuinely hadn't meant that at all.

But the big man showed no sign of understanding that, glaring down at him and Kubharu with a face full of fury.

Fortunately, the man's companions came rushing over and apologized on his behalf.

"Sorry about this. This guy's got a short fuse, and he's had a bit to drink..."

"What, no way! You know how much I can hold..."

"Shut up and stay quiet! Also, he really looks up to swordsmen from Krono Fencing Hall, so I think that's why he got so worked up. We'll head out quietly, so please understand..."

"Ah, sure."

Airen nodded.

It felt strange.

Maybe it was because of all the Krono Fencing Hall talk, but it felt like he'd just been insulted and complimented in the same breath.

Either way, he was glad it hadn't turned into a bigger fight.

Just as he was thinking that,

Lulu, who'd just woken up and was still half asleep, looked back and forth between the mercenaries and Airen, muttering.

"Airen, Kiril told you, didn't they? Don't wander around looking so out of it, act a little strong. Otherwise the weak ones won't be able to tell."

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