WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 146: Hometown

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At the western gate of Karent, Kyle and Helenas descended before the seven gathered Apostles.

Every Apostle dropped to one knee to greet Helenas. Kyle stood on the ground beside them and paused to consider what he should do.

'Can I stay standing?'

They had flown in together, so kneeling now would look strange. Kyle simply remained where he was and looked over the Apostles.

Over the course of their three-month journey, he had heard about the Sword Church's seven Apostles from both Helenas and Lamika.

First Apostle Obion. The oldest elder, who had served Helenas for forty-five years.

'She said he sometimes acts like a parent.'

There had been no trace of familial affection in Helenas's assessment, but the fact that she had described him that way meant she cared about Obion in her own way. His body did not look frail despite his advanced age, as befitted a martial artist of high attainment, but Obion had the face of an elderly man with a full head of white hair.

Beside Obion knelt a man with gray hair tied back in a single tail. Second Apostle Serga. Helenas had said he was an exceptionally quiet Apostle.

'She said he quietly comes over and watches whenever Helenas starts swinging her sword.'

He was also the Apostle Lamika said she respected most. Serga had become an Apostle around the same time as Lamika, but had been appointed Second Apostle through skill alone. That meant he was the strongest among the Sword Church's Apostles after Obion, its oldest elder.

'That man is the Third Apostle.'

Third Apostle Theodic. Alongside Obion, he handled the Sword Church's practical operations. Obion coordinated relations between the Sword Church and the Empire and kept the Apostles in line, while Theodic managed the Church's branches and ordinary Sword Church members spread throughout the continent beyond the Empire.

'That huge man is the Fourth Apostle.'

Fourth Apostle Tebar. The Apostle Lamika had constantly complained about. A man who recklessly attacked the Sword Church Master, whom he should have worshipped and never dared challenge, and was always defeated.

Lamika regarded sparring with the Church Master as something precious, so it was only natural that she disliked the Fourth Apostle.

Next to Tebar, Lamika, Ronia, and Evan, whom Kyle had parted with earlier, were kneeling on one knee. After looking over every Apostle, Kyle glanced at Helenas. She merely stood with an expressionless face and looked down at them. She did not tell them to rise.

"Why are you here?"

Helenas spoke. By now, Kyle could read the faint emotions in her seemingly calm voice. At the moment, Helenas was very slightly annoyed.

"We came out to welcome you, Church Master."

Without lifting his head, Obion answered. It was a respectful response, but Helenas's brow twitched slightly.

"I'm not a child. Obion, I've lived four hundred years longer than you."

"Yes, I know that well."

"I can go wherever I want, and I can return whenever I want."

"Yes. All of it is the Church Master's freedom."

Her brow was not the only thing furrowed. Even her words had turned blunt. Obion's shoulders trembled faintly as he listened. He was genuinely moved by Helenas answering him like that.

"Today, the Empire was behaving overly sensitively, so we had no choice but to come all the way here. Please forgive us for greeting you too early."

"I forgive you. You haven't committed a sin. And I'm not angry either."

Helenas composed both her voice and expression before continuing.

"You may stand."

The moment permission was given, the Apostles rose. They bowed deeply to Helenas, then immediately turned their attention to Kyle.

Tebar in particular opened his eyes wide and stared at Kyle's face. Red hair and golden eyes, symbols of Alastor.

Kyle did not know it, but Tebar had once visited Gladiheim and challenged Alastor. He was not the only one. Obion and Serga had also gone to Gladiheim once in the past to challenge Alastor, only to be defeated by Julius.

'He looks like the Thunder Emperor, but he doesn't...'

The Julius Tebar remembered had hair as red as blood and eyes as sharp as a wild beast's. The boy standing before him, on the other hand, gave off none of the danger the Thunder Emperor did.

'His face...'

Compared to the Thunder Emperor's sharp, blade-like features, this boy even looked a little androgynous. Perhaps it was because he was only sixteen and had not fully lost the softness of youth.

'...Approved.'

He was handsome, at least. Even standing beside the Church Master, an elf so beautiful she seemed otherworldly, his appearance did not fall far behind. Tebar quietly nodded. At the very least, his face was good enough for him to become the Church Master's companion.

'His face isn't important. What matters is his sword.'

Tebar held no romantic feelings for the Church Master. What he wanted was to fight her fiercely, and one day be cut down and killed by her sword. That was the martyrdom Tebar desired.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Young Master."

Obion spoke first. Wearing a warm smile, he approached Kyle and bowed.

"Lamika has told me about your journey and about you, Young Master."

"Um. May I ask why you're calling me Young Master?"

"I heard you have been chosen as the Church Master's companion..."

"It hasn't gone as far as being chosen. We're more... in a relationship where I might become her companion. Yes, something like that."

So everyone had already been talking about it. Kyle swallowed a rising sigh. This was something that should have stayed a secret between him and Helenas, but every person he met seemed to know all about it. Maybe there would even be an article on the Imperial Newspaper's front page tomorrow.

'No, probably not. The Grand General promised he wouldn't publish it, even after writing off the debt of my saving his life...'

Alero had also given him a firm promise. Talk about being companions would never, ever be shared with anyone else. Kyle swallowed another sigh and forced a smile.

"I'm grateful that the Church Master thinks so kindly of me."

"Hmph. You didn't seduce the Church Master with that pretty face of yours, did you?"

Tebar sneered. Gripping the hilt of the greatsword embedded in the ground, he stared hard at Kyle.

"If all you have is that face, I'll make sure you can never brag about it again."

"Thank you for the compliment."

Kyle answered with an unbothered smile.

"A compliment? When did I compliment you?"

"Didn't you just compliment me by saying I'm handsome? I am fairly handsome. My mother is beautiful, after all."

"I didn't say it as a compliment."

"It sounded like one to me. And I didn't seduce the Church Master with my face."

The silent scrutiny of the others had made Kyle uncomfortable, so Tebar's open hostility was a welcome change. Kyle grinned and tapped Fenris at his waist.

"I seduced her with my sword."

"Hah?"

Tebar raised his brows and let out a hollow laugh. Each Apostle of the Sword Church was mad in their own way. Mad about the sword, mad about the Church, or mad about the Church Master. Their reasons differed, but they all had one thing in common.

They were swordsmen. Outstanding swordsmen, at that. Lamika alone was a swordswoman comparable to the Ten Peaks, yet she ranked only fifth among the seven.

And before such powerful people, a sixteen-year-old boy had said he seduced the Sword Church Master with his sword. What an arrogant, insolent thing to say.

A chill ran through Kyle.

It felt as though Serga and Theodic's gazes were scanning him down to his very core. Tebar, on the other hand, bared his teeth in a broad smile and nodded.

"Your way of talking is arrogant, but it's manly enough that I like it. Right, if you're going to seduce the Church Master, you need that much nerve."

Nodding, Tebar tightened his grip around the hilt of his greatsword.

"By the look of it, you're very confident in the sword you carry..."

Just as he did with the Church Master, Tebar had no intention of asking for a spar. If he wanted to fight, he attacked. A swordsman should exchange swords more than words. That was the doctrine of the Sword Church that Tebar followed.

The greatsword pulled free from the ground. At the same time, Tebar kicked off and charged.

Helenas stood directly beside Kyle. If Tebar swung that massive greatsword, Helenas would be caught in its path as well.

Tebar did not care about such things. Through long experience, he knew in his bones that even if he swung at full strength, he could not hurt the Church Master. There was no hesitation in the greatsword Tebar swung.

'If he can't block it, he dies. If he dies, that's all.'

If he could not even respond to an attack like this and was cut in half, he had no right to become the Church Master's companion. A greatsword filled with that sincere killing intent reached Kyle.

The instant Tebar's greatsword came free, his foot left the ground, and the blade drew a path that would cleave Kyle's waist in two.

This level used time in an unfairly divided way. Unless one stood at the same level and was accustomed to this world, they would be cut down without even seeing the sword move.

Kyle could now perceive the world of intent that he would have failed to notice in the past. From the beginning, his hand had already rested on Fenris's hilt.

Clang!

Fenris flew from its sheath and intercepted the greatsword along a writhing path. It was only a single exchange, but Tebar's eyes widened.

A sword path that writhed like a snake. Naturally, Tebar knew what that sword was.

"Lamika."

Scrape.

The edges of the locked greatsword and Fenris scraped together. Tebar did not push his greatsword any further. Maintaining the clash, he spoke.

"Is this brat your disciple?"

"I thought I told you not to call him a brat."

Lamika answered with a frown. Her expression was not because Tebar was being rude. It was because Kyle's draw just now had been so clean that, as the technique's creator, she had no choice but to acknowledge it.

"Young Master is not my disciple."

"Not your disciple? Then how does he draw and swing his sword exactly like you?"

"Because Young Master devoured my sword."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"It means that... with my permission, he stole my sword and learned it. Through repeated sparring."

Tebar turned to Lamika with a dumbfounded look.

"You didn't teach him swordsmanship. He stole the sword and learned it?"

"Yes."

"Does that even make sense? That brat just now... he wasn't simply copying the sword's form. Even his breathing and mana control... even his Spirit Root felt the same."

If Kyle had merely copied the shape, Tebar would not have been this surprised. Swordsmanship performed with mana only showed its true power when the mana was controlled in a way suited to its form.

"What you felt was correct. Young Master is... so greedy it could almost be called selfish. He does not simply steal forms and consume them. He devours even the proper, precise way to swing a sword."

Lamika had continued sparring with Kyle despite knowing she was being devoured. Over those three months, Lamika's sword had seeped into Kyle. Tebar looked back and forth between Lamika and Kyle with blank eyes.

"So it wasn't a joke."

Tebar muttered with a hollow laugh.

"You didn't formally teach him, and he devoured Lamika's sword through sparring alone. I can't believe it. Something like this is possible?"

"That's because Lady Lamika kindly sparred with me."

Kyle smiled back at her.

"Thanks to her, my sword improved greatly over the past three months."

"How much have you devoured?"

"It's hard to explain with words. We're both swordsmen holding swords, so wouldn't it be faster to explain with swords rather than our mouths?"

Tebar's body trembled. Kyle's answer pleased him enough to make him shudder.

"Right. Exactly. Why make our mouths sore talking? Swordsmen can speak through swords."

Bright red Aura began to flow from Tebar's body.

Scrape...!

Fenris, which had only been holding its ground, began to be pushed back little by little.

"Tebar."

Theodic stepped forward and grabbed Tebar's shoulder. Without turning around, Tebar snapped at him.

"Let go, old man. The Church Master is watching without saying anything. Who are you to stop me?"

"One need not be the Church Master to reprimand rudeness."

Theodic spoke quietly. Tebar sharply turned his head and glared at him.

"Didn't you hear what that brat said? A swordsman should speak through swords..."

"We can speak later."

As the mood between the two Apostles was about to boil over, Kyle quickly spoke and withdrew Fenris. This was his first meeting with all the Apostles whom Helenas considered family. He did not want to cause the beginnings of family conflict from the start.

"I'm going to the Sword Grove anyway. Can't we speak there?"

"You're putting someone in the mood, then withdrawing your sword?"

"Isn't it more enjoyable to hold back sometimes before letting it out?"

"..."

Tebar's lips twitched as he looked at Kyle. He thought for a moment, then nodded and withdrew his greatsword.

"That is true. It feels better to hold your piss before letting it out."

"..."

The comparison was a little filthy, but it was not entirely wrong.

"Drinking water after enduring thirst is more refreshing."

Kyle did not want to agree with that statement and make himself seem filthy as well, so he gave it a cleaner revision.

"Are you going to the Sword Grove as well, Kyle-nim?"

Theodic removed his hand from Tebar's shoulder and narrowed his eyes.

"Yes. The Church Master wants it, and I want to go as well."

"Are you a Sword Church member, Young Master?"

"Yes, I am a Sword Church member."

It did not feel like a situation where he could say no. Kyle took a purple pauldron from his Out-of-Place Artifact and put it on. Lamika had brought it to him during their journey, but he had not worn it even once since then.

"..."

Theodic quietly looked at Kyle's purple pauldron before turning to Helenas. Helenas herself was not wearing the black pauldron that could be called the symbol of the Church Master. Without a word, Kyle took Helenas's pauldron from the Out-of-Place Artifact and handed it to her.

"By the Church's principles, only Apostles are allowed to enter the Sword Grove..."

Theodic, who had been silent, spoke.

"But the Church Master has permitted it. And Young Master is a special person... Yes, an exception should be acceptable."

Seeing Theodic say that when Helenas, the Church Master herself, had already said it was fine, Kyle understood what kind of Apostle he was.

'He puts the Sword Church's principles before Helenas.'

Now he understood why Tebar called him an old man.

'The Sword Grove...'

Kyle ran his fingers over the unfamiliar pauldron and sheathed Fenris. The forest where Helenas had remained for centuries. Kyle knew exactly where that forest was.

'The forest where I stayed in my previous life.'

Near the end of the Dark Age, when wars had begun to die down. There were no battlefields worth seeking, too many followers were trailing after him, and he had grown weary of a wandering life. The Sword Demon had stayed in that forest for a while.

Calling it settlement would be too much. He had simply built a hut and lived there with Helenas and his other followers, waiting for another great war to break out somewhere on the continent.

'How strange.'

Feeling an odd resonance in his chest, Kyle smiled bitterly.

'It feels like I'm going home.'

Footnotes:

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