WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 161: This Is Completely

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Lucia could be called a bundle of deficiencies in many ways.

She had no memories from before she was five. When she came to her senses, she was on the coast north of the Blade Mountains. Not long after, the Aurora Knights found her while on patrol and took her in.

Lucia was far too young, and she was a Half-blood of the Demon Tribe as well. Alastor decided to protect her. She came to live in Gladiheim, but after realizing that this place's ecosystem was built on strength, she took up a sword.

Her inborn, no, her bestowed talent was immense. Once Alastor recognized Lucia's tremendous sword talent, they made the unprecedented decision to allow her to live in the Sword Tower. Retired Elders personally taught her the sword afterward.

The Elders who taught Lucia did not sincerely see her as family. To them, Lucia was only a raw gem they wished to shape.

That gem was not meant to become a dazzling jewel, but a sharp sword. And that sword had to be loyal to Alastor. Alongside swordsmanship, Lucia learned the duty of loyalty. Even when pureblood children her age looked down on her, she did not argue back or crush them with strength.

Her circumstances improved in many ways, but the emptiness inside Lucia was never filled. A Half-blood between the Demon Tribe and humans could never truly be accepted by either side.

To the Demon Tribe, Lucia was a mongrel with human blood. Humans saw her the same way. Someone who could not wholly belong anywhere. That was the fate of a Half-blood.

She was protected in Gladiheim, but never welcomed. Even after entering the Sword Tower, she did not become family.

There was no reason for Julius, the Family Head, to treat Lucia specially. To be acknowledged within Alastor's walls, she needed the qualifications and strength to deserve it.

The Elders taught Lucia sincerely, but they looked at her as a sword to be honed, not family. Katarina, Erika, Vivian, and a few others pitied Lucia, but even that pity was not the feeling one held for family.

Lucia understood the difference. Instinctively, she could tell whether the eyes turned on her held affection or expectations for her usefulness. A child with no memories before the age of five remembered every gaze she had received after turning five.

So Lucia decided to become a useful sword. If she could not receive affection, she would at least be needed. That was why she swung her sword. As instructed, as expected. She ignored the contempt of the pureblood children and swallowed every emotion.

Lucia sincerely wished to become a sword Alastor needed. Yet as she grew up that way, a vast hole formed within her.

A hole where her name, parents, hometown, and the self she had been before five should have been. Where had she come from? What was she? Whose child was she? She knew nothing, only spending each day being honed into something useful.

She had never swung a sword because it truly made her happy, because she loved it. This was the only thing she was good at. Swordsmanship was the talent she had been born with, and wielding a sword well could earn her recognition. That was the only reason she did it.

Then Kyle appeared before her. She still remembered that shocking first meeting. The day the Family Head summoned her to the Sword Hall. The day she sparred with someone three years younger than herself.

The day the sword talent she had been so certain of lost in such a hollow fashion. To eight-year-old Lucia, it had been terrifying.

Yet that fear faded surprisingly easily.

That boy, who had come to live in the Sword Tower. That boy who had shocked the Sword Tower's purebloods from his very first day. The light he gave off drove away the darkness hanging over Lucia.

Kyle did not look down on Lucia. He stood on her side instead. He sincerely acknowledged her sword and placed expectations on her. Even when he said something as vague as telling her to try loving the sword, he was not disappointed when Lucia could not understand him.

The more that happened, the larger Kyle's presence grew within Lucia. She began to want to offer Kyle the sword she had sworn to dedicate to Alastor. When Kyle first founded the Sword Wolf Knights and asked Lucia to join, she was happy that the wish she had held for so long had come true.

She thought she had finally found a place where she truly belonged. She thought her worth had finally been recognized. Even after the Demon King's brand was carved into her, Lucia resolved to remain by Kyle's side, believing that perhaps she could finally love herself a little.

Then Lucia learned that she was not a Half-blood of humans and the Demon Tribe, but a chimera created through magic.

Kyle was deeply shocked by Lucia's birth, but Lucia herself was not particularly shaken by it. Who she was no longer mattered much to her. The shock she had felt that day came from the fear that Kyle would abandon her because she was a monster, a chimera rather than even a Half-blood.

In the end, Lucia rejected the collar a monster should wear. She was furious that Kyle, to whom she had given her heart, did not trust her.

After that day, Lucia reflected on her feelings. The instinct of a master-servant Inscription was carved into the mind of a chimera created by magic. A chimera could never harm its master. The Demon King's brand might turn Lucia into someone who was not Lucia. If the brand ran wild, she might try to hurt Kyle against her will.

For her master's safety alone, she should have accepted the collar. The instinct carved into her mind said so, but Lucia rejected it because she was angry at Kyle's distrust.

When she gathered all of that together, Lucia defined her feelings.

This was no longer loyalty. If she had truly been loyal, she would have accepted the collar. The reason she had defied the master-servant Inscription was because she did not want a relationship of master and servant.

If she had to define the feeling she had reached, it was most likely romantic love.

"I told you, it's a misunderstanding."

Inside the moving carriage, Kyle let out a long sigh.

"It isn't an engagement. That newspaper was written however some garbage reporter wanted."

"So you are saying you have never promised to marry her?"

"I didn't... make a promise. No, I did make one. But it wasn't a certainty. We don't know what will happen."

A face she had never once felt she did not want to see was now the very last thing she wanted to look at. Though seated across from Kyle, Lucia did not face him. She glared out the window instead.

"You made a promise, but it is not a certainty. What does that even mean?"

The reason those things were connected was because Kyle was the Sword Demon's reincarnation, and Helenas had been trapped by the fate of the sword for five hundred years because of the Sword Demon.

Because of the history between them, Kyle wanted to free Helenas from the binding called fate, while Helenas had changed as she began to see Kyle as someone special.

Lucia could not be told all of that. It was not because Kyle did not trust her. The problem was the Demon King's brand within her.

"...The Sword Church Master says the sword isn't fun. She has swung an uninteresting sword for five hundred years. As another swordsman who enjoys the sword, I couldn't understand that. So I decided that someday, I'd defeat the Sword Church Master and teach her what makes the sword fun."

"Why does that lead to marriage?"

"If I manage to do that, I'll become someone special to the Sword Church Master. Special feelings tend to bloom for someone special."

Lucia's eyes, which had been fixed outside the window, trembled faintly.

"Is the Sword Church Master someone special to you too, Kyle-nim?"

"Yeah."

"Why... is that?"

She kept digging for the story behind it. How was he supposed to answer that? Kyle frowned for a moment as he thought it over. Any lie he came up with would be awkward in one way or another.

"I'll tell you later."

"Why not now?"

"It's complicated in a lot of ways. Later, when it isn't so complicated anymore, I'll tell you. Trust me and wait."

Lucia turned from the window. She still looked like she could not understand any of it, but Kyle's eyes were so serious that she had no choice but to nod.

"If the Commander says that much... then there must be a deep reason behind it. Yes, I will wait."

Naturally, her heart did not feel any lighter. Lucia knew that what she was feeling now was the pain of heartbreak and jealousy. Kyle looked at her still gloomy eyes and let out another deep sigh.

"I think I know the answer, but I'll ask anyway. Lucia. Do you like me?"

"Yes. I think I love you."

Lucia answered in a blunt voice.

Kyle and Lucia were the only two speaking in the carriage, but they were not alone. Bruno, Jade, and Narua sat as far from them as possible, not making even the sound of breathing.

Narua's lips twitched as though they were about to open, only for Jade's hand to clamp over her mouth. Without making a sound, Jade twisted his face and pressed a finger to his own lips. Bruno's face heated up for no reason, and his shoulders trembled as if his hands and feet were curling in embarrassment.

"Why do you love me?"

"Because you are someone special to me too, Commander."

Lucia turned away from Kyle, whose face she could not stand to see, and glared back out the window.

"You said special feelings tend to bloom for someone special. It is the same for me."

"Did I do anything that would make me special to you?"

"You did not look down on me for being a Half-blood, Commander. Even after learning of my birth, you treated me no differently. You also taught me many things besides the sword and advised me to try loving myself instead of the sword."

"I didn't say those things because you were someone special. No, now that I think about it, you were special. I thought that someday, you might grow strong enough to have a fun fight with me."

"I know."

Lucia's voice remained blunt.

"You did not treat only me that way. You treated Bruno-nim as you did me, and Narua and Jade as well."

"It wasn't because I'm just a kind and pure person. I had expectations for you."

"The expectations you gave me were purer than any expectations I had received in my life. That is why they were special."

Lucia fell silent for a moment. She steadied her wavering emotions before continuing.

"I am making a fool of myself now, but it will not last long. I will respect your wishes, Commander, and I will still see you as someone special. Even if I have suffered heartbreak, I will not cry pathetically."

"You can cry if you're sad..."

"I will not cry. What I am doing now is only a momentary complaint. Within a few days, I will settle my feelings and become the Lucia you know again."

"And then?"

"Someday... someday, I will wait for you to tell me your reason. And if someday you truly marry the Sword Church Master, I will bless her."

What could he say when Lucia herself said she would do so? Kyle cared for Lucia, but he did not feel for her what he felt for Helenas.

'Yeah... what can I do when that's the truth?'

Lucia was still young. First love usually did not come true, and even though heartbreak hurt now, she would overcome it someday.

An uncomfortable silence settled inside the carriage. Narua, whose mouth was still covered by Jade's hand, was turning red because she could not breathe properly. Jade did not try to break the silence, and Bruno hunched his shoulders as he tried to calm the heat in his face.

"On second thought, I cannot bless her."

As the carriage passed through the middle district, Lucia spoke.

"How can I bless her when I do not wish to? A blessing must not be spoken falsely."

"Uh... yeah, that's true."

"What kind of woman do you like, Commander?"

"Huh? Uh... I don't know..."

"The Sword Church Master is the strongest swordsman on the continent. Since you were young, Commander, you have repeated until your lips wore out that one should love the sword, and you have never stopped training to grow stronger. If I love the sword and become stronger than you, will I become someone special to you too?"

"I guess so?"

Lucia's eyes went blank at Kyle's clean admission. Jade, who was looking at Kyle with the same blank expression, finally could not hold it in any longer.

"You're a complete bastard."

"Narua thinks that was a bastard thing to say too."

Narua finally had the freedom to speak. Lucia, who had been staring with her mouth open at the voices beside her, barely managed to continue.

"Are you serious?"

"If you swing your sword hard for me and someday become stronger than either me or the Sword Church Master, of course you will become someone special. You are special even now."

"Even now...?"

"You know I don't mean special as a woman, right?"

"I know. Yes, of course I know. But if I become stronger than you, Commander, will I be special as a woman then?"

"I don't know that yet. The Sword Church Master and I don't know either, and we couldn't be certain, so we put it off until later."

If they had been certain of their feelings, they would not have stopped at an engagement. Lucia's expression began changing rapidly.

'I just have to win.'

There was no need to make it difficult. If Kyle defeated the Sword Church Master and then defined their relationship, Lucia only needed to defeat Kyle and define their relationship afterward.

"Yes. Someday, I will become stronger than you, Commander."

"If you find someone you like besides me before then..."

"That will not happen. Do not say such awful things."

"Are you going to keep calling me Commander? It feels very distant."

"What did you do with the Sword Church Master for three months?"

"I swung swords a lot."

"That is all?"

"Yeah. I learned a lot, so I'll teach you next time."

Only after hearing that did Lucia's eyes return to normal.

"I have grown much stronger too. ...Kyle-nim."

"It looks like it. You seem to be at the end of the Will Realm. Can you see the threshold of the Boundary Realm?"

"No, I cannot see it yet... but I think I can vaguely feel something."

"Your talent is absurd too."

Kyle spoke in admiration. He had reached the Boundary Realm at his current age largely because of the memories from his previous life, apart from his inborn Spirit Root. Yet Lucia had reached the end of the Will Realm at nineteen without anything like that.

"Everyone has grown a lot stronger, but especially you, Jade. A lot of your weaknesses are gone. Right?"

"After having that conversation, you just change the subject like nothing happened. Is the Commander's talent shamelessness, not swordsmanship?"

"Call it flexible, not shameless."

"Yes, it must be nice being so flexible."

"You should thank me too. Do you know who got you the Elixir that covered your weaknesses?"

"Thank you, Commander."

Jade grumbled as he shrugged.

"My tone may sound like this, but I am sincerely grateful. They say the Sword Tower has one of every Elixir in the world... I never imagined the Family Head would grant even something as precious as a Spirit Jade."

"Huh? Spirit Jade?"

"...What is that reaction? Didn't you request it, Commander?"

"I don't even know what a Spirit Jade is. I only asked him to get you some Elixirs."

At Kyle's answer, Jade blinked several times before letting out a hollow laugh.

"Well, then. I should thank the Family Head, not the Commander."

"What is a Spirit Jade?"

"It is an incredibly precious Elixir that improves your Spirit Root. I do not know why he gave one to someone like me."

"Because I wrote a letter asking him to take special care of you. That is why he even taught you personally."

"Yes, yes. I thank you too, Commander."

"There was more than the Elixirs. How was the stuff the Central Branch sent?"

"The Artificial Circuits?"

Jade rolled up the sleeve of his right arm. The faint reddish tattoos inscribed on his skin looked almost like blood vessels.

"It still feels a little awkward... but the performance is good. Do you know it took me a whole month just to adapt to this?"

"If you admit the performance is good yourself, I have high expectations too."

Those Artificial Circuits were the latest creation of Aia Vernes, head of the Central Branch Armaments Bureau of the Crows. According to the explanation, nanomachines implanted in the body sensed the flow of mana and somehow opened additional Circuits. Since Jade's own Circuits were sparse, Kyle had thought they would suit him perfectly and accepted them.

"After spending time with the Sword Church Master and the Apostles of the Sword Church, my standards have risen a lot."

Kyle grinned.

"I know you have all trained hard, but it will take a lot to impress me. Do not be disappointed if my reactions are too cold during sparring."

"You will be impressed."

Lucia spoke with a sullen expression.

"I will make sure of it."

"Um... we are talking about sparring, right?"

"Absolutely."

Lucia clenched her fist in determination.

* * *

The Sword Hall of the Sword Tower.

It was the heart of the Sword Tower, where Alastor's purebloods gathered. Sitting on the throne, Julius rested his chin on one hand and looked down at Kyle. The Family Head was not the only one watching him. Everyone was focused on Kyle.

"I will receive your report on your return."

Julius did not wear the same smile he had earlier. This was Alastor's heart, and here Julius had to exist not as a grandfather, but as the Family Head. Their greeting at the gate had been a reunion of family, but here he needed to hear a report as the Family Head from a member of the house.

A pureblood had left the family for months and traveled with the Sword Church Master. This was the place to reveal before the family what had happened on that journey and what he had gained from it.

"Kyle Alastor. I have completed my journey and returned."

Kyle answered with proper formality. Julius nodded and rested an elbow on the throne's armrest.

"I know the outline of your journey. You traveled with the Sword Church Master and visited the Sword Grove, and during that time there were talks with the Empire. There were political issues that arose in between. We must discuss the matter of the Imperial Newspaper and your relationship with the Sword Church as well, but there is only one thing I wish to ask now."

Julius's golden eyes fixed on Kyle.

"What did you gain?"

It was a question befitting Alastor. Not politics, reputation, or marriage prospects. What had a swordsman gained from his journey? The most essential question a Martial family could ask its direct descendant.

Every gaze in the Sword Hall turned to Kyle. They had already sensed it at the gate. Kyle had returned changed beyond measure. What was the nature of that change, and how much had he changed? Now it was time to hear it from Kyle himself.

Kyle fell silent for a moment. What had he gained? There were many answers to that question. The days he had spent with Helenas. His understanding of Sublimation. A clue to the Sword Realm. Countless sparring matches with the Sword Church Master and the Apostles.

All of it could be summed up in a single phrase.

"I gained many swords."

Kyle opened his mouth.

"I crossed swords with the Sword Church's seven Apostles and learned their swords. I also exchanged blows with the Sword Church Master every day, understood intent, and drew closer to her sword. Compared to when I left this place, I am confident that I have returned strong enough not to be ashamed."

"It appears so."

Julius nodded. He could sense at least that much himself. But Kyle was not finished.

"And."

Kyle continued.

"I saw the Founding Ancestor's sword."

The Sword Hall fell silent for an instant, followed by stunned gasps.

Footnotes:

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