WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Reincarnation of the Sword Demon

Chapter 19

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A Mage with a Sword

Julius couldn't find a single word to say. He took the letter Kyle held out to him.

'Heavy...?'

Just a few sheets of paper in an envelope, yet it felt oddly heavy. A simple illusion, nothing more. The letter itself weighed almost nothing.

The weight was in his heart. Julius had many children, and before Kyle arrived, he'd already had four grandchildren.

Receiving a letter like this wasn't entirely new to him. Every year on his birthday, his children had hand-written letters and brought them to him. His grandchildren had done the same.

But. Receiving one like this on any other day, that was new.

Julius Alastor. Before he was a father or grandfather, he was the family head of Alastor. Before that, he had been a warrior.

Dignity. Bearing. These things poured out of Julius without him even trying, and his children and grandchildren had always treated him accordingly.

He knew it himself. He wasn't particularly taciturn by nature, but he placed great value on dignity. Which meant the times he had openly shown affection could be counted on one hand, and they all treated him with careful reverence.

"..."

Julius examined the letter with a stiff expression. No wax seal, just a plain envelope. He swallowed and opened it.

Inside was a single sheet of paper. That pulled him up short. Every birthday letter his children and grandchildren had ever handed him had been thick.

"Don't read it now."

Julius had just started to pull the letter free when Kyle spoke up.

"Why not?"
"Because I'd be embarrassed."

Kyle meant it. He'd written the letter as genuine thanks for the spirit medicines, and partly to cheer up a grandfather who seemed lonely, and partly to earn a little more favor going forward. Even so, watching it get read right in front of him was more than he could stomach.

"...All right."

He wanted to read it that instant. But his grandson was giving him a completely serious look, so Julius tucked the letter away without complaint.

"What do you want to play today?"
"The same as yesterday."

Yesterday had been eventful in all sorts of ways, and by the end he'd been worn out. Today he'd had the spirit medicines to fortify him, so his whole body hummed with energy.

"Grandfather's gift made me so strong. I think we can have even more fun than yesterday."

Julius smiled. The regret at not reading the letter right then faded just like that. He nodded, picked up the wooden sword still lying out from the day before, and held it out to Kyle.

[Grrrr...]

That damn mutt started up again. Kyle didn't spare a glance at Fenris, still embedded in the floor of the Sword Peak Hall. He took the wooden sword and squared off against Julius.

The medicine worked well.

He revised the thought from his earlier clash with Bruno.

Too well.

Kyle had left the Sword Peak Hall. Julius returned to the throne with a quiet smile.

Outside, the sun was already sinking. The energetic, medicine-fortified grandson had played with Julius for an unbroken half-day. Play only stopped because Julius had matters to attend to. Without them, the boy would still have been swinging that wooden sword.

'His instincts are something else. And so is his will.'

Same as yesterday, wooden swords, facing each other, Julius fending off Kyle's attacks. He'd added pressure through killing intent this time, and Kyle didn't flinch once.

He'd laced in genuine hostility. Kyle didn't cry, didn't scream. He grinned like he was having the time of his life and came at him harder.

'Dante and Seros had been bold and combative as children too, but not like Kyle.'

Bruno was older and bigger, yet Kyle had dominated the atmosphere between them from the very start. Even Bekius, who had a certain cunning about him, couldn't back Kyle into a corner. Julius could only conclude the boy's ki was something he'd been born with.

'Not all bark. When it comes to battle, his natural gift is nothing short of genius. And on top of that, he carries real thirst for the sword and genuine hunger for strength.'

Only five years old, and Julius had yet to find a single lacking quality in him. Sharp instincts, flexibility. And tact. Julius chuckled and drew the letter from inside his coat.

To Grandfather.

Hello, Grandfather. It's me, Kyle.
Thank you for the wonderful gift.
This is the first time I've ever received a gift like this, so I was really happy.
Please send more gifts in the future.
When I'm stronger than you someday, I'll be sure to repay you.
Stay healthy for a long, long time.

"..."

Short.

He'd thought this grandson had no shortcomings. One look at the letter corrected that impression immediately.

"The prose is terrible."

Julius said it under his breath, laughing despite himself. Audacious, too, the contents.

Stronger someday?

He'd be sure to repay him then?

Julius stared at it, baffled, and read it again. Only a few lines, so it took seconds. No hidden meaning. Exactly what it looked like. He flipped the page over on the off chance, but there was nothing more.

"Unbelievable boy..."

Five years old, and he was declaring to the head of Alastor that he'd surpass him one day. Not one of his own children had ever said anything half this bold. And here a five-year-old grandson had managed it. Julius laughed again, carefully folded the letter, and slid it back into the envelope.

"..."

Then he took it back out and read it again.

He read it several times over.

Kyle dragged himself home to the Rose Mansion, exhausted to the bone. Gathering the whole family for dinner like the night before wasn't something that happened often, so tonight they'd eat at their own residence.

"Kyle!"

The moment he opened the front door, Arian came rushing over. The alarm on her face told him everything at a glance.

'One of the uncles came and made a scene.'

Probably not Karthan. More likely Barkas, the bear cub's father, had shown up and made a fuss. That was his read, but Kyle kept his chin up regardless. There was nothing to feel cowed about.

"I'm home, Mom. Did Uncle Barkas stop by?"
"...Huh?"

Kyle asking first made Arian's eyes go wide. She hesitated a moment, then gave a small nod.

"Yeah."
"What did he say?"
"He dumped a load of nonsense not worth repeating."
"Do you think I did something wrong, Mom?"

Kyle blinked as he asked. Arian blinked back at him for a moment, then let out a small laugh.

"Bruno was the one who went to hit you first."
"Right."
"And he even used his aura, I heard. Then he has the nerve to show up and make a scene. No wonder he got divorced, with a personality like that."

She knelt down and grabbed Kyle firmly by the shoulders.

"You didn't get hurt, right?"
"Not a scratch. If anything, Bruno took a hit from me."
"You're not planning on calling him brother, are you?"
"If he acted like one, I'd call him one. Bruno isn't worth that title. Same goes for Bekius."

Kyle said it plainly and grinned.

"Did Uncle tell you to make me call him that?"
"He had the nerve to tell me to raise my child properly."
"And you just stood there and took it?"
"As if. I told him to raise his own child properly first. Your little brother smacks you and you reach for your aura, what exactly are you so proud of? Coming here to lecture me about raising my son. Mind your own house."

Arian had no shortage of spine. She'd been looked down on by Barkas for her spirit affinity when she was young, but the Arian of today was nothing like that girl.

And if her brother dared pick on her son with groundless complaints and petty jibes, she would never stand for it.

"Grandfather didn't blame me either. He said I did well."

Kyle smiled. Barkas might be fuming over his son getting hit and humiliated, but there wasn't much he could do beyond making noise. Getting beaten and shamed wasn't anything to be proud of, and the family head himself hadn't blamed Kyle. For now, all Barkas could do was seethe.

Grumble.

Half a day running around with his grandfather had left Kyle thoroughly famished. The sound from his stomach made Arian snort and pull him into a tight hug.

"You're hungry, aren't you? Let's have dinner with Aunt Erika tonight."
"With Auntie?"
"Yeah. She did say she'd come visit sometime."

Today might have been a little soon, but there was no reason she'd turn them away. Arian took Kyle's hand and gave a light knock on the door of the Rose Mansion.

Knock, knock.

She pictured Erika's residence as she knocked, and a response came back almost at once.

"This is the residence of Erika Alastor. Who calls?"
"Arian Alastor. I'd like to have dinner with Erika. Is now a good time?"
"Please wait a moment."

A short while later, the servant's calm voice returned.

"Miss Erika is currently training in the residence's training hall. She says you are welcome to come now."
"All right. We'll head over."

Arian stifled a laugh and leaned close to Kyle's ear.

"Sounds like Auntie wants to show you her sword training."

Sword training! Kyle's eyes lit up like a night sky crammed full of stars. Five years had passed since his reincarnation, and he had yet to witness any real swordsmanship from this era.

'What Grandfather and I did was just play, after all.'

The spar with Lucia hadn't shown him the kind of swordsmanship he'd hoped for either. Kyle swallowed, the anticipation already thudding in his chest.

Arian watched her barely-contained son with an expression of pure adoration and pushed the door open. It should have opened into the Rose Mansion's garden, but what appeared on the other side was an entirely different large mansion.

Erika's residence. Through the already-open front gate, servants waited with gracious postures to receive them.

"Would you care to wait in the parlor?"
"Take us to the training hall. Erika will want to show off."

The servants couldn't quite suppress their smiles at that. Sure enough, Erika had let them come precisely because she wanted to do exactly that.

The training hall was underground. Walking down the basement stairs hand in hand with Arian, Kyle tilted his head.

'What's this?'

The air was cold. Because it was underground? No, it went well beyond that.

A biting chill, the kind that cut to the bone. Not just low temperature, something about it felt wrong. Kyle was rubbing his arm and thinking it over when Arian gently squeezed his hand. A warm current wrapped itself around his body.

"My lady. Your guests have arrived."

The servant pushed open the door to the underground training hall.

Whoosh!

White frost came pouring out like a gale.

"...!"

Kyle flinched back. The training hall was, simply put, a winter kingdom. Floor and walls blanketed in ice, snowflake crystals glittering and drifting through the air.

At the center of it all stood Erika.

Slash! She swung her sword. Each time the pure-white blade cut through the air, a clear ring burst out and ice flowers bloomed.

Shhh...

She moved her feet as she swung, gliding as though skating across ice. Her footwork was graceful as a dance, the sword never stopping. Ice flowers bloomed with every pass, the pure-white blade threading between them without pause.

Crack, crack, crack!

Aura shot from the tip of her sword and carved a cross-shaped trail through the air. Not a fading afterimage. An actual frozen cross of ice crystals hovered in mid-air, solid and still.

"Ha...!"

Erika finished her sword dance and let out a long breath. A moment later, she turned with the most transparent bit of acting imaginable.

"Oh? Unni? When did you get here?"

She'd just put on an entire performance and now she was doing her best to look genuinely surprised. Arian laughed and clapped.

"Erika, that was amazing! Your swordsmanship has really come a long way, hasn't it?"
"Hmhmhm. Well... I suppose. It has been six years."

Erika's mouth was twitching at the corners, though she didn't seem to notice.

"When you were still here, I hadn't awakened my spirit root yet. Ahem. As you can see, I've awakened an ice spirit root."

She'd tried to say it casually, but her face and voice both gave her away completely. Erika stared at Arian with an expression that was all but begging for praise.

"Amazing! An ice spirit root, that's incredibly rare!"
"Ahem, it is. Training has been a headache because of it. Choosing a mana cultivation technique and sword form was easy enough, though."
"You're thirteen, right, Erika? Three years into serious training and you've already reached the Form Realm. You've worked so hard!"
"Hmhmhm, it's nothing that special. All my brothers and sisters reached the Form Realm at my age too, didn't they? Even you, Unni, at thirteen you were..."

"Excuse me."

What he'd just watched, and the conversation happening around him, Kyle finally couldn't hold back.

"Was what Auntie just did also swordsmanship?"
"Hm? Of course it's swordsmanship. It's called the Snow Flower Sword Art."

Part of Erika's reason for showing off had been to draw some genuine awe from that presumptuous little nephew. She steadied her breathing and channeled her mana.

Whoosh! Erika swung her sword again.

"This is Snow Flower Tempest!"

Crack crack crack crack! The relentless flurry of strikes bloomed dozens of snowflowers into the air. Mana burned through her reserves, her head swam, and a wrenching pain twisted through her insides. Only then did she stop, but not a trace of it showed in her face.

Or so she thought. Her mouth corners were drooping so hard she looked like she might be sick any moment, and her brows had crumpled into a knot. Despite all that, Erika squared her shoulders and looked at Kyle with her chin held high.

"W-well? What do you think?"

Her breath was ragged enough that speaking was an effort, but she made herself ask.

"..."

Kyle didn't answer. He looked at the dozens of ice flowers drifting around Erika, and thought back over the flurry of strikes she'd just shown him.

He was baffled.

'What's the difference between this and a mage just picking up a sword?'

So this was what passed for swordsmanship in the current era.

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