Solo Swordmaster - Chapter 85

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B

Chapter 85: Innate Dispositions and Habits

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After playing the Pitch-Black Violin.

The reason he had willingly accepted this monstrosity was not merely because its music helped dissolve a Constellation's power.

From the moment he first played it, he had sensed a strange, eerie presence he could not identify.

[...

So the presence you've been sensing all this time is the ghost I saw?]

“It's only a possibility.”

A Sword Master was not a priest.

So even if a ghost had attached itself to it, he could sense its presence without necessarily being able to see it.

Yoo Na-gyeong shrieked at Rimon's calm reply.

[That means it really is a haunted instrument!]

“Why are you so surprised? A cursed instrument and a haunted instrument are basically the same thing.”

[They are completely different! Especially for someone like me who can see ghosts, it's unbelievably creepy!]

“Now, now. Ghosts shouldn't discriminate against one another.”

[I'm not a ghost!!!]

No matter what Yoo Na-gyeong said, Rimon paid her no mind.

Whether it was a cursed instrument.

Or a haunted one.

As long as he could use it to dissolve a Constellation's power, that was all that mattered.

Still, one thing bothered him.

'A ghost of a young girl...'

Even for a cursed instrument, there was no way an ordinary ghost could cling to such a powerful magic item, especially one made by a priest of Muse.

Either she had shared a deep connection with instruments in life, or she had to be an unusual ghost.

Yet the fact that the ghost was merely a young girl made Rimon all the more curious about her identity.

'Could the power to dissolve starlight itself be connected to that ghost... No, that's too much of a leap.'

Rimon shook his head.

There was not even confirmation that the girl Yoo Na-gyeong had seen was truly a ghost bound to the violin.

Thinking that far ahead without any evidence was something detectives or people with delusions did.

[Ugh, damn it! If you're just going to keep teasing me, why don't you leave? You're busy these days anyway, aren't you?]

Perhaps sulking because Rimon had ignored her, Yoo Na-gyeong turned away with a huff.

Only then did Rimon emerge from his thoughts and answer lightly.

“Oh, that's fine.”

[What do you mean, fine?]

“I've already made a list of predicted raids for the next month.”

[...

What did you say you did?]

“It means I won't have anything to do for the next month.”

[Team Leader, did you just throw together a list because working every day is a pain in the neck...?]

Smack!

[Ow!]

“What is with that suspicious look toward your exalted team leader, huh?”

[Then have you given me any reason not to be suspicious?! Does it make any sense that you predicted every place criminals you've never even seen will raid for an entire month?!]

It was so absurd that even after sprawling backward from the forehead flick, Yoo Na-gyeong sprang back up like a roly-poly toy to argue.

Rimon's answer was simple.

“Then does predicting one day's worth make sense?”

[Well...]

Yoo Na-gyeong had no response.

After all, using swordsmanship to identify a criminal's next target was equally absurd.

Rimon snorted.

“Whether I predict the next one or a month's worth, it's all the same. What matters are habits and innate dispositions.”

[Habits and what dispositions?]

“In short, people tend to do things the way they always have.”

Just as the forms performed by a left-handed and a right-handed person would inevitably differ even if they learned the same swordsmanship.

A hasty person, a cautious person, a crafty person, a steadfast person, a clever person, and a fickle person would all wield a sword differently.

That was one's innate disposition.

And habits formed over time.

Patterns engraved in the depths of the unconscious, which could not be changed even if one wished to change them.

Those were precisely what Rimon had sought to uncover, to the point of thoroughly examining the corpses during the Black Dragon Construction tragedy.

[...

So if you know those dispositions and habits, you can tell when and what an opponent will do?]

“No, that would be impossible. Even if you know the pattern, properly applying it requires enough experience and knowledge.”

[To sum it up?]

“A master Go player may be able to read through to the final stage after seeing only the first ten moves, but that doesn't mean they can read a game of chess.”

[And you're a master investigator who knows where criminals will place their next stone?]

“Training in swordsmanship and beating up villains is what I've done all my life.”

Yoo Na-gyeong understood.

It was not an easy knack even for Rimon.

It was an extraordinary ability possible only because he had spent centuries as a Sword Master solving every sort of crime and dealing with every kind of villain.

[If you had a talent like that, why didn't you use it when you were at the PAB? Catching criminals would've been much easier.]

“There was no need to use it then. It's not that impressive a talent anyway.”

[Come on, you say that, but really you were just being lazy... Yes, I dodged it. Aagh!]

“...At this point, I'm genuinely curious. Na-gyeong, do you have no ability to learn, or do you actually enjoy getting hit?”

Rimon clicked his tongue as Yoo Na-gyeong went down after happily dodging one forehead flick, only to be struck by a second from the Divine Finger-Flicking Art.

[Ah, damn it! Either way, it's true that you were slacking off!]

“It wasn't slacking off. I was working efficiently. The PAB was teeming with people who had divination Skills or information Skills. What use would I have for a petty trick like this?”

[That petty trick is helping a lot right now, though.]

“That's only because this situation is unusual.”

Rimon assessed the situation coldly.

The Tracers had been obtaining particularly little information this time.

In an ordinary case, investigations by Tracers with all kinds of Skills would usually be faster and more accurate than Rimon's crude predictions.

“Besides, this method has a clear weakness.”

[A weakness?]

“Yes. If they don't notice that weakness, it won't matter... But if they do, my predictions will become completely useless.”

[...

What exactly is this weakness?]

Yoo Na-gyeong tilted her head.

She could not imagine what weakness there could be in a talent that seemed even more like a Skill than a Skill, or why Rimon was acting so modest about it.

Rimon spoke calmly to her.

“That is...”

* * *

“You're saying we failed again?”

“Failure is a harsh word, Comrade. Let's say we made a tactical retreat to avoid a drawn-out battle.”

“That is what failure is, you idiot Comrade.”

The man who coldly snapped that reply, his hair braided, frowned and muttered.

“I cannot understand it.”

“What is there not to understand?”

“How they know our next raid target and are waiting for us.”

“Could it not just be chance?”

“If you think three raids failing in succession after the first one is chance, then have that rotten brain of yours replaced.”

As though he would crack open the young man's head and personally give it a brain-washing operation right then and there if he wished, the braided-haired man raised the knife he had been using to cut steak.

The young man with beady eyes recoiled and protested.

“But if it isn't chance, how else do you explain it? Information couldn't have leaked.”

“Hmm. That is true.”

“Or perhaps we got caught by some sort of divination Skill.”

“That is impossible.”

The man spoke decisively.

Then, with certainty in his eyes, he continued.

“Have you forgotten? We possess a blessing that nullifies all divination Skills and observation Skills.”

“But 『Star River Curtain』 isn't perfect, is it? The Seven Dragons Society has many masters with bizarre talents.”

“Even so, they are merely the petty tricks of dragons defeated by some ignorant swordsman.”

The braided-haired man did not so much as twitch an eyebrow as he declared that the Seven Dragons Society's martial artists, who merely wielded Psionics, could never break through 『Star River Curtain』.

The young man did not bother to argue.

For one thing, he did not want to quarrel with a man who was technically his superior. More importantly, he secretly agreed with him.

『Star River Curtain』 was a special Skill.

It was classified as a Rare Skill, but its usefulness surpassed that of a Unique Skill.

It was also the main reason their organization could operate all over the world without anyone tracing them.

From that perspective, it was more reasonable to believe there was another cause than to believe 『Star River Curtain』 had been breached.

“Then how do those bastards know our target and prepare for us?”

“Hmm...”

The man cut his steak into small pieces.

After chewing a piece thoroughly, he swallowed only the juices, casually spat out the rest, and spoke in a low voice.

“If no information was leaked and they did not foresee it with a Skill, is there not only one answer?”

“What answer?”

“They predicted it.”

“...?”

The beady-eyed young man blinked blankly. A beat later, he understood and stared in shock.

“You mean they figured it out by using their brains? Without even a Skill's boost? Does that make any sense?”

His disbelief was understandable.

In this Iron Age, even weather forecasts relied on divination Skills, while criminal investigations were conducted through tracking and deduction Skills.

Predicting a target by inferring a criminal's psychology without any assistance from a Skill sounded as absurd as flying into space without a spaceship.

Yet the man's expression remained calm.

“It seems you are too stupid to know, Comrade, but in the early Iron Age, there were antiquated investigators who caught criminals by relying on things like ‘instinct,’ ‘experience,’ and ‘statistics.’”

“So you think the Seven Dragons Society brought in one of those old-fashioned investigators?”

“The investigator could be one of their clan to begin with.”

“Well... The Seven Dragons Society does have few Players because of its tradition of revering Psionics.”

“They are primitive idiots, even stupider and more pathetic than you, Comrade. To be bound by such paltry power and tradition while neglecting the truth they should truly follow.”

The man smiled faintly.

The young man averted his eyes.

He looked cool and composed on the surface, but he was still their Comrade and commander.

On matters like this, he was a madman who was certainly no less extreme than the young man himself. There was nothing to gain by meeting his eyes at a time like this.

“Ahem. So what now? Do we find this antiquated investigator and beat the hell out of him?”

“Oh, what an excellent idea. If only you had a way to know who that investigator is and how to find them.”

“How would I know that?”

“If you don't know, then just shut up. At least then you won't be advertising your ignorance.”

“Then does Commander Comrade have any good ideas?”

“I do.”

Perhaps because his suggestion had been dismissed immediately, the young man asked in a challenging tone.

The man answered at once, taking an object from his pocket and setting it on the table.

“...What is this?”

“The adviser who will tell us our next target.”

“What are you talking about?”

Even under the young man's gaze, which seemed to say he had truly gone mad, the man did not twitch an eyebrow.