WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

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◈ Sword Master of the Fallen Kingdom

Chapter 37

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Magic Tower City Kabiles (2)

Veronica's body went rigid with cold.

With the blade pressed under her chin, she turned her eyes and looked at Kyle.

Kyle kept his sword trained on her, his eyes calm and without the slightest agitation.

The outstretched blade did not tremble at all. His composure was eerie enough to send chills down her spine. There was not a trace of emotion in his pitch-black eyes.

The silver blade at her throat was the same. It was unlike an ordinary sword. Sunlight struck the steel and made it gleam white.

It looked as if starlight had settled on it.

"Kyle-ssi?"

Lena, who had been gripping her wand and was a step away from fighting, turned to Kyle in shock. Even the two guards who had tried to mediate between Lena and Veronica could not step in after things escalated in an instant. More precisely, they could not move for fear that an awkward intervention would spill blood.

"What's going on?"

"Did a fight break out in front of the Magic Tower?"

"Did he just draw his sword?"

The standoff continued in silence, and whispers rose from every direction. The Lenore Magic Tower stood in the center of the city. Heavy foot traffic was inevitable.

"You..."

With all eyes on her, Veronica's face flushed with humiliation, and her mouth went dry. She had to say something, but no voice came out. The moment from just now kept replaying in her head.

When did he draw his sword?

She did not know. She could not tell. She had not even seen it. This was the first time anything like this had happened to her.

When she first saw Kyle beside Lena, she thought he looked rough, but still like a fairly capable mercenary. Nothing beyond that. Silver Rank at most. Her house had more than enough people above Silver Rank. If she picked even one decent knight, he would be stronger than most Silver Rank mercenaries.

Then why...

She had failed to react. She was not ignorant of swordsmanship either. She had watched enough knight duels to understand it to some degree, which made this even harder to accept. It had been incredibly subtle, without sound or presence, and by the time that sharp metallic ring reached her ears, the blade was already under her chin.

Could he be a Gold-rank mercenary? Did that bitch really hire someone that strong?

"......."

Veronica stayed silent. The commotion around the main gate kept growing.

Kyle gave the hilt the slightest twist. The blade, white under the sun, tilted a little deeper under Veronica's chin.

By then, fear was pushed back and anger began to rise from deep inside her. She finally forced her mouth open.

"You lowborn mercenary bastard... you've lost your mind."

"......."

"You drew a sword in front of the Magic Tower? You're an uneducated commoner, so you cannot read the situation. Kabiles is not like other cities. This is where the Lenore Magic Tower stands. You think you'll walk away after this? You dare point a blade at me, a noble, when you're just a commoner...!"

"Not in front of the tower, outside it. The laws that apply are different too."

Kyle cut her off. Veronica let out a stunned sound.

"...What?"

"Kabiles is definitely not a place ruled by ordinary kingdom law. But that only applies inside. Is a mage of the Lenore Magic Tower ignorant of that?"

"Do not spout nonsense when you know nothing! Kabiles is protected by Magic Tower Law not only inside but across the whole city. If an outsider injures a mage of the tower, the punishment is increased. Even on the outskirts of the city..."

"Formally, maybe. But even under the same Magic Tower Law, the degree of application differs inside and outside. In practice, the law applied to the city is much closer to kingdom law. Isn't it?"

Kabiles was an autonomous territory centered on the Lenore Magic Tower, but that did not mean it held absolute authority over everything. The Brendel royal house had recognized most of Kabiles's autonomy, but it still kept several safeguards against a giant organization like Lenore.

One of those safeguards was Magic Tower Law. At first glance, it looked like it broadly recognized the tower's internal rules, but in reality it was limited to the tower headquarters at the city's core. The rest of the city was governed much closer to kingdom law. It meant the result of a trial could change from taking a single step away from that main gate.

"I was hired as Lena's escort, and the commission is not over yet. That means removing a threat that used mana first is perfectly natural."

"......."

"And under kingdom law, every noble has the right to request a duel over an insult and the right to protect themselves. As the proxy of Lena Hartion, who is a noble like you, I pointed my sword at you. If you have a complaint, stake your family name and request a duel here and now. I'll accept."

Kyle spoke in a flat tone. Veronica only glanced at the blade at her throat and could not recklessly ask for a duel.

If the proxy were just a normal Silver Rank mercenary, she could crush him as she pleased. But this was different. Her instincts screamed no. She did not want to admit it, but her gut told her the mercenary in front of her was beyond that level. She also had no house knight here to put forward as proxy, so she had no immediate option.

"You really can spew shameless sophistry."

"......."

"But separate from you pointing a sword at me, you cannot rewrite the tower's rules. A Third-Rank Mage cannot accompany an outsider. A lowborn thing like you..."

"Did you not hear? I am her guest, and I was formally invited by Elder Gerard."

"Proof?"

Veronica forced her chin up and snapped at him.

"Proof..."

Kyle twisted his mouth in a mocking smile.

"Whether I qualify to enter or not can be asked directly to the Tower Master."

"......."

"Not to someone like you."

Kyle slowly withdrew his sword. The white-glowing blade slid into its sheath with a click, and only then did Veronica release the breath she had been holding.

"Lena."

"Ah... yes!"

After giving Veronica a brief glance, Kyle turned and walked toward the main gate. Lena came to her senses a beat late and followed behind him.

The two guards failed to stop Kyle. They were just about to cross the tower's main gate.

"Do not misunderstand! You think I'll let this pass?"

Veronica's shout came from behind them. Kyle only turned his head slightly.

"Do you know what family we are? House Krabel! A lowborn mercenary like you dares to talk about duels in front of me?"

Grinding her teeth, Veronica glared at Kyle as if she wanted him dead. With venom in her eyes, she added,

"Remember this. I won't let this go. I will repay this insult even if I have to cut off your arms and legs. I will make you regret it."

"Thanks for the warning."

"You...!"

She was about to spit out more, but Kyle did not even change expression and turned away again. Lena glanced back at Veronica once, then hurried after Kyle.

Not long after, only Veronica remained in front of the main gate. She stared blankly at the backs of the two figures, now out of sight, then clenched her fist so hard her nails dug into her palm.

***

After crossing the main gate, Kyle and Lena headed straight for the tower where her grandfather, Elder Gerard, was staying. Several towers that looked ready to pierce the sky stood across the vast grounds.

The Tower Master's tower stood right in front of the main gate, and the seven elders' towers stood across the grounds. There were many other facilities as well. As Kyle moved quickly, he could feel the eyes of wandering mages gathering on him.

More precisely, not on Lena, on Kyle. His clothes alone looked out of place, so it was natural.

"Do you know her?"

"Sorry?"

"That woman from before."

"Ah, Veronica..."

"You know her, then."

"We do know each other, but we're not on good terms."

"It looked that way. Is she a disciple of an elder, like you?"

"Yes. Veronica is Elder Marsen's disciple. And Elder Marsen and my grandfather don't get along, so..."

Lena explained quickly. As expected, the Lenore elders were split into two factions.

The moderates, made up of relatively older elders. The radicals, a bloc of relatively younger elders. The moderates stressed cooperation with the royal house, as Lenore always had, but the radicals were different.

The younger radical elders wanted complete independence, not subordination to the royal house.

"Nobles from the noble faction."

"Yes, that's right."

Most mages in the Lenore Magic Tower were nobles. Many came from the noble faction. When friction broke out, the Tower Master used to mediate between both sides, but recently that had become much more frequent.

It had started after Lena's grandfather, Elder Gerard, collapsed.

"My grandfather was the representative of the moderate elders. Elder Marsen is the representative of the radical elders."

"The balance must have broken after your grandfather fell."

"...Yes. It wasn't this bad a year ago, but by the time I left the tower, it had tilted completely. The Tower Master keeps trying, but a lot of money was spent under the name of my grandfather's treatment..."

"So that was why she blocked your path so openly."

The moment Elder Gerard died, Lena would lose all backing. Kyle understood what gave Veronica, that young girl, the nerve to block her path and hurl abuse in public. He understood why she had come at Lena so openly.

"She's probably run to Elder Marsen by now."

"That woman?"

"Yes. She'll try to make an issue out of this somehow."

"But everything is resolved the moment your grandfather wakes up."

"Will that... really happen?"

Lena asked with a worried expression. Kyle was not deeply concerned.

If Elder Gerard's treatment succeeded, everything would be simple. He could confirm Kyle as the guest he invited, and he could also restore the tilted faction balance. But if it failed, Lena would lose both her only family and her position. For her, fear forced the question out again.

"We came as fast as possible, so there should be no major problem."

It was a short answer. His usual dry tone somehow eased Lena's mind.

Before they knew it, they had almost broken into a run, and now they stopped in front of a tower quite far from the main gate.

"Here. He should be on the top floor."

Lena hurried inside. The interior was not very different from other Magic Towers.

"Lady Lena?"

A woman on the first floor widened her eyes at the sight of Lena.

"You've returned. We were very worried. And the person beside you is...?"

"My guest. Where is my grandfather?"

"Ah, if it's Elder Gerard, he is on the top floor..."

Lena did not wait for the rest. She went up to the top floor as fast as she could.

"Grandfather!"

An old man was lying in the room. His hair was gray-white, his eyes closed and motionless. Lena walked to the bedside and carefully held his hand. Kyle stepped up a beat later and silently watched the old man, who was breathing without consciousness.

"Grandfather..."

The old man breathed in shallow rasps. He was alive, but only barely, and he did not wake even when his granddaughter arrived. Lena's eyes reddened as she looked up at Kyle. Kyle signaled her with his eyes to step out for a moment, then took the old man's thin wrist.

His hand was cold like a corpse.

"How is he?"

Lena asked cautiously, watching his face.

"I need to run mana through him to be sure."

"Then..."

"Quiet for a moment."

Kyle closed his eyes in concentration and slowly raised mana. The ring on his left middle finger flashed faintly for an instant. Mana rose at once, then quickly swept through the old man's body from the wrist under Kyle's control. Arteries, veins, the tiny capillaries in each limb, and even the heart on the left side of the chest, beating slowly.

How much time had passed like that?

"...If we had been even a few days later, it could have been fatal."

Kyle had kept his eyes shut in concentration, then opened them. Lena was staring at him with anxious eyes.

"So that means..."

"It's not completely too late."

"Ah..."

Lena pressed a hand to her chest in relief. Kyle continued.

"The progression is severe, but not beyond treatment. Even so, we need to start right away."

The old man in front of them was in a state where death at any moment would not have been strange. He was an elder of the Lenore Magic Tower, and priests visited regularly, which was the only reason he had lasted this long. Without either of those, he would have died long ago.

"I, is there anything I can help with? Even if a priest can't come right away, there are some decent healing potions in my grandfather's lab..."

Lena murmured in a trembling voice. Kyle shook his head lightly and pulled out his Inventory Pouch.

"Ordinary potions won't work."

"What?"

"A potion infused with holy power. And not just any, it has to be high-grade goods personally distributed by the Crescent Holy See. If the issue were simple wound healing and regeneration, they would outperform most high priests. I happen to have a few."

"Then what about anything else..."

"Bring the cleanest water you can and cloth to wipe blood. I don't know how much we'll use, so bring as much as possible."

"Understood."

Lena turned with a resolute expression.

At that moment, noise came from outside the room.

"You can't! You can't just come in like this..."

"Step aside. I heard an uninvited outsider entered an elder's tower without qualifications. As a fellow elder, I cannot ignore that."

"There is already someone with him...!"

Someone's plea was cut off as the door burst open. Kyle and Lena looked toward the wide-open entrance. There stood a middle-aged mage in a far more ornate red robe than Lena's.

A beat later, a girl with purple hair stepped forward with a deep smile and a proud stride.

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