WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

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◈ Sword Master of the Fallen Kingdom

Chapter 39

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Shadow of a Tainted Past (1)

Gerard Hartion, an elder of the Lenore Magic Tower and the representative of the moderate faction.

His voice was frail, as if it could give out at any moment. His teal eyes trembled as he looked at his granddaughter, Lena.

"Grandfather!"

Lena, choking back tears, threw her arms around Gerard. Startled, Gerard slowly raised his thin hand and stroked her back.

"You came back... good job, you did well."

"I'm sorry, Grandfather..."

Lena murmured in a tearful voice against his chest.

She was the girl who had left the tower overnight without a word, determined to save her grandfather despite the Tower Master's attempts to stop her. Even so, Gerard could not bring himself to scold her. Seeing her alive again was enough.

"So, what exactly happened?"

He kept patting her back for a while, then asked once her sobbing had quieted.

"Well..."

Lena sat up awkwardly and slowly began explaining everything that had happened. How she left the tower and wandered around without a plan. How she heard rumors about a dungeon and gathered party members to go with her.

How she met Kyle by chance and cleared the Alenos ruins disguised as a dungeon. How they escaped the ruins, reached this Magic Tower, and treated Gerard.

"...I see. You were lucky."

Gerard spent a moment sorting through everything he had heard, then spoke.

"Kyle, was it?"

He turned to look at Kyle.

"Thank you. For protecting my granddaughter, and for saving my life too. If things were different, I'd offer you tea right away, but..."

Gerard braced a hand on the bed and tried to sit up. A small groan escaped him, and his body swayed.

"Grandfather!"

"Please stay lying down. You lost a lot of blood, so you're probably dizzy. Even a holy potion cannot replace blood that's already been lost."

Kyle gently helped Gerard lie down again. Thanks to the generous use of potions, Gerard no longer had any external or internal injuries. But it was impossible to heal away the weakness from long bed rest and the dizziness from blood loss.

"I'm sorry. This is embarrassing."

"It's fine."

Gerard gave an awkward smile and let out a strained groan. Beside him, Lena wiped the remaining blood from his body with the cleanest cloth she could find and helped him into fresh clothes.

"About my diagnosis... are you sure it's really Magicite Syndrome?"

After changing clothes, Gerard asked carefully.

"Yes. I treated it myself, so I'm certain."

"I see... I had my suspicions."

"You knew?"

"A little. But I never thought it would truly be Magicite Syndrome. It's such a rare disease. I never imagined it would be me, not even in my dreams. I was careless..."

He muttered bitterly. Kyle could read regret and self-reproach in the old man's sorrowful eyes.

"Then how did you treat it? Even if you identified it correctly, if it was truly Magicite Syndrome, the progression should have been severe."

"I was lucky."

"Lucky..."

Gerard trailed off. He clearly had many questions for Kyle, but he did not press further. Kyle stood up.

"I shattered all the magicite deposits, including the ones around your blood vessels. With the holy potion still working, if you rest properly for a few days, you should return to normal."

"Thank you again. I don't know how to repay this debt..."

"It's nothing. Let's discuss the details later."

"Very well. If you haven't arranged a place to stay, use one of the empty rooms in the tower. There should be guest rooms prepared. Tell a tower mage my name, and they'll guide you."

Kyle nodded, stepped away from Gerard and Lena's gaze, and strapped the sword that had been resting against the bedside table back to his waist. He had set it aside for treatment, but he felt calmer when it was always on him.

He walked to the door and pushed it open. Several mages were in the corridor, as if they had been waiting there for a while. The woman who had greeted Lena on the first floor earlier was among them. When the door suddenly opened and someone came out, the mages flinched and stared at Kyle.

Watching his expression, the woman asked,

"Ah..."

"If he rests well for a few days, he'll be fine."

The mages looked at each other, and their faces brightened at once. Kyle glanced back over his shoulder and added,

"It looks like this still needs to be cleaned up..."

Inside the room, water buckets and red-stained cloths were still scattered around. Even before he said more, the mages saw Elder Gerard fully conscious and rushed to speak.

"Ah, we'll take care of it!"

"You must be exhausted, please go rest first."

"I'll guide you to a guest room. Please follow me."

The mages whispered among themselves and spoke up together. Kyle gave a small nod in agreement.

When he turned around, Gerard and Lena were staring at him.

Kyle gave a slight nod in farewell, then followed the mage who said she would guide him to a room.

***

After being assigned a room, Kyle finally took a long rest for the first time in a while.

From meeting Lena, to clearing the Alenos ruins, to arriving at the Lenore Magic Tower, exhaustion had piled up. The discomfort of sleeping outdoors and the aftereffects of nonstop battles lingered longer than he expected. Because of that, Kyle fell into a deep sleep he had not had in a long time.

The room he received was excellent too. It had been specially prepared for honored guests, even within Gerard's tower. Meals were the same. Food that only nobles would normally eat arrived at his door every morning, noon, and evening.

As Kyle spent several days that way, Elder Gerard recovered steadily. He was already an outstanding mage, and perhaps because the holy potion had worked so well, by the fourth day he was able to return to his normal routine.

The moment Gerard regained his strength, he began cleaning up this incident, even if belatedly. Around that time, the atmosphere inside the tower began to shift as well.

Kyle spent his time reading books inside Gerard's tower, and from Lena, who visited him every day, he heard the rough details of what was happening.

Then a week passed.

"My apologies. I should have prepared this much sooner, yet I left my guest unattended. I have no excuse."

Once things had mostly settled, Gerard invited Kyle to his study. Unlike what one might expect from an elder of the Lenore Magic Tower, the room was very neat. One wall was densely packed with all kinds of books.

"Do you like tea?"

"I do. I don't drink alcohol."

"Oh, is that so? We have similar tastes. I don't care much for alcohol either. The act of getting drunk does nothing for research."

Gerard brewed tea himself and set two cups on the table. He wore a deep, luxurious indigo robe, far darker than Lena's. Sitting on the sofa, Kyle quietly looked down at the cup placed before him.

"So, about this matter..."

Gerard trailed off. Those words carried many layers.

Kyle had clashed with Elder Marsen and his disciple Veronica while treating Elder Gerard.

The balance between moderates and radicals inside the tower had tipped sharply. Elder Gerard, who had been at death's door, had recovered at shocking speed.

"What happened?"

"For now, things are mostly settled. You don't need to worry about anything you did while treating me. I made it clear to the Tower Master that you are my guest, and also my lifesaving benefactor. House Belkart and House Krabel seem to be trying to pull something in the background, but..."

House Belkart and House Krabel were the families of Elder Marsen and his disciple Veronica.

Both belonged to the noble faction and had deep ties with Marquis Filein, whom Kyle had crushed before.

"Don't worry too much about it. Even if I have to stake my name on it, no one will be allowed to harm you."

Seeing Kyle stay silent, Gerard seemed to misunderstand and offered reassurance. He was directly connected to the royal family, and in the tower hierarchy, he stood right below the Tower Master. But Kyle was not particularly worried.

If anything, he wanted them to make a move openly.

Then he would have a reason to crush them. Better that than carrying old grudges around, just as every noble who had bared their fangs at him had done.

"Anyway, let me properly introduce myself. I am Gerard Hartion, one of the elders of the Lenore Magic Tower. My specialties are freezing magic and spatial magic."

In the middle of those thoughts, Gerard gave a formal greeting.

Kyle came out of his brief silence and spoke.

"Kyle, mercenary. I've heard a lot about you from Lena."

"From Lena?"

"That you were born a commoner, granted a title, and became an elder of the Magic Tower."

"...It's nothing worth boasting about."

Gerard smiled bitterly. Kyle thought he understood why.

"I understand completely."

"You do?"

"A battlefield ruins not only the dead, but the living too."

Lena had told him that her grandfather was a war hero and an elder of the Magic Tower.

Gerard had probably shown exceptional talent in magic as a commoner, then thrown himself into military service. He must have built massive military merit as well. To be granted a hereditary title, he would have needed to survive dozens of battles.

Kyle knew how horrifying that was for ordinary people. Every time they killed someone, they had to live with a scar in their chest that would never fade.

Unless someone was a born psychopath, they could not stay normal.

"You look young, yet it seems you've been through far too much. Talking to you feels like talking to the Tower Master."

Gerard looked at Kyle with a strange gaze. Kyle lifted his cup and slowly tasted the tea.

"You're right. Battlefields kill the souls of the living too."

With his fingers interlaced, Gerard lowered his head and stared at the table.

"War was my benefactor, because it turned me from a mere commoner into a noble and an elder of the Magic Tower. At the same time, it was also what made me thrash in nightmares every night. Killing someone is not something a sane mind can do easily. Especially on a battlefield, where human lives are spent like straw dolls."

"Do you still have nightmares?"

Kyle asked. Gerard hesitated for a moment, then let out a self-mocking laugh.

"Sometimes. But less than before. Whenever my sleep turned rough, I threw myself into magic like a madman. That was already decades ago."

"..."

"This wasn't how I meant this to go. I made the mood heavy for nothing. Please understand. As people get older, useless words start spilling out."

Gerard shook his head. He stared blankly at the tea cup that had gone cold, then suddenly bent forward in a deep bow.

"Thank you again. You are the benefactor who saved my life. And you protected my only granddaughter. I don't know how to repay this..."

"It is not something that needs that much gratitude. Please raise your head."

Kyle spoke quietly. Gerard raised his head. A gentle smile rested at the corner of his mouth.

"You're so humble that it makes me want to do even more for you."

"..."

"I can't send you away like this. My pride won't allow it, and as a person, it would be wrong. Is there anything you want? Speak freely. If it's within my power, I'll grant it."

His eyes were serious. Kyle knew this was the real reason Gerard had called him.

What he wanted...

There was a lot. Far too much. But most of it was an impossible dream.

So Kyle sorted through what could and could not be done. In the first place, he had accepted Lena's escort request and cleared the ruins to earn payment as a mercenary.

"There are a few things."

"Oh, is that so? Then tell me."

Gerard said, visibly pleased. Kyle slowly laid out his requests.

"You may have heard already, but I obtained a considerable number of relics during this ruins expedition. It will likely take too much time to dispose of them on my own..."

"Yes, Lena told me that. The Alenos ruins, right?"

Kyle nodded.

"Understood. No problem. Alenos items are in high demand, both for practical use and collection value. I'll handle all of it on my side. Normally they would go to auction, but most can be handled directly by our Magic Tower. If you want, we can convert everything to cash at market price."

"I'd appreciate that."

"Leave it to me. I'll process it as quickly as possible. That reminds me, Lena said she wants to transfer half of her relic share to you. Did you know?"

It was the first time he had heard that. Kyle looked at him for an explanation, and Gerard continued.

"In name it was a party, but in practice you did almost all of the work yourself, so she said she'd give up her share. In return, she asked if she could keep the pendant that was the payment for your escort request."

"Ah."

Now he understood. For Lena, that pendant was the only keepsake from her late parents. By pure value, half the relics were worth much more, but right now, after saving her grandfather, memories of her parents mattered more to her than anything.

"I don't mind. For me, half the relics is the better deal anyway."

"Is that so? Thank you. That pendant is precious not only to Lena, but to me as well. I'll price the relics slightly above market."

"I won't refuse that."

"It's nothing much. Then we'll settle that matter like this... anything else?"

Gerard pressed him for more. Kyle brought up the second request he had prepared.

"I'd like access rights to the restricted section of the Magic Tower library."

Access to forbidden books. For Kyle, this was more urgent than disposing of relics. A library in a place like the Lenore Magic Tower had to contain an enormous amount of material. He was not expecting a miracle, but after coming this far, he had no intention of leaving empty-handed.

"That is no problem at all. Elders can read all Grade-1 forbidden books. I'll lend you my access rights."

Gerard smiled easily, as if this too meant nothing.

He stood up from his seat. Maybe lingering aftereffects, maybe simply old age, but Gerard let out a short groan, took something from his desk drawer, and held it out to Kyle.

"This is?"

"An access pass. It's given only to elders."

What Gerard offered was a necklace with a small gemstone attached. The drop-shaped blue gem, almost like an ID badge, was engraved with all kinds of geometric spell formulas.

"...I'll use it and return it quickly. It won't take long."

"Haha, no need to rush. If you want, you can stay in my tower as long as you like."

"I appreciate the thought."

"You're too stiff, no fun at all."

Gerard joked and sat back across from Kyle. Kyle touched the necklace in his hand for a moment, then tucked it inside his clothes.

"I have one last request."

This was the main point. After a brief pause, Kyle spoke carefully.

"Do you know much about curses?"

"A curse?"

For the first time, Gerard's brow furrowed. Until now, he had accepted every request with an easy smile.

"Curses, curses, a curse..."

"It's not my specialty, so I don't know every detail, but I do have some knowledge. When you research many things, you end up studying across fields. Is there something specific you want to ask?"

"Do you know of a curse where mana cannot be refined inside the body and becomes visible instead?"

Kyle asked. Gerard could not answer right away.

"A curse where mana becomes visible..."

He murmured to himself. His expression had turned serious.

He fell into thought and then closed his eyes completely, as if sinking into deep memory. Kyle waited in silence.

How much time passed like that?

"Come to think of it, I once had a friend very similar to you."

Gerard opened his eyes again. His teal gaze was calm and heavy now, nothing like before.

"He was a friend I got along with extremely well. Back when we served in the war, I was still a mage without a title, and he was a high-ranking knight from a foreign noble house. None of that mattered. We became close very quickly. Maybe we both needed someone to lean on."

His face softened with memory, as if touching a treasured relic carefully kept in one corner of his mind, something precious he could never return to.

"That is why, even after decades, I can still remember clearly. I can't forget."

Gerard's eyes, which had been on the ceiling, turned to Kyle.

"How knights from the north fight. What habits they have. The hand shape of an Asherad Royal Swordsmanship user. Even the way Hailen Kingdom nobles speak."

Suspicion hardened into certainty. Gerard stared straight at Kyle, his gaze unwavering.

"You, you're from the Knights of Ash."

Kyle's hand, which had just started lifting his tea cup, stopped.

Gerard asked in a grave voice,

"That curse... is it directly related to the fall of the Hailen Kingdom?"

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