Future Knight [EN]: Chapter 62

“So, while the Elder speaks of thrusting as important, isn’t true strength what defines a man? A powerful slash that can shatter any enemy’s defenses in a single blow! That kind of slash embodies the true romance of a warrior.”

“Are you trying to lecture me, one of the Five Great Swordsmen of the continent? Can’t you grasp that a lightning-fast thrust, capable of neutralizing an enemy with minimal movement and force, is the most efficient and deadly attack? Tsk, tsk…”

“No, that’s not what I meant.”

Zaijen was quite drunk, having indulged to his heart’s content for the first time in a while, and his speech was slurred.

Elladion also seemed to be enjoying the debate with the fledgling swordsman.

“Shall we step outside for a moment?” Kang Chan asked.

“……”

When Kang Chan asked Edeline to step outside, her face flushed. However, it wasn’t very noticeable because the alcohol had already given her a rosy complexion.

“Ah, alright.”

As the two got up and left the tavern, Zaijen, still arguing with Elladion, glanced at them but pretended not to notice and continued his conversation. However, Zaijen’s expression wasn’t particularly cheerful.

Stepping out of the tavern, Edeline felt refreshed by the cool air of the underground city.

Edeline turned to Kang Chan, who had brought her outside. Noticing her gaze, Kang Chan turned to face her.

“So, what did you want to talk about?”

“Well, that is…”

Edeline hesitated, unable to voice her thoughts.

Averting his gaze from Edeline’s hesitation, Kang Chan looked up at the stalactites on the ceiling and said, “It’s a bit sad that you’re leaving so suddenly, isn’t it?”

“Yes… I feel rather sad as well.”

“So, you came to find me specifically?”

At Kang Chan’s words, Edeline quietly nodded.

“Well, those who must leave, must leave. I’ll be leaving this place soon too.”

“Where are you going?” Edeline asked, looking intently at Kang Chan.

“To the battlefield…”

“The battlefield?”

“To avenge Jeina. I’m going to find that witch.”

“Jeina… the one from that time?” Edeline remembered the name Jeina.

That night when Kang Chan forcibly repatriated the Phoenix [returned her to her homeland]. She was the woman he said he couldn’t protect.

“Yes, the woman I loved. And will continue to love forever, until the day I die…”

Edeline knew that Kang Chan’s sadness stemmed from the death of the woman he loved. However, hearing him declare his eternal love for another woman, Edeline couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy. Of course, knowing that the woman he loved was no longer alive, Edeline secretly breathed a sigh of relief, feeling sorry for Kang Chan.

She couldn’t help but imagine how wonderful it would be to receive his love. Just thinking about it made her heart race.

“So, you’re going to the battlefield to avenge her?” At her words, Kang Chan quietly nodded.

“That’s a foolish thing to do. She wouldn’t want you to be in danger.” Edeline, who had fallen in love for the first time, desperately wanted to stop him from risking his life to avenge his dead lover.

However, even her earnest desire couldn’t sway Kang Chan’s firm resolve.

“I have no reason to live without her anyway. She is my whole life.”

“Th, that’s…” Tears welled up in Edeline’s eyes at his words.

There seemed to be no room for her to change his mind. She had never cried because of a man before, and she couldn’t control her emotions.

“Why are you crying?”

“I, I’m not crying! I just got dust in my eyes.” Not wanting to show him her tearful face, the princess of the great empire quickly turned her head and said to Kang Chan.

“I’ll be departing at noon tomorrow. Then…”

Kang Chan grabbed her arm as she turned to leave. Edeline’s heart raced again at his touch, but the words that came out of Kang Chan’s mouth were not what she had hoped for.

“Wouldn’t it be better to return with Zaijen?”

“T, tell him I wasn’t feeling well and went back first.” Edeline shook off Kang Chan’s hand and hurried back to the inn. Kang Chan watched her leave with a bitter smile.

When Kang Chan re-entered the tavern, Elladion and Zaijen were still engaged in their heated debate.

“Elder, you may see me as young, but I’ve experienced a lot myself.”

“Oh, really?”

“Wahahahaha!”

“Experienced a lot! Hehehe!”

Zaijen, barely twenty years old, using the phrase ‘experienced a lot’ in front of Elladion, who had lived for over 800 years, caused the dwarves listening to their conversation to burst into laughter.

At their reaction, Zaijen’s ears turned red, and he became angry.

“Why is everyone laughing at me? Even though I look like this, I am the youngest member of the Imperial Guard of the Visman Empire!”

The dwarves knew that the Visman Empire was the most powerful human nation. The Imperial Guard was an honorable position reserved for the most outstanding swordsmen, but when a young boy with barely any facial hair claimed to be a member, the dwarves burst into laughter again.

“Wahahahaha! The youngest member of the Imperial Guard!”

“Hey! You little rascals! Go tell those jokes to your mother!”

“So, you’re saying you’re a knight of the Hellainer Knights?”

“Yes! That’s right. I am a knight of the Hellainer Knights.” If he had been wearing armor, he would have proudly displayed the symbol of the Hellainer Knights, but Zaijen was wearing a plain tunic.

“If you’re a knight of the Hellainer Knights, then I’m one of the Five Great Swordsmen of the continent!” The dwarf, shouting that he was one of the Five Great Swordsmen, climbed onto the table, brandished a fork, and comically mimicked wielding a sword, causing the surrounding dwarves to clutch their stomachs and collapse with laughter.

“Wahahahaha!”

“Hey! Do you dwarves really not believe what I say? Then I’ll show you!” Zaijen, drunk and angered by the dwarves’ mockery, drew his sword and unleashed an aura sword [a sword imbued with magical energy].

Instantly, a bluish aura erupted from Zaijen’s longsword, gradually compressing and becoming denser around the blade.

The dwarves spat out their beer at the eerie sight. The dwarf who had been mocking him fell backward in his chair.

“Gasp! An aura sword!”

“It, it’s real! He’s a real sword expert!” The tavern quickly descended into chaos as Zaijen unleashed his terrifying aura sword.

Zaijen, pointing the aura sword at the dwarves who had turned pale, said, “Do you still think I’m not qualified to be a knight of the Hellainer Knights?”

The dwarf, cowering in fear with the sharp aura sword pointed at him, swallowed hard and struggled to speak.

“W, when did we say you weren’t qualified? It was all a joke, a joke! Isn’t that right?”

“Y, yes! A, a joke! A joke! Ahem!”

“Where were we in our conversation?”

“Jordan farted terribly in the narrow Mithril mine, right?”

“Ah! That’s right! So, at that time, I…” As the dwarves quietly slipped away, Zaijen withdrew the mana from his aura sword and sat back down.

“I’m sorry. I got angry and lost control…”

“No, I knew you were extraordinary, but you’re at a much higher level than I thought. Amazing, truly amazing. To be at that level at twenty years old.”

“You flatter me.” Zaijen’s face turned red, seemingly embarrassed by Elladion’s unexpected praise.

‘Ah, if only we had such talent in our elven race…’ Kang Chan alone was astonishing, but the human before him also possessed tremendous genius.

As Elladion looked at Zaijen with regretful eyes, Kang Chan, who was next to him, said to Zaijen, “The princess has returned to the inn. Wouldn’t you like to check on her?”

“Huh? When did she leave?”

“We parted outside just now. She said she wasn’t feeling well and would return first.”

Zaijen’s face changed rapidly at the mention of Edeline being ill.

“Elder, I’m sorry! I’ll take my leave!”

“Very well.” As Zaijen rushed out, the gathering became quiet again, and Kang Chan and Elladion quietly clinked glasses.

Then, Kang Chan cautiously asked Elladion, who was slowly savoring his beer, “Master, what kind of elf was Nemitz?”

Listening to Kang Chan’s question, Elladion’s expression as he looked at the golden beer in his glass wasn’t pleasant.

“Do you really want to know about him?” Kang Chan nodded with a serious expression.

He needed as much information as possible about him, as he was the biggest obstacle to his revenge.

‘Yes, it won’t do to just keep it hidden.’ Kang Chan was already entangled with Nemitz, so he felt he had the right to know. He decided to tell his disciple about Nemitz’s past, and about the past of the woman he regarded as his mortal enemy.

“Where should I begin…” Elladion recalled the past and drank his beer.

“He was a guy who knew nothing but swords from a young age. Before becoming a dark elf, he was more elflike than anyone else.”

“How did he change into such a form?”

“Our elven race, unlike others, undergoes mental growth before physical growth. In accordance with that mental growth, the body changes into a completely different form.”

“Is that completely different form his current appearance?”

“Yes, his current appearance is exactly such an example.”

“Then what is the dark elf race?”

“Even if they’re eager to kill each other, they’re still of the same bloodline. Even if we belittle them as traitors or fallen elves, we can’t deny that they have the same roots.”

“How can the same race change into such extreme forms?” At Kang Chan’s words, which indicated his confusion, Elladion waved his hand and said, “It’s not a very difficult process. Elves who grow up with beautiful and bright thoughts become even more dazzlingly beautiful, and elves who are tainted by anger, madness, and lewdness grow into dark elves with dark skin, befitting their dark emotions.”

At his master’s words, Kang Chan nodded, understanding the day when Jeina suddenly transformed into a beautiful and mature woman.

“I see. Then what is the reason he, who was so promising, turned into a dark elf?”

“There were two major incidents.” Kang Chan’s eyes widened at Elladion’s words that there were two incidents.

“Two incidents?”

“Both were related to women.”

“……”

Elladion, having quenched his thirst, continued, “One was related to his only younger sister, and the other was related to the woman he truly loved. Do you know why I stopped you from mentioning that you learned the Twin Swords of Thunder and Lightning from Arteon earlier?”

“I don’t know.”

“That’s because Nemitz’s mother is none other than Arteon.”

“What!?” The dwarves, who were tipsy, turned their attention to Kang Chan, who screamed so loudly that the tavern shook.

“Ah, I’m sorry.” Kang Chan apologized, and the dwarves went back to drinking.

“Were you very surprised?”

“I never imagined that he would be Arteon’s child.”

“Yes, it’s understandable. On the day he became a dark elf and left the village, Arteon was so saddened that she couldn’t eat for a month. Both of her beloved children had left for places where they could never see each other again.”

“Then what happened to his younger sister?”

“Nemitz’s sister, you mean?”

“Yes.”