The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 207

161. Blader (1)

Clang-!!

Clang…! Clang…!!

The sound of swords clashing echoed through the cold desert night air.

“Haaap!!”

With Randol’s shout, his released flame emitted a scorching heat.

“Oho….”

“His mana has increased more than before.”

“I dislike Imperials, but he’s definitely worth teaching.”

As the flame left afterimages, a series of brilliant sword strikes followed, prompting the three women watching to repeatedly utter soft exclamations.

The firm bodies visible through the women’s cloaks proved that they were exceptional warriors.

What was unusual was that all three of them wore iron masks, making it impossible to recognize their faces.

The three sisters of Digon, known as the Queen’s Swords.

They were the instructors who had taken over Randol’s training while Miliana was away.

Crack—!!

Randol evaded Miliana’s three swords and thrust his sword forward. He was moving with the unique rhythm of the barbarians, a completely different fighter from when he first arrived. It was as if his body understood the movements instinctively.

“Hiss…!”

Miliana struck the back of Randol’s hand with her opposite sword.

“Kugh!”

Randol staggered, a wave of paralysis washing over him, and dropped his sword.

Clang…!

As the released flame fell to the ground, the flames that had been enveloping the blade vanished.

“Your skills have improved a lot.”

She lightly exhaled and gave her assessment.

“I’m still far off.”

“No. It’s just that I could easily grasp the sword techniques you used because they are Digon’s sword techniques. I saw Imperial sword techniques from time to time, but that wasn’t because you couldn’t shake off the habit, but because you deliberately included them, right?”

“I thought it would be difficult with only Digon’s sword techniques. Well… the result is like this.”

Randol shrugged as if disappointed and picked up the sword that had fallen on the ground.

“But… there’s one thing I want to ask.”

“Please, ask away.”

“If you trained like this and still couldn’t defeat your opponent, what would you do?”

Miliana carefully asked Randol.

Randol couldn’t readily answer her question.

“I guess… it would be impossible?”

“Huh?”

“I’ve suspected for a while that the Empress knows who my target for revenge is.”

At his words, Miliana wiped the sweat from her forehead and gave a bitter smile.

“Well, I really didn’t know when I first picked you up. A lot of things happened.”

He had turned the Empire upside down, but Randol, who had only been in the south, had no way of knowing such news.

“Carryl… is it?”

At that moment,

Surprisingly, Carryl’s name came out of his mouth.

Miliana failed to hide her expression at the unexpected word.

“How did you know?”

“I have one brother with an extraordinary mind. He suspected it. Well, he thought it was impossible, but….”

“Tiren must have told you.”

She blushed at Randol’s words.

“No. I wasn’t sure. I didn’t think it was possible, but I guess it’s true.”

“…I’ve made a foolish mistake.”

Miliana let out a low sigh at his answer.

She had reacted without realizing it just at the name of Carryl.

Even Randol, who had asked, wasn’t sure.

“Well, I expected it a little. And even if I knew, there’s nothing I can do about it now… Carryl has already defeated the Empress.”

“That’s right.”

Randol nodded at her words.

“My second brother is from a noble family, but I’m from a commoner background. Actually, I don’t care much about the dignity of bloodlines. Both my brother and the sixth are family to me.”

“So?”

Miliana asked, putting Ark and Gale back into their scabbards.

“Your family has become the target of revenge, so what are you going to do?”

She said coldly.

“You have to answer well. Depending on your answer, I might draw my sword and aim for your neck.”

Randol chuckled at her threatening appearance.

“Could you do that?”

“Look at this guy? He’s so cheeky in front of a Sword Master.”

“Of course, I can’t stop the Empress with my skills. But seeing that you’re still training me, I thought Carryl might have said something.”

Miliana shrugged at his words.

“Besides, I wasn’t the one who survived, he saved me. Why did he do that? I wonder if it’s because I’m useful.”

“That’s right. When your brother came, I thought about sending you back, but Carryl told me to let you do what you want.”

“That’s amazing. He must be very close to the Empress for her to grant his request.”

“That’s right. He’s amazing in many ways.”

“But you know? He’s not even an adult yet.”

“W-What are you talking about?”

Miliana blushed at Randol’s jesting appearance.

“You’re so obvious just hearing Carryl’s name. It would be stranger if you weren’t.”

“…Strange things happen in reality.”

Miliana clicked her tongue and muttered in a low voice.

“Keuh-heuh.”

Randol laughed mockingly at her reaction.

His brothers would be surprised.

No one would know that he, who had been silent and only trained in swordsmanship at the mansion, was capable of such jokes.

Perhaps he, too, was more comfortable with this free life than the stuffy noble life of the mansion because he was born a commoner.

“I felt it while living in the Imperial Palace. Seeing the nobles, I realized that they can never change. I understand why my father chose the Second Prince.”

“……”

“Born as a commoner, I have no interest in the life of a noble. But… I’m the same as my father. I must become a knight for the sake of my father and the Empire who took me in.”

He gripped his sword.

“But I still remember the overwhelming pressure I felt at Narak Rock. And I know that I haven’t even reached Carryl’s feet.”

“You’re quite strong, too.”

“But I probably won’t be able to catch up even if I spend my whole life.”

“Maybe. That guy is a monster.”

Randol gave a faint smile at Miliana’s awkward words.

“But why am I still here instead of returning to the Empire? Even against His Majesty’s orders.”

“…Are you asking me?”

Randol gave a self-deprecating smile.

“I don’t know either. I have to fight an enemy I can’t beat for the sake of the Vice-Commander and my comrades who died.”

Miliana sighed at his answer.

“Now I understand a little. Why Carryl told you to just do what you want.”

“What does that….”

“Can’t you say anything other than ‘for whom you live’?”

“……Yes?”

“Think about what’s in it for you, other than for the father who took you in, for the dead comrades.”

“……”

At Miliana’s words, Randol couldn’t answer, looking as if he had been hit in the head with a hammer.

His life had been completed only by others.

“What if that guy gives you an answer that satisfies you?”

“Yes?”

“If you can’t go back anyway, why don’t you serve a new king?”

“What do you mean….”

“You’re only in the south, so you don’t know, but a new king has been born in Tatur.”

Randol frowned slightly at Miliana’s words and tilted his head.

“We call that place the Free State.”

“Are you saying that Tatur… has become a country?”

“That’s right.”

She licked her lips slightly and said with expectant eyes.

“Freedom……”

Randol repeated her words.

He was lucky.

He met Kwell when he lost his way to live as a war orphan.

But the word that always bound him was that.

He was barely saved from the shackles of life, but after coming to the mansion, the shackles of the noble class suppressed him.

Perhaps he had never lived freely for a single day.

Perhaps what he came up with to break those shackles was a life for others.

“Carryl, he may seem reckless and rude, but he lives according to his own will more than anyone else.”

Randol couldn’t deny her words.

The last time he saw him was after the goblin attack a few years ago, but his appearance at the mansion was still vividly etched in his mind.

“He left you a message. He told you to come to Tatur if you wanted to meet him. I don’t know if he said that knowing this situation would happen… but I can’t help but be amazed by his foresight from time to time.”

“Could it be….”

“Yes, Carryl, whom you want to meet,”

Miliana looked at Randol and said the words she had been waiting for.

“Is the King of Tatur.”

* * *

[Keu-heu……. Good, good! To be able to taste the forgotten taste of alcohol. This is truly eternal life (永生) [eternal life; immortality]. The other six will be jealous of me.]

Alrn Zaberius sat on the broken stone wall of the library and drank the bottle of alcohol.

Dark night.

His body was also dark red, looking like a ghost, but the cold night air and the scent of this world were enough to make him forget his current state.

“You seem to be in a good mood.”

[Of course. You may have been slicing up monsters in the tower, but I was alone in a place where no one was. Besides, even when I came out, I couldn’t escape from your body.]

Alrn looked at Carryl and laughed heartily.

[What’s the point of living for a thousand years? I still have a long way to go. Just having a body makes me so excited.]

“It’s only natural. No matter how much autonomous will (自律意志) [independent will; self-determination] you have, what’s the point if you don’t have a body to carry it out? I’m glad you’re away from me too. Enjoy this moment. There’s no need to pretend to be noble.”

[Keu-heu-heu……. Yes, you’re right.]

The village was as messed up as the memories of his previous life, but fortunately, there were few casualties.

As a result, not only the mages of the Immortal Society but also the residents of Anti-Hum could be saved.

“Alrn, there’s one thing I want to ask.”

[What is it?]

One question that remained from the battle with Duat.

The fight was over, but it still lingered in Carryl’s mind.

“You would know about the war between the spirits and the gods, right? Duat said that the defeat in that war was because of humans.”

Gulp- Gulp-

At Carryl’s question, Alrn seemed to be in a hurry and emptied the remaining bottle in one gulp.

[That was a long time ago. I don’t know much about it either. It’s even before the Magic Era, which isn’t even recorded in history.]

Literally the Mythological Era (神話時代) [Era of Myths; ancient times].

Even the treasures that were occasionally excavated from the ruins were mostly from the Magic Era.

Imagining a world even older than that was something that even Carryl, who had spent countless years in the tower, couldn’t easily fathom.

“Just tell me what you know. I asked Lamine, but she didn’t answer. I know that the events of that time are the reason why the Spirit Realm was lost.”

Carryl looked at Alrn.

“Did… humans betray the spirits?”

[…….]

Knowing that Carryl would try to listen no matter how much he refused, Alrn eventually let out a low sigh and began to speak.

[I don’t know about the Spirit War. But I know a little about the humans who participated in that war.]

“What is it?”

Alrn began to speak in a low voice.

[Where should I start… Well, if I had to say, I should start with the reason why I founded the Bladers.]