The Bastard Swordsman Of The Imperial Guard [EN]: Chapter 90

< Dragon-Phoenix Assembly >

“What’s your family background?”

“Pleased to meet you, I am the son of Count Kier.”

“Ah, you are the son of Count Kier. Forgive my rudeness, you may enter.”

*Swish-.*

The man who identified himself as the son of Count Kier entered the waiting room for the main round participants.

This was a pre-party of sorts, a casual venue for the main round participants of the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly – those who would shape the continent’s future – to socialize and network.

Nobles clustered in groups of three or five, conversing in hushed tones in various corners.

‘There’s no one interesting here. Raël was the only one who made things fun….’

Kyle, with his imposing build, had arrived early and was observing the other participants.

He thought that if they were participating in the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly, they should be wielding swords and engaging in duels, not enjoying a frivolous party.

He couldn’t wrap his head around it.

‘Perhaps participating in this social gathering was a mistake.’

This place is a gathering of nobodies.

The truly strong wouldn’t waste their time at such gatherings.

Meeting Raël on the street was incredibly lucky, when he thought about it.

He was supposed to be introduced to the Three Heroes later, so he would have to bide his time until then.

“Family background?”

Even as Kyle was lost in thought, the inspection at the entrance continued.

“None.”

“A commoner?”

“That’s right.”

“I am Reka of Soman County, from the Vanessa Kingdom.”

“…Yes?”

“This bastard still doesn’t understand the situation…!”

*Thwack-!*

Reka’s fist connected with the commoner knight’s stomach.

“Kuheup….”

“Can’t you lower your eyes? Don’t annoy me; stay huddled in the corner.”

The commoner knight, groaning in pain, lowered his head and shuffled inside.

The nobles who witnessed the scene chuckled and pointed fingers at the knight.

‘Such barbaric behavior.’

Kyle frowned as he watched the nobles.

He turned to the noble standing next to him and asked,

“Hey, why are they doing that?”

Kyle couldn’t understand the reason for such senseless bullying.

There was no logical reason for a noble participating in the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly to harass a commoner.

“We are high-ranking nobles.”

“So, what does being a high-ranking noble have to do with harassing a commoner knight?”

“…? What are you talking about? It’s my prerogative.”

Kyle gave up on the conversation then and there.

Looking at the expressions of the commoner knights, he saw resignation, as if they had no choice but to endure the humiliation.

In this era, there was an insurmountable wall between nobles and commoners.

A wall that silenced them, preventing them from speaking out, no matter what they suffered.

‘Are these really the nobles of the Thousand-Year Kamen Empire and the Vanessa Kingdom?’

After witnessing several more unpleasant welcoming ceremonies, Kyle rose from his seat, disgusted by the nobles.

The participants from the Jeongcheon Alliance [a martial arts alliance] and the Desert Kingdom Nagore were gathered in a separate corner.

In other words, the nobles instigating this behavior were all from the Kamen Empire and the Vanessa Kingdom.

Kyle felt a surge of shame at that realization.

“I can’t stand it anymore! I’d rather duel with me…!”

*Step. Step.*

Just then, a man swaggered into the room.

The noble from Soman County of the Vanessa Kingdom, who was standing at the door, smirked and asked,

“Hmm? What family do you belong to?”

“Family? I don’t have one.”

“You don’t have a family? Does that mean you’re of common birth?”

“Yeah. What’s it to you, running background checks on people? I heard only main round participants gather here.”

“Heh, a commoner dares… Do you know who I am?”

Reka grinned and raised his fist.

“Huh? W-wait a minute! Stop!”

Kyle, who recognized the man who had just entered, shouted.

That guy was someone you should never touch!

“Don’t know. But who the hell are you?”

Raël immediately raised his own fist.

*

“Seriously, these days, kids haven’t even gotten all the blood washed off from behind their ears and they’re already learning discrimination. Huh? Just because they became nobles doesn’t mean they’re better than anyone else.”

“…That’s true.”

Kyle swallowed hard as he watched Raël casually denounce the social norms of the era.

“By the way, the main round participants aren’t anything special either.”

“Raël. Is it okay to say things like that?”

“What?”

“Raël, Reka of Soman County is quite a high-ranking noble, even in the Vanessa Kingdom. If you beat up someone like that….”

Kyle spoke with a worried expression.

He respected Raël, but the social gap between commoners and nobles was vast.

“I participated in the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly to beat up those guys. And didn’t you see him hit me first?”

“…”

Kyle blinked as he looked at Reka, who was still sprawled on the floor.

He had staggered and fallen from a single punch to the solar plexus.

As Raël said, there probably wouldn’t be a problem.

Unlike other commoner knights, Raël was an honorary knight of the Gaia Order, so if it was deemed self-defense rather than simple assault, he would likely be forgiven.

The Soman County wouldn’t risk antagonizing the Order over such a trivial matter.

“Those bastards are dead if they meet me at the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly. Pig. If you were born a man, you should educate those kinds of morons.”

“I was about to get up and stop you when you came in. And I’m not a pig; I’m Kyle.”

“There are two lies in one sentence.”

“It’s true!”

Kyle shouted, as if he had been deeply wronged, but Raël ignored him and turned his attention to a corner of the room.

“More than that, who are those guys in the corner?”

“…The ones wearing flowing clothes are the desert warriors from the Desert Kingdom Nagore. And the ones wearing martial uniforms are the Hujigi disciples of the Jeongcheon Alliance.”

“Ah, those guys?”

The warriors of Nagore had dark, tanned skin, befitting their desert origins. On the other hand, the Jeongcheon Alliance disciples looked like characters straight out of Raël’s imagined martial arts novels.

They didn’t seem to fit into a medieval fantasy setting.

“Kyle, I’m curious, why is the Jeongcheon Alliance called the Jeongcheon Alliance?”

“To walk the righteous path.”

“So, what is righteousness?”

“I don’t know either.”

“…Well, there’s no way you’d know.”

What would a guy with nothing but fighting on his mind know about philosophy?

Raël turned his head and looked at the warriors of Nagore.

“Don’t you know anything about the Desert Kingdom Nagore?”

“Nagore? They are excellent warriors, but they are also seen as ominous. They are always pessimistic about their situation, isolated in the desert away from the center of the continent. They probably harbor a great deal of animosity towards the Empire and the Vanessa Kingdom.”

“I think I’ve heard that before.”

In the original story, they were described as ticking time bombs.

‘The Jeongcheon Alliance are strange guys of unknown origin… the Desert Kingdom are terrorists waiting to explode. And the Vanessa Kingdom are traitors of humanity who side with the demons.’

Raël nodded, considering the other countries.

His assessment of the continent was quickly forming.

‘This is just a world full of idiots.’

The Thousand-Year Kamen Empire is also washed up, and the other countries have no prospects.

How was he supposed to save humanity in this situation?

Lucas.

He seemed great today.

“Sir Raël, you were here.”

“Raël, hyungnim [older brother]! Huh? Who is this person?”

Just then, Lucas and Carlson entered the waiting room.

“Oh, oh. The Three Heroes of the Empire!”

Sensing their powerful auras, Kyle jumped up from his seat.

“Duel with me!”

“…Hyungnim, who is this person?”

“He’s crazy. Don’t mind him.”

Raël had already learned to ignore Kyle.

*

Raël essentially threw Lucas and Carlson at Kyle and left the pre-party venue.

If the three of them sparred, their skills would improve.

‘I was going to see Belen’s face… but he didn’t participate.’

Raël’s main goal was to see Belen, but Belen didn’t seem interested in socializing.

‘Are the truly strong, like Belen, the ones who avoid social gatherings?’

Raël entered the slum of District 5 with that thought.

Now that Bagers’ organization had grown and branches had sprung up all over the Empire, going to the slum was the fastest way to get accurate information.

“Uncle, did you find out anything?”

Raël had asked Bagers to investigate anything suspicious surrounding the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly.

Even something trivial might trigger a memory from the original story.

“Don’t worry, Raël. I found out some amazing information. It’s such a great opportunity that you’d be stupid not to take it.”

“Really? What is it?”

“It’s gambling.”

“…”

Was Zenith experiencing another bout of menopause-related depression?

He was starting to talk nonsense again.

Raël sighed and said,

“Okay, Zenith, uncle. Listen to me. You came up with a really good business idea. It’s so good, why hasn’t anyone done it until now? Are they all idiots? That’s what you think. Okay, who do you know is an idiot right now?”

“Who is it?”

“You’re the idiot, uncle. Other people have thoughts too. Do you think people haven’t thought about gambling? There’s a reason why people don’t do it.”

“…Why are you talking like that?”

“It’s because you’re not thinking straight and talking nonsense. I told you to find out information; what gambling are you talking about?”

People should earn money fairly.

Raël, who firmly believed in that principle, hated gambling!

“Gambling… yeah. Come to think of it, you said you had a friend who was addicted to dice gambling. What is that friend doing now? I shouldn’t live like that guy.”

“…That friend?”

Raël recalled the friend who had transcended his limits while gambling with dice and had become the hope of the Silver Cross Knights.

His anger flared again as he remembered that slick face.

“This damn… crazy world! Aaaargh!”

“Why, why are you suddenly angry? And Raël… at least you should listen to what kind of gambling it is, shouldn’t you?”

“Haa, okay. Tell me. What is it?”

Raël sighed and asked.

*Please* let it be nothing. I’m going to destroy this slum today….

“It’s gambling on predicting the winner of the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly main round.”

“…”

Raël’s eyes narrowed at Zenith’s words.

“Is that legal?”

“Of course, it’s legal. The Empire is sponsoring it.”

Raël recalled the unimpressive participants he had seen earlier.

They were the ones who had advanced to the main round of the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly.

‘Even if I assume that the really strong ones, like Belen, didn’t participate… most of them were morons, right?’

Gambling with those morons?

The Empire was practically handing out money with shovels.

“… Is it possible for me to bet on myself?”

“It’s not impossible. Huh? But weren’t you telling me not to gamble?”

“When did I say that? You should have told me it was such a good gamble earlier. You crazy uncle.”

“…”

Was this also his fault?

Zenith sat at his desk, feeling dejected.

“Raël.”

Just then, Clara approached Raël, who was preoccupied with figuring out how to get cash to bet on the gambling.

“Oh, what’s wrong?”

“This is something I personally investigated….”

Clara, the God of Throwing [referring to her skill in gathering information].

She followed Raël’s requests more diligently than anyone else.

She had gathered information based on Raël’s prediction that the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly would not proceed smoothly.

“The movements of the Desert Kingdom Nagore are strange.”

“Desert Kingdom Nagore?”

That was where Lucas, who had joined forces with the Jeongcheon Alliance, was supposed to be in charge.

“It seems like they’ve joined forces with black mages.”

“Black mages…? Are those bastards still around?”

After the rebellion of the black mages,

Raël had thought that the seeds of black magic had been eradicated in the Empire.

“Uh-huh. It seems like they’re looking for these.”

“Rotten corpses… and pure souls?”

Raël felt a sense of unease as he examined the information Clara had given him.

Even at a glance, these were unusual ingredients for dark magic.

‘Surely… something is about to happen.’

Despite his worries, the main round of the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly began a few days later.