Weapon-Eating Bastard [EN]: Chapter 65

Weapon-Eating Bastard – Episode 65

The condition my father gave me was ‘to persuade the Council of Elders.’

My father stepped back, passing the decision on this matter to the Council of Elders.

Thus, it was the Council of Elders, not my father, who came to the forefront of this incident.

There’s another hidden meaning behind my father’s deliberate actions.

And now it’s time to reveal that meaning.

“I clearly possess all the qualifications to leave for the Warrior’s Path. Although I have the third-year curriculum of the Cadet Corps remaining, my current level allows for early completion, so even that isn’t a significant issue.”

“I have personally confirmed your achievements, so there’s no need to repeat them.”

I nodded and continued.

“I’ve also been to Cheonwisan and passed the Bloodless Dream. The educational course usually ends in the first year, so I’ve completed all the necessary education.”

I deliberately repeated the facts that everyone already knew.

The Head of the Council of Elders, who had slightly frowned, soon realized what I was getting at and widened his eyes.

“In other words, I’ve proven everything and met the conditions, but the Council of Elders distrusted me and wanted to test me for no reason.”

I slightly spread my arms, emphasizing my tattered appearance, and continued.

“Thanks to that, my sixth sister was seriously injured for no reason, and as you can see, I’m in a state where standing and speaking is the best I can do. I feel a bit wronged. I can’t help but feel that the elders have been oppressing me.”

I deliberately distorted my expression, acting out emotions full of dissatisfaction.

Fifteen years old, the age of rebellion.

Now, under the pretext of ‘age,’ I can be forgiven for speaking somewhat aggressively and rudely.

‘If I don’t use this opportunity to speak my mind now, I won’t have another chance. I should make the most of it.’

And these blatant expressions sometimes became a very good tool for driving the situation forward.

“Head of the Council of Elders, how about giving an answer since the youngest is speaking like that?”

Lee Tae-shin glanced at the Head of the Council of Elders.

The Head of the Council of Elders, Lee Cheol-jung, still wore an inscrutable smile and opened his mouth.

“It seems you have some misunderstandings. In the first place, the decision to leave for the Warrior’s Path is made by the Council of Elders. The regulations clearly state that there is no distinction between illegitimate and legitimate children, so would the Council of Elders, of all people, violate those regulations?”

It was a clever speech.

I never mentioned my status, but he deliberately brought up the word ‘illegitimate’ to conclude his statement.

“You wouldn’t, would you? Because it’s the Council of Elders, of all places.”

Lee Cheol-jung smiled strangely again at my words.

“So, it’s a misunderstanding. If you were a bit older, it might be different, but the Council of Elders knows nothing about you, so it was only natural to test you, wasn’t it? You’re leaving for the Warrior’s Path at too young an age, and you might face unforeseen crises.”

“A test… I understand that.”

The Head of the Council of Elders nodded.

But my words weren’t finished.

“Then, Head of the Council of Elders, why my sixth sister of all people?”

“That’s…”

“Isn’t my sixth sister a much stronger warrior than me, no matter who looks at it? There’s a significant age difference too.”

Lee Cheol-jung tightly closed his mouth.

“…Huh.”

It was Lee Tae-hong who unknowingly leaked a breath.

‘This cunning brat. You orchestrated the whole thing and now you’re using it to corner the Head of the Council of Elders?’

Amazing! This smart kid!

I felt like bursting into laughter.

There couldn’t be a better move.

‘Did he perhaps choose the sixth sister with this in mind?’

In this place with so many people, Lee Cheol is expressing his resentment while pretending to be a rebellious teenager, which he isn’t.

Yet, he logically lists the facts.

Just by the looks of it, it would seem as if the Council of Elders is oppressing a mere young child.

Lee Tae-hong forced himself to hide his laughter and alternately watched Lee Cheol-jung and Lee Cheol.

“I read the official document. It said you would have the child who most recently returned from the Warrior’s Path test me directly. But shouldn’t my seventh brother be the one to step up then? If not my seventh brother, there are many other warriors!”

“I simply thought that child would be more suitable.”

“If that’s really what you thought and it was for a test, shouldn’t you have done it separately in a quiet place, rather than having a match in front of the family? With this, I’ve humiliated my sixth sister, and my sixth sister has received all sorts of disadvantages in a fight where she has nothing to gain, and was struck by a much younger sibling.”

Now it’s time to throw the last move.

I took a brief breath, acted as if I was suppressing my anger, and confidently said.

“So… I want to hear it. Head of the Council of Elders. Why did the Council of Elders conduct this test?”

It’s a checkmate.

I felt like my life was on the line with this ingenious move.

Lee Cheol-jung couldn’t choose the right words.

“Enough.”

Then my father’s voice quietly rang out.

“The Head of the Council of Elders is a senior member of the family. I understand that you’re excited after the match, but you’re being rude.”

“I apologize.”

I bowed my head to my father and took a breath.

“This test was necessary. I can understand that you feel it’s somewhat unreasonable, but it’s not right to complain to the Council of Elders just because the test was a bit difficult.”

“Yes, I apologize, Father.”

I gave a short bow, and my father nodded.

“However, it wouldn’t be a good ending to let it pass like this. What do you think?”

Lee Tae-shin’s gaze turned to Lee Cheol-jung.

Lee Cheol-jung understood the meaning of that gaze.

But he couldn’t ignore the unpleasant feeling that suddenly rose from the depths of his heart.

‘To be completely defeated by a mere bastard… Haha.’

Lee Cheol-jung suddenly felt like bursting into laughter.

He had to admit that he had been too careless.

He didn’t know how much of it was the bastard’s scheme, but in the end, he was the one who had lost today.

“I admit that there were parts of this test that were difficult for you to understand. Since you successfully passed such a difficult test, the Council of Elders, who issued the test, should give you a reward. Tell me what you want.”

I smiled at the words of the Head of the Council of Elders.

‘That’s it.’

If it was something led by the Council of Elders, it was right to receive the reward from the Council of Elders as well.

I had been thinking about it since my father set the condition of persuading the Council of Elders.

“I also apologize for being rude. I hope you understand that I wasn’t doubting the Council of Elders, but was genuinely curious.”

“…I understand.”

“And since I was just handling something that had to be done, I won’t ask for an unreasonable reward. I just want to receive what I deserve.”

What he deserves?

Lee Tae-shin’s eyes lit up, and Lee Cheol-jung also wore a puzzled expression.

I told them the reward I had in mind.

* * *

After the match, I was granted permission to go to the Warrior’s Path, but I couldn’t leave right away and had to rest for several days.

It was the aftermath of the match I had with my sixth sister.

Although not to the extent of my sixth sister, I also suffered considerable internal and external injuries.

Thanks to that, I was postponing all the training I never missed and focusing solely on recovery.

‘I never thought I would miss Cheonwisan.’

Even with this level of injury, if I had entered the treatment waters and used recovery techniques, I would have recovered in less than half a day.

Still, the long-awaited rest wasn’t all bad.

“Young Master!”

“It’s been a while! Really!”

I was able to see the faces of the former Class 5 cadets after a long time.

“Actually, we wanted to visit you as soon as you returned to the family, but we heard that you were busy in many ways, so we decided among ourselves not to disturb you.”

Kim Han grabbed my hand and shook it vigorously.

Right after returning to the family, it was when I was being taught the basics by my first brother.

“No matter how busy I am, wouldn’t I be able to make time to meet you guys? More than that, how have you been?”

“Of course!”

The cadets began to chatter and tell their own stories.

Even at a glance, they weren’t stories that could be said to have gone well.

In the first year, everyone was gathered under the name of Class 5, and even I was there, so there were relatively few cases of being picked on.

“But it wasn’t a bad feeling. Rather, I felt like they were wary of us and paying attention to us, so they were keeping us in check.”

Choi In-ha said calmly.

Then Kim Han jumped back into the conversation.

“Enough about us, Young Master, you should tell us. What kind of training did you do for a year to become so strong?”

“Huh?”

“The match! We saw it! Everyone must have seen it!”

I frowned.

“You’ll have a lot to prepare for to be promoted to the third year soon, so you must have a lot of time, huh?”

“Ah, Young Master, you’re too much! How could we miss it when you’re going through such a big deal! Not just me, everyone must have seen it! We’re comrades!”

Kim Han seemed wronged and nudged Choi In-ha and Kim Bo-sung next to him.

“Ahem.”

“Oh, um.”

Choi In-ha and Kim Bo-sung cleared their throats and awkwardly turned their heads.

“Oh? You, you two, by any chance…”

I narrowed my eyes.

“It seems like neither of them came?”

“…I’m sorry, Young Master. I was going to go right after finishing morning training, but when I came to my senses, it was already late.”

This was Kim Bo-sung.

“I was matching Bo-sung’s sparring partner, so likewise…”

This was Choi In-ha.

“There’s no need to be sorry. It’s not like I’m blaming you.”

I glared at Kim Han.

“Kim Han. Don’t tell me you’ve been slacking off just because I haven’t been in the family for a while?”

“Wow, Young Master, you’re too much. Really… No, how could both of them not go to support you when you’re having a match?”

Everyone chuckled and laughed.

I looked around at the cadets and smiled contentedly.

‘They’ve grown a lot.’

The same time, one year, had passed for me and the Class 5 cadets.

The guys had grown so much that I had to rub my eyes and look again.

Just as I had worked hard, these guys had also fought hard in their respective positions.

‘And some of them have even received nominations… Amazing.’

It’s standard for third-year cadets to work as apprentice warriors or enter the Six Gates.

At this time, the cadets who had been decided to be promoted to the third year usually decided on the warrior squad they wanted and submitted it to the training center. If the warrior squad approved, they would begin their warrior squad life.

However, very rarely, cadets who seem to have talent are directly nominated by the warrior squad for scouting.

It’s a rare occurrence, with only about the top 1 percent of each grade receiving nominations, but nearly half of the Class 5 cadets received nominations.

“By the way, you two were nominated by the Four Divine Squads?”

“Yes, I received a nomination from the Bloodhowl Squad.”

“I came from the Celestial Bow Squad.”

It was Choi In-ha and Kim Bo-sung in turn.

The two scratched the back of their heads, somewhat embarrassed.

Even in Soongmoo, where countless warrior squads exist, there were rankings.

Among them, the Four Divine Squads were a collective term for the four warrior squads of Soongmoo that were the most active.

In reality, the four squads weren’t grouped into a single organization, and their mission orientations were different, but they were called as one because all four were top-notch warrior squads.

“The Bloodhowl Squad and the Celestial Bow Squad. That’s amazing. It’s rare for the Four Divine Squads to nominate someone.”

“We’re still lacking. We’re still far from catching up to the 모습 [Korean word meaning ‘appearance’ or ‘figure’] that the Young Master showed us in the match a few days ago.”

Choi In-ha clenched his fist tightly, revealing his competitive spirit.

It was a huge change compared to the first time we met, when he smiled gently and said ridiculous things.

“By the way, Kim Han, why aren’t you saying anything? Don’t tell me you failed a grade?”

“That’s not possible. I… decided to enter the Six Gates to study. I’m going to learn swords and ranged weapons at the Sword Gate and the Archery Gate.”

The Six Gates were Soongmoo’s educational institutions divided into six categories by weapon.

The Sword Gate, as the name suggests, researches weapons related to swords, and the Archery Gate teaches all kinds of ranged weapons.

‘It won’t be easy to take classes in two places at the same time.’

However, if his grades were mediocre, the Six Gates wouldn’t even allow him to learn two things at the same time.

Receiving this permission was also evidence of Kim Han’s growth.

‘Everyone’s doing well on their own.’

Everyone had eyes that were so upright that they couldn’t be seen as teenagers.

All of them had pioneered their own paths.

“Work hard. You guys will have to help me a lot later.”

“Leave it to us. We’ll grow to the point where we won’t be ashamed to stand next to the Young Master.”

Kim Han’s eyes lit up.

I felt like I had to work hard too.