Chapter 256
Chapter 256
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: EP. 56 – The Clichéd Story of Wanting to See Him (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Even after Lee Han's unhesitating refusal, the argument dragged on.
"I don't need it."
"C-Come on, don't say that..."
"No, I said it's fine."
"A-Argh, why?!"
"Where would I even use a blowfish?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Exactly someone like you."
"!!?"
It felt like a clash between spear and shield, but to any third party watching, it was utterly ridiculous.
After all, receiving a letter of recommendation from an Aura User should be an honor—yet her reaction made it seem like a curse.
However, the person involved had no intention of deceiving anyone; she was speaking nothing but the truth.
...With the firm conviction that a rejuvenated Aura User was like a child holding a bomb.
She was pure evil incarnate, no different from an overwhelming hazard.
"Let's just say I'm refusing because getting involved with you would be too exhausting."
"...What a cruel child."
"The cruel one here is you, not me."
"......"
"...Why are you getting teary-eyed again? Geez, always trying to make me the bad guy!"
Lee Han clicked his tongue as he looked at her sniffling once more.
A typical noble or knight might have yielded to a lady's tears, but Lee Han couldn't find any reason to do so unless it was his woman (or friend).
He tried to maintain that resolute coldness, but...
"Yes, Elza said the same thing—that I'm cruel... It's because I'm so worthless, so pathetically worthless, that this happened..."
"?"
A sudden lament mixed with sniffling poured out, leaving Lee Han tilting his head.
Why on earth did the traitor's name come up here?
"S-Sorry, Instructor. My grandmother's emotional instability has flared up again because of this incident..."
"Emotional instability? Is that another side effect of the rejuvenation?"
"......Yes."
"...This is worse than the blowfish."
Lee Han took a step back.
She really was someone he didn't want to get too close to...
"—I never imagined Elza harbored those feelings for me. But to me, she was nothing more than a friend and comrade-in-arms."
I don't really want to know this.
"From our first meeting, when she owed me her life, she strangely stuck close and guarded my back diligently. Even after leaving the battlefield to become an adventurer, she supported me, and after I returned to the family, she helped out a ton. You know what? This family has plenty of her disciples. She was great as a maid, but she was even better with a sword. In terms of skill and talent alone, she was on par with Garden."
Wow...
"Oh, speaking of Garden, he wasn't that corrupt back in his youth. He disliked me, sure, but we had a friendly rivalry, and sometimes he even backed me. If I hadn't risen to fame across the continent, Garden surely would have become Ophen's successor. ...Thinking back now, I wonder if I ever deserved to follow in Ophen's footsteps. I never wanted to steal Garden's position or anything—I just wanted to live peacefully and train with the sword diligently. Sigh... Turns out I have a lot of regrets."
What am I supposed to do with this?
"And those two kids who betrayed us this time—they were so adorable when they were little. You should've seen how cute they—"
...When is this going to end?
"W-Was she always like this?"
"Once her emotional instability kicks in, she stays like that for a while. She'll probably be in this state until some of her stress eases up a bit."
"That's serious. Should I make a run for it now?"
"No need. She talks a lot, but that's all it is—no harm done. In truth, even after rejuvenating, my grandmother is just mischievous, a bit oblivious, and indecisive, but aside from that, she doesn't hurt anyone. She just gets annoyingly long-winded."
"...Puppy wolf, do you hate your grandma?"
"I respect her, but on a human level... a bit."
"......"
...Even family can't affirm everything, it seems.
"You've got it rough."
"Not really."
"A headache of a grandmother, a father who eats random food from strangers and causes incidents, and a cousin stirring up rebellion?"
"...When you put it like that, yeah, I do."
"Um, Sir Lee Han. That includes me too..."
Iliyad reacted awkwardly to being labeled the "incident-causing father," but they ignored him and continued their quiet conversation.
"So, what are you going to do now? Take a leave of absence? Or drop out?"
"Me?"
"You're still planning to keep attending the Academy? You've got to sort out family matters too, right? Must be busy with all sorts of things."
"You're right, but I have no intention of taking a leave or dropping out. Father is still handling the family affairs, and with Grandmother backing us, it'll be sorted out quickly. Ophen's strength doesn't come from one genius—it's from the countless disciples."
"Hooh?"
"It might sound arrogant, but with Ophen's influence, over ten thousand people will come to our aid in an instant. After all, 150,000 swordsmen from the Ophen family are recorded in the annals."
"...You're no pushovers either."
"Well, they're all scattered, so it doesn't translate to military force."
Lee Han nodded emphatically, thinking nobles' worries—or rather, the worries of great houses like Pendragon—weren't worth fretting over.
'No easy ones among them.'
Somehow, every major family except the royal house had terrifying reserves of power.
It made him wonder if the rumors were true—that Pendragon's actual military strength came from these great houses.
'Well, the royals are probably hiding something too.'
You can't judge everything by appearances.
"Moreover..."
"Hm?"
A resolute gaze pulled Lee Han from his wandering thoughts.
The puppy wolf, Arno, met his eyes with shining determination.
"I want to learn more from you. Not from anyone else—your way."
"......"
"With that in mind, from now on, I'll call you 'Master.' I wanted to say 'Teacher,' but Lady Levi might get jealous."
"...I'm not grand enough to be called 'Master' by anyone."
"To me, you are the most ideal and greatest knight."
"......"
"You are my goal. Master."
"...Jeez."
He sure knew how to say embarrassing things.
Is it because he's a noble?
However.
"Instructor, you're smiling."
"...Stand up straight for punishment."
As Taechang said, Lee Han's lips had curled up unwittingly.
Having someone make you their goal felt... oddly satisfying.
'It does feel rewarding.'
He was starting to understand how becoming someone's master enriched the heart.
Feeling proud toward his disciple who had declared his desire to become an official student, Lee Han idly wondered if he should accept a apprenticeship gift.
"What a joyous occasion. My son has found a master, and that master is someone even I would want as my own."
"You sure know how to gild the lily."
"It's not flattery. It's my honest feeling."
"...Father and son are exactly alike."
They knew how to make people embarrassed.
Lee Han's face burned at Iliyad's sincere praise, but a question arose as well.
"But you talk like you've never had a master before."
"Precisely. I never really had one. I learned basic Fighting Techniques, but everything else was self-taught."
"That's why geniuses are..."
"Haha, I won't deny it, but if I have an excuse—reading sword manuals let me grasp the basics, and anyone who tried to teach me gave up after two days."
"Ooh..."
"In that sense, I wasn't a good student. More like a delinquent."
"...Not delinquent—just too outstanding."
They probably got overwhelmed and absorbed everything so fast that the teachers gave up and ran.
He was too exceptional to be taught by anyone.
Overwhelmingly so—nothing left to teach.
But that was...
"Not your fault at all. It's those teachers' failing. As educators, they shouldn't give up just because a student is exceptional."
"...?"
"From my experience as an instructor, no matter how advanced the student, you have to teach them. If I'd taught you, I'd have drilled you mercilessly."
"Drilled?"
"Drilled you until you cursed my name. Teaching the essence of 'unreasonableness.'"
"......"
"Why?"
"...Somehow, it gives me chills."
"Just your imagination."
Sensitive guy.
If Lee Han had trained Iliyad, he probably wouldn't be this polite now—he'd be a master of profanity.
Still, one thing was clear.
"I might not have made you the kingdom's greatest swordsman, but I could have turned you into someone who rises again in any desperate moment. That's what I emphasize to my own disciples too."
"......"
"My teaching isn't anything special or complicated. Just make them experience the world's unreasonableness firsthand and teach them how to overcome it. A brute-force method. So yeah, I'm no normal master either."
Lee Han laughed.
His 80 struggling disciples came to mind, all because of his philosophy.
Even so.
"—Even if despair crashes down someday, my disciples will rise quickly. Because I taught them how to stand amid the unreasonable."
Lee Han believed that their hardships would one day become great wealth.
"If I had to name it, it's teaching [Unyielding Heart]. A mind that doesn't waver or break."
"......"
"Nothing special about it."
Lee Han said casually, but the response was...
"...You truly are a respectable man."
"Hm?"
"Total defeat. In strength, in spirit. I've lost completely."
Iliyad laughed heartily, thrilled beyond measure.
Because the one who bested him was someone worthy of respect.
Iliyad gazed at Felicia, still lost in her own world and muttering to herself, and spoke.
"...To be honest, I never wanted to be a swordsman. Others said I was born for the sword, but I actually enjoyed drawing pictures more. So when my legs were ruined, deep down, I felt relieved. I thought I no longer had to meet others' expectations. ...But foolishly, I..."
Iliyad bared his honest heart.
Perhaps for the first time to anyone else?
It was an embarrassing truth, but he wanted to reveal it to this man of all people.
With him, even hearing "you're worthless" would feel acceptable.
"Once it was gone, you missed the sword?"
"...Exactly. Pathetically so..."
Yes, how pathetic was that?
He hated it when he had it, but once lost, he regretted it.
And so...
"Mother saw right through my foolishness—that I wanted to walk again."
"......"
"Did you know? The reason Mother underwent rejuvenation was for me."
"?"
"She thought if she could reverse her body's age, she might fix mine too, so she sacrificed her own body for the experiment. But the results showed the body rejuvenates, yet not all impairments regenerate. The only remaining option might be a fairy's blessing, but fairies rarely bless humans, so effectively, there's no way to heal me."
"......"
"...That's what I used to think."
"Hm?"
"Listening to you, Sir Lee Han, I realized—I haven't even tried anything yet."
"My story?"
"Yes."
Listening to Lee Han, he realized it.
He wanted to heal his legs but hadn't truly 'efforted' at it.
"I should have struggled. Not relying on miracles or blessings, but resolved to walk somehow. Tried anything instead of giving up. But I didn't even attempt it, and this is the result."
His story made it clear: he was someone who didn't know how to rise again.
Praised as a genius by others, he'd lazily believed it and lived like a fool.
Iliyad had realized this far too late.
Out of sheer stupidity...
He shuddered.
"See? I can't even lift an arm now, let alone stand. Paying the price for my foolish life."
"Foolish? Could a fool paint such masterpieces? That was all from effort."
"Haha, you're a kind man, Sir Lee Han."
"Not kindness—truth."
"Ahaha!"
"Why laugh?"
"Because it's impressive."
How could every word be laced with such sincerity?
'He never says empty words.'
That made him envious of his son—and wistful.
If he'd had such a master, maybe he wouldn't have lived so poorly.
Iliyad swallowed his deep regret.
His time was now over...
"—Want me to teach you?"
"......"
For a moment, Iliyad felt as if his eyes pierced straight to his heart.
"What..."
"Something like this."
Poke.
"??"
Lee Han's finger precisely tapped Iliyad's chest, abdomen, and forehead three times.
An act that might insult others, but Iliyad felt no humiliation.
Whoosh!
Only a blaze of heat and warmth...
"!?"
"Hot, right? It's not dangerous. Just infused my 'power' into you."
"......"
"Give it some strength."
"?"
"Good, it's working."
"...Pardon?"
Iliyad tilted his head, confused, but mid-tilt, he saw it.
His son's shocked face, his son's friend, and his mother—finally done muttering—gawking with mouth agape.
And soon.
"Wha...?"
Iliyad wore the same foolish expression.
──His toes were moving.
"—Hey, it actually worked?"
......Lee Han scratched the back of his head, pondering that he might even have the talent to found a religion.