Chapter 108
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 107
Chapter Title: Farewells in the Eighth District
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Five weeks had passed since leaving home.
Jin wanted nothing more than to just up and leave, but he had gotten tangled up in too many things here in foreign lands to do that.
For starters, there was Raf.
He had to at least stick around to see that chatty guy—who was impossible to hate—get discharged from the hospital.
And so Jin's daily routine went like this:
He'd drag himself out of bed as soon as he woke up, stuff his face with the hotel breakfast, head straight to the arena if nothing came up, spend hours with the heirs, drop by Raf's room before dinner...
In the process, Jin visited Raf quite a few times alongside Eanna.
Hold on. It wasn't like he dragged her there by force.
It started as a request, but after that, it was all her own choice.
And so today, the three of them chatted about nothing in particular until evening fully set in before the two of them finally left the hospital—
"You know, about Raf..."
Eanna, who had opened like she was talking to herself, turned to look at Jin.
"He seems like an unusual guy. Kinda like you."
"I think so too... Hmm, what's that supposed to mean?"
"What? You don't like it?"
"Not really. Aren't I a bit more serious than Raf? Hey, why are you laughing?"
He'd overheard something by chance.
Eanna had said there weren't many kids her age in the family.
The previous family head's prized daughter and the current head's youngest sibling.
Naturally, she was surrounded by a horde of nephews and nieces. And apparently, they weren't close either.
For someone like her, it made sense that she might have clicked with Walter—the boy who had knocked on the family gates as a child, aspiring to become a squire.
Walter.
The name suddenly brought to mind [Someone's Spark] for Jin.
It was the power that had now deepened into its imagery and taken the name Blazing Flame, but Jin still believed that Walter was the one who had passed that spark to him.
A tiny ember that had sprouted in one corner of his heart.
Its warmth had sometimes served as a guiding light for Jin when he was swallowed by dark waves. In that sense, Walter was no different from a benefactor.
Above all else, if it hadn't been for him, Jin might have been burned to ash by black flames long ago.
Maybe that's why.
"Eanna."
"Yeah?"
"Hold on a sec. Check this out."
Jin stopped Eanna, who had been walking alongside him under the sunset, and flipped his palm toward the sky.
The next moment.
Eanna's eyes widened as she spotted the faint, transparent heat shimmering above it.
"This is...?"
"Walter left it with me. No idea why he gave it to me instead of you. Anyway, I kept meaning to show you, but with everything going on, it slipped my mind."
"......"
Eanna fell silent for a long while.
She simply gazed deeply at the Blazing Flame.
In the ensuing silence, Jin awkwardly looked back at her. And he realized something anew: her eyes, without the white flames drawn out, were a soft green like new leaves.
"...I've heard of it before. The purest blaze imaginable. The secret garden of our house that we must seek out again someday."
The next moment, white flames erupted from Eanna's hand. A sacred heat—White Flame. It gently approached and overlapped with the one on Jin's palm.
"It's warm, right?"
She came with a soft smile.
Time passed.
Not much—just three days.
And tomorrow was Raf's discharge day.
Getting out of the hospital a fortnight after having his severed arm reattached. It really felt more advanced than back home in that regard.
Of course, his doctor had tried desperately to convince him it was too soon, but Raf's stubborn ass insisted he was fine—no secret there.
Anyway, it was his last day in the eighth district.
As Jin went through his usual routine, someone came looking for him.
"I've come to fetch you."
It was the Sword Saint's attendant, whom he'd seen once before. Following the guide led him to a modest noodle shop, where the Sword Saint sat peering seriously at the menu.
"Sit. You like noodles?"
"Ugh, I could eat 'em all day."
As Jin said that and took a seat, the Sword Saint let out a quiet sigh.
"This place always makes me agonize every time I come."
"Why's that?"
"Everything looks so good. How am I supposed to choose?"
The Sword Saint subtly slid the menu over, and Jin solved his dilemma with one line.
"We'll take everything on the menu."
"Oh. That's a way. But can you eat it all?"
"I could eat 'em all day, I said."
And so the meal began.
Slurp. The Sword Saint watched in astonishment as Jin practically inhaled the noodles, then elegantly sipped his broth before speaking.
"Looks like you've had an enlightenment."
"Hm?"
Jin looked up from his food, snapping a noodle with his teeth as he met the Sword Saint's eyes.
"Ah. Yeah."
Evidently, he'd clocked Jin's advancement to mid-second realm at a glance. Jin had no idea how he gauged it so precisely, but he just accepted it.
A man whose sword wind reached the heavens, after all.
Jin figured even the third realm probably couldn't fully contain the Sword Saint. It wasn't idle speculation. Despite his own deepened fiery aftermath, Jin still couldn't properly gauge the distance to the Sword Saint. He was right there, yet felt vaguely distant, like a punch wouldn't land. A sort of conviction.
Of course, the Sword Saint seemed oblivious that this cheeky street rat was inwardly using him as a target to measure distances. Or maybe he didn't care.
"Congratulations. Fighting strong opponents helped a lot, didn't it?"
"I nearly died, you know. You saw Kendrick laid up. Aren't you worried about catching heat from their family head later?"
"It's fine. Lord Manroe would be pleased, if anything. Kendrick seemed to have hit a wall too."
"...He did?"
"Indeed."
What? Did the 'Sword Saint training method' actually work?
Jin slurped his noodles with a skeptical look.
The Sword Saint slurped his in response.
Of course, there was a mutual misunderstanding here.
Kendrick reaching the cusp of the second realm wasn't from fighting the apostle, but from shedding the mental burden after sparring with Jin.
Somewhere, the Cerebellum King was probably scratching his ear.
"Still, you're leaving tomorrow."
"Yeah. Gotta go. Stayed longer than expected."
"Ryukard must be disappointed."
Jin reflexively wanted to say, "He is?"
Ryukard Anarion.
He was always so polite and proper—a commendable little brother even to Jin, the young fogey—but Jin couldn't picture him pining for anyone's absence.
And for good reason: even at gatherings of heirs, this era's pure-hearted romantic spent most of his time staring at swords.
Jin had even nicknamed him 'Sword Gazer' for that one-track devotion.
Though he couldn't read the kid's mind, of course.
"He said to come visit often. Nah, I'll tell him myself. This place really is a gem."
Jin shrugged and reached for his fourth bowl. Eternal growth spurts meant endless hunger no matter how much you ate, and the Sword Saint across from him looked defeated watching it.
"You really pack it away."
Jin didn't bother saying his stomach was bottomless and this wasn't enough. Which let the Sword Saint continue smoothly.
"I have something to tell you."
"Shoot."
"You remember the Saint King's holy relic. And that its divinity took root in you."
"......"
Jin nodded slowly, half-worried the Sword Saint might hold him accountable belatedly.
And that guess was half right.
"To be frank: in the family right now, the prevailing opinion is to keep you in the eighth district. Some hotheads even mention detention."
Cough.
Jin covered his mouth after an involuntary cough.
"What? Was this my last supper or something?"
"Does it seem that way?"
The Sword Saint chuckled dryly and took a spoonful of broth.
Then slowly added,
"Don't worry. As long as I'm alive, that won't happen. But I wanted to clarify upfront: the elders aren't pushing this out of personal grudge against you."
The elders, huh.
Jin pieced together who wanted him pinned down. He swirled his noodles listlessly and listened to the Sword Saint.
"...Divinity. The Saint King's final legacy, one of the few traces of god left on this land."
His calm gaze turned to Jin.
His voice suddenly grave.
"It's also the power the apostles crave."
Get it now? Why I'm bringing this up?
The follow-up question.
Jin licked his lips.
"...That they might come after it again?"
"Spot on. If it had vanished with the broken relic, fine. But it rooted in you, and if the black mages find out, they'll reach for it. That's what concerns the elders."
"Mm."
Only then did Jin nod.
He instantly understood why the Anarion family wanted to ground him.
So he could predict the Sword Saint's next words.
Be careful. Try not to use the divinity.
But that was a misread of the man—
"So don't hold back."
Jin blinked at the words.
"Pardon?"
"Don't hold back. That's how you'll protect the divinity."
"Not 'be careful'?"
"Careful? Did Rokan teach you that?"
The current Sword Saint, former Radiant Sword.
The man didn't even entertain the notion of not fighting.
When Jin half-jokingly asked if he could use it, the response was:
"Do as you see fit. If you want my take: anytime you need to win, use it freely."
Jin chuckled inwardly.
That's the grit you need to hold the family head seat.
Rokan was no saint either.
Anyway, Jin fully grasped the Sword Saint's intent.
He could follow advice like that easily.
"Leave it to me."
The Sword Saint smiled faintly as Jin thumped his chest.
"Good. That's the spirit."
Departure day.
Jin made one last visit to the arena.
The seven families' heirs—well, six of them—came to say goodbye.
"See you next time, Jin."
Eanna, now a comfortable friend, said that, and Jin gave her a light hug before turning to Katrina beside her.
"C'mere."
"Huh?"
Katrina froze in confusion, squeezing her eyes shut, as Jin ruffled her hair with a playful grin—then bolted at her "Hey!" shriek.
"Brother, thanks to you, I've learned the world is vast. I'll keep pushing forward too!"
The youngest, Deir, bowed deeply.
"Next time... let's spar again..."
Carlos sighed lowly, having ended their friendly match with a 3:2 loss.
Then it was Ryukard's turn.
"Don't covet the sword anymore."
"Wait, why? What did I do?"
"If there's a reason, you know it better than me, brother."
At a loss for words, Jin promised to visit now and then before eyeing the last one.
"I'm off."
"Go. And—"
Kendrick, arms crossed and cool as ever, continued in that lofty tone.
"Come to Zahard next time. I'll smash you in front of Grandpa."
"Sure, sure."
Jin was used to Kendrick's speech by now.
Translating it roughly to "Come visit my place next time," he patted the guy's shoulder, then backed away waving.
Once he'd put some real distance, he turned and walked alongside Raf.
"You say bye to Eanna?"
"Yeah. Did the quick and dirty version while you did your heir farewell tour."
"Nice."
Chatting casually, they walked to the station.
How much time passed?
As the announcement warned the hyperloop was arriving, Jin stood, then glanced back through the floor-to-ceiling glass at the cityscape.
The eighth district.
A place unforgettable, for better or worse.
"That was fun."
With a short murmur and a smile, Jin stepped toward the platform.
"Where to now?"
Raf asked on the returning train.
Jin, staring at the blurring scenery outside, answered.
"Dunno. Back to Downtown, probably? Problem is, it's a long way."
"Then you'll ride to the end."
"Not you?"
"Right. I get off six hours before you. Almost there."
Hm?
Jin tilted his head.
If memory served, Raf came from district 36. Meaning no reason to get off early on a hyperloop ending at 29.
"Suddenly?"
"Nothing big. Just visiting my master."
"Ah. Cool."
Jin nodded nonchalantly.
But only for a moment.
Suddenly remembering something, he wagged a finger in the air.
"Does she have any other disciples besides you? Y'know, fellow pupils."
"......?"
Raf, who never buffered on replies, hesitated for the first time.
His conflicted expression swung back and forth before slowly tipping toward speaking.
"...One. Not sure if you'd call 'em a fellow pupil."
"Why?"
"They killed my master."
Raf scratched his head awkwardly after answering.
"Hey, don't think weird. It's to visit the grave. Where master's buried... But why the sudden fellow pupil question?"
Jin brushed it off with "Just curious."
He couldn't exactly say their fighting style looked familiar, since he couldn't pinpoint who.
"Lame."
Raf shrugged, and soon stood as the train stopped.
"Later. Stay healthy. Hit me up sometimes."
"You too."
After the brief farewell sent Raf off, Jin leaned against the window. He pulled out his terminal—
"Lemme see."
Intending to get back to work after putting it off, he logged into the Solo intranet.
「Promotion」
A little farther, a little higher.
Promoted to Solo (Lv5).
Reward: Punk XP 10,000
An unexpected ambush from the status window zapped his head!
"Gah!"
The next moment.
What caught Jin's eye was an alert marked (+999).
He didn't need to tap it to know.
They were all new requests.