Chapter 5: The World is Wide, and There are Many Masters (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 5: The World is Wide, and There are Many Masters (1)
Five years had passed since then.
As expected, Prince Ellen had become a monster, and I had worked tirelessly to keep pace with that monster.
And the result?
“Princess Hestia.”
“…”
“You’re terrible at this.”
“Hey! You jerk!”
I watched Princess Hestia explode in frustration, her face a mask of sorrow, and immediately made my escape.
My recent record against her was four wins and one loss.
This wasn't like the old days where I had a handicap; these were the results of a pure clash of skill.
It was the downfall of Princess Hestia, who had once prided herself on being the strongest of her age group.
Of course, it wasn't that her skills had declined.
On the contrary, her abilities were growing rapidly in line with her talent, and she was still hailed as a genius of the sword.
She was simply losing to a monster of a younger brother and to me—the man who was being forced into becoming a monster just to keep up with said brother!
She remained a powerful swordsman with almost no rivals among her peers.
“So this is why people do 'doping.'”
Even she had fallen before me, an artificially created monster.
The Commander hadn't lied.
With his full-scale support, I was able to achieve "overgrowth" day by day.
“I do wonder if it’s okay for me to receive this much, though.”
Even if the role of the Prince’s instructor was important, normally, they wouldn't provide more support to me than to Princess Hestia.
But the 5th Prince, Ellen, made it possible.
Prince Ellen, who dashed forward at a terrifying pace every day, began going toe-to-toe with Princess Hestia three years ago. Now, his win rate against her sat at a solid ninety percent.
And in that process, I was naturally overtaken as well.
He thrashed me so cleanly that I couldn't even feel bitter about it.
Thus, a project was launched to ensure I could at least keep a grip on Prince Ellen’s pant leg.
The kingdom’s top elite swordsmen, including the Commander—a Sword Master himself—took turns conducting my training.
Elixirs were a given, and to build the perfect body, the royal chefs tailored everything down to my snacks and daily diet.
It reached a point where other instructors whispered that I might actually be the King's secret illegitimate son.
I didn't need to disprove that nonsense.
All I had to do was let them spar with Prince Ellen once.
“I’m already dreading it.”
To think I have to face Prince Ellen again today—the same prince who effortlessly folds even the senior instructors in charge of the other princes.
I already didn't want to do it, but then again, one never wants to work.
However, my steps lightened when I thought of the amount being deposited into my account like clockwork.
In five years, I had managed to purchase two buildings near the royal castle, where land prices were notoriously exorbitant.
One was a mansion and the other a commercial building; my retirement was already fully prepared.
On top of that, I was starting to make a name for myself as a renowned rising star in the kingdom. I wouldn't be treated poorly anywhere I went.
“A business trip?”
I had been focusing so hard on my domestic investments, and now they were telling me I might have to go on a trip.
A long-term one, at that. They expected it to last at least four years.
What on earth was this about?
“The Prince is too strong.”
The Commander stated the obvious.
“That’s common knowledge by now.”
“Yes. And that is the problem.”
The Commander’s explanation was as follows:
It was time for the Prince to enter an academy, and naturally, the default choice was the Royal Academy within our borders.
While the Empire’s academy next door was stronger in general terms, when it came to training knights specifically, the two were at least on par.
Even by a cold assessment, our kingdom held a slight advantage.
Therefore, there was no reason to go abroad for studies.
“However, a variable has emerged.”
The Empire prided itself on being the best on the continent, but it was being pushed back by our kingdom in swordsmanship and by the Dale Kingdom in magic.
The difference wasn't massive, but for an Empire that couldn't stand being anything but number one, it seemed it was unbearable.
“The Sword Emperor has joined the faculty of the Imperial Academy.”
For the coming year, they had recruited the Sword Emperor for the Swordsmanship Department and the former Tower Master of the White Tower for the Magic Department.
“How?”
The Sword Emperor was the idol of every swordsman and a figure who had influenced every renowned blade of the current era, to varying degrees.
Without even looking at others, our own King and the Commander had ties with the Sword Emperor in their youth.
And despite those ties, the man had consistently refused every request to lend his strength to our Royal Academy.
“We even offered him the position of Academy Director last time and got rejected.”
“We did.”
“Didn't he say back then that he had no intention of being associated with any specific nation?”
“He did.”
For such a man to suddenly pop up in the Empire...
“What, did his only granddaughter fall ill or something?”
“…How did you know?”
The Commander looked surprised, but I was a man with a fair share of experience reading webnovels.
A hidden master breaking their seclusion to save a granddaughter is a cliché as old as time.
“To be precise, she isn't his only granddaughter. His youngest granddaughter fell ill, and the Empire offered the professor position in exchange for her treatment. That alone is enough to cause an uproar, but…”
“Is there more?”
“Coincidentally, his grandson is also scheduled to enroll next year.”
“The Minor Sword Emperor?”
Whether commoner or royalty, raising children rarely goes as planned.
It was the way of the world for a degenerate to emerge from a prestigious family, and for a hero to be born to a drunkard in the slums.
However, lineage was difficult to ignore.
And the inheritance of techniques passed down through that bloodline was something that could never be dismissed.
The Sword Emperor’s bloodline wasn't inherently special.
He was born a commoner, and he remained one even now as he was hailed as the Sword Emperor.
He was an eccentric who had rejected the hands reached out by numerous nations offering titles as bait.
Because of that, he was a noble soul who commanded even more respect.
His reputation was built solely on his sword, and his kin could learn that sword without any conditions if they so desired.
Of course, following the path of the Sword Emperor’s blade was an arduous journey.
In fact, none of the Sword Emperor’s children could truly claim to have inherited his sword.
But the gossips said:
If anyone were to inherit that blade...
It would be the Sword Emperor’s grandson, Asran.
The Minor Sword Emperor, Asran.
Already called the "Minor Sword Emperor," he was one of the most famous swordsmen on the continent and one of the few the Commander considered a worthy rival for Ellen.
“Exactly.”
Such a swordsman was enrolling in the Imperial Academy as a package deal with the Sword Emperor.
Naturally, the Royal Family had no choice but to deliberate.
“I suppose a natural-born rival is better than a manufactured sandbag.”
“I’m not saying you’re lacking.”
“I know. I told you, I just thrashed Princess Hestia earlier.”
“……Again?”
I was dumbfounded by the way he narrowed his eyes at me.
“Hey, you’re the one who told me to do it.”
It was the Commander himself who had told me not to go easy on the Princess and to win.
“No, that was because you were broken the year before last.”
That was true.
I had become so accustomed to the Defeat Sword that losing had become ingrained in my body.
After the shocking incident where I lost to a rookie who had just joined as the youngest Princess’s instructor, I had to struggle quite a bit to correct myself.
I was supposed to lose only to royalty; I couldn't become a "revolving door" that let just anyone win.
Being Prince Ellen’s rival meant that I shouldn't lose to anyone except Prince Ellen.
Therefore, I had to learn how to win using the Defeat Sword, and defeating Princess Hestia was added to that process.
Since Prince Ellen had started beating Princess Hestia every time, it became the norm that his rival had to hunt her down just as ruthlessly to be recognized.
“Princess Hestia is royalty too. Give her a win once in a while.”
“That’s why I let her win once every five matches.”
“No, it’s not a matter of winning or losing! I heard you tease her mercilessly every time you win! Lucia comes to me with a resignation letter every time that happens!”
“Senior Lucia… she still hasn't given up, has she…”
I admired her persistence—writing a resignation letter every single time despite being torn apart three times a week.
“Ahem. Back to the point. After a meeting between the Royal Family and the instructors, we concluded that the Prince studying in the Empire would be more beneficial for his growth.”
“And for various reasons, my study abroad is also confirmed?”
“Precisely. It would be lonely to be all by himself in a distant Empire. He needs at least one friend from home.”
As I mentioned before, our country had a slight edge in things related to knights.
There was no need to go abroad; one could become a top-tier knight just by attending the Royal Academy.
Of course, other departments like Magic were lacking, but since the majority of our citizens aspired to be knights—befitting the title "Kingdom of Knights"—it wasn't a big problem.
Since there was no real need to study abroad for the sake of an academy, there were almost no students from our country at the Imperial Academy, despite it being the continent's top educational institution.
“Even if there are some, they’re in education or administration. There’s no one in the Knight Department.”
“Are no other nobles going?”
“They’re just testing the waters. Even with the Sword Emperor’s name value, nobles have their pride.”
“I see.”
The Kingdom of Knights.
That name was a source of pride and ego for both the common people and the nobility.
Therefore, no matter how much of a professor the Sword Emperor had become, they likely believed the education at the Royal Academy was sufficient.
“That’s fine. We’ll make it so.”
The Royal Family and the Commander intended to work toward that.
However.
“Prince Ellen is different.”
His vessel was far too large to be constrained by mere pride.
Frankly, as a national educational institution, the Royal Academy could not fill Prince Ellen’s vessel to the brim.
“To be honest, we were considering the Empire even before the news of the Sword Emperor becoming a professor broke. We judged that for Prince Ellen, meeting various people and seeing a larger world would be more beneficial than just swordsmanship training.”
And then came the Sword Emperor.
Plus, the Sword Emperor’s grandson would be his classmate.
“That’s not all. Because of the former Tower Master of the White Tower, the mages will also be conflicted.”
Unlike knights, mages are beings who will study abroad anytime to gain knowledge.
Unlike our nobles, many of the magic nobility in the Dale Kingdom were likely considering the Empire.
“A knight can’t spend his whole life only fighting opponents with swords.”
“That’s true.”
In that sense, the Empire was a good choice.
They said the Empire was slightly behind us in swords and Dale in magic.
But put another way, the Empire’s magic overwhelmed us, and their swords overwhelmed Dale.
No matter how much we encouraged magic, the level of mages of the same age I could meet in our country wasn't very high.
For the sake of Prince Ellen’s experience against magic, going to the Empire wasn't a bad choice.
“Um, and also.”
“Wait a second.”
I could guess the rest of the story.
And I understood why he was giving such a long-winded explanation about the Imperial study abroad.
Honestly, he could have just stopped at the part about the Sword Emperor and his grandson going there.
“I have a scheduled session with Prince Ellen this afternoon.”
“R-right.”
“So don't drag this out and just bring it out.”
“……Ugh.”
At my firm words, the Commander’s expression crumpled as he pulled a piece of paper from his breast pocket.
It was a new contract, with the business trip as a condition.
“Money speaks louder than justification.”
I lightly bumped up the first digit of the contract.
The Commander groaned and muttered under his breath.
“Hey, man, if I do this, your annual salary will be higher than mine.”
“If you’re unhappy about it, you can go yourself, Commander.”
“Can’t you lower it just a little?”
“I’m losing everything I invested here for four years. I should at least get this much.”
“It’s real estate! Land prices in the capital only go up, they never go down!”
“But I’m missing the chance to make them go up even more.”
After about thirty minutes of the usual back-and-forth, we finally settled on a slightly lower—but still higher than the Commander’s—annual salary.
“Adam, you’re here!”
“…”
And so, with a light heart, I allowed myself to be thrashed by the brightly smiling Prince Ellen.