Chapter 130
Chapter 130
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 130
Chapter Title: A New Junior Brother
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When I went to the dining hall, a truly welcome face was there.
The person with reddish-brown hair, a distinctive monocle, and an immaculate attire that looked as if it had never seen a speck of dust was Arjan.
“Master.”
So she calls me Master now, too.
Her expression was still blank, but perhaps it was my imagination, her complexion seemed a little brighter.
“My apologies for the late return. The handover took longer than expected…”
“No, it’s fine. It’s good to see you after so long.”
Arjan had been the one managing the frontier mansion where I stayed.
It wasn't a small estate, and given Arjan's meticulous nature, she must have handled the handover with thorough precision.
That put my mind at ease.
“How is Mother?”
“She is well, of course.”
Arjan replied, then spoke in a slightly elevated tone.
“I have been briefed on the general situation. I heard you achieved outstanding results at the training retreat. The Madam will surely be pleased.”
“Thank you.”
I stared blankly at Arjan.
Arjan looked slightly flustered as she asked.
“Is there something you wish to say…?”
“Arjan, you’ve made a contract with a divine beast, haven’t you?”
“Pardon? Ah, yes, I have.”
Just as I thought.
Her explosive movements in the Jewel Mountains were the power of a divine beast.
“What kind of divine beast did you contract with?”
“A green deer.”
“What stage?”
“Ascension.”
“Oho…”
Ascension is the third stage.
Even if I were to reach the Borrowed Power stage instantly through Lise’s trick, that meant she was at a higher level than me.
In other words, when it came to divine beast contracts, Arjan was far my senior.
I smiled brightly at Arjan.
“This is sudden, but I’m planning to go to the academy soon. Could I ask you to be my aide?”
* * *
The next day.
I woke at dawn for the first time in a while, likely because I had nothing to do yesterday and went to bed early.
I looked at the faint moonlight settling on the window.
‘Around three or four in the morning, I guess.’
The sun wasn't up yet, so it was an awkward time to circulate my energy, and since I had slept soundly, I couldn't fall back asleep.
So, I left the Socheoldang Hall alone to get some fresh morning air for a change.
I loosened up with some simple stretches, thinking I might jog a lap around the main house while reminiscing about the training retreat, but…
There was already someone in the empty dawn training grounds.
For a moment, I recalled my encounter with Mir during the retreat, but the person here today was rather unexpected.
Karron Woodjack.
‘Is that guy still at the main house?’
Unexpected.
The only ones still remaining at the Bednicker estate were those hoping to go to the academy…
And no matter how I looked at it, Karron and the academy didn't seem to fit.
“Hap!”
Anyway, what was this guy doing at dawn?
Exercising under the moonlight?
I stopped jogging for a moment and observed Karron.
He was holding daggers in both hands, but… it didn’t look like voluntary training or martial arts practice.
He just seemed to be flailing his body around.
After swinging his daggers for a long while, Karron spat out a curse irritably.
“…Damn it!”
Karron was panting when he finally seemed to notice my presence and whipped his head around to look at me.
“You…”
“You’re working hard, even at dawn.”
Karron looked at me and…
As if he’d suddenly lost his mind, he gritted his teeth and charged at me.
The daggers, touched by moonlight, glinted coldly.
I didn't know what he was thinking, but since I had time on my hands, I decided to play along.
I waited until Karron got close, and just as he entered my range, I closed the distance even further.
“…!”
Karron hastily stopped his movement upon seeing me right in front of him, but in that instant, I struck his right wrist.
With a sharp crack, one of his daggers fell to the ground.
His body, stiff with pain, was full of openings. I immediately grabbed his left arm and slammed him into the ground.
Thud!
I sat on the back of Karron, who was now sprawled on the ground.
“Guh…”
“Did you eat something bad?”
“…”
Karron said nothing, his chin pressed into the dirt floor.
I could see his lips moving slightly, and after a moment, his voice came out.
“How can I…”
“Huh?”
“How can I become as strong as you?”
“…”
Now this is new.
No one has ever asked me something like this before.
Feeling a bit awkward, I scratched my cheek.
“There’s no need to be hasty. I was much weaker when I was your age.”
“How old are you?”
“Fifteen… no, sixteen now.”
“I’m eighteen.”
Karron said in a bewildered voice, but I felt just as awkward.
‘I can’t exactly tell him what a pathetic loser the eighteen-year-old Ruan Bednicker was in the past…’
How frustrating.
Time to change the subject.
“Did something happen?”
At that, Karron mumbled, his tone tinged with resignation.
“…After the training retreat, I sparred with Hector Bednicker continuously. Forty-five times in total.”
Karron said with a grim face.
“And I lost every single time.”
“…”
“Today, he refused my request to spar. So I asked him. ‘Are you refusing to fight me now that you can beat me?’ And he said…”
* * *
“…Enough, Karron Woodjack.”
Hector said in a growling voice.
“I commend your spirit for continuing to challenge me without being discouraged by defeat. But despite so many spars, I see no signs of improvement in you.”
“…”
“Most of the cadets who participated in this retreat are still weaker than you. And as you once said, I’m probably inferior to you in areas other than dueling or swordsmanship. But we have all grown. Even someone like Hans Vander has grown explosively compared to before the retreat.”
Hector glared at Karron and said.
“Before the retreat, and after… the only one who hasn’t changed is you, Karron Woodjack. In fact, I’d like to ask you.”
“…”
“What exactly was the Bednicker training retreat to you?”
For the first time in a long while, Karron was at a loss for words.
* * *
I inwardly admired Hector’s sharp rebuke. Every word of it was true.
And looking at the dejected Karron, I asked.
“Do you want to beat Hector?”
“Yes.”
“And you’re asking me, someone with Bednicker blood, for the way to do it?”
“…Yes.”
“Hmm.”
I chuckled and said.
“I like that.”
“…”
“You’re probably more talented than Hector. But my brother grew far more explosively than you during this retreat. Why do you think that is?”
“…I don’t know.”
“I don’t know either.”
I could feel Karron exhale in disbelief.
“You lost because you don’t know.”
“What does that…”
“If you asked Hector the same thing, you’d get a clear answer. Because my brother knows how to get stronger.”
“…”
“It’s still unrefined, but… he’s established his own martial philosophy.”
Karron shut his mouth.
Then he spoke in a slightly urgent tone.
“Then teach me that martial philosophy as well.”
“What a stupid thing to say. How can I teach you a martial philosophy? Everyone’s values are completely different.”
“…”
Karron didn't seem to understand.
He wasn't a stupid guy, but at times like this, he showed a side that was disconnected from common sense.
I looked down at the back of Karron’s head.
I had felt this same sense of unease a few times before.
“Was it your father who taught you?”
“…”
“He wasn’t a good teacher.”
I felt Karron squirm.
“My father… was an excellent teacher…!”
“Go on.”
“He always taught me the optimal way…! How to become strong, how to survive, even the purpose of my life…! It’s thanks to him that I’m standing here today, alive!”
“In other words, he just gave you the answers without even giving you a chance to think. You idiot, how is that a good teacher? If nothing else, he should have let his disciple find his own purpose.”
“What…?”
“I’ve never met Hyde Woodjack, but I can tell what purpose he taught you for. You’re not a disciple; you’re a substitute.”
I said, patting the back of Karron’s head.
Grind.
Karron gritted his teeth and twisted his body, trying to get up, but it was no use.
I snorted and put more weight on my backside.
“Kngh…”
“…”
And I realized I was more angry than I thought.
Everyone has different things that make them angry.
Some people get particularly furious at parents who don’t act like parents, while others get incensed at children who take advantage of their elderly parents.
It’s like martial philosophy.
Because everyone has lived a different life, the things that anger them are also different.
And for a person like me, this was the kind of situation that infuriated me the most.
When I saw a teacher who wasn't worthy of the title.
“…If a so-called teacher forced a destination upon you that you neither wanted nor desired, that’s not teaching, it’s indoctrination. You’ve been taught all wrong. Even struggling because you don’t know the answer is part of the process, but look at you now. Faced with the first time you’ve wandered in life, you’re acting like a lost kid, unable to do anything.”
I let out a long sigh and said.
“If all they do is give you the right answers, what’s the difference between a teacher and an answer key?”
Someone who has lived their whole life without a map might not know where they are or where to go, but they’ll start walking anyway.
On the other hand, someone who has always known the way ends up like this when they lose their map once. They just sit down on the spot and cry.
It’s because their perspective is narrow.
But with a broader perspective, you can guess the time by looking at the rising sun and know your direction from the position of the stars.
Everything you see becomes a map.
Karron probably knows this better than anyone.
That’s why this guy is a pitiful one.
He was an expert in hunting and survival, but he didn't know how to apply that to his life.
That’s why he’d come out to the training grounds at the crack of dawn when everyone else was asleep, mindlessly and crudely pushing his body without any real purpose.
He probably felt like he would go crazy if he didn't at least do that.
“Are you going to keep being like this?”
“…”
“At every moment of your life, every time you’re lost, are you going to run to your father and whine for him to give you the answer? Sooner or later, a time will come in your life when you have to stand on your own.”
“Then what am I supposed to do…!”
Karron’s voice was still rough, but he cried out in a somewhat sorrowful tone.
“I… I only know how to live like this…!”
A sigh escaped me.
During the retreat, there were times when this guy was particularly aggressive towards Evan.
What was it he said?
Something about how if he insisted on Raven, he wouldn’t make it into the top three?
It was surprising that a guy who was fundamentally indifferent to others would say something like that to Evan, whose performance wasn’t even that great at the time…
But now that I’ve gotten to know him a little better, I understand why.
Karron was envious of Evan.
Because Evan would say it like a mantra—while eating, resting, and before sleeping.
How much he respected his father.
‘…What should I do?’
Just ignoring him and walking away would be more my style.
After all, I never particularly liked the guy named Karron during the retreat.
But after talking with him a bit, I realized he was just as pitiful as my past self.
In any case, one thing was clear.
Karron’s father, Hyde, did not see him as a son.
I got up.
Karron, who had been pinned down, also scrambled to his feet and became wary of me again.
He looked just like a cautious stray dog.
“Karron.”
“…What.”
“You said you wanted to know how to get stronger.”
“…Yes.”
“Then I guess I have no choice but to teach you how I got stronger.”
I clenched my fists and approached Karron.
Karron flinched and took a step back.
“If-if it involves getting slapped, I’ve had enou—”
“No. Actually, my Master didn’t slap me much.”
Fwoosh—.
Flames flickered around my fist.
“As it happens, I have nothing to do for the next two days. So… I’ll thoroughly break you in with the mindset that a new junior martial brother has joined my ranks.”
Karron’s face turned pale.
* * *
Two days flew by in a flash.
I don’t know about anyone else, but it certainly felt that way for me.
Monday morning.
Just after sunrise, the cadets finally boarded the carriage bound for the capital.
“This is a carriage…?”
“It’s like… a mansion…”
Seeing the ridiculously large carriage, the country bumpkins… that is, Evan and Karis, couldn’t hide their astonishment.
To be honest, I was surprised too.
Calling it a mansion was an exaggeration, but it was about the size of a decent house, and the horses pulling it were twice as large as normal ones.
“At this rate, we’ll get to the capital in no time.”
“It’ll still take about a week, though.”
Of course, long-distance travel is full of variables.
The biggest variable was the weather; if we ran into heavy rain, a delay of three or four days would be nothing.
“I think I could live in this carriage for the rest of my life…”
“I agree.”
Anyway, the carriage interior was spacious.
It was large enough to comfortably accommodate not just ten, but twenty people. Since only our group of cadets was inside, a moderately lively atmosphere formed.
Of course, the fact that the ones who liked to act serious were in a different compartment also helped.
People like Hector and Seren.
“There are so many places I want to go when we get to the capital.”
Karis said in an excited voice.
“The swordsmanship dojos, the magic tower, the historical museum of the 7 races and 21 heroes, various art galleries, and even performances that are only held in the capital… Hah.”
“There’s also the empire’s largest publishing house! My dream, the [Empire Journal]! Plus, they have something called a train in the capital, and I heard you can get from the north of the city to the south in just an hour if you ride it!”
Karis and Palm were especially excited.
Among the cadets, these two seemed to have a particular romanticized view of the capital.
“By the way, Ruan, why are you here instead of with your brother and your fiancée?”
“Ex-fiancée. And it’s too boring over there.”
Hector isn’t exactly the most suitable conversation partner.
We were alone in the carriage on the way to the retreat, and I ended up dozing off because we had nothing to talk about.
Seren is a bit better, but she’s also careful with her words and actions in front of others, so there’s no fun in teasing her.
“That’s right. Brother said he is more comfortable here.”
“…”
When the deep voice defended me, not just Karis who had asked the question, but all the cadets present shot me a strange look.
Receiving all those gazes without a hint of concern…
“What are you all looking at? Do you have a problem with my brother?”
Karron Woodjack said sullenly.