Chapter 131
Chapter 131
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 131
Chapter Title: The Goodsprings' Challenge
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I smacked Karon on the back of the head.
“Oof!”
Karon fell forward and then said.
“Why did you suddenly hit me…?”
“Just because.”
“Just because… Ah, no. This must have some hidden meaning. Let me ponder it for a moment…”
I shook my head.
Had I beaten him up too badly two days ago? It seemed he’d gone a bit crazy.
Ignoring the bewildered stares from the other young masters, I recalled the events of the past two days.
Truthfully, there wasn't much to recall.
All I did was teach, advise, and beat him up.
To be honest.
I don't enjoy teaching others, nor do I think I have a talent for it.
The mere thought of myself lecturing or advising someone makes my face flush.
I know that teaching isn't some grand affair, but I also understand the weight that words carry.
Just as Mir Giant ultimately died after I comforted him, there's no guarantee that well-intentioned words will lead to a good outcome.
However…
Does that mean encouraging and cheering for others is wrong?
If I were afraid of my words influencing others, I’d have to live my whole life as a mute.
I’m a selfish bastard, and I didn't have the confidence to do that either.
So, I decided to approach everything with a moderate attitude.
I treated Karon with that same moderate attitude.
I taught him moderately, advised him moderately, and… well, I beat him up a bit more than moderately.
And it seemed that, in his own way, he had some kind of realization.
‘Wait a minute…’
Come to think of it, I ended up calling Baek Rogwang, the man who thrashed me, my master…
So, is it really that strange for Karon, who got beaten by me all day, to start calling me his big brother?
‘As expected of my master…’
Today, too, I felt I had discovered something new from the teachings of my great master, Baek Rogwang.
* * *
Just as the Empire has no name, neither does the Capital.
Since it's the only city on the continent that can be called a capital, people just call it the Capital.
The ten spots for the journey to the Capital were completely filled.
To list the members now…
First, there were the top three: Karon, Hector, and myself.
Then there were Evan, Charles, and Mir, who were in my group before my regression.
Also included were Pam and Karis, who had been singing about wanting to go to the Capital all along.
The rest were Seren, who seemed to have some ulterior motive, and the final member, Zeros Silver, Karon's friend and the heir to a great merchant family.
It struck me that, surprisingly, many of them had a connection to me, but looking at the present, that wasn't really the case.
After my regression, I hadn't had any deep conversations with Charles or Mir, and the same went for Hector and Seren.
So my conversation partners were mainly Evan, Karis, Pam, and even Karon.
In fact, they were the most talkative ones in the carriage.
Only two days after the journey began.
“Shouldn't some bandits be showing up soon?”
As always, Karis spouted some nonsense.
“Bandits? What bandits?”
“Don't you read novels? We're strong enough now. We've worked our asses off, so now's the time in the story where we beat up some suitable opponents to confirm our strength.”
Karis said in a vigorous voice.
“And for that, bandits are the perfect opponents. It was like that in the novels too.”
“What kind of novel have you been reading?”
“*The Knight Who Returned After 10 Years*.”
“…Sounds riveting.”
Pam sneered, and Evan shot back in a pathetic tone.
“Like bandits would dare attack a carriage with the Bednicker crest.”
That was true.
We hadn't even completely left Bednicker territory yet.
Besides.
“Are there even any bandits around here?”
“There are always bandits.”
It was Zeros who responded to my musing.
Perhaps because Karon had started following me.
This guy had also started talking to me a lot more over the past two days.
Frankly, I was looking for a way to invest the large sum of 5,000 gold, so having a good relationship with the heir of a great merchant family wasn't a bad thing.
“Still, the Empire's situation isn't bad recently, so we probably won't be attacked.”
“Ah.”
I understood Zeros's words easily, but Mir tilted his head.
“What do the Empire's affairs have to do with bandits?”
Surprisingly, Zeros calmly explained it to Mir.
“Usually, when a country is in turmoil and many are starving, ordinary people become plunderers. Such people lack discretion, meaning they attack without picking their targets.”
“Uh, umm…”
“On the other hand, those who engage in thievery during stable times like these are more professional. They don't mess with opponents who seem like they'll be trouble. If they didn't have that much sense, they would have all been subjugated long ago.”
“…I understand.”
Mir nodded, though his face showed no sign of understanding.
In any case, what I realized during our carriage journey was that the ten who remained at the main house had grown somewhat close.
Of course, they had their own cliques, but they were at least on a first-name basis and could chat with those from other groups.
I suspected the reason for this was the unspoken improvement in Hector and Karon's relationship.
Once the two leaders stopped feeling awkward around each other, the others must have found it easier to open up.
‘Is Seren the only one left out now?’
There was a small window between the carriage compartments, and through it, I could see a glimpse of Seren.
“……”
Seren was leaning diagonally against the backrest, gazing out the window.
She was a strange one.
She barely spoke more than a word or two a day, yet she never looked lonely. That in itself must be a talent.
Though she sometimes muttered to herself.
‘The Forgotten God.’
If nothing had changed, Seren would have made contact with the Forgotten God at the altar.
The power of the northern blizzard that had annihilated demons and driven out the Demon King.
*Rumble…!*
It was at that moment.
The carriage came to a sudden halt.
Of course, being such a large carriage, no one lost their balance, but Mir, who happened to be drinking water, ended up giving himself an impromptu face wash.
“Pfft!”
“W-What was that?”
Amidst the startled young masters, Karis shot up and muttered like a madman.
“B-Bandits…!”
“What?”
“At last, the grand debut of this hero, Karis, as a true champion—.”
“Sit down, you lunatic.”
After calming Karis down, I poked my head into the driver's box.
Were they really bandits?
“What is it? What's going on?”
The man who seemed to be the driver spoke in a troubled voice.
“Well…”
But his eyes weren't looking forward; they darted back.
It looked like he was looking at one of the young masters… I soon realized the driver's gaze was on Seren.
I looked forward again.
And I understood both the meaning of the driver's gaze and the reason the carriage had stopped at the same time.
A large carriage was blocking the rather wide slope.
In contrast to the dark Bednicker carriage, this one was white, and all the horses pulling it were white as well.
And…
The crest of a daisy was emblazoned on the carriage.
It was a crest even I, someone with little interest in the ways of the world, recognized.
The crest of the Goodsprings.
“……”
Glancing back, I saw Seren's expression had hardened slightly.
The carriage was quite large, and as I watched, its door opened and people began to pour out.
The common trait of those who disembarked was that they were around our age…
“Ah, could it be…”
Pam, who had approached me at some point, peeked out.
“You know what's going on?”
“Yeah… I think they might be the young masters who finished their Proof Ceremony.”
“What's a Proof Ceremony?”
“Basically… the Goodspring version of the Bednicker's training retreat?”
“They have something like that?”
“They do.”
The one who answered the last question wasn't Pam.
Seren, having crossed over from the other compartment, walked past me.
Pam flinched at her face, which was twice as cold as usual, and her voice, three times as frigid.
“Then why are they suddenly blocking the road?”
“Who knows. Maybe because they're Goodsprings.”
Seren’s gaze, which had been oddly responsive, changed slightly. It was the moment she identified the face of the last person to exit the carriage.
“Wow…”
Pam let out an unconscious gasp.
That's how handsome the man was.
He had an air of dignity and formality about him, and he looked to be two or three years older than Hector.
In other words, a grown man.
‘He looks like a smug bastard.’
His dazzlingly bright blond hair, in particular, was one of the things I disliked.
Guys who looked like that were usually as greasy as butter.
A prejudice, but still.
“Excuse me. Young masters of Bednicker, I am Bater Goodspring.”
“Wow… his name really is Butter.”
“It's Bater, not Butter.”
Seren looked at me with a weary expression, then let out a deep sigh and added.
“…My eldest brother, Bater Goodspring.”
“Ah.”
So he was the eldest son of the Goodspring family?
I looked at Bater with a slightly peculiar gaze.
Bater smiled a smile that somehow reminded me of Juan and spoke.
“Pardon me, but who is your group's leader?”
“A-A leader…?”
It was no wonder Pam was flustered.
We didn't exactly have a leader.
The party heading to the academy this time consisted of just ten young masters, a driver, a guide, and a few servants to prepare meals.
It wasn't that they were being harsh; it was because we had earned their recognition.
The moment the training retreat ended, we were deemed capable of standing on our own anywhere.
Indeed, since these were the same people who had survived for a week in the Butterfly Forest, the journey wasn't particularly difficult.
“W-Who should step up?”
“How about Karis? He looks the oldest.”
“If we go by grades, isn't it Karon?”
As I said that and looked at Karon, he shook his head.
“I cannot act as the leader when you are here, Brother.”
Give me a break.
Left with no choice, I sighed and looked at Hector with the eyes of the youngest brother.
“……”
Hector stood up with a look on his face like he'd just bitten into a bug.
“As expected, Brother. I knew I could count on you.”
“…Right.”
Hector walked past me with a look of resignation and stood before Bater.
“…It has been a while, Lord Bater.”
“Ah—Lord Hector. It has been a long time.”
Judging by their tone, they knew each other.
It wasn't strange.
While Hector consistently focused on his training, he also paid great attention to managing his connections.
It was an unusual path for someone of Bednicker blood, but given the immense power our family possessed, forming relationships wouldn't have been difficult for him.
‘Come to think of it, he had quite a few ties to the imperial family too, that one.’
My second brother was a multi-talented man in many ways.
“By the way, what's with the 'Lord'? Is your brother a knight?”
“He's the captain of the Goodspring's Chrysanthemum Knights.”
“He must be pretty strong, then.”
“…Do you really not know? He fought to a draw against Hiro Bednicker in the martial arts tournament two years ago.”
“Oh.”
That was a little surprising.
Hiro Bednicker was already an accomplished individual, active as a current hero.
Indeed, the Hiro and Nero I had seen were on a completely different level from Hector.
That meant this Bater fellow was several notches above Hector in skill.
Hector spoke with a slightly uncomfortable expression.
“So, what is the matter?”
“It is nothing of consequence. It seems you are also headed for Cartel Academy. It will be a long journey, so I thought it would be fun to travel together.”
At those words, I muttered again.
“You too?”
“From the way he's talking… it seems the Goodspring young masters who finished their Proof Ceremony are also going to the academy.”
“Ah. Was it always like this?”
“No… At least, this is the first I'm hearing of it.”
Pam glanced at Seren, who for some reason looked angry.
Bater smiled brightly and said.
“We can complement each other's weaknesses. What do you say?”
“We appreciate the kind offer, but we are fine.”
“Hmm. Is that so.”
Bater chuckled and said.
“You have a little troublemaker from our family with you, don't you?”
“We do.”
“Although she has gone through the Bednicker's training, Seren is one of our own, so I will be taking her with us now.”
“Do as you please.”
Hector said, then added.
“Provided, of course, that you confirm Young Lady Seren's intentions first.”
“……”
At that, Bater smiled slightly and said.
“Nabi.”
Was that someone's name?
Unusual. It sounded familiar, though.
At that moment, a boy about my age stepped out from among the Goodspring young masters.
He had a hazy, expressionless face.
He was staring blankly into the air, his gaze unfocused.
But was it just my imagination?
Seren, who hadn't reacted much even when seeing Bater, seemed to flinch slightly at the appearance of this boy named Nabi.
“This child is the youngest of our family.”
A small commotion arose from behind me.
“The prodigy of the Goodsprings…!”
“If that's Nabi Goodspring, he's the one called the future of the Goodspring family.”
“I heard he swept through various martial arts tournaments without even receiving a Blessing…”
“I also heard a rumor that he's the next family head.”
A small stir erupted from behind.
The word "prodigy" also jogged my memory.
Nabi Goodspring.
That kid was also a future hero, one who would gain even greater fame than Seren.
‘Still, Nabi…’
Bater Goodspring, Nabi Goodspring… It made one question the family head's naming sense. It was a wonder Seren's name was so normal. Could it be that her real name was something ridiculous too?
While I was lost in such useless thoughts, Bater spoke.
“Lord Hector, since we have met here today by fate, would you be willing to give our family's lacking youngest a lesson?”
“Here? Are you serious?”
Bater deflected Hector's sharp tone with a gentle laugh.
“Don't be so stern. Just think of it as a light spar.”
“……”
Was it really a light spar?
Hector was no fool.
He must have guessed the underlying meaning of this spar.
That is… the outcome of this match would determine which family's system, the training retreat or the Proof Ceremony, was superior.
Then, the boy named Nabi spoke.
“Hector Bednicker, the genius of the Bednickers.”
His voice was younger and weaker than I expected.
“You alone are not enough.”
While Hector frowned, Nabi's hazy gaze swept over us.
“The three strongest young masters from your side. You can attack together, or one after another. If you win even once, I'll consider it your victory.”
“……”
The surroundings fell silent in an instant.