Chapter 70
Chapter 70
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: Stimulation (3)
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Yuri closed the cave entrance to block out the light.
When she turned back, Yohan was sprawled across the only bed, picking his nose.
"The hospitality leaves much to be desired. What's with this? Not even offering a guest something to eat?"
He flicked his finger idly.
That carefree posture, vigorously digging in his nose while dangling his legs.
It had been so long since she'd seen it that Yuri sighed.
'...I must've lost my mind for a moment.'
Of all people, getting excited to see this old geezer with his personality in the gutter.
Shaking her head in disgust, Yuri sat down in front of Yohan.
"You sure knew where to find me, didn't you?"
"Like hiding from me would do you any good. You think I can't find one punk on this snot-sized island? So, about that food?"
"Doesn't seem like a snot-sized island to me."
"Hmph. My boogers have always been on the bigger side. Bring out some food already?"
As he spoke, Yohan flicked the finger he'd been digging with.
And sure enough, a massive booger flew off.
Seeing it stick to the cave wall, Yuri grimaced.
"Ugh, that's disgusting for real! And quit nagging about food! I just got here yesterday! You think I'd have anything to eat?"
"If there's no food, at least give me some water to wet my throat."
"Don't have that either."
"Sheesh, what kind of dump is this place? Nothing at all?"
"......"
"Tsk tsk. Look at the state of this hovel."
"......"
Yuri pondered seriously.
Whether to finally sock this old geezer one after all this time.
As she mulled it over, Yohan eyed her up as well.
'You've grown.'
It had been just over a month since he'd parted from Yuri.
And in that month, Yuri had grown quickly on her own, just as he'd predicted.
'Must've picked up something good somewhere. Her mana has increased substantially.'
But the biggest change was the confidence shining in Yuri's eyes.
'Something must've happened.'
He lay on his side, looking at her, and said,
"Tsk, fine, forget the food. Spill it—what've you been up to this past month?"
"What happened in the Cradle? ...Is it okay to just blab about it? I even signed a nondisclosure agreement."
"Who'd think you actually stick to that kind of thing?"
"What's that supposed to mean? To someone as kind and pure-hearted as me!"
"You're full of shit. And you signed it, not me. If you get caught, it's only you who bites the dust."
"...If I get nabbed by the Black Sword Corps, I'll definitely rat you out too."
"Do what you gotta do. You think I haven't tangled with those bastards a time or two? Unless the Sword Lord steps in himself, no one's catching me if I run."
"...Mind taking me with you if you bolt?"
"Depends on how you act. So, you gonna talk or not?"
"Tch."
Yuri pouted.
She grumbled, but she'd planned to tell Yohan everything anyway.
'As long as I don't blab about it outside the Cradle, right?'
She rationalized it that way—since they were inside the Cradle—and opened her mouth.
"Alright, so, here's the thing..."
With that opener, Yuri began her tale lightly, starting with the Forest of Beginnings and the Dragon Scale Splitter.
Yohan's lips twitched upward as he listened.
"Keh, music to my ears after so long! The Forest of Beginnings and Dragon Scale Splitter..."
"Huh? You had those back in your day too, old man?"
"Of course! The first cohort bastards tormented us without ever facing it themselves. Even after half a century, those memories are fresh as hell! First cohort assholes!"
"You got done in by the first cohort too?"
"Me? Get done? You kidding?"
"That's why I asked—figured you didn't."
"Damn right I didn't! I wrecked the first cohort punks who crossed me! It was just that my同期 buddies back then suffered, so I vented their anger instead..."
"You don't have friends, old man."
"......"
"......"
Silence hung between them for a moment.
Yohan asked in a small voice,
"...Do you?"
"......"
The silence stretched a bit longer.
Yuri broke the bitter quiet by speaking again.
"Old man... I saw the Sword Lord."
"What?!"
So startled that Yohan—who hadn't budged once until now—bolted upright.
"Where?"
"In the Hundred Steps Ritual."
"Hundred Steps Ritual? What's that?"
"Wasn't around in your time, huh?"
"First I've heard of it. Explain."
Urged on by his tone, Yuri unpacked her story.
What the Hundred Steps Ritual was.
What she'd done there.
Yohan grumbled dully upon hearing it.
"Fifteen steps? That's it?"
"...Sorry for only managing a measly fifteen steps, sir."
"Nah, if you wanna nitpick, it was ten steps. Without any Demonic Style, all on your own power."
"...Keep hitting me with those gut punches, and I won't wanna talk anymore."
Yohan chuckled at Yuri's pout.
Then he asked in a grave voice.
"So, what was it like meeting the Sword Lord you'd only heard about?"
"......"
Yuri fell silent at the question.
After a brief pause, she answered earnestly.
"He was strong. Terrifyingly so."
"Kehehehehe."
Yohan barked a rough laugh at her reply.
A sharp remark followed from him.
"So, you giving up? Weren't you gonna topple the strongest guy in the world and take his spot? Seeing the Sword Lord up close made you think you can't do it?"
"Well."
"Scared?"
"Back when I was clueless, yeah, I saw that massive mountain called the Sword Lord from afar and thought it looked doable. And arriving at the base, shocked by the unseen peak? That's true too."
"And?"
"But... still, don't I gotta climb it first? I'll figure out how to conquer that giant peak called the Sword Lord step by step."
"That's why you asked for that reward? To join that Hundred Steps thing every year?"
"A chance to challenge the Sword Lord four more times without risking my life. And through him, check how much I've grown each year. I figured that's the best reward the Cradle could offer."
Her voice rang with sincerity.
Yohan also sensed the unquenched fire in Yuri's golden eyes.
'Not broken.'
If the Sword Lord had crushed her will, she never would've thought of joining the ritual yearly.
'Good enough' nearly slipped out, but Yohan swallowed it back.
Instead, he tossed out a snide comment.
"Little brat, acting all cool. You think what you saw was the whole Sword Lord?"
Yuri blinked, puzzled.
For this plucky kid whose will hadn't broken even after facing the Sword Lord firsthand—what he could do for her was cushion the shock she'd face later by sharing his own experience.
That's what Yohan thought.
"Tsk tsk tsk. That Hundred Steps Ritual or whatever must've been going on for quite a while, right? At least a decade, maybe decades."
"Probably."
"Then the Sword Lord you faced that day was from at least a decade ago, or decades if it's been longer."
"...What do you mean?"
"The Sword Lord... that monster's more rigid and conservative than you think. If he started that Hundred Steps Ritual decades ago, the one you just faced would've been calibrated exactly to that era's level. That way, it serves as a proper gauge for the newbies' standards."
"......?!"
Yuri's pupils shook.
She asked in a slightly trembling voice,
"So... the Sword Lord back then was at his level from decades ago?"
The image of the Sword Lord painting the sky blood-red flashed in Yuri's mind.
'If that's his level from decades ago...?'
Just how far had the current Sword Lord gone?
Yohan clicked his tongue at stunned Yuri.
"What're you so shocked about? You thought the Sword Lord was only that strong?"
"Didn't feel like 'only' at all..."
"It is. Even decades ago, he was already a completed monster. That monster didn't age and die—he's been honing his power for decades. What do you think that makes him now?"
"......"
"That's why I created the Demonic Style. No normal method can take down that old monster."
"...Instead of nurturing a budding sprout, you're stomping it flat. You rotten old man."
"Kehe, just so you know. Never judge the old monster I'm after—and that you'll face someday—with ordinary common sense."
"......"
Yuri didn't reply to Yohan's warning.
Instead, she etched it deep into her heart.
So deep it could never be erased.
Meanwhile, Yohan tossed out a casual line.
"You did well."
"Huh?"
Yuri blinked in surprise.
There sat Yohan, smiling.
"Not using the Demonic Style much in the Hundred Steps Ritual, testing your own limits fully. And securing that annual challenge against the Sword Lord as your reward."
"Eh?"
"Excellent judgment."
"Huh?"
Yuri sat dazed amid the praise.
Soon, sorrow clouded her face.
"Old man... you feeling okay? Somewhere hurt bad?"
"......?"
"Or are you dying soon? Why do something you never do?"
"......"
"If that's it, make sure your will leaves your inheritance to me..."
Smack!
"Kyak!"
Finally socked, Yuri clutched her head and rolled on the floor.
Yohan tsked at the pathetic sight.
"Tsk, what was I thinking trusting a punk like this with my life's masterpiece, the Demonic Style? When the hell are you gonna complete it like this!"
"I'm working hard too!"
"Hard my ass. How long you been in the Cradle, and you're already fooling around with romance!"
"Romance? Me? When?"
"I saw you carrying some girl in your arms earlier."
"...Just how long have you been here?"
How long had he been lurking to see all that?
Yuri glared at Yohan, forehead in hand, incredulous.
In that moment, she recalled the white spear's trajectory defying the Demonic Style yesterday.
"Old man, ever hear of a spear art called Drunken Star?"
"Drunken Star? If it's the Drunken Star spear art... you mean the one from the Winchester family?"
"Huh? Yeah? The user had the surname Winchester. It's famous?"
Yohan shot her a pitiful look at the question.
"You never heard of Briwell's Winchesters?"
"Oh? Fancy family, huh?"
"Fancy? They're the top house in Briwell Administrative District. And what's really famous is..."
"......?"
"That they're a pack of lunatics from a mad family obsessed with the insane idea of piercing the heavens with a single spear."
"Pfft, people leap through the skies these days—who cares about piercing 'em."
"You little shit. I teach you something good, and you dare compare Redner family's ultimate art to some spear-jabbing hack's trash technique!"
"I'll tell him that exact thing if he wakes up. Some guy named Yohan Redner badmouthed your family's art. Called it spear-jabbing trash."
"Do it. I'll win anyway if we fight."
"Wow, straight-up thug."
"You little... Wait, does that mean the girl you were carrying earlier was from the Winchester family?"
"Wasn't carrying, just piggybacking, okay? Anyway, yeah, she's a Winchester."
"If it's a Winchester kid the right age to enter the Cradle now... it'd have to be that one girl. Te... Te... what was it."
"Teresa Winchester."
"Yeah, that kid!"
"You know her?"
"Heard the gist. Her aunt—her mom's sister—came to consult me a few times."
"Consult? About what?"
"You don't know?"
"What?"
"If you two were hugging that close, she'd have told you."
"What bullshit! Hugging my ass! We just traded a few spear and sword swings, that's it!"
Yohan eyed the denying Yuri suspiciously.
"Deny it if you want, no need to get pissy."
"You...!"
Yuri trembled with clenched fists, calming herself before asking.
"So, what did her aunt consult you about?"
"Tsk, dense as hell. You think I'd bring it up for no reason? Obviously, it was about that Te... whatever kid."
"What was it?"
"Hmm..."
He stroked his chin as if pondering briefly, then spoke.
"Well, it's already common gossip, so no big secret. Still, don't let it slip in front of the kid."
"Okay, already. So what is it?"
"Teresa—that kid—was pretty infamous in Briwell Administrative District. As the Winchester family's freak."
"...What?"
"Her aunt consulted me about that. How to rid her niece of that cursed fate."
Yuri's eyes widened at the unimaginable story.