Chapter 263
Chapter 263
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 263
Chapter Title: The Ogent Family's Situation (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Kuan was in the middle of a conversation with a female teacher. She was someone Reina also knew of by reputation.
Her name was Kiyora Ellis, a surgeon renowned throughout the kingdom.
Ellis specialized in nerve anastomosis, a field of surgery said to be impossible without a genius's touch.
But Reina, who had started to distrust Kaizen Sword Academy, wondered if this too was just an exaggeration.
After all, if nerve anastomosis was truly possible, why was the man standing before her, Kuan, limping?
As Kuan spoke with a cold expression, Ellis covered her mouth and laughed.
“Hahaha! So you just had a meal and left? You’re really one of a kind.”
“Quiet. Try something like this one more time, and I’ll kill you.”
Ellis patted Kuan on the back.
“Come on, it’s not worth getting that angry over. My childhood friend is growing old a virgin; of course, I had to step in. Besides, Oliphere Shina is a perfect candidate for a bride.”
Kuan recalled what had happened a few days ago.
He had gone out for what she called an important meeting, only to find it was a matchmaking session arranged by Ellis.
His date was Oliphere Shina, a mage currently attending Alpheas Magic Academy.
It was doomed from the start, as she, too, seemed to have been coerced by her family into attending.
Of course, she wasn't so ill-mannered as to betray her feelings, but wouldn't a woman's eyes sparkle differently if she were interested in a man?
“She seemed like a good person. Cultured, too.”
“Oh-ho?”
Ellis was genuinely surprised.
Kuan had never once complimented a woman before. In his youth, he had lived and breathed the sword, and after injuring his Achilles tendon, he had lost interest in everything.
For him to call someone a "good person" was the highest praise he could possibly offer.
“So that means you liked her? Then I’ll get in touch with her again and—!”
When Kuan's eyes glinted with killing intent, Ellis flinched, her shoulders shrinking in fear.
Kuan was not to be provoked when he was like this.
At the same time, Ellis felt a pang of pity for her friend.
If he really liked Shina, he should have seized the opportunity right then and there. But with his personality, Kuan would never be able to do something like that.
‘Could it be… she nitpicked about his leg?’
The Oliphere family was known for its refinement, but one could never be sure.
He’d said it was obvious she’d been pushed into coming, and besides, when it came to matters of the heart, emotions were often impossible to control.
‘So what if he has a little limp? That woman clearly has no taste in men.’
Kuan's injury was beyond even Ellis's ability to heal with nerve anastomosis. The ligament hadn't just been torn; it had been completely ripped away.
When Kuan returned from the battlefield with a crippled leg, she had wept for days on end, overwhelmed by a sense of powerlessness.
He was a talent hailed as the incarnation of the sword before he earned the moniker ‘Death’s Sorcerer.’ How devastating must it have been for such a man to lose the use of one leg?
A year later, Ellis offered Kuan a teaching position at the sword academy. And she made a vow: no matter how long it took, she would fix his leg.
Given all that, she despised the woman named Shina.
She had never seen her face and couldn't picture her, but as an authority on ice magic, she imagined the woman must have been as frosty as her craft.
Who the hell did she think she was, rejecting Kuan?
Her taste in men was utter garbage.
“Kuan, did that woman…!”
Reina cut Ellis off as she approached.
“Instructor Kuan!”
Kuan glanced Reina up and down before asking nonchalantly.
“And you are?”
“I’m Rian’s sister, Reina! We had an appointment scheduled for today.”
Kuan sipped his coffee and nodded.
“Ah, that does sound vaguely familiar.”
Reina was incredulous.
A parent had requested a meeting, and his response was that it sounded ‘vaguely familiar’?
No wonder such a dispassionate instructor couldn't see Rian's true potential and failed him.
Ellis smiled brightly and offered her a seat.
“Oh, is that right? Rian is such a kind and upstanding boy. Here, here! Please, have a seat. Would you care for some coffee? Or perhaps another tea?”
Ellis's affable demeanor helped Reina try to calm her own agitation.
If only Kuan hadn't fanned the flames of her simmering anger.
“So, what brings you here? There doesn't seem to be any particular issue with Rian. He's still simple-minded, only ever does strength training, and is still dead last, hahaha.”
As Reina's eyes filled with venom, Ellis, who had been cautiously observing the situation, discreetly excused herself.
Experience had taught her that in situations like this, the best course of action was to make a swift exit.
Reina decided to endure it just this once and presented the report card.
“Here. Take a look at this.”
“Rian’s report card, I see. The one for last place.”
“From what I hear, Rian’s performance isn’t any worse than the other students. So why is he failing? I’d like an explanation.”
Kuan said, as if it were no big deal.
“He can't use Schema, can he?”
Reina was incredulous.
“How could you possibly fail him over that? I can use Schema, too! But I'd probably lose if I fought Rian right now! Is it really right to judge a student on something so trivial?”
“If you had learned swordsmanship, Ms. Reina, you would have beaten him.”
Reina was at a loss for words.
That was the heart of the matter. A swordsman who might one day command hundreds, or even tens of thousands, of soldiers had to be able to use Schema.
“B-But still, how could you rank him last…”
Reina's eyes welled up with tears of frustration.
He was her youngest brother, the one she had practically raised herself after their mother passed away when they were young.
While his other brothers were advancing with great success, Rian remained stuck in last place.
Her heart ached just thinking about how frustrated her brother must feel.
A woman's tears may be a man's weakness, but that rule didn't seem to apply to Kuan.
“He has no talent. At this rate, he won't even be able to graduate. And even if he did, who would hire a swordsman who can't use Schema? He'd be stuck working as a bodyguard for the nouveau riche. Lately, he seems to be attempting some strange thing called 'Imagination Schema,' but from what I've seen, it's a fool's errand. He has absolutely no feel for the sword.”
Reina slammed her hands on the table and retorted.
“I've looked into it, this Imagination Schema! It may not be academically proven, but there's definitely potential. I read in a book about something called Divine Transcendence…”
“Ah, Divine Transcendence.”
Kuan cut Reina off.
What little civility he'd shown vanished, and a faint killing intent flickered in his eyes.
Divine Transcendence.
Transcending the physical body? What utter nonsense.
“Do you see my leg? I limp, don't I? My Achilles tendon was torn away. That's why I limp. The body is like a machine; it can't function if a part is missing. If Divine Transcendence were possible, I wouldn't be limping, would I? Imagination Schema is merely one of the Schema's principles that focuses on strengthening the brain. It's not some kind of magic.”
Reina had no desire to speak further. She couldn't let her brother be taught at a school like this.
“I'll begin the transfer process. I'm pulling Rian out of this academy. Please handle the paperwork now.”
“Do you think anything will change if he goes to another school?”
“I don't think that's your concern any longer, Mr. Kuan. What happens to my brother—whether he succeeds or fails—is our family's business.”
Reina declared, then turned on her heel.
The instructors who had been watching the exchange shook their heads. This was the seventh time a parent had transferred their child out of the academy after arguing with Kuan.
As Reina walked away, Kuan spoke, his words sharp.
“I believe he's worth observing a little longer.”
Reina stopped dead in her tracks.
She turned back, her expression one of surprise, to see Kuan add with a deep scowl,
“That is, if I'm being generous.”
The other instructors were bewildered.
The famously ill-tempered Kuan had never once tried to stop a student from leaving.
Reina walked back to Kuan and asked, grasping at the last straw of hope.
“Does that mean… there's still a possibility?”
Kuan scratched his head as if annoyed.
“Listen, Ms. Reina. I understand you're an exceptional musician. But swordsmanship isn't an art. It's a killing technique, purely functional. Things like 'the philosophy of the sword' are luxuries reserved for those who have reached the absolute peak. Rian certainly has no talent. But with this Imagination Schema… there might be a chance.”
“That's exactly what I was trying to say! So he *can* do it! Why did you lie to me?”
Kuan sighed.
“Imagination Schema is a matter of willpower. It can't be proven, but any swordsman who has spent enough time on the battlefield has likely experienced it at least once. I, too, believe it exists. But for that very reason, it cannot be forced upon anyone. What Rian needs is to run more and swing his sword more.”
“So you ranked him last on purpose? To make him train harder?”
“Simply put, yes.”
Reina shook her head.
“Does that make any sense to you? What about his rank? Even if he graduates, how can the lowest-ranked student ever become a commander?”
Kuan picked up Rian's report card from the table.
Next to his rank of 'dead last' were the scores he had recorded in his tests.
“What exactly is the problem here? Rian is currently demonstrating 1.8 times the physical strength of students who can use Schema. The strength in his dominant right arm, in particular, is 3.7 times greater. This is a truly unique case, one the academy is watching closely. It seems he had some sort of awakening over the break…”
Reina recalled how Rian had bragged after returning from Galliante Island.
If even Kuan was saying this, then her brother's stories must not have been mere boasts after all.
“For a swordsman, that's all that matters. Ranks don't guarantee a swordsman's life. On the battlefield, the enemy doesn't spare the top-ranked student and kill the one at the bottom.”
Reina slowly began to back down.
“B-But what if Rian loses heart because of this…”
Kuan looked at Reina as if she were pitiful.
Then again, how could someone who spends her days with musical instruments possibly understand the mind of one who wields a sword?
“Ms. Reina, if he were the kind of man to be discouraged by a mere rank, he never would have been capable of attempting Imagination Schema in the first place, nor would he have trained hard enough to reach these levels of strength. The numbers recorded here are the result of sheer effort. I don't know how well you think you know your brother, but that kid is testing the limits of human endurance every single day. He's dissecting his own body as if it belonged to someone else. You cannot possibly imagine how agonizing that is. Do you really think a man living through that kind of hell every day gives a damn about some pathetic ranking?”
Reina blinked.
He had never let it show, so she never knew. She had no idea that Rian, who had always seemed so young, was enduring such agonizing training.
Kuan handed the report card to Reina.
“Ah…”
As Reina took it, Kuan turned away and spoke.
“Take him or don't, do as you please. But you'd be wise not to fill his head with empty talk of Divine Transcendence and the like. This is the only path for that boy to make a living with his sword. Since no one can bear his pain for him, you would do best to keep your mouth shut.”
Reina looked down at the report card.
Dead last.
But next to it were the numbers Rian had achieved.
She could almost see Rian, swinging his sword until his muscles tore, just to raise his score by another tenth of a point.
Reina clutched the report card with both hands and bowed her head to Kuan.
“I ask for your continued guidance for Rian.”
Kuan didn't answer, merely furrowing his brow.
@
Leaving the instructor's office, Reina felt a sense of relief for the first time in a long while.
Until now, her heart had always felt heavy whenever she thought of her brother, but this meeting had thankfully given her a glimmer of hope.
‘That's right. If a man decides to do something, he should aim for the very top. With Divine Transcendence, he could even become a Grand Sword Master, couldn't he?’
While her heart swelled with excitement, she also remembered Kuan's advice.
She must never let on to Rian.
For someone enduring such grueling training day after day, even a simple word of encouragement could be enough to break his resolve.