Chapter 55: Mars
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 55: Mars
I had been steadily sending Mars 3,000 to 4,000 gold.
The idea was for him to go to the city and learn some skills, to spend his time training instead of earning a living doing odd jobs around the village.
Now, it was time to see if he was worth the money I’d sent him.
“You are not to reveal that I’m the Hero inside the village.”
I warned my party members before we entered.
Mars only knew me as a fairly successful adventurer. That was how we’d been able to become as close as neighborhood brothers.
But what if I suddenly revealed I was the Hero?
At first, he’d just be surprised.
But as time went on, he might start to see me as someone unapproachable, and a distance could grow between us.
That’s why I dismissed my party’s questions about why, simply adding that they were absolutely forbidden from doing so.
When I expressed my will so strongly, the three of them didn’t ask again. Only after getting their confirmation did I enter the village.
After leaving the horses at the stable, Eri spoke to me as we walked.
“Huh? Cloud, we passed the inn.”
“Ah, you guys go on ahead to the inn and rest. There’s someone I need to meet for a bit.”
“The Her… Sir Cloud, you have someone to meet separately? I’m curious who it is. Would it be alright if we came with you?”
“I don’t see why… not. Just make sure you stick to what I said before we entered the village.”
I led them up the hill located behind the village.
“Someone lives in a place like this?”
“Yeah.”
“There’s a perfectly good village right there, so why live in a place like this? What a weirdo.”
Eri grumbled, clearly unhappy about climbing the hill. I told her why Mars lived here.
“He’s an orphan, too. Like me.”
The three women flinched, their expressions hardening.
Eri, in particular, looked extremely flustered.
“Ah… s-sorry. I didn’t mean it like that…”
“What’s there to be so sorry about? It’s not a crime to not have parents.”
“Of course not! How could it be the kid’s fault?”
“That almost sounds like you’re saying the parents are the ones at fault.”
“H-Huh? Ah, no, that’s not what I meant…”
Seeing Eri’s panic, I let out a smirk.
“I’m kidding. Anyway, we’re here. There he is.”
I pointed to a hut at the top of the hill. In front of it, a boy was swinging a wooden sword. Unlike his clumsy form from before, his posture was now solid.
“Hey, Mars!”
The boy, who had been swinging his sword with intense focus, turned to look our way. I waved at him. His expression brightened instantly.
“Cloud!”
He set down his wooden sword and started walking toward me, only to flinch and stop in his tracks.
What the?
“Hey, this is supposed to be a touching reunion. Why’d you stop?”
“Who are those pretty ladies behind you?”
“Behind me?”
I turned around and finally understood why Mars had stopped.
With three beauties on par with Isabelle suddenly appearing, Mars, who had no immunity to women, had frozen like a statue.
“My companions.”
“Companions?”
“You know I’m a pretty successful adventurer. So…”
“Cloud, I’m very disappointed in you.”
Mars looked at me with a hint of disgust. I was so dumbfounded I was at a loss for words. As I stared blankly at him, Mars sighed and continued.
“I thought you were a man of pure love, devoted to one person… I never imagined you’d be the type to cheat with three women at once…”
“You little shit?”
“Gahk.”
Mars collapsed to the ground after taking a knee to the solar plexus. I crouched down and looked pitifully at the boy writhing in pain.
“What in the world do you take me for?”
“S-So you’re not…?”
Mars’s eyes were still full of suspicion.
I raised my fist, and he flinched, quickly correcting himself.
“Alright! I get it! You and those ladies are just simple companions!”
“Yeah. Simple companions. Nothing more, nothing less.”
“Just simple companions, and they’re all beautiful… Is that really a coincidence?”
“This little bastard just won’t quit, will he?”
“N-No! It’s just weird! One of them being a beauty is possible, but all of them? No matter how I look at it, that’s the only explanation!”
Mars argued passionately as if he’d been wronged, but to me, he just looked like an idiot.
I patted his shoulder and said placatingly.
“Mars. The continent is a lot fucking bigger than you think. Sure, in this shitty little village you live in, the only beauties are Isabelle and that pink-haired slut, but on a continental scale, beauties are a dime a dozen. There are more than enough women prettier and stronger than Isabelle to fill a whole cart!”
“A whole cart…?”
Mars’s jaw dropped in shock, then…
“N-No way! I may be a country bumpkin, but I’m not falling for a lie like that!” he shouted, as if in denial of reality.
Poor kid.
Living in a small village like this, the only beauty he’s ever known is that pink-haired slut. If he’d lived in a big city, he never would have gotten so hung up on her.
This is exactly why you need to swim in a bigger pond.
“Looks like I’ll have to give you a taste of cold, hard reality. Neria, could you come here for a second?”
I called over to Neria, who was chatting with Eri and Ophelia a short distance away.
“Neria? Cloud, did you just say Neria? The Neria?”
“Yeah, the same Neria I told you about.”
“Huh…? You’ve talked about me before?”
“What, you heard that from all the way over there?”
Even though she was walking toward us, there was still some distance between us.
“I have good hearing… But what did you say about me?”
As Neria asked seriously, Mars’s expression filled with bewilderment.
“Ah… no, it’s just…”
“Shut up and go get another wooden sword.”
I shooed him away, thinking he’d say something unnecessary if I left him be.
As Mars left to find a sword, Neria looked curious but didn’t press me for details.
A moment later, Mars returned with a wooden sword and handed it to me.
“Nope. You’re not giving it to me, you’re giving it to her.”
I pointed my index finger at Neria.
As they both tilted their heads in confusion, I said, “I told you, didn’t I? I’m going to give you a taste of cold, hard reality. Spar with Neria. You’ll realize whether I was telling the truth or not.”
“…Alright.”
Mars, looking extremely tense, handed the wooden sword to Neria. She took it, still looking puzzled.
“Cloud? What’s this about a sudden duel…?”
“I know it’s sudden, but please do it. Teach this kid how big the world is.”
I patted her shoulder as I made my request, and Neria’s eyes widened.
She smiled and said, “Alright. If that’s what this is about, you can count on me.”
“Go easy on him. His level is still pretty low.”
“Don’t worry.”
Neria nodded confidently.
I put some distance between myself and the two of them.
A heavy tension flowed between Neria and Mars as they waited for the signal.
“Begin!”
The duel started the instant I lowered my hand.
“Uraagh!”
“Hah!”
Mars’s and Neria’s wooden swords clashed.
After a few dozen exchanges, the duel ended with Neria’s obvious defeat.
…Huh?
Wait a second.
Neria, how could you lose?
“Hooo…”
Mars steadied his breathing.
Just as Cloud had said, Neria was a strong opponent.
If he had made even a single mistake, he would have been the one to lose.
‘But is someone of this level really his companion?’
She was strong, but far from being an equal to Cloud. Frankly, she was weak enough to lose to him.
‘It must be because of personal feelings…’
Mars felt a little depressed.
The reality that even Cloud, who was superior to him in so many ways, couldn’t escape his first love felt too cruel.
‘So this is the cold, hard reality he was talking about…’
Just as Mars was feeling down…
“W-Wait! One more time… Let me fight him one more time. I’ll do it properly this time…!”
Neria began to plead desperately with Cloud.
Cloud shook his head.
“Mars is tired. If you fight again now, you’ll just have the advantage.”
“Hngh…”
Seemingly at a loss for words, Neria bit her lip and lowered her head.
“I’m fine with one more round.”
At Mars’s words, Neria’s and Cloud’s gazes turned to him.
“You don’t have to push yourself. You’re tired, aren’t you?”
“My stamina isn’t so weak that I’d get tired from a single duel.”
“Oh? If you say so. Neria, get ready.”
Cloud went along with Mars’s words.
After all, a guy who did nothing but swing a sword from morning till night wasn’t likely to be tired from something like this.
Neria and Mars once again aimed their wooden swords at each other.
“…Sorry, but I’m going to be a little more serious this time.”
Neria said to Mars just before the duel began.
Mars didn’t understand what she meant.
Was she saying she wasn’t serious before?
He understood the meaning of her words the moment the duel started.
“Hah!”
“Ugh?!”
Neria’s movements were much faster than in the previous duel. Mars barely managed to block her downward strike by raising his sword. His wrist throbbed.
‘Even the force behind her sword is stronger…!’
So in the last duel, she was controlling her strength.
To be considerate of him.
The realization bruised Mars’s pride a little.
But regardless of his pride, it was clear there was a huge difference in their physical abilities.
‘She’s strong.’
It was hard to follow Neria’s movements with his eyes. He was only managing to block her attacks because he could predict her next move from the current one.
‘But… she’s not as strong as Cloud.’
Whenever he sparred with Cloud, he always got that feeling.
The feeling that no matter what he did, he could never win against this person.
He didn’t get that from Neria.
Though her speed and strength surpassed the Cloud from back then, he didn’t feel like she was an opponent he could never beat.
Mars licked his lips.
A competitive spirit began to fill his heart.
Neria’s wooden sword came down diagonally.
Mars pretended to block it, then let it slide off the flat of his blade. He could see Neria’s eyes widen in surprise. Still, Mars didn’t immediately counterattack.
Physically, he was at a great disadvantage.
He would only strike when he was certain.
[Strong Blow]
Mars deflected it with the flat of his blade.
[Cross Slash]
He deflected the first attack and blocked the second.
[Moonflower Slash]
He blocked the relatively weaker attacks and evaded the stronger ones with minimal movement.
As he continued this, he began to see the pattern in Neria’s attacks.
Once he grasped the pattern, dealing with her became much easier. After dodging the final strike of [Moonflower Slash], he immediately swung his wooden sword. His blade stopped precisely at Neria’s throat.
“…”
“…”
A heavy silence fell.
Thud. Neria’s wooden sword fell to the ground.
“No way…”
Neria stumbled backward, her face a mask of disbelief.
Cloud walked over to her.
“Good work.”
“C-Cloud, this is… I mean…”
“I know. You were holding back.”
Neria had reached level 39 after hunting in the dungeon for a long time. If she had fought seriously without holding back, Mars would have been beaten to a pulp before he could even do anything.
The reason she was so shocked was probably the fact that she had been outmatched by Mars in pure swordsmanship.
Cloud patted Neria’s shoulder, comforting her.
“Swordsmanship isn’t everything for you. You need your shield to bring out your full potential, right?”
“…Yeah.”
“Right. So don’t be too disheartened. Go talk with Eri and Ophelia for a bit.”
Cloud gently pushed Neria’s back in the direction of Eri and Ophelia. Despite his comfort, her slumped shoulders didn’t straighten.
Ignoring her, Cloud turned his attention to Mars.
“Your skills have improved a lot.”
“It’s all thanks to you. Thank you.”
Thanks to the money Cloud had consistently sent, he had been able to learn techniques at a swordsmanship guild and pour all his time into training.
Without it, even Mars wouldn’t have been able to grow this much.
Just as a pleased expression was about to form on Cloud’s face at Mars’s words…
“Honestly, I think I could even beat you now.”
The corner of Cloud’s eye twitched. He shook his head.
“Don’t. Don’t say something stupid and ask for a beating.”
“I’m serious! You saw it yourself, I beat your companion. If I can beat your companion, why can’t I beat you? At this rate, the day I start teaching you might not be far off.”
“Ha… haha…”
Cloud let out a hollow laugh at Mars’s provocation.
He picked up the wooden sword from the ground.
“Alright… shall we see just how much our dear Mars has grown?”
‘Yes!’
Mars smiled inwardly in triumph.
He was curious about how much he had grown. He’d gotten a sense of it through Neria, but he really wanted to find out through Cloud.
Of course, he couldn’t actually win, but…
He would be satisfied just being able to hold his own to some extent.
“Starting now.”
Cloud swung his sword.
‘Huh? I can see the sword’s trajectory?’
Mars gulped.
Maybe he could even beat Cloud. That hope slowly began to rise within him, and…
“Gaaah!”
The moment he took a hit, he realized it was all a delusion.
‘I saw it! I definitely saw it…!’
He could see it, but he couldn’t block it.
He tried to deflect it, but he couldn’t.
This feeling of being unable to do anything even though it was right in front of his eyes.
‘…It’s been a while.’
Mars once again felt the same powerlessness he had felt when sparring with Cloud in the past.
“Ugh! Ack! Aaargh!”
While getting his ass kicked.
“I surrender! Surrender!!”
“Monsters don’t accept surrenders.”
“What are you talking about?! You’re—ack!—a person, not a monster!”
“A human consumed by rage is no different from a monster. Therefore, I am a monster right now.”
“What the hell are you saying?! Aaargh!! My bone! You hit my bone! I think it’s gonna break!”
“It’s fine. We have an excellent sister who can mend broken bones perfectly. Why don’t we take this chance to practice for a situation where your bones get broken?”
“What kind of crazy talk is that?!”
Deciding he might actually be beaten to death if this continued, Mars started to run.
However…
“I think you’ve gotten the wrong idea because I’ve been going easy on you, but I’m faster than you.”
Cloud was faster than Mars, and Mars had to endure the bizarre experience of getting beaten up while running.
“Alright, now talk.”
“…About what.”
Mars said in a disgruntled voice, rubbing an egg on his forehead. This little punk, getting sulky over a few hits?
“Your worries.”
“Worries?”
“Don’t try to brush it off. I can tell just by looking at your dull sword swings. You’re worried about something.”
“…You’re amazing, Cloud. Figuring that out just from crossing wooden swords a few times.”
Mars let out a short laugh.
“I’ve just had a lot on my mind lately.”
“What kind of thoughts?”
“…I like Isabelle.”
“I know.”
“But I don’t know if Isabelle will ever like me back.”
“Weren’t you two really close?”
Mars let out a deep sigh.
“We are now. But that could change later. Isabelle might fall for someone else… If that happens, I don’t know what I would do.”
Listening to Mars’s melancholic words, I realized something.
The triangle I had carved into Mars’s heart in the past was now in motion.
‘The time has come.’
The time had finally come to completely twist Mars’s unfortunate destiny.
“You want to train here, at this hour?”
Mars let out a stream of complaints.
It was understandable, since I had dragged him to a corner of the village in the dead of night under the pretext of training.
But I had a reason for bringing him here.
‘It should be about time. It’s not a different day, is it?’
If it wasn’t today, I’d have to bring him back the next day. I was wondering what excuse I could use then.
They arrived.
I pulled Mars, and we hid behind a building together. Before he could say anything, I put on a serious expression and pointed toward them.
“Mars… isn’t that the pink-haired slut?”
“Ah, Cloud. I told you to stop calling Isabelle that. Besides, why is Isabelle here at this hour…”
Mars’s complaints died in his throat.
It was only natural.
Where he was looking…
In a corner of the village, Isabelle was talking with the baron’s son, who was handsome from any angle.
‘Good, it was today after all.’
If you progressed through ‘The Tale of the Adulterous Knight,’ it’s revealed that Isabelle and the baron’s son met to talk at dawn once every three days.
Of course, it’s also revealed that Isabelle was only complying because of the baron’s son’s authority, and that nothing more than conversation ever happened.
Isabelle herself monologued that she didn’t enjoy talking to him and, in fact, found it annoying.
The situation now was likely the same.
If you looked closely, the baron’s son was smiling the entire time, while Isabelle’s expression was sour.
But that wasn’t what was important.
What was important was how Mars felt seeing this scene.
I turned my gaze to Mars.
His expression was twisted in agony.