Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: Five Swords of Ban (2)
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"Right, so you weren't messing around with your nails against a person?"
"......You're skilled, so why do you always fight so defensively? Aren't you a man?"
Jeo spoke in a dissatisfied voice. Lately, his fights with Ban had always gone like this. Jeo charged in, and Ban dodged. It was so minimal it barely even counted as dodging.
It left Jeo thoroughly unsatisfied. He preferred something flashier. He was the type who thought it was better to lose covered in wounds than win unscathed.
He clenched his fist. By the time his nails retracted into his fingers and grew back, they were pristine again, as if they'd never broken. Flashing his steel-colored nails that gleamed, Jeo bared his teeth.
"Just one hit, Ban."
"Come at me."
The moment Ban finished speaking, Jeo grinned and kicked off the ground. The earth seemed to push back against each of his steps, and the wind followed along his back.
The Eustaine Clan receives the world's love. It was easy to see why people said that.
But if the Eustaine Clan received the world's love, then Ban received the sword's love.
Jeo's hand, nails extended, shot forward on the wind. Each nail rippled with energy, infused even with steel-like properties. It was a ferocious attack that would shred not just human flesh, but any sword held against it.
But it wasn't frightening.
'Five Swords of Ban.'
Ban didn't carry five swords around. Nor did he carry just one, of course. Yuri's huandao greatsword, a longsword, and a dagger. Three in total.
And yet, he was called the Five Swords.
Why?
Because his swordsmanship had five distinct traits.
First sword. Deflection.
He raised the huandao greatsword. Its short, slender blade drew a line in the air. A line that wouldn't fade. A line that wouldn't stay still. A line that deflected everything, guided it, and let it slide away.
There was a silent clash. Jeo's attacks were undoubtedly fierce, and the qi coating his nails was even larger than the huandao greatsword Ban wielded.
Jeo swung his fists repeatedly. Sometimes with nails, sometimes with the back of his hand. Sometimes even with his teeth. But none of his attacks crossed the line traced by Ban's huandao greatsword.
In the end, the result was the same as always. Unable to endure the ticklish exchanges, Jeo roared and charged recklessly, only to take Ban's kick to the gut and roll across the ground.
"You always rush in too fast."
"......And you're too cautious."
"That's how you win."
After the training camp two years ago, Ban's fighting style had definitely shifted toward the defensive. Or more precisely, it had become rational.
He glanced around. The freshmen were still watching them, looking like they couldn't quite adjust. It was no wonder—fissures cracking the earth and air tearing apart were everyday occurrences, making them seem like entirely different beings.
'......Back then, I couldn't even follow the tip of Hay's sword.'
And that was when it happened. Speak of the tiger, and it appears. Applause suddenly rang out, and when he turned, Hay was grinning at them.
"Impressive. At this level, knight training will be a breeze."
"......Hay senior? When did you get back?"
"Not long ago. Yesterday, on my way back from reporting on a mission. It was my graduation mission."
"Graduation mission? So then......"
"Yeah."
Hay grinned.
"I've finally graduated."
Not just Ban, but the other students nearby let out gasps at his words. Citadel Academy's low graduation rate came partly from elite students burning out and dropping out midway in the competition, but even more from the knight training required in the fourth year.
Missions assigned from various knight orders.
Subjugations, purifications, assassinations. Anything requiring force could become a mission. The professors said that just seeing what missions a student took could give a rough idea of what kind of knight they'd become.
And after completing nine such missions, graduation.
Hay grinned as he spoke.
"But you won't have to worry about that, kid. Finding missions will be a walk in the park. Knight orders and families will be lining up to use the 'Five Swords of Ban.'"
"......Why do you have to emphasize that nickname? You're just teasing me, aren't you?"
"Oops, caught me."
Hay shrugged with a sly grin. He patted Ban's shoulder and said,
"Work hard for that year. I'll head out first."
"......You said you got your graduation mission from the Royal Knight Order, right?"
It was an unwritten rule. The graduation mission—the final one—was taken from the organization you'd join. Which meant...... Hay was going to be part of the Royal Knight Order.
Hay smiled without a word.
"At that training camp two years ago, you weren't the only one who got fired up."
Everyone had their reasons to grow stronger. In the end, he hadn't surpassed that monster, Urong, but...... Hay looked at Ban. Third-year strongest. How many years had it been since someone not from the Nine Great Clans claimed that title?
"I'm proud of you."
"Don't pinch my cheek. I'm holding a sword."
"Oh ho? You wanna try me, junior?"
"........."
Ban silently readjusted his grip on the huandao greatsword. He said nothing, but that silence conveyed more than words ever could. Hay wiped the smile from his face and drew his sword. He remembered Hay using a sword at least the size of a shortsword before...... but now, it was just a palm-sized dagger.
And yet, the pressure was even greater than before. It gave a sense of Hay's scale. Growing this far without a single clan blessing—how grueling must that have been......
'Honestly, I respect you, senior.'
That's why he wanted to surpass him even more. To probe further. To see just how much the gap—once so wide he couldn't even see Hay's sword—had narrowed.
And Hay understood that intent. He looked briefly dumbfounded at Ban suddenly entering combat stance, but soon a grin he couldn't hide spread across his face.
The audience was the students. Dozens of gazes turned toward them.
Who would move first?
Hay? Or Ban?
As that question turned to murmurs, someone let out a dazed gasp.
At some point, Hay had passed right by Ban. Most people didn't even realize he'd moved until his shadow vanished. A soundless confusion swept over the onlookers. What had happened? Who won?
And then, Yeoryeong muttered,
"He deflected it."
"Huh? Senior, what do you......"
The freshman had just started to ask Yeoryeong when, right beside Ban, dust erupted like a storm, and countless slash marks belatedly scarred the ground on either side of him. Hay slowly turned back to Ban, lifting the corner of his mouth.
"......You're one sneaky junior. Really."
Not a single one of his strikes had landed on Ban.
The junior who once couldn't even see his shadow...... was now trying to take it all in.
Only then did the man who wasn't yet old feel the weight of the years gone by.
§
Two years hadn't changed only Ban. Everyone matured in their own way. Grew stronger. And sometimes, changed entirely.
"You know that doesn't suit you at all, right?"
"Then get lost."
"......Listen to this guy talk. You really can't act like that with me. Who else do you have for friends besides me? No one, right? You think it's because you're the Nahar Clan's only daughter? Nah. It's 'cause you're no fun."
"Ah, just get lost already!"
"I'm bored?"
"I'm not."
"I am. So I'm not going."
Yeoryeong grinned and crossed her legs. Unlike Anya's, they were long. Anya shot her a glance and ground her teeth.
"......I shouldn't be talking to someone from the Cho Clan. Figures."
"What can you do? We already are. Why? You don't wanna hang out now that Ban's not here?"
"Urk!"
Anya, who had been lying down lifting weights, seemed to lose her strength for a moment. With her arms trembling, she slowly lowered the barbell and lifted it with one hand. Even a giant like Macdead would struggle with one hand, but in front of the Cho Clan, it was barely more than a regular dumbbell.
"Why try to build strength when you don't need it? Just burn 'em all to ash with fire."
"......If I can build it, why not?"
"Yeah, yeah. Even the tortoise beats the hare if it tries hard enough. Who knows, maybe you'll end up stronger than me."
Of course, her tone suggested she didn't believe it at all. Yeoryeong grinned mischievously and asked again, like a brat.
"What a shame Ban can't see you working so hard."
"......Why does Ban keep coming up!"
"What, can't he? We're classmates."
"That's not the point right now!"
Anya ground her teeth. She hadn't spilled her heart out to Yeoryeong while drunk. She'd just recounted exactly what happened with Ban at the training camp, but ever since, Yeoryeong teased her nonstop, embellishing it like some princess-and-hero tale where they'd been in danger together.
"'Why aren't you saying anything, senior?' or something, right? That Ban guy. Always spouting cringey lines."
"......It was 'Why'd you go quiet, senior.'"
"Oh, pure Ban-boy. You remember it perfectly."
"No, that's not it! Hey! I don't like him like that! We're just friends! Friends! We just encourage each other, you know?"
"Still, it's good you're trying."
Yeoryeong spoke as if she hadn't heard a word. Seeing Anya's frustrated face, like she was about to plug her ears, Yeoryeong continued.
"We're fourth-years now. Everyone'll take missions and scatter everywhere. South, west, east. Maybe even north, who knows. Of course, that probably won't happen......"
"......So?"
"Lock it down while you can. I don't wanna see our little whitey whining later."
"Don't call me whitey, you musclehead......"
She grumbled, but Anya's voice had softened considerably. She didn't know why Yeoryeong was bringing this up out of nowhere, but it seemed like genuine advice in her own way.
'......It's not like I have romantic feelings or anything.'
That childish stuff was for back when she read novels at home. She prided herself on having changed quite a bit now. Especially since training like this was pretty rare even in her clan. She figured she was a proper adult now.
Of course, her height was still short.
"Let's form a group when we hit fourth year. Even if they're just friends like you say, traveling with close ones isn't bad, right? Or should I tell him? You, me, Ban...... throw in Jeo or someone, and we could graduate with top scores."
It was Yeoryeong's suggestion. At first, she'd resisted out of sheer defiance, but over time, it didn't sound half bad.
'No, Anya. It's too soon. We're not even done with third year yet......'
But soon after, Anya realized there was no such thing in the world as "too soon."
"......What the hell is this?"
In front of the lounge. Third-years were crowding among the freshmen, peeking at something. Jeo turned to Yeoryeong. His face was full of unavoidable awkwardness.
"......You came?"
"Why's everyone like this? What's going on?"
"Look over there."
He couldn't hide his slightly sulky expression as he nodded toward it. It was Ban. In the office at one side of the lounge, Ban was talking to someone. Wondering what could possibly draw such a crowd, Anya puzzled for a moment before Jeo spoke.
"The Royal Knight Order came looking for Ban themselves."
"......The Royal Knight Order?"
It was rare. Even for academy students, the haughty folks from the Royal Knight Order rarely came all the way here for a chat......
But at Jeo's next words, Anya gave up thinking altogether and gaped.
"And the vice commander came personally."