Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Toward the Gray Wolf
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Snow-Covered, who had trained in swordsmanship without a single day off, had now perfectly mastered the Northern Swordsmanship First Form, the one called the most basic.
Of course, calling it basic or the first form was all well and good, but considering how long Snow-Covered had even held a sword, it was a truly absurd rate of growth.
No wonder even I, who had lived among all sorts of geniuses, couldn't hide my intense astonishment.
The child was like a gem that grew ever brighter the more it was polished.
But the more that happened, the more impatient I became.
There was one thing I lacked compared to anyone else in this world who could teach swordsmanship the best.
Aura.
Aura—it was something those favored by Mother North possessed, but I, a mere outsider, could not carry in my body.
How was a knight who couldn't wield aura supposed to teach it?
This master was far too deficient to make Snow-Covered into a king.
But that didn't mean there was no way for me to train in aura at all.
After all, I had another ally who could fill that gap, even now.
Gray Wolf.
The king had many heroes.
And among those heroes, five stood out especially, one of whom was Gray Wolf, who had led countless Huscals.
A greatsword swung with innate might, a ferocious aura that could cleave a massive boulder in a single stroke.
If I had seen the end of the sword, then Gray Wolf had seen the end of aura.
So if I couldn't teach it, another master could.
Eight years ago, I had knelt before him and begged him to teach aura training to the candidates who would come after.
And he hadn't refused.
This arduous journey across the mountains had now continued for eight full years.
Already, countless candidates had learned and awakened aura under Gray Wolf.
So Snow-Covered would go through the same process and receive training in wielding aura.
"This should do it."
"...I'll do my best."
In that week, I selected a few people who could read and write.
And I handed the Village Chief a plan for how I'd run the village going forward.
If things proceeded smoothly, by the time we returned, the village would be a solid foothold.
I prayed that the Village Chief and Red Iron would manage it well as I stepped out of the house.
But the send-off didn't end there.
At the village entrance, residents and soldiers had gathered, waiting to see us off as we departed.
'Please come back safe!'
We weren't even leaving the village for good, yet everyone was making such a fuss.
The residents, who hadn't shed a tear even at funerals, now saw us off with tears in their eyes. In the end, Snow-Covered let out a small sob and followed behind me.
Sabak, sabak, sabak, sabak.
And so we left the village.
After walking a good while and crossing one mountain, the village that had felt like home began to vanish completely from sight.
We kept our mouths firmly shut.
The first to speak was me, the very cause of this inexplicable awkwardness.
"They looked disappointed."
"........."
I could see she was trying not to show it.
But from the way she hesitated with her words and averted her eyes, I realized the child felt some sense of disappointment somewhere.
And absurdly enough, the source of that disappointment was having to learn something from a stranger instead of me.
At first, I was utterly dumbfounded.
The other candidates were desperate—obsessed, even—to learn aura right away. Why was Snow-Covered the only one so lacking in greed?
I worried that this innocence might one day hinder her enlightenment, so I tried to soothe her gently.
"Yes, it might be a bit scary going far away, but Gray Wolf isn't so..."
"That's not it."
But Snow-Covered stopped walking and cut me off with a resolute expression.
With a solemn face I'd never seen before, she said to me,
"I'm proud of you, Master. Even if you can't teach me that aura stuff."
That aura stuff? Did she even know what aura meant, saying something like that?
Without aura, you couldn't become a knight. Without aura, your sword would break.
Yes, like me, whose name had become Broken Sword, you'd live your whole life in disgrace.
Did Snow-Covered even know how agonizing such a life was, how painful the harsh reality that no amount of effort could change it?
"- - - - - - -."
But I couldn't let out the fury that threatened to burst forth right then.
Because Snow-Covered had quietly placed her hand over her left chest, where her heart would be pounding.
Just like that day I'd thought forgotten, when the Knight King had told me what true worth really was.
"I've learned something more important than aura. And it's something precious that only you could teach me, Master."
To achieve better results, sometimes you had to set aside your pride.
Like the day I'd knelt to learn aura, or every moment afterward when the candidates began to look down on me as time passed.
But in the end, I swallowed it alone.
Even if no one acknowledged it, I believed good fruit would come someday.
And on this spring day, eight years later, I finally saw that harvest.
Hiding my trembling, I said,
"...You'll be my pride."
"Yes, Master."
The king's master, no less.
Perfect words to hear before dying.
I smiled along with Snow-Covered and began our journey toward the mountains.
"The World Tree?"
"Still no response. The elders say it seems... displeased."
The elves who had slain the Knight King and even destroyed the human kingdoms had entered an unprecedented golden age.
With even the orc kingdoms, their potential enemies, embroiled in civil wars, they turned their attention to advancing their civilization.
A population slowly growing through tribal unification, science and technology beginning to bud from advanced civilization, and a wealth of splendid culture.
The queen's palace was built of beautiful gold, and from its fountains flowed sweet water like honey, gushing endlessly like a river.
And the cities were said to have not a single starving soul, filled only with laughter.
Utopia, paradise, the eternal elf empire.
The branches of prosperity spreading from the World Tree seemed utterly immortal.
But though they prospered, they lacked benevolence. Though holy, they were not pure.
That arrogance, believing themselves the only true intelligent beings, had begun to eat away at them from within.
All manner of oppression and enslavement of other races.
A cold meritocracy that tolerated no losers.
Despite building history's greatest kingdom, they were diseased.
With the incurable sickness called disgust.
"Displeased? What's there to be displeased about? A mere tree rotting our guts like this."
The World Tree is sacred.
The World Tree is the mother of all elves.
Such phrases symbolizing elven identity had long become ancient tales.
The elves had already realized their traditions were mere empty shells.
One fruit every hundred years.
The World Tree's fruits, once enshrined in temples, had long been reduced to mere tools for the royals to extend their lifespans.
The elf queen, furrowing her brow, said,
"No other way?"
But those World Tree fruits, which ripened every month, hadn't even flowered for the past three months.
As if the beast had encountered its natural predator and huddled up, hoarding even the seeds it should sow.
After pondering for a while before the queen's irritation, the elf priest quietly offered blunt advice.
"How about divining it? The priests say a new star has appeared."
Divining the future with lots was a ritual as old as civilization itself, a common practice.
And the elves too had read farming cycles from the stars overhead and divined fortunes for future events.
"Divining? Ha! You're getting on in years too, huh? Spouting the same nonsense as those elders. Forget superstitions and find a way to fix it properly, got it?"
"......Yes, Your Majesty."
The queen, thoroughly pissed off, stormed down the golden corridor and into a door embedded with all sorts of treasures.
The elf priest who had spoken up endured the rebuke and humiliation as best he could, quietly bowing toward the door the queen had entered.
Should he have said it all?
The new star the priests spoke of had indeed risen in the north.
Chaeng!
"Kuh!"
We had been crossing swords with Snow-Covered for quite a while.
But when I showed a different form after demonstrating enough movement, Snow-Covered, who had been attacking ferociously, collapsed to the ground.
The spar was over.
I extended a hand to Snow-Covered, who was mulling over the movements from moments ago.
"Was that a counter stance just now?"
"Yeah, with even more weight to it."
"It's just as profound."
It had already been a fortnight since we left the village and began our journey.
Fortunately, our steps were blessed like a rabbit's foot—the path was smooth, and no threats to our lives appeared.
When hungry, we ate preserved rations.
When energy ran low, we hunted, gathered, and ate to stay healthy.
Walk, and walk some more.
And whenever inspiration struck, we'd spar enthusiastically right there until sweat poured.
Calling it a trip to the mountains was just semantics; it was no different from a training journey.
But that was nearing its end now.
That morning, crossing a valley and reaching a fork in the path that split into two, I spotted the landmark I'd left a year ago.
[Left fork, 3 days.]
"Wow, so many letters."
"......I carved them every time I came with candidates."
Left fork, 3 days.
And below, countless names and traces etched with blade marks.
They were memories left by me and the candidates I once thought would surely become king.
Of course, now they were just weathered remnants battered by snow and cold.
Pok!
"I'll carve mine too!"
But it would feel unfair to leave out my final disciple, Snow-Covered.
Like them or not, they had been my candidates, and this was the accumulation of traces.
Snow-Covered, beaming brightly, drew a small dagger and slowly carved her name.
Sakak, sakak—the sound of the rotting wood rang pleasantly through the surroundings.
"Done!"
A fresh inscription took its place atop the old, darkened traces.
I quietly read the sentence.
[Snow-Covered was here!]
"Haha."
So simple.
The other candidates had boldly written their ambitions or flattered me,
but Snow-Covered just left a mark that she'd passed through.
Yet it suited her so perfectly that I laughed happily and blew the dust off the landmark.
"Let's hurry! Just 3 days left, right?"
"Yeah, three days and we'll be there."
In my memory, if we pushed diligently from this fork, we could reach the mountains where Gray Wolf lived in seclusion in three days.
The final stretch of quite a long journey.
Thrilled at the news of our imminent arrival, Snow-Covered quickly packed her heavy load as if it were light.
In her excitement, she started walking ahead toward the left fork.
The sunlight dazzled the eyes.
Icicles hanging from twig tips had formed springtime tails before we knew it,
and between the patchy snow on the ground, green sprouts shyly poked their heads out.
Another year had passed at winter's tail end.
Like Snow-Covered, I drew my dagger and, for the first time, carved my name into the landmark.
[Broken Sword, was here.]