Chapter 48
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Buy a Bottle of Liquor. I'll Teach You.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The young ladies figured her pet fox must be upset because its name happened to match some lowly commoner's.
"You're feeling off about it, right?"
"That commoner picked such a cursed name just to jinx things, huh?"
"Totally."
The young ladies tried their best to soothe the girl with the lavender hair.
But something entirely different slipped from the girl's lips.
"Go find out."
"…Pardon?"
The girl tilted her chin up with haughty disdain.
"I'll give you one week. Dig up everything on that commoner named Tail—his looks, background, age. All of it."
She swept a chill gaze over the young ladies.
"Right now."
At her command, the young ladies scrambled to their feet.
"Got it."
"Yes, understood."
They bolted from the club room faster than anyone else.
Getting on her bad side meant endless misery, but if the belle of high society gave them her nod, their social standing would shoot through the roof.
Left alone, the girl stroked her black fox's head.
"Tail…."
The fox's tail swished happily at the sound of its name.
A deep, aching longing darkened the girl's crimson eyes.
The next day.
Students stood on the sand-covered training field, wooden swords in hand.
The girl at the front called out.
"Is everyone here?"
White ears atop her head twitched.
A long white tail striped with black swayed behind her.
"Nice to meet you all~"
Pink hair danced in the breeze.
She winked with her pink eyes and introduced herself.
"I'm Titina Larry, your swordsmanship professor~"
The students erupted in murmurs at Titina's words.
"Titina Larry?!"
"No way—the Radiant White Tiger?"
"Holy crap, our prof's a war hero."
Then a voice piped up from one corner.
"Mad Tiger?"
A collective "Eep!" followed as someone clapped a hand over their mouth.
Titina's most famous nickname was Mad Tiger.
But it's also the one she hates most.
Tail clicked his tongue.
Sure enough, Titina's face had gone rigid.
The air turned icy.
Killing intent poured from her petite frame.
It was thick, ferocious, utterly untamed.
A few students choked out hiccups under the razor-sharp pressure.
Titina sighed at the sight.
"Haa. Fine, whatever. I heard this year's class is a pack of troublemakers anyway."
She swiftly reined in her aura.
The students fell silent.
In that brief moment, they'd felt just how overwhelming she was.
"Alright, for our first lesson today, we'll do spars to check your skills~"
Titina chirped brightly, back to her usual self.
Tail snuck a glance at Ethan and Alice on either side of him.
Steer clear of Ethan for now.
Guy's a sword prodigy. No shot.
Maybe team up with Alice?
Just as the thought crossed his mind, Titina's eyes gleamed.
"Oh, but~ I heard rumors the commoners and nobles aren't getting along."
A ominous chill crawled down Tail's spine.
Titina's impish grin widened.
"So, to help you make nice, I paired up commoners with nobles!"
Her ta-da! Bet you're shocked! lilt made the students' faces twist in dismay.
She's totally doing this 'cause it'll be hilarious.
He could see it in those sparkling, laughing eyes.
Woo, this'll be fun!
Right now, commoners and nobles mixed about as well as water and oil.
Forcing those two to spar as teammates?
Lucky if no blood was spilled.
"Okay, calling pairs~ Oh, and no mana allowed—pure swordplay only~"
Titina winked sweetly and read off the teams one by one.
"Matthew Beria, Tom."
"Maria Giselle, Emily."
"Olivier Calum, Ella."
"Ethan Philoff, Timothy."
"Emily Lira, Alice."
…
Ethan and Alice headed off once their partners were set.
And finally.
"Chromehel Barker, and Tail."
Murmurs swelled into a roar.
The two biggest rivals stuck together.
Tail let out a sigh.
Haa.
Of all people, him.
Tail trudged over to Chromehel.
Chromehel, meanwhile, scowled and glared daggers at the approaching Tail.
Ha. Fuck. No mana?
Chromehel had awakened mana young and been hailed a genius ever since.
But that meant he was overly reliant on it, too.
He knew it all too well.
Still, I picked up a sword at six. No way I lose to some street rat.
That punk was probably still chasing stray dogs back then.
No contest.
An arrogant smirk curled Chromehel's lips.
"Ready~"
At Titina's call, Tail gripped his wooden sword tight, facing Chromehel.
As expected.
Sloppy stance.
Sword hanging low, legs all wrong.
Nothing but openings.
Chromehel's mouth twitched upward uncontrollably.
Time to school him, spar or not.
Chromehel planned to thrash the commoner bloody under the pretense of practice.
"Staaart~!"
Tail's eyes flashed at Titina's shout.
He planted his strength into one foot.
"…Huh?"
Tail's stance hadn't changed.
But every single flaw had vanished.
It was the stance of a flawless swordsman—clean and precise.
That was when Chromehel sensed it.
Something was off.
Five years ago.
Back during his monastery days.
To learn the sword, Tail pored over manuals endlessly, teaching himself.
But.
There was a limit to self-study.
In the end, Tail had no choice but to head into the city and hunt down a master.
Sword masters didn't come cheap.
And the more renowned, the pricier.
Tail agonized over it.
No one around here even used swords.
No halfway decent instructor would trek out to these backwoods for one commoner kid.
In his deliberations, the fruit vendor happened to overhear and piped up like something had clicked.
"There's a little shack at the end of this alley. Word is, a former mercenary lives there."
The vendor added,
"He's a grumpy old bastard…. Rumor has it he was one hell of a fighter back in the day. Came home from a job to find his family slaughtered by his nemesis, so he holed up here."
Tail headed straight there.
But the mercenary he found was a sorry sight.
A sloppy drunk with a beer gut, like he hadn't touched a sword in ages.
About to turn and leave in disappointment.
The man spoke up.
"Wanna learn the sword, huh?"
He cackled.
Tail tried to deny it and leave, but the man said,
"Yeah. Go buy me a bottle of booze. I'll teach ya."
Tail didn't buy it.
But for some reason, one look into those hollow eyes, and Tail played the generous sort—went out and bought the bottle.
And so, Tail began learning the sword from the mercenary.
At first, he wondered what the hell this was.
But day by day, his movements sharpened.
And five years flew by.
Tail tightened his grip on the sword.
The hard wood pressed firm into his palm.
His eyes gleamed as he locked onto Chromehel ahead.
Chromehel—who'd been poised to strike first—froze in place.
"You attack first."
Tail adjusted his stance ever so slightly.
Then he exploded forward off his leg with explosive power.
The ground cratered with a whoosh-crack!, sand spraying deep.
Too fast for the eye to track.
Chromehel blocked on pure instinct.
BOOM!
Just wooden swords clashing, yet thunder roared.
Sweat beaded down Chromehel's back.
His sword trembled violently against Tail's block.
Power deficient.
Same age, but he'd trained first.
Why… am I getting pushed back?
Tail slipped back in a blur, dodging Chromehel's horizontal sweep, circling to his flank in one fluid motion.
Then he slammed the flat of his blade into Chromehel's neck.
Thwack!
"Gah!"
Raw pain lanced through his throat.
Chromehel whipped around, swinging wildly.
But Tail—having read the speed and angle—sidestepped with ease.
The blade whistled past Tail's nose by a hair.
In the same beat, Tail's elbow drove into Chromehel's gut.
Thud!
"Khurk!"
Chromehel's form crumpled.
Tail's wooden sword followed, smashing into his ribs.
"Guuk!"
Chromehel howled from the unfamiliar agony.
He staggered upright, only to find Tail still perfectly poised.
"Y-you bastard!"
Those stinging hits flipped a switch—Chromehel's eyes rolled back in fury.
He instinctively surged mana through his body.
Strength flooded him; he kicked off and lunged.
Closed the gap in a blink, swinging at Tail—who hadn't dodged in time.
"That's enough."
Chromehel's sword flew from his grip, batted away by a sudden blade.
He stumbled, stance shattered.
Titina strode toward him, the offending sword in her hand.
"Chromehel Barker."
No trace of her usual playfulness—ice-cold.
"Did you just ignore my instructions?"