Chapter 55
Chapter 55
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Sword Master (2)
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Jamie sat in the chair with an awkward expression on his face.
"Haha. Well, now. My grandson's skills are truly astonishing."
The Bell Marquis was genuinely impressed and wouldn't stop praising Jamie. And rightly so. The magic that a boy who had just turned seven this year had unleashed in succession was hard to believe.
"The future of the family is so bright it's dazzling to the eyes."
"Thank you."
Jamie bowed his head with a reluctant expression.
He also avoided the gaze Sears was directing at him from the side.
"Jamie. How could you do something like that to someone you don't know? Did Mom teach you to act that way?"
"That's not it..."
"What do you mean 'not it'! Did Mom spoil you too much? Is that really it?"
"Mother..."
"Mom is really upset...!"
"Enough, Sears. This is all my fault for creating this situation."
Bayil, who had been quietly watching, finally spoke up.
Sears furrowed her brow and glared at him.
"What do you mean by that, Sir Bayil?"
"Just what I said. I'd heard that the Welton heir possessed remarkable talent, so I decided to test him."
At the word "test," the three others looked at Bayil as if urging him to explain quickly.
"It was nothing much. I simply revealed a bit of my presence to the boy."
"Sir Bayil!"
Sears shot to her feet and shouted.
She was already shocked that Jamie had suddenly attacked a stranger. She hadn't raised him that way, so seeing him act like that left her utterly flustered.
But now Bayil had provoked him.
She was at a loss for words over this absurd revelation. Her mind was a whirlwind, unsure how to respond.
No, before that, she apologized to her son first.
"I'm sorry, Jamie. Mom misunderstood you."
"No, it's understandable. And since you only sent it to me, you had no way of knowing."
Jamie trailed off mid-sentence and glared at Bayil.
Now that he thought about it, something had felt off.
If such a powerful presence had suddenly appeared, the Bell family's knights and mages wouldn't have stayed silent.
But no one had shown up.
It's ridiculous.
To go that far just to gauge his skills.
And the fact that he'd singled him out specifically was astonishing.
This was an extraordinary expert. He'd known that much, but hearing the details sent chills down his spine.
If it had been real...
Forget his grand ambitions—he would've been split in half right here.
"If you ever pull something like that on my child again, I won't stand by idly."
Sears warned him with a venomous expression, her anger not fully assuaged.
Jamie, seeing that face of hers for the first time, swallowed dryly for no reason.
"Sears, calm down. I said I had no intention of threatening him."
"I've calmed down. But that doesn't make it okay."
The marquis intervened, but Sears only shot Bayil cold glances.
Bayil silently met her gaze.
A brief silence fell.
Jamie glanced around cautiously before looking back at Bayil.
Who the hell is this guy, anyway?
He was curious about his relationship with Sears, but first, he wanted to know about the skill that had so effortlessly blocked his magic.
He had a rough idea already.
To deflect those spells as if handling a child, while carrying a sword no less—there was only one possibility.
Jamie went straight to the point.
"Are you a Sword Master?"
"Correct."
Jamie nodded at the curt reply.
The Bell Marquis's eyes lit up at his grandson's composed reaction.
"You're not surprised?"
"It wouldn't make sense if you weren't a Master."
Those sudden attacks couldn't be easily blocked by Expert-level fighters.
Even top-tier swordsmen wouldn't have handled them with the leisure this giant had shown.
"Hohoho. As expected, my grandson has a keen eye."
The Bell Marquis, delighted for some reason, rose from his seat, unable to stop laughing.
He approached Bayil and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"His name is Bayil Onyx. He's a Sword Master known by the epithet 'Gale Swordsman.'"
Gale Swordsman.
No citizen of the Seldam Kingdom could avoid hearing that name.
The Seldam Kingdom boasted some of the continent's highest numbers of Masters—Sword Masters and mages of 7th Class or higher, counting among the top three nations.
Among them, five Sword Masters were famed as special forces, their prestige surpassing even that of equivalent mages.
The five had never dueled, so no strict ranking existed, but the public hailed the strongest as Sword Duke Tariks Pan, called the King's Sword, said to be closest to Grand Master.
Right below him was Jamie's father, Count Welton. And a Sword Master of similar caliber was Bayil Onyx, famed as the Gale Swordsman.
For a title like that, he's awfully bulky, and his weapon's huge.
'Gale' suggested speed, but honestly, he looked sluggish.
Of course, as a Sword Master, he'd possess speeds beyond ordinary folk, but among peers, maybe tortoise-level?
Setting aside his wandering thoughts, Jamie offered a polite greeting.
"It's an honor to meet the Gale Swordsman. I am Jamie Welton of the Welton family."
"Hm."
Bayil watched Jamie's courteous bow, then suddenly moved toward him.
"Sir!"
Sears tried to block him, but she couldn't stop Bayil.
Jamie was the same; he saw him coming but couldn't evade.
Bayil began prodding Jamie's small body here and there.
Jamie was startled by the sudden action and tried to speak, but Sears shouted first.
"What are you doing?!"
Bayil merely turned his head slightly at her outburst.
"You've grown quite fierce over the past seven years."
"He's my son!"
At her passionate cry, Bayil's expression hardened slightly.
He turned away from her and continued examining Jamie's body.
"...A son. Don't worry. I'm just checking his condition."
The Bell Marquis stopped Sears as she tried to say something.
She watched with a displeased face.
Jamie noticed Bayil's expression turn faintly bitter.
It's not just bad blood between them?
Sears had been angry out of worry for him, but there seemed more—some personal issue.
Of course, it wasn't something he could solve by pondering.
The check was over.
Bayil stood, his face rigid like a doctor after an examination, and spoke.
"Learn the sword."
Jamie stared blankly at the abrupt statement.
Learn the sword?
Jamie thought he'd misheard.
The others reacted the same way. Sears immediately confronted him.
"You must know Jamie is training in magic, Sir Bayil? Didn't you just say you 'provoked' him after hearing rumors about him?"
She emphasized "provoked" and shot him a cold look.
Bayil glanced at her and replied.
"Of course I know. In fact, I'm quite shocked by it. Regardless..."
He scanned Jamie's small frame.
He knew the boy was seven. Yet his bones, build— he looked at least ten.
More than that, he was sturdy. Hidden by his innocent face and loose clothes, but as a scion of a great sword family, his physique was innate.
Genetics played a part, but Jamie's body was heavily influenced by the Orb of Life.
Unaware of that, Bayil attributed it solely to heredity.
"I judge he could achieve great things with the sword."
Bayil turned to the Bell Marquis.
"He's strongly inherited the blood of his father, Count Welton."
This wasn't based on mere hair and eye color.
Seven was a good age to start sword training.
With practice, Bayil was certain he'd become the next Sword Master.
"Jamie's schedule must already be packed with magic training."
The Bell Marquis's view was negative.
Coming from a Sword Master like Bayil, Jamie might indeed excel with the sword.
That alone was shocking enough to the marquis, but Jamie possessed an even greater talent beyond swordsmanship.
"How many in continental history do you think were born with magical talent like Jamie's?"
"I know. That this child has the makings to challenge 9th Class someday. But I know that too. That without much effort, he'll become a Grand Mage one day."
Jamie Welton would advance realms just by breathing, or so the rumors went—spread by Marquis Linmel.
It wasn't wrong. For Jamie, with his past life as a mighty black sorcerer at the world's pinnacle, magic was no challenge.
So he listened quietly to Bayil.
"But the sword is different. Miss the right timing, and it's hard to catch up."
"...What do you think, Jamie?"
Sears, who had been listening silently, asked her son's opinion.
As she'd said earlier, she intended to let him do what he wanted.
The Bell Marquis agreed the boy's view mattered most and looked at his grandson.
The sword, huh.
He'd considered it.
Born the eldest son of Welton with a Sword Master father, in the perfect environment, his physical growth boosted by the Orb of Life. With a sword, he could indeed achieve greatness, as Bayil said.
But now's not the time.
His magical talent grew passively, but Jamie had no intention of idling.
The enemies he faced were far too strong for his current power.
He couldn't even scratch the Sword Master before him. So he needed to regain his peak strength as soon as possible.
Sword training could come later.
"Right now, I want to focus only on magic."
"I see."
Bayil nodded calmly at Jamie's words.
It was a shame to waste the talent, but he wasn't one to push when the boy himself refused.
He'd merely made the suggestion.
"I understand your will."
Bayil gave a brief nod to the Bell Marquis and Sears before leaving the room.
The remaining three just looked at each other.
Late at night, the marquis lingered in his study, recalling the earlier events.
"I expected it, but even after so long, things haven't changed."
The two had known each other since childhood.
Not just acquaintances—Sears had followed Bayil around, calling him "big brother."
They were like siblings.
She had two actual brothers, but the age gap made her closer to Bayil.
Yet now, those children had become strangers.
Because she became a mother?
Sears was mother to two children.
And as a mother, she'd pour out the same love her own mother had.
Even her sharp demeanor toward Bayil today stemmed from maternal instinct.
Or perhaps seven years eroded their bond.
The girl who cried "big brother" now called him "Sir Bayil."
His former fiancée.
The Bell Marquis recalled that day.
The day two men fought desperately over his daughter.
"I'll make Sears happy!"
"Like some outsider could!"
A duel fierce enough to split the heavens.
A bloodbath that wouldn't end until one died.
And the victor who stood at the end...
In the marquis's eyes, Count Welton's proud figure still burned bright.
An untold tale of two Sword Masters.
Afterward, Bayil left Abton and lived as a demon. Years later, he joined "some organization."
Tch. What is that guy thinking, tangled in such a dangerous place?
The marquis disapproved of Bayil's current path but couldn't forbid it.
That was their history.
Still, I hoped they'd get along like when they were young.
Parental hopes are like that.
But he didn't think less of Sears for it.
She was a devoted mother.
She was the marquis's daughter, Count Welton's wife, and mother to two children.
"My lord marquis. I've arrived."
Then, the awaited visitor spoke from outside the door.
The marquis composed his expression and granted entry.
"Come in."
The man who entered had dazzling silver hair and a sharp impression.
The marquis asked him.
"Sable. Any progress?"
The man called Sable shook his head with a face similar to the marquis's.
"We spotted a group suspected to be [Demons], but unfortunately, they slipped away."
[Demons].
The followers of the Demon King, eradicated by the previous Bell family head and the marquis's father, Isfil Bell, were beginning to crawl back into the light.