Chapter 17
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Refusing the Sword Saint
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"Could you speak with the Count Regent on my behalf?"
"Understood, sir. We're speaking again, Count Regent. I am Bagmut Mielephon."
"Melissa Cascadia. It's an honor to meet the Sword Master of House Mielephon."
Soon after, the man standing beside Osberg—Bagmut—began discussing the Demon Realm with her in the Sword Saint's stead.
The content itself was nothing special. Just a simple visit for an investigation.
Since the royal family had already granted permission, Melissa had no grounds to refuse. She merely confirmed there were no issues before giving her approval.
And while the two conversed, I quietly stared straight at the figure before me: Osberg Mielephon.
"Shall we discuss a different topic? I heard from my little sister that..."
"Yes. I wish to take you as my disciple."
"I refuse."
No need to think it over.
I immediately shook my head, making my refusal clear.
[The opponent before you is estimated to be a considerable expert.]
The librarian had added some unnecessary commentary, but it didn't change my mind.
'To be my master, you'd at least need to be stronger than me.'
Arrogant words, no doubt.
The man before me was one of the strongest on the continent, with few who could match him.
From what I'd seen, he seemed to possess skills beyond even the rumors.
Yet my judgment was simple.
The realm I'd perfected in the Labyrinthos.
The tower I'd built there towered infinitely higher than the one this Sword Saint had erected.
In simple terms, there was nothing for me to learn.
Besides, the conditions for seeking a master were exactly that: someone in a realm I couldn't reach, from whom I had something to gain.
All of them had ended up losing their heads to my blade, of course.
"Hah..."
Osberg wore a dazed expression at my firm response.
Melissa and Bagmut, who had been talking, also widened their eyes in shock at my blunt refusal, staring at me.
'Hey, are you insane? Why turn this down?! Don't you know how prestigious it is to be the Sword Saint's disciple?! Haven't you heard how countless geniuses from across the continent sought him out and got turned away?!'
Melissa didn't say it aloud, but her eyes conveyed all that and more.
I wasn't oblivious to it.
Indeed, becoming the disciple of Sword Saint Osberg Mielephon would bring immense benefits.
Honor, wealth, power—any of them.
But my decision stood firm.
"Could you step aside for a moment?"
As he rose from his seat, I quietly followed him out to the terrace.
While Melissa and Bagmut, who accompanied Osberg, sorted out the Demon Realm matters, I stood with Osberg at the terrace railing.
"May I hear your reason?"
"Nothing special. After our father, the previous Count, passed away in that accident, all that's left of our house is my little sister Melissa and me."
"A tragic loss."
"That's why I can't leave. She's clever and talented, but still too young. Without me by her side to support her, she won't make it on her own."
Melissa would probably be outraged or hurt if she heard this.
But I had no intention of denying the truth.
She was still inexperienced.
"You don't trust your sister?"
"I do trust her—that's why I'm giving this answer. She's bold like a man on the outside, but deep down, she's still very much a girl. She needs someone to lean on."
I leaned lightly on the railing and gave a wry smile. He nodded.
"Yes, she's still young. Too young to weather the world's storms and uphold the family... Then, would you consider becoming my disciple once that girl fully assumes the role of Border Count?"
He didn't seem ready to give up easily.
In response, I posed a more direct question.
"Sir."
"Hm?"
"Will, Intent, Bloom, Refinement, Pinnacle."
It came out of nowhere, but bewilderment clouded Osberg's face.
"What?!"
"Can you show me something beyond that, sir?"
He fell silent at my question.
Will is the first enlightenment, Intent the one that follows.
Bloom is likening one's own thoughts to the world.
Refinement is perfecting those thoughts and bending the world's truths to one's will.
And Pinnacle is the realm where it all converges into one.
Anyone can mouth the words.
But a master of Osberg's caliber would vaguely grasp what I meant and what those terms encompassed.
Can you show me the full Pinnacle of the Sword—and beyond?
Honestly, I'd reached the Pinnacle, but I hadn't fully made it my own yet.
"I'm grateful for the offer, but I have my own path."
I turned away after my calm reply, and he simply watched my back in silence, saying nothing.
Walking the quiet forest path of the Demon Realm, Bagmut Mielephon spoke to the elderly man lost deep in thought.
"Sir."
"......"
The Demon Realm's forest was cold, desolate, and silent.
"What did that boy say to trouble you so?"
Bagmut, who had served Sword Saint Osberg Mielephon for so long, found the situation utterly bewildering.
Who was the Sword Saint?
A figure hailed as the continent's greatest swordsman, revered and respected by virtually every soul who wielded a blade.
Naturally, there would be those willing to sell their own families for the chance to learn from him.
Even within House Mielephon, no one had formally received his swordsmanship. Grasping the true intentions of a boy like Leon Cascadia, who had rejected it, was no easy task.
"Troubled, hm? Yes, not wrong. It's the first time I've climbed to this height only to fall into such turmoil."
Thanks to Melissa's official pass—not Tibel's forged one—entry posed no issue.
Slash!! Slash!!
-Kieeeek!
-Kyaaak!!
With each swing of Bagmut's sword, the demonic beasts sprayed blood and collapsed.
"There are those in the world called beloved by the sword or blessed by it."
"Pardon?"
"But how to describe that boy? It's peculiar."
People joked that historic geniuses were one with the sword itself, but compared to Leon, even they seemed ordinary.
Countless swordsmen attained enlightenment and forged their realms.
But in the Leon Cascadia that Osberg had witnessed, such a process seemed entirely unnecessary.
The boy had gripped the sword with those enlightenments already fully established.
"Genius? Heh heh heh. No, that word doesn't suffice."
It wasn't genius.
It was a calamity.
A calamity that would make any who beheld it despair and snap their blades.
Even the Sword Saint felt jealousy stirring beyond his emotionless state—what more needed saying?
Genius progressed realms swiftly and easily, growing stronger than others.
But this calamity of a boy had no chance of failure to begin with.
Why? Because the only reason he wasn't stronger yet was his body hadn't fully matured—nothing to do with enlightenment.
Others might not see it, but Osberg's eyes pierced it clearly.
Teach such a child?
Impossible to teach one already complete. All the boy needed was time.
"Bagmut."
"Yes, sir."
"Once the Demon Realm investigation ends, return to the family and fetch a sword."
"A sword... You don't mean?!"
"Yes."
Bagmut's face filled with shock at the calm reply.
"Sir! That's one of House Mielephon's heirlooms!"
"If it can be bought at that price, it'd be the best deal. Buying low is the basics of business, no?"
Osberg, who had coldly rebuffed even a talented prince, now pursued this connection so earnestly—it was astonishing.
"Why not lend a hand in this civil war instead? No matter what, an heirloom..."
"That would be the worst of bad options. Don't be stingy—hand it over. I guarantee it won't be a loss."
There wasn't a hint of hesitation on the Sword Saint's face.
He truly seemed unbothered by giving away a Mielephon heirloom sword.
"Even so, we can't just hand it over. The family head would choke in outrage. How about lending it instead?"
"Hah. You don't trust this old man..."
"What exactly did you see in him..."
"If no freak accident befalls him, I guarantee that boy will become the next Sword Saint... No, he'll reach far higher than me. If I can't take him as a disciple, the next best is a close bond."
Of course, the real Leon was a hopeless dullard.
The truth—that he'd invested an absurd amount of time just to reach the Pinnacle—was something neither Bagmut nor Sword Saint Osberg could know.
"Sir, all well and good, but we need to focus on the investigation first. Something's wrong."
Upon reaching their destination, the two grimaced at the shattered stone coffins scattered about.
Around them lay mummified corpses, their death agonies frozen on desiccated faces.
"Worse than the Saintess's prophecy. Whatever was sealed here has been released."
"Looks like someone deliberately freed it. We need to move fast."
After Osberg Mielephon departed, Melissa and I both sensed we had things to discuss.
Thwack!!
"Where do you think you're sneaking off to? Get over here—we've got plenty to talk about."
She grabbed the back of my neck as I tried to slip away and dragged me into her office.
Then she started trying to remove the ring from her finger.
Huh? What's this?
"Freeze. What do you think you're doing?"
"What? Why?"
"Put that back on right now. Who gave you permission to pass on the succession?"
"No, that's not it!"
She yelled, clearly frustrated.
"You're stronger than me! And that's not all—the disgrace I showed back there is something the Border Count guarding the Demon Realm absolutely cannot display."
Fair point. I'd cleaved Bishiri Cascadia—who was stronger than Melissa—in a single stroke, so it must have looked that way.
"What does that matter? You're the current Count Regent. If you're going to nitpick that, why not hand the ring to the Sword Saint who just visited?"
"That's not it, but..."
"Listen up, you dumb octopus head. Do you think Father passed succession to you just because you're an Expert?"
"Wasn't it?"
Her face showed rare surprise.
"No. There were other reasons. So it doesn't make sense to hand over the succession based solely on martial prowess."
She swallowed a groan, deep in thought at my explanation.
If this went smoothly...
"Sounds like bullshit just to avoid taking it."
Tch, that's why sharp ones are a pain.
"Think about it. In the fight with Tibel, I was drenched in blood. The territory folk already fear me. You, on the other hand, treat them with mercy and warmth. See the difference?"
Her expression was almost convinced.
"Leon."
"Yeah, little sis?"
"It was only a few days ago that you massacred Tibel's men. And the Border Count family overseeing the Demon Realm must maintain strict discipline by nature."
With those words, she grabbed a sturdy ornament nearby and hurled it at me.
"You beagle bastard, trying to fool me?!"
I dodged it with a slight tilt of my head, smirking mockingly.