Chapter 57: Everyone's Man (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 57: Everyone's Man (3)
Sylvia's eyes narrowed.
Roman Dmitry.
Seeing her prey appear in such an unexpected place, she quickly scanned him from head to toe.
Oho.
First, his face.
He was far more handsome than she had expected.
Even covered in the dirt and grime of the mines, his sharp features and piercing gaze exuded a rugged, masculine charm. And Sylvia's admiration didn't stop there. As her meticulous gaze drifted down from his face to his body, a soft gasp escaped her lips at the physique revealed beneath his tattered clothes.
"Wow," she breathed.
He was a total catch.
Like a finely chiseled statue, his physique was flawless. Though his clothes obscured the full view, the glimpses of lean, defined muscle hinted at the incredible build hidden beneath.
To be honest, she had felt a twinge of regret after arriving in Dmitry. She had returned to Lawrence after a long absence at her uncle's request, but she had worried that Roman might not live up to her expectations. She had prayed he would at least be decent.
As long as his looks weren't unbearable, the conditions he offered were absolutely perfect.
The eldest son of the Dmitry family and the rising star who defeated the 4-Star Swordsman, Homeros. Rumors said he was highly likely to lose his succession rights to the second son, but seeing him today, that doesn't seem to be the case. What noble family would force their son to work as a miner? This must be Baron Romero's doing under the guise of successor training. Roman's status has skyrocketed.
Approved.
It was worth coming all the way to Lawrence.
Her quick analysis complete, Sylvia urged the other noble daughters forward.
"Let's go over to Roman Dmitry. It would be nice to at least greet him before the party."
"Shall we?"
Smiles bloomed across their faces. They all shared the exact same goal as Sylvia. Having received special orders from their respective families to win Roman over, they excitedly nudged each other forward and approached him.
"Hello."
"You are Lord Roman Dmitry, correct?"
The women who had been scowling just moments ago were suddenly nowhere to be seen. Uncaring of the swirling dust or the risk of dirtying their expensive dresses, they beamed warm, spring-like smiles at him.
However, Roman did not answer.
As he merely stared at them in silence, Sylvia took the initiative.
"I am Sylvia of the Lawrence family. I wanted to express my deepest gratitude for your assistance this time. Without your help, Lord Roman, the Lawrence family would not have survived Barco's attack. But my, you really are as dashing as the rumors say. People claim a hero has been born in the Dmitry family, and just looking at you, I can see exactly why."
She was a fox.
Speaking with an innocent, charming expression, she knew exactly how to weaponize her looks.
The problem was, her target was Roman Dmitry.
"Ah, yes. I see."
The words were tossed out flatly. It was not a response meant to invite further conversation.
As if telling her not to bother him any further, Roman walked right past without so much as a second glance at Sylvia, Hans following close behind.
Watching from a distance, Flora couldn't help herself.
Pfft.
She burst into laughter. Roman was truly consistent. Relieved to see that he wasn't only cold to her, she approached Sylvia to offer some comforting words.
Meanwhile, Hans scurried after Roman.
"Young Master. They are guests attending the party, after all. Couldn't you have been a bit more gracious with them?"
"If they were worth the effort, I would have. But I didn't want to waste my smiles on them so early."
Hans sighed. It was an answer that left him with nothing else to say.
If only Roman were a little friendlier, he could have won many allies through that brief exchange. But seeing him draw such a firm line, Hans realized that Roman—both past and present—was simply hopeless when it came to winning people's favor.
Hans spoke up again.
"I understand that. But how long do you plan on working in the mines? The Lord didn't even order you to do this, yet you've been going out of your way to suffer for days now. Everyone is incredibly worried."
Recently, there had been a lot of talk about Roman's actions. Baron Romero and Rihanna in particular were deeply concerned about his health, and Hans was asking on their behalf.
Roman did not stop walking. As they strode side by side, he explained his reasons for visiting the mine.
"Do you remember the day I met the blacksmith in the slums?"
"Of course I remember."
He could never forget it. It was the day Roman had begun to change. Because it had left such a profound impression, the memory of that day remained vivid in his mind.
"That blacksmith, who said he had lived for ninety years, told me the history of Dmitry. He said Dmitry was originally a commoner family, but rose to its current position through the ironware forged in the blacksmith's shop. From then on, I thought: since Dmitry's roots lie in the forge, shouldn't I understand it as well?"
A new life.
Roman had completely accepted his reality. He had welcomed new relationships into his circle, and the name Roman Dmitry was gradually becoming familiar to him.
Therefore, he wanted to understand Dmitry perfectly.
It was not a matter of succession. Just as he had climbed up from the very bottom of the Demonic Cult, he wished to feel the breath of this land starting from the very bottom of Dmitry.
That was why he had sought out the iron mine.
While people believed the forge was the root of Dmitry, Roman believed the miners of the iron mine were just as vital. He hadn't bogged himself down by asking his father for permission. He had gone straight to the mine alone and declared that he would work there. Though the foreman had initially doubted his intentions, he soon accepted Roman as a miner.
For several days, Roman mined iron ore in the dusty underground. Without cutting any corners, he did his absolute best to complete his assigned quota just like the rest of the miners.
"Dmitry's foundation lies in the forge, and by extension, the iron mine. The miners sweating blood to dig up iron ore, and the blacksmiths using the furnace's flames to forge it into ironware—that is the essence of Dmitry. I simply want to experience and empathize with that. Only then can I truly understand their hardships. If I am to live under the name Roman Dmitry from now on, mere lip service will not allow me to coexist with the people of this land."
"...Young Master."
Hans stopped in his tracks. Tears welled in his eyes.
When did you grow up so much?
Roman had matured so suddenly. Seeing him show a different side of himself every day, Hans felt genuinely proud to be his servant.
Roman was already drifting further away. Despite his master's coldness in not waiting for him, Hans hurriedly caught up and shouted.
"From now on, I will take perfect care of your attire day and night, Young Master! It doesn't matter if you get covered in dirt and dust! I will wash your clothes so perfectly that they'll look brand new! I, Hans, am ready to devote myself entirely to you!"
*
As always, Hans followed in Roman's shadow.
The place Roman eventually arrived at was the training ground. In the spacious yard, dozens of men were sweating as they trained.
"One!"
"One!"
"Two!"
"Two!"
They swung their swords in unison to the booming cadence.
Chris paced in front of the soldiers, correcting their postures, while the men focused on swinging their swords, adjusting their stances according to his instructions.
The recent war with Barco had sparked a blind loyalty within the troops.
Hadn't Roman defeated the 4-Star Swordsman Homeros, and Chris defeated the 3-Star Swordsman Janson? Their perception had completely shifted. Though they had once thought of them as mere figures from the fringes of the family, Roman and Chris no longer seemed like ordinary men.
"Chris."
"Did you call, my lord?"
Chris ran over in a single breath.
The soldiers continued their movements regardless. Roman watched them as he asked, "How is the training going?"
"I am teaching them the training method you showed me, my lord. Everyone is highly enthusiastic and quick to learn. I expect we will see rapid improvement soon."
After the war ended, Roman decided that he needed to expand his own forces. Thus, through Chris, he had passed down the basic cultivation methods of the Demonic Cult.
He taught them how to build basic internal energy using the Asura Mind Method, and how to efficiently strike down opponents with the Asura Sword Technique.
Though he called it "basic," in this world, such knowledge was nothing short of a supreme treasure.
Roman had bestowed a reward upon the soldiers who had fought alongside him, and that reward was the potential to become Aura Swordsmen. If they followed his teachings well, these thirty-odd soldiers might experience the miracle of stepping onto the path of an Aura Swordsman.
This alone is not enough.
There had been unexpected variables in this war. Flare and Homeros. This was information Roman could not have obtained beforehand, and that lack of intelligence had nearly led them into a trap.
Fortunately, overwhelming martial power had solved all their problems. However, his experiences from his past life told him that he could not always rely on brute force to solve every issue.
I need my own intelligence network. An information force capable of analyzing an opponent down to their very core. The problem is that building such a network requires wealth and manpower, neither of which I can easily spare right now. Therefore, I must find a way to make the absolute most of my current position and circumstances.
His trip to the mine was an extension of this plan.
While he truly intended to experience Dmitry from the very bottom as he had told Hans, Roman also wanted to personally witness the source of the family's power as the eldest son of the Dmitry family.
Facing the reality of Dmitry. Only by fully grasping their current state could he find a way to properly utilize it.
A man like Roman never moved without a reason. Because he had a clear objective, he remained dedicated to his role without a single word of complaint, even while covered in dirt and dust.
And finally, Roman had one more thing to do.
"Chris. From now on, I will teach you a new swordsmanship."
At Roman's words, Chris felt his heart momentarily stop.
...He's going to teach me a sword technique as well?
In truth, Chris had been feeling a growing sense of frustration while teaching the soldiers. It wasn't that he didn't trust Roman, but seeing his lord bestow techniques upon others while teaching him nothing left him unable to grasp Roman's true intentions.
He had learned the Asura Sword Technique and the Asura Mind Method. However, Roman had explicitly told him to study them only from the perspective of an instructor, and not to make them his own.
Now, Roman finally revealed the reason.
"Your starting line was different from the others. Unlike those who had learned nothing, you had already built your own martial world, making it difficult for you to accept new knowledge. That is why I wanted you to develop flexibility of thought. The ability to think differently based on what you see and hear, rather than being trapped in rigid, conventional knowledge. If you hadn't shown the courage to accept a new world, you would not have survived your duel with the 3-Star Swordsman."
The duel with Janson had been a test.
On the stage set to push him, Chris had overcome his limits and severed the neck of a 3-Star Swordsman.
Now, he was finally ready to be taught something new.
Looking into Chris's silent eyes—eyes that burned with an insatiable desire for strength—Roman bestowed his grace upon him.
"The swordsmanship I will teach you from now on is called Lightning."
The Lightning Sword.
A technique that had once ruled the Murim. The absolute, ultimate technique of the man once hailed as one of the Ten Great Masters of the World was about to be passed down to Chris.