Chapter 75
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: Swordran Training Camp, Admission (3)
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Roin and Dian headed to the Equid Merchant Group, dragging along the thug who had tried to snatch the lip gloss from Roin.
The merchants guarding the shop were startled to see them hauling in an unfamiliar man.
D-Dian! Who the hell is that guy?
Ah, dont worry about it. Just keep doing your thing. Oh, and.
Dian decided to seal their lips, just in case.
Dont tell anyone we brought this guy here. Even if the security forces show up, act like you dont know anything.
Yes, understood.
Alright, then. Carry on.
They had no idea what was going on.
But since it was Dians order, they decided to obey without question.
Meanwhile.
Roin and Dian took the unconscious man to the merchant groups warehouse.
The two roughly dumped him onto a pile of straw.
With a thud! A groan escaped the fainted mans lips.
Ugh!
You awake now?
Roin squatted down and looked down at the man lying there.
The moment he saw Roin, the man freaked out.
W-Where is this!
You can scream your head off, but no ones coming to save you, so just give up and answer my questions obediently. And by the way, Im warning you ahead of time.
Roin clenched his fist, and a crunch! crack! echoed from it.
I-Ive got a really bad temper, so think carefully before you answer.
.
Dian, standing behind Roin, chimed in to emphasize that Roin meant it.
Roin had only one question for the man.
Whos collecting the lip gloss.
If it was about money, stealing something more expensive would be better.
Of course, the lip gloss market price and rarity had skyrocketed lately, but it still wasnt enough for a single tube to make someone rich overnight.
So Roin figured.
The one collecting lip gloss had to be someone like him, with beauty as the goal.
The man asked in a terrified expression.
What are you gonna do if you find out?
What else? Im gonna take all the lip gloss that bastard collected.
Return it to the people who had it stolen?
No way in hell.
Roin had no intention of doing that.
Hed use it all himself.
Roin had no altruism.
As long as he came out on top, that was fine.
The man couldnt make heads or tails of Roins attitude.
But what could he do.
If he didnt talk, it was obvious what would happen to him next.
Terrified, the man decided to cooperate with Roin.
Uh, some guy told me to collect them.
A guy?
Yeah. Not just lip gloss, but anything helpful for the lips or throathe told me to grab it all, no matter what. Hes pretty famous around here.
What? He a bard or something?
The only people whod put this much effort into lip and throat care that came to mind were bards.
Since their job was using their voice.
So. Who is this guy?
I dont know his name exactly, but he had this one weird thing.
The info the man shared made Roins ears perk up.
He had his eyes covered with bandages.
A man with his eyes covered in bandages.
Roins expression hardened in an instant.
Come to think of it, speech sorcerers do need to take good care of their mouth and throat.
The thought hit him, and Roin shot his arm out.
He suddenly grabbed the mans collar with one hand.
You. Stop right there. Especially dont say his name. Unless you want your head exploding and dying. Got it?
Guhk!
Even if he wanted to speak, Roin was gripping his collar so tight the man couldnt talk, let alone breathe.
The moment he heard man with eyes covered in bandages, Roin recalled the speech sorcerer hed briefly encountered in the capital, Endla.
Anyone who even hinted at the speech sorcerers identity met the exact same gruesome death.
Thats why no one could ever catch the bastard.
Roin never imagined hed run into someone whod actually met the speech sorcerer right here.
He didnt want to let this hard-earned lead slip away so easily.
Without thinking ahead, Roin first went straight for choking(?) the man.
Dian smirked from behind.
If youre gonna kill him, you shouldve done it right there on the spot. Why bother killing him in someone elses warehouse?
Thats not it, you idiot. Theres a reason for this.
Dian still didnt know the full details about the speech sorcerer.
To make sure he released the mans collar safely, Roin warned him earnestly.
Dont say a single word from now on. Only speak when I tell you to. Unless you wanna die. Got it?
.
The man nodded vigorously.
Just to be safe, Roin stuffed a rag in the mans mouth.
Then he made another request to Dian.
Contact Helond and tell him to come pick this guy up.
Thats all I need to say?
Yeah. Tell him this guys had contact with the man with the bandaged eyes, and Helond will handle the rest.
Got it. But that bandage guy? Whats the big deal about him?
Dian was willing to help, but he wanted to know what was going on.
Hold on.
Roin called timeout and knocked the man out again.
Only then did he tell Dian everything he wanted to hear.
Once Dian heard the full story, he finally understood why Roin was acting this way.
So that guy might be connected to your past life?
Exactly. He could even be the one behind turning me into this face.
You sure?
Thats why I have to find out from here on.
First catch the speech sorcerer, then confirm the facts.
Dian could sort of understand Roins actions.
Youre reborn as a total hunk nowdo you really need to obsess over the past? You hate hassle, dont you.
This isnt about hassle. Think about it. For whatever reason, they already messed up my looks once before, right? Whats stopping them from doing it again? Right?
If they tracked him down again and cursed him like in his past life, the same tragedy could repeat.
And Ill never forgive the bastards who ruined my life like that. No matter who they are, Ill find them and get revenge.
Roins thirst for revenge had already peaked.
Not even a god could stop him now.
Dian knew well how much Roin had suffered in his past life because of his looks.
So he could somewhat accept Roin burning with vengeance like this.
Alright. Ill contact Helond. Want me to let you know as soon as info comes in?
Yeah. Appreciate it.
But youll be at the training camp by then. You cant just leave whenever. How you gonna handle that?
No problem.
Roin had already thought it through.
Worst case, I just ditch the enrollment.
To Roin, this was way more important than joining Swordran.
Helond, summoned by Dian, handed the unconscious man off to the young butler whod come with him, Penian.
Lord Roin must have already arrived at the training camp by now.
Dian nodded at that.
He said times tight.
Indeed. Whod have thought wed find a trace of the speech sorcerer in a place like this.
But now came the important part.
No one knew what kind of binding spell might be on this man.
They had to extract as much info on the speech sorcerer as possible while being cautious.
That was the task Helond had received from Roin.
Anyway, understood. Thanks for your hard work, Dian. Well be off then.
Yeah. Ill share whatever I hear too.
Much appreciated.
Helping in tough timesthats what friends are for.
Roin had saved Dians life multiple times, making him more than a friend.
Thats why Dian was fully on board with helping Roin.
Roin rode hard to the training camp without stopping.
Fortunately, he wasnt late.
He barely made it to the enrollment test site, dismounted, grabbed his gear, and headed to where the applicants were gathered.
Luem, whod been looking for Roin, greeted him with a delighted expression.
Lord Roin! I was so worried you wouldnt make it. Why are you so late?
Got held up. The enrollment test hasnt started yet, right?
No. Theyre doing ID checks in order now. Were up soon.
Roin nodded.
A woman in the same uniform as the staff hed seen in the capital Endla approached him.
Ill verify your identity. May I have your name?
Roin Leyden.
Roin Leyden. Son of Baron Lucas Leyden, correct?
Yes.
May I see your ID?
Roin pulled his ID from his pocket and showed it to her.
After confirming his identity, Roin received a number along with Luem.
123.
Numbers were usually assigned in arrival order starting from 1.
That meant.
At least 123 applicants, minimum.
That was a lot.
Competition would be fierce.
Swordran had no limit on recruits.
It was absolute evaluationif you beat Swordrans cutoff score, you were in.
On average, about 10 passed per year.
But that was from Roins past memories.
Luem.
Yes, Lord Roin.
How many passed last year?
The enrollment test?
No, the Swordran entry exam.
He was curious how many had actually become Swordran knights.
Luems expression soured at the question.
Actually, before you got here, I heard some bad news.
What?
Last years passers. It was.
Heres what Luem told him.
Zero. Not a single one.
Last year, not a single mid-level knight who enrolled in the training camp made it into Swordran.
Roin found that suspicious.
Not even one?
Yes.
For real? You didnt hear wrong?
I thought so too at first. But I checked, and its true.
Even with Swordrans high standards, how could zero pass? It didnt make sense.
Youre worried too, right Lord Roin?
No matter how great Roin was, Luem figured hed be anxious hearing this.
But Luems guess was way off.
Nah, sounds fun instead.
For the first time in a while, the corners of Roins mouth twitched upward.