Chapter 2
Chapter 2
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Dragon Slayer
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Everyone gathered in the training grounds couldn't hide their shock.
One of the five-year-olds assembled at the main house this year had acted out of the blue.
Berddin de Strange, the youngest son of the main family, with his sharp eyes that seemed laced with venom.
While the other children were sprinting with all their might to choose a Guardian Spirit, he alone stood there with a relaxed expression, picking up a shabby jar nearby.
'Idiots. You couldn't contract with Siegfried anyway.'
The jar wouldn't break unless you were the chosen one.
Whoosh—
Berddin hurled the jar toward the center of the training grounds.
Crash!
At the same time, two jars shattered.
One was the shabby jar he had thrown. The other was the most ornate one among those in the training grounds.
The startled children halted their steps and glanced around nervously.
Even their parents watching the scene and the knights conducting the ritual didn't know how to react to Berddin's sudden action.
They merely alternated wide-eyed stares between Berddin and the jars.
Some thought, 'How dare he ruin this sacred ritual!' but they didn't voice it.
The head of the Strange Family was quietly observing, so how could outsiders speak first?
Not just the family head—even the elders remained silent.
Berddin smiled at them.
'They're not intervening after all. Or rather, they can't. There were no rules set for how to break the jars anyway.'
They had only said to break them.
Swoosh!
Thick smoke billowed strongly from the two shattered jars.
The two Guardian Spirits trapped inside revealed themselves.
A spear knight in silver armor with a massive build, and a swordsman with long, flowing red hair.
One was the first head of the Strange Family, the emperor who had conquered the continent.
The other was the hero who had inherited the Strange Family's blood, slain a dragon from another world, and brought peace.
Both were Guardian Spirits who had dominated their eras.
Step, step, step.
Berddin stood indifferently before them. Then, he whispered softly to the two Guardian Spirits.
"Fight. The winner comes with me."
It was an absurd proposal.
Or more precisely, it was closer to a threat than a proposal.
The two Guardian Spirits were so stunned they said nothing, merely staring at Berddin with bewildered expressions.
What gave this kid the confidence to act like this toward us?
Despite the absurdity, they couldn't treat his dignified demeanor lightly.
'...Interesting.'
Roys de Strange's lips twitched as he stroked his beard.
He had overseen dozens of these rituals, but no one had ever done something like this.
Not only had he boldly shattered two jars at once, but one was the Sword God's jar, untouched for a century—and he broke it so easily.
A smile crept onto Roys's face despite his efforts to hide it; he couldn't contain his expression.
"If you don't fight, I won't choose either of you."
Berddin turned his back.
"You should know what happens then, right?"
His calm voice and casual gesture.
In stark contrast, the two Guardian Spirits panicked, waving their hands and opening their mouths silently.
They seemed desperate to speak, but conversation was impossible.
You couldn't hear the voice of a Guardian Spirit until a contract was made.
After a few seconds, the Guardian Spirits glared at each other murderously.
They met eyes, nodded, and raised their weapons.
They had apparently accepted Berddin's proposal and resolved to duel.
Those called emperor and hero had yielded to a mere five-year-old's threat.
Berddin glanced back to check their reaction.
The two had already begun a flashy battle.
However, only a rare few could witness it.
No matter how much Strange Family blood one had, those who hadn't opened their aura couldn't see Guardian Spirits directly.
Thus, to behold this scene, one needed to have opened their aura or possessed equivalent power.
And there were scant few with such strength here.
'Amazing.'
At that moment, Valentine de Strange, the third child of the Strange Family, who witnessed it, clapped without realizing.
She never usually attended such events. Her presence today was mere coincidence.
She had come to greet her father while visiting the main house, never expecting to see something so astonishing.
She cautiously approached Roys's side.
"Father."
Roys silently raised a finger to his lips without replying.
Understanding, Valentine bowed her head and stepped back.
Her father must have been quite shocked by the Guardian Spirits' fight too.
"Valentine."
"Yes, Father."
"How long did it take you to break a jar during your ritual?"
"About an hour."
"I see."
"Yes. The first jar I chose rejected the contract, so I took time finding the best among the rest."
"Rejected the contract..."
"I still remember it. I punched it with all my strength, but it wouldn't break. It was like an invisible barrier blocked it."
"......"
Time passed, and the two Guardian Spirits' battle ended.
The silver smoke, struck in a vital point by the red smoke, poured to the ground and lost its form.
Siegfried, who claimed victory after the long fight, furiously worked his lips in anger.
His words were inaudible, but it seemed like curses.
Berddin slowly walked to the surviving Siegfried and extended his hand with a bright smile.
"My name is Berddin. Your descendant, the one who will be called Sword King, and the future master of this continent."
"The ritual is now concluded."
Roys's voice boomed across the training grounds.
At that moment, joy and sorrow crossed the faces of those who had participated.
Some had successfully chosen a Guardian Spirit, opening paths to elevated status. Others, failing to do so, faced uncertain futures.
For five-year-olds, their lives were thus decided. The fate of those born into the Strange Family was harsh and merciless.
Clack, clack, clack.
The training grounds emptied, leaving only the family head, Roys, who began walking along the traces of the ritual.
His steps halted at the spot strewn with ruby-colored jar shards.
The place where Sword God Siegfried had contracted with Berddin.
"...Even I couldn't break this jar."
Normally, he would have left immediately after the ritual ended, but he lingered for one reason.
The jar that even he, called the continent's strongest swordsman, hadn't been chosen for had shattered.
Not just one, but two at once. It was unbelievable, yet he had seen it.
"Amazing."
Roys let out the admiration he had held back.
He didn't deny what happened today. He simply admired Berddin's extraordinary talent.
As family head, Roys spent at least 360 days a year away from the castle.
Fulfilling imperial missions or ascending towers for years of training left him few chances to meet his five-year-old son.
He only received reports on the children at the main house and their growth via the knight commander.
Thus, this ritual was profoundly shocking to Roys.
Swoosh—
Black smoke swirled behind him, revealing Roys's Guardian Spirit, once called the Dark King.
A massive man with one side of his face kindly, the other furiously wrathful.
"An impressive one has appeared. To take Sword God Siegfried like that."
"Indeed. I'd heard the youngest wasn't ordinary, but I didn't expect this."
"Who told him how to break the jar?"
"How to break the jar?"
"Yes, the method."
"...The guardian knights waiting in the training grounds explain the ritual before it begins."
"The guardian knights?"
"Yes. They gather all the children and explain the ritual."
"Including how to break two at once?"
Roys shrugged.
"...No. I didn't know that method either. I've never thought of breaking them simultaneously, and no one ever has."
"Coincidence, then?"
"Do you think it was coincidence?"
"...If not coincidence, instinct perhaps."
"Coincidence or instinct, it changes nothing—he took the Sword God."
Roys's eyes gleamed with meaningful intent.
"Interesting things will happen soon."
Sword God Siegfried's jar had been broken.
Berddin's siblings reacted variously upon hearing the news.
The rumor, spread through Valentine's lips and growing exaggerated, portrayed Berddin as a monster.
Some harbored envious jealousy and hated him; others rejoiced that a blessing had come to the family.
How many can sincerely congratulate another's good fortune?
The answer was obvious.
Nine out of ten wouldn't offer kind words. In the end, the rumor wasn't entirely favorable to Berddin.
Especially since his one-year-older brothers, with whom he had to live in the mansion for years, heard it.
Pour—
I dumped the entire contents of the teacup into the flowerpot.
The silver stirrer prepared for sugar turned black. The plant hit by the tea withered and rotted in an instant.
A lethal poison that would have killed me if drunk carelessly.
Of course, since I'd experienced it before regression, there was no real danger.
'Same as before or now—no difference.'
The Strange Family's greatest Guardian Spirit, Sword God Siegfried.
Since I took him, someone had attempted assassinations day and night.
Without fail, they tampered with food or released snakes or scorpions in my bed.
Did they have to go this far against a mere five-year-old? The answer was obvious.
'Cut the bud before it grows.' They wanted to eliminate me.
To become the master of this castle.
And the culprits were none other than—
"Hey! Berddin!"
A shrill, grating voice.
"Why'd you throw out the tea our mom made?"
"Yeah, brother. Looks like we need to knock some sense into him today."
"Oh! Yeah, yeah, tell him to summon that Sword God or whatever!"
Tony, Jony, and Rony—the trio who ruled this castle.
'As expected, it's you guys.'
They wore vile smirks.