The Failed Swordmaster - Chapter 126

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 126 48. Now It Begins (3)

“Huh?”

Semu wore a dazed expression.

For Tania to refuse. He hadn’t expected it at all.

Though he couldn’t spend time with her as often as Lumian did, she had always treated him very kindly. That’s why Semu thought if he asked her, she would definitely agree to travel together.

But the result was as you can see – a sharp refusal.

Semu spoke with a trembling voice.

“Y-you’re joking, right? Tania? Right?”

“No, sorry. I’m not joking.”

“You are joking! You are joking! Tania wants to travel with me too!”

The tears he had held back in front of Lumian now flowed out. Seeing the teardrops rolling down, Tania’s heart ached.

But what couldn’t be done couldn’t be done.

She deliberately put on an even colder expression to show her refusal.

“No. This wandering training will be just me and Lumian, the two of us.”

“…Really? Really just the two of you?”

“Yes. I’m sorry.”

“…”

“Just in case, if you secretly follow us and get caught, you’ll really be in trouble.”

Tania spoke in a stern voice.

If she didn’t do this, he really seemed like he would follow them. That wasn’t what she wanted.

“…Stupid.”

“Cursing won’t help.”

“Stupid! Dumb dog! Blockhead!”

“You little! No matter how angry you are, you shouldn’t use such words!”

“Hmph! Hmph! You won’t even let me join the trip! I hate it! I’ll say whatever I want!”

“Semu.”

A hint of regret appeared on Tania’s face.

Though she had firmly closed her eyes and said no, her heart still ached.

She felt like a mean aunt who had refused her cute nephew’s request. She felt the need to cheer him up in some other way.

‘What do dragons like? Would giving him candy work?’

While she was thinking this, the hissing Subordinate suddenly shrieked.

“Stupid! Tania has a flat chest!”

“Wh-what?”

“Flat! Washboard! A wooden plank that’s the same front and back!”

“Y-you little!”

Enraged, Tania quickly swung her hand to catch Semu.

But it was too late. The Subordinate who had already thrown himself out the window said while crying.

“I hate everything! I’m going home!”

Poof!

Swoooosh-!

After returning to his true form, Semu flew away at a terrifying speed.

Watching him, Tania remained silent for a long time before painfully uttering one sentence.

“…I-I haven’t finished growing yet!”

It was an empty cry that no one could hear.

* * *

The next day. One day before Lumian Calard and Tania Eloise’s secret training.

Lumian confided this fact to Teoro and Cal Krone.

Both showed very surprised reactions.

“You’re going on a trip alone with Senior Tania?”

“This guy’s amazing. As soon as he heard the wandering training was canceled, he thought of something like this.”

Smack!

Cal Krone patted Lumian’s back. Lumian scratched the back of his head and laughed. This was the first time he’d received praise from the Subordinate regarding romance.

Feeling grateful to Morghen once again, he spoke in a lowered voice.

“Only you guys know about this. Officially, Senior Tania is going on wandering training with Professor Morghen.”

“Of course. I won’t say anything.”

“Do I look like someone who can’t keep secrets?”

Both nodded gravely. Only then did Lumian feel relieved and ask an additional question.

“But, during the trip… I mean…”

“Continue.”

“I mean… um, what I want to say is…”

“Ah, don’t be so frustrating and just say it quickly.”

Cal Krone scolded him, and Teoro also sent him an agreeing look.

After hesitating for a moment, Lumian confessed his true feelings in a small voice.

“Um, with Senior Tania… I want to advance things a bit more…”

“This guy really has grown.”

“Right. This is the most proactive I’ve ever seen Lumian.”

Teoro nodded.

Others might have thought ‘You took this long just to say that?’, but knowing him as they did, the two couldn’t think that way.

“Good. Let’s plan this together.”

“Right. It won’t be easy given Lumian’s personality, but if we put our heads together, we’ll come up with something.”

“Thanks, Friends.”

Lumian spoke with a sincere expression.

Actually, he had considered asking Morghen for the same kind of help, but he decided against it, thinking he had bothered his younger brother too much already.

‘More than anything, that guy is in an important period right now…’

He wasn’t talking about sword mastery. Currently, Morghen was spending most of his time trying to win over the Woman he was targeting.

And he had said he was finally seeing some results recently. The efforts he had invested over more than a month were beginning to bear fruit.

‘I can’t burden my younger brother anymore. So let me trust these guys.’

After briefly blessing Morghen’s future, Lumian turned his attention back to his Friends.

Though they lacked experience compared to Morghen, these guys were also veterans. Among their peers, they were unmatched.

As the two poured out various opinions, light began to shine into what had been a dark future.

It wasn’t completely bright, but it felt like enough to move forward.

Lumian bowed his head to express his gratitude.

“Thank you, big brothers.”

“Yeah, phew! Why is this so tiring?”

“Good work, Teoro.”

Teoro and Cal Krone encouraged each other.

They looked like laborers who had finished very difficult work. Seeing this, Lumian burst into laughter.

To think he’d see these guys having a friendly conversation. He thought quite a bit of time had passed.

‘Right. A lot of time has passed. I’m no longer who I used to be!’

Lumian closed his eyes once, then opened them and looked up.

The blue, clear sky gave him courage. He shouted in a heavy, powerful voice.

“I can do it! Lumian! Fighting!”

“It’s good that you’re motivated, but don’t overdo it.”

“Right. If you try to skip a step too quickly, you might completely ruin the relationship.”

“That’s right. I don’t know Senior Tania well, but she doesn’t seem like the open type in that regard.”

“Mm, right. She seems sincere about her work and thorough, so she might feel a bit stuffy.”

‘…She doesn’t seem as uptight as you guys think.’

Lumian mentally disagreed with his Friends’ words.

The naughty book found in Tania’s Room was evidence of that.

Of course, he couldn’t tell them about this. That would be very rude to her.

“What’s with that expression?”

“Right. Kind of annoying.”

“No, what’s wrong with my expression…?”

“You had some kind of unpleasant smile on your face.”

“No, don’t say weird things for no reason.”

Lumian dismissed Cal Krone’s words.

Fortunately, the topic quickly shifted to something else. Thanks to Teoro bringing up Bumer.

“You said the last destination of your trip is the capital of the Rodisia Kingdom? Going to see the Snow Flower Festival?”

“Yeah. When I looked into it, it seemed like a good place for couples to do various things.”

“It is pretty famous. But if you go there, you might run into Bumer?”

“Ah, that’s right. That guy left as soon as the semester ended.”

This was why Bumer Simpson wasn’t part of the current conversation.

He had received an invitation from his older girlfriend Deiner Selly and was heading to Rodisia instead of his family home. He was probably rushing there, saving every moment.

Lumian said.

“Well… it wouldn’t matter if we ran into each other, right? Actually, it might be fun to hang out together for a day or so.”

“True, couples hanging out together has its own kind of fun.”

“Right. When one side shows affection, the other side might get stimulated.”

“Oh, does that happen?”

“But if you’re not careful, it could lead to a fight. You have to be careful about that.”

Teoro didn’t spare his words of concern until the end.

Lumian grinned and patted his chest as he spoke.

“Don’t worry. I’ve gained some confidence now. I can do well.”

“…”

“Ah, I’m really fine, okay? Don’t make that face.”

“…Right.”

“Do your best.”

Teoro Shutgarn and Cal Krone both nodded with subtle expressions.

Honestly, their unease hadn’t disappeared, but what could they do? It wasn’t like they could follow along on a trip for two.

“I’ll do well and come back. You guys said you’re going back to your families the day after tomorrow?”

“I’m leaving the day after tomorrow, Cal Krone the day after that.”

“We won’t see each other until after vacation ends. See you later.”

“Go on in.”

After finishing his goodbyes, Lumian returned to the dormitory.

And once again he recalled the travel route, and the advice that Teoro and Cal Krone had given him.

After spending two hours like this, he finally opened his subspace backpack to check his travel supplies one last time before going to bed.

Of course, sleep didn’t come.

“Ah, might as well do some training.”

Rather than barely sleeping for an hour, it would be better to do some training. Lumian took the position for aura training.

Of course, this was also a failure. He couldn’t concentrate well.

‘No, I was concentrating just fine before entering the Demon King’s Castle…’

This can’t be happening!

After calming his mind with deep breaths, he attempted training once more.

And failed again.

Chirp- Tweet!

Tweet!

“…”

Bird sounds came from outside the window.

Lumian, who had stayed up all night with his eyes open until morning finally came, thought with a refreshed face.

‘It’s fine. At my level, I can easily go a week without sleep.’

Getting up from his spot, he quickly finished his preparations.

And with an excited heart, he headed to the meeting place. It was a full hour early, but he couldn’t wait any longer.

But then.

“Oh, senior? You came out early?”

“Ahaha… well, somehow? I, I just came out early to take a walk. But you came out early too?”

Tania spoke with a bright smile.

But her face looked somewhat tired.

As if she hadn’t slept properly.

However, Lumian, filled with nervousness, didn’t notice this.

He said.

“Ha, haha. I also just came out early to loosen up my body…”

“Really? What a coincidence. Haha.”

“Right! Hahaha!”

“…”

“…”

“Then, since it turned out this way, shall we leave early?”

“Shall we…?”

Tania nodded. Seeing her shy smile made Lumian’s heart pound.

She was so pretty. He couldn’t understand how he hadn’t noticed during the first semester.

‘I want to hold her hand.’

He approached Tania. And naturally took her hand.

Her slightly flustered appearance, yet not pulling her hand away, seemed cute to him.

Lumian said.

“Then, let’s go.”

“…Yes!”

Lumian and Tania, holding hands tightly. The two finally began their journey. Since it was early morning, there was no one to see them sharing their fresh and beautiful love.

If anything, only a single flying insect buzzing around Lumian.

Lumian frowned slightly and swatted it with his free right hand.

‘What’s a flying insect doing in the middle of winter?’

It was annoying. Of course, it wasn’t nearly enough to ruin the current good atmosphere.

He looked at Tania. She also looked at Lumian.

Smiles bloomed simultaneously on both their lips.

* * *

Flick!

“Good. Got it, got it.”

“His thoughts should start flowing in soon.”

Demon King Seks and his assistant Baku exchanged words while looking at a square screen. The screen was broadcasting Lumian Calard’s image from various angles.

This was Seks’s ability. Familiar Spirits. It was a useful black magic that allowed him to control beings inferior to himself at will.

Through this magic, he had sent thousands of flying insects into the human realm and moved them near Lumian Calard.

He wasn’t worried about being discovered. Since they were small creatures, no magical energy could be felt from them.

‘With these guys, I can safely watch that monster 24 hours a day. Not only that…’

Seks grinned.

As a demon king and skilled black mage, he possessed a special ability.

Through the familiars he controlled, he could peek into the deep-seated thoughts of other beings.

‘A guy at that level would have strong mental defenses, but if I use the stimulus from the moment a familiar dies, I should be able to break through to some extent. It would have been better if it wasn’t a flying insect.’

If he could utilize larger creatures like wolves, he could extract more specific and abundant thoughts, but that carried too much risk.

But it was fine. Even if the thoughts readable through flying insects were limited, dozens or hundreds of them would accumulate enough information.

That much would be more than enough to identify that human’s psychological weaknesses.

Rather, if thoughts could be read despite the familiar’s limitations, they would certainly be parts that the guy normally valued highly.

‘Beliefs, values, thoughts, or precious people that he absolutely cannot give up… things like that.’

It couldn’t help but be extremely useful information.

Having thought this far, Sekus slowly closed his eyes.

“Mm, it’s coming. I can feel it.”

“Oh, finally.”

Baku chimed in.

How dare he show such frivolous attitude when the Demon King was working. What a wretched subordinate.

But he let it slide. It wasn’t just a day or two that Eujae had been acting carelessly.

He cleared his throat with a cough, then began to read the information flowing into his mind.

Unfortunately, it was just one word. He spoke aloud that word which might be an important clue.

“Sex.”

“….”

“….”

“….”

“…?”

Demon King Seks and Baku looked at each other wordlessly.

A long silence followed.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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