The Failed Swordmaster - Chapter 127
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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 127 49. The Hero’s Secret Inner Thoughts (1)
A heavy atmosphere.
Baku, the Demon King’s subordinate who had been keeping silent for quite some time, finally managed to speak with difficulty.
“Boss, what did you just say…?”
“Right. What did I just say?”
“You said sex.”
“Did you think I didn’t know that, you bastard?”
“Not Sekus, but sex, right?”
“What? This guy, how dare you joke around with your boss’s name?”
Whoooosh!
Intense demonic energy burst forth from Sekus’s body. He thought he was being mocked.
However, Baku was serious. He waved both hands to calm the Demon King.
“No, boss. What if that hero actually knows about your existence?”
“Does that make sense? I’ve only been Demon King for a week, how could that bastard know?”
“But, but… sex?”
“…”
“For the thoughts of a hero who defeated the Demon King, isn’t it too… frivolous and materialistic?”
“Hmm…”
Demon King Sekus let out a groan.
He also agreed with Baku’s words.
Of course, that didn’t mean sex wasn’t important.
For humans, for demons too. No, for all living beings, reproductive acts were truly important.
But was it important enough to take priority over all other beliefs, values, and thoughts? That was questionable.
‘He’s not some back-alley thug but the strongest knight in the human realm…’
Sekus’s expression became deeply furrowed.
It felt like an unsolvable riddle had fallen before his eyes.
Baku said.
“Boss, let’s send one more.”
“Hmm.”
“Thinking about it calmly again, I think it’s possible. We didn’t extract much information, and we only read one of the countless thoughts in the hero’s head.”
“That’s true.”
“I think we just got unlucky. As samples accumulate, the truly important things will be revealed. It’s not time to panic yet.”
“Right, you’re correct.”
Sekus nodded. Then he waved his hand and sent another flying insect toward Lumian.
Bzzzzzz-!
The familiar buzzing around his ear. Lumian Calard frowned at the unpleasant sound. He dealt with the flying insect as the Demon King intended.
Crack!
Whooooom-!
Along with that, thoughts began flowing in again.
This time it was higher quality information than before.
“Oh, this time it’s a sentence.”
“A sentence instead of a word? Good. We can get more specific information.”
“Right. Indeed, what kind of thoughts will flow in this time… Oh…”
Sekus closed his eyes.
Then, just like before, the hero’s thoughts began seeping into his mind.
Without delay, he spoke them out letter by letter, clearly.
“I, can, no, long, er… hold, back… no, more…”
“…”
Baku’s face became serious upon hearing the Demon King’s words.
Seeing this, Sekus’s expression also became serious.
“…”
“…”
Silence fell once again.
The two remained like that for a long time, doing nothing but staring at each other.
* * *
“Ahh, this is great!”
Walking along the road that stretched across the plain, Tania Eloise shouted.
Her clear voice echoed across the bright sky. Lumian Calard, who was watching her fondly, asked.
“What’s so good about it?”
“Of course it’s good! This is my first time wandering around alone like this!”
Tania spun around with a beaming smile.
Then she spread both arms and spun twice while looking at the sky.
She looked extremely refreshed.
“Your first time?”
“Yeah. Usually when I travel between the Academy and home, the family sends people with me.”
“I see.”
“Of course it’s convenient having people to attend to me, but it gets quite stuffy. It’s hard to stop by places here and there as I please.”
Lumian nodded.
He understood completely. In his previous life, he had often wandered around on missions, and in this life too, he originally traveled alone.
‘Though that’s because we’re not a well-off family like the Eloise Family…’
Setting that aside, he too found it more comfortable to roam freely alone rather than having various people attached to him.
“Ahh, great. I feel incredibly good. This feels even more refreshing than the first day I left home and entered the dormitory. I’m completely excited!”
As if to prove her words, Tania skipped forward with light steps.
Watching her, Lumian said.
“Isn’t it even better because you’re traveling with me?”
“Huh?”
“If you think about it, you’re not really alone. Isn’t it better because I’m here?”
“…Huh?”
Tania stopped in her tracks. Meanwhile, Lumian walked forward with big steps.
As the distance between them narrowed again and they looked at each other, Tania suddenly burst into laughter.
“Puhup! Hey, what’s that? Where did you learn to say things like that?”
“Ah, no! I didn’t learn it anywhere!”
“As if! I bet Cal Krone put you up to it. Puhehe.”
She covered her mouth with her hand and laughed. Seeing this, Lumian’s face turned bright red.
It was already an embarrassing thing to say, and being teased made him even more ashamed. He raised his voice.
“Ah, really. Stop laughing.”
“I don’t want to? I told you earlier, right? I’m in a really good mood right now. So I can laugh for a whole hour over nothing.”
“Sigh, do whatever you want.”
“What, are you sulking? Hey, but it wasn’t bad though.”
“After teasing me completely, what do you mean.”
“No. I was still a little excited.”
Tania said in a slightly subdued voice.
There was still laughter remaining, but some seriousness was added. She added one more comment.
“If you try just a little bit harder, I might get even more excited.”
“…Hmm.”
“Ah, it’s cold. Should we hold hands while walking?”
“Huh? Ah?”
“Geez.”
Grab.
Tania took Lumian’s hand.
She let out a “Hmph” and smiled brightly before turning her gaze forward. Lumian wore a dazed expression.
Tania’s current behavior was actually part of Lumian’s plan.
Since it’s chilly, let’s at least hold hands while walking.
Though such words wouldn’t work on someone who was an Expert, it was perfect as an excuse.
‘But I didn’t expect her to reach for my hand first.’
Of course, holding hands wasn’t that big a deal. They had often done so even before dating, so there was nothing surprising about it.
‘But it’s true that she seems more proactive today!’
Had her heart become more open due to their first trip together?
Or had the fact that there was no one else around but the two of them made her bolder?
He wasn’t sure exactly what the reason was.
However, it certainly wasn’t a bad situation. Lumian gulped.
‘Progress…’
What Morghen, Teoro, and Cal Krone had so fervently advocated for.
And what he himself had thirsted for with burning desire – physical intimacy progress.
At this thought, Lumian’s body heated up. Despite the winter weather, sweat beaded on his back.
He glanced sideways at Tania. Her cheeks and earlobes were slightly flushed.
But he couldn’t tell whether it was due to the current atmosphere or the cold weather.
What was she feeling right now?
He was certain she liked him, but… he was desperately curious about how much she had opened her heart.
‘If only I could know that, I could try without worry… No, I shouldn’t think like that!’
Lumian shook his head slightly.
It was an absurd thought.
Not just himself, but everyone was ignorant of others’ hearts.
How they thought of him, what they thought of his words, his actions, how they viewed the current situation. None of it could be known for certain. One could only guess.
Yet still, they moved forward.
Carrying excitement and fear, forcibly squeezing out courage to act.
‘I can do it too. I successfully confessed, didn’t I?’
That’s right. Though in a completely different way than planned, he already had a record of breaking through tremendous pressure once.
If he did it once, there was no reason he couldn’t do it twice. He could do it. He could become even closer with Tania.
As he was thinking this, he saw a carriage approaching from ahead.
This was the moment. Having made his decision, Lumian let go of Tania’s hand just as the carriage drew near.
“Hm?”
She gave him a puzzled look. It was natural since he had suddenly released the hand they were holding well.
However, this was merely one step back for two steps forward.
“Be careful, senior.”
“Huh?”
Lumian wrapped his arm around Tania’s shoulder and pulled her toward himself.
A movement as if protecting the lady from the quickly passing carriage. It was quite a romantic gesture, but Tania couldn’t help but look flustered.
That was because the gap between the carriage and them was quite wide.
Moreover, were they ordinary people?
One had earned the title of strongest on the continent, and the other had reached the brilliant realm of Sword Expert. For such people to make a fuss over a mere carriage made no sense.
“The, the carriage was passing too quickly…”
“R-right. I wasn’t watching, thank you.”
But neither Lumian nor Tania pointed this out.
Rather, they deliberately ignored it. A strange atmosphere flowed between them.
In that state, Lumian recalled his conversation with Teoro.
‘The shoulder is a strategic stronghold.’
‘Really? Isn’t the hand or shoulder pretty much the same?’
‘No way. It’s incomparable to the hand. If you put your arm around the shoulder, you can also touch her hair.’
‘Ah, I see.’
‘And that’s not the end of it. Think about moving your hand down instead of up. What would be there?’
‘…!’
Lumian glanced sideways again. Tania’s chest came into view.
Not large, but that place with beautiful curves completely different from a man’s.
‘No, that’s still too much.’
He hadn’t even kissed her yet, let alone a peck on the cheek.
He couldn’t aim for that place in his current state.
Lumian removed his hand from her shoulder and said.
“Sh-shall we go?”
“Y-yes, yeah! Hahaha, right!”
The two, holding hands again, looked at each other and laughed awkwardly.
Both their faces were dyed bright red without exception.
For them, winter was no longer a cold season.
* * *
While Lumian Calard and Tania Eloise were on their secret date disguised as wandering training.
Demon King Seks and Baku, who were watching them, wore extremely serious expressions.
“Are you really going up there?”
“Yes. Lumian Calard… I need to properly find out that guy’s true thoughts to put my mind at ease.”
“…”
“What an incredible guy… To think he’s maintaining such thorough self-management even after dealing with the Demon King.”
Though an enemy, he couldn’t help but respect him.
Three days since the journey began, during that time Seks had sent about 100 flying insects to Lumian. And through this, he was able to obtain a considerable amount of information.
But he couldn’t achieve the desired results.
51 out of 100 attempts resulted in: sex.
33 out of 100 attempts resulted in: castration.
14 out of 100 attempts resulted in: physical contact.
A total of 98 attempts had produced results worse than garbage.
“It’s certain. This guy is deliberately thinking useless thoughts. He’s defending against possible mental attacks through this.”
“Maybe his thoughts are just temporarily focused in that direction because of the woman next to him?”
Baku posed a sharp question, but Seks shook his head with a heavy expression.
“Then what about the 33 thoughts related to castration?”
“…”
“Do you think having such thoughts while facing a woman is normal?”
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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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