The Failed Swordmaster - Chapter 144

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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 144 56. Knight Department Freshman Orientation (1)

“Sigh.”

Lumian, lying in his room, let out a sigh.

It was a very deep sigh. Deep enough that even the usually bright and cheerful Semu was reading the mood.

And for good reason, since it had already been a whole week since he’d been able to have a conversation with Tania.

Whenever she encountered him on campus, she would obviously avert her gaze and walk in a different direction. She was clearly avoiding him.

‘Of course, if I forced myself to follow her, I could probably talk to her…’

The problem was that Lumian himself was also feeling a subtle sense of relief at her avoidance.

He let out another sigh.

“Siiigh…”

Marriage.

He had never thought about it once, neither in his previous life nor in this one.

He had lived 60 years as a virgin and was only just starting his first romance. There was no way he could have seriously thought about marriage.

‘Saying I gave the gift without knowing its meaning doesn’t make sense.’

According to Morghen, the only people who didn’t know about Erve Merrang’s proposal incident would be slash-and-burn farmers in remote mountain valleys.

No, whether it was famous or not wasn’t really important.

How could he possibly say, ‘Sorry, I didn’t know that’s what it meant. I do like you, but I’m not thinking about marriage, so don’t worry!’?

‘…What should I do?’

Lumian closed his eyes.

Either way, what was done was done.

Though she was avoiding him right now, someday Tania would give him an answer about the sapphire necklace. Whether acceptance or rejection.

And that wasn’t something he could control.

So what he needed to think about now wasn’t her feelings, but his own.

‘How do I feel about marrying Tania?’

Honestly, he didn’t know. He really didn’t know. His expression grew heavy.

It wasn’t that he didn’t love her. Rather, he harbored an unbelievably deep affection for the time they’d known each other.

But marriage and romance were completely different matters. Lumian continued to question himself.

Was he ready to spend his entire life with Tania Eloise?

Would he be able to get along well with her family too?

Conversely, what would his parents think about Tania?

Was he confident he wouldn’t regret marrying at such a young age?

“I don’t know…”

Lumian shook his head.

No answers came. The life experience he’d accumulated over more than 60 years was of no help at all.

Faced with the weighty matter of marriage, he had become a perfect sixteen-year-old youth.

Another sigh, and then another, continued to escape from his lips.

The young dragon Semu was watching him with a pitying expression.

* * *

“Hey.”

“…”

“Hey, hey! Lumian! Lumian Calard!”

“Huh, what?”

Lumian, who had been mechanically swinging his sword, suddenly snapped back to attention.

When he turned his head, he saw the faces of Teoro Shutgarn, Bumer Simpson, and Cal Krone.

Teoro spoke again to him with his dazed expression.

“Let’s stop. Let’s go eat.”

“Eat? It’s still too early for a meal…”

“You can’t concentrate anyway. Let’s get some good food and change your mood. I’ll pay.”

“Uh… hmm.”

“What do you mean ‘hmm.’ Hurry up and wash up, let’s go.”

Cal Krone grumbled and moved first. Teoro and Bumer followed behind him. Their attitude said they wouldn’t accept any objections.

Lumian watched their retreating figures for a moment and let out a small laugh.

‘Do I look that troubled?’

Two days since he’d confided about the sapphire necklace. His friends had been trying all day to cheer him up.

None of them joked around or teased him. Even the clueless Bumer kept his mouth shut, and even the rude Cal Krone was careful with his words.

It couldn’t be helped. Since the matter was so much more serious than usual, they couldn’t act comfortably either.

‘What is this really…’

The stress was too severe.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Tania was still avoiding him. It seemed like she was also agonizing tremendously, just like him.

He was both grateful and disappointed by this. And also burdened.

At least he was somewhat relieved that she hadn’t immediately rejected him without thought. It seemed certain that her feelings for him weren’t light.

‘No, instead of thinking the same thoughts over and over and over again, I need to first decide my own feelings clearly…’

“Ugh!”

He still didn’t know.

Even Morghen, a master of romance, even Teoro, who always gave worthwhile advice, couldn’t counsel him on such a difficult matter. It was natural that a conclusion wouldn’t come easily.

It seemed like this current agony would continue for quite a while longer.

Though he felt like he was withering away day by day, there was no other way. Lumian wore a bitter smile as he followed his friends.

Then, he noticed two people talking up ahead.

“Hmm. I saw it yesterday too, but the facilities are really lacking. I don’t like it.”

“What do facilities matter, young master? This is an opportunity to receive direct instruction from a Sword Master. We must seize it.”

“But… it’s still shabby.”

A young man constantly complaining and an elderly man accepting it with a gentle face.

They seemed to be a noble’s son newly enrolling in the academy and his attendant.

Since it was before the first semester started, it wasn’t a particularly unusual sight, but Lumian perked up his ears and eavesdropped on their conversation.

Because their accent was different from the people of Tarasan.

Though the entire continent had been using the same language for hundreds of years, each region still retained its unique feel.

They seemed to be from the western part of the continent. Lumian, finding this strange, muttered.

“Are they foreigners? Why would they specifically enroll in another country’s academy?”

“Didn’t you read the guide?”

“What guide? Oh, that thing.”

Hearing Bumer’s words, Lumian nodded after a moment.

A paper with the new semester schedule, required textbooks, and other miscellaneous information had been delivered to his room a few days ago. It definitely had been.

However, since he currently had no mental capacity to think about anything else, he had shoved it in a drawer without reading it.

Lumian asked.

“I didn’t read it. Why?”

“Half of this term’s Knight Department freshmen are foreigners.”

“That many? Why?”

He couldn’t understand it.

The Kingdom of Tarasan was a small country.

Though it was putting considerable effort into nurturing talent despite its size, it still didn’t possess an academy excellent enough to attract interest from other countries. Therefore, 99 percent of the students had to be nationals.

But half the freshmen were foreigners?

His question was immediately resolved.

“Think about the Knight Department professors. They’re incredible.”

“Ah… that’s true.”

Lumian nodded.

That was certainly true. The current Knight Department possessed excellent professors incomparable to this time last year.

Rhodesia’s young knight, Irene Curtis.

Jenas’s high knight, Bercal Garcia.

And finally, one of fewer than 100 Sword Masters on the continent and a legend in the mercenary world, Morghen.

They were figures that would make anyone’s head spin. If they could learn from them, nobles throughout the continent who didn’t care about distance or money were swarming.

‘Besides, considering Tania’s performance at the swordsmanship competition last year… I can roughly guess how the rumors spread.’

The beaming faces of the Academy Director and Knight Department Head naturally came to mind. Though someone else had done the actual work, it had happened under their jurisdiction after all.

Of course, it had nothing to do with him.

Whether Tarasan Academy’s prestige rose or not, whether half the new students were foreigners or not – he didn’t want to care. The current Lumian was already exhausted just thinking about Tania.

Shaking his head, he withdrew his gaze and continued on his way. His companions did the same.

Then, the young man who had been irritably scolding his attendant spoke toward Lumian.

“Hey, you there.”

“…Me?”

“Yes, you. I don’t know the way around here – which direction are the training grounds?”

His tone was ambiguous – you couldn’t quite say he was being polite, but you couldn’t say he wasn’t either.

What was certain was that this wasn’t the attitude a newly enrolled freshman should display.

The expressions of Lumian and the others hardened.

“Don’t you know? Aren’t you a student here?”

“…”

Teoro silently raised his hand and pointed somewhere.

It was the direction of the training grounds. Seeing this, the young man muttered quietly with a displeased expression.

“How stiff. They’re just nobles from a small country at best.”

With those words, the young man and his attendant moved away.

Bumer, who had been staring blankly at them, became furious.

“What’s with that bastard? His manners are completely screwed up.”

“Right. Well, we saw new students struggling to adapt last year too, but…”

Teoro said, shaking his head.

Situations like this weren’t common, but they weren’t unheard of either.

Since Tarasan Academy enrolled everyone from ducal heirs at the high end to commoners at the low end, there were many children who showed different attitudes based on social status.

However, the Academy encouraged maintaining basic courtesy between upperclassmen and underclassmen, at least during their student years. They also worked hard to prevent discrimination based on social status among peers.

It was only natural. Without such efforts, a proper educational environment couldn’t be established.

Of course, it wasn’t 100% effective and had its limitations, but after some time passed, everyone seemed to get used to Tarasan Academy’s school culture.

“It’ll get better soon. There’ll be freshman orientation, and when the new semester starts, the professors will keep talking about school rules.”

“I suppose so.”

“Damn, this pisses me off. Getting talked to like that by some little brat.”

‘How old are you compared to him anyway.’

Hearing Bumer’s words, Lumian chuckled inwardly.

Of course, he understood. He himself had felt irritated too.

Normally he would have just brushed it off as an absurd incident, but lately his mood had been constantly terrible, making it hard to maintain his composure.

Clicking his tongue, he said to his friends.

“Let’s go eat.”

“Yeah.”

Everyone nodded. And they began continuing on their way. Up until this point, no one thought seriously about what had just happened.

But a week later, when the new semester wasn’t far off, the story changed.

“Damn it! Those fucking new student bastards! I’ll kill them all!”

“Calm down, Bumer.”

Teoro tried to restrain the extremely enraged Bumer.

However, his expression was also very unpleasant.

It was because they had witnessed countless instances of the new students’ rude behavior over the past few days.

“How can I calm down? Damn! Are all foreign kids at the Academy originally this ill-mannered? Don’t they realize their actions represent their countries?”

That was it. The reason this year’s new students were causing particularly more problems compared to last year wasn’t anything special.

It was simply that many foreign new students from countries other than Tarasan had enrolled.

Among them, the high-ranking individuals from countries stronger than Tarasan were thoroughly looking down on the existing students.

‘I can’t say I don’t understand.’

Teoro thought.

Although the country’s prestige had risen considerably over the past year, Tarasan was inevitably a small nation. Unlike Bumer, Teoro, whose father worked in diplomacy, knew this even better.

‘It’s not like heirs from superpowers like Jenas or Rhodesia came, but quite a few from the tier below that enrolled. In their eyes, nobles from a small country might look pathetic.’

If they had come as diplomats, they might have maintained proper courtesy.

But expecting such things from kids who were barely 14 years old was unreasonable.

He sighed and said.

“Let’s just avoid running into the new students altogether.”

“What? We should avoid them? Are you scared of those little brats?”

“Yeah. I’m scared. From what I hear, they’re heirs from quite influential families who paid enormous amounts to enroll. There’s nothing to gain from causing problems.”

“That’s true.”

“Ah, did you finish talking with the professor?”

“Yeah, phew.”

Cal Krone, who had approached their table, gulped down water.

He seemed very stressed. Wiping the water from his lips with his sleeve, he said complainingly.

“Tsk. I ended up having to do it after all.”

“The senior’s word?”

“Yeah. Senior Tania seems to be unwell.”

“That’ll be tough.”

Teoro offered consolation.

‘The senior’s word’ was a schedule inserted in the middle of the ‘Knight Department Freshman Orientation’ that would take place in two days.

Since it would be too boring to only listen to dry talk about department curriculum and school rules from professors, it was a format where a relatively approachable senior would come out and give advice to the juniors.

Normally, Tania Eloise, whose fame was currently soaring, would have taken on this task, but she declined, saying she wasn’t feeling well.

Therefore, the responsibility was passed to Cal Krone. Since he had the highest status in the Academy and exceptional skills that ranked among the best, it was a natural result.

Of course, from his perspective, he couldn’t help but look like he’d eaten shit.

“Ah, what should I talk about when I go there? The atmosphere isn’t right for being casual, but I can’t be too forceful either.”

“Why are you being so considerate! Just beat them all up! If you just unleash your aura at full power, they’ll all shut up and piss themselves, right? From what I can see, there isn’t a single decent one among them. Take away their backgrounds and they’re all worthless.”

“Are you crazy? That background is what’s important. I may be a powerful man’s son in Tarasan, but outside the continent I’m nothing. If I wrongly mess with the new students and it becomes a diplomatic issue… I don’t even want to think about it.”

“Damn, then let me do it! I’ll smash all those brats’ heads!”

“As if you would.”

Cal Krone shook his head.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to do what Bumer suggested.

But that was impossible.

While talking with the professor, he had carefully looked over the incoming students, and there were plenty with backgrounds incomparable to the Crone Ducal House.

If he gave those guys any reason to find fault after dealing with them, problems could arise not just for himself and his family, but for the entire kingdom.

‘This fool doesn’t even know that… no, he’s probably just talking.’

Cal Krone gulped down water again.

But then a quiet voice flowed from Lumian’s mouth.

“I’ll do it.”

Cal Krone, Teoro Shutgarn, Bumer Simpson.

All three gazes focused on him simultaneously.

The atmosphere suddenly changed. A heavy voice flowed from his mouth once more.

“I’ll handle the new students. Without incident, and well.”

“…”

“Let’s go, Cal Krone. To ask the professor.”

“Uh, huh? Okay…”

Lumian stood up abruptly and headed toward the professor’s office, with Cal Krone following behind with a bewildered expression.

Refusal was impossible. It felt like an irresistible massive force was pushing him.

Watching the two disappear in the distance, Teoro said seriously.

“Lumian seems to be under serious stress lately.”

“…Right. Normally that guy would just let something like this slide.”

Their words were correct.

Though Lumian possessed strength greater than anyone else, he rarely got angry more than necessary.

Within the Academy, it had happened at most twice. When Bumer mocked him for being a eunuch and when the Subculture Research Club spread strange rumors.

‘But that look in his eyes just now…’

‘It was even more than back then…’

Gulp.

Teoro and Bumer both swallowed dry saliva at the same time.

He was definitely not an easy opponent.

In some ways, for Lumian who came from an insignificant family background, this could be a harder fight than facing a Sword Master.

But neither of them worried about Lumian.

An inexplicable sense of anticipation, excitement, and a slight fear had captivated them.

“Surely he won’t lose, right?”

“He won’t.”

Bumer answered.

However, a moment later, recalling Lumian’s gaze once more, he added a comment.

“Though I think it might be better to just take the beating.”

Remembering the time he nearly took a punch to the groin, Bumer shuddered.

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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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