The Failed Swordmaster - Chapter 15

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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 15 7. No, That’s Not It (3)

Lumian wandered aimlessly around the ballroom for a while.

Anxiously trembling eyes and awkward steps. He was like a child who had lost his parents.

If there was one thing better about Lumian, it was that he came to his senses, albeit belatedly.

And he thought to do something on his own.

‘Let me try it alone!’

Right, damn it.

He had already shown his abilities once at the clothing store.

Of course, choosing clothes and talking to women were worlds apart, but he couldn’t definitively say he would fail.

‘I’ve seen knights approach ladies a few times.’

He hadn’t observed closely because it was annoying to watch, but some scenes remained vaguely in his memory like old paintings.

‘How did that slimy knight bastard do it back then… Right, first he smiled to put the other person at ease.’

Lumian smiled.

He intended to create a gentle and relaxed atmosphere, but it was far from that. Anyone could see it was the awkward smile of someone visiting a ballroom for the first time.

But surprisingly, it worked.

The sight of a young man who clearly lacked social experience putting on airs drew its own attention. Because it looked cute.

Several older ladies covering their mouths with fans and smiling caught Lumian’s eye.

His confidence rose slightly.

‘Am I… working?’

It seemed that way. The gentle smile appeared to be effective.

It was just a misunderstanding, but at least in the current situation, it brought about a decent effect. His tensely rigid body became much more relaxed as if oiled.

‘Good. Next… approach near the desired lady and naturally strike up a conversation. Damn, naturally? Naturally…’

Once again, he borrowed the power of that slimy knight bastard. Right, that’s how it was. The guy had definitely opened conversations with compliments.

After complimenting what seemed to be parts the woman had paid attention to when coming out, he would take advantage of the lowered guard to talk about various simple topics.

Then when the mood ripened, he would ask for a dance first. The lady would nod shyly with a smile.

“Whew.”

Lumian took a deep breath.

He could feel his heart beating rapidly from excitement. He thought it might burst if this got any worse.

But he had to do it.

Lumian lightly patted his cheek and looked at a lady standing alone near a pillar.

She was a woman with a voluptuous figure that was exactly his type. He slowly approached her with that awkward smile.

As the distance closed, the lady’s head turned toward him. Swoosh, he felt her gaze scanning him in an instant. The faint smile that appeared afterward gave Lumian even greater confidence.

‘Good, at least the first impression passed! Now I just need to naturally compliment her!’

There happened to be something that caught his eye.

A brilliant sapphire necklace descending along her white neck. She must have gotten it for today. If he complimented that, at least he wouldn’t get a bad reaction.

Lumian looked at the jewel positioned between the cleavage of her low-cut dress and said gently.

“Beautiful breasts.”

“…”

“…?”

“What… did you just say…”

“Uh…”

‘Damn! I said it wrong!’

Originally, he was going to say ‘Beautiful sapphire necklace.’

But to look at the necklace, his gaze naturally went down, and her voluptuous breasts came into view while he thought ‘her breasts are pretty.’

‘I was thinking both thoughts at the same time and the words came out backwards!’

It was a terrible disaster.

Lumian lost his mind.

He offered an apology with a flustered expression.

“No, that is, I mean… I misspoke…”

“Misspoke?”

“Yes! Misspoke… Ah! Of course, saying the lady’s breasts are beautiful wasn’t a mistake, so the lady’s breasts are indeed very beautiful, but what I originally meant to say was about the necklace… No, I didn’t mean to say such things…”

“…”

The woman looked at Lumian with an absurd expression as he rambled incoherently from panic.

It was fortunate he looked young, because if a middle-aged man with a sleazy mustache had done this, she would have screamed immediately.

She crossed her arms and watched to see just how far this ridiculous man would continue his nonsense.

But she wasn’t the only one paying attention to Lumian’s mistake.

Tania Eloise.

The third-year knight cadet at Tarasan Academy made a disgusted face watching Lumian’s disgraceful behavior.

‘What is he doing!’

Though she was always busy with sword training, Tania often participated in such occasions.

There was no better place than a ball to mingle with talent from other departments.

Having great ambition for advancement, she thought expanding connections was as important as improving skills, and even now she was surveying various parts of the ballroom for this purpose.

It was inevitable that Lumian would catch Tania’s eye.

A second-year cadet who was suddenly showing promise.

Since he was a junior whose first impression she quite liked, she was about to greet him with a welcoming heart.

‘Really, such rude language…’

But she couldn’t.

Watching Lumian approach a lady with awkward steps and spout ridiculous nonsense made her head extremely confused.

No, surely the E-class junior had said he had a gentle personality?

Until last year, that aspect was so severe he seemed weak and pathetic, but from this year he had changed to someone who worked silently and diligently while harboring a fierce determination.

Right, that’s definitely how it was.

That’s why Tania was planning to visit Lumian again soon to have a meal and recommend he join her club.

But not now.

‘For now… postponed.’

The appearance was so different from the good first impression she had, that Tania Eloise reserved judgment about Lumian.

She needed to investigate more carefully what kind of person he was. Right, it wouldn’t be too late to decide after that.

As she continued such rational thoughts, Lumian’s words suddenly intruded into her mind.

‘Beautiful breasts.’

Flush!

Tania’s face turned bright red recalling the earlier conversation.

She quickly turned around and fanned her face. Nevertheless, her startled heart didn’t calm down easily.

Tania glanced back. She saw someone dragging Lumian away.

Turning her head, she thought.

‘Anyway, I need to find out more!’

* * *

“Cheer up.”

“…”

“Well, these things can happen. Fortunately, she understood it was a mistake too. There won’t be any trouble.”

“Haah…”

Lumian let out a deep sigh.

Despite hearing Teoro’s consolation, he didn’t feel better at all. The shock from the slip of tongue was that great.

‘No, how could I make such a mistake.’

Being nervous in front of an attractive woman was natural, but this time the degree was severe.

To say his inner thoughts instead of what he should say, and such lewd inner thoughts at that…

If Teoro hadn’t rushed over to smooth things over, he might have shed tears right there.

Thinking this way, gratitude toward Teoro welled up.

Lumian said with his head down.

“Thank you…”

“No, well… Hmm.”

“No, well… hmm.”

Teoro didn’t bother to comfort him further.

It seemed better to just leave him be.

And so Lumian and Teoro walked silently toward the Academy Dormitory, trudging along without a word. Since Adel was nowhere to be found, only the two of them walked the path.

The streets were desolate. Lumian, who didn’t want to encounter people, chose a narrow shortcut. Because of this, not a single person besides the two of them was visible.

That is, until Large Boy and other Academy cadets revealed themselves.

“Hey, coming back from the ball?”

“…Bumer.”

“Still using that pretty face of yours to seduce women, I see. What good will that do you as a knight cadet? Like me, you should barely have enough time for daily training, right?”

“Stop talking nonsense. Why are you here? Looking for a fight?”

Lumian raised his head with a dazed expression.

The surroundings had suddenly become noisy, and when he looked to see what was happening, familiar faces came into view.

The guys keeping watch at both ends of the alley were Large Boy Family including Freckled Boy, and the one picking a fight with Teoro Shutgarn was a guy named Bumer Simpson, rumored to be the strongest in Class F.

‘This is the first time I’ve actually seen him, but…’

Since the original owner of this body had been so afraid of him, there was no way he wouldn’t know.

Being in a different class, he didn’t do anything as severe as Large Boy and his gang, but he remembered often making threatening expressions to intimidate him.

He had enjoyed watching him tremble in fear.

‘What does that matter now.’

Lumian didn’t have the luxury to worry about that guy.

Under normal circumstances it might be different, but in his current mentally shattered state, he had no desire to exert himself.

He didn’t particularly want to take out his frustrations.

More than anything, Bumer Simpson seemed far more interested in Teoro than in himself.

“Fighting inside the Academy while watching out for those old farts isn’t fun, is it?”

“So you want to fight here?”

“You catch on quick. Let’s keep it clean with a one-on-one duel.”

“What a joke. Since you can’t beat me in swordsmanship, you want to fight here with bare fists instead?”

“What! I just don’t want to be interrupted in the middle. Hehehe.”

‘A knight aspirant who claims to strive to protect the king, people, and nation sure knows how to have fun.’

Lumian shook his head in disapproval.

But in a way, it was understandable. Challenging someone you didn’t get along with to a duel was common even in the Kingdom of Jenas.

‘Sometimes watching can be entertaining too.’

But in this shitty situation, he’d rather pass.

Lumian wanted to return to the dormitory quickly.

He wanted to wash his body with warm water, get under the covers, and sleep. And he wanted to forget everything that had happened today.

‘Even if it’s annoying, it’d be faster if I step in, right?’

With a deep sigh, he stepped forward in front of Teoro.

Though it was really bothersome and he didn’t want to get involved, he hated waiting for these guys’ duel even more.

Just as he frowned slightly and approached Bumer Simpson.

“What’s this, isn’t that Lumian? That scrawny guy who looks like he doesn’t even have a dick.”

“…!”

“You’re not thinking of snitching about today, are you? Well, since you’re a dickless bastard, I guess you might. You wait over there. After I beat this guy up, I’ll make sure you keep your mouth shut.”

“…What did you just say.”

“Hm?”

Bumer Simpson’s eyes widened slightly.

He hadn’t expected Lumian to talk back to him.

He let out a hollow laugh as if dumbfounded.

“What, this bastard is talking back too…”

“What did you just say.”

Beyond talking back, now he was cutting him off mid-sentence.

Bumer Simpson was no longer laughing. His completely twisted expression represented his anger.

But he didn’t know.

He had no idea how much his words had enraged Lumian Calard—Ryan Fromhart, who had lived as a eunuch for decades.

And what consequences that anger would bring.

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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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