The Failed Swordmaster - Chapter 169
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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 169 65. Bumer Simpson, Now an Adult (2)
A few days before the wedding, Bumer already knew that Lumian and his party had arrived. Not only that, but they had even met in secret.
What was happening now had been planned back then. It wasn’t by chance or coincidentally that Lumian had appeared at just the right moment.
‘You little bastard, if your parents were that worried, you should have taken it more seriously.’
‘Well, it’s not like there was anything I could do about it.’
‘That’s true, but… whatever. Just trust your big brother here.’
‘What big brother.’
Bumer let out a chuckle. He remembered how he had grumbled at Lumian’s dramatics.
At the time, his head had been full of doubts about whether this wasn’t too elaborate a plan, but seeing the two men beside him unable to manage their expressions made those thoughts completely disappear.
Just then, his father quietly spoke to him.
“Son, son.”
“Yes, Father.”
“What is all this?”
“What do you mean? What’s strange about my friend coming as a wedding guest?”
“No, the Hero is supposed to be on a journey right now… And that… Dragon? Is that really a dragon?”
“Yes. It really is a dragon.”
“Good heavens…”
Cano Simpson couldn’t continue speaking properly.
Lumian’s appearance was that shocking. So much so that even Archbishop Abram Russo beside him and Tania Eloise, who had reached Sword Expert status second fastest on the continent, didn’t even register in his vision.
‘Is this a dream? It can’t be a dream, right?’
While he was having such thoughts, Hero Lumian Calard approached him with confident strides.
Cano Simpson gasped in surprise and stepped back, then realizing his mistake, quickly smiled and offered a handshake. His back was already bowing without him realizing it.
Lumian also grasped his hand with a smiling face.
“Hello. I’m Bumer Simpson’s friend, Lumian Calard.”
“Oh my, of course I know, of course I do. The appointment ceremony video was so magnificent, but you look even more impressive in person than in the magical recording!”
“Haha, thank you.”
“But from what I understand, you’re supposed to be on a journey…”
“My journey happened to end at just the right time. Really lucky, wasn’t it.”
Lumian’s smile deepened. His voice also grew a bit louder.
Maintaining that state, Lumian continued speaking.
“Bumer is very precious to me… one of the few close friends I have in life. I was worried I might not be able to attend such a friend’s wedding, or that I might be late, so I had no choice but to fly here on a dragon… I’m sorry. I seem to have made too grand an entrance at a wedding where my friend should be the protagonist.”
“No, not at all! Not at all! Rather, I’m grateful. Thank you so much for gracing my worthless son’s wedding! Heh, heheheh!”
Laughter burst from Cano Simpson’s mouth.
He couldn’t contain it. Lumian Calard, the strongest, most influential, and most remarkable person on the continent, had called his son a ‘precious friend.’
It was a statement that wiped away all the slights and humiliation he’d endured up until now in one stroke. The shocked reactions of people came to him in real time through his eyes and ears.
“He’s close with the Hero?”
“I did hear stories, but I thought they were just rumors…”
“I was thinking the groom’s side might be a bit lacking, but looking at it now, that’s not the case at all. Such wonderful talent becoming a Sword Expert at such a young age, and connections like this.”
“Look, Archbishop Abram Russo came too, right? The leading candidate for the next Pope…”
“Tania Eloise is here too. And a dragon… It’s like a scene from mythology.”
‘Good. Very good!’
Cano Simpson’s nose rose high with pride. His shoulders also straightened completely, unlike before.
Watching his father’s appearance, Bumer Simpson thought to himself.
‘Thank you, Lumian.’
* * *
‘It’s been a while since I’ve seen everyone.’
Lumian glanced at Teoro Shutgarn and Cal Krone, who were with their respective families.
While there weren’t changes as shocking as Tania’s chest or Bumer’s marriage, they too had changed little by little. To be precise, they had become more handsome.
‘Is that even possible? Getting more handsome from there?’
The gazes of the Rhodesian women looking at the two were extraordinary. Like beasts eyeing their prey.
If Tania hadn’t been beside him, he probably would have received similar looks, right?
That thought crossed his mind, but soon disappeared.
‘Where in the world could there be anyone prettier than Tania?’
She had been that way even before she had a chest, so now there was truly no one who could compare. Armiron the Archangel briefly, very briefly came to mind, but he quickly shook his head to dispel the thought.
Just then, Tania was looking at him. Startled, Lumian asked.
“Why?”
“Nothing, just.”
“Okay.”
“You were thinking something weird, weren’t you?”
“…No, I wasn’t?”
“What? Why was your answer so slow…”
“The bride and groom are entering!”
At Lumian’s words, Tania’s head turned. In their eyes appeared Deiner Selly in a beautiful dress and Bumer Simpson in elegant formal wear.
“In Rhodesia, do the bride and groom enter together?”
“Usually the bride enters first, but I guess they did it this way considering cultural differences.”
“Really? Anyway, the bride is so pretty… and Bumer looks handsome too.”
Tania’s eyes sparkled brightly.
She was right. Not only Dayna Sellia, who boasted a cute appearance, but even Bumer, whom he had never once thought of as handsome, looked different.
With just a bit of exaggeration, it seemed like light was emanating from his face.
He felt like this wasn’t the Bumer Simpson he knew.
‘…Is it because he got married? Or did he grow during these three years?’
He couldn’t tell.
However, what was certain was that there was no need to worry that his flashy entrance would steal his friend’s spotlight.
Even the dragon, a legendary creature, and the Hero recognized by the Patron Deity were nothing more than supporting characters before these two.
At this realization, Lumian smiled faintly.
‘Still, I should definitely provide good service.’
Whooooom…
Aura began to emanate from Lumian’s body.
Thanks to his superhuman control, no one noticed, but the energy that flowed out of his body now was an enormous amount. Enough to blow away an entire hill if used for destructive purposes.
Of course, that wouldn’t happen. After taking a breath, he moved his energy toward Bumer Simpson and Deiner Selly.
And he began using his aura image with all his heart and soul.
Whooooom…!
It was the first time he was using aura image for someone other than himself, but it wasn’t particularly difficult. Both the amount of aura and his ability to manipulate it had grown incomparably compared to before.
Thanks to this, the charm of the bride and groom was amplified to an indescribable degree.
“Wow… so handsome.”
“Right? When I first saw him, I thought the husband’s looks were a bit lacking, but no. The more I look, the more attractive he is?”
“Not to mention Miss Deiner Selly. They’re a perfectly matched pair.”
Admiration flowed from the mouths of all the wedding guests. In their minds, Bumer and Deiner were deeply imprinted as the most beautiful and happiest couple in the world.
Even Lumian, who was using the aura image, felt the same way.
While listening to Archbishop Abram Russo’s blessing, he thought.
‘When I get married, will I look as pretty and bright as they do now?’
He couldn’t really imagine it.
It wasn’t that he thought it couldn’t happen, but rather his head felt filled with fog, like being unable to easily think about a completely unknown world.
“…Congratulations, Bumer.”
And let me know later what you’re thinking right now.
Lumian muttered to himself and sent hearty applause to celebrate the new couple’s future.
* * *
“Well, well, here comes the married man?”
“That’s right. I’m a married man. Got anything to add to that?”
“I do. Didn’t you see how happy your father was thanks to me?”
“That’s… right. Thanks, man.”
“Hahahaha.”
A few days after the wedding, Lumian arranged a separate gathering with his friends including Bumer.
The time he had talked with Bumer had been quite short, and in the case of Teoro and Cal Krone, he hadn’t been able to speak with them properly at all.
However, even though the appointed time had come, those two guys were nowhere to be seen.
Lumian grumbled while drinking a cool beverage.
“These bastards, it’s the first time seeing them in 3 years and they’re still late. What the hell are they doing?”
“Right. Even this married man made time with great difficulty. But why didn’t Senior Tania come?”
“Ah, she said something urgent suddenly came up. She said she’d come quickly after taking care of it?”
“Hmm. Really? Then it’ll be just the two of us for a while.”
“For a while? Teoro and Cal will come soon. They wouldn’t be that late.”
“Ah, that’s true…”
“It’s boring, should we have some beer instead of just drinks?”
Lumian asked, and Bumer shook his head.
With an awkward smile, he said quietly.
“I already feel bad for leaving my wife alone at home during our honeymoon, it would be wrong to come home drunk too.”
“…You’ve changed tremendously in these 3 years, haven’t you?”
“Huh? What has?”
“No, never mind. Fine then. Let’s just eat.”
Lumian smiled and ordered food.
He had been feeling this continuously for the past few days, but 3 years really was a long time. For Bumer, who was hot-tempered and lacked awareness, often acting selfishly, to say such things.
‘I really can’t get used to this.’
It felt like he had become more mature than himself, who had lived over 60 years.
However, such thoughts quickly disappeared as their conversation progressed.
The silly jokes they used to make during their Academy days, the nonsensical chatter, the ridiculous bullshit – all of it poured out of Bumer’s mouth one after another.
Of course, he wasn’t the only one. Lumian, who was responding to all this, was no different.
He unconsciously smiled warmly at the comfortable and familiar atmosphere he was feeling after so long.
‘Even after meeting after so long, there’s nothing awkward at all. Good.’
And after some more time passed, Bumer’s frustrating side also quietly raised its head.
Lumian patted his chest and said.
“Man. Of course it’s important. You saw how much your parents liked it. They even thanked me. Why do you think that was? So why are you saying such things again?”
“Well… you’re right. But now that the wedding is over, there’s no need to pay more attention…”
“Sigh.”
“No, I misspoke. I don’t mean I won’t pay attention, but if I focus too much on external affairs, I might neglect my family… and I’m not really good at that kind of thing anyway. So I thought it wouldn’t be bad to just live quietly at home, practicing swordsmanship and supporting my wife.”
“…”
Lumian shook his head back and forth.
Of course, it wasn’t that he couldn’t understand Bumer’s thinking.
This was the Kingdom of Rodisia where men didn’t necessarily need to engage in external activities. So he might not feel the necessity of going out into social circles to find new connections or build his own foundation. He might think of supporting his wife at home without any particular external activities.
But having lived a long life and seen various cases, he couldn’t help but feel worried.
‘If it were a commoner family, maybe, but in a noble family… can a peaceful and happy married life be maintained just by loving one’s wife and cherishing one’s children?’
Lumian thought not.
Of course, ‘family’ was the most important thing, but in nobles’ married lives, there existed many equally important and complex, therefore dangerous matters.
In the end, some degree of influence was necessary.
The gazes of people lurking in unfamiliar environments, the eyes of in-law elders who could sometimes be scarier than strangers, and various other risk factors.
It meant that conduct was necessary to stand firm and unwavering against such things, to protect oneself.
But now Bumer was making a decision to greatly limit his own influence, so from his perspective, he couldn’t help but feel frustrated.
‘Of course, since he has me as a connection, the possibility of what I’m worried about happening is small… but still, he should know a bit more about what situation he’s in, that marriage isn’t just about relationships between wife and children…’
It was when he was having such thoughts.
Cal Krone suddenly appeared and pulled out a chair to sit down.
And he coolly downed the drink that was in front of Lumian.
Gulp gulp!
“Phew, refreshing.”
“What? You’re late and yet why are you so shameless?”
Lumian scolded him.
Hearing this, Cal Krone grinned and retorted.
“What are you saying, kid.”
“Kid?”
“Yeah. Kid. I roughly heard while coming over there, but a guy who hasn’t even had sex once dares to give marriage advice to a married man with a child?”
“…”
“Does that make sense?”
At the sharp blow that pierced his heart, Lumian’s shoulders drooped.
The most brilliant knights on the continent, and among the notable power holders even in Rodisia, a superpower. The most splendid and brilliant hero of the continent.
Even though he was such a person, among friends who studied together at the Academy, he was still just the weakest.
It truly couldn’t help but be a pitiful matter.
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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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