The Failed Swordmaster - Chapter 20

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

Chapter 20 10. I Think I’m a Genius (2)

The interior of Professor Karen’s office had a neat feeling.

Just the necessary furniture, neatly organized documents, a cleanly wiped floor.

In that tidy space, Professor Karen quietly stared at Lumian.

Even though he hadn’t drawn up his aura, a strange sense of pressure leaked from his body.

Perhaps if it were an ordinary cadet, they would have been crushed by this atmosphere and broken out in cold sweat. If it had been a student from the humanities field rather than a knight cadet, they would have found even breathing uncomfortable.

However, Lumian was different.

He was very calm and at ease.

Professor Karen was once again surprised by his appearance.

‘Come to think of it, he didn’t sweat much either. While facing that Teoro Shutgarn.’

It was a series of surprises. But Karen didn’t show this and made an even more solemn expression.

His eyes became sharper, and the pressure grew stronger. Fully revealing the presence of a veteran knight, he spoke to Lumian.

“I’ll ask directly. What happened during the vacation?”

“….”

Lumian didn’t answer immediately.

Regardless of Karen’s serious expression, he comfortably reached out to pick up his cup and leisurely took a sip of water.

After that, he clearly stated what he had to say.

“I trained.”

“…Tell me in more detail.”

“Earnestly, so earnestly that my hands bled and I coughed up blood from my mouth. As a result, my skills improved.”

“…Are you calling that an answer?”

Karen’s momentum grew even stronger.

Now he looked as if he was ready to fight the cadet. This was because he thought this impudent cadet was mocking him.

‘Growing this much in such a short time doesn’t make sense!’

It was an extremely reasonable thought.

Building strong stamina in just a few months was very difficult, and developing swordsmanship skills to overwhelm Teoro was nearly impossible.

Aura? Aura went without saying.

Even if his own soul entered Lumian’s body and devoted itself to aura training for a year, it wouldn’t be possible to show that much growth.

In the end, it meant that kid had been hiding his level all year long.

Whooooom

Professor Karen drew up his aura.

This wouldn’t do. To extract the truth from that kid’s mouth, stronger pressure was needed.

Just as he thought this and was about to open his mouth while looking at Lumian with intense eyes.

Words flowed from Lumian’s mouth half a beat faster.

“I’m not deceiving you, Professor. Just in case, I’m telling you that I’ve never hidden my skills until now either. I really swung my sword and built up my aura with all my might until the semester started, no, even after the semester began. That’s how this happened.”

“…You expect me to believe that?”

“It’s true. How could I hide my skills from the professors’ eyes for a whole year? No, even if I could hide it, why would I do that? There’s no reason for it.”

“….”

Professor Karen fell silent after hearing Lumian’s words.

Honestly, he couldn’t think of anything to refute. As Lumian said, no matter how outstanding the kid was, he couldn’t possibly fool even his eyes as a formal knight.

‘Come to think of it, that foolish appearance from last year being an act doesn’t make sense. Lumian back then was… definitely the Academy’s worst failing student. I can guarantee it.’

Damn, then what the hell is this?

Confusion spread across Professor Karen’s face.

He wasn’t hiding his skills.

But the skills Lumian showed now weren’t normal. This child’s development speed was so tremendous that it couldn’t be explained by elixirs, teachings from masters, or harsh training.

Then, a word popped out of Lumian’s mouth.

It was spoken in such a leisurely tone that it even felt slightly annoying.

“Saying this might seem a bit arrogant, but….”

“…?”

“I think I’m… a genius.”

“….”

Professor Karen looked at Lumian with an dumbfounded expression.

He was so speechless that no words came out.

Lumian, who glanced at his reaction, continued speaking.

“Honestly, I can’t believe it either. I had no desire to learn swordsmanship, and I thought I had no talent, so I didn’t work hard for a whole year… But when I felt I couldn’t live like this anymore and changed my mind, before I knew it, this happened. Really.”

“….”

“I think I actually had talent with the sword.”

It was a shameless lie that seemed to pierce the heavens.

But Lumian had no hesitation at all.

‘I can’t exactly say that I’m actually Ryan Fromhart, the eunuch knight of Jenas, who died and woke up to find myself in the body of some young man I don’t know. Since this guy’s equipment is intact, I’m thinking of enjoying my second life.’

And making excuses like he’d been hiding his skills or gotten stronger by taking elixirs was also problematic. That would be even more unrealistic.

He thought it would be better to say he belatedly realized his absurd talent.

No, actually even this was just a hastily thought-up excuse.

‘I didn’t do anything wrong in the first place, so what can they do.’

Believe it if you want to believe it, or don’t.

Lumian wore a boldly confident expression.

Professor Karen stared intently at his eyes.

“….”

“….”

After about 30 seconds of this staring contest, an order to leave fell from Karen’s mouth.

“You may go now.”

“Yes.”

Lumian stood up and bowed his head.

Even after he left the room, Professor Karen continued thinking silently for a long time.

For about 10 minutes.

A hollow laugh burst from his mouth.

“Heh heh, heh heh heh….”

The laughter wouldn’t stop. It couldn’t stop.

Both Lumian boldly saying what he wanted to say, and himself finding Lumian’s words believable, were so ridiculous he couldn’t stand it.

‘He thinks he’s a genius? By himself? Well, it’s not unreasonable. If he achieved that much growth in such a short time, he’s certainly qualified to call himself a genius.’

“Two geniuses have already appeared in just one grade.”

Still with laughter not fading from his face, Professor Karen muttered to himself.

He thought this semester would be much more interesting than the last.

* * *

‘Did I get through it well? I don’t know.’

Lumian, who had left the professor’s office, shook his head.

It was a problem with no answer anyway, and he didn’t want to worry about it anymore. Unlike his previous life, he wanted to live this life enjoyably and comfortably without complicated thoughts.

Lumian hummed as he exited the building where the professor’s office was located.

There was someone waiting for him.

“Were you waiting for me?”

“Yeah.”

“It would have been better if a woman had been waiting.”

“You speak well at times like this. But in front of actual women….”

“Sorry. Let’s not talk about that. But why were you waiting? Do you have something to ask?”

Lumian looked at Teoro as he spoke.

Since they had just finished sparring, he thought there might be questions. Or maybe he came because of the aura handling method he had taught him over the weekend.

But that wasn’t it.

Teoro revealed the reason he had come.

“No. I’ve already received plenty of help. This time it’s my turn to help you.”

“Huh? You’re going to help? What….”

“Today wasn’t bad.”

“Ah, well, that’s…”

Lumian made an embarrassed expression.

Of course it had been a decent day. He still couldn’t forget the surprised expressions of the female students he’d seen before following Professor Karin.

But to create such a situation, Lumian had mercilessly crushed Teoro. Hearing these words from the person involved made him feel very strange.

However, Teoro seemed completely unconcerned about this.

He continued to lead the conversation.

“Of course, if you keep going like this, the reactions around you will change dramatically. No, they’ve already changed dramatically. Even guys who had no interest in you are all talking about you now.”

“Really? Haha…”

“But rather than just being tough, I think it would be good to add a decent concept to it.”

“Concept?”

“Right. Concept. Creating an attractive point that would be popular with women.”

“Ooh… I never thought of that…”

Lumian looked at Teoro with a greatly enlightened expression.

His words were definitely right.

Rather than just being forceful, having a clear concept that could highlight those strengths would appeal more to women.

One character type already came to mind. Lumian’s eyes sparkled as he spoke to Teoro.

“Kind of a bad boy? Style? Wouldn’t that be good?”

“…”

“Rough personality, somewhat cold and harsh toward women but with good abilities. Aren’t there quite a few women who have fantasies about that kind of thing?”

“…Did you read some weird novel somewhere?”

“What, is that style no good?”

Lumian asked with a dejected expression. Teoro sighed deeply and answered his question.

“It’s not completely unrealistic… hmm…”

“Then isn’t it fine? What’s the problem?”

“That’s… first of all, you need to be extremely handsome. That’s the basic requirement.”

“…”

“No, I don’t mean you’re ugly… You’re decent enough too. But to pull off that kind of concept, it’s a bit… hmm. And your face has a gentle, kind feeling, so that strong image doesn’t suit you.”

Teoro comforted Lumian’s feelings with clumsy consideration, and Lumian tried to forget the previous conversation with a displeased expression.

He asked again.

“Then what image suits me? Is there anything good?”

“You should… probably go with a model student style.”

“Model student?”

“Right. Not just any model student, but a warm-hearted model student who’s skilled, diligent, and doesn’t just care about himself but also considers and takes care of others.”

“A warm-hearted model student?”

“Right. The warm-hearted part is important.”

Teoro emphasized the word “warm-hearted.”

Hearing this, Lumian stroked his chin with a contemplative expression.

Then he spoke to Teoro with a dubious face.

“Would such a boring style really work? Wouldn’t it be better to go with the bad boy route after all?”

“…”

Teoro shook his head.

Whether in swordsmanship or romance, Lumian exceeded his imagination.

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