The Failed Swordmaster - Chapter 42

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

Chapter 42 20. Unacceptable Preferences (2)

“What’s this now?”

“Those are the items they’re making there. I think this is the biggest cause of the rumors spreading.”

“What could it possibly be…?”

Lumian reached his hand toward the brown envelope. It was to check the contents.

But Bumer blocked his hand.

With a serious expression, he said.

“You might be shocked, so take a deep breath before looking.”

“…”

That made him even more curious, but he did as instructed for now.

He took a deep breath in and out. After doing this three times, his mind calmed down slightly.

‘It’s already a bad situation, what’s there to fear if something more gets added?’

Lumian made a resolute expression and opened the brown envelope to take out the contents.

Then a book and several drawings spilled out.

“…!”

Lumian’s eyes widened greatly.

Teoro turned his head away as if he couldn’t bear to watch, and Bumer silently waited for Lumian to collect himself.

After being frozen for a while, Lumian picked up the book and brought it before his eyes.

He slowly read the book’s title aloud.

“Wildflower Embraced by Rose? Don’t tell me this is…”

“That’s right. As you can see from the cover, the rose is Cal Krone. The wildflower is you.”

As Bumer said, just looking at the book’s cover made it clear who it was written about.

Cal Krone with his shirt off and himself, slightly idealized, looking at each other.

He didn’t know how it would look to women’s eyes, but from the perspective of the person involved, it was absolutely horrifying.

He opened the book like someone possessed by something.

Then even more horrifying content attacked his eyes.

“Ugh… Uugh…”

Lumian couldn’t endure it for even a moment and closed the book.

Then the drawings that were beside the book caught his eye.

Cal Krone and himself, naked or with clothes disheveled, entangled together.

This too was enough to torment Lumian.

He looked at Bumer with dead eyes.

Additional explanation flowed from Bumer’s mouth.

“As you can see, these are items that seem to establish that you and Cal Krone have a deep relationship. I skimmed through the novel a bit, and Cal Krone obsessively follows you around, while you act shy and embarrassed, saying you don’t like it but ultimately not pushing him away…”

“No, you don’t need to explain it in such detail! And how did you get these things?”

“These are items being sold by the Subculture Research Club.”

Teoro, who had been keeping silent, opened his mouth.

As if he didn’t want to see anymore, he quickly organized the items and put them back in the brown envelope. Then he slowly continued speaking.

“So far it seems to be circulating only among the female students in the Literature Club, but if this continues a bit longer, the situation might grow uncontrollably. I think resolving this should be our top priority.”

“Of course! What crazy girls would make something like this without the person’s permission! And they’re even selling it? Is that even a proper club?”

“I didn’t know, but according to Bumer, it’s apparently a club with quite a deep history.”

“Crazy, I don’t care if it has deep history or not! We need to shut it down immediately!”

Lumian jumped up and shouted.

It was understandable. The popularity he had painstakingly built up during the Swordsmanship Competition was now tainted with homosexuality.

An element he thought would be a plus for romance had instantly become a minus.

Whoosh, a flame-like aura rose from Lumian’s entire body.

Though invisible, everyone could feel it.

Then, Bumer cautiously shared additional information.

“But, the erotic books I’ve been getting all this time… most of them were made there too.”

“…”

“Most of the erotic books circulating in the Academy come from there. Regardless of preference.”

Lumian fell silent for a moment after hearing Bumer’s words.

He had enjoyed pleasant times through books throughout the semester. It was natural that he’d be at a loss for words.

Glancing slightly at Teoro, he said quietly.

“…Anyway, I need to tell them to stop making items related to me. Bumer, please guide me there.”

“You want to go right now?”

“Of course.”

Lumian quickly changed into outdoor clothes.

He didn’t care what others enjoyed or what preferences they had. He wasn’t narrow-minded enough to judge right and wrong in such matters.

But producing related merchandise without the person’s consent and worsening rumors was unacceptable.

Having prepared himself, he said.

“Let’s go now.”

“Wait, this.”

Bumer took out a robe from his bag and handed it to Lumian.

It had a hood attached, making it look good for hiding one’s identity. He continued speaking.

“When going to such places, showing your face is a bit…”

“…Thorough.”

This wasn’t the skill of someone who had only been there once or twice.

Looking at Bumer scratching the back of his head, Lumian nodded.

“Right. That’s a good idea.”

Wearing the robe would also help avoid accidentally running into Cal Krone. It seemed best to keep distance from that guy for a while.

Come to think of it, he wondered if Cal Krone knew about this situation.

‘That bastard isn’t actually gay, is he? No, he can’t be.’

Lumian shook his head.

That was truly a horrifying thought.

He’d think about that guy later, but first let’s resolve the Subculture Research Club matter.

Having finished his thoughts, Lumian vigorously opened the door and said.

“Let’s go.”

* * *

“Phew.”

In front of the dilapidated building located in a corner of Tarasan Academy.

Tania Eloise, who was looking at it, sighed.

She had come here once before, but still couldn’t get used to it. Thinking about the item she had to buy this time made her face burn.

‘Thank goodness I’m wearing a mask.’

Not just a mask. She had also put on a robe.

This was the infamous ‘Subculture Research Club.’

If rumors spread that she, the third-year valedictorian with beautiful looks and dignity who received the respect of countless female students… was frequenting such a place, it would deal a tremendous blow to her image.

‘That absolutely cannot happen!’

Tania shook her head vigorously. The loose robe fluttered accordingly.

The robe’s fluttering stopped after a brief moment.

Having regained her composure, she clenched both fists tightly and headed toward the building.

‘It’s okay. I’m not here because I’m interested in this kind of thing, right? What I’m doing is honorable. I’m wearing a mask because others might misunderstand.’

That’s right.

She was here solely to build a solid connection with the excellent talent named Lumian.

To adapt to and build tolerance for his somewhat unique preferences.

‘Pervert and homosexual… no, bisexual probably. He seems to like women too. Anyway! Aside from that point, he’s sufficiently excellent and decent… I just need to understand that one aspect!’

She had absolutely no interest in this kind of thing.

This current matter was official business. It was absolutely not personal… Tania kept repeating this to herself.

But contrary to her words, her eyes were shining with anticipation.

A novel with Lumian Calard as the protagonist… what kind of content could it possibly have?

There are even illustrations included—how might they be depicted?

She gulped and quickly looked around, then rushed to the building and knocked on the door.

Knock knock knock.

“Who is it?”

“Um… well… I came to buy… some Lumian-related items…”

Creak!

“Oh!”

Before she could finish speaking, the door opened. A female student appeared.

Tania looked at her with surprised eyes.

Her gaze was directed not at the face, but at the chest.

‘Still… big.’

It was the same person she’d seen when she came to buy things before.

She seemed to be the president of the Subculture Research Club, and possessed quite impressive assets.

Tania slightly lowered her head to look at her own chest.

The excitement she’d felt on the way here disappeared, replaced by a touch of sadness.

“…You’re the person who came once before. Please come in.”

“Ah? Oh, yes!”

After briefly wondering ‘How did she know?’, Tania nodded.

She had come in exactly the same outfit as before, so there was no way the president wouldn’t recognize her. She followed the president’s guidance into the building.

The interior was the same as when she’d visited before.

Several exhausted-looking female students were writing or drawing. Or they were using magic to copy images onto blank paper.

Though it wasn’t depicting Lumian and Cal Krone, the drawings were steamy enough to make one’s face burn.

‘That magic… I know it’s quite difficult for undergraduates to perform…’

To think such magical talent was being wasted on something like this!

She had that thought for a moment, but Tania soon understood her.

Perhaps she wouldn’t have been able to understand before.

But since getting to know Lumian, she had developed a relatively tolerant attitude toward this sort of thing.

The idea had taken root that even perverts could have good personalities, be diligent, and be skilled.

“These are the items over here. Please take a look.”

“Ah!”

Before Tania’s eyes, the items she’d wanted were spread out.

Lumian Calard, or more precisely, countless drawings featuring both Lumian and Cal Krone together.

On one side, books that appeared to be novels based on the two were stacked up.

Tania picked one up with trembling hands.

And checked the contents.

‘…This is!’

Slam!

Tania immediately closed the book.

Though she’d only had it open for less than 3 seconds, she couldn’t bear to look any further.

What on earth did I just see?

She squeezed her eyes shut and hung her head low.

Her face was already burning bright red.

‘This is too extreme!’

She had come here to respect and understand Lumian’s tastes, to build up tolerance so she wouldn’t act awkward around him.

But this was too much.

She felt that if she looked at things like this, far from getting closer to Lumian, she wouldn’t even be able to make eye contact with him.

“Is the content a bit too intense?”

“Ah, ah…”

“There are some with more of a pure love feel too. How about those?”

“Y-yes.”

Coming to her senses at the president’s words, Tania received another book.

But she couldn’t bring herself to read it. She felt she’d only be able to check the contents after returning to an enclosed space with no one else around—namely, her dormitory.

She let out a hot breath and searched her pockets.

It was to pay the price.

But before asking the president about the cost, one of the displayed items caught her eye.

It was a portrait of Lumian.

‘…He’s handsome.’

Most items featured Lumian Calard and Cal Krone drawn together, but there seemed to be quite a few individual fans as well, as solo portraits were also on display.

Before she knew it, she had approached Lumian’s portrait.

And she pursed her lips slightly.

‘It’s well-drawn, but there was no need to distort it this much.’

The drawing differed somewhat from Lumian’s actual appearance.

The nose was higher, the eyes larger. The skin was powder-white as if made up, and the lips were cherry-red, making him look much more delicate and feminine than his original face.

Of course, she could definitely tell it was Lumian, but it didn’t appeal to Tania.

His natural appearance was already cool and fine enough as it was.

While she was thinking this, the president suddenly interjected again.

“Are you going to buy this picture too?”

“Huh?”

“You seemed interested. If you purchase them together, I’ll give you a small discount. How about it?”

“Uh, huh? Um… yes, please do that.”

Tania nodded somewhat bewildered.

After receiving money from her, the president smiled and packaged the items.

Watching the books and portrait disappear into a brown bag, Tania looked flustered.

‘I didn’t really need to buy the portrait…’

But she couldn’t back out now.

And honestly, the money wasn’t that precious to her.

Though the slight distortion bothered her, it was quite a well-drawn picture.

Having it in her room would be good for constantly reminding herself of her goal.

Also…

‘Ah, whatever! I already paid, so there’s nothing I can do!’

It wasn’t like she lived a struggling life anyway, so making various excuses about the purchase was stranger.

She just bought it without much thought. That’s all!

By the time she’d sorted out her confused feelings, the packaging was finished.

The Subculture Research Club president smiled and handed the bag to Tania.

“Here you go. Please come again.”

Tania bowed in greeting as she received the items.

Then she hurried out of the building. Clutching the brown bag tightly, she thought:

‘Let’s get back to the dormitory quickly.’

That seemed like it would calm her mind.

She hadn’t been there long, but she was utterly exhausted.

But then, she sensed three robed figures approaching from the distance.

‘No!’

Tania was startled and ran far away.

Though she was covering her face, she didn’t want to create any situation where her identity might be discovered.

As she was getting farther from the Subculture Research Club building, familiar voices reached her ears.

“Did that person buy those things too?”

“Who knows? But it’s possible, right?”

“Damn, I need to tell them to stop quickly. Let’s go.”

‘Lumian? Bumer?’

Since she had enhanced her hearing with Aura just in case, she was able to hear their voices.

Tania abandoned her plan to go home and hid behind a suitably grown tree to observe the three.

She didn’t know what was happening, but she couldn’t contain her curiosity.

‘What’s this? Why is she hiding and watching?’

One of the three robed figures, Lumian, frowned slightly.

The person who had been running with a brown envelope was now hiding behind a tree, watching him.

She seemed to be a knight cadet. Her movements were quite fast, and her skill at concealing her presence was top-notch. Of course, it wasn’t enough to escape his notice.

‘I don’t know. Let’s not worry about it.’

He decided not to worry about it.

For him right now, stopping the rumors was the most important thing. He didn’t want to think about anything else.

With a grim expression, he roughly knocked on the door of the Subculture Research Club Building.

Bang bang bang!

“Come out! I came here because I have something to say!”

“…Please wait.”

A voice full of displeasure came from inside. It sounded angry at the rude behavior.

However, Lumian didn’t bat an eye.

He was the victim. The mental damage he had received from the ‘Subculture Research Club’ so far was indescribably great.

‘Just come out. I’ll completely destroy you.’

Soon the door opened, and a female student appeared.

Lumian’s anger-filled gaze fixed on her.

However, his gaze didn’t land on her face.

His final destination was her large chest, made even more prominent by her crossed arms.

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