The Failed Swordmaster - Chapter 44

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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 44 20. A Taste I Cannot Respect (4)

He couldn’t believe it. He didn’t want to acknowledge it.

But he had no choice but to acknowledge it.

Lumian’s sword, cutting through five statues, was clearly surpassing his own swordsmanship.

‘No. If it’s that level… I can definitely catch up!’

Of course, Cal Krone’s pride was sky-high, so he didn’t feel defeated to this extent.

It hadn’t even been a day since he opened his lower passage.

Therefore, while his sword’s power might have increased, his precision had declined because his body condition had changed. It meant he hadn’t finished adapting yet.

‘If I just fully adapt to this state… I can definitely catch up.’

But it wasn’t as if he was completely unaffected.

Surge, unpleasant emotions welled up inside Cal Krone.

For the first time in his life, he had thought the words ‘catch up.’ That fact caused considerable anger within him.

Though they were rivals, to think he had to look up at someone he thought would forever be beneath him!

Anger and fighting spirit, along with all sorts of other aggressive emotions mixed together, heating up Cal Krone’s gaze. His eyes followed Lumian’s figure moving lightly.

And he was able to see it.

Swish-!

The final sword strike he swung.

A move so sharp that even the sound of cutting through air was faint, carving sharply into the wall of the Subculture Research Club.

And that it was more skilled and beautiful than any sword Lumian had shown until now.

He could feel it.

For the first time in his life, the emotion called despair was overlaid on his face.

“Whew…”

Lumian let out a deep breath.

He didn’t know that Cal Krone was shocked. The anger and resentment in his heart were too great to pay attention to that.

He had lived sixty years of his previous life as a eunuch knight.

It meant he had lived his entire life lonely, without any contact with women, regardless of his own will.

Fortunately, heaven wasn’t indifferent, and he was reincarnated as a healthy young man with working equipment. And thanks to his own efforts and his friends’ help, he thought the golden age of his life was finally about to begin.

‘And then… to pour homosexuality onto my rosy life?’

He absolutely couldn’t let this slide.

Even the cultivation as a knight he had built up over decades couldn’t stop his current anger.

Thud!

Lumian roughly sheathed his sword.

And he glared at the members of the Subculture Research Club, and the club president.

They could no longer remain confident.

The sixty years of celibacy’s resentment and sorrow, anger emanating from Lumian’s body made them feel tremendous guilt.

“I am not a homosexual. Even if I were, you absolutely have no right to do such things on your own.”

“…”

“Those scratches on that wall are the wounds carved into the hearts of people who have suffered from rumors, including myself. Do you understand?”

“…Yes. I’m sor…ry.”

“When you forget that fact, I’ll come back. I can’t guarantee what will happen then.”

The club president nodded vigorously. Her chest shook accordingly.

This time, Lumian didn’t look at her.

Honestly, he wanted to look, but he forced himself to hold back. That was his last remaining pride.

“Lumian!”

“Let’s go together!”

Teoro and Bumer chased after Lumian as he left his seat desolately.

Bumer’s expression was quite a sight. He knew Lumian was impressive, but he hadn’t known he was hiding such tremendous skill.

Of course, Teoro wasn’t surprised at all.

Having seen even an Aura Sword, this much was nothing.

‘Unless he unleashes a completed Aura Sword.’

Thus, the three men left. Like a storm had swept through, the area around the building was left in ruins.

But those most shocked weren’t the people from the Subculture Research Club.

Cal Krone bit his lower lip until it bled and thought.

‘Lumian…!’

* * *

Click!

Thump!

“Whew.”

Tania, who had returned to her room, plopped down on her bed.

It had truly been a day without a moment’s peace.

She had almost been caught frequenting the Subculture Research Club while trying to learn about Lumian, saw the Four Swordsmen including Cal Krone in one place, and witnessed Lumian’s grown appearance…

‘You were amazing, Lumian.’

She had thought there was nothing left to surprise her after the Swordsmanship Competition, but she was wrong. Lumian had broken her expectations and risen to even greater heights.

Higher than herself, and even higher than Cal Krone.

She thought he might grow into a knight comparable to the Knight King, or perhaps Ryan Fromhart, who had been his foremost loyal retainer.

But the greatest emotion in Tania’s heart right now wasn’t surprise, but guilt.

She carefully reflected on what Lumian had said.

‘Those scratches on that wall are the wounds carved into the hearts of people who have suffered from rumors, including myself. Do you understand?’

“He must have felt… so wronged.”

Tania let out a deep sigh.

She had been too foolish. And she felt too sorry for Lumian.

All this time, she hadn’t been thinking of Lumian as a person with his own personality.

She had only thought of him as a tool for her future, as a reliable connection to maintain.

That’s why when rumors spread that Lumian was homosexual or bisexual, she didn’t even think to verify the truth. She only thought about building tolerance so she wouldn’t feel awkward when dealing with him.

Though she said it was to understand Lumian, in reality, she hadn’t been considering his feelings at all.

‘I must… apologize to him later.’

She nodded her head cutely.

Absolutely, she absolutely had to apologize.

She snorted and tore open the brown envelope to take out its contents.

And she threw the booklet into the trash can.

Just having it was causing trouble for Lumian. Guilty feelings appeared in her eyes again.

But throwing away the portrait was put on hold for a moment.

Tania got up from the bed and headed to the table.

Taking out a blank sheet of paper and a pen, she began drawing a new picture while looking at the portrait.

Scratch scratch.

Tania’s drawing was basically similar to the portrait she had bought from the research club.

But there were differences in the details.

She restored all the parts that had been femininely exaggerated and distorted compared to the original face back to their original form.

It wasn’t difficult work. Since she had thought of Lumian often throughout this semester, Lumian’s face was firmly established in her mind.

‘…My observation and memory skills are excellent too!’

Though it was just her inner thoughts with no one listening, Tania made excuses for no reason.

Even while doing so, her hands didn’t stop. Since she had some knowledge of art, the work was completed quickly.

“Phew, it’s done!”

Thus, the completed new portrait perfectly resembled Lumian Calard’s recent appearance.

Though his face looked somewhat delicate, determination could be felt in his eyes.

His upper body holding the sword was quite dependable, unlike before. It was naturally known that he had gained muscle through consistent exercise.

She also wanted to express his fresh and sincere, more confident atmosphere, but that was beyond her ability. Tania wasn’t a professional artist, after all.

‘Still, this much is acceptable. What I drew is much better!’

Tania Eloise smiled and crumpled up the portrait she had bought from the research club. Then she threw it into the trash can.

She didn’t need such things anymore. She liked the picture she had drawn much better.

She smiled with satisfaction as she looked out the window.

Along with the cool night breeze, a flutter so faint she couldn’t even recognize it was tickling her heart.

* * *

Two weeks had passed since Lumian visited the Subculture Research Club.

During that time, the rumors had almost completely died down. Even those who had heard the gossip didn’t think of it as anything more than a brief incident.

This was partly because Lumian, Teoro, and Bumer had dealt with it so firmly, and also because the Subculture Research Club had stopped their activities.

“It looks like it’ll probably be disbanded. There were many others who had been victimized besides you, so they must have been waiting for their chance. Mmm. This is delicious.”

Bumer said as he put a piece of meat in his mouth.

Lumian responded with an expression that aged him ten years.

“Phew… So now I won’t be misunderstood at blind dates or in ballrooms, right?”

“You won’t, probably?”

“Teoro, how can you help me out again?”

“…Final evaluations are coming up soon, so let’s do it later?”

Teoro said with an expression of exasperation.

Lumian pouted.

He too was just pretending to be dignified, but his love for women was exactly the same. Perhaps even rivaling his own.

Yet with such hypocrisy, he was looking at him with those eyes, which made irritation surge up.

“Hmm.”

Sensing Lumian’s gaze, Teoro made a tense expression.

He was someone who sparred with Lumian every day to improve his skills.

Of course, it was something he desperately wanted, but when he provoked Lumian like this, there was a risk that the sparring intensity would increase dramatically. To a degree that even he, a training maniac, would be frightened.

But Teoro’s concerns were unfounded.

“I can’t spar today.”

At Lumian’s words, both Teoro and Bumer looked surprised.

Lumian was someone who gave them sparring sessions every day when there was nothing special going on—more precisely, instructional sparring.

So it was puzzling that he would skip sparring.

However, Lumian didn’t explain in detail.

Lumian, having finished his meal, stood up first.

“I have somewhere to go, so I’m leaving first.”

Watching Lumian walk away, Bumer said,

“What’s this? Did he get a girlfriend?”

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

But it was something equally important.

Walking toward the Scholarship Student Training Ground, Lumian thought about Cal Krone.

‘He’s not attending regular classes at all and is only practicing swordsmanship alone.’

It was completely understandable.

He must have been greatly shocked by the swordsmanship Lumian had shown, especially that final strike.

Someone he thought was far beneath him had not only caught up but had surpassed him by a great distance.

For him, it was an ordeal too difficult to bear. It must feel like facing a massive wall.

‘Of course, such ordeals are unavoidable for geniuses…’

For a genius, the first wall was very important.

Unlike the dull-witted for whom every step is a wall, or the mediocre who frequently encounter obstacles, geniuses aren’t accustomed to such things.

Lumian had seen countless geniuses who couldn’t overcome their first wall and spent their time in frustration and despair.

This was exactly why people called prodigies, child geniuses, and talents would disappear without a trace.

Of course, Cal Krone stood out even among them.

He was worthy of being called a genius among geniuses without any shortage.

His mental fortitude was also excellent, so he should be able to overcome most ordeals with his lofty fighting spirit and pride.

‘But… I showed him too great a wall.’

A slight worry appeared on Lumian’s face.

Of course, he didn’t regret what happened then.

No matter how much he was a reincarnator who had cultivated himself as a knight for decades, he couldn’t have endured that situation.

Even if he went back to that time, he would probably act the same way. This was certain.

But that didn’t mean he felt nothing about Cal Krone.

Lumian now felt sorry for his talented junior. He also felt responsible.

That’s why he was going to find Cal Krone, even risking the worry of rumors spreading again.

‘No matter how high a wall is, you just need to climb over it.’

The wall he had created. He would take responsibility and help him overcome it.

So that the genius’s wings wouldn’t be broken.

Far from being broken, helping them grow stronger so they could fly high beyond the wall.

That was what he had to do as a senior.

“Hmm.”

Thinking this way as he walked, he soon saw the entrance to the Scholarship Student Training Ground.

It was a space only permitted to fourth-year graduating students and Cal Krone, but Lumian didn’t mind.

He’d just get scolded later, no big deal. Thinking lightly, Lumian shouted loudly.

“Cal Krone!”

All the seniors in the training ground looked at Lumian.

He didn’t care.

Taking a sword from the weapon rack, he approached Cal Krone, who was staring at him with a hardened expression.

“Draw your sword.”

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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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