The Failed Swordmaster - Chapter 51
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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 51 24. The Women’s Kingdom Rodigia (1)
“What are you talking about right now?”
“Huh? What’s wrong?”
“Are you joking? There’s no way a woman would fall for that kind of approach.”
Lumian spoke in a tone of disbelief.
From his perspective, he couldn’t help but feel that way.
Just recklessly asking someone to date you and repeating it until it works?
But Morghen didn’t back down from his assertion.
He opened his mouth with a serious expression.
“Have you tried it?”
“Huh, what?”
“I asked if you’ve tried it.”
“No…”
He was about to say who would do such a crazy thing, but Morghen’s words continued.
“I have tried it. I thought it was perfect in theory alone, but I wondered if there might be someone who would nitpick like you, hyung. I was also bored.”
“…”
“On a morning when my face looked particularly handsome in the mirror, I dressed up neatly and started right away. And I succeeded on exactly the 87th attempt.”
“…You succeeded?”
“Yes. She happened to be bored with life, and she thanked me for making her laugh. We dated for about 3 months and then broke up.”
‘Crazy, is that kind of method really possible?’
Lumian’s eyes shook mercilessly.
He felt like his common sense was completely crumbling.
Surely in his mind, to date a woman, you needed various preparations, know-how, experience and skills.
But everything could be solved just by repeating the words “Please date me” like a parrot?
“That’s impossible!”
“It is possible.”
“No, this is really impossible… How could that be…”
Lumian continued to deny Morghen’s words. Watching him, Morghen chuckled softly.
Right now his hyung was missing the key point.
What was the purpose of bringing up this story?
What was the most important thing when it came to picking up women?
To teach him that, Morghen began to elaborate step by step.
“What do you think is the most important part of what I said?”
“What? There was something important?”
“Of course there was. What hyung lacks the most right now. It’s courage. With just that, dating becomes easy.”
“…Courage?”
“That’s right. Oh, by the way, that ‘It was just a joke, you bitch’ from earlier was just a joke. There’s no need to hurt a woman’s feelings by saying that.”
Morghen took a sip of water and looked at Lumian with a serious expression.
Lumian flinched.
His younger brother talking about women seemed completely different from the person he had known until now.
He felt the pressure as if he were standing sword to sword with an incredible master. He unconsciously took a posture of attentive listening.
“In the past 4 months, how many times have you made a move?”
“A move?”
“The number of times you approached women. Do you remember?”
“Uh, um… twice?”
The ballroom, and the blind date. Other than those times, he had invested only in image transformation, so ultimately it was just twice.
Morghen nodded as if he had expected this.
“As I thought. Pathetic.”
“What, you bastard?”
“I told you earlier, didn’t I? I made 87 attempts in one day. And I succeeded.”
“…!”
“Now do you understand? What’s important is taking action. And the most important factor that increases that action – that’s courage. Everything else is just minor techniques.”
“Ah!”
Lumian let out an exclamation.
Now he could understand Morghen’s true intention. He felt his vision clearing.
Then his younger brother, who had seemed like an idiot until now, looked different.
He wasn’t an idiot at all.
He was a master of romance with his own philosophy and beliefs.
“To date, you have to try. But hyung, you haven’t properly tried until now. What’s the point of just preparing all the time? It’s much better to challenge yourself even once more in that time.”
“I see… So that’s what it was.”
“Be confident. Be shameless. Don’t be afraid of rejection. Getting rejected doesn’t cause any harm anyway. You won’t see each other after that.”
Morghen’s words gradually gained strength.
Lumian looked at his younger brother with an expression as if bewitched. It seemed like a halo was rising behind him.
Morghen in that dignified state spoke as if making a declaration.
“Anyone can win a beautiful woman. As long as they have the courage to act.”
“…Right. You’re right.”
Lumian nodded.
It was instantaneous. He came to completely trust Morghen with just a brief conversation.
It was the moment when a vague guess became certainty. He was the real deal.
However, from the mouth of that real deal came somewhat deflating words.
“Of course, understanding with your head and immediately applying it in practice are different things. Practice is needed. It will probably be quite mentally burdensome.”
“Hmm… That’s also true.”
Lumian answered in a slightly deflated voice.
He had no choice but to agree.
Morghen said you just needed to have courage and act, but that was the difficult part to begin with.
That’s why he had been arranging meetings with Teoro’s help until now.
Of course.
“So, I’ll take the lead for now.”
“Huh?”
There was no way Morghen, who had accumulated considerable experience, couldn’t do what Teoro was doing.
He thumped his chest with the most trustworthy expression.
“Let’s go hunting together and gain experience. That way you’ll gain courage and feel less burdened.”
“What? Hunting?”
“Picking up women on the street or in stores is called hunting in professional terms. Now, since we’re talking about it, let’s go right away. It happens to be evening too. Get up!”
“Huh, what?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll handle everything from finding them to talking to them and getting seated. You just need to watch.”
‘What, that’s so cool!’
Watching Morghen get up and boldly open the door, Lumian made an impressed expression.
Seeing his younger brother, who had always just taken care of and helped him, stepping up for his sake made him feel strange.
Of course, along with pride in his younger brother, his expectations for what was about to happen were also great.
Extremely excited, he jumped up and followed behind Morghen.
But a little while later.
Deflating words flowed from Morghen’s mouth.
“Hyung, this won’t work.”
“What? Why?”
“Not this city. The water isn’t good.”
“The water isn’t good?”
“I mean the women aren’t great.”
Morghen’s face was serious.
It felt like facing a high-ranking demon that would be difficult to handle with his own power.
He continued speaking.
“Since you’ve worked in the royal palace your entire previous life, brother, your standards must be high. I suppose we’ll have to change locations.”
“Change locations? Will there be more beauties if we go somewhere else?”
Lumian answered with a negative tone.
Honestly, he thought it would be similar wherever they went.
Tarasan Academy was an exception since there were many noble young ladies wealthy enough to dress up, but finding beauties that caught his eye in ordinary cities was like plucking stars from the sky.
Thinking this way, his interest that had risen considerably soon cooled down.
But Morghen was a man who didn’t know the meaning of giving up.
He spoke with a resolute tone.
“There is. A decent place.”
“Really?”
“Yes. However, it takes several days from here. The women in that city are definitely pretty.”
“Hmm…”
“By any chance, is your schedule busy? If so, it can’t be helped but…”
“It should be fine. About a day or so.”
Lumian nodded and answered.
Unfortunately, anything more than that would be difficult.
Thanks to arriving early, his schedule was relaxed, but if they stopped by another city, time would become tight again.
In fact, wasting travel routes like this for a day’s pleasure was a judgment difficult to understand by common sense.
But Lumian wasn’t an ordinary person. Neither was Morghen.
“Let’s go.”
“Let’s go. Right now.”
The two who packed their luggage from the inn procured horses and raced outside the city.
Truly terrifying initiative.
Lumian was already learning the teachings of his sworn brother.
* * *
Kingdom of Rodigia.
A powerful nation ranking among the top five on the continent, it bordered the Kingdom of Tarasan.
The place the two were heading to was a trade city adjacent to the border of that Kingdom of Rodigia, a bustling place where logistics and people concentrated.
“Don’t you know, brother? The Kingdom of Rodigia is also called the Women’s Kingdom. Women’s abilities are exceptionally outstanding there. Whether it’s swords, magic, or appearance.”
“Hmm. That’s right. It’s a matriarchal society, and the ruling class has been women for generations. But is it really true?”
The question of whether it was really true meant something specific.
It was asking whether Rodigia women were really pretty.
Morghen chuckled and nodded as he answered.
“It’s true. I stopped by once about 3 years ago and was shocked. Especially the female mercenaries where we’re going now are really good. They’re also quite open-minded. And there are many of them.”
“Open-minded?”
“That’s right. They’re incredibly open to men who approach them. For someone like me, there’s no such paradise. Actually, even without you, brother, I was thinking of going there. Thanks to you, I get to go a bit earlier, hahaha.”
Morghen laughed heartily. He seemed to be looking forward to what would unfold.
However, contrary to him, Lumian’s heart gradually grew heavier.
When they first departed, he was excited after listening to Morghen’s long speech, but now the situation was different.
As a result, useless worries and anxieties were increasingly filling his head.
Lumian asked with a worried expression.
“But is it okay for us two to act together?”
“What’s the problem?”
“Well, isn’t the age gap too big?”
His words were true.
Morghen’s current age was 48. Thanks to his massive aura, aging was slow, but he still didn’t look younger than his mid-thirties.
Compared to him, Lumian had the unmistakable appearance of a young man, so to others, it would obviously look like an uncle and nephew going around trying to pick up women.
“The women might look at us strangely too.”
“It’s fine. Didn’t I tell you? The female mercenaries of the Kingdom of Rodigia are open-minded. Their principle is that if the taste is good, they don’t care about age or anything else.”
“…Taste?”
“Those aren’t my words, but what the women there said. Don’t misunderstand.”
“But why did you change your hair color? Do they prefer blondes over there?”
“No. I’m the industry’s top mercenary, aren’t I?”
“So what.”
“I don’t really like relying on my reputation to win over women.”
‘This guy has really gotten weirder in the past 10 years.’
Lumian shook his head.
He wanted to snap at him for being overly self-conscious, but he held back. After all, Morghen was currently the party leader. He was just being carried along.
Like that, the two exchanged trivial jokes for a while as they rode, and by early evening, they were able to arrive at the trade city on Rodigia’s border.
“Now, let’s go in!”
“Good! Let’s go!”
Entry wasn’t a problem.
Lumian didn’t know, but currently Morghen held the title of Mercenary King and was the undisputed top mercenary. There couldn’t be a city he couldn’t enter with his credentials.
Lumian was also a noble and Academy cadet, so his identity was clear. The two entered the city without problems.
“Oh! They’re pretty!”
“See! This place is really good!”
The women were excellent too. Morghen’s words weren’t empty.
Befitting a trade city, there were many merchants, and the number of female mercenaries escorting merchants was really high. Moreover, their average appearance was very good.
Indeed, it was a scene that naturally made one exclaim ‘Women’s Kingdom!’
However, it wasn’t without problems.
After securing lodging, washing up, and coming out neatly dressed, the two spent about thirty minutes wandering around taverns and inns scouting for prey.
And they realized.
Compared to 3 years ago, the number of male mercenaries had increased tremendously.
“What the hell.”
“Hey, what’s this. Were there always this many men? Every place we enter is swarming with men. There are more of them than women.”
“Not at all. Three years ago, there were far more women. Originally, most Rodigia mercenaries are women… Ah!”
Morghen exclaimed as if he had realized something.
Lumian, who had been watching him with an anxious expression, asked.
“Why. Did you figure something out?”
“Yes. I think I roughly understand. Damn it. Brother, just one cigarette…”
“Fine. Light it up.”
Morghen, who had been cursing continuously, took out a cigarette from his chest and lit it. It was an item favored by mercenaries because it was much more convenient to carry than pipes.
Whoosh, as he inhaled strongly, the cigarette instantly turned to ash.
Morghen exhaled a deep sigh and looked at Lumian as he spoke.
“Brother.”
“Yeah.”
“The men in the stores, now that I think about it, they’re all outsiders. They’re not merchants, and they didn’t come here for work either.”
“Then what? Why did they come all the way here?”
“Obviously… they came for the exact same purpose as us.”
“…”
Lumian was at a loss for words.
Who would have thought there were so many passionate men like himself and Morghen on the continent.
“It seems word has spread among mercenaries that this place has good waters.”
“Then, what do we do?”
“What choice do we have. We compete and win.”
“…It feels like the difficulty suddenly got too high.”
Lumian spoke with an anxious expression.
It couldn’t be helped. In this area, he was a complete beginner among beginners, worse than a young conscript in terms of soldiers.
But Morghen was different.
He was a hero of reversal who had overcome countless obstacles and achieved results up until now.
He threw his completely burned cigarette on the ground and said.
“It’s fine. Let’s just charge in first and think later.”
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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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