The Failed Swordmaster - Chapter 80

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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 80 32. This Man Is Not Easy (3)

Leiton Wino had returned.

That fact alone made Lumian feel as if he had been saved.

At the same time, he realized anew just how much he liked her.

A completely different emotion from the women he had met at the ball, gone on blind dates with, and talked to at the Rhodesia tavern.

That’s why he followed her. Without even knowing the exact destination.

He thought anywhere Leiton Wino took him would be fine. He considered last weekend’s incident a mere happening born from a trivial misunderstanding.

But it wasn’t.

Click.

A suspicious building located on the outskirts of the city.

Going up the stairs in an ominous atmosphere, receiving the guard’s greeting, and the door opening.

The scene that was revealed afterward was enough to make Lumian’s expression turn dismal.

“Surprised?”

“…”

“Your surprised expression is cute too, hehe.”

Leiton Wino naturally extended her hand. Then a server handed her a glass.

A strong alcohol scent, and something unknown could be felt. She took a sip of it.

Even until then, Lumian had a stiff expression.

‘What is this.’

It wasn’t because he didn’t know.

He knew too. That places like this existed. That there were people who enjoyed this sort of thing.

But he had never dreamed that one of them would be Leiton Wino.

Even when he had received suspicious questions from her.

But now he could no longer deceive himself.

“Phew.”

Lumian let out a sigh.

Then his mind felt refreshed. His head also felt a bit clearer.

Having escaped from his delusion, he was no longer an innocent 15-year-old boy.

He was a 60-year-old veteran knight who had upheld his beliefs for a long time.

He called Leiton Wino’s name.

“Leiton.”

“Mm?”

“Let me hit you just once.”

Smack!

“Puhek!”

Leiton Wino’s head bowed downward.

Bright red liquid spurted from her mouth. It was because she had alcohol in her mouth.

She could only lift her head after coughing for quite a while.

After wiping her face with a handkerchief, she looked at Lumian with an expression of bewilderment.

“What was that just now?”

“Education.”

“What?”

“If you do something ridiculous, you should be punished.”

“…Huh? Punishment?”

Leiton Wino let out a hollow laugh.

The corners of her eyes rose viciously. She still looked beautiful.

But Lumian thought she wasn’t as attractive as before.

He said.

“Yes, punishment.”

“Why on earth? No, on what grounds are you doing this to me…”

“Grounds?”

Fire blazed from Lumian’s eyes.

Leiton flinched and took half a step back.

She had been unfazed even by Tania’s intimidation, but now the situation was different.

Her throat was blocked and no sound came out.

She felt like a flying insect caught in a tight net.

‘How did this happen…’

Lumian didn’t care.

He didn’t consider her feelings. Instead, he frowned and looked around.

Two types of people.

One side was enjoying drinks and food outside the cage while clapping, and the other side was becoming a spectacle, engaging in all sorts of shameful behavior.

It was terrible.

It was like a place where human dignity was bought and sold.

Lumian didn’t even feel the need to explain.

“If you were someone who would understand through words, you wouldn’t have brought me here in the first place.”

“…”

“Still, I can’t not say anything, phew.”

Lumian, who sighed again, continued speaking.

His voice wasn’t loud, but it was clear. And it spread evenly to distant places.

Therefore, the people who had been focused on the scene inside the cage could also hear it. Those who turned their heads with expressions of ‘what on earth is going on?’ soon began to burst into laughter.

“Hahaha! What’s with that brat!”

“It’s like a knight from a story popped out. Hey, what’s that! Did you call him to make me laugh?”

“No, leave him be. It’s interesting, right? Let him keep talking.”

Lumian’s words weren’t particularly special.

Nobles shouldn’t just stand above commoners, they should live with duties and responsibilities heavier than rights, even if they can’t be clean, they should at least maintain minimum standards…

He was simply reciting the virtues that should be upheld as a knight, no, as a proper noble, one by one.

Of course, the people around him listening only showed reactions of finding it ridiculous.

“Kekekeke, what a sight.”

“Eh, this is boring now. Even nonsense should have limits.”

“What are you doing? He’s causing trouble! Make him quiet or drag him out!”

“Damn it, he’s still at it. Tell him to stop it!”

Rather, they showed red faces while spitting out harsh profanity.

Seeing this, Lumian shook his head disapprovingly.

He hadn’t expected something as noble as a priest, but the people here were treating him like a strange person.

Leiton Wino was the same.

She took advantage of the gap when Lumian’s momentum decreased and quickly spat out excuses.

“Who decides the standards of right and wrong? You? Having lived only 15 years, what’s the reason for chattering so confidently?”

“…”

“The excellent and noble aspiring knight might find it disagreeable. But have you ever truly thought about the circumstances of the people in that cage?”

“What are you talking about?”

Lumian asked in a dry voice.

Leiton Wino laughed with a “hmph.” Then she recited the lines she had thought of in advance.

“Unlike nobles who live comfortably their whole lives, for commoners, money is a lifeline. If they can maintain their livelihood, their family’s livelihood, in exchange for selling their pride for just a moment… then can you say those people are wrong? Can you say this place, which provides opportunities to those people, is wrong?”

“…”

“This place isn’t even illegal. Although it operates somewhat secretly, it’s a place that has received permission from the city. It’s not a place for an immature and narrow-minded child like you to act superior and make a fuss.”

Phew, Leiton Wino, who finished speaking, caught her breath.

She had a very refreshed expression. Although she was a bit nervous, she felt she had properly conveyed what she wanted to say.

Of course, she didn’t worry about the people in the cage even a hair’s breadth. To her, they were beings worth less than bugs sitting by a window.

But it wouldn’t be the same for Lumian.

If he was a rigid aspiring knight, but a young fool whose beliefs about himself weren’t perfectly established.

‘He’d feel confused by even words like this. Since he has no experience.’

Leiton smiled.

This was why she had brought him here.

To corrupt a moral and upright person, you have to shake his standards. You have to blur the lines.

She was slightly excited thanks to the sudden flick, but it was still fine.

If she could take advantage of Lumian’s confusion to apologize first, drink together, and get intoxicated by the drugs…

‘He’ll eventually crumble.’

She was confident.

However, that confidence was instantly shattered by Lumian’s words that flowed out shortly after.

“You’re talking bullshit.”

“…What?”

“I said you’re talking complete bullshit.”

Lumian said with a cold expression.

It was a difficult topic. Leiton Wino’s words contained, to some extent, themes that Lumian and various other knights had pondered for a long time.

‘Ideals and reality, where should one position themselves between them.’

No one in the world could provide a perfect answer.

It couldn’t be helped. Reality, morality, and even interpretations of law didn’t have clear-cut answers like mathematical formulas.

People simply act and think according to what they believe is right.

And in doing so, something called conviction is born. That’s all.

And as an extremely natural matter.

Lumian Calard, who possessed the life experience of a 60-year veteran knight, his convictions… were not soft enough to be shaken by Leiton Wino’s shallow sophistry.

Bow.

Lumian bowed his head to Leiton Wino.

When he raised his face, complex emotions were melted in his eyes.

Bitter, regretful, sad, yet somewhat relieved feelings.

He deliberately spoke calmly.

“Goodbye, Leiton Wino.”

It was a farewell greeting.

Finally settling his relationship with his first love.

He clicked his tongue and turned around.

He didn’t want to see Leiton Wino anymore.

No, actually he wanted to see her but endured it. And he spoke to those standing awkwardly before him.

“Let’s go, friends.”

“…What, you knew?”

Teoro spoke on behalf of everyone. Lumian shook his head.

“I didn’t know originally. I noticed after finishing my long lecture to Leiton. Ah, how embarrassing…”

Lumian’s face turned red.

His face reddened because it wasn’t a good look to show others.

He approached Teoro Shutgarn, Bumer Simpson, and Cal Krone, pretending to hit their stomachs.

“Invading someone’s privacy, huh?”

“No, uh, Teoro said we should go…”

“Teoro did?”

Bumer tattled, and Teoro made a flustered expression.

Then Cal Krone said with an expressionless face.

“He’s the romance teacher. If he’s worried, he might do that.”

“That’s true. Still, thanks for worrying about me.”

Lumian smiled brightly, showing his teeth. The three including Teoro also chuckled.

“But Tania senior came too?”

“Ah?”

“And even the professor… What’s this? Why did you two come?”

“Uh, well… I was worried too, so I came! Is there a problem?”

Tania instead snapped at Lumian.

It was to hide her flustered feelings. She looked at Lumian’s philtrum instead of his eyes and thought.

‘What should I do, I can’t look at him properly.’

She had already thought his handling at Leiton’s house was cool.

And seeing him confidently speak with such upright and proper attitude even in a place like this made her heart flutter even more.

He was quite, very cool. She could feel her heart pounding.

Irene Curtis looked at her with a smiling face.

‘How cute.’

That thought came naturally.

After looking at Tania a bit longer, she said to Lumian.

“Sorry. I won’t give you penalty points instead.”

“What do you mean?”

“A student came to a place they shouldn’t be, right? Let’s call that and this even.”

“What’s that… Ah, fine. Let’s go out first.”

Lumian waved his hand to send the five people out. And he also went outside the door.

Then he saw the collapsed guards.

He said to Irene.

“Did you do this, Professor?”

“Yeah.”

“Is this okay? How are you going to handle the aftermath…”

“Young master of the Crone Ducal House, you can handle this much cleanup for a friend, right?”

“Of course.”

“Solved!”

“…”

Lumian said nothing.

He just went down the stairs with an absurd expression.

‘Still… it’s not extremely difficult.’

Lumian recalled today’s events.

Although it somehow ended up looking like he dumped her, in the end, heartbreak was heartbreak.

His brief first love had ended futilely.

‘At least it’s fortunate that these guys are here.’

At first he was bewildered, embarrassed, and slightly annoyed.

But still, it was better to have them around.

Just listening to Bumer’s nonsense made him feel better.

“Hey, Bumer.”

“Huh?”

“Work hard. I’m going to get a girlfriend again soon.”

“You don’t need to work hard, right? Even if I slack off, you’ll get one faster than this guy.”

“…”

Cal Krone attacked Bumer once again.

It was the moment when everyone burst into laughter hearing his words.

Rumble-!

Just as they were about to leave the building, vibrations felt from inside.

The six people stopped dead in their tracks.

‘What is this?’

‘What’s this?’

‘This feeling is very…’

‘My body is trembling.’

Teoro, Bumer, Cal, and Tania – these four couldn’t properly understand the situation.

The nauseating vibrations that shook their insides, the foul stench that clung disgustingly to them. They didn’t know that this was the phenomenon that occurred when demons were summoned.

Therefore, they could only frown without being able to take any action.

‘It’s a demon! And a powerful one at that!’

Irene Curtis was different. She understood the current situation perfectly.

The reason she wasn’t moving was because she judged it would be difficult to face the demon with their current forces.

‘It’s a high-ranking demon. To capture it without casualties, we’d need at least three Experts, no, four!’

She wore a serious expression.

She didn’t know why a high-ranking demon had been summoned to this place. But that wasn’t what mattered.

She needed to call for reinforcements. To do that…

Whoosh!

And before she could finish her thoughts.

Lumian rushed into the building.

His speed was terrifying.

“Oh!”

“Lumian?”

The students cried out in surprise. Irene Curtis also turned around in shock.

‘No. Lumian can’t win alone!’

Even though he possessed unparalleled talent, he was at most a beginner Expert.

That level wasn’t enough to stop a high-ranking demon. He’d be lucky not to be torn to death.

She let out a groan and spoke to the students.

“You all, quickly go to the Academy and bring the knights! We need at least two Experts!”

It’s okay. She reassured herself.

Even if she and Lumian fought together, they couldn’t win.

But holding out for a while was possible.

If the students brought the knights in that time, they could minimize casualties…

Whoooosh…

“…Huh?”

Irene Curtis, who had been rapidly connecting her thoughts, made a dumbfounded sound.

The nauseating aura characteristic of high-ranking demons had suddenly disappeared.

She muttered with a bewildered expression.

“What?”

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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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