The Failed Swordmaster - Chapter 82

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

Chapter 82 33. It’s Okay, That Can Happen (1)

There are three knights who are always mentioned when choosing the strongest knight on the continent.

The first is naturally Knight King Philip III.

The king of Jenas who possessed both skill and virtue, and the great knight who defeated the Demon King. His achievements would be remembered for eternity.

The second person to be mentioned was the eunuch knight Ryan Fromhart.

He who was undervalued due to his status was only reevaluated after his death. As the Knight King’s right hand, he slayed countless demons including the Demon Archduke Karakus, so he too was worthy of being called the best.

There was one more knight who stood shoulder to shoulder with them, none other than Rhodesia’s Golden Dawn, Sinsieo Ainsworth.

She had not conquered the Demon King’s Castle or the Territory of the Four Heavenly Kings like the Knight King and the eunuch knight.

But she had blocked more demon attacks than anyone else, and saved more suffering people than anyone else.

Her appearance as she swept away demons while emitting golden aura was like the dawn driving away darkness. Some scholars even claimed that thanks to her, the continent’s damage was reduced to less than half.

“Hmm…”

However, even in the eyes of such a great knight, Irene Curtis’s evaluation seemed too excessive.

Sinsieo Ainsworth checked the report once more.

‘We need to expand exchanges to improve friendship with the Kingdom of Tarasan… This is correct.’

According to the report written by Irene Curtis, the future of the Kingdom of Tarasan was quite bright.

This was because the talents of the Academy, especially the talents of the Knight Department, had tremendous potential.

‘To think there are three people who have passed one of the three gates to becoming an Expert at the age of 15…’

She took in the three names written in the report.

Cal Krone, Teoro Shutgarn, Bumer Simpson. They were worth remembering.

‘Besides them, Tania Eloise, Bairen Sigal, Uden Hadley… These children are also worth remembering.’

Their possibilities also seemed considerable. It was to the extent that one would wonder how so many talents gathered in one small country.

Of course, it wasn’t impossible. This much was understandable.

Sinsieo Ainsworth organized what she had to say to the foreign affairs department and made a brief memo. Then she moved on to the next report.

‘Lumian Calard’s character… and his history with women.’

In fact, this was the part she was most worried about.

Of course, what should be most focused on when recruiting talent is skill, and potential. Naturally. There’s no need to go to great lengths to bring someone who won’t be helpful to Rhodesia.

But character was equally important.

Especially in Lumian Calard’s case…

‘Mercenary King Morghen, he formed a deep connection with that lustful bastard…’

Sinsieo Ainsworth frowned.

She hadn’t met the Mercenary King directly. However, she was well aware of his history with women.

It was also strange that someone who was a Sword Master had such loose hips.

But what if Lumian Calard had similar tendencies?

What if, like the Mercenary King, he went around acting like a playboy without discriminating between this woman and that woman?

‘That won’t do. If he’s that kind of guy, there’s no reason to recruit him no matter how outstanding his skills are.’

There was already a bad precedent.

100 years ago, just like now, they had brought a young man with tremendous potential. According to history books, he lived up to Rhodesia’s expectations and grew into a very strong knight.

However, due to his endless womanizing, countless knights, bureaucrats, and even royalty became pregnant with his children, and he committed suicide out of fear of the consequences.

The situation at that time was so chaotic that a law preventing men from being placed in important positions was almost created.

Sinsieo’s concerns were similar to this.

The Mercenary King’s disciple, and moreover, a 15-year-old boy who got into trouble trying to seduce a woman at a store and even revealed his Aura Sword while drunk.

It was a situation where prejudice couldn’t help but form.

Therefore, she had ordered Irene Curtis to investigate Lumian’s lustful tendencies.

And the result was.

‘His character is upright and clean, he values chivalry, and he can be as cold as stone toward women when it comes to protecting his beliefs?’

It was unexpected.

Of course, there was no mention that he disliked women. Rather, it was written at the beginning that he was quite interested in them.

But Irene didn’t consider this a major problem.

[The curiosity about women that Lumian Calard shows is at a perfectly normal level and can never be considered a flaw. Rather, his solid beliefs that won’t crumble in any situation are impressive…

(omitted)

…mental strength so great that it wouldn’t pale in comparison to Rhodesia’s high-ranking knights… (abbreviated)]

It was a very generous evaluation.

To speak of ‘high-ranking knight’s mental strength’ for a brat who hadn’t even lived 20 years.

It was enough to doubt her eyes. In fact, Sinsieo read this part two, three times again. It was to check if there was some metaphor she didn’t know about.

However, there couldn’t be such things in a report that had to convey only facts clearly.

‘If this is true… I can’t be satisfied with just sponsorship.’

She had to recruit him by any means necessary.

That’s what she had thought. At least until she first saw the report.

The part she truly needed to worry about was separate.

Sinsieo looked again at the last page of the report, the part about ‘Lumian’s current skill and potential’, with a stiff expression.

She had looked at this part countless times. Nevertheless, she still couldn’t believe it. Even though Irene Curtis was quite a trustworthy subordinate.

[Lumian Calard’s current skill cannot be measured with this writer’s abilities]

[Lumian Calard’s potential cannot be measured with this writer’s abilities]

[For accurate judgment, it is estimated that at least a Sword Master-level expert would be needed]

“Haa… What on earth is this…”

Rather than surprising, it was absurd.

She pressed her eyes firmly with her hands.

‘This… I really don’t know how to accept this.’

She had no choice.

Just the fact that he reached Expert at age 15 already meant recognition of the greatest talent in history.

But not only that, he had skills that surpassed Irene Curtis, Rhodesia’s veteran knight?

He was estimated to have defeated a High Demon single-handedly, and in a very short time at that?

She couldn’t believe it at all.

No matter how much it was a report from a trustworthy subordinate, she couldn’t accept this at face value.

“…I’ll have to check it myself.”

Sinsieo Ainsworth muttered as she put down the report.

She could make an excuse somehow.

After roughly handling urgent matters, she should visit Tarasan Academy as soon as possible.

Her eyes, having made her decision, shone golden.

Despite being over 60, they were eyes that felt robust.

* * *

“Aaah…”

Lumian let out a groan in the empty room.

Today was Monday, the start of the week. The time was afternoon, slightly past lunch.

Naturally, it was time to attend classes, but he was still lying in bed.

This was because he had received permission from Professor Irene Curtis to rest for a week.

He had faced not one but two High Demons, and had pushed himself a bit too hard in the process. He wanted to recover his body while practicing Aura cultivation.

When he claimed this, Irene readily granted his request. Even in her eyes, Lumian’s condition certainly didn’t look good.

‘He must have pushed his Aura too hard. His face looks haggard.’

Of course, what Lumian said was a lie.

There was no way he, who had skills that could be counted on one hand across the entire continent, would struggle this much. In reality, Lumian’s physical condition was fine.

However, his mental state was not good. He who was lying in bed sighed and recalled his memories with Leiton Wino.

‘It was good…’

Of course, it wasn’t that he missed her or wanted to meet her again. He knew well that his relationship with Leiton Wino was completely over.

But the fact that he had experienced his first real date, and that despite this he had only tasted the bitterness of heartbreak instead of happy romance, made him suffer. It was much more painful than when he had failed without anything happening.

The fact that his mental age was that of a 60-year-old grandfather didn’t matter at all.

What mattered was that this breakup was his first.

‘Those junior knights who cried and whined after being dumped by women… I couldn’t understand them at all…’

Now he seemed to understand.

His heart was more stinging and gloomy than he had imagined. Lumian, who had shed a single tear, sat up.

‘Let’s stop this. I can’t keep wallowing in despair like this.’

“There’s not just one woman in the world!”

Lumian muttered loudly.

It was true. Just as countless men swarmed across the Continent, there were many women too.

Of course, among them, women who caught his fancy were truly few, and the probability of those women liking him was even smaller.

Anyway, thinking that there must be at least one match for him in this wide world made him feel a little more at ease.

‘And it’s true that I’ve improved compared to before!’

It really was.

He recalled when he first went to the ballroom.

He had been so nervous that he couldn’t even speak properly and fled the scene as if escaping.

Compared to then, his current self had made tremendous progress.

After all, he had even rolled around in bed with a woman!

‘That’s right! I’m better than Bumer! Of course I am!’

Indeed, when times were tough, the only one he could rely on was Bumer Simpson. That guy was a reliable existence like a safety net installed under a bridge.

Thinking of him, the sadness, loneliness, and slight anger that had been clinging to his chest seemed to fade away.

Of course, it didn’t disappear completely.

After all, it had only been a few days since the incident, so there was no way he could become calm so quickly. Lumian recalled memories from his previous life.

‘How long did it take for the guys who broke up to get better…’

It varied greatly.

The quick ones got better in just one day, while the slow ones couldn’t escape from sadness for several years. Come to think of it, the variance was so extreme that it was difficult to calculate an average.

However, recalling the past wasn’t entirely useless.

Because he discovered a common trait among those who quickly escaped from their sorrows.

‘The guys who quickly forgot their previous love all quickly started dating new women!’

Love is healed by other love.

It was an eternal truth. Lumian, who finally realized this, nodded with a bright expression.

Of course, there was no way he could meet a woman right away.

To say it again, Lumian had little experience with women and was a coward with high standards. These were very unfavorable conditions for dating.

Moreover, he was holed up in his room lying down, so how could he immediately call a woman over?

But.

‘I don’t have a woman, but instead I have something that can comfort me.’

A sinister smile played around Lumian’s lips.

Bending his waist and reaching under the bed, he pulled out a book.

It was an erotic book he had purchased at the bookstore ‘Hit Me’ that Bumer had recommended.

Looking at the cover with a naked woman drawn on it, Lumian nodded.

‘Indeed, it feels like my wounded heart is being healed.’

Swallowing his saliva, he slowly turned the pages.

He had already seen it once, but perhaps because it had been a while, it felt fresh. It wasn’t a bad feeling.

Hot breath flowed from his mouth. His eyes widened as if he would be sucked into the book.

Then, a knocking sound came from the door of his dormitory.

Knock knock knock.

‘What? Is it Teoro? Or Bumer?’

Lumian frowned slightly.

There was no one else who would come to his room besides them. At most, it would be Cal Krone.

Then there was no need to hide it. They were all the same kind of guys anyway.

Finishing his thoughts, he said casually.

“The door’s unlocked, so just come in.”

“Really? Then excuse me.”

Creak.

The door opened. Lumian tried not to care who was coming in.

But he couldn’t. Because a completely different voice than he had expected spoke.

Startled, he looked up and his gaze met with the person at the door.

Lumian said with a stupid expression.

“Senior Tania…?”

“Hello? I heard you weren’t feeling well, so I came to visit…”

Tania was entering with a bright smile.

She hesitated, clearly because of the book.

Lumian hurriedly hid the book under the blanket.

But it was futile. A few words flowed from her mouth.

“Whip… rope…”

“Ah, no, this is, I mean…”

‘Damn it, shit!’

Lumian’s pupils shook. It was as if an earthquake had occurred.

In that state, he rambled on and on before soon closing his mouth and lowering his head.

He had given up.

No matter what excuse he made, he couldn’t get out of this situation.

Realizing this, Lumian made a dejected expression.

‘I said I was resting because I was sick… and right after what happened with Leiton Wino, I got caught looking at an erotic book…’

It wasn’t even something ordinary. It was a book with such a high rating that you could tell just by looking at the cover.

To be caught with such a thing by a woman, Lumian didn’t know what to do with his embarrassment.

He couldn’t lift his head. He couldn’t imagine what expression Tania was looking at him with.

Like that, he fell into an endless swamp of self-loathing.

But then.

Smack!

“Ah!”

“Hey, why are you making such a big deal out of that?”

Tania’s reaction wasn’t as serious as Lumian had thought.

He looked at his senior with a startled face.

An expression as if it was no big deal. She said calmly.

“What’s strange about looking at that kind of thing? These days, women look at them a lot too. Don’t worry about it.”

“Huh, huh? Really?”

Lumian made a flustered voice.

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