The God-Possessed Swordsmanship Genius - Chapter 19

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Sword Genius Blessed by a God, Chapter 19

* * *

Lukas had come to Steel Castle.
He had traveled three days from the main estate to meet the Lord of Steel Castle.
Inside the reception room.
Unlike the cold reception he had given Allen, the Lord of Steel Castle greeted Lukas with a face brimming with warmth.

“What brings you all the way out here?”
“I came to share a cup of tea with you, my lord.”
“You must be worn out from the trip. Sit, sit.”

The Lord of Steel Castle summoned a maid, and she brought in a fine tea.
Fragrant, with a faint crimson glow.
Lifting his cup, Lukas smiled faintly.

“I’ll gladly drink it.”

Watching Lukas sip his tea in silence across from him, the Lord of Steel Castle’s eyes gleamed.
Lukas did not set foot into the territory of a Seven Lords without a very good reason.
There was only one thing that could bring him to seek out his counterpart first.

“Have you come as the Flying Sword Corps captain?”

The Flying Sword Corps was one of the household’s sword units, a force that carried out only the missions issued directly by the head of the family.
And Lukas was the captain of that corps.

“That’s right.”
“What is it? Speak.”
“I understand the head of the family has ordered you to secure the Demon Sword as well. And that because of it, you’ve been clashing with the Empire recently.”
“Did the head of the family tell you that much?”
“Yes. I heard it’s been going on for quite a while.”

Bishuken had been pursuing the Demon Sword for decades already.
And Bishuken was not the only one chasing it.

“The head of the family impressed upon me, again and again, that no matter what, the Demon Sword must not fall into the Empire’s hands.”

Bishuken, and the Empire.
The two powers that represented the sword across the continent were competing over the Demon Sword.

“The head of the family seems to be rather preoccupied with that blade.”
“It’s been the object your late predecessor was searching for, after all.”
“A demon sword that rivals the Five Great Swords of the Continent. Do you truly believe such a thing exists?”
“Well, I wouldn’t know. I was only told to pass along the message.”
“That’s all you came here for? You, yourself?”

The Lord of Steel Castle asked with a snort.

“Did you really come all this way for that?”

A Demon Sword that the two greatest powers on the continent had failed to find for decades.
Because of that, some in certain circles had even started claiming the blade was nothing but a myth.

“The captain of the Flying Sword Corps moves in person over a sword that may or may not exist? For a task that one of his men could handle?”
“As it happens, I have another matter to attend to today.”
“Oh? And what might that be?”

Lukas set down his teacup and spoke.

“I understand you’ve interfered with my brother’s mission.”

As though to make it clear which of them held the upper hand, Lukas met the Lord of Steel Castle’s eyes head-on, unlike before.
There was a faint taunt laced through that gaze.
Meeting it, the Lord of Steel Castle smiled faintly and lifted his teacup.

“I thought as much. It’s you.”
“So you admit it without hesitation?”
“Isn’t the evidence already in hand?”
“Yes. Perhaps your disciple will have trouble escaping unscathed, Lord.”
“Threatening me with a nobody like that? He was only a pawn I meant to use and discard anyway. Do as you please.”

Even at the mention of harming his disciple, the Lord of Steel Castle didn’t so much as twitch.
Lukas had known he felt little affection for his disciples, but he hadn’t expected it to be this bad.
When threatening him through his disciple got him nowhere, Lukas let out a long sigh and asked.

“Is this because of me?”
“It was.”

The Lord of Steel Castle nodded.

“I want the Bishuken bloodline to continue, but I don’t want those fools from the branch families becoming head of the clan. You know that, don’t you? Lately, the Lord of Blood Sword Castle took a disciple from one of the branch families.”

Lukas had heard that news as well.
Calling it recent was a stretch. The Lord of Blood Sword Castle had taken a branch-family member from Bishuken as his disciple more than two years ago.
The eldest son had no interest in becoming head of the clan, and the second son was thrashing about, drowning in the Curse of Bima.
The Lord of Blood Sword Castle meant to exploit that gap and make his own disciple the next head of the clan.

“You’re the one most like the clan head. That’s why I thought this might bring you to your senses a little. You don’t covet the position of heir, do you? It’s because you’re worried your brother would be crushed by it, isn’t it?”
“Did you truly think that? So you took my brother hostage in order to teach me a lesson?”
“And if I did?”

Ha-.

Lukas, who had been smiling faintly, suddenly burst out laughing.

Hahaha!

For a long while, laughter filled the reception room and would not leave.
Though it was rude, the Lord of Steel Castle did not scold him for it.
At some point Lukas stopped laughing all at once and spoke with a cold face.

“You’ve misjudged me badly.”
“In what way?”
“Do I look like someone who cares so deeply for my brother?”
“Am I wrong?”

Lukas shook his head.

“I was only bothered because the one born of the same blood lives so foolishly.”
“Is that so? I must have misunderstood. Then why on earth don’t you covet the position of heir?”
“Must I explain even that to you?”

His tone made it plain he didn’t think something like you deserved such an explanation.
A chill settled between the two of them. In an instant, Steel Castle turned as cold as a sheet of ice.
At Lukas’s cool response, the Lord of Steel Castle wore a satisfied smile.

“…Yes, I suppose so.”

The Lord of Steel Castle drained the last of his black tea and spoke.

“Don’t you worry. The Head of the House was seen looking after the Second Young Master himself. What could I possibly do? Even I don’t have the nerve to lay a hand on the Head of the House’s bloodline twice.”
“I hope that’s the case.”

Once he had the answer he’d come for, Lukas rose from his seat at once.
He was just about to leave the reception room when he stopped.

“Ah, now that I think of it…”

Lukas paused mid-step, as though he had only just remembered something.

“You said I was the one most like the Head of the House, didn’t you?”
“I did.”
“You were wrong.”
“Oh? Then who is it?”

Lukas didn’t answer the Lord of Steel Castle’s question. He simply turned around.

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

As he made to leave without another word, the Lord of Steel Castle called out one last question.

“You’ve come all this way. Why not stay and share a drink before you go?”
“…I make it a rule not to drink with people I can’t trust.”
“Is that so? Very well. Safe travels.”

With that farewell, Lukas left the reception room. His business was finished, so he was likely heading straight back to the main castle.
Left alone in the reception room, the Lord of Steel Castle sat back down and turned Lukas’s words over in his mind.

The one who resembled the Head of the House most.

In that instant, the person who surfaced in the Lord of Steel Castle’s mind was Allen.

‘The Second Young Master resembles the Head of the House?’

Two faces appeared side by side in the Lord of Steel Castle’s mind.
The sky of Bishuken, the strongest swordsman on the continent, Axion Bishuken.
And his son, the unlucky one born under the Curse of Bima, Allen Bishuken.
Beyond their faces, he had always thought the two shared nothing at all.

“Do you still think that I’m more suited to be Head of the House than you are, Elder Brother?”

“Heh.”

The moment that bold, unflinching gaze came back to him, the Lord of Steel Castle laughed before he could stop himself.
It was long ago.
It was because he had thought, truly, that Axion Bishuken in his younger days and Allen looked alike.

* * *

For the time being, Allen tucked the Star Flower away in his Subspace Pouch.
Every fiber of him longed to take the flower right then and there, but he intended to consume it once he was back home in the family estate.
The more potent an elixir, the more focus it demanded to draw out its full efficacy. Even the slightest lapse in concentration could cut its effect by more than half.
He needed a trustworthy person and a safe place. For that, nowhere was better suited than Bishuken.

The next day.
Having rested for a day at a neighboring domain, Allen immediately went looking for the coachman.
Huh.

“Eh? Elder?”
“G-guest!”

By sheer coincidence, the carriage driver they’d just hired turned out to be the very same one who had brought Allen here.
The driver beamed as he asked.

“What brings you back here?”
“I’ve come to head home now.”
“Already? Has your… business been settled?”

The driver quickly changed the subject, afraid someone might overhear.
Once word got out that he’d come back from a dungeon, who knew what kind of vultures would come swarming.
Allen nodded and answered with vigor.

“Yes. It went well.”
“Congratulations. I’m truly glad to hear it.”
“Why haven’t you left yet, Elder?”
“Thanks to you, guest, my debts were cleared, weren’t they? I’m so happy I’m having another drink on my own.”

With the Iron Chain Society gone, the driver was finally able to wash away every debt that had dogged him for so long.

“Forget the fare. You’re on the house, guest!”

His purse was considerably heavier than before, yet Allen was pleased to hear the word “free.”
For a man in trade, “free” was the highest compliment there was.

“A fare’s a fare. And they say if you love free things, you’ll go bald.”
“Even if you go bald, you’ll still be handsome. Oh, right, where are you headed on the way back? I’ll get you there at full speed.”
“Take us to Bishuken.”

At Allen’s words, the driver flinched for a moment.
Still, he didn’t look as startled as Allen had expected.
It seemed he had half-expected something like this.

“So… you’re a swordsman of Bishuken after all.”
“You knew?”
“I figured you were either a Bishuken swordsman or an Imperial knight. The place I first saw you was Bishuken land, so I thought you must be a Bishuken swordsman.”

The driver’s words were only half sincere.
Judging by location, he’d think Bishuken swordsman, but then, watching Allen’s manner, he’d wonder if he might be an Imperial knight.
He had been secretly unsure and curious, and now this unexpected encounter had finally revealed the truth.

“Don’t call me ‘swordsman.’ Just ‘guest,’ like before. It sounds friendlier and nicer to my ears.”
“How could I do that?”
“It’s fine. Above all, it makes me uncomfortable to hear.”
“If you insist that much… very well.”

Allen grinned and climbed into the carriage.
Seated inside, he gazed up at the blue sky and said,

“Let’s head to the main castle.”

* * *

The carriage rolled faster than before.
Along the way, Allen once again treated the driver to food and drink.
When he told of what had happened in the dungeon, the driver’s face flushed red, his ears pricked up, and he listened to Allen’s words intently.
He was even startled when he heard that one of their party had in fact been a swordsman posing as a Bishuken man.

“Have you ever seen a more shameless bastard in your life!”
“Haven’t you seen worse than that, sir?”
“Well, I’ve never met a lunatic who’d dare pass himself off as a Bishuken, I’ll say that much.”

The two of them drank a few more rounds.
By day he trained, and by night he drank with the driver. For Allen, it was a kind of journey and a kind of rest all at once.

Before long, the carriage reached Bishuken’s lands.
In the distance, the main keep began to come into view. The carriage let Allen off at the domain just in front of it.

“We’ve arrived.”

In the middle of the domain, where people came and went.
The driver looked into Allen’s eyes and asked cautiously.

Might I ask your name, sir…?

He had been hovering on the edge of asking all these days, so this was clearly what had been nagging at him.

“I make a habit of remembering the names of memorable guests. And since you were the most memorable of all, I’d very much like to know.”
“It’s hardly rude, is it?”

Allen pressed his palms together in greeting and answered respectfully.

“My name is Allen Bishuken.”
“Bishu…”

The driver’s eyes bulged wide.
This shock was nothing like the ones before.
He hadn’t been this astonished even when he’d witnessed the annihilation of the Iron Chain Society, or when he’d learned that Allen was a swordsman of Bishuken.
Allen Bishuken.
A man who bore the Bishuken surname.
No one would dare to pass themselves off as a member of that bloodline right before the Bishuken main keep.

Hic.

The driver couldn’t muster any reaction at all and let out a hiccup.
It had never once crossed his mind that he would be carrying someone of the Bishuken name in his carriage.
As though he had anticipated just such a reaction, Allen put on his chatty act once more.

“If another talkative guest like me ever comes along, do tell them. ‘This is the carriage that once carried a man like that!’ Something like that.”
“M-my humble self would never dare…”
“Please don’t call yourself humble. I was simply born into a good family, that’s all. It’s not as if I’m anyone particularly great.”

Allen meant every word of it.
He had been born into the exalted status of Bishuken’s direct line, yet for most of his years, Allen had lived far from Bishuken.
Late in that life, he had even fought Demon Race and Demonic Humans, and learned just how precious each individual life truly was.

Perhaps that was why.
Unlike others, Allen didn’t draw much distinction based on rank.
Whether strong or weak, high-born or low, they were all the same people to him.
The only lines Allen drew were two.
Human or Demonic Human.
Good or evil.
Those were the values Allen had established in his previous life.

“Just think of me as the same man who lectured you with drinks that first day. I’m the same person then as I am now, after all.”

At Allen’s words, the driver’s face gradually eased.
Now that he knew the name Bishuken, Allen still looked exactly like the customer the driver had known.

“I’m sorry. I was so shocked that I…”
“Judging by your reaction, sir, if you’d told me earlier, something terrible might have happened.”
“Ah, I bet I’d have been too frightened to drive the carriage properly.”

Watching Allen still address him so respectfully as “sir,” the driver lowered his head in a bow.

“Thank you for telling me your name. It was an honor to have you as my passenger.”
“No, thank you for getting me here safely. Please travel carefully on your way back.”

Allen bowed his head just as the driver had, then turned on his heel.
The driver stood where he was for a while, watching Allen’s retreating back, and thought.
Perhaps he had just given a ride to the man who would one day become the head of the Bishuken family.

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