The Peaceful Life Of A Maid Who Hides Her Power And Enjoys It - Chapter 286
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Part 2, Chapter 84
The young boy.
No, the Sword Master, no, the Sword Master who was once a young boy was slowly unfolding before me, lunging toward me while gripping the pearl sword.
What is happening?
I drew my sword and blocked the Sword Master’s attack.
Screech-
The blue eyes that came close to my face contained no emotion whatsoever. They seemed both completely empty and overflowing with too much.
-Must protect.
-I will definitely protect.
The resonance of the two swords scattered chaotically in my ears.
Defending against the consecutive attacks of two people was almost an instinctive movement. My eyes constantly followed the Sword Master, struggling to find memories from four years ago in his gaunt face.
I absolutely cannot believe it.
‘His eye color and hair color were too common to be special, but…’
The young boy’s face, vivid as if it were yesterday, overlapped with the Sword Master’s.
At first, I thought they looked nothing alike.
Of course. The young boy living on Trash Hill was much smaller and thinner than his age due to never having a proper meal, while the Sword Master was an adult with a tall stature and solid shoulders, though slender.
And most importantly… the current Sword Master doesn’t have the desperation or vitality I felt from that day’s young boy.
But if those two are the same person, it would be quite an understandable change. The young boy from four years ago experienced something terrible that should never have happened.
[Sword Master.]
“Shut up, Dunain. Are you still going to spout nonsense about me being passive?”
Oh my. Look at that temper, still the same.
Looking at it this way, isn’t that foul personality exactly the same?
The somewhat sharp-angled eyes, the thick and thin eyebrows. The ears that are somewhat large compared to his face, all of it…
Good heavens.
Yes, it’s the young boy.
The Sword Master was indeed the young boy.
This close, alive and well? We even reunited on Trash Hill? Even while blocking the offensive of two swordsmen, I couldn’t help but laugh at how absurd it was.
The Sword Master’s brow furrowed deeply. That vivid emotional change made me happy, deepening my laughter.
“You…”
I couldn’t bring myself to call him.
Four years.
A whole four years.
What kind of time were those four years for the Sword Master? What kind of time was it that he became a Black Knight destined for destruction? What did he have to overcome that he had to become a murderer trapped in auditory and visual hallucinations?
Could I have been the source of that?
“Uh, ah, I’m, I’m sorry… I…”
I understand the young boy’s failure.
“Run away.”
It was an unavoidable result.
I was weak and the young boy was young.
If there’s one clear fact, it’s that for the young boy, that day was absolutely a day that should never have been experienced.
To the young boy, my existence might be remembered as a terrible nightmare.
Suddenly, I thought it was fortunate that my current appearance was that of Andert Pager, far removed from that day.
‘Then I’m a bit sorry to you, but.’
I’ll have to beat you without holding back, Sword Master.
“Demon Sword Technique.”
The Sword Master’s eyes widened greatly.
Ah, right. You remember the Demon Sword Technique? Thanks to that, while Dunain sealed my movements, the light movements that had been flying became sluggish.
While the Sword Master hesitated, I struck the great sword that had been charging straight ahead.
No matter how excellent a swordsman’s skill, a weapon given to a dummy cannot defeat a demon sword filled with a Black Knight’s obsession and resentment. When I shot it with heavy energy, the massive sword split in two and fell powerlessly.
[…]
Though hidden by the helmet, I could feel through my body that Dunain was quite frustrated. Since she can execute such delicate movements with a dummy body, she must actually be a much more remarkable swordsman.
But not now.
I kicked Dunain’s helmet with my right foot, then used the moment when she felt dizzy and stepped back to drive the sword I was holding into her foot. The sword acted like a thick nail, keeping Dunain immobilized in place.
The Sword Master and I face each other again.
“Your turn, young boy. Let’s see how far you’ve grown… this time I’ll test you properly.”
Beyond his blue eyes, a faint tremor that had never been there before arose.
I am such a cunning swordsman.
I want to hide our connection because I’m concerned about the Sword Master, but seeing how he’s grown into such a fine and wicked fellow makes me want to poke at him with a needle.
The opponent gripped his sword again.
Again.
“Demon Sword Technique.”
How many times now? The 5th sword technique? The 6th sword technique?
…What do numbers matter? The most important thing is a heart filled with sincerity.
Yes, the heart of a master thinking of his disloyal and unlucky disciple.
I want to call this heart as follows.
“Are you eating your meals properly?”
And so my sword and the Sword Master’s sword clashed in mid-air.
Clang-!
In that instant.
For a very- truly very brief moment, there was an illusion that time had stopped.
It’s not Lu’s power. It was clearly different from time actually stopping or slowing down.
“…”
“…”
As the two swords resonated together, I felt an invisible powerful wave spreading in all directions.
‘What is this…’
Is it because of the swords?
Is it because his resonance was carried in both the sword I held and the sword the Sword Master held?
Or is it because I held his sword and he held my sword?
-I will definitely protect.
-…I must protect.
Waves like starlight reflected on water created dream-like illusions.
“Run away… Huk, heok. You have to run away… I can’t do anything. I’m a burden, far away. Far away…”
The young boy running away while holding the pearl sword.
“Uuk, huk, huk. I’m sorry… I… Uk. Heuk…”
The young boy who fainted, unable to stop the flowing tears.
“…I am.”
The young boy gripping the sword again with dead eyes.
“…”
The young boy unable to escape from nightmares.
“…”
The young boy dreaming of revenge.
“…You all.”
The young boy who discovered children who survived the fire of death.
“…At least you all, I will.”
The young boy trying to protect.
“At least you all, I will protect, so that person’s sacrifice won’t be in vain…”
Young boy.
No.
Now a man who has grown from boy to adult stands before me. He has become a Black Knight, dreams of revenge for Liin, and swings his sword with the single-minded determination that he must protect something…
Sword Master, if your path to reach today was so arduous. I wanted to convey at least these words to him.
“That’s enough.”
The Sword Master’s lips, always stubbornly sealed shut, parted slightly.
“You’ve… you’ve become a truly wonderful adult.”
His eyes, always soaked in melancholy, laid down all their burdens for the first time since our reunion.
“…Shut up.”
But that was only momentary.
“Shut your mouth!”
His bloodshot eyes screamed, and the pearl sword he gripped once again traced a long arc, piercing my chest.
My balance shifts.
I felt the cold earth touch the back of my head. The Sword Master, his breathing somehow roughened, glared down at me and spoke in an exhausted voice.
“…I don’t know what nonsense you’re spouting. But Andert Pager, this is where it ends for you.”
The sword pulled from my shoulder rose into the air again.
“I have no regrets. Resent that there’s no place for you on the stage Spollia has set.”
The pearl sword aimed for my throat. Its tip was trembling considerably. I swallowed a sigh and bit my lip.
‘…Damn. Of all times, the Sword Master is about to enter complete assimilation.’
It seemed the Sword Master had also seen fragments of the past through the resonance of the two swords.
His unstably flickering eyelids trembled as rapidly as the pearl sword.
“The kids you sent beyond the Wall of Fire… I’ll take responsibility for them somehow…”
He’s even worrying about such detailed matters. Has his personality become completely soft? A bitter smile leaked out at the thought of how admirable it was.
“There’s no need for that.”
If.
If I could give him a greater mental shock… If that shock could stop the complete assimilation.
It would be worth trying.
“I told you, young boy. Grit is fundamental.”
The skeleton of my limbs gradually lost the appearance of Andert Pager. Each fingertip, each field of vision, the feeling of everything returning to its original form was refreshing as always.
But from the other’s perspective, it wouldn’t be.
“…That face is.”
The Sword Master’s eyes widened as if he couldn’t believe it.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————