The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 430

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

Chapter 430

I turned back as I headed toward the Annex Building with Sword Ghost.

‘Has it already started?’

The thunderous roar that shook the entire sky and Rimer’s faint scream told me that Glen’s punishment had begun.

‘There’s no way he’d let it slide.’

Seeing the situation, Rimer had been brazenly provocative, and Glen wouldn’t simply ignore such behavior.
The fact that he was being beaten now was only because Sword Ghost’s arrival had delayed the start.

‘May you rest in peace, Unit Master. Or rather, Lord Master.’

I closed my eyes slightly and offered a prayer for Rimer’s soul, who might have already perished the moment I became Lord Master.

‘Still, he’s beating him quite hard today.’

I had seen Glen strike Rimer with lightning before, but I never knew he could unleash such powerful lightning energy. It was almost as if he were striking down an enemy with his sword.

‘He was definitely acting strange today.’

Rimer was an elf who was never normal, but Glen was also peculiar today.

‘Was it jealousy?’
-Indeed it was.

Wrath nodded in agreement.

-Both your grandfather and that old man were faint, but I sensed the emotion of jealousy from both of them.
‘So I wasn’t mistaken after all.’

In the Audience Chamber earlier, Glen and Sword Ghost had both displayed jealousy toward each other. It was faint, but it was definitely the emotion of jealousy.

I furrowed my brow.

‘I don’t understand.’

Whether it was the Sword Ghost or Glen, they possessed martial arts that were second to none, yet I couldn’t fathom what they envied in each other.
It was peculiar that even swordsmen of such refinement harbored envy.

‘People are truly strange creatures.’

I glanced sideways at the Sword Ghost beside me. He too seemed to have felt Glen’s lightning, turning back with a whistle of displaced air.

“Impressive. Without even revealing your true strength, such an aura—no wonder you were once called the Thunder God.”

The Sword Ghost shook his head in admiration, sensing the thunder energy emanating from Sagrado.

‘What’s this?’

I tilted my head, observing the Sword Ghost.

‘Why is there no jealousy now?’

When we met in the Audience Chamber, he displayed jealousy, yet now that he’d directly experienced the martial arts, only admiration filled him. I couldn’t grasp what was happening.

‘Human emotions are truly difficult to comprehend.’
-That’s because you’ve transcended humanity.

Wrath muttered that I would never understand human emotions, even after a lifetime.

-Follow the True Demon King to the Demon Realm instead. It’s irritating, but the human world isn’t suited for you.
‘Go back yourself.’

I pushed away the clinging Wrath and led the way toward the Annex Building when the Sword Ghost approached my side.

“Did you perhaps receive martial arts training from the Northern Destruction King?”
“I received advice, but never formal instruction.”

I kept my gaze forward and shook my head.

‘There’s no need to mention the Heavenly Harmony Scripture.’

Though the Sword Ghost was trustworthy, I chose not to mention that Glen had directly transmitted the Heavenly Harmony Scripture to me, just to be safe.

“I see.”

The Sword Ghost’s face brightened as if bathed in direct sunlight. He nodded with a smile playing at his lips.

“But now that I think about it, it’s even more absurd. Such power without receiving instruction from the Northern Destruction King’s House….”

He narrowed his brows, as if contemplating an incomprehensible realm.

“I’ve simply been fortunate.”

I shifted my gaze to the right. Watching the cotton candy struggling to eat the food from the Annex Building, I offered a small smile.

‘I truly have been fortunate.’

Without the part-time Demon Lord beside me, it would have taken another ten years to reach this level. There was nothing else to say but that I’d been blessed by fortune.

“Fortune, you say. Certainly fortune plays a role. But….”

The Sword Ghost lowered his blue eyes and stroked his beard.

“The person I’ve observed is a warrior who strives harder than anyone else. The first to rise among your companions, completing your own training, then helping others with theirs—and you call that fortune? Your humility knows no bounds.”

He patted my shoulder, telling me to have confidence in myself.

“You’re right. I’ll work even harder following Raon’s example!”

Mustan clenched his fists tightly, his eyes burning with determination.
Knowing his past, those clear eyes still felt strange to me. Honestly, I felt the urge to poke him with my finger.

“I have a proposal for you.”

The Sword Ghost looked at Mustan, smacked his lips, then turned his gaze toward me.

“A proposal, you say….”
“While I’m here, would it be alright if I watched over your swordsmanship?”

He blinked rapidly, expressing that he wanted to teach Mustan as he had been doing and offer light guidance.

“If you would do so, I can only express my gratitude.”

I bowed respectfully. The Sword Ghost’s teachings were easy to understand and quick to adapt to, which made them convenient.
There was no reason to refuse when a master of the highest caliber offered to teach me directly.

“Me too! Me as well!”

Yua threw her arm up eagerly, crying out that she wanted to participate in the training.

“Very well. Come along with us, Yua.”

The Sword Ghost nodded, gently patting Yua’s head.

“Ah, if she’s doing it, I suppose I have to as well….”

Julius kept his head bowed while rolling his eyes to observe the Sword Ghost.

“You may come too, Julius.”
“Thank you so much!”

The Sword Ghost found Julius’s childlike response endearing and curved his lips into a thin smile.

“Mustan, you don’t mind, do you?”
“Of course not! They’re all extensions of you, Master Raon, so it’s no trouble at all!”

Mustan declared that it was no problem whatsoever and offered to help as well.

‘Hmm….’

I squinted as I watched Mustan smile without a trace of hesitation.

‘I still can’t get used to this.’

With the jealousy gone and the master-servant relationship established, Mustan had become an entirely different person—as if his soiled clothes had been washed clean. His personality was refreshingly straightforward, and he looked after those around him well, which was why the two children followed him so readily. Most of all, his trust in me was so absolute that he would believe me even if I said the sun rose in the west, which made it somewhat burdensome.
People trusted my words so much that they would believe me even if I said the sun rises in the West Side, and it was burdensome to that extent.

Take it easy.

Wrath drooled as he watched the Annex Building gradually come into view.

-If you find slavery uncomfortable, just think of them as obedient subordinates. As long as you don’t exploit them, what’s the problem?
‘That would be ideal.’

I nodded while looking at Mustan.

‘It does come in handy sometimes.’

I patted Wrath’s plump shoulders with a smile as he continued thinking only about eating.

As I walked while listening to the Sword Ghost and the two children converse, I found myself entering the Garden of the Annex Building.

“Woooooah!”

Yua dashed forward like the wind and threw open the doors to the Annex Building.

“My lady! Sisters!”

At her cry, the entire Annex Building trembled as Sylvia, Helen, and the maids came rushing out.

“Yua!”
“Oh my, our Yua! Your face has gotten so thin while we weren’t looking!”
“You took far too long!”
“You should have sent word along the way!”

The maids didn’t even glance in my direction, instead examining Yua carefully for any injuries or signs of illness.

“Julius!”
“You’re not hurt, are you?”
“Look how much taller he’s gotten!”
“He’s definitely in a growth spurt. Have you been eating well?”

Next came Julius’s turn for their attention. Julius’s eyes glistened with tears at the sight of the Annex Building, and he nodded eagerly.

“Hmm….”

I scratched my cheek as I watched the maids fussing over Yua and Julius.

‘This is rather awkward….’

In the past, I found such reactions annoying, but now that I was giving my attention only to the two children and ignoring him, I felt a bit lonely.

-Anyway, he’s an annoying fellow.

Wrath shook his head, saying he was difficult to play with.

‘That’s just how it is.’

As I tasted the bitterness on my tongue, Sylvia, who had been pinching Yua’s cheeks, stood up.

“Raon! You worked hard! Yua and Julius are doing well… huh?”

Sylvia approached with a smile but suddenly stopped in her tracks. Her eyebrows trembled as she caught sight of the Sword Ghost standing to the right, as if she had seen something she shouldn’t have.

“Ah….”

It was an expression I had never seen on Sylvia’s face before. I couldn’t discern what emotion dwelled in her wavering crimson eyes.

“….”

The Sword Ghost gazed at Sylvia for a long moment, then stepped forward.

“It is an honor to meet you. My name is Lectar, a swordmaster.”

He bowed to Sylvia first, and unexpectedly, his tone was respectful.

“Lectar? The Sword Ghost!”

Sylvia’s eyes widened as if she recognized Lectar’s name.

“Oh, I apologize. I was just so startled.”

Despite her flushed face from embarrassment, she quickly bowed and apologized.

“Please, think nothing of it.”

The Sword Ghost shook his head as if it was no matter.

“But what brings one of the Five Great Sword Masters here….”

Sylvia tilted her head, unable to understand why the Sword Ghost had come here.

“I came because there was something I wished to ask you.”
“Me?”
“Yes.”

The Sword Ghost nodded and faced Sylvia directly.

“Though I’m certain this is an intrusion….”

A melancholy I had never witnessed before emanated from his gaze.

“Would you be willing to share your story with me?”

*

*

*

Valdemar sat in the Central Hall Reception Room, glaring at Karun across from him.

“Are you really going to leave that bastard as is?”

He clenched his fists while looking at the statue holding a sword behind Karun.

“Because of that damned thing, the Branch Family and outsiders are becoming increasingly bold, and you’re just going to sit idle?”
“And if we don’t?”

Karun raised a transparent glass and countered.

“What do you propose we do with the one currently drawing the most attention in Zigheart—no, on the entire Continent? Are you suggesting we launch an attack within the Family?”
“Attention? He’s nothing but a brat!”

Valdemar ground his teeth in displeasure.

“That’s precisely why he’s a problem.”

Karun set down his glass and exhaled a heavy sigh.

“Do you know what the Zigheart Family and the Knight Order can openly boast about?”
“Of course, the strongest masters, right?”
“It’s only natural that old men who’ve lived long enough are strong. Openly boasting about them is a shameful thing to do.”
“Then….”
“Yes. The future of the Family. The young ones who will one day rise to become the strongest of the Zigheart—they are the only ones worthy of being revealed and praised.”

He poured whiskey roughly into his empty glass, his brow furrowing.

“And right now, the one called the strongest among those futures is Raon Zigheart. He reached a level of genius at twenty that wouldn’t be called genius until thirty, so the entire Continent has no choice but to pay attention. Even Father.”
“Hmm….”
“By nature, the world cheers for young heroes who crush evil. If rumors about this Phantom Soul Ghost incident spread, his name will echo across the entire Continent even more. Are you saying the Family should eliminate such a person? Do you want to drag the Zigheart name through the mud?”

Karun glared at Valdemar, telling him to come to his senses.

“Besides, both you and I have already been humiliated trying to clumsily target that bastard. If we move carelessly and our tails are caught, we could even lose our positions as heads of our branches.”

He shook his head, saying this wasn’t the time to make a move.

“So we’re supposed to just watch and do nothing? We’re supposed to tolerate him continuously encroaching on the Main Lineage’s territory?”
“You’re mistaken. I never said I’d let that bastard off the hook.”

Karun recalled Burren’s eyes looking down at him from the platform, and his lips twisted.

‘Arrogant bastard….’

You seem to trust the ship you’re riding on, but I’ll show you how a ship with a rotten keel crumbles.

I had extended my hand first, but he kicked it away and started walking his own path. The thought of my youngest son’s confident expression made my stomach churn.

“There are many places that will move against Raon, not just us. The Gwangpung Corps has made far too many enemies.”
“Oma?”
“Yes. There are many within the Family who despise them, but the real threat is Oma. Four out of five are targeting that bastard’s neck.”

Eden, the White Blood Cult, the North-South Alliance, and the Black Tower. Having problems with four of the five Oma organizations—any one of which would force you to flee for your entire life—Raon was as good as dead.

“B-but still, calling upon them seems a bit….”

Valdemar swallowed hard, questioning whether it was appropriate for someone belonging to the Zigheart to summon Oma.

“I never asked you to come.”
“Huh?”
“Why should I even bother talking to Oma? We just need to scatter a little information and be done with it. Where Raon is, how strong he is, and what he’s learned.”

Karun smiled coldly as he spoke, as if to say there was no helping it if others overheard.

“Ah!”

Valdemar snapped his fingers as he grasped Karun’s scheme.

“But it’ll be hard to get information on him. He’s always cooped up in the Annex Building or the 5th Training Ground.”
“No need to worry.”

Karun lifted a glass filled with pale yellow liquor, his sharp eyes gleaming.

“It’s time to pull out the thorn I’ve planted deep for so long.”

*

*

*

I sat at a table in the Garden with the Sword Ghost.
The Garden still radiated warmth, thanks to how well Sylvia and her attendants had maintained it.

“Thank you for waiting.”

Sylvia walked into the Garden carrying tea and pastries herself.

“Let me take those.”

I accepted the tray Sylvia brought and set the tea and pastries on the table.

“Just looking at this Garden lifts one’s spirits.”

The Sword Ghost gazed across the Garden and nodded, a glimmer of genuine admiration evident in his eyes.

“We all tend to it together.”

Sylvia wore a subtle smile, pleased to receive praise from the Sword Ghost. Yet her gaze remained oddly fixed upon his face.

After they each sipped their tea and a brief silence settled between them, Sylvia’s eyes lifted.

“What is it you wish to know? I’m not certain I can provide Lectar with answers to whatever you might ask.”

She clicked her tongue softly, uncertain what question the Sword Ghost intended to pose.

“It is an answer only you can provide, Lady Sylvia.”

The Sword Ghost’s eyes dimmed as he watched me reluctantly chewing a pastry at Wrath’s insistence.

“I have admired Swordmaster Raon in many ways.”
“Admired?”

The moment Raon’s name was mentioned, Sylvia leaned forward across the table.

“Indeed. Young martial artists typically lack either mental fortitude or character, even when they possess combat prowess. Yet this one lacks neither.”

The Sword Ghost repeated the words he had spoken to Glen, his praise flowing forth like a prepared stream.

“Hmm….”
“Is that so?”

I scratched my head in embarrassment, but Sylvia’s face flushed with pride.

“I know because I have raised a disciple myself. How difficult and challenging it is to nurture a child who possesses both character and martial strength.”

The Sword Ghost sighed softly as he watched Mustan admiring Yua and the Lake.

“That is why I have sought you out. I wish to know how you raised Swordmaster Raon.”

The Sword Ghost bowed his head as he made his request to Sylvia.

“Oh! Please don’t do that!”

Sylvia rose from her chair and waved her hand in protest. She forcibly helped the Sword Ghost to his feet, then resumed her seat.

“You’re asking me to tell you, but to be honest, Raon grew up on his own.”
“That’s what the commander of the Gwangpung Corps told me as well.”
“It’s true. Except for a brief illness when he was young, he really did find things to do for himself.”
“Hmm….”

I pressed my lips together tightly. Sylvia’s words—that it felt like raising an adult rather than a child—stung, and I even turned my gaze away.

“What do you mean by an illness?”
“He suffered from a condition called the Curse of Bitter Cold when he was young. But he’s completely recovered now.”

Sylvia told me about the Curse of Bitter Cold that I had suffered from in my childhood.

“The Curse of Bitter Cold….”

The Sword Ghost lowered his head and trembled slightly at the shoulders.

“If you don’t mind, could you tell me how Raon the Swordmaster has grown?”
“Of course! I’d be delighted!”

Sylvia’s lips twitched with eagerness as she nodded with a broad smile.

“I think I’ll go rest now….”
“Where do you think you’re going!”

I tried to escape before my skin crawled, but Sylvia gripped my arm and wouldn’t let go.

“We have a guest, and you’re trying to run away! You need to spend some time with your mother after all this time!”
“Ah….”
“Let me start from when you were a baby. This little one didn’t even cry when he was born….”

Sylvia crossed her arms and began recounting old stories with a beaming smile.

-The True Demon King was curious too!

Wrath climbed onto the table and lay down with his chin resting on his paws.

-I wanted to know what happened to make a human become a demon!

That wretch insisted on listening so he could find weaknesses.

“You were so mature that it didn’t feel like I was playing with a child—it felt like you were playing with me instead.”
“Heh, you were indeed exceptional from a young age.”
-Of course. That brat defeated the True Demon King when he was just a kid!

The conversation between the two and the Demon Lord continued despite seeming like it might not, and I lowered my head with a sigh.

‘I want to rest. I desperately want to rest.’

*

*

*

Perhaps because a mother eager to boast about her son had met a master determined to raise his disciple properly, Sylvia and the Sword Ghost’s conversation continued until evening.

In particular, the Sword Ghost showed no boredom whatsoever as he listened to my growth story, offering encouragement and smiling genuinely. His sincerity was so evident that anyone watching felt embarrassed on his behalf.

“…And that’s how the boy I am today came to be.”

Sylvia smiled and brushed my hair back.

“He may seem cold, but he learned to care for others. That was my greatest concern, and I’m relieved he came to understand it on his own.”

For reasons she couldn’t quite explain, she beamed with joy at the fact that I had developed a sense of righteousness.

“I know the reason.”

I sighed and shook my head.

“It’s because of what you told me. That’s what changed me.”
“Me?”

Sylvia tilted her head in confusion.

“You said you wanted me to become a swordsman who draws his blade for others, like the old Zigheart knights and like Father. You told me to become a swordsman with the scent of humanity.”

I repeated back to her the very words she had spoken to me long ago when she was taller than I am now.

‘That’s right. It was because of those words.’

Everything I am now, everything the Gwangpung Corps has become—it was all because of that single phrase from her, spoken with genuine sincerity.
Thanks to those heartfelt words, I was able to transform from an abandoned hunting dog into Raon Zigheart, a human being.

“Those are wise words indeed.”

The Sword Ghost kept his gaze fixed on Sylvia as he nodded slowly.

“Ah, yes, that’s right.”

Upon hearing her own praise, Sylvia’s face flushed with embarrassment. It was curious—she could talk endlessly about others’ affairs with composure, yet a single compliment directed at herself left her like this.

“Actually, it wasn’t just my own thought. I learned what it means to be a swordsman with a human touch from your father.”

She laughed, saying she had learned from Raon’s Father what it meant to be a knight with humanity.

“….”

The moment the word “father” left her lips, the Sword Ghost bit his lower lip and leaned his upper body forward slightly.

“I’ve heard that your husband has passed away. Would you tell me what kind of person he was?”

He swallowed hard, as if gripped by tension.

“It would be tedious, I’m afraid. He was simply an upright man, and not a warrior of any renown.”

Sylvia shook her head, saying the story would be dull.

“That’s quite alright. Such thoughts in a swordsman are rare.”

The Sword Ghost’s voice trembled very faintly, like a harp string plucked at its end by a fingertip.

“Hmm….”

Sylvia gazed at the Sword Ghost’s face for a long moment, then nodded.

“I understand. Then….”

The moment his father’s name left her lips, the Sword Ghost’s pupils froze into an impenetrable black.

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