The Strongest in Our Neighborhood - Chapter 96

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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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Our Neighborhood’s Strongest (96)
“Then will Grandfather come as an envoy to Angelina’s wedding ceremony?”
—Attending a Smed Kingdom princess’s wedding as an envoy hardly befits my station, but seeing your face, I’m inclined to make the trip.
“Thank you, Grandfather.”
—While I’m at it, I ought to lift your spirits a bit, and perhaps knock your husband down a peg or two—he’s getting rather full of himself now that he’s a Sword Master.
“Grandfather, but they say that Marquess Gain has crossed through a Gate into the Demon Gate and returned, and not long ago he also closed a Gate at Sapphire Castle in the Cram Empire that had been left open for over two months. Will you be able to face him?”
Queen Olivia refrained from saying aloud: “At your age.”
—Hehehehe, Olivia. More than twenty years have passed since I reached the Sword Master Realm. Do you really think I’d lose to some stripling who’s only just now achieved it?
“I don’t think you would lose, Grandfather. Still, crossing swords is a serious matter, so I can’t help but worry a little.”
—If you were going to worry so much, you shouldn’t have asked me to come as an envoy in the first place.
“……….”
—Hehehehe, don’t fret. In a one-on-one match, I’m confident I wouldn’t lose even to the Empire’s Sword Master. There’s no Sword Master in this world stronger than me.
“Yes. Seeing your confidence, I think I was worrying over nothing.”
—But when is this Angelina’s wedding ceremony?
“That hasn’t been set yet. But my husband has ordered fortunetellers brought in to find an auspicious day, so the date should be decided soon.”
—Very well. Let me know once the date is set.
“Yes, Grandfather.”
After the call ended, Queen Olivia smiled with a satisfied expression.
* * *
Jang Gain sparred with Dimitrion Marshal, Leodosn Terra, and Morona Valencia in turn, pointing out the shortcomings in their swordplay and showing them how to maximize their strengths.
After working up a good sweat and returning to his own training, Aleingde Mir approached.
Thud.
A moment later, as he withdrew the Chimera Wyvern from his Subspace, the ground rumbled, and Jang Gain stopped his training and turned around.
“Marquess Gain. I’ve brought the Chimera Wyvern you commissioned as a mount.”
“Already? You’ve finished the Chimera Wyvern?”
“Yes. I set the Dragon Horn you gave me into its forehead, and replaced the wings, teeth, and claws with dragon parts as well. These were tasks beyond my skill as a Chimera craftsman, but with Noxcasarsis’s help, I was able to create such a powerful Chimera Wyvern. At this level, it should easily be able to contend with Gokurun, the Demonic Beast that devours wyverns.”
Aleingde Mir gazed at the Chimera, infused with dragon power, with a pleased expression.
In truth, the dragon remains Jang Gain had provided couldn’t fully replace the wyvern’s entire body. But with Noxcasarsis infusing his power and reshaping it, multiplying the pieces, they’d been able to create a Chimera Wyvern armed with a dragon’s frame.
“With dragon body parts and dragon power flowing through it, it should be able to defeat Gokurun. I’ve never seen Gokurun myself, but with this, I’d say there’s no rival under heaven except the dragons themselves.”
“Moreover, Noxcasarsis has also inscribed a Lightning Magic Circle into this wyvern’s horn. So you can cast eighth-rank Lightning Magic three times a day.”
“Eighth-rank? That’s the power Noxcasarsis used when facing a large Demonic Beast. That’s remarkable. But where is Noxcasarsis?”
“He said creating this Chimera Wyvern consumed a great deal of power, so he’s sleeping now.”
Upon hearing Aleingde Mir’s words, Jang Gain felt a slight twinge of surprise inside.
A dragon who goes on casting spells for nearly half a day and only then mentions being tired—and now he’s asleep?
“So much power went into this Chimera Wyvern?”
“I watched from the side, and an enormous amount flowed into it. And since joining the Chimera’s body together is extremely delicate work, it seems mental fatigue was also considerable.”
“I see. I’ll have to thank Noxcasarsis when he wakes. But how well does it fly? I’d like to try riding it.”
“First, you need to imprint upon its mind that this Chimera belongs to you, so you can control it as you wish.”
“How do I do that?”
“If you inject your aura into the Chimera Wyvern’s head while maintaining eye contact, then after about a minute, its eyes will brighten and it will recognize whoever it’s looking at as its master.”
Jang Gain did as Aleingde Mir instructed, injecting his aura into the Chimera’s head while holding its gaze.
After roughly a minute, the eyes of the Chimera facing him began to glimmer with life, and its eyelids started to blink.
As it blinked several times, its pupils became clear, and he could feel the sensation of looking into the eyes of a living creature.
‘Huh!’
In that instant, Jang Gain felt something subtle connect through his aura to his mind.
Then Aleingde Mir spoke.
“The Chimera Wyvern’s eyes are now bright and clear—it seems the Mental Connection has been established.”
“I feel something connecting to my mind. It seems like more than just the Chimera Wyvern recognizing me as its master.”
“The master recognition is complete. What’s happening now is that your minds are connected.”
“What does it mean for our minds to be connected?”
“You’ll be able to share the Chimera Wyvern’s sight and hearing, and when you imagine the movements you want and send that intention, it will perceive and execute them exactly as you envision.”
As Jang Gain listened to Aleingde Mir’s explanation, he felt his sight and hearing merging and couldn’t hide his astonishment.
“It’s like a new mirror has appeared in my mind. I can see myself reflected in it—is this what the wyvern sees when looking at me? When I move my eyes slightly, I can see Aleingde Mir too.”
“That’s what sharing sight means.”
“I hear your voice through both my own ears and through this mirror, and the sounds overlap with a slight delay. How is this even possible? And the wyvern moves exactly as I think.”
“Since this is your first time becoming a Chimera’s master, you’ll find it quite remarkable. But soon such things will become second nature to you. Now that your minds are fully connected, try issuing a command through thought alone.”
“Understood.”
Jang Gain withdrew his hand from the wyvern’s head and imagined it fluttering its wings and flying into the air.
The wyvern then rose as he imagined, circled once high overhead, and landed back on the ground.
“Wow! This actually works! I could see myself standing on the ground and Aleingde Mir through the wyvern’s eyes.”
“The more a Chimera Wyvern shares mental connection with its master, the easier it becomes to control and the more loyal it grows. So you should maintain that connection whenever you have the chance, just as you did now.”
“Understood.”
As Jang Gain pictured a different movement in his mind, the Chimera Wyvern folded its wings, bowed its head like a person, then bounded forward on two legs and rolled halfway across the ground before sprawling flat on its back.
In that instant, Aleingde Mir’s eyes went wide.
Thump, thump…….
Moments later, the Chimera Wyvern rolled onto its side, swatted the ground with its tail, sprang to its feet with a snap, and began performing a peculiar dance.
“W-what on earth are you doing, Marquis Gain?”
Aleingde Mir asked, his expression bewildered, and Jang Gain laughed brightly.
“I thought it’d be funny if the wyvern danced, so I tried it. Turns out it’s absolutely ridiculous. Ha ha.”
“This Chimera Wyvern is a war machine capable of both flight and combat. And yet you have it performing such absurd dances?”
“Isn’t it fun? If you summoned your Chimera Wyvern, we could have them dance together—it’d be even better.”
“I-I’m afraid I lack the confidence to imagine the sorts of movements you might have in mind for a Chimera Wyvern.”
Aleingde Mir stared at Jang Gain and the Chimera Wyvern as though watching someone who’d lost their mind.
‘Insane! To use the mightiest war machine with dragon flesh in it for such nonsense…….’
After days of painstaking effort crafting this Chimera Wyvern alongside the dragon, suddenly reality came crashing down on him.
* * *
“Kyaaaaaah…… P-please…… stop! I think I’m going to die! Uuaaaaaah…….”
Screams poured endlessly from the lips of Princess Angelina, who rode upon the Chimera Wyvern’s back alongside Jang Gain.
“What are those two doing?”
Noxcasarsis emerged after sleeping for two solid days only to find the Chimera Wyvern he’d infused with his own magical power performing acrobatic maneuvers through the air, and his expression grew bewildered.
“The princess found the Chimera Wyvern fascinating, so Marquis Gain said he’d give her a thrilling experience and took her up—and now he’s performing these insane acrobatic stunts.”
Aleingde Mir, who had been watching the sky, offered this explanation, and Noxcasarsis tilted his head thoughtfully.
“Gain can withstand the wyvern thrashing about like that in the sky, but won’t the princess get dizzy?”
“More than dizzy—the whole world is probably spinning around her…….”
Retch…….
Just then, Princess Angelina, clinging to the wyvern’s horn, vomited.
“Your Highness? Are you perhaps feeling dizzy?”
“Uuuh! P-please bring me down quickly. I’m s-so dizzy…… Retch…….”
“Understood. I’ll descend to the ground at once.”
The Chimera Wyvern, which had been performing sharp acrobatic maneuvers, immediately shifted to normal flight and soon touched down on solid ground.
“Your Highness, are you all right? Here, some water if you need it…….”
Retch…….
Princess Angelina retched again, released her grip on the wyvern’s horn, and stumbled as she tried to dismount. Jang Gain quickly caught her falling form in his arms.
Noxcasarsis, watching this, shook his head slowly.
“I’ve sensed it for a while now, but you, Gain—you have no consideration for women whatsoever.”
“Not just women. He has no consideration for anyone.”
“Why would he need to consider men?”
“Eh? Ah, w-well, you’re right. I misspoke. I meant he has no consideration for the elderly.”
At Aleingde Mir’s words, Noxcasarsis tilted his head.
“Elderly? How old are you?”
“Fifty-five this year.”
“You’re a green boy talking about being old? I’m three thousand five hundred and twenty-four.”
“I-I beg your pardon.”
“Don’t speak of being elderly in my presence again.”
“Yes, sir.”
While the dragon and Aleingde Mir conversed, Jang Gain rubbed Princess Angelina’s back soothingly.
The gentle rubbing seemed to help; her retching soon ceased. She wiped away her tears, composing herself, then fled back inside with her attendants.
Noxcasarsis and Aleingde Mir watched her retreat, then approached Jang Gain, who stood there vacant-faced.
Noxcasarsis spoke up.
“I’ve been thinking for a while now…… you, Gain! You’ve never dated a woman before, have you?”
In that moment, Jang Gain’s pupils visibly trembled.
“W-what are you talking about? Me, never having dated a woman?”
“I’ve lived in this human world for over a thousand years and seen all sorts of people. From what I’ve observed of your behavior, you’ve clearly never dated a woman in your life.”
“You don’t know much, do you? Before I came to this world, I was the most popular man among the advanced disciples of the Main Sect.”
“Of course you’d be popular with superior martial prowess. But romance is an entirely different matter. Fundamentally, you need to understand a woman’s psychology, know what to be careful about, what makes her happy, and how to give and pull back at the right moments. But looking at you, it seems you don’t understand any of that.”
“What do you mean I don’t understand? I know all of that.”
“Is that so? Then how do you justify taking a princess on acrobatic flights with a Chimera Wyvern?”
“What’s wrong with acrobatic flying? It’s incredibly thrilling.”
“You can find it thrilling because you’re already a Sword Master, beyond the range of normal humans. But the princess is just an ordinary person. Is it normal to put someone who’s likely only ever ridden a horse on a wyvern and make her perform acrobatics?”
Even after Noxcasarsis finished speaking, Jang Gain could offer no rebuttal—he simply blinked repeatedly.
“Still, wouldn’t it have been thrilling to try something new?”
“Are you insane? Didn’t you see me grab the wyvern’s horn and vomit three times in a row, spewing like a waterfall?”
“…….”
“And after witnessing that, you think you did well?”
“Ahem, now that you mention it, I suppose I may have been a bit excessive.”
“Be honest with me. That story about being popular with women was a lie too, wasn’t it? And you’ve never actually dated anyone?”
“Well, that is to say… in truth, the world I came from had a custom where families would arrange matches for their children when the time came, so one could marry without needing to pursue courtship.”
“So you’ve never actually dated a woman!”
“Even so, I have shared meals with women and taken tea with them. So it’s hardly fair to say I’ve never spent time with them at all.”
“Just the two of you? Or in a group?”
“A group.”
“Are you a virgin?”
“…….”
“You are a virgin!”
“The thing is, the Poongun Divine Art I mastered is a Daoist cultivation technique, and it incorporates the principle of the Eternal Unshakable Heart—treating women as one would treat stones. So I’m able to remain unmoved no matter which woman I see.”
“If the practitioners of the Poongun Divine Art remain unmoved by women, are they all castrated?”

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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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