KR Translators:
・StarrySkySailor
・KawaiiKage
・ImmortalInk
・KingPotato
・SugoiSenpai
Chapter 12: What Do You Expect Me to Do When You Ask Me That? (2)
June 26, 372 of the Imperial Calendar.
We arrived in Berhints before lunch. Thanks to this, our delegation was treated to a grand welcome and luncheon. The lord of this place, Baron ‘Benken Val Berhints’, was an elderly man with a benevolent smile.
Despite his somewhat small stature, Baron Benken, rich in experience and thoughtful, gave a very good impression. Moreover, he played the role of a skilled host who knew how to make his guests comfortable.
Thanks to him, we were able to enjoy a lunchtime that was neither bothersome nor boring.
“Since you plan to rest for a day, please feel free to wander around.”
Baron Benken provided rooms to those who could offer them, and excellent campsites to those who couldn’t. Perhaps because he was far from accumulating wealth like the mayor of Monok, his house seemed barely able to handle twenty guests.
It’s humble, but I like this kind of atmosphere.
“Teacher, have you ever been here before?”
“No. But I’ve heard many times that it’s a pretty good place to live.”
Instead of noble clothes, I wore clothes that ordinary travelers would wear. Even so, since I still have a boy’s body, it doesn’t look that different, but at least it’s an outfit that makes people think I’m not part of the delegation. It’s not like today’s delegation is the only traveler entering this town.
Even recalling ten years of memories, Berhints is a city with nothing special. In other words, it’s so ordinary that it wouldn’t appear in history for ten years. However, I have been to this city. Ten years in the future, but still.
“Hmm, it’s changed a lot.”
“Have you been here before, Risel?”
“When I was very young. It’s faint, but I remember.”
I vaguely muddled through. Ten years later, the city will grow a bit bigger, and iron ore will be discovered underground, making it an arsenal in the future war with Azot.
Now, it’s a city that lives mainly on farming in the north, where there’s a reservoir, and livestock and beekeeping in the south, where there are mountains and hills. It’s a very idyllic place, and therefore, no matter how you look at it, it was a city where nothing special happened.
Levidian and I slowly strolled through the city bathed in peaceful sunlight.
Her appearance with a hood instead of a helmet was beautiful no matter what. Smooth black hair and a black hood that slightly concealed it. Tall height and long, straight legs.
Her mouth is tightly closed and her expression is stiff, but if you get to know the diversity within that expression, she will look even more beautiful.
She’s hiding her beauty with her clothes and expression, but anyway, it’s inevitable to become the object of attention when walking with her. Come to think of it, some say she started practicing swordsmanship to protect herself……It’s a pretty believable story.
“It’s a peaceful place.”
“You can say that again. If something were to happen, that day would surely be the day the sun rises in the west……”
Crash! Bang! Thud!
Before I could even finish my sentence, the lattice glass window of the shop right in front of us shattered, and a black object rolled out. I stared blankly at the bloody man who rolled out, shattering the glass window.
Soon, I heard Levidian’s stunned voice from beside me.
“Where was it today?”
“East.”
“Strange.”
“Indeed.”
While I was speechless in absurdity, two hulking figures walked out towards the fallen men.
“Hey, you fucking bastard! You, stay right there! I’m going to take this club and smash your head in!”
The sound of crunching glass was loud. The two giants walked towards the large man lying on the floor, carrying iron clubs. Judging from their black clothes and the scars on their faces and arms, they seemed like thugs who roamed the back alleys.
“You big oaf, growing flowers with that size! You’re not going to listen until the very end, are you?!”
“Let’s take care of some corpses today! Let’s see how many pounds your bones weigh when we pick them apart?!”
They panted and raised their clubs as if they were about to beat the bloody man to death.
I was startled by their appearance and suddenly didn’t know what to do. Uh, shouldn’t I stop them? Someone’s going to die.
“Stop.”
Just before the two giants’ clubs could strike, a cold voice that seemed to freeze and shatter the air cut through the space. I was flustered and looked at the source of the voice.
“T, Teacher……?”
Levidian, with a displeased expression, placed her hand on her waist and spoke.
“Stop it right now. What are you trying to do in broad daylight?”
“Huh? Hey, pretty lady, who are you?”
“Judging by your pretty face, it would be better for you to just leave if you don’t want to get hurt. A woman meddling in men’s business will only get her nose broken.”
I didn’t know about anything else, but I could tell they had made a mistake. This woman, my swordsmanship teacher, hates sexist remarks.
She scoffed.
“Hmph. You filthy smelling things, who are you running your mouths in front of? It would be good for your health to stop bothering innocent people and get lost.”
She used informal language, which she rarely does. That was enough to earn the giants her hatred. However, the giants, unaware of this, snickered and responded halfheartedly.
“Oh my! Scary words. What are you going to do if you can’t?”
“Filthy? Then can we strip you down and see how clean you are, lady? Tsk! You talk big while hanging around a hairless brat. Is your lower body as rough as your mouth?”
I frowned.
Are they talking about me when they say hairless brat?
I slowly walked over and stood next to Levidian. I didn’t know the details, but I could clearly see that those two were about to beat one person half to death.
More importantly, they insulted my teacher.
Levidian slowly took half a step forward and said,
“Let me make this simple. Get out of here. Otherwise, you’ll get a taste of what’s hot.”
The two giants stared blankly at each other, then burst into explosive laughter.
“Puhahaha! D, Did you hear that? Hey! She said hot taste! Hahaha!”
“I, I’d rather have a hot night, hehe! Hahaha!”
The two giants laughed as if the world was ending, and Levidian looked at them with indifferent eyes.
She frowned and said quietly,
“They’re the type who won’t listen to words. Risel, I’ll leave the left one to you.”
“Understood.”
She and I charged towards the giants almost simultaneously.
The giants, who had been laughing heartily, bared their teeth and sneered, raising their clubs as they saw us suddenly rushing at them.
At the point where we were exactly five meters away from them, I focused solely on the giant in front of me.
“You little runt!”
The giant immediately swung his club at me. The speed felt ridiculously slow to me, who was already accustomed to her swordsmanship. A sneer naturally formed on my lips.
What is this! A sloth swinging a chopstick?!
I dodged it without even needing to counter. Then, I pulled back the back of my right hand tightly and stabbed the giant’s solar plexus precisely with the base of my palm.
Thud!
“Gah! You little!”
The resilience that didn’t make him faint in one blow is commendable. However, having already been hit in a vital point, the speed of his club swing was even slower than before.
Whoosh!
Although it wasn’t a fan, a cool breeze brushed past my face. After dodging the club at close range, I dug into his arms again. And with the same hand, I uppercut his chin!
Crack!
“Kugh?!”
The feeling of something hard colliding was transmitted. At the same time, I felt the giant’s body momentarily go limp.
“Hoo……”
Inhaling, I clenched my right fist tightly and pulled it back as if loading an arrow onto a bowstring, then aimed it at the giant’s solar plexus once more!
“Hup!”
Thud!
A cheerful striking sound was heard, and the giant who had been swinging the club at me fell back with his eyes rolled back.
Thud!
Phew, that’s the end of it.
But he’s weaker than I thought?
He was just big; compared to Brizel, he was as slow as a caterpillar crawling in front of a cockroach.
“Are you done?”
When I looked back, the other giant was kneeling with his upper body bowed forward. And Levidian was sitting on his back, looking at me.
I could tell that the giant, who had become her chair, had fainted without moving a single step. I tilted my head and asked,
“Huh? How did you do that?”
“First, one to the philtrum. Then the solar plexus, go around the back and hit the back of the head and both knees appropriately.”
I nodded. With her speed, it was a technique that would definitely work on these slow guys. Plus, it was fast.
While nodding, a question came to mind.
“But these guys, they’re thugs, right?”
“Seems like it. Why do you ask, Risel?”
“But why are they so weak?”
“Weak?”
“Yes. Their club swings are slow, their resilience is poor, what can they even do with this?”
I kicked their clubs away and moved to check on the fallen man. Levidian’s amused voice could be heard from behind me.
“These people aren’t weak. It’s just that you’ve become that much stronger.”
“Me?”
“Mediocre street thugs won’t even be able to lay a finger on you. You had good fundamentals to begin with, and they’ve gotten even better with training. But don’t get cocky. There’s even tougher training ahead.”
“Sigh, you won’t give me a break. Heave-ho! Heave-ho!”
I somehow managed to flip the fallen giant over. I had to see his face to check his breathing, didn’t I? I had to bring a pole nearby and use it as a lever to turn over the giant’s body, whose upper body alone seemed to require one and a half of me.
“Whoa, why is this guy so big?”
When I actually flipped him over, Brizel suddenly came to mind. However, if you look closely, you can tell they’re a different kind (?). If Brizel is a mountain gorilla, this guy is a polar bear.
Red hair and a face like a large rock. A body with a good mix of muscle and fat. He looks strong, but if he was truly strong, he wouldn’t have been beaten to near death.
Levidian, who had been watching me, approached and looked down at the human polar bear around the time I was carefully examining his appearance. Then, she made a rather impressed expression.
“Oh my, why would such a big man be so clumsy as to get beaten up?”
“I wonder.”
He was two meters tall. He must weigh at least 150 kilograms. His face and body were covered in bruises, and his clothes were filthy.
The unusual thing was that he had a large scar in the middle of his forehead, like a black tree root. That scar made his face look menacing no matter what.
The moment I saw it, my whole body froze.
I know this man.
Vice-Commander of the Empire’s 4th Knight Order.
The man who even won against a rhinoceros.
The strongest man of his time, renowned for his strength.
All these titles refer to only one person.
‘Jounin Yuse.’
His origins were said to be unknown in the past……but could he have been from Berhints?!
“Risel, why that expression? Do you know him?”
I came to my senses at Levidian’s sudden question. I shook my head and spoke as if it were nothing.
“I was just wondering why such a big and scary-looking man would be getting beaten up. I guess I was thinking too hard.”
“That’s true. Now, go over there and get some water and a clean cloth. We need to wake him up, move him, and treat him. Helping the weak is also a duty of those who wield a sword.”
“Yes.”
The house that was destroyed happened to be a flower shop. I wondered if it was Jounin’s shop, but I first brought a bucket of water and a cloth that seemed to be used for wrapping flowers.
Now, shall we meet the future strongest man?
★⭐★⭐★⭐★
As I thought, he was Jounin.
His ‘house’ was an abandoned building in a slum located far from the city center, high up in the north. In my personal opinion, if you call this a house, you’d be doing a great disservice to all other houses.
“Jounin, do you really live here?”
“Yes. This is my house.”
I naturally spoke down to him. Because, even though he looks like this, he’s only fifteen years old right now. The fact that this giant of a man, who reminds me of a bear, is a year younger than me makes me feel like the laws of the universe are collapsing.
Levidian stared at me for a moment, then nodded and went out to boil water. She probably thinks I’m used to talking down to people because I’m the second son of a noble family. It’s true, but still.
His ‘house’ was a structure that could be called a house anywhere in the world as long as it had walls and a roof. Even those walls and roof weren’t doing their job properly.
A roof that would let you shower when it rained, and walls with holes that made windows unnecessary. The floor, dented enough to make a pond, made me want to call a tent a mansion.
Crack! Crash!
The sound of Levidian breaking things that would be used as firewood could be heard from one side. Since they were objects that couldn’t even be called furniture, she seemed to be breaking them without hesitation.
“Thank you for helping me.”
“You’re welcome. But why were you getting beaten up like that? Except for a few places, it shouldn’t have hurt that much.”
I recalled Jounin’s appearance when he participated in the Azot subjugation force.
Leave a Reply