After the battle with Sword Master Ian, Irene spent ten days at Krono.
The first day was just greetings and talking about the current situation.
“It had been a long time. Irene Pareira.”
“Right.”
“Greetings, Instructor Ahmed. Instructor Karaka.”
“Instructor! What! I can’t even remember how long ago that was. We are seniors here.”
“Ah, yes, Senior Ahmed.”
“What? Irene? Really?”
“When did you come back?”
“No, why are you here?”
“Haha… I had some work.”
“What was that work? Judith said you would be back in a year, but it has been 5 years!”
“Weren’t you continuing the sword?”
“Yah, didn’t you hear? Yesterday, Lance was all broken.”
“Be quiet.”
Lance Peterson, Nicholas Vaughn, and Marlon Davidson, the friends of Bratt Lloyd.
And numerous others were eager to talk to him.
Frankly, it was shocking.
Of course, Irene didn't think it was bad.
It has been a long time, and he, too, remembered their names and faces.
However, it was embarrassing to put on a friendly expression.
In the past, his relationship skills were worse than now, and he never had a friendship with anyone except for Bratt, Judith, and Ilya.
And the others weren’t sure if Irene would be interested in them.
“Hello, Irene’s friends? My name is Lulu, Irene’s super cool sorcerer teacher.”
“Oh, what!”
“A cat! A talking cat!”
“Get out of my way! Let’s shake hands with the cat!”
“Can I try petting your head?”
“…”
Even though the attention shifted to Lulu, Irene was still grateful for the hospitality.
Thanks to that, he felt at ease, and his entire story was old, everything except for the dream.
His old instructors and classmates focused on Irene’s story, not knowing the passage of time, and even those who met him for the first time were listening to it.
However, it was a story limited to the first day.
“Let’s see your skills.”
“Yah, don’t be cocky. Didn’t you hear about Lance? One strike is all that is needed.”
“No, Lance is Lance, and I am Me…?”
“Great. When your battle with Irene is done, I wonder if I can join.”
Maybe because they were swordsmen of Krono?
Or were all swordsmen like that?
They all wanted Irene.
People looked at him like they were waiting for their first date with a new lover. Over 30 people were there.
As a result, despite being strong, Irene had to run away.
He has never been so tired ever since he got out of the world of sorcery.
Which was why he knew.
Everyone, including his seniors, and those who didn’t have much of a motive, were all fighting their own battles.
It meant that everyone made an effort to raise their sword towards the sky.
‘… only I’m shaken like this.’
Surely they, too, have been through stuff. Troubles in the past and troubles which still torment them. Maybe they are suffering from troubles that hurt their futures too.
But those thoughts weren’t consolation.
‘Maybe it’s because of my complex mind.’
On the 10th night, Irene went out for a walk.
He couldn’t make a decision.
If he hadn’t heard about Judith, Bratt, and Ilya, he would have chosen to go back home.
Or maybe study at Krono while visiting his family sometimes.
However, the moment he heard about them, the weight on the scale balanced.
‘I want to meet Judith.’
‘I want to apologize to Ilya for not keeping my promise.’
‘I want to hear from Bratt how he overcame the pain.’
‘Even if we aren't together, I want to see the world the same way my friends do.’
His heart was pounding.
‘If I choose that, I won’t have time with my family.’
‘All I did was cause trouble for them.’
‘And now that I can play the role of a son, I want to leave?’
‘I need to take care of my sister.’
Soon, another thought shook him.
And he continued to stand still.
In the end, Irene couldn’t make a decision until he left the school.
First, he decided to head back home and meet his parents before making up his mind.
“I apologize. The stay was a little longer.”
“Haha. It increased day by day. You could have stayed too.”
He was on the way to the city after greeting the schoolmaster and deputy.
Lance Peterson, too, stayed till the end to see Irene off.
His eyes, shining like jewels.
‘He feels stronger than the first day…’
When he decided to shake hands and part.
“Irene.”
“Yes?”
“When your mind is messed up, think about why you should do it rather than why you shouldn’t. It’s nice and short.”
“…”
“Ah! That wasn’t what I wanted to say. Once upon a time, when I was lost, a certain senior told me that.”
Lance Peterson smiled and let go of Irene’s hand.
Irene looked at him with a blank expression, and he added.
“Bratt and Judith went west.”
“… west?”
“Yes. The 5 western kingdoms are famous for their swordsmen. There are many swordsmen and famous ones too.”
“For reference, with your current mental state, you can’t beat them. Because both of them are strong.”
With those words, Lance left.
It looked like Lance managed to bounce back.
“…”
Irene watched him for a long time.
Eventually, Lance was nowhere to be seen.
That was when Irene said.
“Thank you.”
[Side Story - Judith & Bratt Lloyd]
“Ah shit, is someone cursing me?”
“What are you talking about?”
“My ears feel itchy all of a sudden. That Lance bastard must be the one. I won’t back down no matter how much he curses me!”
“Crazy girl.”
Seeing Judith spout nonsense, Bratt ended up swearing.
He used to occasionally swear, but it was more frequent now.
It was unavoidable. Living with Judith, she ended up tainting him.
He sighed and spoke.
“Stop saying nonsense and get that mercenary card.”
“It’s so annoying. Do I have to get that? And, why won’t you?”
“I'll go and get it, wait for me, and don't eat!”
Judith got up from the table and headed for the mercenary agency.
Seeing her like that, Bratt shook his head.
The two were famous enough to be recognized in Alcantra, but the continent didn’t know them.
To the other locals, they were young inexperienced puppies.
But Judith didn’t think like that. She said what she wanted and did what she wanted.
As a result, she fought with ill-tempered men, quarreled…
‘We can’t go on like this. If we hold a high-grade mercenary card, opponents will notice us to some extent.’
Of course, if that was their intention, then their certificates from Krono could be used, but the problem was no one believed it was real.
It was embarrassing, but it couldn’t be helped.
And that was why Judith wanted to register with the mercenary agency.
‘I don’t know why people struggle with it.’
“Your meal is here.”
“Ah, thank you.”
With a brief thanks for his food, Bratt picked a piece of pork and put it into his mouth. And thought.
It would’ve been better if he came out with a more modest person than Judith.
Of course, it was pointless now.
In Krono, the phrase ‘go and experience the world’ was the same as a graduation speech like it was the ‘final test’ for formal trainees.
Through this, he had to realize what he lacks and overcome it and return to the school.
And the current leaders of the 27th batch were him and Judith.
No, there were other fine ones too…
“… annoying.”
Bratt mumbled as he completed his meal quickly.
He didn’t regret bringing Judith.
However, he wished fewer accidents would happen.
It gave him a headache, thinking of what she would do next.
And suddenly… a name popped into his head.
‘Irene Pareira… I don’t know what he’s doing.’
A guy with superior talent to those who are already superior, if Irene had returned to Krono as scheduled, maybe Bratt would have chosen him to go with him for the final test.
Perhaps if it was Irene, he could spend each day calmly…
Bump!
“Yah! It’s done! But only silver… this bastard! Didn’t I tell you not to eat!”
“I forgot to put away the dishes.”
“You shameless jerk…”
‘I’m tired.’
Watching Judith, who grabbed his collar and shouted, Bratt sighed.
A fortnight had passed since the two geniuses of Krono had come out.
[Side Story - Ilya Lindsay]
One of the 5 Western Kingdoms famous for swords, the Khaliad Kingdom.
There was a gladiator field where the world's most sophisticated swordsmen were active.
It was because of the fundamentals of strength that the master of Khaliad directly established it.
A place where veteran mercenaries, powerful swordsmen, wandering knights, and even official knights showed up.
This place became even more famous after Ignet, the greatest genius on the continent.
The Land of Proof.
There, a beautiful person appeared in the moonlight.
Ilya Lindsay.
“…”
After watching the entrance for a long time, the girl from the Lindsay family entered.
The escort knights looked at her with pitiful eyes.
Because they knew. What their young lady was thinking while coming here.
Whose name was engraved on her heart.
‘You don’t have to worry…’
Ilya Lindsay, the one they knew.
There was no need for her to be tense like someone is chasing her, let alone conscious of someone else’s gaze.
Their young lady should be much happier than she looks now.
“… we leave you now, my lady.”
The escort knights bowed their heads to the priest.
The knights thought that maybe if they prayed to God, the girl’s heart would be at least a little more comfortable.
Unfortunately, there was very little they could do.
“I will do my best to bring peace to Miss Lindsay’s heart.”
Fortunately, the priest had a good reputation.
And left a good impression too. The escort knight lowered his head as he left the vicinity.
It has been a little over two months since Ilya Lindsay embarked on her journey.
And at that time.
On the journey home from Krono, Irene and Lulu, who were almost at the estate, entered a small town.
A strange sight entered their eyes.
“Ack! Ack! Save this Orc!”
“This bum! If you don’t have money, you shouldn’t have come!
“Wah, Orc!”
Lulu mumbled.
It was strange to see an Orc that should be in the northwestern part of the continent in the south and being beaten by someone.
It couldn’t be more interesting.
It was the same with Irene. He approached the Orc with more interested eyes than Lulu.
Because he felt familiar.
It was the Orc he had seen on the way back from Krono in the past…
It was then.
The Orc, who made eye contact with Irene, shouted with a face full of worry.
“That one, young man! You know me, right?”
“Huh?”
“You know! The Orc which performed divination on you 5 years back!”
“Ah!”
Exclamation erupted from Irene’s mouth as he recalled the past.
