[354] A Swordsman's Conviction (6)
After staying one day at the mansion, Shirone went to the dining room with Rian and Tess. Clump sat in the seat of honor reading a newspaper, and Reina was busy with the cooking.
Shirone rubbed his sleepy eyes and gave a small bow.
"Good morning."
"Mm. Let's eat."
Rian, patting his empty stomach, sat down and asked Reina, "Where's Rai?"
"She left at dawn. Did you think she was some idle layabout like you?"
It started like a joke, as usual, but this time there was an edge to it. As an older sister, Reina couldn't help but worry that her youngest was leaving on knightly training.
"Tch, I only dropped out yesterday! And I'm leaving right after breakfast," Rian snapped.
Reina ladled chicken stew onto plates. "Rest a few days before you go. Shirone's here too."
"I'm not staying. I have to get back soon," Shirone said, carrying a plate. He'd promised Kangnan something, so he couldn't speak freely. Above all, he wondered why the Guildmaster wanted to see him.
Because it was the day Rian was leaving, the atmosphere felt a touch solemn. Still, Rian wolfed down three bowls of the stew and packed as if time were running out.
His "luggage" was just a simple backpack with a change of clothes and a day's rations. With a leather scabbard at his side and his greatsword slung across his back, he approached Clump in the parlor.
"Grandfather."
"Yes. Are you ready?"
One thing remained, so it wasn't quite right to say he was fully ready.
Having beaten Rai would give him courage on the road. But precisely because of that, it needed to be addressed.
"What did Rai say yesterday?" Rian asked.
Clump set his teacup down and looked up at him. "Why didn't you try to destroy it? You know why."
"Oh—"
Clump clicked his tongue and put the cup down.
He'd been putting it off, not wanting to raise any false hopes, but now that the boy was going off on his sword training he might as well tell him.
"The sword you're carrying isn't an ordinary thing. Have you ever heard of an artifact?"
"An ar-ti-fact?" Rian's eyes widened and he drew his greatsword. The techniques Shirone had shown last night—precise control, the heavy-armoring—flashed through his head and his heartbeat picked up.
Shirone and Tess came into the parlor to listen, eyes fixed on the greatsword. Aside from its slab-like, brute form, there weren't any remarkable features.
Rian planted the blade vertically and looked up at Clump. "So this was an artifact? That's why it couldn't be destroyed? What does it do?"
Clump folded his arms and crossed his legs. "The sword's official name is . Its power matches its name. To put it bluntly, —under any circumstances—"
"Under any circumstances?"
Clump narrowed his eyes and spoke crisply. "It cannot be destroyed."
Silence fell over the parlor.
"And…?"
"Huh? 'And' what?" Clump said. "I said it can't be destroyed. Whether it falls into lava, is cut by a saw, or struck with a hammer, it won't chip a hair's breadth. Amazing, isn't it?"
In a way it was every swordsman's fantasy. But compared to Armand—with dozens of functions—this was depressingly simple.
"Uh, yeah… it's amazing. It's incredibly impressive, but it's still an artifact. If the sword breaks, you can just buy another one, right?"
"How foolish. Do you even know how important a weapon's durability is in real combat? Even in yesterday's duel, if it hadn't been , the fight would have been much harder."
Rian had to admit that. In fact, looking back, had already saved his life once—when it blocked Imir's straight punch.
Imir could crumple even steel Signa and Exd like paper, but he couldn't break Rian's greatsword. If not for , Imir's fist would have gone right through the blade and shattered Rian's body.
"Anyway, that's the kind of sword it is. It's not that Rai didn't try to destroy it. She couldn't. When she was young, she wanted it badly."
Rian pouted. He could be proud of himself now as a competent swordsman, but back when they were kids Rai had been the household pride, the one who carried the family's expectations.
"Tch, then why didn't you give it to Rai? Why keep it all this time?"
"She hates clunky things. It wouldn't suit her."
Rian had asked with hope, but the answer wasn't what he'd expected.
When Rian's face grew even more sulky, Clump split his mouth into a grin. "Heh, what did you expect? Did you think I'd been saving it just for you?"
"Who said that? Don't try to read minds."
Clump pretended otherwise, but Shirone could tell. Rai had probably wanted badly. Beyond its function, inheriting the former head's sword would be a tremendous honor. But the sword ended up with Rian.
Still, Clump joked to avoid putting pressure on his grandson.
"While we're on the subject, shall I tell you the story behind ?"
"Huh? There's a story?"
Rian's eyes lit up. He grumbled, but it was clear he didn't dislike the sword's unique trait.
"When I was young I wandered around doing sword training like you. I single-handedly wiped out a band of bandits back then—formidable foes. I defeated them, but I took a mortal wound. I dragged my injured body down the mountain and came upon a strange village that wasn't even on the map. It wasn't much different from other villages, but the people were oddly taciturn and gloomy."
Shirone and the others quieted and leaned into Clump's tale. It was the story of how a future general of Tormia met an artifact.
"There, I met an old man and his granddaughter and barely escaped with my life. When I came to, the wound had been completely healed. I don't know how they treated me. The only thing left in my hazy mind was a word they kept murmuring like a chant: 'Smille, Smille—'"
Rian mouthed the word and asked, "Smille? What does that mean?"
"I don't know. It might have been a spell, or some kind of magic. The old man muttered it all night. When I recovered, I looked around the village. There was an antique shop full of strange things. The most striking were glass bottles filled with colored smoke. When I asked what they were for, the shopkeeper wouldn't tell me."
As if moving to the point, Clump took a sip and wet his lips. "Then I saw a greatsword hanging behind the counter. That was the you're carrying. I knew at a glance it wasn't an ordinary sword. Like someone in a trance, I went up to the owner."
Rian swallowed hard, his expression set. "And…?"
Clump blinked and said casually, "Well? Of course I paid and bought it."
Tension dissolved into disbelief, and Rian blurted, "Are you kidding me?"
Clump scowled as if annoyed. "What, kid? You wanted a story, didn't you?"
Rian scratched his head. He'd been had again by his grandfather. Was teasing an eighteen-year-old really that entertaining?
"You got me all nervous for nothing. I thought you'd had some transcendental experience."
"Ha! Do you think I'm crazy enough to risk my life for a sword? Rian, remember this: a true sword is held by the heart, not the hand. Anyway, I made up my mind and bought it. Treat it well."
"Tch. Grandpa talk. How much did you pay? It's an artifact—maybe two million gold?"
"That? Eighty million gold."
Clang! Rian flung the sword to the floor.
"Damn! You're insane! You paid eighty million for a sword that just won't break? With that money you could buy hundreds of fine blades!"
"It's an artifact, you idiot! And it's my money—I bought it—what business is it of yours? If you're going to handle it carelessly, give it back! If you want to take it, pay eighty million!"
"No way! Once you give it, it's given—no whining for a refund!"
Rian grabbed the greatsword as if someone might snatch it and hugged it to his chest.
"Who throws a sword on the floor? That sword's too good for you! Hang it in my room this instant!"
"Why? Afraid it might get broken? Weren't you saying a true sword is held by the heart?"
Shirone and Tess watched the squabble with dumbfounded faces.
"...They're two peas in a pod."
"Indeed."
After bickering for a while, they tired and fell silent.
In the end, Rian won. He sheathed the greatsword again and tightened the leather strap more firmly than usual as if to show Clump.
For a moment, panting, Clump thought of something and smiled.
He had waited eighteen years for this. Seeing it with his own eyes made the old man's chest tighten.
'The more I look, the more he resembles me.'
Rian had no particular talent for swordsmanship, yet Clump had decided from the start that Rian would be 's owner.
It wasn't that the sword's functions were worth eighty million. An unbreakable blade—that was the Ozent family's conviction.
And in that moment, all his philosophy was passed to Rian through .
'Still, it's strange. After I paid the eighty million and went back, the village had vanished without a trace.'
Of course, if eighty million gold had flowed into a mountain village, the whole place might have moved to a better site. Still, Clump had a nagging feeling he couldn't explain.
Maybe he'd only collapsed injured in the mountains, and the month he thought he'd spent moving between the village and the shop had been a dreamlike trance.
In any case, it remained one of the most inexplicable events of his life. That day's realization propelled him forward, and he eventually rose to the rank of general—a certified Grade-3 swordsman.
"Grandfather, I'll be off now."
Rian set his expression and sent a burning look of farewell.
"Yes. The most important thing is to protect yourself. Remember that what you gain from combat isn't always victory."
Rian bowed sincerely, taking his grandfather's words to heart.
"Thank you, Grandfather. For believing in this wretched grandson to the end."
Surrounded by family and friends, Rian left the mansion. A carriage waited at the gate.
He looked at the carriage for a moment, decided on his destination, then turned to Shirone. "Shirone, do your best. I dropped out, but consider it like I graduated before you."
"Yeah. You be careful too. Keep in touch."
Rian glanced at Tess, who had tears in her eyes. She'd held up so far, but now that he was truly leaving she couldn't hold back.
Rian gave her a gentle smile. Tess was unusually tender for a swordsman, and he liked her for it. One day he'd stand proudly before her.
"Tess, I'll be back."
"You bad boy. Not even one word of consultation—"
"Sorry. I was thoughtless."
Tess understood Rian's choice—she had to—but she resented herself for not being able to be harsher with such an oblivious man.
"This is me holding back for now. If you come back and are still cold to me, then—"
Rian wrapped Tess in his broad arms. "I'll come back stronger."
Tess pressed her lips together and kept her tears from falling.
'You don't have to be stronger. As long as you come back alive…'
She stroked his back gently. "Yes. Come back—strong, for sure."
Having finished farewells, Rian climbed into the carriage. True to form, he never looked back.
As the carriage pulled away, the four left behind felt the emptiness where he had been. That was Rian's presence.
Shirone watched the receding carriage and prayed, "Become a great swordsman and come back, Rian. I'll work hard too."
May fortune favor Rian's journey.