Conquering the Academy with Just a Sashimi Knife (Novel) - Chapter 119 - People of the Sword Saint Family (2)

Chapter 119 – People of the Sword Saint Family (2)

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Translated by Jinmu

Read only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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The morning after returning to Castle Sigurdr. Through Charon, the Sword Emperor summoned me.

‘What could this be about?’

Judging by Charon’s tone, it seemed to be quite a serious matter.

Perhaps because of that, an odd tension settled into the hand gripping the doorknob to the study.

Knock, knock.

“Sword Emperor, it’s Kang Geom-ma.”

-Come in.

When I entered the study, I saw the Sword Emperor standing with one hand behind his back, turned away from me. Like a stone statue, he stood there staring only out the window.

‘…What kind of matter is it that he’s setting this kind of mood?’

Slightly flustered, I ended up clearing my throat of my own accord. Only then did the Sword Emperor turn his head just slightly. I opened my mouth calmly.

“I heard you called for me.”

“……”

There was a strange emotion lingering in the Sword Emperor’s eyes. More like caution than hostility.

I felt a sense of déjà vu. The atmosphere flowing through the study suddenly seemed familiar.

Even at our first meeting, the Sword Emperor had given off a similar air.

“Haa.”

The Sword Emperor stared at me fixedly, then soon let out a sigh. In that breath there was a sense of resignation. Pulling out a chair, he finally spoke.

“Sit down. There are a few things I need to discuss with you.”

“…Ah, yes.”

I sat down dubiously. The moment I did, the Sword Emperor’s lips parted.

“…Before that, what exactly did you do with Abel yesterday?”

“Pardon?”

A rather absurd question emerging from such a weighty atmosphere.

At that, I ended up asking back without meaning to. After making such a heavy mood, to suddenly ask what I did with Abel.

The Sword Emperor, on the other hand, merely looked at me steadily. His mouth stayed shut tight, but his gaze pressed me for an answer.

The faint twitch of his brows conveyed impatience. Scratching the back of my neck, I answered.

“Nothing much, really.”

“And what exactly does “nothing much” mean?”

There was a strangely sharp edge to the question. I found the whole situation deeply odd, but tried not to show it as I replied.

“We had dinner and came straight back.”

“…Truly?”

“Yes.”

I answered firmly.

Because I didn’t want to get swept along by that overbearing attitude any more than necessary.

The Sword Emperor stared at me suspiciously. He looked directly into my eyes, as if trying to gauge the truth of my words.

As far as I knew, the Sword Emperor’s intuition was so extraordinary it was practically called insight. A few seconds of looking would be more than enough for him to judge whether my words were true or false.

I still don’t understand why he’s interrogating me like this, but……

I chalked it up to him simply being a grandfather with an especially strong love for his granddaughter.

“I see……”

The Sword Emperor repeated the same phrase over and over again. His brows seemed to narrow into a straight line, and then suddenly he burst into a hearty laugh.

“Now that you say it so firmly, I can rest easy. Well, of course, friends can have meals together and all, hahaha!”

“……”

“But-”

The Sword Emperor cut off his laughter sharply. With a keen gaze, he said.

“Next time something like that happens, I would like you to tell me.”

“…Understood.”

The Sword Emperor’s rigid expression softened greatly. A gentle smile had even risen to his mouth.

‘This old man too, honestly.’

I asked him the real reason he had called me.

“Why did you call for me?”

“Ah, right. I nearly forgot the most important thing of all.”

With those words, the Sword Emperor immediately pulled out several sheets of paper and held them out to me.

“I’ll keep to the point. It’s not certain yet, but this could become something very serious, you see.”

“What do you mean?”

“First, look at what’s written here.”

-`Personal Information`-

▷ Name: Kang Geom-ma

▷ Birth: July 7 (17 years old)

▶ Affiliation: Hoakin Academy, First-Year Wolf Class (Enrolled)

▶ Student Number: G034666M431

▶ H.P.: Under Assessment

–

It was extremely ordinary personal information. Nothing more than the briefest of details was written, not even enough to call it a background investigation.

Cadets of Hoakin Academy were treated as quasi-heroes. Which was why their personal information was automatically registered in the Association system. Not just mine, but that of every cadet.

Yet there was a faint unease circling in the Sword Emperor’s gaze. He asked in a low voice.

“Do you notice anything strange?”

I shook my head.

“It just looks like the basics are written there.”

“Good grief, you really do have no eye for these things. Look here.”

The Sword Emperor’s fingernail tapped lightly at the lower corner of the paper.

‘▶ H.P.: Under Assessment’

A line under it had been marked in red. The Sword Emperor emphasized that phrase.

“The core of this document is this part. As you know, cadets are not subject to Hero Point assessment. That is an unspoken rule between the Hero Association and every academy.”

As he explained, the Sword Emperor’s brow tightened further.

“And yet look here. Your points have not yet been assigned, but they are under assessment. This is a clear twisting of the “rules.””

“…Is that illegal?”

“No, not illegal. But it is certainly something with absolutely no precedent. As you know, a cadet’s main duty is study. Their individual evaluations are already handled sufficiently within the academy itself.”

“Then.”

Only after pausing briefly did the Sword Emperor speak again.

“It means that the Association does not regard you, Kang Geom-ma, as just an ordinary cadet.”

“……?”

“In the forty years since the Association’s founding, no matter how exceptional the cadet, nothing like this has ever happened before. But the people who pushed this through can be inferred.”

“By “people,” you mean more than one person?”

“That’s right. It may seem like a trivial matter, but the department in charge of HP is one of the largest in the Association. To put pressure on a place like that, at the very least one would have to be among the Association’s upper executives.”

Lowering his voice, the Sword Emperor added the rest.

“Most likely, the ones behind it are the Association President and the Vice President, Richard de Muir.”

The names that came from the Sword Emperor’s mouth were among the very greatest powers in the world setting.

‘The Spear Saint and the Association President are watching me?’

To think such colossal figures with no connection to me at all were keeping an eye on me.

It was all so sudden and bewildering.

…Could it be because of those articles that went up not long ago?

`All Mute, come at me!` `Sashimi Sword Saint assaults reporter.` Those sensational, attention-seeking headlines. At the thought, veins rose in the back of my hand.

“Sorry for calling you in so suddenly only to tell you such a grim story.”

Seeing my expression harden, the Sword Emperor held out a teacup to me. Warm steam curled upward, and along with it drifted the quiet scent of tea.

Then the Sword Emperor made an effort to smile gently.

“Don’t take it too seriously. It is suspicious that the Association is assessing your Hero Points, but……. for now, there’s no choice but to assume it must be because you caused such a grand event at the festival day.”

“Ah, you mean Mao Lang.”

At those words, the Sword Emperor let out a small laugh.

“Haha, perhaps you could have taken it a little easier. In the end, you’re the one who became inconvenienced by it.”

“I’m sorry…….”

“What is there for you to apologize to me for? If a problem has occurred, then it simply must be dealt with, and that role belongs to me as your guardian.”

My eyes widened round. The Sword Emperor looked at me warmly.

‘Guardian.’

At those three syllables, my chest trembled.

To me, a stranger in this world, it was a word that felt deeply unfamiliar, and yet at the same time was exactly the sort of word I had longed for.

At this point, when even the existence of my parents in this world had been erased, the Sword Emperor was stepping forward to declare himself my guardian.

Just as my first master once had for me.

Even if it was no more than a casual remark.

Because it was still a way of accepting me into this lonely world as one of its members.

It was difficult to express the emotion. My throat tightened, and the tip of my nose stung.

A brief silence arose. I raised the teacup I had been given to my lips. It was warm.

“I heard from Charon that in two days you’ll be heading out with Abel and Shail to clear the Undead Dungeon, is that right?”

The Sword Emperor’s tone had softened. He answered his own question with a small nod.

“I see.”

It was a more composed reaction than I expected. He, of all people, should know what that journey meant.

Wasn’t he also the grandfather who had just yesterday interrogated me over going out with Abel?

And yet the Sword Emperor merely swirled his teacup in the air, offering no further reaction.

…A moment later, the Sword Emperor added briefly.

“Go carefully. There is no experience better than the real thing. Now then, be on your way. If anything unexpected comes up, I will call for you again.”

“Yes.”

I stood and headed toward the door.

Then, just before twisting the doorknob, I turned only my gaze back toward the Sword Emperor.

The old man was staring blankly up at the sky. I quietly closed the door for him.

* * *

Creeeak.

The one who came back into the study through the reopening door was Butler Charon.

The Sword Emperor still looked at the clouds with lonely eyes.

Approaching him, Charon cautiously opened his mouth.

“…Will this truly be all right, Sword Emperor?”

“What is there that should not be all right?”

The Sword Emperor smiled faintly. Within the wrinkles at the corners of his mouth there lingered a shallow sorrow.

“…Why are you not stopping her? It is the Undead Dungeon, after all. Setting aside the danger, Miss Abel could be deeply shocked by what she finds there.”

Charon said this. Even though the superior-subordinate relationship between them was undeniable, he raised his voice. It was an attitude unlike his usual composed self.

“What’s more, I believe it would have been better if you yourself went along-”

“Charon.”

The Sword Emperor cut him off. At that solemn single word, Charon’s shoulders jerked. Bowing his head deeply, he hurriedly apologized.

“My apologies. I let myself become agitated.”

“I understand well enough how deeply you care for Abel.”

Clink. The Sword Emperor set down his teacup on the table. Sitting in his chair, he continued.

“But precisely because of that, you have to respect Abel’s choice. She is no longer a child, is she?”

“……”

“Abel cannot be dragged forever by the past. I could lend her a hand, but that would only slow her growth. And-”

At the firm words that came from the Sword Emperor a beat later, Charon flinched.

“-isn’t Kang Geom-ma going with her? No enemy that appears will be enough to even become a threat to that boy.”

“What?!”

Charon swallowed a startled breath.

“The world calls Kang Geom-ma a once-in-a-generation genius, but. Hah, not at all. That young man is not some existence that can be defined within such a framework. At times I even find myself wondering whether he is truly human at all-”

The Sword Emperor’s brow twitched. He abruptly stopped the words he had been murmuring.

The Sword Emperor was the only person who knew Kang Geom-ma’s true nature.

The strength Kang Geom-ma had shown on Avalon Island. The sword strike that had annihilated Agor, Fifth Legion Commander, in a single blow. Something that transcended blessings, something in the realm of the mystical.

‘That is something no one can be told, and must never be told.’

If word of it reached the ears of demonkind, they would surely try to eliminate Kang Geom-ma.

Composedly, the Sword Emperor changed the direction of the conversation.

“That aside, I don’t know who named him, but didn’t they choose that young man’s name remarkably well?”

Charon tilted his head.

“…This may be somewhat disrespectful to Mr. Geom-ma, but… it certainly is an unusual name.”

“Hahaha, if there were ever a person who lives up to his name, it would be that boy. Ah, of course, I mean that in a good way.”

As the Sword Emperor’s laughter spread, Charon pronounced the name in slow syllables.

“Sword… Demon.”

Suddenly, Charon’s first encounter with Kang Geom-ma flashed across his mind.

Those listless, weary pitch-black eyes. Hair blacker than anything he had ever seen in his life.

At the time, Charon had felt his spine go cold. But one must not commit discourtesy toward a guest one was meant to serve.

Charon had immediately erased all trace of his surprise with a perfect poker face.

Even so, every time his gaze met Kang Geom-ma’s, with that appearance which might make one feel genuine fear if encountered on a dark road, as though the very concept of `darkness` had been personified, Charon found himself instinctively sealing his lips shut.

The sort of person whose mere presence on a night road would make your whole body freeze.

A boy who gave off extraordinary pressure.

And on top of that, the fact that he had chosen a filleting knife as his weapon too……

‘Could it be that he regards his opponents as being no more than fish?’

The article he had seen several days ago, `It had become so boring I wanted to die,` suddenly came back to him.

At the time, Charon had snorted at the article, but if it were Mr. Geom-ma… then there was every possibility he really had said such a thing.

At the same time that a shiver ran down his back, Charon let out a sigh of relief.

To a certain degree, things did line up logically. Normally, the Sword Emperor would never have allowed his young lady to go out together with an unrelated man.

Standing by outside the door, Charon had expected a thunderous rebuke from the Sword Emperor.

But in reality, it had ended with only a light round of questioning.

Even though this was exactly the sort of situation in which a roaring outburst from the Sword Emperor would have been natural.

Because of that, Charon came to a conclusion.

The distinctly favorable attitude the Sword Emperor had been showing toward Kang Geom-ma.

And the reason he had even tacitly permitted the outing with the young lady.

The more he reflected on it, the more the possibilities narrowed down to just one path.

‘The Sword Emperor wishes for Mr. Geom-ma to remain by Miss Abel’s side.’

The Sword Emperor’s insight was intuition almost on the level of a supernatural power.

If he had possessed nothing but martial strength, he would never have stood above the Spear Saint.

Charon knew it well. His lord’s true excellence lay not merely in force, but in an eye sharp enough to see through people.

That such a man would make a mistaken judgment? For a butler who had served him for nearly thirty years, the very suggestion was absurd.

Having finished his reflections, Charon breathed a sigh of relief.

Whether it was really something to be pleased about or not remained uncertain, but he felt reassured.

‘The demon of the blade……’

So long as that boy remained by the young lady’s side, she would surely be safe.

That certainty hovered in Charon’s chest.

At the same time, however, there was a bitterness in his mouth.

Because he had raised the young lady almost like his own daughter, his feelings were complicated.

This was something he had steeled himself for from the moment the young lady entered the academy.

That she would one day find a future partner there. For a noble, that was only natural.

Still, now that the moment seemed to be approaching, Charon found himself oddly unsettled.

Was this how it would feel if a daughter brought home a prospective son-in-law?

And not just any daughter, but one so precious that one could not feel pain even if she were tucked into one’s own eye.

‘Before I knew it, Miss has truly become a lady.’

Charon smiled bitterly. Then he tilted the teapot and refilled the Sword Emperor’s now-empty teacup.

“…If you need anything more, please say so at any time, Sword Emperor.”

“Hoho, thank you. As expected, you’re the only one who always remains by my side.”

Faintly, Charon responded with a silent smile.