༺ Gwyn Tris ༻
I walked through District 21 after leaving the tram station.
Lost in thought, as I walked along the cracked and broken brick road, I was still uncertain if accepting the instructor position was a good decision for . However, my eting with Dean Heinkel had left a profound impression on , and as Marquis Kalshtein had pointed out, I had nothing special planned for my future.
I used to have goals: becoming a knight, growing stronger, and ending the war. All these goals were related to Ella and Charlotte. Though I had resolved to live my life without their shadows, I struggled to find a clear path on my own.
Having lived on the battlefield for so long, I had grown too accustod to it, making life outside the battlefield challenging. Accepting the instructor position was an attempt to discover a new direction in my life.
As I walked quietly, I found myself near the Red Bear Inn. As I was about to enter the inn, I suddenly heard the sound of a fight coming from a nearby alley. Assuming it was just local thugs fighting, I was about to ignore it when my keen hearing detected sothing different.
Chaotic footsteps, screams, and shouts – it was the sound of many fighting against one person.
“Hmm.”
After hesitating for a mont, I lightly kicked the ground and leaped onto a wall. With just one jump, I reached the rooftop and approached the source of the noise.
“Ugh!”
“Argh!”
From the rooftop, I saw a black-haired boy with a tight ponytail, beating up a group of thugs in the alley below. The weapon he wielded was a stick wrapped in cloth that, upon closer inspection, resembled a sword. In other words, he had tightly wrapped a sword and scabbard in white cloth, swinging it like a club.
The thugs each wielded various weapons, like sticks and daggers, against the boy. However, he stood firm like a solid rock, blocking all incoming attacks and counterattacking each blow that ca his way. The thugs were swept away like fallen leaves by the boy’s sharp sword strikes – or rather, club swings. Despite the sowhat comical appearance, he seed quite skilled.
I wasn’t keen on getting involved in troubleso matters but was willing to help, depending on the situation. However, it seed like my concern was unwarranted. As I was about to leave, by so coincidence, I locked eyes with one of the thugs below. His sinister gaze seed familiar to , as if I had seen it sowhere before.
“Ah! You’re the boss- ack!”
The thug was the sa one who had shouted at at the Red Bear Inn, vowing to get even with . This ti, he collided with one of his flying comrades and fell to the ground. He probably intended to say, ‘You’re the guy who took down our boss’, but the boy below seed to have misunderstood sothing.
Having defeated all the thugs, the boy pointed his club at and said,
“Are you their boss? Making an appearance from the rooftop is quite a classic entrance.”
“…”
It seed like a misunderstanding, and I had a feeling that if I let it go, it would beco very annoying. So, I opened my mouth to clarify.
“No, I’m not-“
“Words are useless!”
The boy cut off and grabbed so wooden sticks lying around, hurling them at . I bent at the waist and dodged the sticks that spun towards , but they were rely ant to buy ti for the boy to jump onto the rooftop. Without checking whether the sticks hit , the boy leaped onto the roof like a cat, using the fence and window fras as footholds.
Then he imdiately swung his club at .
“I’ll punish the evildoer!”
“Ah…”
The boy’s attack was fierce, but I didn’t feel any killing intent, so I decided not to hurt him either. The club swings, backed with the full force of his body, were fast and powerful, but their trajectory was predictable. It was obvious he aid to disable my arms and legs, so dodging the attacks was quite simple.
I narrowly avoided the incoming club by moving my right leg back. The gap between us was as narrow as the thickness of a strand of hair. The boy was visibly flustered when his attack, which he assud would surely hit, missed.
I took advantage of the opening created by his attack and struck the boy’s chest with my palm. With a thud, the boy was pushed back and realized that he had lost his footing.
“Ugh!”
The boy scread and fell from the rooftop. His voice was unusually high and sharp for a man. I glanced down and saw that he had managed to land safely on the ground, looking up at with a dazed expression.
“Who… who exactly are you?”
I lightly dropped down from the rooftop. There was no need to employ any special landing techniques for this height. The boy swallowed nervously, his face tense as he watched .
“Such strong martial skills. You must be an exceptional expert… But why are you associated with these thugs who oppress others?”
“I’m not a thug.”
“Ah, in that case…”
I glanced around the area. The thugs, who had been defeated by the boy, were scattered here and there, clutching their broken limbs and groaning in pain. It wasn’t the best place for a conversation.
“Let’s move sowhere else first.”
****
“I’m terribly sorry!!”
The boy bowed his head so low that it was embarrassing for anyone watching. His apology attracted the stares of passersby in the middle of the street, but he remained undeterred and kept his head down.
“I have disgraced myself by swinging my weapon at an innocent person! I don’t know how to make ands for this mistake! Would you forgive if I kneel and apologize?”
He looked like he had just co of age, with a youthful face. Seeing that he was about to kneel on the ground, I decided to stop him, thinking that he was young and had made an honest mistake.
“It’s fine. Just don’t make the sa mistake again when confronting soone with a weapon.”
“Yes! Thank you for your forgiveness!”
The boy raised his head and smiled brightly, seemingly relieved by my forgiveness. He appeared quite energetic, perhaps due to his youth. Since the misunderstanding was resolved and there was no further business, I was about to part ways without any regrets when the boy hesitated and spoke up.
“Um… if it’s not too impolite, may I ask for your na?”
“Na?”
“Yes! I’d like to rember the na of a great master I t in a distant foreign land. Oh, my na is Gwyn Tris! I’ve just arrived in the Empire from the faraway land of Han. I have a different na in my holand, but you can call Gwyn.”
‘Han’ refers to a country in the far east, located at the eastern end of the continent. As far as I know, the Empire and Han maintained only a limited trade relationship due to their distance. He must have traveled quite a distance to be here. His clothes had an Eastern style as well.
I nodded and said, “I am Eon Graham. But why were you fighting thugs in a back alley if you’re from Han?”
“Ah…! Well, I was walking down the street and saw those people heading toward the inn as a group. It looked like a bad situation, so I tried to intervene, but ended up getting into a fight.”
Gwyn pointed to the Red Bear Inn. That’s when I understood the situation. The thugs who had been beaten by earlier had gathered to take revenge and bumped into this boy on their way to the inn.
In a way, Gwyn had gotten involved in my troubles. He had taken care of the aftermath for , so I was sowhat grateful for him saving the hassle. However, it also led to another issue.
Gwyn cautiously spoke up, “Um, Mr. Eon, I can’t help but feel uneasy just apologizing. I’ll be in the Empire for a while, so if you ever need my help, please co find at the Philion Academy.”
“Philion Academy?”
“Yes. I ca to the Empire to study martial arts. Anyway, I’m in a hurry, so I’ll excuse myself now!”
Gwyn left with a unique eastern gesture, a fist-and-palm salute. His words about being in a hurry seed genuine, as he walked away at a brisk pace. I watched the retreating figure of the boy and lost myself in thought for a mont.
The swordsmanship Gwyn had shown, although perford with a cudgel, was strikingly familiar. It was like a thousand-year-old rock, firmly rooted in one place, repelling all incoming attacks and counterattacking.
In the midst of a battlefield where countless humans and monsters intertwined, creating a living hell, the heavy and straight sword of an old man who walked the battlefield alone overlapped with the boy’s swordsmanship, reflecting both past and future.
“He is the successor of the Rock Sword, huh…”
I clenched and unclenched my palm a few tis. The sensation I felt when I pushed Gwyn’s chest was unmistakable… I decided to leave it at that.
For so reason, I had a feeling that I would et that person again.
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