Uden rembers the day he first saw a beast nad Freya Kent.
That day, oddly enough, was when the forr Sword Saint was causing a ruckus.
The virtues that a Sword Saint should possess are not rely about wielding a sword well. Even if it’s unintentional, if you are given the title of Sword Saint, you must act in accordance with the honor that na brings.
Usually, Uden would let the forr Sword Saint’s voice fall on deaf ears whenever he caused a disturbance.
If you dislike that much, then take back the title of Sword Saint.
You wouldn’t even dare challenge , and yet you just keep making a fuss.
If I had known this would happen, I would’ve let him win in the end.
Regretful as always, Uden nodded at the forr Sword Saint’s request.
If he pushed any further, he would likely witness the tragic sight of a skilled swordsman dying from apoplexy, so there was nothing more to be done.
Thinking he would just show his face briefly and kill ti, Uden was about to leave the tournant arena when he saw Freya Kent.
She was an overwhelming presence. Not only were the swordsn of her age no match for her, but even those several weight classes higher could not even pose a real threat.
When Freya Kent entered the arena, the spectators would place bets on how long she would last.
Uden, too, was among those spectators.
“Second son of the Brota family. One of the favorites for this tournant. There's a pretty big age gap, so surely, soone like him will...”
“Ten seconds.”
“What?”
“Actually, seven seconds? This will be decided in that ti.”
“...Who’s the winner?”
“Don’t ask, you already know.”
“Even so, look at the size of Brota’s Young Master.”
“How much will it take?”
“One gold coin.”
“Alright.”
Each ti they placed bets, Uden would win every ti with his accurate predictions, taking money from the forr Sword Saint.
Watching Freya, he was reminded of his past self.
The beast’s sword, which lacked even basic technique, was undoubtedly very similar to hers.
The only difference was that Uden had beco a beast due to an environnt that left him no other choice, while Freya lived as a beast even within a blessed environnt.
As he watched the sword Freya wielded, Uden thought about why she lived like a beast. He saw the indifference in her eyes.
She wasn’t looking at the swordsman in front of her. She wasn’t even observing her own sword. Freya was simply watching sothing within herself.
The sword. Others. Everything was just a ans to an end.
Uden didn’t know what Freya wanted, but he lost interest in it.
No matter how talented she was, it was clear she wouldn’t rise above a certain level with that mindset.
Even now, as Uden recalled that day, stepping onto the academy grounds to et Freya Kent, he couldn’t hide the feeling of unease.
Is it possible to teach swordsmanship to the daughter of the Kent family? She probably wouldn’t even have the intention to learn in the first place, right?
Ah, just thinking about it makes my head spin.
If it were up to , I’d just pretend to teach her and call it a day, but that foul-mouthed brat won’t let slack off.
Then again, I have no confidence in properly training a beast.
Hah... if it weren’t for the involvent of Sir Benedict, I’d have just ignored it and walked away. Why did it have to be related to this task?
What should I do? Should I just go to Luca directly and ask him? He’s probably teaching Kent’s young lady, so he might have so idea.
“Good day, Sword Saint.”
“Hello. You’re the Sword Saint?”
The polite voice of a man and the rough voice of a woman mixed together. Uden, who had noticed their approach for so ti, slowly turned his head away.
“Good day, both of you. I’m Uden, the current Sword Saint.”
“I’m Arthur Soladin. I hold the position of the third prince.”
“Freya Kent. It’s a pleasure.”
“You can speak casually. It would be uncomfortable for if the distinguished ones followed formalities.”
“…I can’t do that to a Sword Saint.”
“Really? Alright. Uden, I’ll speak casually.”
Unlike Arthur, who took a step back out of courtesy, Freya imdiately stepped forward.
Seeing that, Uden instinctively realized that Freya had changed a lot from his mory.
The little girl who was more of a puppet wielding a sword had now gained genuine vitality.
“Hey. Freya Kent.”
“It’s fine, Prince. Rather, I would be grateful if you treated that casually.”
“There is authority in the title of Sword Saint.”
“Do I need to ask three tis?”
“…Hmm. Alright. If that’s what you want, then I have no choice.”
“See? Prince, I was right, wasn’t I?”
“Tsk.”
Watching the bickering between the two, Uden smirked and observed their bodies.
Neither of them seed to have neglected their training. No, they were perhaps pushing their bodies to the limit.
Prince Soladin seed like the more orthodox swordsman, and the young lady of the Kent family—well, she might have integrated the swordsmanship of Kent with her own approach.
It’s hard to judge just by their posture.
“Excuse , can we continue the conversation?”
“Oh, sorry about that. This fool started an argunt.”
“Wasn’t that the prince?”
“Shut up. You.”
“Ah, well then. Let’s have a sparring session, one at a ti. We need to make an accurate judgnt.”
Interrupting their banter, Uden positioned Freya in front of him.
“Is there no sword you’re particularly fond of?”
The sword Freya held was nothing special.
Seeing the object in her hand, which could hardly be described as sothing a talented person born into the Kent family should have, Uden raised an eyebrow in confusion.
“Does it matter what kind of sword it is?”
“Yes. It’s quite important. If the sword isn’t up to par, it increases the possibilities for exploitation.”
“Even with this?”
Freya surrounded her sword with a colored aura, and Uden’s eyebrows slightly lifted.
But that was all. Uden composed himself and nodded.
“Of course. Surrounding it with aura doesn’t suddenly make the sword a masterpiece, right?”
“…Hmm.”
“Tell Count Kent about it later. I’m sure he’ll get you a good sword.”
This was sincere advice from Uden, who had struggled with inferior swords in the past, but Freya’s expression was ambiguous.
It’s hard to persuade her unless I directly show her what she needs.
“Well, it’s not a big deal right now. Let’s just fight first.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Okay.”
Usually, when soone says to go at it seriously, it’s rare to see them actually fight with intent to harm. Any normal person would hesitate at least a little.
But Freya was not ordinary. From the start, she swung her sword aiming directly at Uden’s neck.
Blocking her attack with just the slight edge of his sword, Uden narrowed his eyes.
“Is that all?”
“Of course not.”
A storm of sword strikes from Freya surged toward Uden.
The beast-like sword, seemingly ignoring defense.
However, when Uden tried to slip through the gaps, the beast withdrew its fangs and took a step back.
Aggressive, but only as aggressive as necessary.
Even when taking a mad risk like a gamble, she always keeps the final line intact.
How interesting. How did that beastly little girl turn into such a seasoned swordsman?
Who could have corrected the beast and turned her into a human?
Count Kent? No, if it were him, her aggression should have been reduced.
It doesn’t seem like the prince next to her had much influence either.
Looking at her overall attack strategy, it seems like her aim is to break through defenses.
“Do you often spar with soone wielding a shield?”
“Yeah. How did you know?”
“I can tell. A lot of things.”
Still in the midst of their exchange, Uden responded with unwavering breath, then promptly corrected Freya’s movent.
“If you want to create an opening, I think you should do it this way.”
Threatening Freya with the movent he modified, Uden smiled as he spoke, and Freya returned the smile.
“You’re really a Sword Saint, huh?”
“Of course. I didn’t rise to such an honorable position for no reason.”
The two continued to spar, constantly adapting to each other’s movents.
Freya’s storm of strikes. Uden’s claws deflecting them. Each mont, they evolved and continued to threaten each other.
A few steps away, watching this exchange, Arthur felt the gap in talent between them.
Is this what a battle between geniuses looks like?
Hah. How unfortunate to have such diocre talent.
If I had no talent at all, I would have never realized their greatness, and if I had true talent, I would have tried to insert myself into their fight.
Arthur chewed on his lip, but he still kept his eyes on their sparring.
Just because it seems far off doesn’t an I can give up walking toward it.
“The Sword Saint, that man really wields his sword ferociously. Was he really the one who acted like he didn’t want to do this?”
Karia, who had been watching Uden spar outside the academy grounds, shook her head in disbelief.
“Do you think that orc girl will be able to teach those two idiots properly?”
“I’m not sure about the prince, but I think Kent’s young lady will change quite a bit. They have so similarities, after all.”
So similarities, huh? Yeah. That’s why Uden harbored hatred for his kind in the ga.
I’m glad that Freya has changed a lot from how she was before.
If she had ssed it up, I would’ve had to go threaten Benedict again.
“Keep them out of this shabby street for a day. It’s boring eting that perverted professor again.”
“Is tomorrow the day midterms start?”
“Yeah. It’s when that perverted professor will show his pathetic side.”
What is Luca trying to show tomorrow? He probably has sothing ready to deal with the academy professors at least.
But will that irregular Sword Saint fall within the range of solutions?
“By the way, aunt. What about the item I asked for?”
“Here. Why do you want sothing dangerous like this?”
“Are you curious?”
“A little.”
“Heh. Shut up. You wouldn’t understand because you’re old and worn out. I don’t want to waste ti.”
“Hey, boss. Why are you being serious now?”
“…Ah. You caught .”
“This isn’t just sothing you can end with ‘caught .’”
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