Volu 6, Intermission 2: The Reborn Challenger
Idle Talk: The Reborn Challenger
This story happened several days after Lior separated from Sirius.
— Lior —
(Several days after I parted with Sirius.)
Another na for the place where I used to live is the ‘Ruin Forest’. It is a vast forest that can throw off your sense of direction. It’s also a terrible forest where even interdiate level adventurers can be attacked at any ti by the dangerous demons that lurk around the area.
In my case, I kept my sense of direction and since even the demons ran away, while glaring at , I treated it as a normal forest when I went through it.
There were no particular problems that way. While eating the burned at of the demons that attacked , I continued walking until I finally ca out of forest onto the highway.
Then, I suddenly realized… I was consud with regret that I didn’t notice in the past.
“Haa… I’m a failure…” (Lior)
Since I was talking to myself more, I was still focusing but this ti, it didn’t feel like my willpower was wilting away.
I felt that my favorite sword was getting heavier. While trudging along on the highway, I turned my gaze in the direction of where that guy and others might be.
“Why… didn’t he invite to travel together with him?” (Lior)
Sirius said that he wanted to go to school, because he wanted to see the world and to gather experience.
Even with his strength, he couldn’t join the adventurer’s guild, because he was still a minor and it would incur further problems. But he should have realized, that there would have been no problems, if he introduced as his guardian.
He could have declined, but if I had said it, I would be regretting it less now. The feeling of regret sure is unpleasant. To be fair, judging by that guy’s personality, the probability of him accepting my proposal was probably not high.
When I think of it… I can’t help, but be annoyed.
“Nuaargghhh—! A lifeti mistake!” (Lior)
My life was devoted to the sword up until now.
I love to fight. Fighting strong opponent makes happy. That was going to change now but… I found three new enjoynts in life.
First is a kid called Sirius.
He has a childlike figure, but what’s inside of him exceeds … what a monster. He is a close friend of mine and a rival who wins of our fights against than he loses. Fighting with that guy is now my purpose in life. To win more than losing is my goal now. Having a so called goal is good. eting that guy really was a good thing.
Then, he brought Emilia.
She is Sirius’ servant and disciple. She is a lovely girl from the silver wolf tribe. During our first introduction, my heart trembled, when she called Ojii-chan. As for who devoted my life to the sword, I don’t need disciples, especially a kid. I thought that I didn’t feel a yearning for kids or grandkids as well, but the burst of feeling at that ti is sothing hard to forget.
Although that fool treats her as a grandchild, but for Emilia is just a cute kid. Whether it’s foolish to have grandchildren or anything, whatever it is, it’s all good.
The youngster who is the younger brother of Emilia… Was he called Reus?
Normally it’s a principle of mine not to morize nas of people that I don’t recognize, but I acknowledged his hunger for strength. He keeps on challenging us, even after continuously losing against and Sirius. That spirit is similar to mine.
He holds natural kinetic vision and he is a man of exceptional talent, who will surpass sooner or later.
Well, I absolutely won’t say such a thing in front of him. I think I will call him by his na, if he were to reach half of my true strength.
He is Sirius’ disciple and my disciple too. Since his characteristics resemble mine, when I was young, I have shown off and taught him various techniques involuntarily. The reason is I have decided not to take any disciples, so for that youngster will beco my last disciple. I clearly saw him grow every ti I t him. It has been fun teaching such a youngster.
The chance to travel and have fun with those three together… and I saw them off without being able to do anything. Co to think of it, isn’t this quite the miserable talk?
If I were to say it properly, If I could stay with the cute Emilia, see and take care of the youngsters, and fight that guy at any ti. It would have been a wonderful thing!
And yet, here I am – traveling alone, while he goes to school with his two disciples… Arrgh, I’m so jealous. I’m so jealous, you know!
“Ojii-san, be careful!” (??)
“Run away, Ojii-san!” (??)
For so reason, it was getting noisy behind . So, I deviated from the highway and took my distance.
Thereupon, a horse carriage drove by with full force. However, its speed suddenly dropped a short while after passing through the spot where I was, until it stopped completely. It seed like the horse pulling the carriage had reached its limit. However, since I didn’t have any obligation to help, I kept on walking. It beca noisy again at the place I just passed by.
“I caught up with them at last!” (??)
“Those guys stopped moving. This is our chance!” (??)
“Our spoils are going to increase too!” (??)
‘Hmmm… Is it a robbery?’
When I stopped and looked back, several n who rode on horses were shouting and coming in this direction. ‘Well, since it’s not related to …’ When I continued going forward, a man and a woman exited from the carriage and stood in front of .
“You there! Won’t you kindly save us?” (??)
“?” (Lior)
“Yes, the person holding that big sword. Surely you must be a famous Swordsman-sama.” (??)
“Famous huh…” (Lior)
Well, my na used to be well-known to a certain extent. These thieves were such pushovers, but… this was troubleso if I was to be honest. Because I felt that I would be bullying the weak
I thought of leaving the two who desperately seeking for help.
“Otou-san, are we…going to be alright?” (??)
“Hey, you need to hide in the carriage! Please, if it’s money, I’ll give it to you!” (??)
“Please save us!” (??)
“That child just now… is it yours?” (Lior)
“Yes, we are travelling rchant… No, please spare my daughter! If it’s money! If it’s money, I have them!”
“It’s not like I want your daughter! It can’t be helped then, you guys go hide inside the carriage.” (Lior)
‘The girl who peeped from the carriage reminds of Emilia.’ Her appearance was entirely different and she didn’t seem the sa age, but when I saw her, the feeling of wanting to abandon them disappeared.
I used to lack such feelings before, but I was reborn after almost being killed by Sirius. It’s fine for this to be the reason I swing my sword.
“Oo? What a strange big old man?” (??)
“Oi, Jii-san. We have business with the carriage behind you. We will take the valuables and quickly disappear.” (??)
“Are you going to swing that big sword? Think a little bit more, if you want to threaten us with that appearance, hahaha!” (??)
I was laughed at all of a sudden, when I stood in front of those guys. This had beco a situation, where I was considered as a weak guy. ‘Shouldn’t thieves have the ability to discern strong people? Has the quality of thieves dropped since the olden days? Well then, should I test them?’
“So noisy! I’m tired of all this talking. Feel free to co at !” (Lior)
My yell halted their movents. ‘What? Don’t tell they hesitated, because I raised my voice? How weak have bandits beco?’
“You bastard old man! To let out such a voice… We have three people here, you know! It’s only the shout of an old man, don’t you think!?” (??)
Finally, one of them ca to his senses, kicked his horse and ran at . He aid at and swung his sword. ‘It’s good that he ca to challenge but…his sword’s swing is slow.’
“Hmmph!” (Lior)
I grasped my beloved sword and before his eyes, I swung down from the height of that man – splitting him in half together with his horse, the man’s body was vertically cut in two and crumbled down behind .
“Eh?… What?” (??)
“The horse is…eh? What happened just now?” (??)
I brandished my beloved sword to get rid the blood. ‘Hmmm… maybe because I hadn’t fought, slashing that guy, the feeling of my dominant hand was bit dull. So when I tried my off hand just now, it feels a bit weaker.’
“What, is it over?” (Lior)
“D-damn it! Stay put! Being able to move such a big sword freely…” (??)
“Your decision is too slow, you fool!” (Lior)
I threw myself at the enemy, before he finished talking. This ti, in order not to hit the horse, I aid at his head by swinging sideways. My sword cut his head like a fruit and he died. Then, I scowled at another one.
“Hiiiii–!?” (??)
He escaped imdiately. ‘It was enough to drive them away. Should I just leave the guy who ran away?’
As I put my sword back in it’s place, the rchants who were hiding in the carriage ca out. They lowered their heads while smiling at .
“Indeed, to defeat two people in the blink of an eye, what a splendid ability!” (??)
“It’s not a big deal with only this much. Leaving that aside, is your horse alright?” (Lior)
“Y-yes. She could barely breathe, because she was continuously running. She might need to rest for a short while and…” (??)
‘It’s good if these were the only thieves, but based on my intuition, they should have a hideout nearby. Those guys were probably laying in ambush.’
“Maybe the guy who just escaped will bring reinforcents. Abandon the carriage. I suggest you to leave this area imdiately.” (Lior)
“It can’t be!? If we abandon the carriage and the goods, how are we supposed to live…” (??)
“Life or goods, think about it and decide which one is more important. Well then.” (Lior)
“Errr, how about the gratitude for saving us?” (??)
“I don’t need it.” (Lior)
Since I did it by my own accord, I didn’t intend to receive compensation from these guys. For the ti being, I turned my back to leave since I already saved them.
“Otou-san, that Ojii-chan was amazing, right?” (??)
“That’s right. But… we cannot feel relieved yet. Those bad guys will probably co again, you know.” (??)
The child just now lined up beside her mother. ‘Hmmm… as I thought the girl doesn’t even resemble Emilia, but I can’t bring myself to leave them behind just like that. Since when have I beco so weak to children young enough to be my grandkids?’
“Oi, the rchant over there.” (Lior)
“Yes! What is it?” (??)
“I have a suggestion…” (Lior)
I went on the highway. After a short while the sky started to beco red.
Just a little bit more and the sun will hide itself. Then, the rchant family and I moved the carriage away from the highway and took a rest. No, the rchant family was still startled by the surprise attack, so maybe I’m the only one who is resting.
“Really… will they co back?” (??)
“It’s alright if they don’t co. Well, even if they did co, it wouldn’t be a problem.” (Lior)
The reason we were waiting here was because I suggested to wait until the horse recovered, keeping watch.Just now I told them the thieves might retaliate, but when I suggested to be their escort, they nodded in agreent.
I received a cup of black tea from the male rchant as I turned my gaze in the direction where the thief left.
“But, you even look manly. Why would you follow this old man’s suggestion?” (Lior)
“If I had to choose between protecting the goods and throwing away my life, or abandoning the goods in order to survive, both are similarly horrible options. It is because I was shown your true strength just now that I finally have a possible way out.” (??)
“Is that so? By the way, I have been living in isolation and because of that, I am not familiar with ways of the world. If it’s alright with you, please teach various things.” (Lior)
“Understood. If you don’t mind the limits of my knowledge, sure.” (??)
I went into retirent in the forest for years, but since I was going to continue travelling, gathering information was a necessity. I heard a story full of ups and downs from the rchant and then he finally asked about my objective .
“I am travelling for the sake of getting stronger. Is there a place where I can find strong opponents?” (Lior)
“You an at your age!? Aah… I’m sorry, I was rude. But, I have never seen a person as strong as you. Although you hold such strength, you still want to get stronger?” (??)
“Of course. There is a person that is stronger than . I must get stronger for the sake of winning more against him.” (Lior) (TLN: He is talking about the number of match and he loss more than win against Sirius)
“If you are looking for strong people, how about going to arena?” (??)
‘Did she hear the conversation between and the rchant?’ The rchant’s daughter mixed into our conversation. ‘Did he think I was offended by her sudden interruption, since he was asking her to leave?’ However, I stopped him and asked her question.
“Wait a minute. What do you an by arena?” (Lior)
“There is an arena in the town that we stopped earlier. It is said that the arena is the first in the continent, so a lot of people are going there for sightseeing.” (??)
“That’s interesting. The location is… these guys sure have bad timing.” (Lior)
When I was about to hear more details about the arena, I felt a great number of presences, which seed to be thieves. I stood up and put my hand on the girl’s head.
“My work isn’t finished yet. Will you let hear the details after this?” (Lior)
“Y-yes… Understood.” (??)
“Perhaps it’s the thieves?” (??)
“That’s right.” (Lior)
I told the rchants to hide themselves behind the carriage and wait for a little while. The n who were riding horses while raising a cloud of dust while getting closer. And then, they lined up in front of . One of the n stepped forward and pointed at .
“Leader, it is this guy. This guy killed two of our people!” (??)
“Isn’t he just an ordinary old man? Really? You an this Jii-san?” (??)
“Please look at the sword that he is holding. That sword cut through even the horse!” (??)
“Surely if it’s with that sword, it seems possible.” (??)
Although the man, who was called as the leader, ca with suspicious eyes, he seed to understand a little about my sword. While the leader was muttering sothing, the rchants who were hiding behind the carriage were startled, because of the group of thieves. The whole family was shaking in fear. It couldn’t be helped since even if one only took a peek, one would realize that there we more than 30 thieves.
“Why…it beco…like this” (??)
“Okaa-san! Otou-san!” (??)
“I-it’s alright. I’m sure… it’s going to be alright.” (??)
“Well, I didn’t expect these number (of thieves).” (Lior)
Indeed… I really didn’t expect this at all.
I thought that there would be at least 50 of them. This was sowhat unexpected. Besides, they were not standing in front of , but it was a good thing when they surrounded , since that gave more options.
“Oi, old man! You dare to do that to our friend!” (??)
“Too noisy. It’s only reasonable for to retaliate when I am attacked. Did you guys think you could take advantage of being surrounded?” (Lior)
“Shut up, Leader, are we ready?” (??)
“–in accordance to my own life, I give my life to the puppet [Rock Golem]!” (??)
The leader put his hand on the ground and the surrounding soil started to bulge. Even I had to look up at the big golem that just appeared. ‘That thief leader was a magician huh?’
“Hoo… is it a golem?” (Lior)
“You bastard, no matter how strong the sword you hold is, you won’t be able to cut it’s big rock body! Go!” (??)
‘What? These guys thought that my sword was an unique thing? It was certainly sowhat special, but it was mostly just a big sturdy sword. Besides…’
“I have fought against bigger golems compared to this!” (Lior)
It was made by a 400 years old elf, but the size of the golem was twice as big as this guy’s and it’s body was made from iron. Such a rock golem was akin to paper when compared to it.
I evaded the fist that was swung down by jumping forward. I swung my sword at the golem’s feet and it fell down after having both of them cut off. Since it’s center of gravity was moving forward, it was going to fall onto , but I held my sword and cut it flashily.
“Hard Break — One Hand Sword Style — Hard Wave Slash!” (Lior)
In order to hurl mana, I had to swing with all my strength. The form of this technique was a shockwave attack.
The shockwave broke the golem, that was falling forward, in thousand pieces and several thieves who were behind the golem got annihilated. The short range of this technique made it difficult to use, but the main feature of ‘Hard Break’ was its huge power. ‘But… they are fragile huh. Just like the tofu that Sirius brought. Aah, I want to eat tofu badly, now that I thought about it.’
“““… Eh?””” (??)
‘30… No, the number beca 20 just now and the thieves acted dumb in unison. What is it you guys, I’m going to attack if you are not going to run away, you know?’
“Why are you guys acting like little kids!? That’s it, pull yourself together. Are you afraid of this old man alone!?” (??)
When I fired ‘Hard Wave Slash’ for second ti, the number of thieves got reduced even more. Then, they finally stopped acting dumb and I noticed a young thief apprentice, that shouted at .
“That big sword… that strength. There is no doubt. This guy is the ‘Thief Hunter’, Lior! All mbers, run! We’re going to be wiped out!” (??)
“Lior!? You an the ‘Strongest Sword’? Isn’t he already dead!?” (??) (TLN: The title in raw is 剛剣)
‘I feel nostalgic again because of this na.’
During the ti when I wasn’t famous, I went on a trip to find strong people. There was a ti when I hunted thieves in order to cover my food expenses. It was a precious inco for during that ti. Unlike with demons, I didn’t go easy on them and usually didn’t leave anything behind. (TLN: No monster drops because he wiped everything.)
They realized it the mont I wiped out 20 people from their thieves group, and I was called ‘Thief Hunter’ among other things. The people in this continent were delighted when the damage caused by the thieves decreased and they were pleased with .
After that I went into retirent and I didn’t kill arbitrarily anymore.
“Run away! Damn it! What happened to the leader!?” (??)
“He got rolled up in that attack just now and he fainted.” (??)
“If that’s the case, should we catch the people behind him as hostages?” (??)
“You idiot! Against such an opponent… arrghhh!” (??)
“Hahaha! How does it feel when you change from a hunter to ones being hunted?” (Lior)
‘Hmm, as I thought, moving my body feels good.’ The usual feeling of regret finally overca the thieves.
I jumped in the center of the enemy’s group and I swung my beloved sword to my heart content killing the thieves. At one point the thieves approached the carriage to use the rchants as a hostage, but I obstructed them by using ‘Hard Wave Slash’… and they were sent in oblivion. Anyhow, the reason I defeated those guys was to secure so money for the trip.
As I much as I was bored with demon opponents in the forest, once I felt like acting violently, I would act violently.
“Hmmm…am I done?” (Lior)
While putting my beloved sword back, I looked at the highway where the signs of destruction remained. There were many dead bodies and broken pieces of the golem on the gouged ground due to ‘Hard Wave Slash’. This scenery looked similar to the destruction caused by a war. However, since I was protecting the rchants, I let several thieves escaped. Well, I secured the guy who was the leader and I could make so money if I handed him over in town.
‘I should reflect on whether I went too far.’ Then, I talked to the rchant whose face was all pale.
“Err… Thank you very much.” (??)
“No, no, I don’t need your thanks. Because I just acted violently.” (Lior)
“But still. I feel that… while it was a bit too much, the truth is our family was saved.” (??)
While he was being frightened by who created this horrible scene, he still expressed his gratitude. As I thought, this guy had courage.
“You should just think that you were lucky. Well I should probably leave now.” (Lior)
“Please wait. Where are you heading to?” (??)
“Well, if I move along the highway, I will reach a town soon.” (Lior)
“If you don’t have any aim… would you like to use our carriage until the town?” (??)
He was looking afraid until just now, but right now, he looked at with an earnest face. Since even demons will run away being intimidated by , I accepted his offer.
“Hoo, even though I am scary, what a luck huh?” (Lior)
“The thieves were talking about it. You are Lior-sama who was called the ‘Strongest Sword’. Such strength is certainly real, so isn’t natural to be scared?” (??)
“Real or not, if it’s you guys, I can kill easily, you know?” (Lior)
“If that’s the case, it would be fine if you abandoned us. Nevertheless, you are not an enemy because you fought for the sake of protecting us.” (??)
‘That was a rational thought. In fact, I am grateful that I get to ride their carriage. It’s going to ease in bringing the thieves’ leader and since they were travelling rchants, I expect them to cook so als.’ This was a story of who was unable to cook a al.
“Besides, if you co with us, we can feel relieved, better than being protected by ard guards. This is also for our own self-interest too.” (??)
“Hahaha! You talked about things cleverly. But, shouldn’t you be okay even with ard guards? How did you co to this conclusion?” (Lior)
“The truth is, I admire you. It is an honor to et the legendary ‘Strongest Sword’, Lior-sama.” (??)
As he said, he requested a handshake with an excited expression. ‘I shouldn’t be called by that na anymore.’ I thought, while he was shaking my hand,
“I am Lior for sure but I’m no longer the ‘Strongest Sword’. The ‘Strongest Sword’ has died.” (Lior)
‘That’s right… I challenged Sirius and gave my all, but I was defeated, so I threw away the na of the ‘Strongest Sword’.’
The person here was just an ordinary old man who was passing through.
“Right now, I’m just the ordinary Lior. From now on, I’m going to be a man who rises with a single sword.” (Lior)
‘I will start from the beginning and I will get strong once again.
And then soday, I’m going to have a match with the adult Sirius and… I will win!
Because I, from the ‘Strongest Sword’, was reborn to be a challenger.’
“By the way Ojou-chan, the arena in town is…” (Lior) (TLN: Ojou-chan = young lady)
“Hiii!?” (??)
‘… She ran away.
If Emilia saw just now, will she run away too?
If that’s happened… I may not recover myself.
Should I learn so self-respect after being reborn?’
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