Reincarnation of the Sword Master - Chapter 36

Chapter 36 – Captain of the Imperial Guard (1)
Translated by : betterdays

* * *

The sword was moving through the air. Twisting the upper body, bringing the arm forward in a whip-like motion and snapping the wrist to thrust the sword forwards. Finishing with a wide stance and completing the next series of movements, Asher got back into position.

The Imperial Swordsmanship was near-perfection, if not already perfected. Anybody watching Asher would be able to pick up Imperial swordsmanship without having to even be instructed properly.

‘Will Van Ester return back here?’

Then there was a lot to talk about. Was it due to the Devil coming back? Would he be able to show Van Ester the abnormal Goblin they had captured? What happened to Ian the Brave? There were a lot of unanswered questions.

It was likely that Van Ester wouldn’t come back yet since he probably still had a few more things to take care of within the Capital of the Empire.

Asher was repeating the movements of the Imperial swordsmanship diligently until he realized something and stopped.

He took out a spear from the wrist brace. He tightened his grip on the spear and lowered his posture. He was bending his knees more than usual for some reason.

Asher moved his feet and kicked the ground. He thrust the spear forwards in a series of movements, growing faster and faster. It kept rising in speed until an afterimage started to blur through the air and dust flew up.

Wooosh-

The firm movements of the spear cut through the and and Asher continued to move. He was using the movements of the Head Goblin he had faced recently.

“Whoa.”

The spear stopped. There was no real problem with his body other than the usual strain of underused muscles. It was…odd.

“Can I use it?”

The Goblin he had faced was more of a spearman rather than a swordsman. Was it because the Goblin used movements that were for the spear that he was able to replicate them so easily? It was never this easy for Asher to pick up something.

He traded the power of the spear for pure speed. It was a way he never thought of using when it came to the spear. It could come in handy for the future. Of course he’d have to repeat the motion and engrave the movements to muscle memory. Asher stopped moving and felt something arise within himself.

“It’s fun.”

A small smile cracked open on Asher’s face. He had never had the talent to learn the techniques of others. Even if this might not exactly be a sword technique, it was the first time he was actually able to learn something from another.

The sense of accomplishment and surreal pleasure was delightful. He had never found such pleasure like this before in learning.

Asher wanted to experiment more, but it was time. Asher took the sword back out of its sheath and placed his spear back into the spatial pocket within the wrist brace. Charon suddenly walked out of the gates to the training ground with a stiff face.

“Hi.”

“…….”

“Are you not going to say hello?”

“…Good morning.”

Charon uttered in a trembling voice. Asher just shook his head at this response.

“Yes. Good morning to you as well”

Charon’s face was crumpled in humiliation.

***

An Imperial Knight always spoke formally to the common people; it was common knowledge. There was a reason for this as well though.

“Hey, pick up your sword.”

“…yes.”

Charon took up his sword from its sheath with an embarrassed face.

“I really don’t know what to do with you… tsk-”

After things had stabilized to some extent since the attack, Charon asked Asher a favor. He asked Asher if he could spar with him once a day.

Of course Asher refused outright at first. Like Reika, he had nothing to learn from Charon. But, he felt bad for not acknowledging Charon’s will to grow stronger, so he added one condition.

“Speak respectfully to me from now on.”

Charon was not just a knight, but a man of respect and admiration to the common people. Of course he thought Charon would reject it, but Charon unexpectedly, had said yes.

“You are a disciple of the Swordmaster, Van Ester. This is an honor rather than something shameful. Besides….”

Charon continued to speak with a serious face.

“It’s because sparring with you is worth it.”

“Less talking, and let’s get on with it then.”

Asher waved his hand. Charon lunged in without anything else needing to be said. Charon’s hand moved and the sword drew a trajectory through the air. It was a fast and flamboyant swordsmanship.

For Asher, it was too simple to break.

Charon’s movements were flashy but simple if they were cut-off at the root of the rhythm. Charon tried to correct his collapsing technique, but Asher’s feet moved and kicked up Charon’s legs as he grit hit teeth and withstood it.

Charon stabbed forward with the sword. Asher leaned over the tip of the sword aimed at his neck and narrowly avoided it.

An outstretched sword always had to be pulled back. Asher stretched out his body and knocked his elbow on Charon’s outstretched arm, causing Charon to contort his face in pain. But then Asher came up behind him and knocked him in the back of the throat, signifying a loss.

“..Hup!”

Charon coughed as he choked briefly on his own saliva.

“It’s not bad. But you’re not some kind of overwhelming talent.”

“I’ve never heard that I’m not talented though.”

“That kind of thing is always relative.”

Charon caught the sword again, standing back up and fixing his posture.

***

It had been an hour that had passed by since the start of their sparring session. Charon sat down and was recollecting his breath from the intense sparring. He looked at Asher with wonder.

“I’ve traveled the world and seen a lot of people. Very few of them had the upper hand over me… Yet not only do you trample over me… you do it with the Imperial Swordsmanship of all things.”

Charon also learned the swordsmanship that one of the great heroes passed down. His style of swordsmanship showed very quick and flashy movements to the eye, but was designed to aim at the opponent’s vitals by confusing them with the big movements. However in front of Asher, his swordsmanship was nothing to the Imperial Swordsmanship that Asher wielded.

Asher replied nonchalantly.

“Your talent is just within the realm of mortal human beings.”

Charon had probably one of the best talents Asher had seen when it came to comparing him against the ordinary common folk. However, he would not be able to transcend his human limitations and become a swordmaster.

On the contrary, he couldn’t go as far as Reika. She was in a league of her own.

“Your talent is enough to get you far in life, but Imperial Swordsmanship can still break it down. I wouldn’t know though if it was someone like Reika though.”

“You’re… a monster.”

“The world is wide, and all the heroes of the past were monsters in their own right.”

“You…?”

Charon quickly shut his mouth as he realized if what he guessed was right, then he should not speak. However, Asher quickly shut down his thoughts.

“No, you’re overthinking it. Our time for sparring is over, now it’s time to do our other duties…”

Asher flicked his finger, pointing behind him.

“Let’s get them sorted out.”

“Do we really have to keep doing it?”

Charon let out a wry smile. Outside the training ground door, children, who appeared to be about ten years old or even younger, were watching them with sparkling eyes.

***

Asher had fought a monstrous goblin from the legends and had defeated it with outrageous strength and skill. Everybody in the village who could fight, saw it. And the rumors were spread for the children and others who weren’t able to witness the amazing fight.

That was probably why there were a couple of children following Asher around, everywhere he went. Charon walked up to the gates of the training ground. The children winced but didn’t run away.

“What are you doing here?”

“Ju…Just looking around.”

“There’s nothing to watch here. Go back.”

The child turned his head around. Another child lightly pushed the child’s back, urging him forwards.

“Hey, it’s a chance. Hurry up and take it!”

“But….”

The children whispered to each other nervously, but Asher, who was a distance away, could hear everything they were saying. Soon the child came to Asher as if he had made up his mind.

“Um… Asher.”

“What?”

“Please accept me as a disciple!”

The child bowed his head and showed as much respect as possible. Asher looked down at the child with his head down that was quivering in nervousness.

“What do you want me to do with you?”

“I want to be your disciple!”

“Disciple for what?”

“Of course for using the sword!”

The child clenched his fist tightly with passion.

“I want to be as strong as Asher!”

“Like me….”

Asher murmured with a complicated expression.

“You shouldn’t aim to be like me.”

“Why? I heard you, Asher, defeated the big, and bad Goblin! You’re strong!”

“That’s..different.”

His strength was only due to the passage of time in his previous life. It was by no means a strength worthy of this age.

“Ask Charon, not me. He’s very strong.”

“No! He’s weaker than Asher!”

The child’s face was crumpled horribly, and Asher could not refute the words because they were true. It was just a terribly complicated and stressful situation for Asher.

‘If you become a soldier later, you definitely have your training doubled for that remark…’

Asher thought, as the child had no idea that Charon led the soldiers in their training for the territory. The child still refused to give up on his pleas despite berating Charon.

Sadly, Asher had no intention of accepting any more disciples.

“One question. Kid, what kind of swordsmanship do you want to learn?”

“I want to learn the Swordmaster, High Count, Van Ester’s skills!”

The child replied with sparkling eyes. Asher proceeded calmly.

“All the more reason to go to Charon.”

“Wha-… why?!”

“Will you want to learn Imperial Swordsmanship?”

“Empire Swordsmanship…?”

The child replied with a quivering voice. Of course not. The child, like everyone else, wanted to show off his skills by learning some fancy swordsmanship. The child came to Asher because he was the strongest, and thought he could be cool instead of learning Imperial Swordsmanship!

Asher coolly cut off the child and spoke with a firm tone.

“Then go.”

The child faltered and shook at the firm words. He was confused at why Asher was saying such things.

“You’ll be disappointed with me and leave eventually.”

The child was sullen and trudged off to his friends because he realized that Asher was probably right. Charon approached quietly.

“You’re cold-hearted. You could have at least given her direction.”

“She was already on her own path. I’m not even a teacher of Reika, I just advise her every now and then.”

He was the Captain of the Imperial Guard in his previous life. There were several people who asked to become his disciple and he had accepted them. However, almost all of them left since it was not what they were expecting at all.

“It’s just annoying now, as well.”

People had expectations of him and they got disappointed. In the end, he was just tired of it all and wanted to keep to himself.

‘Only one followed me.’

He’d be forty now, and he had never kept in touch with them since he had retired, so Asher couldn’t know if they were alive or dead.

‘He wouldn’t be dead.’

His disciple was a rather shrewd kid like himself back then, so there was no way he’d just up and die like that.

***

A week later, Reika woke up from her bed. The first thing she did upon waking back up, was get straight to the training ground.

“Already back here again?”

“Uh… hi?”

Reika gaver her questionable hello as she greeted Asher. Asher slightly knitted his brows.

“You need to rest a bit more.”

“It’s okay… it’s okay, I swear. Also, I heard you went back to training literally right after the fight. So, it’s not for you to say what I should or shouldn’t do.”

“…….”

It certainly wasn’t his place to say so, and he realized it. Asher swung the sword without even saying a word. Reika, who was watching the scene with her sparkling eyes, suddenly opened her mouth.

“Oh, did you hear the news? I heard the Empire has chosen the delegate that will be coming here.”

“Isn’t it just Van Ester?”

“Aren’t you his disciple; shouldn’t you use honorifics? Well anyways…. No, it’s someone else.”

“It’s someone different?”

Asher stopped swinging the sword and frowned. Van Ester had promised to tell Asher everything he had seen during his journey when they would meet next. But now, that promised time wasn’t coming as early as Asher had expected.

“Yes, it seems someone else is coming.”

“….Who?”

Reika smiled with a mischievous grin and spoke.

“The Captain of the Imperial Guard.”

“…what?”

“The Captain of the Imperial Guard is coming. I don’t know why, so don’t ask. Dad was flustered about it, too.”

“Yeah… I am too.”

The Captain of the Imperial Guard. The person who had taken over his vacant position. What would they be like? And why were they coming to the Halvark Territory of all places as the delegate?

“But wait, why so suddenly? Why would the Imperial Guard Captain want to come to some rural and small territory like ours?”

Asher asked in confusion.

“Have you heard the name of the Captain?”

Asher was pretty sure that he wouldn’t know. Although he had selected a successor to his position before he retired, that person was probably retired now as well. Therefore, it was likely to be someone new that he had never heard of.

He was flustered, but he pulled himself together. However, his composure that he had just gathered, was shattered like glass with Reika’s next words.

“The Captain of the Imperial Guard is quite famous. You really don’t know?… Oh wait, you lost your memories. Well anyways, I’ll give you a hint : They’re not a human being.”

“…not a human?”

“Yeah, it’s an Elf. Well, a High Elf to be exact.”

“Are you sure?”

Asher closed his eyes, racking his brains quickly.

It can’t be. Although the High Elves were very few in number, there was one person Asher could possibly think of. But there was no way ‘that’ person would be the Imperial Guard, was there?

“What’s their name?”

“It’s quite a difficult name to say, but it’s Ariana Barsilis. -Wait Asher why so you look like that?”

Reika saw Asher’s incredibly distraught face and was confused at his reaction.

“No…. It’s nothing.”

Asher groaned.

‘Why is it her?’

Asher in his previous life, had never married. But he had adopted a couple children and had a lot of fun teaching them when he retired.

Ariana Barsilis. The last High Elf of the Black Forest. It was one of his adopted daughters.

Chapter 36 – Fin