I Became the Martial God's Youngest Disciple Episode 195

Episode 195

I tracked down the source of the delicious sll. At first, I wondered why it was so strong, but it ca from a tavern with every table outside packed. The night air was cool, and since the place sat on a hill, it offered a decent view.

I sat down and ordered a mountain of food: grilled at, stead at, fried at, a stew loaded with at chunks, and even apple juice.

It had been a long ti since I'd eaten a proper free al, so I stuffed myself as much as I could.

Perhaps the owners saw the sudden influx of custors as an opportunity, because new dishes I had never seen before appeared, and the overall quality felt higher than usual. The prices were certainly steeper, but that hardly concerned .

"You eat well," one of them said.

I nodded while chewing. "Yes..."

Traditionally, the phrase was ant as a complint.

I hadn't finished yet, but the al had relaxed enough to study my two unexpected companions. As I ntioned, they were about my age and showed signs of training.

No. That wasn't just training. At this level, they were already formidable. In my current condition, with only half my strength recovered, I suspected fighting either of them would prove difficult.

While I ate, they introduced themselves. The fierce-looking man went by Zial, and the woman was called Haro.

Are they both swordsn?

Their physiques and the swords at their waists suggested those weapons were anything but ornantal. They had clearly trained in swordsmanship at a professional level.

Zial and Haro... The nas sounded absurd, but they could easily be aliases, the sa as mine.

I asked, "So, what brings you two to the academy?"

"Ah..." Zial said, "Well, we were mostly dragged here by our master."

Their master? I tilted my head as I sipped my apple juice.

Haro cut in with a confident voice. "That isn't it! We're here to check out the hero disciples!"

"Hey, Haro."

"What? It's the truth."

"Still, you could phrase it more politely," Zial said with a sigh.

"Ugh, so naggy. Are you my older brother or sothing?"

I watched their bickering and asked again, "What do you want with the hero disciples?"

"To see if they're really as strong as the rumors say!" Haro answered.

So they were here to fight? A flicker of disbelief ran through . Alderson had been right—all sorts of people were swarming in.

I poked at the boiled chicken with my fork. "Then are the two of you drifters? Wandering around as warriors... No, wandering across the empire doing chivalrous deeds?"

"Sort of..."

"Sort of? What do you an, sort of?"

Haro pulled sothing from her clothes with a triumphant grin. "Tada!"

It was a tal badge, one with a familiar design.

"Oh..." I said in a rather surprised voice, "You two were heroes from the Hero Society."

"That's right!"

The badge marked formal recognition as a hero by the Hero Society. I had one as well, though mine wasn't impressive. I had earned it through the training camp route and received a D-class badge, the lowest rank, which marked as an apprentice hero.

A closer look showed Haro's badge differed from mine. The material wasn't the sa. Badge materials reflected rank, and this one's bronze sheen ant C-class.

C-class sounded low, but it wasn't. The organization awarded it only to those proven capable of carrying out their duties. In other words, these two, rough around the edges as they appeared, had real battlefield experience against the church and had crossed the line between life and death more than once.

"So you're here to assert dominance over your future juniors?" I asked.

"More like establishing the hierarchy. You know, the way the Badnikers hand out hero titles as they please." Haro frowned. "I've always thought that was excessive. Maybe nobles deserve so privilege, but if they truly believe in their strength, they should co to the Hero Society and take the official exam."

I nodded in partial agreent.

Haro continued, "The Badnikers have always been shady. I can't imagine how that gloomy family decides who becos a hero."

"Hey, Haro. You're saying this again—"

"So what? Did I say sothing wrong?"

Zial glanced at cautiously, as if suspecting I was of noble blood. I probably gave subtle clues with my table manners, but it didn't bother . If anything, I sowhat agreed with her.

"That's true, regarding the Badnikers. There are many bad rumors about them. The family is so closed off it's hard to know what they're thinking," I said.

"Exactly! I knew I could talk to you," Haro said, laughing. "Anyway, I heard three people earned Hero Badges at this year's training camp: Hector Badniker, Charon Woodjack, and Luan Badniker."

I hadn't expected them to know this. Did the Hero Society have a sophisticated intelligence network? Or had the Badnikers spread it themselves?

"In fact, this seems fishy. At a training camp run by the Badnikers, two family mbers earned Hero Badges... There has to be a backstory."

I humd. "Is it really that serious?"

"That's right! And Charon—he achieved excellent results despite all of that." Her tone carried an odd note of admiration.

I tilted my head. "Do you know Charon Woodjack?"

Zial looked at and smiled bitterly. "We aren't friends. We just played together a few tis when we passed through the Swamp long ago."

Isn't that enough to be called a friend? I thought as I chewed on at. In any case, Charon was badly injured now, and I wasn't sure whether to ntion him to these two.

"Anyway, I need to teach that Luan fellow a proper lesson!" Haro declared.

I ordered more at and asked, "Is that necessary? I heard Luan Badniker is supposed to be a good guy."

"Good guy, my foot. Just a year ago, all I heard were bad rumors. And suddenly, he earns hero qualification and plays a decisive role in stopping the demon king's descent. There has to be so manipulation." Haro muttered, "The Hero Society shouldn't be artificially made like this."

I frowned, puzzled.

"We've been at the academy for so ti, but haven't seen a single hero disciple. Isn't there a way to et them?"

Strangely, she asked while staring at the food, as if reminding why they were paying for my al.

I wasn't a heartless person, so I crossed my arms and replied, "It doesn't have to be Luan, right?"

"He's the most irritating, but if it can't be him, so be it. He's despicable anyway. I doubt he'll fight openly."

"Then wouldn't Hector be appropriate?" I suggested.

I had heard he was among the least injured hero disciples—no serious wounds, no major ntal trauma, though he seed busy being pulled around from place to place.

"The genius Hector Badniker..." she muttered. "That should be fine. But how do you plan to approach him?"

I answered, "I know him. I an, it is worth asking for a favor. He probably won't refuse a challenge."

"Ah..." Haro glanced at cautiously. "Nalu, are you a noble by any chance?"

"Yes?"

"As expected... I thought you looked high-class."

What the hell did she an by that? I mulled over it for a mont. Then I suddenly looked at Zial, who was smiling sheepishly. The more I observed, the clearer it beca. There was a huge gap in their levels. Zial was hiding his strength.

Still, how should I describe it? Haro clearly seed to take the lead.

Haro exhaled in relief. "In any case, it's a relief. I didn't co all this way for nothing. Now I can face our master without sha."

I grew curious. "Who is this master you keep ntioning?"

"That is a good question! The identity of our master..." Haro said confidently. "It is none other than the Sky-Destroying Sword, Maxim!"

Her voice held more certainty than when she had shown the Hero Badge, leaving even more astonished.

"If it is Maxim... He is an S-class hero of the Hero Society!" I exclaid.

S-class heroes ford the most elite force of the Hero Society, and there were fewer than twenty of them. Among them, the Sky-Destroying Sword stood out as a true celebrity.

Maxim, known as the Sky-Destroying Sword, also carried the title War Hero Maxim. The reason was simple. He had single-handedly ended the wars that erupted repeatedly in the eastern empire, where tension and conflicts flared between races and tribes. Each ti, he seed to cut through the sky, earning him the legendary nickna.

"A bigshot like him ca all the way to the academy?" I asked.

It felt strange. the Hero Society would deploy soone of his caliber if the demon king had truly descended, but that wasn't the case. Sending an S-class hero just to check on the aftermath seed excessive.

"I've heard that Sky-Destroying Sword Maxim is one of the busiest heroes," I added.

It would make sense if only his disciples had co, but sending Maxim himself was a serious waste of manpower.

Haro chuckled. "He didn't co as a hero of the Hero Society. The imperial family actually summoned the Middle Nas."

For the first ti, my hands froze mid-bite.

Zial opened his mouth. "Haro, that—"

"Ah, I'm sorry. I made a mistake," Haro apologized.

I no longer felt like eating. It wasn't just because I had emptied more than fifteen bowls.

"The Middle Nas were summoned? Really?" I asked.

"Yes. Do you know about them?"

Of course I did. With the surna Badniker, I had to know. There was no way I could be that ignorant.

I leapt from my seat. "I just rembered sothing urgent. I'll be going. The al was excellent."

"What? W-wait! Then the eting with Hector Badniker—"

"I'll send him here tomorrow at this ti." I left imdiately. They reached out reflexively, only to be stopped by the waiter.

"Guests? You haven't paid yet," the waiter said firmly.

"N-no. We weren't trying to run away."

"We understand, but the bill cos first," the waiter pressed.

"We... understand..."

They both gasped. "W-what? Why is the price so—?"

"That's how prices work in the capital," the waiter replied flatly.

Who were the Middle Nas? They were a group that followed the imperial family's orders, yet calling them re subordinates felt inaccurate. Their privileges were so extensive that they could even defy the emperor's commands.

In truth, calling them a group was misleading. Their mbers had no real connection, rarely interacted, and shared nothing in common. All Middle Nas were chosen based on a single criterion: strength. They were candidates for the title of the empire's strongest, including the Sky-Destroying Sword Maxim.

Of course, among the empire's powerhouses, one of the top contenders of the Middle Nas—the charisma of a Great Family, the ultimate demon hunter, the Dark Executioner—was my father, the Iron-Blooded Lord, Delac C. Badniker.

Damn.

Tension rose inside my previously relaxed body. Out of everyone in the empire, the last person I wanted to encounter now was the Iron-Blooded Lord. I could conceal my Dark Qi, but I had no guarantee it would fool him. If he grew suspicious and questioned while activating his blessing, I would have no chance of remaining undetected.

Really, what is this? I couldn't avoid him forever, but the timing was all wrong. Should I wait until he left? Where even was he now?

A voice cut through my thoughts. "Hey, kid. If you don't want to get hurt, drop everything and leave."

My mind was already tangled with anxiety. Who was this random punk interrupting ?

I glanced over and saw him. At first glance, he looked like a thug. How did soone like him get into the academy? Was it because Alderson was absent?

To my surprise, I wasn't the one he was addressing.

The burly thug was grinning while blocking the path of a boy in a robe. Jet-black hair peeked out from the boy's hood, and his dark skin was unusual.

The mont our eyes t, a chill ran down my spine. I almost cursed aloud.

Hah, shit.Father.Why are you here?