The Genius Son-in-law of the Swordmaster Household—Blessed by Authority Chapter 73 : Advances (1)

Advances (1)

The official opening day of the Sword Dragon Hall.

While the new cadets gathered here and there, chatting in small groups in the spacious training grounds...

'That bastard Hector...'

Ian was locking eyes from a distance with Hector Goldhound, who was glaring at him.

'He looks seriously pissed.'

It seed that the crushing defeat he suffered at Ian's hands during the entrance exam had been a major humiliation.

The eyes of the lackeys standing near Hector also radiated nothing but hostility.

'He's going to pick a fight with soon enough.'

Hector was a proud man, and he was also despicable enough to use any ans necessary to secure victory.

Right now, with so many eyes watching and no proper thod to get at Ian, Hector seed to be behaving himself, but the mont an opportunity arose, he would certainly catch Ian and try to avenge his loss from the entrance test.

'Well... Not that I care if he wants to pick a fight with .'

Currently, Ian was at the Swordmaster-rank.

It seed like Hector had grown sowhat stronger since the entrance exam, but even so, his level was still that of a user.

Aura user and Swordmaster.

Like a firefly compared to a full moon.

Their gap in skill was so vast, it was impossible to even compare.

Even if Hector had 200 of himself, he'd never stand a chance against Ian.

However.

'If that bastard finds out about my relationship with Sophia...'

If he realized Sophia was Ian's weakness, Hector would definitely try to exploit her in order to get at Ian.

― Heh.

As if proving Ian's suspicion completely correct.

Hector licked his lips with a sleazy look as he glanced at Sophia standing beside Ian.

'... That bastard??'

A murderous intent surged within Ian for a mont.

How dare he look at Sophia with such filthy eyes?

If there weren't onlookers around, Ian would've broken every limb of his.

'I thought he seed decent enough during the entrance exam since he was talented...'

But seeing his face now, brimming with such dark malice, made Ian wonder if he'd been useless from the beginning.

"Sophia."

"Yes?"

"Look over there. Those guys huddled in the corner."

Ian pointed at Hector's group with a tilt of his chin.

"Ugh..."

Seeing their stares, Sophia cringed as if she'd been presented with sothing vile.

"What's their problem? Why are they looking at us with such dirty eyes? ... Wait, this feels familiar..."

She wondered where she'd seen such unpleasant gazes before.

When she'd accompanied Young Master Ian to the vampire ruins gate, there had been five delinquent adventurers picking a fight—these were exactly the sa kinds of eyes.

And... those five adventurers, unaware of their place, ssed around and were brutally killed by the young master.

"Eek!"

A sudden ominous thought made Sophia flinch and tightly cling to Ian's arm.

"Young Master! No! Hold back!"

"Huh?"

"You can't kill them!"

"Wh-what are you talking about? All of a sudden?"

"They're nobles! If you kill them, there'll be so much trouble! Wouldn't it be better if I just went up and gave those brats a piece of my mind—!"

― Thwap!

Ian flicked Sophia on the forehead.

"Ow!"

"Calm down, Sophia."

"Ugh...! I'm listening even if you just say it! Do you know how much your flicks hurt? It's like being struck by a boulder!"

"You're exaggerating..."

He'd made sure to go easy on her, just a gentle tap.

"Well, let the pain snap you back to your senses. No matter what happens, never go near those guys by yourself. If you ever get involved with them, don't hide anything from —tell everything. Got it?"

Sophia rubbed her reddened forehead.

"Ye—yes... I get it... But what about you? A-are you going to kill them?"

"No...? What do you take for, a serial killer? I'm not going to kill them. What do you take for?"

"Wh—what do I take you for?! Young Master Ian! In just the past month alone...!"

Sophia cast a discreet glance around before whispering into Ian's ear.

"There are over ten people you've stabbed, beaten, or hacked to death just in this month! So how can you say with a straight face that you're not going to kill anyone?"

"Oh. Really? I guess you're right."

Thinking back, after returning to the past, he'd actually killed quite a lot in just over a month.

In his previous life, he'd taken even more lives in a single day, but for Sophia, this must have been such a sudden change—a string of shocking events—that it made sense for her to be this worried.

"Don't worry. I really don't intend to kill anyone."

Not yet. Not yet, at least.

But who knows about the future?

No matter that Hector was the undisputed number one successor of the Goldhound family. If he kept showing such rotten intentions, Ian would cut him down before he beca a bigger disaster.

It would be a hassle to deal with the aftermath, but if he had to, he could kill him anyti.

'Hector. You'd best look at people with kinder eyes. Before I decide to kill you.'

As Ian continued to exchange annoyed gazes with Hector—

― Swish.

"...?"

A huge shadow fell over Ian from behind.

'What's this?'

When he turned, he saw a massive man, well over two ters tall.

It was Kuga, Aris's battle slave Barbarian.

"Ian Greysel."

His voice rumbled like a grinding millstone.

"It's good to et you. I am Kuga. Warrior."

Kuga extended a hand as large as a cauldron lid for a handshake.

"Uh, O–okay. Nice to et you."

Ian grasped Kuga's hand.

Kuga shook their hands up and down a couple of tis, but when Ian tried to pull away, Kuga held on, not letting go.

"Uh?"

Still holding his hand firmly, Kuga spoke again.

"It was an honor to fight you. Never t a young and strong warrior like you. I like you. Ian Greysel."

"...?"

What was this? Was he... gay?

A cold bead of sweat ford behind Ian's neck.

Kuga continued in awkward Common:

"I want to fight you again. Anyti. I am ready."

"Oh."

So that's what this was about.

Ian got the gist of what Kuga wanted to say.

He'd had plenty of Barbarian comrades in his past life.

Because he understood Barbarian culture to so extent, he could guess what Kuga really ant.

"Sounds good, Kuga. I'd welco a talented warrior like you as well."

Among Barbarians, many believed that the 'weakness of the weak' was as contagious as a disease.

If a weak person was near them or if they had to fight a weakling, they believed that frailty would rub off on themselves.

Conversely, they also believed that the 'strength of the strong' could have a positive influence on themselves.

Thus, many Barbarian warriors only kept the strong by their side, not even considering the weak as rivals.

Kuga was acknowledging Ian as a strong one, saying he wanted to associate with him.

"Let's have another match when the chance cos."

"Then how about right now—"

"No. Not now."

"A warrior fights anyti, anywhere."

"You have to pick your ti and place here, Kuga."

"This land's customs. I do not understand. Nothing is more important than fighting."

"It's kind of like the bathroom. You don't just, uh, do your business anywhere in public here, right?"

"Hmm. I see. Poop goes in the bathroom. So, where does battle go?"

"Later. Later."

"Understood. Then, tell when the ti cos."

"Alright."

"That's enough. Thank you."

Leaving those simple words, Kuga returned to his own place.

"Wow, I was startled! That really scared !"

As soon as Kuga left, Sophia placed a hand against her chest and let out a sigh of relief.

"I thought that big guy was here to pick a fight too! Why did Barbarians have to evolve such intimidating faces?!"

"You shouldn't make fun of people's faces."

"But... there are limits! He looks so scary!"

"... Honestly, you're not wrong."

Barbarians took great pride in the history written on their faces, so Sophia's comnt might not have been disrespectful after all.

"Anyway, Young Master, you sure are popular. Oh! Soone else is coming!"

Sophia pointed over Ian's shoulder.

"Hm?"

When he turned, this ti it was a tall boy with fiery red hair and sparkling golden eyes.

It was Kargon Hisperion, the sixth son of the Heavenly Sword family head, walking confidently toward Ian.

"Ian Greysel."

His voice was cold and clear.

"Greetings to Young Master Kargon."

Ian placed his hand over his chest and bowed.

He didn't have any particular connection with Kargon in his past life, but Yuria had said the guy was a good person.

Plus, he was a direct son of the Heavenly Sword family head, Ian's benefactor in this life.

He was certainly worthy of proper respect.

"Ah!"

Sophia, standing beside him, belatedly caught on and awkwardly followed Ian's gesture.

"G–greetings to Young Master Kargon!"

"Ha ha. There's no need to treat so formally. We're just fellow new cadets now."

"...."

Ian straightened his back again.

Kargon held out his right hand.

"This is our first real greeting as the heir of Greysel. Pleased to et you."

Ian lightly accepted the handshake.

"I'm honored to et you too, Young Master Kargon."

"I watched you during the entrance exam. You competed with my sister, who's famous for her God-given talent, and you won splendidly. It was incredibly impressive. Your skill was indescribably excellent."

"You flatter ."

"It's no flattery, actually. I'm rather understating it. If I tried to express my amazent at your skills, I wouldn't finish before nightfall."

"...?"

One of Ian's eyebrows rose involuntarily.

What did this young master want, laying on the complints this thick?

"Ah. I suppose I'm talking too much. Sorry. Let get straight to the point."

As soon as Ian showed a peculiar expression, Kargon cut to the chase.

He seed rather quick-witted.

"I'd like to propose an alliance."

"... An alliance, sir?"

What kind of alliance?

Ian blinked at Kargon.

Kargon nodded and continued.

"There will be many tests at Sword Dragon Hall where teamwork is important. If we help each other then, we can achieve the best results each ti."

"... Ah."

Ah. So that's what he ant by alliance.

"Of course, you're skilled enough to get the best results on your own, but I still wanted to make the offer. What do you say? Will you make an alliance with , based on mutual trust?"

Ian paused a beat before replying.

"I'm sorry, but I can't promise anything right now."

A polite refusal.

Ian didn't know what kind of person Kargon really was.

In his past life, this one hadn't lived long.

He'd died even before the Hisperion civil war started.

If Ian rembered correctly, he died before even graduating the Sword Dragon Hall.

The cultists who attacked the Hall killed him.

Trying to save Yuria.

'Well, that's beside the point right now.'

Ian wanted to spend his Sword Dragon Hall days with Yuria rather than with Kargon.

So he refused.

"Hm. I see."

Kargon smiled ruefully.

Even as a fellow man, the sight of that smile made Ian feel a twinge of protectiveness.

"That's disappointing, but it can't be helped. Still, there'll be a ti when we need each other. My offer stands, so let know anyti."

Ian respectfully bowed his head again.

"Thank you for the offer. I'll keep it in mind."

"No, thank you! If you rember, I'm even more grateful. See you around, then."

Kargon offered a clean farewell and returned to his subordinates.

Ian watched his red-haired figure leave and clicked his tongue quietly.

'He seems like a pretty decent guy.'

Except for Yuria, all the other direct descendants had been enemies in Ian's past life.

If Kargon had survived longer, perhaps they could have beco good friends.

'By the way...'

Ian had been looking for Yuria for a while, but she was nowhere to be seen.

"Young Master Ian? Are you looking for soone?"

"Hmm? No, I'm just looking around..."

Just then, as Ian continued to scan the training grounds for Yuria—

"Hm?"

"Eek!"

He caught eyes with Charlotte, who'd been sneaking up on him.

"Huh?"

Ian's face imdiately turned grim.

"What do you want????"

"Ee—eep!!?"

Charlotte shrank away, clutching her tattered sleeves and gasping.

It had been about a month since Ian last saw her, since the entrance exam.

― Grimy!

Banished from the palace as punishnt, Charlotte clearly looked as though she had endured a month of hardship and poverty.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

Seems this Kargon dude is a decent fellow...

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