Tale of the Fake Hero

Chapter 2

“You promised. If I win, you'll teach me how to use a sword.”

After a moment of awkward silence, the mercenaries all cheered at the amusing spectacle.

“To think there was such a manly man.”

“Humanity's future isn't so bleak after all!”

Only Johann Wolf Frost let out a hollow laugh bordering on astonishment.

“A duel? Camilla! The joke has gone too far. How can you with a kid like this──”

“──Let's just watch.”

Mercenary Captain Eltoram stopped Wolf, who was desperately trying to dissuade her.

“Even when the later disciples of the great First Saint Seven Swords or the scions of the Three Great Sword Families came, Camilla-sama didn't even bother to face them and just chased them away, didn't she?”

“……!”

“But she's even giving that kid a chance to duel? Doesn't that mean she saw something in that impudent brat?”

Eltoram's assessment was strangely generous. Was it because he had felt Kaisen's bizarre spirit in their earlier confrontation?

“And didn't you see the crest engraved on his cheek? Isn't that the crest of the Valkrush Clan, who are said to be turning every place they go into a wasteland?”

“……!”

“That means he's a warrior recognized by the Valkrush's chieftain. Won't he show us something?”

Even after hearing those words, Wolf's eyes, visible beyond his glasses, were filled with apprehension.

'Just who is Camilla, really……?'

She was the direct disciple of Laminea Alter Aradamantel, a hero praised as the strongest Feiquaria of her time.

Even the empire's renowned knights were often knocked out without even lasting three exchanges, weren't they?

'Will that scrawny, starving boy even last one exchange against such a supreme being?'

Kaisen gripped the sword.

The weight of the long sword, which he was holding for the first time in his life, was so heavy that it was overwhelming.

He couldn't hold it with one hand, so he had to grip it with both. Only then did the trembling of the blade, which had been shaking, stop.

“Instead, I'll ask you one thing, so answer me straight.”

Instead of drawing the Holy Sword at her waist, Camilla picked up a branch from the grassy field.

“……You're going to fight with that?”

“If you don't like it, you can use this too. Anything can be a weapon.”

Overwhelming momentum.

No, intimidating bloodlust.

It was a tree branch. She was aiming with just a tree branch…… but it felt like the air around the tree branch was burning.

But.

What made it even more suffocating was not the sword's momentum, but the question Camilla asked.

“Now, a question. Do you perhaps think it's your fault that your mother died?”

His breath caught in his throat.

It was a question he couldn't answer.

Camilla had a look that said she knew the answer.

“You're terribly weak. What can you even do?”

In an instant, his mind was washed over with whiteness.

“With that kind of ability, what's the reason you're blaming yourself for not being able to do anything when your mother died at the hands of the Uruks?”

At that moment, Camilla hoped.

That the former teacher's son would resent not some vague thing called the world, but a clear target, herself.

“Isn't that a natural result?”

Don't despair.

If you give up in the face of overwhelming despair, you'll eventually give up on life.

“You were just born a weakling like that. If you're going to resent something, you'll have to resent the world, what else can you do?”

I can't let him hate the Uruks. It's too dangerous.

Change the target of your resentment to me.

A sharp sense will definitely keep you from giving up on life.

“It's natural that you couldn't do anything back then! You survived because you couldn't do anything!”

From deep within Kaisen's heart, a surge of emotions rose up, large and fierce.

What was this emotion?

It felt like something was exploding in his chest, as hot as lava. The throbbing internal heat made his body leap forward.

“Ooh!”

Cheering, in an instant, shouts rose up hotly from among the mercenaries.

“That little guy charged first!”

“Kehat, his spirit is enough to make a knight turn away!”

Only Wolf and Eltoram, Camilla's longtime friends, frowned in bewilderment.

'It's getting harder and harder to understand.'

'Camilla-sama is provoking him? Even a brat like that?'

Just as Laminea was a hero succeeding Rista Alter Shirpen, her disciple Camilla was wielding her power as the strongest Feiquaria of her time.

It was a given that she was the foremost Warrior among the existing Feiquarias. But just what was it about that guy?

Eltoram and the veteran mercenaries suddenly held their breath and focused on the charging boy's reaction. Just what was he going to show? But

Wham……!

What they saw in the next moment was the sight of the boy falling over before he could even swing his sword.

It was Camilla's finger that decided the outcome of the match.

It wasn't even using the tree branch she was holding playfully, just a flick on the forehead after pulling it back slightly.

Of course, there wasn't even one exchange.

But with that one blow, Kaisen's head, which had rolled three times across the ground, lost all thought.

“What was that?”

Captain Eltoram and the veterans tilted their heads and exchanged glances.

“He doesn't even know how to use a sword?”

“No. It's not just swordsmanship, it's like he hasn't learned any martial arts at all.”

“Then how did he get recognized by the Valkrush Clan?”

To such a Kaisen, the Feiquaria approached with an expressionless face.

“It's not your fault, and it's not your mom's fault.”

Swish, from Camilla's waist, her teacher's short sword was drawn, its sheath brushing against it as it emitted an eerie glow.

“It's the fault of Feiquarias like me who aren't always there! Not you! So don't whine about revenge or whatever with that crying face.”

The moment Camilla brought the short sword down with all her might, everyone watching gasped in shock.

“Camilla!”

“What, did she really kill him……?”

“Wormwood…… I believed that even though she spoke like a villain, our Camilla-sama was actually a good person!”

No, she didn't kill him.

Wolf, who had rushed over, checked that the short sword was stuck right next to Kaisen's head and breathed a sigh of relief.

Camilla tossed the sheath of the short sword at Kaisen's face and said.

“A kid who doesn't even have an ant's fart's worth of talent, what's with all the talk of revenge? Teach you swordsmanship? I'll take revenge for you, so take that and get lost.”

Camilla finished speaking and bit her lip tightly.

She didn't know how it happened, but Laminea-sensei had protected this guy and died.

And the fact that this guy didn't know how to use a sword at all even at this age meant that she didn't want to drag him into the world of swords.

'I can't dare to break the decision that Sensei made after careful consideration.'

Just as Camilla was thinking that and was about to turn around, at that moment.

“!”

Flick…….

Until something broke as it brushed past the greaves on his shins.

'A tree branch……?'

A lowly attack that would have been meaningless in a real duel.

“An attack, was successful…… right? Anything can, be a weapon, right?”

Camilla, Wolf, Eltoram, and all the mercenaries were briefly speechless at the attack from the boy, who they thought had fainted.

“What's going on……?”

“Since he grazed her…… is it Camilla-sama's defeat……?”

The mercenaries, who were mumbling blankly, closed their mouths and looked away when Camilla glared at them fiercely.

“Are those really the eyes of a brat?”

Eltoram was also bewildered.

Those were the eyes of a warrior.

Eyes that hadn't lost their fighting spirit even in that situation…… Was he a vessel for a top-notch warrior?

“Kaisen, are you okay? Kid! Wake up!”

And Wolf hugged Kaisen, who had almost fainted and rolled his eyes, and urgently checked his condition.

“Kid! Kid! You two! Prepare a tent. You, bring me the medicinal herbs I tell you. Hurry!”

“Where is this…….”

The next day in the evening, as the fields covered in volcanic ash were dyed red by the twilight, Kaisen opened his eyes.

The savory smell of oatmeal seemed to stimulate his famished brain.

Wolf, who was sitting at his bedside, smiled brightly.

“Are you feeling a little better now? I'm so glad.”

As Kaisen tried to sit up from the bed, he groaned and collapsed again.

Pain was seething all over his body.

It felt like the fatigue that had accumulated for a month had exploded. Most of all, his forehead, the flick on his forehead, really hurt.

'Was that really just a flick? That? It felt like I was hit with a sledgehammer.'

Wolf carefully stirred the oatmeal in the pot with a spoon, put it in a bowl, and handed it to Kaisen.

“Let's replenish your nutrients first. That's how you get better quickly.”

“……I can eat by myself.”

“Don't push yourself, here. It's hard for you to even move your body right now.”

He tried to argue roughly, but he couldn't. Wolf's eyes were so calm and kind.

Just who was this person……?

He couldn't understand why someone would be so kind to him, who was practically a stranger.

“How does it taste? Is it too bland? If so, I'm sorry. It's been a while since I made oatmeal with medicinal herbs.”

After arguing for a long time, Kaisen quietly munched on the oatmeal that Wolf fed him.

It didn't taste good.

Frankly, there was no texture either. But why was it that a single tear was forming in his eyes without him even realizing it?

“Is it so delicious that tears are coming out? This is quite touching.”

“No. It's so terrible that tears are coming out.”

“I see. So the food I make is still trash. Hah, I knew it. I'm trash who can't do anything but magic……”

Wolf suddenly became depressed and turned around to gloomily write something in a notebook.

'What is this guy……?'

The reason Kaisen suddenly felt a lump in his throat wasn't because of the taste.

It was because it had been so long since he had tasted food that was so warm and sincere.

Just like his mother had done for him in the name of everyday life…….

“I'm sorry.”

It was around the time he finished eating the oatmeal that Wolf suddenly apologized.

“For making you eat this kind of food?”

“No, I'm talking about Camilla. Even though she seems cold, she was originally a very kind person.”

“That person?”

“It's true. She changed like that after the Captain died.”

Captain?

As Kaisen tilted his head, Wolf said in a dreamy tone.

“Most Feiquarias have a teacher. The Captain of our unit was Camilla's teacher. She was a really wonderful person……”

“……?”

“Since then, she hasn't given her heart to anyone. No, she doesn't even show any emotion. But why did she play around with you today? I really can't understand it either.”

“She must have really liked that Captain person.”

“Kaisen, we all liked that person. There was no one who disliked her.”

The smile Wolf gave was miserable.

It was a smile that was bitter, painful, and full of sadness. Wolf put his hand on Kaisen's head.

“I'll apologize on behalf of my incompetent friend, Kaisen. Please forgive her.”

“I don't need forgiveness or anything! Just teach me how to use a sword! Then I can forgive anything!”

“…….”

“I can learn now, right? You said that even grazing her was a victory!”

With a soft sigh, Wolf shook his head firmly.

“That's not right. Would Camilla really acknowledge that as a defeat?”

“Then I'll try again, I'll challenge her again.”

“Until when?”

“Until I succeed.”

A hatred bordering on obsession…….

It was like a sharp blade.

Even if he was told to abandon his desire for revenge, his hatred, and leave the front lines to live, he wouldn't listen.

“Even if I teach you, what happened today will just repeat itself. Kaisen, can you read?”

What Wolf held out wasn't a normal book, but a magic tome that only experts could understand the contents of.

Numbers……?

A sequence of numbers? What does it mean?

The numbers were written haphazardly with strange rules, but he couldn't understand what they meant.

“You can't read it, right? Your situation right now is the same as this.”

“……?!”

“You're trying to learn the core without even the slightest foundation. As you can see, Camilla isn't the kind of person who will teach you step by step from the basics.”

“Then what am I supposed to do?”

Kaisen, who had been frustrated for a moment, blurted out words in an impudent tone, but Wolf's kind smile didn't disappear.

“You might be able to learn if you do as I tell you. The reason I can't say for sure is that the method I'm about to tell you depends entirely on your talent.”

Talent……?

He was beaten up before he even knew if he had any. Did he even have any? Wolf tapped Kaisen's forehead with his thumb.

“Eltoram said you have the talent of a warrior. So rest well for now. I'll teach you step by step after you recover.”

“You're telling me to rest without doing anything?”

“Yes.”

“I don't need to rest. You can teach me right now! What's the point of hesitating? How great can the basics be!”

The tone of the boy shouting like that, the tears forming in his eyes, the trembling in his clenched fist, were even miserable.

“I couldn't do anything…… I couldn't do anything even when my mom died…… But now you're telling me not to do anything either…….”

“Kaisen…….”

“The Uruks, those bastards, are running wild like that! Tell 'nothing' to go eat shit! I have to kill them all! As soon as possible! All of them! Without exception!”

Rage-stained tears are inherently silent, and Wolf's sigh, as he watched the boy's seething tears for a long time, was deep.

Ah.

This world is so miserable.

The common story of a Warrior who eradicates evil and makes the world peaceful doesn't exist…….

Wolf, who let out a deep sigh, draped a pure white mage's cloak over his shoulders and smiled weakly.

“Then will you follow me? If you can follow me, that is.”

Kaisen stood up with a scream.

Wolf's pace, as he walked ahead, fluttering the hem of his cloak, was short and slow.

He was kind. He would walk ahead and then turn around and wait.

“What do you think is the basis of swordsmanship, Kaisen?”

And so, Kaisen followed Wolf up the slope of the hill.

Slowly, so kindly slowly.

The sky he glanced up at was still a night sky that hadn't been devoured by the summer's volcanic ash, and the wild grass embraced the moonlight shed by the four moons.

“I'm not proficient in swordsmanship, but I have a lot of curiosity about it. I asked the Captain once.”

“What did she say?”

“She said it was footwork. That it was the basis and core of all martial arts.”

It's like grammar and vocabulary in linguistics…… As Wolf muttered that, he stopped at the top of the hill.

“It's around here.”

As Wolf spread out his palm, a frosty magic circle was born and spun around.

Another one appeared and overlapped.

And then another one again.

It was the realm of 3-star magic that only high-ranking mages in the Empire's 7-star magic system could achieve, but there was no way that the country bumpkin Kaisen would recognize that and be impressed.

Clang!

The moment Wolf grabbed the three overlapping magic circles and broke them, Kaisen's eyes widened.

What, a hallucination……?

Suddenly, a shadow made of cold air appeared on the hilltop. It was in a posture as if it were holding a sword.

“This is a 3-star spell called 'Active Tracking: Replication'. It's a spell that only judicial officers can use, but I've imitated it based on the ice attribute.”

As Wolf gestured, the white shadow began to dance. A dance that was violent yet elegant.

“This is……?”

Kaisen was blankly bewildered.

It wasn't just because the sword dance was dazzling to the point of being mesmerizing. It was because he had seen the movements countless times. In the times called everyday life, through his mother.

In an instant, he barely suppressed the heart-wrenching pain. Wolf said in a gentle tone.

“This is a replication of Camilla's movements.”

Camilla's movements…….

Could it be that the Camilla's teacher he was talking about was really referring to his mother?

“She's surprisingly diligent, so she still does swordsmanship training at the time that the Captain set. That's why it's easy to find her with this spell.”

The moment Wolf snapped his fingers again, the shadow froze in place.

“All of Camilla's swordsmanship, which she's built up for nearly 20 years, is contained in this one sword dance. It's impossible to even succeed in an attack at a level where you can't even keep up with the footwork.”

“……!”

“As I said earlier, Camilla has a morbid attachment to the Captain, so she always keeps the teachings that she left behind when she was alive.”

And among those words was also the teaching [Become a wonderful woman who always keeps her promises]. Wolf added with a grin.

“I don't expect you to copy everything. But first, you have to be able to perfectly copy at least her feet. That's how you'll be able to land a blow on Camilla.”

This wasn't exactly Wolf's secret plan.

He had just seen Camilla start her training like this on that dazzling day in her childhood when she became Laminea's disciple.

“How about it, can you do it?”

At that time, Laminea had also asked Camilla this question.

At the time, Camilla, who was the illegitimate daughter of one of the Empire's Three Great Sword Families, the Belchester Family, replaced her answer by clumsily following her teacher's footwork.

Of course, Laminea's footwork was on a different level than the ordinary. But Camilla followed those movements based on her innate talent.

'But what is it?'

This child, he's doing the same thing right now.

Is that why the image of the young Camilla overlapped with Kaisen's back for a moment? Yearning and astonishment were mixed in Wolf's eyes.

'What on earth is this……?'

Even though his movements won't be free because of the injury…… He's following her at a reasonably similar level.

He couldn't help but be amazed.

He had also tried to follow her, but he couldn't keep up from the third part onwards.

'Overwhelming…… No, is this what violent talent is?'

He let out a hollow laugh.

Camilla, you said Kaisen has no talent?

'Far from it.'

It's just…… that he hasn't had the chance to learn until now.