The Sword Master’s Son-in-Law

– Remnants of the Past (2)

“No, really, I’m telling you, I’m strong!”

“I’m sorry, but… please leave.”

“But it’s true….”

Labeled a nuisance, I was ejected from the Mercenary Guild.

But it was truly unfair.

“I mean, how am I supposed to earn travel money if you give me the lowest rank?”

The Mercenary Guild operated on a ranking system.

And the assignments one could accept depended on that rank.

Newly minted as a mercenary, I was Iron, the lowest.

The only assignments an Iron could take were those for other Irons.

“How am I supposed to earn travel money with assignments that pay only five copper coins?”

In my past life, copper coins were like a few hundred won, enough for kindergarteners’ errands.

At least a silver assignment, one that paid in silver coins, was needed to earn passage.

So, I pressed my case at the reception desk.

And was promptly thrown out as a troublemaker.

‘At least they let me keep my mercenary ID.’

What to do now…?

“Hmm….”

A venerable gent carrying a renowned sword came into view.

‘This sword… perhaps I could pawn it?’

Even with a cursory glance, it was clearly a masterwork of a sword.

Enough to secure a substantial loan.

Once I reach the Earl’s estate, sell the mana stone, repay the loan, and retrieve it…

He shook his head almost immediately.

“Haa… I must have momentarily lost my senses.”

If I were caught doing such a thing, the old man might try to kill me.

And if the old man genuinely tried to kill me, I’d disappear without a trace.

“Haa… what to do….”

“You seem to be troubled by something?”

A voice, unfamiliar and abrupt, sliced through the air.

He turned toward the voice and saw a gaunt-looking man standing there.

Appearing every bit the merchant.

Eyes like slits, barely open.

“Ah, apologies. I haven’t introduced myself. I am Bedi. As you can see, I trade.”

“What brings you to me?”

The merchant, Bedi.

This was how he defined him:

‘A wolf in sheep’s clothing.’

From those narrow eyes to this sudden approach.

Suspicion in its purest form.

Besides, there was something else…

‘A bad aura?’

A primal aversion bloomed within him.

“You seemed to be wrestling with something, so I took the liberty of interrupting.”

Still, he decided to indulge him, just for a moment.

“Troubled… yes, I suppose I am. I’m in need of money, and quickly…”

“Money… you say?”

“Indeed.”

“Well, isn’t that fortunate? We just so happen to be in need of another hand…!”

A coincidence.

A rather amusing one at that.

A situation where each needed the other, as if by fate.

All the more reason to be suspicious.

“Oh ho, that’s an intriguing proposition. What sort of task requires this extra hand?”

“Escort. For a trading caravan. To be more precise… we intend to travel south.”

“The South… how fortuitous. I, too, have business that calls me south…”

“…And what business draws you to the South?”

Suddenly, he was being questioned.

The atmosphere shifted subtly.

He couldn’t immediately decipher the man’s ultimate goal, but he recognized the ploy.

‘So that’s his angle – figuring out why I’m headed south.’

Frankly, but withholding a touch of information, I stated my business.

“Got some things to sell.”

“Aha ha, you’re going all the way south to sell something. Must be quite the valuable items you possess.”

“…Indeed.”

“So, what do you say? Shall we travel together?”

I pondered for a moment.

And then the answer surfaced.

‘So that’s what this is about.’

I’d sussed out his true aim as well.

There was a reason he was being so friendly.

“Splendid! That works out perfectly.”

Truly… it did.

I knew their intentions.

Honestly, I’d just been handed a free ride to the outskirts of the south.

It was only logical to take advantage.

‘It’ll bring its own kind of headache, though.’

“So, what are these valuable items you possess?”

“…That’s a secret. It’s rather… rare, you see!”

I classified it as confidential.

Making it confidential would strike Bedi as a natural move for me.

‘And he already knows anyway.’

Bedi had certainly figured out that I possessed a Mana Stone.

And that I was going south to sell it.

Bedi spoke suddenly.

Casually mentioning the south, a veiled attempt to pry about the Stone’s existence.

There was only one answer.

‘Bedi was definitely involved with those b*stards ten years ago.’

It was only fitting.

If anyone harbored ill intent towards me, it would be them.

And thinking logically, it was an easy conclusion.

How had those five planned to sell such a valuable Mana Stone?

Surely they had a buyer, or perhaps a partner.

And Bedi must be that seller, or maybe the partner.

‘He just won’t quit, will he?’

A decade-old affair had come knocking now.

The Mana Stone was indeed precious.

But I couldn’t believe it was worth clinging to for ten years.

“So, when are you planning to depart?”

After a moment’s contemplation of Bedi’s query, I replied.

“Tomorrow morning would be amenable.”

At my response, Bedi narrowed his already slender eyes further, offering a smile.

“Excellent! Then, we shall meet before the fountain.”

*

Bedi, his narrowed eyes now wide.

He gathered his subordinates.

Among them was the gatekeeper, Lars.

“The man is confirmed. Well done, Lars.”

“…It is simply my duty.”

The gatekeeper, Lars.

Lars had once served the scarred man as an elder brother.

Thus, upon hearing the news of his brother’s demise, he sought out his brother’s killer.

For ten years he hunted, even after joining Bedi’s ranks.

Ten long years.

Finally, a clue to the killer appeared before Lars’ eyes.

Lars, in a deferential posture, asked Bedi,

“May I beseech a favor?”

“A favor? What is it?”

“I don’t even presume to end him with my own hands. Merely…”

Lars was weak.

Devoid of talent in martial pursuits.

That was why he couldn’t pursue revenge all the way.

Still, he had finally grasped a thread of the culprit.

“Certainly, a decade ago, that one was but a fledgling. Therefore, the one who killed my brother must be someone else.”

Lars’s enemy.

Lars was yet unaware.

That his nemesis was none other than Hans Messiah, the Sword Saint.

“You ask that I look into the true culprit as well…”

A transaction returned to naught a decade ago.

It had always grated on Bedi.

Still, he had forgotten about it.

But he could not help but rejoice at rediscovering the whereabouts of the Mana Stone.

“As you wish, so shall it be.”

In high spirits, Bedi readily granted Lars’s request.

*

Try as I might, the memory is hazy.

I recall there were five of them.

But…

“I can’t quite recall their faces, it seems.”

It was, after all, a matter from a decade past.

Regardless, Bedi was definitely involved with them.

“Guess I should call myself lucky?”

They said they were headed south.

As if to tempt me.

And I took the bait, hook, line, and sinker.

Thanks to that, I could travel south with a modicum of comfort.

Of course, they’d be up to something.

“Truth be told, I didn’t exactly have a choice.”

It was just a matter of whether they pulled their trickery in front of me, or behind my back.

Nothing really changed.

So, I chose to stick with them, let them scheme in plain sight.

Frankly, it was just easier that way.

“Especially since my mercenary rank is just Iron.”

They were probably letting their guard down because of my rank.

Complacency.

Which meant they’d be taking it easy.

‘Slowly, and leisurely. Say… traveling far enough away that their crime wouldn’t be discovered, then killing me?’

Until that time came, I could just enjoy the ride.

Well, if I just played the fool adequately, they’d fall for it without a second thought.

Just one problem, or rather… one worry if you will…

‘I might end up committing my first murder.’

I wasn’t about to let an enemy who tried to kill me live.

What kind of pushover would I be to let them go?

That was the issue.

I had never killed anyone before.

That old man had taken care of those five who attacked me.

First kill.

“I need to brace myself.”

This is a fantasy world.

Sooner or later, my hands would be stained with blood.

It was just a matter of whether it was now, or later.

I had already prepared myself ten years ago, when those five died before my eyes.

Prepared myself to stain my own hands with blood, that is.

“…At least, I hope my first kill isn’t a massacre.”

I could only fervently hope that Bedi brought a small group.

*

What would be the absolute worst first impression?

Slapping someone across the face the moment you meet?

Witnessing someone defecate in the street?

Or… an inexplicable, bottomless aversion?

Well, everything *did* seem plausible.

But I don’t think anything I just said holds up to this very moment.

I checked my condition.

Clothes stained with blood.

My face, too, probably covered in it.

“It… it’s a misunderstanding.”

Corpses scattered all around.

I killed them, yes, but there were reasons for it.

“Please, just hear me out.”

Anyone who saw me now would think I was a mass-murdering criminal.

And that criminal was surrounded by knights, led by a woman.

If I had to explain the situation, I could.

There wasn’t a thing to be concerned about.

Except –

“That sword… Where did you get it?”

Now there’s a problem.

Because emblazoned on their banner is the crest of the Messiah Family.

The beautiful woman leading the knights?

She was the granddaughter of the Sword Saint, my betrothed-to-be.

‘This is the worst.’

A sigh escaped me unbidden.

I wore an expression of wronged innocence, looking at the Sword Saint’s granddaughter.

She didn’t seem particularly impressed.

No, judging by that slight twitch in her eyebrow, she was definitely angry.

‘Even if I clear up the misunderstanding, this first impression will be the absolute worst.’

And so, my first meeting with the Sword Saint’s granddaughter was forged in the most disastrous way imaginable.