Reincarnation of the Sword Master - Chapter 37

Chapter 37 – Captain of the Imperial Guard (2)

Translated by : Betterdays

* * *

The monster, as big as the mountain, shook its body. It was so far away that only the outline could be seen, but the aftermath was still left in its wake.

The sky split and the ground cracked apart. As if mocking God, both the heavens and the earth had been shifting due to the sheer size and power of the monster.

[AWOOOOAR!]

Shockwaves reverberated throughout the air from just its howl. At the same time, an explosion covered the monster. A roar of pain sounded out and the monster fell down.

“Is the subjugation for the Black Forest over now?”

The old man muttered. As he grew older, his hair became gray and his wrinkles remained deep, but only the muscles carved into his body were something that looked out of proportion to his age. Someone flew in from the direction of the monster’s fall.

“Phew. It was hard.”

“Van Ester.”

“Oh, hi. Long time no see, huh?”

The middle-aged man with black hair and black eyes smiled broadly at him. They were about the same age as each other, but they looked like a child and his father in comparison. The old man spoke heartily.

“It’s been ten years since I retired. Did You really need to call this old man? Your heroes can take care of it.”

“Haha, you know. We’re not good at cleaning up this kind of mess still. It’s always been up to you.”

“There will be a replacement won’t there?”

“He’s so unreliable. You’ve been with us the most, haven’t you? It wasn’t even a big deal for you to take down something like this, was it?”

“What are you doing here?”

A roaring voice rang. A woman with blue hair walked with a stark face, brushing the blood off her knife. Can Ester grinned at the sight of her and waved.

“Lepenia! Look here, your old friend is here. Take a look at this.”

“Huh, you? Old friend? You’re just a servant who cleans up the mess.”

“…I was so wrong to ask you for a friendly response.”

Lepenia spoke in a cold voice, but the other man next to VanEster couldn’t respond. He was just looking at the black forest, where everything was in complete ruin.

“The fall of the Black Forest.”

The most powerful forest on the continent. The safe haven that was protected by both nature and the elves.

The forest, which had been around the world for thousands of years and protected the Elves, was now all burning away.

There was only one reason.

Van Ester just shrugged

.

“You can’t help it if it can’t be helped. An Elder From the Council of Elves suddenly flapped his gums and summoned something like that. The continent itself was already on the verge of collapse.”

An Elder Elf in the Black Forest wanted the destruction of all humanity. Was it because his child was kidnapped as a slave or was it the abuse of his childhood as a slave? The humans didn’t know why, but the Elves hated humans and implemented the summoning.

He tampered with the seal on the forest’ protection and used the life of the forest as a medium to summon the creature beyond the darkness.

It was a monster of molten rock and eyes that shone with an eerie light and made people lose their will to fight just by looking at it.

The monster that engulfed the continent’s strongest forest in flames within only 2 days, was truly strong. Some even clamored about the destruction of the world and the apocalypse was coming.

But the monster was knocked down in less than a week by those that were surrounded around the old man next to Van Ester. Lepenia rubbed her shoulder.

“It’s stiff. It’s the first time I’ve had to work this hard since the devil.”

“It was strong. I can’t imagine that the power of a single individual could be stronger than that devil.”

“It was the quantity and intelligence of the humans that the devil was troubled with. To be honest, I still feel uncomfortable. The last word that it uttered before going back into the abyss. What the hell did that mean?”

“It must have been a loser’s last words.”

“Still… it’s an incredibly weird thing to say.”

Leaving behind the two chattering, the old man moved on and got ready to leave. Van Ester was surprised by the act of the older man going back so early and asked.

“Already going?”

“The monster is dead, and the forest burned to death. I think I’m done with my work. I’m sure you’ll be able to finish up the rest.”

“But why don’t you stay for a while? We’re having a celebration in a few hours. There must be a lot of faces you’ll remember. Why don’t you come?”

“…it’s been ten years, hasn’t it? It doesn’t matter if you just stop by for a bit don’t you think?”

Lepenia also rarely tried to talk to the old man and actually asked for him to reconsider leaving with a nervous face. But the old man shook his head.

“There you go with that stuff again. What would a common man like myself need to be among the heroes? Have fun by yourselves.”

“There are a lot of people waiting for you.”

“I’m a coward.”

Van Ester did not hold onto it any longer. It was because he knew that once the old man made up his mind, he would never break it. Lepenia bit her lip.

“What a terrible lie.”

“So, the next time we meet, it’ll be after we die. See you in the afterlife.”

The old man walked as he left the coarse and rough words. Every time his foot moved, it rustled and ashes were crushed. Before he knew it, he had grown apart from his friends. There was a bad smell of burnt flesh and bark everywhere. The once brilliant forest now was no more than remains of the deceased elves, humans, monsters and wildlife.

Nothing could be recognized or salvaged. It was brutal and deeply disheartening to look at.

‘You’re going to have a hard time from here on out…’

Thinking of his successor, the old man took a step forward.

Cough- Cough-

At that moment, He heard a cough. The burned ground shook, and soon someone rose up from the burnt pile of ashes and remains.

It was a small elven girl. The girl looked around in a hurry. He shut his mouth for a moment in the sight of the poor girl rising from the countless ashes, and suddenly he felt a pull in his heart. The girl’s pupils shook and tears rolled down her cheeks.

“Ah.. ah….”

The old man approached the girl who was slowly bursting into tears. The white and pure skin that the elves had and was envied by many, was covered with ash and had turned gray.

“…hello there.”

Judging from her outfit, it was likely that she was a child from one of the Elders. Did the eldernit even take measures to save his own daughter? It went against many traditions and moral beliefs that the elves had.

It was highly likely that the kid in front of him was the only survivor.

The only survivor of the massacre in the Black Forest.

If her existence was known to the world, she would never survive. All the resentment and hatred would undoubtedly be directed at this little child. There was no way that such a small child could bear such a thing.

“Oh, boy.”

“…….”

The girl slowly backed away from him. However, fireflies and spirits seemed to be revolving around the man in her eyes. He was a human, and it could have just been the light’s reflection. But, the man spoke up once more.

“Will you follow me?”

“…….”

“It’s up to you to choose. You’re free to act even if you follow me. Whatever you choose, I won’t stop you.”

The girl looked down without answering. The old man didn’t rush, he just waited. Dozens of minutes later, the girl reached out and grabbed the hem of the old man’s clothes.

“Your name is?”

“…Ariana.”

The girl muttered with a blank face.

“Ariana Barsilis.”

***

The carriage came and arrived at the Halvark estate. The residents looked on with curious gazes at the guards guarding the carriage.

“Wow….”

“It’s an imperial guard….woahhh…”

The Imperial Guard was a revered position within the Empire. There were many benefits to becoming one including reduced taxes and free meals. Above all, their treatment and people’s perception of them was incredibly respected.

There was no reason to not want the position. Thanks to this, the competition rate was quite high, but it was worth it if one was able to become one.

The carriage approached the castle and passed the people. The gate opened, and in front of it was Lord Havlark, his three other family members, and his six vassals. The carriage door opened.

“Oh!”

Someone burst into exclamation without realizing it. Out of the wagon, stepped out an elf, not a human. Coming face to face with the Imperial Guard Captain, Lord Halvark swallowed his saliva.

“Woah…elves really are beautiful…”

The citizens thought elves were like sculptures of God. It was a beauty that ran in a completely different league. It was perfectly symmetrical in its facial features and was perfectly accentuated in all the right places, unlike humans. The fair and white skin reflected in the sun beautifully.

“I have come to see the Lord of the Estate on behalf of Van Ester and the Empire. High Count Van Ester could not make it because he’s taking care of some urgent things right now.”

The silver hair shook gently as the elf bowed slightly. Her purple eyes turned to him, and Lord Halvark hurriedly came to his senses. He nodded.

“Nice to meet you. I am the Lord of the Halvark Territory, Revereaux Halvark.”

(T/N : first time we get his first name in the story.)

“I am Ariana Barsilis, Captain of the Imperial Guard.”

***

“Tsk-“

Revereaux clicked his tongue. He walked into the conference room with his family members, vassals and Ariana, but there was no sign of a conversation starting. Revereaux eventually waved his hand.

“Get out.”

“Lord…”

“But….”

“Then what are you going to do? Are you going to keep our guest uncomfortable?”

Revereaux growled as he spoke, and the vassals looked away. The vassals, possessed by the beauty of the Elf, were staring at Ariana rudely, mesmerized. Revereaux knocked on the desk grabbing their attention.

“Get out. There will be punishment later.”

“…oh… alright…”

The vassals lifted themselves up. On the way out, a sigh eventually came out from Lord Halvark’s mouth. As the door was finally closed, Araina was looking at the entire exchange with no expression.

“That was a terrible thing to do. I am truly sorry for this rudeness.”

“It’s nothing.”

Ariana spoke indifferently.

“It’s just familiar to me anyways.”

“…sorry.”

Revereaux groaned,not knowing what to do. No matter how much authority he had as a noble, he had different authority than the Emissary of the Empire and Captain of the Imperial Guard. He was, at best, the owner of a rural country-side estate.

If it were known how rudely his vassals had acted, it could have thrown the Empire into even more political chaos. That’s why it was somewhat relieving that the foolish vassals had been excused.

“Where are you holding the variant Goblin?”

“It’s inside the prison of the estate. It’s currently only being used for the variant and without any other prisoners.”

“…did you have any problems with it?”

Ariana’s brow wriggled slightly as she asked the question.

“Based on the information you’ve given me, I don’t think that prison alone can stop it.”

“That’s what I thought as well, so I increased my vigilance… It was surprisingly well-behaved. Maybe it’s an attempt to provoke a sense of complacency for it to escape later.”

No, it was because the Goblin was defeated by Asher’s hands. The Goblin was a warrior true to its values and words as it respected Asher’s orders and rights as the winner of their duel.

But it was something Ariana, the Captain of the Imperial Guard, couldn’t have possibly understood or believed so it was not revealed.

“He definitely has high chances of escape.”

“…Let’s talk about how it went down.”

Lord Halvark explained everything that had happened in detail to Ariana. She hasn’t seen or heard about what happened other than the reports sent to the Empire. She didn’t even know how they had defeated the variant Goblin. The story slowly was explained and came to an end. Ariana, who was listening until the end, quietly opened her mouth.

“That’s accurate to what I already know.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, there were some things we didn’t know. It was left in the literature from the past, but I thought it would be inaccurate to trust. And… it seems it was.”

No matter how well recorded the records of the monsters were, there was always something different for those who had not seen it first-hand. So Lord Halvark had to explain in exact detail to Ariana the process of their preparations before the fight and their actions to secure victory.

“….Amazing. I didn’t expect you to use that.”

“Hmm.”

There was a slight smile on Lord Halvark’s face. There was no harm in hearing praise for their victory, but he decided to correct her misunderstanding of who truly contributed the most to their victory.

“… it’s not quite what you think. The person who raided the goblins preemptively, developed the strategy for the battle and defeated the variant one-on-one was not me. It was the disciple of Van Ester.”

Lord Halvark’s words instantly changed Ariana’s facial expression. But it was just for a very brief moment, and Lord Halvark didn’t notice it.

“The kid.”

Ariana spoke. She hesitated for a moment and then continued with a rather.. determined expression.

“…can I see him?”

“Well, there’s nothing you can’t do here. You have my permission for anything you might need during your stay here. He should be training right now.”

He did wonder what Ariana was thinking, but Lord Halvark didn’t pry further into her thoughts. Rather, he thought it was a good opportunity. If he was able to establish a solid connection with the Captain of the Imperial Guard, it would be quite beneficial for him, too. He got up from his seat and spoke to Ariana.

“Why don’t we go ahead and see him now?”

***

“This is the kid I told you about. Asher, say hello.”

“…May I hear about the situation first?”

Asher rubbed his temples in slight annoyance at the appearance of Lord Halvark, who suddenly appeared with an elf.

“Oh, come to think of it, you don’t know what happened. I thought Reika would’ve told you what was happening.”

“I did hear it. I just didn’t expect you to bring the Captain here so suddenly.”

On the way to the training area, Lord Halvark introduced Ariana to him suddenly.. Ariana looked down at Asher with an expressionless face. Asher reached out his hand and bowed slightly.

“Nice to meet you Ariana Barsilis, Captain of the Imperial Guard. My name is Asher.”

It felt strange for him to show some respect to his adopted daughter in the body of an 18 year-old. Asher’s gaze was on Ariana the entire exchange.

Twenty years of time had passed.

She looked very different from his memory. Her cheeks, which still had some baby fat on them back then, were completely gone, and she grew up to be a mature woman now.

She was obviously a breath-taking and beautiful figure, but rather than fascinated by her appearance, he just felt awkward.

Elves had always matured their bodies slower than humans, but in a short twenty years, she had completely grown up into a young, mature and beautiful woman.

‘Sure I guess she could grow up that fast.’

How should he deal with this situation though? It was surely his adopted daughter. Looking at her, Asher thought it would be hard to show a normal reaction for her that she normally received. He just felt uncomfortable already, and there was no way he could show her a typical reaction that she normally received from young boys his age, since he was her father!

Any other boy his age would be blabbering with questions at her, blatantly trying to hit on her. But Asher just remained deathly silent and emotionless.

Ariana opened her mouth while thinking about how this boy was completely different in all as word that she had expected.

Chapter 37 – Fin