Sword Devouring Swordmaster

Translator: AkazaTL

Pr/Ed: Sol IX

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Chapter 191. Radiance (4)

“I’m sorry.”

Frey, who appeared sweating, apologized to the Little Prince. She said she forgot the promise because she was absorbed in practice, forgetting the time, as she had to sing the Song of the Stars before long. The Little Prince looked at Frey, who was laughing awkwardly. The boy knew she was lying.

The Little Prince saw Frey laughing and chatting while drinking beer last night. She met a man with a lot of money at lunch, and met a man beautiful like a jewel in the evening. Late at night, three men knelt before Frey courting her, and even fought with each other. The Little Prince didn't know why Frey was lying to him, but instead of confronting her, he just smiled brightly.

“It’s okay.”

As the Little Prince smiled brightly, Frey seemed relieved. Frey sat next to the Little Prince and watched the sunset for a while. Even though Frey didn't ask, the Little Prince told her what he did while waiting for her. The Little Prince said he spent time watching people coming and going in Antoine’s day and night.

An old man with dementia who calls himself a king, a middle-aged man wandering the streets making unfunny jokes, a drunkard walking unsteadily on the street, a man who likes counting money…… Frey knew about all the people the Little Prince watched. Because Frey was a woman who had lived her whole life in Antoine. Frey knew them, and even knew their stories.

“You really waited here all along.”

So Frey realized that the Little Prince’s words that he waited for her here all along were true. Frey remained silent for a moment, then spoke.

“I lied, Little Prince.”

“I know.”

“Did you?”

“Yeah. Because I saw Frey walking around yesterday.”

“Well, it’s impossible not to be seen here. Since this city is small.”

“Why did you lie?”

To the innocent question, Frey answered.

“Because I thought the Little Prince wouldn't wait anyway. Even if you waited, I thought you would leave soon. Men are mostly like that. They can't endure even a little boredom, and they approach seeing only my beauty wanting to relieve this and that desire…… but they don't try to see what's truly important. I thought the Little Prince would be the same.”

“I see.”

“You aren't rebuking me.”

“Frey, what is important?”

The Little Prince looked at Frey.

“Beauty, desire. What is more important than such things?”

At the Little Prince’s question, Frey was at a loss for words for a moment.

At that moment, the Little Prince’s eyes shone truly clearly. In front of the untainted purity, Frey felt naked for some reason. Frey, who had stiffened, slowly opened her mouth soon after. The important thing is the heart. The heart that can look into a person’s inner self.

To that question, the Little Prince asked another question, biting the tail of the previous one.

“How do you see the heart?”

“The heart is…….”

Questions and answers biting tail after tail repeated. Like that, after questions and answers went back and forth about six or seven times, Frey became unable to answer the Little Prince’s questions anymore. Only then did Frey realize the fact that she didn't know what a human’s inner self is, how to look at the inner self, or how to look inside without being bound by appearance. Within less than ten exchanges, Frey fell into the thought, ‘Was there this much I didn't know?’

“It’s funny.”

“What is?”

“Saying men can't see what's important…… while I myself didn't know what is truly important or how to see it. In the end, I was throwing a tantrum asking others to find what I don't know.”

“Why did Frey do that?”

“I think I was being prideful. Since I am the most beautiful woman in Antoine and the Priest of the Star loved by everyone, I think I wanted to meet a special person. I feel like I saw such a sentence in a book someday. What is truly important is not appearance but the inner self. Inner beauty does not disappear. Even though I didn't even understand that sentence, I think I went around blabbering like that with the single belief that if it’s me, the most beautiful woman in Antoine, I should meet such a special person.”

Frey laughed. To the laughing Frey, the Little Prince spoke.

“Are you curious about what is important?”

“Does the Little Prince know?”

The Little Prince answered Frey’s question with another question.

“Frey, do you know what a sheep looks like?”

“I know.”

“I don't know. What kind of animal a sheep is, what it looks like. At first, I heard only the name sheep and couldn't even imagine it was an animal. The one who first told me about sheep was an old crone, and the crone said if I follow the sun to the south, a grassland appears, and there are sheep living there eating grass.”

“Why tell that story now…….”

“I was so curious about the animal called a sheep. So while waiting for Frey, I asked everyone passing by to draw a sheep, but people all drew the sheep differently. Someone drew a fluffy animal, someone drew an animal eating grass, and someone drew just a cute-looking face. I didn't know what a real sheep was.”

“…….”

“Even so, I can draw a sheep for Frey.”

“How?”

The Little Prince drew something straight on the sand.

A square wooden box.

“This is a box, isn't it?”

“Inside this box, there is a sheep.”

“What does that…….”

“Imagine. Inside the box is very spacious. Perhaps more spacious than this desert. Inside the box, green grass spreads out, and a sheep frolics there eating grass. Hmm, the sheep is asleep now!”

Frey couldn't understand what the Little Prince was saying. While she was standing puzzled for a moment, the Little Prince spoke.

“I cannot see it, but Frey just imagined a sheep. You imagined the inside of the box, and recalled a grassland and a sheep inside the box. Frey drew the correct thing in the part I didn't draw.”

“…….”

“Frey, no one will know whether what is truly important is appearance or the inner heart. No one will know about the method to see that either. Do you know why?”

The Little Prince smiled. Very brightly.

“Because the most important thing is invisible.”

That was like a child’s whisper.

“Frey, is the richest man in the world a special man? Is a man beautiful like a star a special man? Is a man who can make everyone laugh with a single word a special man? No one will know that. Because specialness is invisible.”

“…….”

“I don't know many things. But I know one thing. Specialness arises from responsibility and relationship. There is no person who is special from the beginning. Specialness arises within time and relationship. When I first saw Frey, Frey was not special to me. But from the moment Frey spoke to me, and I answered shyly, and I said Frey is special, Frey became special. When Frey promised to meet me, and I waited for Frey as day and night passed, Frey became even more special.”

Frey listened to the Little Prince’s words without speaking.

“Specialness is like that. There are very many things as beautiful as flowers in the world. But if you don't speak to them and tell them they are beautiful, they just remain as flowers. When I said Frey is special, Frey became special to me. And if Frey says I am a special person someday, I will also become special to Frey. Then…….”

“Then?”

“You become the only being in this world to me, and I also become the only being in the world to you, Frey. That is what true specialness is.”

Frey looked at the Little Prince again. She found it hard to understand the Little Prince. While showing an appearance as pure as a child, he spoke like a philosopher. The words the Little Prince spat out somewhere pierced Frey’s heart, so it was hard for Frey to answer the boy’s words.

“Shall we meet here again tomorrow?”

“Sure.”

“The time?”

“4 PM.”

Frey wanted to know more about the boy. Perhaps,

“Frey.”

From then on, to Frey, The Little Prince might have become a special existence.

“To be tamed by someone might mean that there will be reasons to shed tears.”

After that, Frey was never late for the appointment with the Little Prince. At the same time, Frey understood the Little Prince’s words that if she comes at 4 PM, he starts to be happy from 3 PM. Frey looked forward to the meeting with the Little Prince, expectation became happiness, and small happiness gradually swelled. The special time that began to swell dyed the whole day brightly. Of course, habits couldn't be fixed.

Frey still met many men, and felt fulfillment listening to the sweet words of those courting her. Yet she did not accept a single courtship. Of course, Frey had no intention of accepting the Little Prince’s courtship either. To Frey, the Little Prince was a peculiar boy but merely a boy, and although he had a beautiful appearance, he was shabby compared to other men, and didn't have much either. Frey changed a little, but she didn't realize what was truly important.

Meanwhile, The day Frey sang the Song of the Stars came.

“Ah, ah.”

All citizens of Antoine gathered in front of the observatory, and they were soaked in ecstasy amidst the songs sung by the Priests of the Star including Frey. Frey saw the Little Prince cheering with shining eyes at the very front. Frey was certain once again that the Little Prince would court her. This time he would court much more hotly and fervently.

“Frey.”

But that was a misunderstanding.

“I have to go back now.”

“Where do you mean you are going back to?”

“To the place I must return to.”

Moments are not eternal.

“The Song of the Stars Frey showed was more beautiful than the sunset. But watching the most beautiful thing, I regained a few lost memories. I have a place to return to, Frey.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I am a spirit, Frey.”

Looking at the Song of the Stars, the Little Prince recalled his past from within the pitch-black memories. The Song of the Stars Frey danced resembled the festival of spirits, and recalling the festival, the Little Prince realized the fact that he was not a human but a spirit who temporarily crash-landed in the Middle World. And a spirit must stay in the Spirit World, not the Middle World. The Little Prince smiled brightly.

“Everyone has a responsibility for what they have tamed. I have a responsibility to return to my friends.”

“Wasn't I your friend? You said I was special.”

“We are friends, Frey. But you don't think I am special. I have to go back to where I belong.”

Frey was at a loss for words for a moment in front of the Little Prince. As the Little Prince said, Frey didn't know preciousness. Frey felt a complex and subtle emotion that was hard to explain in her heart, but she thought revealing it would look like she was clinging. So she deliberately hid her heart. And trying hard to act cool, she waved her hand to the Little Prince. As if she wasn't regretful in the slightest.

Frey, who went out to the street the next day, couldn't see the Little Prince whom she could always see in front of the observatory. The Little Prince had disappeared without a trace. Thinking one of the numerous men had disappeared, Frey spent her daily life as usual. But only one hour of the day had disappeared, yet Frey became incomparably empty compared to before.

Frey repeated to herself.

The Little Prince ran away because he was tired. Because I didn't accept his courtship, he got tired and fell away like other men. A spirit, isn't that a ridiculous lie? How can a spirit wander the Middle World with an appearance like a human? He is just a common man. Right, common…….

“Uh.”

Then one day, Frey suddenly found herself shedding tears. Only then did Frey understand the Little Prince’s words. To be tamed by someone might mean that there will be reasons to shed tears.

When she realized, it was already too late. Frey, who spent the whole day dazed, started walking to the observatory at 4 PM from some point on. As if she had made a promise with someone.

.

.

.

“……What the.”

The leader found it hard to believe what was happening before his eyes right now.

‘Once, she killed Rabbit just once.’

The woman holding a sword slender like a needle took Rabbit’s life with a single thrust. That was an attack that should be expressed as a ray of light rather than a thrust. The thrust shot as if threading a needle, piercing a small hole in Rabbit’s nape, and that hole was more than enough to cut off a human’s breath.

‘Does this make sense?’

Furthermore, Eagle also lost his life.

The Orc Eagle faced fought in a completely different way from the woman. If the woman killed Rabbit with a concise and fast single attack, the Orc fought exhilaratingly and heavily.

“Orcs! Do not run away!”

A blade too big to be called a sword. The Orc holding a sword of grotesque size charged while taking all the attacks Eagle poured without dodging. The blade swung wildly while charging like that became faster and heavier as the attacks repeated. Enough to crush and destroy the sword raised to defend and the body simultaneously, although Eagle took a defensive stance. The Orc, who became a bloody mess, glared this way laughing.

“In the place you run away to, there is no paradise.”

The leader absolutely could not accept it.

The existences that appeared like a mirage must be a kind of summon. But what summon in the world possesses such powerful combat power as a single entity? A summon is essentially a tool to push with numbers or to draw out an advantageous battle by gaining the upper hand in compatibility with the opponent. Not pressing down with ‘pure martial power’ like this.

Even more, the one who summoned those summons was a swordsman. It makes no sense for a blade-wielder to summon other existences in the first place, but to think the summoned existences are this powerful? Furthermore, each of them had individuality. Extremely colorful individuality.

“……Many things have changed.”

While the leader could not accept it, there was a Ronin approaching him who had stopped abruptly. A Ronin wandering while wearing the wide clothes of the eastern land and a conical hat. An old and worn sword was gripped in his hand.

“I thought warriors of the plains only chased the strong.”

There was no sound in Ronin's steps. Like the wind.

“To think you would visit this peaceful land.”

The leader met Ronin's eyes. Dry eyes. The moment he met those eyes, the leader felt a cool wind brushing his cheek. Amidst the lingering wind, the leader soon noticed that this was a kind of Mystery. If he noticed, he should not stay in place. The leader took a step to retreat for a moment. And.

“I dislike you guys, warriors who are not great.”

The moment he took a step and retreated backward, the leader saw red blood soaring. Why is blood splashing, as he lowered his gaze, the leader soon saw his own two feet rolling on the ground, severed. Ronin didn't even swing his sword. Only the wind blew, yet the leader was cut before he even knew it.

“You guys trampled too many shining things.”

As if cut by the wind.

The leader, who flopped down with a blank face, saw the approaching Ronin.

Ronin's face was still chillingly dry, and a whirlwind was undulating around his body.

“You guys do not suit this peaceful land.”

“Wait…….”

“So I will blow you away.”

Ronin drew his sword once against the empty air. Along with that, a weak wind blew, and as he drew the sword down once again, the weak wind became a strong wind. Amidst the strong wind blowing, the Ronin swung his sword as if painting a picture against the empty air. Every time he swung the sword, the blowing wind soon became a single storm. While the storm made the leader’s body float gently into the air, for some reason, the leader felt an emotion other than anger and defeat.

“To a place that suits you.”

Awe.

“Help the guests of the East-!”

“Crusaders! Hurry!”

“Whatever help, first…….”

The scattered Crusaders began to gather to add help to this fierce fight. Amidst the ground rumbling from the steps of those clad in iron armor, the Ronin did what he had to do without a single trace of panic. The sword created wind, the gathered wind became a gale, and soon the fierce wind blew rapidly so that no one could catch it.

“Uh-”

The blowing wind soon became a whirlwind and blew away everything in the direction the Ronin was looking. Thick dust exploded, and the screams heard nearby receded in an instant. The receding screams disappeared after a while, and amidst the stopped wind, a cold silence settled on the battlefield. In the silenced battlefield, the Ronin spun his sword back into his waist. With a chak sound.

Looking at the scenery of the desert cleaned up in an instant, Mary spoke.

“……Let’s not determine the rank.”

Orc Great Warrior Beric also opened his mouth together.

“That would be good.”

It was a moment where the opinions of the two matched. In the midst of that, the Ronin spoke.

“Chatter after the work to be done is finished.”

At Ronin's words, Mary and Beric lifted the swords they were putting down again. His words were right.

“Our master has not finished digestion yet…….”

The work they had to do was not finished.

“……The enemies are still over there.”

In the cleanly swept desert, there were those raising their bodies from under the piled sand. Existences who luckily escaped the storm the Ronin raised, or existences who survived with skill, not ‘luck’.

“Do not let your guard down, until the end.”