Chapter 138 : Return (4)
Return (4)
I swung the wooden sword hard, watching Liam, who had the exact same face as brother big-jaw.
I couldn't tell if this was my own will or Ralph's memories.
I was simply afraid of being struck with the switch.
Whoosh. Whoosh!
Pouring all my strength into swinging the wooden sword, I looked at Liam.
By the way, the power of genetics was really amazing.
The term "fish-shaped bun" wasn't enough to describe it.
'Hmm. How did he meet a woman with that face and have Ralph?'
As I entertained such idle thoughts for a moment—damn it.
Without delay, I felt my father's sharp glare.
He'd caught on to my distraction like a ghost.
'There are other disciples, so why does he only pay attention to me!'
Including myself, there were only four trainees.
We were all about the same age.
As soon as I started being curious about the other students,
'Did I... remember?'
As if I'd always known, their names popped into my head.
They were my—no, Ralph's—childhood friends Ente, perl, and Yuli.
"!!"
Naturally, I remembered their faces, too.
I couldn't look at them, since glancing away from my sword would get me scolded,
but I was sure their expressions weren't good.
'They're probably doing this even more reluctantly than I am.'
The name of the village where Ralph was born was Diota.
It was such a tiny rural village that it barely deserved the name.
With fewer than ten households, that said it all.
So, unlike Granfen, this village was completely self-sufficient.
Not just food, but all outside threats were handled by themselves.
'There are quite a few demonic beasts and wild animals near the village.'
This forced everyone in the village to take swordsmanship lessons,
and the person in charge was the self-defense captain, liam Ralph, my father.
In exchange, the villagers gave my father food.
"Thank you for your hard work!"
By the end of the session, as my peers finished their lesson and left, the sun set.
At this time, adults who had finished farming would come by with food.
"Thank you again for today."
I'd accept the food, then crouch in a corner of the training hall and sit.
My father kept training or held meetings with them without a break.
Watching him, I'd savor the smell of freshly baked whole wheat bread.
That time was so sweet for me.
'Because it's the only time of day when I can escape from my father.'
I—I mean, Nagel Ralph—didn't like swordsmanship.
Unlike my father, I had no talent for the sword.
I was even slower to learn than my peers.
Not just a little behind—significantly.
I'd never once beaten Ente, the village chief's son.
Even though Ente was two years younger than me.
'If I'm like this, wouldn't it be better to farm and bake bread instead?'
Unknowingly, I found myself thinking the same way young Ralph had,
and my curiosity grew.
How did Ralph, who once felt this way, become obsessed with the sword?
There must have been a trigger.
And that event happened a week later.
"!!"
Time passed in a blur, like someone hit the fast-forward button.
Unlike when I watched Harper's key memories, I was worried how long I'd be stuck living as Ralph,
but the way it skipped by made me feel a bit relieved—though only for a moment.
"Father? Something... feels strange."
It was the time for extra lessons before the other trainees arrived.
A hot yet cold sensation spread out from my lower belly.
Startled by the unsettling feeling, I looked at my father with wide eyes.
And it was the same for Liam Ralph.
My father looked as if he couldn't believe it,
dropping the wooden sword he held and approaching with trembling hands.
"A-ah, son."
He began touching me here and there, then said,
"Try swinging the wooden sword with all your strength one more time."
I nodded and immediately swung the wooden sword.
Whoosh!
Compared to a week ago, my strike was unbelievably faster,
and my father, seemingly moved, asked in a trembling voice,
"Do you know what you just mastered?"
That's right.
I—Ralph—had awakened mana.
Nine out of ten people in this world never awaken mana.
To have done so alone, at age ten, without instruction, was called a miracle.
"Nagel, you're a genius! Not just a normal genius!"
Swoosh!
My father hugged me tightly as he spoke.
"As expected of my son! Amazing!"
Stunned, I could hardly believe my ears.
My father, who always scolded me, was now calling me a genius.
He let go and gripped my shoulders, looking into my eyes.
"With you... you might even achieve my dream of becoming a knight!"
At the time, those words didn't really hit me.
But that afternoon,
for the first time in my life, I knocked down Ente, the village chief's son, in a sparring match, and I realized:
'Becoming stronger is the most thrilling thing in the world.'
The news about me spread immediately that evening.
It was such a small village, and with the adults gathering every night at our house, the sword training hall, it was inevitable.
Either way, my father, barely keeping a straight face, shared the news,
and the adults all congratulated me, every single one of them.
"As expected, Nagel, the son of Ralph."
"He's the next self-defense captain of our village!"
I felt happy but also bitter.
Until just yesterday, they had seen me as a dead weight.
They knew that, despite being Ralph's son, I had no swordsmanship talent
and must've worried I'd be of no use.
But now—
'Not anymore. I'm a genius!'
While I was at it, I wanted to become even stronger than my father.
Then I'd be treated with even more respect than he received from the adults.
Because I had that kind of talent.
No—wait.
Not the self-defense captain of some tiny rural village.
'Wouldn't it be better to become a knight?'
How far could I become stronger?
That thought wouldn't let me sleep.
Thump, thump.
My heart pounded hard with excitement.
I couldn't stay still.
'Since I can't sleep anyway, might as well get some training in.'
I carefully slipped out of bed so as not to wake my snoring father.
I quietly grabbed my wooden sword
and gently pulled on the doorknob.
Being careful not to make a sound made me even more nervous,
but suddenly I remembered my father's words.
-'Night is when beasts and demonic beasts roam. Always be careful.'
My heart beat wildly with the mounting tension.
But it wasn't fear—I felt it as a yearning for strength.
I moved again.
In the end, I successfully slipped out of the house quietly.
Letting out a sigh of relief, I looked up at the night sky.
"Wow."
A gasp escaped me.
Two out of the three moons were nearly full, and they were beautiful.
Maybe that's why
it wasn't really that dark.
I thought I could train without trouble.
'... Still, I can't get caught by my father, so I'll just practice a little.'
With that resolve, I set up in a clearing a bit away from the house.
Breathing in the chilly air, I swung my wooden sword.
Whoosh!
Energy surged through my restlessly twitching body.
Before I knew it, I was smiling.
I couldn't wait to see how much more my father and the adults would be surprised if I improved even more.
Imagining it made my heart swell.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
How long did I keep swinging?
Suddenly, my sweat-soaked body felt as heavy as ice.
"Huh?"
I felt dizzy.
My knees buckled, and my head hit the ground first.
I was collapsing.
Plop.
I couldn't even move a finger.
The first day I'd ever practiced swordsmanship alone, with no one watching,
I fell, alone, in an empty clearing where no one could see me.
'If I just sleep out here like this, I'm in trouble.'
If morning came like this, father would scold me to death.
As my eyes closed, worrying about that trivial thing,
"Grrrr."
I barely clung to consciousness at the sound of something inhuman.
I struggled to turn my head toward the source.
There,
a white-maned wolf with blazing red eyes glared at me.
"Gruk, kruruk."
I recognized instantly this wasn't just a normal beast.
It approached, excessively cautious, moving slowly.
It was definitely a demonic beast I'd only heard of in rumors.
And it wasn't alone.
'Five of them...?'
A chill ran down my legs.
The wolves approaching didn't seem like living creatures—they felt like death itself.
"Uuhhh."
A strange sound escaped my lips.
I had to get up and run, but all I could manage was barely keeping my eyes open.
My body wouldn't move at all.
'Am I going to die like this?'
It hadn't even been a full day since awakening mana.
How long had I been the pride of my father, become a genius, and now...
Drip. Drip.
Sticky drool dripped from the wolves' mouths.
They seemed to be scanning their surroundings, wary that it might be a trap,
but it looked like they could barely hold back their instinct.
And then—
"Kyeng!"
The lead wolf charged at me.
The rest followed behind.
'I'm going to die. I'm going to die. I'm going to die. I'm going to die.'
Overwhelmed by terror and despair, I squeezed my eyes shut.
In the pitch-black darkness, a man floated into view.
'Father.'
The man who'd scolded me every day,
the man I'd always been so resentful of, who felt like a huge wall—
"■■ ■■!!"
Was still scolding me.
'I'm sorry, father.'
Just when I was finally able to play the role of your son,
your foolish son is leaving like this.
I'm sorry.
I'm so sorry, father.
At that moment—
SPLAT!
"!!"
Along with the sound of meat being roughly sliced,
I felt something hot pour over my body.
"......"
Trembling, I opened my eyes.
The world was red.
I must have been covered in the blood of the demonic beast wolf.
Still, I was okay.
"Get ahold of yourself, Nagel!!"
A familiar man's back appeared in front of my eyes.
'Father!'
But contrary to my father's wish, I couldn't move,
I couldn't even speak properly.
"Uuh..."
For a moment, the wolf demonic beasts seemed to hesitate at my father's appearance.
But only for a moment.
Having lost their leader, the rest snarled and surged at my father with wild eyes.
"Kyeng kyeng!"
"Krrr!!"
My father hurriedly lifted me onto his shoulder.
At the same time, he began to face four wolf demonic beasts.
Slash! Skut!
My father's sword wasn't used to kill the demonic beasts.
He seemed desperate just to protect me.
Or maybe I just felt that way.
If I hadn't been there,
'If it had been just my father, he could have easily disposed of these demonic beasts!'
But that was only my wishful thinking.
I would later learn that my father was a 2nd-rank at this time.
Normally, even a 2nd-rank would have to risk their life to face such a pack.
But Liam Ralph was no ordinary 2nd-rank.
He was a 2nd-rank—
and the father of a boy.
"Huff. Huff. Huff."
The wolf demonic beasts' corpses lay sprawled across the ground.
The clearing was smeared with blood.
Of course, it wasn't only the beasts' blood here.
Thud.
My father, body slashed in many places by wolf claws, fell to his knees.
He slowly set me down on the ground,
and once I recovered under his protection, I somehow managed to stand.
"F-Father..."
The man who had saved his son and killed five wolf demonic beasts was right before me.
But my gaze turned not to my father, but toward the house in the village with its lights on.
'No one came to help!'
Even if this was a clearing a bit away from the sword training hall, it was still within the village.
They must have heard the sounds of the demonic beasts howling,
hence the lights.
But—
"Nagel."
"!!"
At my father's voice, who'd just barely caught his breath, I turned my eyes back.
His voice was unlike usual.
His life was fading.
"Ahhh."
I reached out a hand, trying to touch my father's face.
But he grabbed my hand instead.
"Don't hate them."
It was as if my father saw right through me.
"No one but me could have faced them anyway."
"But, but..."
I couldn't speak anymore.
Tears fell in torrents.
"What did I tell you? What does the name Ralph mean?"
I barely managed to reply.
"It means 'the one who protects,' you said."
Through my tear-blurred vision,
my father's face, lit by the moonlight, looked hazy.
He was smiling.
"My dream was to be a knight, Nagel."
I knew by instinct.
My father was giving his last words.
"Live your dream. With your talent, you can do it."
"Waaah!"
As a child—I really wailed like a child,
but through my sobs, my father's words stabbed into my ears.
"My pride, my son. Nagel."
"I love you."
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Damn, sad backstories usually happen before death, not after death...
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】