Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The Swordsmanship Genius Who Transcends Through a Pact Chapter 12

And so, while fighting off boredom and making sure not to neglect my training along the way, we headed toward the Grand Duchy of Vahen, where the Subjugation Festival would be held.

“As expected, your mana control has become much more precise than before.”

“I'd better be at least this good.”

“On top of that, I can feel cold coming from your mana. This is the first time I've ever seen something like this...”

Watching Tarian sink into serious thought was at least one source of entertainment.

‘Good thing my Trait is useful.’

Thinking back to when I first started swinging a sword still made me shudder.

By comparison, my body had improved by leaps and bounds since then.

I spent a moment eagerly wondering what kinds of skills I'd obtain in the future.

Then the carriage slowly began to decelerate.

“Looks like we're nearly there.”

“Have you been here before?”

“Yes. I came here briefly as an instructor.”

“Right.”

My brother had said Tarian was a famous swordsmanship instructor.

Though when I thought about it, I still wondered exactly what kind of fame he meant.

‘Was he kicked out of here or something?’

Harboring that perfectly reasonable suspicion, I stepped down from the carriage.

Belburg.

The capital of the Grand Duchy of Vahen, and the largest city in the North.

It looked remarkably similar to how I'd seen it in the game.

The difference was that, unlike the gloomy atmosphere from the game, it was bustling with life.

‘There's no comparison.’

Both the atmosphere and sheer scale were entirely different.

Our territory wasn't exactly tiny either, but seeing this with my own eyes made the gap painfully obvious.

“Next is Young Master Ian Rashid.”

“I came to participate in the Subjugation Festival.”

“Thank you for gracing the Subjugation Festival with your presence.”

The guard captain bowed and immediately waved me through.

“Hoo.”

“Are you nervous?”

“More excited than anything.”

“As expected.”

I chuckled at Tarian as he nodded knowingly.

-Little warrior, I shall grant you your next trial.

-Become the brightest star upon this stage.

-Do so, and all the power I have hidden away shall become yours.

The voice suddenly brushed past my ears, and I looked down at Frostfang hanging from my waist.

Frostfang remained completely silent, as though it had never spoken.

Seeing that only deepened my smile.

‘I was planning to do exactly that.’

It was the goal I'd wanted in the first place.

We crossed Belburg and headed for the grand ducal estate, where the banquet would be held.

“Oh, that's huge.”

“Young Master... No, never mind. Let's go inside.”

When I genuinely marveled at it, Tarian subtly looked away.

“What? Do I look like some country bumpkin?”

“That's not what I meant...”

I laughed at his flustered response and stepped inside, where countless nobles had already gathered.

Among them, I could see my brother, who had arrived earlier than me.

I considered waving when I spotted him, but he looked busy speaking with other nobles.

‘Makes sense. He said handling the monster materials would be work of its own this time.’

Of course he'd be busy.

Our eyes briefly met, and I gave him a small nod before scanning the crowd for familiar faces.

Perhaps because it was still somewhat early, there weren't that many people yet.

‘Anyway.’

It was all well and good that I'd chosen my objective and come inside, but there was a problem.

First of all, House Rashid was even weaker than I'd expected.

“The second son of Rashid? I've never heard that name before...”

“Come now, surely you've heard. The one who supposedly lived as a shut-in.”

“Why would someone like that come to the Subjugation Festival?”

“Apparently he's participating, though I doubt we'll see any impressive results.”

“Wouldn't you agree? They say his aptitude is inferior to Baron Rashid's as well.”

The fact that I could hear nobles openly talking that loudly was proof enough.

They might enjoy gossip, but if they'd considered us of equal standing, they wouldn't have spoken so boldly.

“Yawn.”

“Doesn't it bother you?”

“Not really.”

I couldn't care less what people like that said.

I'd come to the Subjugation Festival for the rewards anyway.

And quite a few of the people here might not even be alive five years from now.

‘Corpses sure are noisy.’

That was about all I could think.

“Anyway, what's with the mask?”

“Nothing is better for avoiding troublesome situations.”

Compared to them, I was more interested in the fact that Tarian had suddenly put on a mask.

He always wore one like this in the game, but seeing it in person felt surprisingly strange.

“What troublesome situations?”

“I am somewhat famous, after all.”

“Well, obviously.”

A teacher who beat his students under the excuse of sparring from the very first lesson.

Though even aside from that, his skill alone was enough to make him famous.

‘Thinking about it that way, I can't tell whether I got lucky or unlucky.’

At least he hadn't rejected my proposal to become a retainer.

Honestly, I hoped he'd accept soon.

‘I want it.’

Tarian's swordsmanship.

The sharp sword paths he occasionally showed were something Northern Swordsmanship couldn't even imitate.

“Hah. I'm getting restless again.”

“Already?”

“You can never train too much.”

Besides, I hadn't been able to complete any Pacts along the way because I couldn't bring many weapons with me.

With that thought, I slowly moved farther into the banquet hall.

A massive social gathering held to pray for the success of the Subjugation Festival.

Since the Grand Duchy of Vahen itself hosted it, the scale was enormous.

‘I can't even see Brother anymore.’

There were so many people it felt as though every noble in the North had gathered here.

I leisurely wandered around among them and picked up food.

“Oh, this is good.”

“...Young Master.”

“Damn. The grand ducal family really is different.”

House Rashid's banquets had certainly been good, but this was better.

There were rows of dishes that would've been difficult to find even in my old world.

“Nice.”

“It seems I'll have to tell our cook how fond you were of the grand ducal family's cuisine.”

“Don't do that... Our cook would genuinely be hurt.”

I looked at Tarian, who was grinning beneath his mask, then shifted my gaze around the hall.

‘Looks like it hasn't properly begun yet.’

The members of the grand ducal family didn't seem to have taken their places yet.

I continued looking around leisurely while helping myself to more food.

It wasn't that I had no intention of speaking with other nobles.

There simply wasn't anyone worth approaching yet.

Any serious conversations would probably have to wait until after the Subjugation Festival.

For now, eating and enjoying myself was the better deal.

“Hah. How vulgar.”

While I was tearing oily lamb straight from the bone, a voice came from beside me.

I glanced over and found a silver-haired young man standing there.

His face was quite delicate, but below it was clearly a well-trained body.

‘Oh, this is unexpected.’

It wasn't difficult to recognize him.

Johannes Vahen.

The third son of House Vahen, and one of the more useful companions in the game.

‘He definitely looks younger five years earlier.’

As far as I remembered, he was already considered fairly young even during the game.

“I don't know which family you're from, but maintain some dignity.”

He handed me a handkerchief as he spoke, and I accepted it with a small nod.

Aristocratic to the extreme, but fundamentally a pretty decent guy.

He could be frustrating at times, but he wasn't bad.

‘And he's pretty capable too.’

Though being a pretty-boy male character meant he wasn't particularly popular with male players.

I accepted the handkerchief and lightly wiped my hands and mouth.

“Thank you for your kindness. But who might you be?”

“I am Johannes Vahen. What is your name?”

“Ah, I'm Ian Rashid.”

Johannes Vahen.

I'd heard he was participating, but I hadn't expected to meet him here.

‘This should be fun.’

I was looking forward to the Subjugation Festival even more.

* * *

“Ian Rashid...? Was there someone like that in House Rashid?”

“Lord Johannes, a moment.”

I chuckled as the servant beside him hurriedly whispered into his ear.

That reaction made sense.

I'd spent a full year shut inside my room, and I hadn't exactly been famous before that either.

“Hmm, hmm. I see. The second son of House Rashid.”

“That's right.”

His face reddened slightly as he extended his hand toward me.

He was clearly interested despite trying not to show it.

‘Well.’

It was rare for families of the North to interact outside of major events like the Subjugation Festival.

The terrain was harsh, monster attacks were frequent, and people our age rarely had opportunities to meet.

By the time the game began, the situation was even worse.

“Ahem.”

Maybe that was why his interest was so obvious.

But after what he'd said to me first, he was now awkwardly trying to play it cool.

‘He is an amusing guy.’

Because of his young age, his occasional cluelessness stood out.

And as the child of a high-ranking noble family, his lack of ordinary social experience was especially obvious.

Even so, he was someone who refused to give up and always fulfilled his duties.

He occasionally came across as unlikeable, but fundamentally, he was a good person.

“We, well, we seem around the same age. We can speak casually.”

“Sure, then.”

I'd already felt a certain internal familiarity with him, so using polite speech had actually felt awkward.

Johannes Vahen looked slightly surprised when I dropped formalities without hesitation, but continued studying me.

“Is the man beside you your escort knight?”

He subtly examined Tarian as he spoke.

Tarian simply stood there silently behind his mask.

Johannes clearly seemed curious about him, but remembering the troublesome situation Tarian had mentioned, I cut off that line of attention.

“Not exactly an escort. More like... my master? My instructor?”

“An instructor? Interesting. If he's capable enough to teach a noble, he must be quite skilled.”

“Well, he's not bad.”

“You sound rather confident in your own skill.”

I chuckled at the faint competitiveness in his tone.

Knowing what would happen in the North in the future, I couldn't exactly say his assumption was wrong.

“Confident? What, do you want to spar?”

“...!”

At the word spar, Tarian—who'd been deliberately looking away—lifted his head.

“Young Master, no.”

“Hah, looks like your instructor is stopping you.”

Tarian whispered in warning while Johannes smiled broadly.

I looked back and forth between them and shrugged.

“Sure, whatever. We'll find out tomorrow anyway.”

He hesitated slightly at the word ‘find out.’

It was painfully obvious that he was barely around high-school age.

“True enough.”

“Here. Thanks for this.”

“...Keep it.”

When I tried to return the handkerchief, he frowned.

Honestly, I wanted to spar with him immediately.

‘I wanted to see House Vahen's swordsmanship.’

But the proper Subjugation Festival began tomorrow.

I could guess why Tarian had stopped me, but that didn't make it any less disappointing.

‘And it wouldn't be good if I accidentally injured him.’

Just as I was about to grab another dessert, someone else appeared.

Frost-silver hair, a little taller than Johannes, and a completely expressionless face.

“Johan, let's go.”

“Sister, there's still time before it begins...”

“Prepare early.”

Her voice carried no emotion whatsoever, making her feel almost like a doll.

And I had no difficulty recognizing who she was.

‘Larissa Vahen.’