The trip to Brücke had been decided suddenly, and it would be a lie to say the extra manpower would not help.
Besides, it was obvious Johannes would become useful in the future once he grew stronger.
And more than anything, I could see that he was sincere.
‘That’s reason enough to bring him along.’
We had a long road ahead, so preparations moved quickly.
The fact that two members of Bahen were leaving together drew quite a bit of attention, though.
“I heard she has quite the wandering streak, but I did not think she would move again so soon......”
“They are both winners of the Subjugation Festival, are they not? Perhaps that is why.”
“From what I hear, they are heading to Brücke. Do you suppose His Grace the Grand Duke gave them some sort of instruction?”
Even after the Subjugation Festival had ended, the nobles who remained were already talking like that.
“Haa. It would’ve been better if Brother were still here. Then rumors like that wouldn’t be spreading, right?”
“You worry a great deal.”
“I don’t want some pointless dispute breaking out, and I don’t want to become a burden on the family.”
At the words I let out like a sigh, Tarian smiled faintly.
“I am not sure you need to worry about such things anymore.”
“Because of what I’ve shown so far.”
After all, there was still the past where I had spent an entire year holed up in my room making Brother worry.
Even if I had not personally done that, I could not help being more mindful of Brother and the people around me.
‘They’re all good people.’
“I’ll have to work even harder. From now on too.”
“How admirable.”
Tarian looked at me with a warm expression.
I calmly studied his eyes.
“By the way......”
Inside the rattling carriage, I stared straight into Tarian’s eyes.
Quietly.
Meeting his gaze without looking away.
“When I said I wanted to learn your swordsmanship, the condition you gave me was to control killing intent and give it tangible form, right?”
“......”
“Can I ask why you set that condition?”
In the end, it was swordsmanship.
Of course I would have to actually learn and use it if I wanted to improve.
“To be honest, I was not certain. I did not know whether teaching you my sword was truly the right thing to do, Young Master.”
“......I want to hear the details. Why were you so troubled over it?”
I had spent quite a long time with Tarian.
I had met him not long after arriving in the Rashid Family, and now he had even formally entered my service.
And in all that time, this was the first time I had seen such conflict on his face.
“Are you curious about my story?”
“You’ve kept too much hidden.”
Even in Last Savior, Tarian’s life had never been revealed.
How he had lived.
How he had become a Sword Master.
Why he wanted to stop the destruction.
None of it was ever explained.
He was simply someone who helped in silence.
The only difference was that after his death, depending on affection, he would leave behind the Skill Book for Wandering Sword.
‘But now he’s one of mine.’
I had no intention of letting him be used up as nothing more than some mysterious character hidden behind a veil.
Tarian looked at me cautiously.
Behind the expression that seemed blunt at first glance, a great many emotions were hidden.
Expectation.
Concern.
Regret.
And finally, fear.
He was probably in his early thirties.
It was far too much emotion for someone that age to carry.
“......Yes. I suppose I should tell you.”
Tarian closed his eyes for a moment, then slowly began to speak.
“In the past, I was a greenhorn.”
His tone was calm.
“A greenhorn who never looked back. I went beyond mere youthful recklessness. I was pathetic.”
My brows furrowed at the self-deprecation that followed.
“What was pathetic about you?”
“Because, for the sake of the sword alone, I......”
Killed people.
It was a striking statement at first glance.
But because of that, it only made me wonder.
“Isn’t that what swords are for?”
“If you put it that way, I have little to say. Do you remember the war in the North?”
“The war in the North.”
“Yes. The greatest reason Bahen was elevated to the grand ducal rank.”
I slowly searched my memory, trying to recall the setting.
According to the lore, Bahen had become a grand ducal house fifteen years before the start of the game.
‘Which means ten years ago from now.’
They had already held a ducal title before that, but after defending the North from foreign tribes for years, they had risen to the rank of Grand Duke.
“The Northern Civil War?”
“Before that. The Subjugation of the Foreign Tribes.”
The Subjugation of the Foreign Tribes.
I vaguely remembered that bit of lore.
“At first, I picked up a sword to survive. Before I knew it, I had become a Knight Trainee just before my Coming-of-Age Ceremony.”
“What a fraud.”
“Haha. Perhaps. But because my origins were uncertain, I thought I needed accomplishments.”
A Squire by chance at a young age.
And just then, war broke out against the foreign tribes.
“Hmm.”
I could more or less guess where this was going.
But I did not interrupt him.
He had probably been roaming battlefields from around my current age.
No.
Even before that.
“I killed many people.”
His voice sank into regret as he looked back on that time.
“I know someone had to do it. I know the foreign tribes had been raiding villages constantly.”
Even as he said that, Tarian lowered his gaze to his own hands.
They trembled faintly.
This was the first time I had ever seen him this shaken.
“I cut down a woman who wept after losing her father. I cut down the young man who loved her. I cut down a warrior trying to kill one of our soldiers, and I cut down a barbarian aiming for my neck.”
“......”
“And after cutting, and cutting, and cutting again, I became a knight while still barely in my early twenties.”
“Do you regret it?”
“Yes. Very much.”
That single answer was enough.
It was the reason this promising knight had still not reached Sword Master.
And the reason he had become a specter who wandered around teaching others like this.
“That is why I made controlling and manifesting killing intent the goal. The person I was back then was weak and pathetic.”
“......”
“I was afraid the swordsmanship I created in that state might have a harmful influence on you.”
Tarian had laid everything bare.
So I answered him just as honestly.
“All right. If it weighs on you that heavily, you don’t have to teach me.”
That was how I truly felt.
Even if it was not Tarian’s swordsmanship, there were other ways for me to learn a new sword art.
‘Though they’d take time.’
There would be nothing wrong with going in another direction.
But there was still one reason I wanted to learn swordsmanship from Tarian.
“The last thing I’m curious about is the expectation you always seemed to have whenever you looked at me.”
“......”
“There’s something you want from me, isn’t there?”
I looked at Tarian calmly.
I had not brought this up merely because I wanted to learn his swordsmanship.
I wanted to know more about Tarian himself.
“So you noticed.”
“I’ve seen it too many times.”
There was no way I could miss it.
Whenever my skill improved, and whenever I learned something from him, Tarian looked more satisfied than anyone else.
It went beyond the simple joy of a teacher watching his student grow.
‘He was expecting my skill to improve.’
And after hearing his story, I could vaguely understand why.
“I hoped that if it was you, Young Master Ian, you might be able to complete my swordsmanship as well.”
“Your swordsmanship......?”
“Yes. My sword is nothing more than a killing sword forged by killing people.”
I looked at him quietly as he spoke with a bitter smile.
Tarian stared down at his own hands and mocked himself.
He looked terribly lonely.
Like a man who still had not escaped the battlefield.
“I thought that if it was you, Young Master Ian—someone who always looks certain and somehow accomplishes the impossible—then perhaps you could use this blood-reeking swordsmanship properly.”
“......”
As Tarian spoke openly, I thought back to his swordsmanship.
Wandering Sword.
‘It has an unusual structure.’
At its core, it was aggressive and lethal swordsmanship.
Unlike Northern Swordsmanship, which waited solidly for an opening, Wandering Sword used irregular attacks to create openings in the opponent directly.
And on top of that, manifested killing intent could extend outward from the sword.
‘The reason it’s considered beyond Rare despite being Rare-grade.’
It was weaker than sword aura.
But manifested killing intent could be used almost like another ‘sword.’
Once mastered, it was effectively the same as wielding several swords at once.
‘The problem is that if you overuse it, the killing intent can consume you.’
It was different from Berserk, which inflicted a mental debuff.
It worked more like magical power.
The problem only arose when you could no longer control it.
In other words, the better you were at controlling magical power, the less likely you were to be consumed.
‘I have plenty to rely on there.’
Extreme Cold Art.
Frost Benediction.
I had plenty of Skills specialized in controlling magical power, so there was more than enough chance of success.
And on top of that, Cold Heart could help as well.
“Then I’ll learn it now.”
“But...... you could still be consumed by the killing intent.”
“Do you remember what I said when I finished the first task you gave me?”
“......You said if you keep going to the end, you win.”
“Right. That.”
I asked him calmly, without looking away.
I was not talking about overcoming it with sheer willpower or any nonsense like that.
It was something worth attempting because I had a real chance.
And besides......
‘Tarian himself would know best.’
He was only worried because of his past.
“I’ll go all the way and show you what you were hoping for.”
How I would use his swordsmanship.
How I would bring it to Completion.
Tarian did not answer.
He simply—
Smirked.
A small smile was all he gave me.
“I have not reached Completion myself. You may get hurt along the way.”
“Well, that’s how you learn.”
Tarian let out a quiet laugh at my answer.
“Very well. I will control it as much as I can, so please do not worry too much.”
“We’re starting right now?”
“Is that not the way you prefer, Young Master Ian?”
Fair point.
I burst out laughing and nodded.
That expression suited Tarian far better.
“Then take up your sword.”
Unlike before, Tarian gripped his sword with a serious expression.
The sight sent a chill through me, raising the hairs on my skin.
And around New Moon’s blade, I saw red energy gathering like sword aura.
‘Killing intent.’
“I’m coming.”
There was no time to continue thinking.
CLANG—!
I barely managed to block Tarian’s sword, which had already arrived right in front of me, and was forced backward.
Strength surged through my entire body, and I felt my magical power begin circulating rapidly.
‘Berserk-Revised.’
On top of that, I pushed Frost Benediction and Extreme Cold Art to their limits, increasing the sheer scale of my power.
I had not done it consciously.
My instincts had screamed at me.
If I did not use them, I was in danger.
-Hee, you blocked that?
-Interesting!
I heard New Moon’s voice, but ignored it and tightened my grip on my sword.
Pain tore through my palms as though they were being ripped apart.
Even so, I held firm and waited for an opening.
“Let’s do this.”
One way or another, I was going to learn it.