I Obtained Sword God Level Talent - Chapter 82



81 – 081. Mencius (2)

The guild building, now newly called the Round Table, was in an unexpected uproar.

“Hey! What kind of treatment is this? A sudden business shutdown!”

“Uh, when can we get appraisals again?”

“I just! I just need a reading!”

A truckload of people were pleading with desperate eyes. I watched the scene from the window, clicking my tongue.

“It seems Leon and Mary’s skills are beyond imagination.”

Most of the visitors were carrying shining weapons or accessories studded with jewels. It seemed I now understood why they were able to build such a huge business in such a short time.

“Yeah. Especially, there seem to be a lot of people wanting appraisals on their items.”

I nodded silently at Ariel’s words.

From what I heard, it takes an enormous amount of money to receive Mary’s ‘appraisal.’ Apparently, that was a rule the siblings set.

“Quiet down, quiet down! No matter how much you shout, our answer won’t change. Please go back!”

While I was watching the ground with an intrigued expression, Cheon Hwa-young appeared, opening the door of the guild building.

“It’s too sudden! The appraiser was working normally until yesterday!”

“That’s right! The fortune teller didn’t give us any notice either!”

Appraiser-nim? Fortune teller-nim?

Hearing those words, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

They’re just two kids from an unknown village in the north of the Empire. But the blessings those two awakened have made them beings that everyone in the imperial capital yearns to meet, and begs for their services. How could I not laugh at that?

“Hey! Who are you? What gives you the right to tell us what to do?”

“Out with the Eastern Continent people! This is the Western Continent!”

Boos and accusations poured down on a bewildered Cheon Hwa-young.

Some were even being racially discriminatory… no, continentally discriminatory. Just as the atmosphere was turning hostile and I was about to step in.

Screech!

“What’s all the commotion?”

Unable to ignore the noise outside any longer.

A man with a gentle demeanor appeared, his expression cold.

‘He looks different like that.’

I raised the corner of my lips, watching the situation with an interested gaze.

The man who had appeared to help the troubled Cheon Hwa-young was none other than Friedrich.

“P, P-Prince… Your Highness?”

“Your Highness, why here…?”

The faces of those who’d been spitting out harsh curses froze.

“I asked what the commotion was.”

*Swish.*

Friedrich’s gaze, standing before the crowd, slowly scanned everyone. Those who received that chilling stare shrank their necks like turtles. Honestly, it was pathetic how utterly useless these people were.

“You have nothing to say? Then go back. This isn’t a place to listen to your tantrums.”

*Snap!*

Friedrich, his voice low, raised a finger. What he pointed at was a large signboard attached to the main entrance of the building.

[Round Table]

That’s right.

I don’t know whose handiwork it was, but a signboard with elegant calligraphy was hung on the main entrance of this building that we used as our hideout. What to say, just looking at it made you feel an unknown sense of intimidation.

Anyway.

“S-Sorry!”

“Let’s go back!”

“T-To think we’d be meeting the Crown Prince. What luck!”

Ironically, there wasn’t a single fool among those spewing jeers who didn’t know Friedrich’s identity. Without a moment’s hesitation, all the uninvited guests bowed deeply and turned back.

“How was it?”

“How was what. It’s truly great, isn’t it, this thing called status.”

“It’s only valid in the Western Continent. Perhaps my situation might change if I were to go to the Eastern Continent?”

And soon after, the two of them launched into a witty banter. Watching the conversation between Chun Hwa-young and Friedrich with a smile-filled face, I turned away from the window.

I didn’t have a hobby of eavesdropping on other people’s conversations.

“By the way. Where did Lancelot Duo go again?”

Muttering to myself, I scanned the hall.

Leon and Mary had said they were attending etiquette lessons with the servants, and Geum Ha-rin hadn’t shown her face since yesterday. Then naturally, the jobless layabouts Lancelot and Tristan should be left in the guild building, right?

“Umm, those two… they were a bit strange.”

“Strange?”

Ariel’s immediate answer made me tilt my head.

I agree that the ＜Knight＞ Lancelot is a strange fellow. But Tristan, who was ‘incidentally’ accompanying him… I thought he was a more sensible person than I expected?

‘He’s just young, but he’s one of the few people in Silver Ring with a sound mind.’

Having nothing in particular to do, I was planning to have a meeting with ＜Mencius＞ Tristan, the guild’s new member. But that plan had already gone wrong. I didn’t expect him to just disappear without warning.

“Since they both use swords, could they be sparring?”

“Hmm, maybe. They’re both training fanatics, after all.”

“Huh? Frey, you seem to know Tristan well?”

“……Just, I could sort of see it. It’s not a spar. He wouldn’t have not called me.”

I nodded, answering nonchalantly.

“Don’t tell me, he’s got the wanderlust again?”

From noble mtl dot com

It wasn’t entirely impossible.

Lancelot was always like that. He couldn’t stay in one place, and his ＜chivalry＞ was all about stirring things up across the continent throughout the main story.

Well, I guess that’s how he got titles like Imperial 12 Swords, Swordmaster, and stuff.

But then,

“They’re in the basement.”

Someone coming up the stairs announced Lancelot and Tristan’s whereabouts. It was Geum Ha-rin, looking refreshed.

“What, they were there?”

“They were in the basement. They’ve built a pretty impressive training area down there, apparently.”

Ah.

I’d forgotten for a moment. The guild’s base wasn’t just the five floors above ground. There were two more floors below, under the building. I hadn’t explored them yet, but just last night, Friedrich had been spitting praise about the training area he’d used first.

‘A training area. I should check it out.’

In fact, I’d never experienced a ‘training area’ before.

And, when I say training area, I’m not talking about just some training ground with stone slabs laid on the floor for sparring. This training area built in the guild’s basement was for training “mana,” literally inner power.

And that meant.

‘No wonder I haven’t seen his face since yesterday.’

Like a sparrow unable to pass by a mill, it must have instinctively drawn Lancelot in.

I let out a hollow laugh and immediately started walking. Geum Ha-rin said he was tired and went back to his room, and Ariel had left to help Chun Hwa-young and Friedrich with administrative and tax work.

Which meant, it was time to finally catch up with him. Last night, I’d been too tired from the drinking and had fallen asleep quickly.

Of course, there was the unexpected presence of Tristan, but that shouldn’t matter too much.

‘Seriously.’

Descending the stairs to the basement, I was surprised again.

Yesterday, after exploring the five floors, I’d heard nothing about the basement while we were partying. But now that I was going down the stairs myself, I couldn’t help but gape at the scene, which was more impressive than I’d expected.

In the dark basement stairwell, I was first greeted by lamps powered by magic.

Expensive things that used the mana flowing in the air to illuminate the path were installed everywhere on the stairs. Naturally, even someone unfamiliar with mana wouldn’t be lost in the darkness.

“How much are you ripping people off?”

And there it was.

The true culmination of this underground facility was felt upon entering the second floor, past the warehouse-like first basement level.

The second basement was a massive, sealed room. But what was unusual was that the walls and ceiling were packed with mana stones, which naturally held mana.

“You’ve come.”

Was he expecting me to appear?

Lancelot spoke, sitting cross-legged. A faint smile played on his lips, as if he knew I’d come here.

“…What the hell is that supposed to be?”

“Originally, the less clothing that touches the skin, the better when practicing mana cultivation.”

Yeah, okay, but that’s a seriously bizarre getup.

Just as I said, Lancelot and Tristan, in the middle of mana training, were wearing nothing but underwear, barely covering their vital parts. But thanks to their cross-legged position, it almost looked like they were completely naked.

“Anyways. Frey, did you come to train mana too?”

“Well, kind of. I also wanted to talk to Tristan, the new guild member.”

*Shfft.*

I turned away from Lancelot and glanced to my side.

There, with a youthful face, stood Tristan, oblivious to my arrival unlike Lancelot.

“A good opportunity, indeed.”

“Opportunity? What opportunity?”

“There are still things left unsaid.”

What is that supposed to mean?

I cast a waiting gaze at Lancelot. Then, getting up from his spot, Lancelot started putting his clothes back on as he said,

“When everyone’s together, it’s a topic that can be a bit too sensitive, so I couldn’t bring it up.”

“Really? Is that sensitive topic about Tristan?”

“That monster. Yes.”

Fully dressed, Lancelot nodded with a blank expression.

‘I get it. He’s one of the supporting characters in Silver Ring, he probably has some secret or two.’

Thinking that, I waited for Lancelot to speak.

Then.

“Don’t be surprised.”

“Yeah, I won’t be, just spill it.”

“Got it. This guy… This punk who calls me ‘hyung’ and follows me around, he’s no ordinary wandering knight.”

Figures. The fact he has a recognized alias in the original story already means he’s one of the big shots.

But Lancelot had overlooked one thing.

I was confident I wouldn’t be easily surprised. I, who knew every single detail of the original work by heart. There’s no way I wouldn’t know about ＜Mengzi＞’s information…

“This guy is the younger brother of the Maria you know… that is, Grand Duchess Maria Theresia’s actual younger brother.”

What the—?!!!