I Obtained Sword God Level Talent - Chapter 83



82 – 082. Mengzi (3)

Tristan is Maria’s brother? Her *actual* brother?

“Is it true?”

“Of course. I didn’t believe it at first either, so I double checked several times.”

“…Huh. Never know what’s coming next, they say.”

Calming my shock, I shook my head slowly.

I never imagined such a secret, or semi-secret, of birth existed. That two of the famous Silverling’s supporting characters were related by blood.

“So, you’re taking him around because he’s the successor of the Northern Grand Duchy? He must be loaded, after all.”

“What nonsense. Frey, I am not as money-grubbing as you think.”

Yeah right.

I slumped down onto the floor in the underground training area and crossed my arms.

“Tell me your story. I’m curious about what you’ve been up to for the past two years.”

“…It’s not like I’ve been doing anything particularly grand.”

Lancelot answered in his usual stiff tone, then paused for a moment.

And then.

“As you probably expected, we’ve had several brushes with death.”

“……Brushes with death, you say?”

“Simple. Clearing out monster nests, exploring recently discovered dungeons. Things like that.”

“Huh. That sounds more mundane than I thought?”

I shot Lancelot a suspicious glance.

Judging from the flow of mana, Lancelot had already exceeded the 6th Circle we were at before and reached the 7th Circle. It didn’t seem plausible that such a monster would be in danger of life and death because of mere monsters or dungeons.

“The problem is after that.”

Gulp!

Lancelot swallowed dryly, quite unlike him.

“During such an adventure, I happened to meet Lady Maria. Already owing her my life, I greatly welcomed the chance encounter.”

Happenstance, you say…

“It turned out, her appearing before us was by the Grand Duke’s command, to capture Tristan.”

“Knowing them, they probably couldn’t even squeak and even Loven got dragged along.”

“That’s right. But, that’s where the problem arose.”

“…Problem?”

At the sudden statement, I tilted my head, puzzled.

They were supposed to be an unprecedented, overpowered combo – the ＜Gleaming Sword Assassin＞, ＜Knightly Code＞, and even the ＜Mencius＞ thrown in. How could *they* have any problems?

“Lady Maria was engrossed in something at the time. Seemed like she was collecting elixirs and the spirits of spirit beasts, or something like that.”

That was odd.

Hidden behind that pretty yet aloof expression, Maria Theresa was one of the absolute masters of the 8th tier. It wasn’t for nothing that they called transcendents those who had surpassed human limits.

For someone like her to be so absorbed in collecting elixirs, it was truly hard to understand.

“Neither I, nor even Tristan knew the reason. All we heard was, ‘To sway the Grand Duke’s heart, we need to bring at least a man of the 8th tier.’”

Sway the Grand Duke’s heart?

I couldn’t make heads or tails of what was happening. This wasn’t a story mentioned in the ＜Silver Ring＞’s sub-scenarios either.

Anyway.

“Does that story have anything to do with the ‘problem’ you mentioned?”

“…It does.”

Lancelot, after a short reply, wordlessly gestured with his chin to his side.

There, sat cross-legged, was Tristan’s youthful face, manipulating mana.

“That little punk ate those elixirs.”

“What?”

No, wait a minute.

The elixirs of a monster whose title combined the words gleaming sword and assassin… that younger brother, Tristan, ate them all?

“Whether it was unfortunate or fortunate. At the time, Lady Maria only possessed one drop of clear blue oil and the inner core of a thousand-year flower spirit. He devoured it all.”

“…Huh.”

I stared at Tristan with a surprised expression.

That guy who had been training his mana since the moment he entered the underground training grounds suddenly seemed amazing.

‘Isn’t he scared of death?’

Recalling my past conversations with Maria, she mentioned having a younger brother with a considerable age gap. Regardless of that brother being Tristan, if anyone pulled off such a stunt within the ＜Silver Ring＞, they wouldn’t escape death.

“Hold on, you mean the problem is… that Maria lady?”

“Yeah. We realized shit hit the fan, and we bolted right away. That was, like, six months ago now.”

…These crazy b*stards.

Only then did I realize why these two had been holed up underground, not even thinking about coming out.

Training?

Well, yeah, that too, but the thing they were most afraid of was Maria finding out where they were.

“Huh?”

I was about to let out a hollow, dumbfounded laugh.

That’s when Tristan, who’d been silent until now, slowly lifted his eyelids.

“Ah, you’ve arrived? Boss!”

“…….”

He bowed his head, a cheerful greeting thrown my way.

“Tristan. I have a question.”

“Yes? Go right ahead───!!!”

The lively boy answered with a booming voice. I briefly covered my ears and got straight to the point.

“Lancelot told me, you stole and ate the elixir Maria was collecting?”

“H-he told you that, Boss? Brother…!”

“I had no choice. You want to be done with this miserable life too, don’t you?”

Lancelot said, his voice full of remorse.

“Anyway, yeah. So, why did you eat that elixir?”

I was curious. Even though he was Maria’s kin, he’d know that crossing her could bring about big trouble.

And yet he went through with that absurd act; I had to know his reasoning.

“W-well, that’s….”

Maybe it was because the question was so sudden.

Tristan trailed off, hesitant to speak. Lancelot seemed to be hearing it for the first time as well, watching our conversation with a curious look.

“Take your time. I’m not going to rush you.”

From my perspective, it was a small, almost silly thing, not some huge catastrophe. I was just curious, so I patiently waited for Tristan to speak.

“Before… before that happened, my sister… something changed about her.”

“Huh? Maria changed?”

That was interesting, a sound that made my curiosity prickle even more.

That Maria… had changed, huh? I’d felt it too. Back in that nameless cabin in the northern mountains.

“Yeah. It was like… like she’d found her match. It was a completely different look from the sister I’d always known!”

His voice, thick with resentment, echoed in the underground training grounds.

Having roughly grasped the situation, I put on a bewildered face and asked,

“So, the reason you stole Maria’s elixir… was because you felt like you were losing your sister to some guy you don’t even know? Is that what you’re saying?”

“Yes! That’s right! My gut tells me that she was going to gather all of that elixir and give it all to that b*stard!”

There was a strange conviction in Tristan’s outburst. I guess despite the big age gap, he was close to Maria.

‘Is this a kid?’

Feeling deflated, I clicked my tongue.

This is like a scene where a little brother in elementary school is reeling from the shock of his college-aged sister’s romance.

Besides that.

“Did Maria even have a man in her life?”

That was the most crucial question. Muttering to myself, I immediately looked at Lancelot.

He must have been at a loss too, because he just shook his head with a blank expression.

“It’s true! I swear! Captain! Please believe me!”

Tristan, with a look of frustration, had flushed red all the way to his ears.

“I believe you. Why wouldn’t I?”

“R-really?”

“Yeah. Really.”

*Huu*, I exhaled a light sigh and collected my thoughts. After a moment, something I had momentarily forgotten came back to me.

“I kinda get it now. Tristan, the reason you so readily joined the guild.”

“Y-yes…?”

Maybe it was because what I said was so out of the blue.

Surprise quickly flashed across Tristan’s face. I looked back and forth between Lancelot and Tristan and continued,

“Looking at it now, you feel like your own sister’s a threat to your life, don’t you? That’s why you joined the ‘Round Table’, to survive, right?”

“Accurate.”

“C-Captain! Lancelot, brother! I joined the guild to become a true man!”

He must have never expected me to say that.

Tristan was gobsmacked and rose from his spot. But, I kept a blank stare fixed on Tristan and replied.

“Okay, fine, you joined the guild no matter what your motivation was. But…”

“……?”

“Don’t drag the guild into your personal grudges. I don’t know what a ‘true man’ is supposed to be… but judging by the state you’re in, you’ve got a long way to go.”

*Swish.*

I rose from my spot and added one more thing.

“And Maria is a great benefactor to both me and Lancelot. I’ll set up a meeting soon. Whether it’s a misunderstanding or whatever, settle those old scores then and there.”

With those words, I turned and headed out. I figured I’d give him some space.

‘…….’

＜Mentor＞ Tristan, his shoulders trembling, stood rooted to the spot in the training grounds for a long time.

And so, as I was taking the stairs to return above ground.

“That was good advice.”

“Advice, my ass.”

Lancelot, who had followed behind me, praised me. I just snorted at his words.

“He’s just a brat… no, a little shit. The way he acts, I wanted to give him a smack on the head.”

“I understand. His skill is exceptional, but his mind isn’t mature yet.”

“Seems like it. By the way, Lancelot, you were traveling with a kid like that?”

“When we first met, he grabbed my pant leg and begged. He said he’d cover all travel expenses, so please, just take him with me.”

“Huh?”

Wasn’t he saying he wasn’t obsessed with money anymore?

Whatever.

Leaving the training grounds, I immediately sought out a merchant association with an operating ‘communication window.’ And I sent a magic letter to Maria.

……Shockingly enough.

Maria Theresa appeared at the ‘Round Table’ building in the imperial city about three hours later.