Vol 2 Chapter 15 – The Master’s Debut Battle【Vol 2: The Blazing Labyrinth and the Lonely Witch】 

Three days had passed since leaving Sera Village.

I was walking steadily east along the highway.

My next destination was the commercial city of Darius.

From there, heading further northeast should lead to the Blazing Labyrinth.

(That said, traveling alone is pretty relaxing.)

The ten years spent with Lilia and Master were irreplaceable.

But walking alone through unknown lands like this gave a real sense of adventure, which wasn’t bad.

While thinking that, I gnawed on the last of the lunches Lilia had made for me—a slightly hardened piece of bread.

“Hm?”

That’s when it happened.

From ahead, I heard the sound of multiple carriage wheels and some noisy shouts of anger.

“Hyahha!

Leave all the cargo behind!”

“Guh…! Bandits!”

“Hehe, there’s a woman too!

Might as well leave her behind as well!”

(Whoa, seriously…?)

A textbook cliché unfolding.

It seemed a group that looked like merchants was being attacked by bandits.

I hid myself off the side of the road and quietly observed.

The merchant group had three carriages. There were a few burly men who seemed to be guards, but they were outnumbered.

The bandit gang numbered over a dozen.

A bunch of obviously shady guys surrounded the merchants with vulgar grins.

(What to do…?)

Honestly, I didn’t want to get involved in trouble.

I just wanted to continue my journey in peace.

But what was unfolding before my eyes was clear plundering and violence.

Could I really ignore it?

(…No, I can’t.)

What had I desperately swung my sword for over these ten years?

Wasn’t it to protect what was important from irrational violence?

If I pretended not to see this, I’d be no different from the powerless me in the previous world.

“Haa… No choice.”

I let out a small sigh and gripped the hilt of the longsword Master had given me as a parting gift.

Drawing the sword from its sheath, a clear metallic ring echoed around.

After ten years, my sword was no longer that of an amateur.

Full mastery of Glen-Style Swordsmanship.

That title wasn’t for show.

“—That’s enough.”

I slowly emerged from the bushes and called out to the bandits.

All eyes in the area pierced me at once, focused on the sudden intruder.

“Huh?

Who the hell are you?”

The man who seemed to be the bandit leader—a particularly burly guy—glared at me suspiciously.

In his hand was a large axe smeared with blood.

“Just a passerby. But I can’t overlook this. Let those merchants go.”

“Hah!

What the hell is this kid saying alone!

Playing hero?

If you wanna die, I’ll kill you fir—”

Before the leader could finish, I moved.

Thud!

Kicking off the ground, I closed the distance in an instant.

“—Eh?”

The leader let out a dumb sound.

Probably because my figure had vanished from his view.

I’d circled behind him and struck his neck hard with the flat of my sword.

Thump!

With a dull sound, the leader rolled his eyes back and collapsed on the spot.

“Wha…!?”

“The boss, in one hit…!?”

His comrades looked at me with incredulous expressions.

I wasn’t about to miss that opening.

“One down.”

I muttered and dove into the closest bandit’s guard.

The man hurriedly swung down his dagger, but it was slow.

I evaded it with minimal movement and fluidly drove a palm strike into his solar plexus.

“Gah…!”

The second one foamed at the mouth and fell.

“Eek!

Wh-What is this guy…!?”

“Surround him!

Surround and kill!”

The remaining bandits snapped back and slashed at me all at once.

But their movements looked far too sluggish in my eyes.

Ten years of training.

Compared to those lightning-fast exchanges with Lilia, they might as well be standing still.

Whoosh!

I ducked low to avoid a sword swung like a sweep over my head.

Thud!

I twisted my body to dodge a spear thrust aimed at my side.

In the storm of approaching blades, I walked leisurely as if on a stroll, precisely taking them out of commission one by one.

I didn’t cut. Didn’t kill.

Just struck vitals with the flat of the sword, precisely reaping only their consciousness.

It was closer to a dance than a battle.

“M-Monster…!”

“Run awaaay!”

The last few remaining twisted their faces in terror and tried to flee.

“Not letting you escape.”

I picked up the sheath and hurled it at the fleeing bandits’ feet.

The sheath flew with precise rotation, sweeping their legs one after another.

The bandits toppled like dominoes.

I approached slowly and carefully reaped each one’s consciousness.

Probably less than a minute had passed since the commotion started.

The dozen or so bandits lay silently piled on the ground, none dead but none standing.

“………”

The highway fell quiet.

The merchants and their guards stood stunned, frozen by the utterly unreal scene before them.

“…You okay?”

I sheathed my sword and called out to the merchants.

That one word seemed to snap them back.

A portly man who seemed to be the merchant group’s representative approached me hesitantly.

“Th-Thank you…!

You saved us…!

Who exactly are you…?”

“Nah, just a passerby. Don’t worry about it.”

I glanced at the bandits sprawled on the ground and asked the merchant.

“…More importantly, what do we do with these guys? Can’t just leave them here.”

“Ah! O-Of course! Our guards will tie them up and hand them over to the guards in Darius. …Um, if you don’t mind, would you accompany us to the guard station…?”

I shook my head to cut off the merchant’s offer.

“Sorry, I’m in a hurry. I’m heading to Darius, but circumstances require me to get to the Blazing Labyrinth area as soon as possible.”

“I-I see…! Sorry for not knowing your situation, benefactor. …Hey, you lot! Don’t trouble our benefactor! Hurry with the ropes!”

The guards hurriedly fetched ropes from the carriages and began restraining the bandits.

“Sorry for not helping. But I really am in a rush.”

“B-But, how can we repay this debt…!”

“In that case, a ride to the next town on your carriage would help.”

“O-Of course!

Gladly!”

The deal was set.

I’d ride along on their carriage.

That should have wrapped it up.

As the carriage rocked, I overheard the merchants’ whispers.

Being thanked felt good, but something seemed off.

“…Hey, did you see?

That guy’s sword just now…”

“Yeah… I saw. What the hell was that…”

“It wasn’t human movement. Like a ghost or something…”

“Yeah. He was swinging the sword, but there was no sound of cutting the wind…

And facing that many, his breathing didn’t even get messed up.”

“I almost felt sorry for the bandits…”

Their voices carried more tones of awe… or creepiness than gratitude or admiration.

(…Creepy, huh.)

Over ten years, my sword had been honed by relentlessly shaving away waste.

The “rigid” sword of Glen-Style, combined with the “flexible” movements cultivated in training with Lilia.

Together, my swordsmanship had reached an extremely unique realm.

An alien strength incomprehensible to ordinary people.

That’s probably why it seemed “creepy” to them.

Being thought of that way by the people I saved honestly stung a bit.

(…Well, whatever.)

I didn’t get strong to be evaluated by others.

I gained this power just to protect what I cared about, to repel injustice.

It didn’t matter if I wasn’t understood.

I’d just keep walking the path I believed in.

(People’s values are tricky things…)

As I gazed at the passing scenery from the carriage window, I vaguely thought that.

This journey had only just begun.

I wondered how the world would accept this alien power of mine going forward.

I pondered the unpredictable future a little.

But there was no hesitation in my heart.

I had things I had to do.

Save Elmina.

And gain even stronger, more overwhelming power.

For that goal, I’d accept any evaluation.

I quietly renewed my resolve.