The Genius Son-in-law of the Swordmaster Household—Blessed by Authority Chapter 62

Camping (1)

Dawn breaking.

A foggy valley.

A campsite prepared beneath a large crevice in the rocks.

"Young master Ian."

As Ian was checking on Vladiark, Javier approached him.

When Ian looked up at Javier, Javier pointed outside the crevice.

"May I speak with you outside for a moment?"

Ian quietly nodded and stepped out from the rocks with Javier.

― Kwal Kwal Kwal!

By the riverside, where the valley water rushed by, Javier slowly bowed his head to Ian.

"Truly, thank you. Young master Ian."

"... Pardon?"

"I was so out of sorts getting here, I didn't get the chance to thank you properly. Thank you, truly."

With his head still bowed, Javier continued.

"Thanks to you, young master Ian, we were able to rescue Lady Yuria safely. And because you lent me your sword, I didn't lose a single subordinate to the barbarians. We all survived."

Javier bowed even more deeply.

"Thank you so much, young master Ian. No matter how many times I thank you, it won't be enough to repay this great debt."

"A-ah, no. You don't have to... That's enough, sir Javier."

Ian awkwardly gestured with his hand, then set Javier upright by gripping his shoulder.

"We just helped each other towards a common goal, didn't we? I wouldn't have made it safely without you and the Heavenly Sword knights, either."

Ian himself wanted to give thanks.

Because of Javier, Vladiark had been able to devour master-rank barbarians.

After the battle with the barbarians, Vladiark had grown far more fearsome.

The blade, once snapped off, had grown noticeably longer. The once-chip-ridden edge was now sharpened so keenly it glinted through the mist, and the tentacle engravings carved into the blade's surface were more distinct and full.

The amount of aura absorbed into Vladiark was equivalent to a early-stage master and two who were just entering mastery.

Javier had essentially fed Vladiark a supreme growth elixir.

"No, young master Ian. We were the ones who received one-sided help."

But Javier stubbornly bowed again.

"Especially if you hadn't lent us that sword... And if you hadn't told us the weakness of the Crimson Yaksha, I would have died there myself."

Javier recalled the battle with the barbarians.

They had been stronger than he ever imagined.

Their towering bodies, well over three meters, kept rising even when thunder from Caladbolg struck them repeatedly.

Other Heavenly Sword knights had their armor shattered or limbs broken by a single punch from a barbarian.

The monstrous strength radiating from the disciplined bodies of the barbarian warriors could only be compared to ogres.

The overwhelming aura unleashed recklessly by the five master-level barbarians had felt like standing beneath a landslide.

"We were only able to survive thanks to you, young master Ian."

The enemy had been five master-level barbarians.

Meanwhile, among the Heavenly Sword knights, only two were master knights, and the rest just barely at the expert level.

Normally, even if they fought a hundred times, they would lose a hundred times.

But.

The greatsword lent by young master Ian changed everything.

"Your sword, young master... was a monster."

Monster.

It was the most accurate description.

The greatsword lent by the young master was a monster in itself.

"The moment I used that sword, the course of the battle... no, the battle itself was over. All that followed was... predation."

The barbarians' enhanced defensive energy was extremely firm.

The reason they kept rising even after being struck by Caladbolg's thunder was precisely that energy.

But the greatsword lent by Ian—.

Not only did it pierce through that enhanced energy as if it were cotton candy, but it also slurped it up like pudding.

"I didn't even cut down the barbarians with your sword. All I did was bring your sword to bear against their enhanced energy."

That alone was enough for the barbarians to die.

No martial technique, no psychological warfare, no contest of strength.

He simply brought it near—and they died.

After taking down the first one like that, the barbarians switched entirely to evasion, so it took more time to catch the rest, but Javier was able to kill two more—three in total.

Those devoured by the greatsword perished, withered like mummies, and, terrified, Crimson Yaksha and another barbarian fled at full speed.

He could have given chase, but by then, nearly two hours had passed in the fighting, so I prioritized regrouping with you, Ian.

I was worried about you, since you were moving alone.

And then, I found you had already rescued Yuria.

'This was never an incident that could have ended so easily.'

This was a major case, involving over five master-level fighters and even an insider from the Hisperion.

A thoroughly prepared and carefully orchestrated kidnapping.

If you hadn't been there, young master Ian, pursuing Lady Yuria would have been impossible.

Even if, by some miracle, the pursuit had succeeded, the Investigation division would have suffered countless casualties, and until the Heavenly Sword Lord returned from the campaign, the odds of rescuing Lady Yuria safely would have been zero.

'And yet...'

Young master Ian—just one day.

Just one sleepless night, and this meticulously planned kidnapping was resolved as easily as blowing one's nose.

"Once again, thank you, young master Ian. It's all thanks to you."

"......"

Ian awkwardly scratched his cheek.

Even in his previous life, he'd received gratitude like this several times, but he never found it easy to know how to respond when someone thanked him so earnestly.

"Sir Javier. Shall we talk about something more important? There's more you want to discuss with me, isn't there?"

So Ian steered the conversation away.

"Ah, yes. You're right, young master."

Javier hadn't called Ian aside just to thank him; he had another reason.

A topic difficult to bring up in front of Yuria.

Javier also had to ask Ian about Dellen, who had been a primary suspect in this incident.

Why was Dellen there, was she the mastermind behind the kidnapping, and how did she come to die such a gruesome death?

As someone obligated to report the full details of the incident to the head of the Heavenly Sword family, Javier needed to know.

"Could you tell me in detail what happened from the time you separated from us, young master Ian?"

"Yes. Of course. I'll explain step by step."

Ian explained calmly about everything that had happened after separating from Javier, leading up to rescuing Yuria.

Tracking the traces of Yuria and the kidnapper, swimming across the lake, cutting through the forest.

And how he barely managed to save Yuria just before Dellen killed her.

As he narrated, Ian inevitably had to mention that he'd killed Dellen himself.

Naturally, he omitted any mention of the Authority of Projection or using Flostilla.

A secret, once spoken, could never be taken back.

And the more you spoke, the more likely it was to leak.

No matter how trustworthy Javier was, unless absolutely necessary, Ian preferred to keep his powers hidden.

"Y-you, young master Ian, personally killed Nanny Dellen...?"

Javier gulped upon hearing Ian say he'd killed Nanny Dellen himself.

He remembered the gruesome state of Dellen's corpse, held in Yuria's arms.

Frankly, it was closer to a lump of minced flesh than a corpse.

'Are you saying young master Ian ground up Dellen Meslow like that...?'

But how?

'Dellen Meslow must have been at least a early-stage Swordmaster.'

On the other hand, young master Ian's rank was expert.

Furthermore, Ian looked impossibly uninjured for someone who'd fought a master.

Even when first encountered, he only looked a little tired.

His clothes were torn, and stained with blood, but not a single wound.

'To so overwhelmingly crush a early-stage Swordmaster, you'd need to be at least late-stage master level.'

Are you saying young master Ian is a late-stage master?

Ian, a 14-year-old boy?

It makes no sense.

No matter the talent, it's physically impossible.

Even Ragnar Hisperion, called the greatest swordsman in human history, only reached the entry point of mastery at age 18.

Being a late-stage master at 14 is absurd.

'Moreover...'

Ian didn't even have his own weapon.

He'd lent his greatsword to Javier.

Sure, he could have scavenged a regular sword from a mercenary's corpse, or found something in their base, but nothing he could acquire would match the famed Flostilla wielded by Dellen.

'How in the world did he turn an early-stage Swordmaster into minced meat like that?'

Javier felt a chill run down his spine.

Ian's rank was publicly known as expert.

But someone who minced a Swordmaster like that couldn't possibly be just an expert.

Ian was definitely hiding his true level and power.

He couldn't even guess how much was being concealed.

'Young master Ian... Just who are you?'

Treating the head of Nightingale like a subordinate.

Remaining unflustered even when facing five master-level barbarians, providing not only the best possible strategy but also revealing Crimson Yaksha's weakness.

Rescuing Lady Yuria alone and turning a early-stage Swordmaster like Nanny Dellen into meat paste.

'... Is he even human?'

There was nothing here that a 14-year-old boy should be capable of.

Javier began to doubt: was Ian truly the legitimate heir of House Greysel?

'Truly...'

Perhaps the sword matches the master.

If Ian is this terrifying, it's no wonder he could summon such a monstrous greatsword at the sword spirit ritual.

'Let's make sure I never end up on young master Ian's bad side, no matter what.'

Of course, he'd never intended to clash in the first place.

It was thanks to Ian that this incident was resolved, he'd survived the barbarians thanks to Ian, and Ian even forged a connection to Nightingale for him—he was a benefactor.

'When reporting all this to the Heavenly Sword Lord, I had better summarize carefully.'

To rescue Lady Yuria, Ian had revealed countless hidden strengths to Javier.

He'd shown the connection to Nightingale, the monstrous power of his greatsword, and the fact that he concealed enough power to overwhelm a Swordmaster.

'Young master Ian trusted me enough to show me some of his secrets. I cannot betray that trust.'

He didn't know how much the Heavenly Sword Lord understood Ian's true abilities.

Javier resolved that he would omit as much as possible about Ian's secrets in his report.

Reporting every single thing to his lord wasn't necessarily loyalty.

If such a report caused enmity between someone as fearsome as Ian and the Heavenly Sword Palace, that would only be disloyal.

'I need to approach this report with the utmost caution.'

He resolved to be as careful as possible not to reveal Ian's secrets.

As long as it didn't violate his loyalty to the Heavenly Sword Lord, he would be as discreet as he could.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

Hmm, it sucks that Crimson Yaksha fled, but it seems tall order to kill him without any casualties...

【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】