Sword Saint’s Disciple Volume 4 Chapter 7

[Next]T.N:

Ahhh, to think I believed in a mistake for a decade. It's all because I watched Shana's English Sub without JP knowledge.

(うるさい) Urusai = “noisy”, “annoying” or “be quiet”, etc. Not “shut up”

(黙れ) Damare = “shut up”

Lior-san rushed to catch Neil-san, who fell down.
Then he laid Neil-san down and called out.

『This is it, Neil!
Keep your consciousness, do not sleep!』(Lior)

『…there's nothing. I can't see… it's cold… cold…』(Neil)

『Hey. No good. His eyes are out of focus. Cathia, do something about it!』(Lior)

『Do what? … ah, fine!』(Cathy)

Anyway, I must restore Neil-san's consciousness by making him focus on something.
I created a fire as big as a fist above my palm and slowly put it near Neil's face.

『Neil-san, snap out of it…!!』(Cathy)

I didn't have a good idea about what I should do.
But Neil-san said her was cold, then maybe he could be recovered with fire.

『Warm… this is… Fire…? … Cathisan?』(Neil)

Good, my attempt was a success.

I do not know if he can feel the heat, but the light of my flame gave some stimulation to his eyes. Neil-san's eyes, which were empty until now, start to have some life in it.

『You can't do that, Neil-san. You have to keep your promise properly』(Cathy)

『That's right… it's really so…』(Neil)

『Alright, keep yourself stable… Neil.
Relax your whole body as it is.
Oops, do not close your eyes.
Deepen your breathing』(Lior)

Neil-san tried to breathe as he was told.
His shallow breathing gradually calms down.
I tried not to disturb the flame as much as possible.

『Next. Close your eyes this time.
Good? Chase away your fear, but never sleep.
Now your body is in a state where the Aura has reached your limit.
However, since you are still alive, your Aura will gradually start to recover.
Try to grasp that feeling』(Lior)

『Yes……』(Neil)

And about five minutes has pa.s.sed.
Neil-san unexpectedly half woke up as if he was surprised by something.

『Is this…』(Neil)

『Have you grasped?』(Lior)

『…Aura, it was so warm… Cathisan's fire,… together』(Neil)

Me?
Was he thinking of me because I showed him a fire… No way, right?

Anyway, he seems to be okay now.

It seems that Lior-san is thinking about something as he looks at Neil.
And then Lior-san nods in satisfied.

『Oh, so you can feel the aura now.
The Aura is always with us (the force be with you)
It has always been there…
But it's too close so that you can't see it or realize the different』(Lior)

『Osu…, I'm sorry, … I have already reached my limit』(Neil)

『You may as well sleep, but do not forget what you can feel now.
Never let go of it and your body will be filled with aura.
You trained hard to death, do not waste it』(Lior)

『Yes……』(Neil)

After saying that, Neil-san lost consciousness like a doll lost its thread.
Lior-san quietly put Neil-san down to avoid Neil-san hit his head on the ground.

『Good job, Neil.
Now we only need to wait for your recovery and confirming the outcome.
But you already cleared my conditions. As long as you remember that feeling, you will be able to control your Aura』(Lior)

Lior-san seems to believe in Neil-san's success.
However, as for me, I rejoice with the face that Neil-san is alive.
Finsan ran over to us with a worried face.

『Cathichan, is Neil okay?』(Fina)

『Yes, his blood circulation and breathing have returned to normal. He should be fine now』(Cathia)

『Haa~, I'm so glad』(Fina)

It seems that Finsan was relieved, she heaved a sign.

『Cathia, do not forget your promise.
Actually, I'm putting up with fighting right now…』(Lior)

When Lior-san said it half-way, his mouth distorted.
The moment I saw that face, my spine froze.

『”Be a good old man (boy)” and wait. You aren't a kid who cannot wait!』(Fina)

Finsan kicks Lior-san in the a.s.s.
And before I noticed, Lior-san's pain looking expression disappeared as if nothing happened.

『Hey, stop it, don't kick me. It's somewhat humiliating pain』(Lior)

『Be quiet (Urusai)! Hey, carry Neil to his room quickly, Li-Ossan (a pun for Lior-san (Mr. Lior) => Lior Ossan = Lior old man)!』(Fina)

『What's with that strange name!?
Hey, stop kicking me.
Even if you don't tell me, I will not stay idle and let two girls do it』(Lior)

Lior-san, who didn't care about how he was called up until now, retorted back.
I wonder why.
And it seems Finsan didn't notice because she was behind Lior-san.
His face showed that he wanted to fight right now. The face that he didn't show when fighting with other people just now.
I somewhat worried about whether I could deal with him peacefully.

After carrying Neil-san back to his room, I agreed to go with Lior-san as he invited to eat together.
Finsan told me that she stayed behind to take care of Neil-san.

In the dining room, I asked Mizuho-san to prepare the dinner.
It would be fine if the dinner was carried to their room later.

『But that was rather an unreasonable method』(Cathy)

Most of the students seemed to have finished eating, the inside of the dining room was quiet.
The topic is about the practice method given to Neil.

『Oh well, it wasn't me who thought of that method』(Lior)

『Eh?』(Cathy)

Am I wrong?
By the way, the meal menu seems to be the same as other students.
It's a balanced menu with meat, vegetables, and grains with high quant.i.ty.

『Well, it's “Zahato flow”
It was made in the best dojo in this town, that was longer here』(Lior)

『Oh, I am interested』(Cathy)

I put part of the meal, that I couldn't eat, to Lior-san's dish.
By the way, Lior-san's dish is even bigger than the original amount.
Just watching it make my stomach hurt.

『Did you leave over that much?
I will get it if you don't need it.
Well, if you are worried about it, I'll talk more in detail.
Please tell Neil about it later as well.
He has the right to hear.
You can tell to Fina, too』(Lior)

『Yes』(Cathy)

Neil-san's head was full of his success in training, so it seemed that he couldn't afford to hear how that method was created.
It can't be helped.
I will explain to Neil-san myself when he wakes up later.

『It all started at the third generation master of Zahato Dojo』(Lior)

Master Zahato is a famous warrior who has been saved many people in the early state of this country.
So to speak, he is a hero.

The story he sprang up his way of career with a single spear is very famous,
Even now it's most popular as a theme for a play or a book.

『The third generation master seems to have studied under Master Zahato, although it's a short period of time.
He seems to have learned many experiences from Master Zahato himself.
And he proudly told the students back there a lot about that』(Lior)

『The students were delighted, I suppose…』(Cathy)

Perhaps the person himself has already pa.s.sed away at that time. So, the story of the person, who directly knows the hero, must be precious.

『I know right.
But the thing is…
In the story about Master Zahato, there's a fact that different from what the public know.
Actually, when he was a soldier, he only had an average strength』(Lior)

『Eh?
But, everyone knows about the famous story that he saved several villages in crisis.
He stole the sit of the incompetent captain and became the captain from the beginning…』(Cathy)

『It's creative. It's such a fantasy that different from the reality』(Lior)

This fact may crush the dream of many children.
Although I wasn't impressed when the picture-story show coming to the village in my childhood (Cathy's hero is gramp). But it's the dream a lot of children in the village.

Well, I wonder how is it related?

『And then, an incident occurred that Master Zahato became strong.
The corps to which Zahat belongs, they were entrusted to stall the enemy in a retreat』(Lior)

Stalling the enemy for a retreat. In other words, they were abandoned
Without luck or skill, they would not be able to survive.

『Although the corps of Zahato was destroyed, Zahato managed to survive.
When Zahat was rescued by other troops, Zahat seems to have been on the verge of dying as he ran out of Aura and was severely injured』(Lior)

『Oh, the story is connected』(Cathy)

『Well, well. The people at that time know that training method, but they are not so…
Well, I don't know if they could understand it.
Maybe they think that it's due to Zahato had overcome a life-threatening experience that he became strong』(Lior)

『…Indeed』(Cathy)

『But one of the students who heard the story from the third generation realized one possibility』(Lior)

Lior-san's face became dark as he talked about this.
Before I knew it, Lior-san's big dish was already empty.
Lior-san gulped down his saliva.

『You mean…』(Cathy)

『Yes!』(Lior)

The air becomes tense.
I gulped down my saliva, it's rather embarra.s.sing.

『I guess he was just young and reckless,
He must be delighted to think that he could be stronger and closer to the person he admired.
He tried to increase his Aura and broke his limit』(Lior)

『I can somehow understand that.
When we are still young, whatever we do, if we can stay alive, we will become versatile…』(Cathy)

『Hey hey, you are only seventeen, aren't you?』(Lior)

Oops!
I have to deceive him somehow.

『My grandfather said that!』(Cathy)

『Oh I see.
Well, by chance, yes, by chance.
That attempt was successful.
He seems to had stayed in bed for a few days.
But after that, it seems like his control of the aura has become much better.
Unlike Master Zahato, he lacks the fundament of Aura.
He couldn't understand how it worked with his lack of knowledge』(Lior)

Fuu~, that was dangerous.
No, maybe he isn't suspect because this is the first time.

『… After that, what happened?』(Cathy)

However, this story isn't well-known, there must be something.
I urged Lior-san to continue.

『He boasted to other young students and proud of how he was strengthened.
But they were talking about keeping it a secret from the master.
In fact, he also showed up by keep winning other students in a simulated game.
The students also began to believe in that method.
Well, it was because they were young.
And they did not particularly care about the reason Master Zahato didn't teach anyone that trick』(Lior)

Yes, they must feel bad.
It's the best dojo in town, I wonder if they couldn't help but be compet.i.tive?

『At one time, there were cases in which ten young students secretly practiced that method without their master』(Lior)

『… I can imagine that they would not end well already』(Cathy)

『There were only two people who survived among the ten people,
and there were multiple dead bodies in the dojo that time』(Lior)

『Uwa…』(Cathy)

『This is why this secret method is concealed by the information department.
That case was hidden and the Zahato Dojo had also been closed』(Lior)

That's harsh…
But, wait…

『How does Lior-san know such an incident?』(Cathy)

『It's an abuse of power.
I have forced the information department to disclose some confidential information about martial arts』(Lior)

『… ….』(Cathy)

『What? Do you want to say something?』(Lior)

『Not really.
Then Lior-san, that method, did you…?』(Cathy)

『Of course I did it, so you really said something after all』(Lior)

『Nothing in particular』(Cathy)

『There were things in common with those who survived.
Their Aura is stronger than average.
However, they are not as good as Neil』(Lior)

『That means, Neil-san had better chance to succeed from the beginning?』(Cathy)

Did he think about the success rate at first?
I do not know if he is unreasonable or not.

『Well, he is strong enough to clear the first condition.
The last thing to do is figuring out his limit point.
Because there were many people died when they used their Aura pa.s.sed their limit.
It is necessary to stop before then』(Lior)

This must be the part that Lior-san was in charge of.
It's no doubt that the method is twisted and harsh, we need a right timing to succeed.
Did the students, who survived in the dojo of Master Zahato, succeed simply with luck?

『If the chance of success was that high, you should have talked to us about it』(Cathy)

Consider the result, I wonder if that was necessary, though.
But because of that Finsan and Neil-san had a fight.

『No, don't you see what I mean?
Both determination and will power, Neil wasn't enough』(Lior)

『Even you talked about human will power, you aren't a great human being』(Cathy)

『You, you are frankly annoying.
I will return the story.
There were three people survived and their Aura was strengthened.
At some point, I considered if I should apply that practice method to anyone.
However, if it spread out, the might be another incident like the one I talked about.
It's high risk and also high return.
I think you understand.
Do not talk about it to anyone other than Neil and Fina』(Lior)

『Yes』(Cathy)

It's a dangerous practice method, but no matter how useful it is, we should not talk about it lightly.
Even if we forbid them, there will be many people try to do it.
Anyway, was that the reason why the dojo of Master Zahato collapsed?
Master Zahato himself wouldn't even dream that he would become a far-reaching cause…