How to Live as a Swordmaster of the Enemy Nation

The Approaching War (4)

Gregory rode his horse toward the Radiant Light Order, where Hemingway was stationed. Fortunately, thanks to the information he had heard when he joined the knight order, he was already familiar with the route to the Radiant Light Order.

Even after riding endlessly, five days had passed. With war imminent, those five days felt fiercely precious. He constantly worried that war might break out during that time.

If war were to erupt, all his efforts to persuade Walter and his own plans to delay the war would amount to nothing.

Thinking such thoughts as he aimlessly followed the road, he soon saw the capital of Arme off in the distance. The Radiant Light Order, as a military force close to the king of Arme, was located near the royal palace.

Complex emotions surged within him. He recalled how hard he had fought to invade and destroy that castle in his previous life, the memories from his past life coming back vividly.

"How beautiful..."

At the same time, he thought of its beauty with a sense of love and hate. Emphasizing appearances as was typical of Arme, unlike Blandi, the royal palace was splendid and offered a spectacular view.

Before long, Gregory entered the castle.

Hiiiiiing—!

As he possessed the Dawn Knight Order's insignia, and perhaps because they didn't expect knights to casually enter the palace, getting inside was surprisingly easy.

Inside, the view was even more magnificent than the palace's exterior.

A picturesque, wide river flowed between the royal buildings, and beside it lay a beautiful village. Next to that village, a vibrant market thrived. The people of the town appeared cheerful and generous, everyone smiling brightly.

'The atmosphere here is truly nice.'

The deeper he went, the tighter the security and the stricter the checkpoints became. However, simply showing the Dawn Knight Order's insignia cleared the way for him.

A while later, he found himself standing in front of the royal palace, its roof soaring as if piercing the sky.

Gregory took the reins, halting his horse. If he went any further, he would be at the palace itself.

The Radiant Light Order was located to the immediate right of the palace, while the royal guard's Silver Knights resided on the left.

As this was the royal residence, soldiers clad in rather magnificent armor lingered nearby, ever vigilant.

'I'll have business there someday as well,' Gregory thought, anticipating that he would someday have to come here in person. He left his horse and turned toward the Radiant Light Order, heading in that direction.

The palace guards were initially extremely wary when they saw Gregory, but, judging from the fact that he had passed all the checkpoints and seeing that he was headed to the Radiant Light Order, they figured he had no business with the royal family and relaxed.

The Radiant Light Order now lay before Gregory. It could not compare to the palace in size, but even that complex was enormous enough to have both a main building and an annex.

Just as the main and annex buildings served different purposes in the palace, the same seemed true for the Radiant Light Order. Unsure where to go, Gregory looked around—and then spotted a familiar face.

It was Magnus, the butler who had looked after Gregory within their family. Although the face was familiar, Gregory worried that this passerby might not actually be Magnus, so he simply stared at him instead of calling out.

Feeling someone's gaze, Magnus turned in Gregory's direction and soon realized who he was looking at.

Magnus ran toward Gregory.

"Oh my, young master, it's been so long. Have you been well?"

"It has been a while. I need to see Father. Would you show me the way?"

Magnus was around because he had a mission ordered by Gregory's father, but, as a result, he only guided Gregory and did not accompany him in person. To meet Hemingway, Gregory needed to enter the main building.

After entering the main building, Gregory followed the directions that the butler had described.

In a short while, Gregory arrived in front of Hemingway's office door.

Hoo—

He took a deep breath and knocked on the office door.

Knock, knock—

At the clear, sudden sound of knocking, Hemingway looked up.

"Come in."

Gregory entered, opening the door and maintaining proper decorum.

Hemingway had been facing the other way, but even from the presence of Gregory's mana, he immediately knew it was him.

Turning his chair and putting down his pen, Hemingway stared intently at Gregory, stroking his chin as he did so.

"You've gotten even stronger in such a short time."

"Father, have you been well?"

"Hmm... Yes. But what business do you have here? Isn't this right around the time you should be training with the knight order?"

Hemingway could not see any reason for Gregory to be here. If he was wasting his time, Hemingway would not let it slide.

Gregory carefully began to speak.

"I came to you because I have something urgent to tell you."

"Very well, tell me. I'd like to hear what sort of urgent matter caused you to abandon your training and come all the way here."

At Hemingway's inquiry, Gregory answered with confidence.

"I will delay the war."

For a moment, silence fell as if time itself had stopped.

If it were just talk, he might not have cared, but coming all this way meant Gregory had Walter's permission and had convinced him—Hemingway's curiosity could not be contained.

"How will you do that?"

Though Hemingway still regarded Gregory dismissively, inside he was intrigued.

It was understandable. Gregory had often demonstrated remarkable abilities, but to delay a war—something even the kingdom could not achieve—was on another scale.

Gregory calmly recounted the plans he had used to convince Walter in order to come this far. He was confident that, at least after hearing this method, Hemingway would approve.

"It seems you're curious, so let me get straight to the point. Father, are you aware of someone called Radian?"

"I've heard the name. I heard he enjoys watching the fighting in the Blandi Kingdom."

"Yes, that's correct. He is the chief orchestrator of the war."

Hemingway found this suspicious and asked further.

"How can you be so sure of something that even the palace officials are unaware of?"

"I'll explain it to you gradually in due time. For now, please listen to my plan."

For him, the possibility of stopping the war was a tempting bit of information. Hemingway could not suppress his curiosity and urged Gregory to continue.

"Go on."

"In that case, are you also aware that Radian plans to host a martial arts tournament this time?"

Hemingway was amazed that Gregory knew things no one else could possibly know. Piercingly sharp.

"Of course I know."

"I'll participate."

Martial arts tournaments typically attracted the strong. Furthermore, the Blandi Kingdom was renowned as a nation of martial prowess, highly regarded by other countries. A martial arts tournament hosted in the Blandi Kingdom would likely draw the attention of many nations.

"Do you know what that means?"

"Yes, I do."

"Do you really think you can win, with so many of the world's strongest gathered?"

"Of course."

At those words, Hemingway burst into hearty laughter for the first time. He was concerned for his son, but also gave heartfelt advice, thinking of the future of the family.

"Listen, son. Competing there means representing our family."

"I'm fully aware of that."

Yet Hemingway still seemed unconvinced. There was no way Gregory would act so proactively when Ernest was around. Then came Gregory's next words.

"Among the youth, I am the strongest."

Seeing his serious expression, Hemingway realized Gregory was not speaking lightly.

This time, the tournament held in the Blandi Kingdom was limited to the youth. In other words, what Gregory was saying was that it was entirely possible for him to win first place. Hemingway reconsidered Gregory's words and asked why.

"What makes you think you're so strong?"

Hemingway thought Gregory was disregarding his older brother Ernest. As always, there was a clear difference between a 3- and 4-star knight. Hemingway found Gregory's claim absurd and, as long as Ernest was present, thought it impossible for Gregory to be the top youth.

On the other hand, Gregory instantly realized Hemingway couldn't help but underestimate his abilities. Gregory was determined to reveal his true worth and spoke with conviction.

"I recently defeated Ernest. I will earn the trust of this Radian fellow."

At the statement that Gregory had beaten Ernest, an extended silence descended. Ernest was a 4-star knight; Hemingway knew that defeating him would require considerable might.

He had seen signs since the knight order examination, but always thought that day was far off. He didn't believe someone who had only just reached the third-star threshold could defeat a 4-star knight.

Even so, Hemingway understood the situation. Ernest was called a genius swordsman, yet Gregory, cursed by Verk, had caught up in that short time after breaking the curse.

"Did you really... defeat Ernest?"

"Yes, that's right."

Hemingway found himself smiling faintly without realizing it. At this rate, both Gregory and Ernest could bring even greater fame and reputation to Ashborn, the most illustrious family of swordsmen, and would reap boundless benefits in the future.

And especially, someone like Radian would no doubt show interest in the person who won first place at his martial arts tournament. With tensions high between the Blandi and Arme kingdoms, entering the tournament would at least buy time to prevent an unavoidable war.

Etiquette means little in times of war, perhaps.

Even rival noble houses were competing; during that time, it was expected that Blandi would refrain from attacking Arme out of courtesy.

What's more, even if Gregory failed to win, showing off such skills at his age would earn him great acclaim. No matter how one looked at it, it was a clever tactic that met everyone's expectations.

"Puhahahaha, what an amusing fellow you are. No wonder Walter was convinced."

Hemingway fell deep into thought. He found Gregory's resourcefulness and bold thinking very to his liking.

Oblivious to his father's thoughts, Gregory pressed on. He was desperate to persuade Hemingway, believing that war would spell disaster.

"Father, to stop the war..."

Hemingway immediately cut him off.

"Go."

At this point, there was no real way to stop the war anyway. Even if that man Radian paid no mind to Gregory, it wouldn't matter.

A plan to prevent war that not even the officials of Arme had come up with—trying was better than waiting for war without even making the attempt. Hemingway decided that making an attempt was the better choice.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Tournament arc...
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