Chapter 51

Chapter 51: Replacement Members (2)

Sword Saint Jo Seongung.

The relationship between him and me was a bit awkward.

We had some degree of connection, and neither of us harbored any particular ill will toward the other, but calling us close would be a stretch.

To exaggerate a little, it was an even more uncomfortable relationship than meeting a complete stranger.

"What brings you here?"

I couldn't think of any reason Jo Seongung would come looking for me.

He answered with an awkward smile.

"Haha! Professor Cha, what kind of hurtful talk is that? Are we the kind of people who only see each other when there's a reason? If I want to see you, I just come see you!"

"Our relationship? What kind of relationship would that be?"

"Come now! Aren't we colleagues who sweated blood together at the Training Hall raising our students? Your kid and our Seohu are quite close too. Ahem, ahem."

Park Seohu and Baek Seolhwa are close? That's news to me.

Setting that aside, what's this about raising students together at the Training Hall?

He was the one who drew the line and told me not to go near his student first.

"Stop saying things you don't mean."

"Oh come on. Why can't you see my sincerity?"

Jo Seongung cleared his throat twice and got to the point.

"Truth is, I ran into your students on my way here."

He seemed to be referring to An Seri, Seo Dayun, and Song Seokhwan, who had just left.

"They mentioned that you're quite busy selecting students right now?"

"Yes. I'm busy."

"Hmm, so I came to offer some consolation......"

If you know I'm busy, then why did you come?

Cold words naturally left my mouth.

"If you know I'm busy, please stop bothering me and leave."

"Oh come on! You really are impatient, just like a Korean."

Jo Seongung finally got to the real point.

"I came to help you out by recommending one of my prized students. What do you think? Tempting offer, isn't it?"

Prized student, my ass.

This man only had one student to his name -- Park Seohu.

I could roughly see why he'd come.

He just wanted to shove his own student -- meaning Park Seohu -- into my class.

My eyes became those of a man looking at maggots.

In other words, Jo Seongung looked about as repulsive as a maggot.

Having read the atmosphere, Jo Seongung desperately tried to explain himself.

"N-No, wait! Hear me out!"

Hear you out? What's there to hear?

Last time, this man had gone so far as to threaten me not to go near his student.

And now that I'm doing well these days, he's had a change of heart and come groveling to get his student into my class.

A video replayed in my head.

'Do you know what they call the handle of a millstone?'

That's right. I was utterly dumbfounded.

"Don't worry. I remember everything you said last time."

"Uh, huh?"

"We made a promise, didn't we? Not to cross each other's lines."

When I smiled at him, Jo Seongung's face turned pale.

Jo Seongung spoke urgently.

"W-Wait! I'm sorry! I'm sorry, okay!"

"For what?"

"For last time, and everything else -- I'm sorry for all of it!"

THUD!

Jo Seongung dropped to his knees and prostrated himself before me.

Then, sobbing wretchedly, he said,

"Think of it as saving a man's life, please! Huh? If you're this cold to me, Professor Cha, the Chancellor's going to kill me!"

Chancellor Ryu Jeonga? Why is she coming up here?

I decided to hear a little more.

"Why the Chancellor?"

"I never planned to come here in the first place! Of course I had the desire to let our Seohu attend the best lecture in the world, but I have some shame, you know!"

"That's true."

"When I said that, the Chancellor tried to kill me! She told me to go to Professor Cha, cut open my belly in apology, and get Park Seohu into your class no matter what! Please, save me!"

I understood the situation now.

When Chancellor Ryu Jeonga told me to accept new students, she'd already had a predetermined pick from the start.

Park Seohu.

From the very beginning, she'd planned to entrust the Academy's most talented student to me.

"Hmm."

I'd come on strong because Jo Seongung deserved it, but truthfully, there was nothing bad about accepting Park Seohu.

In fact, it would only bring benefits.

What I was most looking forward to was Park Seohu's swordsmanship, which I could gain through the Mentor talent.

Edelin's might be the best for now, but if things went smoothly into the late game, Park Seohu would grow into a swordsman surpassing Edelin.

Not to mention the bonus experience points that came with it.

For the sake of the class too, I needed a solid anchor to balance the teams.

Just look at D-team -- their leader lacked capability, so they always scraped the bottom.

The only student who could rival An Seri and Baek Seolhwa was Park Seohu.

Fine, decided.

I'd accept Park Seohu.

"I'm sorry."

But I played hard to get one more time.

Since things had come to this, I intended to squeeze out every last benefit I could.

Jo Seongung now grabbed my leg with both hands and begged.

And his grip strength was absurdly powerful through all of it.

My leg caught in Jo Seongung's grasp went numb.

"I'm sorry, okay? Huh? Professor Cha, please!"

What should I demand?

What I wanted most was Jo Seongung's swordsmanship.

The techniques the Sword Saint had built up over a lifetime couldn't be bought with money.

"Then pay me with your life's worth."

"L-Life's worth?"

"Give me your swordsmanship secrets, Professor Jo."

"......!"

Jo Seongung's expression turned fierce in an instant.

Of course he'd refuse.

Jo Seongung was that kind of man.

He'd sooner give up his life than give up his swordsmanship.

"Professor Cha, are you saying you want to become my student?"

"No. I just want the manual."

"Ridiculous! That's an insult worse than death!"

Even if Jo Seongung refused, I was planning to acquire his swordsmanship soon enough anyway.

Jo Seongung's swordsmanship had been inherited by Park Seohu.

If I gained Park Seohu's swordsmanship through Mentor, that was effectively Jo Seongung's sword art secrets.

I felt a little bad, but it was all for the sake of the world.

If not me, then who's going to protect this world?

"Understood. If that's your decision, please be on your way."

"W-Wait? Then what about me? If I go back like this, the Chancellor will......"

"That's something you'll have to figure out yourself."

"Professor Cha! Don't do this, please!"

Asking for something bigger than what you actually want, then gradually whittling it down -- basic negotiation.

Now the real show begins.

"Since you're insisting that much... fine. Just give me a sword."

"A sword?"

Having judged this a better deal than teaching his swordsmanship, Jo Seongung's eyes lit up.

"The sword you used during your active days."

"...You mean Jeivult?"

"Yes."

The magic sword Jeivult.

It was a weapon obtained from Dragon's Roost -- the most catastrophic, most devastating calamity humanity had ever faced.

The spoils from Dragon's Roost had been distributed fairly -- in a way that favored the powerful nations -- among countries.

The greatest prize Korea received was the magic sword Jeivult.

There's a saying that a sword is a swordsman's life.

For Jo Seongung, the Sword Saint, that went without saying.

It wouldn't be strange if he loved his sword as much as a lover.

I had no expectation of receiving it easily.

A rough and difficult road surely awaited, but I would absolutely get Jeivult--

"Sure, I'll give it to you."

"I knew you'd say that. But from my position... what?"

"Want me to go get it right now?"

...Well, then.

What's this?

"Isn't Jeivult one of the most renowned swords in the entire world? You'd give it up that easily......"

"What's an old retiree going to do with a good sword? A fine blade should be out there cutting down monsters in dungeons."

"You could sell it for a fortune, couldn't you?"

"Do I look like I need money? What would I sell it for?"

"Then you could at least pass it down to Seohu......"

"That kid's too kindhearted to wield a magic sword."

Well, Jo Seongung had a point.

A magic sword was a weapon that discriminated based on the user's temperament, so it wouldn't suit Park Seohu.

Wait, then does that mean I'm the kind of bastard who's suited for a magic sword?

Now that I thought about it, that was a little offensive.

"In any case, those were your own words! Don't even think about taking it back. If you do, this Jo Seongung will not forgive you."

"Ah, sure."

Either way, I had absolutely nothing to lose.

There was no reason to complain about getting both Park Seohu and Jeivult at the same time.

"Bahahaha! Good riddance to a headache!"

The slightly concerning part was how absurdly happy the old man was.

Seeing a reaction like that somehow made me feel like I'd gotten the short end of the stick.

...It's just my imagination, right?

***

"Here, this is the magic sword Jeivult."

What Jo Seongung brought was a sword with a rather plain appearance.

Of course, a weapon's appearance was completely irrelevant.

It wasn't a decoration -- what good was a flashy weapon meant for cutting down monsters?

The one thing that nagged me was that the magic sword in the game had been incredibly ornate.

I looked at Jo Seongung, suspicious of whether this was really the same magic sword, and he said,

"Jeivult can change its appearance however the user wants. I just find it comfortable leaving it like this."

If that was the reason, it made sense.

Once he said it was the Sword Saint's taste, the sword felt less plain and more classically elegant.

"Then I'll be off."

"Since you're already here, at least stay for a cup of coffee."

"No thanks... I don't want to be around that thing for long."

The last part was muttered too quietly for me to catch properly.

After Jo Seongung left, I gripped Jeivult.

"Ordinary."

The grip feel was ordinary.

Then again, a sword handle is a sword handle -- they're all pretty much the same. What was I expecting?

[Ordinary? How hurtful.]

"......!"

A voice came from somewhere.

Who's there?

[Where are you looking? Over here.]

The voice again.

No, could this even be called a voice?

It wasn't entering through my ears -- it felt like it was resonating directly inside my head.

If that was the case, then could it be?

"Jeivult......"

[That's right, it's me.]

The magic sword Jeivult.

This thing had spoken to me directly.

I had no idea it was an ego sword. No wonder it was called a magic sword.

[Seongung, honestly, entrusting me to a greenhorn like this. I'm so, so disappointed.]

Being called a greenhorn stung, but it wasn't wrong.

An ego sword might be special, but at the end of the day, it was still a weapon.

A weapon's reason for existing was, after all, to fight enemies.

So an ego sword would inevitably desire a powerful master, and right now, I couldn't even begin to compare to the Sword Saint Jo Seongung.

[Seongung was an incredible man.]

A man who was once the fourth strongest Hero in Korea.

Of course he was incredible.

As I was now, I probably couldn't even last more than a few exchanges of the sword against him.

"I know."

[No, I don't think the new master knows. Every time his touch reached my blade, it was electric.]

His way of handling a sword was that different from mine?

I was curious.

What was different between me and the Sword Saint?

"How was it different? Between me and him."

[And the technique -- oh my. Haaah... just imagining it makes me shiver.]

"Huh?"

Jeivult let out a voice that was somehow... suggestive.

Something felt off, but I chalked it up to me reading too much into it and let it go.

Technique obviously meant swordsmanship, right?

"Um......"

[He had incredible stamina too -- could go all day. A man who could satisfy any sword in the world. I wonder what the new master will be like?]

Oh, fuck.

I violently hurled the Jeivult in my hand.

[Ahhn! How could you handle a sword so roughly? Are you jealous? Hmm, I was too dismissive of the new master. But I like this kind of thing too.]

My mental image of Jo Seongung was plummeting.

From a dignified retired master oozing coolness, to a decrepit old man, and now on top of that, with a sword......

No matter what, this had to be a misunderstanding, right?

Looking back, Jo Seongung had seemed quite relieved to hand Jeivult over.

It felt like a puzzle was clicking together in my head.

Don't tell me it was because of this. This magic sword bastard, with manners of speech like this.

No wonder magic swords were terrifying.

BZZZZ! BZZZZ!

The magic sword lying on the floor began trembling on its own.

What kind of function is that?

It seemed that without physical contact, there were limitations to how it could speak.

"Where are the bandages?"

I soaked pure white bandages in holy water, then wrapped the magic sword tightly in them and stuffed it into a long box.

Jeivult said something to me, but I ignored it all.

I'd take it out later when I had a use for it.

"Should've asked for something else."

I regretted it a little.

Since Jeivult wasn't a weapon players could obtain, I hadn't known it had a setting like this.

In the game, whenever the topic of Jeivult came up, Jo Seongung always had a similar line.

-- This is a magic sword that corrupts the user's mind. It's not a weapon fit for a Hero, so I'll give you something more suitable.

So that's what "corruption" meant.

It was so absurd I let out a hollow laugh.