Hard Carried by My Sword-Chapter 59

Chapter 59
—I’m baaaaack!
“
Waaagh
?!”
Leon yelped and toppled onto the floor of the carriage. El-Cid spoke directly into his mind, so his body couldn’t react in time.
He hadn’t managed to break his fall properly, and now his back ached. The joy of hearing the much-missed voice again after a month quickly gave way to pain.
Gritting his teeth, Leon muttered, “You really had to make a grand entrance,
huh
?”
El-Cid answered shamelessly, —Imagine waking up after being forced to sleep for a whole month! Wouldn’t you want to stretch with all your might too?
“So you had to scream into my ear for that?”
—Basically, yeah!
Leon clutched his neck, fuming at the brazen response, muttering, “I’m already starting to miss the peace and quiet from the past month...”
He missed El-Cid when he was gone, but now that he was back, Leon was quickly reminded of how much of a headache this sword was most of the time.
Sure, there were times he missed the rowdy voice, but now he remembered how often it’d made his head spin. After all, it meant he truly was never alone.
Leon sighed in frustration, and El-Cid picked up on it and jabbed at him again.
—
Hah,
I have to call this whiny kid my disciple? After all the help I gave you, all I get is scolding just for waking you up? I should’ve let that bloody giant beat you to a pulp so you’d realize just how valuable I am!
“And it’s okay for a teacher to brag about helping his student?”
—Don’t you know the phrase ‘the disciple is the reflection of their master’? Back in my day, the master was like the heavens! You should be worshiping me properly!
Leon was so dumbfounded by the boomer talk that he fired back, “Oh yeah? And did you worship your master like that?”
—
Hah
? I didn’t have one. I was self-taught.
That left Leon speechless. He finally remembered who he was talking to: the Holy King Rodrick.
Who on earth could’ve possibly taught a genius who became a Swordmaster at fifteen? His light-hearted words and playful tone often made one forget that he was the greatest hero in human history. If he seriously demanded deference, Leon would’ve had no choice but to give it.
Of course, El-Cid had no such intention.
—Relax, kid. I like things the way they are. No need to overthink it. It would be weird to be so deferential to your weapon.
“
Hm
, I guess so...?”
—Yeah. Anyway, enough joking around. Let’s hear it—what’s been going on while I was out? A whole month’s gone by. I doubt it was uneventful.
Leon nodded and began recounting the past month, slowly and methodically. What happened after the Evil raid, how Caesare found out his identity, and also how he recruited Karen as his first companion.
El-Cid cut him off there, —That’s the woman who was posing as an adventurer, right?
“Yeah, so here’s what happened...”
Leon explained everything without leaving a single thing out. When he finished, El-Cid responded with a voice tinged with approval.
—Honestly, not bad. For someone who’s been killing since she was a little kid, her personality isn’t too warped. Call it atonement—or redemption. If that’s her goal, she has no reason to betray you.
“Personally, I think she’s trustworthy.”
—Skill- and experience-wise, she’ll cover for your shortcomings too. Good choice.
The most dangerous enemy for an inexperienced Hero was an assassin. The power of the Holy Sword meant little against humans, and without the right experience, it was hard to defend against someone who used any means necessary. Karen was the perfect counterbalance to that weakness.
—An assassin’s worst enemy is another assassin more skilled than they are. Their methods get read, and they’re weak on defense. Once they lose the initiative, they’re dead in seconds.
The fact that her adventuring background was in the rogue class was a plus. Though often underestimated at lower ranks, rogues were incredibly versatile. At A-rank, they were indispensable in dungeon exploration and guerrilla warfare.
Leon still only had his swordsmanship to rely on. Karen’s abilities were essential on many fronts.
With that thought, something clicked in El-Cid’s mind, and he asked, —Oh, right. Have you improved at all? Don’t tell me you spent the whole month slacking off.
“Why don’t you see for yourself?”
—
Oho
? Confident, are we?
Grinning, Leon shot back, and El-Cid chuckled in amusement, accepting the boast. Leon’s stats window appeared before them for the first time in a while.
Name: Leon
Title & Class: Hero (who scolds his master)
Level: 28
Strength: D
Endurance: D
Agility: D
Aura: C
Skills: Sword Mastery II (7), Rodrick’s Martial Arts (4), Acquired Martial Root III, Aura Wielder III (3), Secret Sword Technique: Grand Chariot (1)
Both El-Cid and Leon reviewed the details together. It was a rare opportunity to objectively evaluate his own abilities.
The stats window allowed Leon to gauge where he had improved and where he still needed work. As Leon compared the data to what he remembered from last time, he suddenly realized something.
I’ve surpassed Lyon’s stats across the board...
His Aura, which had only been at a meager E-rank, had jumped two whole ranks. His other stats were now comparable as well. And in Aura Wielder and Sword Mastery, he was two levels higher than Lyon.
True strength could only be measured blade to blade, but if numbers meant anything, Leon had already outpaced him. Of course, it wasn’t like Lian had spent those months slacking either.
But I doubt he trained harder than I did.
The experiences one could gain at the Academy had their limits. Leon had broken free from that narrow cage, and not a day had passed where he didn’t face his own limits.
He fought monsters until he was soaked in blood and trained until he was drenched in sweat. He survived battle after battle, putting his life on the line. No one could compare to the quantity or quality of his experience.
El-Cid finally broke the silence.
—
Huh
... Are you sure I wasn’t asleep for two or three months? You’ve been busy while I was gone,
huh
? And your Grand Chariot is at level 1, which means you’ve pulled off at least one technique.
“You showed it to me, remember? I can only use Merak for now, though.”
—Even that’s more than I expected. Maybe you’ve got a natural talent for learning.
It was a different realm from a genius—one for those who chased after others, not led the way themselves. Given proper guidance, such people made the most sincere and dedicated students. El-Cid was secretly pleased as he analyzed Leon’s growth.
—That huge boost in Aura must be thanks to that Evil priest you fought. You used a lot of power, sure—but you absorbed even more. Enough to break open some of your Aura flow channels and still have energy left over.
“Acquired Martial Root, too?”
—Same reason. As for Sword Mastery, something probably clicked during your training for the Grand Chariot.
After several intense battles, both of Rodrick series skills had each grown a level. Though to be fair, some of that was thanks to the time El-Cid had taken direct control of his body. Leon had learned more than a few things from the residual impressions the perfect movements left behind.
Having wrapped up the conversation, El-Cid declared smugly, —So in the end, it’s all thanks to me. All I did was save my hopeless disciple, and it led to his growth. What a true master I am, wouldn’t you say?
“That gratitude I was about to feel just evaporated.”
—Ungrateful brat!
The two of them snickered at their own banter and soon shifted topics. Perhaps catching a scent through Leon’s senses, El-Cid spoke with a hint of confusion.
—By the way, I smell sand. Pretty strongly, too. Where are you now? Seems like you’ve come a long way by carriage.
“You said we had to go to the Titan Mountains, right? We’re on the way.”
With that, Leon got up and stepped outside the carriage. The sand must have been thick in this area because the caravan was moving slowly enough that one could walk beside it without trouble.
No matter which direction he looked, the horizon was nothing but endless, tan-colored dunes. Karen, perhaps off for another snack, was visible in the distance, standing on top of someone’s carriage roof.
“We took an escort job for a merchant caravan. They’re passing through a few territories on the way there.”
—
Hmm
, not a bad plan. But a desert? Isn’t that a pretty huge detour?
Leon pulled a map from his pocket and showed it.
“
Huh
? What are you talking about? Sure, it’s a bit inefficient, but there’s no faster route. Unless we were planning to plow straight through mountain ranges or canyons or something...”
—?
El-Cid paused, puzzled. Then, borrowing Leon’s eyes, he peered down at the map. Before long, he raised his voice.
—Wait, why is this a desert?!
“Because it... is...? Supposedly has been for over a hundred years.”
Unlike Leon, El-Cid immediately sensed something was wrong.
—Three hundred years ago, it was all sprawling grassland! And it’s not even a region prone to climate shifts—how did it turn into a desert in that time?! That kind of change couldn’t happen naturally. Someone turned this place into a desert.
“Is that even possible?”
—If it were done suddenly, people would’ve noticed. It had to have been dragged out over a long time, carefully disguised as a natural process. Something smells fishy here.
Leon was stunned by the scale of what El-Cid was suggesting. Artificial desertification was unheard of.
Even if one fired off dozens of strategic spells capable of leveling a city, it still wouldn’t be enough to transform this much land into a desert. And yet El-Cid sounded certain.
—
Tch
. Oh well, we’re way too late. If it’s been a desert for over a hundred years, there won’t be anything left to investigate. Forget about it for now and just focus on your job.
“You could’ve just not told me, then...”
Leon sighed, having just learned yet another secret of the world. Right then, Karen walked over to him. Even though she was strolling around casually, her speed left afterimages.
Looking closely at his face, Karen’s eyes widened.
“
Eh
? Mr. Hero, did something good happen while I wasn’t here?”
“What? No.”
“No? You seem to be in a way better mood than yesterday. Must’ve had a nice dream or something.”
Leon unconsciously touched his face. He hadn’t realized it himself, but El-Cid waking up had apparently influenced his mood more than he thought. It hadn’t even been six months since they met, but the absence had left a noticeable void.
At that moment, Arnold’s voice rang out throughout the caravan.
“Set up camp! We’ll rest here tonight! Move the carriages out of the wind’s path and prep dinner and the fire!”
With the loud order, the wagons ground to a halt.
Already?
The sun was dipping below the western horizon. Desert nights were cold and dark. Anyone who took that temperature drop lightly would be in for serious trouble.
If the heat and mirages of the day dazzled travelers, the cold and darkness of night would obstruct them. Neither side of the desert was to be underestimated.
—It’s a desert now,
huh
...
El-Cid’s voice trailed off as he scanned the surroundings, —Not a single trace of the grasslands I remember. I didn’t think three hundred years would feel this long.
Even a great hero grew sentimental from time to time. His voice quieted as he accepted that the world he once knew had changed quite drastically.
Leon couldn’t guess what was on his mind. Their lives had been far too different.
Noticing Leon picking up on his mood, El-Cid laughed it off with a casual tone.
—Well, whatever.
Desert or grassland—what did it matter? It wasn’t El-Cid who had to live in this age. It was Leon.
—Sorry for getting sentimental. Looks like someone’s calling you over there, shouldn’t you go?
“It’s nothing urgent anyway.”
Leon could tell El-Cid was just trying to change the subject, but he didn’t point it out. If El-Cid didn’t want to dwell on it, Leon would respect that. Everyone was entitled to their own private space.
As he drew closer to the campfire, the smell of food wafted toward him. Tonight’s dinner appeared to be a meat stew.
“Hey, Leon! Slept the whole day and finally up,
huh
?”
The Steel Claw mercenaries, who had arrived earlier, greeted him warmly. After everything they’d been through together, they were quite close now.
Leon bumped fists and shoulders a few times, found a spot among them, and accepted a bowl. In just that short span of time, the sun had disappeared completely, and the sky turned pitch-black.
“
Whoa
...”
It was a completely different view from the daytime. Bathed in moonlight and starlight, the desert looked like a sea of darkness. There wasn’t a single light within kilometers other than the campfire.
It felt like they were a lone boat drifting across a boundless ocean. The night of the desert had arrived.