The Sword Master’s Son-in-Law

– Remnants of the Past

The old geezer sent an intense gaze my way.

So intense it was difficult to avoid his eyes.

The old geezer’s certainty was palpable.

“What in the…!”

Engaged to the Sword Saint’s granddaughter?

What kind of madman’s babble is this?

Impossible.

No, I don’t want to.

I can’t.

“Didn’t you hear me? Go get engaged.”

“…Me? To the Sword Saint’s granddaughter? You could just have someone else do it!”

Please, don’t drag me into this Sword Saint delusion.

I want to live.

“No, you’ll do nicely.”

“…Isn’t there any way I can avoid this? Ah! Maybe they won’t even believe I exist over there.”

What if I go and get beheaded by the real Sword Saint…?

“It’s alright. I’ll give you proof that you’re connected to the Sword Saint.”

“Proof?”

“Take this.”

The old geezer handed me a sword.

The sword he always cherished.

A famed blade that even my peculiar mana could withstand.

He’d never given it to me so readily before; he always treated it with such care.

To hand over such a sword so willingly.

“This should be enough to prove who I am.”

“….”

And this would serve as proof of his connection to the Sword Saint?

‘More than that… it seems like he might be telling the truth?’

There was no lie in the old geezer’s eyes.

‘Really… is he the Sword Saint?’

Unknowingly, I was beginning to believe that the old geezer was, in fact, the Sword Saint.

‘Eh, no way…. There’s no way the Sword Saint would be in this backwater village….’

The Sword Saint’s family seat was supposed to be in the kingdom’s south, wasn’t it?

This was the east.

There couldn’t possibly be a Sword Saint here.

‘And another thing…’

Believing that old codger was the Sword Saint strained credulity.

Small wonder, considering what the old man had shown so far.

A lifestyle far removed from any noble, befitting a jobless bum.

The very picture of a lazybones.

‘How could *that* guy be a Sword Saint! It has to be a lie…?’

Only the fact that the old man was skilled with a sword lent any credence to the Sword Saint claim.

Just a sliver of belief, at that.

First, more solid proof was needed.

To verify the old man’s claims.

“Do you have any other proof besides this sword…?”

“Hmph… well, I suppose it can’t be helped. Take this.”

It was a ring.

And that ring…

“The Messiah County family crest… it is.”

The Messiah family crest was engraved upon the ring.

Its meaning was singular.

A member of the family!

Now, there was nothing else to do but believe.

That the old codger before his eyes was indeed a Sword Saint…

He muttered, in a voice too soft for the old man to hear.

“It wasn’t a lie…”

Old man… No, Sword Saint-nim.

He really was a Sword Saint.

Now that he thought about it, the snoring he usually mistook for sleep must have been the deep meditation Sword Saint-nim had described.

‘Ugh! So dazzling?’

A halo, for some reason, seemed to radiate from behind Sword Saint-nim.

A noble!

And also, the previous Count of Messiah County!

Furthermore, publicly known to be a Sword Saint!

Unbidden, he found himself kneeling on one knee as he received the sword offered by the Sword Saint.

A scene akin to the oath ceremony of a knight.

“Why are you putting on such a show just for receiving a sword?”

“Old… Sword Saint-nim, one must show respect when receiving a sword from Sword Saint-nim!”

“What drivel. Hmm… Wait? Judging by your attitude… could it be that you didn’t believe I was a Sword Saint…?”

“No, not at all! I believed it! From the very beginning!”

He frantically searched for an excuse.

“So, wouldn’t you know it, I’ve brought news of your granddaughter!”

“Indeed. In any case, what I need from you… on the surface, it’s just one thing.”

*On the surface?*

An answer comes first.

“Yes? Yes!”

“Become engaged to my granddaughter. We’ll say the Sword Saint has found a suitable son-in-law.”

“Understood! Grandfather-in-law…?”

Now that I’m to be engaged to his granddaughter, grandfather-in-law feels right.

Though, it seems I might have misspoke.

Displeasure flashed across the Sword Saint’s face.

“Are you jesting with me?”

“Pardon?”

“You are merely a stopgap. My granddaughter will be free to date and choose her own husband.”

“Ah… I see.”

“So, continue to address me as old geezer, as per usual.”

How unfortunate… not really.

*I don’t want to be engaged either.*

I’m not exactly thrilled about being engaged to the Sword Saint’s granddaughter.

The world speaks of her beauty and grace.

But I don’t put much stock in such rumors.

*There’s always that noble house buff.*

No doubt, it’s all coming from people eager to curry favor, flattering her simply because she is the Sword Saint’s granddaughter.

The reality of noble portraits is closer to heavily photoshopped profile pictures.

For all I know, she could look just as stern as the old geezer.

“So then, I’m to play the part of a fake fiancé, is that right?”

“Just so. But I will warn you of one thing. Lay a single finger on my granddaughter, and you’re a dead man.”

The killing intent rolled off of him with those words, so I made sure to take them to heart.

I’ve grown stronger.

Yet, even with this strength, surviving against the old geezer is still out of my reach.

So, I resolved it.

To never, under any circumstance, touch his granddaughter.

“Understood!”

Still, an engagement with the Sword Saint’s granddaughter…

There was something about it that did fill me with a certain joy.

Not because of the honor of being, even falsely, engaged to someone of the Sword Saint’s prestigious lineage.

*Finally, I can repay his kindness.*

The fact that I could repay the old geezer’s kindness was the thing that pleased me.

Aside from the obvious acts of service, this was practically the first time the old geezer had asked something of me.

It would be strange to refuse the request of one’s benefactor.

“In any case, if I go to the Messiah family, they will be asking me all about the Sword Saint. What should I say?”

“Spare the idle chatter. Coming to find me will only complicate things.”

“…It’s about the promise, isn’t it?”

What promise could this old man possibly be so keen to keep?

I was curious, but he didn’t seem inclined to share, so I didn’t press him.

“Aye. It’s about the promise. For now, just let them know I’m still breathing.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Still, the Messiah Count…

This was the eastern part of the Detiosque Kingdom.

The Messiah County was located in the south.

“That’s going to require quite the travel fund, wouldn’t you say?”

Of course, I could earn the money myself.

But knowing the old man’s nature, I had to get going quickly.

As if reading my thoughts, he tossed me a bundle.

A familiar-looking cloth pouch.

“Huh?”

A memory flashed – my first meeting with the old man, a decade ago.

‘Isn’t that the wallet I pickpocketed?’

If that was the case, what was inside…?

I opened the bundle.

Not unexpectedly.

It was filled with mana stones.

“Selling these should cover the travel expenses, and even living costs in the Messiah County.”

“You still had these?”

“I had little choice. Who’d buy mana stones in this backwater?”

That was true enough.

Wait a moment?

Did that mean…?

“So you’re saying you couldn’t use them?”

“It’d be difficult in the east, but you can sell them once you reach the outskirts of the south.”

“And the travel money to reach the southern outskirts…?”

“You’ll have to earn that yourself.”

“…Yes.”

It wasn’t difficult, per se.

Just a nuisance.

Had he said everything he needed to?

The old man slumped back onto his cot.

I was about to do the same when…

“What are you doing?”

“Excuse me?”

“You need to leave.”

I stepped outside for a moment, checked the time.

Dark already.

Though it was still early evening, being in the mountains, the sun had dipped below the peaks.

“Now?”

Who in this world starts a journey at this hour!

“Yes, now.”

Me, apparently.

Daring not voice a complaint, I began to gather my things.

Except…

“What need have you of belongings? Just take what I’ve given you.”

“…Yes.”

Even my luggage was being streamlined.

With tears welling in my eyes, I prepared to leave home, complying with the old man’s decree.

Just before departing, though.

A question, born of pure curiosity, welled up. I asked the old man,

“But what if your granddaughter genuinely comes to like me?”

Perhaps it was not my place to say such things.

But I am handsome, it’s true.

And having learned swordsmanship from the Sword Saint, I am strong.

It’s inevitable that I would garner attention.

“…That’s for you to figure out.”

“Hmm… And, hypothetically… what if your granddaughter likes me, but I don’t reciprocate?”

“I have no intention of manipulating hearts.”

“…If, during the betrothal, your granddaughter were to find another she loves?”

“Then, you may return. Invoke my name, and I shall be the guarantor of that broken engagement.”

“Yes, Grandfather! Understood!”

I didn’t offer a separate farewell to the old man.

At the latest, five years.

That was the time of the promise, the five years the old man had stipulated. In five years, we would surely meet again.

*

“The outside world, eh…”

My reaction was that of one who had sequestered in the mountains, now descending into society.

But I could not help but react this way.

I had lived in the mountains for so long, after all.

Even when I had wandered, it was only to the village at the foot of the mountain, at most.

“Come to think of it, I lived in the city until I was ten.”

Before I met the old man.

Until then, I had scraped by as a pickpocket in the city.

Now, however, I have no memories of that time.

“First things first… I need to become a mercenary, I suppose.”

Travel funds were tight.

There was nowhere nearby to sell Mana Stones.

The impoverished Eastern Region.

Tears welled up at the thought of his poor hometown, blurring his vision.

At any rate, if he was to believe the old man, he’d have to travel to the outer reaches of the Southern Region just to offload the Stones.

“Well then, shall I take a trip there for the first time in a while?”

To earn some quick travel money, he headed for the largest city in the East.

A three-day walk.

It would be no time at all.

.

.

.

“Arrived.”

Mureed, the East’s largest city.

A city endlessly smaller than even the small cities of the South or Central Region.

Still, it was the largest in the East.

Befitting the East’s largest city, the guards at the gate were quite well-armed.

‘The village guards have old spears, and don’t even wear armor.’

Sometimes there weren’t even guards to be seen.

In that respect, he felt the difference between the city and the countryside.

“Identification, please.”

“Here.”

The gatekeeper scrutinized his identification.

Perhaps it was because the gatekeeper confirmed he was a commoner…

“Lower your robe.”

His words were curt.

‘So it really is true that city guards are rude to commoners.’

To speak so informally, just like that.

The guards in the countryside were kind to visitors.

A stark difference indeed.

‘Well, whatever…’

The guard was the one in charge when dealing with a commoner, so he, the subordinate, would just have to understand.

He lowered his robe as the gatekeeper instructed.

The gatekeeper briefly flinched when he saw his hair.

‘I get it. Black hair isn’t exactly a common sight.’

Thinking about it that way, the gatekeeper’s reaction was understandable.

“Pass…”

“Yes, thank you for your trouble.”

And so, he entered the interior of Mureed.

Stepping inside, old memories suddenly came flooding back.

It was fully ten years prior.

This city, the very place I’d first picked a Magestone’s pocket.

‘Doesn’t seem to have changed much.’

Memory was fading, but nothing appeared significantly altered.

“I’ve returned!”

The black-haired cutpurse, Arthas, had come back to Mulde.

*

Guard Las, the one who waved Arthas through.

Las, face a mask of grimness, quickened his pace.

“It’s him, I’m sure of it. It has to be him.”

Every clue pointed to the man.

Black hair, dark eyes.

And that striking appearance.

“The one from ten years ago, without a doubt.”

His age seemed right, too.

Yes, it was definitely him.

“Finally found him…!”

Into the deep alleys of Mulde,

Las vanished silently.