I Tried To Be Her Loyal Sword

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167확.

‘It seems there’s something here after all.’

It was a more violent reaction than I had expected. I briefly thought about disarming the sword stuck in my neck, but ultimately raised both hands to show my surrender.

Surely, she wouldn’t react like this to a name she had never heard before. It was clear that Yasha knew my mother. If anyone was at fault, it was me, so I had to humble myself.

“Calm down; I didn’t come here to fight.”

“I need you to tell me how you know that name, young man. Even if you say you don’t want to fight, I’m prepared to.”

The corners of Yasha’s mouth lifted playfully, but her eyes showed no hint of laughter. I was a bit taken aback.

‘What kind of relationship does she have with my mother to react like this?’

Yasha was a Sword Expert, just on the brink of becoming a Sword Master, equipped with rich experience and extraordinary combat intuition.

Even if she could not claim the title of the strongest in the continent, she was certainly at the very next tier. Perhaps Reiner wasn’t even a match for her. Although their skills might be comparable, the younger Reiner would find it hard to defeat the more experienced Yasha.

She was definitely strong.

“Are you confident you can defeat me?”

But she was no match for me, the Sword Master. In the presence of a Sword Master, experience meant nothing if you weren’t on the same level. I was confident in my strength.

“Hahaha!”

It wasn’t meant to sound malicious, but it was spoken with enough bravado that it might have upset Yasha. However, unexpectedly, she burst into laughter.

Her eyes, looking at me, resembled those of an elder watching their grandchild perform.

“You’re quite confident. I suppose you wonder how strong an old lady can be, eh? But—”

With a sudden flick, the tip of her sword gracefully rotated close to my neck, embedding itself into the red sofa right beside me. The sound of it piercing the soft, crimson couch was eerily reminiscent of flesh being penetrated, sending chills down my spine. Nonchalantly, Yasha leaned closer, her face near mine, her sword still held with one hand, twisting the corner of her mouth.

“I haven’t wasted my life either. Even if I cannot defeat you, I won’t easily yield, young one.”

A glint shone from one of her vivid blue eyes. A color unmatched by the vividness of the blue sea or the vastness of the blue sky. I learned that cold blue could feel intensely warm through her gaze.

Flames danced in Yasha’s eyes.

“You’re quite sensitive, aren’t you? It seems you have a close relationship with Anteia.”

I didn’t shy away from her gaze and casually assessed her.

If she were to turn into a sworn enemy, revealing that I was a child of Anteia would be troublesome. She might seek revenge for whatever Anteia had done to her.

‘Though she doesn’t seem like the vengeful type… but still, I’d rather not fight her.’

Before discussing anything further, I thought I should verify the relationship between Anteia and Yasha. With a slight chuckle, Yasha’s eyes lit up.

“Anteia was the one who saved my life.”

“Saved your life?”

I couldn’t help but flinch. This was unexpected.

‘That powerful Yasha with the blue wings faced danger? My mother was strong enough to save Yasha in such a situation?’

I bit my lip in confusion. Surely, by looking in the mirror, I’d see my eyes trembling slightly.

“…Is that true?”

My mother was someone who fought for the marginalized, someone who helped those in danger.

Realizing more and more that she wasn’t a villain made every moment I had spent resenting her feel like a sin.

As I collected my tangled feelings, Yasha lightly pulled her sword from the couch and pointed its tip to the ground for support, indicating her right eye, which was covered by a black patch.

“It was the day I almost failed my first commission. That’s when that child helped me.”

“Ah.”

I let out a short sound. Pieces of the conversation began coming together like a puzzle.

“That child helped me in a dire moment, and to repay that kindness, I helped them as well. They asked me to protect them. I know that someone was pursuing that child. Probably creditors. I recall it being quite difficult to shake them off.”

Yasha’s azure eye deepened as if chasing memories from the past. Regret tinged her voice.

“I hurt many people to complete commissions. I wasn’t a good person. Laws and rules couldn’t hold me down. However, I have my own sense of justice. How could a human be human without compassion? At the very least, I don’t forget my debts.”

The notion that someone stands atop a peak implies that there were many who suffered to stack that summit. Her wrinkled hands must have caused a river of blood to flow.

The greatest broker guild, the undefeated myth, wasn’t something obtained through card games.

In this world, it’s simply impossible to survive without stepping on someone else. I, too, did not commit murder, but I defeated numerous challengers who sought to take my place.

Her definition of justice was probably the last remnant of her humanity, granted while she was becoming a monster. That was likely her form of justice.

“That child said they had repaid their debt by helping me then, but I don’t see it that way. A benefactor is a benefactor for life. Even if they are deceased, as long as I live, they will always remain my benefactor. If you’re someone sent by the creditors who pursued Anteia, and you’re here to dig up information about her… I’m sorry, but I have nothing to say.”

An ominous killing intent flared from Yasha. Instinctively, I placed my hand on the hilt of my sword.

She took a glance at my sword-hand with her sparkling blue eyes and smiled.

Seeing someone facing me without a hint of fear was a long-awaited experience. Yasha wasn’t afraid of death.

“An old lady who has lived her life isn’t going to sell out her former benefactor just to live a little longer. I’m Yasha of the Blue Wings, what would I have to fear?”

With a confident voice, she stood up and raised her large sword.

That massive sword bore the weight of her definition of justice.

“Stand up. Let’s have a duel, then!”

Shiiing!

Mana condensed on the blade.

Yasha’s aura was as clear blue as her eyes and as resplendent as her sense of justice.

I stared intently at Yasha. She was truly a dazzling person. I could faintly entertain the thought of wanting to grow old like her.

‘Would I also be able to have a sense of justice that isn’t rigid and inflexible, but rather free and dignified like yours?’

Under the obsession that one shouldn’t kill, I still worried about the massacres I would have to commit in war.

My sense of justice was still immature. It wasn’t the softened earth shaped through time but a solid rock surface.

I still didn’t want to harm anyone, and even the thought of murder made me feel sick. I likely would forever feel that way. The moment I forget this sensation, I would cease being human.

However, just like my sense of justice, there were people important to me. Like Yasha, who lives by her own sense of justice without adhering to laws and norms, I needed my own form of justice as well. A balanced sense of justice that wouldn’t lean too far to one side or the other, preserving both my beliefs and my loved ones.

‘I, too, want my own sense of justice.’

I began to develop a sense of admiration for Yasha.

After glancing at her for a moment, I inhaled sharply and began to piece together the puzzle using the knowledge I had combined with Yasha’s words.

The creditors were dealt with by Caesar. But Anteia likely didn’t realize that, thinking that the creditors would pursue her she asked Yasha for help to escape them. Yet, it was actually my father pursuing my mother. I had heard that he sought my mother and me. Perhaps Yasha, thinking my father was a creditor chasing after Anteia, desperately fought to shake him off, resulting in my father failing to obtain information and believing that my mother and I were dead.

It was a tangled web of events, and I had no idea where to start to fix it.

‘If no one could find information on Anteia in the House of Crisis, then someone with considerable skill must have been concealing it… could it be Yasha?’

The puzzle of the past was slowly coming together.

As I drifted into thought without reacting, Yasha narrowed her eyes while looking at me.

“What’s wrong? Are you scared to draw your sword against this old lady? Tsk, tsk. Is that how you young people are? A proper young man always—”

“I have something to say.”

I gently cut her off as smoothly as possible and held her gaze.

“Firstly, I do not wish to fight with you, elder. Secondly, I am not here regarding Anteia Hella’s debts. And thirdly—”

Before I finished my last point, I hesitated.

I had come here as Mir. Revealing my personal information could be risky.

‘But it will be revealed soon anyway.’

Before long, the entire Empire would know my identity as Mir, and I felt it safe to share it with Yasha. After all, she truly cared for my mother.

I spoke firmly.

“I am the child of Anteia Hella.”

Yasha held her breath. Her body stiffened. The grip on her sword loosened, and it nearly dropped. The visible side of her eye turned a shade of shock, as if she had just discovered that someone she had loved was actually her long-lost sibling.

“You mean to say that the mercenary Mir… is Anteia’s child? Seriously? You’re not joking, right? The ‘that’ Anteia Hella I know?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

I answered firmly, trying to quell Yasha’s evident disbelief.

‘Should I take off my mask and reveal my face?’

Though I certainly confirmed it, Yasha was frozen without any response.

I didn’t remember how my mother looked, so I couldn’t be sure if I resembled her or not. But I recalled when Caesar mentioned that I bore some resemblance to my mother, so I pondered if I needed to prove it with my bare face.

“Wait, wait, wait, really?”

Yasha tossed away her sword and leaned forward, grabbing my cheeks forcefully.

“Now that I think about it, those pure eyes… that straight jaw… round ears… that oval-shaped face…! Those childlike eyes…! Totally Anteia! Moreover, your eye color is just like when you were a child! Damn it, how did I not recognize you at once?!”

“W-wait, elder…”

Her grip tightened, edging me towards the brink as Yasha exclaimed.

With my lips pursed like a pufferfish, I struggled to speak properly, but she couldn’t hide her excitement as she beamed at me.

“I visited Anteia’s house a few times after you were born! Shushush! Kashmir! Is that you? Damn, I didn’t expect you to grow up like this! Wait, you’re the mercenary Mir? The disaster known as Mir? One of the three swords of the Empire? I’m proud of you, kid! When I first saw your eyes, I knew you’d grow up big! I can barely contain my excitement! I should tell everyone! Oh my, I can’t believe that little guy has grown this much! Stronger than me? The earth must be splitting apart!”

Yasha’s mouth opened like a dam breaking. I remained stunned, still tightly held by her hands, catching up with the rapid rush of words.

I was astonished that Yasha had seen me as a child, but an even greater question occupied my mind.

Is Yasha… my grandmother?