Brain could not bring himself to believe him. The thing that he would not trade for anything, his ‘desire for strength’ ended up being meaningless. Too easily, it was destroyed. Did he not grow frightened and flee?
As his expression gradually darkened and his face headed downward, the following words of the old man brought his face upright.
“…What is raised alone will be weak. After all, it will be over once you yourself are broken. Instead, if you build yourself up with another, if you can give your all for someone else, then even if you are broken you will not fall.”
Brain thought to himself. Did he have that something?
However, there was nothing. He had thrown them aside, thinking them to be useless and unnecessary for his pursuit of strength. It turned out that they were what were truly important.
Brain laughed out loud. His life was filled with nothing but mistakes. Before he knew it, words spilled from his mouth like a confession.
“I’ve thrown it all away. Is it too late for me to try again?”
“It will be fine. Even someone like me with no talent was able to do it. If it’s Unglaus-sama, I have no doubt that you will be able to pull through! It’s definitely not too late!”
The boy’s words had no proof. However, strangely enough, Brain felt a warm sensation spread through his heart.
“You are kind and strong… I’m sorry.”
The boy fell into a flutter from the sudden apology. Someone with this much courage, he had mocked him and called him a kid.
Foolish. I was so, so foolish…
“But if you say that you’re Brain Unglaus… could you be the one who fought against Stronoff-sama in the past?”
“…So you remember… Did you perhaps watch the fight?”
“Ah, I wasn’t able to see it. I merely heard of it from someone who did. That person said that Unglaus-sama was an incredible swordsman and that people with his skill in the Kingdom could be counted with one hand. Now that I’ve seen your posture and how you maintain your center of gravity as you move, I know that the person was speaking the truth!”
Pushed back by his genuine compliments, Brain stammered out a reply.
“…Erm, th-thanks. I-I don’t really think I’m that great, but… I’m a bit happy that you’re giving me so much praise.”
“Hmm… Unglaus-sama.”
“Elder, just call me Unglaus. I’m not worthy to be referred with honorifics by someone like you, elder!”
“Then since my name is Sebas Tian, please call me Sebas. …Then Unglaus-kun.”
Although he felt a bit awkward at having ‘kun’ attached to his name, it wasn’t strange when considering the difference in their ages.
“How about you were to teach the sword to Climb-kun here? I believe that it will prove beneficial to Unglaus-kun as well.”
“Ah, I apologize! My name is Climb, Unglaus-sama.”
“Then elder …excuse me, will Sebas-sama not be the one to teach him? It seemed you were discussing that before I interrupted.”
“Yes, that was what I intended initially. But I felt that it was necessary that I deal with my guests— ah, here they are. It seems they were busy donning their equipment.”
Brain belatedly turned his eyes in the direction that Sebas was looking.
Three men showed themselves. They each wore a chain shirt and held a bladed weapon in their thick leather gloves.
They clearly gave off a killing intent that surpassed mere hostility. Although their bloodlust was only directed at the old man, they did not seem to be the type to have mercy and spare witnesses.
Seeing the men, Brain unwittingly spoke out in a shrill voice filled with surprise.
“No way! They’re coming this way even after receiving that bloodlust? Are they that strong?!”
Then he could only imagine that each one of them was as skilled— no, even stronger than Brain himself. Was the reason that their shadowing was sloppy because they focused on perfecting their warrior skills instead?
However, Brain’s fears were rejected by Sebas.
“The bloodlust from earlier was only directed at you two.”
“…What?”
Even Brain thought that his own voice sounded stunned.
“For Climb, it was to train him. For you, because you seemed to have no intention of showing your face, I sent it to try and drag you out and to root out any hostility you might have along with your will to fight. I did not do it to those men because I knew that they were enemies from the beginning. It would be troublesome for me if they were to grow frightened by my bloodlust and flee, after all.”
Sebas had sneaked in something terrifying in his explanation. Brain could not even bring himself to be surprised. To think that he could control bloodlust of that scale with such precision, that was no longer something that could be understood within the confines of common sense.
“I-I see. Then do you know the identity of those men?”
“I could venture a guess but am not certain. That is why I intend to capture one or two for information. However—.”
Sebas bowed his head.
“I do not wish for the two of you to be dragged into this. Will you not leave this place immediately?”
Hearing his words, Climb asked him.
“Before that, I have a question that I’d like to ask you. Those men… are they criminals?”
“…It seems that way. I don’t think they’re the type of people who’ve led proper lives.”
Having heard Brain’s answer, fire burned in Climb’s eyes.
“Though I may only be in the way, I want to fight as well. As someone who protects the capital’s peace, it’s obvious that I must protect the citizens.”
In his mind, Brain thought that there was no guarantee that Sebas was the just one in this situation. Well, no doubt that anyone who compares the men who just appeared with Sebas who gave off the impression of integrity would believe him to be the good side. But even so, there was no guarantee.
A greenhorn…
However, he sympathized with him. When comparing the one who saved that child from the drunkards with these men, it was certain which side Brain would take.