Chapter 253.
Marsen and my battle of auras took place suddenly and released martial aura and mana on each other. It was a light probe but based on what I felt from him regarding his ability in such a short time was appalling.
"Iyaa, young Crow friend, you’re extraordinary."
Marsen smiled cheerfully, a single drop of sweat fell after having sensed my skills. It was not hard to imagine the consequences to the surroundings if we had a battle of aura to sense each other in earnest.
I magically retrieved the documents scattered by gusts of wind caused by the collision between martial aura and mana.
"Are you not being rude? You suddenly let out your martial aura without reason.”
Jeez, the papers that Hameln organized were all mixed up now. It had to be reorganized from the beginning but now was not a situation to pay attention to the documents.
Marsen looked at me and asked with interest, "Ahahaha! Isn’t this a simple greeting for the Crow Tribe?"
"That’s—"
It was heartbreaking that Marsen’s words were undeniable.
"This is not Olympus but rather the capital, so we must obey the laws of the empire. Those are manners," I said.
Marsen scratched the back of his head and laughed as if he had nothing to say. "Ahahaha, I guess that’s true. But it’s certainly been a long life to be able to see a Crow following manners,” said he.
"The people in my village also know manners. It’s just that they are "a little bit" aggressive.”
Marsen couldn’t hold it in and burst into laughter at my words. "If the Crow Tribe were only a little aggressive, then there wouldn’t be any fighting in this world.”
I sighed at the fact that I couldn’t refute those words. Not all, but most of the people back home were crazy about fighting. Rather, I was treated as a freak because I didn’t like fighting very much.
"Well, let’s just say so. How did you know I was a Crow?" I asked.
Marsen sat on the desk and brushed his chin. "Well, there are a few things, but first of all, you smell of the Olympus Forest. It seems like it’s been about three years since you left the forest."
According to old texts, the Fairy Tribe could distinguish the energy or even scent of a forest. So they never got lost in the forest and there was no one who could be their opponents.
I never expected to actually confirm what I had read. It gave me goosebumps that he could guess the time I left my hometown.
"Can the Fairies even figure that out?"
Marsen smiled lightly at my uneasiness. "Ahahaha, my senses just became sensitive as I trained, so I guessed it right. If you’ve been out of the forest for three years, the others probably can’t sense the smell of the forest on you anymore.
In other words, Marsen was a monster.
"And also, you pretended not to, but you tried to cut me as soon as you saw me, didn’t you? People like those are usually the ones with a guilty conscience or the Crows."
I answered immediately, "No, I didn’t."
It must have not been visible from the outside, so what’s wrong with his senses?
"No way. Subtle martial aura? No, it can’t be called martial aura, but should I say that I felt the desire? I felt something like that.”
"How can you feel something like that?"
"Well, it’s hard to explain, but when you get to the level of Heart Sword, you feel it. Should I say that you can feel things like curses and people’s feelings that don’t have a physical form and cut them down?"
Oh, come to think of it, it was not a vain remark considering my grandfather also cut down "Gaebolg," my lethal attack that was without physical form, a curse. This meant my grandfather was on the level of the legendary Heart Sword.
"Hmm, it’s hard to explain.”
"That’s fine. So what you’re saying is that you catch innocent people without proof.” I snorted.
Marsen stomped his foot, feeling wronged. "Ahh! No! I definitely felt that you wanted to cut me down!" he cried before sighing but immediately gave up persuading. "Phew, I’m not eloquent enough to convince someone who doesn’t believe me, so let’s move on. But for the last time, you’re hiding it brilliantly, but I still felt martial aura from you."
The last point was pointed out once before by the great elder of the Butterfly tribe. The great elder was a magician, so he didn’t notice it immediately, but Marsen knew it at once because he was a martial artist.
"Well, I see,” I admitted.
Marsen looked surprised. "You don’t believe in the Heart Sword, but you do believe that I felt martial aura? Frankly, in the realm of the senses, they are similar."
"Because I wasn’t trying to cut you down. It won’t end with just a joke if I tried to cut you down, the leader of the delegation."
Marsen clapped his hands and nodded at my words. "Oh! That’s why... Mmm, then since I answered your question, I’ll ask you a question this time,” he said brightly.
I looked at him in ridicule and brought forth the reality. "Even if you answer my questions, I never said I’d answer your questions.”
"What? Why? I’ve answered you.”
"Answering was all up to you and it’s up to me if I want to answer. Did anyone tell you to answer?" I retorted shamelessly.
Marsen scratched his head. "Hey, come on, just answer one question. It’s strange that a young Crow is strong enough to be on a par with me. Tell me who you are."
Certainly, Marsen noticed at once that I was a Crow, but he didn’t seem to know who exactly I was or where I belonged in my hometown. Of course, considering the closed-off Fairy Tribe, even if they were to go back, they wouldn’t be able to meet the people from my hometown. The problem was that while in the capital, there was a high possibility of meeting Uncle Bloody and people from my hometown. Lancelot was okay because we often met and hung out, but the other three were people who would inform my father immediately if they knew where I was.
While I was contemplating, the Fairy woman next to Marsen frowned and spoke in the Fairy Tribe language.
"Hey, you! You dare be so arrogant!? I’m not that fluent in the empire’s language so I didn’t understand the entire conversation, but this person here isn’t someone you can be arrogant towards!"
I glanced at the Fairy woman and ignored her. Since I had decided to pretend that I didn’t speak their language, I didn’t have to acknowledge her words.
"This guy!"
Then the Fairy woman went into a rage and Marsen calmed her down.
"Hey, calm down. Even if you speak for 100 days in our language, he won’t understand." Marsen reminded her.
Then, she spoke clearly. "No! I’m sure he can speak the Fairy Tribe’s language. Or he would not have said that the act of attacking us in the empire would not end simply as a joke. That’s because he knows we are the Fairy Tribe delegation!!"
I thought she could hardly speak the empire’s language, but I guess she was better than I thought.
At her words, Marsen looked at me with a surprised face. Then he asked me in the Fairy Tribe’s language, "Is it true you can understand the Fairy Tribe’s language?”
I replied with a smile, "Please speak in the empire’s language."
Marsen again looked at the Fairy woman and translated, "He is asking us to speak in the empire’s language."
The woman looked at me and asked in the empire’s language. "You... You understand, don’t you?"
"What?" I asked back.
Marsen spoke in the empire’s language to explain it. "This friend says you know about us but are feigning ignorance. The only way you would know we are the delegation is because we had a conversation in the Fairy Tribe language, so she says you know the language. Do you know our language?"
I shrugged my shoulders and answered slowly, "Well, it’s not wrong. But first of all, if there are people who speak a foreign language that is not usually heard at the time of the Fairy Tribe delegation’s arrival, wouldn’t you think that they might be the Fairy Tribe?"
The Fairy woman also shut up as if she roughly understood me. I added, to nail it home. "And isn’t it a little too much to carelessly say Marsen’s famous name and hope no one would know?”
Listening to me, she fell to her knees blushing, and apologized to Marsen in the Fairy Tribe language.
"I’m, I’m sorry. Because of this servant’s carelessness in calling the Lord Guardian’s name...! Whatever punishment you give me, I will receive it.”
Marsen waved his hand as if it wasn’t important. "It’s okay. I feel like that quick-witted Crow friend would have noticed it, even if you hadn’t said anything anyway."
Correct. Yesterday’s letter suggested that Marsen or his subordinate would come. I didn’t expect him to visit and while skipping the parade. However, it would also be strange not to connect the letter and a visit from a monster like him.
Marsen smacked his lips and expressed his regret in the empire’s language. "Well, if you don’t want to answer my question, I can’t help it. I’m not such a thug as to intimidate my friend’s people. Even more so if it’s a civil servant of the empire that I’m visiting for the sake of peace."
The friend would mean Galak Blade, my great-grandfather.
"So who would you like for me to call?" I had my conjecture but nonetheless asked.
Marsen nodded and said the name. "I’m looking for a friend named Hildegarn, who speaks the Fairy Tribe language very well. I sent a letter in advance."
I took the original letter from Marsen out of my pocket. "This letter?"
When I had interpreted it, Guild Director Glont asked me to find a dictionary and interpret it more perfectly just in case.
"Huh? Why does the Crow friend have it?"
"What do you mean, the seat that Hildegarn vacated after retirement is my current seat.”
"What?! Hildegarn retired? Why?"
Marsen looked like he was hit in the back of the head as if he had never considered the possibility of my predecessor retiring.
Then the woman next to Marsen whispered in the Fairy Tribe language, "Lord Guardian, I heard that 20 years is a very long time for foreigners. So it’s not very strange that he retired."
"Oh, really?" Marsen, with an enlightened face, soon became perplexed. "Then who’s going to be the interpreter? I don’t know political terms or difficult words."
"Wouldn’t the empire have prepared interpreters? There wasn’t necessarily a need to come all the way to the Adventurers’ Guild to look for one."
"Hildegarn spoke our language better than the interpreters prepared by the empire. He didn’t interpret it awkwardly or incorrectly.” Marsen grumbled at my words.
Unfortunately, as I was thinking about how to keep my identity secret from Marsen, who was about to give up, three people abruptly kicked the door open and came in.
The trio that entered in a trice were the Guild Director Glont, Rosellis, and Dane Walker.
Dane Walker looked surprised after looking around urgently. "Huh? I’m sure I felt a clash of some frightening auras from the Adventurers’ Guild." He wondered aloud when he saw the inside was still intact.
What the three felt was likely the aftermath of my mana and Marsen’s martial aura clashing.
"Oh, you mean that? That was me and young...”
"Hang on!"
I was in a hurry, so I cried out in the Fairy Tribe language. Then Marsen and the Fairy woman looked at me in surprise.
"What? I thought you didn’t know how to speak the Fairy Tribe language.”
When Marsen asked in the Fairy Tribe language, I asked back in the Fairy Tribe language as if I didn’t understand what he meant.
"I never said that!”
I never said I couldn’t speak the Fairy Tribe language.
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om