The Swordmaster of the Frontier is Strong

I accepted the offer to become a Brigade commander.

I had no reason to refuse since they were paying me a lot.

[You can become the empire’s greatest swordmaster, not just a frontier swordmaster but a sword of the empire!]

I skimmed the letter sent by the 3rd Knight Commander and took a swig of beer.

“It’s unbelievable.”

3rd Knight Commander, Anna Terba.

She asked for help at the training center during her vacation, claiming that her carriage had broken down.

It was a shallow connection where we only shared a drink.

“But out of nowhere, she sends a letter asking me to take the position of Brigade commander….”

I gulped down the remaining beer and picked up the pungent-smelling jerky.

“Hmm….”

No matter how much I thought about it, chewing on the smelly jerky.

Even after downing the third lukewarm glass of beer.

“Why on earth?”

I could not understand why I had been chosen by the empire.

* * *

[Teheiran Empire Chronicle]

Living in a fantasy novel I bought because of its beautiful cover for almost 30 years.

I was sold as a labor servant to a frontier noble as soon as I was born.

A pair of men and women who appeared to be my parents sold me for the price of my body, laughing as if they had everything in the world for the mere cost of three boxes of apples.

I didn’t really resent my parents.

Even though I was sold as a slave, I was able to enjoy a prosperous childhood.

My master wasn’t too bad, and even his daughter, who was unusually mature for her age, treated her labor servant kindly.

Though I was called a labor servant, I was more like a house cleaner who managed all the household chores.

Moreover, my master always gave me time to train, saying that I should be able to defend myself.

In the past, my master’s profession was that of an imperial knight.

The strength emanating from his old body was definitely impressive.

[You really have no talent, Liorne. Even the basic process of encasing a blade with magical energy is too much for you]

However, young me had no talent and could not learn complex swordsmanship.

I only learned the basics of swinging, cutting, and stabbing.

Simple training of gripping the wooden sword and swinging it in the air.

I loved my training sessions since I could swing the sword freely.

‘How much did the cover of a book, whose first page I couldn’t even turn, shimmer?’

A world I knew nothing about and was immersed in.

My body strongly agreed that I had to protect myself.

I swung the wooden sword relentlessly.

Whether it rained or snowed, I swung the wooden sword whenever I had time.

Trait: Unfaltering Will

Your will does not break easily.

Thanks to the only trait I possessed, I swung even when my muscles tore, stayed up all night swinging, and swung indiscriminately during breaks.

[Why is Lio always swinging a sword? Whether reading a book, taking a walk, or fishing. There are so many other fun things to do.]

My master’s daughter always followed my training and nagged me.

Perhaps she was being petulant because her only peer and friend wouldn’t play with her.

[I just… find swinging the sword fun.]

[Again, just because? You’re really boring, Leo.]

[Why don’t you join me, Miss?]

[Eek? No! Why do I have to train even on my day off?]

Though the young lady whined every time, she eventually reluctantly held a wooden sword and trained with me.

The sound of cutting the wind grazed my cheeks. Hot sweat drops trickled down my neck.

I may have projected my will to live into the act of swinging the wooden sword as a child.

‘I am alive here.’

Somehow, I had to survive.

Trait Evolves!

Trait: Unquenchable Ember

Even if your will is trampled and broken, it will ignite again.

Thus, 17 years after being born, my trait evolved.

However, there was no time to revel in joy as a calamity struck.

“We, we have to run… Leo!”

I still remember that day.

The day I met my bloodied master and his daughter while carrying firewood back to the mansion.

“Liorne, you must protect my daughter! Even if it costs us our lives!”

“What are you talking about to Lio now? Leave someone like me and run! Hurry!”

A demon with large horns was chasing my master.

“… Why are you drawing your sword… Run! Quickly!”

The young lady grabbed my sleeve, tears mixed with blood in her eyes.

It was impossible to pick her up and flee.

“The wound is too severe. I will follow you soon.”

I shook off her hand and stood in the demon’s way.

“No! Leo!!!”

It was natural to flee from a force that seemed to engulf the surroundings, but I swung my sword.

Perhaps it was due to the confidence from my training.

Or maybe, without realizing it, I had come to consider my master as family.

I fought the demon with all I had.

Even when slammed into the ground and unable to breathe, even when its claws pierced my abdomen, I ignited the will to live.

Then I realized.

With willpower alone, I could stay alive without breathing, even if I suffered grave injuries.

Trait Evolves!

Trait: One Who Awakens to Tribulation.

Nothing can shake you.

After several days of continuous battle, I eventually won.

But all I held in my hand was the head of a demon, boasting a large horn.

The mansion, filled with the smell of blood.

My master’s corpse found near the river.

His daughter was missing, her body not even found.

I lifted my master’s corpse, my vision stained with blood.

Perhaps my master knew from the moment he ran that he would surely die soon.

I wanted to look away from my blood-soaked master.

I wanted to believe he was still alive.

But hus daughter’s voice urging me to flee was all that echoed in my ears.

Thus, my second life’s first home was lost.

“Ah? Sir Liorne? This way. The commander is waiting for you!”

Before I knew it, I had arrived at the knight’s headquarters.

I snapped out of my thoughts at the gatekeeper’s words, saluting sharply.

* * *

“It’s an honor to meet you, Sir Swordmaster of the Frontier.”

“Ah. Yes.”

The gatekeeper, smiling frivolously, extended his hand for a handshake.

I reluctantly took his hand.

“Isn’t there one of your disciples in our Knight Order? He keeps singing your praises.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes! He says he made it this far with just six months of your teaching! I want to learn from you too!”

The gatekeeper seems unaware. That the title ‘Swordmaster of the Frontier’ is a mockery of my situation, of hiding in the frontier and running a swordsmanship training center.

The person named Leorn is not the protagonist of this world.

A painful realization, learned from past experiences.

“If the opportunity arises, please train with me!”

“…Yes, take care.”

I bid the gatekeeper farewell.

With listless steps, I headed towards the 3rd Knight Brigade’s barracks.

How high the white fence was.

Just looking up made me sigh involuntarily.

* * *

Anna Terba paused while tying her long golden hair, looking out the window.

She had spotted Liorne, who was limping along.

“That young man? The knight commander of the newly-formed 7th Knight Brigade.”

The red-haired man beside Anna spoke.

“He looks ordinary, trusting him with the knight commander’s position?”

“Yep.”

“You’ve lost your mind. Complaining about too much work lately, finally snapped, have you?”

“Sorry. Unfortunately, I’m fine.”

Anna’s gaze remained fixed on Liorne. She lifted a teacup with her pinkie raised.

“Taikan, you better be careful too. When Liorne takes the helm, our standing will diminish.”

“You’re saying, that young man, who just became the knight commander, could surpass us and become the Legion Commander of the army? That’s absurd!”

“Yep. It’s the most likely scenario.”

“Nonsense.”

Taikan lounged on the sofa, smirking.

“I don’t know what potential you see in him, but his background is dubious, from the streets. Whether royalty or nobility, outsiders will shake him. Without backing, he won’t withstand it.”

Taikan was not wrong.

Regardless of the success or failure of a mission, politicians will shake the newly appointed commander with all sorts of schemes.

The reason is simple.

To promote someone from their own family or someone they can manipulate into the commander’s position.

Anna was also fed up with their schemes.

Uncharacteristically for her, known as a workaholic, she took a 3-day vacation because of the forces shaking her from outside.

“Taikan. Do you know why a worthless Baroness like me has survived as a Knight Commander till now?”

At the moment she was contemplating giving up her position, she discovered Liorne on her vacation.

Anna thought.

It’s fate, no, it’s inevitable.

“Strength. Overwhelming strength that can crush even titles. Liorne has the ability to show that overwhelming strength.”

Despite Anna’s conviction, Taikan shook his head.

How could a man with fish-like eyes and drooping shoulders like he’s about to die possess overwhelming strength?

It doesn’t make sense.

Knock, knock―

“Are you in?”

In the meantime, Liorne knocked on the office door.

* * *

Is this a scam?

I pondered seriously.

With my vivid memories of my previous life, I had no choice but to take another look at the contract that Anna had proposed.

“A salary of four hundred thousand gold coins…”

I almost choked, swallowing my saliva.

“Is it not enough?”

“No, how could that be? No way.”

I knew that the current era had a similar transition from the Middle Ages to the industrial age.

Since the average annual salary of the empire’s citizens was three hundred thousand gold coins, I could see that the monthly salary was astronomical.

“That’s not all. If you succeed in your mission or are recognized for your exceptional work, you can receive a medal.”

Anna shook the jewel brooch on her shoulder.

“With a first-class medal award, you can earn more than double your salary.”

Double? You can receive a salary and an award as well?

I set down the cup I was holding, astonished to the point where even my attribute as ‘One Who Awakens to Tribulation’ seemed pale.

Anna opened the cap of a fountain pen and laid it down in front of me.

“You said it last time. You want to make the private academy bigger and more systematic. You need money for that, don’t you?”

“Yes… you’re right, but…”

“Then there’s no opportunity like this. Besides, if you do your job as the Brigade commander well and retire honorably, there’s a high chance of receiving a title. It will greatly help in running the academy.”

I looked around the office.

The empire’s flag was lavishly framed, and the award of appointment as brigade commander, stamped with the emperor’s seal, was hanging on the wall.

I couldn’t judge the authenticity with my eyes, but from the atmosphere of the room, I was sure she wasn’t a scammer.

But why me?

“Why did I choose you?”

It seemed Anna had heard my mutterings.

“I don’t understand it either. How loudly did I have to shout at the Brigade meeting that I would recommend this Liorne?” Taikan brushed his long hair aside as he spoke.

I stared at the contract intensely.

After wetting my throat with a sip of tea, I opened my mouth.

“To be frank, Knight Commander Anna, you haven’t seen my skills. And the looks around me seem not so favorable. Why do you insist on me?”

“Is that a also for me?”

I nodded at Taikan. “Yes. You said you’re the 5th Brigade Knight Commander, right?”

He gave a hollow laugh as if he couldn’t believe it.

But Anna looked at me clearly.

“I can trust and leave it to you. Because you are the original demon. You’re the hero who defeated the ancient demon, the ancestor of the demon race.”

Huh? What’s she talking about now?

“A sword sage who subdued a demon and achieved this feat, yet lives quietly in a remote area. Isn’t that reason enough to recommend for the knight commander position?”

She says I defeated an ancient demon.

When exactly?

“The horn you had adorned at the place you told me was ‘your father’s tomb.’ We cut off the end and analyzed its composition. Didn’t it turn out to have a magical pattern similar to that of an ancient demon?”

If she’s talking about the tomb I told Anna about, it’s my master’s tomb.

I had stuck a demon’s horn in front of the tombstone to appease the unfairly killed soul.

‘…But when did she find that horn?’

Did she rummage through someone else’s house while I was sweating alone, pretending to repair the carriage?

Anna continued with a satisfied smile.

“The magical pattern of the ancient demon that engulfed the world 1,000 years ago has been passed down through ancient texts. Among the demons that have been subjugated so far, none had the same pattern. You are the first to succeed in subduing it, Liorne.”

“The ancient demon… This young man…alone?”

Taikan looked at me, springing up from his seat.

“A great battle that hasn’t even been recorded in history. And Liorne was at the center of it.”

“To accomplish such an unbelievable feat… and to be so calm about it…”

Anna, shaking her head in disbelief.

Taikan, mumbling to himself with his mouth agape.

I calmly raised my cup between the two bewildered people.

‘I didn’t know the demon I fought back then was an ancient demon.’

This was news to me.