The Swordmaster Who Returned After 1,000 Years

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 153

It had already been a year since Eldir became the Knight Commander of the Starn Kingdom.

As he looked at the knights under his command, a smile formed on his lips.

‘Challenging me to a drinking contest? Where’s that confidence coming from?’

The knights who had been relentlessly training at Kaylen’s Sword Seat…

With Kaylen away to complete the Six Swords, they took the opportunity to head to a tavern under the excuse of taking a break.

"Commander, I heard from a contact at the Fairy Tower that you used to be drunk every day."

"Even if you’ve been drinking for hundreds of years, that doesn’t mean your tolerance is high, does it?"

"As a representative of humanity, I’ll defeat the elf for you."

"Hah. You fools… Do you even know how strong that drink is? A human thinking they can outdrink an elf—"

Amidst the lively chatter of the knights, Eldir sat down with them.

"Here. Bring us some beer and snacks."

As the youngest knight placed the order, another interrupted.

"Beer? You can’t have a real contest with beer. That’s just something you drink instead of water. Bring rum instead."

"Ohh! Commander, are you seriously taking on a race battle?"

"Who was the one who started this? I’ll show you the terror of an elf. Haha."

Eldir swallowed in anticipation as he watched the drinks being set on the table.

One year had passed with Kaylen.

Had it been because he had diligently trained with the sword all this time?

—You don’t have to abstain from alcohol anymore. The drunken mess you once were is gone, so do as you wish.

His father-in-law, Kaylen, had lifted the drinking ban with a gentle voice.

‘Come to think of it, he’s been treating me strangely well these days.’

He would ask if he was having a hard time.

He would also watch over his swordsmanship more attentively.

Unaware that Kaylen had been feeling burdened ever since meeting Melvria, Eldir simply thought his skills had been recognized.

‘I held back all this time because of training, but…’

Now that his father-in-law was training at the World Tree for several days…

And there was no sword training at the Sword Seat…

This was the perfect time to drink.

"Alright, raise your glasses!"

Eldir shouted boldly.

All eyes turned toward him.

"That’s the Swordmaster Knight Commander?"

"As expected of an elf, he looks stunning."

"I heard portraits of His Majesty and the Knight Commander are selling like crazy in the markets. No wonder."

"For someone of his stature to come to a tavern, he must be quite down-to-earth."

Listening to the murmurs around her, Melvria furrowed her brows.

‘Eldir… Just what are you doing here?!’

As an Elven Guard, he was supposed to be protecting the Fairy Tower.

Yet now, he was playing knight commander for her fake father?

She wanted nothing more than to lash out at him.

‘But I can’t risk exposing myself here.’

Suppressing her frustration, she called a server.

"I’ll have rum too."

"Understood."

Sip, sip.

Melvria sipped her rum, her expression twisting in displeasure.

What was so delicious about this that they were gulping it down like water?

‘He barely drank before…’

The Eldir she remembered was a pure-hearted young man.

With innocent, bright eyes, he had chased after her for over a hundred years, saying he loved her.

In the end, she gave in to his persistence and married him. Even then, he remained a devoted husband who cherished her.

He never touched alcohol, and despite being busy with his duties as an Elven Guard, he even took care of the household chores.

But now…

"Ahh, now this is real liquor. It’s got to have a kick, don’t you think, men?"

"Commander, you’re really good at this…"

"Hey, are you seriously holding your cup? Even I, your commander, am drinking straight from the bottle. Are you really going to try and cheat in this grand battle between humans and elves?"

"Commander, you’ve lived long enough—cut us some slack!"

"Shut up. Drink from the bottle."

Watching Eldir clink bottles with the knights, Melvria’s expression hardened.

That once-pure husband of hers—how had he ended up like this?

‘Instead of working toward the Elves’ Great Wish, he’s wasting time here.’

If the Great Wish were fulfilled, the elves could finally be freed from this land.

Lingering too long in a place under Caius’s watchful eye would only spell trouble.

‘This is unbearable.’

Melvria, who had been sipping her rum, started drinking more heavily.

As someone who had mastered the Six Demon Blades, she wouldn’t get drunk so easily.

"Bring me more rum."

...

Seeing Eldir guzzling down alcohol just to beat humans, she found herself drinking without realizing it.

How many hours had passed since the drinking contest began?

"Hic… Hic…."

"C-Commander… We surrender… Humanity… loses."

"Heh. Didn’t I tell you not to challenge me?"

One by one, the knights collapsed. Only Eldir remained, his face flushed as he laughed.

"Ugh… Humanity won’t lose so easily!"

"Ah, that person over there… She’s drinking a lot…"

Among the few knights still conscious, some slurred their words as they glanced toward Melvria.

"…Me?"

Watching Eldir’s ridiculous drinking contest had been frustrating enough, so she had kept drinking as well.

At some point, empty rum bottles had piled up on her table.

Since she wasn’t drinking to get drunk, her complexion remained perfectly fine.

Eldir’s eyebrow twitched at the sight.

"Ohh. A worthy opponent among humans, I see."

He looked at Melvria.

Tanned skin, a beautiful yet strong presence—an unmistakable warrior.

Despite all the alcohol she had consumed, there was no sign of intoxication on her face. Eldir’s competitive spirit flared.

"Judging by your outfit, you must be a mercenary. Care for a drink with me?"

He lifted a rum bottle, speaking with bold confidence.

Upon seeing that, Melvria’s expression hardened.

Her husband was flirting with another woman in a tavern, wasn’t he?

"…Commander, is that an order?"

"An order? No, I just thought you seemed to handle alcohol well, so why not represent humanity in this battle between races?"

"You say that while surrounded by your black-armored knights. How could I possibly refuse such a request? A mercenary like me has even more reason to fear the consequences."

Melvria spoke in a crisp, deliberate manner, causing Eldir to flinch in surprise.

He had only invited her for a drink because she seemed like a strong drinker.

But from her perspective, it could easily look like the Royal Knight Commander was coercing her.

"…I see. My apologies. I hadn’t considered that."

Eldir staggered as he stood up and bowed his head deeply to Melvria.

Even though he had reached the level of a Sword Master, he hadn’t bothered to shake off the intoxication.

Watching him sway, Melvria let out a deep sigh.

"Haa. Fine. Let’s have a drink."

"Ah… No, really, it’s alright. I was being rude to a lady."

"I just feel like drinking. Let’s go over there."

She had been so sharp-tongued just moments ago.

And now, she suddenly wanted to join?

Eldir found it puzzling.

But when Melvria spoke again—

"I’ll show you the strength of humanity."

His expression quickly turned confident.

"Heh… You’ll regret this."

Completely unaware that she was his wife.

* * *

"Kaylen, what happened? Your aura feels different. Stronger."

Myorn looked in awe as Kaylen stepped into the workshop.

Even before, he had been a monstrous existence beyond normal measurement.

But now, he was on another level entirely.

‘It feels like all the mana in the atmosphere completely obeys him.’

As soon as Kaylen entered, the flow of mana shifted.

Various elemental energies gathered behind him.

It was as if the Sword Area, a power reserved for Sword Masters, had evolved to an entirely new level.

Hearing Myorn’s words, Kaylen smiled.

"Good instincts, Myorn. I’ve completed the Six Blades."

"Ah… Then, are you a Grand Sword Master?"

"You could say I’m at the entry level."

"Wow!"

Myorn’s jaw dropped.

Even for someone as exceptional as Kaylen, reaching the level of a Grand Sword Master in his twenties—

Was such a thing even possible?

"Well, since I’m here, I might as well bring this over. I also had something to ask."

"What’s this?"

A metallic fragment attached to a green mana stone.

The mana within the stone had nearly depleted, and the metal shards didn’t seem particularly remarkable.

"This used to be an S-rank Mana Suit—Stormwind."

At Kaylen’s words, Myorn hurriedly reached out and took it with an urgent expression.

"This is Stormwind?"

"Yeah. Thanks to absorbing the mana there, I was able to complete the Six Blades. But that’s all that’s left of it."

"Aha, I see."

"There’s an angel sealed inside, so don’t handle it too roughly."

"Oh, really? Then as long as I don’t break the mana stone, it should be fine, right?"

"Yeah. But… what’s that guy doing over there?"

Kaylen pointed to the corner of Myorn’s workshop.

Eldir was curled up on the floor, clutching a staff.

Even from a distance, the strong smell of alcohol reached Kaylen, making him frown.

How much did he drink?

"Oh, that? Yesterday, he was whining about losing to a human in a drinking contest and collapsed in the corner of the workshop. I wasn’t here at the time, so I don’t know the full details."

"Eldir lost in a drinking contest?"

"Yeah. He was crying about disgracing the elves just a moment ago."

"Huh…"

Kaylen found it hard to believe.

An elf who had lived for centuries, with all that drinking experience.

Not to mention, he was a Sword Master.

And he lost to a human in drinking?

"Who did he lose to? The knights?"

"A woman, apparently."

"A woman?"

With Melvria alive and well, and her deadly glare intact, a woman beat him?

Kaylen stretched out his hand toward Eldir.

Eldir’s body floated into the air and shot out of the workshop.

"What are you doing?"

"Gotta discipline him a bit."

Whoooosh.

Eldir spun in the air like a top.

"Ugh… ugh… bleeerrgh…!"

The sound of retching echoed from outside, but the spinning didn’t stop.

Any normal human would have collapsed from dizziness by now.

Kaylen, unfazed, kept his hand extended and turned to Myorn.

"About what I came here for today."

"Oh, right. You said you had something to ask?"

"Yeah. I was curious about dragons. Do the dwarves have any records on them?"

"Dragons, huh…"

Myorn trailed off at Kaylen’s question.

"You’re not asking about the dragons that humans talk about, are you? You want to know about the myths?"

"Myths… Yeah. What do the dwarven myths say?"

"It might not be something a human would enjoy hearing. And you… you’re the wielder of the Holy Sword."

"It’s fine. I have the sword because it’s a good weapon, not because I’m particularly religious."

At Kaylen’s response, Myorn tapped the floor lightly with her fur-covered hand.

"Alright, then. I’ll skip the unnecessary details. Do you know the name of the seventh dragon in dwarven mythology?"

"What is it?"

"Averia."

Averia?

The name sounded familiar.

Of course, it did.

"It's the same name as the Averia continent."

After all, the continent Kaylen stood upon was called Averia.

"That's right. This—Averia Continent—is the seventh dragon."

"What? What are you talking about? Are you saying this land is a dragon?"

"Exactly. This is the god our kind worships. A dragon. Completely different from what humans think they know."

Kaylen looked down at the ground beneath him.

So… this continent is a dragon?

"…I can't believe it."

Dragons—he had always thought of them as just larger versions of drakes.

But in dwarven mythology, a dragon was an entire continent itself.

That led Kaylen to a question.

In human mythology, the one who created this continent was the Celestial God.

But how did the dwarves explain it?

"Then what about the Celestial God? How is the Celestial God described in your myths?"

"Promise you won’t get mad at me after hearing it?"

"I told you, I’m not religious."

"They… are parasites that live by feeding off this continent."

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]