Viscount Razels territory.

Yasushi was currently there.

Liams sword master had come here after hearing that they were hiring people for work in the mines.

He was the founder of the great swordsmanship style of the One-Flash, but he was no big deal.

Damn it. What do you mean you cant hire me because I dont have the license to handle heavy machinery? Ive ridden on mobile knights before, even if I only boarded them.

He was originally just a street performer, but after his friend asked him for a favour, he became Liams teacher.

Soon after, his disciple quickly grew into a first-class swordsman.

Yasushi didnt understand how either.

In the end, fearing that Liam would discover the truth and kill him, Yasushi had fled as far away as he could.

Which eventually led to his current situation of wobbly walking around while broke.

He was now sloppily looking for a day job.

Even if I show off my performance, nobody takes interest and hires me

Unsteadily, he drudged his way through the entertainment district.

He didnt have enough money to continue drinking.

And yet, he still found himself walking through there.

He had already sold his sword, so he didnt have anything that had monetary value anymore.

Anybody is fine, can somebody give me more alcohol~

As he bumbled on, his shoulder collided with one of the thugs that were walking by him.

The hell, watch where youre walking!

Its hurts! Oh, the pain!

Are you okay?! -When you hurt my little brother, dont think you can get off scot-free!

He ended up getting involved with some bad people.

The surroundings seemed to be saying Wow, again?, and coldly continued on their business as to not get involved.

Yasushi was surrounded by three people with no chance of escape.

But I only lightly bumped into you!

He tried to resist, but there was no chance while he was outnumbered.

Is that all that you have to say?! I guess this means that youre blind, too!

We should bring him over to an unlicensed doctor and sell off his organs.

That sounds great!

There was no point in talking.

Yasushi was praying to the heavens for a miracle.

(Somebody please help me!)

Almost immediately after, the surroundings started to break out into a commotion.

The three thugs ignored it though and continued talking to Yasushi.

Well beat you down while everyone-

But-

While everyone- what? Dont just stop there, finish your sentence.

As Yasushi turned his gaze to behind the three thugs, he suddenly heard a familiar voice.

He was taller than the last time he had seen him.

However, he was the one person that he absolutely didnt want to meet.

(Oh god, not him. Anybody but him!)

Looking behind the three thugs, there was Liam standing there.

He was holding a weapon in his right hand.

It was a laser blade, a weapon designed to be convenient to carry.

Seeing such a Liam, the three started to reach for their handguns.

Youre just a brat! Who the hell do you think you are to take that tone wi-

The head of the man who spoke was sliced off.

Witnessing such a sight, Yasushi felt his spine freeze solid.

(T-this guy he reproduced my trick as an actual technique.)

He felt like the technique was even stronger than the last time he saw it.

Yasushi couldnt even see what happened, but he understood that Liam had grown unimaginably strong.

All of his instincts were screaming that he should never fight such a person.

He had to run away, but the place he was standing at was right in front of Liam.

(Ahh its over.)

Yasushi felt that his life was over, turning in fear to watch what was about to transpire.

The thugs had faces on that said they didnt even know what had just happened.

As Liam approached with weapon in hand, the two suddenly burst like bloody water balloons and fell down.

The surroundings were frozen in shock, unable to comprehend what had just occurred.

As the smell of blood permeated through the air- Liam,

Stay out of my way. Hey old man, are you involved with the-

Liam didnt know it was Yasushi.

But after seeing his face, he immediately genuflected onto the ground and lowered his head.

M-master! P-please excuse my rude behavior!

Looking at Liam who had hurriedly bowed his head, Yasushi was at his limit.

In stark contrast to the image he was showing off before, he started talking to Liam with a dignified attitude.

You look like youre doing fine.

Uh, yes. U-um what are you doing here?

What response would be appropriate?

The worst-case scenario would be to tell Liam his current whereabouts.

That was something he absolutely had to avoid.

Traveling Yes, Im traveling.

Youve been traveling? Oh, but why are you in a place like this without a sword? I know theres no need to be worried about you, but Master, wouldnt it be better to carry a weapon?

Yasushi thought,

(I sold it because I didnt have any money!- As if I could tell you that!)

Without a weapon, I decided to travel with only the clothes on my back.

Why?

(Why?! There is no reason why!)

Im looking for a new disciple.

Taking a glance at Liam, he said the first thing that he thought of.

Liam smiled,

If thats the case, then Ill prepare a training hall in my territory immediately. Youll be able to concentrate on fostering the future generations, and Ill be happy knowing that I was able to help fulfill the wishes of my master.

No, thats no good.

Huh?

Liams face seemed to say, Why not?

(AHHHHHH!!! My heads spinning in circles here to think of a good excuse!)

Yasushi decided to just wing it and told Liam his reason,

Its true that Im looking for a disciple, but Im not looking for just anyone. Im looking for a disciple that can complete the One-Flash style.

Complete it? No, wasnt the One-Flash already completed?

Youre wrong!

As he strongly denied it, Yasushis mind was racing.

Liam, who was yelled at by Yasushi, closed his mouth and eagerly waited for the next words.

There is no ending on the path of martial arts.

-Master, Im sorry. I was being stupid, but couldnt you find a disciple in my territory?

Im looking for someone that can complete the true One-Flash style. Liam, you are one of those possibilities, but thats not enough. Im looking for at least two more disciples like you.

(What the hell am I saying?! He was asking me about why I couldnt stay in his territory. This is bad. I need to follow up!)

Yasushis brain was spinning,

Liam, the One-Flash style I use and the one that you use are different. New possibilities wont be found in nearby places.

I-I see but even so, Master, why didnt you tell me about this?

This isnt just my problem alone. Liam, the moment you received your license, you were given the obligation to connect the One-Flash style inside of you to the next generation. Or are you telling me that you never intended to take disciples in the first place?

Liams gaze started to swim.

It looks like he never thought about taking disciples.

(Ah, I got it! If I tell him that he needs to find disciples, hell focus all his attention on them instead of myself!)

Liam, try to have at least three disciples. Not everyone you entrust your sword to will necessarily become a swordsman, but I want you to convey the One-Flash to more people. Youre already fine the way your are. In my eyes, youre already a splendid sword master.

Master, forgive me I was wrong.

Even though Yasushi was only thinking of himself, Liam still seemed quite impressed.

(This is all a lie, but it looks like its working. I want to run away, but I cant leave this planet because I dont have any money. Damn, how am I supposed to get the funds now?!)

Thats when Liam started talking,

With that said, I cant just ignore Masters current appearance as your disciple. Its only a small amount, but Ill give you some money for your travels.

Is that so? Im grateful.

(I did it! I can get away like this!)

Liam started digitally wiring the money to Yasushis terminal.

Seeing the amount, Yasushis eyes went bloodshot.

(Eh?! What the hell is with this amount?! The number of zeros here is amazing!)

After having been given an incredible amount of money, Yasushi desperately tried his best to hide his inner turmoil.

All while thinking about how he was going to leave this territory immediately.

I saw off Master while contemplating my new goals.

Three disciples I guess I need to take some too. That said, not just anyone will work

I have to work hard to spread the name of the One-Flash.

In the first place, should I open up a training hall in my territory?

However, there wasnt anyone capable of teaching the One-Flash over there.

As I was the only one taught it, I didnt have anyone I could hire as its instructor.

There were only instructors of the major swordsmanship disciplines available.

As I thought, its no good to only be thinking of myself. Masters words sure do have a lot of weight to them. I need to make sure to learn from him.

Even though he was surrounded by thugs while unarmed, he had taken an attitude that said he didnt even care.

Is that not how a person of true strength should act?

I was aiming to become an evil lord, but I still wanted to follow the same path as Master.

What are you muttering to yourself about?

The instructor knight had come to get me, who had tried to escape from the prison known as the viscounts house.

It looks like its impossible to play around in the city.

You came here for training, so why exactly are you running around and causing trouble?

Im sorry.

When I left the mansion with my upperclassmen to play around the entertainment district- I got lost.

Then thugs had suddenly appeared before me while I was in a bad mood.

I hated people like them.

They were the kind of people who ended up being debt-collectors.

In dramas and movies, theyd secretly be kind, but the truth wasnt like that at all.

Well, I can understand your feelings though.

The knight looked at me and smiled,

When I looked into them, they seemed to have quite the infamous reputation. It really makes me wonder how they havent been arrested yet.

It looks like they were actually pretty bad guys.

Well, I guess it doesnt matter anymore.

I had needlessly meddled in something I shouldnt have.

After all, Master was there. Maybe nobody wouldve died if I hadnt stepped in.

Even Lord Randolph needs breaks, so its fine to let off steam once in a while.

Ill do that.

As I thought about the various ways for me to gain disciples, I felt strangely happy.

The Razel territory was actually the main base for a band of pirates.

They were angry that three of their companions were killed.

-The ones that Liam had just killed.

Boss, we arent going to stay silent about this, are we?!

-youre really stupid, arent you? Of course well be doing it, and were going to thoroughly crush the offender.

The pirate group was the largest one in the Razel houses territory.

Apparently the other party is a nobleman. A child that had come to the Razel house for training.

What Im most afraid of is the lack of information. Of course, itd be easy to just kill him, but is there anyway for us to look into his background?

One of the subordinates had raised their hand,

Recently, theres been a VIP frequenting our casino. Hes the heir to the Peetak Count house, but he owes us a considerable debt. We might be able to use him.

Yeah, that sounds fine. Alcohol, women, money- use anything to gather information on the fool who messed with us. We always get our revenge.

First, they needed to gather information on their opponent as a precaution.

Well make that noble brat regret ever getting involved with us.

The pirates laughed and smiled as they swore revenge on Liam.

The territory of Viscount Razel.

It was a place that he usually didnt go to, but Thomas had arrived there to conduct business.

Lord Liams name doesnt seem to have any effect on the pirates here

In the territory ruled by Liam and its nearby vicinity, pirates hardly ever appeared.

However, things seemed to be different in the Razel houses territory.

One of his subordinates gave a report,

We were able to get through by paying the toll, but isnt the timing of all of this suspicious? Could it be that they actually have a connection with the Viscount?

Thomas also felt this,

I know, but we couldnt really ask Lord Liam to prepare bodyguards this time. If you consider the profits, wed be in the red with the escort costs.

Itd be nice if they could see him at the Razel houses spaceport, but they were on a schedule and had to leave as soon as business was finished.

I wanted to say hello to Lord Liam, but it looks like its impossible at the moment.

The subordinate exhaled a sigh,

Even once we finish the deal, well barely be making a profit. I dont really like places like this, which seem to have strong connections to pirates.

The pirates demanded tolls that changed depending on how successful the merchant seemed to be.

They were amounts that were just barely tolerable.

I heard that the Viscount was quite the reputable lord, but is that true?

Thomas was worried that Liam would be corrupted in the ways of the Razel house.