Viscount Razel’s territory .

Yasus.h.i.+ was currently there .

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

He was the founder of the great swordsmans.h.i.+p style of the One-Flash, but he was no big deal .

“d.a.m.n it . What do you mean you can’t hire me because I don’t have the license to handle heavy machinery? I’ve 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 Liam’s teacher .

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

Yasus.h.i.+ didn’t understand how either .

In the end, fearing that Liam would discover the truth and kill him, Yasus.h.i.+ 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, n.o.body takes interest and hires me…”

Unsteadily, he drudged his way through the entertainment district .

He didn’t have enough money to continue drinking .

And yet, he still found himself walking through there .

He had already sold his sword, so he didn’t have anything that had monetary value anymore .

“Anybody is fine, can somebody give me more alcohol~”

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

“The h.e.l.l, watch where you’re walking!”

“Its hurts! Oh, the pain!”

“Are you okay?! -When you hurt my little brother, don’t 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 .

Yasus.h.i.+ was surrounded by three people with no chance of escape .

“But I only lightly b.u.mped 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 you’re 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 .

Yasus.h.i.+ 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 Yasus.h.i.+ .

“We’ll beat you down while everyone-”

But-

“While everyone- what? Don’t just stop there, finish your sentence . ”

As Yasus.h.i.+ 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 didn’t want to meet .

(Oh G.o.d, 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 .

“You’re just a brat! Who the h.e.l.l do you think you are to take that tone wi-”

The head of the man who spoke was sliced off .

Witnessing such a sight, Yasus.h.i.+ 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 .

Yasus.h.i.+ couldn’t 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…  it’s over . )

Yasus.h.i.+ felt that his life was over, turning in fear to watch what was about to transpire .

The thugs had faces on that said they didn’t even know what had just happened .

As Liam approached with weapon in hand, the two suddenly burst like b.l.o.o.d.y 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 didn’t know it was Yasus.h.i.+ .

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, Yasus.h.i.+ was at his limit .

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

“You look like you’re 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, I’m traveling . ”

“You’ve been traveling? Oh, but why are you in a place like this without a sword? I know there’s no need to be worried about you, but Master, wouldn’t it be better to carry a weapon?”

Yasus.h.i.+ thought,

(‘I sold it because I didn’t 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!)

“…I’m looking for a new disciple . ”

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

Liam smiled,

“If that’s the case, then I’ll prepare a training hall in my territory immediately . You’ll be able to concentrate on fostering the future generations, and I’ll be happy knowing that I was able to help fulfill the wishes of my master . ”

“No, that’s no good . ”

“Huh?”

Liam’s face seemed to say, “Why not?”

(AHHHHHH!!! My head’s spinning in circles here to think of a good excuse!)

Yasus.h.i.+ decided to just wing it and told Liam his reason,

“It’s true that I’m looking for a disciple, but I’m not looking for just anyone . I’m looking for a disciple that can complete the One-Flash style . ”

“Complete it? No, wasn’t the One-Flash already completed?”

“You’re wrong!”

As he strongly denied it, Yasus.h.i.+’s mind was racing .

Liam, who was yelled at by Yasus.h.i.+, closed his mouth and eagerly waited for the next words .

“There is no ending on the path of martial arts . ”

“-Master, I’m sorry . I was being stupid, but couldn’t you find a disciple in my territory?”

“I’m looking for someone that can complete the true One-Flash style . Liam, you are one of those possibilities, but that’s not enough . I’m looking for at least two more disciples like you . ”

(What the h.e.l.l am I saying?! He was asking me about why I couldn’t stay in his territory . This is bad . I need to follow up!)

Yasus.h.i.+’s brain was spinning,

“–Liam, the One-Flash style I use and the one that you use are different . New possibilities won’t be found in nearby places . ”

“I-I see… but even so, Master, why didn’t you tell me about this?”

“This isn’t 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?”

Liam’s 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, he’ll 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 . You’re already fine the way your are . In my eyes, you’re already a splendid sword master . ”

“Master, forgive me… I was wrong . ”

Even though Yasus.h.i.+ 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 can’t leave this planet because I don’t have any money . d.a.m.n, how am I supposed to get the funds now?!)

That’s when Liam started talking,

“With that said, I can’t just ignore Master’s current appearance as your disciple . It’s only a small amount, but I’ll give you some money for your travels . ”

“Is that so? I’m grateful . ”

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

Liam started digitally wiring the money to Yasus.h.i.+’s terminal .

Seeing the amount, Yasus.h.i.+’s eyes went bloodshot .

(Eh?! What the h.e.l.l is with this amount?! The number of zeros here is amazing!)

After having been given an incredible amount of money, Yasus.h.i.+ 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 wasn’t anyone capable of teaching the One-Flash over there .

As I was the only one taught it, I didn’t have anyone I could hire as its instructor .

There were only instructors of the major swordsmans.h.i.+p disciplines available .

“As I thought, it’s no good to only be thinking of myself . Master’s 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 att.i.tude that said he didn’t 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 viscount’s house .

It looks like it’s impossible to play around in the city .

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

“I’m sorry . ”

When I left the mansion with my uppercla.s.smen 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, they’d actually secretly be kind, but the truth wasn’t 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 haven’t been arrested yet . ”

It looks like they were actually pretty bad guys .

Well, I guess it doesn’t matter anymore .

I had needlessly meddled in something I shouldn’t have .

After all, Master was there . Maybe n.o.body would’ve died if I hadn’t stepped in .

“Even Lord Randolph needs breaks, so it’s fine to let off steam once in a while . ”

“I’ll 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 aren’t going to stay silent about this, are we?!”

“-you’re really stupid, aren’t you? Of course we’ll be doing it, and we’re going to thoroughly crush the offender . ”

The pirate group was the largest one in the Razel house’s territory .

“Apparently the other party is a n.o.bleman . A child that had come to the Razel house for training . ”

“What I’m most afraid of is the lack of information . Of course, it’d 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, there’s been a VIP frequenting our casino . He’s 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 .

“We’ll make that n.o.ble 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 didn’t go to, but Thomas had arrived there to conduct business .

“Lord Liam’s name doesn’t 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 house’s territory .

One of his subordinates gave a report,

“We were able to get through by paying the toll, but isn’t 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 couldn’t really ask Lord Liam to prepare bodyguards this time . If you consider the profits, we’d be in the red with the escort costs . ”

It’d be nice if they could see him at the Razel house’s s.p.a.ceport, but they were on a schedule and had to leave as soon as business was finished .

“I wanted to say h.e.l.lo to Lord Liam, but it looks like it’s impossible at the moment . ”

The subordinate exhaled a sigh,

“Even once we finish the deal, we’ll barely be making a profit . I don’t 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 .