<h4>Chapter 105: Genius, Genius and Another Genius (1)</h4>


    It was the third day since Irene, and his party met Judith and Bratt.


    They naturally blended into the party as if they have been traveling together since the beginning.


    Of course, Lulu was someone people liked, and the good-natured Kuvar had gotten close to Judith. Irene did expect them to get to know each other, but not so quickly.


    Most of all, the rtionship between Kuvar and Bratt was surprising.


    “Bourbon? I’ve heard of that, but I never drank it… may I have a sip?”


    “Sure, here you go.”


    “Hmm… it''s better than I thought. It''s sweeter and thicker than the regr whiskey, but…”


    “Haha. That''s the charm of bourbon. Since the raw material is corn and the oak barrels used are different for each, the taste differs. And you know what. The bourbon here is only three years old.”


    “What… if it''s just 3 years old, why does it taste like that?”


    


    “Haha. It''s said that the region where the bourbon was made is so hot that it doesn’t have to age for a long time. But, are you fine?”


    “Hmm… and it isn’t bad.”


    Irene wasn’t sure when the hobby started, but Bratt Lloyd was pretty savvy.


    However, even he couldn’t beat Kuvar in one of his majors.


    The orc had a broader knowledge of alcohol than the noble.


    And Kuvar had no choice but to be happy with Bratt.


    It was his first time having a drinking buddy. He couldn’t help but feel excited.


    Thanks to that, the two quickly became friends without needing Irene’s help.


    The appearance of a high-ranked noble who listened about alcohol while sitting next to a wandering orc driving a carriage was out of ce, but in Irene’s eyes, it seemed like the two had known each other for 10 years.


    Of course, Kuvar was not only the friend of Bratt.


    Rather, he showed a strong bond with Judith too, but the medium that connected them was… none other than divination.


    “You, was there a persimmon tree in the town where you lived when you were little?”


    “… how did you know?”


    “And there were a lot of cats too?”


    “…!”


    “Was there a sign with a picture of a marlin?”


    “H-How did you know that!”


    The beginning was ordinary.


    As usually the case with quack fortune tellers, Kuvar opened a story that would be readily epted.


    What kind of town doesn’t have a persimmon tree?


    And was there ever a town without cats?


    Judith even said that a ck cat roamed where she lived when she was drunk.


    But she doesn’t remember saying it.


    The only thing hard to find would be the marlin, but that wasn’t so strange considering where Judith lived.


    The east Pavar coast is known for catching marlins, so having a sign made of it wouldn’t be weird.


    But because of that, Judith came to believe Kuvar’s skills.


    Not just that, she even thanked him for giving her a free divination.


    “Pathetic. Like I said before, you are too superstitious. You went ahead and even made a mistake with Lulu…”


    “If you bring up that story one more time, you’ll regret it, I mean it!”


    “… anyways, don’t get too caught up in it. When I say other things a hundred times, you never even listen, but for this…”


    “Are you cursing Mr. Kuvar now?”


    “No, I''m close with Kuvar too, but that isn’t what I mean…”


    “Astrology is an important branch of science which predicts what will happen on earth by analyzing what happens in the sky. A rational approach to human destiny would be based on information umted by closely observing the sun, moon, constetions, andets…”


    “…”


    Bratt couldn’t say anything to Judith, who was already engrossed with Kuvar, who was talking about astrology.


    Rather than them, Lulu was the one who had little interaction, but there was nothing to worry about.


    It wasn’t that she didn’t get along with them, but it was because Lulu wanted to concentrate on her sorcery.


    She meditated in the seated position during the journey and after eating she went back to training, so there was no time for conversation.


    “Judith, Brat Lloyd. Would you like to eat this?”


    “… not brat, it''s Bratt.”


    “Ah right, sorry. Would you like to eat this? There''s a special sauce on the raw salmon, which is quite suitable for human taste. Right, Irene?”


    “Yes. I enjoyed it.”


    “Really? I never had raw fish… well! What is this! This is better than I thought!”


    “…it''s definitely not bad.”


    However, whenever there was time, Lulu would interact with the two, so Irene could push aside his worries.


    ‘I was worried that she was nervous after what happened in Derinku…’


    The ambush of Charlotte and Victor who threatened their lives.


    And then I, who left a stronger impression than the twins.


    Because of that, Lulu was looking nervous and restless recently, but thanks to Bratt and Judith, Lulu seemed to have calmed down.


    “Irene, have you eaten?”


    As he was thinking, Judith, who finished her meal, called Irene.


    “Yes, why?”


    “What do you mean why? Do you have anything to do after lunch? Hurry up and raise your sword.”


    Judith, who took out her sword from its sheath, moved her red hair and smiled.


    “Let’s battle.”


    “… okay.”


    Practice matches after meals.


    This, too, was different from before.


    The practice matches between Irene, Judith, and Bratt weren''t done with bare hands.


    As long as one used a sword to fight, they could get injured if they didn’t use the right energy to control it.


    They didn’t use them in cities or viges since people moved close by, but they would use the empty roads once in a while.


    But that didn’t mean they weren’t using their full force to battle while being over conscious about people moving around.


    Around 80-90% of their strength was used.


    It was at a level sufficient to differentiate between who was superior, and Irene also came to realize his position through the matches.


    ‘I''m the weakest.’


    As expected.


    He felt it while fighting at Cora Murray’s manor, but the swordsmanship of his friends was at perfection.


    ‘Actually, this isn’t wrong. Because I was never actually able to win against them at school…’


    It was all thanks to his one sh that he got second ce in the final evaluation.


    In reality, he was far short of Judith and Bratt.


    In fact, having one-on-one matches with the two geniuses was enough to make anyone arrogant.


    But not Irene.


    Rather, he was thinking of doing his best to catch up with the two who were a step ahead of him.


    ‘Judith’s swordsmanship…’


    Judith’s sword was free and light with an inclination to the wild and violent side.


    Maybe it was because her sword resembled a formless fire in the first ce, or her foot technique which held her bnce and sword, was something that Irene couldn’t imitate.


    The same went for Bratt Lloyd. He, too, was showing off more sophisticated swordsmanship than Irene’sst memory of it.


    To be precise, it was much softer and smoother.


    Compared to Bratt, who washed away all the attacks like a river flowing profusely, the technique that Irene learned was much duller.


    Besides, there was a part that widened the gap even more.


    It was the use of ‘aura’ that Judith and Bratt would asionally do.


    Kwang!


    Kwang!


    As usual, Judith’s burst of fire was intense.


    But that wasn’t the end.


    Whenever the swords collided, the aura which came out like sparks was burdensome for Irene.


    But it was nothingpared to a Sword Master’s Aura Sword.


    Let alone Aura Swords, they were extremelycking whenpared to Charlotte and Victor.


    It would be safe to say that they contained almost no energy that could damage the opponent.


    However, the story ispletely different when the mes would form with a small amount of aura imbued in them.


    Dread and fear would flow through him, knowing that the aura that would strike him was likeva.


    “Phew, I lost.”


    “Great! With this, it’s 8 wins and 1 loss!”


    Irene smiled bitterly as he saw Judith celebrate her victory.


    Maybe it would have been eptable in the past, but not now.


    As he realized fighting spirit when he met with I, defeat was painful.


    Of course, he wasn’t afraid of losing, so he didn’t just shy away or run away from the matches.


    Bratt Lloyd, who was waiting for his turn, came over and said.


    “Is your body okay? To go again right away?”


    “No problem.”


    “Well, there''s nothing more foolish than worrying about your stamina. Here Ie.”


    The second match followed.


    Contrary to the disastrous results against Judith, Irene’s record against Bratt was 4 draws and 2 losses.


    Considering the past, it can be seen that they are on the same level.


    In reality, however, that wasn’t the case.


    Irene had little to no confidence in beating Bratt, while Bratt was confident in not losing to Irene.


    There were so many draws because Bratt’s swordsmanship was better on defense than offense, and Irene’s skills were excellent.


    And Bratt used aura to widen the gap between him and his opponent.


    It would flow out little by little in the battle.


    Shhh…


    The light energy that anyone could feel when walking beside a river at dawn.


    However, it had the ufortable existence of making the opponent’s body moist and heavy.


    Bratt’s aura was like moisture.


    With every swing of his sword, it radiated a little, less than Judith’s but it still radiated, and the appearance wasn’t intimidating at all.


    However, thanks to the aura, the heaviness umtes more and more, and Irene would have no choice but to feel his movements slow down.


    ‘At least my physical strength is good, so I can hold out for a long time.’


    Amid his thoughts, Bratt’s aura kept flowing, limiting Irene’s actions.


    The battlested for 20 minutes.


    And there was no conclusion. It was because Judith, who was bing bored, cried out loudly.


    “Ah, it’s no fun! Stop it now!”


    “I''m having fun.”


    “How long do you two n on ying alone?”


    “What are you talking about? Once with you, once with me. This is still the second match he’s having.”


    “It takes 5 minutes if I do it, and you two have been going at it for an hour. Is this really the same? Move, it’s Irene and me.”


    Bratt shook his head and looked at Irene.


    Irene smiled lightly and nodded his head.


    Eventually, another draw, Bratt stepped down, and Judith took his ce.


    Kwang!


    Kwang!


    Kwang!


    Seeing the two collide with more intense movements, Bratt Lloyd thought.


    ‘Looks like Judith is also hyped up.’


    He nodded to himself.


    Irene might not realize it.


    Despite caring for Bratt and Judith a lot more than they know.


    But it was natural.


    Bratt looked away from them.


    His eyes looked at the sky, but his mind was lost in the sh that Irene did at the Murray manor.


    The manifestation of aura and focus.


    And most importantly, the talent to rise to the status of Sword Master, Irene Pareira, possessed both of them.


    Which meant that Irene had the highest chance of bing a Sword Master out of the three.


    Thinking that heughed.


    It had been 6 years since Irene first touched a sword. No, it has been a year since he passionately went after the sword to be a Master.


    There would be no swordsman who can stay proud in front of such a genius.


    ‘He says that the man in his dreams helped him, but… being able to follow him is a great feat.’


    Kwang!


    Kwang!


    “Kuak…”


    “Oh yeah! 9 wings and 1 loss! 90% win rate!”


    As he saw Judith yelling, Bratt clicked his tongue.


    If one wins, they win. Why was she taunting him?


    There was a time when he thought such things, butter, he realized that Judith had been that way since they were young.


    He sighed and walked over to them.


    When Judith said.


    “What? Why the long face? Do you want me to battle you instead of Irene?”


    “It’s been two wins and two losses for you and me recently. And I can destroy you, instead…”


    Huff huff, he looked at Irene, who was panting for air and said.


    “We fought with our bodies to this extent, and this time, let’s fight with our mouths.”


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