Chapter 50: Preparation for Training (2)

A beautiful black-haired woman wearing a white robe walked in. She bowed as she looked at Gerard, then again once she looked at Rylan.

“Master Gerard, young master,” she raised her body and showed Rylan a genuine smile, letting out a breath with her hand on her chest. “I’m so glad that you have woken up. We were so worried.”

He could tell at a glance that she wasn’t lying. The emotions he could see in her eyes were telling enough. She was someone who truly enjoyed being a Healer and worried about her patients. He couldn’t help but feel some amount of goodwill.

“What’s your name?” he asked. She blinked.

“Samantha,” she replied. He nodded at her, slightly lowering his head.

“Thank you for saving me, Samantha.”

Before he had even finished his words, she waved her both hands repeatedly with an expression of shock.

“Young master, please don’t lower your head! I only did what anyone would have done! Master Gerard has already paid me more than enough!”

Rylan smiled. He was certain that Samantha hadn’t charged much for her services. It was evident because of the old wand at her waist and the ragged white robe she wore. He couldn’t bring himself to find fault in someone like this.

“So, can I take him home?” Gerard said.

“Yes. If anything happens or his condition worsens somehow, please come back to me right away. I won’t charge anything,” she replied with a serious expression, nodding at Gerard.

“Nonsense. You’ll be paid for your services. Anyway, it was nice to meet you,” Rylan said with a grin. He shifted his body, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Careful, young master!” Samantha said with a look of concern, getting closer to him. It was clear that she would support his body if he needed it.

Rylan put his bare feet on the cold wooden floor. Gerard stood next to him, ready to support him as well. Slowly, he put his weight on his legs and stood up. He was only in his underwear, but neither Gerard nor Samantha seemed to care. Rylan moved around a bit, analyzing his condition. Thankfully, most of the damage to his muscles had been healed. He would be able to fight, although not at his best. Still, he would heal naturally over time or with the assistance of the Flameheart family’s Healers. He nodded with satisfaction. It was a good result.

After seemingly making sure that Rylan could stand on his own, Gerard walked up to the room’s only wardrobe and opened it, grabbing the clothes inside.

“Here. New clothes, since all of yours got burned. I’ll step out for just a bit, I need to talk to someone. Wait for me here,” he said.

Rylan nodded and started getting dressed. Gerard left the room. Silence reigned. As he put on his clothes, he looked at Samantha. She was staring at him with twinkling eyes.

“…Is there something you want to tell me?”

She blinked, then hurriedly bowed.

“I’m sorry, young master! I was just thinking about something!”

“What is it?”

She hesitated. Rylan waved his hand dismissively.

“Speak freely.”

“…Is it true that you fought Evenon with nothing but a sword? And used techniques nobody had ever seen before?”

Rylan resisted the urge to frown. This was a problem.

Too many people saw me fight Evenon before Calan made them leave.

In a way, it was to be expected that the news would spread like wildfire, especially since the battle had taken place right in the heart of the shopping district and had resulted in dozens of deaths. Still, it wasn’t a good thing. It would be best of him to hide his power before he became strong enough to protect his family from whatever came, including people hunting him down for his abilities and knowledge. He was now paying the price for killing his greatest enemy.

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It was different from showing great potential in magic. There would have been no problem with displaying his talent if that were the case. However, the source of his strength were abilities that weren’t widespread or even known at all in this life. This could easily become a complicated situation.

“Don’t believe every rumor that you hear.”

“But several people have already told me the same thing…”

“I used a sword. That’s all.”

She tilted her head.

“Why didn’t you use magic? Surely it’s much less dangerous than melee combat?”

“Things just turned out that way.”

Even though it was widely known in Cantavega that Rylan had stagnated at the First Circle, there was no need to tell her that. Right now, he should be worrying about containing the spread of information about his fight against Evenon, if it was at all possible at this point.

At that moment, Gerard walked in.

“You’re dressed? Alright, let’s go.”

Samantha took one last bow at them as they left the room. The wooden building was simple but expansive. The floor creaked as they walked and the smell of herbs drifted in the air. It was a calming atmosphere. There were several other rooms, some with open doors that revealed injured people inside. This place seemed to be a spot for healing, of sorts. Some patients were dressed in clearly more expensive clothing, while others were as plain as could be. The rooms they were placed in, however, looked the same. Rylan inwardly nodded.

As they left and reached the streets, he spoke.

“You wanted to talk to me about the rumors, right?”

Gerard nodded with a frown.

“There are some other things, but yeah. I tried my best to stop them from spreading, but only managed to more or less make them stay within the town. If some random Adventurer decides to go another city and talk about it over there, there’s nothing I’d be able to do.”

Rylan also frowned. It was a troublesome situation, but it was too late to fix it. All he could do was try his best from this point forward to remain inconspicuous, at least when it came to swordsmanship and his techniques. Since he would start training as a Mage, he didn’t think it would be a problem. Once he became powerful enough, there would be no issue in revealing his abilities. Still, that didn’t mean there was nothing they could do. An idea sprouted in his mind.

“Trying to keep the rumors from spreading will only add credibility to them,” he said, looking at Gerard, who raised an eyebrow. “Instead, spread even more of them, some so absurd that they can’t possibly be true. Once truth and lies mix together and this is blown out of proportion, people won’t easily believe anything, even the truth.”

Gerard rubbed his beard with a pensive expression.

“Basically, reduce the rumors’ credibility as a whole. Could work.”

Rylan nodded. It was a simple plan, but it could prove to be quite effective. Others wouldn’t know what to believe and would then, in turn, choose to believe nothing.

That, or they will believe everything.

That was why the rumors needed to be as outlandish as possible, to the point that no one would believe them. Rylan and Gerard discussed the plan further. To be frank, the rumors were already unbelievable as they were. Did it make any sense for a First Circle wastrel to fight and survive against a Fourth Circle Mage? Without magic, no less? That was why Rylan wasn’t too worried. Even if people talked about his fight, it was unlikely that others would believe them unless they had watched it firsthand.

“What else did you want to talk about?” Rylan asked after a while.

“The consequences of Evenon’s death, in general,” Gerard replied with a grave expression.

He perked up his ears. It was one of the most important topics currently.

“The Lady has left town with a few of the prostitutes. The money she and Evenon left behind was used in repairing the buildings that Evenon damaged. There’s now a huge power vacuum that every thug is trying to fill,” Gerard continued.

It wasn’t surprising. The Lady left behind all her businesses, while Evenon had, in turn, left behind a criminal enterprise that spanned several towns. The number of underlings was too high, and now every single one of them was trying to climb over the others.

“What is the City Guard doing about it?” Rylan asked.

“Everything they can, but Evenon was simply too big. I spoke to Calan’s father, Rast. He’s reached out to the families in other towns and is trying to create a coordinated effort to destroy everything Evenon built. It will take a lot of time and resources, even if they succeed.”

“Can you help them?”

Gerard shook his head.

“You and the family are my priority. There’s no need for me to act.”

Rylan stopped walking.

“Father. Please help them.”

Gerard turned around and stared at him. After a few long seconds of silence, he replied.

“Why do you care?”

“It’s the right thing to do. It’s just that.”

“…I’ll think about it.”

Rylan smiled.

“Thank you.”

They resumed their walk.

“What are you going to do when you get back to the estate?” Gerard asked.

“Training. I need to learn magic, but also acquire Titles and Skills related to my swordsmanship.”

“It’ll be difficult to join a Magic Academy.”

“Doesn’t matter. I’ll still try.”

Gerard let out a small sigh. Rylan didn’t let that undermine his determination in the least. It wasn’t simply a matter of getting stronger; he was interested in magic itself. He was certain that it would be able to complement his swordsmanship and help him grow to a level that even Roland hadn’t reached. To achieve that, he needed to train and study. That filled him with anticipation. Finally, they reached the Flameheart estate.

The new phase of his life began now.