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Chapter 140: Interlude - Heir of the Iron Fist (3)
“Uh… Well, that is…”
Cold sweat ran down my spine.
In front of Gilbert, who was looking at me with eyes full of expectation, asking, “How are your grades?” I had to confess that I was at the very bottom among 472 students.
‘Damn it.’
Honestly, when I got suspended three times in a row and found myself at the bottom of the class again, I just thought, ‘I’ve had enough of this.’
But now that I had to reveal my grades in front of someone else, it felt utterly humiliating.
Especially because that ‘someone’ was the father of a close younger friend, who was under the false impression that his son had met a great benefactor and was now set for life.
“…Why are you hesitating?”
Gilbert tilted his head in confusion due to my prolonged silence.
Unable to bear the pressure any longer, my mouth moved on its own.
“I’m… I’m first.”
I swallowed the words ‘from the back’ as I gave my answer.
“Hahaha! If you're first, you should be proud! Why were you hesitating? Ah, I see, maybe you felt burdened by it?”
Oof!
Gilbert gave a big thumbs-up, looking as refreshed as if he’d just downed a cold beer on a hot summer day.
“Outstanding grades, a kind heart that helps juniors, and even humility! My son Berald has truly met a great benefactor, a great one!”
Gilbert shook my hand vigorously while laughing heartily.
“…Dale.”
Watching this unfold, the real top student, who was at a loss for words, looked uneasy.
“Now that I think about it, Yuren, Camilla, and Iris are all in the same grade, right?”
“Ah… Yes.”
“That’s correct.”
“Then, that means you surpassed the heir of the Sword of the Sun, the future Sword of the Holy Kingdom, and even the Saintess of the Holy Kingdom to claim the top spot in your class?”
Gilbert's eyes widened in astonishment as he repeatedly exclaimed in admiration.
“Wow… It’s only now that I realize how incredible it is that Dale managed to become first among such exceptional candidates.”
“Well… that’s…”
Yuren's lips twitched as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he just tightly shut his eyes and turned his head away.
“Ah, I also… think that’s amazing.”
“Haha! If even the heir to the Sword of the Sun acknowledges it, that’s all that needs to be said!”
Gilbert got to his feet with a grin that couldn’t get any wider.
“None of you have had lunch yet, right? On a day as joyful as this, nothing beats meat! In celebration of my restored health, I’ll grill it myself, so wait a bit! Berald! Come help me!”
“What? You’re going to grill meat as soon as you get up?!”
“When your father tells you to come, you don’t argue, you just come, boy!”
Dragging Berald with him, Gilbert left the room.
Now, it was just me, Yuren, Iris, and Camilla in the room.
“…Why did you do that, Dale?”
“While no one can deny that Dale has the skills to be first, this… this is a bit much.”
“I’m thoroughly disappointed.”
Feeling the cold judgment from my party members, my shoulders slumped.
Holding on to a sliver of hope, I looked back at them and asked,
“…Is it too late to go and tell him I was first from the bottom?”
“……”
“……”
No response came.
* * *
After finishing the overly abundant meal of grilled meat prepared by Gilbert.
“So, you still don’t have a girlfriend?”
“That’s right.”
“Ah, what a pitiful lad! At your age, there were female candidates lining up to meet me, boy!”
“Don’t lie! I’ve heard from Mother before that you begged on your knees to marry her!”
“Huff…!”
Gilbert, as if trying to make up for the past five years, chatted cheerfully with Berald.
While the conversation continued, Berald glanced at the now empty plates with a faint smile.
“It’s been years since I last had a meal and a conversation with my father like this.”
“……”
“Well, I understand. From my father’s perspective, I must have always seemed like an inadequate son.”
As Berald was making a self-deprecating smile.
“That’s not true.”
Gilbert shook his head softly.
“If anything, it was me, hesitating to tell you the truth, who was the inadequate father.”
“…The truth?”
Berald tilted his head, confused by the unexpected words.
“Sigh.”
Gilbert sighed deeply and glanced at me and Iris, who were sipping post-meal coffee nearby.
“You said you used the ‘Legacy of the Iron Fist’ as a sacrifice to heal my wounds, right?”
“Ah, yes. That’s correct.”
“That’s right.”
Gilbert, looking at us with a wry smile, continued.
“In truth, that wasn’t the Legacy of the Iron Fist.”
“…What?”
It wasn’t the Legacy of the Iron Fist? What was he saying?
“To explain that, I’ll have to tell you the truth about the ‘Ryu’ family.”
“…Is this something we should be hearing?”
“Haha. You saved my son’s life, didn’t you? It wouldn’t be right to keep the truth from benefactors.”
Gilbert, finishing the last of his now lukewarm beer, continued.
“Have you heard of the founder of the Ryu family?”
“Ah… Yes. I believe it’s Ryu Jinhyuk, the younger brother of the Iron Fist Ryujin Seong, and one of the greatest magicians of his time.”
“Hmph. That’s partly true and partly false.”
“…What do you mean, partly false?”
“Have you ever heard that Ryujin Seong and Ryu Jinhyuk were mortal enemies?”
“Yes.”
It was a story so famous that few in the Republic didn’t know of it.
“That’s not true.”
“If that’s not true, then…”
“In fact, the Iron Fist and his younger brother were very close.”
“…Then why did the rumors that they were enemies spread?”
“They spread on purpose, by Ryu Jinhyuk himself.”
“……?”
The rumor that you and your brother are enemies was spread by your younger sibling?
When I looked at Gilbert with a questioning expression, he quietly continued explaining.
"At that time, the Republic was completely divided into the 'Iron Fist' faction led by Ryujin Seong and the 'New Spear' faction led by Baek Seunghyuk."
Two of the five great heroes who sealed the Demon God and saved the world 500 years ago.
They were from the Republic (which was called Korea at the time), and to the people who suddenly fell into this strange world, they were nothing less than gods.
That’s why many followed them.
And that’s why conflicts never ceased.
"Especially the New Spear faction, led by Baek Seunghyuk, was extremely radical. The prevalent idea was that the Iron Fist should be killed and Baek Seunghyuk made president of the nation."
"Such a thing happened, huh?"
Of course.
The stories Gilbert was sharing now were not part of the Republic’s educational curriculum, nor were they taught at the Hero School.
"In the midst of the increasingly intense atmosphere, the Iron Fist took the first step back. It's said that he secluded himself in a deep gorge and spent the rest of his life there."
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That was exactly the Iron Gorge we had visited recently.
"But there’s an untold part to this story."
Gilbert, seemingly thirsty, refilled his beer and drank it in one gulp.
"At the time, it was said that the Iron Fist died without leaving behind any children, but that’s not true. He had one child with his wife, who died during the war."
"… Are you saying there was an heir to the Iron Fist?"
Gilbert nodded.
"Before going into seclusion, the Iron Fist asked his younger brother to hide the child."
"To protect the child from being targeted by the New Spear faction, right?"
"Exactly. And Ryu Jinhyuk, following his brother's wishes, pretended the child was his own and spread the rumor that the two were enemies."
"…"
So, this entire charade was orchestrated by the Iron Fist and his brother to protect the child.
"Wait a minute… That means…."
A possibility suddenly crossed my mind.
I glanced at Gilbert and Berald.
I remembered the movie about the 'Iron Fist' that I had watched with Iris.
The image of Ryujin Seong, the Iron Fist, with his towering figure and large, imposing frame.
Both Gilbert and Berald, too, had physiques that couldn’t be considered ordinary.
"I think you might be right about what you’re thinking."
Gilbert smirked and took another swig of beer.
"Huh…."
A chuckle of disbelief escaped my lips as I realized a truth I hadn’t known even in my previous life.
"Huh? What are you two talking about?"
Berald, who hadn’t caught on yet, looked around in confusion.
I sighed and spoke.
"In other words, you are the heir of the Iron Fist."
"… What?"
Berald blinked with a dumbfounded expression.
"Wait, wait! What do you mean? I'm the heir of the Iron Fist?"
"Quiet, fool. Are you trying to announce it to the whole neighborhood?"
Gilbert frowned and glared at Berald.
"Our family is known as a branch of the 'Ryu' clan, but the truth is, we are direct descendants of Ryujin Seong, the Iron Fist."
"Huh…."
Berald looked completely lost, as if he had no idea.
Gilbert clicked his tongue and continued.
"I had planned to tell you after you graduated from school… but if it weren’t for our benefactors, this truth might have been lost in my generation."
"…"
In fact, in my previous life, that truth had never been revealed to Berald.
"So the gauntlet we found in that ruin…."
"It’s a fake heirloom created to attract people seeking the Iron Fist’s legacy. In reality, it’s a weapon that Ryu Jinhyuk made for his brother during the war with the Demon God."
"Ah, that’s why the gauntlet emitted those lightning bolts."
I let out a brief exclamation, recalling the deep blue gauntlet that had spewed fierce lightning.
"But since it was a weapon used by the Iron Fist, isn't it still part of his legacy?"
"No. The Iron Fist never used that weapon."
Gilbert shook his head slightly.
"I heard he declined his brother’s gift, saying such a weapon didn’t suit him."
"…"
Even though the artifact unleashed fierce lightning, despite losing much of its original power due to the Blessing of Absorption from Lactasia, the Iron Fist had turned it down for such a simple reason.
It was such a fitting action for the Iron Fist.
"In any case, the real 'legacy of the Iron Fist' is something I’ve kept safe."
"… And what exactly is that legacy?"
"Wait here for a moment."
Gilbert went inside the house and returned with a small box.
Inside the box were some dirty, stained bandages.
"These are the true legacy of Ryujin Seong, the Iron Fist."
"… These dirty bandages?"
"Heh heh, yes. It’s said that the Iron Fist wrapped these bandages around his fists and fought against hundreds, even thousands, of demons."
Gilbert handed the stained bandages to Berald.
"Take them."
"… These?"
"Yes. Even though they look like this, they’re the legacy our ancestor left behind. You should keep them."
"…"
Berald took the stained bandages, thought for a moment, and then wrapped them around his own hands.
"Ooh, wearing these bandages makes me feel stronger!"
"Heh heh. Even though they look old, they’ve maintained the same form for 500 years, so they must have some mana."
Gilbert smiled with pride as he looked at Berald, who now had the bandages wrapped around his fists.
"Ah…!"
Berald swung his bandaged fists in the air a few times, and then, as if realizing something important, clapped his hands together.
"Now that I think about it, the reason I was never good at magic was because of this!"
Since he wasn’t actually a descendant of Ryu Jinhyuk, one of the greatest wizards of his time, but instead a descendant of the Iron Fist, it explained why he hadn’t shown much talent for magic.
"Huh?"
Gilbert tilted his head in confusion at Berald’s comment.
"No, the reason you’re bad at magic isn’t because you’re the heir of the Iron Fist."
"Huh? Then what’s the reason?"
"That’s just because you’re stupid."
"…"
Gilbert shrugged and created a crackling blue lightning bolt in his hand.
"I’m pretty good at magic, idiot."
[TL/N: HAHAHAHHA]
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