The Academy's Barbarian

Chapter 104.1 - Secrets (3)

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Thud! Swish!

With a resounding thud, the blade plunged into its vital point.

In the midst of flesh scattering and bodily fluids dispersing, Laurea calmly wielded her sword.

Hers was an unremarkable sword.

She hadn't crafted new swordsmanship like Ibella, nor did she display the ever-changing techniques of Ian Marcus.

‘But still, there's potential.’

The fact that she had survived her first battle against a monster using only the defensive swordsmanship she had learned in self-defense was proof of that.

Of course, she made mistakes from time to time.

"Aaah......!"

A panicked voice suddenly sounded.

A spider monster had emerged from a blind spot that she had not been aware of.

It was too late to block it with her sword.

Laurea was tempted to use a holy spell, but it wasn't necessary.

Kwajik! Splat!

The spider monster suddenly snapped in half.

It was thanks to Ulan's axe, which had come flying out of nowhere.

He continued to wield his axe with ferocity, attacking the monsters where Laurea's sword could not reach.

‘It's a strange feeling.’

This was the first time she had fought alongside Ulan.

They had never practiced together, nor had they discussed their battle strategy. And yet, it felt so familiar and comfortable. As if they had been fighting together for years.

‘Even when I fought with Ian, we didn't coordinate this well.’

So, throughout swinging her sword, she felt an odd sensation. Of course, she could vaguely guess the reason.

According to the story, her future self had fought alongside him for over a decade.

In other words, this was only possible because he was adapting to her fighting style.

Thunk! Splat!

As she was thinking these thoughts, the last remaining spider fell to the ground, its belly pierced through.

"Phew."

The sight of all the monsters dead.

Gazing at the complete mess that the battlefield had become, Laurea steadied her ragged breath.

Ulan, on the other hand, was unscathed.

Despite having moved so vigorously, his breathing was not even slightly labored. Instead, he was calmly examining the corpses of the spider monsters.

"This should do."

He selected a relatively intact corpse.

This was the one that would be dissected by Professor Stella later. It must have been quite heavy, but Ulan slung the spider monster over his shoulder without any difficulty.

"Our mission is complete. Let's return."

After securing it with a vine to prevent it from falling, Ulan turned toward the edge of the forest.

It was then.

"Wait, Ulan."

Laurea called out to him, unexpectedly.

With a curious expression on her face, she tilted her head and asked, "What was I like in the future?"

"Why do you ask all of a sudden?"

"I'm just curious."

What will I be like in the future? It's a question that anyone would be curious about.

Especially if you're a companion who's been with your future self for a long time, because you probably know a lot.

"Do you really want to hear it?"

"Yes, I want to hear it."

"Really?"

"Really!"

Her eyes sparkled with excitement.

Faced with the strange anticipation in her eyes, Ulan nodded solemnly, "Well, for one thing..."

"One thing?"

"You had a more nasty personality compared to now."

"What?!"

Her eyebrows furrowed.

Anyone with a modicum of sense would have stopped there. No, he wouldn't have said anything bad in the first place.

Unfortunately, Ulan did not have any sense. So much so that his former companions had told him he'd lost his sense of humor to the abyss.

"You were irritable, and your drinking habits weren't great either."

"......."

"Especially when you threw tantrums that wouldn't even fit a child and complained incessantly, sometimes I felt like leaving you by the roadside."

So, he rambled on about all the misdeeds and flaws she displayed in the future. Unaware of the creases forming on Laurea's face; her expression grew more and more distorted.

But it wasn't just Ulan's words that made her feel uncomfortable.

It was the fact that everything he said was—

—it was the truth.

‘....Annoying.’

If she knew it would be like this, she'd rather not have asked in the first place.

Just asking out of curiosity only soured her mood.

How much time had passed?

As Laurea's complexion stiffened like a rock, Ulan finally felt discomfort. Perhaps that's why he tried to steer the conversation elsewhere, "But you were a good person."

"Hmph, it's fine. There's no need for comfort."

Arms crossed, Laurea abruptly turned her sullen face away. A completely disdainful reaction. Meanwhile, Ulan continued speaking unfazed.

"Though you irritated your companions at times, you never said anything unpleasant to those who genuinely needed help."

"Comforting me…."

"You never ignored a helping hand, and rather, you were often the first to reach out to help," Ulan spoke calmly.

Laurea closed her mouth at his composed reply. Because this, too, was true.

"You also cried the most among us."

Whenever there was someone she couldn't save, for whatever reason, she would often shed a tear in private.

Whenever there were dying soldiers, she stayed by their side until the end, and there were many times when she mourned their passing with sobs.

She would often cry so bitterly that the dying soldiers often ended up comforting her instead.

"The future you I remember was always on the side of the weak and powerless, listening to their voices and protecting them."

And she was willing to fight monsters stronger than herself to do so.

It was because he realized this nature of hers that Ulan in his past life was finally able to clear up the misunderstandings with Laurea and close the distance between them.

"That is, if I summarize what I want to say,"

"Ahem! Cough! Hmph!"

"You in the future were worthy of being called a Saintess."

"Cough!"

Just as Ulan was about to continue speaking, Laurea suddenly let out a loud cough; her cheeks were slightly flushed.

It was a signal to stop talking, but Ulan, being oblivious, didn't stop talking, "And as a warrior, you were also…."

"Ah, that's enough!"

Only when Laurea intervened did his speech finally come to an end. She waved her hands frantically and shouted with a slightly agitated face, "That's enough, you don't have to say any more."

"There's still a lot left."

"I said stop! I don't want to hear it anymore."

It was true that she didn't want to hear it anymore.

This was the Laurea that Ulan had experienced in the future. In other words, these were the virtues that she had not yet realized in herself. To be praised for something like that made her feel embarrassed and strange.

So she turned around. As if to say no more.

Ulan, on the other hand, stared at Laurea's back. To be exact, he was fixated on the spot where her neck met her shoulders.

‘She's embarrassed.’

Ulan read Laurea's mood in an instant.

The reason for this was simple.

The nape of her neck always flushed bright red whenever she felt embarrassed or awkward.

Just as she was calming down, Laurea spoke again, "Hmph! Enough about me, let's move on. How was it with the other warriors?"

"How was it?"

"My relationship with the others. Did I get along with anyone in particular?"

Ulan knew what she was asking.

Nodding, Ulan didn't hesitate to answer her question, "You were closest to Ian."

"Well, I kind of suspected that," Laurea nodded. No wonder. Even now, as the future Saintess, Ian followed her around like a full-time escort. What would happen after she officially became the Saintess and spent over a decade with him?

Moreover, until she spoke to Ulan, Ian was the only one she felt comfortable with.

So it was quite predictable that she would have remained close to Ian in the future as well.

"You were also close to Perticia."

"The bard you mentioned earlier?"

"Yes, it was awkward at first, but after about two years, you suddenly hit it off and became very close."

So close that anyone would believe they were sisters.

Meanwhile, after Ulan's explanation—

"Ugh, now I'm curious."

—Laurea's hazel eyes twinkled; eyes that sparkled with curiosity.

It was understandable.

Anyone would react the same way if they heard that they were close enough to be like sisters with someone they had never seen or heard of, only knowing their name.

However, her excitement didn't last long.

End of Chapter. . . . . . . .Thanks for Reading. . . . . . . . .

Translator's Notes:-

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