No matter how excellent a sword was, if the person’s skills didn’t match it, there was a limit to the force that the sword could bring out. Moreover, the sword would wield the swordsman rather than the swordsman wielding the sword. However, she couldn’t see a trace of that in Hans’ battle.
“Even if the sword is excellent, if the wielder doesn’t have the skills, then there’s no point. But it didn’t seem like you were completely overtaken by your sword’s ability.”
“Thank you for your words. My first goal is to reach a level of skill that matches this sword.” Hans smiled innocently. He was not only skilled but humble—it was a combination of traits that Browning liked.
“Then, do you have another goal?”
“It’s to become a hero,” Hans answered. Before, he had been too embarrassed to say these words out loud; but now, he said them confidently because of his experiences and more developed skills. Estellade had chosen him as its owner, and even though he considered himself as Zich’s lackey, Violuwin had titled him as a hero. Most of all, Zich had acknowledged his dream. Hans didn’t plan on going out of his way to tell people his dream, but he was now at a level where he didn’t have to hesitate to answer when others asked about it.
Still, he didn’t expect a positive answer. Most people would think his dream was childish and only belonged to children, but Hans’ prediction was off the mark.
“That’s a good dream.” Browning nodded her head while smiling softly.
“…I didn’t expect to hear that at all.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Most people laughed at me.” The men that Snoc and Hans met at a bar in Violuwin exemplified this. Only his close companions had affirmed his dream so far, and it was his first time meeting someone he wasn’t close to praise his dream.
“Forget them. They are the pitiful ones who laugh at other people’s dreams. Like yours, my dream is to live a just life while helping others.”
“It’s a splendid dream.”
“Since it’s you, I knew you would say that.”
A warm atmosphere surrounded them. It seemed like the tense atmosphere that had once surrounded the two separate groups from before was all a lie. The two continued to talk even afterward; they talked more about their dreams in detail and shared some personal information. No matter what they talked about, it was enjoyable for them to talk with another person on the same wavelength as them.
As they talked, the conversation naturally flowed to their dreams’ main supporting figures: Zich and Glen.
“He is amazing and very righteous.”
“Yes, Zenard is that kind of person.” As Hans complimented Zenard, Browning excitedly agreed, “Not only did he save me, but everything he did after that was so cool. His skills aren’t at my level yet, but he will soon outpace me.”
Normally, a person couldn’t help but have a competitive spirit. Thus, it was difficult for a person to be truly glad from the bottom of their hearts that another person below their level would soon surpass them. However, Browning seemed like she was genuinely happy about this fact, and Hans thought that showed how much she treasured him.
“It’s the same for Sir Zich.”
“Are you talking about the person with the weird sword?” Browning’s speech became a bit awkward. Not only was Zich someone who clashed with her, but he had violated the city’s rules for ridiculous reasons; so, she didn’t think positively of him. However, she didn’t want to express her negative perceptions to Hans who was his companion.
Hans guessed what Browning was thinking based on her reaction, and he completely understood her.
“Of course, he is not someone who is always righteous like Sir Zenard. No, if you think about it, he does really have a nasty personality.”
“…Then, why are you going around with someone like him?”
“Not only did he not mock my dream, but he gave me his full support. He gave me skills, experience, and helped me hone things such as my mindset.”
“Mindset too?” Browning wanted to know what Hans could possibly learn from someone who supposedly had a nasty personality.
“I know how you can definitely think of it as strange, but it’s true. Even Sir Zich himself said that since he has a terrible personality like a villain, he can easily see how guys like heroes would think.”
“…” Zich seemed like he was an even harder person to understand than she previously thought.
“And unlike his personality, Sir Zich works hard to do kind acts.”
“Now that you mention it, they said he was Karuwiman’s Honorary Knight.”
“You probably heard from Sir Zenard. Yes, you are right. If Sir Zich’s personality was simply nasty, he would have never been recognized by Karuwiman.”
Browning nodded. It seemed like she had only seen one side of the person named Zich.
“Moreover, the fact that he drags me around to places as a disciple shows that Sir Zich is not a simple villain.”
“Did something happen between you two?”
“I think the story will get too long if I explain in detail. Before, I used to be nothing more than a rude, immature brat who looked down on Sir Zich.”
“…What?” Browning was stunned to hear about Hans’ past since he now talked about Zich as if he was a great teacher.
“I also didn’t go around with Sir Zich because I wanted to at first. There was an incident, and because of that incident, Sir Zich dragged me off as his servant. At that time, I thought only Hell would open before me, and I would have no future.” As if he was thinking of that moment, Hans’ eyes became emotional.
“However, that wasn’t the case. Sir Zich gave me strength and experience. After he heard my dream, he began to support me. Of course, the training that he pushed me into was incredibly harsh, but they were all for building the foundation of my dream.” Hans smiled and continued, “I really admire him, and I am grateful to him for freeing me of my pathetic past and helping me advance towards my dream.”
“I guess he is someone you are really indebted to.”
“Of course.”
Browning’s perception of Zich changed. After talking about their dream and the people who supported their dream, they began talking about their skills.
“As I told you before, I’m trying to first build my skills to match this sword. When I reach that level, I think I will be able to at least walk around with my head up.” Hans tapped Estellade.
“I’m jealous that you have a clear goal for yourself.”
“Isn’t that also the same for you, Ms. Browning?”
“I’ve been wavering a bit these days.” Browning’s gaze moved from her shield to her sword.
“I’ve always liked using the sword ever since I was young. I was also confident that I had talent in it, but it seems like I don’t actually have talent for it.”
“That’s not true at all. I clearly remember how good your skills were in our battle yesterday.”
“It’s probably because I had a good teacher, environment, and started practicing the sword earlier than other people. Moreover, Zenard of all people told me that it would be better for me to use a shield rather than a sword.”
Hans squinted his eyes.
“I lack experience and I’m not good at making judgments, but I didn’t feel that you lacked talent to that extent. Sir Zich also greatly complimented your skills.”
Hans heard Zich’s assessment of her skills.
“Do you really think so?”
Browning’s expressions brightened up at the words that there were two people who thought highly of her sword skills. It lasted only for a moment. The most special person to her didn’t approve of her swordsmanship. Hans was about to say another word, but a voice interrupted their conversation.
“You were here?”
Zich led Glen to the garden.
“Sir, have you arrived?”
Hans humbly bowed down to Zich. Glen stared at Browning.
“Browning, you were also here.”
“Yup. It was boring to just stay in the lobby, so I was just conversing with Mr. Hans for a bit.”
She naturally moved next to Glen’s side, while Hans also moved next to Zich.
Zich pointed at Glen with his hand. “This person wanted to see you, so I brought him here.”
“Sir, you mean me?” Hans stared at Glen, and Glen stared back at him with a bright smile on his face.
“Yes, I will first introduce myself again. I’m Glen Zenard.”
“I’m Hans.”
They both bowed to each other.
“I really wanted to meet the heroes of Vioulwin, so I requested a meeting from Mr. Zich. I was especially curious about the person called the Sun Hero.”
“I’m unworthy of receiving such high praise. All I did was help Sir Zich a tiny bit.”
Hans was not being humble; compared to Zich’s overwhelming skill that decimated hundreds of monsters, Hans’ skill did not even reach Zich’s fingertips. Of course, Zich’s skill was momentary, but according to his words, it was only a matter of time until he reached that level again.
“Mr. Zich is definitely an impressive person.”
“Yes, he really is.”
Glen and Hans talked for a bit more. It was not a very important conversation, and they didn’t talk for long.
“Thank you for your time. It was extremely useful for me.”
“I’m also happy to have talked with you.”
They exchanged a handshake, and Glen thanked Zich once more.
“Mr. Zich, thank you for introducing Mr. Hans to me.”
“It was no problem. Are you fine with not meeting the other two people?”
Zich was referring to Snoc and Lyla who had also received hero titles.
“I can’t cause any more inconveniences when I already came here without warning. It’s already more than enough that I was able to meet the two of you.”
Then Glen left a farewell greeting and left with Browning.
“So what do you think?”
“Sir, what do you mean?” Hans tilted his head at Zich’s sudden question, which was devoid of any context or explanation.
“About that Glen Zenard guy. It seems like he is also trying to be a hero like you. What do you feel about him?”
“Hmm, I don’t know. I didn’t think too much about him. He seems really impressive from what I heard about him though.”
But that was it. He hadn’t witnessed Glen’s impressive feats himself, and most of all, an outstanding figure like Zich stood next to him.
“Sir, at least from what I know, he didn’t protect the Saint from the Bellids, sweep down a Bellid branch, or save a city from a monster ambush unlike a certain someone.”
“That’s what you think about him.” Zich smirked.
“Sir Zich, I want to ask you about the lady with red hair. She said her name was Lara Browning. What do you think about her skills?”
“Why? Are you interested in her?”
“No, that’s not it. It seems like she is thinking about giving up on the sword.”
Zich stared at him as if he was crazy, and Hans told him what she said. Zich fell into deep thought.
“Did she seem lacking in talent to you?”
“No, she’s talented enough.”
Of course, she didn’t have the crazy level of talent that Zich or Hans had, but if only people of their level were considered talented, the number of talented people would be less than the number of fingers on one hand.
‘Is this the reason why Lala Browning was using a shield when she fought me?’
However, no matter how much he thought about it, she didn’t seem more talented in using the shield than the sword.
‘Does she really lack talent and I just haven’t seen enough of her skills? Can Glen Zenard even judge other people’s talents at his level right now?’
Zich recalled Glen’s skills that were definitely low overall. It was to the extent where it was similar to Hans, even though Hans had recently taken up the sword.
‘However, his movements were strangely polished.’
Moreover, even though it hadn’t been long since he obtained Tornium, Glen skillfully used it to fight the shadows—as if he had wielded a sword similar to that in the past.
‘It also seemed as if he was strangely obsessed about Hans who received the title of Sun Hero.’
After thinking to this extent, a thought naturally came into his head.
‘Did that guy also regress?’
Then another question popped up inside his mind. In the past, Zich had been suspicious that Glen also regressed like him, but there was a reason why Zich changed his mind about this matter.
It was because of Glen’s reaction to the last words he said to Zich.
‘If you are born again, I hope that you will live a kind life—why does it seem like he doesn’t remember that line?’