Sword Saint's Reincarnation-Chapter 76: Tournament (11)

The aftermath was, naturally, intense.

Jasmine’s declaration wasn’t just to him, but to everyone else as well. Everyone’s eyes widened as they realized the meaning behind her words. In this atmosphere of confusion mixed with excitement and curiosity, a little girl in the stands pointed at him.

“Daddy, it’s Rylan!” the child exclaimed. Her excited shout wasn’t loud, but it was as if a thunderclap had echoed in the middle of the arena.

The audience, Lara, and even the judges looked at the child, then back at Rylan. They glanced at Jasmine, as if expecting her to dismiss the child’s words, but she only gave Rylan a satisfied nod.

Silence.

Rylan barely had the time to furrow his brow before the crowd erupted like a volcano. People stood up, yelling and nearly jumping in place.

“Rylan? That’s Rylan Flameheart!?”

“Jasmine knows him? Her defeat?”

Shouts superimposed over each other in a veritable cacophony. Some asked him how he knew Jasmine, others only called out his name. The crowd closed in on him, especially those who were standing around him. They extended their hands with elated expressions or tapped his shoulder. Rylan circulated his mana reflexively.

“Young master,” Sarah said next to him slowly, her voice almost completely drowned out by the loud clamor. He had only managed to hear her and tell apart her voice because of the circulation.

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Rylan nodded. He understood what she meant without even needing to hear the rest. Wrapping an arm around her waist and the other around Aelfric, who was looking around in stunned silence, he prepared to leap into the square space and away from the stands. They needed to get out. At the very least, they would be surrounded by the people, who might even follow them to the hotel and compromise their location.

Nothing good ever came out of staying in the middle of a crowd like this.

He lowered his center of gravity.

“All who can hear me, three steps back. Now,” Jasmine’s voice suddenly cut through the air, much louder than normal. Rylan looked at her. She stood next to the announcer, her mouth close to his wand as he cast the sound amplification spell with an awkward expression. “Those who don’t comply will face the full consequences of defying the Lamollet house.”

It was as if a cold bucket of water had been poured onto the fiery atmosphere. The liveliness froze in place, then retreated as everyone in the audience stepped back. Rylan finally had some breathing room. He nodded at Jasmine, mouthing a ‘thank you.’ She smiled at him as she nodded back.

“Clear the path immediately. Let them leave,” she continued.

Rylan remembered her tone when they had first met and grinned.

I guess she really is used to giving orders.

Waving at Aelfric and Sarah, he started making his way through the crowd toward the exit. People parted before him, making him feel as if he were royalty. It was oddly familiar: the masses had behaved in the same way when facing Roland.

He nodded at Jasmine one last time before leaving the stands area. After a few flights of stairs, they were out of the stadium. Aelfric let out a breath, his hand on his chest.

“That was sort of scary,” he stated. “Too many people.”

Rylan nodded seriously.

Together, they made their way back to the hotel as quickly as possible. There was no telling when some people would slip away from the audience and follow them, despite Jasmine’s threat.

Tomorrow.

Rylan’s eyes blazed with anticipation. Tomorrow, he would have another fight. After that, semifinals.

“Sarah,” he said. “Could you please keep me informed about powerful contestants now that the tournament is nearing its end?”

“Of course, young master,” she replied. “I’ve been gathering information while preparing for this moment.”

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He smiled. As always, she was a dependable woman.

After what felt like a year, they arrived at the hotel and entered. The man by the wooden desk only smiled at them and bowed, showing no sign of recognizing them for who they were. That, or he simply didn’t care.

“Aelfric, it’s better if you don’t meet Luna for a while,” Rylan said, looking at his brother, who nodded.

“Yeah, I agree. I’ll find a way to tell her that.”

The three of them headed to Rylan’s room. Aelfric and Rylan sat down, while Sarah remained standing. Rylan eyed her perfect posture and clothes without a single wrinkle.

“You look like a teacher,” he said with a smile. “Please tell me what you’ve learned, Professor Sarah.”

Sarah smiled. It was as dazzling as always. Since Rylan had spent such a long time looking at nothing but her carefully crafted mask of cold indifference, every smile felt like the first time.

“My lord, I believe there are only two people you really need to worry about,” Sarah replied. Her smile was tempered by seriousness.

Rylan motioned at her to continue. Aelfric leaned forward.

“The first is Jasmine Lamollet, who you already know. She reached Third Circle not long after turning sixteen and has honed her abilities since then. Today’s battle was a good representation of what she’s capable of, but personally, based on what I’ve heard and seen, I don’t think that was the full extent of her abilities.”

Rylan rubbed his chin.

“How does she compare to you?”

As the attendant of one of the Flameheart family’s children, Sarah was on the Third Circle herself. Sarah blinked and shook her head.

“I don’t know. I have more experience, but it’s been too long since I was forced to fight properly. In terms of pure spellcasting alone, I believe she has a considerable edge.”

Rylan raised his eyebrows.

“Really?”

“Yes, my lord. She casts quickly, allowing her to switch between attack and defense effectively. She can also cast while moving. Jasmine Lamollet is a difficult opponent, even if I can do the same. This is even though I’m much older.”

Aelfric’s gaze alternated between Rylan and Sarah. He raised his hand like a child in a classroom.

“But Rylan won’t lose,” he said confidently.

Rylan couldn’t help but smile and wrap his arm around Aelfric’s shoulders. Sarah smiled at the sight.

“I suppose the spells she used today are the only ones we know of?” Rylan asked, already knowing the answer.

Sarah nodded.

“Yes. I don’t have access to reliable information about her full abilities, young master.”

“Well, at least we learned that she doesn’t try and rely too much on higher-Circle spells. Who’s the second person?”

Sarah’s expression shifted. Her grin disappeared, replaced by worry. Rylan raised an eyebrow.

“…Hayden of Lindsor.”

Rylan blinked.

“A commoner?”

Sarah nodded.

Now this is interesting.

This Hayden was almost certainly the one the people in the stands had whispered about.

“And what do you know about him?” he asked with curiosity dancing in his eyes.

Sarah furrowed her brow.

“The only thing that’s for certain is that he’s reached this far without struggling, even against opponents in the Third Circle.”

Oh?

“What do you mean?”

“There’s almost no information about him, also due to the fact that he’s a commoner. He’s only ever used spells up to the Second Circle in the fights, but I believe he’s already in the Third Circle. So far, he hasn’t been injured or pushed to the brink.”

Alice Carmesim’s words flashed through Rylan’s mind.

I’m not the only genius.

Of course, he couldn’t really be described as a genius. This Hayden, on the other hand, seemed to be who she was talking about. Reaching this far without using a single Third Circle spell or even being injured was more than a respectable achievement. It bordered on nonsensical.

“How old is he?”

“Sixteen, my lord. Just like Jasmine.”

Rylan rubbed his chin. It was too unlikely for a sixteen-year-old to be at the Fourth Circle, but he was forced to consider this possibility.

Even if he’s not quite there yet, he’s probably deep into the Third Circle.

Facing someone like that with magic alone was too big of a disadvantage to him, whose greatest abilities still lay in swordsmanship. His magical journey was still in its infancy compared to Roland’s memories of sword-guided supremacy. Still, there was no meaning in hesitating to face a powerful opponent. Rylan smiled. The greater the challenge, the more gratifying it would be to overcome it.

He stood up and stretched his body.

“Don’t worry too much about learning more information about him. I’ll deal with it once I actually have to face him. There are still two more opponents to go, and one of them will probably be Jasmine.”

Sarah nodded.

“You’ll win, Rylan. I’m sure of it,” Aelfric said from next to them as he stood up.

Rylan smiled and tapped his brother’s shoulder.

“There’s something else I need to talk to you about, young master,” Sarah said with a furrowed brow. Rylan eyed her conflicted expression with a raised eyebrow and motioned at her to continue. “…I think it won’t be long before the young lady and young lord find out where you’re staying.”

Rylan blinked. With a grave expression, he nodded. Some bitterness and helplessness bubbled within him, but he forcefully pushed them down. This wasn’t the time to wallow in his misery over his past mistakes.

“Sarah. If they reach you before they reach me, please tell them to bring a Scrying Crystal when they come for me. Everything will become clear then,” he replied in a low tone, then looked at Aelfric. “You’ll be part of the conversation, too. There’s something I need to tell you. All of you.”

Aelfric tilted his head with scrunched eyebrows but soon nodded.

“I don’t think it would be that simple to obtain a Scrying Crystal, young master. But I can actively look for the young lady and the young lord to tell them that,” Sarah said seriously.

In her eyes, Rylan could see trust and belief that previously did not exist. It was the product of the months they had spent together after his change. With a small grin, he nodded at her and grabbed Aelfric’s shoulder.

There were people who believed in him. That alone made everything easier to handle.