Chapter 55: It's Normal for a Swordsman to Have Other Skills
"In the 521st year of the Sea Circle Calendar, the Long-Arm and Long-Leg tribes launched their first war. Countless people from both sides perished in this conflict."
"The hatred between the two races deepened, and the war continued up to the time of this writer's record."
In front of the Tree of Knowledge main gate, Roy sat cross-legged, holding the document that had troubled the female scholar and began to read aloud.
"Stop! Stop right there!"
Kuroha hurriedly waved his hands, snatching the document back and checking it himself.
"This writing… it's from over eight hundred years ago! How could you possibly understand it? Wait—are you two really pirates?" he asked, confused yet intrigued.
Just moments ago, Roy had made a bet—if he could translate the text, he'd be allowed inside the Tree of Knowledge to read their literature. If he failed, he'd leave quietly.
Kuroha had agreed, thinking it was impossible. Yet as Roy read, every word was clear and fluent.
Kuroha stared at the text. He only recognized a handful of words, but Roy had read the entire passage with ease.
"Our bet was that if I could translate it, I'd get to visit and read some of the literature here. If not, we'd walk away," Roy reminded him with a grin.
"Uh, y-yes… that's right." Kuroha nodded, embarrassment coloring his tone. "I'm terribly sorry—I misjudged you earlier."
He bowed politely before asking, "But since you have such deep knowledge of history, why travel with pirates?"
"What historian? This is just a language my grandfather taught me. I don't study history—I'm just an ordinary person," Roy said, shaking his head.
To Kuroha, those words sounded impossibly humble.
The truth, however, was stranger—Roy knew the language because he had lived eight hundred years ago.
What baffled him most was that after traveling across centuries, people still spoke the same tongue. Only the written form had changed.
Amatsuki Toki was in the same situation, yet she didn't find it strange at all. Magic, Roy thought with a sigh.
"Then your grandfather must have been an extraordinary scholar! How is he now?" Kuroha asked eagerly.
"Grandpa was just an ordinary adventurer," Roy said softly. "He's gone."
"…I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked." Kuroha bowed again, guilt in his eyes. "Oh—right! You wanted to read the literature, didn't you? Please, come in!"
All suspicion vanished from Kuroha's mind. A child fluent in an ancient language couldn't possibly be evil.
Toki followed Roy, still astonished. She recognized fragments of the writing—similar to scripts from her homeland long ago—but her own studies had focused on older forms of language.
If Kuroha knew both of them were fluent in ancient tongues, he might have fainted on the spot.
"What's next? Keep reading!" Kuroha urged, flipping the page and handing it to Roy.
Roy read a few words, then stopped, squinting deliberately.
"What's wrong?" Kuroha asked nervously.
"I don't recognize this part… seems I didn't study hard enough," Roy said regretfully. In truth, he knew it all—he just didn't want to draw too much attention.
A seven-year-old fluent in a lost language would be far too suspicious. Winning the bet was enough; he hadn't come here to play historian.
"This… do you know anything about this?" Kuroha turned to Toki.
She shook her head gently, and Kuroha's face fell as if someone had upended his dinner table mid-meal.
"Sometimes, chasing history's truth without the power to defend yourself only leads to destruction," Roy said quietly. "You scholars move too fast."
"Are there more books in this script? I'd like to see if I recognize any others."
Kuroha's frustration vanished instantly. "Follow me! I know where to find them!"
He led the pair deeper into the Tree of Knowledge, introducing them to the scholars within. The halls were filled with quiet murmurs, pages turning, and candlelight flickering across mountains of parchment.
"These are the volumes we've gathered so far. A few are still being restored," Kuroha said, placing four books on a long oak table.
Roy sat down and began leafing through the pages while Toki watched curiously. Around them, scholars whispered and jotted notes in delicate handwriting.
"Would you like some water?" Kuroha asked.
"Please," Roy replied.
"I'll get it right away."
As Kuroha hurried off, Roy continued reading. Toki smiled faintly beside him.
"Roy's grandfather must've been an incredible man," she whispered.
When Kuroha returned, he nearly dropped the water. Roy was scribbling rapidly in a notebook.
"What's this? Did you translate something?"
Roy handed him the notebook and took the water. "Not bad. I managed to get a few sentences."
Kuroha scanned the lines, eyes wide in disbelief.
"When are you leaving?" he asked at last, his tone reluctant.
"In a few days," Roy replied with a calm smile. "I'm no historian. My interest lies elsewhere."
"What a waste of talent," Kuroha sighed, shaking his head.
Roy smiled quietly. A swordsman knowing ancient text isn't strange at all, he thought. Sometimes, a single punch can teach more than a library full of books.
The next morning, Roy was practicing swordsmanship in the forest when Kuroha arrived, clutching a new document.
"I found another text in that language and we studied—wait…" His eyes widened. "Are you really just a swordsman?"
Roy's blade sliced cleanly through a massive tree trunk. He turned and gave a calm nod.
"Yes."
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