Yigret

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Chapter 1. The Heron Prince

Bump!

With a loud clang, the training rod rolled across the floor.

It wasn’t a very hard blow, but Judas wasn’t being able to withstand it. Not only did he lose the staff, but the palm of his hand that held it was red and swollen.

“Oh, no! Are you okay?”

Meiran, the teacher in charge, rushed over to check on Judas. No matter how bad he was, Judas was the First Prince of the Empire. She was bound to be sensitive to the slightest injury.

The teacher wasn’t the only one making a fuss.

Yigret, are you in a lot of pain? Huh? How dare that human bastard.

“…… Haha.”

Judas clasped his palms together and gave an embarrassed laugh.

Unseen by Ethan’s eyes, impatient, Yuni was glaring at him with a sulky expression, but then it flew into his palm and pouted.

Yigret…….

“I mean, not like I’m badly hurt.”

“You should stop practicing, though. I’ll give you an ice pack to hold on to.”

Meiran caught Judas’ muttered words to the spirit and persuaded Judas.

Without any further ado, Judas squatted in the corner with the ice pack over his swollen palm.

Ethan’s practice partner, now vacant, was Meiran herself.

“Ethan, you said you’re a freshman? You’ve obviously mastered some martial arts, so why did you choose to practice staffs?”

“…… To familiarize myself with the sensation of handling a weapon.”

“Not because there’s nothing more to learn in the swordsmanship class?”

“Not to be conceited, but…….”

Ethan didn’t have much of an emotional response to the teacher’s provocation, simply stating his views of her in a rational tone.

“I just want to add perfection to my sword.”

Whirr, bump!

Meiran’s eyes lit up as she watched Ethan twirl his staff, perfectly executing the stance he had learned.

“You’ve certainly mastered the principles in the meantime.”

Every teacher in Ruvarh is informed of every student’s family and origin.

They need to know the background to nurture the bud.

The majority of students show qualities in line with their origins, but in some cases, it’s up to each teacher to recognize what they’re more talented at and nourish them.

In Ethan’s case, it was the former.

“Striving for perfection is the way to pass as a student, by the way.”

Meiran parried Ethan’s thrusting staff lightly, then hooked it, unlike normal practices, aiming for his abdomen.

Startled, Ethan quickly raised his stick to block it, but it bounced back like a spring and struck him in the back.

Thump!

There was a loud thud and Ethan staggered back, but he didn’t let go of his staff the whole time. Meiran noticed and smirked.

“See? You’d better be careful. A staff is a unique weapon than a sword.”

At the end of class, the students gathered around Ethan.

The teacher called him short “Ethan” but the familiarity of his attitude toward martial arts, his black hair, and dark eyes made it easy for Ruvarh students guess his identity.

“Hello, new student.”

“I’ve never seen a classmate block Professor Meiran’s surprise attack before. Even the seniors would have had a hard time reacting!”

“It’s the Heiga’s, after all.”

Ethan Heiga.

The two great (**mountain ranges or) clans of the empire that rivaled the Delphia family. That meant he was a lesser duke master. The swordsmanship passed down by the family was known to be the pride of the Empire. That fact alone caused most of the students to approach him with envy.

“Hmm.”

Judas, who was unusually short compared to them, couldn’t even approach him.

He scratched his chin and turned away. He didn’t have the strength to push his way through the crowd of kids, nor did he feel the need to.

Leaving Ethan behind, who, unlike him, had been welcomed by everyone on the first day of school, Judas walked slowly.

This was the end of his schedule for the day, as he was too weak to schedule anything more.

As he exited the gym, Judas looked up into the late afternoon sky, which hadn’t yet set in.

“…… Somehow, nothing’s changed. I…”

Huh? What’s wrong, Yigret? Is your hand hurting?

“My bad, Yuni. Were you still paying attention to my hand? My hand is fine.”

Judas stretched out his palm, and the swelling had gone down considerably.

Yuni settled down on it and looked up at Judas’s face.

But you don’t look happy.

“…… I don’t? Did I? Haha……. clumsy, I am.”

What. What’s the matter with you?

“This feels like nothing has changed at all..”

With Yuni resting on his palm, Judas paced slowly.

Afternoon classes had ended, and there were a few students on their way to evening classes, some enjoying the break, others, like herself, heading back to their dorms.

Despite wearing the same uniform and being around the similar age, none of them seemed to recognize Judas.

Maybe it’s because they don’t know?

Yuni said, running her fingers through her green hair. Judas blinked at that with a ‘Huh?’ face.

“Don’t know? I suppose that is possible. People tend to be wary of the unfamiliar.”

Of course. Once they realize what kind of person you are, they won’t help but to love you, just as we did.

The sun was setting at some point.

The next day, Baikal ran into Judas as usual.

This time it was history class, not economics, and their paths crossed. This wasn’t a surprise to Judas, as he knew this already.

But there was one variable that Baikal hadn’t anticipated.

“Good morning, dear. You guys always seem to be together.”

Unusually, this time, it was Judas who greeted him. Baikal had never expected to be greeted by him before, and looked as bewildered as the rest of the group.

“Our classes often overlap, so I’ll be looking forward to the classes together.”

“What…….”

Baikal almost cursed at the prince, but managed to keep himself rational and shut his mouth.

Judas’s relaxed expression infuriated him even more. Baikal grinned mockingly.

“Ha! I think you’re mistaken, Mr. Judas. Just because we’re in the same class doesn’t mean we’re on the same level.”

“Mmm? I didn’t say that.”

“Let me be clear: you’re taking history too lightly. With more absences than attendance, you’re not going to keep up in this class. I’d suggest you go back and withdraw right now.”

Giggles.

The students in the room turned their heads and burst out laughing. It was an obviously condescending remark.

Even the prince is a mere student at the Academy Ruvarh, and even if he was given respect for his noble lineage, it did not force them to acknowledge his poor qualities.

Who would recognize a prince who often faints and is absent from school, a prince who has never done anything right, a prince with only the title?

His natural outward appearances were distinguished from others, but that didn’t make up for The Heron Prince’s huge failings.

“…….”

Judas stared at Baikal in the distance. Faced with a golden gaze that held neither resentment nor anger, Baikal clicked his tongue and turned away.

The teacher finally walked in, called the roll, and class began.

That seemed to be the end of Judas’s strange behavior, but it continued for a while. He was constantly greeting and talking, as if someone had never humiliated him.

And it wasn’t just Baikal. Judas greeted every single student he came across.

His smile never faltered, even in the face of unwanted responses. It was a persistent behavior.

By the end of the week, there was no one who didn’t recognize Judas.

The students’ reactions to Judas, known for his lackluster presence, but now burdensomely present, were twofold.

Accepting him moderately and re-examining him, or still being awkward and ignoring him. The latter was more common than the former.

Ethan, who was in the minority, glanced down at Judas as he walked into the staff technique class.

Judas looked up at him with a smile, feeling more confident in his grip.

“I have been working on mine arm strength. Today shall be different.”

With that, Judas stumbled and lost his grip on the staff.

He smiled apologetically at Ethan as he landed two bags of ice on his knees, as well as his hands.

Ethan held his hand up in a dismissive gesture, then went back to his practice, more like a sparring with his teacher, Meiran.

This pattern had been going on for a week now.

Unlike the other classes, the practical, Staff technique was scheduled every afternoon.

While it would certainly help him improve his physical fitness rather than just breathing exercise, he wasn’t making much progress with his staff skills.

There was no point in practicing when he couldn’t even parry a scheduled blow, let alone swing it.

Still, Judas took his master’s teachings to heart.

His physical limitations prevented him from using them, but combined with his original knowledge of the martial arts, he had a theoretical mastery of the staff art.

If he had the physical strength to actually use it, he might do something that even Meiran, couldn’t handle.

“…… It’s like food in a gourd.”

Judas smirked, clenching his scratched fist.

It was no different from the fox in the fairy tale who couldn’t eat the food in the gourd he was waiting for.

It was a shame to have knowledge and not be able to use it.

Still, Judas was satisfied that he could learn it intellectually. He had lived the life of a sage, but there was still so much he didn’t know.

Ninety-two years of life, at most. A long life for a human being, but not enough time to realize all the knowledge and reason in the world.

Though he was called the great sage, Judas had never accepted the title.

============================ ending credit

TL by Shir104

Please leave a comment if you see any kind of what so ever mistakes, and a upvote if you liked this episode!

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I give you my gratitude to my first bookmarker (?) of Yigret. You saved my day.

If you leave a bookmark we could reach 10 bookmarkers (?) soon (?)

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**mountain ranges()= Korean term for two best people or things in one subject