Swordmeister of Rome

Kuntarian loved his life here.

Being strong gave him many pleasures.

After earning this power while he was a mercenary, he regretted being too careful about using it. He only used 10% of the power he received, and there was already no one that could stop him.

It was the same even after he arrived at the capital. However, he still needed to be wary of the monster-like Grand Banders.

He was sure that if he managed to control all that power, he didn't need to worry about the Grand Banders.

'I guess a year of training will do… should I become King?'

Kuntarian daydreamed of being a king and ordering old man Narasha around. Then, he remembered the girl that kept rejecting him.

'If she wasn't the granddaughter of that Kiraine…'

No woman rejected him after he earned the power. His new, reformed body gave him a handsome look that lured all women into his bed. There was a noble that wanted to keep him by his side by giving him his daughter, but Kuntarian just took the daughter for a day and left the noble.

If that wasn't the case, he just needed to take the woman by force.

But Celine wasn't easy. He liked how she looked, so he tried to give her the glory of becoming his girlfriend; however, she refused. So he became irritated.

It was especially irritating because he couldn't take her by force. It was not the time to fight against old man Kiraine yet.

It was only a matter of time.

That was when he noticed a man talking to Celine.

'Who is that fool trying to hit on my girl?'

Kuntarian had already secretly beat up any man who had been talking with Celine, so he was sure that there was no one else around Celine anymore. However, it was not enough.

He decided to focus on Celine for now and beat the guy up later.

"Haha! Celine, you are as beautiful as ever!"

"Beat it, you piece of scum."

"Hey, hey. Celine, isn't it about time you accept your fate?"

Sian scanned the man, Kuntarian, who apparently was purposely ignoring Sian.

'So he is Kuntarian… hm…'

He was pretty strong. There was a large amount of energy storming within him that would make him stronger than most Master-level warriors, but it seemed he had gained the power not too long ago and couldn't use it properly. It didn't seem that the power had adjusted to the body.

'He's a half-wit.'

Half-wit was the most degrading term for a warrior. It was used to describe a warrior that could not draw out all the power he had. Sian wasn't sure about how he got the power, but he was sure that Kuntarian didn't have the talent to absorb all of it.

If it was Rian who had the power, it could've made him a Grand Bander at once.

To waste such power like that… it was a shame.

Sian immediately lost interest in Kuntarian. With such power and lackluster talent, he would be taken care of soon enough. Celine just needed to hold out a little longer.

As Sian started leaving, Kuntarian shouted at him, "Hey, you! I'm trying to have a drink with Celine. Come here and stand duty in her place."

'…huh?'

Sian was at a loss for words.

'Hah… okay, I'm a civilized man.'

Sian almost threw his scabbard, but he sighed and held back. Unlike that savage, he was civilized.

'I am a civilized man. An educated man. I can hold back…'

He could not just beat up everyone because he was provoked; his mother did not raise him that way. He mumbled to himself internally and almost made it out of the building.

However, his reflexes betrayed his conscious thoughts.

"UGH!"

A scabbard was thrown and instantly struck Kuntarian's head while he was turning back to Celine. He was knocked out. Not only that, the force threw him against the wall.

"Huh?"

Sian gasped in shock at his unintended action. Celine seemed surprised, but she smiled brightly and gave Sian a thumbs up.

"Wow, you have a temper too! Hahaha! I feel like you and I share similar traits."

"Uh… hm… I tried to hold back."

"Haha! Yeah, you did well. This fool needs a harder beating than this. Anyway, thanks, Sian."

Celine laughed as she watched the unconscious Kuntarian. She expected that Kuntarian would get more beatings from Sian in the future, which made her really happy. Sian believed he was an educated, well-mannered man, but Celine knew he was not going to stand by and let this fool taunt keep taunting him.

"So, is the competition preparation going well?"

King Narasha Qun Tian the First asked Viscount Talin, his right-hand advisor.

"Yes, Your Majesty. It's going well. It will be a grand ceremony to celebrate your coronation."

"Your Majesty, huh? It's flattering."

"You'll get used to it."

It was tradition for the Kingdom to hold a Grand Warrior Tournament. Men and women of all ages were invited to take part in the tournament where Tian's warriors proved their worth. It helped calm the people during the succession.

"I guess Kuntarian will win this time?"

"I believe so… yes. He is too ambitious to let this pass."

"If only he had a better personality."

Grand Banders did not enter the competition. That would ruin the balance.

The most anticipated individual to win the competition was Kuntarian. If Narasha did not know about Sian, he would've been impressed. The boy was so strong that he could fight on par with any Master-level warrior at the age of seventeen.

"It's a shame. But, I should be thankful that he doesn't cause more trouble."

Some people had even given Kuntarian a nickname: <Small Harijan>.

"We'll keep an eye on him… but if he steps out of line, we will have no choice."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Oh, and is Sian doing okay?"

The King asked about Sian as there was no one else around, and this issue was to be kept a secret for now.

"Yes, Sir Cariman did a wonderful job, although I think he loves his life back at the capital."

"That's good to hear."

This was the most critical aspect of his succession. As expected, Sian didn't seem to care about who the King was.

'But to think he does not even care about the seat which I wanted so badly my entire life…'

The King then listened to reports about Sian in the past two months. It was recorded by Sir Cariman along with a few other observation methods. What interested the King most was the war in Logadis and the quick growth of Kulan Province, and the cliff collapse.

"So the war itself is suspicious?"

"Yes. We suspect some outside forces had a hand in starting the war, and Baron Kulan seems to be hiding something. As for the cliff… it's proving hard to investigate as it collapsed."

"Leave it be. I am not sure what happened there, but I can guess who did it."

Kurandas and Phareon tried hard to cover up what they were doing, but the entire area was monitored the moment Sian visited the place.

"Say… will Sian enter the competition?"

"I think he's too lazy to do it…"

"It would be good if he does join… but I don't think he'll feel it's worth bothering."

He had enough power to destroy a mountain; the competition would be like child's play to him.

"It's a shame. It would be great if a man like him helped us."

"I thought that too, but after looking at Kuntarian, I've learned one thing."

"Yes, Your Majesty?"

"It's fortunate that he's just staying put. Look at Kuntarian and all the problems he's causing. Imagine if that were Sian. It would be a disaster."

It was fortunate that Sian was not interested in worldly affairs. Sian was so powerful that he could not be controlled at all.

"Let's go to the meeting room. They should be waiting."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

They began walking toward the meeting room to discuss the future of Tian Kingdom.