I'm Not Serious Yet

Aegina Kingdom, the royal capital, Rethym.

In the heart of the palace, in the throne room, I was down on one knee, bowing to the king.

"Hermes Cano, I have come to answer the summons.

Oh, Dr. Hermes. Give me your face, you don't need to do that.

No, it's what I do best.

You're so formal. I'm going to have to thank you, Master, for being my disciple.

Ugh.

I was at a loss for words, the people around me were buzzing.

The king's call of "Sensei" had rubbed in the minds of the ministers and aristocrats around me that my swordsmanship instruction was more than just a decorative title.

At the very least, they knew that the king intended to do just that, and they looked at me differently.

It's a bad trend, as a vassal, I was following normal etiquette, but I think it's going to be a bad one.

What kind of attitude would be normal for the king to have as a disciple?

Umm ... I don't know.

Since I don't know, I had no choice but to go with the flow.

I got up and acted as normal as possible, trying not to be too big and act as normal as possible.

'What can I do for you that you called me here?

When I tried a slightly broken tone, the king was in a slightly better mood.

"Yes, I wanted to give you something back.

Return?　I don't remember lending His Majesty anything.

They're not strictly speaking yours. You are aware of Lady Selene and your ancestors.

Yeah, well,

"Your ancestors left behind a few swords. "Your ancestors left behind a few swords. It's part of the formal wear.

I see.

I say give it back because it was left to you by your ancestors.

The king laughed vigorously.

I could understand.

I'm a little relieved.

When it comes down to it, it's customary to do as you please.

It's customary to follow conventions, and that's the best way to do it.

I decided to take the sword in the usual way and not waste time talking about it.

The king beckoned to me and a few servants came out from the side.

There were three in all, each pushing a sort of wagon, with a swing of a sword for each wagon.

In other words, three swings.

''Your Majesty, is this...?''

Yes, they were all left to you by your ancestors. Take the one you like.

Yeah.

You're asking me to choose one of the three bottles.

Why would you do that again I knew right away.

The three bottles were distinctly different.

They didn't look that different, but the one on the left is a workhorse there.

The one in the middle has a tremendous presence, and even a child could tell the difference.

The rightmost one is nothing special, it's a sword that is sold in the city for a mountain of money.

It reminded me of a coin.

The ceremony of the inauguration of the head of the Cano family, the memory of bringing home the coin that requires the most power at that time and being told it was amazing came back to me.

That's the same thing, isn't it?

No, it's too early to tell.

There's probably more traps.

Can I have a look?

Well, compare to your heart's content. And take a swing at the one you like.

Thank you.

Approaching the wagon, I take each of the three swords and compare them.

I casually observe my surroundings.

I can clearly see that the ministers are watching me with bated breath.

They're trying something.

The feeling in my hand is the same as my first impression.

The one on the left is a decent amount of power - and it's a magical-powered karma.

The one in the middle is probably an amazing sword that could be called a "legendary" pillow.

The one on the right is also an ordinary sword. For better or worse, it's a mass-produced product with a price tag.

From these three, this is the one.

We'll take this one.

Then he took the sword on the right, the most ordinary sword.

Huh, it may have been a trap to want you to choose the middle one, but it's too much.

That power is at a level where even an ignorant child could tell that it's something amazing.

It's a bit much, and there's no way you would fall for that obvious trap.

I'm a man who can learn from his mistakes.

I'm a man who learns from his mistakes.

'Ooh...'

That's a choice.

Well, that's a family of Cano's.

What?

I look around, the ministers are all very impressed.

What do you mean by that?　Did you make the wrong choice?

I stare at my chosen sword again, checking things out.

But I still don't see anything wrong with it, it's just an ordinary sword.

I'm so happy for you, Doctor.

What's this all about?

'You don't understand how amazing you are, do you? Well, they say that geniuses often fail to understand why ordinary people are surprised by what they do.

Yes.....

Seriously, what's going on?

The three swords were used by your ancestors when they were young, middle-aged and old, respectively.

'Huh...'

"In the beginning, I was using a so-so sword. "She started out with a so-so sword, but as she grew in strength, she was able to defeat the most powerful enemies and acquire a sword that was right at home. The sword in the middle, Foss, was the very symbol of her power.

I see, so that's what it was.

''And in her later years, she was no longer the strongest and no longer needed a great sword. Even a cheap sword could reign supreme. Hence the proverbial 'Cano chooses no sword'.

Oh....

You may have heard the saying.

.........

...............................

Huh?

That means..........

'Cano didn't choose a sword, and that's exactly what he showed me. That's a great teacher of mine.

My stock had risen again because the destination I had avoided was the boundary my ancestors had reached.