Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 3: Somehow Reunited with a Fateful Material
As they continued toward the village, Roy brought up the bridge spanning the river between the settlement and the forest.
“Do you remember the suspension bridge?”
“Of course. What’s wrong with it?”
“It has been reinforced. Earlier today, we were heading upstream when the Little Boars suddenly fled toward us in a group.”
“Because the roadwork disturbed them?”
“That may be part of it, but the carpenters think something else is driving them from the upper river.”
Ren’s expression sharpened.
“A powerful monster?”
“I don’t know. We have not seen one.”
Ren immediately mounted Io.
“I’ll investigate.”
“Ren, wait. You only just returned! We can examine it later.”
“That will only make me more curious.”
The Clausel knights offered to accompany him, but Ren asked them to remain and protect the village in case the danger approached from another direction.
Although escorting him was their duty, the resolve in his voice persuaded them.
“I’ll retreat the moment I sense something I cannot handle.”
Before Roy could stop him again, Ren guided Io into the forest.
He followed a narrow trail beside the river, passed near Tsurugi Rock, and rode deeper upstream than he had ever traveled before.
The river ended at a large waterfall basin.
There were no tracks, bones, or obvious signs of a monster. Only the sound of clear water filled the secluded landscape.
“Nothing?”
Ren dismounted and searched carefully.
Just as he began to think the Little Boars might have fled for some unrelated reason, his body tensed.
Something powerful was there.
He summoned the Iron Magic Sword and approached the water with controlled steps.
A beautiful light shimmered beneath the surface.
“Star Agate?”
The gemstone’s radiance was unmistakable. He had seen the same mineral throughout the Baldor Mountains.
Ren summoned the Wooden Magic Sword and used Nature Magic to form a path of thick roots across the water.
He sent vines into the basin, wrapped them around the shining object, and pulled.
It was much heavier than expected.
Ren planted his feet and drew on the Physical Ability Up (Medium) effect granted by Magic Sword Summoning Technique.
Little by little, the object rose.
“What in the world…?”
The mass of Star Agate was enormous, roughly as long as four horses standing nose to tail.
Its form was elongated, twisted, and sharply pointed at one end.
Io neighed in surprise from the bank.
“It is huge. But why would Star Agate appear near the village? It should require an unusual environment like the Baldor Mountains.”
Ren circled the object.
The material was more damaged near its thicker end, where the gemstone appeared to have formed around something cut or torn.
A memory returned.
He had hurled the Iron Magic Sword into Asval’s remaining horn and broken it away at the root.
“It cannot be…”
A crack ran through the Star Agate.
The shell split apart like a cocoon and fell away.
Inside lay Asval’s broken horn.
Ren crouched in stunned silence.
Its presence easily explained why the Little Boars had fled. Even severed from the dragon, the horn carried an overwhelming presence.
“How did it travel from the Baldor Mountains to this waterfall? Is there an underground waterway connecting them?”
No reasonable explanation came to mind.
After considering the matter for a long time, Ren returned through the forest and summoned the knights.
When they saw the object, they too were overwhelmed.
“What magnificent Star Agate…”
“And the material inside it – is it some ancient monster part?”
“It is important,” Ren said. “We need to take it to Clausel so I can report to Lessard-sama.”
Transporting something so large would be difficult.
Fortunately, the road and wall construction required oversized material wagons. The knights proposed linking two wagons together.
“It will still extend beyond them,” one knight warned.
“Cover it completely with cloth,” Ren said. “Whatever the inconvenience, it must reach Clausel without attracting attention.”
The former Ren could never have moved it even with help, but Physical Ability Up (Medium) made the task possible.
Two construction wagons were eventually brought upstream and joined together.
The remaining fragments of Star Agate were collected as well.
Ren stayed until the horn was secured and concealed.
“Leave the rest to us, Ren-dono,” a knight said. “Please enjoy your return home.”
“Thank you. I am counting on you.”
Ren mounted Io and rode toward the village alone.
The reinforced suspension bridge was almost unrecognizable. Beyond it, a stone wall was being built around the settlement.
The main village road had been paved with cobblestones, replacing the muddy farm path he remembered. Many old houses had been rebuilt.
At the far end stood a new mansion on the same small hill as the old Ashton residence.
The village had recovered spectacularly from the attack a year earlier.
“Is that the young master?”
“You’ve grown! Welcome home!”
“That horse is enormous!”
Villagers called to Ren from the fields. He answered each greeting with a smile.
The mansion’s old, half-collapsed wooden gate had been replaced by a stone one.
Roy and Mireille waited outside.
“Ren!”
Mireille ran forward the moment he dismounted and pulled him into her arms.
“Mom, I’m home.”
“Welcome home.”
Tears filled her eyes.
Roy joined them, and the three remained together for several minutes before Mireille finally invited Ren inside.
A stable had been built on the mansion grounds.
Mireille admired Io’s powerful body while Ren hesitated.
Io had once belonged to Yelquq, one of the criminals who attacked the village.
Before Ren could decide how to explain, Roy spoke.
“You acquired an excellent horse.”
“Dad, you know who she belonged to?”
“The knights told us. You seemed reluctant to say it yourself, so they thought it kinder to explain first.”
Mireille stroked Io’s mane without fear.
“The horse is innocent, Ren. You have no reason to feel guilty either.”
Roy agreed and ruffled Ren’s hair.
The familiar gesture eased a tension Ren had carried for months.
“I’m glad.”
That’s what she said!