Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 13: Resolution
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“GUUUIIIIIII!!”
Lucius woke up to a fierce roar. It was still the middle of the night, with the moon ascending on the western side.
The mist that his mother, Emily, had created had already disappeared, leaving only the dark silhouette of trees and something wriggling and stirring in the grass.
“Lucius, are you awake?”
As he turned around, his father was right behind him. The Hippogriff with the head of an eagle was already summoned.
“Father, what was that sound just now?”
Lowering his voice, Robel responded, “It seems like the Goblin chief has appeared.”
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Suddenly, a towering tree in the forest collapsed with a thunderous sound.
The Goblins emerged one after another from the shadow of the trees.
However, unlike before, they didn’t immediately launch an attack.
– Are they on alert? No…
The Goblins synchronized their voices and started shouting with a series of howls.
“Gii, Gii, Giiii!”
From the depths of the fallen tree, a particularly large Goblin revealed itself. It was two sizes bigger than the other Goblins, with a massive physique.
“As I thought, it’s Hob Goblin.”
Father Robel didn’t seem surprised; it appeared that he had anticipated this.
“Let’s go.”
Father Robel mounted the Hippogriff and soared into the sky. Immediately after drawing his sword in mid-air, he headed towards the Hob Goblin with incredible speed.
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Hob Goblin effortlessly intercepted Robel’s fast-paced strike with his rusty greatsword.
The signal for battle.
The Goblins that emerged from the depths of the forest began attacking Robel and the Hippogriff one after another. Their numbers were so overwhelming that it was futile to even try to count them.
The Goblins that attacked earlier around noon were likely just a fraction of the horde.
Robel skillfully wielded his sword and the wind, while the Hippogriff used its claws and the wind to slaughter the Goblins like moles.
However, none of their blades reached Hob Goblin.
He skillfully evaded their attacks, but more than that…
“Damn it! You’re using your comrades as tools!”
Hob Goblin used his fellow Goblins as shields, grabbing their heads and throwing them. It was an act that didn’t seem fitting for members of the same race.
Both Hob Goblin and the shielded Goblins were laughing. It was as if they were toying with their prey while facing death.
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– They’re insane.
Robel’s sword finally closed in on Hob Goblin.
The swords of Hob Goblin and Robel clashed, reaching a stalemate.
Both of them were locked in a deadlock, unable to move due to the close-quarters clash.
A moment of carelessness would lead to being struck down.
At that moment, the Goblins surrounding Hob Goblin saw an opportunity. Ignoring Robel and the Hippogriff, they all turned towards Lucius and the others.
Robel instinctively tried to prevent their advance, but the balance of the deadlock with Hob Goblin shifted, and he was about to be overwhelmed in an instant.
The blade that was repelled struck Robel’s shoulder, and blood seeped out.
“Stop!!”
Mocking Robel’s scream, the goblins approached one after another.
The expressions of the goblins twisted into deranged laughter.
Sensing the danger, Mother Emily shielded and covered Lucius.
In the next moment, the wave of goblins engulfed Lucius and the others in an instant.
In a fleeting moment, the situation changed drastically.
Most of the goblins, without even glancing at Lucius and the twins’ parents, were ecstatic in the presence of the woman.
Emily, who would have covered Lucius to protect him, was immediately stripped away and held down.
The maid Matilda was already pinned down by several goblins, while the surrounding goblins wore a vile and obscene smile, erecting their filthy parts.
Not all of them were indifferent to the children. Several goblins swung their rusty axes and dragged the twins’ legs around.
They were competing among themselves before killing the children.
After the twins were dead, it would be Lucius’ turn.
Lucius’s mind went blank, unable to grasp the situation.
This morning, everything was normal when they left the inn.
At noon, they were attacked, and although he was surprised, his father somehow managed to handle it.
– What is this situation?
Ignoring Lucius’s dazed state, Emily shouted while being restrained.
“Robel! Even if it’s just Lucius, take him and run!”
“Damn it!”
Robel, his path blocked by a hobgoblin, was bleeding but desperately trying to shake off the hobgoblin. He must have sustained injuries in the struggle.
At the end of Robel’s gaze, there was only Lucius.
True to Emily’s words, Robel was trying to save only Lucius, his face filled with agony.
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– Why?
Curiously, fear didn’t come to mind.
It was frustration.
Being born into nobility. Carrying an unnecessary burden. Enduring unjust violence. Seeing his mother and the maid violated. Witnessing the deaths of young children and the injured.
The possibility of saving only oneself.
And somewhere in his heart, feeling relieved by that.
It made him furious at everything.
The words of his father from earlier came to mind.
“If you don’t have power, you will be robbed.”
Suddenly, the words struck his chest.
Ah, so this is what it means to be robbed.
When his father spoke of the need for power, it didn’t quite register.
It was only natural.
He had lived in Japan, a country with good public order. Even after being reincarnated, he had lived a normal life as a noble.
But in this world, it was commonplace for there to be things he couldn’t protect without power. Perhaps the previous world was the same.
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Nobles undergo the “Rite of Bestowal” because governing requires the power to protect.
That’s why his father and mother, with heavy hearts, instilled power in Lucius.
Otherwise, someone else would be taken away.
To protect the people of his domain.
It wasn’t a concept. It wasn’t just a facade.
It was reality.
Unlike those who clung to privilege without having anyone or anything to protect, like his parents in his previous life.
Robel had asked to be protected.
Now, he could understand that he was trying to entrust him with that.
Lucius pulled the sword he had been holding in its scabbard with his thin, small arms.
Or it would be more accurate to say he dropped the scabbard.
He tightly gripped the sword bestowed upon him by the king.
– It’s heavy.
It felt heavier than a lump of iron.
So, this is responsibility.
He had always felt the desire to be needed, to be seen by someone.
– They had been watching him long before.
The course of action was clear.
It wasn’t about running away.
It wasn’t about helping his mother or the maid, or assisting his father.
It was about protecting the twins, the people of his domain.
Lucius infused magic into his sword.
The magic that he could only manipulate within his body until now flowed into the blade as if it had been capable of it all along.
“Release those children!”
Lucius weakly raised the sword, almost being crushed under its weight.
The goblins, seemingly affected by Lucius’s immense magical power, stopped in their tracks, drooling as their gazes focused on Lucius.
Unable to endure the sight of the exquisite dish that was Lucius, all the goblins present simultaneously launched their attack as if they couldn’t wait any longer.
Undeterred, Lucius continued to infuse more magic into the sword.
Gradually, the sword began to radiate light.
Not only from the magic core in his left hand, but from every magic core in his body, Lucius exerted all his magical power into the sword.
The light of the sword grew even stronger, as if the forest had become midday or as if a small sun existed within the forest.
“What the hell is that!?”
Robel, who had been engaging in combat with the hobgoblin, was dumbfounded.
An overwhelming light enveloped the surroundings, rendering it impossible to even keep his eyes open.
Instead of gradually infusing magic, Lucius felt a sensation as if the sword was absorbing it.
– Is the magic being absorbed!?
The dazzling radiance was vivid, but it carried a pleasant warmth, like being enveloped in the gentle light of a warm sun.
– Warm.
In an instant, a sudden fatigue overwhelmed Lucius.
He could hardly sense the magic that had always resided within his body.
Realizing that his magic had almost been completely drained, the sword, which had absorbed most of Lucius’s magic, lost its radiance.
The forest regained its darkness, and under the starlight, Lucius, with his sword drooping, stood there.
The ash, which was likely the remains of the goblins, scattered in the night breeze.
Only the hobgoblin remained, leaving behind a charred core, perhaps because of its large size.
While it was a warm light to humans, it seemed to emit a scorching radiance that seared the bodies of the monsters.
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“I-Impressive.”
Emily rose to her feet, dumbfounded.
Robel also dismounted from the hippogriff.
“Lucius!! You’re truly amazing!”
The king’s royal sword.
As the king had said, it seemed to have gained magic and unleashed extraordinary power.
But right now, such things didn’t matter.
The twins, embracing their injured father with relief.
Matilda, who had been cowering in fear, now liberated.
More than the light that turned the monsters to ash, their figures were many times more significant.
– This is what it means to protect someone.
Lucius gazed at his father and mother, his determination evident.
“Father, mother, I will become an honorable baron.”
Under the moonlight, Lucius’s face was filled with a radiant joy.