Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 21: Schemes / Silver
When lord Eric saw Hypnos, he widened his eyes in shock.
“Lady Ashrina, is that sword… the one you obtained through ‘Summoning’?”
“This sword belonged to the man I fought when I escaped from my cell. I don’t know how he got his hands on it, though, especially since it was summoned by ‘Sacred Relic Summoning’.”
“A sword with a sinister yet captivating, almost eerie beauty… Though called a Sacred Relic, this is truly a demon sword…”
As Duke Glasbel said, the black slender blade of Hypnos has a radiant allure. Even someone like me, who isn’t particularly a sword enthusiast, is captivated by it.
“In his current state, he should be able to answer questions.”
“Then… first, your name and affiliation.”
“…Gues… Henriksen… belongs to…the Kingdom of Forlant, under the command of the frontier Count…cavalry regiment…”
The answers given under hypnosis are his true facts without distortion.
The surprise attack on Glasbel by Forlant was still only a suspicion, but now that it had been confirmed, even Lord Eric was stunned.
“Unbelievable… Did everything he told us really come from him?”
“He” must be Reis-san, I suppose. Zephen was secretly scheming to frame Glasbel and create a reason to start a war—and he wasn’t the only one with the same plan.
Duke Glasbel’s expression didn’t change. He probably had already prepared himself to accept the truth.
“Who is this ‘frontier count’ you mentioned?”
“…The head of the Vandel family… Maximus Vandel…”
“Similarly, are there anyone else within Glasbel’s territory who are looting?”
“… three units of the Cavalry Regiment… each infiltrated via a different route…”
Gues answered duke Glasbel’s questions, revealing everything from where the bandits’ base was located to how strong their troops were – but…
“Father, something’s wrong…!”
(Even though it is hypnosis, actions that put his life at risk cause resistance. Plus, it consumes a lot of magic power…)
When Hypnos’ power was released, the man collapsed as if his string had been cut. Lord Eric checked if he was still breathing, and he was—he hadn’t died, but was mentally exhausted.
“I’m sorry, I still can’t fully control the sword’s power…”
“No, this information is enough. If we can strike at the enemy’s base… cough, cough…”
“Father, please don’t push yourself too hard. Get some rest.”
“…I’m sorry, Eric. But I won’t die just yet.”
(Still, his face is turning paler by the second. You can’t rely on willpower alone…)
Duke Glasbel left the cell with Eric supporting him. I parted ways with them at the mansion’s entrance hall and returned to the guest room.
◆◇◆
Reis-san tried to rent a place outside the mansion but stayed behind, saying he had something he wanted to discuss—I considered having him be present during the interrogation, but since he had only just recovered from his injuries and had fought, I decided it was better for him to rest.
“Lord Eric said that Reis-san had told him everything. Count Vandel is trying to justify Glasbel’s invasion through schemes, huh…”
“I think there may be some reason why he has become so ambitious, but… I can’t act outside the orders of the royal family, so I haven’t been able to investigate the circumstances surrounding Count Vandel.”
“That means there might be someone behind Lord Vandel… If that’s the case, then perhaps there’s a way to stop the war.”
“…Lady Ashrina,”
Even though I just call myself Ashrina, I ended up saying something rather grand. Still, if things continue to move as Count Vandel wishes, the people of Glasbel will suffer even more.
“Achieving the goal Lady Ashrina has set for me is my top priority. No matter how difficult it may be.”
“Reis-san… thank you. That makes me feel very reassured.”
“…I wish I could ask for help from that black-haired swordsman… no, I must not rely on him when I can’t see him. I need to get stronger myself.”
(…Reis-san, I think you’re too fond of my transformed form. I only carried you on horseback to get here, and you were barely conscious most of the time.)
Perhaps it’s the so-called “suspension bridge effect” caused by his hazy state of consciousness. He still treats me kindly in my original self, but I can’t help feeling some decisive difference.
Feeling jealous of my transformed self, it’s quite a rare experience. I’m sure the teacher would laugh at me again if I said something like that.
◆◇◆
–After that,, it was Reis-san’s turn to take a bath, and although he was hesitant, he politely went in. It seemed the maids had made arrangements to allow him to take a bath by himself.
“A person who wears a mask to conceal their true identity… as far as I know, that’s a ‘secret agent’ or a ‘ninja’. It sounds like they’re having a tough time.” *
When I entered meditation and reached the spiritual realm, my teacher listened to my concerns. Not necessarily as a substitute, but I pretended as the teacher had told me to while acting as if I was reporting to him.
“I don’t think there’s any need to hide it in this country, but if they still want to hide it, then there must be a reason for it to be a secret. You’ve seen Reis’s face once—did anything come to mind?”
“Well… Reis-san’s silver hair…”
There were characters in the game with silver hair— and only now I realized that this held significant meaning.
“Take your time and tell me.”
“… Sacred Relics aren’t the only things that can be summoned with Forlant’s summoning magic. During the process of learning to summon Sacred Relics, there were also times when people from other worlds were summoned.”
“Among those summoned, were there people who had silver-haired?”
“Yes. Reis-san said he was raised by the royal family.”
“…Summoned as a child and raised to serve as an assassin. It’s amazing how he managed to develop such a resilient spirit?”
“Truly… I also respect you Reis-san.”
Whenever the teacher praised Reis-san, I felt happy as if it were me—though,
“That person, I think he admires the form I took when I transformed. That’s kind of like admiring you, teacher.”
“Ugh… Why is it suddenly becoming like we’re being blamed…?”
“Argh… Why does it sound like you’re blaming me…?”
“I’m not blaming you. I just have mixed feelings about it.”
“Not blaming me, so you say—Well, good, I still have something I want to tell you. Let’s talk about today’s battle.”
After finishing my swing practice, the teacher headed toward the forest—beyond which was the waterfall we had used for training before.