Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 483: Popularity Soars
The shortcut back to the main road passed through extensive forests and mountains, making encounters with monsters almost inevitable.
Whenever monsters appeared, the Royal Guard and Tauro’s party, Black-Gold Wings, dealt with them. After several days of repeated attacks, everyone in the procession began to understand that these young nobles were far from ordinary sons and daughters of aristocratic families.
Even the Crown Prince’s noble entourage could no longer deny it. At first, many had whispered that Tauro and his companions were uncultured and too wild for nobles. Yet as the party repeatedly saved them from life-threatening danger, those same young nobles gradually came to regard Black-Gold Wings as dependable protectors.
The Crown Prince alone found the situation intolerable.
He knew that Prince Fleue had recommended Tauro and his companions, and he hated being forced to acknowledge their achievements.
The last thing he wanted was for Fleue’s reputation to rise further and threaten his own position.
Indeed, the Crown Prince had volunteered to lead the Saint’s tour through the Kingdom of Sart precisely because Fleue’s rapidly growing prestige alarmed him.
His supporter, Marquis Halagoura, had arranged for his grandson Suguro to join the tour in case anything unexpected occurred. Yet the shortcut suggested by Suguro had instead created one problem after another.
Unable to find a way out of the situation, the Crown Prince had spent the past several days grinding his teeth in frustration.
One day, as their carriage jolted along the rough road, Tauro spoke to Aeris.
“Hey, Aeris. Is there any kind of magic that can repel monsters while we travel? It feels as though we’d avoid most of these attacks if we had something like that. Still, I suppose that’s asking too much. Forget I said anything.”
Tauro had asked only half seriously and expected no useful answer.
“There’s such magic. I simply have no intention of using it,” Aeris replied with astonishing casualness.
“What!?”
All four of her companions cried out at once, then hurriedly lowered their voices.
“You mean such a spell really exists?” Tauro asked again, leaning closer.
“Yes. But I see no reason to spend my magical power helping His Highness after he chose this absurd shortcut. It isn’t like a barrier that remains in place. Its effect lasts only a short time, so I’d have to cast it repeatedly throughout the journey. It’s far too inefficient.”
Aeris kept her voice low so that only the party could hear.
“That makes sense. No competent adventurer would choose a route like this in the first place, so why should you exhaust yourself covering for him?” Ankh said with a quiet chuckle.
“I feel sorry for the Royal Guard, but I have no desire to do anything that would let the Crown Prince claim the credit,” Ragune added.
During the journey, her dislike of the Crown Prince and his faction had deepened considerably.
“I can use similar magic as well,” Zion said. “But Aeris is right. It consumes a great deal of magical power, works inefficiently, and doesn’t last long. Unless there were a true emergency, I wouldn’t want to use it either.”
Zion’s [Light Mage Monk] class gave her access to a broad range of light magic, including spells of that kind.
“I see. Then we should keep this between ourselves. I still feel a little guilty, though. These attacks are giving us more chances to distinguish ourselves.”
Tauro had become friendly with many Royal Guard knights during the journey and knew how hard they worked each day, which made the decision weigh on him.
“The Royal Guard exists to protect the royal family. Guarding the Crown Prince is part of their duty, so there’s little we can do about it,” Aeris replied. “Although after seeing what kind of man he’s, some of them may reconsider their careers once this assignment ends.”
As they spoke, Tauro’s [Presence Detection] caught a monster approaching nearby.
It was already the second encounter of the day.
“Another monster is coming. I’ll deal with it quickly.”
Tauro opened the carriage door, climbed onto the roof, and steadied himself despite the vehicle’s movement.
He then fired several arrows enhanced with [Light Arrow] toward the part of the forest where he had detected the monster.
Naturally, Tauro and his companions had earned an excellent reputation among the Royal Guard knights traveling with them.
The guards were elite soldiers chosen for their skill, but unlike adventurers, they didn’t specialize in fighting monsters.
The recent battle with the ogres had made that difference painfully clear.
Consequently, during camps and overnight stays, some of the knights began asking Black-Gold Wings for advice on fighting monsters. Those conversations soon developed into informal study sessions.
Only a few knights approached at first. Pride held some back, while others remained strongly loyal to the Crown Prince and hesitated to seek instruction from people he disliked.
As monster attacks continued, however, more guards came to admire the speed and efficiency with which Tauro’s party responded.
Before long, groups of Royal Guard knights regularly gathered around Tauro and Aeris, asking questions and listening attentively.
The common-born members of the Saint’s entourage, who had already begun looking up to Tauro and Aeris, joined the lessons as well.
Soon even the Luwan knights assigned to protect the Saint began attending.
Black-Gold Wings’ popularity soared.
What astonished their listeners most was that no member of the party held a rank higher than D-plus.
“They’re only D-plus with that kind of strength? The standards among adventurers must be absurdly high.”
“I’d heard rumors, but perhaps the Adventurers’ Guild is far more capable than I realized.”
“I was once offered an accelerated path toward C rank. Now I wonder whether they were merely flattering me.”
Comparing themselves with Tauro’s party gave the Royal Guard an exaggerated impression of the average adventurer’s strength.
What the knights didn’t know was that Black-Gold Wings had deliberately postponed promotion into the C-rank band.
How far the party’s true ability exceeded its official rank remained difficult to judge.
As Black-Gold Wings’ reputation grew, the Royal Guard also became more effective at dealing with monsters in actual combat.
At last, the procession reached the main road.
“Hm…? This road seems familiar.”
After nearly a week away from properly paved roads, Tauro looked around with his head tilted.
“What is it?” Aeris asked, noticing his reaction.
“I feel as though I have traveled this road before.” Tauro leaned toward the window. “Excuse me, Sir Knight. Where does this road lead?”
“The nearest territory is the former Saissi territory. From there, the Halagoura Marquisate is another two days north.”
“The former Saissi territory!? Of course—that explains why everything looks familiar.”
Several years had passed since Tauro last traveled this road.
He had gone on so many adventures and visited so many places since then that it was hardly surprising the scenery had faded from memory.
Without realizing it, Tauro had returned to the vicinity of Saisi, the town where his life as an adventurer had begun.