Kays Translations

Side Story – Sword Saint Fries, Part 1

It wasn’t quite as the rumors described, but still—it looked like quite an interesting place.

There was that Moon Raven who kept his guard up against me even while flying, the slime that had a color no slime should ever have, and that young lady who wouldn’t stop trying to pick a fight with me.

All three of them were clearly skilled. If possible, I would’ve liked to have crossed swords with that young lady—but hurting a woman goes against my personal code.

That’s why, if anything, I’d have preferred to fight the Moon Raven or that strange slime instead. But I’m often told I’m terrible at holding back.

I could tell those creatures were dearly loved as familiars, and if I ended up killing one of them, it would cause serious trouble—so I couldn’t exactly be the one to suggest a fight.

In the end, I only watched those interesting opponents from a distance, and it left me feeling rather pent-up.

Back in my youth, I had a rival who always pushed me to my limits.
If Donnie Ivan Gutierrez was still based in the royal capital, I’d dearly like to spar with him again.

However, there’s one thing that’s been on my mind—I heard through the grapevine that Gutie retired from adventuring.

He was a bit older than me, so it’s not surprising that he hung up his sword, but if his skills have dulled, then he won’t be much of a match for me now.

I, too, retired from being an adventurer quite some time ago, but that was only to devote myself to further refining my swordsmanship.

If Gutie has truly stepped away from battle and is now spending peaceful days in comfort… well, that would be a bit of a letdown.

With my blood burning for a fight, I prayed that Gutie hadn’t changed from the man I once knew—and set off toward the royal capital.

The imperial capital was lively, but the royal capital was livelier still.

Enjoying the familiar scenery for the first time in twenty years, I began searching for Gutie.

If I wanted information on him, the adventurers’ guild was the best place to start.
If he was still in the capital, there shouldn’t be an adventurer alive who didn’t know his name.

That’s what I thought—but after asking over a dozen adventurers, I couldn’t find a single clue.

I’d assumed that while he might have weakened, he certainly wouldn’t have vanished completely, so the lack of information was a bitter disappointment.

“…Well, this is troublesome.”

The dragon I’d heard about in the rumors turned out to be false, too—so at this rate, there wasn’t much point in me even coming to the kingdom.
No, in fact, all this frustration might have made things worse.

As I stood there at a loss, a man in armor approached me from behind and spoke up.

Judging by the armor, he was probably a soldier from the royal capital.

“Excuse me. I overheard you asking around—by ‘Gutie,’ do you mean Gutierrez?”

“Hmm? That’s right. You know him?”

“I thought so. Gutierrez-dono is a member of the Royal Knights. He also serves as a bodyguard to the princess. If you’d like to meet him, you can probably find him at the royal castle.”

“The Royal Knights… and the princess’s guard, huh. I see. That’s valuable information—thank you kindly.”

“Not at all. Helping those in need is part of a soldier’s duty. Good day to you.”

The soldier gave me a bright, polite smile before walking off.

So Gutie was still in the capital—good news indeed. But what caught my attention was that he’d joined the Royal Knights and was serving as the princess’s bodyguard.

It didn’t sound like he’d completely abandoned combat, but to me, that was more or less the same thing.

Still, since I’d come this far, I might as well at least stop by and say hello.
Relying on the soldier’s information, I made my way to the royal castle.

When I arrived and asked around for Gutierrez, I was immediately escorted to him—quite the contrast from the cold shoulder I got at the guild.

In the courtyard, I saw him instructing a group of young Royal Knights-in-training.
There was no mistaking it—that was Gutie himself.

The man once known as a “demon” on the battlefield had changed quite a bit with age.

“Don’t think you’re done yet! Give me a hundred more swings!”

“—Gutie, it’s been a long time.”

The moment I called out, he froze mid-command, then turned toward me with a look of disbelief.

“…You… Fries?”

“Ah, that’s right. I’m glad you still remember me.”

“Of course I do. There’s no way I could forget. I’ve never met another weirdo dressed like you before—or since.”

“Now, now, no need to call it weird. But it’s good to see you still in good health, Gutie.”

I’d half-expected him to have gone completely soft, but surprisingly, his physique and the pressure he gave off hadn’t changed much from back then.

He’d aged, of course—but just maybe… this might turn out to be fun after all.

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter