Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 75: City of Death
“I won’t let you go!”
With a sword emitting light, a black armored figure slays a large scorpion-like monster.
This is one of Lucius’s spells, called Chi You, a spell unique to the eastern region.
“Looks like it’s safe now.”
Behind Lucius stand three people.
Crane, the heir of the Orleans family.
Dion, the royal candidate from the west.
Lucial, the royal candidate from the south.
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The sword in hand bends and returns to a diamond-shaped metal plate.
Around the black armor, six plates float together.
Two of these have already acquired the abilities of the magic sword and magic shield. But the remaining four plates haven’t imitated any equipment yet. Chi You probably wants to fill these four slots.
“T-thank you.”
Crane from the Orleans family adjusts his glasses.
“Really, just as the rumors say.”
Lucial’s eyes sparkle as she exaggerates and awkwardly waves her hand.
Particles rise from the black armor with cracks and rust, and the figure of Lucius shrinks.
As all the particles return to the white-eyed magic nucleus at the back of his eyes, Lucius reappears.
“It’s hard to make much progress.”
“We’re already quite close to the City of Death.”
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They’ve already had about five battles with monsters.
The number of monsters isn’t significant. There are more in Silverwood.
The problem is the places where the monsters appear.
The barren land is dotted with rocky mountains. They suddenly emerge from caves in these rocky mountains. There’s no way to avoid them.
“No problem.”
Dion says confidently.
“Dion, be gentler. Lucius has been handling everything by himself since earlier.”
Lucial interjects herself between the two.
“…No, I’m fine.”
Of course, that’s not entirely true.
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—Why aren’t they accompanied by guards?
The successors of the Four Great Noble Families are the talents who will bear the future of the country. When they said they would help, Lucius expected them to come in a large entourage. But unexpectedly, they came alone.
If, by any chance, something were to happen to them, the Dragon family could be held responsible, and there might even be a risk of being disbanded.
With every appearance of a monster, Lucius couldn’t help but sweat nervously.
“Sorry. It’s just for show. It wouldn’t be cool if we had guards, right? But we don’t have as much power as Lucius-kun, right?”
Lucial clasps her hands together and sticks out her tongue.
“Just to be sure, what level of spells are you contracted with, Your Highness Lucial and Your Highness Dion?”
It’s necessary to know if they’re reliable allies or completely protected targets in case of emergency.
Dion shifts his gaze for a moment but doesn’t answer.
And Crane already knows that Dion is contracted with a Siren, which is not suitable for combat but is responsible for appraisal.
“Dion is 1st class. I’m 3rd class.”
Dion delivers a reproachful remark.
“…Lucial, don’t leak information about our spells without permission.”
“It’s okay, right? Everyone in the capital knows Dion’s 1st class.”
Sighing, Dion starts walking alone.
—If it’s 1st class and 3rd class, is that okay?
1st class is equivalent to Olivia’s Griffin.
3rd class is equivalent to Father Robel’s Hippogriff.
Lucius didn’t know if they’re accustomed to combat, but they’re not ranks that can’t fight.
“Understood. Please count on me if need be.”
Lucius and the others follow Dion, who is walking ahead, and start walking again.
Lucius speaks to Crane, who walks beside him.
“…By the way, what’s with those holes? They don’t seem naturally occurring.”
Crane frowns and looks at the holes in the rocky mountains all around.
With disdain.
“They’re traces of illegal mining. The City of Death, Burgia, was once so rich in mineral resources that it was called the Golden City. It seems that the city originally prospered from mining.”
“Illegal mining? They mine minerals in a place where monsters appear?”
“Some people come here to mine without permission, aiming for a fortune. Because there are monsters, the Orleans family hardly interferes. Rather, we can’t interfere.”
Indeed, there are few places where the gaze of the noble who manages the vein is lenient.
It wouldn’t be surprising if there were people digging holes even at the risk of their lives.
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—Human desires are incredible.
Now those places have become the monster’s territory.
So where did the people go?
Did they abandon the minerals after acquiring enough, or did they end up in the bellies of the monsters?
The latter seems more likely.
While thinking about such things, Lucius continues to walk forward in the sweltering heat of midsummer.
The scorching sun of midsummer makes the sweat on his cheeks glisten.
Even as the sun begins to tilt, the group continues to walk silently through the wilderness.
Or rather, there’s one person being noisy.
“Ugh, it’s too hot!”
Lucial, the southern royal candidate, fans her chest carelessly.
On the other hand, Dion, the western royal candidate, grimaces.
“Lucial. As a daughter of the Four Great Noble Families, you should behave more modestly.”
“Dion is so strict. That’s why even though he’s handsome, he’s not popular, you know?”
Dion sighs lightly and starts walking again.
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“You’re sulking because you’re cute.”
Lucial smiles brightly without a care in the world.
Then she looks at Lucius, who is walking just behind her.
“Lucius-kun, you think so too, right?”
It’s troublesome to be asked for agreement.
There’s no way he can say something like “hardly,” to someone who might become the king in the future. The same goes for the woman in front of him.
He can’t ignore her, so he decides to change the subject.
“…Your Highness Lucial and Your Highness Dion seem to get along well.”
“We don’t need that, we really don’t need that. Don’t call us Your Highness.”
When calling the successors of the Four Great Noble Families, it’s customary to call them Your Highness. If it’s within their own state, it’s common to call them “sama.” But if it’s someone from another state, it’s unclear what disadvantages there might be.
“Even if you say that.”
“It’s okay. I’m just a decoration.”
“A decoration?”
“Yeah, haven’t you met Callan nii-sama before, Lucius-kun?”
Previously, there was a knight order in the eastern region. Its commander is Callan.
He was an elusive person.
“Yes, I’ve been indebted to him for labyrinth exploration.”
“Callan-sama and my other siblings are more talented than me. Well, that’s why I ended up inheriting the family.”
As a rule, the most talented among the eldest or siblings inherit the family.
“I don’t understand the conversation.”
“My father is just an ordinary person. And he dislikes people who show signs of intelligence. So he decided to pass on the family to a fool like me. It’s really incomprehensible.”
Lucial laughs heartily.
On the other hand, Lucius can only smile wryly.
—It’s hard to respond…
Even if he could speak, there’s no way he could say something like “Yes, indeed.”
“Oh, it’s okay. Anyway, I can’t become the king. I only have the role of giving my vote to Dion.”
“Hmm.”
—That’s also hard to respond to…
It’s natural for nobles to form factions, but even if vote rigging is explicitly mentioned, it’s troublesome.
“Hey hey. To be honest, who are you planning to vote for among the four royal candidates, Lucius-kun? Olivia, who you’re engaged to, right?”
Normally, that would be the case.
Having seen Olivia’s efforts to become queen up close.
Since he originally didn’t understand how to run the country. So he only considered entrusting it to the most reliable person.
“…That’s the plan.”
“Oh no, isn’t this guy already unbeatable?”
“I’m just a baron.”
“You don’t understand, Lucius-kun. Your position.”
“My position?”
“Yeah yeah. Lucius-kun is one of the three special-class magicians in the country, right? And even though you’re not an adult yet, you hold a title and have achieved so much.”
Special-class magicians are humans who have contracted with special-class monsters.
There were others besides Lucius.
Or rather, there would be no one in the country who didn’t know.
He’s the commander of the Royal Guard.
One of the direct knights of the king, and the one who leads them.
Born as the third son of a farmer, that person has achieved numerous feats and has risen to the highest position among the knights in the country.
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He embodies a modern success story of rising from a farmer to the king’s aide, a story told even to children.
But it’s the first time he’s heard of a third person.
“There’s another special-class magician besides the commander of the Royal Guard.”
Lucial’s smile noticeably stiffens and she pales slightly.
“Oops. Wasn’t this something we shouldn’t talk about?”
Crane joins the conversation with keen interest.
“I’ve heard rumors about it too. That there’s a special-class magician in the south. But even the Orleans family, entrusted with appraising, doesn’t know who it is.”
“Sorry, let’s leave it at that for now.”
Lucial stacks her hands together as if praying.
“Understood. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear anything.”
Lucius’s spells, the evil dragon and Chi You, are both special-class.
They are reliable, but they have strong personalities and cause a lot of trouble.
—I’d like to meet them someday.
While having such thoughts, when they continued walking and Crane suddenly pointed his finger.
“I see it. It’s the City of Death, Burgia.”
At the end of the rocky outcrop pointed by Crane was an old walled city.
It stood in the middle of the plain.
Beyond the city, there seems to be a forest. It might be a city built on the border between the plain and the forest.
The first thing that caught the eye was the color.
—It’s pure white.
The entire city is white.
Furthermore, its preservation. It’s surprisingly well-preserved.
The central castle is almost intact.
Even though it’s been over 400 years since anyone lived there.
Eerie.
It seems as if one day, people suddenly disappeared.
—The magic… is dense.
It’s as if it’s the deepest part of Silverwood.
I stared at the city as if glaring at it because of its extraordinary strangeness.
In the distance, something flies around the former city and castle.
“Birds?”
It’s not just one.
There are not just dozens, but hundreds.
“The biggest obstacle in this exploration is the revenants of the Dragon Knight Order.”
“Those are… Dragon Knights.”
The Dragon Knight Order was once the strongest knight order in the northern region.
“Yes, at the time of the city’s collapse, they turned into monsters and continue to protect Burgia even in death.”
Lucius swallowed hard on his own.
What made him mistake them for birds was their movements, even from a distance. They were flying freely and smoothly, as if ridden by people.
Whether they were highly trained, skilled riders, or both.
—They’re beyond imagination…
The other three might not pay it much attention, but for Lucius, who had seen riding beasts up close, it was completely alien.
The four walked across the open plain, approaching the City of Death, Burgia.
They walked on what used to be a road, now sparsely overgrown with weeds.
Ahead, they could clearly see a collapsed gate.
Gradually approaching the City of Death, the reason for its whiteness became clear.
—It’s frozen.
Despite it being midsummer, the walled city was covered in ice, and snow was falling inside.
Whenever the wind blew against them, cold air blew onto Lucius and the others.
The summer heat was blown away, replaced by a chill.
But what they felt was the opposite of refreshing.
—A clinging, unpleasant feeling.
A sticky cold that seemed to freeze their spines.
About halfway along the remnants of the road, their guide Crane stopped.
And then, speaking in a hushed voice.
“Please refrain from using spells recklessly from here on. The revenants of the Dragon Knights will attack all at once.”
The three nodded silently.
“…Then, we’ll head to a place where we can see the entire Burgia.”
Crane pointed to a nearby rocky hill.
The hill was lit up by the setting sun, turning orange.
Lucius had assumed they would step into the City of Death, Burgia.
“Aren’t we going into Burgia?”
Crane shook his head vigorously.
“If you use spells inside the city, it’ll be like poking a hornet’s nest! No matter how many lives you have, it won’t be enough!”
“…Then, how do we obtain the magic swords?”
Crane looked confidently at the three.
“I have a plan.”