1-6: I Swear to Meet Again

“Thank you very much for everything.”

Chris bowed deeply with her back against the golden wall of light. She had removed her armor and was literally unarmed, but her face was as bright as the clear sky after she finished bowing and her light gesture showed no signs of fatigue.

“Don’t mention. Your Highness, please stay well.”

Early this morning, we left the Onijin village. Falmer seemed to have been working tirelessly since Chris gave him the sword and Mithra stopped us when we wanted to say hello.

“When this happens, he won’t move unless there’s a natural disaster.”

I guess it’s a craftsmanship thing. We parted ways with Mithra and sent Chris, who wanted to go home by herself to the borderline. We ran into Keith when we were leaving the house and he asked to go with us, but Marie said with a straight face, “There are so many of us, you might lose a limb,” and he politely stepped aside.

Chris tilted her head, wondering what was going on and she was still red-faced and confused when Marie hugged her, but after we started to fly, she became rather excited, I kept my nerves on edge to make sure she wouldn’t fall after jerking around.

According to Marie, flying magic is difficult to control, but this time, the destination was too clear.

High above, a wall of light erupted through the clouds. As you can see, it is obvious that the source is the great river that runs through the land, dividing it into east and west. However, we’ve not been able to gather any more information than our eyesight can provide.

What we do know is that the light and the river absorb the magic of any living thing they touch, as if testing it and when the magic runs out, it swallows up the life of the creature. Perhaps, no one but a few specific people are able to pass through in the first place.

As far as I know, there are only three people who are qualified to do so and two of them are here. In the human world, this would be a situation that could be worrisome, but on our side, we don’t have to worry about strange inquiries.

“According to Mithra, the new sword will be ready in a month. Until then, please use this one.”

“This is…”

Chris gulped as she looked at the two twin swords I held out to her. They were the same daggers that had been shown at Falmer’s house, shining with a pale light.

The name is Dull Colored Fireflies,” he said. “It’s a magical tool, but you can treat it like a dagger.”

“But if you lend this out, Sage-sama……”

“Magic tools are for wizards and swords for swordfighters. It’s obvious which one would be more affected by the loss.”

I was about to fall into self-loathing. It’s not as if I’m pointing out my lack of ability in this way.

But as expected, he couldn’t let the royal family go home unarmed. If something were to happen to Chris, he wouldn’t be able to return home or even set foot on that land.

“Sage will be fine. There’s an abundance of magic power here and I’ll be with him.”

Marie, who had taken a stance of non-interference, provided unexpected backup. Marie is small and quiet, but after seeing the fatal blow she dealt to Falmer, you can’t say she’s unreliable. At her strong words, Chris, who had been keeping her lips closed as if she wanted to say something, raised her head.

“I understand. Please take care of Sage-sama, Marie-chan.”

“Please leave him to me. Take care of yourself, too.”

“What are you? My guardian or something?”

“I’m your guardian. Is there anything else?”

I knew she would say something back, but I didn’t expect her to say it so unhesitantly.

“That’s how it is so respect me.”

“Fufu, I can’t tell who’s older.”

Chris looked at the two of them and finally smiled, then held out her sword-clutching arm as if she was proud of it.

“Let’s meet again in a month.”

“Yes. Please have a safe trip home, Your Highness.”

Chris exchanged bows and turned on her heel with a bouncy step. Just as she was about to touch the light, she suddenly turned around.

“I forgot to tell you, Sage-sama. This is not our first meeting!”

“What? Wait…. Hey?”

Chris jumped as if to escape from Sage’s reply. Her soaring golden hair was sucked into the wall of light and disappeared.

“…… Sage?”

The voice of Marie, who was standing a step behind me, stabbed me in the back. I didn’t need to check with my own eyes to see what kind of expression she had on her face.

“I met her when I was given the title of knight, but we didn’t exchange words.”

“You just don’t remember, do you?”

“You’re being so blunt…….”

Well, it doesn’t matter. Marie turned her back to the wall of light. When she clasped my outstretched hand, the body that kicked the ground said out softly.

“Please remember her by the time we meet again. If you don’t, you’ll get slashed with the freshly remade Hitenryu.”

“Stay away from the sword-slashing expressions. It’s scary even as a joke.”

“Then be gentle with the girl.”

The magic words spun from Marie’s mischievously twisted lips, leading the silent Sage’s body high into the sky, far to the north.

In the days leading up to the appointment, there were no big requests like the commotion in the Oni village and time passed by slowly. Finally, the deadline was approaching without me being able to remember Chris. {TN: Oni village was demon village previously}

However, my fears were unfounded. Just as I was thinking that I might as well just push back the collection date, a report came in with the sound of wings and the information we got was enough to explain Chris’s delay.

Fully armed soldiers from the neighboring country of Lurain had started a large-scale march toward the border. In order to stop them, Chris’s nation, Fermina, had formed an army led by her.

It had been a long time since the peace treaty was signed. A large-scale killing war between humans that hadn’t been recorded in history for a long time. Chris was said to be standing at the forefront.

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter