Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 73: The Pride of Those Who Resist
Kevin and the other low-ranking knights had been driven to the edge of the arena. Though they had gained some distance from the Undead Slime, anxiety left him unable to decide what to do next.
Many of the junior knights drafted to bolster the spectator patrol were inexperienced recruits. Young and unaccustomed to danger, some trembled so badly their knees gave way. Kevin could barely protect and direct them, much less go to anyone else’s aid.
—Damn it, what should I do? Honestly, I want to go look for Elliot, but…
The holy sword’s disappearance before their eyes had crushed almost every junior knight’s morale, Kevin’s included. Yet part of him had already accepted it; somewhere in his heart, he felt he had anticipated this outcome.
That realization disgusted him. He hated feeling relieved even amid such hopelessness and despised himself for failing to help Elliot despite considering him a friend.
As he gritted his teeth and searched the arena, a group appeared to the south. Familiar faces and black shields brought a moment of relief; then the light upon their swords warmed him with hope.
“L-lord Lionel…!”
“The Beresford knights are here too…”
“Hey, aren’t their swords glowing…?”
The new recruits cheered, feeling hopeful.
The Black Knights under Lionel headed toward the far spectator stands, while the Beresford knights approached Kevin’s group.
–If I leave the new recruits to those guys, they’ll be fine…
Having made that decision, he took a step forward.
“You follow their orders. I’m going to support the senior knights.”
“Back up, Kevin, they’re already…”
“I’ll just go ahead and check the situation. I won’t do anything reckless.”
There was no way that a low-ranking knight like him could do anything against an iron eater. But he just had to make sure.
—Elliot, there’s no way you’re going to die here.
He steeled his resolve and checked the foothold to see if he could move forward.
Even if he cautiously avoided the undead slime, tendrils occasionally protruded from the walls and floor, and before he knew it, his armor had melted and become tattered. Fortunately, it wasn’t lethal or life-threatening, but it was obvious that if he got caught in that slime, he wouldn’t be able to move.
Unable to move forward as he had hoped, his expression became distorted as he looked at his sword still in its sheath. He didn’t want it to be eaten by the iron-eater, so he hadn’t drawn his sword yet.
Kevin’s sword was a cheap one, the kind that could be bought anywhere. The swords Kevin could afford as a commoner were limited, but he had tried to use it carefully. He wanted to be with Chelsea, so he couldn’t waste money, and that’s why he took good care of it.
Ahead of him, he could see Lloyd’s standing by the wall. Half of his body was caught in the slime, but there was also a figure that looked like Elliot nearby.
“Sir Lloyd…! Elliot…!”
Kevin rushed over, but he couldn’t get close because he was blocked by the waves of the undead slime. As he was running around in circles, the mucus wave suddenly rose up, then split into several and attacked like tentacles.
“Damn it, what’s this…”
He immediately drew his sword and slightly regretted it. But with the movements ingrained in his body, he slashed at the tentacles, and his eyes widened there. Kevin’s sword was faintly glowing.
“…Eh, why…”
Lloyd, who had noticed him, was also shocked.
Seeing that his sword wasn’t eaten by the iron eaters, Kevin stopped thinking and recklessly slashed at the undead slime. He didn’t feel like he was killing it, but the slime receded as if escaping from the place where he had slashed it.
—Think later, now Elliot…!
He cut through the waves of slime with his sword until he reached where Elliot and Lloyd were, and dragged Elliot out together with Lloyd.
When he put his sword back in its scabbard, Chelsea’s face suddenly came to mind.
“…Elliot was once completely swallowed by the wave. I pulled him out, but he’s been unconscious for a while now.”
Lloyd’s expression turned grim as he gasped for air. Kevin grabbed Elliot by the collar and forcefully slapped him hard across the cheek.
“Elliot, hey! Wake up! Are you going to get swallowed up here and become an undead at Agreas’s whim!?”
Kevin had heard what Agreas was saying, but he couldn’t imagine that a convenient world could be created based on the ideals he spoke of. Seeing the hellish scene unfolding in the arena now, he couldn’t trust a word he said.
“Besides, even if you die here, either way, Flora-san will still be hurt…! “
The Flora he knew wasn’t the kind of person who would be happy about the death of her opponent, even if she had been treated cruelly. Rather, she would be sad. He couldn’t forgive him for leaving such a lasting scar on her.
Elliot’s shoulder twitched, and his shallow breathing returned. He opened his eyes slightly, but he still frowned, looking pained.
“…Ke…vin? I… let her, and the sword she gave me, without even realizing it…go, again”
His words, spoken in a hazy state, were tinged with regret. But Kevin shook Elliot’s body once more.
“If you want to repent, then live. Or do you intend to become an undead monster and regret it forever? Live, with your own flesh and blood, and face what you’ve done.”
Kevin was extremely angry. Elliot seemed to be intoxicated by the tragedy of losing the holy sword. He had once been intoxicated by glory, but now it seemed as if he was running away from the misfortune that had befallen him.
As a third party, it wasn’t really his place to say anything. Still, he was certain that Elliot probably still didn’t fully understand everything. What his actions had done, her suffering.
Then, even as he was thinking that, Kevin realized his own arrogance and true feelings in intervening like this, and he frowned.
–Even if it means you fall even deeper into despair, I want you to live.
It was a very selfish wish. It probably wasn’t friendship or anything as beautiful as that. But wanting to do something, he looked around, searching for a way to get Elliot out of this situation.
The undead slime was slowly crawling on the ground again, closing the distance.
Soon, a strange sound like a cart wheeling along a rough road could be heard.
The undead slime in front of him suddenly rose like a large mountain. Beyond it, he could see something that looked like a strange, out-of-place, oddly shaped wagon, being pulled by people. There was a skylight on the roof of the carriage, and a figure was peeking out from it.
“…Flo…ra…?”
Elliot murmured softly.