Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 379: Testimony and Misconceptions
That night, Tauro’s group remained at Drago and Ragune’s house. Zion had already spent considerable time under Drago’s care, but the visit also gave the siblings a rare opportunity to be together.
Tauro then remembered one important matter he had overlooked.
Zion still needed a pendant proving membership in Black-Gold Wings.
He showed Zion the pendants worn by Ragune and Ankh. Each consisted of an egg-shaped silver plate edged in gold, with wings extending from the central emblem. Ragune’s emblem was a diamond-shaped stone; Ankh’s was a three-leaf-clover-shaped stone. Fine golden lines based on a disrupted magic circle covered the surrounding plate.
“They’re beautiful…”
Zion’s eyes shone.
“You’ll receive one as well,” Tauro said. “What emblem would you like?”
“I can have one too? After the armor and gauntlets, is it really all right for me to accept something else?”
“It’s proof that you belong to the team, so you must have one. You already wear something around your neck, though. Will another pendant be uncomfortable?”
“No. This pouch only contains keepsakes from my parents.”
Zion drew a small pouch from beneath the collar.
“Then will you accept the team pendant?”
“Yes… if you truly don’t mind.”
Far from being reluctant, Zion was delighted to receive something matching the companions’ pendants.
“I’d like the same diamond-shaped emblem as Ragune’s,” Zion said. “It would also remind me of the Dragonfolk Village.”
“Understood. Wait a moment.”
Tauro placed a silver coin, a gold coin, and one of the Dungeon Core fragments Chief Ryuga had given him in his palm.
“[Creation Magic (Weak)]!”
Light briefly filled the room. When it faded, a new pendant lay in Tauro’s hand, bearing the same diamond-shaped emblem as Ragune’s.
“Incredible! Tauro-sama truly can do anything!”
Zion’s gaze remained fixed on Tauro rather than the newly created pendant.
This excessive admiration may be harder to correct than I thought…
Tauro attached the pendant to a cord and placed it around Zion’s neck.
“Thank you. I’ll treasure it for the rest of my life!”
“From today onward, the four of us will travel as friends and companions in Black-Gold Wings. I look forward to working with you.”
Ragune and Ankh offered their own greetings.
“Welcome, Zion,” Ragune said.
“I’ll be watching your back from now on,” Ankh added.
“I-I’ll do everything possible not to burden you. Please leave all the luggage to me!”
After years as Gray Vultures’ enslaved baggage carrier, Zion still assumed that carrying equipment was the only useful role available.
“You aren’t our baggage carrier,” Tauro corrected. “You’re the fourth active member of the team. Besides, I have [Magic Storage], so we don’t need anyone to carry our supplies.”
“Then what should I do to help?”
“You possess [Light Mage Monk],” Ankh said. “Use the abilities suited to that skill. You learned support magic during your training, correct?”
“Yes. I can use healing magic, physical-enhancement magic, and defensive magic.”
“That’s already impressive,” Ankh said. “And the Dragon’s Den also trained you to defend yourself. Leader, Zion may become far more capable than we expected.”
“We can see the results tomorrow. We’ll return to Caxart in the morning and accept a suitable quest together. For now, it’s late, so everyone should sleep.”
They agreed.
“Zion, shall we share a room?” Tauro asked.
Zion immediately panicked.
“I-I’d rather share with Ragune!”
“Ragune is a woman,” Tauro replied. “It would be improper for her to share a room with a boy.”
“Wait,” Drago interrupted.
He had been listening quietly, but now stared at the three companions in disbelief.
“Lord Tauro… Have all of you misunderstood something?”
“What do you mean?”
“Zion is a girl.”
“What?!”
Tauro, Ragune, and Ankh turned toward Zion together.
Under their astonished gazes, Zion’s face became scarlet.
“I-I’m a girl…”
She loosened the high collar of her clothing enough to reveal the cloth binding around her chest.
Tauro stared before realizing how rude he was being.
“Lord Tauro, that’s quite enough,” Drago warned.
“S-Sorry!”
Tauro hurriedly looked away while Zion readjusted her clothes.
“That was a surprise,” he admitted. “Why did you never tell us?”
“I thought you were a boy near Leader’s age,” Ankh said.
“I only thought you looked unusually delicate,” Ragune added with characteristic bluntness.
“I’m sorry,” Zion said. “Dressing as a boy was the safest way to protect myself while traveling and while I was alone. I became accustomed to hiding it.”
“You did what you needed to survive,” Tauro replied. “We’re the ones who made assumptions without asking.”
“I was also afraid that being a girl would make you consider me a burden. I should have told you. I’m sorry.”
“Then we were both mistaken,” Tauro said. “Nothing about this changes your place in Black-Gold Wings.”
Zion’s anxious expression eased.
They rearranged the rooms, and Zion stayed with Ragune for the night.