Kays Translations

Chapter 53: Secret

"Under pressure from the elves, I was ordered by King Melkid to capture Takumi and Mia, but there is no order to capture the demon clan."

Arthur turns his gaze towards me and Mia.

His eyes reflect a sense of sympathy or perhaps pity.

Huh? Seriously...

"Takumi, it's useless to resist. I will never allow them to take you and Mia," Gale said telepathically.

"That's right. We'll buy you some time, so do something as usual. You can do it, Takumi," Karla responded.

　Please, stop. 

I don't want to sacrifice anyone.

And besides...

"...That's the situation. So, no one will be captured. Is that clear?" Arthur continues speaking calmly, unaware of our telepathic conversation.

　Wait, didn't he just say something that caught my attention?

"No one will be captured?" I asked.

"Yes. We were ordered to capture Takumi and Mia. But we only see our friends, Takuma and Mio, here. So, no one will be captured."

　We all needed a moment to understand the words he just said.

　Could it be that they haven't realized our true identities?

No, Karla and the others have been calling me Takumi since earlier, so there's no way they haven't noticed.

"It seems like they're going to let us go," Mia says.

"That's what it looks like," Karla responds.

"Is this some kind of trap?"

It's understandable that Mia, Gale, and Karla are bewildered.

Even I haven't fully digested the current situation.

Arthur looks at us, nodding firmly, as if saying, "Believe in me, even without words."

And then Arthur continues the conversation.

"First of all,  I would like to ask the Demon Clan Princess to return to her country and help stop the war."

"It's Karla. My name is Karla."

"Alright, Princess Karla. Could you cooperate in stopping this war? This incident was orchestrated by Eldor, the ambassador sent from the Elven Kingdom. It's not that the human clan is innocent, but we don't desire to be enemies either."

"We also wanted to stop the war. We're currently rushing back to 'Zoff' for that purpose. It's you who's getting in the way."

"I apologize. However, just being able to confirm your intentions was worth coming here. Now, I want to return to the capital and work towards avoiding the war."

"Wait a minute. With your abilities, isn't it easy for you to eliminate that ambassador or something?"

...Arthur falls silent.

　Mary looked up as if she had decided something.

"Before we came to this world, we always admired knights. Our parents loved the story of 'The Legend of King Arthur', and they read it to us over and over again, so we became fascinated. My brother's name comes from King Arthur himself."

"As for me, I ended up admiring Sir Lancelot more than the king," He added.

Arthur smiles happily.

"My brother wanted to be a knight more than a king. Like the heroic Lancelot, who excelled in both bravery and character among the Knights of the Round Table. But in the story, Lancelot becomes involved in a romantic affair with the king's wife and destroys himself because of it."

 "That's why I didn't want to be a hero or a knight. I wanted to be the unwavering sword of the king, someone who would never betray. Like the legendary sword Excalibur wielded by King Arthur. That's why I won't betray King Melkid."

Arthur's usually gentle eyes change into determined eyes.

　I don't know much about the character of the hero Lancelot.

However, Arthur couldn't stand the fact that the knight he admired betrayed his master, the king.

　No, maybe it felt more like a trauma, because Arthur was a young boy.

"In this way, my brother has an extremely stubborn personality once he makes a decision. Therefore, he cannot act against the will of the king," Mary explains.

"A sword doesn't speak. But it can choose not to cut things it shouldn't cut," Arthur proudly remarks.

While glancing at the self-satisfied Arthur, Mary sighs.

"Do you understand?"

　Despite his good looks and personality, he was unexpectedly disappointing...Mary, you must be having a hard time.

　She had admired him since childhood.

This is just my hypothesis, but there are "hidden rules" in this world.

"Unconscious assumptions" impose limitations on the performance of skills.

Could Arthur's absurd strength be the result of his pure and innocent admiration for the hero of justice since childhood?

　No, that doesn't make sense.

There's no way he could possess that strength just by admiring Knight Lancelot.

If it were an anime or light novel hero, it might be possible.

...Could it be that it's not Lancelot?

No…is such a foolish thing even possible?

"Arthur-san, could it be that your occupation is 'Sword'?"

　When I asked Arthur a question, Mary approached to block it.

"W-What are you saying? A occupation as 'Sword'? That's ridiculous, isn't it? N-No one would choose such an embarrassing occupation. Hahaha," Mary is visibly shaken, and her distress is almost pitiful.

What is this sense of guilt... I can't help but look at Arthur.

"My occupation is King Arthur's sword, 'Excalibur'," Arthur says, smiling at me and giving a thumbs-up with his right thumb.

He looks so proud.

　It says 'Sword' in the occupation column!

And it's even a proper noun!

Certainly, you can write anything there, but I didn't expect it to be so unlimited...

"Mary's occupation is even more amazing," I say.

"P-Please, Brother, stop it," Mary pleads.

"Even Arthur is surprised, so Mary too!?" Mia's curiosity seems to have been ignited.

"W-What are you talking about? I'm just an ordinary person... I-I won't tell you because it's a secret," Mary stammers.

"Mary is a shy girl. Her occupation is 'Excalibur's Scabbard'," Arthur reveals.

"Onii-sama! "Brother, we promised not to tell anyone about that! Why would you say it...? Huh?! That's not it. It's because you asked me to..." Mary's panic is off the charts.

"Why did she choose the occupation of a scabbard?" Mia persists, disregarding Mary.

"The scabbard of Excalibur in the story is a magical scabbard. The owner of the scabbard becomes immune to serious injuries and doesn't bleed. In other words, they become invincible. And Mary can freely choose the owner of the scabbard."

"!!!!"

The actual effect would depend on the skill's base attributes, but judging from Arthur's wounds earlier, it was exactly the effect of the magical scabbard.

No wonder he couldn't be defeated in a regular fight.

　If it were me, I could nullify it with the 'Tampering' skill if I had the chance...

"Arthur, are you okay with revealing such an important thing?" I ask.

"It's fine. Only a few close people know about this secret. It would be helpful if you guys could keep it to yourselves too," Arthur responds.

"Is this a sign of trust?" Gale, who had been silent until now, questions Arthur.

"This secret is only shared with close people," Arthur's earnest expression conveys the weight behind his answer.

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