Kays Translations

Chapter Fifteen: An Unfamiliar Girl

Ren returned to the manor and went straight to his room. After sitting on the bed and taking a moment to breathe, he looked down at the bracelet on his arm with a pleased smile. Now that his family knew about his skill, he no longer had to worry about hiding it whenever he wanted to check his status.

“Even so…”

His voice carried a trace of dissatisfaction as he studied the crystal.

———-

Ren Ashton

[Job] Eldest Son of House Ashton

[Skills]

– Magic Sword Summoning (Level 1: 0/0)

– Magic Sword Summoning Technique (Level 2: 256/1000)

Level 1: Can summon one magic sword.

Level 2: Gains Physical Ability Boost (Minor) while a magic sword is summoned.

Level 3: Can summon two magic swords.

Level 4: *****************************

[Acquired Magic Swords]

– Wooden Magic Sword (Level 2: 100/1000)

Allows attacks comparable to Nature Magic (Minor).

The effective range of its attacks expands as its level rises.

– Iron Magic Sword (Level 1: 100/1000)

Its sharpness increases as its level rises.

– Thief’s Magic Sword (Level 1: 0/3)

Has a fixed chance of randomly stealing an item from the target struck.

———-

That was his current status.

Ren had checked it several times over the past few days, but he began with the proficiency totals.

“Well, I suppose this is about right.”

He had hunted twenty Little Boars over the previous two days. Subtracting those twenty points from the gains shown for his technique and swords, then comparing the result with their earlier values, revealed how much proficiency the Thief Wolfen had granted him.

Eighty points.

Both the Magic Sword Summoning Technique and his magic swords had received the same amount.

“I wonder whether fighting a monster and absorbing its magic stone grant the same amount of proficiency.”

Their totals would not always remain identical, however. Training with Roy had granted two points to the technique alone, while training with Weiss had granted ten. Any training that did not involve monsters—or any situation in which Ren could not absorb a magic stone—would cause the figures to diverge.

“I’ll just have to keep working at it.”

He shifted his attention to the final entry.

“Thief’s Magic Sword…”

Judging from its name and when it had appeared, the sword had undoubtedly come from the Thief Wolfen’s magic stone. Had such an ability existed in Legend of the Seven Heroes, players would have tested it on countless monsters.

Using it on people, on the other hand, would raise some rather serious moral problems.

One of the basic facts about Magic Sword Summoning was that fulfilling special conditions could unlock new types of swords. Ren had apparently met one of those conditions.

“Was it because the stone came from a Unique Monster?”

Would every Unique Monster grant a new magic sword? A single case was not enough to prove anything, but it was valuable information all the same.

Ren dismissed the Wooden Magic Sword at his waist and summoned the new weapon.

“I still don’t know whether to call this a sword.”

He had summoned it several times already, and the thought had never changed.

The Thief’s Magic Sword had neither blade nor hilt. It resembled a steel ring or a tiny piece of armor that enclosed his index finger, ending in a slightly pointed tip. When equipped, it looked as though only that finger had been covered by a gauntlet.

“The other strange thing is its level requirement.”

Unlike his other magic swords, it needed only three proficiency points to reach its next level. Yet the Little Boars’ magic stones had not increased its proficiency at all.

Ren could think of two explanations.

The first was that the sword could only gain proficiency from the stones of sufficiently powerful monsters. The second was that it required stones from other Thief Wolfens.

He favored the second theory. Thief Wolfens were extremely rare, and the unusually low requirement would make sense if each one provided only a single point.

While he was considering the possibilities, Mireille called from the hallway.

“Ren? Where are you?”

He left his room and met her outside the chamber where Roy was recovering.

“We’ll eat in your father’s room,” she said. “I’ll bring the food, so go ahead and keep him company.”

“Should I help?”

“No. You’ve worked hard in the forest again today.”

Mireille smiled and departed. Ren knocked, received Roy’s answer, and stepped inside.

“I heard about it, Ren! You’ve done well!”

Roy was still confined to bed, though he could now sit upright. His wounds had not fully healed, but his life was no longer in danger and his health had otherwise returned.

“What are you talking about?” Ren asked.

“The Thief Wolfen’s treasure! I hear the baron has even waived the tax on it.”

“That’s what I was told. We should finally be able to repair the manor.”

“You really don’t change, do you? Don’t you want magnificent equipment? Or to travel somewhere and have your skill appraised?”

Ren wanted neither. In fact, if his parents arranged either without asking him, he might refuse to speak to them for several days.

“For now, I’m ordering more medicinal herbs.”

“More? We still have Londo Grass left.”

“We should be prepared for emergencies. What happens if another powerful monster appears without warning?”

Roy had no answer. He gave a self-deprecating nod.

“I’ve said it many times, but I truly caused you trouble.”

“It’s fine. Neither of us died, so the outcome was good enough.”

“You really are mature for your age.”

* * * *

After lunch, Ren went into the garden with a wooden practice sword in one hand and the Thief’s Magic Sword covering the index finger of the other.

“This is its biggest drawback.”

As long as he had any magic sword summoned, he gained Physical Ability Boost (Minor). But he could currently summon only one sword at a time. To test the Thief’s Magic Sword, he had to give up the Wooden Magic Sword—and therefore Nature Magic (Minor) as well.

Once the Magic Sword Summoning Technique reached Level 3, he could summon two swords simultaneously, but that was still far in the future.

(Against a Little Boar, it probably won’t matter.)

House Ashton owned ordinary metal swords. He could simply take one small enough for him to wield when he entered the forest.

As he considered the idea, the fragrance of flowers drifted across the garden, accompanied by a voice as clear as a ringing bell.

“Are you Ren Ashton?”

The question came from behind him, near the damaged fence surrounding the manor.

Ren turned—and stared.

A strikingly beautiful girl stood there. She was so delicate and graceful that she reminded him of a fairy or a goddess. Two thoughts came to him at once: no such girl lived in the village, and he felt as though he had seen her somewhere before.

“Y-yes. I’m Ren Ashton.”

The girl’s glossy hair swayed in the autumn breeze as she approached. With her elegant dress and measured steps, she brought a blooming lily to mind.

“Good. I’ve wanted to meet you.”

“Me?”

“Yes. Lately, I’ve been thinking about you constantly.”

Her passionate wording only deepened Ren’s confusion. He watched her draw closer, unable to look away from her almost unreal beauty.

“Have your injuries healed?” she asked.

“Yes. I recovered completely only recently.”

The girl smiled, reached behind her back, and tossed a dagger at his feet. An identical weapon remained in her hand.

The dagger was the right size for Ren, who was still a child. The girl was slightly shorter than him, so it suited her as well.

“Wait, boy! Do not pick up that—!”

A familiar voice carried from far away.

Ren looked up and saw Weiss galloping toward the manor.

(Why is he here?)

The distance swallowed most of the Knight Commander’s warning. Unsure what was happening, Ren decided to wait for him. He crouched and picked up the dagger lying at his feet.

Its edge had been removed, leaving it suitable for practice.

“How brave,” the girl said. “Even after being told to stop, you took up the sword. Is that confidence?”

“…What?”

“May I give the signal to begin?”

Ren had no idea what she meant.

“Um… yes?”

He intended it as a question. The girl heard only agreement.

“Then let us begin.”

Pure delight spread across her face as she raised her dagger.

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