Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter Eight: The First Battle
On the evening after Weiss and his party left the village, Roy called Ren into the manor yard.
“Remember this, Ren. Strong monsters tend to gather wherever there is food. That food may be weaker monsters, ordinary animals, or even livestock.”
Roy had just returned from the forest and was using the day’s hunt to reinforce the warning.
He also explained that the defining difference between a monster and an ordinary animal was whether a magic stone existed inside its body.
As Ren listened, he looked at the heap of Little Boar carcasses Roy had brought home.
(There seem to be more Little Boars around here than usual.)
“So I’m going to hunt even more of them for the time being,” Roy said.
“To reduce the amount of food available to the stronger monster?”
“Exactly. If I thin out the creatures it can prey upon, perhaps it will stay away from this area.”
Roy intended to continue until the promised reinforcements arrived twenty days later.
“Still, this is an unpleasant one…”
He pulled the parchment Weiss had left from his pocket and unfolded it.
Curious about the monster described there, Ren rose onto his toes and tried to peek over Roy’s arm. Roy immediately lifted the parchment out of sight.
“You don’t need to see this.”
“Is it really that terrible?”
“No. You simply don’t need to take an interest in it.”
Ren groaned. His father had seen straight through him.
He had no intention of secretly attempting to defeat the creature, but he had at least wanted to know what it was.
“Never mind that. Look at today’s haul! Impressive, isn’t it?”
Roy proudly pointed at the carcasses.
There truly were many–roughly twice his usual number.
What astonished Ren even more than the fact that Roy had hunted them alone was that he had carried every one of them home by himself.
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From that day onward, Roy’s routine became unusually demanding.
He left earlier each morning and returned later each evening. As one day became a week, unmistakable exhaustion began to show on his face.
“Shouldn’t you rest for at least one day?” Mireille asked during dinner one night.
Roy refused, laughing that he only needed to endure another thirteen days.
(If I had known this would happen, I should have trained until I was allowed to enter the forest and fight monsters myself.)
Regret could change nothing, but Ren could not prevent the thought.
Then came the tenth day after Weiss’s departure.
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Night began to fall as usual.
The sky was already dimming, and within minutes the village would be completely dark.
“Mother?”
Troubled that Roy had not returned, Ren went to the kitchen and called to Mireille.
“Father still isn’t home. Isn’t this much later than usual?”
“Perhaps he pushed himself farther today…”
Mireille tried to sound reassuring, but concern soon overtook her as well.
“I can’t simply wait. I’ll go as far as the forest entrance and look for him.”
“Then I’ll go.”
“No. It’s already nearly night, and it isn’t safe.”
“But I can fight better than you can.”
“Even so, I cannot send my child out there alone.”
Her voice was firmer than usual, yet Ren remained unconvinced. Mireille would be in danger too, especially after dark.
“Then let me go with you.”
It was the only compromise he could think of.
“If you leave me here, I’ll follow you even if I have to do it secretly. Wouldn’t it be safer for us to stay together?”
Mireille sighed.
“Ren… when did you become so cunning?”
She lacked an answer to his argument. She could have tried to leave him by force, but as he had warned, him following alone would be even more dangerous.
At last, she relented.
“Very well. But we go no farther than the forest entrance.”
She told Ren to put on his training gear and carry a kitchen knife for emergencies.
Mireille donned protective equipment as well. It fit her poorly, probably because it belonged to Roy.
(This is the first time I’ve left the manor at night since becoming Ren.)
A cool breeze brushed Ren’s cheeks as they stepped outside through the kitchen. Even in early summer, the region’s climate made the night air comfortable.
“Ren, hold my hand.”
They walked together, hand in hand.
The wind carried the scents of grass, flowers, and damp soil. Insects chirped with almost excessive vigor, their chorus echoing from every direction.
Ren might have found it pleasant under ordinary circumstances.
(The villagers must all be home already.)
Not a single person remained in the fields. The road was darker and quieter than Ren had ever seen it, and the emptiness made every step unsettling.
“Be careful not to trip,” Mireille warned, raising the torch.
It was their only meaningful source of light. The stars and distant lamps from the houses offered little more than faint glimmers.
Even the torch illuminated only the ground a few paces ahead. A single careless step could send either of them stumbling.
“Ah–“
“Mother… please don’t fall while warning me not to.”
“S-sorry.”
When Mireille nearly lost her footing, Ren tightened his grip on her hand. She glanced at him as though wondering when her son had grown so dependable.
After walking for roughly half an hour, Ren noticed torches burning on either side of the path ahead.
“That must be…”
“The forest entrance,” Mireille said. “The river there separates the village from the forest.”
A wooden bridge stretched between the torches.
It was not elegant, but its thick logs made it appear sturdy. Judging from its length, the river beneath it was not especially wide.
(The current sounds fast, though.)
The water’s roar was far too loud to be called a gentle murmur.
“Where could he be…? Wait–is that him?”
Mireille had spotted something beyond the bridge.
Ren followed her gaze and saw a figure seated against a tree on the opposite bank.
They quickly recognized Roy.
“Why is he resting there?”
Mireille immediately ran onto the bridge. The sight of Roy seemed to convince her that the way ahead was safe.
(Something is wrong.)
Ren followed, but unease gnawed at him.
Why had Roy barely reacted to their arrival?
His only response was a faint movement of his head. He did not look up. His shoulders rose and fell with great, irregular breaths.
“We were worried about–“
Mireille’s voice broke off.
Something had happened after all.
Ren rushed across the bridge.
“F-Father…?”
Roy, who had left in his usual good spirits that morning, was bleeding from wounds across his entire body. Dark red blood had soaked the ground beneath him.
“Mire… ille… Ren…”
“Don’t speak! We’ll take you home at once, so please stay still!”
“No… use…”
Roy lifted a trembling arm. Blood that had only begun to dry coated it as his hand closed around Ren’s shoulder.
“Run…”
“Father…?”
“The smell… of blood… monsters…”
His voice faded, and his body went limp.
Ren pressed a hand to his chest and felt a heartbeat.
He was still alive.
That was all Ren needed to know. They had to leave immediately.
“Mother! Help me move Father!”
“Y-yes!”
They had barely turned toward the bridge when excited snorting came from the surrounding trees.
Roy’s warning flashed through Ren’s mind.
(The blood drew monsters here.)
They had approached in search of Roy’s wounded body.
“Brwooo!”
“Huff, huff–!”
“Brumoo!”
Three Little Boars emerged from the darkness.
Mud stained the coarse fur covering their large-dog-sized bodies. That fur was thick and hard like armor, while the tusks jutting from their mouths promised severe wounds to anything they struck.
“Brwooooh!”
Ren had no time to debate whether to fight or flee.
One of the Little Boars charged directly at him.
“Kh–! Mother, take Father and get back across the bridge!”
“Ren!”
“Please, hurry!”
He had no choice but to fight.
With Roy in that condition, even a moment’s hesitation could cost his father his life.
I think the original Ren might have turned different because of this, where both of his parents have died.
Would actually explain the revenge thing (although misguided). He took revenge because help didn’t come fast enough to save his family. Reminds me of Olberic’s storyline from Octopath.
It wpuld make sense, especially considering what happens later, and what is revealed about what happens in the upcoming chapters.
Such a cliched beginning.