Chapter 12: A chance encounter

The time goes back about an hour, in a corner of the Imperial City.

“It was so delicious.”

Ren muttered after leaving a popular restaurant.

It was the same restaurant that appeared in the Legend of the Seven Heroes. The food was prepared in a fancy 3D style, which attracted the players’ appetite.

After seeing the food and filling his stomach, Ren was satisfied with his meal.

Since he was to come to the imperial capital, which he had avoided, he should be allowed to have this much gain.

He turned his attention to the road leading to the main street, thinking it was time to head back to the inn.

“Ouch!”

“Hey! Watch out, old man!”

As he walked down an alleyway, an old man and a young adventurer bumped shoulders in front of him.

The old man boldly said, “Aahh!”

But Ren was more concerned about the young adventurer.

It was dimly lit, but Ren immediately recognized the old man’s physique.

(That man is a dwarf.)

He was about the same height as Ren, and in proportion to that, he was muscular and strong. His beard was frizzy as if roasted by fire, and he looked just like the dwarves you often see in fantasy stories.

“Wait!”

Ren said, jumping in between them and interceding to prevent a fight from breaking out.

The young adventurer, perhaps taken aback by the boy’s intervention, immediately left with a dismissive “Good for you, old man,” and walked away.

Relieved, Ren placed his hand on his chest and looked at the old dwarf.

“I’m impressed! The imperial capital isn’t abandoned yet!”

“…… I had to stop the fight or that young adventurer would have been injured.”

“Huh? So I’m not the one who gets hurt?”

(Haa……)

With a dry smile, Ren endured it and answered calmly.

“No matter how much of an adventurer one is, when it comes to a contest of strength, Dwarves have the edge. But if he pulls out a sword, I don’t know.”

“You know what you’re talking about, even if you’re a little guy.”

The Dwarf told Ren to bend over.

While wondering why, he reluctantly obeyed.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

The old dwarf got on Ren’s back without hesitation, and Ren carried him.

Ren was stunned, of course. The dwarf was heavy, not unlike his size, and he had strong muscles all over his body.

“—- Eh?”

“I sprained my leg just now. You are a very great man and I will give you the right to carry me.”

(What the hell is this guy?)

“Come on, let’s go.”

Ren, who let out a deep sigh, thought that this was just another chance for him, and he had no choice but to start walking.

However, a boy walking with a dwarf on his back stands out even in the imperial capital.

Most people wouldn’t like to be looked at with curiosity by the public.

Ren didn’t like it either, so he wanted to avoid it.

“That way. I have my own workshop.”

The dwarf he was carrying pointed the way with his finger. The path he showed him led to a back alley, so they would be able to avoid the main street.

Ren followed the directions without resistance and walked for several minutes in the imperial capital.

Then, unlike when he had started walking, the dwarf was quiet.

Ren feared that he might have fallen asleep, but at the right moment, the dwarf said.

“Brat.”

“Yes, what is it?”

“—- you have skills related to physical enhancement, don’t you?”

The words, which unexpectedly struck at the heart, startled Ren inwardly.

But as a boy, he feigned a composure beyond his years.

“I don’t know. I’ve never checked my skills.”

“Oh….. never checked it, huh?”

“You are strangely intuitive, aren’t you?”

“I’m sorry. It’s an occupational hazard.”

“You said you had a workshop. Is that what this is about?”

“I’m a blacksmith and magic ship engineer, and I’ve had a lot of contact with people who work with swords, so it’s just a coincidence.”

It was the reason why Ren was able to nod his head in agreement “Makes sense.”

“But it’s unusual to be both a blacksmith and a mage ship engineer.”

“I get that a lot. When you get down to it, there are some things that go hand in hand.”

“Ah…. so that’s what it’s all about.”

“I’ll make something for you next time brat. I think you’ll want something other than a sword.”.

“Eh? Why something other than a sword?”

Ren twisted his neck at the fact that he had ruled it out from the start, even though he said he was a blacksmith and would probably be forging swords as well.

The dwarf pointed to the magic sword Ren was carrying at his waist and then gave his reason.

“It’s a magical tool, isn’t it?”

Again.

How many times had he said the very words that struck at the heart of the matter?

“No, it’s not.”

“The strange thing about it is that I don’t hear the voice of the material from it. Neither metal nor the voice of the material of the monster.”

“Swords can speak—-?”

“It’s strange. I know what you’re thinking. The world is a big place, but I’m probably the only one who can hear it.”

Ren wondered how much of that story he should take seriously. He had his own thoughts when he heard the core of the story twice.

Ren had no further answer.

The dwarf, on the other hand, looked satisfied and muttered, “Well, that’s okay.”

“Oops, it’s about time.”

Then the dwarf got off Ren’s back and put his feet on the cobblestone pavement.

As he did so, he let out a squeak of pain from the impact of his descent, and had a few thin tears in his eyes. Apparently, he wasn’t kidding.

“Are you okay now?”

“I’m going to run home from here! I’ll see you again!”

The dwarf, oblivious to Ren’s feelings, runs off on his own.

Ren smiled at the sight of his back.

He thought about the idea of going home on his own after coming here, and thinking that if he was in pain, he didn’t have to hesitate. He watched the Dwarf’s back until he was out of sight.

Ren, who was left behind thought—

“He told me he’d build something for me….. but with a parting like this, there won’t be a next time.”

He wasn’t really expecting it, but it can’t be helped.

He decided to go back to his Inn.

He didn’t feel bad about helping people, no matter what the form of help rendered. Ruminating over the dwarf’s words, which had left a strong impression on him, Ren turned to head home. —-

It wasn’t long after that that he was taken aback—-

This area is a quiet section of town with a lot of high and low streets.

Ren had just followed the dwarf’s directions up the hill and had been distracted by the dwarf’s meaningful voice.

Now that he had calmed down and looked around, he saw a particularly familiar sight.

Looking down the slope, he could see the streets lined with houses and numerous stores illuminated by black antique streetlights.

But it’s not the view he should be looking at.

Ren takes a deep breath and turns his attention to the flat ground a short distance away.

He turned his attention to the huge study building that sat there.

The Imperial Military Academy—–.

The academy block.

The windows of the largest and most prestigious school in the area, called the “Imperial Academy,” were bright in places. There are probably still people inside.

Ren looked down at the school from a slope at a distance.

He gazed quietly at the large, lush gardens, the numerous research facilities, and the huge building with its dark blue roof.

“…………”

A complex feeling, something he had never experienced before, rushed through his body.

He felt a pitiful desire to run away right now, and a strong desire to resist his fate, saying that he would not be defeated by what he was witnessing.

Before he knew it, several minutes had passed.

—Kots kots

He heard the sound of shoes on the floor behind his back.

The sound was one for the ears, and it came closer to Ren’s side.

“Hello, Ren Ashton.”

It was a man’s voice.

He had never that voice, but Ren recognized it.

Ren turned to the owner of the voice and tried to respond.

But the owner of the voice told him to stay put, so Ren kept his eyes on the Imperial Academy and waited for the owner of the voice to approach.

Without turning to face the man standing next to him, Ren also opened spoke.

“You don’t need to thank me either. You have already written to me many times.”

“I see. Well, then, I’ll follow your heart.”

It was a strange feeling.

Even though they had never met before, and even though the other was in a special position, there was a kind of trust between them.

They were in a silence that could be described as the silence that comes from understanding each other.

“What did you think when you saw the school where Viscount Givens had invited you?”

“I wondered, even after all this time, if he really could have written that letter of introduction.”

“Kukuhahahahahaha! Oh, then my fears are unfounded! That man could have at least provided a letter of introduction! Back then, you know!”

“Is that so?”

“Oh! He was, after all, an assistant to the Minister of Justice! But a letter of introduction only exempts you from some of the written exams. You can’t avoid the final examinations that Fiona had to go through.”

Thinking back, even Viscount Givens could have prepared a letter of introduction, but the fact that Fiona was taking the exam itself was somewhat questionable.

When Ren heard the reason, he felt his knees knocking.

Eventually, they both looked at each other at the same time, not from either side.

Finally, they saw each other eye to eye.

“—- Nice to meet you. Ren Ashton.”

“—- Nice to meet you. Marquis Ulysses Ignat.”

There was no promise.

But now the two of them have met here.

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