Kays Translations

Chapter 14: About the Future.

The Clausel party had planned to spend the following day in Elendil, but circumstances forced them to hurry back to Clausel.

It was the night of the party, not long after Ulysses had informed Lessard about the movements of the various factions.

Wanting to be safe rather than sorry, Lessard decided that they should return immediately.

That night aboard the magic ship, in Lessard’s guest room, Licia stood alone at the window, gazing toward the Imperial Capital.

Ren and Weiss had also come to the room, but Licia was unusually quiet and seemed lost in thought.

Noticing this, Lessard rose from the sofa.

He told Ren, who had begun preparing tea for everyone, “Leave this to me,” and went to stand beside Licia.

“Licia, is something troubling you?”

“Father… actually…”

Licia began speaking in a halting voice as she recalled the conversation at the party.

“I think I may need to go to the Imperial Capital, just as Marquis Ignat and Sera said.”

At the party, she had learned that several Neutral Faction nobles intended to change sides. Sera had later come to speak with her and offered the same advice.

Those words had taken on increasing weight in Licia’s heart.

Ren had, of course, also heard about those conversations.

Lessard had told him that Licia appeared to be considering whether she should aim for the Imperial Military Academy.

“Besides everything you’ve been doing without my knowledge, Father, I must also do what only I can do.”

Before the Viscount Given affair, their connection with Ulysses had allowed House Clausel to remain relatively secure.

But the situation had changed after the winter incident made the existence of the Demon King cult public knowledge.

Attending a prestigious academy, cultivating both scholarship and martial skill, building political influence through relationships with other nobles, and obtaining information in the Imperial Capital—all of those things were now invaluable.

“Marquis Ignat’s words have stayed with you, haven’t they?”

“Yes. He said that the more connections House Clausel forms with other nobles, the more options we’ll have. I can’t get those words out of my mind.”

The Imperial Military Academy was unquestionably the best choice for achieving that goal.

Licia had only said that she should go to the Imperial Capital, but in practice, it was almost the same as declaring that she would aim for the academy.

Considering how much more intense the factional struggle might become, it was a perfectly natural conclusion.

(Then I can’t keep treating this as someone else’s problem.)

Ren understood that the game and this world were different, and that the people living here were not merely game characters.

He disliked the insult inherent in treating them as though they were.

At the same time, the desire to avoid the fate depicted in the game still remained in his heart.

Yet he could already say with confidence that events were following a different path. The Demon King cult’s incident in the Baldor Mountains had happened only recently, and countless destinies had already changed.

For Ren, merely worrying about what had happened in the games was no longer enough.

He had to accept that he might become involved in events beyond anything he could imagine.

Continuing to think and act only for the village would be foolish.

His experiences had taught him that much beyond doubt.

The faces of the two girls he had risked his life to protect—Licia and Fiona—rose in his mind.

(The Demon King cult is already moving.)

Ren knew that the cult would become even more active in the future.

(To protect them, it would be best for me to live in the Imperial Capital or Elendil as well.)

That thought did not arise from a sense of duty.

Ren had risked his life for both girls and formed genuine bonds with them. He now sincerely worried for their safety, and that concern had begun to change the aversion he had once felt toward the Imperial Capital.

At the root of it all was his devotion to the two of them.

—This wasn’t for his own sake, but for the people he wanted to protect.

The thought echoed through his mind.

He thought of his parents, his home, and everyone he had fought with his life to protect.

“Ren.”

Licia turned away from the window and looked back into the guest room.

Her eyes met Ren’s as he watched her from a short distance away.

“Ren… what do you think about me going to the Imperial Capital?”

Her voice was anxious, and her shoulders trembled faintly.

She clasped both hands before her chest as though in prayer and waited for his answer.

Going to the capital would separate her from Ren, who cherished his home village. Even so, Licia understood that what she accomplished there could also help him, so she suppressed the pain of that prospect.

She did not want to follow her feelings alone. She wanted to do what needed to be done.

If Ren would only show that he felt even a little sadness at their separation, she believed she could endure it.

Those were the words she wanted from him.

“Just as you said, going to the Imperial Capital would be for your own sake, Licia-sama. I’ll support you, even if I can only do so from the shadows.”

He spoke in his usual calm voice.

But that was all.

Disappointment hollowed out Licia’s heart.

“Yes… I understand.”

Ren continued without pause.

“So even if you leave Clausel, I’ll keep protecting you just as I always have.”

“…What?”

Licia stared at him, stunned by the unexpected declaration.

Lessard and Weiss, who had been listening nearby, smiled as though they had anticipated it.

Licia looked between them in confusion before turning back to Ren.

“Ren, what do you mean by ‘protecting me’?”

“Exactly what I said. I’ll leave Clausel too and continue protecting you, Licia-sama.”

Ren delivered the declaration in the same matter-of-fact tone, while Licia fell completely silent.

She lowered her head and walked softly toward him.

Ren had finished brewing the tea and was beginning to arrange the table when Licia suddenly struck his chest with her fist.

“…Idiot.”

Then she struck him again.

“Idiot! Idiot! Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!”

When she raised her face, large tears streamed down her cheeks.

Her expression held frustration and happiness at once, and her face shone as though a weight had been lifted from her heart.

Ren panicked.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing! I’ll never tell you!”

Licia answered with a lovely smile.

Then, in a voice overflowing with joy, she added,

“Thank you. I’m so happy.”

“Haha. Come, Licia. Sit down and enjoy the tea Ren brewed for you.”

Licia sat on the sofa opposite Lessard and watched with delight as the bewildered Ren set out the tea.

After he finished, Lessard urged him to sit as well.

Ren started toward the lower seat out of deference to those already seated, but Licia firmly pointed beside herself.

“Here.”

He obeyed and sat directly next to her.

“…Why do I have to sit here?”

“Don’t think about it. I’m here, so this is simply where you belong.”

“I see…”

Ren did not understand, but if that was simply how things were, he decided not to question it.

After the atmosphere settled, Lessard spoke.

“Ren, are you certain? I thought your thoughts were still centered on Clausel and life in your village.”

“They were until recently. But now I have other things to consider.”

(Even without those new concerns, I would have left Clausel.)

If Licia chose to attend the Imperial Military Academy, Ren knew that he would have left Clausel to serve as her escort, regardless of appearances or titles.

He could not know for certain until the moment arrived, but he was convinced that he would make that choice.

Given the threat posed by the Demon King cult, he could no longer imagine doing otherwise.

“The first change came after I returned from visiting home, but it was only last night that I began thinking about it more deeply.”

As he spoke, Ren reached into his coat.

He placed on the table the envelope Ulysses had given him near the Imperial Military Academy.

The moment the other three saw the name Ulysses Ignat written across its face, they all stared at Ren in alarm.

“You met Marquis Ignat!?”

Ren nodded at the astonished Lessard.

He explained that he had accidentally wandered near the Imperial Military Academy and that Ulysses had appeared there unexpectedly.

Everyone except Ren immediately realized that the meeting must have occurred after Ulysses left their conversation at the party.

“This is slightly out of order, but something happened in my village…”

Ren told them how his birthplace had developed and was expected to continue growing.

He also explained that House Ashton lacked the abilities necessary to manage that development.

Recognizing the family’s shortage of administrative expertise had convinced him that he needed to study beyond the village.

“As you say, Ren, such knowledge would certainly be useful,” Lessard replied. “But the administration of entrusted land is not something its lord handles alone. Even I rely on several civil officials.”

“Even so, Lessard-sama, you possess the ability to govern the territory yourself.”

“Yes. A lord should be capable of managing his territory alone, in preparation for emergencies no one can foresee. But one person could hardly perform every administrative duty indefinitely.”

“Then shouldn’t the same principle apply to House Ashton, which has been entrusted with the village?”

Lessard did not say yes.

Honestly, that expectation was far too heavy a burden for the head of a knightly family responsible for one village.

But he could not say no either, so he folded his arms and considered the matter.

“Then, Ren, do you intend to aim for the Imperial Military Academy?”

Ren gave a wry smile and gently averted his eyes.

He was still faintly reluctant, but unlike before, he no longer rejected the idea outright.

Thoughts of everyone he wanted to protect, together with Ulysses’s words, had shaken his former certainty.

He could no longer exclude the academy from his possible future.

“Ren? Does this have something to do with what Marquis Ignat gave you?”

Licia asked, her eyes still red from crying.

Ren composed himself and said, “Please take a look.”

He removed the letter of introduction from the envelope and showed it to them.

Licia, Lessard, and Weiss were immediately struck speechless when they read that it authorized Ren to enter the Lion’s Holy Office.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

By early autumn, Ren was once again alone in the Imperial Capital.

As before, he had traveled from Clausel to another territory and boarded a magic ship from there, making for a lengthy journey.

He had brought no escorting knight.

Lessard had offered to assign one, but Ren strongly declined and asked that every available knight remain focused on protecting House Clausel.

It was ten o’clock in the morning.

Ren was scheduled to meet Edgar, House Ignat’s butler, shortly after noon.

(I have to work hard.)

He sat at a terrace table outside a stylish, white-plastered restaurant in an alley off the Imperial Capital’s main avenue.

The previous year, an Imperial Knight visiting Clausel had established that Ren had no aptitude for the Sacred Sword Style.

At the time, he and Licia had promised to search for another style together.

That made him feel guilty about going ahead alone to learn the Mighty Sword Style.

Ulysses had said that he could eventually arrange the same introduction for Licia, but Ren was still the only one who had come to the capital first.

Naturally, Ren had admitted those feelings to Licia and told her that he was uncertain about going.

Their conversation had taken place during the lingering heat of midsummer.

“It’s not as though I refuse to learn the Mighty Sword Style simply because you’ll learn it first.”

Licia had said that at the Clausel mansion.

“Weiss taught you the foundations of swordsmanship, didn’t he? I can learn as much practical swordsmanship as I need by sparring with you, Ren.”

“But learning directly, without having to rely on me, would also benefit you, Licia-sama.”

“Don’t say that. Because I’ve continued sparring with you, I can overwhelm Sera far more easily than before. You can’t claim that everything we’ve done until now was a mistake.”

She was right.

Even Weiss, who had taught Ren and Licia Imperial Swordsmanship, believed that Licia benefited more from repeatedly sparring with Ren.

He was certain that she had become stronger than she would have by following the ordinary path of receiving Sacred Sword Style instruction from an Imperial Knight.

Even so, both Licia and Weiss understood that Ren’s concern was reasonable.

Licia also wanted to learn the Mighty Sword Style beside him if possible.

However—

“The master has forbidden the young lady from going.”

As Weiss had explained, Licia could not accompany Ren to the Imperial Capital.

“I know… He wants me to study harder than ever for the Special Class entrance examination, doesn’t he?”

Licia had decided to attend the Imperial Military Academy.

Because she intended to enter the Special Class, she now needed to devote herself to preparing for its entrance examinations.

The examinations would begin the following spring. Licia had always studied diligently, but additional preparation could only improve her chances.

“That’s right. Refining your swordsmanship is important, but a round trip to the Imperial Capital takes far too much time.”

“Yes. That’s why I’ll be patient this time. You don’t have to worry, Ren. Marquis Ignat said he could arrange the same introduction for me whenever I wanted, didn’t he? Then it won’t be too late once I have enough time.”

For those reasons, Licia did not accompany Ren to the Imperial Capital.

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