Kays Translations

Chapter 42: New protective gear

It was mid-April.

The Clausel family's residence received a notice about the entrance examinations for Ren and Licia. The first exam was to be held at the end of May at the Imperial Military Academy.

The two were even more eager to study.

It was a tense feeling, knowing that in a few weeks they would be taking their first exam.

"...... Ren, I'm very sleepy.”

“......Me too."

Licia, who woke up from sleep, and Ren, who woke up from sleep, uttered while having breakfast in the dining room of the mansion.

Recently they had been staying up late. They stayed up late to study for exams. It wasn’t that they were behind in their exam studies. In fact, if they solved past papers, they were sure to get more than 90% of the answers correct, and there was no chance of them failing the exam.

Even so, they were still studying hard for the exam in order to reduce the possibility of failure as much as possible.

“Why don't you both take the rest of the day off? If you push yourselves too hard and get sick, you'll lose everything.”

Lessard said to the two.

He acknowledged their hard work, but explained that it was important for them to rest. They decide to take a break today at least......

Licia seemed to have reached her limit. She went back to her room right after breakfast. She was probably going to sleep twice.

Ren tried to go back to his room too.

But…

"Ren, you have a letter from Verlich-dono."

He stopped and took the letter from Lessard.

What is it? Twisting his head, he looked through it and saw that it said, "It's finished, come and get it!”　It says. There were no other words. It was just a scribble.

“The armor you asked for may have been completed.”

“That's good news. Well, you can take the rest of the day off and pick it up tomorrow.”

“No, I'm going to go right after this, since they've come all this way. I can take a rest after I get back.”

“Then that's fine, but don't push yourself too hard.”

After receiving Lessard’s consent, Ren thanked him and left the place.

Leaving the dining room, he let out a big sigh of relief. He slapped his cheeks vigorously to dispel the drowsiness and started to get ready to go to the imperial capital.

After leaving the mansion, Ren let out a big sigh of relief once again.

The coolness outside made his eyes feel slightly brighter.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

---- It was a gray gauntlet.

The color of the weathered or seemingly weathered asval horn remained intact. The length of the gauntlet was up to the elbow, and it was light-weight, like those used by archers. The thumb is decorated with a ring-like ornament and a small crimson jewel.

The overall image is that of a knight's armored gauntlet, adjusted for light armor.

When Ren saw it in Verlich’s workshop, he gasped.

It wasn't just about how good it looked. Looking at the gauntlet, it reminded him of Asval's, because of the power and strength that was in the air.

“I call it the ‘Flame King's Gauntlet’."

Ren was exhausted from studying for exams, but Verlich was even more so. He was proud of himself, though, and grinned triumphantly.

“That's for the left hand and this is for the right hand.”

Ren wanted to keep his senses as much the same as possible, as he was also equipped with a magic sword summoning bracelet on his right hand. But knights equip hand armor and gauntlets to swing their sword, so there’s no special difference in the sensation. In general.

This is just because Ren wanted to prioritize the sensation he has been experiencing so far.

In his right hand, a gauntlet is made with an area the size of a glove. It’s a special item made of Asval’s horn, which were processed by Verlich and mixed with a special thread.

The basic coloring and design was the same as that of the left arm, but the instep and finger areas were covered with processed horn.

This way, there was no need to change the bracelet to the left arm.

“Thank you very much. I think this will work as well as ever.”

There was another reason for the larger gauntlet on the left arm.

When using the magic sword of the shield, it is convenient if the arms are also strengthened.

“So, this left thumb is....”

“Oh, it was in the horn. The most important organ of Asval's horn. I don't know if it's an organ, but it must be important.”

Ren stared at it intently.

He thought back to that day in winter when he fought Asval and broke his horns to weaken him.

“It was bigger at first, too. It was as big as my head.”

“But it's gotten a lot smaller.”

“I went to bed and woke up, and I scraped and polished it every day. I used it for the gauntlet, but I wanted to use it for other parts of the body as well.”

Verlich continued.

“I melted the powder from the organs in the horn and crossed it with the hair of the Thief Wolfen’s body and processed it into thread. Then I braided them together, and finished the horns with another layer for the backs of the hands and fingers.”

"Thief Wolfen?”

"Oh, yes. You know what it is? The rank is D, but its body hair is very convenient when used well. If you're a good craftsman, you can use it to cross-fertilize with other materials.”

"Heh...I see....”

“You can thank the rude brat later. The hairs of the Thief Wolfen were given to me by him. I don't think it's been on the market in recent years, but he was lucky enough to have had it before.”

It was a familiar story, but Ren was careful not to let it show on his face.

He then did as Verlich asked and put on the Flame King's gauntlet on both arms.

(...... wow)

Even though he measured me once, they fit perfectly.

Ren felt no discomfort at all wearing it, and when he moved his arms, it followed him as if it were his own body.

“How does it feel?”

“I've worn other equipment on several occasions, but this is the first time I've felt this comfortable.”

“Well, I measured it, so it's natural.”

Even at that…

Ren repeatedly gripped and opened his fingertips, confident that he would be able to wield the sword as before.

“If it feels too light, don't worry. As I said before, it is hard. Even rare metals can’t compare to it.”

Suddenly, Ren's eyes turned to his left thumb.

“......"

I didn't say it until today, but I felt a little scared..

I was concerned about whether Asval would have any strange urges because of what he had said about Ashton being weak.

But now, I don't have a trace of that fear.

I touched the crimson jewel on my left thumb with my right hand and felt a gentle heat.

“Alright! The first job is over!”

With a thud, Verlich collapsed onto the floor in a heap.

He began to doze off and cast his eyes down.

“I'm going to bed. When I wake up, I'm going to slurp down a drink and rest for the rest of the week.”

“Oh, thank you! I'll go--- and leave you to it!”

"See you later!”

I really wanted to thank him more before leaving, but Verlich looked so sleepy, as if he was about to fall asleep any moment.

Ren put the Flame King's gauntlet in a wooden box and left the workshop with the wooden box in his arms.

After closing the door, he bowed deeply once toward the inside of the workshop.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

On his way home, Ren decided to try using the magic sword with the Flame King's gauntlet.

I would like to see if there is any difference between this and the previous one, and I would like to use a bit of nature magic to see if there is any difference.

If this is the case, it is necessary to head to the station.

I will go to Elendil and go out of town as soon as possible. As I moved my feet, thinking I wanted to try it out before my drowsiness returned.

"Ren-kun?"

I heard a voice right beside me.

I turned around to see Fiona walking with Edgar.

This area wasn’t far from the blacksmith district, so it was no surprise to see Fiona walking around. As soon as she saw Ren, she came to his side with a toddle and a loping gait.

“You’ve been to the blacksmith district?”

“Yes. I was just running some errands.”

Edgar also came to the side, bows to Ren, and walks a few steps behind him.

“Oh… could that be?”

He immediately recognized the box in Ren's hand and its contents.

He smiled happily and thought that Ren was going to check it out.

Ren also realized that Edgar had noticed this.

“I must also thank Ulysses-sama. I heard that he provided the hairs of the monster.”

“The Lord said that Ren-dono would say so. The Lord has asked me to tell you that you are not to thank him.”

As expected of Ulysses. He already knew what Ren was thinking, and he even told Edgar what he was going to say.

Ren, with a wry smile on his face, then looked at Fiona.

She asked him about his recent life, and he told her that he had been busy studying for exams and that he had come to the Imperial City today, sleepy but trying his best to talk about them as they walked.

Fiona smiled as if to say that she was so happy to be able to talk to Ren, and listened to him as he repeatedly chimed in.

“So you're leaving already....?”

“That's the plan. So I thought I'd go to the station and change trains to Elendil."

Fiona then fell silent.

She looked up with a huff at Ren, who twisted his head to see what was wrong.

Her eyes, which could be mistaken for jewels, shot straight through him.

It was part of what she had decided to try to do before. She comes up with an idea to try to be a little more active.

“I'm on my way home from work to my next job, hope you don’t mind if I join you on the way...?”

“Is your job the Ignat family’s business, by any chance?”

“Yes, I help father on a regular basis with work. That’s why I was with Edgar.”

Ren looked at Edgar.

Edgar nodded, "No doubt”.

“I thought you’d be traveling in a carriage, but it seems that’s not the case”

“Fiona-sama likes to walk.”

‘Well, it can't be helped.... since I'm feeling so much better, I'm more than happy to walk myself....”

It has been a while since she got healthy thanks to Ren, but Fiona has never forgotten how hard it was.

Now she was happy to walk on her own two feet.

This is the reason why, despite being the daughter of a marquis, she walks more often than she travels by carriage.

“If so ----“

Not knowing how far along they would walk together, Ren nodded to Fiona if it was okay with Edgar.

Fiona secretly muttered, "I did it," and smiled.

It was after we got on the magic train.

The magic train we boarded was crowded and there were no seats for the three of us.

In the crowd, we were fortunate to be able to stand by the wall near the entrance. The rocking and warmth of the magic train lulled Ren to sleep.

“I see---Ren-kun, you're about to take your first exam, aren't you?”

“I hope I can pass it without any problems."

“Fufu…I'm certain you'll be fine. I've heard that you've been working hard.”

“Is it from Ulysses-sama, by any chance?”

“Yeah. He said you can't think about failing ----!”

This is true, so it is not a mistake, but Ren would like to stay on his toes.

“Klonoa-sensei will probably be back by the end of this year, so maybe you, Ren, will be able to meet her at next year's entrance ceremony."

“......I may indeed be able to meet her."

Edgar, who was standing by, was listening to their conversation, thinking inwardly.

In fact, Ren has already met and talked with Klonoa. On the contrary, Ren doesn’t yet know that she likes him.

It was still a secret that he had met with Klonoa twice there, just before taking down the steel-eating gargoyle and when he went to deal with a fallen tree that was clogging the river in the village where he and Licia had toured.

The magic train was shaking slightly again ----

Ren's eyelids, which had been heavy, moved up and down several times. Fiona saw this and said with a kind smile, full of compassion.

It was a kind word from the bottom of her heart.

“Would you like to close your eyes and rest for a moment?”

“No! no! I'm fine, don't worry about it!”

Despite this, Ren continued to be lulled to sleep.

The slight tremor and the warmth of the air brought on the sleepiness.

The fact that Edgar is nearby may have made him let his guard down a bit and his head bobbed up and down.

Ren's eyes were downcast for a moment.

The magic train stops, and the passengers push their backs out of the train.

Then Ren's body, which had been almost asleep, was pushed forward.

He fought against his heavy eyelids, but a moment later, as he was about to lean over Fiona, who was standing next to him, he instantly noticed it. He raised the hand that wasn't holding his luggage.

He put his hand against the wall and fought to keep himself from pushing Fiona against it.

"............!”

Boom! I could almost hear that sound.

“I-I'm sorry! I was out of my mind!”

“It's okay! But…Ugh!”

Soon after that, within a few minutes, they reach the station where Ren gets off.

Although she was able to say goodbye properly, Fiona's heart continued to beat fast.

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