Chapter 44: Toward some tipping point

Vane and Sarah were both a little embarrassed.

I’m sure they’re used to being praised, Ren thought with conviction. As he recalls, those two weren’t accustomed to being praised by boys and girls their own age, and so on.

“You guys were so amazing, I can’t believe you are my age.”

This was from the heart.

He didn’t really think in his mind that he was the strong man who defeated Asval, and they were not ready yet —-.

In fact, the two here must be quite a strong pair among the same age group.

“Thanks, but I’m not there yet.”

“Right. Well, about the girl beside me, I heard that her friend is stronger than her. So we have to work harder.”

“Oh …… is that friend of yours also a noble?”

“Yes, she is. Have you ever heard of Saint Licia?”

(I know her very well.)

When Ren didn’t say anything, Sarah started to explain.

Apparently, she thought that Ren didn’t know about Licia. I feel as if I have been shown the kind nature of Sarah, who is very competitive.

Also, Ren has now made a mistake. He had spoken to her in a manner that had assumed that Sarah was a noble. However, it wouldn’t be out of place to say that he had seen her somewhere —- because she was a noble of high rank.

“She’s the daughter of the Clausel family and the lord of Elendil. I have known her for a long time.”

“…. I see.”

Sarah and Vane walk away as if they want to talk.

They suggested to Ren that they leave the place, thinking that since they were going to the same place, they could talk about it while they went back to town.

On the way there, Sarah recalled something from the past.

“You said earlier that you didn’t think we were the same age. But Licia is stronger than I am, and there ia another boy who is stronger than her.”

“According to what Sarah heard, he is the child of a knight in their family’s service.”

“Yeah. That seems to be her goal. She said she is trying her best to beat that boy. He is very strong and she always admires his sword skill.”

.”Oh….is that so?”

Ren half-heartedly listened, or rather, acted as if he did so in order to keep his composure.

So on the way back home, he felt very uneasy.

By the time he returned to the guild and received his share, the sleepiness had completely disappeared.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

It was past dusk when he returned to the mansion, and Licia, who was awake, greeted him.

She was amazed at how great the Flame King’s gauntlet was, and she was happy how good it looked on him.

“Oh, by the way…”

He was really happy and said these words.

He never had any other intention. He was just happy.

“I’m happy when I heard that Licia-sama was fascinated by my sword skill.”

“—-“

Her cheeks pulled back.

It was as if she had frozen.

“—- where did you hear that?”

Licia asked, trying her best to keep a smile on her face and as calm as possible.

Ren, who was asked, didn’t even notice it. He just sounded happy.

“I went out of town on my way home to check on the condition of my gauntlet. Then I happened to run into Riohard-san fighting a monster—-“

“I-I don’t know what you are talking about!”

Ren met Sarah.

There was something more important than this fact. Licia instantly realized that the source of the information was Sarah, and she was flustered.

“Eh… that is….”

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about! I’m fascinated! But I don’t know!!!”

This is another complication, but it’s okay for Licia to tell Ren with her own mouth.

For example, during a stand-up fight, she has said before. “I’m really fascinated by your swordsmanship,”

But the words she told someone else reach his ears indirectly. This brought Licia unspeakable embarrassment.

The reason for this she doesn’t know.

Perhaps it is a matter of mindset….

“Oh yes! Did Sarah know about you!?”

“No. We didn’t particularly introduce ourselves, so I’d say we talked to each other without knowing each other’s names…..”

“Ah! So you’ve heard everything!”

Ren wasn’t sure where all of this is going, but surely Sarah was talking about Licia trying her best to beat him.

That said, Licia didn’t say anything to be embarrassed about.

She was just embarrassed by the fact that he had been told about it without her knowledge.

Licia turned her back to Ren and walked away.

She sits down on the sofa at the entrance and hugs her knees, cushions between her knees and arms.

When a giggling Ren approached her, she thought to herself that her anger was unreasonable.

“…… I’d like to go shopping in the imperial capital next week.”

She said such a thing to Ren as if to sweet-talk him, and smiled when she heard him say, “I’ll join you.”

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

Inside a carriage parked in a certain part of the imperial capital.

Radius and Ulysses, meeting in secret, were exchanging opinions about the recent bandit riot.

“Klonoa-sama will return in October. We’d better get to it before then. Their idea makes sense.”

“But I don’t understand. Have you forgotten about the existence of our sword Sword King?”

“You may that there is no way that she would leave His Majesty’s side. Although it is a little pushy, if it is the short time that the Demon King Religion wants, she may be moved.”

“I see. I’m not so far off the mark. She, too, is obsessed only with protecting his majesty.”

“But in any case, it’s not enough to ask her for help. We’ve joined hands.”

“Then the question is, at what point do we make a move on them? Of course, We have not forgotten. It’s our turn to make a move.”

However, we have to know what the demon cult is up to.

Unlike the bandits, the Demon cult had yet to get their tail between their legs. If we can’t find out by the summer when they are expected to take action, we will have to change the way we move.

“We would have no choice but to lure them in and bite them on the neck.”

“Leave the details to me. I will think about it again.”

The day’s discussions ended soon after this.

The two men were ready to devise a plan for the coming summer days.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

On the last day of May, Ren and Licia’s first exam was over.

The two were walking around the Imperial City as usual after they left the examination hall.

Weiss, who was standing by their side, said.

“How are you both doing today?”

“I think it was good. I didn’t feel particularly lost, and I had extra time.”

“I did too. It went by rather quickly, so I spent most of the exam time reviewing.”

“I’m glad to hear that. As expected of the boy.”

The next exam will be held in July, followed by another in September, and then in November, followed by the final exam in January of the following year.

Both of them were determined to do their best again for that day.

“Licia-sama!”

“Yes, what is it?”

“Now that the exams are over, why don’t we go to the Holy Lion’s Sanctuary tomorrow?”

“Let’s go! Oh! But I have plans the day after tomorrow….”

“Then let’s make the rest of the day a little more physically active. It would be good to rest your head for a week or so.”

“I agree my lady. I’ll let the head of the family know as well. I hear that you two are well prepared for the next exam, so you may take some time to refresh yourselves.”

Licia was very pleased.

The fact that she could have a change of scenery, but most of all, she was happy that Ren invited her to join him.

“Licia-sama is also improving in the art of hard swordsmanship.”

“Yes! Thanks to Ren teaching me at the mansion. Soon I’ll be able to use the cloak at least on my hands!”

Licia is also a genius.

And because she has a spirit of unceasing effort, she continues to grow at a rate unmatched by the average person. But Ren is no different. He doesn’t call himself a genius, nor does he nod to the words of others, but he too has a rare gift.

Watching the two of them grow up was an exciting experience for Weiss as well.

The day after —- Licia and Ren went to the Lion’s Holy Sanctuary and immersed themselves in the day’s training.

“What in the world is going on with your body?”

The man’s huge sword fell to the ground with a dull thud.

The man was the same man who had crossed swords with Ren on the day he had learned to use the cloak technique, and they had crossed swords every time Ren had come.

He sat down on the ground, looking tired.

He was out of breath and sweating all over.

“Even if you ask me what’s going on, I can only tell you what you see.”

Ren then tried to help the man up.

But the man was adamant. He still wanted to sit down and rest.

“Your efforts are out of the ordinary. Why do you move your body so much? I never thought in the winter that I would be the first one to get tired.”

“Haha…..I’ll have to work harder, or Licia-sama will soon overtake me…..”

Ren said, and saw Licia swinging a sword elsewhere.

“It’s true that Saint-dono is terrific, but you’re a few steps further.”

Another reason Ren was motivated to work hard was because of the existence of the demon king’s cult.

The first time we fought in the spring, they were overwhelmed, and they have not forgotten it. But whether he would be able to overwhelm them again next time might not be the case.

I was alert. I wasn’t arrogant.

Ren had increased his power again after this spring.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

The following week.

The sky of the Imperial Capital was gray and drizzling with rain.

Ren was at the Imperial Military Academy that day. He had just finished his application for the second round of exams at the same place where he had come to get his application form before.

Ren had been thinking about something recently.

(Strangely enough, I haven’t heard from them.)

It was Ulysses and Radius.

Since it was already known that the demon king’s cult was involved in the bandit riot earlier in the spring, it was hard to believe that those two would sit idly by and do nothing.

But it was strange that there wasn’t the slightest progress.

Ren, engrossed in contemplation, put up his umbrella and took a few steps outside, where he was approached by someone. It was Fiona, dressed in her summer clothes.

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