Kays Translations

Chapter 6: Licia’s Strength and the One Who Surpasses Her

After thanking Sera for her cooperation, Licia listened to her reply and remembered something that had happened several years earlier—before she had ever met Ren.

“How many years has it been? Almost four since you defeated me, I think.”

“Yes. That sounds right.”

Four years earlier, Licia had attended a party in the imperial capital. Even then, her exceptional talent with the sword was already well known.

Sera Riohard, herself blessed with remarkable swordsmanship and descended from one of the Seven Heroes, had been unable to contain her curiosity about the White Saint’s strength. She had asked Licia for a match, fully intending to win.

The result had been a crushing defeat.

The duel took place the day after the party at the Riohard residence. It wasn’t even close. Sera fought desperately until she was gasping for breath, while Licia remained composed from beginning to end and never once lost control of her breathing.

That had been their first meeting.

After acknowledging Licia’s strength, Sera had half-forced her to speak more casually whenever they were together. Even after four years apart, that relationship hadn’t changed.

“I only came to this town because of Father’s work,” Licia said with a smile. “I never imagined I would meet you here.”

“I was surprised too. I was showing Vayne around when we saw a thief. I chased him, and then I found you.”

“Vayne?”

“Yes. We came to Elendil together, but I lost sight of him when I ran after the thief.”

Sera’s expression softened into a fond smile.

“He’s my friend—and my benefactor. When I visited the area near his village, a monster nearly attacked me. Vayne saved me.”

“Where were your guards?”

“Well… I thought I could fight by myself, so I went into the forest alone. It didn’t go as well as I expected.”

“That was simply foolish.”

Licia sighed in exasperation, but the criticism also reminded her of her own past behavior. She had caused Ren trouble by acting recklessly more than once. She quietly resolved to be more careful herself.

“Lady Riohard,” Weiss said, “we can ask the local knights to search for your companion.”

“Would you? Then please do.”

Sera described Vayne as a slim boy of their age, slightly taller than she was, with dark-brown hair and green eyes. Weiss left to relay the description to the knights stationed outside.

Then Sera’s eyes lit with a sudden idea.

“Since we’ve met again, come with me.”

She headed toward the guard station.

“I’ll show you how much stronger I’ve become! We can borrow their training yard.”

“You can’t possibly be asking me to duel you here.”

“Of course I am. Do you know how frustrating the last four years have been? I’ve trained all this time so that I could defeat you when we met again.”

“I-I see…”

Licia gave a strained smile, overwhelmed by Sera’s enthusiasm.

Truthfully, she had no desire to accept. Their families belonged to different political factions, and neither of their parents was present. Even if Sera herself would never complain afterward, a private duel between them could easily create unnecessary trouble.

Nevertheless, Licia followed her.

Sera belonged to a Heroic House, and Licia couldn’t simply ignore the difference in their positions.

“I suppose I’ll have to apologize to Ren when I return to Clausel.”

The uneasiness she felt was probably similar to what Ren had experienced whenever Licia dragged him into one of her own reckless ideas. Reflecting on that, she entered the guard station after Sera.

◇ ◇ ◇

Several dozen minutes later, Vayne arrived at the station.

He found Sera sitting dejectedly on the training-yard floor and immediately hurried to her.

“What happened?”

“Goodbye, Sera.”

Licia turned as she walked away and gave them a graceful wave. She looked every bit as calm as she had four years earlier, having demonstrated an even greater difference in strength before leaving.

It was a scene Ren knew from The Legend of the Seven Heroes: the main heroine, Sera, and the protagonist, Vayne, watching Licia depart.

◇ ◇ ◇

One month later, Ren and Licia happened to return to Clausel at nearly the same time.

They stood in the mansion garden shortly after crossing swords at Ren’s unusual invitation. Licia sat on a wooden bench and told him what had happened in Elendil.

“—And that was how it ended.”

“I see…” Ren replied, struggling to maintain an ordinary expression.

Inside, his heart was racing.

(So the story has already reached that point.)

In the game, Vayne protected Sera when she visited the area near his village. The Hero’s power within him began to awaken during that incident, drawing the attention of Sera’s parents. He later spent time in the imperial capital before entering the Imperial Military Academy.

Remembering the event at the guard station filled Ren with nostalgia.

(Vayne really does exist in this world.)

“Ren? Are you listening?”

“Sorry. I was imagining how impressive the city must have been.”

He cleared his throat, then offered Licia a hand and helped her rise from the bench.

“Thank you,” she said, accepting it with a faint blush.

Ren returned to the question he couldn’t avoid asking.

“So you actually fought Lady Riohard?”

“Several times. We continued for about half an hour.”

Every match had ended in Licia’s overwhelming victory.

She didn’t boast about it, but Ren could easily imagine that the difference between them had grown even wider than it had been four years earlier.

Licia was exceptionally strong. Even against the daughter of a Heroic House and a descendant of Gazil Riohard, one of the Seven Heroes, her superiority remained absolute. Ren understood that better than anyone because he regularly trained with her.

Yet the girl who had just overwhelmed a descendant of the Seven Heroes now looked at Ren and pouted.

Noticing that the difference in their height had grown again, she murmured so quietly that he couldn’t hear, “He became even more handsome without asking me…”

Then she explained the source of her dissatisfaction.

“Sera is considered one of the best young swordswomen in the capital, and I defeated her easily.”

“That’s the result of all your hard work. I’m glad to hear it.”

“That isn’t the point!”

Licia stepped closer until their faces were only a short distance apart.

“The point is that I lost just as badly to you a few minutes ago—as usual!”

She sounded frustrated, but not angry. If anything, she seemed to be seeking reassurance.

“Ren, you became stronger again, didn’t you?”

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

“Don’t look away. Stop trying to evade the question and look at me properly.”

Ren turned his face back toward her.

Their eyes met at close range. Only then did Licia realize how near she had moved. Her cheeks reddened instantly, and she hurriedly stepped backward.

A servant watching through one of the mansion windows smiled at the sight.

“It’s unfair to look at me that suddenly!” Licia protested.

“You were the one who told me to.”

Ren could only shrug at the unreasonable complaint.

“Still, I’m relieved,” he continued. “Because of the Given incident and the difference between your factions, I was worried something unpleasant might have happened.”

“Sera apologized to me repeatedly about that.”

The positions of House Clausel and House Riohard made the situation complicated, but Viscount Given’s actions had been entirely against Sera’s wishes. He had concealed his plans so carefully that she only learned the full truth after everything was over. Afterward, she tried several times to contact House Clausel.

She had been prevented from doing so.

“Marquis Ignat truly is formidable,” Licia said. “Apparently, he placed enough pressure on the Heroic Houses that even the Riohards couldn’t act freely.”

“Was it that severe?”

“Yes. Sera’s parents stopped her because they were trying to protect her. The Given affair created problems within the Hero Faction as well.”

Ren found the story unexpectedly reassuring.

Ulysses had been terrifyingly troublesome as an enemy in the game, but as an ally, that same power was immensely dependable. If even a Heroic House could be forced to remain still, the extent of his influence was difficult to imagine.

“It sounds as though Lady Riohard was genuinely worried about you.”

“She was. Sera is kind.”

But Licia’s feelings remained complicated. She had no favorable impression of the Hero Faction, even if she couldn’t dislike Sera herself. Furthermore, neither faction was truly united, making the situation more complex the more she considered it.

Licia abruptly brightened and changed the subject.

“Now tell me about you. How was the village?”

Ren happily began recounting his memories.

That was how their first day back in Clausel passed.

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