Kays Translations

Chapter 16 – While Fiona Helps Him Study

Fiona had spent more time near Ren than ever since he began living in Elendil.

She was two years older than him. She could not allow herself to remain nothing more than a timid, helpless girl forever—or so she told herself.

“…I’m all right now.”

Once the heat in her face had subsided, Fiona turned back toward Ren.

At some point, he had left his seat and begun preparing tea with the equipment provided in the room.

“Would you like some, Fiona-sama?”

“Yes, please. Hee hee… I’m looking forward to tasting tea you brewed for me.”

“Ha ha… I hope it suits you this time too. Please wait a moment.”

Fiona offered to help, but Ren had already completed most of the preparations. There was little left for her to do.

A few minutes later, a pleasant aroma rose from the cup placed before her.

Naturally, the tea tasted wonderful. Unlike the tea Fiona brewed, it contained no unnecessary astringency. One sip was enough to tell her that Ren had improved yet again.

Fiona’s own skill had grown since their earlier lessons, but Ren seemed to have advanced even further.

“Ah, that’s right.”

Ren had returned to the seat opposite her and was drinking his own tea when he suddenly spoke.

Fiona, happily savoring the cup he had made, looked up in confusion.

“What is it?”

“There is part of an assignment I cannot understand. If you do not mind, I was hoping you could help me.”

Delight colored Fiona’s cheeks at being asked for help.

She nodded with a bright smile and a buoyant voice.

“I would be happy to!”

As she moved, the necklace resting against her chest swayed.

It was not the Demon-Destroying Necklace she had worn in the Baldor Mountains. It was the necklace bearing the Star Agate Ren had given her.

Ren looked slightly embarrassed when he noticed it.

“I am truly glad you treasure it, but… are you sure it is suitable? I barely processed the stone at all.”

The Star Agate adorning Fiona’s chest remained almost entirely in its rough form.

It was rather plain for something worn by the daughter of a marquis.

“Yes. I like it exactly as it is.”

She looked so happy that saying anything more would have been tactless.

Fiona promptly returned to the assignment, as though eager to show how pleased she was that Ren had asked for her help, so he did not pursue the subject of the necklace.

“Which part do you not understand, Ren-kun?”

Fiona leaned slightly across the table, bringing herself closer to him.

“This one. It is an assignment from my alchemy teacher, but I do not understand why this reagent has to be used.”

“Let me see… The calculation becomes rather difficult when the other required materials are included. The formula works like this—”

Fiona moved her pen across Ren’s notebook.

Her handwriting was lovely, rounded, and flowing.

“How is that?”

Asked whether he understood, Ren could only offer a strained smile.

Fiona saw it and gave an apologetic little laugh before rising from her chair. She was not laughing at his failure to follow her explanation—Fiona would never do that.

She had stood so she could move to the seat beside him.

“Let us begin with this part of the formula instead. First—”

Sitting beside Ren, Fiona guided her pen across the notebook once more.

This time, she explained more carefully and from a different angle.

She brushed her hair away from the page with one hand, then looked gently toward Ren.

Her cheeks nearly reddened again as she watched his serious expression while he studied the notebook.

“And that gives us this result.”

After finishing the explanation, Fiona turned toward him.

Perhaps because they were sitting so close, the faint scent of flowers drifted from her hair.

Her mysterious smile seemed to shimmer more brightly than the spring sunlight. Ren met that smile and immediately thanked her.

“Thank you, Fiona-sama! I finally understand!”

“Hee hee. I am glad.”

Fiona rose and returned to her original chair, leaving the sweet fragrance behind.

She wanted to remain beside Ren, but she knew her cheeks would turn red again if she did. That was the limit of her courage for now.

Even so, she could do nothing about the rapid beating of her heart.

An hour or two passed while Ren worked through his assignments.

When he decided to take a break, he stood and walked toward the open window.

The breeze there reminded him of the day they had cleaned this room. He recalled one of the books he had arranged on the shelves—a volume that had caught his attention at the time.

Ren crossed to the bookshelf, took it down, and returned to his seat.

The title on its cover read Monsters of the Demon King’s Army.

(There are so many monsters I have never heard of.)

The book contained striking illustrations, but Ren recognized neither the names nor the appearances of most of the creatures.

The majority no longer existed in the present age. According to the text, they had been driven to extinction by the resistance of many nations, including the forces led by Hero Ruin.

Some entries concerned monsters said to inhabit the land where the Demon King’s castle stood—the region known as the Demon Continent.

Ren’s fingers stopped on one particular page.

The illustration showed a monster striding across a desolate wilderness that appeared to be a battlefield.

“Oh… wow.”

Fiona heard his reaction.

“Is that an illustrated monster guide?”

“Yes. I have been curious about it since we cleaned this room with Chronois-san.”

Fiona rose and came around behind Ren’s chair.

“May I look too?”

“Of course.”

“This monster seems to have been one of the generals who commanded the Demon King’s army until his defeat.”

The enormous suit of armor stood five mel tall. It was jet-black, decorated with gold, and the illustration alone conveyed its grim presence.

It possessed four arms, with an equally enormous sword mounted for each one, and a tattered blue cloth hung from one shoulder.

No fleshly body existed inside the armor. Instead, dense mana filled its hollow interior, and its magic stone was said to float within that power.

“There is too little information to assign it a rank.”

As Ren spoke, Fiona leaned over the book and read the next passage aloud.

“It became even stronger after entering the Demon King’s service. It never obeyed anyone else, and before that, it was known as the Sword Demon—”

Ren read the following sentence.

As expected of a general in the Demon King’s army, its nature was unlike that of almost any monster he knew.

“It is apparently classified as a dragon species. It does not resemble a dragon, but an organ beside its magic stone was reportedly similar to one found in dragons.”

Ultimately, that was only a biological classification.

Its other defining trait was its vitality. After fighting Asval, Ren understood all too well how much vitality a dragon could possess, even when it was not undead.

The book stated that several monsters of this kind had existed in that age. The ferocity of the Demon King’s army was difficult to imagine.

Nevertheless, the Seven Heroes had encountered one on the Demon Continent and defeated it.

(I suppose losing to the Seven Heroes was inevitable.)

They had defeated the Demon King himself, after all.

Ren soon closed the book and returned it to the shelf.

“By the way, Ren-kun, how will you spend the upcoming consecutive holidays?”

After several more busy days of representative selection for the Lion King Grand Festival, the academy would close for an entire week. This was not a special arrangement for the current year, but one of its regular holiday periods.

“I have no particular plans. Licia-sama will apparently be occupied with House Clausel’s work almost every day.”

“Ha ha… I will be busy too. My father is coming to the Imperial Capital, so I have work I cannot avoid. Ah—that reminds me! Father entrusted me with a letter for you, Ren-kun!”

Fiona would have liked to invite Ren somewhere, but it seemed that would not be possible.

With a trace of regret, she took an envelope from her bag and handed it to him.

When Ren heard that it came from Ulysses, he opened it at once.

The letter contained a simple invitation.

Let us visit the blacksmith district together next week.

Ren wondered what Ulysses wanted.

(Is it about the new armor?)

He quickly arrived at an answer and decided to write his reply immediately.

“I apologize, but could I ask you to deliver my answer?”

“Yes. Leave it to me.”

Ulysses had specified that they would meet in the Imperial Capital one evening during the following week.

Already beginning to look forward to the day, Ren returned to the assignments still before him.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

As promised, Ren met Ulysses in the Imperial Capital one evening during the holiday week.

“Are you truly all right without an escort?”

“I have you beside me. Besides, although I was only half joking, one of my guards is probably hiding somewhere nearby.”

Ulysses’s joke did not mean that he doubted Ren’s ability.

“Let me explain that properly. With you beside me, I do not need an escort to hide behind. Is that clear?”

“…Please spare me remarks like that.”

Ulysses chuckled triumphantly at Ren’s response.

“How is your work on the organizing committee?”

“As I told you, it is surprisingly enjoyable. I had no intention of joining at first, but I am glad I can take part in the festival from behind the scenes.”

“I am pleased to hear it. Listening to you reminds me of the days when I served on the organizing committee myself.”

“…”

“What is that expression for?”

“Forgive me. I was simply surprised to learn that you had been a committee member too.”

The pair walked through the blacksmith district—or rather, Ulysses walked without the slightest concern for his own status, and Ren accompanied him.

The streets had already been lively, but the approaching Lion King Grand Festival made them more crowded than usual.

“Did you never enter a speech contest or another event?”

“Ha ha! I lost interest in competing after I enrolled. I tried the organizing committee instead, and it proved much more entertaining.”

“What part of it entertained you?”

“I remember watching nobles my own age and thinking, So that is how they behave when excitement strips away their composure. There was a certain pleasure in it.”

“…That is rather awful.”

Ren gave Ulysses a wary look.

Ulysses seemed delighted by his unreserved reaction. His lips curved upward and his eyes narrowed.

“At this moment, nothing pleases me more than that look on your face.”

Ren wondered whether the man would ever lose his composure.

He kept the thought to himself as they walked side by side.

“Now then, do you know why I called you here today?”

“It concerns the armor being made from Asval’s horn, does it not?”

“Correct. I was informed that it would soon be finished, so I contacted you last week.”

“That was what I expected. Still, Werlich-san has completed the work remarkably quickly since our last conversation.”

“I thought the same. It has been only a week or two since the materials were delivered to Werlich. Even for him, the pace is extraordinary.”

The anticipation loosened Ren’s expression.

Ulysses, who normally carried himself with unwavering maturity, glanced at the boyish excitement appropriate to Ren’s age. His own face softened, showing none of the intimidating strength that had made so many nobles weep.

After another short walk, they reached Werlich’s workshop.

“Oh, I have been waiting for you.”

Werlich had noticed their arrival. He emerged from the workshop and greeted them with a broad smile.

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