Chapter 17- Thinking back to his ice and imagining a new you

Stepping into the messy workshop today, Ren saw a round wooden table placed in the middle of the workshop.

There, on the table, was an object that appeared to be made by erlich.

“Verlich, is that the finished product you were talking about?”

“I thought about it a lot, but this time I decided on boots! Ren’s feet won’t be that big in the future either! A little fine-tuning won’t be a problem!”

Ulysses prepared the threads and other materials to be used for this purpose. As soon as they arrived at Verlich’s work shop, he spent every waking moment working on them.

The boots are made of asval’s horn, which are processed and used in abundance. Although it’s not obvious at first glance, the heel, toe, and instep are all covered with a solid material.

Ren’s emphasis on ease of movement was also not forgotten. Verlich proudly puffed out his chest and explained, and Ren tried on the boots on each leg.

“They don’t feel like they poke me anywhere, and they’re very light.”

“I know, right? You think it’s good enough for you?”

“I’ve never doubted your skill, let alone reviewed it.”

“Oh? Really? Well, use them however you like. I think those boots won’t stand out too much even if you wear them under your uniform.”

“If you feel that your trousers are in the way, you can take them out and put them on.”

“I’ve made it so that you can easily adjust it later, so you don’t have to worry about it.”

“Oh, thank you very much….”

As for physical growth, there is nothing Ren himself can do about it, so whether he cares or not, the result will be the same. Ren laughed and Verlich asked, “Do you want to wear them home?” to which Ren replied, “Yes”.

He put the shoes he had been wearing into the burlap sack Verlich had given him.

“Unlike the Flame King’s gauntlet, it doesn’t have a name. That one is more special in many ways—-So, are we done?”

Verlich said while staggering.

“I haven’t slept like a fool in a while, so I’m stupidly sleepy.”

Ren bowed deeply to Verlich and then said.

“Thank you very much for making me the best armor.”

He thanked him once again.

Verlich then fell down on his back and sighed in his sleep.

Not on the bed, but on the soot-stained flooring.

“Apparently, he was very tired.”

“That’s right. I guess it’s fine.”

Ren picked up Verlich and carried him to bed.

He borrowed the key from the round table and closed the lock after leaving the workshop.

“I locked the door without thinking, what should I do?”

“I’m pretty sure there’s a piece of glass around there that has a broken edge, so I think we should just throw it inside from there. But there’s no security when the glass is broken.

Ren had nothing to say back to Ulysses’ words.

“But don’t you need some kind of armor to protect your chest or something?”

“That one will come later. My body is still growing, so I’ll get the big parts when my physique doesn’t need much adjustment.”

That being said, the same is true of the boots, but the processing of the materials had areas that had yet to be adjusted according to Verlich’s opinion.

The later materials will eventually be used again somewhere else.

(I wonder if this would make the magic sword of flame easier to use)

The question that suddenly popped into Ren’s head reminded him of the time right after he got his hands on the Flame King gauntlet.

Since he was going to try this out during the holidays, Ren thought about how he would like to spend tomorrow.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

As he had thought yesterday, Ren decided to try it as soon as possible the next day.

It’s just as well, since he hasn’t been able to go hunting lately. He had only been able to think of going to the lion sanctuary during the holidays.

“Oh, Ren-dono?”

It was a servant, also an early riser, who called out to Ren as he was leaving his room and heading for the entrance hall.

“It’s not even dawn yet, what are you doing up at this hour?”

“I haven’t been out of town recently, so I thought I’d try a change of scenery for the first time in a while. I also wanted to pick some fruits that are only available at this time of the day.”

“Fruits that can only be picked at this time of the day….?”

The servant twisted his head, but he didn’t want to pursue the matter because Ren seemed to be in a hurry, so he just saw him off.

After leaving the mansion, Ren headed for the stables in the same property.

Among the horses used by the knights is Lo, who used to be Jerruku’s horse. Lo had grown as Ren had grown, and today her beautiful chestnut hair was shiny and glossy.

Lo sees Ren approaching and neighs, “Bruu”.

“Let’s go on an outing together for the first time in a while.”

“Bruu! 』

Lo, with Ren on her back, began to walk in a good mood, and the sound of hoofbeats echoed as they left the grounds of the mansion.

When he reaches the gate leading out of town, he sees a knight standing there,

“Oh? Where are you going at this hour?”

“I’m going to the woods. I’m going for a change of scenery for the first time in a while.”

“Ha-ha-ha! That’s good! Please be careful!”

The knight saw Ren off without questioning his words.

After an hour of galloping, the edge of the sky began to lighten slightly.

After another dozen minutes, Ren let Lo proceed slowly. Once they stepped into the forest, they quickly approached the animal trail.

“There is an open area at the end of the road, let’s go there.”

Ren pulled on Lo’s reins as she moved forward.

As soon as she did, an open space appeared. It wasn’t too big and not too small, about the size of an average house.

Ren set Lo free there and looked out at the morning sky.

“Well…”

Ren muttered to himself and observed the fruit on a nearby tree.

The fruit, which had been green until then, turned bright red as the morning sun spread. He picked them when the time was right and put them in a burlap sack he carried with him.

But the fruit was just an added bonus for Ren, and his real purpose was elsewhere.

This was just something he thought of on his way to the forest, and he thought it would be a good souvenir for everyone in the house, so he just harvested it.

Ren, who had already put on the finished boots, fitted the Flame King’s gauntlet on his arm and tied the laces.

“Come out!”

He voices the deed as a way to inspire himself.

What manifested was a brass-colored sword with crimson patterns everywhere. When there was no Flame King’s gauntlet, it was a magic sword of flame that couldn’t be summoned because the repercussions of trying to summon it were too great.

Adding equipment made of Asval’s material might bring about another change—- Ren thought, and he ran out of the mansion at such a time to test its effectiveness.

The result of his prediction,

“Lo, I knew it. There’s no recoil at all.”

“Bruh!”

When spoken to, Lo only responded and didn’t look at Ren, as if she wasn’t interested.

…… Nevertheless, it turns out to be easier to summon than before.

Pleased with the result as he had imagined, Ren lightly waved the flaming magic sword. The red flame, not golden like the one he had shown at the Grand Clock Tower, rippled slightly in front of him, and then quickly disappeared.

If he swung the sword with the intention of preventing the next flame from appearing, the flame didn’t ripple on its own, and only a faint afterimage of the sword remained.

(If I could handle this magic sword the way I want to and become a sword saint as soon as possible)

Even with talent and effort as great as Ren’s, it is extremely difficult to become a sword saint of hard swordsmanship.

However, there’s no doubt that daily training is a shortcut to growth. Ren’s past experiences can attest to that.

However, Ren also felt that he needed to think about many other things.

He thought back to the battle in which he had shown himself to be a great swordsman in front of Edgar.

That was the first time he had used star-killer to prove his strength, and no matter how often he thought back on it, Edgar at that time had been nothing short of ferocious.

As he recalled, it was when Ulysses, Radius, and the others were trying to advance the matter of the Grand Clock Tower in secret from Ren.

“I will show you the mighty sword of one who can handle magic! 』

Ren made a bet with Edgar.

If he won, Edgar would take him to Ulysses and the others.

At the time, Edgar did exactly what he said he would do, showing off his swordsmanship as a wielder of magic.

Apart from the two swords in his hands, each ice blade was the very blade of a person who had mastered the art of cloaking.

“Don’t underestimate me, Sword Saint. 』

Ren said and swung his sword without stepping back.

At first, they responded to the ice blades that Edgar unleashed with sword fights that made full use of cloaking. But there were too many of them and the ice blades were too fast.

He withstood several attacks well—- everyone thought so,

“….”

I will surely win this bet with everything I have cultivated in the Lion’s Sanctuary.

The high energy generated by Ren’s strong will caused the training sword in his hand to blur. He stepped into a new realm before everyone’s eyes and swung the sword, following his impulse.

“Haa…haa…!”

He endured —- no, he twisted.

Ren’s sword all but obliterated the ice blade just before it reached him below. The ice blades had lost their power as magic due to the power of the star-killer. The magic ice melted away and turned into just water before Ren’s eyes.

“Im-Impossible…. how did you become a swordsman so quickly….? 』

Edgar let out a surprised voice.

“Well…what do you think? I managed to endure it properly…』

“You didn’t just endure! What a surprise…. you are more gifted than I thought… 』

While the knights were stunned, Ren won the bet.

The feeling of that day is still fresh in Ren’s mind. It was an unforgettable moment when he let his whole body be in such a high state of excitement that he was aware that he had turned.

Ren looked at the palm of the hand that wasn’t holding the flaming magic sword and remained still and silent.

It was only a single friction, but Edgar’s strength was real.

No magic can always counteract star-killer. If Edgar had really fought, the outcome might have been different.

But Ren thinks otherwise.

“I too —-“

I have to reach that realm myself. I swore to be strong, I must be strong.

In order to become a sword saint, I also have to open the door that stands in my way.

I want to try everything I can do now, not only in my daily training.

I’m still in the stage of training steadily, and part of me thinks that maybe it’s too early to aspire to reach the strength of Edgar.

However, the words that Edgar had spoken about “the mighty sword of those who can handle magic” remained in Ren’s mind.

Ren wanted to tremble again at the feeling of growth that ran through his whole body at that time.

As he looked down at the flaming magic sword, envisioning himself in the future, he suddenly heard the voice of a monster from nearby.

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