Kays Translations

Chapter 27 – A Visitor from the Sky

After considering it for a moment, Ren reached a conclusion.

(It would be unreasonable to tell him not to be nervous.)

If it were easy to remain calm on a stage this large, Vayne would never have been nervous in the first place.

While Ren hesitated over what to say, Vayne spoke first. His voice was quieter than usual.

“…There’s something I want to ask.”

“Hm? What is it?”

“How strong are the students from the other schools?”

Ren stared blankly for an instant, then adjusted his attitude when he realized Vayne was asking seriously.

“Every school chose representatives to send here. None of them can be weak.”

The Special Class at the Imperial Military Academy stood out more than any other, but every academy in the imperial capital of the great nation of Leomel provided a high standard of education. Plenty of schools upheld excellence in both scholarship and martial skill, so their representatives were all strong.

“But I think you’re too nervous to see what’s around you right now. Why not look around at random? It might help you relax.”

“Around me…?”

Vayne looked around and understood what Ren meant. The nearby students were stealing glances at him, and they looked just as nervous as he did.

“I see. I’m not the only one who’s nervous.”

Vayne, in particular, had an obvious reason to attract the attention of the other representatives.

As a representative of the Imperial Military Academy, he naturally drew the eyes of students from the capital’s other academies. How strong was a representative of the renowned institution whose name resounded both at home and abroad? It was only natural for the other boys and girls to wonder.

“Ha! It would be awful if I lost in the first round after all that.”

“You’re saying strange things again… but if you can laugh now, that’s good enough.”

Ren checked his watch and stood.

As he turned his back, Vayne asked another question.

“Do you think any of the representatives are stronger than you, Ren?”

Ren stopped walking.

Without turning around, he remained silent for several seconds. The clamor around them had never ceased, yet the two of them seemed to stand in a pocket of stillness, cut off from the noise.

It resembled the scene from the other day, when Sera had asked Licia a similar question and Licia had stopped to consider her answer.

At last, Ren spoke over his shoulder.

“You can’t know that until you fight them.”

Then he turned to Vayne, who was staring at his back, and continued.

“But I don’t intend to lose, no matter who I face. I haven’t since the day I found someone I wanted to protect.”

Those words gave Vayne certainty.

Ren had unquestionably gained strength incomparable to what he possessed that summer. By instinct, Vayne understood that Ren’s power had already risen far beyond the level that belonged in a student festival like this one.

“Then I’ll be cheering for you.”

“…Thanks.”

This time, Ren truly left Vayne’s side.

Soon afterward, an attendant called Vayne for the opening match. He slapped both cheeks hard and headed into the arena, where a tremendous cheer immediately greeted him. The excitement of the spectators awaiting the tournament’s first match reached even the preparation area.

“Hey, Ashton.”

Kaito approached Ren as he was returning to the preparation room. He was drenched in sweat, and Ren gave a wry smile at how much he had perspired before even entering the arena.

“Thanks. Vayne was unusually nervous, but that probably helped him calm down.”

“I hope so.”

Ren answered briefly, but there was something he wanted to point out.

Vayne had gone to the arena because he was fighting in the opening match. Kaito, however, had not fought anyone yet. Why, then, was he already soaked in sweat? Ren had guessed the reason and felt he ought to say something.

“I know you were warming up, but haven’t you overdone it?”

“I can’t help it! My whole body is boiling for a fight!”

“W-Well… as long as you still have enough stamina. I’ll be in the preparation room, so come find me if you need anything.”

“Got it! Thanks as always!”

A little over ten minutes after Ren returned to the preparation room, the referee’s voice carried from the arena.

Amid the thunderous cheers came the announcement:

“That’s enough! The winner is Vayne!”

Vayne had secured a swift victory in the opening match, and the crowd shouted his name in praise.

Ren listened with a smile and murmured, “Keep it up.”

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

Ren had a long-planned meeting with a visitor from the Sky Continent.

The arrangements had been conveyed through Ulysses. Ren was to meet the visitor at the Imperial Capital Grand Arena, in one of the distinguished guest boxes. Ulysses and Lessard should already have been there.

Time passed while Ren handled a little work, and noon arrived. After a light lunch, he left the preparation room more than ten minutes before the appointed time.

(The distinguished guest boxes…)

At the top of several flights of stairs, he found a corridor leading toward them. Ulysses had said he would make sure Ren could enter easily once he reached that passage, but Ren had not expected the process to be truly effortless.

The guest area, which received nobles from Leomel and foreign countries alike, was under strict guard.

As expected, an Imperial Knight stopped Ren when he approached.

“Beyond this point are the distinguished guest boxes. You appear to be a student of the Imperial Military Academy. Do you have an appointment with someone?”

The knight wore the same armor as the Imperial Knights who had once visited Clausel and instructed Licia in swordsmanship.

“Excuse me. I was summoned by Marquis Ulysses Ignat.”

“Hm… Marquis Ignat?”

Ren soon understood what Ulysses had meant.

Among the many knights stationed along the corridor were several familiar faces: knights dispatched from the Lion’s Holy Office. When they saw Ren, they approached and addressed him as “Sir Ren.” The Imperial Knight took half a step back in surprise.

Ulysses’s name alone carried weight. The arrival of knights from the Lion’s Holy Office changed matters even further.

“Oh, so you know him?” the Imperial Knight asked one of the black-armored men.

Another Imperial Knight came over and said, “Have you forgotten? Marquis Ignat ordered us to admit anyone who said they had come to see him.”

He continued, “And if the Lion’s Holy Office will vouch for his identity, so much the better.”

“Naturally. The Lion’s Holy Office guarantees his identity,” a knight acquainted with Ren replied at once.

“Understood.”

Ren was then escorted farther down the corridor by a knight of the Lion’s Holy Office.

Along the way, he voiced a question.

“Judging from the Imperial Knights’ reaction, the knights of the Lion’s Holy Office hold a higher position, even though you’re all knights.”

“Ha ha! In our case, we must also pass the officer-class examination.”

“Oh… that explains it.”

The corridor echoed with Ren’s footsteps. Imperial Knights lined the passage alongside guards brought by the various guests. The distinguished seating was divided into separate boxes enclosed by walls, so unless guests chose to sit together, they watched the tournament apart. Even the doors leading to each box were separate.

Edgar stood before one of the doors at the end of the passage. Ren parted from his escort there.

“Sir Ren, we have been expecting you.”

Edgar immediately opened the door and invited him inside.

Beyond it was a guest box furnished like a room in a luxury inn. Nothing obstructed the view ahead, giving its occupants a magnificent panorama of the Imperial Capital Grand Arena.

Three men were present: Ulysses Ignat, known as Strong Arm; Lessard; and a handsome, dark-skinned man Ren had never seen before.

“There you are. We’ve been waiting.”

“Ulysses-sama, I’m sorry to have kept you waiting.”

“Kept us waiting? Not at all. As usual, you’re a little early.”

Ulysses beckoned Ren toward the semicircular table facing the arena. Ren moved closer to the visitor from the Sky Continent, for whom Ulysses had arranged the box.

“Marquis Ignat, is this the Ren Ashton of whom I have heard so much?”

The handsome, dark-skinned man spoke with a dignified bearing.

He wore vivid clothing that left one muscular arm largely bare. As Ren had been told, he was a merchant who had once been a knight, and traces of that past remained unmistakable. He also wore gold ornaments and numerous jewels, yet none of it seemed gaudy, perhaps because of the natural refinement he exuded.

(So this is the visitor from the Sky Continent…)

If Ren had to compare him to something, he would have said desert royalty. He possessed a mature allure, and the passionate look in his long eyes made it easy to imagine that he had captivated many women.

The man’s eyes shone when he saw Ren, as though he could scarcely wait for Ulysses to introduce them.

“Just as you suspect, this is Ren Ashton,” Ulysses said.

“I knew it!”

“He was born in a village in Clausel territory. Through his strength, he saved not only my daughter but also Lady Licia Clausel. He now attends the Imperial Military Academy as a close friend of His Highness the Third Prince.”

The visitor rose after hearing the introduction. Standing, he was even taller than Ulysses.

“I am Richter Leonhardt. In my homeland, I hold the title of count.”

His manner of referring to himself carried the formal, military flavor of his days as a knight.

“It has been roughly twenty years since I last visited Leomel. I am delighted that, on my return to this great nation, I have been able to meet the hero whose deeds I have heard so much about.”

“I’m honored to hear you say so. But… twenty years?”

“Indeed. Though I may not look it, I am more than sixty years old.”

Richter smiled.

To Ren’s eyes, the man did not look remotely over sixty. At most, he appeared to be in his late twenties or early thirties.

Seeing Ren’s surprise, Richter showed his white teeth in a broad smile.

“If I look young, it is because I am Shelgadian. Tell me, do you know of the Shelgadians?”

“Yes. They are the people who have lived on the Sky Continent since ancient times. I remember that their lives are more than twice as long as those of ordinary people on the surface.”

Ren had known this only as information, so meeting a Shelgadian in person was still startling and took a moment to absorb.

Pleased that Ren knew of his people, Richter extended his hand.

“I come from the Shelgad Empire, the sole great power of the Sky Continent. As for my skin, it comes from my mixed heritage.”

Ren and Richter shook hands, then returned to their seats.

Ren sat at the end of the table beside Lessard. As he lowered himself into the chair, Lessard said, “I’m sorry to trouble you when you’re so busy.”

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