Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 24: The Coastal Cave Where Treasure Sleeps.
“Oh, that’s right. You spoke with someone from Shelgad this summer, didn’t you?”
“Yes. Lord Ulysses introduced me to a man named Richter Leonhardt.”
“Oh? That is quite an important name.”
For Ragna, it was unusual to show interest in anyone besides Ren or Radius.
“House Leonhardt worked desperately during the recent disturbance.”
“You mean the conflict that broke out within Shelgad’s grand ducal house?”
Ren recalled the basic outline.
The Shelgad Empire’s grand ducal family had contained two brothers. The elder believed Shelgad should intervene in foreign conflicts to secure the empire’s interests. The younger argued that such thinking no longer suited the age. Their disagreement developed into a succession struggle that drew in numerous other nobles.
Richter’s birth family had long been known as an illustrious line of knights serving Shelgad.
House Leonhardt tried to bring the conflict to an end, but both grand-ducal brothers ultimately died. Richter was ashamed that he had been unable to prevent the tragedy and felt he no longer deserved to live as a Shelgadian knight.
At his stepfather’s invitation, he later became a merchant and achieved extraordinary success.
Richter was an openhearted man who, like many Shelgadians, loved tales of heroes.
“Leomel has factional quarrels of its own. Both stories are equally foolish.”
“…I agree.”
“I sometimes wonder what became of the younger brother’s wife and daughters after they fled. The daughter should be an adult by now, assuming she survived. Children are always dragged into their parents’ conflicts. Is it not so absurd that it makes you laugh?”
“I wouldn’t laugh, but I do think it’s absurd.”
“The world is overrun with such injustice. True freedom belongs only to individuals capable of crushing nearly everything through force—the Sword Kings, or the witches of the Imperial Military Academy. Hmm. Once again, the gods have displayed their incompetence. Splendid.”
Having discussed enough grim subjects, the two drank tea and allowed their thoughts to settle.
By the time they noticed, a considerable amount of time had passed.
“I should return now. Please tell me if you learn anything.”
“Of course. Thank you for coming all this—no, wait. I’ll go with you.”
Ragna stopped Ren, rose from his chair, and left the room beside him.
They approached the enormous pack Ragna carried when acting as the Bag Traveler. It rested in the corridor with its mouth tightly closed.
The moment Ragna extended a hand, the bag opened by itself.
He thrust his arm inside.
“I shall give you one fine object from my collection. It is the reward I promised.”
He produced a small wooden box carved with intricate designs. Ren could easily hold it in one hand.
After accepting the box, Ren asked:
“So the reward is whatever is inside?”
“An excellent question. What you have there is—”
Ragna began explaining with obvious delight, but the elevator doors at the far end of the corridor opened.
A Bureau of Mysteries researcher emerged and hurried toward them.
“Director, I need to speak with you about Old Town.”
“…What terrible timing. Ren, forgive me. I placed a note describing the item inside the box. Read that instead.”
“Understood.”
The researcher returned to the elevator ahead of them.
Once Ren and Ragna were alone again, Ren casually asked something he had nearly forgotten.
“May I ask an unrelated question? Have you ever heard of Adventurer Ashton?”
“What is—Ren! Do you secretly wish to follow my path after all? Is that why you brought up an adventurer?”
“…Sorry. It isn’t anything like that.”
“I do not mind. But who is this Adventurer Ashton?”
“He seems to have been one of my ancestors.”
Ren revealed only that much and avoided the harder details.
He did not mention the Elder Dragon Roy had told him about. Fiona was too deeply connected to what had happened in the Baldor Mountains for Ren to discuss that matter casually.
Even if he had explained it, however, Ragna probably would not have reached an answer.
The researcher thought again, but nothing came to mind.
“I have never heard the name.”
Not even Ragna’s immense store of knowledge offered a clue.
Thinking back, Adventurer Ashton had clearly been an extraordinary person.
Ren had already suspected unusual circumstances when he learned that an individual capable of defeating the Elder Dragon—and even overcoming Asval at his prime—had left no mark in recorded history.
Ragna’s ignorance only emphasized how exceptional Adventurer Ashton must have been.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
When the group emerged from the coastal cave, the world outside was completely dark.
The moment she stepped onto the beach, Sera arched her back in a long stretch and released a satisfied sound. Then she looked up at the night sky.
It differed from the sky she normally saw above the Imperial Capital. She rarely paid attention to the stars’ positions, yet even she could tell how far they had traveled.
“Oh, right! Hey, Sera!”
Nemu grinned mischievously.
When Sera turned toward the voice, Nemu crouched by the water and plunged one hand into the sea.
“What are you—Nemu! Don’t splash me!”
“Fufufu! It’s your fault for lowering your guard!”
The two girls abruptly began playing, and Charlotte soon joined them.
All three splashed about at the shoreline. Watching them, Kaito smiled at Vayne.
Both boys looked somewhat tired.
“Do those three never run out of energy? I feel like I could fall asleep standing up.”
“We spent the entire day exploring the cave. The scenery is beautiful, so perhaps they wanted to enjoy it before leaving.”
“Maybe. Still, seawater is the natural enemy of my shield.”
“I heard it was made from a special metal. Can it still rust?”
“Sure. It just takes a ridiculous amount of time.”
Kaito sat on a large rock lying on the sand. Another stood nearby, and Vayne took that one.
The girls continued playing happily.
“By the way, Licia Clausel was unbelievably strong yesterday.”
“She uses the Mighty Sword Style and appears to have reached the rank of Swordmaster.”
“Right. If someone with that level of ability used the Sacred Sword Style instead, she’d be comparable to a Sword Saint. How does someone our age become that strong?”
“…She must have worked extraordinarily hard.”
Licia possessed natural talent, but her effort surpassed even that.
Vayne exchanged a smile with Kaito and felt his own determination deepen.
He rose from the rock and walked toward the girls.
Kaito watched his back and privately wondered which of them would eventually capture Vayne’s heart.
Setting that question aside, Vayne called to the three still playing.
“Everyone, we should return soon.”
“What? Vayne, you should play too—ah! Sera! I was talking!”
“You were the one who let her guard down this time, Nemu!”
“Fine! If that’s how you want it, I’ll fight seriously!”
“Um… both of you… it’s already late…”
As the water fight continued, Charlotte Rofelia gave Vayne an alluring smile.
“Give up.”
“I can’t. Those two are completely absorbed in—ah!”
“You left yourself open, Sharo!”
“…Very well. I accept your challenge! Witness the brilliance of Rofelia Style Archery!”
Whether archery would help in a water fight was questionable, but Charlotte’s aim would undoubtedly be excellent.
Abandoned by everyone else, Vayne surrendered and joined their game.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
The following morning, the five returned to the same cave.
They had been visiting it for several days, both to explore and to train.
They repeatedly fought monsters whose extermination had been recommended and advanced farther than on the previous day.
At noon, they stopped to eat the food they had brought.
They rested by torchlight when Kaito began explaining their next formation.
“So in the next fight, Vayne and I should move farther forward and—”
Kaito had been sitting on a conveniently placed rock. Before finishing his sentence, he suddenly rolled off it.
“Eh?”
His broad gestures had thrown him off balance.
“W-Whoa!”
“Kaito!”
He tumbled down the nearby slope.
Because he concentrated on protecting the food in his hand, he could not recover his balance properly and released a strangely weak cry as he rolled.
“No problem!”
When Kaito finally stopped, he triumphantly raised the food overhead. Not a single bite had been lost.
He climbed to his feet, grinned, stuffed the remainder into his mouth, and swallowed before placing one hand against the nearby wall.
“An ordinary accomplishment for someone like me.”
“Kaito sometimes says the strangest things with complete confidence,” Nemu observed.
“Thanks, Nemu.”
“That wasn’t praise, but fine.”
A sharp clatter interrupted them.
A pebble rolled from the stone wall.
Then the rocks composing the wall began collapsing little by little, centered on the rough section Kaito had struck with his hand.
The ground beneath him started trembling.
Water running along the wall broke into droplets and splashed against their cheeks.
Charlotte was the first to react.
“Kaito! You pushed far too hard!”
“She’s right! Wait—this isn’t the time to argue, Nemu!”
“Y-Yeah! This might actually be dangerous!”
At worst, the cave itself could collapse.
The five hurried away, but fortunately the disturbance affected nothing beyond that section of wall.
Kaito had already raised his great shield when he stared ahead in surprise.
“Eh?”
“What is this? It looks like a passage continues beyond the wall.”
A path that had not existed before now stood open, and a faint current of air passed through it.
The tremor had broken the false wall and revealed the hidden route.
“Sharo, you said you memorized the cave map, didn’t you?”
“I did, but this passage wasn’t on it.”
“Judging from the way it appeared…”
“Yes. It seems to have been deliberately concealed. What should we do? Shall we investigate?”
All five nodded almost simultaneously. They finished packing away their lunch, tightened their focus, and entered the newly revealed passage.
The space beyond differed from the rest of the cave.
Silver particles of mana shimmered from the floor, walls, and ceiling.
They walked for more than ten minutes before reaching a smooth stone corridor.
Every surface gleamed as though meticulously polished. The chamber beyond formed a perfect sphere, so precisely shaped that it could only have been made by human hands.
Something floated at its center.
Kaito was the first to whisper:
“…It can’t be.”
“Kaito, what is it?”
“Look at the object floating over there.”
“What could it be…? It resembles a shield.”
The object emitted the same silver mana particles as the passage, but in far greater concentration.
A thick crystal wall surrounded it and prevented anything from approaching.
Stunned, Kaito stepped forward.
“It matches the description in the old records. That has to be…”
One of the Seven Heroes had protected Hero Ruin and fought beside him against the Demon King.
That hero was Kaito’s ancestor, and this was the great shield he had wielded.
“The legendary shield used by my ancestor—Airia!”
Although Ren was not present, one of the relics he knew as Hero Equipment had revealed itself after several centuries.
Kaito was a descendant of House Leonaal—and the wielder Airia had chosen.
The great shield once carried by Light Leonaal selected Kaito as its new master.
The crystal wall surrounding it began to crumble.
A new page in Leomel’s history was about to be written.