Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 33: The Sword Saint Once More
The boy had fallen asleep in front of the shrine without realizing it.
The battle itself had seemed manageable, but once it was over, he realized just how much power he had expended.
Before opening his eyes, he retraced how he had ended up like this.
After the battle, he had gone to the shrine to apologize for the damage. Then his exhaustion had reached its limit, and the excessive drain on his mana had sent him into a sleep much like unconsciousness.
It was probably the combined strain of using the Sword Demon’s Art and the powers he had gained upon becoming a Sword Saint.
Still, there was one thing he could not explain.
The back of his head rested against something soft and warm.
When he opened his eyes, he understood at once.
“Good morning, Ren-kun.”
Ren had awakened with his head on Fiona’s lap. Calmly taking in the situation, he murmured, “I see…”
Her silky hair swayed in the sea breeze and brushed his cheek.
“I’m sorry. Aren’t you doing something rather extraordinary for me?”
“P-Please do not put it so formally. You are making me nervous…!”
Fiona answered with a bashful smile. Ren smiled back and sat up.
“How did you get here?”
“We came aboard that warship over there.”
Several warships surrounded the isolated island while their crews inspected the island and nearby waters.
They had arrived only ten or so minutes earlier.
Fiona had come looking for Ren and found him asleep on the stone paving around the shrine. Wanting to do at least something for him, she had offered him her lap as a pillow.
Ren truly did seem to have a peculiar affinity for lap pillows.
Whether he himself had noticed was another matter.
“Ah…”
Fiona looked at the Flame Magic Sword planted in the stone paving and asked,
“Is that the one I saw in the Baldor Mountains…? No, is it a little different?”
“It is different. The other one was far grander—an extraordinary magic sword. I still do not know how to summon it, though.”
“A magic sword…?”
Ren had already told Licia about his power that summer, and both Chronois and Radius had discerned that he possessed some mysterious ability.
This seemed like a good opportunity to tell Fiona as well.
“It is a magic sword. You saw me use this special power several times in the Baldor Mountains. It is called Magic Sword Summoning.”
“Ren, is this the power you asked me to keep secret when we descended from the Baldor Mountains…?”
“Yes. The power is called Magic Sword Summoning.”
He explained Magic Sword Summoning to Fiona just as he had once explained it to Licia.
Like Licia, Fiona had already seen his magic swords many times.
She had therefore suspected that they were connected to a special power unique to Ren.
Now that he had entrusted her with the truth, her expression softened with unmistakable happiness.
“Thank you for telling me.”
After sharing the secret, Ren felt pleasantly relieved, as though a weight had lifted from his heart.
Chronois had told him that summer that continuing to hide such secrets from those closest to him would be difficult and would eventually weigh heavily on him.
She had been right.
While they were talking, Estelle approached.
“Are you awake, Ren?”
The formidable woman wore her usual confident smile.
Ren considered the question for a moment.
“Which kind of awakening do you mean?”
“Both, naturally.”
“Then I am happy to say that both awakenings went well.”
He had awakened both as a Sword Saint and from his exhausted sleep.
“That is good to hear. You produced quite a beautiful melody.”
“Melody?”
“Did you not hear the sound coming from your body? It was the resonance between your Mantle and your mana. Once your body adapts, it will cease. The state in which that sound rings out is described as ‘the Sword Saint sings.’”
“Oh… That sounds rather impressive.”
Fiona and Estelle laughed at his carefree admiration.
Ren finally rose and offered a hand to Fiona, who had lent him her lap moments earlier.
“According to Fiona, this shrine has ties to the Lion King.”
“Eh? Is that so?”
Fiona explained the rest.
“When the Lion King was alive, his ship was wrecked and he washed ashore on this island. Believing that the Goddess of Water had protected him, he ordered a shrine to be built here.”
“There could hardly be a more fitting place for a Sword Saint to awaken. The Lion King must be offering you his blessing as well.”
Intrigued by the unexpected history, Ren looked toward the shrine and nodded thoughtfully.
“In the end, why did that creature appear here?”
“I came because I believe we may be able to learn the reason. Let us inspect the interior.”
At Estelle’s urging, Ren followed her deeper into the shrine.
Perhaps because of his exhaustion, he stumbled after only a few steps.
The Black Shrine Maiden reached out from beside him, supporting him with a gentle smile.
“Thank you.”
“Please do not worry about it.”
Ren looked faintly embarrassed.
The unsteadiness lasted only those first few steps, and he continued under his own power.
The shrine was a plain, austere structure built of stone.
An altar had once stood at the rear, but it had been destroyed, revealing a hidden staircase beneath it that descended for some distance.
Estelle proceeded without hesitation.
Ren and Fiona followed her.
“Impressive. It is rare to find so many ancient magical formulas laid out in one place.”
Traces of numerous magical traps and protective spells remained.
Symbols covered the walls, floor, and ceiling, but every one of them had lost its power.
According to Estelle, someone had forcibly destroyed the enchantments, leaving the inscriptions as nothing more than patterns.
At the bottom of the stairs lay a small underground chamber.
Several treasures had been scattered across it. A carved pedestal stood at the center.
Estelle studied the carving.
“Perhaps the Lion King believed his arrival on this island to be the blessing of the Goddess of Water and offered an Undine magic stone here.”
Undine was a water spirit, and the carving depicted her form.
In ancient times, spirits were said to reveal themselves far more often than they did in the present age.
When a spirit died, it left behind a magic stone. The people of Leomel in that era treasured such stones.
“As an offering to the Goddess of Water, nothing could be more suitable.”
Rare though it was, it was still a magic stone.
It held no inherent power like Hero Equipment. Beyond using it to fuel a magic weapon, it was difficult to find any practical advantage.
Estelle continued,
“It is obvious that someone infiltrated this place.”
“Yes. The Giant God’s Messenger Wadatsumi I fought was stronger than an ordinary specimen.”
“So you have properly studied the normal species as well. As diligent as ever.”
Ren cleared his throat and chose not to acknowledge that he had let privileged knowledge slip.
“It grew stronger because someone fed it a powerful magic stone, correct?”
“Correct. From the intruder’s perspective, feeding Undine’s magic stone to a subordinate monster was far more useful than allowing Leomel to expend it in a magic weapon.”
Given more time, Wadatsumi might have grown even stronger.
“That settles the immediate question.”
“Are you already finished, Estelle?”
Fiona asked.
“The fact that someone infiltrated this shrine proves that the enemy was searching for something—most likely Hero Equipment. Since Airia was discovered near Eupheim, they may have believed that other relics were sleeping nearby. That is my assessment.”
If the Demon King cult regarded the Seven Heroes’ equipment as a threat, it would naturally want to remove or destroy those relics.
That likely explained why an attack had been arranged here.
(Come to think of it…)
No attack connected to Airia had occurred in this region in Legend of the Seven Heroes.
At this point in the first game, however, Ulysses had already been cooperating with the Demon King cult.
If the cult had wanted to investigate the area then, it could have done so without launching an attack.
There was another possibility as well.
(Maybe the stone was originally meant to become an offering for Asval’s resurrection.)
After considering how Undine’s magic stone might have been used, Ren exhaled quietly.
The three climbed the stairs and returned outside.
The sun was already descending in the winter evening sky.
“The Glacier Crossing stirred up monsters not only in the northern continent but throughout other seas as well. Food was plentiful, so all the conditions needed to strengthen Wadatsumi were present.”
“Then did the attackers deliberately take advantage of the Glacier Crossing?”
The disturbances in Eupheim’s waterways had also been caused by Wadatsumi’s influence.
With abundant water sources and a broad coastline, Eupheim and the surrounding region were especially vulnerable.
As Wadatsumi waited offshore for the attack, its power had subtly affected the movement of the water.
“The influence was so slight that even investigations with magic tools could not identify it. Today, as Wadatsumi approached Eupheim, that influence intensified. The waves inside the city appeared because its mana disturbed the magical currents drifting through the water.”
“But the abnormalities in Eupheim’s water were first observed in autumn. Airia was discovered afterward, so the timing does not quite match.”
“Your observation is correct, Fiona, but the Demon King cult had probably begun preparations in advance.”
Airia’s discovery merely gave the cult a reason to direct the prepared attack here. Otherwise, it would likely have unleashed Wadatsumi somewhere else.
A more detailed investigation would follow, but Estelle declared that this was the most likely explanation.
Ren accepted that answer and looked up at the sky.
Then Estelle asked him another question.
“Ren, what do you think triggered your advancement to Sword Saint?”
“I was hoping you might be able to tell me.”
“Hmm… I do not know. You have already survived many battles in which your life was at stake. You fought beside Licia, and—although I do not know the details—beside Fiona in the Baldor Mountains as well.”
“Well, about that…”
Seeing Fiona’s discomfort, Ren gave only a vague reply.
“You need not answer. I am merely drawing my own conclusions.”
Estelle continued.
“If that is so, the experience of risking your life was not enough by itself. Perhaps you required a different kind of experience.”
They followed the path from the shrine toward the coast.
“Yes!”
Surprisingly, only ten or so seconds later, Estelle stopped and nodded.
“Ren, before today, had you ever fought a truly powerful enemy entirely alone?”
“Huh?”
The unexpected question left Ren blinking in surprise.
In every desperate battle he had fought, Licia or Fiona had been beside him.
That had been true against Yelquq, Asval, and even the Sword Demon.
(…)
He might never before have defeated an opponent he considered truly powerful by himself.
Once Estelle pointed it out, the answer seemed obvious.
“If not, perhaps some part of you had never fully acknowledged your own strength.”
“What do you mean?”
“You may have been trapped by the belief that, because you had never defeated a powerful enemy alone, you still had far to go. It was not exactly self-contempt. Rather, you suppressed the ferocity you were capable of displaying and granted your opponents too much deference.”
“So I was unconsciously holding myself back.”
“Something like that. The timing was also favorable.”
His experiences that summer had given him the power required to become a Sword Saint.
Then this battle changed how Ren perceived himself, allowing him to reach the rank for which he had already become qualified.
Defeating an unmistakably powerful enemy through his own strength and his own sword had made Ren stronger once again.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
They eventually returned to Eupheim aboard a warship and paused at the harbor. Estelle, Fiona, and Ren stood together amid the commotion in the city.
Ulysses had been occupied with the emergency response, but he finally returned to them. Although he had already thanked Ren aboard the warship, he expressed his gratitude once more.
“Still, I never imagined you would become a Sword Saint.”
Ulysses spoke with evident delight.
“It is unprecedented for a student to reach Sword Saint in the Mighty Sword Style.”
Edgar added,
“Even I was astonished. I can scarcely express how grateful I am to have heard such a beautiful melody.”
“N-No, please… I could only reach this point because everyone has helped me so much.”
While they were speaking, a knight approached Estelle. Calling his report urgent, he knelt before her with tension written across his face.
“Lord Leonaal and his companions fought Giant God’s Messenger Wadatsumi.”
“Continue.”
Estelle urged.
“Yes. Lord Leonaal and the others repelled Wadatsumi. There were no casualties, and everyone is safe.”
Ren smiled wryly when he realized that their battle had ended as it had in Legend of the Seven Heroes. He was relieved that Vayne and the others were safe, but the report was not finished.
“The creature fled to waters one or two hours from Eupheim by magic ship. Requests have arrived from several regions asking the Director to deal with it.”
“I am afraid I am on vacation. The fact that I came aboard my own magic ship should have made that clear.”
Estelle replied.
“Eh, uh, well…”
“His Highness himself endorsed this leave. It was practically an order, and I would rather not disobey him.”
She could not have been entirely serious; Estelle was grinning. Fiona and Ren exchanged amused glances.
Then Ren said,
“Estelle.”
Interrupting a conversation between a knight and the Director was ordinarily unthinkable, but Ren could not remain silent.
“Is your promise to train me still in effect?”
“Of course. I intended to spend this entire vacation looking after you.”
“Then I have rested quite a bit. Shall we go?”
The knight still did not understand, but everyone else had already grasped Ren’s intent.
“There happens to be a conveniently powerful monster nearby. I would not object to going hunting.”
“Then, please do.”
Ren and Estelle began walking side by side. Defeating the creature that had escaped would protect Eupheim, so there was no reason to hesitate.
The knight finally realized that Estelle’s refusal had been an act and sighed in relief.
“Ren, please wait.”
Fiona took his hand and stopped him. With her handkerchief, she wiped a trace of soot from his cheek. She wanted to accompany him, but she understood what responsibilities awaited her in Eupheim.
“Please be careful. If anything happens, I will fly to you immediately.”
“I will be fine. Estelle will be there, so there should be no need for me to do anything reckless.”
“Honestly, Ren…”
After exchanging those parting words with Fiona, Ren turned to leave.
“Ren Ashton! Are you truly certain?”
“I am. I want to test this new sensation again before I forget it. Ah, but there is one thing I would like to ask.”
Ren stopped on his way toward the magic ship terminal and looked back. Despite how exhausted he had appeared upon returning to Eupheim, no trace of that fatigue remained now.
“I will be back soon. When I return, I would like something delicious to eat.”
“—”
Leaving that modest request behind, he turned away again.
“Ha-ha-ha-ha! Of course! I will have as much prepared as you could possibly want!”
And so Ren headed for another battlefield.
As they walked through Eupheim,
“Still, Estelle, the way you spoke just now was rather mean.”
“I know. But His Highness truly did speak as though it were an order. I did not wish to defy him, so I wanted an excuse.”
“I suspected as much.”
They blended into the crowd as they continued through Eupheim.
After a short walk, they met Werlich, who was standing beneath a streetlamp.
“Hey, Ren.”
“Werlich, it feels as though it has been a while.”
“It does. Still, I hear you have done something incredible.”
“Perhaps. I will explain aboard the magic ship.”
“Alright! I’m looking forward to it!”
The magic ship terminal was not far from there.
Night drew steadily nearer.
“By the way, Ren, how does it feel to spend your winter vacation exterminating a monster that attacked the country?”
“How does it feel for you to spend your vacation doing the same thing, Estelle?”
Estelle was momentarily speechless. Before she could answer, Ren continued.
Their white breath vanished into the sea breeze.
“I once said something in front of Radius.”
It had been during the incident at the Grand Clock Tower.
“I said I would become a lion capable of crushing everything in my path.”
Was he truly becoming stronger in the way those words demanded?
As he reflected on how much he had grown that day, Estelle answered.
“Yes. I believe you can become that lion.”
The Sword Saint once more headed for the battlefield.