Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 9 – Aboard the Guardian Knight [1]
Since the afternoon had been set aside for self-study, Ren headed for the small room at the back of the library that he had used while serving on the Lion King Grand Festival organizing committee.
Radius was alone in the room, which they still used from time to time even after the festival.
“Ren.”
Ren stepped inside and took his usual seat.
He had been thinking that this would be a good opportunity to mention the invitation Ulysses had brought him the other day.
“—That’s the situation.”
Ren explained that Ulysses had invited him aboard the Guardian Knight and that he would be taking a railway journey in November.
“Would it be possible for you to introduce me to the person you mentioned while I’m there?”
“Certainly.”
Radius nodded.
Ren, Licia, and Lessard did not have every moment of their stay in Eupheim scheduled. Much of the trip was intended to let them relax—to spend something resembling a holiday in Eupheim.
There would therefore be no problem with Ren leaving them for a while.
“I’ll tell them about you in advance. I’ll also arrange to be there that day. I’ll travel to Eupheim by magic ship, so keep that in mind.”
“Hm? Radius, aren’t you—”
“I declined Ulysses’s invitation. It is not really an occasion that requires a member of the imperial family. Besides, I have another matter to attend to, and I want to devote myself to it until the last possible moment.”
“I see. Is it something I can help with?”
“No. Do not concern yourself with it. This is one matter I cannot ask you to handle.”
His voice still carried the same fatigue Ren had noticed the other day.
Apparently, however, it was not another complication involving the Demon King cult.
“To put it simply, it is a family matter.”
There was something suggestive in the way Radius said it—and something in his tone that sounded almost relieved that the matter had finally reached this point.
Ren could hardly press a prince for details about an imperial family matter, so he smoothed over his curiosity as he usually did.
“I doubt many families have matters as complicated as yours.”
“I cannot disagree.”
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
Several days passed.
The largest station in the Imperial Capital was more crowded than Ren had ever seen it.
Those gathered around him were guests Ulysses had invited from every region and faction.
The much-discussed Guardian Knight was larger than any conventional magic train. Unlike older trains, it had two levels, and both its height and width had been expanded to the greatest dimensions the station could accommodate. Its streamlined body seemed to proclaim that it belonged to an entirely new generation of vehicles.
During the ceremony, Radius delivered congratulatory remarks as a representative of the imperial family.
Before long, the invited guests began boarding the Guardian Knight.
“This is for you.”
Receiving it directly from Radius would have attracted attention, so an Imperial Guard knight handed Ren the envelope instead.
It looked expensive even at a glance.
“His Highness instructed me only to say that it is a letter of introduction.”
Understanding immediately, Ren looked toward Radius, who stood some distance away.
“Thank you.”
“Think nothing of it.”
They communicated with nothing more than the movement of their lips. Radius then left the station with his guards.
Ren and Licia boarded the train with the other guests.
Not long after departing, the Guardian Knight began accelerating rapidly. It left the city behind in moments and sped toward Eupheim, its final destination.
Watching the scenery outside change almost from one instant to the next was fascinating.
Lessard and Weiss were aboard as well, but they were spending the journey separately. Ren and Licia instead visited a carriage designed to serve as a café by day and a bar at night.
“It’s incredible. We’re moving this fast, but the train hardly shakes at all.”
“As expected of the newest model.”
Fiona followed their exchange with an elegant smile.
“Hee hee. I’m glad you’re enjoying yourselves.”
The three of them were together because Fiona had invited Ren and Licia there.
One entire wall of the carriage was formed by an enormous pane of glass, allowing the passengers to take in a sweeping view of the landscape outside.
They were enjoying a leisurely conversation when the carriage door opened.
“Licia, so this is where you were.”
Sera stepped inside. She too had been invited aboard the Guardian Knight.
She was wearing her academy uniform—as were Ren, Licia, and Fiona.
They had attended supplementary lessons before the ceremony that morning and had boarded the train without changing. Ren remembered seeing several other young nobles in academy uniforms as well.
(What should I do?)
Ren had no objection to Sera joining them. Still, he had realized that he was now the only boy among four girls. He enjoyed speaking with them, but decided to ask a question anyway.
“Sera, is Vayne here too?”
“Yes. He came as my escort. He went to the observation carriage with Kaito a little while ago.”
This carriage already offered an excellent view, but the observation carriage Sera meant had glass extending across the ceiling as well.
It sounded worth seeing.
“Then I think I’ll take a look at the observation carriage.”
The corridor outside was busy with invited guests.
Among them were boys and girls wearing Imperial Military Academy uniforms, along with students from other academies whose families had likely been involved in the railway project. They were children of the people who had helped bring the Guardian Knight into service.
“Let’s see…”
Ren made his way through the guests and continued down the corridor.
When he opened the door to the observation carriage near the rear of the train, he found it even more crowded than the café carriage. Even so, he quickly spotted Vayne and Kaito.
“Oh?”
Kaito, seated beside a window, noticed Ren and waved him over.
“Ashton! Over here!”
It was a conspicuous way to call someone, but Ren paid it no mind and approached their seats.
Naturally, both Vayne and Kaito were still in uniform.
Ren sat beside Vayne, facing Kaito. A board game resembling chess had been set out on the table between them.
“Do you want to play too, Ren?”
“No, I’ll just watch.”
As he spoke, Ren reached into his pocket and took out a small paperback.
“You’ve brought another unusual book, Ashton.”
Ren had bought it at a bookstore in the Imperial Capital several days earlier, when he and Licia stopped there on their way home from the academy.
“It’s interesting. Would you like to read it, Leonaal-senpai?”
“Do I look like the kind of man who would willingly read a book?”
“…I’m not sure how to answer that, so I’ll refrain.”
“Nwahahaha! Sorry, sorry.”
Vayne noticed the title in Ren’s hands.
“Even a Little Boar Can Understand! Basics of Magic Ships…?”
“Yes. As the title suggests, it explains the basics of magic ships.”
After helping with Lemuria’s repairs, Ren had become interested in books of that sort. There was no deeper reason than that.
He knew almost nothing about magic ships, but once he began reading, he found the book surprisingly engaging.
“You read books like that too, Ren?”
“Sometimes. I thought I’d read while watching the two of you play.”
Neither Vayne nor Kaito objected. Like friends who understood one another without needing to say so, they simply continued sharing the same space.
Ren turned the pages, occasionally glancing at the game.
“All right! Again, Vayne!”
“Of course. I won’t lose the next one either.”
As their heated rematch began, their voices gradually seemed to recede from Ren’s awareness. He had become absorbed in the book.
“Oh… Wait! That move—!”
“We’re… competing… fairly…”
“I’m not… losing…”
The battle beside him grew increasingly intense, but Ren remained motionless and silent.
At some point, tea appeared on the table before him. It must have been brought by one of the carriage attendants.
Ren repeatedly lifted the cup to his lips and set it down again. By the time he had finished it, Vayne and Kaito had begun their third match.
“By the way…”
Kaito spoke in his usual casual tone, without any particular emotion.
Even so, his words drew Ren’s attention away from the book.
“I heard the Pope ordered the Elfen Church’s greatest fighting force to mobilize. Apparently, they’re finally taking the fight against the Demon King cult seriously.”
“What? You mean this is an operation led by the Elfen Church itself?”
“That’s what I heard, Ashton.”
“…You’re serious?”
The Elfen Church worshiped Main God Elfen.
Ren was astonished to hear that its highest authorities had begun moving their strongest forces.
“A temple somewhere was attacked before the Grand Clock Tower incident, wasn’t it? The rumor is that a sacred treasure was stolen. The Elfen Church can hardly overlook something like that.”
Kaito was referring to Elfen’s Tears, a sacred treasure that had been kept in one of the Church’s temples.
“Does the Elfen Church know where the Demon King cult is moving?”
“Possibly. They have branches all over the world, so they may have learned something through that network.”
“That would make sense.”
At times like this, the worldwide reach of an organization such as the Elfen Church revealed its true strength.
Ren emptied his cup. The moment an attendant noticed, another serving of tea was poured for him.