Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 1: The Shadow Doesn’t Disappear
An endless cloud of dust obscured the view. Rubble from collapsed buildings covered the ground, leaving scarcely anywhere to stand.
Until only a few hours earlier, a city belonging to a small nation had stood here. Unusually for the conflict-ridden Martell Continent, it had contained an ancient and venerable temple staffed directly from the holy land on the Elfen Continent.
Now, not a trace remained of the city it had once been.
“Is it over?”
“Yes. At last.”
“To think a force of that magnitude would move… The Demon King cult must be planning something.”
The speakers were clergy.
Every one of them was skilled in both magic and swordsmanship—elite members of the Elfen Church and formidable fighters in their own right.
On the war-torn Martell Continent, they sometimes served as protectors for pilgrims as well.
They had gathered beside a section of stacked stone brick that had once been the wall of a house.
There, they watched a man who had been crucified against it.
Sacred spears and swords used by the clergy, along with stone spikes created by magic, pinned him in place.
“How many of us did he kill?”
“There may be no survivors besides us. Not after this devastation.”
“O Chief God Elfen… bless your children…”
They mourned their fallen brethren and glared at the crucified man with hatred.
Then, in the instant all three of them looked away from him almost simultaneously—
“Wh—what…?”
A spear they themselves had used was suddenly protruding from one clergyman’s chest.
A second, still reeling in shock, was impaled by another weapon.
The last survivor looked back at the crucified man. Though a stone spike still pierced the center of his chest, the man remained pinned to the wall with a smile on his face.
The clergyman hurriedly drew a sword polished in the holy land.
“My apologies, but this body is not so easily killed.”
The man snapped his fingers. An arm formed from black mana surged out of the ground and swept the clergyman’s legs from under him.
He crashed down, and the destruction did not end there. Nearby houses that had not yet fully collapsed gave way and buried him beneath their rubble.
Half-submerged in debris, the clergyman glared up at the man—and realized something.
“I see… You are… the Regenerator…”
The young, dignified man wore slacks and could easily have been mistaken for a noble from a great nation. His pure-white shirt was spotless, with two buttons open at the collar. As he stepped down, the clothes that should have been torn apart by the weapons piercing him restored themselves before the clergyman’s eyes until they looked brand-new.
He took a handkerchief from the breast pocket of the waistcoat over his shirt and wiped the dust from his glasses.
Though most of his body was buried, the clergyman continued to glare at him.
“Fool…”
Blood mixed with grit ran across the clergyman’s forehead and cheeks as he addressed the man cleaning his glasses.
“May divine punishment fall upon the Demon King cult…”
“…”
“Our god will surely—”
“You should keep your mouth closed. Surely speaking is painful.”
The man did not even look at him.
He simply continued wiping his glasses.
“Divine punishment is a very convenient phrase. No matter the circumstances, it gives you clergy something upon which to anchor your hearts. Yet at the same time, you have effectively declared that God is absent. The fact that no divine punishment falls here is proof enough.”
“Such arrogance… befitting the Demon King cult…”
“My, my.”
The man laughed.
“That is another useful phrase. How arrogant are those who mistake the glory of their god for power that belongs to themselves?”
After cleaning his glasses and putting them back on, he folded the handkerchief into a neat square and returned it to his waistcoat pocket. Without so much as glancing at the clergyman, he walked away.
A few days later, the man vanished from the Martell Continent.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
Some time later, in a certain city of Leomel—
It was far more urban than Clausel, though still not on Elendil’s scale.
A beautiful silver-haired girl walked along a street bustling with its daytime market.
Several black streaks ran through her silver hair. Together with her captivating, jewel-like eyes of different colors, they gave her an appearance that should have drawn every gaze.
Yet no one paid her any attention as she moved through the crowd, even when shoulders brushed. Men whose eyes happened to meet hers were naturally captivated, only to lose sight of her the instant they blinked.
“Foolish children. Even if they target this country—Leomel—His Majesty will not return.”
The girl spoke despondently around the frozen sweet in her hand, then fell silent with lingering regret.
The sadness hidden within her elegant smile had nowhere to go and remained sealed inside her heart.
She noticed a man sitting on a bench beside the street and sat down next to him.
The man glanced at her from the corner of his eye and briefly doubted what he was seeing. He was a handsome man with the polished air of a city dweller, a gentle manner, and an amiable appearance.
He was also the same man who had been on the Martell Continent only days earlier.
“Why are you here, my lady?”
“Who knows? I have no obligation to tell you.”
Though nervous, the man concealed it and continued.
“This is a fortunate opportunity. There is something I would like to ask you.”
“I cannot promise I will answer, but go ahead.”
“That is more than enough.”
The man swallowed nervously, his Adam’s apple bobbing.
“Well? Is something wrong? If you have something to say, say it.”
Perhaps he had hesitated too long. The girl knew why he was struggling to speak, but deliberately said nothing and instead smiled softly.
“We detected an abnormality in Giant God’s Messenger Wadatsumi, which we released into the waters off Eupheim. Might you have done something to it?”
“And what would you do if I had?”
“Nothing in particular. I merely wished to confirm it.”
“Hmm. Is that all? What a boring question.”
The man gave a strained smile at her dismissal.
“Why did you operate so covertly in Eupheim?”
“I was not trying to operate covertly. I dislike the Seven Heroes, so I merely went looking for their equipment. Then I happened across Giant God’s Messenger Wadatsumi and gave it a magic stone. There was no deeper purpose.”
“How unfortunate. We had hoped you might have chosen to cooperate with us.”
“How foolish. Did you truly believe I would help you?”
The girl turned a languid, alluring gaze upon him.
“I answered your question. Now will you answer one of mine?”
“Yes.” The man gave a short reply and nodded.
“Are you still searching for the hidden treasure said to lie somewhere in Leomel?”
“Naturally. We must obtain it at any cost if His Majesty is to return.”
“…I see.”
The moment she heard the answer she wanted, her voice turned cold and indifferent, betraying none of her lingering attachment. She appeared to have lost almost all interest.
“If nothing has changed since before, then do as you please.”
“Oh? You seem uninterested.”
“I am. That is why I do not act together with the rest of you.”
The girl rose from the bench and headed toward a quiet alley. The man still had more to discuss, so he followed. Without looking back, she spoke.
“I will carry on His Majesty’s will in my own way. Do not interfere.”
“But—”
The girl turned to face him.
“If you interfere with me, I will drain every last drop of life from you.”
A cut had appeared on the man’s cheek without his noticing. Her right hand had been relaxed with its fingers extended, but she slowly curled them toward herself one by one, beginning with her little finger, in an alluring gesture. At last, only her index finger pointed toward his cheek.
Blood, mana, and life force were being drawn from him little by little. When the gesture was complete—
“Please, enough games.”
“A game or a warning—which do you think it is?”
“…”
“I do not mind if you consider it a game. But are you capable of playing with me? I doubt anyone but His Majesty could.”
Not that I have any intention of playing with anyone other than His Majesty.
After adding that, the girl lost interest in the man and restrained her power.
This time, she truly began to leave.
“Where are you going next?”
“To Windea.”
“…I see.”
The man looked faintly concerned.
“Since the incident involving Elfen’s Tears, you have been gathering sacred relics with unusual determination.”
“That, too, is for His Majesty’s return. Still… if you would assist us as you did then, everything would proceed far more smoothly.”
“I helped only because I disliked the Elfen Church. Nothing more.”
The girl offered no reply and disappeared into the shadows of the alley.
The man adjusted his glasses by the bridge and looked up from the alley. A magic ship crossed the boundless blue sky high above, trailing clouds behind it. Watching it, he became certain that the appointed time was drawing near.