Kays Translations

Chapter 12: A Shelgadian and a Dwarf Meet.

She was so close that Kaito almost collided with her as soon as he turned around.

“Fgh… Impressive, Kaito! To notice me approaching you—truly, you are a man who carries Leonaal blood!”

“Well, I’m happy to hear that, but… what were you doing behind me, Liz?”

“I saw you slouching lazily, so I thought I’d give you a little poke in the ribs. But because Kaito suddenly turned around, my nose bumped right into you. It kind of hurts, actually.”

Kaito gave the still-red-nosed girl a rather noncommittal, “O-oh. I see.”

The girl, however, soon had tears in her eyes.

“I-it hurts…”

Ren couldn’t help but chuckle as he observed the situation.

“Are you okay?”

“I-I’m fine… This isn’t a big deal. It’s much better than Baba-sama’s training.”

“I imagine House Arkei is strict when it comes to teaching magic too.”

“Humu, you knew about my family name?”

There was nothing strange about Ren knowing her family name. She came from a famous lineage.

“Lino Arkei, one of the Seven Heroes, laid the foundation of modern magical education. Her name appears all over our textbooks.”

Lino Arkei was a magician who had defeated the Demon King alongside Hero Ruin. Even at her young age, Lizred was already an expert magician, and the destructive power of her spells made her indispensable to the party.

In other words, she too was one of the descendants of the Seven Heroes. Her name was Lizred Arkei.

Lizred nodded approvingly at what Ren had said.

“And yet Charlotte treats her like a little sister and uses her as a body pillow.”

“H-hey, hey, hey! Don’t tell someone I’ve just met such embarrassing nicknames! If you’re picking a fight, I’ll take you on even if it’s you, Kaito!”

At a glance, it simply looked like an older male student teasing a younger girl.

Fortunately, the nearby students who had been watching them seemed to see nothing more than a group of friends fooling around.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

During lunch break, Ren was unusually having a conversation with Radius at the school cafeteria.

They were drawing some attention, but the two of them didn’t seem to mind.

“So, she’s quite lively.”

“To think you’d encounter the Arkei family’s daughter so soon.”

“I wouldn’t call it an encounter. I just happened to be standing next to Leonaal-senpai.”

As Radius listened to Ren’s explanation, one corner of the cafeteria began to get crowded.

Kaito, Vayne, Charlotte, and the much-discussed Lizred had entered the cafeteria. It was only natural that they drew attention, especially with the currently famous Vayne walking beside members of other Hero Houses.

They—or rather, Lizred—spotted Ren. She let out an “Ah!” and immediately hurried toward him.

But when she noticed Radius beside Ren, her feet stopped as if her entire body had frozen from nerves.

“Radius, did you do something?”

“Why would I do anything? I’ve never even talked to her.”

Ren was obviously joking. He knew the reason. Lizred was just surprised when she saw Radius.

“I’ve already eaten, and I need to head to the library. I have some work to discuss with Mirei, the new staff member.”

“So, Mirei-san is part-time staff for situations like this?”

“That’s right. Sorry, but I have to go.”

“Got it. See you later.”

Radius really did have business elsewhere, but leaving also spared Lizred further discomfort. He rose from his seat and walked out of the cafeteria without paying any attention to the surrounding stares.

Lizred hesitated for a moment, then slowly walked over to Ren. A few steps behind her, Vayne and the others followed.

“I apologize for the commotion this morning.”

Lizred gave a small but proper bow, one so crisp it almost seemed to make a sound.

“I am Lizred Arkei. As you already know, I am a descendant of Lino Arkei—and I am a fairly impressive magician myself.”

Charlotte didn’t let that go unnoticed.

“Liz, aren’t you embarrassed to call yourself a great magician?”

“…That’s why I said ‘fairly great,’ didn’t I? Also, it’s a bit embarrassing when you point it out like that, so could you please not mention it?”

“Alright, alright. I’ll refrain from doing so in the future.”

“Honestly… Charlotte’s body is the only thing that keeps growing. If you want to become a lady who can conduct herself properly anywhere, you need to learn consideration for others too.”

“You can relax. I’m considerate toward everyone except Liz.”

“That’s a strangely unsatisfying response… Let’s leave it at that for now.”

Their conversation ended, and Lizred regained her focus on Ren.

“I have a favor to ask of you, Ashton-senpai.”

It was unusual. Ren had rarely been called that before, since until now he had not had any younger students he was close to.

“A favor from me? And you already knew who I was?”

“I have plenty of reasons to know Ashton-senpai, just as you had reasons to know me. In particular, House Arkei has the wor—… I mean, quite a history with Mighty Sword Style users!”

“…Because Mighty Sword Art: Star Slaying makes people like us natural enemies of magicians?”

Mighty Sword Art: Star Slaying was an Art that used Mantle to cut through even magic. Mastering it was also proof that its wielder had reached Sword Adept, meaning anyone capable of using it was already highly skilled with a blade. To magicians, who were usually weak in close combat, such swordsmen were natural enemies.

“Yes, that’s it! It’s cheating!”

“Well, even if you call it cheating, the one who created that technique was the Lion King himself.”

“…Guh. Even I can’t say anything to the Lion King!”

Lizred had not actually come to complain about Mighty Sword Style users. The conversation had simply drifted off topic, and it was time to return to the favor she wanted to ask of Ren.

“Well, you see…”

She began with a formal preface.

“Would you like to come to Windea with us during the upcoming holiday?”

“I don’t think I can.”

The unexpectedly quick refusal left Lizred with her mouth slightly open, as though all the strength had drained out of her.

Her reactions were interesting, so Ren couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Why not!? Tell me why!”

“I already have plans for that time, sorry.”

“Ugh… P-plans…”

She seemed somewhat deflated.

Ren did not explain the details of the Emblem Contract.

“Then… I can’t force you, right?”

Surprisingly, Lizred gave in gracefully and turned her back to Ren.

She started walking away with large strides, heading out of the cafeteria.

“Let’s go, Kaito. We have the training we promised for lunch break!”

“Wait! Why do you think we came to the cafeteria? First, we should have lunch!”

“Oops… That’s right. Sorry.”

Amidst their lively exchange, Vayne, next, turned to look at Ren.

“Sorry for springing that on you. We heard the rumors about you and thought it would be nice if you came with us.”

“I’m glad you think highly of my skills, but I’m sorry. Like I said earlier, I have plans too.”

“That’s alright. I also wanted to go with you, but it was a bad idea to make such a sudden request.”

Ren was planning to travel to the same destination as Vayne and the others, but keeping the two groups separate suited his purposes better. There was little else he could do. They accepted his refusal even without hearing the details.

There was also one more descendant of the Seven Heroes in the first-year Special Class who was not present.

With that, all the descendants of the Seven Heroes had finally gathered at the academy. Ren saw no need to seek out the last one deliberately; since they were students at the same academy, they would probably meet sooner or later.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

After several test flights, Lemuria’s repairs were officially judged complete. After school on the day Ren met Lizred, Werlich stood in the Hanging Garden dock with one hand on his hip and thrust a sheet of paper toward Ren with the other.

“We hereby recognize Lemuria and authorize it to fly in all airspace except the designated restricted zones.”

All required inspections had been completed. Lemuria was now authorized to fly through Leomel’s skies for purposes other than test flights.

Using magic-ship docks required coordination with the various cities, but because that meant dealing with local lords and officials, Lessard handled those arrangements.

Several of those arrangements had already been completed without issue.

“And with that, Lemuria is fully operational again!”

It looked the same as when Ren had seen it before, yet today Lemuria somehow appeared even more imposing.

Ren stared intently at the permit that Werlich had thrust forward. Next to him, Ragna, who had come with him to this place, was looking at Lemuria with great interest.

“I’ve heard rumors about this ship. A foolish member of the imperial family supposedly made it unusable—is this that Lemuria? It’s even more magnificent than I imagined.”

“Oh, oh! You’ve got a good eye, young man!”

“Yes. It’s beautiful. And knowing that the Dragon Vein Furnace I gave Ren is being used aboard this ship doesn’t feel bad at all.”

“Hm? That Dragon Vein Furnace was yours?”

“That’s right. I gave it to Ren as a reward, but this is a far more useful application than I imagined. Commendable.”

While Ren read the permit, the two men who had only just met struck up a conversation beside him. Both had difficult sides to their personalities, but perhaps because they were unconventional in similar ways, they seemed to get along surprisingly well.

This was after Werlich and Ragna had introduced themselves.

“Werlich-san, we’d like you to take us somewhere during the upcoming long weekend. Would that be possible? We already have Lessard-sama’s permission.”

“Sure thing! We can fly wherever we want now!”

Ren gave Ragna a sidelong glance and left the explanation to him.

“Ren accepted an Emblem Contract from me. I could have prepared a magic ship myself, but Lemuria is clearly the better vessel, so we were discussing whether we could use it for the trip.”

“I see… Well, an ordinary magic ship wouldn’t stand a chance.”

It was more than simple confidence; Werlich sounded completely certain that no ordinary magic ship could compete.

“That’s fine. Please continue.”

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