Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 16: The Deer That Governs Nature.
The obstructing plants in their path were all growing downward. Only the natural path remained, leading further into the depths.
Seeing this, Ren and Ragna simultaneously sprinted.
“You’re in quite good spirits, Ren!”
“It’s just a coincidence!”
Heh… I see.
The natural path was constructed of thick branches, leaves, vines, and other unreliable materials. Running on it dulled their sense of footing, and Ren noticed that it swayed gently, similar to a suspension bridge.
The two kept running without paying it any mind. The path beneath them never stopped moving—not only because they were pounding across it, but also because the monster that had created it was moving its vines and tendrils in pursuit of the mana released by the shattered Wind Crystals.
Flying monsters cried out in alarm at the sudden changes. Ren ran ahead of Ragna, cutting away ordinary branches and other plants that weren’t part of the monster’s creation with his Mithril Magic Sword.
There really are a lot of them…!
The branches and leaves had grown in a place untouched by human hands. They were troublesome in a different way from the guardian’s Nature Magic.
Ren grew more tense as he ran.
“Ren! We’re almost inside Windea!”
“I know! Just one more push!”
The natural path vanished partway through, and walls of Nature Magic created by the guardian appeared everywhere. Branches and vines shifted to eliminate the intruders—Ren and Ragna.
“Sorry, but you’re going over there!”
This time Ragna hurled the Wind Crystal in his hand behind them. The same chain as before appeared and shattered the second crystal, causing the plants ahead of them to move as well.
Many of the plants stretched toward the place behind Ren and Ragna where the Wind Crystal had burst. Even some of the plants created by Nature Magic suddenly changed direction.
Even the complexly interwoven branches and layers of vines.
Everything the guardian had created was far sturdier than ordinary vegetation. All of it moved at once, crossing in front of Ren and Ragna.
“It’s quite the force!”
“Ragna-san, are you okay?”
“No problem! But… heh, this reminds me of crossing a certain sea.”
Ragna was remembering an experience from his travels: a school of fishlike monsters had attacked the deck of a ship at sea. They leaped from the water like bullets, trying to prey on the people aboard. He remembered it as the strange sensation of a headwind turning into a barrage of projectiles.
The current situation resembled that time.
Any collision with the rushing branches, vines, or other moving plants could have torn deeply into their skin. Yet the two slipped through the chaos with nimble movements, avoiding everything before it could touch skin or clothing.
They had devised this route precisely to avoid a troublesome battle. This fantastical world of bare rock and tangled vegetation should have been almost behind them.
Soon!
They would soon be through this path.
But…
“――――”
A rumbling tremor shook the space just as Ren began to smile. The mana released by the second Wind Crystal should have captured the attention not only of the native plants, but also of the guardian that had created this place.
Ren instinctively stopped, and Ragna halted a moment later. They stood back-to-back. By then, the plants that had been moving like bullets had been completely drawn toward the mana released by the Wind Crystals.
The remaining threat was the guardian.
“Oh.”
Ragna sighed.
Only a few hundred mel remained to their destination. Yet both the way forward and the route they had just crossed were now blocked by a mass of plants manipulated by the guardian’s Nature Magic.
“It seems like our plan has been exposed.”
“It looks that way, but… it’s strange. It could make prey of us, sure, but the Wind Crystals should be far more appetizing.”
“I think the same, but the situation is what it is.”
“…Right. I understand.”
Ren knew the guardian would unleash its fury on intruders. The Wind Crystals were supposed to be the means of avoiding that wrath, while the Wind Jewel was what they needed to obtain the Ring of the Goddess of Water. This reaction was completely unexpected.
“…I don’t know why, but we can’t afford to escape from reality.”
“That’s right.”
It felt as though they stood inside an enormous spherical world.
Two tiny humans stood upon an unreliable foothold.
From below their position emerged a beautiful monster with pale blue, faintly luminous fur. It bounded across nearby rock and created a thick branch platform close to Ren and Ragna before landing there.
It resembled a deer, but its size and magnificent coat made it clear that it was no ordinary animal. Its branching antlers looked nearly three mel long, matched by a tall, graceful body.
It struck a rock once with a foreleg, and wind tinged with green mana spread outward like ripples across water.
—
The monster spoke in sounds humans couldn’t understand: the Azure Deer of the Ancient Land.
For centuries it had claimed part of Windea as its territory and ruled the surrounding region.
It was neither savage nor evil. Instead, it was known almost as a guardian spirit, protecting Windea’s ecosystem and only rarely showing itself to humans.
But it showed no mercy to anything that disturbed its territory. It had subdued countless intruders with powerful Nature Magic. The raised foreleg had likely been a threat—or a warning to leave at once.
However…
“I’m sorry, but we have business further ahead.”
With battle now unavoidable, the Bag Traveler moved first.
Facing the creature, Ragna extended his hand and summoned chains in the air to bind its two antlers.
—!
However, the chains were instantly severed by some force and dissipated. Ragna chuckled at the creature’s swift reaction.
“Not an opponent I can handle casually, then.”
“I’ll manage somehow.”
“Yes. But defeating it would affect Windea’s ecosystem. I’d rather we only drive it off.”
“Or we could leave its territory, but we don’t have that choice.”
The Azure Deer of the Ancient Land kicked off a thick branch and leaped. When its body landed on the unstable path beneath Ren and Ragna, the footing swayed harder than ever.
It immediately aimed its antlers at them. The wind-aspected mana around the antlers was so dense that the scenery nearby seemed to blur.
Without saying anything, Ren stood in front of Ragna.
“While maintaining distance, let’s move forward.”
“Can you do it?”
“I’ll figure it out. Once we find what we’re looking for, we can get out of here quickly.”
“I don’t mind. So, in other words, Ren will handle everything until the end?”
“That’s right! I’m here for that!”
Ren stepped forward with force, and the Azure Deer of the Ancient Land advanced as well. Its two enormous antlers could have overwhelmed a boy of Ren’s size, but the Sword Saint of the Mighty Sword Style showed no fear and never looked away.
Ignoring the swaying footing, they closed in within seconds.
Ren deflected the Azure Deer of the Ancient Land’s antlers with his Great Tree Magic Sword.
—!?
Seeing the surprised creature in front of him, Ren shouted,
“Ragna-san, now’s the time!”
“Yeah!”
The pressure of the Mighty Sword Style reached even the creature’s mind, making the Azure Deer of the Ancient Land stagger and lose its balance.
That stumble opened a gap in the plants blocking the way, and Ragna seized it, dashing past the creature’s huge body.
The Azure Deer of the Ancient Land shot Ragna a sharp glare, but—
“You’re facing me!”
Ren’s pressure allowed no further distraction and forced the creature’s attention back onto him.
From above, below, from the left, and from the right.
Nature Magic came at Ren from above, below, left, right, and nearly every other direction he could imagine. He drew a deep breath.
Instead, Ren used the enemy’s own magic against it. He left the path, grabbing hanging vines, tendrils, and branches—and sometimes using them as footholds—to lure the Azure Deer of the Ancient Land after him.
The Azure Deer of the Ancient Land accepted the invitation and moved, setting its antlers again.
This time the power gathered around its antlers had sharpened into an even fiercer wind.
Perhaps because of that magical force, the scenery around the antlers blurred and the space itself seemed distorted. The mana it had first stirred up had become even denser.
A wind flow around its antlers that seemed to pull nearby objects in.
…This might be bad!
Ren gave a dry smile, dismissed the Great Tree Magic Sword, and summoned the Mithril Magic Sword. Touching that wind directly would probably leave him badly injured.
A green flash suddenly erupted. The Azure Deer of the Ancient Land streaked past with wind coursing over its whole body, leaving green light rushing toward Ren.
Ren endured the gale that threatened to blow him away and called out:
“I’m sorry… I’ll be back soon!”
Before being engulfed by the green flash, he swung his Mithril Magic Sword sideways.
A technique with a special advantage against magic—Mighty Sword Art: Star Slaying.
The surrounding wind and green flash dissolved into ordinary mana, leaving only the Azure Deer of the Ancient Land charging at a speed beyond the wind. Many plants created by Nature Magic vanished as well, stripping Ren of handholds and branch platforms.
However, it didn’t bother him. The battle had never been unfavorable.
Shuu—!
The Azure Deer of the Ancient Land thrust its antlers forward, breathing hard and glaring at Ren with even greater hostility.
Even against a charge faster than the wind, Ren caught its antlers on his Mithril Magic Sword in a position like locked sword guards.
The power of the Mighty Sword Style gathered heavily in both his hands.
—!?
Ren met the Azure Deer of the Ancient Land’s astonished gaze.
Keeping eye contact, Ren forced the Azure Deer of the Ancient Land sideways and slipped clear of its charge.
The Azure Deer of the Ancient Land dropped under gravity, but immediately created a new foothold with Nature Magic and looked back up at Ren.
This time, the eyes of the guardian were shining like green jewels.
“Ren! Come over here!”
Ren returned to the original platform and caught up with Ragna, who was advancing ahead.
With the Azure Deer of the Ancient Land crying out behind them, the two pressed onward without looking back.
As they neared their destination, Ren felt as though the Water Magic Sword inside him was trying to tell him something.
Nature Magic repeatedly pursued them from behind, but Ren erased it each time with Mighty Sword Art: Star Slaying as they continued along the path…