Kays Translations

Chapter 17: The Ring of the Goddess of Water.

Deep within one of the rocky gaps in the mountainous mass that formed Windea, Ren and Ragna entered a passage resembling a cave. By this point they were outside the territory of the Azure Deer of the Ancient Land, so it no longer pursued them.

Green-glowing ore lay embedded throughout the rock as the two followed the cave-like passage and continued talking.

“We went out of our way not to touch the plants made with Nature Magic, so why did it target us so quickly?”

“Maybe they were in a bad mood?” 

“Well, I can’t deny that.” 

Even so, the mana released by the Wind Crystal should have been excellent bait for a monster like that.

“Or maybe they were after the Wind Crystals in your bag, Ragna-san.”

“No. The inside of my bag is isolated from the outside. It’s specially made to hold far more than it appears to, so I doubt it could sense what was inside.”

“Then maybe it really was just in a bad mood.”

They continued onward without reaching an answer. The passage was wide enough for five or six people to walk abreast, and the green-glowing ore embedded throughout the cave kept their footing visible.

(What’s this?)

Something about the scene bothered Ren. The ground looked trampled, while the cave walls and ceiling had been gouged or broken in irregular places. Someone had clearly entered before them.

Ren remembered no such event from Legend of the Seven Heroes and raised his guard. Ragna noticed the damage as well, and the two continued deeper.

After a little over ten minutes, they reached the cave’s deepest chamber. The round open space measured more than twenty mel in both height and diameter. A spring spread out a few steps ahead, reaching roughly Ren’s knees, and its water shone a beautiful blue whenever it rippled.

This chamber also bore signs of being trampled and damaged, with traces of shattered rock scattered around.

At the center of the spring stood a polished blue crystal gleaming like cut glass. Inside it rested a ring imbued with the power of the Goddess of Water.

The ring could also be obtained in Legend of the Seven Heroes, where equipping it strengthened water magic—but—

“This situation seems strange too,”

Ragna said.

Ren waded toward the center without caring that the water soaked him. The beautiful blue crystal that should have rested there was covered in countless scars, as though swords or other weapons had been hammered against it.

However, the ring that had rested inside it remained. 

Did someone try to take it by force?

There had been no such event in Legend of the Seven Heroes either. The Demon King cult came to both their minds, but they had too little information to be certain.

However, with too little information, they couldn’t be sure. 

Ragna’s problem now was how to take out the ring.

“It looks as though someone tried to force the ring out of the blue crystal, but failed.”

“…It looks that way.”

“In that case, there’s a high possibility that even if we try to extract it, the same result will occur.”

“No, it should be fine.”

Ren said this with a knowledgeable look, then quickly corrected himself.

“Um… I think we should try bringing the Wind Jewel closer. Like you said, Ragna-san, Windea’s wind and water have a strong affinity.”

Perhaps, that way, they might be able to reach the Ring of the Goddess of Water, or so he implied.

The Wind Jewel was an exceptionally rare treasure, with only a handful existing in the world. The Ring of the Goddess of Water was unique—there was only one.

Ragna had hesitated to take the ring out of the blue crystal, but then he said, “It can’t be helped.”

“What’s important is that someone tried to forcibly take it out,” 

The man who disliked the gods sighed deeply and said before prompting Ren.

“Your idea is worth trying. Better for us to take it than let troublesome people do so. As a member of the Bureau of Mysteries, I can’t overlook this.”

Ren knew the Ring of the Goddess of Water could safely be removed. He took the Wind Jewel from Ragna and approached the blue crystal without hesitation.

As a precaution, he maintained a position that protected Ragna.

“Look… It seems to be working.”

“Yeah, it looks that way.”

As soon as the Wind Jewel neared the blue crystal, it released a gentle green wind.

“It’s a situation that I don’t quite understand, but it’s an interesting phenomenon.”

The wind enveloped the blue crystal. It erased the faint scars across the surface and then drew the Ring of the Goddess of Water out from within, almost as though sucking it free.

It seemed like it was being swept away by the wind.

After that, the ring fell into the water a few seconds later.

“Well, it’s been quite a mysterious journey.”

“Ragna-san, we’re not done yet because we still have to go back.”

“Oh… right.”

Ren reached toward the Ring of the Goddess of Water where it had fallen into the water. Then—

“Huh?”

The Ring of the Goddess of Water moved before Ren could touch it.

It rose from the water on its own and floated before his eyes.

The ring released shining blue particles of mana. As Ren wondered where they were going, they streamed into the crystal set in his bracelet.

It all happened during the brief moment Ragna had looked away.

・Water ■ Sword ■■——■

For an instant, Ren thought letters had appeared in the bracelet’s crystal, but they vanished before he could read them completely.

Ren immediately looked at the crystal again, but the text that appeared was unchanged from what he had seen during his visit to Roses Caitas.

“Ren, what happened?”

“Oh, nothing. The ring suddenly floated up, so it surprised me.”

“Yeah, I understand. I’m hesitant to touch it so easily, but…”

“It should be okay. Look.”

Ragna carefully stored the Ring of the Goddess of Water in the box he had brought, and Ren entrusted its safekeeping to him.

“I’ll report this to the relevant parties.”

“As someone from the Bureau of Mysteries?”

“Exactly. But since the Demon King cult may have been after it, I’ll handle the information carefully. You should do the same. By the way, who have you told about this Emblem Contract?”

Ren told him that Licia, Fiona, Lessard, and Ulysses knew.

Ragna thought for a few seconds, then said he would send letters to those people as well. It was essentially a request to keep the matter confidential.

“In that case, why not ask Radius to investigate?” 

Radius’s innate ability might have been able to detect traces left by Demon King cultists in the area.

Ren proposed this, but Ragna rejected the idea.

“No. At this point, there won’t be any traces left to investigate. I know Radius’s ability well—I helped him train it. Even if we went to fetch him now, too much time has passed.”

“Ah… then you’re definitely right.”

Ren accepted Ragna’s certainty.

There was also the practical problem that bringing Radius all the way to a place like this would be difficult both physically and given his position.

“I’ll contact you later with any progress, including the repair of that key. Come to think of it, this may explain why the Azure Deer of the Ancient Land was so wary.”

“Is it a remnant of someone sneaking in here?”

Ragna nodded. 

“It’s still just speculation, though. So maybe they were more cautious of intruders than the Wind Crystals.”

In the end, it was only a theory. The main evidence was the many scars on the blue crystal and the disturbed state of the cave.

Ren had a nagging feeling that something else might happen.

(For now, I should also check the temple.)

Ren was worried about Vayne and the others.

“Shall we go to the temple and check on the spring?” 

“Sure, why not.” 

“Thank you. Well, there should be someone else at the spring.” 

“Someone else? Who would be in a place like this?”

“My friends.”

“Imperial Military Academy students? They don’t seem like ordinary students, though.”

“Absolutely. They’re the ones rumored to include a descendant of Hero Ruin.”

“I see. That’s interesting.”

Their destination wasn’t too far away.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

Vayne and the others were even higher up.

They had struggled considerably to reach this point. Although they were on a high mountain path, water running over Windea’s bare rock sometimes formed rivers without any sand or soil.

Brightly colored fish like those seen around coral reefs swam in the water. Some were considered delicacies and gave Vayne’s camping party an unexpectedly fine meal.

At some points they had to cross those rivers. The current was strong, and monsters appeared as well, forcing them to stop again and again.

There were places where the wind had a deep shade of green, forming walls.

Working together, they broke through those natural fortresses while searching for a route onward.

“Over there.” 

Charlotte said it with conviction.

Charlotte Rofelia was a master archer who also excelled at wind magic, making her ideally suited to read Windea’s currents and atmosphere. Her judgment had helped Vayne and the others repeatedly along the way.

Standing on the edge of a cliff, feeling the wind blowing outside the mountainside, Vayne wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“We’re almost there.”

“Finally. Seriously… I want a real bath, not another shower from a magic tool.”

Charlotte gave a wry smile, then immediately grinned mischievously.

“I know. How about I take one with you when we get back?”

“Don’t say weird things! Come on, we need to think about the next path!”

“Hmm… so once you’re done thinking, it’s okay?”

“That’s not it!”

Vayne denied it at once, then pulled himself together and resumed studying the surroundings.

To Charlotte, Vayne’s profile looked completely different from the boy she had known a year earlier. She found herself staring.

“It’s so different from back then,” 

She whispered softly, so softly that Vayne couldn’t hear.

She meant the period before preparations for the Lion King Grand Festival had begun.

At a party Charlotte had attended, Sera had told her about Vayne again and again. Sera clearly thought highly of him; Charlotte had even thought her friend might be in love with him.

But when Charlotte first met Vayne, he hadn’t looked dependable at all. She had even doubted whether the stories about his strength were true, and she never imagined her first impression would change.

“Nice to meet you, Vayne-kun.”

She had greeted him when they first met, though she knew she had sounded rather indifferent.

She had no interest in Vayne himself. At most, he was simply the boy her friend Sera seemed to have feelings for.

Even after they spoke several times, that impression didn’t change.

However, there was an incident that served as a turning point.

“Where is it?” 

She asked in frustration.

She had a necklace that she cherished from her childhood.

It had been passed down by her grandfather and was usually worn except during baths and sleep.

One night, she realized it was missing before her bath. She searched her room and even scoured the mansion but couldn’t find it. She ventured outside the mansion, searching the garden and the front gate, but it was nowhere to be found.

“I see.”

“I’ll let you know as soon as I find it.”

The next day, she checked the academy’s lost and found, but it hadn’t been turned in. Vayne, seeing her in such a state, decided to talk to her.

“Rofelia-senpai, what’s wrong?”

“Oh, um, just looking for something.”

“If you’d like, can I help?”

This was the lost-item event Ren had remembered earlier.

They searched and searched until the sky turned pitch black after school. 

Charlotte had dropped the necklace when its chain broke while she was walking through the Imperial Capital. Someone picked it up and tried to sell it through a trading company involved in shady dealings.

Vayne and Charlotte struggled to recover it, eventually fighting the corrupt merchant’s guards before finally bringing the incident to an end.

“Haa…Haa… You went too far…”

“It’s not just me. Charlotte-senpai did too.”

“I know, but… Ugh, we’re going to get scolded together!”

That was when Charlotte’s view of Vayne changed. She saw how fearlessly he faced danger—and how he protected her.

The boy her friend had feelings for had become something more to Charlotte herself.

After the incident, members of the Hero Houses and Sera gave them a severe scolding for acting recklessly.

“Vayne, Sharo, no more reckless stunts! Got it!?”

“Yeah… I understand. I apologize.”

“I’m sorry too. I went off and did all sorts of things without asking.”

They had been desperate to recover Charlotte’s necklace and had been swept into a fight before there was time to call for help. Both of them repeatedly apologized afterward.

“Sharo-senpai and I just… really wanted to do something about it…”

“Sh-Sharo-senpai?”

Until the day before, Vayne had called her Rofelia-senpai. Now he had skipped over using her given name and gone straight to a nickname.

“W-Why did the way you call her suddenly change…?”

“Ah! Sharo-senpai said I could call her that.”

“…I see. Fine. Then you’ll have to tell me all about that too.”

“What!?”

The change in how Vayne addressed her caused another little commotion, but that was a story for another time. Looking back, Charlotte remembered it fondly.

“Sharo-senpai?”

Charlotte had been staring at the grown Vayne’s profile. Concerned by her silence, he called to her.

“Nothing. Boys really do grow up fast.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“I mean, you’re a boy too, Vayne-kun.”

“…Uh, okay.”

Vayne never did understand why Charlotte was in such a good mood. For now, though, they had to focus on the route ahead.

As the two considered how to proceed—

—

A great cry that sounded like a monster echoed from somewhere, accompanied by the crash of something enormous colliding.

“Charlotte-senpai, did you hear that noise just now?”

“I heard it. Just to be safe, let’s hurry and meet up with everyone.”

Vayne and Charlotte exchanged a look and remained on guard. They quickly rejoined the others, but nothing else happened.

Once they reached the elevation where the temple stood, everyone dropped to the ground at once, resting bodies exhausted by the difficult route.

Fortunately, among the seven descendants of the Seven Heroes was a user of healing magic. They recovered quickly and were back on their feet within half an hour.

Next to Vayne, Lizred approached. 

“What do you think that loud noise and roar from earlier were?”

“Kaito-senpai mentioned it too, but it might have been monsters fighting.”

“It was definitely a loud noise. If it was monsters fighting, it means powerful monsters. We need to be cautious on our way back.”

They too had explored the route as they climbed. Because they had moored the magic ship Deus higher than Lemuria, they had needed less time for the ascent.

“Hey, Vayne!”

Vayne answered Kaito’s call and headed over. The temple there was large, its complicated construction following Windea’s distinctive jagged terrain.

In places, arches extended from steep rock faces; elsewhere, stone annexes stood atop pillars of natural rock. The temple had no true walls, giving it an open feeling beneath rows of thick columns.

“Well, let’s go.”

“Go where?”

“Come on, Vayne, it’s obvious. Why did we come here?”

Kaito laughed heartily and turned toward one corner of the plaza. There lay the spring they had come to see.

Stonework dominated the temple, but a small garden-like area lay nearby. Trees grew thickly around it, and flowers of many colors caught Vayne’s eye.

The wind around seemed to be flowing toward that spring.

“Vayne,” 

Sera called to him.

“Let’s go. We need to confirm if the legend is true.”

“Yeah!”

Vayne’s expression tightened with resolve, his face gallant and his steps strong.

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