Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 21: Licia and Fiona (After Several Years)
On a holiday, they were inside a carriage moving aimlessly through the capital.
Three people were inside the carriage: Ren, Radius, and Ragna, who came to share information about the status of the key’s repairs.
Right now, Radius was informing the other two about an incident where a temple in a certain country had been attacked.
“As requested by Ren, I’m doing whatever I can to investigate.”
It would have been best if Ren could have stopped the attack—or at least known where the enemy would appear and warned them to prepare—but even Ren didn’t know how the Demon King cult would move in foreign countries, and he couldn’t predict it.
“Even the Holy Palace Knights dispatched from the Holy Land were completely wiped out. The temple turned into rubble, and all the holy relics stored there were confirmed to be either destroyed or taken away.”
“How did you get this information?”
“We used various methods. Hiding our sources, among other things.”
Without measures like that, other countries might never share their information. Even on the same continent, every nation had secrets, so it couldn’t be helped.
“What else? Do we know more about the extent of the damage?”
“There’s one more thing. According to people who managed to escape from the town, the man who came had the appearance of a noble. Even though he was pierced by the Holy Palace Knights multiple times and burned by magic, he never died.”
Ren briefly fell silent in thought. He was picturing a certain person—a powerful member of the Demon King cult. The timing was almost exactly when that individual appeared in Legend of the Seven Heroes, giving Ren one likely answer.
He remembered the priest he had thought about before.
“It’s the Demon King cult. Maybe that man ordered his subordinates to target the Ring of the Goddess of Water.”
Even as he said it, Ren was convinced the man was a Demon King cultist.
He wanted to share what he knew with Radius as soon as possible. While Ren was thinking about it, Ragna spoke.
“Then he’s an exceptionally powerful Demon King cultist. He may be plotting something. If that was the man searching for the Ring of the Goddess of Water, it concerns me.”
Ragna spoke up.
“The cave Ren and I found had been thoroughly ransacked. There must be a reason they want the Ring of the Goddess of Water so badly. On the other hand, the fact that we removed the ring is classified. The Demon King cult probably doesn’t know, so there’s a good chance they’ll return for it. They’re a strange lot, collecting sacred relics.”
“I agree. If we can make these predictions and still do nothing, that would be foolish.”
“But it’s also dangerous.”
Ren interjected, and both of them turned their attention to him.
“Hey Radius, do you have any idea how strong this person might be?”
“It’s difficult to say, but he’s clearly on a completely different level from the Demon King cultists we have faced before. Holy Palace Knights are all formidable warriors. Even if the strongest fighters of the Lion’s Holy Office attacked him together, I can’t imagine what the outcome would be.”
“…Then we can’t simply decide how to move against him.”
Ragna sighed.
“Radius must be thinking the same thing. There are countless things to consider, including military preparations.”
“…That’s right.”
They had no intention of taking the matter lightly, but neither would they lose their composure.
The discussion ended there for the moment, and Ragna changed the subject.
“About the magic tool that points to Mudi’s hideout. There was a broken key, remember? The repairs should be finished in less than a month, but… What is it, Radius? Why are you looking at me so suspiciously?”
“Sorry. I wasn’t doubting you. I was only surprised that the repair would take that long.”
“That only shows how carefully the key was made. From what I can tell, Mirim Altia probably made it too.”
“Then both the key itself and the materials needed to repair it must be extremely valuable.”
“Exactly why I want to know what lies ahead. We’re still deciding how to handle the Ring of the Goddess of Water, but for now, we’ll continue borrowing its power for our purposes.”
“Afterward, it’ll probably remain under secret management.”
“No doubt.”
That concluded everything they had wanted to discuss that day.
All that remained was to stop the aimlessly roaming carriage somewhere, let Ren and Ragna out, and go their separate ways. Ending things that abruptly felt rather lonely, however, so they continued with some casual conversation.
“The Imperial Castle Conference is coming up. What are your plans?”
“I’ll attend the conference from the first day through the last. I plan to appear at the party as well.”
“I’m only attending the party. Lessard-sama invited me.”
“How about you, Ragna?”
“I won’t be going. Right now, I’m only interested in repairing the key.”
“I see. You’re not worried about the Demon King cult?”
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned, but I’ll leave the Demon King cult to you. I’ll do what I should be doing. Simple enough, isn’t it?”
“That’s very much like you, Ragna.”
Their calm conversation on that peaceful morning continued for another half hour.
“What will you do from now on, Ren?”
“I’m going to the academy.”
“The academy? It’s a holiday, you know?”
“I know. But Licia and Fiona-sama are there, so I thought I’d go see how they’re doing.”
This morning, Ren had brought Licia to the capital, and before boarding this carriage, he had taken her to the academy.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
It was a little before one in the afternoon.
Ren hadn’t heard the details, but he assumed Licia and Fiona were probably studying in the library.
However, when Ren arrived at the school gate, Edgar, who was waiting for him, called out.
“Ren-sama, Licia-sama and Fiona-sama are at the training ground.”
“The training grounds? Why are they there?”
“If you’d like, it might be better for you to see for yourself.”
With those words from Edgar, Ren followed him, still curious about what was going on.
After walking a few minutes to the training ground, Ren found an entrance standing half-open.
“—Huh?”
A deafening impact rang out, and cold air drifted around his feet.
Then he heard:
“Y-You can still fire more!?”
“Y-You’re one to talk, Licia-sama! How many spells are you going to cut through!?”
He heard the voices of the two girls and hurriedly stepped into the training ground.
“This time it’s from me!”
“I-I can’t lose either!”
Licia swung a training sword with light, graceful movements.
Her opponent was Fiona. Just as when Ren had first met her, Fiona excelled at ice magic.
This was different from the ice-based combat techniques Edgar had once shown Ren. Fiona’s ice appeared in midair, sprang from the ground, and at times became a glittering frozen wind like diamond dust.
…Amazing.
Ren could only marvel at the beautiful battle. Before he knew it, he had forgotten to wonder why they were fighting and simply watched, captivated.
Licia, a Swordmaster, could use Mighty Sword Art: Star Slaying just like Ren. Even so, ice magic she couldn’t completely cut away kept closing in on her.
The exchange looked evenly matched, but the end came in an instant.
“…I win.”
“…I lost.”
Fiona’s back dropped onto the training-ground floor. Licia stood over her, sword poised above her.
Ren applauded almost without realizing it.
At the sound, Licia offered Fiona a hand and pulled her up. The two brushed the dirt from each other’s uniforms, then came over to Ren.
While they did, Ren turned to Edgar.
“So, how did this situation come about?”
Ren asked Edgar.
“The two of them are concerned that the Demon King cult has been growing more active.”
Licia wanted practice fighting magic, while Fiona wanted practice fighting swordsmen. Since both were highly capable, they had decided that training each other in areas where they were comparatively less experienced would be useful.
The two girls finished their exchange and came to Ren’s side.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Ren.”
“Sorry, Ren-kun. Thank you for waiting.”
Their impressive battle still lingered vividly in Ren’s mind, especially Fiona’s fighting style, which he hadn’t seen in some time. After praising how well they had fought, Ren asked Fiona something that had just occurred to him.
“By the way, Fiona-sama, who teaches you magic?”
“I’ve studied under Chronois-sama for a long time. Edgar gives me guidance sometimes too, but mostly it’s Chronois-sama.”
“I see. That explains it.”
When Ren thought of truly powerful magicians, Chronois was unquestionably the first person who came to mind.
After catching their breath from the first bout, the two girls began a second. Ren stepped away for a while and headed from the training ground to the academy cafeteria.
Staff were present even on holidays, and the cafeteria remained open for students taking part in various activities.
He chose several light dishes, had them packed into a paper bag, and returned to the training ground. Licia and Fiona had just finished their final bout. Outside, dusk was already falling, making it a good time for a light meal. He had brought cold drinks too.
“So, here you go.”
They could simply have sat in the training-ground chairs and eaten, but the two girls cared deeply about Ren, and they had only just finished training. There was something they wanted to take care of first.
“Um… We have to wash off the sweat first!”
“Y-Yeah, that’s right!”
“Ah, I understand. I’ll wait here with Edgar-san.”
They hurried off to wash away the sweat in the shower room attached to the training ground.
Left behind, Ren sat with Edgar and waited for Licia and Fiona.
They passed the time over tea and casual conversation.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
After their showers came the time-consuming task of drying their hair.
Both Licia and Fiona took pride in their long hair, and drying it completely was no small task.
It wasn’t the first time they had been in a similar situation. Previously, Licia had simply let Fiona comb her hair. Today they first dried it with magic tools, then took turns running a comb through each other’s hair.
The shower room beside the training ground was clean and bright, its walls covered in white tile. A little steam still hung in the air as the two sat side by side before a large mirror.
“…”
“…”
Several quiet minutes passed while they finished getting ready.
As they did, they talked about their recent lives. Licia spoke of training with Estelle almost every day at the Lion’s Holy Office, sharpening her skills as she worked toward becoming a Sword Saint. Fiona spoke of how often she studied magic under Chronois.
Both had accumulated countless hours of training beyond what ordinary people their age would ever attempt, reaching a level far beyond their peers. This was their first time sparring with each other like this, but they had enjoyed it enough to want another opportunity.
“Next time, I’ll win.”
Fiona, who had lost, declared it firmly.
“No. I’ll win next time too.”
Licia answered at once.
“…Still, this was the first time we’ve had a chance like this, so I got a little carried away.”
Fiona said it with a cute, embarrassed smile, and Licia could only agree. She too had felt a kind of tension in their bout that she had never experienced before.
But something else about Fiona’s words caught Licia’s attention.
“…Was it only because this was a kind of sparring you’d never done before?”
Their eyes, which had met through the mirror until then, parted. Fiona deliberately looked away, hiding her expression from Licia.
“Ah! Don’t look away! It was because Ren came too, wasn’t it!?”
“I-I don’t know! What are you talking about!?”
Fiona’s voice visibly trembled.
“Your voice is shaking! Look at me when you answer!”
Perhaps because her guard was down, or because the excitement of the spar still lingered, Licia retorted in the same casual tone she normally used with Ren. She remembered doing something similar years ago when the two of them first shared the fact that they loved him.
But Licia quickly looked apologetic and said, “Sorry.”
At once, Fiona turned back to her.
“Please don’t worry about it! I actually like it when you talk to me like that sometimes, Licia-sama!”
Fiona really was unfair—cute, beautiful, and so sincere.
“Then… what would you do if I talked like this all the time?”
Licia asked playfully, deliberately exaggerating the idea as a joke their current relationship allowed.
It was meant as a joke, yet Fiona considered it seriously. She touched an index finger to her lips and thought for several seconds before giving an answer that left Licia bewildered.
“…In that case, being called “sama” might start to feel strange. Maybe “san”—or no honorific at all—would feel more natural.”
“…That doesn’t answer the question, though.”
Licia and Fiona. The relationship they had once discussed in the girls’ dormitory several years earlier still seemed complicated and simple at the same time.
Neither of them could put into words exactly what that relationship was.