Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 22: Even in their second year, it seemed that the pharmaceutical classes were still challenging.
On that morning, Ren had a dream. It felt like a continuation of a dream he had once glimpsed on the day he received Ragna’s emblem with the mark.
It was unfolding in a hazy, dreamlike world.
“Finally, I found you,”
Ren Ashton said at night in a town.
He spoke to a girl walking across a large bridge in the middle of town.
“You are…”
The girl who turned around was incredibly lovely. She had silver hair with black mesh mixed in, and her hair swayed gently as she turned. She looked at Ren and smiled as if she knew everything despite it being their first meeting.
“Good evening, Ren Ashton,”
she welcomed him.
“You’ve found me quite easily.”
“I don’t want to waste time. Just answer what I ask.”
“Oh, you’re a cautious one.”
The distance between the girl and Ren Ashton was about ten miles, but they could close it in an instant, making it almost nonexistent.
“But is it okay? If a fugitive like you walks so openly, you might get caught.”
“That might be true, but I wanted to talk to you.”
“I see,”
she responded thoughtfully.
The girl then said.
“Don’t worry. I’ll kill anyone who tries to interrupt our conversation.”
Ren Ashton insisted, “I don’t need you to do that.”
However, the girl merely laughed.
“Right. Let me introduce myself first.”
“No need. I already know about you.”
“Don’t be so harsh. I wanted to introduce myself since I’m doing it willingly. Can’t you just listen?”
“………”
Ren fell silent.
It felt like she was a noblewoman from somewhere. In the middle of the bridge, in the quiet night, the girl curtsied to Ren Ashton, demonstrating refined manners. She smiled and said.
“I am…”
But then, the world Ren saw became increasingly blurred. The girl’s voice turned into mere noise, and everything began to drift away before he knew it. Finally, a shock akin to being hit in the back of the head forcefully woke him up.
“Huh…!?”
Ren woke up with heavy perspiration on his body. He sat up in bed, feeling disgusted by the sweat. He glanced at the clock hanging on the wall.
It was just past five in the morning, and outside was still dimly lit. Ren took off his sweaty shirt and got out of bed, feeling a heaviness in his body that couldn’t be attributed to sleepiness alone.
He stood in front of a painting that depicted Cecil Ashton and the Eroding Princess.
“…I really don’t understand anything, Ancestor.”
Who was that girl in his dream, and why had Ren Ashton gone to meet her? He couldn’t help but feel that the dream had a deep, mysterious meaning.
After calming his emotions for a while, Ren left his room, which was sometime after 6 a.m. He was on his way to the cafeteria when he encountered Licia, who was also tidying herself up. She approached Ren with light footsteps.
Perhaps because of the strange dream he had just experienced, Ren looked at Licia with a smile, delighted to see her.
“Licia.”
“Good morn—”
Ren took Licia’s hand and sighed in relief.
It’s okay. You’re right here.
“Um…?”
Licia was taken aback by Ren’s sudden gesture as she looked at his hand.
Oh, they were indeed holding hands.
Ren could feel Licia’s body warmth, and he was relieved by that sensation. Licia, on the other hand, was somewhat dazed by the sudden happiness of experiencing such a moment on a morning like this. She wondered if she was still in a dream, but when she pinched her own cheek lightly, she felt pain, confirming that this was indeed reality.
With these feelings intact, she thought that it would be quite pleasant to take another nap.
A servant passing by said in a whisper.
“Oh my!”
She said happily.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
It was morning, but only two hours had passed since they woke up.
“Hey!”
Since Ren didn’t immediately respond, Licia kept asking. They were walking along the main road of Elendil on their way to school. Ren and Licia were in their school uniforms.
“Well, yes.”
“Jeez, it took you so long to answer.”
Ren chuckled awkwardly, looking uncomfortable.
Looking up at him, Licia, holding her Imperial Military Academy bag, said.
“Are you listening?”
“Yes, I’m listening.”
“Then tell me! About this morning! Why did you suddenly hold my hand?”
“That’s because I was half asleep.”
“…If you were half asleep, would you do that with anyone?”
Ren hadn’t been in such a situation with any other woman when he was half asleep, but Licia wanted to hear it from him.
“I wouldn’t.”
Licia breathed a sigh of relief, and in front of Ren, who still seemed uneasy, she moved to face another direction.
However, Ren turned his face in that direction as well, and Licia, this time, moved back to face him.
Their playful back-and-forth on the busy main road made passersby smile.
The sensation from that morning still lingered in Licia’s hand.
Since she gave up on getting an answer from Ren, who was displaying ambiguous behavior, she indulged in a daydream. She wondered how it would feel to hold hands, even on a usual morning like this, walking along the familiar road.
“…”
Her cheeks suddenly turned red, so she stopped thinking.
“Licia?”
“W-What is it?”
“Well, you suddenly looked in the opposite direction.”
“Don’t mind it. It’s just a matter of mood.”
Several people noticed the freshness in their interaction.
The Sky Garden was a complex station for both air and ground transportation. On the ground floor, not only to the Imperial Capital but also to other regions, there were platforms for magic trains. Some of them included the Guardian Knight, departing from the Imperial Capital to Eupheim.
Ren and Licia were headed for the platform where magic trains bound for the Imperial Capital stopped. This platform was more crowded with people in the morning than the others.
The two stood in one corner, waiting for the magic train that was supposed to arrive in a few minutes.
“HAAAA…”
Ren, standing next to her, yawned.
Licia looked up at his eyes, and he still seemed a bit sleepy.
“Did you not get much sleep last night?”
“It was the usual amount of sleep, but I had strange dreams.”
“Scary dreams?”
“Hmm… Strange dreams, I guess.”
It was an evasive answer, but it wasn’t surprising for dreams to be like that. Most people often forget their dreams as soon as they wake up, so it was natural that his answer was vague.
Licia reached out her index finger and lightly pressed it against Ren’s elbow, delivering a pleasant warmth. She smiled with satisfaction.
“Thank you. But it’s a bit extravagant to use sacred magic just because I had a bad dream.”
“It’s not a big deal. I’m free to use my power however I want.”
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
They spent the time until morning homeroom in the classroom and then moved to another classroom for their first class of the day.
“Ren, are you okay?”
During their first class, Vane, holding a bundle of herbs in his hand, approached Ren.
The herbology class, which continued into their second year, was held in a specialized classroom rather than their regular one. Initially, even if they were sitting, they would often get up from their seats to process herbs, walking back and forth between the desks and the shelves along the walls.
Ren, looking at his reflection in the glass door of the shelf, turned around when he heard Vane’s voice.
“Sorry, I was lost in thought.”
He had been thinking about various things, such as the movements of the Demon King’s Cult, the reason for trying to obtain the Water Goddess’s Ring, and the actions of the priests. Additionally, the dream he had seen that morning had left him feeling more detached than usual.
“Well, it’s not because of your health, right?”
“I’m fine, don’t worry. Anyway…”
He gathered the herbs and equipment instructed by the herbology teacher and returned to his desk.
Licia sat next to his desk, while Sarah, Vane were on the opposite side. Nemu stood between the four of them.
“For you second-year students, herbology continues to be a challenge. However, I hope you’ll approach it with enthusiasm this year as well. Today, we will start from page 56 of the textbook.”
With his back to the students, the teacher wrote on the blackboard.
“As I mentioned this morning, don’t push yourself too hard.”
Licia whispered to Ren.
“It’s okay. It’s just that I’m at a sensitive age, and… Just kidding. I really just had a bad dream.”
“Come on… don’t make weird excuses.”
He had used a bad excuse earlier, and when he tried to make a joke, he was met with a stern look from Licia. He quickly corrected himself.
The teacher then said, “Well, let’s begin,” and the students started blending herbs at their desks.
This class had a relatively relaxed atmosphere, and it was fine for students to chat while concocting. What was expected was the results.
Ren, like the other students around him, began working on blending herbs. He worked with Licia to cut, crush, and distill herbs, occasionally checking the progress in the distillation oven.
” Hey, Vane, you’re not supposed to use that!”
“Sorry!!”
“Hey, Sarah-chan, you’re wrong too.”
“That’s a lie!”
In front of them, their friends were unfolding a scene where they couldn’t stop making mistakes. Ren and Licia laughed while successfully completing the classwork. All that was left was the stage of distillation inside the oven, so they paused for now.
Licia watched Sarah and Vane while staying with Ren.
“You’re going to be my enemy again this year, Herbology…”
“Sarah, you don’t have to clench your teeth so hard.”
“No, Licia! Herbology is my arch-nemesis, so I can’t let my guard down for a moment!”
As if to prove that point, thick black smoke billowed from Sarah’s distillation oven.
She hurriedly extinguished the fire and had to redo the previous stage without saying a word, gazing up at the ceiling with eyes devoid of light.
“Wow, Sarah-chan! You never disappoint, do you?”
“It’s fine. There’s still plenty of time.”
Their poor performance in herbology was not due to their low skills; it was more of a mental barrier. Particularly, the experiments were challenging, and failure was expected. Even if they failed, it wouldn’t affect their grades, so it might be better to fail as much as they wanted here.
Once Sarah and Vane had a better grasp of it, they progressed more smoothly than before and managed to avoid generating smoke from the distillation oven.
Once they were relieved, Sarah and Vane wiped the sweat from their foreheads.
As they continued the experiment, they also engaged in casual conversation.
“The Imperial Palace Conference is coming up soon.”
Sarah mentioned.
It had come up in their conversation with Charlotte and others the other day.
Many of the Leomel nobles would visit the Imperial Capital, and the conference was a valuable opportunity for them to discuss various matters and share information.
In the legend of the Seven Heroes, Vane introduced himself as the descendant of the Hero Ruin to the nobles based on the power he had used after the battle with Ulysses Ignatius and confirmed it in Windea. The timeline falls into the flow leading to the conclusion of Chapter 1 of the Legend of the Seven Heroes II.
Now, upon hearing about the Imperial City Conference, Vane had an anxious expression on his face.
“Hey, Vane.”
“Yeah… it’s almost time.”
It was a sigh-filled voice.
In the Legend of the Seven Heroes, Ren Ashton, who belonged to the general class, was not present in this situation. Instead, the remaining four were having a conversation. Right now, Ren was here and participating in the conversation.
“You seem nervous. I heard that you, Vane, and the others will participate. Are you going to give a speech in front of the adults?”
“H-How did you know!?”
“Just had a feeling. I could tell by the way Vane looks nervous.”
“Yeah… it’s just as Ren guessed. I’m not particularly good at speaking in front of a large crowd, and yet, I’m going to have to speak in a place where nobles from all over the empire will gather.”
As a descendant of Hero Ruin, Vane wanted to convey his voice. This wasn’t just a wish of the heroic family; there were several others, both neutral factions and those within the imperial family, who wanted to hear his voice. Vane was extremely nervous, but when the opportunity presented itself, he readily accepted it. Ren found his friend’s determination to spread his wings in this way admirable.
While not wanting to dampen the mood, Ren changed the topic slightly.
“The Demon King’s Cult is up to something again. You all should be careful.”
“Ren knew about it too? But don’t worry. If something happens, we’ll fight too.”
“That’s right. We won’t just stand by silently.”
Finally, Nemu added.
“The heroic family has been fighting within and outside Leomel even after defeating the Demon King. We won’t change.”
It was almost like a duty of the heroic family. They were elevated to the rank of an Earl created in honor of the Seven Heroes who had defeated the Demon King, and it was known that one of their essential purposes was to always be heroes. Leomel, with a significant number of nobles who were also military personnel, was not a place where nobles would hide in safe locations just because they were nobles. Particularly now, facing the threat of the Demon King’s Cult, the people relied on Vane and the others as a source of strength.
Ren believed in Vane and the others.
Recently, the Demon King’s Cult had been active, but apart from that, Ren was reminded that the story’s conclusion was approaching here.
Legend of the Seven Heroes II, Chapter 1: “Bloodline of the Hero.”
Ren had an event that was supposed to happen soon in mind. At the same time, in Ren’s mind, there was a meaningful exchange with a silver-haired girl. The scene from that dream… lingered in his mind.
The bell announcing the end of class rang a few minutes later.
“Well, that’s it for today, everyone. Make sure to clean up before you leave,”
The middle-aged teacher said.
Following the teacher’s words, the students, who had finished cleaning up, left the classroom, chatting more lively than usual, one by one. Ren and Licia were talking while organizing their textbooks and notes.
Seeing Vane trying to leave while talking to Sarah, Ren said.
“That’s it.”
“What is it, Ren?”
“It’s about the Demon King’s Cult. They might cause trouble again, and Leomel might be in turmoil somewhere.”
“We know. We’ve been thinking about that all along.”
“…So, you see—”
This was more like advice.
To ensure that Vane and the others didn’t get lost, Ren mentioned a few things that would remain in Vane’s heart.
When the conversation was over, Vane left the classroom with Sarah.
Ren and Licia remained, continuing their conversation.
“What should we do in the afternoon?”
“Today’s classes end in the morning, right?”
The reason for the bustling students around them was that due to the teachers’ convenience, there were no classes for all grades in the afternoon. Normally, they would visit the Holy Lion Sanctuary on the way back home, but when the two considered their plans for the afternoon…
“Ren-kun! Licia-chan!”
Klonoa voice came from the classroom door, with her face and body peeking in.
She suddenly came over to ask for a favor. It seemed that she had something she was looking for in a warehouse in a corner of the school building and wanted their help.
“I’ve asked Fiona-chan too, but I want to borrow your strength as well.”
Ren and Licia couldn’t refuse Klonoa’s request. They both nodded in agreement.