Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 25: Continuation of the dream on the train.
As Ren was leaving…
“Wait,”
Radius called out to Ren from behind.
“The three of you will be heading back to Elendil, right? Be careful.”
“Yeah, thanks—”
“Especially you, Ren, try to stay composed.”
“Why am I the only one getting special treatment?”
“Well, I just think it’s a good reminder for you. And make sure to pass this on to those two as well. While it’s the duty of nobles to protect, I don’t wish for you three to do anything reckless.”
The duty of nobles, in simple terms, means serving the people. Licia, born into the Clausel family, served Clausel and Elendil. Fiona was similar in that sense.
“The headmaster should leave the academy sometime this afternoon. We’re heading to Elendil just to be cautious. Didn’t you hear that from Klonoa?”
“Um… Klonoa and I were mostly talking about Estelle-sama’s situation and the enemies, so we didn’t get much time to chat.”
Since there was a Sword King in the Imperial Capital, there was that too.
The two parted ways, saying,
“Then let’s meet up again when things settle down.”
“Yeah, take care, Radius.”
Licia and Fiona waited in the small room in the back of the library that they usually used.
Lessard and Ulysses had already returned to Elendil earlier. Ulysses also went to Elendil to attend to Ignat’s matters. Early in the morning, the Guardian knight passed through Elendil. The Guardian knight, completed last year, was a new ground transportation from the Imperial Capital to the Water City of Eupheim. Ren had been invited and participated in the completion ceremony last winter.
Ren needed to ask the crew members of the Guardian knight, who played a role in its operation, as the head of the Ignat family. If he wanted to ask them quickly, it was more convenient to be in Elendil rather than the Imperial Capital.
When he opened the door to the usual small room, the two stood up upon seeing him. The three of them left the academy and boarded a train bound for Elendil. With Ren present, there would undoubtedly be no issues with security.
On the way from the Imperial Capital to Elendil, the magic train crossed a plain. The journey to Elendil would take about an hour. Many seats on the magic train were vacant. Hearing rumors about the activities of the Demon Cult, many people were avoiding unnecessary travel. The sound of the wheels on the tracks seemed louder than usual.
There were seats for three passengers arranged facing each other. Ren sat alone on one side, while Licia and Fiona sat in the seats facing him.
(As I thought, maybe I don’t have enough information to make things work.)
He was able to act to avoid falling into a disadvantageous situation, but he couldn’t act completely freely.
The Demon Cult made plans too. If they showed an unexpected move, the enemy would follow suit with new actions. It was frustrating, but there was no other way. If the opponent were merely a data-based entity repeating programmed movements, it would be a different story. But because that wasn’t the case, it couldn’t be helped.
While thinking about this, Ren was feeling the shaking of the magic train.
His heart beat loudly in his chest, and his vision became blurry.
“It—it hurts…”
Ren was sitting there suddenly experienced a severe headache. He clutched his head with both hands.
As he was kneeling in pain, Licia and Fiona came to either side of him.
“Ren!?”
“Ren-kun!?”
He kept on making painful noises.
They expressed their concern repeatedly, but Ren’s consciousness was drawn away by a voice more distinct than their voices.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
Ren, who was crouching down, suddenly forced himself to get up and found that the scenery around him had changed.
It was the same dream as before.
The dream in which Ren Ashton met a mysterious girl and was talking about something. The continuation of the girl’s self-introduction, which had become unclear at the end, was being shown again.
“I am—”
Ren clearly heard the girl’s name this time.
It was a name he had never expected, a surprising name.
After finishing her self-introduction and curtsying, the girl approached Ren.
She appeared enchanting but also had an overwhelming presence that could swallow you up if you let your guard down.
“What do you think? Did you recognize the name?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m glad. So, what are you going to do? You were looking for me because you wanted to talk, right?”
“Yeah… are you the mastermind behind everything?”
In response to Ren’s question, the girl first looked surprised, then burst into laughter.
“What a strange thing to ask.”
“Don’t evade the question.”
“I’m not evading anything. You just made me laugh. I’m not hiding anything. Did you think you were making me laugh?”
The girl took a step forward with light steps.
The girl’s eyes radiated an eerie pressure that Ren Ashton had never experienced before.
“Who do you mean by the mastermind? Is it the fact that you killed the White Saint? Or is it that you killed Klonoa Hyland?”
“….”
“Or are you asking something deeper?”
“I’ll say it again: everything.”
The girl took another step forward, her voice filled with amusement.
“You’re asking strange questions. You, too, are a mastermind to someone, aren’t you?”
Again, another step forward.
“But I wonder, a mastermind for whom? You, who were at the center of such turmoil, might be the mastermind of the Leomel Empire. Perhaps even for the Elven Church. And to the Cult of the Demon King, you’re an enemy shielding the descendants of the Seven Heroes. To the followers who were cut down as if they were manipulated, you might be like the mastermind behind their conspiracy.”
“Are you trying to evade the question?”
“No, I have no intention of doing that.”
“Then what do you want to say?”
“I want to say the same thing. Ultimately, who are you a mastermind for?”
The girl stood right in front of Ren Ashton.
“You don’t have any complaints about me killing members of the Demon King’s cult, do you?”
“I do as I please. It’s not like I was involved in what those kids were doing. You can do as you like. If you want to kill, then kill as much as you want.”
“I see.”
The conversation circled back to this point.
The girl faced Ren Ashton and asked,
“Right now, who is in the right, I wonder? The world? Or you? Or maybe me?”
“Are you trying to be philosophical?”
“Pff, hahaha! I don’t want to talk about such boring things! We finally have a chance to meet like this, and you want to waste time?!”
The girl pressed her index finger against Ren’s collarbone.
Even if he tried to brush it away, the pressure she emitted wouldn’t allow it.
Ren Ashton was prepared to wield his sword if it came to a fight, but at the moment, there was no sign of that happening between the two of them.
However, if there was some small trigger…
They would likely engage in an extraordinary, deadly battle for the first time.
Fortunately, for now, it seemed that such a trigger would not occur.
“How about you suffer more, groan in agony? If you do that, someday you might reach the answers you seek. You still haven’t suffered enough.”
The girl said this and continued walking past Ren Ashton.
Ren didn’t stop her, and he didn’t turn to face her either.
“What do you really know?”
“I know many things you don’t.”
The girl laughed.
“You were weak, Ren Ashton. You had no choice… You were a sinful person.”
The girl deliberately told him.
“Such should have been the case with me and your king…”
“You’re saying that?!”
From the corner of the girl’s mouth, fangs that resembled double teeth were visible.
As the two turned away,
“Now I’m in a good mood, so I won’t kill you, but I might next time. Be careful.”
“Yeah, I don’t plan to fight here.”
“You make wise decisions. Is it because of your lineage?”
Once again, the world became blurry, fading away, and signaling the end of the daydream, as sudden as always.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
In the dream, Ren, who had stood up, was still lying on the chair. Licia and Fiona leaned close to him, and Licia used her sacred magic from her fingertips to heal Ren.
At a time like this, Ren might have felt nervous if it weren’t for the circumstances. The sweet scent and warmth of the two girls might have overwhelmed his mind, but he had no room for such thoughts now.
Ren apologized to them, saying, “I’m sorry,” and sat back down.
Feeling the warm light emanating from Licia’s fingertips, he remembered that Licia was no longer in that dream world.
“Ren-kun, are you okay? You suddenly collapsed…”
“Don’t move suddenly. Rest a bit longer.”
In order not to worry the two girls any further, he smiled bravely with their support.
Licia was trying to use her sacred magic more on Ren, but he declined, saying, “I’m fine.” Using it now would be pointless. Ren wasn’t injured or sick. It would only waste Licia’s magic power. While he could be enveloped in a pleasant warmth, he didn’t want to burden her.
(Why did I have such a dream now?)
The continuation of the dream he had seen before… He felt that there was something artificial about what had been shown to him.
Ren thought about the content of the dream, unable to dismiss it as just a dream.
(Why…)
The headache had disappeared at some point, and the words of the girl from the dream kept repeating in his mind.
“You were weak, so you couldn’t choose… You’re a sinful person, Ren Ashton.”
What did it mean?
Ren wondered if he could have chosen differently if he hadn’t been weak.
After about ten seconds of silence, he looked at the two.
“…I’m sorry. I have something to do.”
He had to go to the battlefield no matter what. That was the task at hand. That girl knew it. She knew about the tragedy of the Seven Heroes’ legend and the principles behind the actions of the Demon King’s cult.
To gather information from her, he had to go and ask directly, from that man, from Orphide.
Naturally, the two girls were surprised by Ren’s sudden words. But before they could express their surprise…
The magic train suddenly shook and came to an emergency stop.
As Ren tried to get up to go and see what was happening, the ground beneath him swayed.
Whether it was because of the shock from what he had seen in the dream or not, his legs gave way as he tried to stand.
The two girls stood up as well, supporting him from both sides.
“I’ll go too.”
“I’m coming as well.”
The two of them said.
The two of them spoke.
Outside, there should be more Leomel knights on the roads and plains than usual, and during times like these, there were a reasonable number of knights inside the carriage as well.
Ren quickly regained his usual composure, and any signs of instability in his legs had completely disappeared.
“No, it’s not possible. This is my job.”
However,
“Do you think we’ll just accept that?”
“After all, we’re worried about you just going alone in your current condition.”
“Yeah, you just collapsed a moment ago, so now it’s our turn to stop you.”
Their true feelings were evident, and their unwavering determination was a fact.
The girls said that if he insisted on going alone, they wouldn’t accept it.
“If I’m there, I won’t let Ren or Fiona-sama get hurt.”
Her confident voice was backed by her ability and her words.
While there was still some aversion to using sacred magic, she didn’t feel anxious when she thought about using it on Ren and Fiona.
Licia found it strange, but she decided not to dwell on it.
At the core of Licia was her noble spirit as a pure saint.
Furthermore, Licia didn’t think it was reckless for her to say it now. She had become a master swordsman and was approaching the level of Sword Saint day by day.
At the very least, she concealed the ability to overpower them like Sarah and Vane.
And then, the two of them said,
“We’re actually quite strong.”
“We’re actually quite strong, you know.”
Their voices were united as they were directed straight at Ren.
In the communication passage of the stopped magic train, many knights were already there.
When Ren, Licia, and Fiona, known by many of the knights here, appeared, they were surprised.
The female knight who led the knights here said.
“It’s a small-scale attack by the Demon King’s cult. Our path has been blocked, but we will head to Elendil soon.”
That’s what she said, but there were already more knights than usual stationed outside, guarding the highway and the plains, and fighting against the Demon King’s cult.
The train that shuttled between the Imperial Capital and Elendil was heavily armored and equipped with magic weapons, all for preparedness in situations like this.
On one side, there was a vast plain, and on the other, a road leading to the mountains.
As the spring wind danced, so did the exchange of life and death.
Ren didn’t feel any discomfort in his footsteps. He had summoned the Mithril Sword before leaving his seat and was now holding it, observing the battles unfolding on the road and the plains in his field of vision.
Magic began to fly between the knights and the members of the Demon king’s cult engaged in combat.
Ren and the others noticed this outside the door they had opened for the knights to exit.
He immediately stepped outside the carriage to check if there were any enemies attacking the train.
Next to him, a black-haired girl descended.
“Leave it to me.”
Fiona reached out her hand ahead of Ren and Licia.
Since her demonstration in the Baldor Mountains, her ice magic had shown qualities that could be considered top-notch. She had hinted at it during her recent sparring with Licia, and now she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and focused.
A vivid magic circle spread out before her, extending to cover the entire carriage.
Ren, while astonished at the sight, thought.
(She’s become strong enough to use that magic…)
Her ice magic was on the verge of being classified as top-tier, a level reached by only a few individuals in Leomel. In terms of swordsmanship, it was equivalent to the level of a Sword Saint.
— Its name was “Absolute.”
Absolute zero ice spread from Fiona’s feet, creating a wave of ice that surged through the plains and the road.
In the blink of an eye, the surroundings transformed into an icy world, with almost all of the ground covered in crystalline blue ice.
The ice didn’t affect the knights; it was specifically targeted at the members of the Demon king’s cult. It froze their limbs and disarmed them, rendering their magic ineffective as it was absorbed by the Absolute magic, causing it to vanish instantly.
The frozen world was complete, with giant ice pillars reaching high into the sky.
Many surprised voices could be heard from all around, most of them coming from the members of the Demon king’s cult.
The knights, realizing that they were not the targets, took it as reinforcement and focused on suppressing the members of the Demon king’s cult.
Fiona looked at Ren and said.
“What do you think? I’ve become stronger since then.”
Ren, still somewhat shocked, replied.
“I’m sorry. I’m just too surprised to find the right words.”
Fiona chuckled, saying.
“Well, if you say that, it makes all the effort worth it.”
She prepared her magic again, convinced that the members of the Demon kin’s cult would target them.
However, Licia had seen the magic the members of the Demon king’s cult had cast.
Ren was about to respond, but Licia said, “Let me handle it.”
The released magic was a combination of lightning and a fiery red wind, cast by a cultist who could manipulate multiple elemental attributes. It was a high-level spell, considered difficult to cast.
…The level of effort put into this is different from before.
It seemed that the Demon king’s cult had stepped up after its efforts in Leomel. Ren had known this already, and that’s why he had been working with Radius and Ulysses, but seeing it firsthand made him even more tense.
However, none of those magic reached their target.
Before Ren could do anything, the two girls had already taken care of everything.
“Did you really think you could manage with that level of magic?”
Licia said, releasing the Star killer with her white light.
The Star killer nullified all of the magic completely.
All that remained was a mere gust of wind.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
Ren and the others arrived in Elendil in the early afternoon.
There were some aftereffects due to the appearance of the Demon king’s cult here as well, and the city was more agitated than usual. However, thanks to Radius maintaining a state of alertness, it wasn’t as chaotic as they had expected.
Preparations for defense were already in place.
There hadn’t been any major incidents, and the city remained safe.
Upon arriving at their mansion, Ren and the two girls were welcomed by Lessard and Ulysses.
They had heard about the girls using their powers.
While they were concerned, there was no need for anger. The girls had used their powers for the sake of their subjects, and they deserved praise.
Ren also mentioned that he had collapsed once, and then he said. “I didn’t even have to draw my sword.”
That explained why the girls had acted on his behalf to protect the passengers.
“I thought there was some reason for it,”
Ulysses said, understanding the situation with a nod.
“Are you sure you’re okay now?”
Lessard asked.
“I’m fine. I just felt a bit dizzy for a moment.”
“…I see. That’s a relief.”
Lezard, relieved, told Ren,
“You didn’t even have to wield your sword. But now, rest. There’s no need for the three of you to push yourselves.”
“…”
“Ren?”
Ren fell silent, and from his expression, both Lessard and Ulysses sensed that he had something to say.
They didn’t understand why he was saying this now, considering the circumstances.
However, based on their past experiences, they had an idea that there was some reason behind Ren’s words, even though they didn’t yet know what that reason was.
“Ren, is there something you want to tell us?”
Lessard asked calmly.
It was a difficult story to tell anyone.
It wouldn’t make sense to say that he was concerned about the girl he had seen in his dream, as it would only cause confusion.
A more reasonable reason would be the fact that the enemies had appeared in greater numbers than expected within Leomel, even close to the Imperial Capital.
That’s why he was worried about Vane and the others.
It seemed like a plausible reason, so there was no reason for suspicion.
Unexpected situations were beyond anyone’s control, after all.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
In the Sky Garden.
At this moment, Licia and Fiona were there, accompanying him to the dedicated dock.
“Ren! You can fly anytime!”
In times like these, Verlich was considering the possibility of using Lemuria, and he had arrived in Elendil almost simultaneously with Ulysses.
Before Ren boarded Lemuria, both Licia and Fiona touched his hand.
By chance, all of their hands overlapped, and the three of them exchanged smiles.
“What’s going on with you two?”
“I’m sorry. We just got worried, that’s all.”
“Haha… I feel the same way.”
The White Saint and the Black Priestess, two individuals with opposing elemental powers, lowered their eyes while their hands were still overlapped.
They wished for Ren’s safe return.
As their hands separated, they exchanged final words of farewell.
“We’ll do our best here.”
Given the unexpected attack, there were many tasks to handle, and having individuals like Licia and Fiona in town was reassuring.
There were many things to be done here as well.
“About the attention we got due to the recent battle… People have been mentioning your names,”
“…Don’t bring it up. It’s a bit embarrassing,”
“Well, I feel the same… I never thought we’d attract so much attention,”
In particular, Fiona must have used flashy magic.
Licia said, trying to change the subject.
“…Let’s talk about that after you return safely,”
When Ren boarded Lemuria, magic energy surged through the dragon vein routes via the magic stones.
From the open dock entrance, Lemuria shot out energetically.