Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 25: The Rest 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?”
Who knows? But with you, Ren, saying it twice is about right.
“…I don’t quite agree, but thanks for worrying.”
“Don’t look so dissatisfied. This is me worrying in my own way. And tell those two as well: nobles have their responsibilities, but I don’t want any of you three doing 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. She’s going to Elendil.”
“Huh? Why?”
“To strengthen the defenses, just in case. Didn’t the headmaster tell you?”
“Um… Chronois and I were mostly talking about Estelle-sama’s situation and the enemies, so we didn’t get much time to chat.”
Part of the reason was that a Sword King remained in the Imperial Capital.
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 ahead of them. Ulysses had business there for House Ignat. Early that morning, the Guardian Knight had passed through Elendil. Completed the previous year, it was a new ground service running from the Imperial Capital to the City of Water, Eupheim. Ren had been invited to its completion ceremony the previous winter.
As head of House Ignat, Ulysses had several things to ask the Guardian Knight’s crew, including whether they had encountered any problems along the route. If he wanted answers quickly, it was more convenient to be in Elendil 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 the plains. The trip took about an hour. Many seats were empty; after hearing that the Demon King cult was active, many people were avoiding unnecessary travel. The wheels seemed to ring against the rails more loudly 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 King cult thought and adapted too. If Ren’s side made an unexpected move, the enemy could respond with a new one of its own. It was frustrating, but unavoidable. Things would be different if the enemy were nothing more than data repeating programmed actions, but they were not.
As these thoughts occupied him, Ren felt the magic train sway beneath him.
His heart beat loudly in his chest, and his vision became blurry.
“It—it hurts…”
Without warning, Ren was struck by a severe headache. Still seated, he doubled over and clutched his head with both hands.
As he curled up in pain on the seat, Licia and Fiona hurried to either side of him.
“Ren!?”
“Ren-kun!?”
He could do little but groan in pain.
Licia and Fiona repeatedly called to him in concern, but his consciousness was pulled away by a voice clearer than either of theirs.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
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.
Ren Ashton stood before the mysterious girl he had met before. The self-introduction that had faded beyond hearing at the end of the earlier dream now continued before him, as abruptly and deliberately as before.
“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.”
“So it sounded as though I was dodging the question? What a shame. I’m not hiding anything. You were simply the one who made 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.
“Which mastermind do you mean? The one behind you killing the White Saint? Or the one behind you killing Chronois Highland?”
“….”
“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 whose mastermind are you, I wonder? You stood at the center of such turmoil, so perhaps you were the mastermind behind an incident as far as the Leomel Empire was concerned. Perhaps the Elfen Church thought the same. To the Demon King cult, you were an enemy protecting the descendants of the Seven Heroes. And to the cultists you cut down as though they had been led straight to you, you must have looked like the mastermind behind the whole scheme.”
“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.
“So you don’t object to me cutting down Demon King cultists?”
“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.
“Suffer more and more. Gasp beneath sorrow and grief. If you do, then someday you may reach the answers you seek. You still haven’t known enough pain.”
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.
“Because you were weak, you couldn’t choose. You are a sinful person, Ren Ashton.”
The girl deliberately told him.
“That should have been true of both me and your king.”
“And you’re the one saying that?”
A fang like a pronounced canine showed at the corner of the girl’s mouth.
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.”
“What a sensible boy. Is it because you come from good blood?”
Once again, the world blurred and began to fade, signaling the end of the vision as abruptly as before.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
Ren, who had stood in the dream, was still lying across the seat. Licia and Fiona stayed close beside him while Licia used Sacred Magic from her fingertips to heal him.
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.”
Trying not to worry them further, Ren forced a smile while they supported him.
Licia tried to use more Sacred Magic on Ren, but he refused with, “I’m fine.” It would accomplish nothing now. Ren was neither injured nor ill; it would only waste Licia’s mana. The warmth was pleasant, but he did not 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.
“Because you were weak, you couldn’t choose. You are 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, whatever it took. The girl knew about the tragedy in Legend of the Seven Heroes and about the principles driving the Demon King cult.
To learn more about her, he had to go to the battlefield and question Orphide directly.
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 girls said it almost together.
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. 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 feelings were genuine, and neither intended to yield. If Ren insisted on going, the girls would stay beside him.
“If I’m there, I won’t let Ren or Fiona-sama get hurt.”
Her confidence was backed by real ability.
Licia still felt some aversion to using Sacred Magic, but when she imagined using it for Ren or Fiona, that unease did not arise.
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.
Nor was Licia being reckless in saying this. She was already a Swordmaster of the Mighty Sword Style and drew closer to Sword Saint level with each passing day.
At the very least, she possessed enough strength to overwhelm even Sera or Vayne.
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 leading the group explained:
“It’s a small-scale attack by the Demon King cult. They blocked our route, but we’ll be moving toward Elendil again shortly.”
Outside, knights assigned to guard the road and reinforcements stationed across the plains were already fighting the Demon King cultists.
The magic train running between the Imperial Capital and Elendil carried heavy armor and magical weapons precisely as preparation for 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’s steps were steady. Before leaving his seat, he had already summoned the Mithril Magic Sword. Holding it now, he surveyed the battles unfolding along the road and across the plains.
Magic began to fly between the knights and the Demon King cultists.
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 ignored the knights and targeted only the Demon King cultists. It froze their limbs, stripped weapons from their hands, and swallowed their active spells into Absolute, erasing the magic in an instant.
The frozen world was complete, with giant ice pillars reaching high into the sky.
Cries of surprise rose from every direction, most of them from Demon King cultists.
Once the knights realized they were not being targeted, they understood the ice as reinforcements and concentrated on subduing the Demon King cultists.
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.”
Fiona readied another spell, certain the Demon King cultists would now focus on the three of them.
Licia had already seen the spell the Demon King cultists were casting.
Ren was about to respond, but Licia said, “Let me handle it.”
The incoming magic combined lightning with a wind as red as flame. A cultist capable of handling multiple attributes had layered the two together into a difficult high-level spell.
…They were putting far more into this attack than before.
The Demon King cult had clearly begun baring its fangs at Leomel in earnest. Ren had expected as much—that was why he had been working with Radius and Ulysses—but seeing it firsthand still sharpened his tension.
Yet none of the spells reached their target.
Before Ren could do anything, the two girls had already taken care of everything.
“Did you really think magic at that level would be enough?”
Licia answered with Byakuen in hand and unleashed Mighty Sword Art: Star Slaying.
Mighty Sword Art: Star Slaying completely nullified every spell.
All that remained was a mere gust of wind.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
Ren and the others arrived in Elendil in the early afternoon.
The appearance of the Demon King cult had caused unrest here as well, and the city was more unsettled than usual. Thanks to Radius having placed the region on alert, however, it was nowhere near as chaotic as they had feared.
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.
Licia and Fiona also told them that Ren had collapsed once. Ren added, “The fighting was over before I even had to swing 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 all right now?”
Ulysses asked.
“I’m fine. I just felt a bit dizzy for a moment.”
“…I see. That’s a relief.”
Relieved, Ulysses gave way to Lessard.
“If you never even needed to swing your sword, then so much the better. But rest now. None of you three needs to push yourselves any further.”
“…”
“Ren?”
Ren fell silent. From long experience, Lessard could already guess that he was about to ask for something, even if he did not yet know why.
Lessard still did not know what had brought Ren to this decision.
But he suspected Ren had some reason he could not yield on.
“I think I’m going to Vayne and the others.”
The question—why now?—immediately occurred to both Lessard and Ulysses. Lessard nevertheless knew Ren would not say such a thing without reason, so he asked calmly:
“Can you tell me why?”
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.
Instead, Ren pointed to the unexpectedly large number of attacks across Leomel—including areas near the Imperial Capital—and said he was worried about Vayne and the others.
It was plausible enough that neither man questioned it.
Unexpected situations were beyond anyone’s control, after all.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
In the Hanging Garden.
This time Licia and Fiona came to see him off, accompanying him all the way to Lemuria’s private dock.
“Ren! You can fly anytime!”
Given the situation, Werlich had anticipated that Lemuria might be needed and had come to Elendil at almost the same time as 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 Shrine Maiden—girls who bore powers of opposing attributes—lowered their eyes while their hands remained joined with Ren’s.
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.
“Some people were calling Licia’s and Fiona-sama’s names after that fight.”
“…Don’t bring it up. It’s a bit embarrassing,”
“Well, I feel the same… I never thought we’d attract so much attention,”
Fiona’s especially conspicuous magic had naturally drawn attention.
Licia said, trying to change the subject.
“…Let’s talk about that after you return safely,”
When Ren boarded Lemuria, power from the magic stones surged all at once through the ship’s dragon-vein channels.
Lemuria burst through the open dock entrance and into the sky.