Chapter 1: The Days Leading Into Summer

It was a night not long after the battle had ended.

The turmoil from before still lingered faintly, yet the Leomel Empire was gradually regaining its calm… and in a corner of its imperial capital:

Under the night sky, Licia was speaking to Ren.

“Hey, Ren, want to train together again sometime?”

“At the Lion Sanctuary?”

“No. I mean like when we used the academy’s training grounds the other day.”

After classes, Ren, Licia, and Fiona hadn’t gone home right away.
They were still in the capital, spending time at a park, enjoying cold drinks under the night sky.

As Ren chatted with Licia, something suddenly came to mind.

It hadn’t been long since that fierce battle. Even so, as students, there was something they couldn’t forget.

“…Before that, we’ve got our midterm exams coming up…”

At his words, Licia and Fiona exhaled softly.

The two looked at each other and lowered their voices.

“…Do you want to study in our usual room before training?”

“Yeah… probably should.”

They had been so overwhelmed with everything happening lately that exams had slipped completely from their minds.

Even though their normal days were beginning to return, it didn’t look like they would have much time to relax.

Before long—

“Oh, it’s already this late.”

“You’re right… we should probably head home.”

Prompted by Fiona’s words, the three left the park and walked again through the capital.

When they reached the main street, chatting casually, Ren said:

“Even at night, it’s getting pretty warm now.”

“It felt like it was spring just recently, but before we knew it, summer’s almost here.”

“Last year flew by too. Spring ended so quickly because of preparations for the Lion King Festival.”

“Ah… yeah. And thanks to that, the midterms were shifted around too.”

The entrance exams had been rough, and even after enrolling, the academy still had plenty of tests to trouble the students.
Even when the chaos settled, life didn’t slow down.

Ren thought that once he got home to Elendil, he’d open a study book.

And silently strengthening his resolve, he murmured:

“I should at least get started a little…”

That was one summer-approaching night.

And then—morning.

How many times had he woken up now at the Viscount Clausel’s estate in Elendil?

Even though he woke earlier than usual, the sunrise came sooner as summer approached, and the outside was already bright.

Ren sat up in bed, stretched lightly, then walked to the window.

His gaze dropped to his arm.

“My arm’s… almost completely fine now.”

There was almost no pain anymore, and unless someone looked closely, there was no visible difference.
Still, faint traces of the battle in Windea remained. Realizing that again, Ren exhaled and reached for his shirt buttons.

A shower would help him wake up. Then he’d get ready for the day.
He had classes at the academy again.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

A few days later, on a holiday—

Ren was in a neutral city located along the border.

It served as a major terminal, visited not only by people from Leomel but also from neighboring countries.

Even just walking through the streets gave a sense of exotic culture you couldn’t find in the empire. The food at restaurants and the clothing of passersby were all unfamiliar.

Ren wore an unremarkable robe, looking just like any other traveler as he made his way toward the magic-ship port.

Among the noises of the crowd, he overheard voices.

“…Turns out those guys they claimed were Demon Lord cultists were just a bandit tribe.”

“…There was an attack just recently too, so maybe they took advantage of that.”

It was about the disturbance that had only ended this morning.

A group of adventurer-types skilled with swords and magic—
but they had been wiped out in a single night.

At the Adventurers’ Guild, the posted request was recorded as completed.
Knights arrived afterward and hauled the bandits off to prison.

No one knew who had ended the incident.
Due to strict confidentiality, the guild revealed nothing to the knights.

Only a handful of select people back in the empire would ever know.

“…It’s getting pretty hot now.”

Unlike the rumors around him, Ren’s demeanor was calm—typical of him.
He’d heard similar talk on his way to the port, but he didn’t react to any of it.

Eventually, an announcement echoed through the port:

“Elendil departure—approaching soon—”

Inside the magic ship’s lobby, which looked like the entrance hall of a luxury inn, guests from various nations were being received.

As Ren looked for an open counter, he lightly bumped into someone doing the same.

“Sorry! Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. And really, it was partly my fault too.”

The voice was pleasant, with a slightly boyish tone.
She was a beautiful woman with vivid violet hair falling to just above her shoulder blades, wearing glasses that suited her well. She looked maybe five years older than Ren.

When she knelt to pick up the books she dropped, Ren quickly copied her and helped.

“Did they get dirty?”

“No, they’re fine. Sorry to make you help.”

Gathering several books into her arms, she smiled warmly.

“I love books. I heard there were rare ones here, so I came to look.”

“I like books too. Well… I just read whatever looks interesting.”

“That’s wonderful. I’m the same—I travel around the world looking for books.”

“So you’ve been traveling for books since long ago?”

“Yeah. Because books are—”

She spoke cheerfully, pleased by his response.

“—the only memories of the world untouched by the influence of the gods.”

Ren blinked, taken aback by the sudden, cryptic statement.
She laughed softly at his puzzled expression.

Not sure how to respond, Ren noticed an available counter and gestured for her to go ahead.
She smiled again, completed her check-in, and returned.

“Thank you. Have a good trip.”

“You too. I’ll get going then.”

Since they were boarding different ships, their farewell was brief.

She started walking away, but suddenly stopped and looked back at Ren—at his back as he walked toward the counter.

“…A boy your age, already a great-sword user… how unusual.”

Her whisper was so quiet no one else could hear.
Then she finally boarded her magic ship.

Meanwhile, Ren finished his procedure, boarded his own ship, and headed straight for his reserved cabin.

Inside, he finally removed his robe.

Only then could he relax. Putting down his bag, he stretched his stiff shoulders.

A staff member soon arrived to ask about dinner and other services, but that ended quickly.
Ren rested his arms on the window frame.

As the ship rose toward the sky, the scenery fell away beneath him.

Thinking about the purpose of this trip, mixed feelings welled up inside him.

“…Yeah, guess it’s not that easy…”

He muttered, sounding resigned.

This trip was part of Ren’s effort to gather information about the Demon Lord cult after the recent incident—
checking Adventurers’ Guild records, following clues with Radius and Ulysses, and so on.

But he hadn’t found anything useful.
He sighed.

Before he knew it, he fell asleep in the chair by the window.
The sky beyond the glass was completely dark.

Stars were visible, but he couldn’t tell if it was late night or early dawn until he checked his watch—it was very late at night, almost morning.

As he stretched his stiff body:

“Arriving at the Sky Garden shortly—”

About ten minutes after hearing the announcement, the magic ship descended.

When the ramp extended, Ren stepped out onto the high-level platform.

The stronger wind compared to ground level ruffled his hair.

At last, he felt like he was finally home.