Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 70: Fifth Rank Explorer⑩
I was confused. No way. Could it be…?
“So I’ve finally broken my tenth knife, haven’t I…”
I gave a vacant, almost hollow smile.
But I had no memory of it at all. Not even a hint.
(No. That’s not it.)
The Goddess of Knives immediately denied it.
“It’s not?”
(Correct. This is about a different matter.)
“A different matter?”
(…Wof. You are unable to wield swords.)
The moment she said it, I felt a chill.
So there was a reason I couldn’t lift them…
“Why?”
(Because you are cursed.)
“A curse!? But if that’s the case, I should have noticed.”
Curses are a type of debuff relic.
If it’s a relic, it would be engraved in my soul vessel—I should definitely be able to sense it.
Just like I could with the debuff relics in the Tomb of Death.
(Strictly speaking, it is a relic.)
“A relic…?”
(Yes. It’s the effect of a relic.)
“…So that means…”
(It’s a relic that affects only you.)
“Eh? What… What do you mean?”
(A relic whose effect applies to you alone, and no one else in the world.)
Huh? What even is that?
“Wha? …W-What kind of effect does it have…?”
(The effect is that you cannot wield any sword. That’s all.)
“…Can’t wield swords…? Th-That’s all…?”
(Yes. Since the effect targets only a single person and isn’t too burdensome, the relic has become the most effective one across all of space-time.)
“What the hell!?”
What the hell is that!? Across all space-time!?
What kind of relic works in the past and future!? What even IS that!?
(It must be because she—the one known as Generous-sama—doesn’t want you to be with any other woman.)
“O-Other woman…? Also, I’m not Generous.”
(Yes. I’m aware you possess the pseudo-divine relic of Generous-sama. You are the one closest to her.)
“Because I’m close to her, I ended up with this relic?”
(Yes. She—that person—cannot bear for you to wield another woman.)
“Wait, hold on! What do you mean another woman!?”
That sounds way too wrong!
(By ‘woman’, I mean swords. To her, swords are women. Because… she is a sword.)
“? A sword is a woman? And just who is this she you keep referring to?”
(The chief god of all weapons. The Divine Sword. The Gigantic OOPArt. The Warblade Ixagatsurugi-Warsword. The beloved sword of Generous-sama—“■■■■■■■”-sama.)
“Eh? The name was…?”
(‘■■■■■■■’-sama.)
“…Sorry, I couldn’t catch that?”
(Ah, I see. You still lack divinity.)
“I didn’t have any to begin with.”
(Very well. For now, just call her The Divine Sword.)
“The Divine Sword… So she’s the one who cursed me… and is stopping me from wielding other swords…”
(Yes. That’s exactly right.)
“So the Divine Sword is female?”
(Correct.)
Because she thinks I belong to her, she doesn’t want me wielding other “women” = swords.
She’s jealous.
Ugh… that’s heavy… and terrifying.
A chill ran down my spine.
“…Is it okay if I use other weapons?”
(Yes. Only swords are restricted. Knives are also women, but she’s made an exception.)
“Wait… then is that why I keep breaking knives?”
So that’s it… So it wasn’t my fault…
(No. That’s 100% your fault.)
The Knife Goddess bluntly shut me down.
She had an archaic smile on her face, but her eyes weren’t smiling at all.
“S-Sorry. Um… so does that mean I’ll never be able to wield a sword again for the rest of my life?”
(Yes. That is correct.)
“…I-Is there a way to undo it?”
(I don’t know.)
“N-No way…”
Am I really going to go my whole life not being able to wield a sword?
(…There is one—only one—ray of hope.)
“Th-There is?”
(Yes. You must find her.)
“Find… her?”
(Yes. She exists somewhere in this world.)
“You don’t know where?”
(I don’t. No one knows anything.)
“…So I have to go looking for her?”
(That’s what it comes down to. If you want to wield a sword, you have no other choice. Please, find your beloved sword.)
“…Beloved sword? But I’m not Generous or a god or anything.”
So why me?
(Yes, you are human. However, possessing a pseudo-divine relic means you are viewed as both human and divine. You are akin to a demigod. And more importantly, you are Generous-sama. That title carries great weight.)
“…But there’s someone else who’s supposed to be her return, isn’t there?”
(Return? Sorry, I don’t know about that. I am the Knife Goddess, after all.)
“Ah—sorry.”
(It’s about time.)
“Thank you… for all of this, really.”
(Wof, let us meet again when you break your tenth knife. I pray that day never comes.)
“Y-Yes. I’ll try not to break any more.”
(Not that it’ll help.)
“Eh?”
(Farewell—and may you have a good My Knife.)
With the Knife Goddess’s divinely compassionate smile, my consciousness faded—
And I woke up.
“Haaah… seriously…”
I let out a deep sigh as I got up.
It was still dark, so I yawned and went back to sleep.
[Later that day]
Despite the shocking dream, after a second sleep, I’d calmed down.
Searching for some divine sword that I have no idea where it is—
That’s not exactly realistic.
And even if I can’t use swords, I’m still human.
I can live. I will live.
Sure, swords were a dream of mine.
In fantasy, magic is the standard, but the true staple is the sword.
A sword… yeah, I still want to use one.
But I don’t want to meet the goddess-sword woman who cursed me just because she’s jealous.
That’s way past jealousy. That’s obsession. Terrifying obsession.
That kind of thing is just way too much for a 13-year-old kid like me.
I haven’t even been in a kid’s romance, let alone deal with an adult one this deep and messy.
“Man…”
I felt like I learned something I really didn’t want to know.
And with that mood, I found myself standing in front of a mansion.
The base of Torquetum. I knocked, and the one who opened the door was—
“Wof.”
It was Pakira-san, staring at me with her blue cat-like eyes.
“Hello, Pakira-san.”
“Mm. I heard from Bid that you were coming. That you had something to tell us.”
At our farewell yesterday, Bid-san had told me:
“I’ll pass the message along. Come by tomorrow.”
So here I was.
“Yes. I thought it was something I should tell you all personally.”
“Hmm. Come in.”
“Excuse me.”
I was led to the living room.
There were already Liv-san and Lupinas-san sitting on the sofa drinking tea.
Bid-san wasn’t here—I knew she’d gone on a request with Mineha-san this morning.
Dagaa went with them too. Probably to practice [Swift-step].
“Hello, Wof-san.”
Lupinas-san put down her tea and greeted me.
“Hello, Lupinas-san.”
“Mm… Yo.”
“Thanks, Liv-san.”
I was offered a seat and sat on the sofa.
Pakira-san also sat down, and all the members of Torquetum were now gathered.
It felt familiar—just like last time.
“So you said you had something to tell us?”
“Yes. Um, I’ve officially become an explorer—by special exception.”
“Oh! So it finally happened!”
Pakira-san perked up her cat ears, her two long white tails swaying.
“Yes.”
“Mm… Congrats.”
Liv-san clapped, and Lupinas-san gave me a gentle smile.
“Congratulations. Since it was a special exception, that means you’re the same rank as us, yes?”
“Ah, no—it’s actually different. I’m Fifth-Rank.”
“Hmm?”
“Oh?”
“Mm…”
“It was the Witch’s will.”
“Ah. Well, that explains everything.”
“Indeed it does.”
“Also, about the tower…”
“Right. Did you find something out?”
“Yes. Actually—”
I explained everything in detail.
When I got to the part about Alhazard Abramelin, everyone reacted like a “galaxy brain cat meme.”
Especially Pakira-san, being of the cat-people tribe—she was literally a space cat.
After I finished explaining, Pakira-san let out a deep sigh.
“I see now…”
“I had no idea the tower in the courtyard was like that.”
“Mmm… Wanda-ho.”
“So then, what will you do?”
“I plan to challenge it. I want to try—do as much as I can.”
I’m sure I’ll hit a wall—something impossible to overcome with my current abilities.
Even so, I want to give it everything I have right now.
“That’s the spirit of a true explorer.”
“Mmm… so… the team?”
“Still not assembled. I need at least two more.”
“Then how about Liv? What do you say?”
“Yes, actually, due to certain circumstances, Pakira and I have to go to the Tasan territory.”
“Tasan?”
Tasan—that’s where Juicy-san and Rell-san are from.
Come to think of it, I haven’t seen Juicy-san around lately.
“Mm. Since Liv will be staying behind, it works out well.”
“Mmm… is that okay?”
Liv-san asked the other two, slightly hesitant.
“It’s fine. Wof, take care of Liv.”
“Please take good care of her.”
“Y-Yes, understood.”
“This feels… different. But… yeah. Let’s do our best, boy.”
Liv-san turned toward me and gave me a soft smile.
“Yes, Liv-san.”
And with that, the second member was confirmed.
Just one more to go.
Then, the day came—the designated day for the Alhazard Abramelin request.
“—Can’t believe I’m heading to the junkyard at my age…”
“Wait, you’ve been to the junkyard too?”
“Nah, the place I’m from didn’t have any dungeons nearby. I became an explorer right after coming of age, so this’ll be my first time in a junkyard.”
“Mmm… same for Liv.”
“Oh yeah, you were some rich kid or something.”
“More or less. I hear Hydrangea has the biggest junkyard in the frontier.”
“Hmph. This is actually my second time there.”
“Ahaha… Mineha-san, looking forward to working with you again.”
“Leave it to me.”
“Na!”
“Wof… did that knife just make a noise?”
“Wait—don’t you know about it?”
“Oh, I guess I never told you.”
“Mmm… Interesting… lifeform.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Na?”
…I’ll explain it to her later.
“W-Well then, let’s go.”
“Hey, say it properly!”
“Yeah, come on, Captain!”
“Mmm… Captain.”
“Na!”
“…Th-Then, the ‘Impromptu Wolf Gang’ moves out!”
And so, our makeshift team—the Impromptu Wolf Gang—headed for the junkyard.
To the sacred chamber.