
Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 38: A Small Doubt
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“Come on, Nara-dono! One more time!”
The towering, muscle-bound knight commander of this country stood before me, shouting as he raised his practice sword. This was right after he’d sent me flying.
“Damn it!”
I cursed under my breath, picking up the practice sword I’d dropped and standing back up.
The sword in my hands was real, only dulled for practice. While it wasn’t too heavy for me now, it was still a weapon meant to take lives, which made my movements hesitant.
“Now’s not the time to hesitate! Nara-dono, you must master combat techniques as soon as possible!”
“I know that…! Hah!”
I readied my practice sword again and charged toward the knight commander.
In the world I came from, I’d never dreamed of moving at such incredible speed. The first time I felt this newfound agility, I was overwhelmed with a sense of omnipotence. But ever since starting sword training, that feeling had completely vanished.
Thanks to this absurd summoning to another world, my physical abilities had been boosted immensely.
But physical ability was all I had.
I’d never wielded anything sharper than a toy sword before. I had no experience in kendo or any other martial art.
Against the top knight of this country, my untrained swordsmanship couldn’t even graze him.
With flowing movements, he dodged my attacks, parried with flawless technique, and sent me flying with raw strength.
Normally, someone like me—a total amateur—would never receive personal instruction from someone like the knight commander. But because I was a summoned individual, he had taken it upon himself to teach me directly.
I wanted to live up to that consideration and kept charging at him, but…
“Whoa!?”
Today, once again, I was deflected and sent sprawling.
“Fuu, Nara-dono.”
The knight commander lowered his practice sword and relaxed his stance, addressing me.
“…What is it?”
I responded respectfully, as I was the one learning from him. Still, the frustration of not making any progress seeped into my tone, making me sound sulky.
I must’ve sounded like a brat…
As I thought that, the knight commander gave a faint smile.
“Nara-dono, you only picked up a sword for the first time a few days ago. Of course, things won’t go well immediately.”
“Yeah, but…”
The knight commander tried to reassure me, but I couldn’t shake the pressure I felt. This country had summoned me into this world, albeit by some awful methods.
Still, I was being treated exceptionally well here, and I’d begun to enjoy this life. No more annoying school to deal with.
But if I kept failing like this, they might eventually give up on me…
As I wallowed in those thoughts, the knight commander stepped closer to me.
…Man, this guy’s huge.
Looking up at him, I suddenly felt his large hand patting my head.
“!?”
Surprised by the unexpected gesture, I froze as he spoke with a wry smile.
“Feeling a sense of responsibility is a good thing, but… mastering swordsmanship isn’t something you can achieve overnight, no matter how strong you are. If it were, it would make my decades of training meaningless, don’t you think?”
“Ah…”
He was right.
Thinking I could match the knight commander’s skill with a sword after only a few days was beyond arrogant—it was decades too early.
In manga and anime, summoned heroes often defeat the strongest swordsman in the country right after arriving, so I’d assumed being summoned automatically made me special.
But… reality doesn’t work that way.
“…I’m sorry. I’ve been rushing things too much.”
I bowed my head slightly, the knight commander’s hand still resting on it. He let out a small chuckle and released his grip.
Then he gave me a broad grin.
“Still, your physical abilities really are incredible. That much, I’m honestly jealous of.”
“Haha, it’s just a power I was given, though.”
I couldn’t take pride in this strength, since it wasn’t something I’d earned myself.
But before I could say more, the knight commander roughly ruffled my hair.
“Hey! What the—!? What are you doing!?”
“Gifted or not, if it’s part of you, then it’s your strength, Nara-dono.”
“But…”
“If that’s your logic, then what about me? I was born with this massive body—completely beyond my control. Does that make it unfair?”
“Well, no…”
That’s a talent the knight commander was born with… Oh, I see.
“Nara-dono… Even though it was His Majesty’s decision, you were forced to sever all ties with your original world to come here. Don’t you think it’s fair that you were at least granted some compensation for that?”
“…Do you really think so?”
“Of course. First, you need to accept that fact. Once you do, you’ll stop being so self-deprecating.”
“…Understood. Thank you, Commander.”
When I expressed my gratitude once more, the knight commander gave me a firm pat on the back.
“That’s the spirit. Well, that’s enough training for today. Why don’t you go and join her? She’s been watching us with a worried look this whole time.”
Following his gaze, I noticed a girl about my age dressed in a simple yet undoubtedly luxurious dress. She was surrounded by maids and had been watching us the entire time.
It was Princess Evangeline, the princess of this kingdom.
“…I’ve done nothing to deserve this, so why is she so attached to me?”
It’s been about a month since I came to this world. Despite having achieved absolutely nothing so far, Princess Evangeline’s affection for me seemed abnormally high.
Sure, she’s a beautiful princess, so it’s flattering, but mostly I just felt confused.
“Well… Her Highness is at that age, after all. She’s likely thrilled about the arrival of a summoned hero in our kingdom.”
“Is that really okay? Doesn’t she already have a childhood fiancé or something?”
From what I know about these kinds of fantasy settings, people of noble or royal status usually have prearranged engagements. Inevitably, getting involved with an otherworlder leads to drama. I didn’t want to get caught up in anything like that.
The knight commander scratched his head awkwardly before leaning in to whisper to me.
“To tell you the truth, Her Highness has always been something of a dreamer. She’s held onto the hope that one day a legendary summoned hero would appear and marry her. Since her claim to the throne is rather low, even His Majesty indulged her whims and refrained from arranging a fiancé.”
So she’s a bit of a romantic dreamer, huh…
“Wait, so she tried the same thing with the previous summoned heroes?”
“No, back then, the neighboring kingdom of Lindor monopolized the summoned individual, and she couldn’t even meet them. Her Highness was quite disheartened by that.”
“And now, here I am, the long-awaited summoned hero.”
So that’s how it is.
At the end of the day, it’s all about the title of “summoned hero,” isn’t it?
“…Hmm?”
But wait, something about that doesn’t quite add up.
Just as I started to piece together a strange sense of unease, my thoughts were interrupted by a voice calling out to me.
“Mitsuhiko-sama! Your training has finished, hasn’t it? Would you join me for tea now?”
Growing impatient with us standing around, Princess Evangeline approached with her entourage in tow.
“Oh, uh, sorry. I got lost in thought…”
When I apologized, the princess’s eyes glimmered, and her cheeks flushed.
“You’re so devoted to your training… How admirable.”
“Ahaha…”
I couldn’t possibly admit that I wasn’t thinking about training at all, but instead wondering why she was so attached to me.
“Well, Mitsuhiko-sama, it’s important to shift gears sometimes. Please, allow me to take care of you from here on.”
“You’re right. I’ll take you up on that offer. But, um, do you mind if I wash up first? I worked up quite a sweat during training.”
I couldn’t possibly relax while covered in sweat.
“…You don’t need to bother with that…”
“Sorry?”
“N-Never mind! Please let me know when you’ve finished! I’ll be waiting!”
For a moment, it seemed like she’d muttered something terrifying, but… it’s probably just my imagination, right?
Pretending I hadn’t heard anything, I headed back to my room.
As I did—
“Oh, Nara-kun. Done with training for the day?”
My neighbor, Ota, emerged from the adjacent room, his face slightly flushed.
“Yeah. What about you… did you bring someone over again?”
When I said that, Ota shrugged his shoulders lightly.
“Well, they said they’d provide it, so I’m just taking them up on their offer.”
When we were handed over to Admos, they promised to do whatever they could as an apology for the indiscriminate summoning. That promise included offering… let’s say, certain services involving women.
“Honestly, I was hoping for one of the castle maids, but apparently, they don’t handle that kind of thing.”
As Ota spoke, a woman dressed as a maid stepped out from behind him.
Unlike the diligent castle maids, this woman had a sultry air about her. Clearly, they’d dressed someone from ‘that kind of profession’ in a maid uniform.
“Well then, call me again if you’d like.”
The woman kissed Ota on the cheek, cast me a sly glance, and then walked off.
“Ahh… This other world is amazing.”
“…Don’t you have training to do?”
Ota never participated in sword training. He just stayed holed up in his room all day.
“I’m focusing on magic, so you can focus on the sword, Nara-kun.”
“…Fine. Later.”
“Yeah, see ya.”
What is he even thinking?
When we first got here, we were told that humans weren’t naturally adept at magic, so teaching us wouldn’t be easy.
Still, it’s not like we can’t use magic at all, so we were given some very basic lessons—but they were just that: basic.
So when he says he’s focusing on magic… it doesn’t really add up.
With those thoughts swirling in my mind, I took a bath in the room’s private facilities to wash off the sweat from training and prepared for the princess’s tea party.
When I was shown to Princess Evangeline’s room, the table was packed with an assortment of sweets.
“Sweet treats are best when you’re tired. Please, have a seat.”
Following her invitation, I sat down at the table.
“Fufu. Thank you for always working so hard in your training.”
“Thank you.”
As I enjoyed tea with the smiling princess and let myself relax, I decided to ask her about something that had been on my mind.
“Um, Princess Evangeline, may I ask you something?”
“Oh my, there’s no need to be so formal! I’ve told you to call me Eva!”
“Well, that’s…”
“Hmmph!”
“Uh… then, Eva-sama?”
This exchange had happened countless times, but her persistence finally wore me down. Giving in to her request to use a nickname, I tried it out, though she still seemed a little pouty.
“Hmmph, you could just call me Eva without any honorifics.”
“Please, spare me that. Anyway, about my question…”
“Yes, what is it?”
“You’re so considerate toward me because I’m a summoned hero, right? If that’s the case, are you also taking care of Ota in the same way?”
At that, the princess’s bright smile vanished, replaced by a scowl unbefitting of royalty.
“Well… I hate to say this, especially since we summoned him against his will, but Ota-sama doesn’t have a very good reputation here.”
“Ah, I figured.”
With all the women he’s been bringing into the castle, it’s no surprise his reputation is bad.
“It’s not just the women he keeps bringing to his room. There’s also the question of whether he’s actually doing any training.”
“He claims he’s working on magic, though.”
When I said that, Eva let out a small sigh.
“Who is teaching him? Everyone in this castle can only use rudimentary magic compared to the demons. Even if a summoned hero has a large mana pool, I doubt he can grow strong with such basic guidance.”
“But the previous summoned hero destroyed Lindor’s capital, right? That wouldn’t have been possible without magic. How did the previous hero learn magic?”
When I asked that, Eva-sama’s expression turned sorrowful.
“I’ve heard that Maya-sama, the previous summoned hero, was exceptionally talented until he invaded the demon realm. While in the human realm, he diligently trained in swordsmanship and learned the basics of magic. However, that wasn’t enough for him. He even infiltrated the demon realm and learned magic from its underworld inhabitants.”
“He went that far…”
Maya, the previous summoned hero, must have worked incredibly hard.
And yet, he still fell into darkness.
Does power inevitably change people?
“But why are you asking about this?”
“Oh, well… I was wondering if you care about me only because I’m a summoned hero. Yet, you don’t seem to be interacting with Ota at all.”
When I said that, Eva-sama puffed up her cheeks.
“That is not the reason at all! Yes, at first, I was thrilled that a legendary summoned hero had finally come to our kingdom. But more than that, seeing how dedicated Mitsuhiko-sama is to his training, I wanted to support you!”
“O-oh, I see… I’m sorry.”
Wow.
Eva-sama isn’t being considerate just because I’m a summoned hero—she truly cares because she sees how hard I’m working.
Thinking about it that way, my earlier question might have disrespected her kindness.
I apologized, but I couldn’t help wondering if she’d forgive me.
As I anxiously watched her, Eva-sama turned her gaze away.
Uh-oh, did I really upset her…?
“W-when you look at me so intently like that, it makes me embarrassed…”
Oh, she wasn’t angry; she was just flustered.
Wow, that’s… adorable.
“So, will you continue to support me from now on?”
When I asked, Eva-sama beamed brightly.
“Yes! I would be delighted!”
She cheerfully replied, taking a sip of tea and smiling as she added.
“To think I can spend time with a legendary summoned hero like this—it feels like a dream.”
“Oh, about that—wasn’t the previous hero summoned just three years ago? With heroes being summoned this frequently, isn’t ‘legendary’ a bit of an exaggeration?”
I’d been curious since everyone kept making it sound so dramatic. Her response was unexpected.
“No, not at all. I’ve heard that before Maya-sama, it had been a very long time since a summoned hero appeared.”
“Huh? Really?”
“Yes. Summoning heroes is extremely rare. That’s why summoned heroes are considered legendary.”
“Two summons in such a short span… that’s unusual.”
“Now that you mention it, it is peculiar. It’s not my place to say this, but if summoned heroes are such powerful assets, wouldn’t it make sense to summon them more often?”
Eva-sama tilted her head thoughtfully.
It could simply be that there wasn’t a need until now… but something about it felt unsettling.
As that sense of unease lingered, I couldn’t help but wonder what Ota planned to do moving forward.