summerpeanut

What Changes and What Won’t

Author’s Note(AN) :

Today’s also 1st rank in high fantasy categoryyyyyy!

It’s been about a week since the first upload. Thanks to everyone’s effort, I felt like I’m still in a dream!

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Red, red, a red sky. A completely crimson sky. Blood-like, perhaps it’s blood itself.

From there emerged dark smudges, the minions of the Great Demon Lord.

Crustaceans, fish, mollusks, bats, enormous insects–twisting nightmares and malice into them, these mindless killing machines were created solely to bring death to all living beings. They advanced upon the orc's holy ground, the Red Lake, as if swarm of clouds and mist.

Army of green against the army of red.

Faces smeared with red battle paint, veins bulging on foreheads and arms, eyes bloodshot with quiet rage, strong arms wielding swords and axes.

More than anything, a concentrated mass of murderous intent that easily surpassed that of the mindless killing machines.

For the defense of their holy ground, the orc united from all corners of the world in numbers far beyond the Great Demon Lord's expectations.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

The orc roared. Their earth-shaking voices pushed them forward, upward into the heavens.

But the ones with battle resolve were not just the orc.

Humans, elves, dwarves, fairiesvarious races stood side by side with the orc, facing the ones who sought bloodshed.

And then:

"Orcish moonshine was delicious."

A yawning, unpredictable spirit blade.

"I'll write 'Here lies a drunkard who loved his drink' on your tombstone."

Rings glinting on ten fingers.

"The enemy forces are approaching."

A radiant staff.

"Alright, let's go!"

Swords and shields raised.

These were tales of the past.

◆

◆

◆

"Did it bring back memories of the past?"

"Huh? Yeah. It did. Hearing the name of that place made me remember things from long ago."

"Indeed. I, too, haven't heard the name 'Red Lake' in a long time."

Upon Elrika's query, Ferad, lost in thought for a moment, came back to himself.

It was a time seventy years in the past. A time of youthful days when the skin had no wrinkles or aget spots, when they simply ran and ran. Days of continuous fighting, and winning the right to live.

However, because everything at that time was so filled with the stench of blood, tales of those days were not suited for nostalgic conversations and thus rarely passed their lips.

"I doubt there are many orcs left from that time."

"Yes, orcs' lifespans aren't much different from humans', it seems."

Ferad carried a hint of melancholy. While he didn't have a particularly deep connection with the orcs, it was simply a lonely fact that most of his comrades from those days were no longer around.

"Well then, let's choose this inn."

"Shall we?"

Shaking off the loneliness, Ferad decided on the inn, but even here, there were humans wearing hoods coming and going, making it quite suspicious.

"We'll be intruding."

“We’ll be troubling you.”

"Welcome."

(Good. The staff isn't wearing hoods, and it doesn't seem to be a cult's hall.)

Entering the inn, the elderly couple breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that the innkeeper was dressed normally and the interior was also ordinary.

"Customer, is this your first time in this town? As expected, an innkeeper's owner isn't going to wear a hood."

“Hoh hoh hoh”

“Hohoho”

The innkeeper, an utterly ordinary middle-aged man, seemed accustomed to guests scrutinizing his appearance. With a knowing smile, he extended his arms, a gesture that left Ferad and Elrika with no choice but to exchange awkward smiles.

"May we have your names, please?"

"Sure thing."

Prompted, Ferad and Elrika provided their real names.

"Thank you very much."

The innkeeper paid no special attention to it.

Given that Ferad and Elrika had rather common names and that it had been seventy years since the war, associating them with legendary figures was virtually impossible.

The image people today had of heroes, even aged ones, was of strapping individuals with lion-like manes of hair and sharp, hawk-like eyes. However, the actual heroes, now aged and shrunken, wore the lines on their faces and the corners of their eyes as smiles. This discrepancy in images was quite striking.

(I should avoid making hard food for the meal, I guess.)

And he were even concerned about their teeth.

Aging is cruel. Even if it was never been a source of concern when you were young, you're assumed to be weakened on the premise of aging.

"Hohoho. You know, I feel a bit apologetic for him. I'm still quite lively, you see."

"Hohohoho. I feel the same way."

Upon entering their lodging room, Ferad's wry smile caught Elrika's attention. She delicately covered her mouth to hide her amusement.

Ferad had not only realized that the innkeeper was concerned about their teeth, but he also noticed the lingering glances they received when they got on and off the carriage.

"When I was young, I used to be the one worrying, but someday I become the one being worried about. I didn't realize that until now."

"Hehehe. That's true. I never imagined it back when I was young."

Everyone grows old and becomes the one others worried about. Elrika murmured contemplatively, realizing something utterly ordinary, and Ferad nodded in agreement.

Ideally, it would be the children who start worrying about their aging parents and become aware of this reality. However, neither Ferad nor Elrika had ever fallen seriously ill, and they knew their children saw them as superhuman, so they didn't worry about being treated as elderly or provoke them by acting like elders.

"But..."

"But?"

Repeating Elrika's words, Ferad waited for her to continue.

"Ferad has always been kind and mischievous."

"Elrika is also gentle and spirited."

"Well, being spirited isn't appropriate at our age."

"In that case, I've also retired from being mischievous."

"Hohohohoho."

"Hoh hoh hoh."

Times change, and with age, some things change too.

But there are things that don't change after all.

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Author’s Note(AN) :

Those who enjoyed the series for the last week, please bookmark this series and rate it with a star ☆ below, the author will cry from joy!

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Postwar Generation

Author’s Note(AN) :

Thank you very much for the support which allowed me to hold the first place in high fantasy category for a week!

I am really touched!

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“Where should we stay for the night, grandma?”

“Indeed, grandpa.”

Ferad and Elrika wandered around the city, looking somewhat lost, as they glanced around. Due to the city's inhabitants, both young and old, wearing robes and hoods, every inn seemed suspiciously like a shady establishment. They were left wondering where to go.

(W-what to do…)

Far behind them, Aldrick, the Incinerator, was also in a state of bewilderment.

(I suppose not just Sazaki-sama, but probably the hero couple as well...)

Peering from the shadows, Aldrick was an odd presence, an old man in his seventies observing the elderly couple. While he knew Sazaki and had interacted with him, he had only met Ferad and Elrika once when he was young. If Sazaki weren't absent and he hadn't received the message from Lara about their old friends visiting, he might not have noticed them.

(Master says to help her friends, but in this case... No, it's not proper to disturb their personal time...)

And in Aldrick's perception, there was a distinct difference between him and the individuals who had literally saved the world and himself, who had come to prominence in a relatively peaceful era. To him, they were like people from a different realm, despite their elderly appearance and unsteady steps.

(Th-their signatures…no, no, this won't do! What am I even thinking!)

Aldrick was feeling quite conflicted.

Those in their seventies were born around the time of the final battle against the Great Demon Lord and the era following the virtual dissolution of the hero party. They weren't part of the generation directly involved in the war. However, due to having grown up hearing the heroic tales of the hero parties, they had a considerable number of fans within this generation.

Aldrick, too, was one of those people, having played hero games with wooden swords and shields when he was a child. Therefore, now, with the ninety-year-old couple in front of him, he was finding it difficult to know how to approach them.

(Hmm? An orc?)

Aldrick's attention was drawn to a large figure approaching Ferad and Elrika from a distance. The creature was a giant, its green skin towering over ordinary humans. Although its plump belly and slightly sagging skin made it appear obese, it was, in fact, a mass of densely packed muscles. Such beings were commonly known as orcs in this world.

Focusing on the orc's massive forehead, Ferad stared and tried to recall a memory while feeling perplexed.

“Is the 'Flame Vortex' clan staying here?”

Ferad voiced his thoughts involuntarily. If his memory served him right, the red vertical stripes on the orc's forehead were the emblem of the Flame Vortex clan, an orc clan known for its combat prowess. However, the Flame Vortex was based much further south and shouldn't have had a presence in this vicinity.

In reality, this particular orc was more of a wandering traveler, separated from his clan. There weren't any clansmen from his kind around here.

“Old man, are you familiar with my clan?”

The orc let out a low growl-like sound. It wasn't meant to be a threat, but rather a characteristic of their species' voices, which were naturally imposing.

“Yes. I participated in the Battle of the Red Lake during the Great War. We stood side by side with the orc alliance, including the Flame Vortex clan, during that time. The valor of the chieftain of your clan back then, Lord Gugan, is etched in my memory.”

“What a surprise. I thought you might be a war veteran from the looks of you, but to think you were at the Battle of the Red Lake as well...”

Upon hearing Ferad's explanation, a clear light of respect shone in the orc's eyes.

Orcs were beings that sought battles befitting their ancestral spirits, their ancestors, parents, children, and clans, and they held honor in high regard. Learning that Ferad had participated in the defense of the sacred grounds struck a chord with the orc, whose species valued honor and combat above all else.

That's why during the past great war, the forces of darkness attacked the Red Lake. As a result, an alliance of orc creatures who had gathered from all around the world to defend the sacred site, along with the struggling survivors and the united forces of the hero parties, faced off against the invading dark army, leading to a fierce battle.

As a side note, humans are an entirely different species from orc, making them not considered as potential mates. This fact has led to a lack of gender-related issues even when humans are integrated into combat groups of orcs. Those who have experienced the efficiency and values of orcs' combat prowess tend to hold trust in them.

Returning to the main topic, what can generally be said is that in this world, orcs are extremely reliable beings.

"Is that lady also a participant?"

"Yes, she fought alongside as well."

"Forgive my bluntness, but would you mind shaking hands?"

"If it's even acceptable for someone like me, I'd be glad to."

"Of course."

Upon learning that Elrika also participated in the Battle of the Red Lake, the orc extended its hand, and one by one, gently shook the weathered hands of both individuals. This orc, although not directly involved in the great war, holds the battle for the protection of the sacred land in highly as a member of the honor-bound orc species. Having grown up hearing tales of this event, he sought a handshake from those who were part of it.

(Oh, this orc! I'm envious of you! Can you switch places with me for a moment?)

Watching this, Aldrick became once again flustered. If Lara were here, she would most probably be giving her disciple a knock on the head. As a side note, Aldrick's magical level, known as the Deep layer, is the highest of his generation, with only a few exceptions. It promises him excellent treatment in any kingdom. Furthermore, he holds the status of an esteemed individual who can attend the Council of Magic, an assembly only accessible to the world's chosen high-level magicians.

"Mommy, what is that person doing?"

"Shh, you shouldn't stare."

At the moment, he was a suspicious figure peeking from the shadows, even if he were indeed that same Aldrick above-mentioned. Leaving aside his identity, let's proceed.

It's been nearly 70 years since the conclusion of the war. While this spans generations, it's a relatively short time for memories to fade away. And the more significant the impact of the war, the more immense the feats of the hero party become.

◆

Bonus

Aldrick, the Incinerator

• His flames dance endlessly. Even dragons would tremble in fear. *shivers*

"The Battle of the Red Lake"

• The Great Demon Lord belittled the orcs. Orcs from many different clans, despite their slight connections, united in their mission to protect the sacred land, surpassing everyone's expectations and caused massive destruction.

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Author’s Note(AN) :

If you find this interesting, please bookmark ncode.syosetu(.)com/n0528ii, and should you rate it with a star ☆ below, the author will cry from joy!

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Husband and Wife

Author’s Note(AN) :

Thank you so much for helping me reach the first place in high fantasy category again this morning!

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“Nothing's changed, huh. Should I say it's nostalgic, or should I wish for things to have changed…”

“Indeed so, grandpa...”

Upon entering the magical city of Margard, Ferad and Elrika felt somewhat relieved to see the familiar scenery from their memories. However, that scenery included suspicious-looking groups of individuals wearing robes and hoods scattered around, making it far from ordinary.

This sight triggered memories of his younger days for Ferad.

"...speaking of which, a long time ago when I came to this city, there was a con artist advertising swords with transparent blades, but they were actually just handles without the blade."

"Hahaha! Oh, that brings back memories! If I hadn't stopped you, you probably would've bought it!"

"Yeah, that happened."

"The city of magic, as expected. To think they would sell things like that. It's quite a change from the naive young man from the countryside."

While Ferad frowned, contrastingly, Sazaki burst into laughter, lifting the bottle away from his mouth and started guffawing. Elrika also looked back on the past.

“Although it’s not my place to say about this since I wanted one, but don’t you think transparent blades would come handy for assassins. They sure had the guts to sell those openly including the fact that it was a fraud.”*1

“I wonder if the phrase good old days is appropriate here.”

“Well, there’s no doubt that during the war there was a lot of things going on.”

Ferad continued to frown, exasperated by the openness of the era he had lived in, and Elrika and Sazaki agreed with him while sharing a wry smile.

During the era of the Great War, ethical standards were quite questionable, and dangerous items were scattered all around. In stark contrast, the present time had seen a significant increase in regulations, resulting in a "moderate" reduction of past dangerous materials and crimes.

"They might start saying you can't even drink outside soon. Oh how dreadful..."

"You're probably better off that way."

"That's not necessarily the case."

"Hmm."

"Lu...ruuuugh..."

As Sazaki was about to jokingly retort and end the jests with Ferad. A faint voice reached his ears, causing his tongue to glitch in response.

"Lulu? You seem to have had a bit too much to drink if you've forgotten my name."

Emerging from the crowd, a straight-backed old woman appeared. The Witch of Annihilation, Lara, tilted her head slightly while looking at the inebriated man sprawled on the ground, sporting a grin.

"Oh, Lara! It's been a while!"

"Indeed, it has."

"Still as energetic as ever, Ferad, Elrika."

Ferad and Elrika exchanged smiles, rejoicing in the long-awaited reunion with their comrade-in-arms, Lara.

However, in the background, Sazaki remained fixated on the bottle, attempting to drink the remaining contents, which was quite pointless as the bottle was already empty.

"It's been a whileeeeeee, Madam Lara."

"Oh, yes, Sir Sazaki."

With Sazaki blinking repeatedly and trying to converse with his wife, his speech remained quite garbled.

(I wonder just what kind of letter Sazaki sent?

As Sazaki, the sarcastic and nonchalant one, appeared visibly discomposed, Ferad unintentionally exchanged a glance with Elrika. Especially if Sazaki's last disciple, the young boy named Carl, were present, he would probably be attempting to shove a bottle into Sazaki's mouth to sober him up.

However, Sazaki and Lara's distant son, witnessing such scenes many times, might have only concluded that men are such creatures that behave quite differently outside and at home.

"Drop by the shop. There's some alcohol there."

"Hooray! Much appreciated!"

However that very same Sazaki became lively upon hearing that there was alcohol available, he approached Lara with bouncy steps. He was undoubtedly being led around as she wished.

"Then, I'll take you up on that offer."

"Thanks for having us, Lara."

"Sure thing. But we're short on beds, so you might need to rent rooms at the inn. I’ll be borrowing this household head here."

As Ferad, Elrika, and Lara chatted, Sazaki, who had been left behind, seemed to have difficulties maintaining his pace.

◆

"I suppose you're wandering around to see familiar faces?"

"Yes. I thought I'd make my final farewells."

After moving her shop to another location, Lara checked the content of the letter and discussed it with Ferad.

"Well, most of the folks who were alive during the Great War are gone now. It wouldn't cause much of a fuss right now."

"True, very true."

Lara nodded as she recalled the commotion from the past.

The followers of the gods always tried to elevate Ferad, and in worst case, even gods on the brink of existence crisis were urging him to visit their realms after his death.

However, the reason Ferad and Elrika had withdrawn to the countryside was not due to such turmoil or political issues, but for an entirely different reason.

"So, in the end, you're heading to the neighboring continent?"

"I want to see the face of my great-grandchild. Isn't that right, grandpa?"

"That's right, grandma."

The cause of the past turmoil was this old couple's enthusiasm to visit their great-grandchild. They were delighted beyond measure.

"I'll go along then. Hic. Alcohol tastes good."

"Oh, I see."

(He's always been easy to follow others in a strange way.)

Lara managed Sazaki, who was in high spirits due to the alcohol, and sighed at her husband's behavior of simply going along with his friends' plans.

"Then... that sounds good. I'll join too. It's best to see my old comrades one last time."

"Oh, that's great!"

"Well, well."

Lately, seeing paintings of their former comrades had filled Lara with nostalgia. She thought it might be a good idea to meet them one last time, so she decided to accompany Ferad and Elrika on their journey.

Seeing the different smiles on Ferad and Elrika's faces they had for their great-grandchild, she welcomed them warmly.

"Well then, let's find a place to stay for now and come back to visit."

"Sure. The shop will be open."

Deciding that the conversation might go on for a while, Ferad and Elrika left the bookstore to secure a place to stay.

Leaving Sazaki behind.

"I'll only say this once, but your ears aren't damaged, right?"

"Uh, yeah?"

As Ferad and Elrika walked away, leaving Sazaki trying to take a sip from the bottle, he snapped back to reality upon hearing Lara's words.

"Me too."*2

Lara's quietly spoken words held no apparent meaning.

However, Sazaki remembered the final sentence he had written in his letter and pieced together an answer, considering that he was alone without Ferad and Elrika.

"Ah, right. Yeah."

Sazaki managed to respond, his effort clearly visible.

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Author’s Note(AN) :

If you find this interesting, please bookmark ncode.syosetu(.)com/n0528ii, and should you rate it with a star ☆ below, the author will cry from joy!

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TN:

1. Imagine selling fraud weapons to an assassin.
2. Damn, this is so sweet.

The Abyss of Magic: The Witch of Annihilation

Author’s Note(AN) :

Thank you very much for the 1st place in the daily high fantasy category. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

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Just before the witch, Lara, received the letters from Ferad and Elrika, or rather, right after she had received a ‘will’ from her husband, Sazaki.

"That drunken good-for-nothing husband of mine. It seems he's finally gone off the deep end with alcohol. Even though I heard from his disciple that the old man is as lively as ever, he sent me a will now."

In the depths of a bookstore filled with old books, an elderly woman with weathered brown skin, odd-colored eyes of blue and red, and short white hair, Lara, muttered in exasperation. However, the corners of her mouth unconsciously curved upwards.

Written on the farewell letter from Sazaki, scribed using a rather peculiar magical tool, were not just instructions about the disposition of his inheritance and the spirit sword hanging at his waist.

The letter recounted their encounters, the battles they had fought through together, the day they became a couple, the moment they defeated the Great Demon King, and the memories of when their child was born. The letter concluded with words of love.

"Hmph, honestly."

Lara's lips curved even more as she snorted through her nose. She knew Sazaki to be someone who didn't express much verbally, but when written down, emotions she couldn't quite put into words welled up inside her.

"Huh? Elrika's familiar sent a letter? It's quite a day full of unusual things, seems like it will be a heavy downpour today."

Lost in thought about what to do next, Lara, upon seeing the white bird, Elrika's familiar, fly into her store, thought that her husband's letter and this strange occurrence were intertwined.

"Hmm... a final journey, huh?"

Having read the letter that the white bird carried in its beak, Lara learned that Ferad and Elrika were setting out on their final journey. Almost unconsciously, she moved her fingers to cast a spell.

"How nostalgic."

From an empty space, a picture appeared, depicting humans with uncanny precision. In the center were the youthful Ferad, grinning like a mischievous kid, and Elrika, who was standing close by him. On the edge, Sazaki drained a bottle of alcohol, while Lara stood next to him, arms crossed. And there were other companions as well.

These figures in the picture were none other than the legendary and mightiest group of humanity, the Hero Party. Of course, they were also a gathering of misfits and eccentric individuals. For instance, in the picture, a heavily muscled man sported nothing but a thin piece of cloth wrapped around his groin, showing off his prideful muscles. In other words, there were even exhibitionist narcissists in the party.

"... Well then, should I go get some food?"

Lara, who saw herself as having been tossed around by these eccentric people, remembered their oddities as she looked at the picture of the party members. She stored the picture in a separate space, then left the store to tend to immediate matters.

"Ah! It's the old witch!"

"Hehe. I might just cook you up and eat you."

"Gyaaaaah!?"

And so, this elderly woman, who had a lively and playful spirit, smiled a terrifying smile at the mischievous neighborhood children who came by, leaving them utterly shocked.

◆

◆

◆

"Be it letters or people with matters, aren't there quite the number today?"

Lara returned from shopping and looked with annoyance at the hooded figure standing in front of her bookstore. While such an appearance might raise suspicion in a regular city, this was the stronghold of these peculiar individuals, so no one paid it any mind.

"Come in. Just so you know, I only bought food for myself."

Lara invited the suspicious man into the bookstore.

"It’s been a long time, master."

As the hooded figure entered the bookstore, Aldrick, the "Incinerator," lowered his hood and bowed.

Maybe it’s because they are husband and wife, Lara also has several disciples similar to Sazaki. Amongst her disciples, Aldrick occupied a prominent position.

"You've just finished with the Magic Council, and you come straight to my place? Seems like you've brought some trouble along."

"Well, about that..."

Lara was aware that her disciple, Aldrick, had recently attended a council meeting where high-level wizards from all over the world gathered to discuss magic-related matters. Coming to her right after that meeting, Lara figured he must have brought some troublesome news with him.

And Aldrick's somewhat hesitant demeanor confirmed her suspicions.

"It’s about regarding this object but..."

Aldrick produced a black book bound with red chains from thin air.

"I recognize that appearance. I've heard of it before. This must be idiot Grace's strategic-level demon summoning book, right?"

"Yes. It was recovered by a council member from a collector's study. They believe that the demon inside might be on par with a deep tier wizard in terms of power, and they're struggling with how to deal with it."

"That idiot is a hopeless fool that has no restraint in his dictionary after all."

Seeing the black book after a long time, Lara wrinkled her brow, and Aldrick, too, furrowed his brows.

Grace, known as the "Evil Technician," was of the same generation as Lara. While she had once been a renowned magic technologist during the Great War, her extreme eccentricities had always held her back. Putting power and destructive capability above everything else, she seldom considered factors like control or safety in her creations. As a result, while her works could be useful when used properly, they often ended up being instruments of self-destruction if handled incorrectly.

This book was no different. It had been intended to imprison a demon powerful enough to rival a deep-tier wizard, to be used as a strategic weapon. However, demons were inherently driven by a desire to kill humans. What happened later was very simple, due to a complete lack of control, the book had to be sealed away. And now that it had been discovered, Aldrick was in a bind.

"Ah well, can't be helped. I guess it's up to our generation to clean up this mess."

"May you please handle it?"

While grumbling about the hassle, Lara declared that she, as a member of the same generation that lived through the Great War, would handle relics from that time. After receiving the cursed book, she teleported to an isolated space that stretched into the barren wilderness.

Lara's bookstore was enveloped by an abnormal level of magic, allowing her to create isolated spaces at will.

"Tch. I can't understand how can one manage sealing and isolation, yet fail to consider control at all."

Originally, Lara had wanted to obliterate the book and its contents entirely. However, the book itself was only a gateway to summoning demons. If she destroyed only the book, the demon sealed within would continue to drift within an unknown space and might accidentally appear at some point.

Hence, as inconvenient as it was, she needed to summon the demon before obliterating the contents.

"Come out."

Lara removed the chain that had bound the book and summoned the demon from within.

『Giiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!』

With a jarring scream, a giant, jet-black ant appeared, so massive that one could mistake it for a fortress, or rather, even a mountain.

In an era where heroes and legends abounded, it was classified as a strategic-level weapon. Its armor could only be damaged by deep-tier or profound-depth-tier magical attacks, while it remains nearly invulnerable to physical means.

With its razor-sharp mandibles, it could cleave mountains, and its sheer size could lead its charge to obliterate armies and conquer fortresses.

In essence, this ant was a weapon of mass destruction that had taken the simplest foundation to the extreme.

In other words, and in other words again... for Lara, it was just an ant.

What strategic-level demon? For Lara, Sazaki, Elrika, and Ferad, dealing with this level of existence was nothing. They had faced opponents that almost destroyed the world, head-on, and defeated them.

"Vanish."

Witch Lara activated her magic.

In that unprecedented realm.

A rank of madness that should be uncharted and unfathomable, even to the omniscient.

Her finger glows.

One ring, the coast layer.

Two rings, the outer layer.

Three rings, the middle layer.

Four rings, the gradual layer.

Five rings, the deep layer.

And with her dominant hand's wrist glowing as the sixth ring, there stood the legends in history, the profound-depth layer.

All of it was child's play.

The legend of few profound-depth wizards in history? Could they really rival the darkness that shattered logic?

Did she really need the brilliance of a seventh or an eighth finger?

No.

The ant saw it. It saw Lara's fingers glow.

Literally.

All of her fingers.

The glow from all fingers.

The brilliance of ten fingers.

It went beyond the dimension of profound-depth or any layer. It was unclassifiable.

If it had to be compared, it was like a depth that surpassed the depth of the ocean. The abyss. Abyss layer. Abyss tier.

Lara, the most powerful wizard in history, bent her fingers ever so slightly.

With that, ten shining rings overlapped above the ant's head. Complex and intricate patterns released into the air, centered on the target... and a tower of light soared.

Sound, erased.

Vibration, erased.

The ant's existence, completely eradicated.

"Is that all?"

As a result of dwelling within the abyss of magic for so long, the Great Demon King had shattered reason and plunged the world into darkness. But even he had regarded the ultimate firepower in the Hero Party, Lara, as a lunatic.

The Witch of "Annihilation," Lara, returned to her original dimension.

◆

Bonus:

“Witch of Annihilation", Lara

• As she resides in the abyss of madness while remaining sane, Lara has proven that sanity for humans is the true form of insanity

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Author’s Note(AN) :

If you find this interesting, please bookmark ncode.syosetu(.)com/n0528ii, and should you rate it with a star ☆ below, the author will cry from joy!

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The Depths of Sorcery

Author’s Note(AN) :

This novel reached fifth place in the daily high-fantasy category! Thank you very much!

I didn’t have a lot of confidence on this series because it’s a story full of old people but I’m really happy that it’s being appreciated this much!!

TN: Weird name for mages’ circle/ring system. Update to abyssal layer -> profound depth layer

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“Ah, Sazaki, I can see it now. The city, Margard.”

“Good. I can have some drinks.”

“Yes, indeed.”

As the carriage sways, Ferad not bothering to interject with Sazaki's swaying alcohol talk, gazes ahead at the city coming into view.

Several massive towers protrude from the huge fortress-like castle. Peculiar red and blue smoke rising from different places appears quite suspicious. It wouldn't be surprising if some people hesitated to enter the city.

The city is called Margard, the City of Magic.

True to its name, it's a city where wizards gather to conduct research day and night, and it's where the golem carriages were created.

"Margard seems the same, don't you think?"

"Exactly. Strange folks are still around, just like before."

Stimulated by memories triggered by the strange rising smoke, Elrika predicts that Margard hasn't changed much, and Sazaki affirms her observation.

Even during the days of the Great War, Margard served as a base for the wizards, a place where suspicious individuals conducted dubious research day and night. In other words, the city has always been considered suspicious by the general public, and there were even speculations that the whole city might explode someday.

"We've arrived!"

"Alright!"

As the coachman announces their arrival, Sazaki jumps off the carriage, opens a bottle of alcohol, and takes a swig directly from the bottle.

"Ah! Today's alcohol is delicious!"

"Grandpa, shall we go?"

"Let’s go, grandma."

Ignoring Sazaki, who loves alcohol without becoming dependent on it, Elrika and Ferad proceed towards the city gates.

"It's quite crowded. Perhaps they are traders?"

"They might be dealing with magical artifacts."

Ferad and Elrika, slowly walking side by side, observe the gathering of people in front of the gate. While they seem like commoners, some are well-built, and others are well-dressed. They assume the crowd are traders who have come to deal with magical products.

"As long as it doesn't explode on the way back, I guess?"

"It's not wartime anymore... Wait, was it like that even without war?"

"Well, it's probably alright. Probably."

After enjoying the taste of alcohol, Sazaki mutters his thought. Ferad initially denies his statement, but memories from the past suddenly make him anxious.

In fact, during the war, the residents of this city had frequently caused incidents due to their experiments with powerful magical artifacts, seemingly oblivious to the concepts of safety and reliability.

"Besides, don’t you think they are checking at the gate to make sure there’s no dangerous goods?"

"Move aside, old man!"

"Oh, pardon me."

Ferad leans out of the line to confirm something that seems plausible given the city's uniqueness. However, a voice suddenly shouts from behind.

Ferad apologizes toward the person around 30.y.o who shouted at him to move aside but he is wondering if he was really in the way.

"I’m a Gradual. Let me through."

The man, ignoring the line of people, confidently walks towards the gate. His demeanor suggests he knows this will clarify things.

Coast,

Outer layer,

Middle layer,

Gradual layer,

Deep layer,

Profound-depth layer.

These six categories classify the strength of wizards.

The Coast includes novice wizards. The Outer layer denotes trained wizards. The Middle layer category houses the veterans.

However, reaching the Middle level only signifies the halfway point, as the path of magic is deep and treacherous.

Gradual represents an elite, a synonym for top-tier individual. Deep stands for the few geniuses that characterized the era, while Profound-depth layer consists of only a handful of individuals in history. Considering this, except for a few exceptions, the peak lies at the Middle level, and for someone to reach the Gradual level at their thirties might be quite extraordinary.

In reality, a Gradual-level wizard in a small country could become a powerful force in times of war, hence they would receive respectful treatment wherever they went.

Yet, this is the City of Magic, where the Gradual-level wizards that would have been at the top of a small country are not so uncommon.

"It's your first time in this city, right? The rules are rules, so unless it's an emergency, please wait at the end of the line."

"What did you say!?"

Recognizing that exceptions to the rules could lead to uncontrollable chaos, the gatekeeper rejects the man's demand to cut the line. However, the man's annoyance is evident as his face reddens.

"You're useless for this conversation! Get the supervisor!"

The man pulls out his ultimate move for such situations.

Unfortunately, this is the City of Magic, Margard. His ultimate move would create a less fuss than a snake rattling in a thicket.

"Easy, easy there. In Margard's philosophy, the layer ranks are mere decorations. Let's handle this peacefully."

"Get lost, old man!"

They must have missed this new person. An elderly man in his seventies who was in the middle of the line removed his hood and tried to mediate. But the young man despite having magic expertise, he seemed to lack reason and intelligence, continued shouting with a red face.

Instead, the gatekeepers turn pale.

"I am Aldrick, one of Margard's administration member. I have more than the qualification as the 'supervisor' you mentioned earlier."

"What do you-!? W-what? What?"

The man shouts at the elderly person who introduced himself as Aldrick, but when his brain recognizes the name, his face turned paler by the second, and his ability to speak broke down.

"Y-you're lying..."

"Even if you say it's a lie..."

An old man stands before the younger man who wishes everything to be a lie.

Aldrick the “Incinerator".

Excluding the exception of the Profound-depth layer. He is a grand mage who has reached the level of Deep layer.

And he is not just any ordinary "Deep" level wizard. He is considered to be an outlier, someone almost on the brink of the "Profound-depth" level. His exceptional mastery lies in the unique flame magic, as indicated by his nickname. There are even rumors that he can face the breath of an ancient dragon, which can easily dissolve castle walls, head-on and shatter it.

"W-where’s the proof?"

"Is this acceptable?"

Still trying to resist in a pitiful manner, the man was left speechless when complex patterns of light rings appeared on all of Aldrick's fingers.

The light rings that appeared on the fingers of a mage's dominant hand were directly related to their classification.

One ring meant Coast, two rings meant Outer, three rings meant Medium, four rings meant Gradual, and five rings meant Deep.

Don't underestimate the difference between a Gradual and a Deep. That single ring represented immense effort and talent, demanding utmost dedication. As one delves deeper into the mysteries of magic, this gap widens.

Therefore, there was a significant difference in gap between the man's Gradual rank and Aldrick's five rings, Deep rank.

"This, this... I-I will excuse myself!"

The man who had clearly been presented with evidence of that the other is the so called ‘supervisor’, with an almost legendary status, was left with a paralyzed tongue as he muttered his last words and quickly retreated from the line.

(Because it’ll cause so much tension, they should have made a special entrance...)

On the other hand, the gatekeepers, aware that Aldrick should be treated specially, were nervous that he was actually standing in line. They hoped he would act in accordance with his status. Unfortunately, Aldrick's statement that the ranks within the wizard layers were merely ornaments in the realm of magic, as Margard's philosophy stated, was indeed true. This philosophy had been upheld for hundreds of years, and even Aldrick had to comply with it.

When Aldrick confirms the man had left… An old couple standing like some kind of plantation that makes one wonder if they are still alive along with a no-good old man nonchalantly drinking alcohol at the end of the line, he couldn’t help but exclaim internally…

"Wh-?!!"

Though he managed to hold back from shouting at the gatekeepers to immediately let them through, his entire body was covered in a sudden outburst of sweat.

◆

At the same time…

"Ferad and Elrika, huh? And the foolish household head has come, too."

In a small magical tome shop, a place visible only to a limited few, a woman with a once alluring brown skin, now aged, squinted her mismatched red and blue eyes and mumbled with an amused expression.

Inside her desk, there were letters from friends about visiting her, and what her husband sent, a letter marked as a will but functioned more like a love letter.

Her name was Lara.

Once a witch and also a member of a hero party.

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Author’s Note(AN) :

If you find this interesting, please bookmark ncode.syosetu(.)com/n0528ii, and should you rate it with a star ☆ below, the author will cry from joy!

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Close Friend

Author’s Note(AN) :

Please note that I will be posting continuously, similar to the day before.

Everyone, thank you very much for the 6th place in the daily rankings! I am so happy and touched!

TN: I said nothing.

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“Hey Ferad. How long has it been since we rode together? It’s been so long I can’t remember it.”

"I can't remember at all."

"I remember being impressed when I first got on it, but..."

"It's fun to see the horses up close after all."

"Dahahaha! Before that we were so spooked questioning what on earth is that four-legged thing!"

"Hohhoh. Certainly. When I learned about the maintenance costs and time and effort, I thought that only nobles would be able to afford one."

Sazaki, gazing into the distance, nods in nostalgic agreement with Ferad.

Both Ferad and Sazaki were born in a rural village and had no connection to horses, something considered as luxurious creatures. So, when they encountered one for the first time, they were taken aback, both by the sight of the animal and the exorbitant cost of purchasing and maintaining a horse.

"That time Elrika's..."

"Please stop there, grandpa."

"Hohoho."

Triggered by nostalgic memories, Ferad was about to talk about the time Elrika first moment of encountering a horse, but she stopped her husband and blushed slightly after.

(Perhaps it was because of the taste of the first bite.)

And rightfully so. In Ferad's memories, the young Elrika had observed a horse closely and asked whether the creature was delicious. Even now, as an older woman, she probably thought her reaction back then was a bit much, which is why she stopped Ferad from mentioning it.

(Perhaps it's best not to bring up the incident where Elrika mistook sugar for salt. It's a matter of chivalry.)

Sazaki watches the playful couple, privately recalling another mishap of Elrika.

Due to circumstances, Elrika, who can only be described as a sheltered girl, once confused sugar with salt. If Sazaki hadn't noticed, that evening would have turned into a disaster.

But that's a story from the past. Now she's a respectable old lady who has properly raised her children.

(Still, it's so nostalgic.)

In the cramped carriage, it's quite the unusual experience. That that Sazaki is not drinking but reminiscing about the past.

During the dark days of the Great War, Sazaki and his comrades moved from place to place in carriages, which served as their base and home.

(That horse back then worked splendidly too.)

Sazaki, while sober, hoisted his alcohol bottle on the famous horse as remembrance towards the best horse in the world that had pulled their carriage. Even the world's greatest horses couldn't defy the passage of time, and there was no longer a horse that could be called a companion to Sazaki and his comrades now.

And it's not just horses. Seventy years after the war, apart from the long-lived races like elves, there were hardly any survivors from the generation that had been involved in the war. Sazaki and those slightly younger represent the last generation, and once they're gone, the era that marked the separation due to the Great War will become a thing of the past.

(It's peaceful now.)

Sazaki takes in the peace that surrounds him.

A young man yawning. A woman gazing at the scenery outside. An old couple, apparently going to meet their relatives, just like Ferad and Elrika.

This is what Sazaki and the rest had achieved.

In the past, the sky had been corrupted. The earth had been burned. People had perished. Any form of order had been destroyed. And darkness had descended.

In those days, only fear and despair prevailed. An ending world never to be forgotten.

[SO! WHAT! ABOUT! THAT!]

That was the case until the small, haggard, elderly man with a smile on his deeply lined face, Ferad, appeared in front of Sazaki.*1

(It was dangerous to declare that he’ll do something about the despair in that kind of era. Who would dare make such a proclamation? It sounds like the delusion of a madman.)

Although he was probably just a child at the time, Sazaki remembered vividly. The swiftly diminished territory of humanity, the sky turning crimson. Heroes, sages, great men, knights, and kings. People of such caliber were helpless in the heyday of chaos.

In that era, only one boy had declared that he would make a difference by raising a sword to the sky. Undeniably, it was the delusion of a child who didn't understand the situation.

And that boy grew into a young man.

And he indeed managed to do something about it.

The sky regained its blue color. The burning earth settled. The deathly fate of human lives was shattered. The order was restored. And darkness was torn apart.

(Damn. I got involved with a really crazy guy.)

Sazaki might call Ferad a weirdo while thinking of himself as relatively normal, but in a party filled with eccentrics and oddballs, Sazaki was, in a way, the most unique.

Without any grand cause or ambition, he accompanied his friends into the realm of darkness, and joined the final battle. To face a life-or-death situation with mere friendship, isn't that the definition of eccentric?

(Lara and the others had a clear purpose in fighting... Ah, what kind of face should I make later...)

Thinking about his comrades who fought through the Great War with a clear purpose unlike himself, Sazaki becomes overwhelmed by the embarrassment by the fact he sent a shameful letter to his wife.

Although Sazaki spends his days lying on the ground while being perpetually intoxicated, he too has a somewhat normal sense of decency.

That's why, just as Ferad and Elrika guessed, he felt embarrassed that his letter, filled with memories and the words "I love you," had been read by Lara even though he's still alive.

(Oh well, whatever will be, will be!)

Lara, Sazaki's wife, is quite the nonchalant person.

She's an elderly lady herself.

Her second name is…

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Author’s Note(AN) :

If you find this interesting, please bookmark ncode.syosetu(.)com/n0528ii, and should you rate it with a star ☆ below, the author will cry from joy!

TN:

1. The raws is like that. It should be the younger version of Ferad in the past that appeared and shouted his goal in front of Sazaki.

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Undesirable Friend

AN:

I somehow managed to finish this chapter, and this is also the third chapter in a row. Please take note. Thanks to all of you, I was able to take this webnovel to the 11th place in the daily ranking. Because I was happy, I worked hard. Really, thank you very much!

TN: Remember, I’m just translating author’s note above. I said nothing above.

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"But, well, I didn't expect you guys to come down from the mountain. I'm glad you wanted to see my face so badly."

“I didn't come down here just to see you.”

“Exactly.”

Sazaki, who had stayed overnight at the inn, smiled at Ferad and Elrika while walking around town, thinking that their friendship was worth it, but the two of them were a bit sloppy in their reply.

"I know, I know. You wanted to see me as much as right after your great-grandchildren. Being at second spot is good enough."

Sazaki, however, did not seem to mind at all, shaking the sake bottle in his hand.

"You want to see Lara the most, don't you?"

"Ohhhh... you've really got me stumped... what kind of face should I make now? Seriously embarrassing."

But Ferad's reply almost made the laughing Sazaki sneeze.

"Why did you start talking about inheritance in the first place?"

"It's my lifetime mistake. I entrusted my disciple with a will that wrote about my inheritance and so on, but I completely forgot to convey the important part of the will. That's why it went straight to Lara as a letter. She sent me a magic message and told me that a will is supposed to be sent out after death. Do you know how I felt about that? I don't have any memories of blowing out all the booze I was drinking or anything like that by the way."

(It's not just about the inheritance it seems.)

(I'm sure he wrote something about loving her.)

Sazaki answers Elrica's question with a look of utter weakness on his face.

However, Ferad and Elrica, who did not think that Sazaki would be so distraught simply because he had written a suicide note, conversed with each other via eyes only, and deduced the correct answer.

The old woman, Lara, and Sazaki have a rather strange marital relationship, having remained together for a long time and now living in different cities. They certainly love each other, and Sazaki even wrote in his will that he loved her.

However, Sazaki wrote the will because he thought he would be dead by then when the will was delivered. Even if it was read, he could only say that he was ashamed.

(Did Sazaki actually have a sense of shame too?)

Ferad feels a little fresh when he sees his friend in unusual agony. That was the biggest mistake of his life for Sazaki.

“It's good that husband and wife are getting along so well, isn't it, grandpa?”

"Yes, it is.”

"Hohoho!"

"Hoh hoh hoh!"

"You two have been talking whatever you want...!"

Elrica smiles elegantly and Ferad smiles cheerfully, but only Sazaki sports a pouty look on his face.

◆

"Hey, it's me. Give me a ride."

Sazaki left the city and approached a horse-drawn carriage he sometimes uses to travel to the city his wife is at.

"Yeah? It's been a long time, old man. I thought you kicked the bucket."

"Hmph...As if I’ll die so easily. Oh, and take my friends for the ride too."

“You got friends?”

“Comrades that going to die soon.”

“I see.”

“I’ll trouble you.”

“Pleased to meet you.”

“Welcome aboard.”

Together with Sazaki, who is exchanging pleasantries with his familiar coachman, Ferad and Elrica also get on the coach. The horses in the carriage are also golems.

"This carriage is also using a golem horse, isn't it?"

“The heck, so you knew. Oh right, you mentioned you rode one until here.”

“Yeah. As expected, it’s a good era now. Don’t you think so, Sazaki.”

“...hey, Ferad. Can I just say what just crossed my mind?”

“Hmm?”

“I feel very uncomfortable with your old man's way of speaking. It’s to the point I feel sick.”

"Leave me alone. You've hardly changed since we first met, and you're still the same."

“I’m youn-”

“You’re not young at heart, you just haven’t grown up at all.”

“Th-that’s the only think I could say.”

“Don’t you get it. As expected, you still haven’t matured at all since you’re so easily read.”

“Then let me return your words exactly. Leave me alone.”

Ferad and Sazaki’s jokes are this trivial.

The two of them, best friends and comrades-in-arms, have survived the dark ages together, and have overcame them until now, but the exchanges are just like back in those days.

"Ahahaha. You haven't changed at all."

Despite becoming wrinkled old men, Ferad and Sazaki, who remained unchanged from the past mischievous brats. Elrika reminisced about those times as she laughed elegantly.

『Watch this, Elrika! We'll bring back that clear blue sky! Right, Sazaki?』

『I have to create a world where all the alcohol artisans can work after all.』

『You were drinking again, weren’t you?』

『I have no such recollection.』

"Hohohoho."

While remembering the youthful days of running recklessly.

"Well then, let's set off!"

While the two old men were playfully wrestling, the other passengers got on the carriage, and as the scheduled time arrived, the golem carriage began to move.

The destination of the group is the magical city of Margard.

It's a city where golem carriages were created and a scholarly city where cutting-edge magical technology is researched.

◆

Bonus

Clovis the “Swordsman”

Is the completed "self" or the inherited "tradition" better? Different warriors might have different answers to which is right. But at the very least, among his disciple siblings and disciples, no one underestimates Clovis.

Carl the “Potential”

The future. The potential. Ah, what wonderful words. And what tremendous ones.

Sazaki the "Godspeed Sword Saint"

The young Sazaki brandished an empty bottle as if testing a child's hypothesis. If one could swing a sword faster than anyone else, could that not be one of the strongest? It turned out to be correct.

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Author’s Note(AN) :

If you find this interesting, please bookmark ncode.syosetu(.)com/n0528ii, and should you rate it with a star ☆ below, the author will cry from joy!

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The Apprentice (Second Half)

Author’s Note(AN) :

This is the second post today. Maybe we'll have another chapter tonight. Please note. Thanks to all of you, I was able to push this webnovel up to 11th place in the daily rankings, so I posted this in a hurry. Thank you so much everyoneeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Translator’s note(TN): Spirit sword can also be translated as demon/bewitching sword. I did not say anything about another chapter tonight.

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"OOOHHHHHH!"

“ZEAAAHHHHHH!”

The fighting spirits of the men with wooden swords echoed inside the dojo of the Clovis school.

The dojo of the Clovis school has a large enough area to function as a training ground both inside and outside the wooden building, which alone suggests that it is treated specially by the territory lord.

A great warrior sits in the back of the building. A muscular man who must be over sixty years old is the master of the men who are sweating in the dojo.

He has slashed and slashed and kept slashing, and has finally slain even a dragon, which is supposed to be the top species.

That is the "swordsman" Clovis.

Clovis seemed to have been busy the past few days, leaving the dojo to his disciples and visiting the lord's mansion. Rumor has it that he caught a criminal or cut him down, and Clovis’s name is praised sky-high.

(Yikes. He said he's not as good as his master and the other disciple brothers, but I'm sure he's just being modest.)

Clovis is a bit of an enigma. He is often humble, saying that he is not as good as his master and brothers, but since no one knows who they are, most thought it was just his modesty.

But this is true.

Clovis did not reach the level of his disciple brothers and master, and he was inferior to some of the younger apprentices.

But in the eyes of the world, he was the most successful of them all.

"Stay focused."

"Y-yes!"

Clovis scolded the young man, who has turned his attention to something else during training.

Clovis has many students all over the world, able to find those whose concentration is disturbed even when dozens of people are practicing intensely, has excellent teaching and human observation skills, and is able to pass on his techniques properly.

Clovis's ability must be a rare quality, considering that there are his sibling apprentices who have created their own schools independent of their masters, but are having trouble passing on their skills to their successors.

Many thought that the master who raised such a Clovis must be an admirable person...

But you already know the answer. The vagabond and sword saint, Sazaki, is Clovis's master, and he has been busy the past few days dealing with Carl, his new junior brother apprentice, and also those searching of enhancement pills who were struck down by Sazaki.

◆

That night at the Clovis dojo.

(T-this is bad, very bad…)

The great and veteran warrior Clovis mutters inwardly in the same tone he used when he was a youngster.

"Excuse me. I didn't mean to intrude so suddenly."

"No, no, no! Please don't hesitate to come in."

There is a reason why Clovis, who has never been nervous even when he was working as an instructor of swordsmanship at the royal castle, is so rock stiff. It is the old man and the old woman who are bowing their heads in apology.

(Speaking of master’s good friends, there are only so many in this world!)

Sazaki asked Clovis to prepare some stuffs and entrusted small things to him because he is going on a trip with his good friends. But Clovis knows that this Sazaki, who at first glance appears to be nothing more than a vagabond, belonged to a hero party. That is why, certain titles flashed through Clovis’s mind when Sazaki introduced these two as his good friends.

"Hey, aren’t you showing a very different attitude to me."

"Think about it objectively. Do you think a guy lying in a back alley with a bottle of booze needs to be respected?"

"He should be respected because he understands the principle of drinking."

"That's the way of the alcohol idiot."

(Wowowow. Master is being called an alcohol idiot. Well, it's true.)

When Sazaki made fun of his nervous apprentice Clovis, he was immediately interrupted by Ferad. Clovis, who was shuddered by that fact, was also thinking something rude.

“Nevertheless, I haven't seen you in a while.”

“I know right, it’s been a long while for me too.”

Ferad had stopped his chit-chats, narrowed his eyes and looked fondly at Sazaki's attire.

The clothes from the eastern countries that Sazaki wear is a somewhat unique attire, a raincoat, gauntlet, long johns, leggings, socks and straw sandals.

Compared to when Sazaki and the rests’ were young, although rare in this area, exchanges with the eastern countries are more active now and the eccentric attires of the past that are now considered to be little more than the occasional garments from the east.

The clothes are all specially made, and boast the highest level of protection against both physical and magical attacks. Add to this the spirit sword at his waist, and the value would be worth enough to build a castle.

“Since we are in the dojo after such a long time. Along with nostalgia, how about we go a round?”

(I-I, can witness thaaaaattttttttt? Eh? Is it alright that I’m the only one to witness that?! If the other disciple brothers and sisters know about this, they'll seriously attack me!)

When Sazaki grins and shakes the sword at his waist and looks at Ferad, Clovis involuntarily covers his mouth with his hand and holds back a childish exclamation.

This is a big deal, with the legendary sword saint with, if Clovis’s guess is right, another legendary figure will be fighting each other, and all the people in power from the whole world would kill each other for a seat at the spectator's table.

There is just one problem.

"This whole area will be blown to hell though."

"Well, yes, it would."

"Oh, that's..."

After Ferad’s flabbergasted words, Clovis suddenly calmed down because of the desire to avoid his dojo being blown away. Knowing Sazaki’s unusual sword spacing, Clovis understands that it can realistically happen.

"Alright. Then Clovis, thank you for your help. I'll spend the night at the inn where these guys are staying, so I'll see you in a few years. Take care of that amateur, Carl boy."

"Yes, master."

Sazaki, after taking all the things he had entrusted with Sazaki, entrusts Carl, whom he has been taking care of for the last few years, to Clovis, who has leadership skills. Sazaki would have liked to guide Carl to the end if he could, but considering the time he had left, it would certainly be a half-hearted effort, so he had no choice but to leave it to his trusted apprentice.

"I hope the weather is good for travelling."

“You can actually say something good, huh.”

Clovis finally wished for good weather instead of praying for a safe trip, and Sazaki smirked.

It's a journey that once brought together the hero, saintess, and sword saint.

It is hard to say it’ll be peaceful...

And there is no way anyone can harm the safety of their journey.

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Author’s Note(AN) :

If you find it interesting, please bookmark ncode(.)syosetu.com/n0528ii, and if you rate it with a star ☆ below, the author will cry from joy!

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The Apprentice (First Half)

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The sword saint and the hero meet again after a long time, and their conversation is that what will shake the world.

“So”

“No”

Or not.

The Sword Saint Sazaki who asked as if it's the most obvious thing in the world whether Ferad brought alcohol was instantly denied by the other. The two had been friends since they were young boys, and because of that they are not at all reserved about each other.

“Then”

“Nope”

Elrica also cut off the vagabond Sazaki who was about to ask her if she had brought him a bottle of his treasured liquor. She, too, had learned how to deal with this drunken man on her travels in the past and had no reservations handling him.

"I mean, why'd you come down from the mountain?"

And Sazaki, as understood by Ferad and Elrica, got right down to business after the talk about alcoholic beverage.

"Because I've got a pickup coming nearby. I'm on a trip to see my acquaintances, my son, my grandchild, and my great-grandchild. You're the one who was in the neighborhood at first."

"Wow, you actually saying something nice. Huh? Weren’t your sons...?"

"At the neighboring continent."

"Well, good luck on your long journey."

The elderly Ferad explained the reason for descending from the mountain in the tone similar to when in his youth, where he was always pulled along by his close friend.

"Well, it’s about ten years for me, too."

"I can't believe you didn't die from all that drinking. Right, Elrika?"

"Exactly."

"Hahaha! There's no way I'd die from drinking!"

While Sazaki laughed, Ferad and Elrika exchanged exasperated looks. Even during their past arduous journey, Sazaki constantly drank, to the point where his alcohol consumption would have normally destroyed his organs and killed him.

"Alright. Then I'll join you on that journey."

"What? Well... what do you think, Elrika?"

"I don't mind."

"Well then, let's go on a journey after a long while."

"That’s settled then. Including Elrika, let's reassemble the Shining Stars after the long eighty years."

With Sazaki's sudden declaration, Ferad's wrinkled face contorted, and he felt the urge to shove a bottle of alcohol into his old friend's mouth.

Originally, they hadn't decided to embark on a journey together. To be able to go on a journey to meet acquaintances with their old party member delighted both Ferad and Elrika.

However, the Shining Stars were the name of the two-person team that Ferad and Sazaki formed in their early days as a group of warrior. As Elrika silently questioned the meaning of the word she heard for the first time, she was unaware that it was his husband’s secret hidden even from her. A remnant of their youthful days.

"So, who are we going to visit next?"

"That’ll be Lara."

"Oh...?"

While Sazaki still wore a smile, the moment Ferad mentioned the name, Sazaki's expression appeared troubled, and he scratched the back of his head.

"It looks like my journey ends here. I wish you luck."

"Are you saying that when you are at the 0th step?"

Sazaki shook his head and suddenly brightened up when Elrika interjected with a deadpan expression.

"Even then, you still meet her, no?"

"Well, that may be true, but..."

Ferad's words prompted Sazaki to scratch his head again. The awkwardness came from a woman named Lara.

"I've already arranged for my inheritance to go to Lara and her child when I die later. Because of that. It's embarrassing to meet her again afterI tried to act cool."

"I see..."

Seeing Sazaki lowering his head, not knowing what to do, Ferad too does not know what to say.

While Lara was technically Sazaki's wife and had even borne his child, she had also been a companion with whom he maintained a complicated and distant relationship for nearly seventy years. Sazaki felt awkward about arranging to send his few possessions to her after his death and was unsure how he should act when they met each other.

"Well, I was thinking about meeting Lara soon anyway, so it's a perfect opportunity. Let me make my preparation for the journey and inform my apprentices as well."

Despite the dilemma, Sazaki ultimately chose to accompany the journey and he slowly stood up.

So this sword saint, who had been sitting on the ground all this time and clutching a bottle of alcohol, made his decision.

◆

"What?!?"

Carl, a novice swordsman who had joined the Clovis school, couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Oh, it's you, greenhorn Carl."

Homeless Sazaki was walking on two legs.

"Did you finally lose your mind from drinking!?"

"I've been able to walk normally all this time, but everyone always says the same thing."

Carl's rude exclamation would likely be the common reaction from those who knew Sazaki. Indeed, Sazaki had been entangled in similar exchanges for a long time, and during a period of temporary alcohol abstinence due to the Great War, people even thought the world was ending because he wasn't drunk.

"I'm thinking of going on a journey. I've properly told you, alright."

"Wait a minute! I'll go get some alcohol right away. You can't die until then!"

At Sazaki's sudden statement, Carl concluded that he hadn't lost his mind from drinking, but rather because he ran out of alcohol.

"Well, listen up, greenhorn. I'm going to meet some friends and acquaintances. It might be a pretty far trip, so I might not be back for at least three years."

"What!?"

Normally, Sazaki would laugh it off and tell Carl to hurry up and get the alcohol, but this time, he conveyed his plans with a serious expression.

For Carl, it was quite a shock to hear that the homeless old man suddenly decide to go on a journey, and on top of that, he announced he wouldn't be back for three years.

"You're going to drop dead!"

"Don't be ridiculous. Just because I'm a guy who lounges around the city all year round doesn't mean I'll die just because I go on a journey."

"Well, yeah, I mean, sure, I guess."

Although Carl tried to bring Sazaki back to his senses, he couldn't help but recall that, apart from his drunkenness, the old man seemed surprisingly healthy.

"But why the sudden journey?"

"Well, it's not like I'll die just because I'm going on a journey. It's just that at this age, there are people I want to see, even if it's just their faces, before I kick the bucket."

"Ah, well, I guess that makes sense for old folks like you..."

Upon hearing the reason for the journey, Carl was convinced by Sazaki's elderly-like words, though they sounded somewhat weak.

"I've decided that when it's my time to die, I want to be surrounded by this city's alcohol, so I'll be back."

"Isn't that where you are supposed to say you want to be surrounded by your grandchildren!?"

Sazaki, the hopeless drunkard, brushed off Carl's sadness, causing his thoughts to veer off in an unexpected direction.

"That's why I'm going on this journey. Don't forget the reason you wanted to become stronger."

"I get it, I get it! I'll become a reliable older brother for my siblings! Is that good enough?"

"Yeah, that works."

"Don't you dare die while you're on your journey, you old geezer!"

"Who are you calling an old geezer, you greenhorn?"

With that, Sazaki turned his back and grinned in response to Carl's rant.

This slightly noisy youth and the sloppy drunken old man. Although an odd pair, they were undoubtedly a master-disciple duo that suited each other, and it was a farewell that’s unexpectedly refreshing.

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All the main characters written in this strange story are grannies and grandpas, but if you find it interesting, please bookmark(ncode . syosetu.com/n0528ii/) it and rate it with a star ☆ below, and this author will cry from joy!

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Godspeed Sword Saint

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Before Ferad and Elrika’s visit to Leonardo town.

"Ughiyy..."

"That old man is drunk again."

"Yeah. Seems like he's been like that even before my old man was born."

In the back alleys, a group of men gossip as they catch a glimpse of an old man, Sazaki, lying down with an empty wine bottle in hand. This old man is a sort of famous person in Leonardo, known to have been a wandering drunkard with a wine bottle in hand even before most of the current residents were born.

The residents of Leonardo are good at handling their alcohol, so it's quite rare to see someone leading such an unruly life without even having a home due to their addiction to drinking.

"I wonder where he gets the money for the alcohol?"

"Yeah, that's curious."

The mystery remains as to how Sazaki, the vagabond, manages to afford his drinks, leaving the locals intrigued and puzzled.

"Anyway, let's go."

"Yeah."

They took a last look at Sazaki and left. A vagabond addicted to alcohol can be in danger in certain places, as there's a risk of being murdered in cold. However, fortunately for Sazaki, his image of lying with a wine bottle is such a common sight in the town that most people don't pay much attention to it.

However, there are exceptions.

"Ugh, it reeks of alcohol!!"

A deliquent-like red-haired boy, around twelve years old, with a wooden sword hanging at his waist, gives a clear look of disdain at Sazaki.

"Hic. Oh, it's the kid, Carl, was it?"

Sazaki, looking drowsy, lifts his eyelids lazily in response to Carl's voice, and his black eyes reflect the light.

"I've been wondering for a while now, which is more important to you, the sword or the alcohol?"

"Hic. Of course, it's the alcohol."

"Hey gramps, if you carry a sword at your waist, then you must be a swordsman, right!?"

"When you're my age, even a stick will do. Hic."

Carl is one of the few people who talk to Sazaki, but the combination of a sensible boy and an alcohol-dependent vagabond seems quite unbalanced.

"If a stick will do, why don't you sell that sword and live a better life? Are you just lazy?"

"Hahahaha! No one would buy this cursed weapon that will make the neck of an owner who doesn't suit it fly!"

"Isn’t that magic sword then!"

“Hiccup. Remember this kid. This is a weapon from the east known as katana. So this is not a magic sword but rather a spirit sword.”

"In the end, it's still dangerous right!"

"Pretty sharp, huh?"

"You're making fun of me, aren't you!?"

"Hahahahaha!"

Carl saw the unusual weapon at Sazaki's waist, a sword, which is different from the usual ones, and suggested that he could make a little better living by selling it. In response to the dangers Sazaki spoke of, he did not believe him at all and yelled back at him. It is a given that the end of the owner of such a cursed weapon is death driven by madness, which is far from the image of a vagabond lying on the ground with a bottle of sake in his hand.

"Why do you even have something like that?"

"It's like a memento from a formidable enemy or an archenemy that became a friend in the end. I said alcohol is important, but somehow, I can't part with this one. But, in the end, alcohol is the most important."

"We were having a nice talk, and then you just had to add alcohol to it, old man!"

"I'm telling you, I'm not escaping into alcohol because I hate life. I've loved alcohol since I was young."

"I didn't ask, and that's just worse!"

Despite the scolding, Carl, being a kind-hearted boy, went along with Sazaki's words, but his blood pressure was rising due to the old man's stubbornness.

"Alright, enough about alcohol. Take a look at my sword! Fuh! Fuh!"

"Impressive."

"Look properly, you old mannnnnn!"

Carl, thinking nothing can be done for that old man, picks up his wooden sword and concentrates, repeatedly swinging it down and up.

Sazaki's response is brief and indifferent, further frustrating Carl.

Actually this young man attitude towards this old man, that could be said famous in certain sense, was that since he’s so free he could help him out. Before anyone knew it, the young man provoked the other saying that if he’s really a swordsman then he should teach him swordplay.

"Well, stop there. How do you know if this old man is focusing on your sword tip when you’re facing towards the other side?"

"Huh? Well…one way or another?"

“At your age, to be able to swing that much on top of paying attention to your surroundings is more than enough.”

“Is, that so?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Carl was fooled into thinking he was being praised by Sazaki who was struggling to sip the drop from the bottom of the bottle.

"Tell me again why do you want to be able to swing the sword properly."

"Seriously, again?"

"Just tell me."

"Alright. I want to become a reliable older brother for my younger siblings. Is that good enough? I've said it many times already."

"Don't forget that purpose."

"Of course not. To achieve that, I have to join the Clovis school!"

"Well, give it your all."

Since meeting Sazaki, Carl has been asked about the purpose of wielding a sword every time, and he answers while recalling the faces of his younger brother and sister.

With determination, he plans to knock on the gates of the prestigious Clovis school, one of the most renowned swordsmanship schools in the world and also highly respected in this city.

"By the way, it seems you haven't neglected the basics and the training."

"If I slack off, I won't become stronger."

"Hmph. If only other youngsters were as diligent as you."

"...wait, are you actually praising me?"

"Is that how it seems to you?"

"You old man!"

"Gahaha!"

Though Sazaki judged Carl hadn't slacked off on his running, practice swings, and stance holdings imposed by him, he still taunted him.

"Well, I'll stick around a bit longer today."

"Really!? Then teach me some special moves!"

"Don't talk nonsense. When you swing a sword, every strike is a special move."

"I-I see!"

The noisy and peculiar voices of this strange master-disciple duo echoed in the alleyway for a while.

◆

"Goodbye, old man! Don't die!"

"I might die without alcohol."

"Bark more!"

After a while, Carl leaves the scene, still shouting and exasperated.

"Oh my, you’d think the sun rose from the west, the word impressive came out of your mouth."

As Carl departs, an elderly man in his 60s emerges from the shadows of the alley. Despite his age, he is muscular and, when combined with the sword at his waist, gives off the impression of a seasoned warrior.

"Compared to my younger days, he’s like an ant."

"Well, considering your starting point, that's quite harsh."

The respectable old man approaches Sazaki with a wry smile.

"Your future seems bright too. If you keep doing what you're doing, you might become someone who can attract attention and bring disciples to your school."

"Do you mean yourself?"

"If I had another 20 years, that might have been the case, but with just over ten years left, it would be half-baked."

"I understand. By the way, your disciples might have some complaints about this."

"I said your place is good, so it's fine. Well, the basics are all from the Sazaki-style, though."

"I see. Then, I'll take care of your last disciple."

"Alright."

"By the way, on a different topic, it seems there's someone looking for medicine… He might come to the town soon. His name is Michael, a user of a special assassination sword."

"Huh? Looking for medicine at this time and age? Hasn’t it been about 20 years?"

"Likely."

"I appreciate your efforts. Well, I think he's hidden somewhere, and I can't be certain, but the alchemists at the time thoroughly erased their records, and nothing has been found since then."

"That's true. Please be careful."

"Sure thing. Oh, by the way..."

"Well, I'll take my leave now, Master."

"Tsk. I haven't even said the last word yet.”

The strange meeting went unnoticed.

◆

◆

◆

"Listen, old mannnnn!"

“You’re too loudddddd!”

One day, as usual, Sazaki was lying down in the back alley when he suddenly jumped up at Carl's frantic shout.

"Yesterday, someone from the Clovis school invited me to visit their school!"

"That's great. I was running out of things to teach you anyway."

"Huh? Really?"

Excited about the opportunity to visit one of the most renowned schools, Carl was almost moved, thinking that Sazaki had taught him everything.

"I misspoke. To be honest, I was just tired of teaching you."

"Return me my feeling!"

Then, Sazaki corrected himself in a deliberately provocative manner, causing Carl's face to turn bright red.

"Well, it's still good news."

"R-right!"

"Did you go for the visit?"

"I did! And they even asked if I'd like to join the school if I'm interested. So, I'm going again tomorrow to officially enroll!"

"Then give it your all. It's a crowded place, so don't get lost in the crowd. And, hey, learn to cooperate with others."

"Sure thing!"

Despite the strange celebrations and encouragement, Carl nodded to Sazaki.

As much as the Clovis school is famous, there are also as many new students, and the door is wide open. However, after all, there were only a handful of people in the top, so if you aim for the top, you need to make a reasonable effort.

“And, well, you know. When I was swinging at the school, I was praised for my good muscles. Thanks.”

"Hmm. Well, you know. I'll give you a full score on the fundamentals."

"I've never heard of a full score in the fundamentals, but thanks! See you later!"

"Yeah."

After thanking his strange mentor, Carl became embarrassed and left with a few words of dismissal.

◆

At night with bars everywhere, Leonardo is a lively place.

However, there are also bad rumors in this lively town.

There is a rumor that an enhancement drug that was used temporarily during the war and eventually eliminated still exists, and that an improved version of the drug may be hidden somewhere.

It is only a rumor, but the troubling part is that these kinds of rumors never disappear, and if someone denies them, it is human nature to be even more suspicious.

And those who seek strength are sometimes prone to go astray and seek out extraneous methods.

(If there is medicine, won’t it be in the lord's castle?)

The skinny man who sneaked into the city under the cover of darkness is one of those who have gone astray.

A man who is just desperately seeking strength and would have been classified as someone strong, especially if he is to wield a sword, even ten ordinary soldiers would not be able to stand up to him.

However, despite being so strong, he could not stand himself reaching the limit of his strength and was seeking a way to breakthrough, namely, the medicine rumored to be in Leonardo.

(I need to be careful with the Clovis guys.)

One of the grounds for this man to believe that the medicine is real in Leonardo is that one of the big school of the Clovis school is here. However, he believed the order is wrong: the Clovis school is not protecting the medicine and Leonardo, rather the Clovis school is full of people like him and thus the reason they are protecting the city.

(I don't think I'll fall behind the senior disciples. But on the off-chance that the highest-ranking guys or Clovis himself are here...)

The man is aware of his own limitations and can evaluate his strength objectively.

The top ranks of the Clovis school are all monsters, and Clovis himself is one of the best known in the martial arts world.

This is proven by the corpse of the dragon he has cut down, which is supposed to be the top species, and he won’t win even if the other party is doing a handstand in a duel with him.

(That’s a vagabond, huh? Typical of a drinking city I suppose.)

As the man walked into a back alley, he saw an old hobo lying there with a bottle of liquor in his hand. The man, however, did not care about him, so he ignored him and tried to pass by.

"Tomorrow, well, it's the start of my apprentice's life. I don't want too much commotion."

The man paid no attention to the vagabond's mutterings.

"You've slain twenty men in what isn't even a fight, haven’t you?"

This could not be ignored and the footsteps changed for a moment. The man is certainly killing innocents in the process of his quest for strength.

But in the end, he ignored it and tried to leave the place as quickly as he could.

"Well, I heard there's a man seeking medicine. His name is Michael."

It was a complete coincidence, but Michael, the man whose purpose and name had been guessed, could not escape.

He unsheathed his dark-colored magic sword and tried to kill the vagabond with a single sword stroke.

It was an attempt.

"You pulled it, didn't you?"

The vagabond, Sazaki, stood up in an instant, though he was wavering, as if he was entering the gap in Michael's consciousness.

A sword draw.

A red light.

A sheathed sword.

A sip from the bottle.

A gulp.

And silence reigns.

It was a blink of an eye, just after Michael pulled the sword out of its scabbard.

Sazaki, the vagabond, also known as Sazaki the Godspeed Sword Saint.

The gleam of his sword.

It has yet to fade.

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AN:

If you think the story is good so far, I would appreciate it if you could bookmark ncode.syosetu.com/n0528ii/ and rate it with a star ☆!

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The Crowned Name

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He cut, slashed, and just continued cutting relentlessly. And he finally cut it.

◆

"Seems like it'll take some time here at the gate."

"Our turn will come soon enough."

"I see."

Ferad, popping his head out of the line for a moment, looked ahead and agreed with Elrika's words.

Having ridden in a carriage, Ferad and Elrika arrived just outside the city of Leonardo. However, it seemed that the processing of people at the city gate was taking some time, causing a crowd to form.

Despite being an elderly couple in their nineties, they remained calm and patient as if they were statues. If they weren't standing, people might have assumed they were dead.

"Next, huh? Gramps, granny, how many are in your group?"

"It's just me and my wife."

After a while... The gatekeeper, noticing that only the elderly couple had taken a step forward, asked if they were alone.

"We wanted to see some familiar faces before being picked up. We came here by carriage."

"I see."

Ferad's words were like magic. If they explained that they came to meet acquaintances before being picked up, most people would accept it without question.

"You may pass."

"Thank you."

The gatekeeper didn't seem to have any problem with Ferad and Elrika, who looked quite feeble, and allowed them through with little scrutiny.

"Well, things have changed, haven't they, grandpa? No, I guess they've gone back to how they used to be..."

"That's right, granny..."

Entering Leonardo, the city of liquor, Ferad and Elrika were stunned by what they saw. This city was once famous for its alcoholic beverages, even before the great war. However, during the war, it had transformed into a major production center for chemicals and alchemy products, with individuals wearing suspicious attire and craftsmen running around with frantic expressions.

"Has the Moonless stock really came?"

"Give me a whole barrel!"

"Hurry up and move the sake!"

It was the same scene as before the war. Traders and craftsmen involved in the alcohol business were raising their voices all around, and the city was bustling with prosperity, word for word.

What Ferad and Elrika knew was that after the intense wartime atmosphere had dissipated, Leonardo had turned back into a city of liquor once again shortly after the war. That's precisely why they were dumbfounded by the stark contrast between the past and the present.

However, no matter how you looked at them, they appeared to be just an old couple who had come from the remote to visit their children, country bumpkins.

(Well, I guess this is fine. I may not appreciate the appeal of alcohol, but it's much better than creating drugs that drastically shorten one's lifespan for temporary power gains.)

Thinking about the potent concoctions that were once produced in Leonardo, Ferad strolled through the city with unsteady steps, taking it all in.

During the great war, when it was a time full of ups and downs, those who had lost their families to the demon army sought quick ways to empower themselves and take revenge on their family's enemies. In response to this demand, eccentric alchemists created strengthening potions for a time, but the side effects were too strong, leading those eccentrics to seal away their creations.

But that was all in the past.

Leonardo now was just a simple city of liquor, not a place where grudges and obsessions took form.

"Now, where could he be?"

"Leave it to me. Excuse me, sir. Have you happened to see an old man lying around drunk, holding a bottle of sake?"

As Ferad was rubbing his chin, trying to figure out where their target might be, Elrika spoke to a passerby. The man's response was a surprising one for Ferad, causing him to put his hand to his mouth.

Perhaps he thought Elrika's description was a bit much.

"Oh, an acquaintance of that drunk old man? He's lying down over there in the alley."

Or maybe he was amused by how it ended up working.

◆

"As expected, he's still a drunkard."

"Same as ever, I guess."

Ferad and Elrika's gaze in the alleyway was fixed on the ground, not on the person.

"Hic! I drank enough to hear hallucinations. I can hear Ferad's idiotic voice and Elrika's voice."

An old man of the same age as Ferad and Elrika was lying drunk in the alley with a bottle of alcohol in his hand. With long, white hair tied up, dressed in worn-out clothes that smelled of alcohol not only from his garments as if even his skin secrete such smell, he looked like a vagabond.

However, what was strange was the weapon hanging at his waist. A peculiar weapon called "katana" which had washed up from the Eastern countries, was not suited for a vagabond.

"If I'm an idiot, you're a booze idiot!"

Ferad leaned in close to the vagabond who wasn’t that short compared to him and scolded him back as a booze idiot in response to being called out as an idiot.

"Wha?! Feradd!?"

"And I'm here too."

"Elrika's here too?!"

Even though he hadn't been splashed with water, the vagabond who was startled by Ferad's loud voice jumped up from the ground.

"So, you've come down from the mountain."

"You really haven't changed..."

The vagabond, smiling with a wrinkled face similar to that of the old married couple, received Ferad's gaze with a mix of disbelief and nostalgia.

"Well, it's been a while, Sazaki."

The vagabond that Ferad's gaze was fixed upon was their target: an old man named Sazaki.

And the second name he carried was...

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To The Last Journey

Author’s Note(AN) :

Chill posting.

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(How old am I this year? Was it ninety? I’m getting up in age...)

When a petite old man woke up in bed, he looked at the back of his hand, covered in wrinkles, and smiled cheerfully.

It's truly remarkable to have lived this long. During the dark times, he had stood on the brink of death more than once. His short hair had turned completely white, his back is now hunched back, and his skin had become wrinkled, but he had managed to live all these years, so hooray for him.

(I probably have about ten years left...)

Because of that, he didn't have many years of life left. But to the old man who had lived thinking that his life was as good as naught, it didn't matter at this point and his smiling face remained unchanged.

"Good morning, Ferad."

"Good morning, Elrika."

The petite old man, Ferad, directed a smile at Elrika, his lifelong companion, who was lying next to him.

Elrika was also about ninety years old, her back had hunched, her long hair had turned completely white, and her once world-renowned beautiful face was now covered in wrinkles.

They had been together for nearly eighty years, so they had grown old together without even realizing it.

◆

"Today's weather is nice, isn't it?"

The petite Ferad, while holding a hoe, murmured while looking up at the blue sky. Every day, rain or shine, he felt deep sentiments.

Eighty years ago, the sky had been red. Not symbolically, but literally red, with brownish clouds drifting around, and the world was covered in darkness.

Born from the darkness and the world's principles changed by the being who proclaimed himself the Great Demon King, the demon’s kin rampaged whole, and all that remained was death, despair, and lamentations.

But all that sided to the righteous rose up.

Humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, fairies, merfolk, beastmen, and various other righteous beings confronted the Great Demon King and emerged victorious.

The blue sky returned. Peace returned.

"...Hmm."

Ferad, who had devoted “almost” his entire life to the earth and the fields, looked at his lonely field, where he had harvested recently, and set down the hoe.

(What has become of the village where my family lived? Is it still abandoned, or has it been revived?)

As he considered the remaining years of his life after waking up, Ferad recalled a distant memory of his hometown.

As the third son born in a poor village, the treatment he received was not good. Being the spare of the spare of the firstborn, he lived on leftovers, and there was little to call his own possession due to the lack of resources.

But even so, that was fine. When Ferad was still a boy, the village was engulfed by the forces of darkness, and his family and everyone around him perished, which made the past treatments he had seemed much better compared to the later.

(My son... well, he must be doing well.)

The next thing Ferad thought of was his son, who was born between him and Elrika. Their son, who set off to find interesting things, was apparently doing well in the neighboring continent, and the occasional letters he received from him hadn't changed much.

(It seems my grandchild is doing fine too... But I haven't seen my great-grandchild's face yet.)

Ferad's lingering regret was not knowing his great-grandchild's face. The child was still young, and the intercontinental journey was too arduous for the child, and he wasn’t in a position to move so easily, so if things went on like this, Ferad might not live to see his great-grandchild's face.

"Phew..."

Ferad let out an unintended sigh as he stabbed the hoe into the ground but there was neither intention nor strength behind it he just swung it down.

(I'd like to see everyone's faces...)

The last thing that came to Ferad's mind was the faces of his companions who had shared joys and sorrows together. His youth had been a chaotic time, and the only brilliant memories were the days he spent with his companions, including Elrika.

"Hmm."

Although he swung the hoe, with power this time, his consciousness was still not directed at the field.

◆

"Hey, granny."

"Yes, what is it, grandpa?"

After finishing dinner, Ferad called out to Elrika while sipping hot water.

"I think leaving this place won't likely to cause much trouble."

"Well, it has been well over seventy years, and most of the relevant parties, apart from the long-lived races, have passed away."

"I see."

Elrika, having known Ferad for a long time, could sense what he was trying to say. However, she didn't rush for an answer and simply stated the facts.

"In that case... Shall we go and see everyone's faces?"

"Yes. Yes, that sounds good."

To Ferad's sudden words, Elrika smiled. Perhaps she had also been wishing for the same thing.

"Alright then. I'll send letters to those acquaintances we have, so they won't be absent when we arrive. It would be a shame to have come all the way and find them not at home."

"Shall we summon our old familiars after such a long time?"

"Yes, let's do that."

With the plan settled, Ferad decided to use his bird-shaped familiar to deliver the letters and inform the few acquaintances they had about their upcoming journey.

There was no need to notify the nearby residents, as there were hardly any in their secluded mountain dwelling. Ferad and Elrika had been living quietly and peacefully.

"We should bring out some of our old equipment too."

"Ah, the good old days..."

Their wrinkled hands moved busily, reminiscing about the past as the night grew darker.

◆

"Now that I think of it, it seem slike like we've been with this house for a long time."

"We did make some modifications along the way, but it's been almost seventy years."

A few weeks later, after finishing their preparations, Ferad and Elrika looked nostalgically at the small house they had lived in for so long. It couldn't be called luxurious, but it was filled with memories and had a certain attachment.

"But that appearance... brings back memories."

"Indeed, Ferad."

"Hohoho"

"Fuhuhu"

Ferad, holding a sword and shield in an utterly unadorned sheath, and Elrika, holding a pure white robe and a white wooden staff, smiled at each other's appearance.

Especially Ferad, who had aged and become petite, holding a sword and shield, looked like a child playing dress-up with mismatched attire.

"Shall we go, then?"

"Please watch your step."

"I'm not that frail, you know. In fact, you should watch your step."

"I'm not frail, either."

With a light banter between the elderly couple, they descended the mountain.

Heading towards their final journey.

◆

◆

◆

(Did I pick up some weirdoes...?)

Herman, the coachman of a magical golem carriage that connect between cities, turned his gaze behind to catch a glimpse of the strange people he had picked up on the way.

"Hey, granny, this must be the cutting-edge magic technology, right?"

"Yes, that's right, old man."

The wizened old man and the elderly woman, with her wrinkles and shining blue eyes, were observing the golem carriage from outside.

(Old folks like these, walking together on the road, thought they had been kicked out to reduce the number of mouths to feed or something, but they had money. And they are not aware of golem carriage that has existed since I’m born. How far was the countryside they come from?)

Middle-aged coachman Herman scratched his rich red hair and reminisced about his encounter with these two.

◆

"What is this...? Are they children?"

As Herman drove the carriage with passengers to the next town, he squinted his eyes and saw the backs of two small figures.

At first glance, they seemed like children, and Herman hurriedly increased the speed of the golem carriage to catch up to them.

"Hmm? Are they elderly?"

But as he got closer and the faces of the two people turned into view, Herman realized that they were not children but a small old man and an elderly woman.

"Grandpa, grandma, is there something wrong?"

(I haven't heard of any crop failures recently. I hope it's not a case of being kicked out of the village...)

As Herman caught up with the two elderly people, he called out to them, but he couldn't help but have doubts in his heart.

This is a part of the Lynn Kingdom, a large country, and the streets are so well maintained that there are almost no thieves or monsters. Even so, it was unusual to see two old men walking around here and there. That’s why I wondered for a moment if they had been kicked out of the village to cut down on the number of mouths they could feed.

"Good day. We thought to say our final goodbyes to our acquaintances and friends. We've just started our journey, you see."

"I see..."

While the explanation of the clearly short-lived old man made sense to Herman, he was still a bit uneasy about leaving them here.

"You'll die if it rains now. Do you have any money? If not, I can take that sword of yours as payment and give you a ride."

Herman thought of the hooded guy who had paid to sit in the carriage would be dissatisfied if he let the two elderly ride here for free. So if they don’t have any money, he’ll just let them ride the carriage in exchange for that obviously cheap sword based on its shabby sheath.

"Thank you for your concern. But we do have money. Look here."

"Alright, that should be enough for the two of you. Get on."

“What do you think, granny”

“Since we are offered, let’s take the ride.”

"Indeed, we’ll take on your offer. We will trouble you."

The grandpa glanced at the scabbard and took out a few silver and copper coins from his purse.

Herman then took old man Ferad and the old woman Elrika as his customers....

“Eh? Gramps and granny don’t know about golem carriage?”

"Adi, don’t be rude!"

"Oh, don't worry about it. Gramps and granny came from a really remote place. We’ve never seen one before."

In response to the puzzled look from the child, Ferad turned his head and waved to the reprimanding mother, honestly telling the truth.

About forty years ago, golem carriages powered by copper and magic, shaped like horses, began to be used and were now indispensable for those who traveled along the roads with people and goods. They could tirelessly traverse the roads, making them an excellent mode of transport in peaceful times, unlike the chaotic era when monsters roamed the lands.

Not knowing that, they could only state that they were from a very remote area.

In fact, Ferad and Elrika were completely left out of the flow of the world, and in a sense, they were foreigners to the present time.

(A carriage for travelers on the roads, huh? The world has come a long way.)

Ferad smiled as he compared the chaotic era with the current peace.

During the Great Magic War that involved the entire world, the idea of a carriage with passengers traveling on the roads would have been a sign of a desperate escape, even if they knew they would be attacked by monsters. It was an era like that.

Comparing that image with the unfamiliar sight of the golem horse might be strange, but inside the spacious carriage, there is peace, and the passengers’ face were not distorted in fear.

Of course, this was because the Lynn Kingdom was a major power and had paid attention to maintaining the roads. Carriages in remote areas would need to be heavily armed and under a more alert state.

"But speaking of it, is Sazaki still around?"

"Well, he's probably still here. He’s still drunk when we left there last time."

Elrika, who was also reminiscing about the times, tilted her head, wondering if the person they were looking for was present at their destination, but Ferad, who was confident in his friendship with that person, was convinced that he is present.

The place they were heading to was called Leonardo.

Despite being a wine-producing region, it was known as a place where various kinds of liquor gathered, and their purpose was to meet someone who would most likely be there.

A man named Sazaki.

A man who, when given the choice between water and alcohol for the rest of his life, would undoubtedly choose alcohol.

Despite what he didn't know, Herman had his eye on something extraordinary.

It slayed countless monsters,

ancient dragons,

true giants,

creatures lurking in the abyss,

mechanical gods,

and, finally, even the darkness itself.

A sword that no price could purchase, and if it were to be put up for sale, the major powers of the world and the Great Temple would be willing to go to war to obtain it.

If they were to give it a name, it would be known as the Sword of Hero Ferad.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They will not be rejuvenated. Because they are grandpa and grandma.

If you think this story is interesting, please bookmark(ncode.syosetu.com/n0528ii/) it and rate it with ☆ stars below, and this author will be so happy, he’ll cry!

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The Hero, His Highness Crown Prince, has been cursed by the Demon King but I will kiss him immediately ~I think the reward of a lifestyle with 3 meal a day, with snack and afternoon naptime included, should be A-OK~

Author:夏乃

TL: summerpeanut

====================================================

A palace ball celebrating the homecoming of the Crown Prince, who is the center of this great holy kingdom. A magnificent grand hall that embodies the grandeur of this world. In the midst of the brilliantly dressed people, a grotesque monster appeared.

No, what appeared at first was not the grotesque figure, but it was indeed a monster. The Demon King, who was sealed by the first king of the holy kingdom and was passed down in ancient tales. It broke the seal and appeared in this grand hall. And then, a grotesque monster appeared. That was supposed to be our country's Crown Prince.

"Curse you, wretched hero and his descendants!!"

The Demon King shouted triumphantly, raising a laughter that seemed to well up from the depths of the earth.

"There are constraints, constraints, and constraints, but still(..)!!"

The Demon King continued his words with a mocking tone, as if enjoying himself. It carried an unpleasant humidity that seemed to make a sticky sound.

"Let's make it a pure maiden's kiss. Human, if there is a maiden who would kiss you in that form, if the 'true love' that you sing about truly exists, then perhaps the curse can be lifted."

The laughter of the Demon King echoed in the silent grand hall.

"As I regain my power, the curse will intensify and corrupt you. Your body, life, or spirit won't make it in time to obtain such a maiden. Wretched hero and his descendants, crawl as you watch the world sinks."

With those parting words, the Demon King dissolved into darkness and disappeared.

The people that had been frozen under the weight of the Demon King's presence regained freedom, and then I thought...

No, really. Isn’t now the greatest opportunity?

Although I am a child of nobility, I don't know the Crown Prince personally. However, I have heard plenty about him. It's all praise and admiration for His Highness. "If that person is there, we'll be safe." and such talks.

His Highness's achievements are also remarkable. I don't know if they are truly as impressive as they are made out to be, but both I and the people believe that he is the chosen one.

Our strong and beautiful, compassionate Crown Prince, our future king.

The chaos and damage that would occur if we lose him is immeasurable. If the Demon King were to resurrect, we would lose hope, and beyond that... I couldn't even bear to think about it.

But right now at this moment. With just a kiss, everything can be reversed. With that alone, we can regain him, and I can obtain the position of the "pure maiden who saved His Highness."

--well, isn't this a great opportunity?

I placed my hand on my chest and closed my eyes, contemplating whether I am a "pure maiden." The question is, what qualifies as a pure maiden? If it's on the physical note, I still don't have a fiancé and let alone a kiss, I never touched the hand belonging to that of opposite sex.

There's no doubt, this is purity...! (Confident)

I opened my eyes and started walking in the still and silent grand hall.

There were people who fainted and collapsed, others who froze in place as they held their partner, and a precursor to a scream echoed behind me. I walked toward His Highness, stopping in front of him. His Highness stood in the center of the vacant space, pressing his hand against the floor, staring at his reflection on the polished floor.

This is…disgusting.

I stared fixedly at His Highness in front of me.

The chin protruded forcefully from under the nose, as if it had been forcibly stretched forward. It would have been better if it had been animal-like, but the distorted nose, which was pulled and twisted, further intensified the sense of disgust with its human-like appearance. The beautiful blonde hair was dulled, and perhaps due to the enlargement of the head, it became sparse and hung down long and dry like withered grass.

I can't take my eyes off the disgusting parts. I have a nature where I can't look away from disgusting things and can't help but observe what is so disgusting.

Indeed, this gives me the shudder, I nodded.

His back swelled up in bumps, and the gorgeous suit was torn to pieces. The arms twisted in the wrong direction, with three elongated fingers extending forward and one short finger protruding on the opposite side. The nails were black and cracked.

Contrary to the enlarged upper body, the lower body was dwarfed. It seemed that it became slender like a branch from the chubby thighs downwards, and it was swimming in the baggy pants. Something resembling a hoof peeked out between the discarded shoes and the hem of the pants. It closely resembled the untrimmed and overgrown hooves of a cow.

I wonder if he can even stand up...

I knelt before His Highness and rested both hands on his chin.

If the skin I touched had been black like that of a monster in an illustrated book, it would have been better. It has the color of meat that had been bruised, punched, and stained black, blue, yellow, and red.

The lifted eyes shifted left and right, larger and rounder than my hands, slightly protruding, reminiscent of some kind of fish.

They were eyes that stared vacantly from the bottom of stagnant water, stirring up others’ unease as if they would be dragged to an abyss where they couldn't return.

There were no lips to speak of. The upper jaw and the lower jaw were connected as if fused together, and when His Highness tried to open his mouth, the flesh stretched and made a popping sound as if tearing apart. The stretched and torn strands of flesh wriggled as if trying to reconnect.

Between the strands of flesh, densely packed molars peeked out. If they had been fangs, it might have been somewhat acceptable. The densely grown large molars evoked images of being crushed, making them even more grotesque.

"Excuse me, Your Highness."

I gently pushed up His Highness's lower jaw. Because if it stayed like this, it would feel like sticking my face into a huge mouth. The touch of his chin reminded me of chicken meat. Raw chicken meat.

As His Highness closed his mouth at my urging, our gazes met. His Highness saw my serious face reflected in his eyes.

--the imperial villa, yes. The imperial villa sounds good.

I don't know what will happen to the Demon King and the world, but I unconditionally and irresponsibly believe that as long as I can return His Highness.... If it’s him, the Crown Prince of our country, who has completed the journey.

I don't desire His Highness's love or position.

So, the imperial villa sounds good.

I am, by nature, not someone motivated. The evaluation from those around me is pretty much the same. That I am the type of "you can do it if you try."

So, in this once-in-a-lifetime important event, I will try to do what I can. And I will live on as someone who "could do it if I tried."

With achievement of a feat that no one can ignore, I will live leeching on this rich country.

I have no interest in extravagant trips or extravagant spending. I want to live a relaxed life in a corner of the royal palace, eating three meals a day, snacks included, and taking naps while reading the royal family's collection of books.

Certainly, the current Crown Prince is incredibly disgusting, but if I close my eyes and give him a kiss, and then open my eyes, I would see his revered face. Well, it's totally manageable.

Everything important to me is in this country. I want to live a carefree life without anxiety or conflicts. That's why--

I closed my eyes and kissed the Crown Prince.

"Thank you, I will definitely repay this favor."

When I opened my eyes, the beautiful Crown Prince was there.

“I’m glad…”

I smiled and sat down on the floor. It's great that the requirements don't require a "pure-hearted maiden" or "mandatory requirement: love."

From the appearance of the Demon King to the resolution of the situation, it took just over 10 minutes.

§

As for the aftermath of the Demon King and the world, the Demon King didn't know because he was sealed away in the first place.

When our country's Crown Prince turns 18, he embarked on a journey around the world, visiting sacred places, carrying the national treasure holy sword, for about five years. In other words, our Crown Prince had already become a hero (awakened) when he returned, not just a hero (planned).

That palace ball was a once-in-a-lifetime miracle moment for the Demon King. It was a celebration of the Crown Prince's return, so the holy sword was temporarily taken away from him and displayed to symbolize that he had received the proper blessings. Also, one of the reasons was that the Demon King joined in as a properly dressed adult male at the ball, despite some minor discomfort feeling he exuded.

The Crown Prince returned after five years and was busy dealing with the nobles of his own country whom he hadn't seen in a long time. After all, people's faces and body shapes change a lot in five years. He was caught off guard, trying to remember who each person in front of him was. That's why the long-crafted curse of the Demon King, sealed away for many years, managed to pass.

If he had the holy sword with him or if his mind wasn't preoccupied, the incident would not have happened.

Well, it was resolved in less than five minutes after the Demon King disappeared, thanks to me.

As soon as the curse was lifted, the Crown Prince immediately took the holy sword, snatched a coat from one of the security knights, and chased after the joyful Demon King, who was searching for a base while regaining his power. The battle between the Demon King (weakened) and the hero (awakened) ended immediately, and the world regained peace. Very quickly.

Afterward, the palace ball celebrating the Crown Prince's return was reconsidered, and it was decided that the Crown Prince himself would wear the holy sword instead of displaying it. I think that's a good idea.

And I was on the verge of a crisis where I couldn't obtain a leisurely and carefree life and couldn't boast of any achievements.

Because the Crown Prince wished me to be his Crown Princess.

The criteria for being the Crown Princess in this country are very lenient. There are no restrictions based on origin or social status. After all, previous Crown Princes have encountered quite a number of people during their travels.

Additionally, the first king and queen also fell in love during their journey to seal the Demon King, so if the future Crown Princess were to meet him in a similar journey, it would be considered destiny, and the whole country would celebrate it. Moreover, multiple princesses have been blessed in such cases.

Unusually, no one noticed... The Crown Prince, who had just returned from his journey, was cursed by the Demon King at the banquet celebrating his homecoming. However, I, the "Pure-hearted Maiden," a noble of his own country, immediately dedicated myself and lifted the curse. Once the Crown Prince stated his desire, there was no escape for me. Because it was celebrated as fated encounter.

As soon as I kissed the Crown Prince in that state, I couldn't even offer an explanation. “Ahh! What is that if it is not love!” Just like that everything was decided. Yes, there was love...but it’s for peace and a damn lazy life...

If what the Crown Prince handed out was a fever-like love, it would have been better. A short-fleeting sparkle born from the escape out of despair.

In that case, it would surely fade away soon, but I couldn't just throw it away. There was a possibility of obtaining a secluded and indulgent life in a quiet palace if I asked for such.

But it was different. It was also the reason why no one noticed him during his journey. The Crown Prince was truly a member of the royal family and a hero. What he sought was a woman who could make immediate judgments and take action for the sake of the national interest when necessary.

The Crown Prince was certainly in despair at that time. Not for himself, who had turned into a monster, but for the hardships of the future citizens and the world. And he trembled with anger, at his own incompetence that had been taken advantage of.

It was at that moment that I kissed him.

Oh well... I see... I closed my eyes and stared at the sky.

In terms of information war, it was my complete defeat. The escape route was brilliantly blocked with skillful tactics.

Even though there had been only a few exchanges and no formal proposal, the entire country was already in a festive mode in anticipation of the official engagement.

In such circumstances, today, a banquet celebrating the sealing of the Demon King was held, and I stood in the center of that grand hall, kneeling before the Crown Prince.

"My fated 'Pure-hearted Maiden,' please become my lawful wife."

I felt trapped. If it weren't for this public setting, I could have negotiated for a concubine position...

I put on my best poker face and smiled shyly.

"If it is your wish, Your Highness..."

Now that it had come to this, I resolved to create a comfortable nest... Well, I guess it'll be fine... probably...

Amidst the thunderous applause, I gazed into the distance and contemplated the building of a relationship with the Crown Prince.

"My dear..."

The Crown Prince stood up, leaned in close, and whispered softly.

"I like your attitude of trying to gain as much advantage for yourself."

I was surprised and blinked, staring at the Crown Prince.

"How cute."

Towards the Crown Prince who sported a beautiful smile as he declared so, my face blushed as if boiling.

Oh dear... It seems I'm going to lose in a good way...

====================================================

Author’s Note:

I got a FA(fan art?) to celebrate this series. I told him what I thought it should look like, and he drew it for me, but his "ok" reply was the best.

I can't help but laugh because lol. Please take a look at the activity report.

Lmao rofl.

Chapter 158 : Family

TL:SummerPeanut

====================================

10 January 2031, 6:00 am.

Apparently, because of yesterday's fierce battle, I couldn't wake up in three hours even after depleting my MP.

After the battle with Upial, I slept like a log because I didn't let deplete my mp, but this time I made sure I depleted them of MP and went to bed...

Currently, I'm locked up tight with two people.

I'm being held by Clarice on my right arm and I'm happy to have enjoy puff-puff*1. My left arm is also happy to be puff-puff on by Ellie. And it wasn't my arms that were most pleased.

My right leg is also sandwiched between Clarice's legs and my left leg is sandwiched between Ellie's legs, and my legs, sandwiched between their raw legs, are screaming with delight.

But there was one person who complained about this. My partner. He’s making a bold appeal that he’s the only one who's being left alone, but unfortunately he’s not as popular as I'd like him to be...RIP...

After a bit, Clarice woke up and said a cute 'good morning' in my ear and kissed me on the neck like Ellie. Both Clarice and Ellie were sleeping a little lower down on the bed than usual because their legs were intertwined.

Clarice unlocked my legs and kissed me differently than usual. It was a grown-up kiss... it was my first time experiencing in my...31 years of life.

“Now, wake Ellie up while I get the breakfast ready.”

As if nothing had happened, Clarice went out of my sight, got dressed up and so on, and then started preparing breakfast. I basked in the lingering feeling of Clarice for a while.

“Mars. Are you okay? Maybe you still haven't gotten over the damage from yesterday?”

I was in a daze and Clarice asked me worriedly about because I was not doing anything.

“No, it's not that...I was just in a bliss earlier...”

When I said that, Clarice blushed and went back to making breakfast. When I woke Ellie up, she didn't quite want to leave me.

Ellie kept kissing my cheeks and neck all the time, calling Mars, Mars, Mars repeatedly like a broken toy.

After about ten minutes, things finally calmed down and 2 of us decided to change separately and have Clarice's breakfast.

“Mars. How did you get through the boss room yesterday? I thought even for a Mars, you wouldn’t make it...”

Clarice asked me in a normal tone at first, but at the end she became tearful and eventually cried. Ellie saw this and sobbed too.

“Aah... it wasn't that big of a deal... apparently only the first round of ogres were strong and the ogres from the second time that appeared weren’t that strong. The first round ogres were 45 years old while the second round ogres were 0 in age…so yeah…you get it right?”

I didn't want to worry them too much. The talk about the ogres’ age is true, but it was the toughest fight I ever had... and the first time I really thought I might die.

There's no way I can be an A-rank adventurer like this against a threat level B enemies... but I was definitely stronger after yesterday's fight.

Name: Mars Bryant

Title: Thunder God/ Wind King / Saint / Goblin Slaughterer

Status: Human race, second son of Count Bryant

Condition: Good

Age: 11 years old

Level: 41

HP: 105/105

MP: 8018/8018

Strength: 98

Agility: 97

Magic: 114

Dexterity: 93

Durability: 93

Luck: 30

Unique Ability: Innate Talent (LvMax)

Unique Ability: Sky Eyes (Lv10)

Unique Ability: Lightning Magic (Lv9/S)

Special Ability: Swordsmanship (Lv9/A)

Special Ability: Fire Magic (Lv5/D)

Special Ability: Water Magic (Lv5/D)

Special Ability: Earth Magic (Lv5/D)

Special Ability: Wind Magic (Lv10/A)

Special Ability: Holy Magic (Lv8/A)

Equipment: Thunder Sword

Equipment: Salamander Sword

Equipment: Vestments of Thunder God

Equipment: Bracelet of Disguise

Finally, Lightning magic grew significantly to level 9 and talent at S. Well, my status is fine, and the two of them seem to have calmed down a bit.

“I wish Mars could have seen how distraught Ellie was yesterday.”

“...sorry...Mars...I thought you were dead...”

I knew it... I wondered why there was blood outside the boss's room... That must have been Ellie punching the wall or something.....and there was bloodstain on the wall too.

“Well, it’s lucky that nothing happened... We got four awesome things too...”

“Well...yes… But I'm worried about you...don't push yourselves too hard.”

Clarice leaned in closer to me while Ellie put her head on my shoulder.

“Tell me the 4’s functions.”

Clarice asked, and I told her in turn. First, the glowing sword. This is actually the one I don't understand the best...

Name: Sword of Oracle

Special: -

Value: -

Details: Cannot be equipped. Only chosen ones can use it only one wish can be granted

What is this? It's a sword, but it has no attack power and you can't equip it... I don't even know how to use it... When I explained this, both Clarice and Ellie just twisted their heads.

But I definitely think it's worth a lot. I think I'll make it a Bryant family heirloom...

Name: Carnwennan*2

Attack: 12

Special: Agility +2 Dexterity +2

Value: A

Details: One of the magic swords. By consuming MP, it allows the ability to lurk in shadow.

This is a wonderful dagger that combines offence and defence. When I gave it to Ellie, she happily said, "Thank you. I'll take good care of it", while wiping her tears.

But Ellie already has two daggers. I asked her if she wanted to take one of them off her equipment. When I asked her, she said she would return the Sylph Dagger to me because the mithril silver dagger was a precious gift from Clarice. Ellie always takes good care of things that Clarice and I have given her.

The next one came from the normal treasure chest from the second round I fought the ogres.

Name: Amulet of Thunder

Special: Magic +2

Value: B

Details: Greatly increase resistance to lightning. Immunity to electric shocks.

I had also decided to give this to Ellie. In any case, Clarice is originally unaffected against Lightning magic. And because Ellie is often by my side as much as Clarice.

When I put this pendant-type golden amulet on Ellie, she was more delighted than Carnwennan earlier. But then.

“Am I the only one...? Clarice's...? Not fair...if I’m the only one..."

The tone of her voice suddenly dropped, as if she was concerned for Clarice. When Clarice heard these words.

“Ellie, that's not true. These two are suitable for you no matter how you cut it. I'm not jealous of that, so be more pleased."

Hearing Clarice's words, Ellie's angelic smile finally returns.

Finally, it's a much shinier object that came out of the big white silver treasure chest, but it shines brighter than even the sword of oracle.

Name: Orihalcon

Special: -

Value: -

Details: A metal blessed by the gods. It can be enchanted with any magic and can take any form, but equipment made from orihalcon will be bound to the the first person to equip it. Also, anything made of orihalcon is absolutely unbreakable and will not deteriorate.

This… from the description alone is great, but... it was actually a very small ingot...of about 10 grams? Well, I appraised this yesterday before I went to bed, and at that time I had already decided what I was going to make with it.

“Orihalcon sounds awesome... but we’ll have to collect more to make even one piece of equipment...”

Clarice said while tilting her head.

“Yes, that's right. Can I have this orihalcon?”

I asked them both and they both said in unison, ““Of course””. After a little time to relax, we decided to return to the surface.

On the way back to the second floor, we met up with Zeke, Ike, senior glasses and the Black Tri-Stars. Apparently, they were worried because we hadn't left the magic stone on the second floor since the first day, so they were going to go to the third floor with the six of them.

“The fourth floor enemies were so formidable that we forgot to leave the magic stones in the second floor. However, I have taken all the magic stones of the magic beasts in the fourth floor. Unfortunately, we couldn't bring back the magic beast stones from the boss room..."

Zeke was relieved to see us.

“We were really worried about you…and you should apologize to Maria later. It's not just Mars, you know. Clarice and Ellie too. You're like our family now.”

Clarice and Ellie bowed their heads at Zeke's warm words. Especially for Ellie, Zeke's words seemed to have sunk deep into her heart. She had tears in her eyes.

When we were leaving, Ike asked me about the fourth floor. I told him about the orgres in detail.

“Is it okay if me and Ede go with you?”

Ike's question was answered by Clarice.

“If you are prepared to have sister-in-law's chests rubbed by Mars, then you can follow go along.”

She said mischievously. Clarice... that's from the boss's room, isn't it? ...the senior glasses bit at these words.

“Eh? What? Do you do such romantic things in the middle of combat?”

Romantic... Clarice and senior glasses started to have a girl talk. Ellie added a word or two there and entered the world of the three of them.

“But still, you guys make the second floor of this evil Almeria labyrinth feel like a plain field out there.”

Zeke said, and Ike added.

“Yeah. Let's listen properly to the story of the boss room of the Almeria Labyrinth which even Mars had a hard time with.”

The men get excited talking about the boss room. The Black Tri-Stars wolves are carrying the magic stones of the ogres we defeated in the fourth floor, by the way.

It's already 19:00, probably because we were too relaxed in the safe zone of the third floor. When we reached the house, Maria was waiting for us with the gatekeeper, holding Cain in her arms.

Where's Leena? Right at the moment I thought so, she jumped on me. Tears were welling up in her eyes. I wondered if I had worried Leena too...

Cain looked a little unhappy when he saw me, but when he looked at Ellie's face and a little lower down her face, he had a happy expression on his face. This guy is definitely going to get a nice woman in the future.

We were actually going to leave Almeria tomorrow, but we'll leave the day after tomorrow. I want to spend a little more time with this great family.

====================================

Author’s note:

This concludes volume 9.

Thank you for sticking with my poor writing this far.

I know you're probably already busy with the New Year holidays, but please take a look at it once in a while.

If you feel the series is even a bit interesting and are curious about the story’s continuation, please consider giving ★★★★★ and bookmark as it will really help with my motivation. m(__)m

I am also on Twitter.

I would be delighted if you would follow me on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/qdUYSDZf8XzNaUq

TLN:

I will stop here, as I mentioned before. Kind of lost my motivation from the few previous chapters. Remember to unsubscribe~

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TL’s note:

1. Dragon quest reference.
2. en(.)wikipedia(.) org/wiki/Carnwennan

Chapter 157 : Overtime Battle

TL:SummerPeanut

====================================

If they repop one at a time, they can be easily defeated. They're just nasty when they get together, but not so much when they repop one at a time.

I told myself that as I put the sword and dagger I just obtained in front of the door, and immediately rushed towards the newly pop’ed ogre.

By the way, my MP is already below 3000, I'd been using Firestorm or Blizzard for a little short of 30 minutes, and I used Vision, Sylphid, Wind Cutter, and Wind Impulse, so I had used 5000MP in that 30 minutes.

That’s why I am trying to defeat the ogres in a very short battle now. I knew that if it became an endurance battle, I would never have a chance to win.

I used Lightning magic as much as possible and tried not to use MP defensively, e.g. Vision and Sylphid.

I assumed that if I didn't fight with a ratio of 9 attack and 1 defense, I wouldn't be able to defeat 16 ogres by myself within 30 minutes.

I quickly defeated the first ogre that appeared by using the Thunder Sword, Salamander Sword, and Wind Cutter, and then looked around to find a blue ogre, or an ogre sorcerer, repopping in the distance.

My priority target is the ogre sorcerer. If only the ogre sorcerers weren't here, the ogres would be too occupied to resist my Firestorm, and I could take them out in melee combat later.

“Lightning!"

I fired Lightning after confirming that there was only an ogre sorcerer, but just before I finished chanting, an ogre repopped between me and the ogre sorcerer.

Lightning, by its nature, lands on those close to it, so the Lightning landed on the ogre, not the ogre sorcerer.

In my haste, I decapitated the ogre that had landed on me and targeted the ogre sorcerer again, but there were already three ogres repopping around me.

It’s okay... I still have a solid way out... I told myself as I moved on to my next action.

When I released chantless Tornado, the current existing ogres desperately tried to resist.

Of course, with the current number of ogres, it is impossible for them to resist, but I instead weakened the power of the Tornado and let the ogres resist the Tornado.

I enchanted the Thunder magic on the Vestments of Thunder God and flew at the defenceless ogre sorcerer who was resisting desperately, and cut off its head. With this, I have now killed two ogres and one ogre sorcerer.

But in just this 30 seconds or so, all the ogres except the ogre battler had repopped.

I, a single man, versus four ogre sorcerers and eight ogres... Not to mention the ogre battler that is about to pop... but there is still hope...

“Firestorm!"

The four ogre sorcerers and two ogres resisted my Firestorm.

I enchanted another Lightning spell on my Vestments and quickly went to where the two ogre sorcerers were clustered together and tried to decapitate them.

As if reading me, the two ogres who had not joined the resisting of the magic, were about to club me to death. I quickly ducked their swing, but as I did so, a Stone Bullet flew from my blind spot, aimed at my heart.

I couldn't react at all, but the Stone Bullet didn't pierce me. ...there was a small hole in Vestments of Thunder God, just barely piercing my muscles.

I don't know if it was thanks to the vestments or my high magic power and durability. But it turned out that the ogre's magic is not a threat to me.

I was a little relieved when the ogre's club struck me in the side. I controlled my Firestorm and was raising my left arm when I was mowed down from behind with all its might. I was blown several meters and had several of my ribs broken.

“High Heal”.

It was hard to put into words, but the High Heal somehow seemed to have healed the fractures. ...now that was really close...

Apparently, the ogres know I'm after the ogre sorcerers. If I had more time, I could continue to let them continue to resist my Firestorm and outrun the ogres’ attacks in the meantime and secure my victory, but I can't do that.

Five minutes have already passed... and I definitely won't be able to defeat the next 16 ogres... I have 2300 MP left.

I casted Firestorm as I did earlier, and the same members of the ogres resisted. The ogres' MP is still not going to be depleted. And again I went near the ogre sorcerers and felt the presence of an ogre nearby that was not participating in the magic resisting.

But right at this moment, I took a different action than before.

“Lightning Cloak!"

Golden lightning struck the ogres near me with multiple thunderbolts from Lightning Cloak. A total of five golden lightning bolts were discharged. ... MP is down to about 200. The MP consumption is 100 for Firestorm and 400 x 5 for Lightning Cloak...

But my lightnings were very effective. The ones who are now being electrocuted are the two ogre sorcerers, two ogres, and the ogre battler that had just repopped.

The ogre sorcerers’ electrocution prevented my Firestorm from being resisted, and the ogres were hit by a storm of fire.

While I'm at it, I cut off the heads of the five electrocuted ogres one after the other with my Thunder Sword. There are six ogres and two ogre sorcerers left... two of which are about to die from Firestorm.

With 15 minutes left, 4 ogre and 2 ogre sorcerers...and almost no MP left for these 6 ogres. ...I have a little over 100 MP left...I can do this! Something unexpected happened, but I can make it back alive!

I used Tornado on the two ogre sorcerers and two ogres that were clumped together.

Now I have a little over 50 MP left, but according to my calculations, I can definitely kill four of them with Tornado. I suppose it's a good thing that I have a little bit more composure now. ...I went to the other two and tried to fight them, and just to be safe, I activated Vision at first.

Then 0.5 seconds later I saw the future of a Stone Bullet hitting me in my eyes. I don't know where it will be flying from.

But I know that the Stone Bullet will definitely hit me in the eye if I keep going like this. I'm already in attack position with the Thunder Sword, so there’s only that to do emergency evasion!

“Kamui!"

I forced myself to reverse my body, so I felt pain like my whole body is being torn apart. A Stone Bullet scratched my cheek... It was close... I have no more MP left to heal with High Heal so...

“Heal”.

Apparently, an ogre sorcerer, used Stone Bullet before my Tornado could end it.

I'm glad I used Vision... thanks to which I only have 3 MP of mine left... 1 shot of Wind or so huh... so I have to take on 2 ogres with a wounded body huh. But when I looked closer, I saw that the other two ogres were also wounded.

I use my last ounce of strength to finish off the two ogres with my Thunder Sword and Salamander Sword. The conclusion was reached quickly.

I was able to defeat the two ogres without any difficulty, even though I’m wounded, my stats value was higher than that of the ogres after all.

And after defeating two of them, two treasure chests appeared in the middle again. I had 7 or 8 minutes left to go...and my usual personality would never go cross any danger again, but I couldn't ignore these treasure chests.

One of the treasure chests was the same color as the previous ones, but the other one was a different color, shining brightly and full of light from inside.

Name: Treasure Chest

Special: -

Value: 4

Details: You don't know what's inside. The rate of appearance and what is inside depends on ‘Luck’.

This was the result of the appraisal of the same treasure chest as before. And the other shining treasure chest is

Name: White Silver Treasure Chest

Special: -

Value: -

Details: It contains very rare item

I took an item from each treasure chest and finally made it out of the boss's room door.

☆☆☆

The door closed in front of me. I was so close... Mars was so close of exiting... I was stunned, unable to accept the reality.

“Mars! Mars! Mars!..."

Ellie called out Mars repeatedly and tried to force the door open. When she realized that the door would not open, she hit the door with her fists as hard as she could. The sound of her fist breaking echoed the first time she hit the door. But Ellie didn't care, she hit it again and again.

“Ellie! Stop already! Mars will definitely come back!”

I held Ellie back and healed both of her fists by using chantless High Heal. But Ellie would not stop.

“Mars! Mars! Mars!...”

She just banged on the wall, sobbing incessantly about Mars, and after about ten minutes, when Ellie felt a little calmer, she said.

“If...Mars didn't come back...after Clarice safe... I’ll come alone… Clarice is important... but I don't want…a world without Mars..."

I love Mars too. I don't think anyone can win against me in terms of love to Mars... but for Ellie...

“Ellie...is the same as myself then... so let's trust Mars and wait...”

The two of us spent what seemed like an eternity, 20-odd minutes together, hugging, and crying. Our only emotional support was the occasional tremendous roar coming from inside the boss's room. It must have been the sound of Mars's Lightning magic landing...

Even I could tell that the three of us had struggled considerably in the fight. And I can also tell that a lot of his MP was consumed. If you think about it normally, there is no way that he could come back alive even for Mars... but there is a little feeling of hope if it’s Mars...

After a while, the roar no longer sounded...and maybe... The strength of I’m using to embrace Ellie grew stronger. I am sure Ellie is the same. She hugged me tightly.

As I cry, I think I heard a click from the door. It seemed that Ellie heard it too. When I fearfully tried to open the door, it opened surprisingly easily.

As soon as I tried to look inside the room, I saw Mars lying on his face in front of the door. The worst possible situation comes to mind...

“Ellie! Help me carry Mars!"

Ellie seemed to have lost her head at the sight of such Mars. And as if responding to my voice.

“Thank you... Clarice... I'm fine... I'm just a bit tired....."

Mars turned from his prone position to his back and makes a sky-high voice, trying to reassure us.

Ellie was also relieved that Mars is safe and started crying again as she tried to carry him out. I also tried to use High Heal on Mars, and Mars suddenly blurted out.

“...I'm lucky today. I saw beautiful pinks and yellows...”

====================================

Author’s note:

If you feel the series is even a bit interesting and are curious about the story’s continuation, please consider giving ★★★★★ and bookmark as it will really help with my motivation. m(__)m

I am also on Twitter.

I would be delighted if you would follow me on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/qdUYSDZf8XzNaUq

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Chapter 156 : Almeria Labyrinth, 5th Floor

TL:SummerPeanut

TLN: Ok this is the chapter killed my motivation. It’s been horn¥ chapter after horn¥ chapters. I’ll still finish this story arc but no more. As mentioned, I’ll take a break while looking for interesting untouched web novels.

====================================

9 January 2031, 7.00 am.

We are departing to the boss room now.

We've been fighting threat level B ogres for the past three days, so my level has gone up by one, Clarice's by two and Ellie's by three.

Name: Mars Bryant

Title: Thunder God / Wind King / Saint / Goblin Slaughterer

Status: Human race, second son of Count Bryant

Condition: Good

Age: 11 years old

Level: 40

HP: 102/102

MP: 8015/8015

Strength: 95

Agility: 95

Magic: 112

Dexterity: 91

durability: 90

Luck: 30

Unique Ability: Innate Talent (LvMax)

Unique Ability: Sky Eyes (Lv10)

Unique Ability: Lightning Magic (Lv8/S)

Special Ability: Swordsmanship (Lv9/A)

Special Ability: Fire Magic (Lv5/D)

Special Ability: Water Magic (Lv5/D)

Special Ability: Earth Magic (Lv5/D)

Special Ability: Wind Magic (Lv10/A)

Special Ability: Holy Magic (Lv8/A)

Equipment: Thunder Sword

Equipment: Salamander Sword

Equipment: Vestments of Thunder God

Equipment: Bracelet of Disguise

I think I've become strong enough to challenge A-rank adventurers this year…

With over 100 HP and a stats of over 90 in all...not to mention, a lot of cheat skills... I feel like I can become an A-rank adventurer if I include my equipment...

Name: Clarice Lampard

Title: Bow King / Saintess

Status: Human race, eldest daughter of Viscount Lampard

Condition: Good

Age: 11 years old

Level: 44

HP: 94/94

MP: 1600/1600

Strength: 67

Agility: 68

Magic: 84

Dexterity: 81

durability: 67

Luck: 20

Unique Ability: Barrier Magic (Lv4/A)

Special Ability: Swordsmanship (Lv6/C)

Special Ability: Archery (Lv8/B)

Special ability: Water magic (Lv6/D)

Special Ability: Wind Magic (Lv4/F)

Special Ability: Holy Magic (Lv8/A)

Equipment: Defender

Equipment: Magic Arrow

Equipment: Saint's Robe

Equipment: Mysterious Anklet

Equipment: Bracelet of Disguise

Clarice may not be able to make it to the A-rank this year, but she could try around next year.

Name: Ellie Leo

Title: -

Status: Beastman (lion race), head of the Leo Baronetess Household

Condition: Good

Age: 10 years old

Level: 41

HP: 115/115

MP: 111/111

Strength: 83

Agility: 102

Magic: 25

Dexterity: 32

durability: 67

Luck: 10

Unique Ability: Sound Magic (Lv1/C)

Special Ability: Martial Arts (Lv8/B)

Special Ability: Knifemanship (Lv7/C)

Special Ability: Wind Magic (Lv3/G)

Equipment: Mithril Silver Dagger

Equipment: Sylph Dagger

Equipment: Valkyrie Armour

Equipment: Cloak of Wind

Equipment: Boots of Wind

As expected, Ellie's agility value jumps as her level increases. There is a possibility that she will be stronger than Guster next year. The agility value is already almost the same as Guster's, and her strength and durability values are higher than Guster's.

This makes me think that Gaster, whose stats I thought was so far off a few months ago, is already right on our doorstep, and we’re getting a lot stronger.

We made it to the boss room on the fifth floor. I always make sure I'm the first to enter the boss room. I learned in class that there are boss rooms that only one person can enter.

“I think it's probably a threat level A boss... Clarice, make sure you have your Barrier magic and Ice Fortress ready to go at any time. Ellie, stay with Clarice until instructed otherwise."

I slowly open the boss room door and slowly enter the boss room. Clarice and Ellie followed in turn, and after a little while the door closed on its own. There are 16 magic pools... in the spring room.

And there were ten ogres, five blue ogres, and one red ogre.

“It's a boss room, but it's also a spring room... This could be pretty bad...”

My words were tense. First, I appraised the five blue ogres.

Name: -

Title: - 

Race: Ogre Sorcerer

Threat: B

Condition: Good

Age: 45 years old

Level: 12

HP: 110/110

MP: 258/258

Strength: 58

Agility: 55

Magic: 68

Dexterity: 50

durability:58

Luck: 1

Special Ability: Pole Technique (Lv3/E)

Special Ability: Earth Magic (Lv 7/C)

Details: Intelligent demon. Can understand human language.

A wizard version of an ogre. This one’s nasty...

I've been defeating ogres with MP depletion tactics up until now, but if there's a wizard-type opponent, there’ll be much more resistance.

And when there are 16 ogres, which we have only faced up to 10 so far, we are at a disadvantage in the battle of magic.

Well, it doesn't matter as long as their MP are depleted... But that 45 years age... maybe they have been here since the labyrinth was built? The level is not that high, so it might be possible.

I also appraised the normal ogres and found their age to be 45 years old. I'm sure these guys have been in this boss room since the Almeria Labyrinth was built, and no one has ever defeated them.

Finally, I appraised the red ogre. I estimated this guy was a threat level A, so I appraised him and found the following

Name: - 

Title: - 

Race: Ogre Battler

Threat: B+

Condition: Good

Age: 45 years old

Level: 15

HP: 284/284

MP: 101/101

Strength: 78

Agility: 75

Magic: 52

Dexterity: 58

Durability: 70

Luck: 1

Special Ability: Pole Technique (Lv7/C)

Special Ability: Earth Magic (Lv5/D)

Details: Intelligent demon. Can understand human language.

Surprisingly, its threat level was B+. Obviously, its status is higher than that of the chimera, which has the same threat level, but when you think about it, the chimera has a great special ability.

If the ogre battler and the chimera were to fight one-on-one, the chimera might possibly win. Because the chimera has magic beast summoning, Fire magic, and accelerated HP recovery...

“Clarice! Cast Blizzard with me! It'll get resisted anyway, but it'll reduce their MP considerably too! And those putting up resistance will stop moving! Then me and Ellie will attack them! Be careful of the moves from those who weren’t resisting!”

When Clarice and I used Blizzard, 5 ogres and 5 ogre sorcerers resisted Blizzard.

I didn't expect that only 10 of them could stop the mixed magic, Blizzard, but with this, there were six magic beasts that could move. On our sides that could move are Ellie and myself.

I can only use my right hand’s Thunder Sword because I am controlling the Blizzard with my left hand, but I can fully use Vision, Mana Eyes, and Sylphid.

“Ellie, let's take them out one by one!”

I shouted, and Ellie came to my side, but the ogres were no fools. Six of the movable ogres were charging toward us.

Perhaps thinking this is a good opportunity, the ogres were after Clarice, who could not move much and is assisting me with Blizzard.

If Clarice can no longer assist me with Blizzard, I will be pushed out of the magic battle instantly. The ogres still have more than half of their MP left...

“Ellie! The ogres are after Clarice! Defend it to the death!"

She guessed the situation immediately even without my words, Ellie was already standing in front of Clarice from next to me.

I immediately go near Clarice too, and the six ogres started attacking her with magic. They are really nasty...

Ellie and I managed to handle the Stone Bullets of the ogres, but the problem was the Stone Spears coming out of the ogre battler's ground.

The attack takes a while to manifest, but Clarice is doing her best to assist Blizzard so she can't move. Clarice can also release ice spears while moving, but she can't cast a mixed magic, Blizzard, while moving, even if she’s just supporting the magic.

Clarice is in a position with both her arms raised all the way up to maintain the spell.

“Clarice! I'm going to hold you.”

I tucked my Thunder Sword on my right hand into the scabbard on my back, stood behind Clarice, put my right arm around her stomach and evaded the Stone Spear while holding her.

I can't use my left hand as it is being used to control Blizzard either. The Stone Bullets were intercepted with chantless Wind Cutter.

I had to hold Clarice with my right arm only, and every time I avoided the Stone Spear, the position where I held Clarice was higher up.

It doesn't give me time to reposition... but if I drop Clarice here, she will fall prey to the Stone Spear.

“Clarice! I'm sorry! There's nowhere to grab!”

Clarice seems to have understood what I'm trying to say.

“Never mind! But just don't irritate the tip too much...”

Clarice's face is probably bright red right now... I grabbed Clarice's left hill gently from behind with my right arm from below.

Soft... but now is not the time to indulge in such things. The evidence is that my partner isn't responding.

But still, it's useful to have big ones in a situation like this... If this had been Misha, I might have dropped her... Well, Misha is still growing up, so it's a pitiful to compare them...

After a couple of minutes of dodging, the resistance to Blizzard is gone. Finally, the MPs of the resisting ogres had run out, and out of the 16 of them, only the ogre battler had MP left, and the ogre battler's MP was just enough for one Stone Bullet or so.

I unwillingly let go of Clarice in my right hand.

“The ogres have ran out of MP! But we're running out of time! In 15 minutes, the next wave will spring up! We'll finish them off at once! Clarice, attack with your magic bow, Ellie, go with guerrilla. I'll use Wind Impulse to push all the ogres in one place and burn them down with Firestorm!”

I manifested Firestorm and used Wind and Wind Impulse to throw the ogres into it.

Clarice was just shooting her magic bow all around. Ellie has a one-on-one advantage with the ogre battler and was about to put an end to it.

Victory is completely in sight, but it took a little more time to end them due to the high durability and magical power of the ogres.

When we managed to defeat the 16 ogres in less than 30 minutes, two treasure chests popped up in the middle of the room.

“Clarice and Ellie, please leave the room first. I'll be there as soon as I collect those!”

Clarice and Ellie obeyed my words and immediately went out of the room. The two then left the door open for me.

I appraised the two treasure chests and found that there were poison arrow traps again. Darn! At a time like this... I avoided the poison arrow trap, took a white shiny sword and an obviously powerful-looking dagger from the treasure chest and rushed towards the exit of the room.

Just when I thought I managed to exit in time...the door closed in front of me. The expressions on Clarice and Ellie's faces at the moment the door closed were expressions I will never forget.

And when I looked back, the ogres were repopping one by one from the magic pool.

====================================

Author’s note:

If you feel the series is even a bit interesting and are curious about the story’s continuation, please consider giving ★★★★★ and bookmark as it will really help with my motivation. m(__)m

I am also on Twitter.

I would be delighted if you would follow me on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/qdUYSDZf8XzNaUq

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Chapter 155 : Normal Operation

TL:SummerPeanut

====================================

“It's been a long time since I've seen a treasure chest… Hurry up and open it and show me.”

Clarice rushed me. I appraised the treasure chest and found that it came with a trap. Poisoned arrows huh... It was a pattern that would have hurt me if I'd opened it without a care.

Everyone stayed away from the poison arrows.

I opened the treasure chest and immediately stepped backwards, and the poison arrows went into the ceiling with great force. Getting hit by that would probably kill you even if it's not poisoned... When I checked the contents of the treasure chest, there was a sword(?) with a shape I'd never seen before.

Name: Holy Silver Rapier

Attack: 16

Special: Agility +1, Magic +1

Value: A-

Details: A thin sword of Holy attribute. When inflicting damage, the holder’s MP is restored.

Isn't this quite the...cheat equipment...? This is a rubbish equipment if the Holy magician does not participate in combat but if you are a Holy magician with a talent for fine swordsmanship… There is only one person I could think of.

“What's this? I've never seen this before. What kind of sword is it?"

Clarice asked me with a curious look on her face. I told her about the performance of this holy silver rapier.

“I don't see anyone among us who is qualified to equip it...who has a talent for both fine swordsmanship and Holy magic?”

I didn't want to keep anything from the two of them, so I was honest.

“Actually, Dominic's childhood friend, Alice, seems to have both talents.”

My words startled Clarice and Ellie.

“Eh?! Alice is a Holy magician? Isn't she the girl who kept winning the lottery for maid café?”

Clarice raised her voice in surprise, and Ellie said.

“...this development...is the 5th girl development...”

She blurted out such. Clarice heard her words and glared at me.

“Mars... you are not really thinking of having a fifth, are you?”

For some reason, Clarice's cute voice sounded very scary.

“Eh... no... don't you think it's a good idea to recruit talented people to your party? It's less dangerous for everyone..."

Desperately resisting, I said so.

“Well... indeed but... there seems to be another kind of talent, too. ...”

What other talent?

“It’s not like it has to be Reimei. I think it’ll work even if she’s in Genesis in the end. But I want to raise her well because she is a valuable Holy magician. But if Alice refuses, it can't be helped...”

“She'll never refuse... Alice...likes Mars..."

Ellie blurted out again and Both Clarice and myself were surprised by these words. It didn't feel like that at all last time... but Ellie's intuition is right 99 of the time...

“Mars! Your face! Your face is loosening!"

Clarice pinched my face lightly.

“But Mars is right - if it's as a member of Reimei or Daybreak and not as a fifth fiancée, we should welcome her. Mars's goal is to be the lord of Rimurgarde, so there's never enough strength to go around.”

S-somehow managed to put her in a good mood. Ellie is also convinced by Clarice's words.

“Let's move on for now. This time I'll go ahead."

There weren't many magic beasts on the fourth floor. Up to the third level, magic beasts appeared in the corridors, but from the fourth floor, there were no magic beasts in the corridors and only about ten ogres in each room.

I didn't fight the ogres head-on anymore, but rather depleted their MP through magic warfares they were not much trouble once they are unable to use magic.

We took our time and slowly explored the fourth floor and finished exploring all corners. I also found the place leading to the fifth floor and sneaked a peek into the fifth floor for a bit, the walls of the fifth floor were red and there was only one big door. It's the boss room.

I still have over 5000 MP left, but Clarice's MP was less than half, so I decided to go back to the safe zone for today. When I returned to the safe zone, the ogre was still repopping, so I went back while killing them as well.

It was 19:00 when we returned to the safe zone. We took a bath and ate portable food, then the three of us went to bed. Incidentally, both of them started wearing my shirt to bed.

But there is one difference in the way of dressing for bed. Neither of them wears shorts. In fact, they haven't worn shorts since they entered the Almeria Labyrinth. This is probably because they can’t be seen by other adventurers.

Ellie, in the vanguard, so I can catch a glimpse of her underwear... and whenever her skirt rolls up, eyes are inevitably drawn to it. Especially when she moves like she is flying around in the air due to the effect of her boots of wind, men will understand that even if they know they are not supposed to do so in battle, they will still be glued...

As expected, I didn't have time to do that when I was fighting the ogre however... And now the two of them are wearing nothing but their underwear and baggy Y-shirts.

And in that state they hugged me in a tangled embrace. I managed to keep my composure so as not to be aware of their bodies lines and I said to them.

“Tomorrow we'll level up and look for treasure chests on the fourth floor, and the day after tomorrow we'll go to the boss room on the fifth.”

I said to them both in bed, and Clarice responded with a cute “yes”. Ellie was already asleep... Even though she had not been in bed for longer than a minute. I can't imagine Ellie not being able to sleep (anywhere)...

“Even so, those ogres were strong... and I think it would be pretty tough for a party that isn't good at magic... and even if they were good at magic, they'd run out of MP pretty quickly, wouldn't they?”

“Yes... even if a normal B-rank party could beat them, it would take more than six hours to get into the next room... and every single one of them is strong...I wonder how many parties can take down 10 ogres before the ogres' MP are depleted."

“I'd like to be able to take down those ogres without magic. ...let's come back and try again the year after the next.”

“'Oh? That's surprising for Mars. I thought you would said next year?”

“Next year I'm going to go and say my greetings to Gray and Erna, and I'm going to see the Duke of Syrians about Ellie. There were several points I have to ask regarding Lord Barnes and Ellie, also I think it would be good to settle the matters of Ellie and Duke of Syrians. If Ellie doesn't want to, I won’t though...”

“...thank you. We need to properly hear Ellie's case too..."

I went to bed from MP depletion while talking to Clarice again today.

8 January 2031, 3:00 am.

Getting up early as usual and resisting to watch the two of them sleep some more, I get out of bed and head to the fourth floor alone.

I had a few things to test. First, I wanted to see if Holy would be effective against the ogres. If so, it would be one of Clarice's main attacks.

The result was that it was more effective than the other four major elements all four being resistable, but not for Holy. Well, the downside is that you can't do a lot of damage in one hit.

And next was Lightning magic. This was expected to some extent, but it was still outstandingly effective. There is no time to resist the Lightning magic that strikes at the same time as it glows. It is already too late after it’s visible.

And it is also possible land a solid electrocution (large) state. If they are electrocuted, I can easily jump to the neck of the ogre with the Thunder Sword. The MP consumption is no joke. ...Even if the maximum MP becomes 8000, Lightning can only be fired about 10 shots, so I have to carefully assess the place to use it. Well, it would be better to think of it as a boss-only weapon...

Finally, how many ogres can follow the speed boost from the Sylphid and Vestments of Thunder God, but the result is somewhat subtle.

As it turned out, the ogres can't keep up with me... but I can't use fully keep up either. I became too fast and the movements too linear.

The ogres couldn’t follow me, but it could read my movements. Many times they would read my movements and swing their clubs at me beforehand, and I would run head-on into them.

This is a case of no difference of having no treasure or having treasure but buried in ground... I have to practice until I get used to it...

When I returned to the third floor after trying the above, it was already right before six o'clock and I hurriedly took a bath to wash off the sweat. When I got out of the bath, Clarice was already up and dressed and had prepared a simple breakfast for me.

“Good morning. Clarice."

I walked towards Clarice and she kissed me and replied.

“Good morning. Let's work hard today. And wake Ellie up. I'll finish preparing dinner."

She said cutely and hugged me. I did as Clarice said and kissed Ellie as usual to wake her up, but Ellie hugged me, still dressed in her shirt and underwear. Ellie's two ample hills are crushed against my chest.

“G-good morning Ellie... I can't keep my reason if you hug me dressed like that, so... go and change your clothes...”

Ellie answered when I said above.

“... Mars...hands…and it’s knocking..."

Before I knew it, the hand I thought was around her waist seemed to have gone a little lower... and my unruly stick was knocking Ellie's stomach a thousand times. It seems that my body had already responded on its own...

“Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!"

I said, and Ellie smiled.

“...thank you...happy… I'm going to go and change...”

For some reason she thanked me. Ellie's smile is an angelic smile. What did I do to deserve a thank you? I only did something that could be called the worst... I took the wand of sage in my hand and quieted my mind as I thought about the meaning of Ellie's words.

After that, the three of us ate dinner together and worked on hunting for ogres for tomorrow. I also felt a sense of relief as my level went up and I also got one more treasure chest. I think the treasure chest pop rate is good on the fourth floor because it hasn't been raided by other adventurers yet.

Name: Red Butte

Attack: 18

Special: Magic+2

Value: B-

Details: Burns inflicted by red butte heal more slowly. Fire magic can be enchanted to the whip.

We obtained wapons for Karen. The whip is white despite being called Red Butte*1... Now only Ellie does not have her own weapon in Reimei.

We spent the rest of the night just killing the ogres on the fourth floor. We returned to the safe zone and prepared for tomorrow.

====================================

Author’s note:

If you feel the series is even a bit interesting and are curious about the story’s continuation, please consider giving ★★★★★ and bookmark as it will really help with my motivation. m(__)m

I am also on Twitter.

I would be delighted if you would follow me on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/qdUYSDZf8XzNaUq

<<Prev 

Next>> 

TL’s note:

1. Red Butte

Chapter 154 : Almeria Labyrinth, 4th Floor

TL:SummerPeanut

====================================

6 Jan 2031.

Yesterday I ended up having a relaxing date in the city of Almeria.

There are new specialized weapon and armor shops so we went to take a look, then went to the Adventurer's Guild and looked at quests...

Speaking of which, a funny thing happened when we entered the Adventurer's Guild. When we entered, a few people screamed.

I later heard that last month when Clarice and Ellie came to the Adventurer's Guild alone, a new adventurer had touched Clarice and Ellie on the buttocks.

Ellie was not sleeping well at the time and was very stressed out. The very next moment, that adventurer crashed into the wall of the Adventurer's Guild. ...I can't forgive him for his action but I'm glad he didn't touch Clarice's wrath. From then on, the new adventurers were said to have stayed away from Clarice and Ellie...

We didn't just date. I did my morning training and practiced my magic well. And at the age of 11, my stats had increased due to aging.

Name: Mars Bryant

Title: Thunder God / Wind King / Saint / Goblin Slaughterer

Status: Human race, second son of Count Bryant

Condition: Good

Age: 11 years old

Level: 39

HP: 99/99

MP: 8010/8010

Strength: 92

Agility: 92

Magic: 110

Dexterity: 89

Endurance: 87

Luck: 30

Unique Ability: Innate Talent (LvMAX)

Unique Ability: Sky Eyes (Lv10)

Unique Ability: Lightning Magic (Lv8/S)

Special Ability: Swordsmanship (Lv9/A)

Special Ability: Fire Magic (Lv5/D)

Special Ability: Water Magic (Lv5/D)

Special Ability: Earth Magic (Lv5/D)

Special Ability: Wind Magic (Lv10/A)

Special Ability: Holy Magic (Lv8/A)

Equipment: Thunder Sword

Equipment: Salamander Sword

Equipment: Vestments of Thunder God

Equipment: Bracelet of Disguise

Firstly, my HP and durability went up by 5 each. All other stats also raised except for magic. Next, the talent for Fire magic became D and the level increased to 5.

And Wind magic finally rose to level 10. The MP consumption of wind magic dropped considerably when it reached level 10.

It had reached level 9 before Sky Eyes, so I knew it was about time that the level increased. When I go back to school, I'll ask Sasha about Tempest, the highest level of Wind magic she told me about sometime ago.

The status of Clarice, who was born on 1 January like me, had also risen, and her level had also increased by one.

Name: Clarice Lampard

Title: Bow King, Saintess

Status: Human race, eldest daughter of Viscount Lampard

Condition: Good

Age: 11 years old

Level: 42

HP: 88/88

MP: 1588/1588

Strength: 64

Agility: 64

Magic: 78

Dexterity: 77

Endurance: 63

Luck: 20

Unique Ability: Barrier Magic (Lv4/A)

Special Ability: Swordsmanship (Lv6/C)

Special Ability: Archery (Lv8/B)

Special Ability: Water magic (Lv6/D)

Special Ability: Wind Magic (Lv4/F)

Special Ability: Holy Magic (Lv8/A)

Equipment: Defender

Equipment: Magic Arrow

Equipment: Saint’s Robe

Equipment: Mysterious Anklet

Equipment: Bracelet of Disguise

Her special abilities haven't changed, but her stats is quite high, about the same as mine three or four months ago.

Ellie was born on 1 February, so she didn't have an age-related stats increase (yet), but she did experience a stats increase due to her level up.

Name: Ellie Leo

Title: -

Status: Beastman (lion tribe), head of the Leo Baronetess Household 

Condition: Good

Age: 10 years old

Level: 38

HP: 103/103

MP: 108/108

Strength: 76

Agility: 93

Magic: 23

Dexterity: 29

Endurance: 62

Luck: 10

Unique Ability: Sound Magic (Lv1/C)

Special Ability: Martial Arts(Lv8/B)

Special Ability: Knifemanship (Lv7/C)

Special Ability: Wind Magic (Lv3/G)

Equipment: Mithril Silver Dagger

Equipment: Sylph Dagger

Equipment: Valkyrie Armor

Equipment: Mantle of Wind

Equipment: Boots of Wind

Her stats is as one-sided as ever, typical of Ellie. Her martial arts skill increased to level 8, and her bodywork was further refined.

“Alright, let's dive in the labyrinth until 10 January and return to Regan on the 11th!”

I said this to Clarice and Ellie and dove the Almeria Labyrinth for the first time in a long time. In the end, Ike and senior glasses decided to have a date in Almeria the whole time. Well, it's the first time for senior glasses to go to Almeria.

“Hey Mars. Can I ask you something? What are those vestments? Sometimes it looks like a golden magic circle is floating in the air...?"

“This is called the Vestments of Thunder God, which dropped when I defeated the impure king. When I enchant it with Lighting magic my agility will be increased significantly, but I became awkward from too much speed increase. Currently I’m struggling to adapt to the speed…"

We head deeper and deeper into the labyrinth while answering Clarice's questions. There were no magic beasts to stop our progress until the third floor.

When we reached the safe zone on the third floor after about six hours, we were greeted with a nostalgic scene. The furniture and tools we had used to sleep here until the two years ago December were still there.

At that time, my level of Earth magic was still low, so there wasn't much of the finer stuff, but it was just right to bring back memories of the three of us.

“Until the 2 years ago, it used to take a hell of a lot of time to defeat the magic beasts down here...I definitely thought that it would have been more efficient to defeat the threat level C and D magic beasts back then...”

“Yeah, I know. I had a hard time defeating threat level B enemies back then. ...but now I've grown to the point where I can defeat most of the threat level B enemies. I think the only thing we lack is experience in fighting various magic beasts. I'd like to get to the boss room of this labyrinth this time if possible."

In the end, we got rid of the ones we made the year before and made a new tub and bed. Our physical sizes were completely different from the year before, so it couldn't be the same as it was previously.

I taught Clarice Holy before I ran out of MP. At first Clarice couldn't do it at all, even after watching my example, but when I told her to try it while thinking of me, she did it easily.

I was happy that Clarice was able to manifest Holy, but I was also able to reaffirm Clarice's love for me, so I was happier about that.

7 January 2031, 3:00 pm.

I woke up after three hours because I went to sleep through MP depletion, putting aside the two lovely sleeping faces behind and I headed to defeat the enemies in the third floor while training.

After all, unlike the year before last, I was able to defeat them quite easily. The year before last, there were many occasions where I relied on Clarice's Barrier magic, but now there are no such occasions. Well, I won’t know if it’s still the case on the fourth floor...

I was hoping for a treasure chest, but there wasn't one. Time was time, so I went back to the safe zone, took a bath and waited for them to wake up.

They both woke up at 6am and after eating, we set off for the fourth floor and made it down to there without any danger. We have never been beyond this point.

And when we got down to...we saw ten green magic beasts with big horns in front of us.

“What are those... They're not goblins... but they are big and look a bit tough...”

Name: - 

Title: - 

Race: Ogre

Threat: B

Condition: Good

Age: 3 years old

Level: 12

HP: 144/144

MP: 88/88

Strength: 65

Agility: 60

Magic: 35

Dexterity: 54

Endurance: 64

Luck: 1

Special Ability: Pole Technique (Lv5/D)

Special Ability: Earth Magic (Lv 3/E)

Detail: Intelligent magic beast. Can understand human language.

The magic beasts are bigger than me, maybe around two meters. They have a stout body. And they are pretty strong... stats-wise, I'd say it's around a B-rank adventurer... but it's not our enemy for the current us...

As usual, Ellie steps forward a little and tries to lure the ogres out one by one. When she lured them out, Clarice doing the main attack with her Magic Arrow, but when another ogre used Earth Wall, Clarice's Magic Arrow stabbed into the wall of earth that came out of the ground one after another.

It was the first time that the magic beasts responded to the coordination between the two, with Ellie as bait. Ellie didn't care and tried to rush in, so I said to everyone.

“Let's go a bit cautiously! The enemy's coordination looks nasty! And there are ten of them. This time I'll go in front, you two cover me!"

They both followed my instructions and returned to behind me.

“They're a bit tricky...especially when they defend with Earth magic. ... I wonder if it’s plausible to aim for their MP depletion...?"

"...something... different, it's following my speed..."

“Indeed, this magic beast is quite nasty. Its stats is also high with a threat level of B, but more importantly, it is good at fighting... Conversely, this can also be a good practice. Let's fight carefully, treat it more like fighting a party than fighting a magic beast!"

First, I moved to the front a little like Ellie did earlier, and an ogre swung his club and attacked me. I back-stepped to avoid the ogre's attack, and when I pulled out my two swords to counterattack, it tried to block my attack with its Earth Wall.

“Clarice! I'm going to slash the wall as is, so cover me!"

I enchanted Lightning magic on my Thunder Sword and slashed the Earth Wall, and the moment I cut the wall, the Magic Arrow from magic arrow is supposed to hit the ogre... but the moment I cut the Earth Wall, there was a club in front of me that was being swung vigorously! Oh, my God!

It’s not possible to dodge even with the Kamui and Vestments of Thunder God. I tried my best to dampen the power of the club with my chantless Wind, but I was still hit in the face with the club and blown away.

When was the last time I took damage from a magic beast? I'd forgotten that these guys can understand our language. If they know I'm going to cut through the wall, it's no wonder they're attacking me right then... I used Heal quickly and Clarice and Ellie came running up to me, looking worried. The ogres tried to stop me with sneering smiles on their faces.

“Let's switch to magic warfare! They're nasty when they get close! Besides, these guys seem to understand our language! Ellie, if you can join in the attack, please do!”

Ellie also tried to offset their magic with Sound magic, but all ten magic beasts can use magic, so it is indeed impossible to deal with them.

When I cast chantless Tornado, the ogres' reactions were delayed somewhat before they resisted. But I have 110 stats in Magic Power, level 10 in Wind magic, and the title of Wind King.

There is no way they can resist my attacks so easily. All ten ogres also resisted my Tornado, but all of them ran out of MP.

“The ogres' MPs are depleted! Clarice, please make beehives of them.”

The ogres could no longer use their Earth Wall defense, so I thought they would be good targets for Clarice, but it was not so. Some of the shots were avoided or defended with a club as they rushed in.

I carefully repelled these ogres with my Wind Impulse and kept them away. Then I fired a Wind Impulse to accelerate Magic Arrows, so the ogres couldn't avoid it.

Once this happened, it was a piece of cake. Ellie ended one after another the ogres that were dying from my and Clarice's attacks. Ellie was also the one that ended the last one.

“They were strong... Maybe they're at a level where our brute force attacks won't work anymore. Let's go carefully from here onwards focusing on magical warfare at visible range.”

A treasure chest popped up at the end, where the ogres were defeated.

====================================

Author’s note:

If you feel the series is even a bit interesting and are curious about the story’s continuation, please consider giving ★★★★★ and bookmark as it will really help with my motivation. m(__)m

I am also on Twitter.

I would be delighted if you would follow me on Twitter.

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Chapter 153 : The Bryants

TL:SummerPeanut

====================================

4 January 2031, 23.00 hrs.

We finally reached a place where we could see Almeria. No one has ever gotten from West Rimurgarde to Almeria so quickly.

“We're finally here!”

Ike said excitedly, and I too agreed.

“Yes. I can finally meet Clarice and Ellie!”

I unconsciously let my true feelings come out.

“Mars. You must really like the two of them.”

Zeke said to me with a laugh, and I was a little embarrassed, but I couldn't help it.

“It's the first time we've been apart for such a long time. I realize how much those two mean to me.”

When I answered frankly, Zeke looked apologetic.

“I'm sorry... It was my fault, but I'm really glad you guys came through West Rimurgarde because I don't know what would have happened if the five of you hadn't.”

Well… The only concern is that the other adventurers haven't risen in level as we had almost killed all the death knights.

The safety of the West Rimurgarde city is far more important, so it's probably not something to worry about so much...

Stepping into the city of Almeria felt very nostalgic. It's only been a year since I left Almeria, but ...

“Has the city changed a bit? Were there all these buildings and shops?"

I asked Zeke what I wondered.

“Yes. Adventurers who graduated from the Irgusia Labyrinth are gradually moving here to Almeria. I'm sure in a few more years there will be a new crop of B-rank adventurers in this town! And with the possibility of promising adventurers coming out of this town, beautiful women are flocking here one after the other. Perhaps Almeria could even become one of the leading cities in the Kingdom of Balkus!"

Zeke replied happily. Indeed, there were several shops where women who were still open for business entertained us. The lights of the shops are still on, so they must be open for business.

But I don't care about those shops. Right now, the priority is to get home. I hurried to the front of the house and found that the lights inside were out, but the area around the house was quite bright and there were people guarding the house.

There was no one guarding the house before we left Almeria... I felt like I had really become a senior nobleman.

When the guards saw Zeke, they saluted him and said, "Welcome back! Lord Zeke!" and when they recognized me and Ike, they said, "Welcome back, Lord Ike and Sir Mars!" They saluted us firmly.

I feel like an important man, but I'm embarrassed since I’m not used to it. When we entered the house, two black shadows attacked me.

““Welcome back! Mars!””

Clarice and Ellie dived at me without looking at Zeke and Ike, both wearing my shirt and shorts underneath.

I took them both in tightly and then hugged them.

“I'm home, I missed you both so much.”

My voice was tearful with joy. I might be a bit of a tearjerker.

“Clarice, how is Ede?”

Ike asked Clarice.

“Ah, father-in-law, brother-in-law. Welcome back. I think sister-in-law is sleeping because of MP depletion. That's how I was sleeping too, MP depleted, but Ellie just woke me up earlier saying 'Mars is back' and I'm going to...wake her up, so please go and sort out your things and stuff."

Clarice tried to go back to her room, but Ellie stayed attached to me the whole time, but Ellie was forcibly taken to wake up the senior glasses because it would be unfair if she’s the only one staying.

“Thanks Clarice. I'm going to take a bath, no need to rush.”

When Ike said that to Clarice, I decided to take a bath too. Then Zeke followed and the three men took a bath together.

I wanted to quickly get out of the bath and see them again, but I knew they might not like me if I didn't wash well, so I suppressed my impatience and washed myself more carefully than usual.

When I left the bath and went to the living room, Maria was awake as well as the senior glasses. As the beautiful women ran to their respective beloved men and whispered their love to each other, Zeke said

“Actually, we all have a lot to talk about, but let's go to bed for today.”

Everyone seemed to agree with Zeke's words and went back to their rooms. Well, they probably can't wait to spend some proper intense with their loved ones.

I, Clarice, and Ellie also went back to the room together and immediately got into bed and decided to talk about the month we've been without each other.

...but here's where something unexpected happened. Ellie immediately fell asleep. Clarice saw this and said.

“Let Ellie sleep. Ellie hardly slept while Mars was away. She was sleepy yet she couldn’t sleep. Ellie herself was wondering why she couldn't sleep... It seems that the reason was your absence..."

Looking closely at Ellie's face, she had a few dark circles. I didn't notice this because I was with her all the time, but she was quite dependent on me...

After that, I heard a lot about what happened in Almeria. It seems that she divulged to the senior glasses that she could use Holy magic.

Apparently, senior glasses was having quite a hard time in the Almeria Labyrinth, and because she would get tired and exhausted quickly, they forced her to join the battle by using Heal on her.

I heard stories like above but oh well. Apparently, senior glasses are afraid of entering the labyrinth, so they could only go as far as the second floor.

And she also learned from Maria that Leena can use Holy magic. This seems to be something that only Clarice has heard about. But it’s not like they are purposely hiding it away from Ellie and senior glasses.

Maria didn't want Clarice to learn about it before Ike, but since Clarice is a Holy magic user, she was asked to secretly teach Leena Holy magic when no one else is around and when she has time.

I also heard a lot of other stories about the Black Tri-Stars becoming decently stronger and about the adventurers in this town.

And finally, about Cain. Cain apparently likes Ellie. It’s true that he likes Ellie, but he also seems to like Ellie's big chest.

It is said that whenever he sees Ellie, Cain stares at Ellie's chest and make a smirk and try to hug her. Cain, you... No matter his position as the little brother, even I haven't even had a chance to enjoy them yet...

But that was where Ellie answered the expectation. These days, she won't let him touch her at all, saying, "That's your brother’s! Mars's!". Every time she does so, Cain cries, but Ellie doesn't care.

Clarice was talking the whole time, and I was just listening to her. I really wanted to talk about my side’s story too, but now all I want is to continue listening to Clarice all the time. Because I wanted to hear her voice more and more.

But I was tired from the long journey, relieved to be home, and feeling the warmth of Clarice and Ellie's bodies, and gradually I started to feel sleepy.

I fell asleep, and I was being hugged by Clarice and Ellie before I knew it.

5 January 2031.

“...up...wake up... Mars...it's noon already!”

The most wonderful voice in the world woke me up and when I opened my eyes I saw an even better sight. Clarice was waking me up in my baggy Y-shirt, so I could see the whole inside of my shirt.

Clarice followed my gaze and seemed to realize where I was looking and hid her breasts.

“Oh God...you're still the same! Wake up quickly! Let's eat together with the rest.”

“All right. I'm getting up now...”

I wasn't fully awake. If I had been fully awake, I wouldn't have woken up in this state... When I got out of the futon, Clarice immediately covered her eyes with her hands.

...yet she was still staring through the gaps between her hands as usual. Clarice's gaze was down below...my lower half, and when I followed Clarice's gaze, my splendid partner was looking at me, as if to say, I'm here! He has presence that seems to say something like that.

“S-sorry! I'm going to have a bath right now!"

I awkwardly went straight into the bath. I went into the bath immediately after freshening up and when I closed my eyes in the bathtub, I could see the scene from earlier. Oh no, my mischievous partner is getting energetic… My partner and I are both happy to see Clarice and Ellie after a long month.

After the bath, I went back into the bedroom. I thought Ellie was still asleep anyway. Sure enough, she was asleep, so I kissed Ellie and she immediately woke up and hugged me, so I gave her a princess hug and then let her down.

“Ellie. Good morning. Let's get dressed and have dinner together. As expected, I don't want everyone to see what Ellie looks like now.”

Ellie also has the front of her shirt completely open and her bra is visible. Ellie nodded without replying and began to undress right in front of me.

“E, Ellie! Wait a minute! I'm leaving the room, tell me when you've finished changing!”

I rushed out of the room and waited in front of my room. Both the top and bottom were yellow. ...what a selfish thing for my partner to exit the room, he was standing there as if coming to uppercut me from below.

Ellie has already woken up, so I can't unleash my self-generated electric energy. ...As soon as I left from Ellie, I went into the room and grip the almighty sage and finally calmed down.

When I went to the living room with Ellie, everyone was already eating.

“Good morning.”

I said to everyone and they all said back, 'Good morning'. There are nine of us here. My father Zeke, my mother Maria, my brother Ike, Ike's fiancée, Edean or senior glasses, myself, my fiancées Clarice and Ellie, my sister Leena, and my brother Cain who was born last year.

Clarice had an empty seat next to her, so I sat there and Ellie sat next to me.

While we were all eating, Zeke spoke up.

“I have a couple of things I want you all to hear. First of all, again, Ike and Edean, I'm sorry for everything I've done. I'm going to go and see Lord Mesalius when I have some spare time. And when I do, Ike is coming with me.”

“Yes. Father, I understand.”

Ike replied happily to Zeke's words. The reason why they don't invite me, Leena, and Cain to the meeting is probably because of the Gysahl’s situation.

It would be strange that we went and Gysahl wasn't there, but it wouldn’t be awkward that Gysahl wouldn't be there if we weren’t…*1

“Next, Mars, Clarice, and Ellie, I want you to thin out the magic beasts in the Almeria Labyrinth. Let them know in advance if you are going to stay in the safe zone. Also, please leave the magic stone on the last floor of the second level. The Black Tri-Star will go and collect them. Ike and Edean are in charge of that. If you two haven't had much time, then it would be good to relax here."

The five of us nodded at Zeke's words.

“And I'll be heading to the capital in a while. I don't think the ladies know this, but Mars defeated an impure king with a threat level of A in West Rimurgarde. I'm going to give that magic stone to King Balkus and tell him that West Rimurgarde is no longer under attack by magic beasts.”

All the ladies looked at me with surprised faces. Ellie hugged me very happily. Clarice saw this and rubbed up against me too. It smells good... I’m happy. However, certain people showed negative response towards that.

Firstly, it was Leena. She pushed Clarice and Ellie out of the way and sat down firmly on my lap.

“Brother Mars is Leena's!”

Clarice on my right, Leena on my lap, and Ellie on my left. Now Cain started to cry a lot at this sight. For some reason, I understood why Cain was crying. It’s not fair that he’s the only one surrounded by three people...or so he’s saying.

I'm sorry, Cain. I'm not going to give up all my fiancées, including Clarice and Ellie, let alone Leena.

After slowly enjoying the feel and smell of Clarice and Ellie and finishing my meal, I left my brother crying hysterically and went back to my room.

====================================

Author’s note:

Perhaps I didn't write this down previously.

This world has 360 days a year, 30 days a month.

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TL’s note:

1. Implying if Gysahl is not there when Mars is there, that Gysahl is a coward.

Chapter 152 : Holy

TL:SummerPeanut

Esteemed father -> Lord father

====================================

When light emitted from the white magic circle enveloped the impure king, he clearly appeared to be in pain.

Spit and drool came out of his mouth and stuck to the ground, and the death knights that appeared from the ground disappeared the moment they were enveloped by the white light.

When the white magic circle disappeared, the light also disappeared and the impure king was still there. An appraisal showed that his HP was 429/529].

The damage inflicted was 100, but it appears that the damage to the impure king was actually greater than that.

He spit at me more desperately than before, not like a fervent kiss, but with the momentum of puking. Mud is flying towards me from all direction. If that's an expression of affection, it couldn’t be absolutely more wrong.

“Mars! You did it! You finally got to chant Holy successfully!”

Ike shouted as he fought the death knights.

“Yes! We'll definitely beat them here! It seems that the Holy has diminished the effect of the accelerated HP recovery!”

Earlier, I chanted Holy in anger and it manifested. So I misunderstood the reason.

“Holy!"

When I chanted while shouting this time, nothing manifested. What? Why? I could do it earlier… No matter how many times I shouted, Holy didn't manifest...

“Mars! What's wrong? There’s no need to be anxious, you know? We can still lure this guy out of West Rimurgarde if we keep continuing like this!”

Ike is certainly right. If I can lure him towards Rimurgarde Castle Town today, the city's West Rimulgard will be safe.

I looked back to when I was able to manifest Holy earlier. I can't believe I'm with impure king on Christmas Eve...

“Holy!"

It still doesn't manifest. Could it be Clarice? I thought about Clarice. All I could feel was love. ...It's not something you think about on the battlefield. ...But just in case, I thought about Clarice and shouted.

“Holy!"

Then, as before, a white magic circle appeared and white light enveloped the impure king. So the trigger was my love for Clarice!

When the white light subsided, the impure king's HP was at 334/529] although the effect of the accelerated HP recovery had faded, he still recovered a little, but the damage inflicted by Holy is still 100.

It's fortuitous that a magic attack can inflict this much damage on an opponent with a durability value of 342 and a magic power of 142.

As long as I could cast Holy, the impure king is an easy victory. The MP consumption is also much lower than that of Lightning magic.

Rather, the simultaneous deployment of Vision, Magic Eyes and Sylphid consumed more.

As the impure king's remaining HP decreased, the black sludge that clung to the it also disappeared.

The black sludge was gone, the impure king became much more agile, but still could not touch me, who was fully using Vision, Magic Eyes and Sylphid.

And when I chanted the final Holy, the impure king completely...disappeared. Ike came to me, overjoyed.

“You did it! Now the threat to West Rimurgarde is gone!”

“Yes. At the very least, I don't think the death knights will attack us. This time I really thought it would end badly. Although that precisely gave me a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment (after achieving otherwise)... I'm sorry for all the trouble I put my brother Ike through.”

I looked at the place where the impure king was and saw a ridiculously large magic beast stone and another white something... and that white something seemed to be glowing gold in places...

I got closer and saw that it was a vestment. The white vestments had golden magic circles and letters floating in places. I immediately appraised it.

Name: Vestment of Narukami(Thunder God)

Defence: 24

Special: +3 agility, +3 magic power

Value: A+

Details: Can only be equipped by those with Lightning magic aptitude. By enchanting Lightning magic, the agility value is greatly increased.

I finally got my own exclusive armor. But...this has been clinging to the black sludge on the impure king for a long time... I'm feeling a great deal of resistance to equipping this...

Could it be that this vestment has been chasing me, the right person to equip it, all this time? And I'm convinced the reason why my Lightning magic was absorbed. Let's just use Wind magic to carry it along with the magic stone for now...

And my level also went up by defeating the impure king with a threat level of A.

Name: Mars Bryant

Title: Thunder God / Wind King / Saint / Goblin Slaughterer

Status: Human race, second son of Count Bryant

Condition: Good

Age: 10 years old

Level: 39

HP: 94/94

MP: 6241/8002

Strength: 90

Agility: 91

Magic: 110

Dexterity: 88

Endurance: 82

Luck: 30

Unique Ability: Innate Talent (LvMAX)

Unique Ability: Sky Eyes (Lv10)

Unique Ability: Lightning Magic (Lv8/S)

Special Ability: Swordsmanship (Lv9/A)

Special Ability: Fire Magic (Lv4/E)

Special Ability: Water Magic (Lv5/D)

Special Ability: Earth Magic (Lv5/D)

Special Ability: Wind Magic (Lv9/A)

Special Ability: Holy Magic (Lv8/A)

Equipment: Thunder Sword

Equipment: Salamander Sword

Equipment: Bracelet of Disguise

The talent in Holy magic became A and the level also increased to 8. And my stats is also quite high for the level. It is probably thanks to the unique ability, Innate Talent. And I've got the armor I've always wanted (I haven't equipped it yet). I might be able to become a low-level A-rank adventurer now.

Ike's level had also risen, as he had been defeating death knights relentlessly.

Name: Ike Bryant

Title: -

Status: Human race, heir to the Earl Bryant family

Condition: Good

Age: 13 years old

Level: 34

HP: 96/96

MP: 1127/1127

Strength: 75

Agility: 65

Magic: 42

Dexterity: 44

Endurance: 69

Luck: 10

Special Ability: Swordsmanship (Lv6/C)

Special Ability: Spearmanship (Lv8/B)

Special Ability: Fire Magic (Lv6/C)

Special Ability: Wind Magic (Lv2/G)

Equipment: Salamander Lance.

Equipment: Ifrit’s Mail.

Equipment: Flame Bracelet

Equipment: Ring of Protection

Ike is also quite strong, although he may not be as good as my overwhelming cheat stats. I think it's about time for his spearmanship level to raise, though...

We hurriedly returned to West Rimurgarde and tried to report to Zeke, but he had not yet evacuated the city and was in midst of evacuating the residents first.

“Lord father! We finally managed to defeat the impure king! This is the magic beast stone from the impure king! It has no smell, but since I am not comfortable touching it, I will use Wind magic to place it right in front of lord father's eyes.”

When we presented the magic beast stone to Zeke, Zeke took it in his hand without any hesitation. Zeke probably has no resistance because he hasn't seen the impure king.

“You guys did well! We'll withdraw the evacuation of the inhabitants right away, so you guys rest now! I'll give this magic beast stone to King Balkus as proof of its defeat, is that alright?”

I nodded, and Zeke immediately ran out of the compound and communicated to the adventurers and residents that the evacuation was revoked.

Ike and I took a long bath and carefully washed our equipment and the things we were wearing. We were very tired today, so we decided to go to bed as soon as we finished our bath and dinner.

30 December 2030.

After defeating the impure king, the death knights no longer appeared, but the adventurers who is taking over from Zeke and the others had already arrived in the city.

Although they are no longer attacked by death knights, this does not mean that West Rimurgarde is now completely safe.

We don't know when the magic beasts will overflow from Rimurgarde Castle Town. Then again, five A-rank parties have already headed there since the beginning of this month, so I think it's safe...

And Azure Fang members, including Van, had also arrived. I wanted them to stay in Almeria as they were, but they came back because they had received a quest from the country and they would have to stay here for the moment of achievement.

The inhabitants of the city seem to want Zeke to stay here forever. It seems that the provisional lords who ruled before Zeke were very bad rulers. Some of them were brutal to the residents because they were provisional lords anyway, and some of the worst ones even kidnapped the town's women.

The next provisional lord is said to be a nobleman with no combat experience. Zeke worked hard to hand over to this nobleman, and yesterday he finally took over everything. There are now about 200 B-rank adventurers in this town.

It is said that there are about two thirds of the B-rank adventurers from this country currently here. But I think there are only about 50 that can really be called B-ranks...

And the festivities have been going on all morning. It's a kind of festival to celebrate the safety of the adventurers who have done the quests with Zeke, and to wish for the safety of the adventurers who are going to stay here.

I, Ike, and Zeke only took part in the festival from morning to noon, and in the evening we had already packed our bags and were sleeping in the mansion. We wanted to get back to Almeria as soon as possible. The quest ends at midnight today, so we’re leaving West Rimurgarde the moment it hits midnight.

Incidentally, Azure Fang is taking part in the festival. Hence, they will not be leaving at midnight, but tomorrow at noon. They wanted to be in touch with adventurers of the same rank.

1 January 2031, 0:00 am.

I, Ike, and Zeke depart for Almeria, and the residents sent us off even though it's midnight.

Zeke seemed to have more talent for governing than for fighting. From now on, we'll just keep going west, day and night. We used Heal for our horses and kept going west, and when the Heal stopped working, we changed horses in town and force our way back to meet our respective loved ones.

We do not stay overnight in inn, but instead slept in the carriages. Likewise, we also ate portable meals in the carriage. I, and Ike took turn to be the driver, and basically we just went westwards.

It was late at night on 4 January, three days later, when we arrived in Almeria.

====================================

Author’s note:

If you feel the series is even a bit interesting and are curious about the story’s continuation, please consider giving ★★★★★ and bookmark as it will really help with my motivation. m(__)m

I am also on Twitter.

I would be delighted if you would follow me on Twitter.

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Chapter 151 : 3K

TL:SummerPeanut

====================================

“Brother Ike! Behind you!"

Despite feeling about to throw up, I shouted and Ike immediately sensed it.

Name: -

Title: -

Race: Impure King

Threat: A

Condition: Good

Age: 3 years old

Level: 42

HP: 529/529

MP: 201/231

Strength: 78

Agility: 60

Magic: 142

Dexterity: 5

Durability: 342

Luck: 1

Special Ability: Accelerated HP recovery (Lv5/C)

Details: Very weak against Holy magic

His level is abnormally high... He got it so high from defeating the many B-rank adventurers around here. ...And above all, its extreme status.

Firstly, his HP and durability values are outrageous. Its magic power is also high... but there is no magic in special ability list... perhaps this black fog itself consumes MP.

I may not have wasted my time clearing the fog earlier. When we fight again, I'll clear this stinking fog before we fight.

“What do we do now? Mars? Shall we fight?"

“Let's hit it with a bit of magic. From the way it looks, I think it's useless effort like Lord Suzaku said...”

When I unleash my maximum power Wind Cutter, it left a little mark on the impure king's sludgy body and returns to its original form.

The damage inflicted is 5... immediately recovered by its accelerated HP recovery. Surely this would be useless no matter how many times I tried... Ike's Flare didn't do any damage at all.

The impure king's attacks were also nasty. First of all, he spits black spit from his mouth. It flew at a very fast speed and it was quite difficult to avoid it.

If we avoid the spit, it will stick to the ground, but as expected, you will hear a “pshoo” sound from the ground. Right when I thought this was also a dissolving liquid type of spit…

The sound and the strong smell of the death knight came out of the ground. Could it be that the death knights were all the spit of the impure king? ...Just what have I cut up until now?

Not only that. This time, when the impure king shakes his body, small black mud-like things fly out. The death armies and the death hounds sprang up while making a 'pshoo' sound, just like when spit adhered to the ground earlier. The number of death armies and death hounds was also high as a considerable amount of them flew over.

“Brother Ike! This is impossible! We'll have to prepare well and come back!”

Anyway, the smell was so strong that I couldn't stop the tears from my eyes. Ike was the same and we decided to run away from the impure king. The impure king itself is chasing us, but as Suzaku said, the movement of the impure king itself is very slow.

We managed to escape from the impure king, and even though we were away from the black mist, Ike and I were still vomiting which is traumatic... but we found out that using Heal and Cure made us feel a little better.

When we finally arrived in West Rimurgarde, the adventurers on guard gave us very nasty looks. I guess we smelled bad... Usually when we returned, the adventurers come up to us, but today they didn't come nearer to us at all.

When I returned to the mansion, Zeke was there and told me to take a bath immediately because of the smell. I was planning to do the same. I ended up taking a bath for an hour and washed and cleaned the clothes and equipment I had worn many times while bathing.

When I got out of the bath and asked Zeke to check the smell, he said there was still some residue, but not that much anymore. Let’s take another bath later…

After the bath, the three of us ate dinner together and talked about the day's events. Of course, we don't talk about the impure king now. If I remember about the experience, the eaten rice will reverse its way. Ike similarly avoided the subject of the impure king. Zeke asked me why I smelled so bad, but I avoided him by saying I would talk about it properly later.

“Father. Today I met the Marquis of Fresvald, i.e. Karen's brother, for the first time. I saw Lord Suzaku’s stats, and he is indeed an A-rank adventurer. Besides that, the members of Vermilion Bird were also quite strong.”

“Why...? Why are adventurers from the Lister Confederation...? Moreover, the Duke of Fresvald's eldest son, SuzaLord Marquis Suzaku?"

“It seems that the Kingdom of Balkus had sent a quest for reinforcements to the Lister Confederacy as well. Lord Suzaku said that it was conditional though...”

“I see... Thank goodness... The royals are finally doing the heavy lifting...”

When we had finished eating and were getting settled, we told Zeke about the impure king. Although Suzaku had information of impure king, Zeke didn’t apparently.

“After all, the information-gathering ability of the Lister Confederacy is amazing... When even I, a senior noble in my own country, didn't know about it...”

It is said that in terms of both information warfare and the quality of their adventurers, Lister Confederacy is said to be superior to the Kingdom of Balkus. And I asked Zeke about Holy, and he said he'd never even heard of such. Well, that's about right...

We talked for a while after that, took another bath and went back to bed. When I sleep these days, I sleep next to the handkerchiefs Clarice and Ellie gave me. I can faintly smell the good smell from each handkerchief. I smelled the best aroma, depleted my MP, and then went to bed.

The next day I started practicing Holy desperately against death knights and death armies. I could somehow get an image...of a tubular magic circle coming out of the ground from below and a white pillar standing up to the air... but no matter how much I chanted Holy with that image, it never manifested.

21 December 2030.

Today I am practicing Holy desperately again. I changed the image a little and chanted Holy while thinking of something sacred. I don't know if this is the right way to do it. At least with Lightning magic, it did not manifest in this way. But I thought it was better than just going through the motions without imagining anything.

The first thing I think is the most sacred. That is the demigod. I don't think there is anything more sacred than that demigod. I chanted 'Holy' while imagining sacredness and solemnity, but it was impossible.

The other thing I think of when referring to sacred is...animals. I think foxes are sacred animals. I also think that guardian dogs(komainu) are sacred. However, I could not express Holy with foxes and guardian dogs.

It's not surprising. I can understand the foxes somehow, but I have only seen komainu in stone statues, and even if I were asked to imagine them, I would not be able to...

In the end, I didn’t manifest Holy today either. I also had a few other things on my mind. Death knights and death armies have attacked us twice.

Luckily, they came when we were training outside the city, so they didn't damage anything… It was just a good experience for me and Ike... But since I just beat them pretty good yesterday, I can't believe they attacked us twice…

22 Dec 2030.

In the end, Holy did not manifest today too.

And today, a group of death knight and death armies attacked us twice again. I thought this was strange, so Ike and I headed towards Rimurgarde, and to our surprise, there was a black fog about an hour's walk away.

There was no doubt about it. It is getting closer and closer. In the worst case, the black fog will cover West Rimurgarde tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. We have to do something...

When I returned to the town and reported to Zeke, he informed the town's residents to be ready to evacuate at any time.

I thought that such a direct statement would cause the residents to panic, but that was not the case. Instead, the residents were calm.

They may have been prepared, but more than that they seemed to trust Zeke. I should quickly become able to handle Holy...

23 December 2030.

A black fog is looming about 30 minutes from the adventurers' place where we are scouting. At this rate, it'll reach here by tomorrow morning. And by the night, it'll be near the city...

I'm starting to get irritated from the impatience that Holy isn’t manifesting. Nothing progressed because I was in a hurry...the death knights no longer grouped up before attacking, but instead they would come straight to West Rimurgarde the moment they are spawned.

Why did the impure king suddenly head to West Rimurgarde after being in a certain place for so long? Could it be because we fought him? In the end, we kept on beating the death knights until the night. I didn’t learn Holy, but I did level up.

Name: Mars Bryant

Title: Thunder God / Wind King / Saint / Goblin Slaughterer

Status: Human race, second son of Count Bryant

Condition: Good

Age: 10 years old

Level: 38

HP: 92/92

MP: 8000/8000

Strength: 88

Agility: 89

Magic: 108

Dexterity: 86

Durability: 80

Luck: 30

Unique Ability: Innate Talent (LvMax)

Unique Ability: Sky Eyes (Lv10)

Unique Ability: Lightning Magic (Lv8/S)

Special Ability: Swordsmanship (Lv9/A)

Special Ability: Fire Magic (Lv4/E)

Special Ability: Water magic (Lv5/D)

Special Ability: Earth Magic (Lv5/D)

Special Ability: Wind Magic (Lv9/A)

Special Ability: Holy magic (Lv7/B)

Equipment: Thunder Sword

Equipment: Salamander Sword

Equipment: Bracelet of Disguise

Status is now over 80 all and MP is 8000. My stats is widening... This is definitely a good sign!

I told myself that and chanted Holy incessantly, but I still couldn't manifest Holy today. Maybe there is no such magic as Holy...

24 December 2030, 6:00 am.

Finally, the black fog can be seen from the city watchtower. It will only be a matter of time before it covers the city. Adventurers began to lead the city's inhabitants to evacuate.

When Ike and I went out to the black fog, there were already quite a few magic beasts gathered around the black fog. Is this a plan to hit this city all at once...

I started clearing the black fog at the same time as defeating the magic beasts with Firestorm.

The black fog would soon start to fall again as soon as I cleared it, but I was sure that the impure king's MP would run out first, so I kept clearing the fog.

I was right, and the black fog dissipated completely. And as the fog cleared, the impure king appeared. The smell from the black fog is better now, so I can fight much easier than before, and I'm wearing nose plugs today.

There was one thing I wanted to try.

I thought that maybe I could use Lightning magic to slow him down...and electrocute him.

“Brother Ike! Move away a little! I will use Lightning magic!”

Ike quickly moved away from the impure king. The impure king doesn't seem to have any interest in Ike. The whole time, the impure king's agro was on me.

“Lightning!"

When golden lightning shot out from my hand at the impure king, something unexpected happened. The impure king absorbed the lightning and became even bigger... and no damage was done... Or rather it appeared to be rather energetic. And it is not even in an abnormal state... what the hell... my Lightning magic is so easily thwarted...

But along with the worst information that lightning magic doesn't work, I also got some good information. The impure king seems to have followed me here.

The evidence is that I'm fighting the impure king with Rimulgard Castle Town in my back and the impure king has been moving after me the whole time. So I'm moving further and further away from West Rimurgarde.

Could it be that the impure king has fallen in love with me...? It's not like the impure king is a woman inside...

It's Christmas Eve in Japan and yet I'm being followed around by this guy.

The impure king is perhaps showing its goodwill to me by randomly spewing its spits at me. I don’t want this kind of Christmas Eve. ...I wanted to spend it with Clarice!

“Holy!”

I shouted as if to vent my anger, and a white magic circle appeared on the ground where the impure king was.

====================================

Author’s note:

The 3Ks in this title are smelly(kusai), dirty(kitanai), and disgusting(kimochiwarui).

Sorry if you find it offensive.

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Chapter 150 : Suzaku and Vermilion Bird

TL:SummerPeanut

====================================

20 Dec 2030.

In 10 more days we can leave from this West Rimurgarde.

In the past two weeks, apparently four A-rank parties, including Ice Emperor and Morning Star, have headed to Rimurgarde.

The reason they seem to have headed there was all told to us by the scouts who keep an eye on the area around this city.

In November and December, there were replacement battles and promotion exams for A-rank adventurers, and a number of those who won came to Rimurgarde.

Apparently there is a definite ranking for A-rank adventurers: the bottom 20 of A-rank adventurers, i.e. up to 80th place, have to accept application for replacement battle from B-rank adventurers.

Immediately after the A-rank party went to Rimurgarde, there was no appearance of magic beasts, but about two days after the A-rank party passed by, the magic beasts continued to attack West Rimurgarde again.

Perhaps they were too busy dealing with the magic beasts in Rimulgarde to pay much attention to us...

Ike has become much stronger because of this.

Name: Ike Bryant

Title: -

Status: Human race, heir to the Count Bryant

Condition: Good

Age: 13 years old

Level: 32

HP: 91/91

MP: 1123/1123

Strength: 71

Agility: 61

Magic: 40

Dexterity: 41

Durability: 65

Luck: 10

Special Ability: Swordsmanship (Lv6/C)

Special Ability: Spearmanship (Lv8/B)

Special Ability: Fire Magic (Lv6/C)

Special Ability: Wind magic (Lv2/G)

Equipment: Salamander Lance

Equipment: Ifrit’s Mail

Equipment: Flame Bracelet

Equipment: Ring of Protection

He is at least stronger than a level 42 Luck.

Ike also seems satisfied with the fact that he has been able to level up considerably in such a short period of time for the first time in a long time.

Me? Unfortunately, I didn't level up. Even though I focused on defeating death knights...

Today, when I was training outside the city with Ike again, there were six of them coming towards us from the north. They usually come towards us from the west, but this time they were from the north. Are they from the Lister Confederacy?

The party coming from the north also recognized me and Ike, and they all came to us.

“By any chance, are you Mars? That one is definitely Ike.”

One of the members of the group talked to us. They already know Ike apparently. And he doesn't know my face, but he knows my name...

“Yes...that’s right but... I'm sorry, who are you?”

Ike said to the crimson-haired man. Apparently, Ike does not know this man either. The color of this man's hair...and facial features...maybe he is...

“Oh sorry. I didn't expect to see you here. My name is Suzaku Lionel. I'm Karen's brother from the Lister Imperial School. I've heard about you from my father and Recca. That Mars won against Recca. That's why father recognized you."

I knew it! I thought he looked a lot like Duke Fresvald.

“Nice to meet you! I'm Ike Bryant!”

Ike greeted me with a nervous look on his face and I followed suit.

“Nice to meet you. I am Mars Bryant. What brings Lord Suzaku to a place like this?”

“There was a direct request from Balkus Kingdom. In exchange for certain conditions, we decided to dispatch an A-rank party to Rimurgarde. It was just right since it doesn’t suit me if I keep staying in the ever peaceful territory of Fresvald."

The royalty of the Kingdom of Balkus must have a very thick skin to ask for reinforcements from someone they've been pestering a lot.

“I have a request. May I appraise Suzaku-sama? Also, may I accompany you to the vicinity of Rimurgarde? I’ll return on my own so please do not worry"

“Appraise? Are you a Magic Eyes holder? The answer is yes to both. Let's go to Rimurgarde while we talk.”

I thanked Suzaku for his words and immediately appraised him.

Name: Suzaku Lionel

Title: Fire King

Status: Human race, head of the Fresvald Marquis Household

Condition: Good

Age: 25

Level: 55

HP: 152/152

MP: 588/588

Strength: 82

Agility: 90

Magic: 132

Dexterity: 120

Durability: 72

Luck: 1

Special Ability: Knifemanship (Lv8/C)

Special Ability: Fire Magic (Lv10/A)

Special Ability: Earth Magic (Lv5/D)

Equipment: Million Dagger

Equipment: Vestments of Vermillion Bird 

Equipment: Flame Bracelet

Equipment: Ring of Protection

To be honest, his stats is higher than Guster's. His magic power of 132 is the highest value I've ever seen. He has A talent for Fire magic and at level 10. And his dexterity is also high. ...what kind of attacks does this guy do? Come to think of it, I heard there's some sort of ranking for A-rank adventurers.

“Lord Suzaku, what rank are you as an A-rank adventurer?”

“67th. I don't care what rank I'm in as long as I'm in the top 80. I'd like to aim for top 10 if I can, but it's not possible yet. I'll give it a go in another five years or so."

With this status on 67th place... Not to mention the other members with Suzaku are also quite strong. At least they were stronger than yesterday's Luck, except one. All of them had a status that made them more like magicians but also still capable of solid physical attacks. However, only the Holy magician had a high level but a low status. He must have been doing a lot of power levelling...

“Is Lord Suzaku party all magician types? Are there any vanguards?"

When I asked what I was wondering, Suzaku replied.

“Yes, there are no vanguards in the A-rank party ‘Vermillion Bird’. The Vermilion Bird Knights Order do, though.”

So there are also glass cannon parties like this... Well, just because they are more magician-like doesn't mean that their strength and agility are that low.

When we were talking as we headed towards Rimurgarde, around 100 magic beasts including death knights were coming towards us. Apparently, these guys are planning to attack West Rimurgarde?

“Ike. Mars. Can I ask you to cover me? I don't want to exhaust my MP too much here.”

If Suzaku fights, it’s likely that he'll be able to beat them easily with just a dagger. Maybe he’s trying to show to see how good we are... Ike might have noticed that too.

“I understand, Lord Suzaku. Please watch us defeat the enemies on our own. If you don't mind, we'd be happy if you would give some advice after you watch the battle...”

“Thank you. I'll take your word for it.”

When I defeated Death Knight and Ike with the rest as usual, Suzaku was not too surprised, but the other members were.

"As expected. It might even be more than the talk of mouth. To defeat a monster with a threat level of B at that age. I can’t think of any advice even though you're not fighting seriously."

Suzaku told us with a laugh. We had sporadic encounters with magic beasts after that, but Ike and I defeated them all.

It was almost noon when we reached a position where we could see the castle town of Rimurgarde.

What the... This place...is completely different from...four years ago... There is a black fog. So we have to go through here to get to Rimurgarde Castle Town, but ...

“Just as I've heard...this is a tricky problem... so that’s why the others can't finish the attack either...”

Suzaku is talking to a member of Vermilion Bird about something. And he said to the two of us, me and Ike.

“You two should go back from here now. A threat level A magic beast called the Impure King will appear here. It may be more troublesome than a threat level S magic beast. We don't have the means to defeat it. Or rather, I don't think any other party has it either.

Unless we defeat the Impure King, death knights will spring up endlessly. Well, maybe we should think of it as a simplified version of the Forest of Death. We're going to run all the way through here to Rimurgarde Castle Town."

More troublesome than threat level S? And that naming of Impure King is unpleasant to hear...

“How do we defeat the Impure King?”

I asked Suzaku, and he appeared a little scared.

“Basically, physical and magical attacks don't work very well. You might be able to inflict some damage, but it will recover quickly. And physical attacks towards it can cause your equipment you used to rot, so it's probably best not to attack with your swords and spears by mistake.

There shouldn’t be a problem with my Million Dagger but... You have to defeat it with Holy Magic. There is a Holy magic user in our party, but as expected, he is not saint nor saintess who can learn Holy..."

Huh? Since I'm a saint, can I use magic called Holy?

“What kind of magic is Holy?”

“I've never seen it myself, so I don't know all the details. It is said to be the only offensive magic of Holy magic but... it might just be some dubious tale. Anyway, if you come across the Impure King, you should run away. His attacks is fast, but the Impure King himself moves slowly, so you two should be able to outrun him.

Death knights spring up around the Impure King on their own, so it's actually a good way to raise your level, but be careful, because if you get attacked, you'll get poison, paralysis, and other abnormal conditions. Then we'll be going now. I've given you my advice."

Saying this, the members of Vermilion Bird ran through the black fog towards Rimurgarde Castle Town.

“Mars. Do you by any chance have the title saint?”

I nodded as Ike asked me.

“I want to defeat the Impure King... If I do that, the order to convene the B-rank adventurers in West Rimurgarde will be rescinded...”

Suzaku looked at this black fog and seemed convinced that the Impure King is here... perhaps somewhere in this black fog lies the Impure King...

“For now…let’s see if the Impure King is here or not. ...Lord Suzaku did say that we should be able to make our escape from it.”

Ike seemed to agree with me. We walked cautiously towards the thicker black fog.

I had noticed a faint smell before entering the black fog, but this fog smells... It got worse as we proceeded deeper towards the thicker black fog.

S-smelly… I might lose my determination before even fighting the Impure King... I am currently fully using the Search magic, Mana Eyes, and Vision. I'm ready for anything to happen at any time.

But perhaps Search is meaningless here. If there is the Impure King in this black fog, I should definitely have detected him via Search already. If I try to clear the fog with Wind magic, more will quickly cover the gap.

After walking for a couple of minutes, we reached the center of the black fog... but I couldn't stand it any longer.

“Brother Ike! Let's go back once! We can't do this without taking countermeasures against the smell…ughhkhh."

I was vomiting as I talked to Ike and Ike was vomiting as well. Ike nodded at my words with tears in his eyes and Ike, who was in front of me, turned on his heel even before me. And at that moment, a black, sludgy, humanoid monster came up from the ground behind Ike.

====================================

Author’s note:

The Impure King...feels weird even when writing it...

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Chapter 149 : Forgetting the Capital

TL:SummerPeanut

====================================

Right now I'm sleeping between Clarice and Ellie. As usual, Clarice is on my right and Ellie is on my left.

I slept the same way at the fort in the Margrave Isaac territory, but there is one thing that is different from that time. That is the way Clarice and Ellie are dressed.

They said they wanted my things because they were going to be separated from me, so of course I said yes, but they chose my shirts.

I washed it well, but they said it smelled like me. ...And they put the shirt on and came into the bed where I was sleeping and hugged me, asking for “more Mars-ium”.

A beautiful woman in a baggy Y-shirt and short shorts… T-that’s bad... This is where the Wand of Sage (Fake) comes in...

I wanted their personal belongings too, but I didn't tell them that. Ellie always falls asleep right away when she sleeps next to me. Not quite the level of Nobita-kun, I suppose, but she fell asleep in less than a minute. And she sleeps like forever. Unless I wake her up, she continues to sleep...

Clarice is also sleepy, but she's struggling to stay awake. Normally she would still be awake at this time, but it’s only normal to get sleepy when one gets into the bed.

“This is the first time we'll be apart ever since Grantham...”

Clarice whispered to me.

“Yeah...sorry. It's a Bryant family situation... and I also don't want to be away from you two... That’s why I'll be on my way there as soon as January comes.”

I told Clarice the above, and Clarice replied.

“Maybe I'm still good... Because Ellie's there... If I was alone maybe I would have said I didn't want to separate... I don't want to separate from Mars, but I don't want the same with Ellie either. Before I know it, Ellie became important to me too..."

These words made me very happy. I know Ellie adores Clarice. After all, Clarice was the one who broke Ellie's curse.

I knew that Clarice dislike Ellie, but I was a little curious as to how she actually felt about her.

I don't know if Ellie was listening to this conversation, but I feel her hugging of my left arm slightly stronger now. I talked to Clarice for a bit afterward, and before I knew it, I fell asleep too.

6 December 2030, 5:00 am.

I woke up a little earlier and tried to watch them sleep, but something unexpected happened. They were both sleeping in my shirts from yesterday. And their baggy shirts were open. Even though they were wearing underwear, it seems the saying that early bird gets the worm, is true.

I was admiring the spectacular view when Clarice woke up.

“Good morning.”

I said, and Clarice kissed me.

“Good morning.”

She answered back.

I kissed Ellie and soon she woke up too and buried her face in my neck as usual.

We're leaving at eight o'clock today, so we have to get a lot of things done first. I wanted to spend more time with the three of us, but we quickly got ready and headed for the living room. Even though it was early in the morning, Zeke and Van were already awake.

Ike and senior glasses are not awake yet, so the five of us finished eating first.

Ike and senior glasses woke up when Zeke and Van went to make their rounds of the town, and while Clarice, Ellie, and myself were relaxing in the living room.

Ike's face is not so bright, while senior glasses’s face is glistening.

“What's wrong? Did something happen last night?”

I asked Ike in a whisper. It was possible that this was the first time Ike and senior glasses had slept in a room together. It is strange that two young people sleep in the same room together at night and nothing happened.

“...as soon as Ede entered the room, she fell asleep, apparently tired from the spartan instructions of yours and the nervousness of meeting father all at once.”

Apparently, nothing happened yesterday... I'll lend Ike the Wand of Sage (Fake) next time.

At eight o'clock the ladies were ready for their journey, so the six of us - myself, Ike, Clarice, Ellie, senior glasses and Van - left West Rimurgarde.

I and Ike accompanied them for about half an hour from West Rimurgarde, and we decided to separate from the four of them after checking the safety of the surroundings.

We drove the carriage for half an hour, and when we judged that the surroundings were relatively safe with no signs of magic beasts, I got off the carriage and embraced Clarice and Ellie in a passionate embrace.

“Mars. When you come back, don't bring a fifth with you, alright.”

Clarice said to me jokingly. Ellie said nothing, just buried her face in my neck. I nodded silently at Clarice's words. Because if I said anything, she would know I was in tears.

When we were about to leave, Clarice put something like a piece of cloth in my hand. Ellie also put something like a cloth in my other hand.

“If you ever get lonely, just think of these as us.”

Clarice seemed to be trying very hard to hold back her tears, but it didn't seem to be happening. Tears spilled down her cheeks. Ellie seemed to have been crying for a little while and without saying anything, she just waved her hand and got into the carriage, Clarice followed.

When Clarice got into the carriage, senior glasses who was hugging Ike also got on the horse next to Van and the carriage moved away from us.

In the end, I didn't say a firm goodbye to Clarice and Ellie. This is because I felt like saying goodbye would raise a flag. A cold thing runs down my cheeks... As expected, I couldn't bear it...

I tried to look at the nice textured cloth in my hand so Ike wouldn't see it.

This is probably something ... I'm sure I wear on my skin all the time ... probably a treasure I can't even show Ike. I sneak a look and it was a handkerchief something that I never wear. Maybe Clarice and Ellie saw me crying and gave me this.

When the carriage was out of sight, we too headed back towards West Rimurgarde. As we ran and reached the front of the West Rimurgarde house, Ike was out of breath.

“Mars, are you fine running at this speed? This is quite the speed, isn’t it? Are you using magic or something?”

“It does indeed tire you out a bit, doesn't it? I don't use magic. I run more than 20 km every day in less than an hour...”

Ike was immensely surprised at my words. He looked very tired, so I whispered to Ike so that no one could hear.

“Do you want me to Heal you?”

“No, I want to practice the spear when I'm at this exhaustion level. I need to be able to keep swinging the spear even when I'm tired in a real battle. I haven't been able to move much lately, so this seems like a good opportunity.”

As expected of Ike. It's true that it's no go if you can't swing a sword or a spear when you're tired in a real battle. Maybe I need to do something more tiring in the morning training too...

Before going inside the mansion, Ike and I decided to do some sword and spear training. It had been a long time since I had a hand-to-hand combat with Ike, but Ike's spear was powerful. However, I sometimes feel his fatigue and his thrusts are a bit shaky.

His hand holding the spear is also slipping from sweat. I think we fought for a longer time in the spring room of the Irgusia labyrinth, but at that time we were already strong enough to not need to give our all if we were only fighting goblin generals.

After about an hour of training we decided to take a bath. Again, Ike was surprised when we both went into the bathroom we had built yesterday.

“Mars... you... what's with your body...? Do you work out?"

“Yes. I do this every morning too, you know? Some say I've always been muscular though...”

Ike chuckled.

“I'll make running and strength training part of my routine next year too.”

After getting out of the bath, Ike and I headed towards the watchtower. By the way, Zeke is the temporary Lord of the city so it seems that he’s out on a patrol.

When we talked to the adventurer guarding the watchtower, he told us that in the past the magic beasts used to attack sporadically, but recently they have been attacking in batches, as they did yesterday.

According to the adventurer, "There were two attacks yesterday, so they won't be coming today.”

Ike and I told Zeke, who was talking with the residents of West Rimurgarde, that we would look around outside the town, and then we went outside.

There were some adventurers outside the town. Apparently they were taking it in turns to be scouts. If this many people are keeping a close watch, they won't be taken by surprise.

When I was training with Ike because we had some free time, I saw a group of people heading east from the west… In other words, Rimurgarde.

There were eleven of them, and even from a distance I could sense that they were a strong group. They were not people who had left from West Rimurgarde. ...who could they be?

Ike and I were watching the group. Then the group on the other side seemed to have noticed us too. One of the group came over to us.

“Those uniforms are from the Lister Imperial School, right? You're in danger here! Go back quickly."

He seemed concerned and went out of his way to warn us. Even in the Kingdom of Balkus, they can tell that you are a student of the Lister Imperial School by looking at this uniform.

“Yes. Thank you for the warning. Where are you all going? It's quite dangerous ahead as it's Rimurgarde, don't you think?”

Ike asked the man who advised him.

“We're precisely going to that Rimurgarde. We're an A-rank party."

Oh my God! I got to come here and talk to someone from an A-rank party! And he seems like a pretty nice guy. They even went out of their way to warn us that it's dangerous here.

“A rank party! That's amazing! Please tell us the name of your party!"

“It's Ice Emperor] and Morning Star]. I'm the sub-leader of Morning Star, Luck. It's really dangerous, so be careful!”

Saying this, Luck returned to the group. Luck... As a party member of the A-rank party, he’s strong in his own way, but he wasn't as outstanding as Guster. Well, even if there's only one A-rank adventurer, it's still considered as an A-rank party.

Name: Luck

Title: -

Status: Human, commoner

Condition: Good

Age: 25 years old

Level: 42

HP: 182/182

MP: 20/20

Strength: 62

Agility: 48

Magic: 18

Dexterity: 50

Durability: 59

Luck: 5

Special Ability: Knifemanship (Lv6/D)

Special Ability: Spearmanship (Lv7/C)

Special Ability: Axemanship (Lv6/D)

Special Ability: Earth Magic (Lv 2/F)

Equipment: Halberd

Equipment: Mithril Silver Dagger

Equipment: Shield of Earth

Equipment: Mithril Silver Armor

He was equipped with a halberd, a rare thing that looks like a spear and an axe together.

I really want to appraise A-rank adventurers, but naturally, it would be impossible to appraise them from this distance.

I kept looking at them until I couldn't see Ice Emperor and Morning Star anymore.

====================================

Author’s note:

If you feel the series is even a bit interesting and are curious about the story’s continuation, please consider giving ★★★★★ and bookmark as it will really help with my motivation. m(__)m

I am also on Twitter.

I would be delighted if you would follow me on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/qdUYSDZf8XzNaUq

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Chapter 148 : Mars’s Real Power

TL:SummerPeanut

====================================

It's been a long time since I've seen Mars pull out a sword… For some reason, Mars pulled out two swords: one was the Salamander Sword I used to be equipped with. The other was a sword with a golden blade.

When I asked Mars about it, he said that he had become a two-sword wielding swordsman... It seems that Mars' growth still knows no bounds.

Ever since he was a little boy, Mars has always been like this: he could think more clearly and speak better as a three-year-old than I could as a six-year-old.

I didn't use any honorifics as a child, but for some reason Mars used honorifics, so I started to use them, and I would steal and copy his mannerisms.

In the beginning, I desperately practiced swordsmanship and studied without Mars's knowledge, thinking that I couldn't lose to my brother, but gradually it shifted to wanting to be recognized by him.

Mars is a genius. He simply has many talents. I have seen excellent people at the Lister Imperial School, but I have never seen anyone better than Mars.

And Mars's greatest talent is his talent for hard work. I think I'm a pretty hard worker too, but Mars puts in more effort than me. He is flexible in his thinking and seriously trains in things I would never have thought of, such as simultaneous physical and magical attacks or dual wielding.

Perhaps the two-sword style is also an extraordinary thing. I started running with Mars towards the crowd of magic beasts.

The first thing that surprised me was that our running speeds were overwhelmingly different. I'm running as fast as I can, but Mars seems to be only running lightly. And he doesn't seem to be using Sylphid.

I was surprised again when Mars arrived at the herd of magic beasts. As if there were no death armies or death hounds there from the start, he runs through to where the death knight is without slowing down.

After Mars reached over, there were only the corpses of death armyies and death hounds left behind. Mars slaughtered the threat level C magic beasts with a single swing...

Mars's sword speed was at a level where I could only barely manage to see. It has such speed that I absolutely can’t react to it even if I can see... After all, Mars is a two-sword wielding swordsman... No matter how I think about it, there is no way to respond…*1

When Mars reached the death knight, he took two swings, slashed off both of the death knight's arms and easily decapitated the death knight that was rendered helpless. That’s a magic beast with a threat level of right...?

My target has gone far, far away, but with this it means that I can also make an effort.

I want to see Mars's successes as close as possible, and I want him to recognize my presence as much as possible, so I'll never give up trying.

☆☆☆

“Hey... Mars is slaying magic beasts with a...sword right now, right?”

I asked Clarice and she nodded with a smile. It was the first time I had seen Mars pull out his own sword. I've seen Mars fight a few times, and I've actually fought him previously.

Ike had always said that Mars is stronger than him, but I thought the difference was only a small one, a difference that would definitely be filled if Ike worked hard for a year in his fifth year...

But Mars’s movement under my eyes was not the same as what I had seen before. How many of us could actually follow Mars's sword... At the very least, I couldn't.

I thought my eyes were pretty well-trained, having always seen Ike's spear up close...

“Sister-in-law. Believe it or not, the serious Mars is much faster. I think Ellie is probably faster than the current Mars."

Huh...? He isn’t going all out? Even though Ike is already struggling to keep up with him... and she’s telling me that Ellie is capable of the same level of speed?

“...Mars...serious...glowing...”

Ellie muttered mysteriously.

Glowing? What about glowing? You need to be more clear with your words!

I wasn't the only one surprised by Clarice's words, let alone Ellie's.

“I-I didn't expect... him to become so strong, and this isn't even his full strength... Ellie is faster...? So this is what it means to be a real B-rank adventurer..."

Nearby, Lord Zeke and Van were also surprised.

The other adventurers, who had been trying their best to advise Mars and Ike earlier, also became absent-minded. I'm sure they are just like me and can't accept the reality of the situation...

After that, only dead magic beasts remained after Mars's passage, and Ike was also steadily defeating the rest of the magic beasts.

The slaughter show was over after about five minutes. Ike looked a little tired, but Mars came back with a clean and fresh face as if he didn’t went into battle just now.

☆☆☆

“Father! I'm back!"

Ike said as he bowed his head and I followed Ike's lead.

“You guys are as amazing as ever... Forgive me for doubting you two even a little.”

The other adventurers came to us in droves as Zeke said this.

“Who are you people?”

“Are you really Count Zeke's sons?”

“That was awesome! I couldn't see how you beat ‘em!”

Half the adventurers were interested in us but the other half…

“Where did you girls come from?”

“Are you girls related to Lord Zeke?”

They came here because they are attracted to Clarice, Ellie, and the senior glasses.

The faces of the adventurers sank when I told them that Clarice and Ellie are my fiancées and senior glasses is Ike's fiancée.

When senior glasses said in front of Zeke that she’s Ike's fiancée, I stole a look at Zeke’s face but he laughed the words off. It's all right now, isn't it?

After that, the adventurers invited me out for a drink, but I declined, saying I was too tired today. Because I would have less time to spend with Clarice and Ellie if I agreed.

I returned to Zeke's mansion and immediately tried to take a bath, but there was only one bathtub, so I had the unused room converted (for more bathtubs).

I made three bathtubs in the unused room and had the women take their baths there, while Ike and I took turns to go into the bathtub that was there originally.

Incidentally, the women's bathrooms were enclosed quite tightly with Earth magic, so there was no need to worry about peeping.

I'm worried about Clarice and Ellie being peeped at, but I'm even more worried about what happens to the men who peep in. I don't want them to end their lives as men in a place like this...

Ike said I could go ahead and take a bath first, so I decided to comply. Apparently, Zeke and him have something to talk about. Their (frozen) relationship finally thawed out after all. I'm sure they both have a lot of things to talk about.

When I got out of the bath, Ellie was already standing there. She immediately came to my left and buried her face in my neck as usual.

Zeke who saw me and Ellie and laughed bitterly. Well, you wouldn't expect your son to suddenly make out in front of you...

After flirting with Ellie for a while, Clarice and senior glasses also came out of the bath. Naturally, Clarice came right next to me and surrendered herself to me.

Senior glasses saw this scene and made a gesture as if to cover her eyes and said below.

“Mars... are you guys always like this...?”

Zeke muttered without asking anyone.

“A year ago he was a bit more reserved... but well, not much has changed since then...”

He said dismissively.

Ike came out of the bath too and he sat down next to senior glasses and suddenly the two of them started kissing... apparently we got caught in action by them... Oi... Aren’t their side way more extreme?

I'm so... jealous that every time they say a word or two they do a kiss! Two sons making out in front of their father... surreal much?

“W-well... it's about time Van came back. Let's all have dinner together."

As everyone was preparing for dinner, Van returned from his guard duty and we immediately talked over dinner together.

The topic of conversation was about the senior glasses, our school, and Almeria after we were gone, and there was no end to the topics of conversation.

Van particularly liked the story about what I had done to Gysahl while Zeke had his hands on his head... I guess he won’t know what kind of face to make when he meet Count Mesalius...

Incidentally, Zeke didn't even know that the senior glasses was the count's eldest daughter... Perhaps it would be more correct to say that he didn't remember. Zeke apologized many times flatly to Ike and the senior bespectacled girl.

Zeke also wanted to know about school. He was probably thinking about where Leena would go to school.

I replied that it’s a very good school, but Ike mentioned that we should be careful with Duke Regan. He said that she would change the color of her eyes if it’s about Holy magician.*2

Ike, who cannot use Holy magic, had also been manipulated by her Magic Eyes several times... Come to think of it, Duke Regan had used her Magic Eyes on me too. ... I should be a little wary of Duke Regan from now on.*3

When I told Zeke that I had set up a clan called Daybreak, he was also surprised. He was even more surprised when I told him that the members also had an S class teacher, a Sword King. When I told him about the clan, Ike said.

“Can't Red Lotus join Daybreak too?”

He asked seriously.

“Personally… No, Clan Daybreak welcomes you. Now it's up to Red Lotus memberse to decide about it...”

When I answered that, the senior glasses answered.

“The members of Red Lotus also have a certain amount of pride, so I wonder what they all think about it… I think they would definitely nod their heads repeatedly if they saw Mars's battle just now though...”

“That's true... but he also dominated the B-rank adventurers in the last tournament by one to ten... There might be a chance since they saw that fight..."

Ike responded to the words of senior glasses. Clarice and Ellie were enthusiastically talking about the fighting tournament when Van asked them to elaborate.

They were both very happy that I stood up against Doaho.

I heard that the number of magic beasts in the labyrinth in Almeria is increasing little by little, so let's dive into the labyrinth when we go back in January. We should be able to get to the fourth floor now.

Finally, I forcibly pushed for one request. After all, no matter how strong they are, Clarice, Ellie, and senior glasses are still girls, and all three of them are quite cute, so there are danger apart from the magic beasts.

So I asked Zeke to let someone absolutely trustworthy accompany the three of them in my and Ike’s stead. Then Zeke allowed Van to accompany them. He also took into account that when Van returns, it will be safer if all of Azure Fang members return together.

After the meal and conversation had settled down, we decided to sleep in our respective rooms. I'm going to sleep with Clarice and Ellie.

I usually sleep with my MP depleted, but I'm not going to do that today. I'm also going to take tomorrow's early morning running and muscle training off. Time with Clarice and Ellie is more important now.

Tomorrow morning is early.

The three of them will leave early to get as far away from Rimurgarde as possible. Thus, the three of us decided to head to the bedroom before 21:00.

====================================

Author’s note:

If you feel the series is even a bit interesting and are curious about the story’s continuation, please consider giving ★★★★★ and bookmark as it will really help with my motivation. m(__)m

I am also on Twitter.

I would be delighted if you would follow me on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/qdUYSDZf8XzNaUq

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TL’s note:

1. The raws is very confusing because I feel like there’s a gap in the author’s rationale. How on earth does being a dual-wielder has to do with him barely seeing and not able to respond in time? Maybe author is trying to say that even if Ike can see Mars’s first swing and barely respond to it, he won’t be able to for the next attacks.
2. I went with literal translation. Basically Ike wanted to say Duke Regan is fine and dandy until it comes to matter about Holy magicians and she’ll readily sing a different tune.
3. Wtf, bruh. A bit late, no?

Chapter 147 : Zeke's Request

TL:SummerPeanut

====================================

I was surprised by the suddenness of the happening. Zeke suddenly lowered his head. Then Ike.

“Father. Please raise your head. We will do whatever we can to help you."

Zeke was apologetic at Ike's words.

“I need everyone's help...with the defense of this place too, but most importantly Almeria and Irgusia. With myself and Van coming here and missing Red Wings currently, there are only Black Tri-Stars and Azure Fang(excluding Van) that are able to dive into the 2nd floor of the labyrinth. Maria is also unable to move much after giving birth...and there is also Leena. I think she'll be fine, but I can’t help but be worried..."

So the other one is born already...

“Father-in-law. Is it a boy? Is it a girl? What's the name?"

Clarice asked a little excitedly, and Zeke looked a little embarrassed.

“It's a boy. His name is Cain. Cain Bryant is a good name, isn't it?"

Everyone agreed with Zeke's words.

“Well then, esteemed father, how about something like this? I and brother Ike will stay here and help defend West Rimurgarde. Clarice, Ellie, and my sister-in-law will go to Almeria.

The reason for this division is that I and brother Ike are already B-rank adventurers. So I thought the two of us could stay here. And mother will need more females around her. A female slave is fine and all, but I think she also needs a woman she can lower her guard to...or rather a woman she can trust.

And I think it would be better for me and Clarice to be separate in terms of combat. Esteemed father will understand why. And I think it would be better for myself and my sister-in-law to be in a different team too. Because my sister-in-law can do certain extent of appraisal.”

When I emphasized that I'm referring to the senior glasses as sister-in-law, Clarice also said.

“If it's me, Ellie, and sister-in-law, we can dive to the second floor of Almeria.”

She agreed. And Ellie.

“...I...Clarice...sister-in-law... okay..."

We blurted out so. Zeke heard what the three of us said and chuckled.

“Have all three of you been enticed already? ... No, Ike, Edean. I'm really sorry about the other day... I didn't think Ike would turn down a royal marriage proposal... I thought a royal marriage would be the happiest thing for Ike… I became agitated too..."

He said above to Ike and senior glasses.

“Does that mean you approve of our relationship!? Father!?"

Ike asked Zeke very happily.

“I will consider it positively. I'm not against it by any means, okay? We have to properly talk it over with Edean's parents later.”

The five of us were overjoyed at these words, and even the senior glasses was crying. She must have been very anxious... Ike was hugging senior, even though he was in front of everyone. Tears were also spilling down Ike's cheeks.

“I'm really sorry. I've caused you two a lot of pain. When I heard about it last year, Maria was all for it, but I couldn't help thinking that a royal marriage would be better for Ike. No... Thinking about Bryant family played a small part and with the rise of the court rank, I went ahead of myself. However, Maria, the now-missing Red Wings, and even Van said to let Ike follow his heart...

That the child's happiness should be decided by the child... I felt like I got a cold wake-up call when they told me off as such. Not to mention, I was like that too when I was younger..."

Zeke spoke, sounding a little depressed, and Ike replied.

“Thank you. For thinking of me...but I believe that there’s no one else for me other than Ede."

He said while hugging senior glasses. I feel like he’s saying something good, but with his current pose... Zeke heard his words and looked a little uncomfortable.

“I'm going to change the subject, but are both Ike and Mars really B-rank adventurers?”

Ike was still hugging the senior glasses, and I would feel bad if he’s being disturbed too much so I answered in his stead.

“It's true. In terms of ability, I think Clarice and Ellie are also B-rank adventurers. Hence, I think you don’t need to worry about Almeria either.”

“I see! That’s good... and Miss Edean... no, Edean has Magic Eyes?”

The senior glasses shook Ike off when Zeke asked him a question.

“Yes. I have Magic Eyes known as the Binding Eyes. By the way, I am an Earth magician like Lord Zeke."

“I see... You're a personnel of great talent. ...tell me more about yourself later. I feel like Ike introduced you, but I'm ashamed to admit that I don't remember much..."

The senior glasses nodded happily at these words.

We decided to stay in West Rimurgarde today. Tomorrow morning, Ike and I agreed to drive the three girls to safety.

I suggested it, but I was still sad to be suddenly separated from Clarice and Ellie who had been with me since six years old.

It seems that the two of them are the same, so instead of immediately heading west today, we decided to take their time and spend some time together today.

After the six of us, including Zeke, talked for a while, when Van that had just left came into the house and said

“Lord Zeke! They're here again! We think there are about 100 of them this time too."

On receiving Van's report, Zeke said.

“Again huh... For now, we'll defend ourselves as usual. Let's fire magic from the rear and then hit them when they're weak. No one should get hurt. I don't want any casualties."

Ike heard Zeke’s instructions.

“Father! Let me and Mars do it! We want to show you that we've grown up a little!”

He said to Zeke in a loud and slightly excited voice. Ike is very enthusiastic.

“...as expected, it's not safe for the two of you... That's a no.”

Well, it's not unreasonable. Not many parents would let their son run into a crowd of magic beasts with a threat level of B or C. Even in the labyrinth of Almeria, there were never a hundred of them fighting at the same time, so Zeke must be worried too.

“Father-in-law. How about we keep watch at the lookout too? I think the five of us killed nearly 100 magic beasts earlier, so we can be prepared in case of an emergency, do you not think so?”

Clarice said to Zeke and he nodded reluctantly. Soon we were out in the city and the adventurers were on their way to their posts.

“Guys! Listen up a bit! These two are going to fight the magic beasts now! Don't move until they're in danger!”

Zeke said to the adventurers, and they answered back with, "You're going to kill them!", “Who are those two?!”, “I can't take those orders!” The adventurers expressed their opposition to Zeke's order one after another. Well, it's not a good wake-up call if someone dies in front of you...

“They're both my sons. I heard that the two of them defeated those magic beasts earlier! I can't believe it myself, so I'm going to ask them to do it just to confirm it! If the two of them can defeat them, then the future defense battles will be a lot easier! Of course, if they’re in danger, we'll help the two of them! I don’t accept any refusal to my order!"

He exaggerated a bit... Earlier, we fought with five people after all... but the 50 adventurers or more nodded reluctantly at Zeke's words.

I lightly appraised those 50 and more B-rank adventurers, but not a single adventurer who could actually be called B-rank (Recca, Sasha, or Ryner’s level of adventurer) was here.

If I appraise their special abilities more thoroughly, there may be some, but even so, I think it's a bit unreasonable to call them B-rank adventurers. ...moreover, there are hardly any magicians, and even if there are, they are only magicians from the Kingdom of Balkus, and their MP is really low.

“Well, we’re off! Watch over us!"

The two of us jumped down from the watchtower on the outskirts of the city and went out of the city after Ike shouted above to Zeke and the adventurers.

A short distance outside West Rimurgarde, in addition to the death knights and death armies mentioned earlier, there was also a pitch-black dog(?) known as death hounds. They drool and have a somewhat creepy appearance.

Name: -

Title: -

Race: Death Hound

Threat: D

Condition: Good

Age: 1 year old

Level: 2

HP: 20/20

MP: 1/1

Strength: 14

Agility: 26

Magic: 8

Dexterity: 5

Durability: 12

Luck: 1

Details: Very weak against Holy magic.

From the current Ike and my point of view, they are just dogs though. Around 10 death knights, 80 death armies and 40 death hounds huh... Ike and I were discussing on who to defeat which of them, the adventurers came from the watchtower in West Rimurgarde and said

“For death knights, it will take both of you or you'll lose!”

“For death armies, try to make it a one-on-one situation and aim to take one down each minute!”

“Death hounds are small, quick targets anyway, so watch out!"

They are desperately sharing advices.

After a discussion with Ike, it was decided that I would take down the death knights and the enemies led by them, while Ike would take down the others.

“It's been a while since I've seen Mars draw his sword.”

“Not much has changed since the old days.”

I pulled out my Thunder Sword and Salamander Sword in response to Ike's words. Ike saw this and said.

“Why did you pull out two swords?"

Ike asked curiously. Perhaps Ike has never heard of the term 'two swords style'?

“Right now, I have a style of fighting in which I use two swords at the same time. It took me a while to get used to it, but once I did, this is easier to fight with.”

“I've seen people holding two daggers before but not this...I'll look forward to it...”

Ike was surprised by my words. We waved at Zeke and the adventurers who were cheering us on from the lookout, and when they responded to our encouragement, the two of us plunged into a crowd of more than 100 magic beasts.

====================================

Author’s note:

I think it’s about time to write a bit about the summary of the characters by now but I can't write it since it would inevitably contain spoilers...

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Chapter 146 : Unexpected Reunion

TL:SummerPeanut

====================================

“I can't even raise my hand anymore…”

When all the death armies on the west side were taken down, the senior glasses collapsed. Heal has already become much less effective so I decided to have her just lie there.

Heal is a magic that restores HP, and fatigue recovery is only a by-product, so it does not actually do a complete recovery.

When I looked at Ike and the others, they had almost finished defeating the magic beasts. We can rest easy now...

And with Ike, Clarice, and Ellie, there is no need to worry so much. If one Misha joins us here, I will worry, though...

I laid down alongside senior glasses.

“I thought it was Clarice...”

After I laid down, the senior glasses next to me muttered to the sky.

“I didn't think Mars is a Holy magician. I would have ruled out Mars because you seem to have a pretty high level of Wind magic. And it's not Ike either. If it had been Ike, I believe he would have told me, and... Ellie is out of the question. I've never heard of a beastman who can use Holy magic."

“Why did you think there was a Holy magician among us?”

“Hmm? Well... I wasn't sure... but I thought just maybe from looking at Karen and Misha's levels and stats values... Usually when you level up suddenly like Karen and Misha, your stats don't go up like that because of powerleveling.

But they leveled up abnormally fast, and their stats increases were so great that... Karen and Misha might not have thought that much about it if they had been equipped with disguise bracelets but..."

So I'm sure Duke Regan would definitely suspect Clarice huh. ...maybe this means I should reveal myself as a Holy magician as soon as possible.

A little later, Ike, Clarice, and Ellie came running this way.

“You've already cleaned this side... You're fast as usual...”

Ike said that, and when he looked at me, he saw a senior glasses.

“Ike, Mars was terrible. He used me so roughly…I can't stand up because my back is already wobbling because of Mars... If you play with a girl's body before she's married and she can't be a bride, you'll surely be held accountable!"

Is trying to say that? If she can't marry Ike, she'll marry me? Ike laughed at the senior's words.

“I see. You've been used roughly eh... Thanks for the help, Mars..."

Ike seems to have realized that I used Holy magic on her from the words she just said. I don't know how he could interpret it that way though...

“Don't be silly, let's go. The city gates were completely closed so there's probably no damage but I'm still bothered...”

Clarice said, interrupting our conversation, and Ike agreed with Clarice.

“I'm sorry. Clarice is right. Let's go into town."

We all collected the magic stone, threw it into the carriage, and headed for the tightly closed city of West Rimurgarde. The city gates of West Rimurgarde did not seem to be as solid as those in Issac, but they were still of certain toughness due to them being made from Earth magic.

“I wonder how to get in this...”

“I guess we'll still have to get someone to open it for us...”

After Ike replied to my words, someone noticed us and turned to us from his watchtower at the city gate.

“Who are you people!?”

A somewhat nostalgic voice is directed at us. Hmm... this voice... where did I...?

“We are from the Lister Imperial School. We were on our way to Almeria when we saw the city under siege, so we defeated the magic beasts. Do you mind if we come in?"

Ike shouted to a man on a watchtower, and the man suddenly said.

“Lister Imperial School? Almeria...?"

The man seemed to be looking intently from the watchtower as he muttered the words.

“Are you Ike!?”

I was startled by the sudden mention of the word Ike. And I clearly recognized the owner of the word.

“Yes! Could it be you, Van?”

The man immediately opened the city gate without replying and rushed over to us.

“I knew it was Ike! Even Mars!”

It's the Azure Fang’s Van, after all. The last time I saw him was when he escorted me, Clarice, and Ellie to the Lister Imperial School, so it's already been almost a year.

When Van called out to us happily, the women also came out from inside the carriage. Van seemed surprised when he saw the ladies.

“I was also surprised at how much Ike and Mars have grown up... but Clarice and Ellie look like adults... and the other girls I've never seen before but well...that can wait. Just get on into the city! Lord Zeke will be pleased."

What, Zeke's here too? And I'm kind of tickled that Van called Zeke as Lord Zeke, even though he used to call him Zeke...

We can't just stand here and talk, so as soon as I entered the city, the city gates were closed. The city was so calm that it was hard to believe that it was under siege.

The inhabitants were going about their lives as normal, and there was no sign of any logistical disruption. Above all, there seemed to be skilled people standing guard in some places.

I wanted to ask Van what was going on as we walked, but Van was walking so fast that I couldn't insert a conversation.

“Well, here we are. Come on in."

Van said and invited us into the big building, and there was a surprised-looking Zeke in the doorway.

“Ike... and even Mars... why are you here?”

Zeke said, and Ike replied.

“Long time no see, father. I, too, don't know why father and Van are here either, but I decided to go home for the school holidays and happened to be passing by this area so I dropped in, and Mr Van led us here. Why are father and Van here?"

Ike called Zeke ‘father’. In the past it was your esteemed father, and lately I also call him father but when I actually meet him, it's esteemed father... I guess my feelings are subtly changing or something...

“Come inside for now. Are you two alone?"

Huh? Where's Clarice and the others? I wondered if they heard Zeke's words, but Clarice, Ellie, and, at the tail end, a fearful senior glasses came in. When senior glasses entered, I didn't miss the slight change on Zeke's face.

“Long time no see. Father-in-law.”

Clarice greeted Zeke with a perfect smile, and Ellie also followed with a nod. And then the senior glasses looked more nervous than I'd ever seen her before...

“Long time no see. Lord Zeke."

She greeted with an awkward smile. Zeke greeted each of us back and we were led into the house for the time being. As soon as we were shown to our room, we immediately asked.

“Why are esteemed father and Van here?”

Zeke replied to my question.

“I see... You guys don't know anything, huh... That by the order of the state, B-rank adventurers and above are to take turns guarding the city of West Rimurgarde..."

Huh? I think Zeke was a C-rank adventurer... but I waited for the rest of Zeke's words.

“At first it was only for those above B-rank party. ...Afterall for a B-rank party, inevitably some weaker members would be called in. The death knights, death armies, and death hounds that appear here are somehow well-organized... and they sometimes target the weaker ones.

Some B-rank parties only have one B-rank adventurer, and the other members are D or E-rank adventurers with recent paper backgrounds. Then they bit more than what they can chew to protect their party members…and more and more B-rank parties got killed and finally the Red Wings we had sent here all died...”

I was speechless. The members of the Red Wings, who had been together as a matter of course until last year, were wiped out. ...Red Wings was a party that could be called one of Zeke's arms alongside Azure Fang... Zeke's face was distorted in pain.

Ike also struggled to hold back his tears and asked Zeke a question.

“It's a pity. ...how long will father stay here?”

“Until the end of December. Until then, we have to guard this place well.”

Zeke replied.

“Wasn't esteemed father a C-rank adventurer? Why are you here?”

Zeke replied when I ask him what I was wondering.

“Yes, I was. But we can't just send Van alone here. Van is a very important Knight Commander of the Knights of Bryant. And I only refused to become a B-rank adventurer previously so now I'm also a B-rank adventurer.

That's why I came here with him. And in my case, I got a call to arms, but I could have turned it down... but I didn't want to repeat the same thing with Red Wings."

Yes, Van is important, but... my mother, Maria, I believe, is now...

“How is the war’s progress?”

Ike asked, to which Zeke replied with a lowered tone of voice.

“Not so good... the B-rank adventurers in each city are doing their best... but there are too many magic beasts... However, It's not all bad. Everyone's level has risen considerably because they're defeating high-ranked magic beasts.

If we can keep persevering, I think we can eventually break out of the situation. That's why the country is sending B-rank adventurers here on a rotating basis. And the number of B-rank adventurers has increased considerably compared to the past. The number of magic beasts has increased, so there are more avenues for adventurers to gain experience.”

It's true that both Zeke and Van are getting stronger... but to take on a death knight alone...2 they both say they're B-class adventurers...

Name: Zeke Bryant

Title: -

Status: Human race, head of the Bryant Earl Household

Condition: Good

Age: 33 years old

Level: 31

HP: 55/55

MP: 82/82

Strength:

Agility: 25

Magic: 44

Dexterity: 20

Durability: 26

Luck: 10

Special Ability: Knifemanship (Lv3/D)

Special Ability: Earth Magic (Lv7/C)

Equipment: Staff of the Earth

Equipment: Clothing of the Earth

Name: Van Riggles

Title: -

Status: Human race, head of the Riggles Baronet Household

Condition: Good

Age: 23 years old

Level: 30

HP: 64/64

MP: 32/32

Strength: 42

Agility: 32

Magic: 28

Dexterity: 30

Durability: 30

Luck: 5

Special Ability: Swordsmanship (Lv 7/D)

Special Ability: Water Magic (Lv 3/E)

Equipment: Mithril Silver Sword

Equipment: Silver Mail

Zeke’s stats are that of Balkus Kingdom’s magician in other words he has low MP.

Minerva might even be stronger than him. ...Van has become much stronger. He is the head of the Knight Order of Bryant, so he must be training well every day.

But I feel like he could only fight a death knight and just barely win. His swordsmanship level is higher than the death knight's, so I don't think he will lose. ...

Zeke, perhaps knowing that I had appraised the two of them.

“How about it? We're getting pretty strong, aren't we?"

He asked me with self-mockery. Maybe he knows he's not worthy after all. After Zeke said that, he bowed to us and said.

“Ike! Mars! I have a favor to ask!"

====================================

Author’s note:

If Zeke's stats is enough to be a B-rank adventurer, then Minerva too would be one...

The number of B-rank adventurers is increasing but the reality is that...

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Chapter 145 : In West Rimurgarde

TL:SummerPeanut

Bad news for ppl who really likes this filler series, one of the later chapters killed my motivation… Decided to stop after that chapter’s story arc. Will probably take a break while finding other interesting web novels to work on. Ah, I’ll put up a warning to unsubscribe and will release all the leftover chapters before the end of month.

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4 December 2030, 8:00 am.

Three days after leaving Regan.

We finally entered the territory of the Kingdom of Balkus. There was not a single magic beast in the Duke of Regan's territory, but as soon as we entered the territory of the Balkus Kingdom, we encountered magic beasts. Well, it was only threat level G or F rank magic beasts, so it was no big deal...

“We'll be in Rimurgarde by the end of the day, won't we? Where will we stay today? As expected, I don't think we should stay in the area of Rimurgarde...”

I asked Ike who was seated next to me on the horse carriage’s driver seat. We're pulling one wagon with two horses by the way. Ike and I are the drivers while the females are warming up in the wagon.

“Hmm… I am actually wondering where the knights and adventurers are staying. If it’s just us two, I would have liked to stay where the adventurers are but exposing the ladies we are with to the eyes of the adventurers wouldn't do much good. Let's stay a bit further away from Rimurgarde today, and tomorrow we'll go south to pass through Rimurgarde and move west before dark."

Ike seemed to be thinking the same thing as I was. We went south for six hours and took lodgings in a town about 20 km from Rimurgarde territory. Ike said he wanted to talk to me alone, so we decided to go outside and talk.

“Mars, can I ask you something? Who knows that Clarice can use Holy magic? Does every member of the Daybreak know?”

“No. Apart from myself and Ellie, the only two people who know are Teacher Ryner and Teacher Bram.”

I answered Ike's question honestly. Then Ike made up his mind.

“Is it not possible to let Ede know?”

"Originally I was going to confide in her when I healed sister-in-law's right arm. I chose not to her because I was able to somehow deceive her but I think it's fine either way. The other day, brother had sister-in-law appraise Clarice with her Magic Eyes but she still doesn't know about her special abilities, does she?"

I asked Ike and he nodded.

“In the end, I think it depends on Clarice's will. If Clarice refuses, please don't try to persuade her. Incidentally, sister-in-law doesn't even know that I can use sacred magic, does she?”

“Speaking of which, who knows that Mars can use Holy magic in...Daybreak?”

“I told everyone. I made the decision that if I was kidnapped, I would be able to defend myself. Guster defeated me but if they knew I was a Holy magic user, the A-rank adventurers wouldn't hurt me too much. And I have Lightning magic that’s insta-kill for people who never saw it before."

“I see... Can I start by letting her know of your Holy magic?”

I nodded silently as Ike asked me that.

“Thanks... I wanted Ede to level up a bit too... but without a Holy magician, she had to be really careful in the battle… I've realised how hard it is to level up so much since I left Mars and Clarice.

Do you know? I heard that if a female member gets injured, some parties don't move until the wound is completely closed. That's why there are so few women in the vanguard. It might also be that they don't have enough strength values..."

Looks like Ike had quite the hard time... Speaking of that, I had one question I wanted to ask him, so I just did.

“Why isn’t sister-in-law equipping herself with a bow? Since once her MP is depleted, she has no way to attack, and isn't that too hard?”

“Yes. I really want her to equip a bow, but if she does so, she will need arrows, won't her? I was told that she doesn’t to carry them around because they are too bulky. You know, a woman usually carries more things and there are things that they have carry on their hands while walking as well right?"

Yes, that's true... Unless you have Clarice's magic bow...

“At any rate, there's plenty of room in the wagon for this trip, so why don't we buy a bow and stock the wagon with a lot of arrows? I think it would be better to have more means of attack. ...And I have a few ideas. As long as we have a bow, I might be able to make the arrows with earth magic. I know my sister-in-law is also good at Earth magic, but due to her MP, I think it would be better for me to make the arrows, what do you think?"

Ike happily agreed to my idea. I immediately went to the arms shop in town to look for a bow and arrows, but there were no arrows. It seems that adventurers and knights have bought them all up. Well, that's about right. But the bows were pretty good, so I bought them right away.

Name: Killer Bow

Attack: -

Special: -

Value: C

Details: The speed of the arrow you shoot increases. The arrow's wind noise is difficult to be detected.

I can have her use this bow with the arrows I made. I can also practice Earth magic so it’s a kill two birds with one stone situation.

We returned to the inn where the girls were staying and immediately handed the killer bow to the senior glasses and explained that I would make the arrows which made her happy.

Ike and I did not join the girls but went to the Adventurer's Guild. We found that most of the quests had been left unattended. It seemed that all the adventurers around here were heading to Rimurgarde, and there was no time to do other quests.

“'This is...terrible... Is there no one taking quests?”

“Yes... Even factoring this situation...”

I didn't utter a word after this. I was going to say what was the Kingdom of Balkus thinking to attack the Lister Confederacy despite this situation but I avoided saying it here because it could be interpreted as a criticism to the royal family.

Well, looking at the quests, it seems that there are no urgent ones, so maybe they are setting priorities.

But still, are there no papers (F and G-rank adventurers)? I think papers can handle these quests though... I decided to take on only the easy quests that I could complete today and join everyone again soon to do the quests together again.

Some of the quests were fairly easy, but we were very much appreciated by the staffs of the Adventurer's Guild and the people who made the requests.

December 5, 2030, 7:00 a.m.

We are now heading south to pass through Rimurgarde. The group of five that’s always cheerful, are quite tense this time. After all, even Ellie is awake.

Ellie has been sleeping most of the time recently, and until this point in the trip, she had been sleeping most of the time. Today, however, she is in full alert mode. As we drove south, we could vaguely see what looked like the castle of Rimurgarde in the distance. And there seemed to be a black haze in the sky above Rimurgarde Castle.

“It must be almost West Rimurgarde by now. I wonder if West Rimurgarde is safe?"

Ike’s face turned grim as I said that.

“Both West Rimurgarde and East Rimurgarde are probably in a pretty tough situation… I think that's probably where the front line town is...”

As we approached West Rimurgarde, the magic beasts surrounded about half of the city's outer wall, there are maybe a hundred of them?

“Brother Ike! The city is under siege!"

Ike responded calmly.

"Mars! Can you appraise the magic beasts? They appear to be humanoid, but depending on the...threat level, we will be on our way to save the city!"

I got closer and appraised the magic beasts surrounding the city.

Name: -

Title: -

Race: Death Army

Threat: C-

Condition: Good

Age: 1 year old

Level: 3

HP: 45/45

MP: 12/12

Strength: 22

Agility: 20

Magic: 10

Dexterity: 12

Durability: 30

Luck: 1

Special Ability: Swordsmanship(Lv3/E)

Details: Very weak against Holy magic

Name: -

Title: -

Race: Death Knight

Threat: B-

Condition: Good

Age: 1 year old

Level: 5

HP: 72/72

MP: 20/20

Strength: 40

Agility: 38

Magic: 25

Dexterity: 23

Durability: 55

Luck: 1

Special Ability: Swordsmanship(Lv4/D)

Details: Very weak against Holy magic

Death Army looks like a skeleton equipped with a pitch-black sword. While Death Knight is a skeleton in pitch black armor equipped with a large sword. The sword was not listed in the equipment column maybe because it was counted as part of the body.

It seems that the death knight is leading the death army. They seem to be led by a death knight like a knight’s order. Most of them consists of 10 death armies and 1 death knight in a party.

Then came the effect of Sky Eye Level 10. They are very weak to Holy magic…I don't remember any attack magic with Holy magic though... maybe Heal itself is effective?

“Mars! Give me instructions!"

Since Ike said above, I’ll ignore the ‘details’ for now.

“Ike, Clarice, Ellie, take the vanguard! Clarice, use your sword. Go all out without any reservation please! Try to fight at a distance where you can see each other's position as much as possible! Sister-in-law, please keep defeating the magic beasts I weakened with your killer bow!"

We encountered a pretty strong enemy right from the start. Well, I don't think I, Clarice, and Ellie will be able to raise our level even if we defeat enemies with a threat level of C. So I added that we should let Ike defeat them as much as possible. On the other hand, I also told them to be proactive in defeating death knights with a threat level of B.

Ike went toward the magic beasts on the east side of the city that were surrounding
the city.

I fired a much less powerful Tornado toward the opposite side of Ike, and when some were dying, I sent it this way to let senior glasses put an end to it. Senior glasses desperately drew her bow and knocked the death army around.

"Amazing...how are they defeating enemies of this stats so easily..."

Senior glasses must have appraised the stats of the death army as well. Just as extra note, she’s pulling the bow with all her might to defeat the magic beasts but maybe because she hasn’t used the bow that much she’s starting to get tired.

"I-It's too hard. ...can I take a break?"

She asked me tiredly but this time I had to make her stronger so I said to her.

“Sister-in-law. No, you can't. Please draw your bow to the limit and defeat the death armies."

I gave her spartan-like instruction. She is trying her best to draw the bow but she has already completely lost her grip and even holding the bow seems to be too tough for her.

“Heal."

When I used Heal on her arm, she is trying to say something to me with her mouth agape. But I don't care about that.

"Now you're feeling a little more energetic, aren't you? Please keep on killing the enemies!"

The process looked pretty tough but when senior glasses defeated all the death armies on the west side, she must have been very tired and fell to her knees on the spot.

====================================

Author’s note:

If you feel the series is even a bit interesting and are curious about the story’s continuation, please consider giving ★★★★★ and bookmark as it will really help with my motivation. m(__)m

I am also on Twitter.

I would be delighted if you would follow me on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/qdUYSDZf8XzNaUq

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Chapter 144 : To the Kingdom of Balkus

TL:SummerPeanut

====================================

December 1, 2030.

I, Clarice, and Ellie are the only three members of Daybreak still left in Regan.

Karen, Baron, and Minerva were picked up from home early and sent home. Dominic also hired a party of adventurers who are trusted by Duke Regan to go home.

Misha went with Sasha, Ryner, and Bram to the Zarkham Kingdom. Apparently, Sasha, Ryner, and Bram went to Zarkham for a quest Duke Regan tasked them to do.

Ike had told us that we couldn't go back home but that wasn't true. Duke Regan said that he never had to obliged to entertain the nobles no matter what. However, last year, she had to ask the impossible to Ike and the senior glasses to entertain the second daughter of the Fresvald family who was about to enter the school.

Next year, the eldest son of Duke Caesar, one of the 12 dukes, will be enrolled as a first-year student, but Duke Regan said that Duke Caesar does not need to be entertained. Somehow, it seems that he and Duke Regan do not get along very well.

We had already served as a model for the school's brochure. After posing Clarice and myself, someone who looks like a designer ran his pen. Then the designer casted a spell on the drawing, and the picture changed to look like a photograph, and another person used a different spell to copy the photograph-like picture.

And after both us, Ellie who was waiting for us also had a few of her pictures taken into the pamphlet. Of course, Ellie's good looks were one of the reasons why she was included in the brochure but perhaps it was also to show off the fact that the Golden Lion is a student at the Lister Imperial School.

We had already finished our work at the Lister Imperial School in late November. The reason why we haven't returned to the Balkus Kingdom is because Ike and the senior glasses have not yet finished handing over the duties of the student council.

Duke Regan told me that if I, Clarice, Ellie, Ike, and the senior glasses were going back home together, there was no need to hire an escort. I was grateful that I didn't need to be accompanied by escorts because I wouldn't have to hide my abilities in a strange way.

“I didn't expect Lillian to graduate.”

Clarice said during the swordsmanship practice with Ellie and Clarice on the school's large grounds, which were too big to be called a schoolyard.

"This is a five-year school, but you can graduate if you have decided on a career path...but you have to have a solid career path to actually graduate. I heard that an A-rank parties are the best place to get a job so she graduated early."

Clarice said to Ellie.

"I'm...glad she's gone...”

“The best place to work, huh ... If I become an A-rank adventurer, will I graduate too? Naturally, Clarice and Ellie will also belong to the A-rank party, which means that you will have the best place for employment, right? Will you both also become a graduate then?”

When I said that, Clarice shook her head and said, “Our best employment is not in the...A-rank party but becoming...the wife of...Mars, right?”

She said while blushing and being embarrassed. Being a normie is the best! At lunchtime, the three of us ate the lunch Clarice had made for us.

The other students still have classes so it's time for us to start going to the cafeteria. I ate Clarice's packed lunch and was lying down for a bit when someone stood over my head. ...white. This white is...senior glasses’s.

“Hey, how long are you going to keep staring! Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, please refrain from doing anything that could be poisonous to Mars. Gosh, seriously..."

Clarice put her hand over my eyes and said so to senior glasses. Yeah. These hands smell good too.

“Sorry, sorry. I just thought Mars was so cute. I'm finally done with the handover. We can depart tomorrow.”

At these words, Clarice stood up happily. Oh...the beautiful gradation of white and pink...

“Mars. Didn’t you hear Ede’s words? We're going to Duke Regan's place now. Duke Regan is still at school, so let's hurry!"

Ike said to me as he came running and I got up too. I've had enough of service time. The five of us went to the headmaster's office where Duke Regan was.

When we knocked on the headmaster's door and entered, we found Duke Regan in a different mood than usual. The clothes she was wearing seemed more luxurious than usual. The Duke of Regan, who is not a very fancy person, is dressed like a high-ranking aristocrat.

“I am sorry to disturb you at this busy time. I've finished the handover of the student council today so we'll be leaving tomorrow.”

After Ike said so, Duke Regan replied.

“I understand. Your destination is the Kingdom of Balkus, and I want you to promise me one thing. Never go to the Zarkham Kingdom. The situation in Rimurgarde is very dangerous. It seems that all the A-rank parties in the Balkus and Zarkham Kingdoms are holding them back, but it seems to be a very difficult situation.

And as for the Zarkham Kingdom, it seems that the Icelia Continent to the east is giving them a bit of trouble. It is not an invasion or a state of war but B-rank parties have been called in from here. The security situation in the Zarkham Kingdom is deteriorating quite a bit right now so I'm asking for your cooperation."

Hearing Duke Regan’s words, Clarice asked anxiously.

“Is Grantham safe? It is the closest to the continent of Icelia and...my father and mother are in Grantham. I'm worried..."

If Grantham is in danger... no, if Grey and Erna are in danger, then my destination is there.

“I don't know about Grantham but the Viscount of Lampard seem fine. Apparently, they are staying in the royal capital of the Zarkham Kingdom for a long time together with Count Beetle. This is information from a reliable source so you can rest assured. It only means that the three of them are safe, of course. Once again, I don't know about the situation of Grantham."

Clarice seemed a little relieved but she is still concerned about Grantham.

“I understand. I'll have them look for information on the area of Grantham. Is there anything else? If not, then I must be on my way.”

To Duke Regan, both I and Clarice said.

““Thank you.””

After bowing, we left the room.

“I wonder what's wrong with Duke Regan? I felt like her atmosphere and clothing were different from usual but...she always seems to be 50-50 between her role as a duke and the headmaster but today it felt like she had a 100 percent atmosphere of a duke...”

When I said that, senior glasses responded.

“There's a round table meeting in December. I think she’s going to the Duke of Fresvald's territory later."

Oh, I think I heard something along that line... and then Clarice said.

“How did Duke Regan know where my father and mother were?”

“Maybe she's thinking about the safety of her students' parents?”

I replied to Clarice's words, and Brother Ike whispered.

“I don't think you should be too optimistic. Her beautiful appearance fooled everyone, but remember she's a competent duke. I'm sure she's got a lot on her mind. ...you guys also have a few things in mind, don't you?"

…certainly. There seems to be a lot of scheming going on.

“But Duke Regan said it was safe so we can be sure of that at least. We'll start packing and deciding our route home tomorrow. We'll go back to our rooms, pack, and have dinner in the city at night."

As Ike said, we decided to go back to the dormitory to pack and have dinner. We had done some packing beforehand, so we were all outside by 15:00. It was a little early, but we decided to have dinner and go home early to get ready for tomorrow.

“Brother Ike. Which route do you want to take to return home?"

I asked Ike over dinner.

“Well... I don't want to go through the area around the capital if possible... since Mars, Clarice and Ellie are also there, how about we take a route that goes south through Rimurgarde and then heads west?”

Ike's words were met by a senior glasses’s.

“Isn't it a bit dangerous? Well, I do think we should not go pass the capital area either.”

Ike's partner of marriage might be someone in the vicinity of the royal capital?

“Shall we head south so we don't get too close to Rimurgarde? Ellie and I are good at detection. If we see any dangerous-looking magic beasts, we'll run away immediately.”

“Yes. I'd also like to raise my level while Mars is with me. Ede should also watch Mars, Clarice, and Ellie in battle. I'm sure you'll see some incredible sights."

Senior glasses responded to Ike’s words.

“Indeed... I have yet to see these three fight properly... I've never seen Mars pull out the sword he's equipped with, and even his magic, I've only seen him take it easy because that was my brother..."

The senior glasses face clouded over when he remembered Gysahl. Gysahl ended up doing menial work as a slave for the Duke of Fresvald instead of staying near Karen. He seemed to have been well-educated but he is not very useful.

And it is said that a deputy has been dispatched from the Duke of Fresvald to the Count Mesalius household of the senior glasses.

Apparently, I heard up to the point that an associate baron related by blood to the Duke of Fresvald was dispatched but I haven't heard anything after that.

Karen secretly told me that Duke Regan and Duke Fresvald apparently want to place Ike as the head of the Count of Mesalius.

They seem to think that if Gysahl becomes head of the Count of Mesalius, the territory will probably continue to be attacked by the Kingdom of Balkus. Well, if it's Gyshal or Ike, everyone would choose Ike...

“I, too, want to fight magic beasts with brother Ike for the first time after such a long time. I want to show you how I've grown too… I'm looking forward to it."

“Yes. For the first time in a long time, I can concentrate only on the enemy in front of me and fight. I'm kind of looking forward to tomorrow. There's nothing better than not encountering magic beasts but I'd like to...fight."

Hearing both Ike and myself saying the above…

“You two really are brothers... Not like you two are all brawns but...this is childish. Ike never said anything like this in the Red Lotus though... He seems to trust you three a lot. Makes me a little jealous."

When the senior glasses said this while looking at the us, Clarice also said following.

“Mars is also behaving very carefully in Reimei. Surely he must be happy that the two brothers can fight together?”

Incidentally, as soon as Ellie finished eating her meal, she was sleeping cutely in my lap. Her skirt is firmly taken care of with a blanket. Regardless of that, she’s wearing shorts as usual.

I woke Ellie up and decided to go home early and leave early tomorrow.

====================================

Author’s note:

If you feel the series is even a bit interesting and are curious about the story’s continuation, please consider giving ★★★★★ and bookmark as it will really help with my motivation. m(__)m

I am also on Twitter.

I would be delighted if you would follow me on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/qdUYSDZf8XzNaUq

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Chapter 143 : Each of Lister Festival

TL:SummerPeanut

Thank you for the support cali life and patrons.

====================================

6 November 2030.

For some reason, Duke Regan called me and Alice to the headmaster's office...in the headmaster's office was the beautiful teacher I saw at the handshake session. Could it be that she recognized our beauty and talent?

“First of all, what are the names of the two of you?”

Duke Regan asked me and Alice with a little wariness.

“I am Sofaa.” ”Alice.”

We answered simply. That was bad... I should have greeted her more firmly, but my mouth fumbled and said Sofaa... I was too nervous and my mind went blank...this is going to cost me some sister points...

“Sofia, Alice. Why were you two in that place? I think that room is reserved for the concerned parties?"

Aah… Maybe she is thinking that we are suspicious?

“...Miss Edean brought us there.”

“Why did Edean bring you two here? What is your relationship to Edean?"

She is completely suspicious of us... When I tell her about what happened at the handshake, at the maid cafe, and with Dominic, it seems that Duke Regan's guard is finally down.

“Thank you Sasha. You can go back now. We'll talk about the rest by ourselves."

When Duke Regan said this, the beautiful teacher bowed to Duke Regan and left the room. Come to think of it, this person was called Teacher Sasha by Dominic.

“What did you think of Mars's match? Was it cool? Or was it scary?"

Scary...? Well, I didn't realize that until it was said... People with power always solve things by being crude and resorting to violence. Mars also has great power at that age.

But from the first time I saw Mars, I never once thought he was scary. Indeed, if I hadn't seen the look on Mars's face when he was slapping that guy all the time, I might have thought he was scary.

But every time he slapped me that time, his face got sadder and sadder. How could I be scared of someone like that…? When I was thinking about it, Alice said

“I thought it was very cool! I didn't think he was scary in the slightest!"

Alice, who is completely in love with Mars, said to Duke Regan without hesitation. Then Duke Regan said.

“I see. Well then, when you both graduate from your current school..."

As Duke Regan looked me and Alice in the eye while we were talking, I felt something...unusual look from Duke Regan.

I wonder what...this uncomfortable feeling was, and then Duke Regan looked at Alice with a surprised expression.

“Alice, are you...9?”

What...? How could she know her age when all she said was her name? But Alice didn't think there was any problem about it?

“Yes, I'm nine. I'm going to take the entrance exams next year so I'm going to choose this school as a no-brainer!"

Alice said enthusiastically, and Duke Regan took something out of her desk and put it in front of us. It's an appraisal crystal... Apparently, Duke Regan somehow knows Alice's special ability. But she is not absolutely sure. We have to stop her from being identified by the appraisal crystal...

But when Duke Regan showed us the crystal, she immediately put it away in her desk without appraising us.

“I made a mistake. I was going to take this one out instead...”

I knew immediately that I was beaten with a punch. She was able to tell by the change in my expression that Alice was the one who had to hide her special abilities... The next thing Duke Regan took out of her desk was the enrollment documents. There was no way she could mistake the documents for crystal... It’s so obvious...

“Alice. I give you permission to enrol at the Lister Imperial School. No examinations are required, of course. Please think it over carefully."

She handed 2 copies of the enrollment documents to me, as she said above.

“Of course you are welcome, Sofia. I understand that you may feel uneasy if it’s just your sister, Alice. However, if you are transferring from another school, you will always start from the first grade. Lister Imperial School often receives graduates from other schools so you don't have to think about the age difference too much.

Also, as stated in the documents, it is possible to graduate as a freshman, even it is stated as a five-year program. This year, only one student will graduate as a freshman. We have several other students who are graduating in their respective grades, and you can rest assured that even if you graduate in your first year, you will receive a diploma as a graduate of Lister Imperial School."

What a surprise…to be admitted to the Lister Imperial School, the most difficult school on the continent... But this school has this Duke Regan... Let's just get this over with and get out of here. I should end the conversation and go home soon.

A little later, something unexpected happened. I heard a knock for this room and to my surprise, Mars came in.

He's so cool... How can I be afraid of such a cool guy?

And how would such a handsome guy lie about his background...come on out you guys who doubted his registration as an adventurer at age 3 or the youngest B-level adventurer! I'll give you all the scolding abuse I can afford!

Looking at Mars appearance made me kind of nervous again... Then again, where does this thin-looking body hide that kind of power? I want to take a closer look at Mars's body next time. When I was thinking about that, my eyes met with his a little.

Eh...? What? You want to look at mine first? W-what is he thinking about... Please ask me when we're alone afterward. I'm sorry.

Mars must have understood my intention because he immediately turned his attention to Duke Regan. The duke is acting as if she has already decided that the two of us will be enrolled at the Imperial School of Lister.

When Mars finished talking to Duke Regan, he left. He could have stayed longer...

After that she asked a lot of questions and I ended up leaving with two copies of the documents that day.

November 11, 2030.

We of the Saintess Corps and Shield of the Saintess are in the process of returning to the Holy Kingdom of Diadora. Memories of yesterday's fun in Regan came to mind. Alice's luck was amazing. She won tickets to the maid cafe for five days in a row. Perhaps Mars's feelings of wanting to see me also helped.

We had a very intense time yesterday. What a surprise, we were the only two girls who won again, and I had Mars and Dominic on both my side. I'm not forgetting Dominic either, so it's okay it's so exciting to see the two of them trying so hard to get my attention.

“What would you like to drink?” “What would you like to eat?” “Come again."

If they said something like that to me, I'd be knocked off my feet.

My will was already hardened at the thought of being able to enjoy Mars and Dominic's sandwiches if I enrolled to this school.

Could this possibly be Duke Regan's plan? Does she think that if she gives me Mars and Dominic like this, I will enroll in the Lister Imperial School? Don't be ridiculous! I would come as long as there’s either one of them!

Besides, I'd like to talk to Clarice more than anything. How can she be so beautiful and ...pretty? I bet she is doing skincare or something. I also wonder how that scar on her face healed overnight. I thought it would left her a bit of a scar but it was back to clean skin. I guess it's true that a beautiful face never gets a scar.

“'Alice, are you enrolling to the Lister Imperial School?”

I asked Alice in the carriage, just the two of us.

“Yes. I'm definitely going. To the Imperial School of Lister.”

Alice's answered without faltering.

“I understand. I'll go to Lister Imperial School too. I'm worried about Alice being on her own... Especially with Duke Regan, she probably knows that Alice is a Holy magician, don't you think so?"

Alice was surprised when I said this to her. I wasn't sure if she was surprised that I was going to the Lister Imperial School or that Duke Regan was aware of Alice's Holy magic, though.

☆☆☆

“Winner! Chrome Balkus!"

Even though I won the fighting tournament, I didn't get to meet the man named Mars. I didn't even win the lottery for the maid cafe... The Sword Saint who defeated the Duke of Syrians’s legitimate son. I thought for sure that Mars was the guy I lost to three months ago...

But they say the Mars has blonde hair. The guy I lost to was wearing a white uniform with gold embroidery but he had dark eyes and black hair... and was a little taller and somewhat eerie.

He was definitely wearing the uniform of the first year S class of this school... but I heard that there is no black hair in the S class itself... so why was the man wearing the uniform of this school at that time?

Anyway, I'll go back to the Balkus Kingdom and train again… I'm sure we'll meet again someday so there’s no need to rush… I'll be sure to take my revenge then!

====================================

Author’s note:

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Much Deserved Third Life of a Prince

Author: 凡場はま

TL: summerpeanut. A ‘short’ story.

==========================================

"Liese, I’m breaking my engagement with you!"

His voice echoed through the halls of the academy, and the lively venue suddenly quieted down.

The school's graduation party was a gathering place for alumni and other young nobles. When I, the first prince who was originally the center of attention among them, declared, Liese, a woman of a duchy household, quietly asked back.

"May I hear the reason for such?"

I don't like that part of her. It would have been better if she’s a little flustered or shaken.

I suppressed the urge to click my tongue and glared at the woman in front of me.

First of all, I don't like the way she looks. She is too small and slender, with small eyes and expressionless face. She has none of the splendor of a princess, and she does not match me, someone who is reputed to be a handsome man. I have put up with her until now, but I am embarrassed to have to escort such an unassuming woman.

Then there is her attitude. She looks so weak that she could fly away if the wind blows, and yet she repeatedly gives me a hard time. Not only does she never praise me no matter how hard I endeavor, she always shows troubled face in front of me and not a single smile.

She's not cute at all.

She is nothing compared to the flowers that always gather around me with smiles on their face. They understand how amazing I am and always dress themselves beautifully to appeal to me. Does she think she could be next to me without making such an effort to be beautiful? What a fool.

"You don't deserve me. Do you need other reason than that? You know that better than anyone, don't you?"

I'm not going to expose your shortcomings here. I can be that considerate at least. After all, I'm a kind gentleman.

It would have been a little more endearing if she had cried and apologized for not being able to be of my use, but all this woman did was to quietly say, "I understand."

She's really not cute.

"I'll let you off the hook for your disrespect to me. In exchange, don't show yourself in front of me anymore."

I said firmly, and for the first time the woman looked up at me, slightly perturbed.

"Do you not need myself to hand over the tasks?"

"You were only helping me, weren't you? Why should I take over the tasks that I was doing in the first place? What an unseemly attempt to get my attention. Get the hell out of here."

I felt slight comfort since the woman's expression stifled for a moment. Then she bowed as if nothing had happened and spun around on her heel.

She looked so defiant that it made me angry. I regretted a little how I should have explained to her the reasons why I had broken off the engagement.

However, since I had broken off the engagement in front of so many people, even my father, the king, would not be able to say anything. My father, who had decided on my engagement to Liese, the prime minister's daughter, would not allow me to break off the engagement, no matter how many times I wished he would.

Now I am finally free.

This fact made me feel a little better. With a refreshed heart, I watched the woman I would never see again leave.

Two days later, I visited my office for the first time in a long time, and what awaited me was a large volume of documents. The prime minister had brought them on behalf of my father, who was away on a local inspection.

"What's this all about?"

"This is all the work of His Highness the prince. It is also your job to protect this place on behalf of His Majesty, who is normally absent."

"Are you harassing me because I broke off the engagement with your daughter?"

"I am not. These are all the ‘only helping’ that my daughter has been undertaking on behalf of His Highness. My daughter offered to perform a handover, but His Highness rejected her offer, did you not?"

I had no choice but to look over the documents, but I couldn't make sense of them at all.

"Hey, this is not my job. I don't understand."

"That should not be. It is a fact that the documents were signed by His Highness."

The prime minister pointed to where I had signed.

No way, Liese was doing this?

It can't be. What she was doing was supposed to be only assisting me. But thinking back, I recall that Liese often came to me for my sign with a troubled look on her face. I never paid much attention to her, though she would repeatedly tell me to give them a look.

"Hey, call Liese."

"She's on her way to the duke's estate. She can’t come here."

"I told you to call her, and you won't do it? Let her come back at once."

"With all due respect, Your Highness. You were the one who told her not to show herself in front of you, did you not? She moved away to avoid the miniscule possibility of entering your sight. I ask that you take responsibility for what you have said."

The prime minister indicated with a cold stare that he had no intention of backing down, added some more documents, and left. This bastard prime minister. When my father returns, I will charge both this father and daughter with lese-majeste.

I picked up one of the documents. I still don't understand it. I had no choice but to start with the ones I could. As I looked at the stack of papers, all I could do was groan.

No matter how much I tried, the work never ended, and I couldn't get out of the office because the prime minister was watching me. After almost no sleep and what felt like endless confrontation, my father and mother finally returned from their inspection.

Thank God, now I can get out of here.

My father and mother are sweet on me. It is only natural. My father has many concubines, but I am the only child of my mother, the queen. As a legitimate son, I have been promised that I will be crowned as crown prince when I graduate from the school.

If my father and mother returned, I was sure that they would keep away this abominable prime minister with a single word.

I finally left the office when they called me. I am sure that they called me to greet me as well as to discuss the agenda for the crown prince position. They might also talk about my next fiancée. There are several candidates. The one with the highest status should be taken as the legal wife, and the rest should be made concubines. I had been patient with Liese, but it was her fault that I couldn't tolerate even that anymore.

Yes, everything is Liese's fault.

The reason I had to do so much work and the reason I had to break off the engagement was because she didn't understand me. She should have just obediently obey me.

I bit my back teeth. Firstly, I want the prime minister and his daughter to pay for lese-majeste. I made up my mind and stopped in front of the room, and the door slowly opened.

I snickered at the prime minister, who is about to be scolded by my father, and entered the room where my father and mother are. First, deal with the prime minister and his daughter, and then we would discuss the issue of the crown prince position. I bowed before my father and mother with a buoyant feeling.

"What have you done!"

"Hah?"

My father's curses flew as soon as the door closed.

My father's face was red as he scowled at me.

"I had said so much that your marriage with Liese was absolute, so why did you break it off without permission."

"It's because Liese is not suitable as the future queen..."

"What future queen? No, you're right. Whoever takes her as his wife will be the future king."

I could not follow my father's response, which I had not expected at all.

The one who takes her as his wife will be the king?

Even if she were gone, I would still be king, wouldn't I?

"When this engagement is over, the possibility for you to become the next king is over."

"...what?"

"Do you even realize that this country is on the verge of collapsing?"

According to my father, although the king is at the top of this country, but it seems that what is really running this country is the prime minister and his household.

Their power is great, and the nobles follow the royal family because the prime minister who led them is attached to the royal family. There is no problem if the king is replaced, but it is even said that if the prime minister disappears, the country will end. He has that much influence. That is why his only daughter, Liese, and I have the arranged marriage.

The prime minister does not like conflict. My father told me that he allowed Liese to be my fiancée as an alternative because he thought that having a legitimate heir with few cracks as the next king with Liese's support as the next queen would be a way to manage the country peacefully.

"Then..."

My heart palpitates. I can't breathe well, and I'm at a loss for words.

"Many people have seen you breaking off your engagement. You can no longer overturn it. You must stay at your estate in the palace for a while. If you want to remain as a royalty, at least prove that you can work as one there. If you cannot, I will annul your royalty status."

"N-no, way…"

I looked at my mother next to my father as if clinging for a helping rope. If it’s the usual mother, she would have listened to all my words. But this time she closed her eyes with sadness.

"Take him away."

My father's merciless voice pushed me away from the palace.

The rooms in the detached palace were smaller than my private quarters, and I felt uncomfortable.

The quality of the food was poor, and I was not allowed to leave the house, and only work was brought to me.

I am the prince, and yet I am put in this situation, furthermore all I am expected to do is work?

I don't understand. Isn't it the role of an aide to do the work?

I was scolded at the time, but I am the only legitimate son. After a while, my father will call me back from here and this time he will make a move to push me as the crown prince.

At that time, I still thought so.

I stayed at the palace for a while, and one day, my father came to me and said below.

"Unfortunately, I don't see any sign of remorse on your part."

I was taken out of the palace and imprisoned in the tower.

It was only when I got there that I realized that he was serious about this.

I try to remember what my father said. He told me that I had to prove that I could work as royalty, or I would be stripped of my royal status.

I worked hard. But the documents were full of things I didn't understand. Gradually, the number of documents being brought to me decreased.

One day, I told the servant who brought the documents that he could give me more work. I told him that I would be stripped of my position if I did not prove that I could do my work, but what was the point if the work did not come in the first place?

"The documents His Highness had done were full of mistakes. Frankly, it would take me twice as long to fix them, so I can't go on any longer."

When I was wondering what is he saying, his attitude was snide as if he was mocking me.

"How dare you!"

I snapped. I found myself punching him in the face.

I was stripped of my status as a royalty and sent to the mines for causing a disturbance during my imprisonment. At this point, I still didn't understand my situation.

In the mine, there were rows of dirty miners in tattered clothes.

"This new guy will be working with you guys from today."

With one voice from a man who claimed to be their boss, they began their work. It was hard work, scratching at the rocks in the dark with only a few lights to guide, and I found my hands soon became numb.

I slammed the tool in my hand against the rock.

"Don’t be ridiculous, I'm a prince. Why do I have to do this!"

It was at that moment when I shouted. I felt a pain in my solar plexus, and I was lying on the ground. I realized later that a man had hit me.

"Huhh? The prince?"

"What are you doing? You know what will happen to you if you raise your hand against me!"

"You’re the one who doesn’t know what’s going to happen to you."

Then I was kicked and punched by several people.

When I opened my eyes, I saw the man they called boss. It looked like a very shabby hut. I thought he had put me in a stable, but there’s a desk and what looked like a bunk, so I guessed it’s supposed to be a place of dwelling.

"Oh, you're awake. Are you an idiot? Well, you wouldn't be here if you weren't an idiot, would you, almighty prince?"

He laughed. I tried to get up, but I couldn't move because of the pain.

"Stop it. You have many parts that are broken or hurt. If you move, you will really die. Not that I care if you do. If you want to die, go ahead."

He gave me a bowl of soup. The soup was light in flavor and hardly tasty. Still, the lukewarm taste soaked into my body.

"I guess it wouldn't taste good to a prince with a discerning palate."
"You know I'm the..."

"Yeah, I'm the only one here who knows you were a real prince. I'm telling you, I'm not going to give you any special treatment, even if you were a former prince. You're not one anymore."

I almost got up again when he told me I wasn't a prince, but I still couldn't move due to the intense pain. I groaned, and he laughed at me in an amused way.

"I'll tell you one thing. If you don't want to die, don't call yourself a prince anymore. Do you know what they think of royalty here?"

I shook my head and grunted, my neck aching.

"I'll tell you then. They're the kind of bastards that would love to torment and kill in you the most brutal way possible if they know."

"What?"

"All these guys here work every day in a sweatshop. A lot of the money they make is taken away as taxes. No matter how much they work, their lives don't get any better, but the nobles and royalty party with that money."

He said with a hint of disgust in his voice and snickered.

He said that most of them are impoverished because of the recent increase in the tax rate. The resentment towards the royalty is only growing.

"You know what would happen if you started saying 'I'm a prince' in such a situation, don't you? No, you've already experienced it. So don't say you're a prince. If you don't want to be brutally murdered, shut up and work here."

The boss took care of me while my body healed. The food was not delicious and not nearly enough to fill. At first, I thought he was messing with me, after all, I couldn't move my body. I wanted to hit him, but this guy seems to be stronger than me. If I let the guards do it... they’re already gone huh. No matter what I order, no one will move. This guy is only mocking me, it seems.

I was feeling better, and I was going to go back into the mines. “I'll give you one chance. Whether you are able to continue living is up to you”. The boss who said so explained to the rest of miners.

"This guy was so hungry by the time he got here that he ate some weird mushrooms. He says he's still affected by it and sometimes hallucinates that he's the prince."

"What the hell is that?"

"Of course, you'd like to have been born with a golden spoon, wouldn't you?

"Stop bullshittin."

They laughed and laughed.

"So, you all will have to forgive him if he still says prince whatnot from time to time. He's got a complicated background. He may be useless until he gets used to the job, but take care of him."

I decided to work quietly as I was told to avoid being killed. The miners were surprisingly kind and taught me many things.

"I'm sorry I did you in the other day. Because you were yelping prince and whatnot, and I didn't know you were in such a situation."

"Have you healed yet? Until you heal properly, just do what you can."

And with that, they taught me work little by little.

A year passed, and then another. The miners' work was hard. And yet, no matter how hard they worked, life did not get any easier. As I worked hard and sweated every day, I couldn't believe that I had been a prince. I gradually began to understand why people hate the royalty.

Indeed, I understood nothing at all.

I lived thinking that being served and being called His Highness by everyone, wearing and eating all the good stuffs, are all obviously what I was entitled to. Everything I said was what would come to pass.

I had never imagined that so many people had worked so hard behind the scenes.

A few years later, news came that the king had been killed. The ringleader was the prime minister. In the village near the mine where I now live, there was a festival. Everyone was happy, raising their hands in the air.

I had come to understand the feeling, so I pretended to be equally happy with very mixed feelings.

The festivities continued into the night. I was hidden by boss and cried in secret. My father and mother were gone.

I realized that twenty years had passed since I was sent to the mine. During this time, my boss, who had been so kind to me, died. It was an accident. I cried more than when I was told that my parents had died. I grieved. Mining is always fraught with danger. Since I came to the mine, several people have already died.

I heard through the rumors in the wind that the prime minister had taken the throne of the king, who had been absent for a long time.

I wonder how Liese is doing.

I suddenly remembered my former fiancée. Thinking back, she always kept good grades and always worked hard. I wonder when did I realize that the complaints I used to find bothersome were quite sincere.

I was the one who broke off the engagement for selfish reasons, such as not liking the way she looked or not pleasing me. I can see now that since she had done my work while I was playing, attending the academy, and receiving the queen's education, she would not have had time to dress up. I never once complimented her while complaining about not getting compliments. I felt refreshed when I confronted her about breaking off the engagement, but I guess she was the one who was really refreshed.

I did wonder how she was doing, but now I could no longer get any information of her.

I feel guilty toward her.

However, I selfishly and one-sidedly wished she is at least happy.

A few more years passed. The tax rate was reduced, and little by little, life in the village improved. Above all, the faces of the villagers became brighter. They began to see a little hope for the future.

There was a wedding in the village. The villagers married each other. A small celebration party was held. Everyone was smiling and celebrating, and the bride and groom were smiling happily.

I wondered if I had ever seen Liese smile. She always had a troubled look on her face. If I had said "Thank you" to Liese for helping me with my work, would she have laughed? If I had cared for her when she was tired, if I had given her a gift, would anything have changed?

If it’s about her crying, I have only seen it once. I grumbled about her servant and ordered the guards to teach that person a lesson. He died from the wound. Since then, Liese has been less bitter and spoke little. I was pleased at the time that things had quieted down. Looking back on it now, it's a terrible story.

I wonder what Liese looked like when she smiled.

The villagers suggested to me, "Why don't you get married too?” But I couldn't bring myself to do it. In the end, I remained single until I reached this age.

A few months later, I was involved in a rock fall at a mine. My last thought was of the many regrets I had. And instead of the glamorous life in the castle, I was thinking about drinking cheap drinks and laughing with the villagers.

〇〇〇

I have a strange memory. It is the memory of a man who ended his life as a miner, but it is hazy and I cannot recall it clearly. At first, I thought it was a dream, maybe a previous life, a remembrance of my own steps. For some reason, I remember very little of my younger days, and yet remember clearly the many regrets after becoming a miner.

I was an orphan from a church in a certain city. I was in an orphanage for as long as I can remember, so I never knew my real parents. Fortunately, the priest of that church was a wonderful man who taught the orphans how to write because it would help them in the future if they could. He also taught us what we wanted if he has the knowledge. However, he was a busy man, so it was hard for me to find time with him.

In my previous life, I had nothing but regrets. What those regrets taught me was to be diligent and hardworking.

I loved to learn. So I asked the priest for stories and occasionally read the book I was allowed to borrow over and over again during the service.

It was a rule that I had to leave the orphanage at the age of 12.

I lived and worked there. The world is harsh on people from orphanages. Even so, I worked hard and gradually gained recognition.

I saved the little wage I earned from my work and borrowed books. Books are a luxury item, so they are hard to buy. I wanted to learn more, but only a privileged few could learn about teaching. I talked to many people and read books, gaining knowledge little by little.

To repay the favor, I taught what I learned at the orphanage where I grew up. Not that I was proud of my knowledge, but at least I could teach what I knew. I knew that life would be very different without knowledge, so I did my best to teach the orphans.

One day, when I was over 30 years old, the greatest blessing of my life came my way.

I was teaching at the orphanage as usual when I was called in by the priest. In the room I entered, there was a soft-faced priest and a man who was obviously a noble.

"I have looked into you. If you like, you can come work for us."

The man was the head of a ducal family and the prime minister of this country. This church belonged to the prime minister in the first place, and it seems that he and the priest were good friends. The dukes are the highest rank of the nobility, excluding the royal family. It is already difficult for a former orphan to work in a noble's house, much so for one to work under a duke's. I was left completely flabbergasted.

"Why me-... this humble self?"

"I'm looking for an educator for my son and daughter. I was introduced to you by the priest here. I was observing you, and I thought you would be a good fit."

"About the education… I-I don't know what to teach to a duke's children..."

"Aah, don't be so nervous. You can be a good friend to them and that's all that matters."

According to the talk, there is another proper teacher.

However, the prime minister wanted the children to know about the lives of the common people, and since a teacher from the aristocracy would not be able to convey this to them, he was looking for someone who was familiar with the lives of the common people.

I was hired as a caretaker and a talker to the children.

The duke's family had three children. A five-year-old girl, a four-year-old and two-year-old boys. The two boys were mischievous and the ladies-in-waiting were troubled by their mischievousness, but the girl was intelligent and quiet.

I spent time with the three of them while doing chores for the duke's family. It was more like playing with them than teaching them. When the youngest one got a little older, I took them out into the city with me and showed them around, and we also went to the church orphanage. When I joined the children, Liese, the eldest, who is usually very mature, seemed to be enjoying herself in an age-appropriate way.

All three of them were honest and intelligent, and they all grew up quickly.

When Liese was ten years old, she was engaged to the first prince of this country. Liese and the first prince, who was born in the same year, were betrothed from the time she was born, and it would be made official once she reached the age of ten.

Liese began to visit the royal palace from time to time and gradually lost her smile.

"His Highness calls me ugly."

"When I asked His Highness to study properly, he said I was too noisy and tripped me down."

"I asked His Highness to do his job, but he wouldn't listen to me, saying that it was my job to support him."

She would say this every once in a while in a whisper. I had no idea how to respond. Although I have never met him in person, I have heard that all royalty have the reputation of being spendthrifts who only think of themselves. I heard that the prince was no exception, and that he was selfish and arrogant, putting on airs about his status. I felt sorry for Liese, who had to marry such a man.

The prime minister always had a difficult look on his face.

"The people's dissatisfaction is growing, and yet here we are again, at a big party. When I reproached him, he said he was going on a tour of the countryside. Not that I mind if he's really going on an inspection."

“I'm sure it's just for fun. The queen also likes to show off.”

I heard the prime minister and his wife exchanging sighs.

One day when Liese turned sixteen, she came home from a student party and her cheeks were bright red and swollen. The first prince was flirting with another girl without escorting her fiancé, Liese, and when she protested softly, he slapped her on the cheek with a rude remark.

"I can't take this anymore. I'm going to ask His Majesty to end this engagement."

"But father, then this country will..."

The prime minister is working hard to stabilize this country. Even if the king is incompetent, a lot of blood will be spilled to change that.

Liese understood this and supported the country as the prince's fiancee.

In the end, the prime minister protested to the king, but the engagement was continued. It is said that the king said he would give the prince a stern talking, along with some compromises.

The prime minister apologized to Liese, and Liese gave up on the idea that it was inevitable, but I couldn't help but feel frustrated.

The next day, when Liese returned from the palace, she looked sad.

"I heard that His Majesty had spoken to His Highness, but he showed no signs of remorse. He told me that I must have planned the whole thing to get His Highness's attention and that I was a real jerk."

"The young lady didn't do anything wrong."

"What should I do? I really don't know."

I could feel her sorrowful thoughts, as she rarely spoke out in weakness, and I couldn't forgive this. What is the prince doing when she is working so hard every day, even falling to pieces like this? Liese never wanted to be the prince's fiancée at all.

I staked out the school on the pretext of taking Liese to and from school, and finally succeeded in making contact with the prince a few days later.

"The young lady is doing her best for His Highness. What is His Highness doing in response? Please, Your Highness, the young lady..."

"Shut up."

"Please refrain from raising Your Highness’s hand against the young lady."

"Didn't you hear me tell you to shut up? Hey, made him shut up."

"Yes, sir!"

Then I was assaulted by the prince's guards.

In my fading consciousness, I realized.

Yeah, this prince was me.

〇〇〇

I was seven years old, in bed with a high fever and clearly remembering my past two lives.

Now I am apparently the same first prince as the first round. Looking back on my still short life of seven years, I am clearly an arrogant, clueless brat. The first round, I grew up only physically as a brat, and then I reached my end.

The parade of my black history runs through my mind like a running light, and I feel like slumping over. At any rate, I rolled over until I fell off the bunk and hit my head on the wall. The lady-in-waiting screamed due to that.

No, there's no point in doing this. I have to figure out what to do.

It shouldn't be too late now.

I listened to my teacher and studied as hard as I could. My attitude changed so much that they said I became a different person after I got a fever. Well, they were not wrong.

But still, isn't it great to have such a good environment to learn?

In my second life, I had a hard time getting books, much less having a teacher and being able to ask questions right away.

Why did I not realize this in my first life. I want to punch myself in the face for all the times I skipped school and ran away from the teachers.

I took full advantage of this environment. I went to the castle library when the teachers were not around. A space full of books, which I craved for the second time in my life. It was wonderful. I read a lot. Once again, it's wonderful to be able to learn.

I have to be careful of the potential aides who come on to me. They may flatter me with appropriate compliments, but they are only after my power. They are incompetent people who are just trying to suck the juice out of my mouth. No, it's better that they are just scheming for power. What is really incompetent is me, who was flattered by those incompetents and got on their good side. I'm having a black history memory attack. I want to writhe.

My father still has many concubines, and my mother, in exchange for tolerating them, is indulging in extravagance. I wonder how many years of my salary as a miner went into that one dress. I wonder how many dresses she has. A great deal of tax money is also spent by my father for his concubines. I am filled with the thought, "You've got to be kidding me," even though they are my own parents.

Yes, just like my fellow miners.

I know that if things continue as they are, the royal family will be purged by the prime minister in the future. I don't feel anything about the purging of the royal family, who are only thinking of themselves without regard for the people, but I don't want blood and money to be spilled for their sake.

Fortunately, the current prime minister has no desire to remove the king yet. It is not that I want to ascend the throne, but it would be better for me to succeed him peacefully and change the nature of the royal family, just as he had hoped.

I don't know if I would be a good king, but there is no one else I would trust with the job.

Royalties! They are all scum.

And the biggest of them is me!

"Aaahh!"

I hit my head on the desk and the lady-in-waiting cried. I'm not a man worth crying over, you know.

Hmm? No, that’s not correct. She’s crying because if I get hurt, she could be removed from her office.

I’m too self-conscious. Aaah!!!

Anyway, I'm going to be king.

I understand very well now that the marriage with her is important for that.

Liese and I are engaged to be married. When I turn ten, we will be officially engaged. It was as if our engagement was decided at the moment of our birth, so if I search my seven-years-old memory, it seems that we have seen each other many times until now.

Where I said mean things to her every time. I've said she’s ugly, or that I don't want to be engaged to her. Sigh, I want to punch the past me.

Today, which is a regularly scheduled meeting with Liese, I'm going to be seeing her. I need Liese. No, I need her for this country. That is why although I do not know how am I supposed to apologize to her due to my heavy guilt, I pray she would accept my hand.

I will devote myself to her for the rest of my life!

Even if I can't love her romantically, I will spend my whole life to make her happy!

A clang sound echoed.

The door opened and Liese entered. She looked at me and gave me a startled look. I guess she was surprised that I was there first, since it was normal for me to be late. Then she appeared to be nervous.

I felt a shiver down my back. Somehow I choked up and heat gathered in my face.

"I apologize to have kept you waiting, Your Highness."

She fluttered the hem of her dress and bowed politely. My heart trembled as I gazed at her, still small but perfectly graceful.

...pretty, isn't she? What the, she’s so cute.

I found myself holding my breath. I consciously resumed breathing, and this time my heart beat loudly.

"Um, Your Highness?"

Liese tilts her head. That's no good. It's too powerful.

"Is there something wrong?"

Something is wrong. My heart is pounding so hard I feel like it's going to jump out of my chest.

"Um, well, um, you know...that"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry for everything I've said."

I thought I had to sincerely apologize to her when I saw her, but all that came out of my mouth was a vigorous apology.

No, this is not the way to do it.

"I will, do my best. Make you happy. So please. Marry me in the future!"

I take back my previous statement. I fell for her romantically.

I am depressed.

Even if it was something that happened in my previous life, I know I had to apologize to her. But when I saw her in person, I was at a loss for words.

In the first place, Liese doesn't know the me from the first round, and she would just be troubled if I suddenly apologized to her, wouldn’t she? Didn’t I just want to say sorry to relieve some of my guilt?

The more I think about it, the more I feel that it is just my wish and selfishness.

Another thing I was seriously worried about.

Am I the type to fall in love with a little girl?

No, I never had such thought except for Liese, so it must be different. No, I’m definitely not the type.

But still, asking her to marry me out of the blue. ...sigh. If I’m not stupid, what am I?

But when I saw Liese, I couldn't help but feel this way. Maybe it was because I was looking at Liese, who had been trying to support me healthily for two lifetimes. Was it because I had seen her trying her best and seeing her in distress?

But to Liese, who I had treated so badly?

I want to roll around from one end of the castle lawn to the other.

I even asked the prime minister to teach me a lesson. The prime minister was surprised, but politely told me. He told me what he himself thought, but without imposing his ideas. I can see now that his decision to kill the king was truly unavoidable. He thinks of his people first. I felt that keenly in my second life. That is probably why he felt limited by the royal family, who only think of themselves without regard for the increasingly impoverished people.

When I turned 10, Liese and I were officially engaged.

As a token of our engagement, I gave Liese a hair ornament. Liese smiled happily and said, "Thank you very much" and my heart rate exploded.

I studied with her as much as possible, although prince education and princess education are not the same and sometimes separate. She is smart. How come she's progressing faster than me who had two previous lives worth of experience.

It seems that this time I have the prime minister's approval. Little by little, I started to do some work. Liese even offered to help me.

"No, this is my job, I have to do it."

"It would be faster if the two of us did it together, wouldn't it?I would be in trouble if I had to do all of His Highness's work, but please let me assist some of your tasks."

What a good girl you are, Liese.

Yes, obviously that would be a problem to have her do everything. ...the first round me!

The first round me did just throw all my work to her!

"Aaaaah!"

As I plopped down at my desk remembering, I heard a concerned voice say, "Are you all right?" I'm just having a black history memory attack. Please leave me alone.

We went to church together. We played with orphans and did charity work.

When we turned fifteen, we both enrolled in the academy together.

I began carefully selecting my entourage and worked hard to raise the overall level of the school. Liese cooperated with me. Just as in my previous life, she was still making a healthy effort to support me.

To put it mildly, she is super cute.

In this life, I made a discovery for the first time.

I thought Liese was plain and quiet, but she is surprisingly active and talks a lot. And her tongue is a little sharp too.

"Your Highness."

"Call me by my name."

"Lord Klaus."

Ugh. I’m the one who told her to call me by my name, but I can't stop the musing when she does.

"You haven't finished that paperwork yet? It's time to go to the orphanage."

"Liese, you are just fast."

"I'll help you. You owe me one."

"Wait a minute. I can do it myself."

"Isn't it natural that Lord Klaus should be able to do it? It's His Highness job after all. If His Highness couldn't even do his own work and let others do it for him, he's just a fool."

"Ugh."

Unconsciously, my past wound was being gouged, and I pressed down on my aching heart.

In the end, my paperwork was stolen and quickly completed. If this is one favor, how many favors do the me from first round owe?

Liese smiles a lot now. Every time she smiles, it makes me feel as if my heart is being grabbed. Did I miss such a cute smile in the first round? I must be an idiot.

The school occasionally holds parties for students. I escorted Liese into the venue. Liese is really cute when she is dressed up. I couldn't stop loving her.

I want to punch myself from the first round being embarrassed to escort Liese. I'm sure Liese would have been embarrassed to have had to stand next to me instead.

I want to keep her by my side, but she needs time to talk with her friends. I stepped away for a moment, and I was surrounded by women. I was surrounded by women in flashy makeup and revealing dresses that showed off their voluptuous bodies. And the sweet words they churn.

It makes me want to vomit. I felt sick.

"It must be hard for Your Highness, too, isn't it? I'm sure it must be hard for Your Highness to have to live your life with someone like that, even if it's just for political reasons. If it were me, I would send His Highness to..."

"Someone like that?"

The women looked in the direction of Liese and giggled. What are you laughing at? Stop fooling around.

If it was them, what would they do?

But if it had been me for the first round, I would have smiled at that, acting like a gentleman, and hugged her around the waist...

"Aaaaah!"

I'm the one who vomits. Not just a little, but all of it.

I want to climb the walls and scream.

"Y-Your Highness?"

No, this is a party. I have to maintain my composure, even if I have a blackout.

"Liese is elegant and beautiful, isn't she? She is also hardworking and intelligent, too. You should all learn from her."

"Eh?"

"I'm telling you, don't insult my fiancée and think you'll get away with it."

I will not let these people have power.

Feeling sick, I left and turned around. Several women were looking at me dumbfounded. I also noticed the aristocrats staring blankly at me from afar.

...I wondered if they were laughing at me.

I want to dive to the bottom of the castle pond.

Liese was happily talking to a man. I think he is the second son of a duke. Not only is he good-looking, he is capable and said to be a candidate as a close aide.

Thinking that this is not funny, I took Liese and went out onto the empty balcony.

Being suddenly pulled by me, and she looked unhappy.

"Please wait, Lord Klaus, my arm, it hurts. Only the worst kind of lowlife to wield violence to a woman."

"Ugh."

In the first round I was perfect example of being violent right. I was a lowlife.

But this time isn’t violence. It was definitely not. It's Liese fault for having fun with another guy.

I'm lying, there's nothing wrong with Liese, it's all my faulttttttttttttttt.

"Do you want to stay with that guy?"

"Eh? No?"

I was relieved to hear her deny it right away, but I still couldn't get rid of this murky feeling.

"You seemed to be having a lot of fun talking to him."

"I've known him since I was a little girl because of our family connections. Rather, wasn’t Lord Klaus surrounded by women."

"I didn't want that."

I turned my head to the side. I’m being childish. I'm just jealous of him.

I know, he's probably a better guy than I am.

To Liese, I'm just a political marriage partner. She was brought up to marry the first prince and support him for the country. That's how she was raised, and she's honestly making an effort to support me as she could.

Even if that first prince is not me, she will do the same. Liese doesn't see me as a man. I grit my back teeth at this fact.

"I don't think I would ever be looked at in that way by other gentleman. I have such a figure after all. I am sorry that His Highness must be embarrassed to have to escort me, even if it is necessary."

"That can't be further from the truth."

I denied it with all my heart, but Liese only smiled weakly.

Certainly I might have thought so during the first round, I want to punch myself from that…-omitted-.

"I am grateful to you for treating me as your fiancee, even if it is a political engagement. But if Lord Klaus has someone in mind for, you do not have to mind me."

"Does that imply that I should shut up because Liese has someone she’s interested to?"

"No, that is not the case. I have given up on any kind of romantic relationship because of my figure. Lord Klaus will be able to welcome concubines one day, will you not? I will not be jealous when that happens so please."

"You should be jealous."

Liese's small eyes widened a little as she answered without pause.

"You said something along the line of ‘with this figure’, did anyone ever say anything about you?"

"Uhm, I have heard the word ugly used to refer to myself here and there, and I remember that Lord Klaus said so to me during the childhood."

"I offer my sincere apology to that and I will not say it again."

"I, too, have awareness of such. I mean, my body isn't very feminine either..."

I couldn’t stand her unyielding and yet embarrassed stance anymore so I embraced her.

Her small and slender body fits perfectly in my arms, arouses the desire to protect her. She said it's not very feminine, but her chest… I hurriedly diverted my thoughts.

"Liese, I don't know what anyone else says, I think you're, you know, pretty cute, and, uhh, beautiful…and not just for your looks, but for the fact that you're always trying so hard, that you're thoughtful and intelligent, and I like those parts of you. Don't belittle yourself."

My heart beats too loudly, and Liese probably could hear that. I cleared my throat and let out a deep breath.

"I don't need a concubine. Liese, you are all I need. So...I know you only see me as a political engagement partner, but can't you at least see me as a man?"

"What?"

Liese looked up at me from inside my arms. She looked surprised, then giggles.

"You are very kind, Lord Klaus. You don't have to be so concerned about me, you know. I would never ask you to break off our engagement unless my status is no longer necessary for Lord Klaus."

"That's not what I meant."

"You would be exhausted if you had to put up a facade to everyone. I'm sure you're enduring many things, aren't you? You should at least take it easy in front of me."

She did not believe me at all.

"If it’s about enduring, you are right. I want to kiss you right now, I want to hold you in my hand, and I want to go further..."

"Eh!"

Liese’s body tensed up. I feel sorry but at the same time I am filled with love to her.

"I'm sorry. But you have to believe me. You're the only one I feel this way to."

Liese was clearly confused. I was shocked by this, but part of me felt that it’s inevitable. I gently released Liese from my embrace and smiled.

"Don't appear so troubled, will you? I’m not planning to have you share your feelings to me today. But I will try my best to be a man who will make you turn towards me someday, so I would be very happy if you could look at me, even if it is just for a little.

But Liese just looked up at me with a blank stare. I knew she didn't believe me.

"Lord Klaus, has your eyesight gone bad? Or did you eat something strange?

"I haven't lost my eyesight, and I haven't eaten anything."

Liese looked worried and began to wonder what it was then.

Even that with that look, I really think she’s cute so I’m probably beyond help.

"I love you, Liese."

From that day on, I told her I loved her every chance I got. It took a year for her to believe me.

"Oh, um, were you serious?"

"I've been saying so for a long time."

Someone should praise me for not pushing her down when she turned bright red.

Then it took another year before Liese even started to have a little bit of feelings for me.

"I'm not quite sure, but I think I may be pining for His Highness as well."

I wish someone should praise me for not kidnapping her when she said that.

"Hey, Liese. What kind of man would you prefer... or rather, even dislike?"

"Let's see, someone who is selfish, who wields his authority around, who doesn't listen to others, arrogant, looks down on those in a weaker position, pushed his work to others without doing it himself, troublesome type, and then..."

"Ugh."

"Especially, one that despite not being able to do anything, put no effort and yet act up arrogantly. I hate them."

"Ugh."

I turn over, holding my aching chest. The blows are too strong.

Isn’t that all me from the first round? I was the one who she hated no matter how I thought go around it.

In that situation, I even said something like “attempting to get my attention” to her.

"Aaaahh!"

It's too painful. If there was a hole, I'd want to get into one. Oh, I was literally in the hole called a mine.

"Ah, it's people like Lord Klaus that I like."

I looked up with startled, and Liese giggled with a face like her prank had succeeded.

Someone should praise me for not attacking her.

That day, a graduation party was being held in the halls of the school. It was the day I broke off my engagement to Liese in the first round.

I escorted Liese through the hall. Liese is dressed in a quality dress that was custom-made for the occasion, and she is wearing light makeup. I can see now that her dress is follows the manners and with a line that is not too extravagant, and that she is mindful of the lives of the common people.

In the first round, I would not have noticed such a thing, and would have snickered at it as plain and lacking in flamboyance. I was a fool who didn't know better what I was talking about.

"I wonder if anyone is breaking off an engagement today?"

"Breaking engagement?"

I asked back with a hiccup, and Liese giggled expressively.

“I heard that it is a standard practice to break off engagements at graduation parties. Fact is, parents won’t be able to overturn anything declared here, or so I heard.”

Noble marriages emphasize the connection between households, so there are times when compatibility of the engaged partners are bad, said Liese as she laughed while I’m sweating cold bullets.

"But I don't think it's a good idea to break it off right here. Both parties are engaged because there is such importance to begin with."

"I-I know, right?"

"Well, but if the one of the involved party is so brain-deficient that he can't think about the consequences, it might be rather fortunate for the other party to be able to break it off."

"Ugh."

There are too many things that come to mind, so I can't say anything back.

"I-I’m just saying my thoughts, but there's no way Liese would break off our engagement, is there?"

"There's no way that's possible. I'm not so stupid as to ruin a graduation party for everyone without reading the atmosphere for my own reasons.

"I-I-I-I-I-I know, right?"

The idiot who ruined everyone's party...

Then such an idiot actually showed up and broke off his engagement. He caused great amount of frustration to others. Was I like that?

I want to be hit by a waterfall.

"He might be thinking that the female side is over, but I think it's the other party’s life that's over. He's probably going to be disinherited."

"Y-yes, that's right."

I gently looked away from Liese's pitying eyes.

The main characters of the engagement breaking incident have left the hall, and an indescribable atmosphere envelopes the hall. I took Liese out to where that idiot had just been and raised my voice.

"Liese!"

I was the first prince who was originally the center of attention, even if I didn't want to be. With this voice, the hall fell silent, and I felt all eyes on me. I guess they must have thought that another idiot who can’t read the air has come out again. In fact, they are not wrong.

We were standing in the opposite positions from the first round, with Liese on the top and me on the bottom.

Perhaps it was because we were talking about the broken engagement, but I could see that Liese's expression had grown tense.

"Liese, I want you to listen to me. I'm really a helpless fool. I'm that awful man you one day said you hated. I can't do anything on my own, but not only didn’t I realize that, didn’t care of others’ consideration, and I've hurt you so much."

What did you look like in the first round? How hurt and how miserable did you feel?

I ruined your life and took all you did for granted.

Nothing I can say now can save the Liese I once knew. I know it's unforgivable.

"I'm trying my best, but I'm always getting support from everyone at work. As a royalty, I am unreliable, and as a man, I am not a man of character. But I want to make the country a better place with you."

The faces of his fellow miners come to mind. They are working hard today, diving into the mountains and facing danger. I want to build a country where they can smile. I want to make a country where even orphans can learn as much as they want and get the job they want.

Together with Liese.

"I will continue to do wrong, and there may be times when you will think I am no good. But I promise to make you happy with my everything. I will definitely make you happy. That is why..."

I stepped forward and knelt down in front of Liese.

"Please marry me."

I was a fool in the first round, and I made a lot of mistakes. I made some irrevocable mistakes. I learned that in the mine and in my second round.

Fortunately, I was given one more chance to start over.

So I'm going to do everything I can to improve the country.

I know it's presumptuous of me. I know it’s too late to say so after hurting you so badly the first round. But I will never make the same mistake again. That is why.

Can you give me one more chance to make you happy?

For a while, neither Liese nor anyone else in the audience spoke a word. Only their own heartbeats were beating annoyingly.

Was it not good enough?

I looked up and saw Liese, and she looked like she was about to cry for some reason. Then she gave a few small nods and answered "Yes".

I stood up and hugged Liese.

The audience burst into thunderous applause.

"Thank you, Liese".

I whispered softly, I'm sure no one but Liese heard me.

"I'm sorry, I'm such an idiot who can’t read the room."

Liese's shoulders shook in her arms and she laughed as she muttered this.

"Then I'll be the fool with you."

Liese pushed on my chest and stretched up, and our lips met.

Even louder cheers and applause rang out in the distance.

〇〇〇

The first prince Klaus was crowned as the crown prince immediately after graduation from the academy, and half a year later, with everyone's blessing, he wed Liese, the daughter of the prime minister, who had been his fiancée from the beginning.

The happy couple's appearance at the graduation party was such that the party was transformed from a place for breaking off engagements to a place for marriage proposals.

One year after the marriage, Klaus abdicated his father, the king, prematurely and took over the throne. From this point on, the system was rapidly reformed by Klaus, who became the king, and the prime minister.

The former king and queen, who were Klaus' parents, and the willing former king's concubines, moved to a detached palace, where they lived on a strictly managed budget. They had been free to spend their lives without being conscious of money, and they complained about the inconvenient life they were now leading, but Klaus brushed it all off.

Klaus and Liese's marriage was good, and they were soon blessed with a child. After the birth of two girls in a row, an aide, concerned about the heir, suggested that they have a concubine, but Klaus did not nod his head. Not only that, but a bill was conceived to allow his daughters to succeed to the throne, which led to a dramatic increase in women's participation in society.

The birth of a third boy, however, meant that the birth of a female king was postponed for once.

By the time ten years had passed since Klaus took the throne, the lives of the common people had improved considerably, and the number of people who harbored resentment toward the royal family gradually decreased.

Whenever he had time, the king would personally visit towns and villages to see how the people were living. He was particularly interested in the mines, where he visited the mines and showing care to the workers, and even pushed aside the opposition of his entourage to enter the dangerous mines himself. With tools in his hands, the king somehow handled them as well as any skilled worker, and he surprised the workers by warning them when he found a dangerous spot.

Even after he reached a ripe old age, Klaus and Liese continued to work side by side at the office desk. The two often talked amiably during their work hours, and many times Klaus was seen holding his chest when Liese said something trivial. Klaus always took care of Liese, and Liese continued to support her husband.

Klaus always displayed the appearance of a dignified king, but sometimes he would make strange noises and scratch his head, making his aides worried. At such times, Liese would look after him with a chuckle and say, "It's an old illness."

He was praised as a great ruler and everyone bowed their heads in his presence, but for some reason, that personage could not bow his ahead to a single lone individual, the slender and petite queen. Because the queen sometimes manipulated the king so well, there are rumors being circulated that she was the real supreme authority.

After handing over the throne to his son, Klaus and Liese visited various places together under the guise of an inspection tour, spending time among the common people. It is said that they looked very peaceful together.

Klaus never had a concubine in his life and loved only Liese. Liese also never had a lover, and she looked at her husband with kind eyes.

When Liese became bedridden in old age, Klaus continued to support her until the end of her life. When her remaining time was near, Klaus held Liese's hand and never left her side.

"Liese, was I able to make you happy?

"Yes, you made me very happy."

"I see... Thank you, thank you Liese. I love you."

Only a month after Liese had ascended to heaven, Klaus also ran to be with his beloved wife.

==========================================

Author’s note:

Thanks for reading!

Thank you for reporting the typo.

TLN: Feel free to do so too. It was not short.