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LNWNCentral | Sekai no Owari no Encore/Sekai no Owari no Encore - Volume 01 - The Knight of Reincarnation/Sekai-no-Owari-no-Encore-Volume-01-The-Knight-of-Reincarnation-[Baka-Tsuki][WebToEpub]/0000_Volume_1_C...lour_Pages.txt | Volume 1 Colour Pages
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Sword Emperor Eleline
He halted the “End War” that nearly annihilated the world.
The strongest swordsman in history and the only one in history to be given the title of the “Brave Hero.”
“—We will award the title and honour of becoming the second “Brave Hero” in history to the one that finds the Encore.”
From the Chairman of the World Alliance Conference |
LNWNCentral | Sekai no Owari no Encore/Sekai no Owari no Encore - Volume 01 - The Knight of Reincarnation/Sekai-no-Owari-no-Encore-Volume-01-The-Knight-of-Reincarnation-[Baka-Tsuki][WebToEpub]/0001_Prologue_T...ealed_Girl.txt | Prologue: The Sealed Girl
The land at the end of the world.
There is nothing but wasteland as far as the eyes can see.
There isn't a trace of life and there isn't even a single blade of grass on the dried soil.
Even within the vast land of uninhabited deserts, you might find a few signs of life and a few blades of grass growing, if you looked for them. If you were to search for one, you could even find an oasis.
Then, what about this land?
The sky was covered with dim clouds and the land had no signs of life. Simply a vast wasteland littered with gravel. Except for one person—
Except for a naked girl whose flowing silver hair shone like pearls.
“…………”
She was a mysterious girl.
Her silver hair that naturally glowed even within the cloudy weather that turned day into night. And her emerald green eyes that had a deeper, yet clearer colour than any deep ocean.
That also included her gorgeous naked body.
The surface of her skin was clean like that of a new born baby. Her white skin was almost transparent. Her gorgeous body came with slim arms and legs. She also had curves befitting her age.
Her appearance was that of a fifteen or sixteen year-old girl.
However, her body is nothing next to the overwhelmingly prideful and divine impression she exudes.
“Where is this place……?”
The girl used her hand to stop her side hair from being blown away by the wind.
The clouds that covered the sky.
The cold earth that she could feel at her feet. And the endless grey horizon.
The girl looked around her mindlessly, and then—
“……Ah choo!”
—sneezed adorably.
“It’s cold! My legs are freezing, and the wind is cold! More importantly, what’s going on here? Why am I standing here naked? ……No wait, I need to calm myself and try to remember.”
The girl crossed her arm while revealing her naked body within the wasteland.
However, even if she wanted to calm herself and analyze her situation, the wind blowing around her was so noisy and strong, so cold the breeze took away her body's warmth—
“Quiet.”
The wind stopped, immediately and completely.
It stopped with the girl’s single word. The whirlwind that swirled like a bomb blast settled down as though it feared the girl.
On the other hand, the girl showed no sign of being surprised by the sudden change.
She took this as though it were a natural occurrence. She scooped up the back of her hair, behaving as if the violent wind settling down with her single roar was normal. She looked up, trying to recollect her memories.
“…………Ah. Oh yeah. I remember now.”
She sighed with her beautiful lips.
“During that battle……hmm, oh yeah, I……was sealed……”
The girl continued to look high up the sky after she muttered those words out.
However—
“If I remember now……the promise with Eleline……”
Her adorable face started turning red as if she was becoming excited.
While swinging her slim fist that was being gripped.
At the end.
“That Eleline……h……he and his promise to save me from the seal.”
The girl shouted towards the sky as loud as she could.
“I ended up escaping on my own since he hasn’t come to save me even after three-hundred years, that liaaaaaaaaaaaar!”
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LNWNCentral | Sekai no Owari no Encore/Sekai no Owari no Encore - Volume 01 - The Knight of Reincarnation/Sekai-no-Owari-no-Encore-Volume-01-The-Knight-of-Reincarnation-[Baka-Tsuki][WebToEpub]/0002_Record1_Th...y_Comrades.txt | Record.1: The Fake Brave Hero Doesn’t Have Any Comrades1
There was a title called the “Brave Hero.”
The one who made a greater achievement than the Heroes and the Braves. Due to its exaggerated meaning, it was a title no one held for a long time.
The Sword Emperor Eleline.
Until the day a man who had the calibre to receive that title within the whole of history showed up.
Unequally invincible. So powerful that he’s unparalleled. The strongest in all of history. Or he wasn't even human. Even though there were many words to describe the strength of humans, there sure weren't many words that could describe the Sword Emperor Eleline’s strength.
If you had to describe him, then it would be that he was “impossible to understand.”
He was undefeated not only against the obvious human foes, but also in hundreds of intense battle against those three superior beings—the Dragons of the Earth, the Angels of the Heaven, and the Demons of the Underworld. Even after that, he easily stopped the Great War that nearly ended the world.
That happened three-hundred years ago.
It was said that there could be no one, in both the past and the future, who would make a greater achievement than his great achievements.
No, that was what was said in the past.
“Congrats. All of you were chosen and given the chance.”
Union ceremony of the Holy Fiora Journey Academy.
On the day of the entrance ceremony for the Academy for general education, that was what the principal said to the new students, including Ren that had just enrolled, the III-Grade MASTERKnight students.
“In all of history, the title of “Brave Hero” was attained only by the Sword Emperor Eleline. Now the chance has come for all of you to attain it. I will anticipate your achievements where all of you will devote yourself to your studies in this Academy, to find comrades who you can trust, and to find the “Encore”.”
—That was two years ago. Back then, I too thought that people expected even a bit from me.
—As a new student that had passed the strict examination.
But—.
“Ren, you were ranked fifth in your class again, huh.”
……Leaving aside my good or bad grades.
……Why did he have to announce my result in such a loud voice?
Ren kept that to himself and received the sheet in silence.
“I won’t tell you to get ranked first in the whole year-level, but I would at least want you to get ranked third in your class.”
The instructor sighed purposely behind him.
“Or was your appearance the only similarity you have with the Brave Hero?”
“……!”
—My appearance has nothing to do with this. I return back to my seat while keeping the words in my throat. There were approximately ten metres to my desk, but during my way—.
“Ren-chan was almost close. He got ranked fifth again, right?”
“But there are thirty-six students per classroom, so being ranked fifth should be quite good, shouldn’t it?”
“What are you saying? He failed a year despite that. Normally, he would have moved up to the II-Grade MASTERKnight and became our senior. He’s a year older than us, you know?”
“Looks like he hasn't changed. For a guy who works so hard.”
“Shhh, Ren will hear you. Speak quietly.”
—I can hear even if all of you were to speak quietly.
—They are whispering on purpose. Except, their voices are high enough for me to hear. The whispers and laughter I could hear from all over the room. In the end, this is what they all say.
—The fake Brave Hero that only looks like the legendary Brave Hero.
Ren E Maxwell.
His light-brown hair that was cut messily and his deep-blue eyes.
His moderately handsome face which has a simple innocent expression.
His height was average among his seventeen year-old peers, though he might have a small build among the MASTERKnight students gathered at the Holy Fiora Journey Academy.
He didn’t stand out appearance-wise. But, if you were to be asked to give a single description of his trait—
The Sword Emperor Eleline.
His appearance was the only thing which resembled the famous Brave Hero.
After all, students who had seen the statute of Eleline located at the main gate would compare its appearance with that of Ren who would be walking near them.
“That’s it for last semester’s results. Any question?”
None of the thirty-six students raised their hands at the instructor’s question.
“Good. As all of you middle-rank students know, this was merely a mock battle. You can say that the promotion test taking place this winter will be your main concern.”
The instructor made a loud noise with his shoes.
“It has been two years since all of you enrolled in our Academy. Though there is one person who has been here for three years—”
—The gazes gathered at me from people around me.
……I’m already used to it. It happens all the time, after all.
Ren acted as though he hadn’t notice their gaze and looked at the textbook in his hands.
“All of you will finally be able to move onto becoming a high-rank students by passing the promotion test this winter. All of you first started as a beginning-rank students last year and were middle-rank students this year. Now you will become high-rank students and then highest-rank students, which is the final grade to graduate. Within these four years, high-rank students are the ones who can actually join a “party” and start your actual training. That will indeed be a year you cannot afford to miss in order to go out to the world to seek for the Encore. —Ren!”
“Yes.”
“The last item left behind by the Brave Hero who happens to be your ancestor. You obviously do remember when the existence of the Encore was revealed to the world, right?”
“During the autumn of the World-Age 798.”
He expected that he would be asked a question.
There wasn’t a flaw in his answer since he predicted and prepared for it.
“Two-hundred years after the death of Eleline at the young age of 26. The research team of the Royal History Laboratory announced the possibility of the existence of the Encore—the record of the war hand-written by Eleline himself. Later that year, a massive search team was formed, but they failed to find the Encore. This search-team became the model for the current “parties,” and this led to the Era of Great War for the possession of Encore which also involved the three worlds of the Heaven, the Underworld, and the Earth.”
“……Hmm.”
The instructor didn’t know what to say to Ren’s answer for a moment.
Ren then used that short time of silence to speak out his mind.
“I would also like to make one correction. This is something I have been saying for quite a while—”
Ren stood up from his chair and looked at the instructor.
“Eleline had no descendent. He traveled the world till he died from sickness at the age of 26. Not only did he not have children, he also didn’t have any siblings. I don’t belong to a family which is the direct descendant of Eleline. Even if we looked back to our family tree, our ancestor from elven generations back in the past was merely a distant relative of his.”
“It doesn’t change the fact that he was your distant ancestor, right?”
“I’m asking you to please refrain from saying things which would cause a misunderstanding. If you say “your ancestor,” that would sound like I am Eleline’s direct descendant.”
There were two misfortune the boy called Ren had.
The first is that he was born as the mirror image of the great Brave Hero.
And the second is that even though it would be considered as a distant relative of Eleline, Ren’s mother’s household was actually the distant relative of Eleline.
He was indeed a reincarnation of the Brave Hero. People around him expected a lot from him, but the reality was cruel.
—His sword-skills aren't even comparable to the Sword Emperor, and was even inferior to his peers.
—The only similarity he has is his appearance.
That was what his instructor and his classmates said to him. He had been told that even before he enrolled in the Holy Fiora Journey Academy.
The Fake Brave Hero.
That was the insulting title Ren had been given since childhood.
“The true history is that there wasn’t a single individual who could be considered Eleline’s descendent. I wasn’t born from a legitimate household that could even be compared to that Brave Hero.”
“—”
The instructor became silent and he simply twitched his eyebrows.
“Are you done? Then sit.”
“……!”
He acted as if nothing happened, so Ren sat on his chair while crunching his fist.
“Time’s up. The class is dismissed for today.”
The instructor took a glance at his golden pocket watch.
“Those who didn’t get a satisfying result for the previous test shouldn’t forget about their training. The actual thing will be a pass or fail. You will repeat a year if you can’t show your results here. Though I’m sure that all of you are aware of that.”
==========
The End War—
Even after three-hundred years, the investigation to find out the entire story of the War hadn’t progressed at all.
The only known fact was that an unknown something entered the world. It wasn’t just the humans. The Dragons, the Angels, and the Demons were also threatened by the ominous invaders. The horror of war spread everywhere including the Earth, the Heaven, and the Underworld.
The ones who stopped the invasion were the Sword Emperor Eleline and the legendary Three Great Princesses serving under him.
From the Heaven came Fear, the Angel from the highest class who received the command of the Goddess.
From the Underworld came Elise, the Demon King herself who was the master of the world deep under the ground.
From the Earth came Kyelse, the strongest Dragon Princess who was feared by both the Heaven and the Underworld.
—The Angel, the Demon, and the Dragon.
The three superior beings who represented the three world respectively. It was said that such strongest force gathered under the Sword Emperor.
From the history book Ren read, it was written that each of them had an appearance of a human and that all three of them was described as beautiful girls.
“……I’m sure this was written by a man. On top of that, it’s completely his taste.”
Ren even remembered till this day when he muttered that while he read the history book.
—Though I don’t know how much of the history was simply imagination—
Except, the fact about the Three Great Princesses who represented the three world gathered under Eleline, and that the four of them including Eleline challenged and won after an intensive battle against “something” that was invading the world was a true incident.
That victory itself was the greatest achievement of the Sword Emperor Eleline and the reason he was hailed as the Brave Hero.
……However, Eleline was no immortal.
It was said that he passed away in one of the rooms in an inn at the young age of 26 without having any children, family, or close friends. His anecdote would have ended while he had his name remained in the history as an historical person if his life ended in such a way.
The problem arose approximately two-hundred years after his death. In other words, the event that unfolded one-hundred years before the present time.
“The Encore……huh.”
Ren repeated that word vaguely as he walked through the Academy’s corridor.
—They couldn’t find it.
Among Eleline’s belongings, his belongings such as his sword, his clothing he wore for his journey, and his other belongings were found. Except, there was one thing which was supposed to be there but could never be found.
Eleline’s memoir, the “Encore.”
The memoir of the man who traveled the whole Earth, including the unexplored regions and sacred precincts, as well as Heaven and the Underworld.
Its value couldn’t simply be categorised as the relic left behind by the Brave Hero.
The only original texts that recorded the entire history of the End War. The sword-technique manual that was written by the Sword Emperor himself. It was also a world map that recorded many of the ancient ruins and the habitat of the spirits.
For example, you could salvage the rare ANCIENTS“the lost spells” from the ancient ruins, or you could also get a blessing from the powerful spirits within the sanctuary of the spirits. Most of the areas that were since ancient times considered unexplored regions and sacred precincts were also mining areas where rare metals used to create powerful weapons could be found.
On top of that, it contained detailed battle records against other beings, such as Angels, Demons, Dragons, and gigantic monsters.
—If the proper individual attains the Encore.
—The value of the information recorded within would lead that individual to seize sovereignty.
“That’s why you will become the Brave Hero if you were to find it, huh……”
He went down the stairs into the corridor on the first floor.
“The one who finds the Encore would become the second person in history to receive the title of 'Brave Hero'”.
That was officially proposed by the World Alliance Conference.
The content of the memoir recorded by Eleline would become a great treasure for humanity, and the achievement of finding it would allow one to be befitting of becoming the Brave Hero for the future generations.
The era when everyone in the world would seek to become the new Brave Hero.
Eleline’s memoir itself became known as an existence that was awaiting the coming of the new Brave Hero. Before anyone knew it, the memoir became the ENCORE“the record of the world”.
“……Though I would need to think about advancing to the next grade first.”
Ren removed from his pocket the grading report he was given back in the classroom. And then he sighed.
He was ranked “fifth” overall within the class. Amongst them, he received “first” for the written criteria and “eighth” for the practical criteria.
“I haven’t had any troubles with the written criteria since last year, but the practical criteria would be a problem.”
The promotion test are judged based on mock battles conducted between the students that were majoring in the MASTERKnight degree. You would become a high-rank student if you were to pass it. Your rank as a MASTERKnight will also be promoted from III-Grade MASTERKnight to II-Grade MASTERKnight.
And the graduation test was at the same time a promotion test to become an I-Grade MASTERKnight.
You graduate by passing that test. You could then create a new party from scratch or you could take the test to join a well-known party.
Then—
“Ren, are you done with your lectures?”
A gentle voice.
Someone had stealthily and suddenly hugged him from behind.
“H-Hey!? What are you doing, Senpai!?”
“Fufu. Guess who?”
“……Well, even if you ask me that.”
Her teasing voice.
The two soft things squashed on his back, and their incredible sensation—.
“Rather, the only one who would do this to me is you, Fear-senpai……”
“Oh my, so you knew it was me?”
She loosens her arms that she had wrapped around him. The blonde student with the highest-grades moved around in front of him.
“I was worried since you were walking with a gloomy face.”
“……I was?”
“Is there anyone else here besides you?”
The girl chuckled after she said that. Seeing her cute smile—
“I see. I’m sorry for making you worry about me. Was that my expression?”
Ren couldn’t help but also smile about it.
……She’s probably the only one.
……Who interacts with me without making a fool out of me.
Fear Nesferia.
A girl whose distinctive features were her deep blue irises and her blonde-hair with silver streaks.
She was eighteen years old and one year his senior. Her calm personality and soft smile showed that she had a more mature atmosphere than he had.
“But, you know……having you press it……against me just now is……”
“Press it against you? Oh, did I press something against you?”
She bent her body forward with a teasing smile.
Her posture forces her bosom forward; it is so dense that it would fall out from her blouse.
The one and only concern Ren had towards her was her overwhelming chest, which was lifted up with her blouse made from thin cloth. That’s because the cloth of her blouse had a shape of two mountains, and it was so large that her buttons might pop out at any second.
—The truth is, I’m having trouble keeping my eyes away.
Unlike her graceful smile, her body was too stimulating.
……The problem was that she does realize it.
……And she's teasing me on purpose.
Last summer, she made a new record that will never be broken when dozens of pure boys fainted after seeing her in her swimsuit.
“No, let’s stop talking about it. By the way, it’s rare to see you here, Senpai.”
“What do you mean?”
“For you be on the first floor at this time. You're always inside the conference room. Being the vice-president of the council, you always look busy with your work.”
“I came to check on my results.”
She pointed towards first floor main entrance after she said that.
“Whether you like it or not, if you are the student with the highest grades, your results will be released for everyone to see.”
“Ah, the public execution—”
He stopped talking there.
The senior before him bore a smile. So this means that—
“Is it okay for me to ask? Senpai, what rank did you get?”
“Like usual.”
“Ranked first again!? It can’t be! It’s unbelievable to think that you ranked first for all three of “HEALERCurer”, “MASTERKnight”, and “ARIACaster”!
“I was simply lucky. My body was in good condition during the day of the test.”
The senior-girl narrowed her eyes as if she was blushing.
—I really can’t beat this person.
Educational written test, first in her grade.
Practical battle test, first in her grade.
—I can understand if she is good at the written test. That’s because the hard work she does daily is reflected in the results.
—What needs to be pointed out is the practical test which is in the form of a battle.
In the practical test where both boys and girls are tested together, her sword-play overwhelmed boys who were majoring in the MASTERKnight’s degree, and her spell-work overwhelmed students majoring in the ARIACaster’s degree.
This was even though she was a HEALERCurer that specializes in healing and regeneration.
The almighty genius. It must be the reason why she was called the first genius since the establishment of Holy Fiora Journey Academy.
“Senpai, you sure are amazing……”
Ren honestly praised while scratching the back of his head.
“Senpai, when you finally graduate this winter, you're also thinking about whom to form a party with, right? I’m sure you have already received offers from famous parties?”
“Yes, I have received several invitations. They were from the principal’s connections.”
“I thought so! That’s amazing!”
Party — the “expeditionary force made up of courageous warriors.”
Their main missions are to travel to different locations of the world to investigate the sacred precincts and ancient ruins as well as to search for the spirits' habitats. There are also a wide range of tasks such as missions like hunting down dangerous monsters. Discovering the spirits and hunting down monsters would lead to strengthening that city’s forces. Investigating ancient ruins would lead to discovering ANCIENTS“the lost spells” and O-PARTS“the lost technologies”. Therefore the cities throughout the world support and nurture parties.
This Holy Fiora Journey Academy located in one such city. It was built as a special institute to train students who were aiming to create parties. It was a prestigious school that trained many individuals with potential.
“Then are you also after the Encore, Senpai?”
“I certainly am. That is the one thing I cannot give up on.”
She nodded with a smile.
“Though I haven’t been thinking about making a party yet.”
“……Eh?”
“This is a good opportunity. Ren, there was something I wanted to talk to you about for a while. The truth is, I will be leaving this Academy soon.”
“You’re leaving the Academy!? Eh, isn’t the graduation in winter!?”
“The results from the previous semester could be used as a quick graduation certificate. I have already submitted my withdrawal application form.”
“……You’re going to withdraw? You must be joking, Senpai.”
Even though Ren didn’t have such intentions, he blurted out his true feelings.
Withdrawing when the graduation was so close wasn’t normal.
Taking the graduation test promotes you to an I-Grade HEALERCurer and then after that you could either make your own party or take an entrance test to join a desired party.
“Why? The graduation test is almost here.”
“It’s exactly due to the reason I already said. Even leaving the Academy a day earlier to start searching for the Encore would be better.”
“……Do you have any comrades? Did you receive an unofficial offer from a famous party?”
“I don’t have any.”
She shook her head, waving her blond hair.
“It will just be me and an old friend of mine. She was finally able to break out of her seal.”
“Seal?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. You can… simply ignore what I just said.”
Fear showed a rare side of her with her bitter smile and waving of her hand.
She looked up at the ceiling as if she were yearning for something—
“The truth is, I've already had a friend in mind for a while now who will come with me to search for the Encore. She is finally able to. It is better to strike while the iron is hot.”
“Your friend…… So it really isn’t a scout from a famous party then?”
“Yes. There aren't any parties I wish to join. I certainly had the principal talking to me so long about it, but none of them satisfied me—”
“H-Hey, Senpai!? Stop!”
Ren used his hand to interrupt his senior’s words.
……That was close.
……Wouldn’t it become a serious issue if someone had heard?
The two instructors and a group of students were passing by behind them. Ren waited till he couldn’t see them anymore before breathing out.
“Hey, that was dangerous Senpai. What you just said.”
“Is it?”
“It’s because……”
While the top students around her were desperately working hard to take the entrance test to join the world famous parties, she said that those famous parties didn't satisfy her.
“I know your results, Senpai……so I do admire you. I’m not in a position where I could say anything about it and I don’t know much about your friend either. But I do think gaining experience by joining a proper party first is also important. You know, the world outside is dangerous after all.”
The End War was halted by Eleline.
However, this world doesn’t just belong to the humans.
There is a danger level of encountering huge monsters when you enter the ancient ruins and sacred precincts.
The Angels of the Heavens, the Demons of the Underworld, and the supreme rulers of the Earth, Dragons would eliminate the humans without mercy. The humans of this world were a weak species.
“Even that Brave Hero formed a party.”
“The Brave Hero?”
“I’m talking about the Sword Emperor Eleline.”
“……Oh yes, him.”
Fear made a gesture with her hand as if she just remembered.
“Oh yes, he’s called the Brave Hero now. The humans sure do act conveniently. Back then, the whole world treated him like an pariah swordsman.”
“Eh?”
“Oh no, please ignore that.”
The blonde girl shook her hand in panic which was a rare sight. But her gesture ended there since she looked at Ren with yearning.
“Let me make one correction. About my case regarding the party. Yes, if I find a party which could even rival the famous Eleline’s party, then I may want to join them.”
“? Well, that’s asking for a lot……I mean, you are talking about the legendary party right?”
Eleline Sword Emperor Brigade.
The bright and pure-white Angel—the Archangel Fear from the Heaven who was said to have a power that surpassed even the Goddess.
The dark and cloaked Empress—the Demon King Elise who was the master of the Underworld.
The girl with a shining silver hair—the strongest Dragon Princess, Kyelse, who was even feared by the Heaven and the Underworld.
The Three Great Princesses who represented the three worlds and Eleline who led such party. They stopped the End War with just the four of them. They were indeed the strongest party and was considered the best in history.
“Besides. They do say stories from the past comes with false details. We don’t know just how much of the actual story had been exaggerated.”
There were also a theory that the human MASTERKnight and ARIACaster gradually were replaced with an Angel, an Demon, and an Dragon Princess as the story was retold to people.
That was because it would make the story even more interesting.
“By the way, what do you personally think about it? Do you think the legend of Eleline was a fictional story?”
Her eyes that looked right into Ren’s eyes.
The girl called Fear.
From the girl who had the same name as the legendary Angel by coincidence.
“My honest impression is that I hope it would be true.”
Ren nodded while feeling reserved.
“When I heard that story when I was a kid, I honestly thought it was amazing.”
He innocently admired the story.
Even though he was continued to be called the fake Brave Hero, the reason Ren was receiving guidance at Holy Fiora Journey Academy as a MASTERKnight was due to being charmed by the tales of his adventurers.
“It had an interesting story. There was the strongest swordsman where the Archangel, the Demon King, and the strongest Dragon Princess traveled with him. Anyone would want to see a party like that if they did really exist. What kind of journey they had while traveling the world, just thinking about it gets me excited.”
“……I see.”
“Fear-senpai?”
“Ren, you are wonderful. You are very honest, very pure, and……”
She had a smile exactly like that of an Angel.
The girl called Fear said that with a tone of a calm adult.
“If it was a human like you—”
The alarming bell.
The one that interrupted her words was the bell that echoed throughout the Academy.
“Ah, it’s already this time? Senpai, don’t you have your usual council work?”
“It’s cancelled for today. I asked everyone since I wanted to use the conference room for my business.”
“For your personal use? So the instructor gave you permission?”
“I was ranked first in my grade for this reason.”
The vice-president of the council who made a naughty smile.
She replied as if this was all in her plan, but what was frightening was that it sounded real when it was coming from her.
“By the way, Ren. This may have been fate that we met here, so would you please do an errand for me?”
“Huh? To where?”
“When you exit the Academy from the main gate, there’s a cake shop if you walk straight through the town. I placed ordered in advance, so what’s left is for you to pick it up. I will be cleaning up the conference room during that time. I wanted to have a bit of a snack-party with my friend.”
“Sure, but I thought you couldn’t eat inside the conference room? I’m sure the instructors would snap if they caught you.”
“You don’t have to worry about that. Oh yes, and—”
Fear shook her hand.
But her eyes looked like she was teasing him and for some reason it also looked seductive.
“How about having a study session together next time as my thanks for having you do my errand? Before I leave the Academy, instead of using the classroom, let's use my room at the girl’s dormitory, okay? Your big sister would teach you many things from the basics—”
“N-No……let’s do that for another occasion!”
—It’s simply studying, so what’s with her teaching me from the basic?
Ren kept his scream inside his mouth and left the scene as if he ran away. |
LNWNCentral | Sekai no Owari no Encore/Sekai no Owari no Encore - Volume 01 - The Knight of Reincarnation/Sekai-no-Owari-no-Encore-Volume-01-The-Knight-of-Reincarnation-[Baka-Tsuki][WebToEpub]/0003_2.txt | Student’s town, Mstier.
The town was structured in a way such that the party raising institute, Holy Fiora Journey Academy, was located at its centre.
There were food and beverage stores as well as clothing stores that were used by students, including Ren. Not only was there a blacksmith factory that manufactures swords and spears, there were also a large bookstore which has all the line-ups such as the world map and monster encyclopaedia.
Near the southern-gate of the town—
“……She ordered too much.”
Ren walked through the main road while carrying the loads of bags filled with snacks with both hands.
“Eighteen puddings, three whole cakes, twenty-five profiteroles, and thirty-seven baked sweets. That Fear-senpai, what kind of big party is she planning to do……?”
When Ren saw these bags back at the shop, he felt uneasy since he didn’t know if he could carry all of them.
“Oh yeah, I heard it was going to rain from the afternoon. If it started raining right now—”
His words were interrupted.
Many screams echoed from far behind him.
“……What!?”
Ren discarded his shopping bag and turned around.
“Make your life and comrade's lives your first priority. Anything else can easily be replaced.”
This was the first time Ren thanked those three years worth of guidance of his instructor. If he was even a second too slow at throwing away the shopping bags, he would have been on the ground covered in blood.
A giant green Dragon was flapping its wings.
“A Wyvern!? Why is it in the middle of town!?”
The Dragon-species that was known as the absolute ruler of the Earth.
The one that just grazed Ren’s head and landed clearly belonged to that species.
……That was close.
……If I was too slow in turning around, I may have had my head sliced by those claws.
The training he received as a MASTERKnight. No, rather than the training, it was more like his luck. That was how unexpected this assault was.
“Is that thing about five metres in length?”
It depends on each Wyvern, but a mature Wyvern is usually seven metres long.
Even though it would be considered small among the Dragon-species, what needed to be specially noted about it was its flight speed. A Wyvern that was using its maximum velocity would be so fast that even the best sniper would have a hard time shooting it.
“But why is it here? Did it stray away from its herd and wandered in here!?”
If that was the case, its wariness would increase due to having strayed from its herd. There were many cases where its aggressive behaviour became even worse. And it broke through the town walls and entered the town.
A situation like this was rare, and the level of danger was also high.
“Who can even stop this thing……?”
Ren looked up towards the monster in front of him while muttering in astonishment.
—Just how many highest-grade students and instructors would you need to take it down?
—No, the opponent isn’t that simple.
Even if the highest-grade students came to the scene, they were merely students. They merely had experience in fighting small monsters, so the number of students that had experience in fighting a Dragon is close to none. The instructors have already retired from the parties. So you couldn’t think of a plan to defeat it.
The only thing they could do was to buy time and pray for it to leave after it gets bored.
“Even so, buying time would be……”
Even though Ren looked around him, there weren’t any parties that looked reliable.
Even though it was called a student town, a town was still a town. Most of them were civilians. The only people he could see were merchants, families of the civilians, and tourists running away.
“Dammit! Of all times, I’m the only one who had to be here!”
He drew out a dagger that was for self-defense from the attached to his belt.
The length of the blade was that of a knife. It was a weapon you didn’t need to go all the way to the weapon factory to buy it since it was purchasable in the business district, even for a civilian.
……This would only seem like a toothpick to that Dragon.
He shouldn’t think about winning or losing.
He only had to think about buying time. Until the people around him had evacuated—
“Oh, I have found a delicious looking snack at a place like this.”
It was at this time when Ren heard a dignified voice from right beside him.
“I sure am lucky to find a snack which is basically new at a place like this. Maybe this would be a good gift for Fear?”
—The bags of snacks I threw away.
—There is a silver hair girl who is standing right beside me and is staring down at the snacks.
“Hey, those are my snacks……no, that isn’t it, hey idiot, hurry and run!”
“Your snack?”
The girl turned around—
“What are you saying? The one who found these first was me. Isn’t it first come first serve?”
Emerald green eyes that had a darker colour than the sea, and her long silver hair that sparkled like a pearl.
On top of her fantasy-like colours, her face was also adorable like that of a fairy that would appear in a fairy-tale. Even though she was dressed as an adventurer, her slender body could only be described as being lovely.
But Ren was only fascinated by the girl’s appearance for just that slight moment.
“A-Anyway, you need to run! This isn’t the time for talking such thing!”
“Run? Why is there a need for me to run?”
The silver hair girl looked up at Ren while feeling unpleasant.
“To begin with, human, you called me an idiot. Who do you think I am……eh…………”
That moment, the girl stopped breathing and opened her eyes wide.
Then her small hand started shaking.
“Eh, ……eh, ……El……Elel…………”
“Pardon me?”
“Eleline, you were alive!”
The girl raised her voice and jumped towards him.
“I wanted to see you! I was looking for you this whole time! Yeah, even if you are a human, you are special. There was no way you would die simply after three-hundred years—”
“I’m saying that I don’t understand what you’re saying!”
Ren jumped while carrying the girl.
He used his whole body to prevent the girl from touching the ground and then rolled on the ground backwards.
—ROAR!
That instant, the Dragon swung down its tail and obliterated bricks of walls.
“Hurry up and run! You saw it for yourself just now. That Wyvern is too dangerous!”
“Defeat it.”
“……Huh?”
“I’m saying that you have the permission to defeat it. As long as you don’t kill it, you don’t need to hold back against my kind. That guy is an arrogant prick who had been following me this whole time even before I got here. He’s an eyesore so take it down with a single punch to his head.”
“It followed you? What does that mean—”
The meaning behind the words of the girl with the silver hair.
Before Ren could even comprehend the meaning of her words, the sound of the Wyvern stepping on the ground made Ren’s eardrum shiver.
—He’s going to step on me!
The black shadow which was above Ren’s head. The Wyvern came down at them without losing sights of its target. The moment Ren realised that, he pushed away the girl who was clinging onto him.
“You idiot, don’t just stand there, run!”
The shadow of the huge Dragon’s shadow that was coming down at him.
……I need to make it in time!
He brought out his dagger with a faint hope and also jumped to the back—
Then the impact.
Ren was overwhelmed by the merciless impact which was so strong that he couldn’t breathe. Ren was sent flying far to the rear.
“……! ……Gah! ……”
He couldn’t breathe due to the impact to his back. The reason why his vision turned red must be due to the blood pouring from his forehead. It was the cut he received when the tip of the Dragon’s claw grazed him.
……I guess……it’s alright since I’m alive, right?
……No……it doesn’t make any difference……I guess.
The dagger that was shattered from the core of the blade. His weapon that was violently shattered with ease.
He gripped his weapon where only the handle remained.
“………………Bring it, you worthless Dragon.”
Ren stood up with his body that was covered in sand.
“An……attack……like that……doesn’t work on me……even in the slightest.”
The words that was just able to come out of his throat.
He used his hand as if he was provoking the Wyvern that had its wings spread wide.
—Fake Brave Hero.
—I’m not a Brave Hero nor am I the strongest knight that can take down a Dragon by myself.
—But I can’t give in.
—I need to buy time. Until there are reinforcements from the Academy. More importantly, I need to buy enough time so the silver hair girl in front of me could escape.
“……I been telling you to……run”
His sight was covered in blood, but he could still see the silver hair girl who hadn’t ran or hid yet.
“Hurry up……I’m seriously……at my limit……”
“I got it.”
That was the time when the girl nodded as if she finally understood something.
“Don’t tell me you have a stomach ache because you ate something bad?”
“……Huh?”
“Fine then. I don’t feel good in laying a hand on my kind, but I’ll take care of this.”
Right after she said that.
The silver girl approached the Wyvern from the front carelessly for all things.
“……!? H-Hey, stop—”
“There’s no way that I, the Dragon Princess Kyelse, will be beaten by this weakling.”
Ren could see the girl’s face from the side where she was putting on a fearless smile.
Ren listened to the girl’s word as if he was dreaming.
……Dragon Princess Kyelse?
……No, wait……it can’t be. That name belongs to the one from that legendary party……
“A Dragon’s child that doesn’t even know who I am. I wonder from which valley it came from.”
The Wyvern was spreading his wings wide.
The small girl faced the giant monster by herself where she had to tilt her head up to look at it.
“And did he just make a threat right in front of me? I see, so you followed me all the way to this town because I entered your territory. Looks like your pride is the only thing that is remarkable.”
“S-Stop—”
He couldn’t say any more than that. He was losing consciousness. He had his hand full just standing there, and his hand couldn’t reach the girl’s back—
The next moment, Ren would witness a scene he wouldn’t be able to forget for the rest for his life.
“Imbecile.”
The girl leaped.
She didn’t jump. It would be more accurate to say that what she did was flight. An altitude of ten metres high. The girl who reached even higher than the Wyvern with irs wings simply said—
“Bow unsightly before me.”
The powerful gravitational field.
The intense gravity which could even compress the paved road's surface made a cavity in it instantly.
—Not only did she not allow the Wyvern to resist, she didn’t allow it respond either.
If humans were to activate a spell of the same calibre as hers, they would require a longer and more complex spell ceremony as well as mental concentration. But she did it with a few words.
Power of language.
The words that were said come to this world and take physical form. A human like Ren couldn’t even imagine just how powerful and high level the spell was.
“Hmph, cool your head for a bit down there.”
The girl who soared up the sky landed splendidly on the ground after doing a spin in mid-air.
The giant crater was drilled on the ground. After she took a glance at the Wyvern that was unconscious at the deepest part of the crater, she jumped into Ren’s arm once again.
“Eleline!”
“Again!? ……More importantly, what was that power……?”
The silver hair girl was hugging tightly onto Ren. Even if Ren tried to push her away, she doesn’t even budge an inch. Her physical strength was so strong that you couldn’t imagine it was coming from such slender body.
“Haha, you. You were alive after all! I thought it was some kind of joke when I heard that you died due to illness five years after I was sealed. Yeah, there was no way you would simply die from sickness—”
“I-I can’t breathe…… ……I’ll die……you are suffocating me……”
“……H-Hey? What’s wrong Eleline? You haven’t been acting like yourself for a while.”
The girl who had a blank face weakens the strength in her arm.
“Cough, cough……s-seriously……”
Ren answered to the girl who was looking up at him while he coughed violently.
“I’m not Eleline. Though I do get mistaken as him quite a lot. To begin with, Elline was the Brave Hero from three-hundred years ago. A human can’t live that long.”
“? Elline, did you……forget about me?”
“I didn’t know you to begin with.”
“……It can’t be.”
After the silver hair girl made a gesture where she was in her thoughts, she approached Ren. This time, she put her face on his chest. She started sniffing him like a dog.
“!? What are you doing!?”
“See? It’s Elline’s smell. There’s no way I would mistake you.”
“……E-Either way, get away from me!”
He couldn’t help but be embarrassed since a girl that could be considered an absolute beauty hugged him and then started sniffing his smell.
“I’m sorry to say this even though you seem to be confident about it, but I really am a different person.”
“……What!?”
“My name is Ren. Well, if you go up my family tree, Elline would be my ancestor’s distant relative, but he never had any children so I’m not his direct descendant or anything. I’m merely a distant relative of his. A distant descendant.”
“His descendant……you? ……Then Elline is…………”
The girl muttered vaguely. Her expression started to get gloomy.
……Why are you looking up at me with such sad eyes?
……I haven’t done anything wrong, but it pains me.
“I’m telling you that Eleline……isn’t here anymore.”
The Brave Hero died.
He couldn’t say those words. The best he could say was “he isn’t here.”
“…………”
The light disappeared from the emerald-green eyes.
The girl turned around slowly while biting her lips.
“H-Hey!”
Kyelse took a glance at Ren and simply said this.
“……Just his appearance, huh…………”
A total stranger who had the appearance of the Brave Hero but not his strength.
……Except.
Even though he received those words, Ren realised that he was so calm that it shocked him.
A total stranger. Fake Brave Hero. He received different kinds of taunts when he was compared to the legendary Brave Hero, and there was always mockery within those taunts where people were making a fool out of him.
But he couldn’t sense a slight sign of those emotions in her words.
Eleline was no longer here. The sad persuasion where she was telling herself that.
……It’s like she said it in such way.
The silver hair girl who defeated the Wyvern with ease. The back of the girl who had such overwhelming power now looked small, weak, and sad.
“H-Hey……umm…………”
He wanted to call out to her. But he couldn’t find the right words to say to her.
What Ren, who was thinking as such, witnessed was—
The girl who was dragging a giant bag full of snacks.
“Hey!? That’s mine! Are you trying to take it away while acting sad!?”
“I defeated the Wyvern on your behalf, right?”
“……Gu.”
He didn’t know how to reply back to her words.
It was certain that the safety of the residents as well as Ren still being alive was her achievement.
“……Fine. Alright, take that with you.”
He was half convinced, but he gave up for the other half. His sighed carried those two emotions. Ren shrugged his shoulder.
......I can just buy what Fear-senpai asked me to bring with my own money.
……Also, I can’t stand to look at her sad eyes.
“I’m sure it would be delicious since those snacks are from the most famous shop around here.”
“You sure are reasonable for a human.”
The smile the girl made for a slight moment.
There was a faint smile in her sad face.
The girl called Kyelse disappeared in front of Ren.
—That was the beginning.
—The beginning of the story of the boy that was called the fake Brave Hero and the legendary Dragon Princess.
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LNWNCentral | Sekai no Owari no Encore/Sekai no Owari no Encore - Volume 01 - The Knight of Reincarnation/Sekai-no-Owari-no-Encore-Volume-01-The-Knight-of-Reincarnation-[Baka-Tsuki][WebToEpub]/0004_Record2_Th...er_Student.txt | Record.2: The Dragon, the Angel, and the Master Student1
Black clouds covered the sky. The dark clouds that were just above the horizon at noon have now covered the sky above.
The light rain where the raindrops fell bit by bit.
“That was close. It started raining after all.”
It was around the time when Ren returned to the Holy Fiora Journey Academy while carrying a bag of snacks.
……An hour passed since I went for shopping.
……I’m absolutely sure Fear-senpai is waiting for me.
This all started when a Wyvern wandered into town. Luckily the wound Ren received on his forehead was minor. But his back was smashed into a wall and was crying out in intense pain.
Then—
“Yo Ren, what are those snacks for? Are you going to have a party?”
“Don’t tell me it’s a reward you are giving to yourself? A reward for getting ranked fifth within the class huh.”
On the pathway of the Academy building’s first floor. The ones standing there when Ren turned around were three of his classmates.
Ebert who was majoring in MASTERKnight.
And Shen who was majoring in ARIACaster.
“Oh, then I would also like one. I was ranked fourth so give some to me as well. Okay?”
The black hair girl called Mion who was standing between the two boys and was putting her hands forward. She was majoring in HEALERCurer, but she tilted her head when she saw Ren.
“Huh? Hey Ren, what’s with that wound? More importantly, your jacket is all torn.”
She pointed at the traces of blood on his forehead. His wound should have been easily missed since his bangs were covering it, but she must have high awareness due to majoring in HEALERCurer degree.
“Yeah, a lot happened. It isn’t a serious wound.”
I fought a Wyvern. Ren kept the words inside his throat.
There’s no point in telling them.
There were many witnesses who saw the Wyvern, but there’s no guarantee that they would believe me if I tell them that I fought a Wyvern. Though I was utterly defeated by it.
“Hmm? Do you need my healing spell? If it’s now, I can do it if for five of your snacks, so how about it?”
“No, these snacks are……”
“Don’t bother Mion. He probably got miserably defeated after someone challenged him to a duel again.”
Ebert rested his hand on Mion’s shoulder.
He’s the MASTERKnight student who was ranked first within the overall result of the test.
He was a head taller than Ren. The reach of his sword that relied on his huge body and the speed of his slashes. There would be only few high-grade students that could keep up with his sword.
As a MASTERKnight student, he was a student that would be ranked in the top ten of this Academy.
“It happens all the time. Ren losing in a mock-battle that is.”
Shen who was majoring in ARIACaster degree.
After Ebert, he was ranked second for the test. He ranked second for the written test after Ren. He also succeeded in using a high level spell for his practical which shocked even the instructors.
And the HEALERCurer Mion.
“Or were you planning to get on the instructor’s good side by handing that to him so he would give you a pass for the promotion test in winter.”
“……No.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Sorry, but——”
Ren put on a self-mockery smile while he carried the bag full of snacks.
“Leave me alone for today. I’m seriously tired. Rather, there’s no point for you guys to waste your time on me, right? The three of you are an excellent student. I honestly think so.”
“?”
He would either ignore them or respond back at them. Ebert and Shen who thought Ren would react in such way became speechless and were dumbfounded. Using that moment of silence—
“See ya. I have some business I need to take care of.”
Ren climbed up the stairs towards the second floor.
He didn’t care what the three of them who came back into their senses would be talking about. That was because there was something else going through Ren’s mind.
……Even if I tried to put the shock I had at that time into words, my brain goes blank so nothing would come out of my mouth.
……This is the first time I’m having such experience.
“That girl was really amazing……”
The girl whose strong impression was her sparkling silver hair and artistic sweet appearance.
The Dragon-species. The superior beings that were called the supreme rulers of the Earth. She defeated a Wyvern, even if it wasn’t matured, without allowing it to make a single resistance.
I’m sure it was a spell to control the gravitational field, but I have no clue what technique she used.
Spells—
The foundation of it came from the wave-motion of the power used by the high-level beings, the Demons and the Angels. That was what the humans copied it from.
Strictly speaking, only the techniques used by the humans were called “spells.” The powers of the Demons and the Angels would be categorised as “miracles” and “mysteries” that would directly affect natural phenomenon.
It was said that the Demons and the Angels started calling their powers “spells” after that as well, possibly due to finding the word amusing or finding it convenient.
“But was there even a spell like that? Not only that, it seemed like she was holding back as well......”
If I think about it now, her unflinching attitude in front of a Dragon-species was a sure sign of her confidence.
The world’s best ARIACaster?
If that was the case, the party she was affiliated with must be one of the best in the world.
“If it’s a famous party, then is it the Sword Saint Shion’s “Investigation of the Spirits?” Another party I can think of would be the “Elmekia Dusk” from the supreme metropolitan of Elmekia or the “Canaan Pilgrim, the Boat of the Sacred Teaching” if she is the highest-level of ARIACaster. If someone from such a famous party would come to this town, there would have been rumours about her before her arrival. Rather, someone from such amazing parties wouldn’t want snacks that were on the street……”
The girl with the magical atmosphere.
She didn’t look like a member of any party. That was why Ren presumed she was a civilian and tried to protect her from the Wyvern with his life.
“The beginning of Eleline’s adventure was the only one. To journey through the world alone.”
The Sword Emperor who was so strong that he didn’t need to form a party. It stayed that way till the legendary Three Great Princesses gathered under him during the End War. Until then, not a single person showed up who wanted to form a party with him.
Ren thought about the legend—
“But that girl. I’m sure she said a weird thing……”
Ren vaguely muttered as he walked up the stairs.
“Eleline, did you……forget about me?”
Brave Hero lookalike.
He couldn’t remember how many times people said that to him in the past seventeen years, but all of those were said knowing that “Ren and the Brave Hero were two different person.”
But that girl was different.
She thought Ren and Eleline were the same person.
To be more precise, she didn’t understand properly that Eleline had passed away. Or else she wouldn’t have said it in such a different way.
On top of that, she spoke as if she really knew the Brave Hero.
……Also, the name she used to introduce herself.
“There’s no way that I, the Dragon Princess Kyelse, will be beaten by this weakling”
Dragon Princess Kyelse.
What you would imagine with that name would be the girl who was one of the members of the Eleline Sword Emperor Brigade. The Princess of the “Heavenly Silver Dragons” which was the oldest Dragon-species. She was so strong that she was thought to be a mutation of her Dragon-species. The strongest monster in history that was feared by the Goddess from the Heaven and the Demon King from the Underworld.
The only opponent the Sword Emperor Eleline struggled in his battle against. On the other hand, she demonstrated her incredible strength after she joined the party led by Eleline where she contributed by using her unmeasurable power to stop the End War.
“It......can’t be.”
Her unmeasurable strength.
And her meaningful words she said when she mistook Ren as Eleline.
“No, it simply can’t be. ……For that girl......to be the legendary Dragon Princess.”
It was said that all of the Three Great Princesses died in battle during the End War.
And the truth was, there wasn’t a single person who saw them after the End War. Eleline who was the only survivor continued to travel the world and passed away without anyone seeing it.
“If that’s the case, maybe she is a member of a famous party after all? Though she looked like she was about my age.”
He headed to the fourth floor of the Academy building as he muttered.
“Ah, so no one is around here anymore.”
Unlike noon, there were basically no one present at the Academy building of the Holy Firoa Journey Academy during after-school hours.
The beginning-rank students would return home immediately to study their educational subjects.
If you become middle-rank and high-rank students, you would polish your battle skills such as swordsmanship or spells with your club.
The highest-rank student would be busy finding partners whom they could form a party with. Those with high grades would be scouted by famous parties, and there would be times when they would leave the student town in order to take the test.
“Umm, Fear-senpai’s conference room is—”
The council—
The committee that handled all of the Academy’s event throughout the year as well as protecting the public moral and rules of the Academy.
You could only be a member through the recommendation of an instructor. Though the members were always the ones who had good grades at the Academy. You could say it was natural for Fear to be chosen.
“……Ah, these are heavy. I don’t have any strength left in my arm.”
He turned left onto the passage at the fourth floor and walked ahead.
He observed through the window to see the dull weather outside where it was still raining outside. He walked towards the room at the end—
“Kyelse, I see that you are also planning to find the Encore.”
It was around then when Ren heard a familiar voice from the other side of the door.
……Fear-senpai?
“The last item he left behind. Do you happen to know its whereabouts?”
“I do have several clues.”
The one who answered her question had a younger voice compared to Fear. The voice which sounded beautiful like a ringed bell also carried her strong will—
……Is it the girl from earlier!?
The silver hair girl who defeated the Wyvern with a single attack. It was a sound he heard just before so there was no way he would mistake it.
“Nevertheless, what is your thought on whether it really exists in the first place?”
Fear’s calmed voice.
“You, me, and even Elise. None of us that saw Eleline taking notes during our journey. It may be a story that the humans made up.”
“That man certainly had time to write the Encore. It was when we were absent.”
The voice that was filled with strength belonged to the silver hair girl.
“The five years void. ……Between the time when the End War ended and Eleline’s death. We certainly don’t know what he was doing during that time. All three of us received fatal wounds so we had our hands full trying to maintain our existence.”
“By the way, are we considered dead among the humans?”
“We sure are. It was just a month ago when you broke free from the seal. We didn’t appear here on Earth since both Elise and I were at the Heaven and the Underworld respectively to heal ourselves. I think it was natural for them to think so.”
The one who said it with bitterness was Fear.
“Kyelse, just how much of it do you remember?”
“Me? Well, I remember till the part where you first had your right leg and left shoulder blown off and then received an attack to your torso which was so serious that it could have destroyed your existence. Did you exchange fatal blows with the enemy?”
“Yes. Also, Elise had her whole body disassembled after being dragged into the enemy’s technique. In her case, she chose the right choice to give up in repairing her body and instead choosing the option to use the reincarnation spell.”
“I heard Elise succeeded in reincarnating herself.”
“That’s correct. She was finally able to do it ten years ago. The former Demon King would be exactly ten years old this year.”
“Pathetic. And both of you call yourselves the strongest Archangel in Heaven and the Demon King of that time respectively huh. I was basically unscratched till I had myself sealed away.”
“You were just too powerful. You are basically invincible with just your breath.”
Fear sighed along with her smile where she had an astonished face.
Ren listened to the conversation of the two from behind the door.
“…………It can’t be……”
Ren was about to drop the bag of snacks he was carrying on the floor by accident.
He realised that he could feel chills on his back due to the shock.
……It can’t……be……
……Fear-senpai……is actually that legendary……
Ren could still remember clearly the day when she spoke to him who was isolated from his class.
“What do you personally think about it? Do you think the legend of Eleline was a fictional story?”
The Archangel Fear.
In one legend, it is said that she was the strongest Angel in Heaven whose power even surpassed that of the Goddess Resflaze.
However, this explained everything.
Despite being a HEALERCurer, she demonstrated better swordsmanship than the MASTERKnight student boys. Even with her offensive spells, she showed great performance where not only the ARIACaster students, but even the instructor became speechless. If her true identity was the legendary Archangel, then she must have displayed this much result while holding back.
—To begin with, her name Fear also explains it.
—She had no intention of hiding it. She had been revealing her true identity to everyone from the start.
Was it excitement or nervousness?
Ren himself didn’t know the reason for the chills he could feel on his whole body.
“……They weren’t dead. Both the Archangel Fear and Dragon Princess Kyelse……”
The proper meaning of the term reincarnated was still vague, but at this rate, the chances of Elise who was the Demon King at that time being alive was high. Obviously the chances of their discussion being misheard was high as well. For example, if other student than myself heard this, they wouldn’t believe it so easily. Their discussions were too hard to believe.
……Except for myself.
……That’s because I saw that girl called Kyelse defeating the Wyvern the closest.
The appearance of her back then was so lovely and magical. And also—
“So you followed me all the way to this town because I entered your territory.”
If the girl called Kyelse was actually the legendary Dragon Princess, it could explain why the Wyvern assaulted this town.
Kyelse who entered its territory while she was on her way here.
The Wyvern must had been enraged and followed her.
To sum it up——
If both of them were the Archangel Fear and Dragon Princess Kyelse respectively, it would explain their inhuman strength and all of their mysterious words.
“Either way, I am still interested in the so-called Encore.”
Fear’s voice.
Her voice which would make you imagine the murmuring of the brook, yet it also sounded simple.
“Just what did Eleline seek by traveling through the world after the End War? The five years before he passed away from sickness. Maybe there was something he wanted to tell us who were his comrades.”
The lonely Sword Emperor. Even after he ended the End War while having the Three Great Princesses from the Heaven, the Underworld, and the Earth serve with him, it was said that he continued to journey even by himself.
Despite the fact that he carried a disease which would kill him. He continued his journey for a reason.
“That’s why I will find the Encore, before the rest of the people in this world.”
The silver hair girl’s voice.
Even though her voice was weak, it was full with purity that would never be tainted.
—The importance for the reason for her to seek for the Encore was on another level.
All the parties in the world as well as the students in this Academy only saw the Encore as a tool which would allow them to attain the title of the “Brave Hero.”
But these girls are different. For them who traveled with the famous Brave Hero, the Encore was genuinely the last thing left by the now deceased Eleline, and it was also an important memory of him. And they believe that finding it would be the last parting gift they could do as his former comrades.
The imagine of those two searching for the Encore was simply pure and beautiful.
“…………”
Ren had been gripping his hand tightly without realising it.
……So that’s how it was.
……What Fear-senpai said about leaving the Academy before her graduation to find the Encore.
Her former comrade, the Dragon Princess Kyelse, woke up from her seal.
That was why she no longer had to remain at this Academy. She certainly didn’t. That was because the girl called Fear already had a comrade who she would journey with from a long time ago.
“Well, let’s end the serious discussion here.”
The sound of the chair that had been moved.
Fear must had moved the big conference desk and the chair inside the conference room.
“Let’s stop talking while standing. Let’s calm ourselves by sitting down and talking about the current circumstances.”
The sound of the bag of snacks which had been placed on the table followed.
“And that is?”
“I picked it up from the street. I was about to fight over this with a human, but he was a nice fellow who decided to give all of this to me.”
Lies!
You tried to take it without talking about it—Ren kept the words from coming out of his mouth and stayed quiet.
“……Excuse me but isn’t that the snacks I asked Ren to bring?”
“Ren?”
“It isn’t my mistake if there are eighteen puddings, three whole cakes, twenty-five profiterole, and thirty-seven baked sweets inside it. I decided to prepare it for today.”
“The quantity is exact.”
“I knew it. No wonder Ren is late. He might have returned to buy the same snacks again. I need to apologise to him afterwards.”
“……Ren? Who is this person you have been mentioning since earlier?”
After several pauses.
The silver hair girl then released a shocked voice.
“Oh yeah. Putting someone who I don’t even know aside. Listen up Fear! I mentioned it before, but I saw a human who looks exactly like Eleline that I mistook him for Eleline!”
“That’s why I’m saying that the person you are talking about is Ren.”
Fear then chuckled.
“He’s the same student at this Academy as I am. He’s a seventeen years old middle-rank student who is majoring in MASTERKnight degree.”
“A MASTERKnight huh. Then he’s starting to resemble Eleline even more.”
—HEARTBEAT
The words that came out of the two girls without meaning it. He resembles Eleline——even though it was words Ren had heard many times, he realised that his heart skipped a beat that it hurts so much when the girls said that.
……No. I’m not anything like him.
……I’m not someone so great who could be compared to the Brave Hero.
He hadn’t passed the promotion test and even repeated a year as an III-Grade MASTERKnight.
Even with the Wyvern before, Ren couldn’t even graze him, though it could be said the Wyvern was out of his league.
“That human called Ren had the same smell as Eleline……”
The silver hair girl’s voice echoed.
“In cases where humans have resembling appearance and figure, then it could be thought that the human’s biological structure and functions are similar as well.”
“It’s different.”
She denied it by shaking her head to the side—and Ren could easily imagine such scene happening from the other side of the door.
“I’m not talking about a simple features such as his appearance and smell. It was deeper……there was a certain something he resembled him in. Or else I wouldn’t have mistaken him as Eleline.”
“Indeed. Well, the truth is, I came down to Earth because I became curious about him.”
“……Is that why you entered the human’s Academy?”
“Yes. I wanted to ‘observe’ Ren from up-close. I enrolled in this Academy as one-year his senior, but Ren repeated a year and failed to become a high-rank student and remained as a middle-rank student. I’m a highest-rank student so I’m currently two years his senior.”
“He repeated a year?”
Kyelse responded with a puzzled tone.
“He was marked with a stamp of lacking in strength as a MASTERKnight student. Ren enrolled as a student who wanted to major in MASTERKnight degree, but he failed in his promotion test. There are obviously several students who fails the test every year, but it’s still rare if you see it with a broad perspective.”
“I see. That’s why he panicked so much in front of the Wyvern's strength huh.”
“So then, what is your opinion after seeing Ren up-close?”
“……I don’t know. Except, it felt as if I was thrown into reality. It felt like I woke up from a dream after knowing that Eleline is no longer here.”
It was clearly the legendary Dragon Princess’ true feeling that was expressed with a weak voice.
“Was it because Ren is weak?”
“No, it’s because Eleline was too strong. That man was truly an embodiment of absolute strength. I learned that a human like him won’t appear ever again in this world. That’s how I felt.”
“……I’m sure Ren has potential. At least from my perspective.”
Fear continued with a calm and gentle tone.
“I mentioned it before, but my reason for descending down to Earth was simple. Since the damage I received in that battle had been healed for the time being, I noticed there was a human down on Earth who resembled Eleline. So I became interested in him. And I decided to check up on him.”
“……The possibility for him being Eleline’s reincarnation?”
“No. Strictly speaking, ‘reincarnation’ is a hidden technique that only Demons are capable of using. Except, there was a chance for Ren to unleash a trait similar to Eleline if we talk in terms of heredity. In other words, inheriting Eleline’s unpredictable strength. ……But that wasn’t the case. The power didn't appearing in Ren the way I hypothesised and Ren’s resemblance to Eleline was really a coincidence.”
“I thought so. If he really did inherit Eleline’s power, he wouldn’t struggle against a Wyvern.”
“But—”
After she took a deep breath.
After she ended her words as if there was more to it, Fear’s voice echoed once again.
“I actually could have returned to the Heaven after my observation of him ended. Except, ……this was something which I also didn’t expect, but I thought it won’t be a bad idea to stay in this Academy a bit longer.”
“For what reason?”
“I wanted to continue watching Ren a bit longer. Maybe I should say that I wanted to cheer him on. If I didn’t find out about you breaking from the seal, I would have stayed with him till my graduation.”
“Cheer him on? For what reason?”
“His earnest desire to improve himself more than anyone.”
There was an emotion of affection within the voice of the girl who gave that answer.
“He and Eleline are different. I’m sure Ren is the one who understands that the most. His talent in using sword is poor and he wasn’t really born with a blessed body. But his heart doesn’t break from the laughter of those around him and I have seen him working harder than anyone every day. As an Angel, the ‘virtues’ of such human makes us want to cheer them on.”
“Seriously. Someone who happens to be an Archangel is acting like a human?”
“There are many Angels who takes a liking to humans, and since I’m one of them, it isn’t difficult living on Earth you know? Instead I can’t help but enjoy it. Just how far the boy who has been called the fake Brave Hero would go? I started to wish to watch over him.”
“…………!”
The bag of snacks that gets dropped from Ren’s arms.
Ren discarded the instinct to pick them up and instead ran through the passage in a daze.
—Due to the impulse.
—Even before I can become aware of it, my body couldn’t stop moving.
“What am I doing!?”
He couldn’t speak.
It felt like I had a lot of cold water splashed on my pattern of thoughts that had heated up.
……Yeah, it’s exactly what Fear-senpai said.
……It’s not the time for me to stay here and listen to their discussion. There’s so much things I need to do.
I’m no Brave Hero. What I share in common is simply my appearance. I did get looked down by my seniors and juniors, but I still continued to do my best.
That’s because I also wanted to journey into the outside world.
One day, I want to look at the horizon of this world that the famous Eleline and the legendary Three Great Princesses once arrived at.
“If that’s the case, it’s obvious what I need to do!”
What I should be doing isn’t just standing here. In order to catch up to my peers even a day earlier, I must continue working hard.
That’s why the place I was heading toward is—
==========
The footsteps that was getting further away.
“……So, who was the one who had been there since earlier? The one who was eavesdropping on us.”
She held a fork in her hand and a single whole cake was in front of her. The silver hair Dragon Princess—Kyelse, looked towards the door which was connected to the pathway.
There was one human who was listening to them.
She sensed his presence but she decided to ignore him since she thought she didn’t need to go to the extent to chase him away.
There wouldn’t be any human who would believe their story since it would be an astounding story to them. Kyelse also wouldn’t be troubled by it even if someone were to cause a stir. Likewise for Fear who was sitting on the sofa opposite to Kyelse. Fear was putting on her usual smile while pouring tea inside the cups.
“Does it bother you?”
Fear said it while handing the tea-cup with steam arising to Kyelse.
“This is rare. For you to be curious about a human’s movement.”
“Are you okay with it as well? As far as it goes, you are living here while acting like a human.”
“I’m okay with it. You woke up from the seal, and you have also decided to find the Encore with me. I have already sent the application to withdraw from the Academy.”
“Well, I don’t mind if you are okay with it.”
Kyelse didn’t move while she held a fork in her hand and while having the cake in front of her.
—The uncomfortable feeling.
Kyelse became curious right at the time when the presence of someone behind the door was getting further away.
The one who was there should have left right away if he wasn’t interested in their discussion. Listening to their discussion till here means that he was interested about their discussion.
Then why did he leave without listening till the end?
He was eavesdropping on their discussion, but he ran with all his might while he forgot to get rid of the sound of his footsteps. He basically ran as if he was asking to be found out by them.
……And the smell of this human?
“Fear.”
“Very well. If you are really curious, Kyelse, let’s have a look.”
The blonde Archangel walked to the door of the conference room.
Kyelse followed right after her. She peeked outside from the door Fear opened—
“……Isn’t that the guy from earlier?”
Exactly at that time, she saw a boy with light-brown hair climbing down the stairs at the corner of the passage. She only saw him for an instant, but there was no mistake it was him.
“It was Ren after all. Look, these snacks. He bought them again. I feel bad for having him buy them again.”
Fear picked up the bag of snacks that had been left at the pathway.
“…………”
“Kyelse? What’s wrong? Why are you so quiet?”
“I’ve been bothered about it since earlier.”
In the pathway, there wasn’t a single person.
Kyelse continued while pointing towards the direction the boy disappeared to.
“You said that the guy earlier was the fake Brave Hero. What’s the meaning of that?”
“It’s basically Ren’s nickname at this Academy. Though it isn’t used in a good way.”
Fear sighed along with her breath.
“Ren is famous for being identical to the ElelineBrave Hero. Did you see the bronze statue of Eleline which is placed at the main-gate of this Academy?”
“I did. There was a similar bronze statue at the gate of this town.”
“Yes. Since Ren resembles him so much, it’s common for people who walk past him to turn around and look at him. The portrait of Eleline is printed on the humans’ history textbook.”
“And?”
“He always gets compared to the Brave Hero because of that. His strength as a MASTERKnight is enough to be awarded with a passing mark, and his educational knowledge is splendid. Except, the person who he is getting compared to is extraordinary so he gets rated low with injustice.”
“……To be compared to an extraordinary great man, huh.”
Kyelse herself also mistook Ren for the Brave Hero, and it was also true that she doubted Ren’s strength.
But that was because she mistook him as the real Eleline. She wouldn’t have thought so even in the slightest if she knew they were different people.
The individual difference.
It definitely exists even among Angels, Dragons, and Demons. There certainly were different roles for each individual depending on what they were good at and what they were bad at. But you wouldn’t get shunned simply for that reason.
“You say that he’s being called the fake Brave Hero, but does Ren have a problem where people would have to insult him as such?”
“No.”
Fear’s voice was clear and there wasn’t even a slight hesitation in her words.
“Ren works hard. He certainly was ranked basically the lowest among the MASTERKnight students back when he just enrolled into this Academy for his stamina and swordsmanship. He could have climbed up to be ranked between the mid-tier and top-tier in his class in a matter of a year.”
“Yet he still couldn’t advance?”
“The promotion test would be a mock-battle between students that majors in the MASTERKnight degree. And his opponent ended up being the MASTERKnight student who was the strongest in his year-level. As a result, Ren lost without being able to do anything last year which led him to failing it.”
You couldn’t use the excuse that your opponent was out of your league nor was there such thing like a retest.
When you form a party to travel the world, you would need to be prepared that you might have to face gigantic monsters, Dragons, and Demons. It wasn’t a world where you could survive simply because you had to face a strong opponent. The failing procedure of the promotion test was organised to have you experience such cruel reality.
“However, Ren challenged the same opponent again this summer. It was simply an unofficial duel, but he wanted to do it to see the result of his hard work.”
“And the result?”
“Ren’s consecutive defeat. However, this time he was defeated in a battle where you had to win three times first and Ren managed to win twice before losing. I was there to watch that match back then and Ren showed a rare sight of being happy about it. He had been practicing his swordsmanship the whole time. He remained at the training area till late at night when everyone had gone to sleep.”
“…………”
“But the opinions of those around him still isn’t that positive. The result of his match was defeat so he wasn’t able to get rid of the disgraceful title of fake Brave Hero. As a result, he’s still isolated in his class.”
“……Then won’t he have a hard time finding the people who he wants to form a party with?”
“Exactly. He probably won’t find one. At least in this Academy, that will be quite hard. Since he’s still an III-Grade MASTERKnight, you won’t be able to find any parties that will welcome him into their midst. ……Speaking of which, this sure isn’t the topic we should be discussing about at the corridor. Let’s return to the conference room.”
Fear turned back after picking up the bag of snacks with ease. Kyelse also followed her who entered the room which had the door still opened.
“Are you thinking?”
“I remembered when I first met Eleline.”
Kyelse looked up the ceiling while she was leaning against the door.
……He was the only one.
……The only one who confronted me when not just humans, but even Angels and Demons feared me.
Since the day she was born, Kyelse surpassed all kinds of Dragons and became the strongest.
She was so strong that her fellow Dragon-species feared her and thought she was a mutation. She was feared that she might break the power-balance between the three sides of Angels, Demons, and Dragons. Even the Goddess from the Heaven and the Demon King of the Underworld regarded her as a threat.
Even though she was regarded as a threat, Kyelse didn’t care about it.
She didn’t care. She realised that even the forces of the Heaven and the Underworld wouldn’t be a threat to her.
For the Dragon Princess—
The only one who understood her who was isolated from others due to being too powerful wasn’t her fellow Dragons nor the Angels and Demons that were also called the superior beings.
“Eleline. Eleline E Maxwell.”
The first person she ever met who was her equal.
The one and the only person who talked to her like a friend instead of being afraid of her was a human swordsman who she thought were beings she could simply ignore.
“The population of humans is high in exchange for their fragile body. I also know that there are a variety of individuals.”
Her small fist.
Kyelse stared at her hand that she made it appear like a human’s and then chuckled.
“Fear, I don’t know much about humans as you do, but it’s natural for humans to be weak from birth. Eleline was just an exception and Ren’s strength is closer to that of actual humans, right?”
“It sure is. That is one truth which hasn’t changed while you were sealed for three-hundred years. And I mentioned it before, but Ren is clearly getting stronger. It’s just that those around him aren’t trying to acknowledge it.”
The silver hair girl closed her lips and became silent.
After a while, the princess of the Dragons stared at Fear’s face with an angry expression.
“……So they don’t want to acknowledge him?”
“That may be the part of it. Rejecting others would lead to having yourself rated relatively higher in comparison. In that regard, Ren would be a good target, due to his appearance and his blood that makes him a distant relative of the Brave Hero.”
“And this is happening even now?”
“Yes. There are numerous students every year who are sent out from this Academy to join worldwide famous parties. Those who are related to royal bloodlines and has excellent students as their friends already have their own faction within this Academy which is full of such excellent students. So the more powerful such groups are, the more they tend to be harsh to Ren. You could even see how bad he was treated when he just enrolled when he received unfair reputations and false rumours. To be honest, I’m amazed Ren endured it for the past three years.”
“So that’s why there aren’t those who would form a party with him……”
The mountains of snacks placed on the table in front of her.
Kyelse chucked one of the baked sweets inside her mouth and then puts on a disgusted expression.
……It’s so sweet inside my mouth.
……But why is such bitter emotion piling inside me?
The girl who was alone because she was feared as the strongest Dragon.
And there was another individual here, a boy who was isolated from others by being called the fake Brave Hero due to having a strong resemblance to the great Brave Hero.
……I……
……Am I seeing my past self……in Ren’s present……?
“Yes. That’s why—”
Fear touched the glass window with her finger. While she stared at the scenery where there were many raindrops falling, this was what the blonde girl said with a calm voice.
“We would need someone who would accept Ren from the bottom from their heart.”
“……Accept him?”
“Yes. Kyelse, this is what you told me. That the Wyvern entered the town and that Ren protected you back then."
“And?”
“At that time, do you think he protected you while thinking he could defeat it?”
“……………………Bring it, you worthless Dragon.”
At first, Kyelse completely mistook Ren as Eleline.
That was why she didn’t doubt those words Ren said back then. She didn’t think that man who had great and unrivaled strength would receive any damage from the Wyvern’s attack.
But now she realised it was her mistake.
—The desperate threat.
—It was indeed a provocation which the weak would say to the strong when they prepare for death.
“You are telling me he was protecting me while preparing for death……!?”
“Humans are weak beings. It’s not like they have a strong life force, and their life-span is roughly about dozens of years long. Even that Eleline died with sickness without reaching the age of thirty. For a weak human to confront the Wyvern, just imagine how much resolution he had back then.”
“…………”
“Kyelse, don’t you feel like you want to put yourself on the line for this fated meeting we had once again?”
“Fated meeting?”
“In the past, you were alone due to being too powerful, but later you became a member of the legendary party which was led by a human who would later be known as the Brave Hero.”
The blonde girl stared at the pouring rain and said it while showing her back.
“For that reason, this will be your turn. Don’t you think it should be your turn to lead the lonely fake Brave Hero?”
“! Are you suggesting me to form a party with Ren……?”
The Dragon Princess who was once saved by the Brave Hero would this time create a party and lead the fake Brave Hero.
The time to invite him on the journey to find the Encore.
“Fear, was the reason why you chose this place for our long reunion was to……”
“Though the Wyvern assaulting Ren wasn’t part of my plan.”
She chuckled and showed a beautiful smile.
“Kyelse, there’s something I want to show you. What the boy called Ren looks like—”
And then.
The blonde Archangel pointed towards the other side of the pouring rain.
==========
Heavy rain.
The sky was covered in black storm clouds, and the wind that it blew was also cold. The poured down to the Earth together with the many raindrops.
While he was getting soaked by freezing cold water—
“One more time……”
Ren simply continued to swing his thin sword.
He couldn’t feel the tip of his fingers anymore. Due to the coldness of the heavy rain and the weight of the sword he had been gripping on to, his fingers had turned numb and cold.
It wasn’t the result of talent or training. It was something possible only through his pure tenacity.
—The training area at night.
There wasn’t a roof that would block the wind and the rain, nor was there any lights to aid his sight.
This was done assuming the time when you would travel to the world as a party. There might be a time when you would encounter a monster on the street at night, and there might also be a situation where you would get assaulted by a Dragon in the rain. The practice area that was made to prepare for the worst situation.
……However, that simply meant that you could “also do those sorts of training.”
If it started raining, it would be important to go home and build your knowledge by reading textbooks.
You could also say that a battle training under the rain or snow were done quite commonly under the training supervised by the instructors. So it wasn’t necessary to do your own training under such situation.
Pouring rain.
It was late at night when everyone should have been asleep. He continued to swing his sword without taking any break, so he was soaked wet by the cold water. It was more than tenacity; you could even call it madness.
“Even so!”
Many rain drops were pouring.
He swung his sword while staring at one drop of rain.
“I won’t be able to catch up to anyone if I don’t do this!”
Flash. The tip of the sword he had just swung takes down the raindrop.
“……Haa......h……a......h……”
He stabbed the sword into the ground.
He bended his body in a right-angle shape due to the total exhaustion.
……I, I cannot become anyone other than myself.
……What’s wrong with being weak right now? I simply have to get stronger for that loss.
“I……”
I didn’t want to die while continued to be called the fake Brave Hero.
But I also don’t have any desire to become the Brave Hero just in order to make everyone recognise me.
“I simply admired it. A simple reason like that should be alright. I’m a man after all……”
The legend of Eleline——
How I admired his story when I was told about it as a kid.
I also want to find comrades whom I can trust and travel around the world with as I desire.
I want to see the horizon of the new world I have yet to see. I enrolled in the Holy Fiora Journey Academy which was far away from home by begging my parents because I had such dreams.
“The three years were painful. But I’m glad I came here.”
He stood up by using the sword to support himself. Ren had a slight smile on his expression.
“So the legend was real……”
Eleline Sword Emperor Brigade. The Brave Hero and the Three Great Princesses who supported him.
……So they really did exist.
Ren himself also had some suspicions as to whether the legend from three-hundred years ago was real. That the legend might be an anecdote from the past that had been exaggerated. That the legend was a story made due to the strong desire of wanting to become the Brave Hero.
But he certainly saw it.
Dragon Princess Kyelse’s overwhelmingly strong and lovely action.
“Amazing. Truly amazing is the only word I can say.”
Will I reach that height if I continue to work hard?
Will I be able to form a party with a comrade like her if I continue to work hard?
Then—
Suddenly there was light lit on Ren’s shoulder which was wet by the rain.
“You……”
The small spirit of fire. It had the size of a firefly. It appeared like a luminous body which simply gave faint red light, but it was no doubt a type of spirit.
[—————]
The nameless small spirit of fire gave a strong light for an instant.
That moment, the area around Ren’s shoulder which was supposed to be wet gets enveloped by a warm wind.
“Are you……worried about me?”
The luminous body which lightly floated in the air.
Spirits were rare species which was full of mysteries.
They usually hid themselves away from humans at the sacred precincts, but this spirit had been attached to Ren since some time ago. For Ren, it felt like a kitten he found by chance was being emotionally attached to him.
……Maybe this guy is also alone?
……As if he could answer even if I asked.
It appeared without any warning and starts to float around Ren where it would eventually disappear.
“Alright, I get it. Thanks, but I’m alright. You would catch a cold if you stay here under such cold rain.”
He didn’t even know if his words got through to the spirit.
But soon as Ren said that, the luminous body stopped flashing. It froze in mid-air and then disappeared with the night sky after it released a glow. After he sent the spirit off,
“……The one who catches a cold would be enough with just me.”
Ren pulled the sword from the ground while he had a faint smile on his face.
I can still move. I can’t feel my hands anymore but I have enough strength to hold my sword.
“One more time!”
The empty space where there was nothing ahead was Ren’s sparring partner. Simply by using the pouring rain that made some trail as his opponent, Ren just kept on swinging his sword. He pierced with his sword. He swung with his sword. Just how long had Ren been doing this?
“…………A…………”
Ren’s knee lost its balance so he knelt on the spot.
He tried to put his hand on the ground.
But he didn’t have the energy to even do that. So Ren fell to the ground on his head.
“Ha, haha……”
As he felt the cold mud on him, what came out from his mouth was dry laughter directed to himself.
……I sure look pathetic.
……It couldn’t be helped if I continue to get called the fake Brave Hero no matter what at this rate.
He used all of the strength in his body to get on his knee.
But his body couldn’t move more than that. He couldn’t stand or hold the sword, so he simply got wet by the rain in a daze—
“Stand up.”
It was that time when he heard the girl’s voice.
“!?”
She stood at a distance where he could reach out to her.
Ren forgot to breathe when he saw the girl’s beautiful appearance. He simply opened his eyes wide.
……It can’t be.
……Why……is this girl in front of me?
The girl who had her shining silver hair flowing.
Her mysterious emerald-green eyes. Her eyes which gave a noble and lovely impression despite her having a small body.
“Ren.”
“! Why do you know my name?”
“I heard it from Fear. I heard that you trained hard every night over here.”
The Dragon Princess Kyelse.
One of the members of the party which was led by Eleline and also the strongest Dragon on Earth. Why was a girl like here—
“……I’m sorry for what happened at noon.”
She bowed her head.
Even though she wasn’t used to doing this, this was clearly a proof of her showing her apology.
“You looked too much like Eleline……so I was confused. Forgive me. You certainly look like him appearance-wise, but I tried my best to understand that you and Eleline are different persons.”
She bent her body casually. She didn’t even care if her hand was covered in mud. What she picked up was the sword Ren dropped on the ground.
“Do you want to come with me?”
Just that one phrase.
Ren wasn’t able to comprehend that one phrase right away.
“……Eh? H-Hey……what do you mean?”
The girl who looked straight at him.
She looked at him with her jade-coloured eyes which had strong will in them——
“You are you. I won’t tell you to be strong from the beginning like Eleline. However, if you desire it, then I can teach you all of the Sword Emperor’s sword techniques I can remember.”
“H-Hold on a sec! What—”
“I won’t tell you to be strong from the beginning, nor will I tell you to suddenly become strong. But don’t forget the strong spirit you showed when you protected me and challenged the Wyvern. That is the only requirement I ask from you to form a party with me.”
Party.
Hearing that word, Ren finally realised what the girl was trying to say.
“……Me and you? But isn’t it decided that you are……going to search for the Encore together with Fear-senpai—?”
“Yeah. That’s why you have to decide. Will you stay in this Academy or will you travel the world with me?”
Under the pouring rain, the girl stood slowly.
Just one word—
“How long are you planning to make me wait?”
The girl showed a fearless smile to Ren who was kneeling on the ground.
“!”
“Or do you need my help in standing up?”
The question from the Dragon Princess Kyelse.
To her words which could be taken as provocation, the answer the boy who was called the fake Brave Hero was simple.
“……No.”
“Hmm?”
“I’m……telling to……shut up……and watch……”
He put strength in his leg which was shaking. He bit down hard enough to crack his molars. He put so much strength into his fist that his nail dug into his skin. Ren stood up slowly.
—In desperation.
—Instead of his stamina which had already ran out, what moved Ren was exaltation which heated up his whole body.
It was the first time.
That anyone spoke to someone like me.
If this came from the students around me, I would have thought that they were joking. But the eyes of the silver hair girl had a light filled with strong will that didn’t make me think that she was joking.
“…………I will go.”
Even though he was breathing heavily, Ren certainly did say that.
“I will also go to the world outside together with you. ……Though it won’t sound cool while I’m covered in mud like this, I had always dreamed about it. I want to travel and see the world outside till the end.”
“Seriously. Your appearance sure is unsightly.”
The girl front of him made a deep sigh.
However, in her eyes, there was charm that she didn’t show before.
“……But being covered in mud really suits you. Here.”
The sword covered in mud. The girl handed the sword to Ren.
Seeing her action up-close, Ren noticed the subtle change in the girl.
“……Umm, are you cold? Your hand is shaking.”
Kyelse’s hand which was holding onto the sword was shaking.
When Ren looked carefully, he realised that the face of the girl looking up to him was a bit red.
“Or did you catch a cold—”
“I-Idiot! It’s your fault! ……It’s because you look……too much like Eleline……”
“What was that?”
“I-I’m telling you to……take the sword right now!”
The Dragon Princess who was trying so hard to hand the sword.
She looked so innocent like a girl who was handing out a love-letter to her first love—
“Y-You should be honoured! I, who am the strongest Dragon in history as well as the princess of the Dragons…… This is my first time, you know? For me to scout a human to the party. This is my first time!”
“Well, I don’t know how to react even if you emphasise that it was your first time……”
“~~~~~~I-It’s your fault for making me do something I’m not used to. Anyway! I will train you to the fullest since you are going to form a party with me. You should be prepared! Or else, you—”
Right before Kyelse was about to end her sentence.
“Oh my, I will be troubled if you forget about me.”
“……Fear-senpai?”
The blonde girl who had her umbrella up in elegance.
As Ren watched her, she walked slowly to him while putting up a smile.
“Hey, Ren?”
The umbrella she had put up gets thrown up high in the air.
Then.
“How do you do?”
The golden light that was released. A bright light so strong it could burn your eyes appeared within the training area. It pierced through the dark clouds high up in the air and make the sky bright.
“Let me reintroduce myself. Ren, this is my first time meeting you.”
The Archangel that would represent the Heaven—
An Angel was standing there who had a golden hair and a pair of white wings.
“My name is Fear, the Archangel. My rank in Heaven is second after the Goddess Resflaze. I may be incompetent, but I’m here because I would like to join your party.”
“……Eh……a…..Umm.”
“To be honest, I was planning to ask this from the beginning, you know?”
The Archangel who had on a smile as if she showed her greatest revelation.
“It all depended on you. I was planning to reveal my identity to only you before I leave the Academy to find out whether or not you would come with me. I wanted to find out about your thought.”
“…………”
……This isn’t a dream, right?
He was speechless.
The Archangel and the princess of the Dragons he had been taught about since he was young.
Two of the girls who were the members of the legendary Eleline Sword Emperor Brigade were standing in front of Ren, and they were trying to lead him to the world outside.
“Oh, and I would prefer to be called ‘Fear-senpai’ like you have been calling me till now. I have become used to being called by the name people called me at the Academy, so it would feel like we are close to each other.”
The Archangel who was smiling and was flapping her large wings that were glowing with bright.
On the other hand, Kyelse said this with a fed up face.
“Hmph, you attention seeker. It’s not my problem if humans saw your appearance with such high colours.”
“It’s fine. We are going to leave the Academy right away after all. Right, Ren?”
“……Eh?”
He couldn’t help but drop his jaw open.
The one staring at him was Kyelse.
“Haven’t you understood our discussion yet? Tomorrow. We will be leaving by tomorrow morning to find the Encore.”
“…………Hold on a sec!? Tomorrow!? No matter how I think about it, that’s too quick!”
“Remember how I told you that I have submitted my withdrawal application form? Ren, please fill in your withdrawal form by tonight. They do say that you have to strike while the iron is hot.”
Ren had his left arm embraced by the Archangel to her breast.
“Wait, I need to do things like preparing for the journey, and I would also need to be mentally prepared and such—”
“Let’s go. If we are not quick, other parties might find the Encore first.”
Ren had his right arm embraced by the Dragon Princess without any warning.
“I sure am looking forward to it. It has been a while since I have searched throughout the world.”
Fear who was smiling while putting her developed breasts against him.
Kyelse on the other hand stared at the Angel with an astonished face.
“You foolish erotic Angel, let go of his hand already. I’m the one who is going to train Ren.”
“Eh? Then Kyelse will be in charge of him at noon and I will be in charge of him at night.”
“No. I’m sure what you are trying to do is......”
“Enough, so will the two of you let go of my hands noooooow—!”
He had both his arms grabbed by the legendary Dragon Princess and the Archangel.
The fake Brave Hero boy had himself dragged from the spot.
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LNWNCentral | Sekai no Owari no Encore/Sekai no Owari no Encore - Volume 01 - The Knight of Reincarnation/Sekai-no-Owari-no-Encore-Volume-01-The-Knight-of-Reincarnation-[Baka-Tsuki][WebToEpub]/0005_Record3_Th...Demon_King.txt | Record.3: The Condition of the former Demon King1
Student’s town, Mstier.
What awaited them once they took a step outside the town was green plain that spread before their vision. The footpath made from pebbles continued straight ahead where it would eventually connect to a large town far away.
At the peaceful path as such,
“……It felt like an instant.”
Ren turned around to look at the path he walked from as the morning sunlight lit over him.
—Looks like I’m going to be away from Holy Fiora Journey Academy for a while.
—I should have at least written a letter to my family back at home. I haven’t even seen my little sister lately.
When he saw the student town as he turned around, it was already so small that it looked like a small dot. He was attached to it since he had been living there for three years. So there was a side of him where he was feeling lonely.
Except, more than that, he was so nervous that his heart started beating faster as he walked.
He felt as if he didn’t have time to feel sad about it due to his nervousness.
After all—
“Hmm? What’s wrong?”
The silver hair girl looked up towards him as she licked the candy.
The Dragon Princess Kyelse. She was the strongest monster in history that the Heaven and the Underworld couldn’t even touch, but not until the Sword Emperor Eleline appeared three-hundred years ago. She also happened to be a Princess of the “Heavenly Silver Dragon” which was the oldest Dragon-specie.
Someone like her was holding onto his right hand, and also—
“I’m sure you have some regrets at leaving the Academy. Though that’s how a journey is supposed to be. There is also a new meeting after a parting.”
The one who was walking on the left-hand side of Ren was a tall, beautiful girl with bright blonde hair.
Archangel Fear.
She on the other hand was an Angel, the supreme rulers of Heaven, of the highest status.
Eleline Sword Emperor Brigade from three-hundred years ago. Two of the girls that were known as the Three Great Princesses were walking beside Ren while leaning against him.
“Even so, there is nothing to worry about. Right, Ren?”
Fear who was tightly holding onto Ren’s left arm.
“I will teach you all the necessary knowledge. To the extent that I will teach you the lesson at night gently.”
“Well, Fear-senpai......the thing is.”
“Eh? What is it?”
The Archangel replied with a naughty smile.
As she held Ren’s arm, she naturally pressed it between her bosoms which was incredibly developed. It was on purpose. It definitely was.
“……Senpai, I guess this is how you behave on Earth, right?”
“It’s because I’m an Angel. Having passionate body contact like this is the proof of our affection towards human—”
“You don’t have to listen to what this foolish erotic Angel has to say, Ren. It’s her bad habit where she lures human by seducing them in order to have fun by watching them panicking about it. Even the Goddess is fed up with her.”
The Dragon Princess got fed up with the Archangel and glared at her.
“More importantly Fear, let go of him. Ren is getting troubled by it.”
“The one who put her arm around Ren first was me.”
“……And I’m asking both of you to let go of me. I already have a hard time since this luggage is heavy.”
Ren became tired, since he had both of his arms being pulled by them.
The enormous luggage Ren was carrying on his back. If you didn’t include the basic travelling gear that was taken from Ren’s room, what occupied most of the luggage was Fear’s clothing and Kyelse’s snacks.
“Putting her clothes aside, do we really need those snacks?”
“Of course. It becomes handy, just like this.”
The silver hair girl who chucked a fraction of chocolate in her mouth. She said it in her usual laid back manner, except, she had a satisfied smile on her face.
“It’s delicious.”
“……What are you, a kid?”
“Isn’t sixteen still considered as a child even for a human?”
“Even if you were sixteen, it’s about time you grew out of snacks……huh, you’re sixteen? That’s of course in Dragon’s age, right?”
If you were to use the average life span as the standard, then the three great species consisted of the Dragons, the Angels, and the Demons were said to have long lifespans in exchange of their low population. Ren thought the same would apply for Kyelse, and hence presumed she had lived long, but—
“I’m sixteen years old in human age. Also, I love snacks. It’s definitely the masterpiece amongst what the humans have created.”
“But the battle from three-hundred years ago was……”
“She was in a state where she was sealed for three-hundred years right after the battle.”
Fear answered as her blonde hair blew due to the gentle breeze.
“Ever since the last battle, Kyelse had been separated from this world due to the special seal she was in. The isolated space where there wasn’t time, light, nor even sound. Though her time had been stopped, she still had her consciousness so she had been finding the chance to break the seal this whole time.”
“That happened about a month ago.”
Kyelse who had finished her chocolate nodded.
“Eh? Then what about your rumours when you fought Eleline? How old were you then?”
“I was fourteen. But still, I was already more powerful than all kinds of Dragons ever since I was born. Though I never imagined that I would lose against a human.”
“……So you really are younger than me?”
“Yeah. So it wouldn’t be weird if I take a bite or two of snacks.”
The legendary Dragon Princess walked quickly, and took out her second candy.
“Delicious.”
“You seem to be having fun……oh well.”
The silver hair girl put on a satisfied smile.
She simply looked like a lovely girl who was like a fairy when you saw her, but it was also true that Ren witnessed how she defeated a Wyvern without even touching it.
“On the other hand, I’m nervous as heck. Hey, look ahead.”
Ren used his chin to point forward to alert Kyelse who was holding onto his left arm.
—The armed parties that were walking through the main road.
There were many groups of parties walking in front of them and also behind them.
If there were small parties consisted of five members, there were also big parties that consisted of more than ten members. The organisation of the parties were very different from each other. There were common types such as the MASTERKnights and the ARIACasters, but even SPIRITSpiriters that were equipped with special spirit armaments and also FULLTYPEFighters that weren’t equipped with even a single armaments.
“See? Everyone looks strong. They really are different from the students at the Academy.”
The atmosphere they carried was different.
Their trained body which was solid like steel, and their eyes that were sharp as a blade. Their appearance and their presence were fitting enough to be called brave warriors. If they weren’t, then they wouldn’t be able to investigate the ruins scattered through the world nor could they fight against the monsters. But—
“……Hmm, is that how it is?”
From the Dragon Princess’s eyes, even the strong warriors from those parties didn’t catch her interest.
“Fear, are those also considered a party like ours? I think there’s too much members in each of those parties. I’m sure there were fewer members in the parties three-hundred years ago.”
“This is the choice this era chose.”
The Archangel who gave her beautiful smile to the parties that walked past them.
“Within these three-hundred years, the member types that constructs the parties itself went through some changes. MASTERKnight and ARIACaster were the only types back then, but now it’s separated into eight types.”
“Eight types, huh. I know Ren is MASTERKnight, so what are the other seven?”
Kyelse stared at Ren.
Ren pointed towards the parties walking ahead of them to answer the girl’s question.
“MASTERKnight, ARIACaster, SPIRITSpiriter, FULLTYPEFighter,
ENCHANTERBarrierer, HEALERCurer,
HUNTERPredator, and THIEFSearcher. I guess these are the current eight types. Even back at the academy, the lessons were separated into the type you were majoring in.”
MASTERKnight —They used weapon such as sword and axe. They were high risk since they would need to perform in close-combat at all times, as well as making cool judgements and having excellent performance. They were considered as a “master”, the main force during battles.
ARIACaster —They would perform complex rituals so even the humans could use the magic and offensive-spells of the Demons.
SPIRITSpiriter —They used spells which relied on spirit-armaments which possessed the power of spirits.
FULLTYPEFighter —The combatant which specialised in close-combat and would combine the defensive-spells and their active body’s to eliminate the enemies simply with their body and fighting techniques. In exchange of having the strength to not rely on weapons and armours, they would need a great amount of talent and training hence why they were called the “full type”.
ENCHANTERBarrierer — They use spell specialised by the Angels such as concealing, sealing, interception, and divine protection.
HEALERCurer — Other than spells that would alter the body activity and regeneration, they were type that was sought to have knowledge about pharmaceutics and medicine.
HUNTERPredator — The combatant that would use their knowledge about beasts to hunt. They specialise in shooting from long-range in order to support the party from the rear during battles.
THIEFSearcher — The brain of the party and in terms of field, they were more of an archaeologist.
“And there are also ranks where it’s structured in a way where your ranks would increase.”
“Ranks?”
“The eight types and their titles respectively. If you were a MASTERKnight like myself for example, then you would start from the III-Grade MASTERKnight, then the II-Grade MASTERKnight, then the I-Grade MASTERKnight, then the Official MASTERKnight, then the Honourable MASTERKnight, then the Sword King, and then the highest rank……the Sword Saint, I think.”
By the way, Eleline’s title of the “Sword Emperor” was the name he had before people started calling him the Brave Hero.
Sword Saint would be the highest rank of the MASTERKnight and it was a title which was rarely given. It was required for you to pass the tests in several cities around the world.
“Basically each and one of the classes were said to be necessary in a party. Since there are eight types, the majority of the parties are made up of eight members.”
“Hmm? Then what about those group of five walking over there?”
“I guess they are looking for members they lack in. There are also gifted people who can take the roles of two types alone.”
Fear would be the easiest example of such people around Ren. Even though she was majoring in HEALERCurer, she overwhelmed the male MASTERKnight students with her swordsmanship and also made the students jaws dropped with her spells.
“Though it feels like Fear-senpai can take the roles of three types by herself.”
“Yes. I sure can take most of those roles—”
She finally let go of Ren’s arm. She became silent for a moment while she looked up to the sky.
“If you ask me what I expertise in, then it would be FULLTYPEFighter. HEALERCurer would come next.”
“FULLTYPEFighter!? Fear-senpai is!?”
“I’m good in martial arts despite my appearance. I could have majored in FULLTYPEFighter degree back at the Academy, but a tragedy may have occurred if I couldn’t hold back my power properly against the students for the mock-battle. Well, I have the confidence to heal and regenerate them if they receive injuries to a certain degree, but I guess I need to restrain myself.”
The Archangel spoke a scary thing with a smile.
“Fear-senpai, you are a FULLTYPEFighter? ……But I can’t imagine you hitting anyone.”
“Ren, don’t let her appearance fool you. This violent woman is the biggest battle maniac in the Heavens who can even make the Goddess Resflaze become silent with a single punch if she became serious.”
Kyelse said it in a manner as if she told the truth.
“Isn’t that right?”
“Oh my, that isn’t true at all. There’s no way I can do that to the Goddess.”
The blonde Angel on the other hand shook her head while putting on a smile.
“By the way Ren, your rank right now is a III-Grade MASTERKnight, correct?”
“……Me? Do I have to say it? In a place like this?”
“Yeah, I sure am curious about it. We certainly need to know the current strength of this party.”
Kyelse looked up towards Ren with her emerald-green eyes filled with her keenness to hear his answer.
“Since you are a III-Grade MASTERKnight, does that make you roughly a Honourable MASTERKnight? Or is it a rank above the Sword King?”
“No way. I mentioned it before but it’s the lowest rank. The only thing above the Sword King is a Sword Saint, and there are only few people in this world with that rank.”
“I see. Well, I will be the one training you, Ren. How about your first aim is to become a Sword Saint?”
“……It’s too early to have that goal. Besides, I reckon we need more members for our party if we are going to find the Encore. Though it would be weird for me to say that. Take a look at them.”
The parties that walked passed them.
For example, if the parties walking ahead of them walked past each other, you would observe how they would stop and place their hand on their chest to salute each other.
“That’s the traditional custom done between the parties. It’s a form of greetings which has the meaning for the good battle and safety for each other.”
“Exactly. Though we hadn’t received such greetings even once yet.”
They only saw them as civilian.
After all, their party was made up of one boy and two girls. Ren had a sword, but both Kyelse and Fear weren’t equipped with even a single armament. Obviously the Dragon Princess Kyelse and Archangel Fear didn’t need any armaments. But from the perspective of a third party who didn’t know their identity, there was no way that they would realise that they were a party since they weren’t armed. There was no mistake that they were seen as a three strange fellows that were travelling.
“It’s decided that a party requires at least four members, so first of all we need to find the fourth member before anything else—”
“Then please rest assured. I do have a person in mind who would become our fourth comrade. The triumphal town Enge. It’s planned for us to meet her there. She’s an expert who can use all types of spells.”
Fear answered with a smile, as if she was waiting for to be asked.
“The spell expert? Don’t tell me it’s a famous person again?”
“If you ask me whether she is famous or not, then she sure is. Ren, you would reach the answer if you think a bit. Isn’t there another person we are currently lacking in for this party?”
Ren looked up the sky for a while after hearing the answer the Archangel gave with a teasing voice.
“It can’t be!?”
He certainly had someone in mind. Other than Kyelse and Fear who were part of the legendary Eleline Sword Emperor Brigade, there was one more “Princess” remaining.
“It sure can be.”
Kyelse who had finished her candy nodded with a satisfied tone.
“The former Demon King Elise. The woman who was the master of the Underworld in the past.” |
LNWNCentral | Sekai no Owari no Encore/Sekai no Owari no Encore - Volume 01 - The Knight of Reincarnation/Sekai-no-Owari-no-Encore-Volume-01-The-Knight-of-Reincarnation-[Baka-Tsuki][WebToEpub]/0006_2.txt | Gust of the night wind.
The whirlwind that stroked Ren’s neck was so cold that Ren couldn’t resist the urge to shiver his body. If he breathed out, the air breathed out turned white.
“It’s freezing! It sure is cold if you leave the window open. This place is open to the weather after all.”
The wooden cottage.
It was one of the many base camps built on the roads between city to city, and town to town. Obviously the travellers and the parties, but even the tourists who would head to the cities for sightseeing used this accommodation.
……I wonder how many years it has been since I stayed in a cottage.
……I guess the last time I did was three years ago when I went to Holy Fiora Journey Academy to take the test.
They would be heading to triumphal town Enge tomorrow.
It was the city which was the closest to the student town, and the Demon King Elise would be waiting for them there.
“More importantly, I wonder how the former Demon King would look like. This is the Demon King we are talking about, so maybe she has horns growing out from her head, as well as having fangs and claws while her massive body would reach the height of ten metres—”
“It will cause a stir if a monster like that was roaming in the city of the humans.”
The sound of the lock of the door being destroyed echoed throughout the surrounding.
The one who showed her face from the open door with a poker face was Kyelse.
“…..I beg you to knock on the door normally. We would end up paying up for the broken lock if we get caught.”
“Hmm? It was locked?”
Apparently the Dragon Princess didn’t even notice that she broke the lock.
“Putting that aside, it’s time for your training. We are going outside once you leave your luggage here.”
“……Eh?”
“I told you before, haven’t I? About teaching you Eleline’s sword techniques. We need to build your fundamental basics first. Move your butt grab your sword this instant and follow me.”
After Kyelse said that, she headed out to the passage without waiting for Ren’s reply.
The breezing cold wind.
It was so cold that it felt like you had chilling water splashed above your head which took away your warmth from simply coming outside.
“It’s a good wind. It makes you become motivated.”
“It’s too cold, isn’t it!? It’s so cold that I’m about to lose consciousness rather than falling sick!”
“I have my scarf.”
“And I don’t!”
“—Let’s end the joke here and start the training. Ren, hand me your sword.”
As soon as Kyelse took the sword along with its sheath from him, she drew the sword out from its sheath as if she was used to it.
How it was drawn out beautifully.
Ren honestly became entranced at how skilfully Kyelse was handling the sword that was drawn from its sheath with ease by using just one hand.
“……You’re amazing. So you can use a human’s sword even though you are a Dragon?”
“It isn’t anything hard if you can control your body. —Like this, for example.”
The sword flashed.
That instant, her right hand moved while leaving her afterimage.
By the time Ren noticed it, the tip of the sword she was holding onto pierced through the centre point of the three leaves that were floating in the air due to the wind.
“W-What was that……!?”
“I pierced it when the three leaves overlapped each other in the air. I also would like to add that I pierced it while aiming to hit the veins of the leaves.”
“The veins!? You aimed for such tiny parts!?”
Kyelse handed the sword back to Ren, so he took off the leaves that were on the tip of the sword.
The leaf veins could be considered as the blood vessels of the humans. The plant types could be separated into parallel-veined and reticulated-vein. But the main concern was that they were thin as a human’s hair.
—She completely caught the trail of the leaves floating under this stormy weather.
—She pierced all three leaves at once at the moment they overlapped each other.
—And she wasn’t aiming for the leaves itself but their veins.
The Dragon Princess pulled this stunt off while she was talking to Ren.
She wasn’t exactly concentrated in doing it nor did she wield her sword with everything she had. Yet she demonstrated such absolute technique. It was questionable whether an experienced swordsman who had been training for dozen of years could pull this off.
“Alright, do you know what to do now?”
“I wouldn’t have a hard time if I knew how to do that with what you just showed me! Can you at least tell me a trick or something I should pay attention to!?”
“There’s nothing like a trick. Weren’t you doing the same thing as me?”
“What do you mean?”
“That night when it was raining. It was during that time when you were wielding the sword by yourself. You weren’t just randomly wielding your sword. You were aiming for the falling raindrops.”
“……You even saw that?”
“It’s because you reminded me of Eleline. Putting your strength aside, that is.”
The silver hair girl made a fearless smile.
“There’s nothing wrong with your training and your hard work. You weren’t blessed with an ideal physical structure and you are not the kind of person who would take down the enemies with a huge sword. You are more of a technician who would find your opponent's weaknesses and hit them with a single strike using their weakness.”
“Seize the drop of water and a fraction of fire, and strike it down with a single slash instantly.”
“It feels like you are asking me to pull off an ultimate technique from the start……”
“This is the basic among basics. Eleline’s swordsmanship lies even further past that league.”
“—Fine.”
Ren nodded his head with a bitter smile to Kyelse’s words as if she said something obvious to him.
“I’ll start doing it then. I’ll work hard till I can do the same thing as you just did.”
“Two will be fine.”
Kyelse crossed her arm and lifted up two of her fingers.
“Come back to me while bringing that sword where it had pierced two leaves. I won’t tell you to aim for the leaf veins either.”
“......Two leaves? That’s it?”
He couldn’t resist to ask her. He thought he would be told to pierce three leaves just like Kyelse did. He was also prepared to be told to continue till he could pierce four leaves.
“For today, that is. I’ll return to my room, so come back once you accomplish it.”
“Okay.”
He nodded to the girl who turned around. Ren then moved his gaze to the leaves floating in the air.
==========
Inside the cottage.
“Seriously, Kyelse, you are sneaky.”
When Kyelse returned to her room, a blonde girl who was wearing a negligee and was half-naked was in there. She was sitting on the bed as if it was her room.
“Sneaky?”
“The training with Ren. You taught him so attentively. I also wanted to blend it.”
The Archangel bent her body seductively.
Her negligee which had her chest part open even showed her cleavage which was faintly red. Along with Fear’s natural bewitching smile, her charming figure would knock out cold boys of certain ages immediately.
“I don’t recall teaching attentively.”
“I mean that it looked like you were enjoying yourself.”
Fear smiled as she placed her hand on her lips.
“You were so focused in teaching him that you didn’t realise I was standing at the entrance of the cottage.”
“……You were watching?”
“I feel a bit relieved. It seems like you are cheerful again. It was the same three-hundred years ago, but having a journey in a large group sure is fun. Ren is an honest boy so it’s worth training him and its fun having him around, right?”
“I was cheerful from the start.”
She removed the scarf around her neck and hanged it on the coat hanger located beside the door.
—A small quantity of her sweat on her hand.
—Without realising it, there was some heat on Kyelse’s hand.
Her body that had become hot. But Kyelse felt embarrassed to admit Fear’s words so she looked away.
“Geez, you really aren’t honest with yourself……even though the temperature of your body increased.”
“S-Shut up! Don’t touch me! Don’t press those uselessly huge breasts against me!”
She brushed away the Archangel who hugged her from behind.
This was Fear’s preference rather than an Angel’s. She couldn’t help but use her body to interact with those she had a liking to which was her habit. What was a nuisance was that she had a power to read what was going through the minds of those she was touching.
“Hmm, I understand. So that’s how you feel right now.”
“……What did you understand, foolish erotic Angel.”
“Hey, Kyelse, do you think Ren would also become stronger for our sake as well?”
“What do you mean?”
“Both you and I don’t have a power which is even near of that from three-hundred years ago, correct? My old wounds hadn’t healed and the Dragon Factor which is the source of your power hadn’t awakened ever since you woke up from your seal. Certainly we can deal with majority of the opponents, but the situation right now is that we only have half the power we had back then.”
They were in a level where there wasn’t pretty much any enemy in this world that would be a threat to them even in their current condition. But it didn’t mean there was zero enemy who would be a threat. What could be listed among them were the highest-level monsters and also—
“Did you hear about the “Five Great Disasters”?”
“Just the rumours I heard at the Dragon’s valley. I heard till the part where they rebelled against the current Demon King.”
“Yes. For the worst scenario, we should anticipate a decisive battle against them. I thought that the reason why you were working hard in training Ren had to do with it.”
“You think too far ahead.”
Kyelse shook her head reluctantly.
“I simply taught Ren what I remember about Eleline’s training. That’s simply it.”
“I see. Then Ren might be facing a bit of difficulties then.”
Fear looked out the window. You couldn’t see Ren from this part of the room, but for an Archangel like herself, she was able to “see” him.
The appearance of a boy who was breathing heavily while he was shedding sweat due to the weariness.
“The task you assigned him to. That’s actually harder than it seems—”
==========
“……This is ridiculously hard.”
Ren’s shoulder moved violently.
Ren wiped his sweats that were falling like a waterfall from the tip of his chin with the back side of his hand.
“What the heck……”
The leaves were floating in the air due to the sudden gusts that were blowing at him. Ren stopped his eyes from closing and he even stopped breathing so he could concentrate on the movements of the leaves. He caught the sight of the trails of the leaves that were floating in the air in random directions, and then—
“Ha!”
Along with his loud voice filled with his spirit, Ren thrust his sword forward.
A single flash. The tip of his sword grazed the leaf by its edge.
……That was it.
He barely grazed the leaf by its edge. There was a saying which goes “To dance like a butterfly”, and this was indeed such thing. He couldn’t pierce the leaf by its core and the most he could do was to graze it by its side.
The leaves flickered and danced in the air due to the wind.
The same applied when the sword was thrust forward, the leaves also shook when it received the small amount of air current created by the sword. Just how hard it was to aim for the leaves.
……No, that isn’t it. The real problem isn’t that.
Once every two tries, the tip of the sword touched the leaves. If you repeated this procedure, there would be a chance that it would hit its core even if it was by luck. But the real issue here was—
“This again!?”
The leaves that received a direct hit from the sword get cut in half then dropped on the ground.
Yes. Even if the sword hits the core, the leaves get sliced in half without the sword being able to pierce through it.
—I wouldn’t be able to touch the leaves up in the air if I don’t thrust it with all my strength.
—But if I thrust it without holding back, the leaves get sliced into pieces if it hits.
“Oh……I get it now!”
The Dragon Princess did it with ease, but Ren finally realised just how skilled she was and the whole aspect of it.
“Seize the drop of water and a fraction of fire, and strike it down with a single slash instantly.”
Ren slashed with his sword. He thrust with it. He swung it. The air current created by each of his forms were different, and the strength of the air current would change depending on the force applied to it. You wouldn’t be able to grasp the core of the leaves unless you fully understood that.
Right after that.
Exactly at the time when his sword was about to touch the leaf, he weakened his strength.
To master the sword without using your full strength, but with your minimum strength.
“……And she’s asking me to get two of them at once. Isn’t she asking a bit too much from me?”
Ren wiped the sweat that was on his sword’s handle. Ren then smiled.
“Do you want to come with me?”
—I was simply happy.
Kyelse’s words when she said she would train me. I didn’t know what she meant at first. I simply thought she was giving me an advice where she was telling me to simply work hard and do my best.
But she’s training me with so much passion. She even demonstrated for me.
……More importantly.
……She even invited me to the party when she knew I was different to the Brave Hero.
I want to live up to her expectations.
I can journey to the world and she acknowledges me as her fellow comrade. Being able to achieve the dream I had since I was a child is making my heart beat faster and is giving me such passion.
“It would be a waste if I just give up here!”
Ren put strength into his hand which was icy cold due to being exposed to the cold wind in order to make a stance with his sword.
“I have to do it, even if I can only get one of them!”
The tip of the sword which was giving sparks succeeds in piercing through two leaves.
The core of the leaves. To be precise, it didn’t get sliced in half nor did it get shredded into pieces. Both of the leaves had been beautifully pierced through by the tip of the sword.
“........................Huh?”
The one who couldn’t believe his eyes was Ren himself.
“I……did it? It felt like I did it by chance.”
He stood there while holding onto the sword. And then.
“Yeah! Awesome, even I can do it if I try!”
He sprinted towards the cottage and headed towards her room directly.
“Kyelse! Hey, check this out! I did it, I really did it!”
“!? W-Wait, Ren! You can’t enter right now—”
The door was opened violently. And the one inside was.
“……You’ve got some nerve. Peeping on my body, are you?”
A beautiful girl who wore nothing.
She had stripped off her lovely travelling clothes. Kyelse was holding onto her negligee which had cute looking frills on them. She looked towards Ren with a red face that was due to the mix of her fury and her embarrassment.
“Ah, no, it’s not what you think……I didn’t do it……on purpose……”
Even though he said that, he found himself fascinated with her body.
She simply looked purely lovely.
Her body that had curves fitting for girls her age and her white skin which was as white as porcelain. Kyelse had an appearance which was charming enough as a human and made Ren forget she was a Dragon. Especially her body since you wouldn’t have realised she had a mature body which you couldn’t tell from over her travelling clothes—
“Let me ask you just in case. Is there anything you want to say?”
“……Well……umm, I think you’re cute.”
“Fly.”
Kyelse said with her power of language with a red face. By the time Ren who had himself blown away to the wall of the pathway regained his consciousness, Kyelse had already changed into her negligee.
“Anyway, let me applaud you for accomplishing the task. To be honest, I thought it would take you at least a week.”
Inside Ren’s room.
The one who was sitting on the bed as if it belonged to her was Kyelse. Ren on the other hand was sitting on the carpet even though he was totally exhausted.
“At this rate you would be able to pierce three leaves tomorrow and four leaves the day after tomorrow. And next—”
“Next, what?”
“Try to do it while shutting your eyes close.”
“That’s a really hard hurdle!”
“Eleline’s sword-techniques lay beyond that. Anyway, I acknowledge your hard work. You should rest for today.”
She said it while sitting on the bed.
……Even though she’s telling me to rest.
Kyelse who had said that was still occupying the bed. Ren wouldn’t be able to sleep even if he wanted to since she was still here. But it was also hard for him to tell her to move.
“Aren’t you going to sleep, Kyelse?”
“I’m sleeping together with you.”
He couldn’t comprehend her words.
Ren looked up for a while and then opened his jaws wide.
“……Pardon me?”
“I said I’m going to sleep on the same bed as you.”
Kyelse laid on the bed and put the blanket over her head without making a shy face.
“You should also come inside right away.”
“Umm……sorry. I don’t understand what’s happening right now.”
I’m a human. Kyelse is a Dragon on the other hand.
Apparently it’s a morphing which was a mix of high-level spells and space distortion to change her physical appearance into that of a human girl. So I can’t help but think there would be a problem sleeping with her.
“Can you tell me your reasons just in case? Wasn’t there also a bed in your room as well?”
“It’s part of my trait. It makes me feel calm this way.”
Kyelse wiped her sleepy eyes while wrapping herself with the blanket.
“Many of my kin were present at the Valley of my hometown. I often slept in a herd as well. I would be able to sleep easier if I sleep in a group with those I trust.”
“……The Dragon’s trait.”
Even though he was half astonished by this, he wanted to keep it as a secret that he was happy when she naturally said someone she can “trust.”
“By the way, what did you do three-hundred years ago?”
“Eleline declined. He had been practising his sword even at night.”
“……The Sword Emperor did?”
“Unexpected? There isn’t a human which is strong from the start was that man’s words. Leaving aside his crazy guts and stubbornness, his strength as a swordsman wasn’t something he was born with. The reason why he was called the Sword Emperor was merely a title he obtained by working harder than anyone.”
Maybe Kyelse found Ren’s shocked reaction amusing, so Kyelse softened her expression.
“I’m sure that was the first time I heard that……”
The legend of the Sword Emperor that Ren knows of was that he was born as a genius. Unlike himself who had poor talent, Ren assumed he was born to this world with the talent he was given.
“I want to hear more about that story.”
“I will, but I’ll end it here for today. Hey, let’s go to sleep quickly. We are waking up early tomorrow.”
“H-Hey!?”
He had himself hugged by Kyelse who got up from the bed and then had himself thrown onto the bed. Kyelse was already inside the blanket by the time he found out she put the blanket above his head.
“H-Hey, can’t Fear-senpai be the one who sleeps with you!?”
“She’s no good. She’s annoying since she tries to hug you whenever she finds the chance.”
The Dragon Princess came close to him where they could feel each other’s warmth inside the small bed.
“Yeah, I sure do feel calm.”
“……No, I’m—”
“What is it?”
“……It’s nothing.”
The silver haired girl looked towards him.
Her peaceful smile was so gentle that he couldn’t say more.
The tyrant who had been feared as the strongest monster on Earth and who had been refused by the Heaven, the Underworld, and also her fellow Dragons till Eleline showed up. But the girl who was sleeping with her eyes closed right beside him was simply a lonely girl who was completely different from the rumours he had heard. In fact she was—
Maybe the one who was in front of him was the true Kyelse. That was what Ren thought.
“But my main problem is……”
He rarely saw the faces of the opposite sex of his age while they were sleeping. And she was sleeping with him where she was so close to him that he could feel her breath. There was no way he couldn’t be bothered by it.
“……There’s no way I can sleep like this.”
Even though Ren knew he was turning red, Ren simply kept repeating those words for the whole night.
Then the next morning.
“? Ren, didn’t you have enough sleep? Your eyes are red.”
“Whose fault do you think it is?”
Ren replied tirelessly to Kyelse who had woken up from her deep sleep. |
LNWNCentral | Sekai no Owari no Encore/Sekai no Owari no Encore - Volume 01 - The Knight of Reincarnation/Sekai-no-Owari-no-Encore-Volume-01-The-Knight-of-Reincarnation-[Baka-Tsuki][WebToEpub]/0007_3.txt | The triumphal town Enge.
It was a town located closest to the student town Mistier and it was surrounded by giant walls to prevent monsters from invading.
“I believe it was the town Eleline returned to after he finished his journey to both the Heaven and the Underworld.”
The Heaven and the Underworld.
The town Eleline returned to after he suppressed the two forces that were at each other’s throat and also stopped the battles between the two forces.
For that reason, this town still had strong connections to Eleline even till this day.
“Hey, Kyelse, let’s get going! You too, Fear-senpai!”
“Calm down. There’s no point getting hyped over it.”
“……Geez, Ren. You are acting like a child.”
Kyelse who was partially astonished at him and Fear who was putting on a bitter smile.
“It won’t leave my head at all. Even I want to have a look at the real thing once!”
Ren walked through the road that were crowded with people walking by as he left the two of them behind.
Compared to Mistier, this town was the largest within the nearby towns so the number of people as well as the number of buildings were significant.
The public roads that were connected to the main road had booths on both sides. The people that walked by also included those who were walking with their families to even merchants, tourists, and even armed travellers that appeared to be a party.
Ren ran past the front of the chapel which was so large that he had to look up——
“There it is!”
Ren couldn’t help but gasp at what he saw within his site.
The Sword-Emperor’s sword.
The memorial area which was built as a plaza.
As the water fountain was set behind it, there was a single sword impaled into a stone where it was heavily guarded.
——The Spirit-Sword Vierge.
Even though the handle of the sword lost its colour and looked old, only the blade of the sword still had a transparent shine like that of a surface of the clear water to it.
The most valuable treasure of the triumphal town of Enge. No, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to be called the most valuable treasure for all of the swordsmen within the world. It is one of Eleline’s sword which was one of his legacy scattered throughout the world.
“H-Hey. Is it really true that Eleline was using that? I think it was called the Spirit-Sword Vierge.”
“It’s indeed the truth.”
The highest part of the step-cased plaza.
Kyelse nodded as she looked down the memorial area filled with hundreds of tourists.
“That sword itself as a Spirit-armament which is possessed with the strong power of a Spirit. That’s the sword which was used to take down the Archangel who was acting tough in the Heavens and the Demon King who was acting like a boss in the Underworld.”
“……The sword Eleline used when he fought the Archangel and the Demon King huh.”
Ren gulped as he stared at its blade which was giving out a beautiful glow.
“Even so, that was the sword Eleline used when he was still a novice.”
“When he was a novice!?”
Ren couldn’t help but ask Kyelse again with a loud voice at the unexpected answer he heard from her.
“Just now you said that he used that sword to defeat the Archangel and the Demon King.”
“It was during the time when he was an unrecognised swordsman and the only appropriate equipment he had back then was that sword. I think it was during the time when he entered the second year of his journey, was it? Apparently it was a sword he found in a ruin by luck.”
“Well, putting the sword aside, the main concern is how he picked a fight against a Demon King and an Archangel when he was a novice swordsman. And how on earth did he manage to win against them?”
“Hmm? Well, that is—”
The Dragon Princess put on a meaningful smirk.
“Ask the great Archangel over there. Three-hundred years ago, she was trying to teach a lesson to a cocky swordsman only to get her butt kicked and she happens to be standing right there.”
“Eh? Don’t tell me that was Fear-senpai—”
Ren who was about to ask restrained from saying any further than that. Which remind me, she had been awfully quiet since we arrived here.
“Ah……now that you mention it, something like that certainly did happen…………fu, fufu…………”
The blonde Angel smiled.
However, her expression was forced, and even Ren could clearly tell that her crunched fist was shaking.
“The urge in my fist won’t stop when I remember about it.”
“……Ah, I s-see. So you are saying that you still hold a grudge about your defeat itself?”
“No. Let me be clear that I don’t hold a grudge.”
The Archangel made that part very clear.
“Except, I just remembered about how my fame as being the strongest in Heaven was tainted.”
“……I-It was?”
“That accursed sword, I shall make sure I break it this time.”
“You have a dreadful grudge against it after all!? H-Hold on Fear-senpai!”
Ren tried to stop the blonde girl desperately who had walked ahead with a crunched fist.
“T-The thing is. You remember about the former Demon King……”
“Oh yes. We were meeting up with Elise.”
Fear returned to usual self.
“Then let’s get going, Ren. This place is dreadful.”
“Rather than being dreadful, isn’t it simply you who hates that sword——ah, h-hold on!”
He had his hand pulled by Fear without any warning.
They walked past the main road which was filled with lively people. They turned right at the crossroad and entered the back-alley. Unlike the main road which was filled with lively people, this back-alley was mysteriously quiet.
“Fear-senpai, is this really the place?”
“There’s a store which is known very well to small portion of people. It had been a place where the parties would gather to have a private conversation since ancient time and it could be considered as a store used by parties. Wouldn’t that be convenient for us as well?”
Ren simply followed the Archangel who was walking ahead and was leading them.
After they turned into the back-alley which had split into complicated paths—
“!? W-Was there a fight? ……Hey, are you okay!?”
The words that came out of his throat was loud.
After they turned into one of the path, there were sturdy men that belonged to a party all battered to the floor.
There were five of them in total. Each one of them were large men that were a head taller than Ren and they all had well-trained bodies. Even the armaments they wore were first-class products that were engraved with powerful resistance against spells.
……Are these burn marks? And is this frostbite?
……None of them came from swords nor sharp weapons.
Spells that was so powerful that it could break the resistances of these battle clothes which would nullify average spells.
“Hey, are you okay!? Looks like they are. Fear-senpai, can you heal these guys—”
“It would be fine even if you leave them alone, Onii-chan.”
It was neither Fear nor Kyelse who was behind him who said that.
The one who said that was—
“These guys made fun of me because I’m just a kid. It seemed like they didn’t know who they were picking a fight with, so I guess you can call this their punishment? Oh well, you don’t need to worry about them since they would treat their own wounds or even head to the hospital once they wake up.”
A dark-skinned girl.
She had twin-tails which could appear as black or even brown depending on the sunlight. Her eyes were filled with curiosity.
She seemed like she had reached the age of ten or so.
“Ren was your name, right? I certainly did hear about you, but you really do resemble Eleline, don’t you?”
“……Eh?”
“Why do I know you? Obviously because I was waiting for you, Ren. Oh, yeah, and also those two behind you as well. I spoke to Fear sometime ago but it had been a long time since I met with Kyelse. Is it exactly three-hundred years? How were you doing?”
The young girl waved her hand towards the Archangel and the Dragon Princess in a laid-back manner.
“Rather, haven’t you completely broken out from the seal yet, Kyelse? Hasn’t your power decreased rapidly?”
“Likewise to you. I never expected that you would have to start from that appearance by reincarnating yourself.”
Kyelse answered grumpily as she crossed her arm.
Ren nudged Kyelse by her elbow and asked with a low voice.
“Hey? This is my guess but is this small girl perhaps her……?”
“She indeed is. She was finally able to succeed in reincarnating herself ten years ago. Her physical body as well as her spells returned back to even before that of her prime. I suppose you’re exactly in the state when you were ten years old?”
“Pretty much. Though being in this appearance is also fun. Humans that don't even know who I am act kind to me when I fawn on them. Even though they ran away as soon as they saw me, during my time as a Demon King.”
The dark-skinned girl started to chuckle.
While there was “something” that lured behind her innocent eyes that even made you shiver—
“Then you must be……”
“Yup. The former Demon King Elise. Let’s get along, Ren.”
The former Demon King pointed at cafeterras right behind her.
“Anyway, let’s get inside the caféterras and talk. I’ve become thirsty.”
Caféterras “Albireo”.
Behind the door with such sign, it was filled with lively people which wouldn’t even compare against those that were at the main road.
“Wow. I’ll be darned……so all of these guys are members of parties, right?”
The interior of the caféterras was so large that you couldn’t tell from the outside.
The counters had twelve seats and there were roughly the same number of tables meant for four people. So in total there were seats for exactly a hundred people. And that much amount of space were taken by the parties. There were those that were having a discussion while standing up. So you couldn’t tell exactly how many people were in here.
“Here! Over here, Ren. This is the last table so be quick!”
Elise waved her hand at them after she secured the table next to the wall.
She was clearly the only young girl here where it was a gathering of experienced parties. But the girl herself didn’t care about how she was standing out.
“Looks like there was one empty table left. Excellent. This place is usually full.”
“It seems like they have a variety of alcohol here, but do they have any juices here?”
Kyelse sat right next to Ren.
Elise and Fear sat opposite them.
“…………”
“What’s wrong? Ren, the menu-list is over here.”
“Ah……yeah. I know, but—”
Ren replied vaguely.
The strongest Dragon Princess on Earth was sitting next to him while the Archangel from the Heaven and the former Demon King who was the former master of the Underworld sat opposite him in a friendly manner. They were all present on a single table.
“……I feel left out.”
“You don’t need to be so concerned. Anyway, let’s decide on the drinks.”
Elise said that as she held the menu-list in her hand.
“Ah, waitress, over here! I’ll have a hot milk. What will you three drink?”
“I’ll have an apple juice.”
“Then I’ll have club soda. This one which isn’t sweet. What will you have, Fear-senpai?”
“Then I’ll have a champagne.”
“Hey, Senpai!? A minor shouldn’t drink alcohol. Senpai, you’re still eighteen—”
“Rather than being a minor, Angels lives so long that you can’t compare them to humans.”
Kyelse’s calm judgement.
“……Oh, yeah.”
Because he had been with her for so long at the academy, Ren couldn’t help but make judgment while thinking that Fear was his senior at the academy. The age of her being eighteen years old was simply the age she used when she was acting as a human.
“Hmm, so I’m seventeen years old and Kyelse is sixteen years old. Elise is—”
“I’ve just reincarnated so I’m exactly ten years old. That’s why I ordered hot milk. See? It’s suitable for my age, isn’t it? Kyelse also ordered a juice as well.”
Elise took the hot milk with both her hands that had been brought to them.
If she puts it that way, then they certainly ordered drinks suitable for their ages, which was agreeable since Ren ordered a club soda, and Kyelse ordered apple juice since they were minors.
“I see. Then Fear-senpai is the only one who in human years is—”
“I’m eighteen years old.”
The blonde Archangel answered with a smile.
“Just your appearance. Haven’t you been living the longest right after the Goddess of Heaven? Then that means, let me calculate—. Oh, then you are exactly…………ouch!? It hurts, Fear! That was my fault so stop pinching my buttocks from below the table!”
“It’s a taboo to talk about age to a girl. Isn’t that right, Ren?”
“Y-Yeah……”
The blonde Angel took the champagne glass elegantly.
Ren couldn’t help but shake his head hard due to the pressure he received from her dangerous smile.
“Then cheers! Ren, let’s get along as well, okay?”
Elise drank the hot milk deliciously while she held the cup using both her hands. She looked too young to be a former Demon King and she looked adorable in the way she acted.
“Ms Waitress, I’ll have this white wine next. Please bring me a bottle.”
“Hey, you drink so fast Fear-senpai! ......Are you a heavy drinker?”
“The species known as Angels loved alcohol from the beginning. Though I endured it when I was at the Academy.”
The Archangel didn’t change her expression even after she drank a glass of champagne in one go.
“Now then, Elise, it’s regarding the matter I have discussed with you for some time now.”
“The talk about finding the Encore together, right? I was obviously interested in it since I reincarnated myself ten years ago. It’s basically the last message that Eleline left behind.”
The former Demon King who was taking small sips from her hot milk.
“Well, the truth is, I was initially wondering what I should do. In my case, I was looking for a way to return my body back to the way it was. So I was thinking of taking my time finding the Encore.”
“And if the humans found them while you were doing that?”
“We should just steal it from them. That will be much easier.”
The former Demon King said a dangerous thing naturally.
“Except, I myself know that the humans throughout the world are looking for the Encore. Just by looking around this caféterras, I can understand how there are so many parties. But the whereabouts of the Encore is still a mystery. So it made me think that Eleline hid the Encore in a special place. For his comrades’ back then……in other words he left it in a place where only we can find it.”
“I thought the same.”
Fear nodded while holding the wine glass with one hand.
“For that reason, I thought we would need you after all if we were to search for the Encore. Depending on the circumstances, it might be necessary for us to enter the Underworld.”
“I don’t mind, but there’s a tiny little problem……”
The young girl suddenly sighed.
“Let me ask a question to Ren who is a human. Do you know any rumours about how there’s some mess going on in the Underworld right now? The rumour about one of the Five Great Disasters going nuts on Earth.”
“Ah. Are you perhaps referring to the Great Demon who is causing a rampage at the “Great Volcano of Galia”?”
It happened several days ago.
Ren remembered how the instructors warned the highest-grade students that went out of the Academy.
“The rumour that the highest-grade Demon appeared and resided on Earth……”
“Yup. She belonged to my personal guard group called the Five Great Disasters. Since I retired as a Demon King after turning into this state, she stopped listening to the orders of the current Demon King who I passed on my authority to and left the Underworld.”
Elise shrug her head as if she was troubled by it.
“By the way, why did she do something like rebelling against the current Demon King? She was your subordinate when you were the Demon King, right?”
“That’s because she’s stronger than the current Demon King.”
“You must be joking!”
“It’s true. In terms of strength, myself when I was the Demon King would be the strongest. But the Five Great Disasters were the second strongest after me. They were originally a candidate to become the Demon King. But I turned them into my subordinates when I won the election to become the Demon King. But because I had to retire my position as a Demon King all of a sudden, I ended up choosing my little brother in hurry to take my position when a problem arose about who would become the next Demon King. But my brother was so weak……ah, don’t get me wrong since he would have the strength of the previous generations of Demon Kings, okay? But the Five Great Disasters were just as strong as the other historical Demon Kings.”
The Underworld which is ruled by the current Demon King who happened to be weaker than the Five Great Disasters. Due to such bizarre relation within the supremacy, there might be parts which wasn’t easy to accept for the Five Great Disasters that were the candidates of becoming the Demon King.
“More importantly, Elise, your brother is the current Demon King? So your little brother means that ehmm……”
“It’s okay to assume it as the similar logic of human siblings. Though their appearance differs greatly.”
The Archangel placed her empty wineglass on the table.
“The Angels, the Dragons, the Demons, and the humans. The species with the most population among these four are the humans. But the one with the most diversities are the Demons. Not just their appearance, but even their strength has a huge gap in ranges. The current Demon King would exactly have the appearance of what you imagined, Ren.”
“By that, you mean……”
“Only his appearance looks vicious. He’s too big as well as having fangs and claws. He would most likely be treated as a monster if he was to show up on Earth. He’s butt-ugly despite being my brother. Though he does carry an impact.”
Elise said it in a happily manner.
“And one of the Five Great Disasters that rebelled is—”
“The Demon General of Blaze.”
Kyelse said it plainly.
“Ren, even you should have heard of the name Achendia.”
“She’s the Great Demon since ancient time!”
—Achendia the “Demon General of Blaze”.
The legendary level highest rank Demon who was even called the embodiment of hell fire that even appeared in fairy tales.
“That’s why I’m having a hard time.”
Elise sighed with an unpleasant tone.
“She was my former subordinate so I thought I should do something about it. But it would be impossible to stop her in this weakened form, you know? So I was troubled to whether I should focus on returning my body back to its original form and put the search for the Encore on-hold. So, this is my suggestion—”
“You’ll help in finding the Encore but you want us to help you in stopping Achendia. Right?”
“Just to be expected from Fear, you get to the point quickly.”
“I did predict what was going on behind the scene due to the Five Great Disasters appearing on Earth.”
The Archangel nodded with a bitter smile.
“How about it, Kyelse?”
“I don’t mind. Both Fear and I are far from our primes, but there’s no way we will be beaten if all three of us are present. Also, I want Ren to know it right away.”
“……Know what?”
“The meaning to form a party with the three of us, that is.”
Kyelse’s tone that sounded peaceful at first—
It carried so much pressure that made Ren shiver.
“Even though the action to find the Encore is the same, our party is different to other parties. This is a good opportunity to have you understand that.”
His comrades’ strength was immeasurable, but likewise, the strength of their enemy were also in a different league.
The ones that would stand in front of them would be legendary-level monsters. The enemies he would meet would be all superior to him. The journey where the point between life and death would await him right after he survives through a situation where he may die.
“What do you think?”
“……Bring it on.”
Ren held the glass of club soda with his shaking hand.
“Nothing would change from the time back when I was at the Academy if I get scared here. I also don’t mind who our enemies are. I simply have to go forward until I find the Encore!”
He declared it with all his might. He then drank the glass of club soda in one-go.
That instant.
“Gua!? C-Cough……i-it got caught inside my throat……”
“I-Idiot! That’s disgusting and don’t throw it up on me! What fool would drink a carbohydrate drink in one-go!?”
“……Looks like the road ahead doesn’t seem promising.”
“……Ren, that’s disgusting.”
Ren who had just threw up the club soda he had just drunk, and Kyelse who got wet by him due to sitting right beside him.
Seeing those two—
The Archangel and the former Demon King sighed at the same time. |
LNWNCentral | Sekai no Owari no Encore/Sekai no Owari no Encore - Volume 01 - The Knight of Reincarnation/Sekai-no-Owari-no-Encore-Volume-01-The-Knight-of-Reincarnation-[Baka-Tsuki][WebToEpub]/0008_4.txt | The party departed the triumphal town—
They walked across the grass covered in rich green towards the west where there wasn’t any road.
“Unlike the previous road, there sure aren’t many people around here this time. Why can’t I see any parties anywhere?”
“That’s because this isn’t the normal path.”
Kyelse had her shining silver hair blown by the blowing wind. As Ren walked next to her, he pointed towards the horizon on his left.
“The constructed road would be located far over there.”
“I prefer this grassland. This sense of feeling walking on the grass sure is nice. I even want to walk barefoot.”
“It’s not like I don’t like this either……”
The grasslands covered the sight of every direction he looked towards.
The path they were walking on wasn’t a regular road towards other towns. Instead, they walked off from the regular road since this was the shortcut. It was a grassland where there wasn’t any guidepost anywhere. The advantage of this path was that the distance they need to walk had decreased a lot.
“Hey, Elise? Achendia of the Five Great Disasters hadn’t moved from the Great Volcano of Galia, right?”
“She hasn’t. She’s the Demon General of Blaze so she loves hot places. So she prefers places like active volcano where it has magma bursting. I guess she made that location as her base while acting as she likes.”
The dark-skinned girl who answered while skipping.
“Like I mentioned before, I doubt Achendia has any motive like conquering the Earth. The Dragon-species are also present on Earth after all. Though it would become problematic if we don’t stop her quickly. Since a big shot like one of the Five Great Disasters appeared, there are rumours that parties from all over the world are coming to hunt Achendia down. She would be the best target for parties who wants to become famous.”
“……So that means they will get slaughtered instead, huh.”
“Exactly. Humans love to replace the word reckless with the word challenge. The highest-level Demons such as the Five Great Disasters. There are only few parties that can put on a fight against them.”
That was the reason why they took the shortcut.
The parties whose aim was to hunt down one of the Five Great Disasters. So in order to keep those parties from challenging Achendia and getting killed instead, it was necessary for them to head to Great Volcano of Galia quickly as possible.
“Well, there’s another reason why I chose this road.”
Elise chuckled and put on a teasing smile.
“I acknowledge Kyelse and Fear’s strength. But I don’t know about Ren really well yet.”
“……?”
“So do your best.”
The former Demon King winked at him and made a distance with him by stepping back.
When Ren realised it, both Kyelse and Fear had also stopped. They were staring to the right—
“……Is there something wrong with that forest?”
The large and rich forest that was present alongside the grassland.
At times, the cries of unknown birds can be heard along with the wind. Its voice—
It quieted down all of a sudden which made it creepy.
“!”
Ren discarded the luggage he was carrying and drew out his sword from the holder equipped on his hips with his reflex.
The reason why Ren drew out his sword wasn’t due to his instructor’s teaching but more of an animal-like instinct.
The forest then shook.
It scattered many leaves and what appeared from there was a single giant snake.
“A twin-headed snakeQuetzalcoatl!?”
A snake covered in an ochre colour.
A monster which lived in the forest widely throughout the world. It becomes so large and cunning where it could live for dozens of years. The announcement to hunt it down were given to the parties immediately if it was spotted near towns. It must had come out after it was stimulated by the presence of Ren and others who were walking through the grassland.
“Ah, I get it now!”
The Quetzalcoatl was after Ren who was standing closest to it.
It was a monster which comes charging ahead by crawling on the ground where it has a speed as if it was skating on an ice. Even though it was a medium-size among its species, its total length had already surpassed that of an adult Quetzalcoatl. It was impossible to escape from its grip once caught even for a lion. Even so, all of its movement seemed slow from Ren’s eyes.
“It’s slower than the Wyvern.”
He simply said that.
He jumped exactly to the side of the monster which had raised its head. Ren turned around, and the large snake’s tail came striking down at him so he used the ridge of his sword to block it. He made the impact of the shock slide towards the back.
—Guarding won’t be good.
—The sword would break if it gets hit by it directly. Even if it didn’t, my hand which is holding onto the sword would go numb due to the impact.
The three years he spent at the Academy. It was something he learned so many times during the unofficial match he had against student MASTERKnights. You shouldn’t guard against an attack with your sword.
What conquers an attack wasn’t guarding but evading.
The moment Ren’s sword clashed against the enemy’s sword (its tail), Ren let the impact slid away to the back as if it was washed away.
“Impressive……”
“That’s it. I would give a passing mark for that move.”
Elise who had a meaningful smile and Kyelse who nodded her head in satisfaction.
However, the reaction of those two who were behind Ren didn’t reach him.
—A do-or-die situation.
Losing even a single sight of the enemy’s move would lead to your defeat.
“Ha.”
Ren thrusts his sword forward after he took a quick breath.
An instant moment where the Quetzalcoatl shrunk its body and halted its movement in order to focus its target on Ren. The tip of Ren’s sword missed by an inch and cracked the twin-headed snake’s fangs.
[Hsssssss!?]
The monster whose body was shaking.
But that only happened for a moment. It then carried the emotion of rage within the red eyes of its two head—
“Yup, that’s good enough. Bye-bye.”
The dark-skinned girl waved her hand light-heartedly.
Immediately after that. On the ground which was directly under the Quetzalcoatl who was about to attack Ren starts to build up and then exploded. It blew away the monster’s large body to the opposite direction far away.
Curse-explosive.
What was left was a huge crater and a spell’s circular-symbol which was giving a bright blow.
“H-Huh?”
The opponent who had himself blown away in an instance.
Seeing such thing, Ren blinked in an astonishment as he held his sword.
“What was all that struggle for……”
“It’s okay. The fight you just put up was enough to show me how much effort you put in that fight, Ren. Wouldn’t it simply make you exhausted if you continued to fight any further? Our journey has only started.”
Elise whose tone was high due to the excitement started skipping again and approached Ren.
“Way to go, Ren. To be honest, I was wondering how weak you were since I heard that you were still a student MASTERKnight and tested you. But you were able to put on a fight nicely.”
She approached so close to him that their body would touch each other. She looked up while her eyes carried a sense of curiosity.
“Hey, have you ever fought a Quetzalcoatl before?”
“No way. A monster like that would never show up at the student town. Rather, that was my first time fighting a monster……ah, though there was an exception like that Wyvern.”
“Hmm? Then you were able to fight that much in your first try?”
“W-What?”
“Nothing really. I just thought you were more capable than I thought. Right, Kyelse?”
“It would be a problem if he wasn’t.”
The silver girl, who was the only one eating a chocolate quietly, nodded her head.
“Either way, let’s move on. Keep on walking, Ren. It’s still far away from our destination, the Great Volcano.”
“……I know.”
Ren carried the heavy luggage on his back once again and started walking to the West once again.
The one behind him were the members of the legendary party, the Three Great Princesses. While he sensed their gaze on his back, Ren started walking across the grassland which had no road. |
LNWNCentral | "Sekai no Owari no Encore/Sekai no Owari no Encore - Volume 01 - The Knight of Reincarnation/Sekai-n(...TRUNCATED) | "Due to the touch by the cold breeze, the grasses made a soft sound under this night.\nWhile the cri(...TRUNCATED) |
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