Chapter 146 – Those Left Behind 3
Translator: Ranzan Editor: JackOFallTrades
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Deep in a training room in Aurolia’s castle.
「Now, stand. Or will you give up?」
No way, no way, no way.
I will be a hero, and I’m Gagarland, right?
Why did I end up like this, in this situation?
「I thought the one thing a soldier has to have on his path to be a hero is that he has to be strong, but I guess I expected too much.」
Her silver hair waved in the sunlight, fwish, as she took the thin sword and whisked it through the air.
I thought it was a joke when they called me up from being security at some town to be the queen’s fencing instructor.
I thought that I wouldn’t lose to anyone in a real fight, but now a commoner like me was going to teach someone imperial.
At first, I thought it was strange that a modest yet fickle queen would learn sword fighting.
Even so, I couldn’t turn down a proper request from the empire, and so with doubts, I made my way to the capital.
So, now, I’m in a mock battle to test my strength.
For a girl at this tender age to knock away the sword I have so much pride in and drop my butt to the ground…
「You have a strong body, and you’ve trained it well, but your skill is several levels lower than my knights.」
(Stupid, Stupid, STUPID!)
That’s all I could say being faced with this reality.
After being given this sudden, reasonless chance, my breast had burned as I came to this capital.
There was no other chance to directly meet the imperial family, but if they smiled upon me here, then I am sure to be given glory.
With the magical beasts beginning to rise up, I could be the one hero added to the others in the fight against them.
The previously chosen hero was covered completely in mithril so that only his face could be seen. Definitely the sign of a coward.
If only those crappy upper-class warriors from the aristocracy didn’t mess with the ceremony of choosing a hero, there’s no doubt I would have been a hero!
(Yeah, this is where I make it count…that hero would die on the battlefield quickly anyway! Then I would become the hero, a great hero. The greatest hero in this kingdom!)
I would do it, no, it’s strange that I don’t with the power I have!!
The queen’s cold demeanor means I have to win her trust, then, then I…
Just then, I smelled a sweet, flowery smell, and heard my own voice.
— Can a man who’s had his sword knocked away by our beloved queen, even be a hero?
「Y…YES!」
Those impulsive words were different from the present reality.
(No way, no way, no way, I can’t…there’s no way!)
「Stop messing with meeeeeeeeeeeeee!」
I noticed that I had drawn my own sword from my back and had charged at the queen.
(Ah, dammi….!)
An unreal act of barbarism, unconsciously acted upon and too late.
My sword was knocked down as I was too brutish to pull it back in time.
「『Sweet Petals of Protection』」
In a second, all was rubbish.
Then, I saw her beauty with my own eyes.
「Huh? Whaaa? Ah!」
A huge flower filled with petals colored in soft pink.
The flower appeared so suddenly in front of my own sword, that my sword slipped from my hand. But, that instant, almost as if the sword returned to sand… disintegrated to silver powder at my feet.
All that was left was a cleanly preserved handle, which I pulled from the dust.
「You are too weak.」
With grumbling words and an icy look, she chilled the blood in my heart like a frigid stream of water.
Now that I was sane again, I remembered the brutish, foolish thing I had done, and just the thought of what I had done made my head spin.
The crime of treason, the crime of attacking the queen, meant my blood relatives would have their heads cut off and set on pikes, and that my beautiful wife awaiting my return in one room of the castle would instead be tragically dealt with before the faces of my town.
That horrific image swirled around my head.
「Ah…I’m sorry! No…I didn’t…Madam Aleshia! It was just a mistake of my hands…I never…never meant to hurt you or anyone!」
I fell to my knees in fear and confusion and lowered my head in desperation.
「Raise your head, Gagarland」
Just thinking of seeing her icy clare when I raised my head seemed terrifying to me.
However, I couldn’t remain like this.
So I slowly raised my head.
「…ah.」
There in front of me, like a completely different person, was a compassionate, angelic look of kindness on the girl’s face.
「You’re fine, there’s no reason for us to discard of a hero that will do everything for his country. Gagarland, patriots like you are an asset to your country. We need men like you to protect us.」
「Ah…I’m so happy to hear so…」
(Wait…I’m saved?)
Though I imagined the absolute worst, my stricken heart seemed to relax.
She looked unbelievably kind, to put it bluntly, almost like a naive young girl.
「However, Gagarland. You are simply not qualified to be a hero. With your power now and the enemies we face, you’ll quickly lose your life in battle.」
She sadly shook her head.
「I will teach you one of the secrets of our imperial family.」
As she said this, she held one grain of what seemed to be a seed.
「What…what is it?」
「A seed with the power to change the world. With this seed, I was given power.」
「With that seed…」
That said, her beautiful hand…as white as porcelain…handed the seed over to me.
As I looked at this seed now in my hand, I felt it had something attractive, almost like a magical force, inside of it.
(With this seed, she became powerful…? But…that story…, no, if so, then why is she so powerful? Something strange about it. If this seed gave the queen that power, then if I were to use it…)
I heard myself swallow loudly.
「You’ve granted it to me…so, may I eat it?」
「Yes, chew it up and swallow it. This seed has the power of a spirit-god. Once it enters your body, the seed with quickly grants you enormous powers. Then you will become a great hero to defend the Kingdom of Aurelia.」
「I…a great hero…defending…」
「Yes, there’s no need to hesitate. It is your choice.」
Her voice sounded pleasing to the ear, and I felt myself smile.
「T, then I promise to use my body to protect this country!!」
I then eat the seed, about the size of a soldier’s provisional cracker.
Just then, I could feel a painful burning rush out to my four extremities as I crouched to the ground.
「Ugh, GUWAAAAAHAHHHHH?!」
HotHotHotHOTHOTHOTHOT HOTTT!!!
There was a pain, almost like my body was being reconstructed, a hot pain that bleached my thoughts white.
I couldn’t take the pain and collapsed, unable to look up, unable to see the face of Queen Aleshia.
☆
「Gagarland, this is the training demanded of by the spirit-god. None can defeat the power of the 『Seed of the World Tree』…so do your best.」
I smiled at him kindly as Gagarland had fallen, having lost consciousness, and called an attendant.
「Please take Gagarland to his room.」
I clapped lightly, and a hollowed-eye attendant girl came and lifted the massive body of Gagarland off the floor.
The muscular Gagarland seemed a bit strange to be picked off the floor by a slight attendant girl.
(Well, no matter. Everyone in the castle is mine because of what the Leader of the Knights Giddot did for me…)
「Well, well, quite a nasty sight you’ve created, Queen? Or don’t you think so?」
「『…』」
When I saw the attendants enter the castle, there was an elf with a fearsome look of objection on his/her face that appeared.
That elf Endemia had a smile that mocked humans, and from behind her right shoulder, a short man emerged wearing full plate armor that hid everything but his face.
「Endemia! Move that dirty hand away!」
「Whoa, scaaaaary. If you yell like that, no one’s going to take you seriously, right?」
I shot forth a small, compressed fireball the size of a marble toward Endemia’s left shoulder. However, just before it hit her the fireball slowed down to a stop, and stopped right above the palm of her hand, blazing for a bit, and then disappearing.
Like usual, her composed anger and the fact that I had made her move her hand was enough to finish the exchange without anyone using more magic.
「Geez, don’t you know elves aren’t your enemyyyy? Cantchu be a little nicer?」
「I don’t like boring jokes. I only love those that defend our country. The disdain I have for monsters that aren’t human that I don’t know are enemies or not is different. Disgusting. Even if I allow humans with mixed blood in this place, please think of it as special circumstances.」
「Well, well, even though I’ve taught youuuu so much.」
Even with the displeasure, I showed Endemia and her guest, she let it flow by her like wind through the willows.
It wasn’t her broad-mindedness that was the reason, but because she wasn’t displeased because she knew that she had free entry even as we looked down on her.
(No, I must relax. There’s no resisting displeasure at disgusting beasts like these. We need to think over what needs to be done from now.)
「Well, Endemia, have you told Miminya, Gagarland’s wife? Have you had her take the seed yet?」
「Of course I did. 『Wellll, Miminya, no Miminya. Your man hass the ability to be a hero. And if you want to help him become that heroooo, I have a seed for you to take to help him get there.』I said, and she chomped it right down.」
She said it almost as if she was reperforming the scene before me.
「So thennn, well, hate to bring some lonesommmme news at the end of this all. I have to take a little trippp.」
「…what do you mean?」
「I must take leave of you for today. I have some minor businessss to attend to, no, not attend to. I jussst don’t have time to spend hanging around here. Because of that, I didn’t want to forget my goodbyesss as I am so polite, so I must take leave. …goodbye, it wasn’t boring being here, even though an interesssting girl like you is ssstill a fake ssssubstitute.」
「…WAIT A SECOND!」
Hee hee hee, and like a fairy, she laughed, was covered in darkness and disappeared.
「~~~~~~!! Damn that mixed-blood freak!!」
This world is the human world, so why do non-humans like that move up in it so quickly?
「…well, however, soon I will get rid of those nuisances myself.」
「『…』」
With no one there, I put my hand out to the silent armored woman.
Then I pulled her close into an embrace.
「Lunesia, please be at ease. I will show you that I can accomplish this.」