Chapter 11: Final Chapter
──Rigaland Republic
The adventurer’s guild in Bednar’s town was noisier than usual, buzzing with activity. Tsuji, who was nearby, called out to a familiar adventurer.
“Huh? What’s up?”
“Oh, now that I think about it, that Shigeto guy—the one who’s a Celestial Rank—is an acquaintance of yours, right?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah. He does… but why? Don’t tell me—”
“No way. This time, he took down Gordon.”
“What?”
As Tsuji turned around, he locked eyes with Domoto, who was staring intently at him. Domoto’s expression remained unchanged as he silently returned Tsuji’s gaze.
“Hey, Domoto!”
“Yeah. I heard…”
Domoto and the others knew about Gordon. Although Disaster’s base was in a different town, being adventurers in the same republic meant they’d heard plenty of rumors about him.
His strength. His cruelty.
When Carton fell from the Celestial Rank, adventurers had speculated that someone would surely seek revenge.
“…Isn’t that good news? You were worried, weren’t you? All of you.”
“Well… Kimijima and the others are with him, right? We were worried, but…”
“It’s interesting. Despite his age during the transfer and his guardian spirit, there’s nothing particularly outstanding about him.”
“Yeah… What’s going on?”
“I don’t know. But we’ll just do what we have to do.”
──Glenvarren Dynasty – Shumel
In the castle’s training room, Ikeda and Tomonori were holding their swords, breathing heavily. In contrast, the woman standing opposite them looked calm, even smiling slightly at the corners of her beautiful lips.
Her name was Altadena. She was a Celestial Rank member of the Dilmun Knights, the same order as Ikeda, and she was tasked with guiding him.
“Tomoki. Why are you in such a hurry?”
“Ah, I’m not in a hurry, but…”
Ikeda denied it, but from Altadena’s perspective, it was clear that he wasn’t his usual self. Normally a calm young man who seemed older than his age, today Ikeda was throwing himself into training with reckless abandon.
“…Is it about Shigeto?”
“Huh?”
The Dilmun Knights were known as the oldest and strongest knight order in this world. As such, they demanded a high level of decorum, and Ikeda’s daily curriculum included everything from the history of this world to etiquette and even dancing. Because of this, he was rarely allowed to go on monster hunts to raise his rank.
──I wonder how much stronger everyone else has become.
At the Sky Temple, Domoto and the others had become adventurers to raise their ranks and were steadily carrying out their plans to fight monsters.
Amidst this, Shigeto had once again achieved a Celestial Fall, climbing further up the rankings. It was only natural for Ikeda to feel anxious.
“Don’t rush. You’re still young.”
“I know, but…”
“Trust in our methods. You’ll grow much stronger.”
“…Yes.”
“The methods of the Dilmun Knights, honed over a thousand years.”
As Ikeda gazed at Altadena’s confident expression, he gradually regained his composure.
──That’s right. Look at their strength… I have to believe in it.
Seeing the change in Ikeda’s expression, Altadena smiled knowingly. “You’ll be fine now,” she said with a grin.
This boy’s future is bright, she thought.
After safely returning to town, we headed straight for the communal bath. Yarzak had suddenly left town and seemed to have a backlog of work. He was caught by Stroman and dragged off to the station.
My training camp with Regress was over, but the special training for the students by Spells and Mainui wasn’t finished yet. They’ll apparently stick with the training until the students reach the seventh rank.
The levels in this world differ from the levels in the games of our world, with a maximum of only ten levels. Still, the increase in ability with each levels is significant.
However, the climb becomes particularly steep from the eighth levels onward. The risks involved in life-threatening battles mean many stop around that level.
Regress, as usual, spent the night drinking with Spells, and the next day, he casually said, “Well, see you later,” and prepared to leave.
“Wait! Reg-san!”
I hurriedly called out to Regress, who was about to depart on Genuin’s back.
“What’s up?”
“Ah, um… thank you for everything.”
“I enjoyed it, so don’t worry about it.”
“But you really helped us.”
“Yeah, and make sure to sort things out with Yuzuki, okay?”
“Wha—?!”
Caught off guard by the sudden mention of Kimijima’s name, I stumbled over my words. Beside me, Kimijima happily said, “It’s fine!” while hugging my arm tightly. I froze, forcing a smile.
“Where are you headed next?”
“Hmm… I heard a kid with the Holy Zenith guardian has appeared, so I might go check that out.”
“Holy Zenith? Wait, Domoto!”
“Yeah, Domoto Kyohei. He seems interesting, doesn’t he?”
“Ah! Um, if you see Domoto, please say hello from me!”
“Hmm. Well, don’t get your hopes up too much.”
“But if it’s you, Reg-san…”
As I responded, Regress scratched his head, looking somewhat troubled as he glanced at us.
“You’re really something… Well, I’ll keep an eye out.”
“Thank you!”
With that, Regress urged Genuin forward.
Mera, perched on Kimijima’s shoulder, let out a “Peeep!” as Genuin’s large rear swayed and his tail spun around. On the way back from Dix Village, Mera had taken a liking to riding on Genuin’s head, so perhaps some kind of friendship had blossomed.
As he rode away, Regress waved once without looking back and soon disappeared from sight.
Brian, Amul, and the others had already left town, heading back to their respective places. According to Spells, adventurers like them spreading the word about me would help reduce the number of adventurers aiming to replace the Celestial Ranks.
“It’s fine. We’ll make sure to spread the word about your strength. Right?”
“Y-yeah. We just came to raise our levels and happened to see that, but…”
“Right. levels. That’s it. We came to raise our levels.”
The members of Trident spoke with strained expressions, but Brian, being fairly high-ranked, would ensure that the word got around.
Especially the fact that we wiped out Disaster—that’s a big deal.
For me, I’d rather avoid unnecessary battles. If things go that way, it’s all the better.
Miree, having finished organizing the church in the village, was also preparing to return to the Sky Temple. On the way back, she planned to stop by the capital of the Federation to begin the procedures for building a church.
“Well then… I’ll be going.”
The holy halls in various countries of this world have magic circles that accept transfers, making it easy to come here. However, the magic circles for sending people back exist only in the Sky Temple and the Envirion Grand Cathedral in the Wilbrand Holy Kingdom. The return trip seems to be a hassle.
I feel more apologetic that she went out of her way to come here to apologize.
“Shigeto-san. I’ll keep what happened in my heart for a while. Please rest assured.”
“I’m sorry. I appreciate it.”
“No… I want you to enjoy this world.”
Perhaps my rank poses various problems for Miree, who is a priestess. Regress’s request might also be a factor, but she’s still been kind to me.
“Sensei… what’s that about?”
“Huh?”
Kimijima, who had been listening to my conversation with Miree, asked me with a smile on her face… but her eyes weren’t smiling. I felt an indescribable pressure and stepped back.
“That’s a secret between Shigeto-san and me.”
Miree’s words only added fuel to Kimijima’s fire.
“Wait, Miree-san!”
“Fufufu.”
“Sensei!”
“It’s not like that!”
About a month later, the repairs on Vito’s inn were completed, and the four of us moved in.
As part of the state military’s duties, we have to regularly thin out the monsters around the town and the nearby roads. But for now, the three of them are focused on repeating the training sessions with Spells and Mainui.
I’m also part of the federal army, but since I’m under the state military’s jurisdiction, I join other state soldiers in the thinning-out operations. I’m also looking forward to being taught how to repair roads.
Vito was initially quite nervous about our arrival, but as she gradually got used to us, she started talking more.
I’ve been quite concerned about her, so I felt relieved when she started showing more of her childish side. Now, as the manager of the boarding house, she’s learning to cook so she can at least prepare breakfast. I’m teaching her some simple dishes, drawing from my experience of living alone.
“Thanks to you, Sensei. Once again, you’ve helped me.”
“Well, it’s partly my fault for getting you involved.”
At my words, Kimijima pouted and made a dissatisfied face.
“What are you talking about? If we trace it back, it’s because you came to help me that you became a Celestial Rank.”
“Huh? Well, that’s true, but…”
“I need to get stronger quickly so I can work hard as your guardian knight. That’s why!”
“Guardian… huh?”
“We’ll always be together.”
As Kimijima smiled faintly, I began to feel that I couldn’t resist her much longer.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.GITHUB.IO
Afterword
To the readers who picked up this book and read it for the first time. And to everyone involved in its production—the editor, the illustrator Tozai-san, the proofreaders, and everyone else—I express my gratitude.
In this first volume, the protagonist managed to save his students. I think it turned into a fairly intense work, but then the question became, what next? This was where I struggled.
Of course, the protagonists were suddenly thrown into an unfamiliar world. First, they had to adapt to this world. That’s the story I wanted to write. But doing so would make it a slow-paced, slice-of-life kind of story. I thought the readers who picked up this book would probably want to read something more action-packed. My editor, Hayashi-kun, pointed this out, and I agonized over it.
After much back and forth, I cut out unnecessary descriptions, too many characters, sleep, emotions, and other important things to make it sharper. At the same time, I added depth to the story to keep it from becoming monotonous.
And as the story builds toward the final climax, the egos and desires of the various characters, each with their own quirks, clash in complex ways, creating a chaotic mix. I tried to capture the atmosphere of a complex and flavorful martial arts novel, with Shigeto’s decisive strike cutting through the confusion.
Once again, I enjoyed writing this with my editor, Hayashi-kun. If you, the readers, enjoyed it as well, I’m truly happy.
By the time this book reaches your hands, the manga adaptation will likely have started. I hope you’ll enjoy that too.
This afterword turned out a bit shorter than usual, but I hope to meet you all again in this way.
Sakasagiri
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