“Now then, where should I go?”
I stepped out of the overly luxurious inn provided for the festival participants and was looking over the map given to me by the Institute when someone tapped my back.
“Yo.”
“Lily, huh?”
I turned to see Lily looking up at me. If she were an assassin targeting me, I feel like I would have been killed ten times over by now… well, putting that aside—
“Do you want to walk around the city with me?”
“Yeah.”
Lily nodded. She looked the same as usual, but I didn’t miss the sparkle in her eyes. It seemed she was excited about her first time in the Holy City too.
“Alright, then time is limited. Let’s go, Lily!”
“Oh—”
Hearing her somewhat flat response, I dashed off to enjoy the city to the fullest.
“Lily, they say this is the most popular sweet in the city. Want some?”
“I’ll eat it.”
“Alright. Excuse me, I’ll take this candy—”
We bought some slightly overpriced sweets that were supposedly all the rage…
“I guess you’d expect the Holy City’s library to be on another level. The number of books is insane. Although it feels like there are a lot of religious books…”
“…………”
“Lily, I hate to interrupt your focus, but we’re leaving soon.”
“…………”
“Lily!!”
We visited the library, where Lily got so excited by the scale that she ended up glued to the books, forcing us to stay way past our scheduled time…
“Does it look good?”
“Oh, it suits you.”
“Then I’ll buy it.”
We looked at trinkets in a general store that, frankly, looked like they could be sold anywhere else…
“So this is the ‘Proof of Lumen,’ said to depict the final battle of the Evil Spirit War.”
I muttered as I looked at the war painting, which depicted the hero Arthur facing off against the infamous spirit master Evan and the black shadows believed to be the Four Perils, holding a glowing sword and spear. At a glance, the scene felt hopeless. I wondered what Arthur felt as he challenged the evil spirits…
“…………”
“Lily, are you getting sleepy?”
“……Not at all.”
“No, you look incredibly sleepy……”
I wasn’t sure if the museum was boring or if she was just tired, but it seemed Lily was ready for a nap. It was probably time to head back to the inn, but…
“Lily, there’s one last place I want to stop by. Is that okay?”
“……Mm.”
Having secured her permission, we left the museum and moved quickly toward the center of the city: Hero Square.
“Rourke.”
“What is it?”
“What kind of place is Hero Square?”
“Hmm, well… it’s pretty much exactly what the name implies.”
“……?”
Lily tilted her head curiously. I gave her a wry smile and said, “You’ll see when we get there.” It’s the kind of thing that’s better seen than explained.
“……Look, you can see it now.”
“………!”
Where I pointed, Lily’s eyes widened, her sleepiness completely blown away by the sight of a crystal towering like a spire.
“Is that, perhaps………”
“Yeah. That is the Holy Spear Spirit, Rhongomyniad, said to have fought alongside the hero Arthur.”
Clad in white armor like a knight, with a pair of pure white wings growing from its back, it looked incredibly mystical and heroic.
“Amazing.”
“Yeah, truly……”
I agreed with her as I looked up at Rhongomyniad again.
Now, it is sealed within the crystal as if sleeping, but thinking about how this spirit once fought alongside the hero just like in that painting… it stirred something in my chest.
“They say Rhongomyniad sealed itself upon the death of its contractor, Arthur, as a final proof of its loyalty.”
“……And you are?”
“Don’t you think it’s a wonderful tale of the bond between a spirit and its user?”
I turned toward the voice and saw a boy in a black school uniform standing next to me, also looking up at Rhongomyniad.
He was an intellectual-looking boy with white hair reaching down to his eyes and black-rimmed glasses. He offered a hand with a gentle smile.
“Nice to meet you, people of Utrea Academy. I am Yuma Shreft, the Student Council President of Liber Academy.”
“……I’m Rourke Areas of Utrea Academy.”
“Lily Olaria.”
I shook Yuma-san’s hand, feeling shaken. I didn’t expect to meet the Student Council President of the previous festival’s winning school in a place like this.
“So, you are the Rourke Areas I’ve heard about……”
“…………Eh? You know about me?”
I reflexively asked back, given how he spoke as if he’d known me for a while.
“Yes, I’ve heard various stories. I heard that you are a spirit master who even surpasses Utrea’s strongest, Misha Romus.”
“……R-Really……?”
“Yes, quite really.”
While Yuma-san nodded with a smile, I clutched my head and crouched down on the spot, overwhelmed by the fact that such rumors were circulating.
You’ve got to be kidding me. My reputation has spread that far? People are definitely exaggerating… give me a break.
Behind me, Lily was nodding proudly with her arms crossed, while Yuma-san looked concerned, asking, “A-Are you alright?”
What are you nodding for? I mentally snapped at Lily before standing up and saying, “I’m fine.”
“You must be tired. It would be best to rest today and prepare for tomorrow.”
“Yes, I’ll do that. Thank you for your concern.”
“No, I should apologize for calling out to you so suddenly. I look forward to giving it our all against you in the festival.”
With a pleasant smile, Yuma-san walked away. I watched him go with a strained smile, muttering, “P-Please go easy on me……”
“…………”
“Rourke-senpai?”
While I was feeling gloomy, a familiar voice reached me. I turned to see Leia-san and Akari-san standing together.
“……You two came to see this too? That’s a surprise.”
“I wanted to sleep at the inn, but Leia dragged me here.”
“Ah, that’s right. Leia-san, you had the Biography of Arthur read to you, didn’t you?”
I remembered our conversation at the crepe shop.
“Yes, it’s a rare opportunity, so I wanted to see this at the very least.”
“Actually, she wanted to come with you, Rourke-senpai, but you left so quickly that I ended up being her substitute……”
“A-Akari-san!! W-W-W-What are you saying!?”
Leia-san’s face turned bright red as she grabbed Akari-san by the shoulders and shook her violently.
“Well, I guess if you’re going, you’d want to go with someone who knows the story.”
“T-That’s right! Exactly!! I wanted to go with someone I could talk about the story with—”
“Eh? But when you came to my room—”
“I’ll burn you!?”
Akari-san was being shaken so hard she looked like she might lose consciousness before she even got burned. I should probably save her.
“Now, Leia-san. That’s enough, I get it.”
“R-Really?”
“Yeah. I understand the pain of being misunderstood all too well, so it’s okay. Don’t worry.”
I answered confidently. In times like this, it’s best to just believe what the person says. If she says so, it must be true.
“I-I see. That’s a relief……”
Relieved by my words, she finally stopped shaking Akari-san. Akari-san looked a bit groggy, but she seemed okay for now.
“By the way, Rourke-senpai, were you talking to someone besides Lily just now?”
“Ah, you saw that……”
Apparently, they saw the conversation with Yuma-san. It wasn’t exactly a secret, so I told them.
“I happened to run into the Student Council President of Liber Academy.”
“The Student Council President of Liber Academy!?”
“…………”
Leia-san looked shocked, clearly not expecting me to be chatting with a president. Meanwhile, the groggy Akari-san’s atmosphere completely changed.
“What’s wrong, Akari-san?”
“……Was the president the only one there?”
“A-Ah, yeah. But…”
Confused by her question, I answered, and she simply said “I see…” as her menacing aura vanished into thin air.
“Is there something bothering you?”
“……It’s nothing.”
She denied it, but there’s definitely something about Liber Academy. Still, since she says it’s nothing, I shouldn’t pry.
“Rourke.”
“……Ah, right. Let’s head back.”
I nodded at Lily’s words. If we’re thinking about tomorrow, we should get some rest.
“What about you two?”
“……We’ll head back too. We’ve seen what we came to see.”
Leia-san answered while glancing at Akari-san. I nodded. That was probably for the best.
“Then, let’s all head back together.”
I started walking toward the inn with the three of them. Looking up, the sky that had been bright just a moment ago was now dimming. Sunset was near.
“…………”
As I watched the sky, I felt a vague sense of unease in my heart.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.GITHUB.IO
Rewinding time slightly to just after Yuma and Rourke parted ways.
Yuma Shreft was wandering aimlessly through the Holy City.
“Finally found you, Yuma-kun.”
“Oh, it’s rare for you to have business with me.”
Hearing a voice from behind, he turned to see a girl in the same school uniform.
She had black hair cut to her shoulders and a beauty mark under her ruby-like red eyes. Though she had a slender build, her curves were evident even through the uniform, giving her a charming appearance that naturally drew the gaze of the opposite sex.
She gave a bewitching smile and denied his words.
“It’s not me; Sensei is calling for you.”
“I see. I’ve caused you some trouble then.”
Apologizing to the girl who had come looking for him, Yuma turned his steps toward the inn where the Liber Academy students were staying.
“……Yuma-kun.”
“Yes?”
“Did something good happen?”
Yuma stopped and looked back at her.
“Does it look that way?”
“Very much so.”
“……Hmm.”
He thought he had been hiding it, but it seemed it had shown on his face.
“Actually, I met a student I’ve been interested in for a while. That might be why.”
“Heh~, from which school?”
“Utrea Academy.”
When he named the school, the girl’s expression shifted slightly. Yuma found it unusual and asked:
“Are you interested in someone from that academy as well?”
“Fufu, it’s not quite ‘interest’.”
Despite her words, she answered playfully. Thinking her reaction was rare, Yuma started walking again and spoke over his shoulder.
“I hope you get to fight the person you’re looking for, Tsukikage-san.”
“Likewise.”
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