———


  “Erina!”


  I let out a cry loud enough that I even surprised myself, and started to run.

  I hastily rush over and ascertain Erina-san’s condition.

  The first thing I felt was her abnormally high body temperature. Her entire body is hot, her breathing is harsh, her perspiration isn’t stopping. It’s clearly abnormal, but I mustn’t make her rest in the kitchen. I call out to her several times, but—perhaps unconscious—there’s no response. I don’t really want to move her, but it can’t be helped.

  I crawl underneath Erina-san, fire myself up and lift my body. I didn’t think that a three-year-old child would be able to lift up an adult female, but my trained body responded to the necessary demands to accomplish it. I limp along with her on my back: it’s an awkward movement, but I walk step by step: in a way that ensured that I wouldn’t drop her. Frankly, it was demanding, but thankfully Erina-san’s room is close by.

  Barely managing to reach her room safely, I shift her onto the bed and then return to the kitchen.

  I had also studied medical science in my previous life, but this is a different world. Even though I can think of similar manifestations, it’s not necessarily the same disease.

  Setting aside the examination, I try to rehydrate her. Having perspired to that extent, she’ll succumb to dehydration. I fill a wooden cup with the water that she had already prepared for brewing black tea, and finely chop some apus with a knife. Taking the finely chopped apus into my hand, I squeeze them into the cup and mix it with the water. I put a cloth and water into a nearby bucket and return to Erina-san’s room carrying everything that I had prepared.

  When I get back, Erina-san had awakened.

  But her face is pale, and seemingly unable to even raise the upper-half of her body, she apologetically turned her eyes over here.

  “Sirius-sama……I’m so sorr—…..”


  “It’s fine! Here, drink some water.”


  I prop up the cup to her mouth and slowly tilt it. She seems to be able to swallow the liquid, so taking care not to choke her, I continue to make her drink it. I move the cup away just as she had drunk about half, wring the bucket water out of the cloth and wipe away Erina-san’s sweat, wring it once again and placed it on her forehead.

  “Aah……I feel much better. Thank you very much.”


  “Don’t worry about it, more importantly, what happened? Is this a disease?”


  “Yes, it’s probably……Demon’s Water disease.”


  Demon’s Water disease? Where have I seen……aah, it was Albert’s Book of Travels!

  If I’m not mistaken, there was a certain village where there were numerous deaths due to Demon’s Water disease or something in that book……wait, isn’t that a dangerous disease?! As it wasn’t a medical text, only the name and the outcome of the disease was written, so I don’t know the specifics of the disease.

  “Please don’t worry. It’ll be okay when Dee and Noel return tomorrow.”


  Perhaps she had noticed that I’m panicking, Erina-san spoke to me as if to calm me down.

  “With Demon’s Water disease, if you have the medicine, you will get better. As that medicine had run out, I had the two of them go out to buy some. ”


  “I-, I see. If it’ll cure you, then it’s okay.”


  “Yes, I only have to put up with it until tomorrow. Only people with the water attribute can catch this disease, but I’m not sure whether Sirius-sama can catch it as well. So please avoid coming near me until the two of them get back, okay?”


  “All right. However, as you probably need things like water, I’d like you to allow me to tend to you, even if it’s just a little.”


  “I guess it can’t be helped. Thank you……for your help…….”


  Perhaps relieved, Erina-san lost consciousness as if a switch had been turned off.

  Oi oi, wait until tomorrow in this situation? Nevertheless, I can’t stop worrying in the least. Thinking ‘isn’t there anything I can do?’, I try searching around Erina-san’s room. Erina-san does have pharmacological knowledge, and there are things like compounding utensils in the room. There might possibly be something like a medicine that recovers a person’s physical strength around. Unfortunately there wasn’t, but instead, I discovered a book. It had a long-winded title, but rendered simply it’s: [Encyclopedia of Diseases].

  The main method of treating people in this world is to use magic, so medical knowledge is not advanced. Perhaps because of that, this book has no thickness to it; but it’s just what I need in this situation. I open the book without delay and search for the symptoms of Demon’s Water disease. As there’s no table of contents, it took more time than I expected it would, but I was able to quickly find it by skimming through the book.

  Demon’s Water disease.

  A strange disease whereby maryoku starts being spontaneously emitted from within the body.

  At that time, the body generates heat abnormally, and the body becomes unmovable due to the high fever.

  Strangely, while only people of the water attribute suffer from this disease, it’s highly infectious.

  As for the treatment, medicine made from a mixture of Water Demon grass will completely cure the disease.

  If it’s not dealt with within half a day, due to the maryoku depletion and the high fever, the person will lose their life.

  It’s because of that speed that—although it’s curable—it’s known throughout the world as a dreadful disease.

  It’s totally wasn’t okay!

  Erina-san was infected with Demon’s Water disease this afternoon, and Dee and Noel will return tomorrow afternoon. With a reprieve of half a day, if we were to wait for the other two, she’ll certainly die, won’t she?

  So much for ‘please don’t worry’…… She probably said it to put me at ease, but to hell with that! I don’t care about no circumspection. Because I’m going to do what I want to do.

  Since I’ve decided, I need to be expeditious.

  I turn over absolutely every book in the room and locate a book related to medicinal plants; it was for the purpose of finding the [Water Demon grass] necessary for the cure. Since the compounding method was written in the previous book, all I need now is the ingredients. While I am calming my impatient mind, I flip the pages, searching for words ‘Water Demon grass’. And then I came across the page I was looking for.

  Water Demon grass.

  Growing by absorbing underwater maryoku, it’s a species of medicinal plants which possesses a distinctive shape.

  Used in various mixtures, it possesses the property to vastly enhance the effects on people of the water-attribute.

  It grows naturally on watersides with thick maryoku and the collection is relatively easy.

  A picture of the Water Demon grass is also on the page and I beat its distinctive shape into my memory.

  I let go of the book and make preparations to collect the grass. As for a weapon, the knife in the kitchen will do. It’s a knife used for cooking, so its strength is an issue; but it’s better than nothing. I don’t need any armor that will obstruct my movement. This time it’s a speed-prioritized-gather-and-return operation. I take a small bag to be worn on my back, and just in case, I also leave behind fresh water and cut apus around Erina-san.

  With the preparations made, I rush out from the entranceway and check the sky. The day had already become dark, it’s the time period when day changes completely to night. There’s a moon that is further away and larger than the one in my previous life, but fortunately there’s a full moon today and it’s bright outside.

  My destination is the forest that is on the opposite side of the entrance. I would’ve been scolded by Erina-san so I haven’t gone deeply inside it before, but I do recall having heard the flow of water from this direction. If I try searching over there, then I might find Water Demon grass.

  It’s a world with demons, so a lone child rushing into the night forest is insane. However there’s no time to waste; if I were to fail Erina-san here, I would regret it for the rest of my life. I want to save someone that is saveable. Preparing myself for the worst, I charged into the forest.

  Because the footing isn’t stable with the many obstacles in the forest, even walking uses up more physical strength than I expected. I had the experience of being raised in a forest, so I can limit wastage; but the body is of a three-year-old child, so even that won’t last long. While avoiding the Horabis which jump out at me from time to time, I advance while controlling my physical strength consumption.

  Before long, I found a small river and searched for the Water Demon grass.

  “……there’s none?”


  Apparently ‘collection is easy’, but is it difficult for a flowing river? As ‘watersides with thick maryoku’ was written, I should head upstream rather than downstream. I stab a block of wood in the ground to act as a landmark, and hurried deep into the thick forest that was alongside the river.

  Passing over something fence-like on the way, I think it was about twenty minutes? Just when I thought the narrow river was rapidly spreading out, I realised that the river was just leading into a small lake. The lake split several times into rivers, and it seems that the one which I came alongside of was one of those.

  Given the breadth of this place, it looks like the grass would be here. The visibility is also favourable as the moonlight isn’t obstructed by trees, making it easy to search. ‘I should immediately’……right after I thought that, I sensed a presence and my feet came to a halt. As a wild beast wouldn’t reveal its presence so conspicuously, I stay concealed in the trees and shift my gaze towards the presence.

  Sure enough, that was there.

  Goblin.

  A head with horns, an entirely green, human shaped demon.

  In my previous life’s scale of measurement, it’s height looks to be approximately 1 meter. A crude cloth is wrapped around his waist and it’s carrying a piece of wood as a weapon. It’s strength is that of an ordinary adult male, it’s movements aren’t that fast and it’s also not smart.

  In exchange, their fertility and growth is abnormally rapid, and they have the habit of banding together, so subjugation corps are often assembled to deal with them and such.

  As it’s omnivorous it’ll also eat people, and in the case of females, they abduct them, rape them and force them to give birth to their children.

  If one was able to defeat a goblin that carried a weapon, they’d be called a novice adventurer.

  The aforementioned was from a selection of Albert’s Book of Travels.

  In other words, a goblin isn’t an enemy that a three-year-old child challenges.

  What’s more, there’s three people……no, since they’re not humans, there are also three goblins. Nevertheless, I will purposely challenge them. It’s because they’re a hindrance to my harvesting. They sit down on the bare ground with a dosshiri; they don’t have any intention of moving somewhere else. There’s also no time, so if they’re not going to move out of the way, then I’ve no choice but to eliminate them.

  Gripping the knife, I picked up a rock that was at my feet, threw it in an arc and it landed behind the goblins. That sound caught their attention, and the moment they turned their backs, I rushed out towards them.

  My posture is low, running swiftly towards their chests.

  The goblins turn around at the sound of my footsteps, but I’m already at their feet. I’m shorter than them, and they lose sight of me for an instant. I was in a position where they’d be able to see me if they lowered their gaze even just a little bit.

  In the space of that instant, I thrust in the knife into a throat.

  While the fresh blood that spurts out dyes my body red, the remaining two goblins, leaving their eyes open, had stopped moving. As a former educationist, I instinctively wanted to lecture them about their miserable state of standing stock still during a battle.

  I twisted my body and extract the knife with the resulting momentum, continuing, I cut the second goblin’s throat……in the middle of that, the knife broke. But I don’t stop moving. I take the broken part of the knife and, with the palm of my hand, push it into the goblin’s hand that came at me as a delayed form of opposition. Feeling the resistance, without slowing down one bit, I use the forward momentum to leap and I distanced myself while doing a forward roll three times.

  Looking back, two goblins have collapsed, and they died while shaking and twitching.

  One remains.

  But I don’t have a weapon, and I’m in pain because I was slightly cut from using my palm to push the edge of the knife into the goblin. Also, perhaps having recovered from being perturbed, the goblin yells out, enraged. I realized it just now, but that goblin’s weapon isn’t a piece of wood, it’s a sword. As the blade of the sword is short, I think it’s a kind of short blade, but I dare say it’s using it after picking it up from a human’s belongings.

  While I’m scrutinizing it, the goblin abruptly stopped moving and let out a laugh in a husky voice. Might it be thinking ‘my opponent is a child’ and is mocking me? I wonder if you realise that two of you were defeated in an instant by this child? Aah, come to think of it, ‘goblins are of low intelligence’, was it? It would be on its guard if it was a complete beast, but a half-baked intelligence turns out to be fatal. Well then, I’ll gratefully exploit that.

  This time I charged without lowering my posture, and the laughing goblin launched an obvious vertical slash at me. I slant my body and avoid it, concentrate, and chant. I visualise a baseball sized maryoku ball in a grenade launcher.

  “Slumbering truth from the depths, evil spirits that wheeze at me……”


  Argh, whatever, it’s such a pain!

  “[Impact]!”


  Aimed at the goblin’s face, I fired the ball of maryoku from point-blank range. Having eaten an impact that made his body float in the air for a moment, the goblin, holding his face, writhed around while screaming.

  With that opening, I pick up its dropped sword, and with the weight of my body, I end it by thrusting it into its throat……there.

  In this way, my first demon slaying ended.

  Putting an end to the battle, I make sure that there are no enemies in the surrounding area and take a breath. No, I didn’t stop at one breath. Perhaps I was more fatigued than expected, my temporarily disordered breathing had not settled. Even if my mind was used to it, my body is that of a three-year-old child, so it’s natural to be fatigued from having done a forced march up to this point. Just when I had calmed down, I close my eyes, and slowly count to three.

  That was a slight suggestion, a switch that changes my battle consciousness to normal consciousness. Like that, by the time I open my eyes, I will regain my composure. Now, let’s search for our objective.

  Although, when I approached the waterside I immediately found it. While one blade of grass is sufficient, I harvest five blades just in case and put it away in the bag. It looked like if I stayed too long, other demons will gather in response to the blood. I wash my blood-covered face, and hastily retraced my steps back the way I came from.

  I fell down several times due to fatigue, but I returned home without encountering any demons. It was probably about two hours since I departed.

  When I checked Erina-san’s condition, she was breathing harshly and her consciousness was also faint. There’s no time, I open the book and started compounding using the compounding tools in the room.

  Put the Water Demon grass into the mortar, mash it until the clumps disappear. Put in the seeds of the walnut-like Kurumeshia—which I have on standby—and then also mash this until the clumps disappear. Once it’s turned into a green coloured paste, put it into boiling hot water—……wait, there isn’t hot water!

  I go to the kitchen, throw kindling into the cooking stove and pass maryoku through the appended magic tool. Under usual circumstances, the kindling catches fire from this tool, but nothing happens. Even after I try it several times, the result is the same; and when I check the magic tool, one part of the magic square drawn on it was missing.

  Come to think of it, I recalled the discussion this morning about it being broken.

  If that’s the case, then trying to ignite it with a fire stone, I look at the box placed in a corner, but the box is toppled over: aren’t all the stones cracked? I suppose it most likely happened the instant Erina-san collapsed, but thanks to the floor being made out of stone, it didn’t become a conflagration; at least that’s something isn’t it? But with this the fire……no, I have no choice but to ignite it by hand.

  There are fragments of the fire stone remaining. I taper the kindling to a point with the spare knife in the kitchen and hit that sharpened point against a fragment of the fire stone. I then rotate the kindling, igniting a fire with the frictional heat: it’s a primitive method. This method requires quite a lot of power and skill, but as I expected, the fragment acted as the ignition material and was easily ignited.

  I increase its heating power by giving it air, and I throw in the compounded medicinal plants once the hot water boiled. When I add in the medicinal plants, the pigments of the green colour muddied the water, but a short time later, the supernatant became transparent. It appears that this supernatant is the specific medicine for Demon’s Water disease. Lastly, I collect the supernatant in a cup and it’s complete.

  ‘The finished product is colourless and emits a faint light’ is what is written, and the exact same phenomenon is visible, so it appears that it is well-made.

  Letting the medicine cool, I dash back to Erina-san.

  “Erina-san, it’s medicine. Drink this.”


  “Ah……aah……”


  She seems to be conscious but also confused; and she murmured something, staring into space.

  This is genuinely bad, if I don’t forcibly make her drink this….

  “I’m so sorry……I’m so sorry……I-……I-……”


  Like I said before, why are you apologizing!

  Damn it! Even though I have to compose myself, perhaps my mind is being dragged by my body, my emotions are uncovered. Enough already, adrenalin is kicking in and holding it back has become ineffective.

  “Just drink it! Because if you don’t drink it, I definitely won’t forgive you!”


  Erina-san’s body trembled at my angry voice. When she takes a quick look at my eyes, I firmly keep her gaze over here, so I move the cup to her mouth. It takes several minutes, but she finishes drinking the contents of the cup, and at the end I gave her an order with a single word.

  “Sleep.”


  My tone of voice was rough, but Erina-san quietly shut her eyes and began to make the breathing sounds of a sleeping person. Tears flowed from her eyes, but whatever happens, happens.

  I leave the emptied cup on the floor, and I realized what I had accomplished. I did what I could, and all that remains is to wait for the outcome. I had passed my boundaries, and remaining clinging to Erina-san’s bed, I lost consciousness.

  I experienced a soft sensation on my head.

  Being caressed lovingly is the usual……the usual—?

  “Erina!”


  I awaken in an instant, and my face shot up.

  “Yes, I’m here……”


  The always smiling Erina-san was there.

  Her hair and clothes were disheveled by sweat, but her face wasn’t pale, and she had moved her upper body and was caressing my head. Looking outside, it has become completely light out, it was probably forenoon.

  She was over the worst of it.

  “……thank goodness.”


  Like this, I look at Erina-san’s face and finally settled down.

  It seems that she’s cured from the Demon’s Water diseasel; all that remains is to let her recover her physical strength and it’ll probably be okay. I thought I’d get some food and stand up, but—perhaps I slept with a strange posture—I fell on top of Erina-san without being able to put strength into my feet. What are you doing, placing a burden on a convalescent person? I try to get up with the embarrassing feelings of ‘how careless and uncool’, but I wasn’t able to.

  As Erina-san is holding me tightly in her arms.

  “Erina?”


  “Thank you. Just, you have……my gratitude.”


  I’m buried in Erina-san’s chest, and it’s a bit hard to breathe, but shall I let her do what she wants for now? No, wait a minute, even though I ran and fought to that extent, I haven’t changed my clothes yet.

  “Umm, Erina? If you stick to me like that the stains will……”


  “I don’t mind. The stains of someone who saved me does not concern me.“


  “O-, okay. But, you know, you don’t want to have a bit of blood to stick rig—……”


  “Blood!? Did you get injured somewhere?!”


  Woah, she unfastened me from the embrace as if I was about to burst open.

  And then using her eyes, as if licking over my whole body……hey, you’d instantly find out wouldn’t you? My clothes are a deep red from the back-splatter of the goblins blood. Even though it took considerable effort for her to become healthy, Erina-san’s face became pale once again.

  “Calm down, since this isn’t my blood.”


  “Bu-but what exactly is this blood?”


  “Uuum……”


  Yep…well whatever, let’s tell her the truth. It just means that I’ve moved up next year’s plans to now.

  “This is goblins’ blood. They were a hindrance while I was collecting Water Demon grass, so I defeated them. ”


  “Goblins!? Moreover, it was during the collection of Water Demon grass that you, defeated them?”


  “Yep. With the kitchen knife and like this……see?”


  I reproduce the movement of stabbing the goblin’s throat with gestures.

  As expected, Erina-san is dumbfounded, but I gazed at Erina-san with a serious face. Perhaps comprehending the extent of the seriousness on my face, the perturbed Erina-san calmed down a little bit.

  “Sirius-sama, just what are you?”


  “I think there are various things that we want to say to each other. I have some things I want to say, and Erina does too, right?”


  “……yes.”


  “However, let’s settle down a bit. It’s not too late to talk after we’ve finished taking care of our bodies, etc.”


  “That’s……true. I have behaved embarrassingly.”


  It’d probably end up being about important and crazy matters, so I think we should talk after we had calmed down.

  Handing Erina-san a change of clothes, I leave the room, return to my own room and finished changing my clothes. Looking at it again, the blood back-splatter is really dreadful. For me to have been that inept in the battle…


  I go outside, wipe my body with water from the water well, and decided to make a light meal. I cut the bread into bite-sized pieces and dip them into a mixture of eggs, pseudo-milk, and sugar. After that, if I grill them until the surface gets slightly burned, then an other world version of French toast is complete. As it’s not white bread, it might be weird to call it ‘toast’, but I don’t pay undue attention to that. There’s no issue with the taste. I also prepare my favourite black tea. Now, let’s go! To where Erina-san is!

  I knock and wait for a response before I enter the room. I had told her not to move from the bed, but as one would expect, she had already neatly finished her personal grooming. Before we talk, let’s try and get through a meal shall we?

  “I wonder, what is this? It’s the first time I’m seeing this food.”


  “It’s called ‘French toast’. It’s sweet and delicious.”


  “Well then, itadakimasu.”


  I actually wanted to make a thin rice porridge for a convalescent, but as there’s no rice… If it’s French toast, then it’s soft and easy to eat. Erina-san ate a mouthful, and after nodding several times, she smiled a full smile.

  “…..it’s delicious. I feel Sirius-sama’s kindness.”


  “I see. You’re still convalescing so please don’t over do it, okay?”


  “It’s not flattery. Receiving such good care, I’m blessed.”


  I feel happy seeing her figure happily continuing to eat.

  In the blink of an eye, she finishes eating it all, and I prepare the tea and paused.

  Well then, let’s have a discussion that will decide my life, shall we?

  “Erina, it’s about time we get to the main point.”


  “……All right. ”


  “So, it’s about me, but—……”


  “Please wait a moment.”


  I planned on saying it all rapidly, but I was stopped.

  Please, give me a break. No matter how much of an ossan I am, something like this requires courage, you know.

  “Before that, please let me say something. It’s regarding Sirius-sama’s mother.”


  Ooh, finally, about my mother is it?

  However, Erina-san’s expression is stiff: is it perhaps a subject that difficult to broach?

  “I’m sorry, but there’s a picture inside the desk. If you could……”


  Exactly like she said, when I search the desk, there’s one A4 sized picture inside.

  What was depicted was a lone woman.

  In other words, this person is…


  “Miliaria Eldrand. Sirius-sama’s mother.”


  It’s not to the extent of a photograph, but it’s a good picture with excellent craftsmanship and painted in colour.

  Looking at the flowing black hair, and the gentle eyes, a feeling of being at peace mysteriously comes over me. I instinctively understood: this person is, without a doubt, my mother.

  “And, at the same time she gave birth to you……she passed away.”


  Volume 16, Intermission: Let’s Start by Giving Up First

  — Beowulf —


  The Swordsman Saint.

  It was one of the famous swordsmen equal to that famous Strongest Sword, Lior.

  And… he was the person that I admired most.

  But… since such a father passed away and left me and my sick mother behind, I also hated him at the same time.

  Until a while ago…


  I was defeated by Sirius-san at the Fighting Festival where many strong people gathered.

  I was completely defeated by an overwhelming difference in strength.

  It was frustrating to be defeated, but thanks to that, I was able to hear about my father from Sirius-san.

  The reason why I wanted to be strong was because I thought that if I got close to the strength of my father, I might know the reason why he left my mother.

  That was why I was only thinking about becoming stronger, but… something within me changed from that day.

  I didn’t know about my father much.

  For that reason, I thought that I would like to learn more, and I went on a trip again.

  It was said that the Strongest Sword, Lior… took care of father at his last moment, so I kept traveling to look for that man.

  —


  “I’m sorry. I don’t know.” (??)

  “There are many people who adore the Strongest Swords and have greatsword. Where is the real one?” (??)

  “Oi oi, there’s a rumor that the Strongest Sword is already dead, you know? It’s just a waste of looking.” (Beowulf)

  However, even if he searched from him, the Strongest Sword had suddenly disappeared decades ago. Hence, there was little information since he was publicly believed to have been dead.

  Even when he gathered information from pub or people who walked down the road, he was told that nobody knew about the Strongest Sword.

  “But, there is no doubt that he is still alive.” (Beowulf)

  I didn’t think that Sirius-san and Reus-kun who had such strength would tell a lie, and since Jekyll-san who knew the Strongest Sword more than anything, he told that Reus’ ‘Single Strike Ultimate Destruction Sword Style’ was not an imitation.

  I heard that he was considerably old, but there was no doubt that the Strongest Sword was still alive.

  “Besides, I don’t expect the existence who hold the strength that much to be conspicuous. If that’s the case… he may be in disguise or may have changed the name.” (Beowulf)

  That was why I changed aim a little. I would try to find an elderly man with a greatsword…


  And Sirius-san told me another clue when we parting.

  <Since he was thinking to join together with us, you may meet him if you go back the way we’ve come through.> (Sirius)

  Because of that, I went to the town that Sirius-san mentioned while collecting information, and I had been coming to the Mellifest Continent from the Adload Continent.

  This was the first time for me to be in the Melifest Continent.

  It would be good if I could find the Strongest Sword in this continent, but…


  —


  “An old man with a greatsword? That remind me, I feel like I heard about him the other day.” (??)

  A couple of days after coming to the continent, I finally got such information at a tavern in a town a distant away from the port town.

  “Really!? Where is that man?” (Beowulf)

  “No, I don’t know where he went. I heard that he was an old man who earned money by annihilating all bandits used to be around this area. That old man had a greatsword…” (??)

  “Thank you very much. I will head to the guild at once!” (Beowulf)

  Based on the obtained clues, I went to the Adventurer Guild of the same town.

  Since the Adventurer Guild was a place to receive rewards of eliminating bandits, more information could be obtained there.

  I immediately asked the receptionist, but…


  “He certainly came here a few days ago. I remembered him well because he was amazing.” (??)

  “Yes. After destroying almost ten groups of bandits, he brought the bandit leaders together but it was amazing because half of it weren’t restrained. They couldn’t escape because they were too scared of the old man.” (??)

  In a short moment, I was delighted to get the information. However, the receptionist, who saw me wanting to see the old man, showed a difficult expression.

  “That old man said he was heading to the Adload Continent. If you are not chasing him in hurry, you won’t make it in time.” (??)

  It seemed that we were somehow gone past each other.

  I immediately set of and returned to the port town for the public ship service that was same from the Adload Continent.

  —


  While waiting for a large sailing ship departed from the port town and went to the Adload Continent, I was sitting on the rail of a ship and vaguely looking at the scenery.

  ‘What would I ask if I meet the Strongest Sword?’


  ‘Will it be about father’s last moment?’


  ‘Is it about his strength?’


  No… would he talked to me in the first place?

  Either way, I wouldn’t know until I met him.

  As I decided, suddenly the sound of the bell on the ship being hit hard echoed.

  “Enemy attack! Enemy attack! It’s pirates–!” (??)

  When I turned around, I saw a ship bigger than the ship that I got onboard was coming closer.

  I felt like they were used to this attack from the point of attacking at somewhere far from the land. It seemed impossible to escape because the speed of that ship was faster, so the battle seemed unavoidable.

  Since I carried weapons as always, I spoke to a sailor nearby who was preparing for interception.

  “I am an adventurer. I will lend a hand by fighting them.” (Beowulf)

  “Ooh! That really helps! Please help us fighting the pirates.” (Sailor)

  “Understood. By the way, who is that pirate?” (Beowulf)

  “Recently, there is a pirate group that make its presence felt in this area. We are trying to hire escorts here, but… there are more than expected.” (Sailor)

  They are other adventurers who had similar thoughts as me and we were the escort onboard the ship, but it seemed that there were more enemies than imagined as the sailor said.

  There was a considerable difference in battle force, but… I wouldn’t be defeated.

  From thereupon, those who couldn’t fight entered the cabin. There were several adventurers had unleashed magic toward the pirate ship, but there were also magic unleashed from the pirate ship and intercepted them.

  The magic unleashed hit each other’s ship, but since the magic was intermediate level at best, it wouldn’t sink the ship. It was probably because they had no plan to sink their prey which was our boat.

  After all, their battle force was focus more on close combat.

  “But, this is what I want.” (Beowulf)

  And then, as the pirate ship was lining up, many ropes were thrown and the ships were tied together. The pirates wearing black clothes like marks on their heads started attacking this ship.

  The number of pirates that attacked was nearly twice the number of us, but it seemed that they weren’t strong enemies based on their movements.

  I didn’t only targeted the incoming enemies but also I randomly swung at random.

  “Just because you have two swords… guhaa!?” (??)

  “What’s with his movement, so fast…. gyaa!?” (??)

  “Damn, this is a strong one! Call that guy!” (??)

  More reinforcements came after we cleared up nearly half of them, but there was one person was clearly different from others.

  An adventurer was swinging sword to that man, but far from stopping him, that man sliced the adventurer together with the sword he had.

  That strength… apparently, he seemed to be the captain of the enemies.

  Since we couldn’t afford to reduce our battle force, I rushed out to try to take on that man.

  “I will not let you do that anymore!” (Beowulf)

  “Uoo!? Aren’t you doing well!?” (??)

  “You stopped my sword very well. But…” (Beowulf)

  If compared to Sirius-san and Reus-kun, he was slow.

  The man intercepted my swords couple of times, but he couldn’t respond with the swift speed which gradually became faster, and I slashed the man’s body with my sword at the end of exchanging blows.

  “It can’t be… I…” (??)

  “…Phew. Next is…” (Beowulf)

  “Alright, break it quickly! If you want to take the hostage, they are here!” (??)

  “It seems I have no time to relax!” (Beowulf)

  While I was a bit delayed because of that man, several pirates tried to break the door to the cabin.

  Perhaps they wanted to weaken our movement by taking civilian as hostages, but I wouldn’t let them.

  When I approached the pirate who was trying to swing an ax down to the door of the cabin from behind…


  “Too noisy!” (??)

  When I thought of that loud noise which suddenly reverberated to the point it shook the ship, the door of the cabin was blown away by shockwaves… No, it was shattered.

  That shock wave, which seemed to have been unleashed from inside the door, blew the pirates, who tried to shake down the ax, in the sky and fell in the sea.

  While the enemies and allies were stunned due to that sight, a large old man to the point of making me looked up, came out from cabin, and he appeared with a greatsword with length similar to his height in one hand.

  “You are noisier! This old man…!” (??)

  “Well then, you are just loud!” (L???) (TLN: You know who.)

  A pirate nearby swung a sword to the old man, but when I thought whether his wrist was blurring, the pirate were cut into two together with his sword. In addition, there was a large cutting clearly remained on the ship.

  To swing such a greatsword easily… maybe this old man was…?

  “Nuhh… Although I was sleeping comfortably, what is this all about!?” (L???)

  ‘No, let’s leave him for now.’


  The reason was… this old man seemed to be in a very bad mood.

  Although he looked frustrated to be woken up in that way, I could feel the fear of touching God’s wrath from that intimidation and bloodlust. If I spoke poorly, I might be cut in two.

  As I instinctively swallowed saliva due to the strength that I had never felt before, the old man turned face over to me.

  “The youngster over there! If you are not an enemy, tell me what’s going on.” (L???)

  “What’s going on… is it?” (Beowulf)

  “What’s with these pirates?” (L???)

  “Uhmm, they are real pirates and this ship is currently being attacked…” (Beowulf)

  “Hmm… so the pirates are the ones that wrap cloth on their heads, right?” (L???)

  “That’s right…” (Beowulf)

  I instinctively realized that it would be useless to oppose this old man.

  And with the way I was at the present… I absolutely couldn’t win against him no matter what.

  “Kuh… This is troublesome. Oi, the youngster over there. Since you have skills, stay there.” (L???)

  “Ha… Haa…” (Beowulf)

  Without listening to my reply, while the old man was yawning, he started walking toward the pirate ship.

  Of course, the pirates were unlikely to miss such an impressive old man who was walking. The pirates, who had been paralyzed by the intimidation and bloodlust, regained their minds one after another. And then, they assaulted the old man…


  “You’re hindrance! If you are rushing, I will do it!” (L???)

  Six pirates were jumping at the same time and when I thought whether the old man’s arm got blurred again… all the six pirates fell to the sea while they were cut into two.

  I could see it barely but perhaps the number of times the sword was shaken… was three times.

  First, he slashed half of the pirates that approach from the side. Then, he cut the remainder with counterattack. Lastly, he greatly swung while generating wind pressure at the same time to blow off the pirates.

  …I could say nothing but ridiculous.

  While being taken aback, the old man came aboard the pirate ship by himself and killed the pirates at the same time.

  “Oo, oi oi!? What’s that old man doing?” (??)

  “Leave him alone! Do you have time to worry about that old man!?” (??)

  The adventurers who were fighting nearby were amazed with his behavior.

  It wasn’t that I didn’t understand their amazement feeling, but if my imagination about that old man was right… I felt that it was rather dangerous if he stayed on this ship.

  The strength and sword momentum were too strong. Every time he sliced a pirate, the ship was also damaged. If this was the case, the ship was likely to sink before the pirates were annihilated.

  As the old man got into the pirate ship, the enemy’s reinforcements also stopped. So, we defeated the pirates on our side and let out a breath.

  However, there were still pirates left on the other ship.

  Leaving the defense to other adventurers, I jumped onto the pirate ship after the old man, and the sight that was spreading there… was already a disaster.

  “Ooooo—!” (L???)

  “““Gyaaahhh–!?””” (??)

  Every time the old man, who was surrounded by nearly fifty pirates, wielded his sword, the pirates were killed, danced in the air, and blown off into the sea.

  “Although I was sleeping comfortably, because of you, you woke me upppp–!” (L???)

  “Do-don’t know about that… guhaa!?” (??)

  “Help…. gahaa!?” (??)

  “You can choose either you will be cut off by me and be fed to fishes, or you can jump into the sea yourself and become a fish feed!” (L???)

  “Whichever we choose, we still die!?” (??)

  As I expected, every time the old man swung the sword, the ship was also damaged.

  It seemed like he was venting his anger, so I wasn’t sure now who was the bad guy.

  “Magic Team, stop him before the ship is destroyed! Cast magic all at once!” (??)

  “What a fool!” (L???)

  “Wha!? What’s going on!?” (??)

  “One more time… gaahh!?” (??)

  Far from clearing away all the magic that were unleashed, he approached them while they were surprised, and he mow them down.

  Rather than being knocked down, it seemed the pirates went all out because of their current situation being trampled. From the cabin that the man I fought earlier came, four people who seemed to be strong appeared.

  Among there, there was a man who had a similar size ax with the old man… and from the feeling of intimidation and bloodlust that could be felt even from a distance, he seemed to be the enemy’s boss.

  “Ca-captain Black! Help… aarggh!?” (??)

  “Cheh… when I think that guy won’t return, this happens, you know. Oi, the old man over there!” (Black)

  “Ooooo—!” (L???)

  “Old man! Are you listening!?” (Black)

  “Oraaa–!” (L???)

  “Don’t ignore me! If you don’t want to hear it, everyone, kill him!” (Black)

  Although the other side was calling, the old man completely ignored him and he continued slashing the pirates.

  When Black, who got impatient in that situation, gave instruction, the three people, who were in the vicinity, approached the rampaging old man.

  Although they were not at the degree of Black, those three people seemed to have considerable abilities.

  But…


  “We are the four heavenly kings of the pirate Black, I am the spear Jio–…” (??)

  “So, what!?” (L???)

  A man holding a spear was cut in half…


  “Wha!? With my axe, I will–…” (??)

  “If you have time to talk, swing your hands!” (L???)

  Unlike Black, the man who swung down his big axe was slain before he finished swinging…


  “The back is empty–…” (??)

  “You’re slow!” (L???)

  The man who went around the back, was slain by the old man who turned around faster than him.

  They were exaggerated bunch who called themselves, but they were easily disposed off.

  While other pirates started to be scared by the overwhelming, Black was the only one who had a fearless smile.

  “Heh, you can do that, huh. You came onboard alone.” (Black)

  “Hmm… you seem to be different from other small fishes.” (L???)

  “Of course. I am Black. In the streets, I am known an the Strongest Arm, Black, but… don’t you know that?” (Black)

  “Nope.” (L???)

  The old man replied as if he didn’t care, but I knew the Strongest Arm, Black.

  He was more or less one of the famous veteran adventurers by the guild, but he disappeared on a certain day. However, I didn’t expect he became a pirate in such a place.

  Furthermore, the giant ax that man had was said to be made of the heaviest ore… It seemed to be made of Gravilite or something, but given that size, it would be heavier than the sword that the old man had.

  In other words, it seemed he was known as the Strongest Arm because of how easy he swung that heavy ax.

  “It doesn’t matter if you don’t know. By the way, you might be the Strongest Sword–…” (Black)

  “It’s Ikki-Tousen!” (Tousen)

  “Well, it doesn’t matter. Anyway, I am confident that I won’t lose to anyone. Even if my opponent is an old man… So, shall we have a contest of strength?” (Black)

  “Hoo… that’s bold. Fine, shall I accept it?” (Tousen)

  And then, they both were swinging weapons with all strength at the same time.

  According to the rumor, Black was said to have strength that surpassed the Strongest Sword. As the rumor said, the speed of Black’s swinging axe was on par with the old man’s.

  If it was me, I would choose to avoid without hesitation, but the old man swung the sword with a slight delay…


  “…Ha?” (Black)

  “Only your strength is higher, but…” (Tousen)

  Not only Black’s weapon, I also heard that the old man’s weapon was made of Gravilite.

  When weapons made of the same material hit with nearly same amount of strength, a violent shock and a roaring sound reverberated, but as the weapons collided, the sound I heard was the sound of something falling into the distant sea.

  When I looked at Black and the old man who swung their weapons, only the black’s weapon had the blade part cut completely.

  “Well… It is a movement that relied on that weapon. ‘Single Strike Ultimate Destruction Sword Style’ is not only about strength, it is something to be wield with spirit and determination.” (Tousen)

  “Wa-wait!? I am the loser in this match–…” (Black)

  “Now you’re begging for life, huh! Nuoooo!” (Tousen)

  The old man swiftly swung the sword and cut Black in two.

  Although it appeared cruel, I didn’t feel that way. When he lost after challenging the other side, he begged for his life… it seemed that he wasn’t overwhelmingly prepared for the fight.

  Thus, Black, who was the leader of the pirates was killed, but another problem came up.

  “Ru-run!” (??)

  “Retreat! It will collapse!” (??)

  Hmm… I overdid it, huh.” (Tousen)

  “Why are you so calm about it!?” (Beowulf)

  The aftermath of cutting Black was also cut the mast which was also the center of the ship.

  I didn’t really care since it was a pirate ship, but the direction of the collapse was bad. It seemed the ship on which we were onboard would be damaged.

  We were in the sea that was far from the land, so I couldn’t let it break our ship.

  “If I can deviate it even a bit…” (Beowulf)

  After losing to Sirius-san, I also had train my strength in order to freely swung two weapons.

  If I gave a blow from the side before the mast fell…


  “[Break Thrust]…Unleashed!” (Beowulf)

  It was a technique I came up when looking at the battle between Sirius-san and Reus-kun.

  By receiving a shock from repeatedly hitting two swords, the direction of the falling mast was slightly deviated and it didn’t hit our boat.

  “Phew… that was dangerous.” (Beowulf)

  “Hou? You used an interesting technique…” (Tousen)

  I was horrified by the gaze like a beast that aimed at prey, but the remaining pirates completely lost the intention to fight when their leader was defeated. It could be said that they were scared by the overwhelming ability of the old man, but anyhow, this problem was solved.

  We left behind the pirate ship that could no longer be called as a pirate ship returned to our ship. When we returned to our ship, the sailors and adventurers delightfully celebrated the victory.

  The voices of praises were directed to us, but since the old man casually waved hands while returning to the cabin, I chased him in a hurry.

  “Excuse me! Are you…” (Beowulf)

  “Hmm? If you want to talk, do it later. Because I’m busy.” (Tousen)

  “Y-yes. Would you give me some time later?” (Beowulf)

  “Hmm… well, when the ship arrives in town, come and get me. I am sleepy!” (Tousen)

  He was busy… because of that?

  However, it seemed that he would hear since he was telling me to wake him up, so he wouldn’t disappear from the ship.

  I saw the old man went off into the cabin, and when I tried to explain the details to the captain or the crews, the ship suddenly swayed greatly.

  “Yeah, what is it?” (??)

  “Look, there are bunch of something on the ship…!” (??)

  “Something is coming out!” (??)

  When I think whether a violent water pillar had risen from around the pirate ship, something innumerable appeared and it was hitting the ship.

  It extended to this ship, and it wrapped around a nearby sailor and tried to drag him into the sea.

  “Wha-what’s going on!?” (??)

  “Damn, don’t get separated!” (??)

  “Don’t let go, [Phantom Flash]!” (Beowulf)

  The foundation of the [Phantom Sword]… it was a technique wielded by the speed that made it look like there were several swords, and with that, I cut the thing countless times in one go.

  Accordingly, as I confirmed, he was wrapped by tentacles of something, and a water column that was bigger than earlier rose up.

  “That’s huge… what is that monster?” (??)

  “Is that Gelsylla!?” (??) (TLN: The name in raw is ゲルスキュラ)

  “What is that?” (??)

  “It sunk a lot of ships these days. For us, it was a devilish monster. However, it shouldn’t appear unless we are in a sea that is further away from the continent. So why it is in such a place?” (??)

  “Maybe… it is because of blood. Perhaps, the blood of pirates sunk in the sea brought it here.” (??)

  A huge molluscan creature rose to the pirate sea from the sea while extending countless tentacles and it exposed itself on the deck of the pirate ship.

  It was huge… it was almost as big as a ship.

  As expected, I couldn’t handle that size. Whether the sailors understood it, they moved the rudder and mast to the get away from the pirate ship.

  Apparently, the monster seemed fixated with the corpses remained on the pirate ship, so if we didn’t poorly provoked it…


  “It’s a monster!” (??)

  “I will burn it with my magic!” (??)

  However, whether the adventurers lost their composure after seeing a huge monster, several of them shot Fire Magic.

  The magic couldn’t get through maybe because it was an intermediate magic, Flame Spear. On the contrary, it was distracted, and a tentacle attacked us once more.

  “You stupid! What are you doing!?” (Beowulf)

  “Bu-but…” (??)

  “Talk later! Now, cut the tentacles and earn time!” (Beowulf)

  Anyhow, that was the only way to escape.

  In order not to let the ship be dragged by the tentacles, we continued slicing the extending tentacles.

  However, no matter how many times we sliced it, the tentacles kept extending, and by the time we were overwhelmed by the numerous tentacles… violent footsteps sounded from behind.

  “I told you… it’s too noisy!” (Tousen)

  There was no need to look back.

  The old man, who came from the inside of the ship, jumped over us and was getting closer to the monster that was hanging on the deck of the pirate ship.

  While the anticipation voice came from sailors and some adventurers saying that he was reckless, the old man swung his sword…


  “[Shattering Strikes]… aarggh–!” (Tousen)

  When the sword was swung down with that yell, the monster… and the ship… were cut into two.

  And then, the monster and the ship that were cut into two sunk into the sea… and what remained after that was the wreckage of the ship and the sliced tentacles.

  While all the people, including me, who were looking at the sight were stunned, the old man came back to the ship with the debris as a foothold.

  “Damn it… now I am completely woke up.” (Tousen)

  —


  After that, the ship proceeded smoothly and finally, we saw the harbor of the Adload Continent which was the destination.

  The people and the ship were pretty worn-out, but they raised the voice of joy.

  However, no one dared to approach the old man even though he was a hero, except for some. It seemed that there were few people longing for his strength on this ship.

  Since the old man was gazing the sea on the deck alone, I approached and called him.

  “Excuse me… old man. Everyone is just afraid but they don’t dislike you. Please don’t mind about it.” (Beowulf)

  “What are you talking about, youngster? I was thinking that the monster was delicious. It was a rare monster, and I should pick the tentacles up as much as possible. It is regrettable.” (Tousen)

  “…” (Beowulf)

  …Yeah.

  It seemed better not to mind when this person was thinking like that.

  Anyway, let’s arrange the thought. Since he said he wasn’t sleepy anymore, it seemed that I could achieve my purpose this time.

  First, I should start with the topic of Reus being the disciple of this old man, and when I was thinking how to start the conversation, the old man turned face to me.

  “Youngster. Your swordsmanship… could it be the [Phantom Sword]?” (Tousen)

  “Aah… yes. My father is… the Sword Saint.” (Beowulf)

  “…Is that so? I see.” (Tousen)

  “You are the Strongest Sword, Lior-sama, right?” (Beowulf)

  “…Yes. But, I am not the Strongest Sword, Lior, now. I am Ikki-Tousen. I am just an old man who pursues strength.” (Lior)

  Although Lior-san talked as if he was a defeated man, he was smiling and talking proudly for some reason.

  I wanted to say that he was joking, but… I could somehow understand why. I understood because I could fight.

  Lior-san was surely… to Sirius-san… but it wasn’t possible for me to win.

  For that reason, since he became interested when I told about Sirius-san, I told everything that happened during the Fighting Festival.

  “You’re his friend, huh… speak freely.” (Lior)

  “No, I’m not asking you to teach me. I would like you to tell me the final moment of my father…” (Beowulf)

  “Wait a moment, I want to hear something before that.” (Lior)

  “What is it?” (Beowulf)

  Since he was asking to the point of interrupting my question, I guessed that it was considerably important.

  “The Silver Wolf-kin girl who was close to him… Was she fine?” (Lior)

  “…Girl? The boy is Reus-kun?” (Beowulf)

  “The boy doesn’t matter. It’s Emilia. Tell me about that girl who look like a cute grandchild.” (Lior)

  “Uhmm… she is fine. She seems to be Sirius-san’s lover, and she is quite clingy.” (Beowulf)

  “Is that so? If she’s fine, it’s all good. However… she is that guy’s lover is it? If it is true, there is no problem then, but… I’m so jealous when he is with Emilia!” (Lior)

  …Why, Emilia?

  Although there were many mysterious, this was how I met the Strongest Sword, Lior… no, Ikki-Tousen.

  —


  Extra

  Misunderstanding, Beowulf-kun.

  “Excuse me… the girl, Emilia, was still young, so with Tousen-san’s age, it is a bit…” (Beowulf)

  “Youngster. Are you thinking that I am interested in young girls?” (Lior)

  “N-no, no! I mean…” (Beowulf)

  “Really? You’re not thinking even a single fragment, right? Be honest… or I will slice you.” (Lior)

  “…I thought of it for a moment.” (Beowulf)

  “Alright, let’s have a mock battle to see your strength. It will not end until one of us dies.” (Lior)

  “Do you really mean that!?” (Beowulf)

  —


  TLN: The author writes this as a supplementary explanation-

  The [Hard Break] of ‘Single Strike Ultimate Destruction Sword Style’


  Currently, it was classified as the ultimate technique among the ‘Single Strike Ultimate Destruction Sword Style’ techniques.

  To be brief, it was similar to [Strong Heaven] and it was merely swinging down of the sword, but the sword that was loaded with mana, fighting spirit and determination could slice up to hundreds of meters ahead.

  The appearance was like a laser being swung down.

  It was like that at the moment, but it was still developing and it would evolve further… maybe-

  The reason why Lior was sleepy.

  With the money earned by annihilating bandits, he made uproar by drinking and eating in the port town, and he got onboard the ship in a sleepless night condition-

  The way Lior’s waking up

  If you get close when he wakes up, you need to be caution since he swings the sword, but it doesn’t fall with the reach.

  It is better to prick him with a stick or call from a great distant.

  Since he will unleashed [Shattering Strikes] by chance, just give up if you get involved.

  He is an old man who does as he pleases, so it is better to let him sleep when he wants to sleep and wait until he wakes up by himself.

  As for the exception, if it is with Emilia’s voice, it will be completely safe-

  Black

  He was an advanced adventurer who was quite famous in the adventurer guild. He was overconfident with his strength and got carried away, so he became a pirate with four people who were his colleagues when he was adventurers.

  He held strength to the point of being arrogant, and he was actually better than Lior when it came to pure strength.

  However, because there were a lot missing like readiness, determination and techniques, he was killed by Lior-

  Black’s Four Heavenly Kings

  The companions from the time when Black was adventurers.

  It was an exaggerated name, but everyone was as strong as an intermediate adventurer-

  The spear, Jio–… (The name was not said until the end.)

  He was a man with tremendous handling in spear, but he was killed by Lior… *make a hand gesture of praying*-

  The man with an ax. (The name wasn’t mentioned.)

  A man who was treated as Black’s younger brother. However, during the long introductory, he was… blown off-

  He approached Lior from the back, and…


  Although he was good at surprise attack with a knife, he was done by Lior…
-

  He was cut down by Beowulf…


  Pretty much…
-

  Gelscylla

  The appearance image was a kraken with countless tentacles… or rather a squid.

  It had countless legs and fast regenerative ability, but it was cut by ‘Single Strike Ultimate Destruction Sword Style’.

  It wasn’t the only one in the kind, but there were some of them here and there around the world.