Volume 3 Chapter 20 – Epilogue
— A day in the second week of August.
「How about this? Don’t you think it looks good on me?」
「….. You know, that kind of thing should be only be done by women.」
You want me to evaluate your newly purchased clothes, and I let out my honest opinion as I watch Ren’s carefree figure twirl in front of me.
The long garment, which covered his body to just above the knees, had exotic embroidery on the collar and chest. When the pants are included, it gives the impression of a dark blue ceremonial dress, and when worn by the well=-dressed Ren, it looks like the formal attire of an exotic prince. A long shawl is draped over his shoulders, and I must say that the elegant orange color looks like a blessing from nature.
「But will it survive the journey?」
「I’ll be fine. It’s easier to move around than it looks, and I hear it’s made of strong thread. And I’m wearing leather armor underneath.」
「Okay then, but that… shawl? Whatever it is, do you need it?」
「This is…. here.」
Ren wrapped the shawl from his shoulders to around his face and dexterously spun it around. In a matter of seconds, his face was completely hidden.
I think I saw people riding camels in the desert wearing these.
「I don’t think we’ll need it in this country, but if we’re going to the Suven Empire, we might need it, right?」
Well, maybe so.
–In the end, I decided to go to the Suven Empire.
Kuroko has called me “overprotective”, “stupid”, a “pre-sexual offender”, and many other abusive words.
I’m willing to admit that I’m a little overprotective, but it’s not all just because I’m worried about Lim.
How can I pass up an opportunity to make connections with the king of a country?
Later that day, I knocked on the gates of the royal palace and asked about the release of the twins, Rei and Ren. This is my first time in the country, so it would definitely be helpful to have someone who knows the land.
As for worrying about being stabbed in the back, I think I’ll take Illy’s word for it for now. Of course, I’m not going to let myself get too comfortable.
I was visiting rather soon after I had refused, but apparently the king was not so small-minded as to be disturbed by my sudden change of heart, and arrangements were quickly made for them to be released.
And as he had said, he tried to offer me a sum of money as a road bank, which I politely refused. They described it as an upfront investment, and I’m too scared to accept that. I’m honestly happy that they’re buying into who I am, but I don’t want to find myself in a situation where I can’t say no to them.
However, since we couldn’t take the twins on a trip in prison clothes, we were given enough money to equip them and pay for their lodging.
And so, we are now in the process of getting equipment for both of them. I’ve already repaired my armor.
— Let’s get back to the story.
「….. though only a few people know what we look like.」
They need it to hide their face just in case.
They were doing their job as part of a special task force, but if it’s found that they failed in their mission and came back as traitors, they would be executed. Due to the nature of their work, there are few people who know who they really are, but I guess you can never be too careful.
「That being said…. aren’t you hot in that outfit?」
With the temperature getting higher, Ren’s clothes seem a bit too hot. If he wears a mask, he’ll probably collapse from the heat.
「Tsk, tsk. It’s hotter in Toggle than here, but that’s why we need to block the sun. The real danger is prolonged exposure to direct sunlight.」
「…..hmm」
「Wait, listen! What’s that! That’s a beautiful thing to look at.」
Since Ren’s story was going to be a long one, I took the phosphorus dragon crystal out of my tool bag and looked at it.
The dragon bone emits a faint and mysterious light. No, the dragon crystal that has been altered over time is harder than any metal. It is truly a material of extreme rarity and maximum hardness.
I really love this kind of stuff. I could look at this all day long and never get tired of it. I’d rather eat it.
…..By the way, I did return the skill to Belga.
He probably doesn’t know what happened, as it was returned to her while she was drunk and asleep.
He felt his strength return after waking up. We parted with the promise that if I ever met someone named Shania, I would tell her about Belga. We haven’t seen each other since, but I guess I don’t need to worry.
「…..By the way, Rei nee-chan is so slow」
「Well, they say women take a long time to get ready.」
Ren and I both chuckled.
「–By the way, you use two swords in battle, right?」
「Yeah, yeah」
On Ren’s waist sits a pair of twin swords, also freshly purchased. It seems that Ren’s fighting style was to use the long sword mainly for offense and the short sword for defense.
「What’s wrong? 」
「No, I was just wondering what it’s like to duel-wield…」
This trip is not an urgent one. I’m not just worried about Lim – I’m also going just to see what another country is like. I think it’ll be okay to take an occasional detour.
「Hmm. I don’t know. I basically use my dagger as a shield, but in some cases I find it useful to be able to attack with my dagger, which is more maneuverable. It’s not as good a defense as a real shield, though.」
「What bout equipping two long swords?」
「I thought about it at first, too. Because that’s more–」
「「Cool」」
Our voices overlapped and our gazes met. It feels as if a strange friendship has been born.
「But you know. In fact, it’s hard to use two long swords」
「…… What do you mean?」
「The advantage of having two swords is that you have more moves. You can attack with a dagger, and you can attack with more than a shield. However, if you use both swords as your main attack weapons, the weight of the longswords will tired you out quickly unless you have lot of muscle strength. And even if you can wield them, what will you do if your opponent comes at you with a large two-handed sword?」
「Well, I could avoid it, or catch it with my sword.」
「Yeah. It’s fine if you’re evading, but if you’re defending with a sword, you’ll have to use the strength of arm to block the power in both of your opponents.」
「Then can’t you block it with both swords?」
「As I said before, the seeling point of duel-wielding swords is the number of moves you can make,. but don’t you think it’s pointless if you have to use both of your swords to block each of your opponents attacks? Moreover, the weight makes it easier to get fatigued.」
….. I see. I didn’t think Ren had thought it through like that.
「With a dagger, you can basically just focus on deflecting the trajectory of your opponent’s attacks, and because it’s lighter than a shield, it’s less likely to fatigue.」
Dagger…..? No, but….
「Well, that’s the general idea.」
「When you say…?」
「I know that your arm strength is not as strong as it looks. Are you really human? If so, one arm is enough to counter most opponents. If you can handle your body in a way that allows you to evade and opponent’s attack, you can make both swords specialize in attack, and your overall attack power will increase.」
『Attack Specialization』『Explosive Strength』
….. This guy put my favorite words at the end.
Thanks to his physical skills and enhancements, his evasion abilities have been increased.
I think I’ll consider it moving forward
「–Why are you so bright-eyed?」
The one who was now approaching, dragging me out of my fantasy, was the princess who had taken so long to get ready.
「Never mind that. So, have you decided on your equipment–」
I turned around and caught sight of Rei in my vision, and my eyes went rigid.
「Well…. that….」
「What? I’ve got everything within the allotted amount, remember?」
Rei’s outfit was something that I hadn’t seen since I came to this world.
Looking up from the feet, the first part of the foot is a pair of footwear and the soft and fluffy light purple fabric that is integrated with the footwear wraps around her knees.
She seems to be wearing black tights from her thighs to her waist. The upper half of her body is designed like a yukata, and is made of the same soft material that wraps around her knees. The length is about halfway up her thighs.
Shoulders and arms are exposed, but the area around the forearms is protected by gloves.
A beautiful pale orange obi is wrapped around her slightly higher than her waist, giving her a somewhat Japanese impression, but it is not exactly a kimono. The fact that her hair is tied up at the back probably adds to the Japanese look.
「What are you staring at?」
「Well, I’m the younger brother, and I have something to say about my sister’s unique sense of style–」
「Shut up. I’m sorry for your unique sense of style.」
「I don’t have….」
Ren was instantly silenced by his sister with a single glare.
「I know you think it’s a strange outfit, but it’s also very functional. The light purple fabric is made from the larvae of the purple moth, so it’s shockproof and durable, and it even has a temperature control function to keep the inside of the clothes at the right temperature. This belt is also made from yellow cotton and protects the abdominal organs well.」
It’s certainly more function than I expected, which surprise me, but I’m keeping my mouth shut for a different reason.
Unique sense of….?
No, this is very good stuff.
The imbalance with the Japanese atmosphere is exquisite.
「I mean, I think it looks good on you normally. It’s good. Very good.」
Good job!
「What? I don’t need you to tell me how good I look. I’m the one who chose it.」
He turned his back and walked away.
「….. I’m also going to look at the…. weapons, so wait a bit longer.」
With that, I pushed my way towards the weapon section.
– After waiting for a while
TL: I can’t make any sense of these next 6 lines. I’m assuming Seiji went to go ask about making a weapon out of the dragon crystal, but honestly, I can’t tell.
「That’s weird!」
「What’s going on?」
I responded to Ren’s muttering, and listened as I looked at the phosphorus dragon crystal.
「No, Rei told me to use this for a weapon, so I thought I’d be back soon.」
「You were gone for quite a while」
Did I get lost at the last minute? It’s possible.
「By the way, why did you suddenly decide to go to the Suven Empire? You said you weren’t going there right now… Stop looking at that fang!」
I have no choice but to put the phosphorus dragon crystal away in my tool bag.
「No, I really don’t have a big reason for it.」
「Maybe that cute little beastgirl had something to do with it?」
….. This guy scares the hell out of me. He seems so aloof but is strangely sharp sometimes.
「Well, maybe that’s part of the reason.」
「….. I see.」
He smirks at me.
「What the hell?」
「…… Oh, Rei nee-chan, have you decided on a weapon too?」
She must have come back from the weapons corner, and she’s carrying a strangely shaped whip.
「I’ll take this.」
The whip, which has a thicker-than-usual handle and presumably a built in winding mechanism,, has a number of small blades visible where it extends and retracts.
「….. a Bladewhip?」
「Yes. If you do this–」
Rei moved her hand slightly, and the whip shaped blade whip became a single sword with a series of matallic clicks.
「The whip is at a disadvantage when approached, but I can at least defend myself with this. Well, I’ll rip anything to shreds before that happens.」
….. she doesn’t sound like she’s joking.
「Well, I guess you’ll just have to settle for that whip and some clothes.」
Since I’ve decided to be the one to manage the money, it’s up to me to make the final purchase of equipment.
I walked to the back of spacious store and approached the shopkeeper.
「Excuse me, I’d like to purchase the equipment this girl has on.」
The shopkeeper turns around and gives Rei a strange look.
「Hello! What’s wrong with you? You look so unhappy. I was just humming along in the weapons section–」
–Doss.
「Sorry about her…. I was going to buy this too.」
「Every time….」
What Rei at the accounting table was a small throwing knife. It looked like a set of three dull knives, but only one of them was painted black.
「I mean, what are you doing?」
「I have some talent for throwing, so it’s not a waste of money.」
「That’s not the point!」
Please don’t cause problems to prove if something is worth it or not.
–We managed to make the purchase without any problems, and now everything is ready for our departure.
I’ve already greeted everyone who took care of me in King’s Landing, and I’ve stored away emergency rations, water, healing potions, antidotes, and all sorts of other items in my magic tool bag.
As for Uran-san and Stella-san, they were very enthusiastic about starting their own business in the near future, and I’ll be sure to stop by their new store next time I’m here.
Though… I feel like I’m forgetting something.
「What are you zoning out for?」
While I’m deep in thought, Rei, dressed in her new clothes, asks me a question.
「Oh my God, if you walk around the streets in that country, pickpockets will take your whole wallet, won’t they?」
「No. It’s not that bad is it?」
「That’s sweet. It’s usually —- cuck.」
She was walking with her face toward me, and I guess she was preoccupied her sermon to me. She bumped into a passerby from the front.
「….. Oops! I’m sorry about that. I’m sorry that I was so rude to a lovely woman like you. Would you accept dinner with me as an apology?」
The man who bumped into her suddenly tried to hold Rei’s hand, and she didn’t bother to hide her rejection.
「Don’t touch me.」
In response, the man only bowed and said he was sorry, breaking into a smile.
「My apologies. It was just too tempting to go for. Have a nice trip.」
Oh, I remember…
The man’s demeanor resembled someone I knew, and I could finally remember that perverted man.
Garib-san, what’s going on?
After all, it’s been a few days since then, and I still haven’t heard anything. When someone disappears without saying a word, it bothers me. But, when I looked into the face of the man who was walking away, it seemed like he was a completely different person.
Hmm…. something like….
「What’s up?」
「Oh, my eyes are a little blurry. Maybe I’m just tired.」
「Hey, hey, hey, we’re leaving now, are you okay?」
Ren muttered uneasily, but as soon as I blinked a few times, my vision cleared up.
「Don’t worry, it’s just that…. Rei should walk carefully in front of you.」
「Shut up. Don’t call me by my name so lightly.」
「–Conditions for release, part 1: Both released persons shall make every effort to establish at least the necessary personal relationships to accompany me.」
There are a few conditions that I was allowed to offer when I released them, and this was one of them.
「Calling someone’s name is the least I can do, right? Rei and Ren…. it’s going to be a while, so I’ll be counting on you.」
「I’m totally fine with that. I’m just trying to figure out what I’m going to call you.」
「I’ll make an effort…. too…」
–And thus, I left the Capital City with two new companions
TN: This chapter was quite difficult to translate. I couldn’t tell who was speaking most of the time so these pronouns are my best attempts to figure out who said what based on what was said. In general, I think I got the gist across, but some of it might not be entirely accurate.
Also, I’ll be shifting my release day to Friday, which means the first translation for volume 4 will release on the 20th. I’m going back to school soon and I think it will work better with my schedule that way.
In addition, I feel rather comfortable with picking up another novel. If you have anything you want to see translated, let me know in the comments. I’m only interested in translating Japanese novels, and in order for me to consider it, the previous translator has to have not released a chapter within the last 30 days at minimum. The longer it’s been since the last chapter, the better.
Finally, I just want to thank you all for reading. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting anyone to really want to read this seemingly dead novel, and the fact that you guys are interested is a large part of what keeps me motivated to keep doing them, so, once again, thank you for reading.
Trae Translation 
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