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Volume 7, Chapter 32

 

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Translator: Manga0205

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　Going *ririririri……*, the cry of some sort of insect could be heard.

　What could be seen in the night sky was a crescent moon. The faint amount of clouds that were floating about were dyed in the color of the night sky, and quietly drifted by.

　The twinkling stars, just how much time would be needed to count all of them?

　What was here was a night sky that didn’t exist in the Dark Continent.

　That, which looked like a jewel box, was simply beautiful……and slowly, he extended his hand out.

「……What, are you doing?」

　Lumon, who had extended a hand to the night sky, was surprised by the voice that called out to him from behind, and hurriedly pulled his hand back.

　After he pasted on a smile and turned around, the owner of the voice poked their head out from the edge of the inn’s roof, and it was Margaret.

「……No, um. Same to you, what are you doing?」

　The place that Lumon was at was on top of the roof of the inn that was reserved for the use of the Zadark Kingdom delegation.

　The roof was flat, but there was no stairway or ladder that connected to this place, and it could only be reached by going through the window.

　Margaret climbed up the edge of the roof with a bit of difficulty, and at the same time she finally climbed up, she rolled onto the roof. And then, she got up.

「I wanted to see the stars. So, I came up here.」

「I see.」

　Making a short nod, Lumon looked back up at the night sky.

「……It’s been so long, since I’ve looked at the stars.」

　Margaret sat down next to Lumon, gazed at the night sky, and muttered that.

「Is that so.」

「Yes, in the Dark Continent……Stars, can’t be seen after all.」

　Hearing that, Lumon recalled and thought “come to think of it, Margaret should have been born in this country”.

　To Margaret, was this a return home after a long time?

「How does it feel? To come back after such a long time.」

「Nnー……Since this place is a bit distant from my hometown, I can’t really say much about it though.」

　Margaret expressed a complicated smile.

「How should I put it. I’m not as sad as I thought I would be, and that being said, I’m not happy about it either.」

　Lumon couldn’t replied to those words. No, he had no idea on what he should reply with.

「However, it’s your birthplace, isn’t it?」

「Yes, it’s my birthplace.」

　Saying “but”, Margaret smiled with a sad looking face.

「I, don’t have any……good memories in this country after all.」

　Margaret had abandoned her birthplace.

　Having been washed ashore on the Dark Continent, it was a place that she thought she would never return to again. It was a night sky that she thought she would never see again.

　It was there that she wasn’t as deeply moved as she thought.

「Is that so.」

「It is.」

　Saying that, the two of them looked up at the night sky.

　What came was a bit of silence.

　The one who broke that, was Lumon.

「……Margaret-san, why did you come to the Dark Continent?」

「Eh?」

「I don’t mind if you don’t want to talk about it. I’m simply curious after all.」

　While gazing at the Lumon’s profile as he asked that without taking his eyes off of the night sky, Margaret made a troubled looking face. And then, after a short while, she turned her eyes to the starry sky just like Lumon.

「……It’s because I was betrayed.」

　After a long silence, Margaret muttered that.

　And then, Margaret narrated a single tale.

　It was a story of a mundane and cheap-sounding tragedy that could be found anywhere.

　A young half girl who couldn’t be a companion to the Metalio nor a companion to the Sylphid. She also had a person that understood her, and that she could place her trust in. Forming an emotional bond with them, she thought that she could live as long as that person was there.

　However, all of that was an illusion devised in order to scorn the young girl.

　That was all to it, a common story.

「……And then, the young girl, she rowed to the Sea of Farthest Ends with a small ship. Neither a Sylphid nor a Metalio. If it was the country of darkness that she heard of in stories, then even she who didn’t know what she was, might have a place to belong to. Thinking that, the young girl departed the port, and was swallowed up by the Sea of Farthest Ends and vanished.」

　It was there that Margaret cut off her words for a bit, took a deep breath, and made her voice cheerful.

「That young girl was washed ashore on the Dark Continent, and was picked up by one splendid Mazoku. Seeing that person’s cool gaze, the young girl fell in love.」

　As for that Mazoku, he didn’t think of the young girl as anything other than some sort of unusual pet.

　However, the young girl gave it her all in making appeals to him. She threw everything she could do at the Mazoku.

「Various things happened. That Sword Demon idiot came along and tried to make her Gramfia-sama’s wife, and Mazoku that acknowledged the young girl’s skill in blacksmithing would come to steal her away.」

「……」

「Surmounting various hardships, the young girl and the Mazoku became bound together. And they lived happily ever after.」

　That was probably Margaret’s tale.

　Within that story, Lumon discovered a stupid truth.

　Right now, there was something called the Demi-Human Argument in this Shutaia Continent. It was something that claimed that the members of mankind other than Humans──Sylphid and Metalio, the Beastmen──were similar to Mazoku in that they were heretical beings that went against the God of Life Philia’s will. The Demi-Human Argument, which could also be rephrased as a Human Supremacy Argument, also seemed to indicate the arrogance of Humans within mankind.

　However, that is not something that started only now. Similar stories were scattered about everywhere, it’s just, it simply didn’t develop to the point of being a dispute that swallowed up the world until now.

　In that case, what about the Mazoku──no, what about Demon King Gramfia?

　Could it be said that Demon King Gramfia, who kidnapped multiple races with culture that the Dark Continent didn’t have in great numbers, didn’t have a baseless superiority complex towards mankind in a similar manner?

「……Is that so. So that’s, why. And so……」

　Margaret looked at Lumon, who muttered that, with a curious-looking face.

　However, she immediately turned her eyes to Lumon’s waist. Seeing the single black sword that was there, Margaret’s eyes lit up.

「Um, Lumon-san.」

「Heh?」

　Lumon, who was thinking about things, replied to Margaret’s call with an idiotic voice.

　And then, seeing Margaret’s face, he was startled by the shining of her eyes.

　Before Lumon could say “what is wrong?”, Margaret opened her mouth.

「That sword on your waist……Could you show it to me!?」

　Lumon’s sword, it was something that the Black Knight Claude once possessed.

　Its name was, Black Sword Velgan. By pouring magical power into it, it’s form will change──that was all to its abilities, but it matched Lumon extraordinarily well.

　It was something he obtained by coincidence, but now he had come to like it to the point that he had no intention of parting with it.

　If he were to speak frankly, he didn’t really want to let others touch it, but however, he couldn’t find a good enough reason to refuse.

「Eh, erm……Is there something wrong with this sword?」

　Reluctantly, Lumon said that and tried to pass it off.

「Somehow, it has a very interesting presence to it! Could you please show it to me!?」

「P, presence……you say.」

「Yes!」

　Just where in the world did the atmosphere from earlier go.

　Even for Lumon, having heard Margaret’s personal story, he felt that he could listen to one of the things she asked of him.

　After worrying over it a bit, Lumon took off the sword along with its scabbard and handed it over to Margaret.

「Waah, thank you very much!」

　After taking the sword from Lumon looking delighted, Margaret started examining the handle decorations while going “fumu fumu” and nodding. Before long, she drew the sword and examined the sword blade as well……then suddenly, she raised her head.

「Umー」

「Yes, what is it?」

　Thinking “what is it this time”, Lumon made a wry smile.

「This sword, where did you obtain it?」

「Eh?」

「Somehow, its structure is similar to the weapons that Yklsaas-san’s knights have. It’s to the point that I could understand if you were to tell me that they were made by the same person.」

　It was just as she said. However, it was unexpected that she would notice such a thing just by looking at it for a bit.

　Although he was surprised by the height of Margaret’s abilities, Lumon replied with a smile.

「You’re right. Since it was something that the person called the Black Knight who was Ykslaas-san’s subordinate possessed, it might only be natural that they’re similar.」

　After he answered honestly since it wasn’t really something to hide, Margaret nodded looking like she could understand.

「I see……Uーn. But, it sure is a mysterious build……Its manufacturing method is also a mystery, but its somehow different from a normal sword……What is this, it feels like some strange function was incorporated into it……」

　She was correct once again. This sword had a transformation function incorporated into it.

「Uーn……Um, Lumon-san. Could you leave this with me for two or three days……」

「Eh, I can’t. That would mean that I would be unarmed, wouldn’t it?」

「If you’d like, I have some substitute swords, so I’d be really happy if you could give this to me though.」

「It’s getting even worse. Please, give it back already.」

「Don’t say that. If I could thoroughly study this, I might be able to create something similar, you know?」

　Margaret looked at the sword with slightly absorbed eyes.

　After Lumon quickly took the sword away from her hands, he once again hung it on his waist.

「I already told you, I can’t. If you want to, wouldn’t it be fine if you get one from that blue person. He has two swords after all.」

「Mumu, that’s a good idea but. I’ve already been refused. It’s because the sword granted by one’s master is a knight’s pride, is what he said.」

　Margaret, who was pouting her mouth looking disappointed, went around to Lumon’s front, and cutely tilted her head.

「That’s why……’kay? Lumon-san, won’t you contribute to the advancement of blacksmithing technology?」

「I, am not a blacksmith, so that sort of thing is a bit……」

「Don’t say that, okay?」

「Well……」

「Hey, hey, Lumon-saーn.」

　With Margaret pulling on Lumon’s sleeve, Lumon made a troubled-looking face and averted his eyes.

　Seeing the face that was at the place he averted his eyes to, his movements came to a complete stop.

「Just when I thought that you weren’t around, just what are the two of you doing……」

「……Altejio-san, what great timing. Please save me.」

　Seeing Altejio breath a sigh with a refined face, Lumon spoke those words out loud.

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