Chapter 7 – Part 2 is here! Well, by popular demand, I’ll just continue from where the last the translator left off 😀

Speaking of which, I’d like to thank all the Patreons and readers for their support, to be honest, when I decided to take on this project, I thought I wouldn’t be getting any support or readers for a few months at least, but now I feel pretty hopeful 😀

Anyway, this is the second part of chapter 7, I hope you’ll enjoy it!

Chapter 7 – Part 2

Two nights after leaving the royal capital Marad, Kyle and the others were now in a post town. If everything went well, they would likely arrive at the town of Archen the next day.
This was a large post town, with a highway that was suitable for the transportation of trading goods from other countries.
There were many inns but for security reasons, the group had gone to the most expensive one.

【”Ahh, that hot bath was great.”】

After taking a bath, Lize returned to the women’s room.

【”I’ve gotten used to camping outside, but as you’d expect, nothing beats sleeping in a bed.”】(Lize)
【”True…”】(Urza)

Urza’s mind was elsewhere. She was relaxing on a couch that she had placed in front of a window, while gazing at the full moon up in the night sky.
For spirit users, there was a deep meaning behind the moon, and that was especially true for elves. They considered the nights of full moon to be the greatest time for them to receive the divine protection of the spirit deity Moona, who was the goddess of the moon who as well as the guardian deity of the elves.
Thus, bathing in the light of the full moon was quite enjoyable for elves.
Since Lize was aware of that and knew that it would be pointless to say anything right now, she simply lay down on her bed.

【”Well then, I’ll go to sleep now. Urza, don’t stay up too late, okay?”】

Immediately after that, Urza’s ears could hear the well-regulated breathing of Lize, who had already fallen asleep.
“That was so fast” Thought Urza, with a small wry smile on her face, as she kept on watching the moon.

【”…. I don’t usually drink, but at times like this, I just can’t help myself from wanting to have a little alcohol…”】

As she drank a little grape wine from the cup that she had placed beside her, a tinge of red began appearing on her cheeks.
Before long, she started being sleepy. While she was thinking that it would be fine to sleep on the couch since it was not cold in the room, her eyes were slowly closing.

(Ahh…. Spirit deity Moona… Please offer us your diving protection on this journe-………)

【”Wait, what am I doing–! I forgot about that!”】
【”Urza, shush.”】

Said Lize, who was half-asleep, with an irritated voice.

【”Ah, sorry.. Wait, more importantly, I can’t let this go!”】

Urza rushed out and headed towards the room next to hers.

【”Kyle!”】

She barged into the room without knocking, but all she found were two empty beds.

【”Damn it… Seran probably went out to enjoy the nightlife or something but… where is Kyle?”】

Seeing that his sword wasn’t there, Urza guessed that he was likely training again, so she hurriedly went out to search for him.

Meanwhile, Kyle was sprawled on the ground, a little way from the post town, in a prairie that was devoid of people.
From his irregular breathing and his excessive sweating, it could be seen that he had been practicing for a long while, and had stopped just a short time earlier.
Sildonia, who had been watching his training from the side, spoke up in admiration.

【”Mhm, correct me if I’m wrong, but you were fighting against illusions just now, right? Very interesting. We didn’t have such a technique in my time. Just like a lot of things were lost to time, a lot of new things have appeared as well… As I thought, humanity is still going strong. “】
【”It’s just a simulation so it’s not as good as an actual fight… But there is still some value to it…”】

Kyle answered while still out of breath.
Although those were just illusions, he had fought over a hundred demons, so it was not strange for him to be in such a state.

【”My physical strength has gone up a little, but I still have a long way to go.”】

His body was gradually becoming sharper, and he was now able to move it like he wanted, but his base physical strength was still insufficient.
However, it had not even been a month since he had started his full-scale training, so this was only natural.
He wanted to come up with a new combat technique that he could combine with his magic, but it seemed like that was still beyond his reach.

【”I’m too worn-out… let’s hurry and go back so I can get some sleep.”】

Kyle forced his body to stand up. That was because he felt like he would fall asleep on the spot if he kept lying on the ground.

【”Right, anything more than this will put too much burden on your body. Also, you need to get some rest.”】
【”Still, this sword sure is great for fighting, just like it was back then.”】

Kyle was impressed as he looked at the sword which he had become familiar with to the point where it felt like an extension of his hand.

【”Of course it’s great. This sword body of mine is the crystallization of Zares’ magic technology, this is the greatest creation ever achieved by human hands. Well, no matter what, it was made to serve as my dwelling after all, so it’s only natural for it to be this great, right?”】

Said Sildonia while puffing her chest with pride.

【”It’s amazingly sharp, too. I’ve seen quite a few mithril swords like this before, but none of them was this sharp.”】
【”Well, that’s because my sword body is not made of mithril, it’s actually made of– “】

At the instant when Sildonia was about to finish her sentence, someone intruded on the conversation.

【”Found you! So that’s where you were!”】

Urza, whose breathing was in disorder, came in front of Kyle with a ghastly expression on her face.

【”W, what’s wrong?”】
【”Did you forget about our Paractical Contract?! We can only do it now, during the full moon.”】
【”…Ah, now that you mention it…”】

“I completely forgot about that”, said Kyle, while looking up at the sky.

【”You’re the one who brought it up in the first place, remember?!”】
【”… Can’t we just do it next month? I’m worn-out and drowsy right now.”】

“I want to hurry and go to bed”, he added, sleepily.

【”My true name is on the line! Don’t talk about that like it’s bothersome!”】
【”But it looks like you forgot about it too…”】
【”S, shut up! Anyway, I’ll do the preparations now, so wait here!”】

“Seems like something troublesome is going to happen here.” Saying that, Sildonia left the two others behind and quickly returned to the hotel.

(Even so, I never thought I’d end up doing this ceremony with a human partner…)

While writing a magic formation on the ground in the spirit language, Urza once again wondered “Why did things come to this?”.
While it was possible to impose an unbreakable promise on a partner with this “Practical contract”, one would have to make their true name known in the process, so the ritual was rarely done.
However, sometimes, when people were fine with letting the partner know their true name, when they believed their relationship would gain and become better from that information being revealed, then they would have a Practical Contract as a form of ceremony.
That ceremony was the occasion to present their real name to their partner, and to vow to stay by their side for a lifetime. In other words, a Practical contract held almost the same meaning as a marriage ceremony.
For that reason, the Practical contract was considered to be extremely romantic by adolescent girls among the elves.
And when Urza had heard of that story in her youth, she had blushed just by imagining the partner that she would share the ceremony with in the distant future.

(And yet… To think I’d have the ceremony with a man I met only half a moon ago, although it can’t be helped at this point…)

Half a month prior, such a turn of events would never even have crossed her mind, not  in her wildest dreams.
However, despite this unexpected outcome, Urza was not really dissatisfied about accompanying Kyle and the others on their journey.
From the start, Urza had been journeying without any precise goal, just for the sake of broadening her knowledge, so travelling together with others was not an issue for her.
Lize was a pretty nice girl.
Be in their personalities, their races, or even their ages, Urza and her had nothing in common, but their talks were still quite nice.
Recently, it felt like a bond of friendship was forming between them, beyond their differences.
As for Sildonia, while it wasn’t clear whether she was a human or something else, Urza sill enjoyed conversing with her.
Due to her strong intellectual curiosity, Urza would ask her about various things when there was time to do so; on such occasions, Sildonia would display a deep intelligence that even the elders in Urza’s birthplace did not possess.
But at the same time, Sildonia also had both the appearance and simple-mindedness of a little girl, therefore making her an odd yet heartwarming sight to behold.
Then there was Seran, and well, he was amusing to watch from a distance.
But, in a certain way, the most problematic member of the group was actually Kyle.
Sometimes, he interacted with Urza as if they had known each other for years.
However, she did not think he was over-stepping his borders, rather, she was aware that he was keeping his actions completely under control in order not to do so.
But what occupied Urza’s mind the most was the way he looked at her.
He usually interacted with her normally, yet sometimes, she would catch him watching her fixedly, but she would avert her gaze upon meeting eyes with him.
Because her appearance stood out, she was often exposed to the lustful eyes of human males, that held especially true after she started her journey.
Of course, being watched like that did not feel nice, however, if that was the problem, she could just disregard him straightway without a care, but Kyle’s case was different.
Because his eyes seemed like they were looking deeper inside her; whenever he gazed at her like that, Urza would feel like he was seeing through every inch of her heart and she could not bring herself to calm down, but that was not a bad feeling.
In any case, this was her first time experiencing such a disturbance in her mind.

(…. Enough, I’m thinking too much. Right now, I have to focus on the Practical contract.)

Urza felt like the more she pondered on things, the deeper she would get lost in her thoughts, so she put them on hold for the time being.
And then, at last, she finished writing the magic formation and talked to Kyle who was waiting for her.

【”Alright, the preparations are done. Kyle, stand up here and… Hey, don’t fall asleep! Get up.”】
【”Huh? Oh, sorry, I dozed off by accident. Still, this took you quite some time, didn’t it? I thought it would be easier than that.”】
【”Contracts are not simple to make! Just stand up here already, and let’s start!”】

Under the light of the full moon, the ceremony began.

Urza had her eyes closed as she chanted in the spirit language, with the faint blue moonlight shining down on her. Her mysterious beauty was standing out even more than usual.
As for Kyle, who was gazing at her, he was thinking that, unlike the rest of the process, this part of the Practical contract was exactly the same as the last time he did this.
He had actually been bound by a practical contract like this one, once.
The night before the decisive battle against that demon lord, Urza had told Kyle about the ceremony, believing that perhaps that was their last chance to do it, and Kyle had accepted.
At the time, Urza was such a great spirit user that she could contract numerous high ranked spirits, she did not need to wait for the full moon like she did now, nor did she need to use a magic formation like this one.
Moreover, their vows had been to live together if they managed to return alive.
They had basically exchanged wedding vows.
However, in the end, they were never able to fulfill that oath.
She had covered Kyle to protect him, and vanished before his eyes, only leaving a gentle, transient smile behind.
Kyle was never able to forget that scene.

Before long, a soft and warm light rose from the magic formation and started enveloping the two people.
Thereupon, Kyle’s consciousness became slightly hazy.
Although he was beeing affected by the same symptoms as anemia, he felt no discomfort, rather, he was feeling a pleasant floating sensation, while his whole body entered in a state of lethargy.
The same thing happened to Urza, who was looking at kyle with her eyes somewhat out of focus.
And then, she started talking feverishly.

【”…. In the name of the spirit deity of the great moon, Moona… I, Urza Ekses, command you…. not to misuse my true name nor to reveal it to others… Will you take this oath?”】
【”I will.”】

Kyle promptly answered Urza’s question, just like he did the last time.
Following that, the light of the magic formation became noticeably more intense, and when Kyle was thinking that it would rise up like a pillar to the moon, it burst out and turned into small particles of light.
Then, those same particles flew down like glittering, powdered snow. It was a fantastic spectacle.
Afterwards, Urza let out a small sigh and lifted up her face, only to find Kyle’s face right before her eyes.

【”Ah….”】

“He’s looking at me with that gaze again” immediately after Urza thought that, Kyle covered her mouth with his own, without giving her time to say anything.
For an instant, just a tiny instant, Urza’s body seemed to surrender itself to him, but she immediately came back to her senses.

【”W-W-W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! You bastaaard!”】

When Urza shouted, Kyle also came to his senses.

【”Huh? ….Ah! No, that was… I mean, you have to kiss at the end of the contract, so…. What’s going on? Is that not how you’re supposed to do it?”】

The last time he did the ceremony, Urza had urged him to do that.

【”T-that’s just a bonus you add at the end of marriage ceremonies! The contract ends after you take the oath!!”】
【”Oh… I see, well, this was one unfortunate accident.”】

For Kyle, this was something that he did on a daily basis before the recent events so it had become natural for him, but of course, that did not apply to Urza.

【”….There is a magic formation available right here, and I have a spirit stone in hand, so I’ll take this opportunity to contract a new spirit.”】
【”A new spirit?”】
【”I’m going to contract a Salamander. Fire spirits are brutal but I should be able to control it now… And his first command will be to burn the sex offender in front of me to nothing.”】
【”Wait, what!?”】
【”That, that was my first time! Just be thankful that I’m not killing you for it!”】
【”I’m pretty sure burning me to nothing is going to kill me!”】

That day, in the dark of the late night, there was a rising fire after which a man’s scream resounded in the outskirts of the post town, where this was referred to as a paranormal phenomenon for quite some time.

【”Wow, you three look really sleepy.”】

The next morning, while the group was walking on the highway after having left the inn, Lize, who seemed to be the only one who had gotten enough sleep, talked to Kyle and the others, who were still drowsy.

【”It’s nothing, there was just a little unfortunate accident where…”】

【”Shut up! Don’t you dare talk!”】Roared out Urza, whose anger had still not subsided.

【”Also, Kyle, why does it smell like something was burnt around you?”】
【”Well, that’s because there was an unfortunate misunderstanding, you see…. I mean, there is no reason.”】

Under Urza’s glare, Kyle kept silent.

【”Oh, by the way, wanna know why I’m sleepy?”】
【”Nobody asked you, Seran.”】

Lize directly discarded Seran before he could explain what he experienced the night before.

【”Alright, I see how it is….”】
【”By the way…. Urza, now that we’re done with the Practical contract, will it be okay for you to come with us after this?”】

Although Kyle’s question left Urza at a loss for words for a moment, she still answered while scowling at him.

【”I-I don’t have much of a choice, do I? I mean, I’ve yet to find out why you know my true name. I can’t just let you get away with that!”】
【”Is that so… well, if you put it like that, you’re certainly left with no other choice.”】

Urza was about to say something in response to Kyle, who seemed a little glad about this turn of events.

【”Humph!”】

But instead, she averted her eyes from his face, and with angry footsteps, she went by the side of Lize, who was walking a little further ahead.
Kyle was going to be able to keep staying together with Urza. He was truly happy about that.
There were many reasons why he had made Urza accompany the group on the journey, such as the fact that she was a Spirit user, and that she would add to the strength of the team, but the main point was that he wanted to be together with her.
In the days when he fought against those demons, he had been side by side with death on a daily basis. When his humanity itself was wearing down, the reason he did not fall into despair was that Urza was with him.
Although they only reached the status of lovers a month before the last battle, Urza’s existence had been his sole relief in those times.
If Urza had also survived, he would have lived for her sake, just like he had vowed to, and would have shared the rest of his lifetime with her.
He had been in love with her from the bottom of his heart.
If the reunion with her had happened one or two years later, perhaps he would have been able to just be content with the fact that she was still alive, but he had unexpectedly been reunited with her after a few days only.
And following that reunion, he was once again convinced of his deep love for her.

(However…)

When his thoughts reached that point, Kyle’s gaze moved towards Lize, who was walking next to Urza.
If the great invasion had not happened, he would most likely have gotten married to Lize.
Actually, in his previous life, they did have a few talks about marriage.
In the town of Limaze, they would have been able to get married and have children, and they would have had an ordinary life, they would still have been happy.
After losing Lize, that life became an empty dream, which Kyle often fantasized about. And now, that dream was not just a dream anymore, it was within his reach.

(I know I’m being dishonest with them, however….)

The truth was that he liked both of them pretty much equally.
However, there was a reason for that, which was this special situation that no one else had ever experienced.
There were two women who he had been ready to share his life with, and both of them had died in front of him.
Moreover, he met and reunited with both of them almost at the same time.
“If there is anyone else who has experienced that, then I’d sure love to meet him… and then to ask him for advice” He thought.

【”… Alright, I made my mind!”】

After considering things for a while, he tightly gripped his fist with determination.

【”My mission is to prepare for the great invasion! The fate of the world is at stake, this is no time to let these sorts of things disturb my mind! My personal problems can wait!”】

Using the just cause of saving the world as his pretext, he postponed the issue for the time being. In a way, that was the worst conclusion Kyle could have reached, but regardless, he once again started walking with vigor.

【”What’s with him?”】(Seran)
【”That’s just youth for you.”】(Sildonia)

Actually, the night before, Sildonia had seen in her real form as a sword and had seen everything that had happened. Looking at her nod her head with a know-it-all look on her face, Seran tilted his head in confusion.