Volume 5 Prologue – The assassin receives a guest
Volume 5 Prologue - The assassin receives a guest
Translator: VALIANT
We had defeated Riogel and parted ways with Naoise, who had been tainted by darkness.
I had faith that I would be able to reconcile with him someday, and I decided to not only believe it, but to work on saving him too.
After that, I quickly produced a document that roughly summarized the main points, and entrusted it to Nevan’s subordinates.
Those guys were very capable, so this was enough. They would provide the necessary supplementary information and submit my report to the kingdom.
And then…
[Whoa…! The wind feels so good…!] (Dia)
Dia’s eyes sparkled as she held her hair fluttering in the wind.
I was flying a hang glider created with earth magic, and using wind magic to correct our trajectory and accelerate.
The hang glider was a two-seater, with me at the controls and Dia firmly secured in place.
We were enjoying the flight.
The structure of the hang glider was simple, but it was a very effective and fuel-efficient means of transportation.
At one point, I was seriously considering building a car, a motorcycle, or something similar.
With a combination of magic and my own knowledge, I could achieve that.
However, I chose hang gliders because there were not enough paved roads for vehicles to run smoothly, and because of their speed when used as a means of transportation.
Not only were they convenient, but it was also exhilarating to fly.
[Uugghh…! This is unfair. I wish I could be with Lugh-sama too.] (Nevan)
[Nevan-sama, please do not voice your regrets like that. You will make me sad as well.] (Tarte)
I could hear Tarte and Nevan’s voices coming from the communicator attached to my ear.
I made two hang gliders, and Tarte was controlling the other one while Nevan was following her lead.
A four-seater hang glider would’ve been too large, and if we had flown in single file, it would’ve had an adverse effect on aerodynamics, so we decided on two two-seaters.
If I had created a huge wind cowl like I did the other day, the four of us could’ve flown together, but it wasn’t suited for long-distance flight due to its poor mana efficiency.
As a result, Tarte and I, who could use wind magic, were the pilots, with me carrying Dia, and Tarte carrying Nevan.
[But I have to say, I didn’t think you would get the hang of it so quickly, Tarte.] (Lugh)
[It’s surprisingly easy to maneuver!] (Tarte)
The hang glider was easy to control, and it only took about 30 mins for Tarte to master the basics.
And in case she made a mistake due to inexperience, I stayed right behind her hang glider, ready to help her if anything went wrong.
[I wish to try maneuvering one as well.] (Nevan)
[You can try that once we’re in the Tuatha Dé domain. Even if you can’t use wind magic, just gliding around is fun.] (Lugh)
[Certainly!] (Nevan)
[Ahh, no fair! I wanna try that too! And you know, I think there are ways to accelerate without using the wind. All you need is propulsion, right?] (Dia)
[…Correct me if I’m wrong, but are you thinking of using explosion magic?] (Lugh)
[Ahahaha, of course not! It’s something even better than that!] (Dia)
[Make sure you tell me about it beforehand. I can’t help but feel anxious.] (Lugh)
And now, the passengers that were Dia and Nevan had a keen interest in gliding.
There were small hills in Tuatha Dé.
It would probably be fun to glide from there.
[This is bad… The weather is getting a bit rough.] (Lugh)
The hang gliders began to shake. The wind was getting a little stronger, and its direction was becoming more and more inconsistent.
[Tarte, are you doing okay?] (Lugh)
[Yes. I’m a little scared, but I can still fly. If anything happens, I will call for your help immediately.] (Tarte)
[Yeah, alright.] (Lugh)
Putting aside flying straight, I wasn’t even sure she could fly at all in bad weather yet.
[Lugh-sama, those communicators we’ve been using for the past while are very practical. Do they use magic too?] (Tarte)
It was thanks to our radio transmitters that we’d been able to talk over the hang gliders since a while ago.
With such a heavy gust, our voices couldn’t reach each other without this kind of device.
[It doesn’t run on mana for communication. This isn’t the power of magic, but the power of science.] (Lugh)
Wireless communication devices were surprisingly easy to make.
In particular, if you could use earth magic to create the materials and ensure the accuracy of the processing like I did, the degree of difficulty could be significantly reduced.
However, since I was only knowledgeable about the basic theory behind it, their performance was low, and the communication range was only about a hundred meters for portable models.
This required improvements.
Nonetheless, there was no doubt that wireless communication could prove an astounding advantage in this archaic world.
Conveying information accurately and quickly was a difficult task in this era.
During military operations, messenger soldiers were used to exchange information. That information tended to be rendered inaccurate by that game of Chinese whispers, there was a time lag until it was delivered, and in the meantime, the situation could change by the hour.
Moreover, there was no guarantee that the messengers would arrive safely, and there was even the possibility that the information would be stolen.
Compared to that, wireless communication was the ultimate.
It may even have the potential to change the nature of warfare itself.
[…My, how absolutely wonderful! I find myself resenting my promise to you over and over again. If we had that, humanity could develop one step further.] (Nevan)
As I expected, Nevan was showing a tremendous desire for wireless communication.
She noticed its military, economic and distribution values, and realized that it could change the world as we knew it.
[Again, this is the kind of technology that I can’t disclose. …I’m only showing it to you because I trust you. Don’t forget that.] (Lugh)
[Of course I won’t. I still wish to remain with you, Lugh-sama. Therefore, I won’t do anything to make you dislike me.] (Nevan)
She said it in a casual manner, but there was also a bit of fear in her.
Still, I did trust her to some extent. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have shown her my wireless communicators in a non-urgent situation.
[Tarte, be careful! There’s a strong wind coming our way!] (Lugh)
[Yes, sir…! …Kyah! Here it comes!] (Tarte)
A colossal gust of wind blew from our side. Our wings creaked, we lost our balance, and we went into a tailspin.
The reason why the wings didn’t break despite the amount of wind was because I designed them so that if an amount of force great enough to snap them was applied, they would bend to dispel it instead.
Although, this was the reason we were nosediving…
[Kyaaaaaaaahhh!!] (Dia)
Dia screamed.
I guess it was pretty scary.
The most annoying part about nosediving was that it sent you into a panic, and not even knowing which way was up was terribly unsettling.
If you considered the altitude, you would realize that you could wait to calm down, and assess the situation before getting back on your feet.
But when you panic, you squirm around and struggle incomprehensibly, and you can’t break out from it.
The best course of action here was to do nothing.
After the spinning subsided, I took control of our altitude, and we were gliding once again.
I looked for the other two.
I found Tarte ahead of us. Not panicking, and adopting the right conduct.
[Nice.] (Lugh)
I didn’t think she could handle this kind of trouble on her first flight.
Tarte compensated for her lack of talent with hard work.
She followed through the countermeasures we prepared in advance for all eventualities, which gave her a sense of stability.
But the downside of doing this was that it made you less responsive.
It gave you the weakness of not being able to deal with the unknown or the unexpected.
However, she was able to deal with the first trouble we had.
This was probably the result of Tarte using all the various efforts she’d ever made as her foundation.
There was a foundation to every skill, and each foundation could be applied to an entirely different skill.
Patiently picking up many of them was how Tarte nurtured and established her fundamental strength.
It was the same with the skills you discovered for the first time. If their foundation was the same as the already existing skills, then you could get a clear picture of it.
…She’s grown really well. I’ll be able to rely on her more often from now on.
Tarte and I manipulated the wind to quickly regain the altitude we had lost.
[Good job handling that situation.] (Lugh)
[Yes…! This was all thanks to your training, Lugh-sama!] (Tarte)
Her reply was full of energy.
[At this pace, we’ll be in Tuatha Dé soon enough. Just one last effort.] (Lugh)
[Certainly.] (Tarte)
I think she’s almost done acclimating to flying.
I generated a breeze to accelerate, flew past Tarte and gestured for her to follow me.
Our speed right now was nothing like how it was before.
Starting now, it would be her practical evaluation.
And the way she was now, she was more than capable of flying at this speed.
Our two hang gliders landed side by side in the yard of my mansion.
[Hmmm…! I knew traveling by air would be great! This could become a habit!] (Dia)
[Phew… I feel a bit exhausted. But it was fun!] (Tarte)
[Hang gliding… That was incredible. This speed, and the advantage of being able to fly over your enemies. I can think of so many ways to exploit them. Not being able to use the treasures I have before my eyes in the form of wireless communication and hang gliding is awfully frustrating.] (Nevan)
I pretended not to see Nevan muttering to herself, flexed my stiff body, and stepped into the mansion.
Once I did, I heard a flurry of footsteps.
[Ahh, Lugh-chan! Welcome back! I’ve been waiting for you for so long. We couldn’t hold the party when you had yet to come back.] (Esri)
[I’m home.] (Lugh)
It was my mother who showed up.
She was already over forty, yet she looked young enough to be in her late teens.
As my mother hugged me, she proceeded to look at the others behind me, then her eyes widened.
[Oh my…! I see you now have one more wife, Lugh-chan.] (Esri)
[Dia and Tarte aren’t my wives, and Nevan and I aren’t in a relationship.] (Lugh)
Though I did plan to marry Dia, and maybe Tarte as well, depending on how things would unfold.
But Nevan was only a friend and a companion.
[Is that so?] (Esri)
Nevan stepped in front of my mother, who tilted her head after letting go of me.
[It is my pleasure to meet you. My name is Nevan Romanlung, and I intend to take Lugh-sama as my groom in the near future. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Mother-in-law.] (Nevan)
She gave her a graceful, aristocratic bow. It was so elegant it was almost unbearable to see.
And that bombshell she dropped made Dia and Tarte stiffen.
My mother had an unusually serious look on her face.
[Romanlung? The Romanlung?] (Esri)
[Yes, the very same.] (Nevan)
Although my mother avoided tea parties and receptions, she was still the wife of a baron.
In the first place, the Tuatha Dé and the Romanlung were inseparable.
So she knew the name of Romanlung, its nature, and its hidden side.
[My oh my, you must have it rough too, Lugh-chan. Being too popular is such a bother. But as your mother, I refuse to let you be adopted into the family of your bride. You cannot leave our home. If you do, I will cry.] (Esri)
[To begin with, never mind joining Nevan’s family, I don’t even plan to marry her.] (Lugh)
I retorted, but was it just me, or that didn’t reach neither my mom nor Nevan?
[If being separated from your son makes you lonely, then please do come along, Esri-sama. We promise to give you the best treatment.] (Nevan)
[Fufufu! That will not be possible. I’m a woman of Tuatha Dé.] (Esri)
My mom and Nevan laughed together.
…My instincts are telling me that this is going in the wrong direction.
[Anyway, I’m welcoming Nevan here as a guest. Also, Mom, you said you wanted to celebrate something, but what are we celebrating exactly?] (Lugh)
The best thing to do here was to change topics.
Even if it didn’t solve the problem at its root, it gave me time to take action.
[Aah! Well you see… You’re going to be a big brother, Lugh-chan!] (Esri)
[…So this means I’m going to have a younger brother or sister?] (Lugh)
[Yes! Though I have a feeling that it’s going to be a girl. My intuition is often right. Be sure to think of a name for her too, okay?] (Esri)
[S-Sure, I’ll think about it.] (Lugh)
[Fufu! No need to feel so anxious, it’s going to be “A-Okay”.] (Esri)
I was shaken from this sudden announcement.
I mean, I didn’t know if I should be happy, worried, or anything else.
[Tarte-chan, Dia-chan, when you two have children, we’ll raise them all together. Although it would be a bit strange for Lugh’s little sister and his children to grow up together as siblings.] (Esri)
[Oh, that sounds great! I was feeling nervous about it since I’d never taken care of children before.] (Dia)
[Um, you see, I had many siblings, so I can help with that!] (Tarte)
Dia and Tarte took my mother’s joke with the utmost enthusiasm, and as the conversation became more and more specific, I was now at my wits’ end.
Also, perhaps it was because she was so uncomfortable with the idea of me being adopted after marriage, but my mom simply didn’t include Nevan in the conversation.
Because of that, the latter was puffing out her cheeks… Although that was just an act. This was how she deliberately appealed to her presence.
[Mom, I don’t plan on having any children right now.] (Lugh)
At the very least, there was no way I could lower our fighting power until I had settled the matter of the Hero.
So I made absolutely sure to use contraceptives.
[That’s too bad. Anyway, come on in. I’m sure you’re all tired, so I’ll cook something good for your digestion. But tomorrow, we’re going to have a huge feast to celebrate, so look forward to it. Lugh-chan, Tarte-chan, I’ll need your help with that.] (Esri)
[Alright, I’ll contribute by hunting. I feel like having an Alvanian rabbit for the first time in a while.] (Lugh)
[Then I shall help with the preparation of the ingredients.] (Tarte)
I got a surprise upon returning home, but I’m now back in my good old hometown.
Guess I’ll take a breather and celebrate the birth of a new family member.
And to do that, I must first ensure that we have a good meal.
So it’s time to go hunt in the forest.