Hey there everyone, and happy new year! I was going to post this yesterday but I kind of forgot, but not exactly… it’s complicated >
With this chapter, I"m realizing that the manga did a pretty poor job portraying the novel"s characters, I don"t know about you guys but I"m liking the novel much more, even though this chapter is more of a transition to the new arc
Anyway, here is chapter 8 of Tsuyokute New Saga, I hope you"ll enjoy it!
Chapter 8
The town of Archen was located at the east end of Jirgus, close to the neighboring country. Thanks to that, it was able to prosper through trading goods, and to become second only to the royal capital in rank.
It was a town with a rich international character to it, foreigners and demi-humans were common sight there.
【”Oh～, these crowds here are completely different from the ones in the royal capital.”】
Said Lize in admiration while looking at the surroundings, right after entering the town.
【”So, now that we’ve arrived in Archen, what are we going to do?”】
【”Well, let me see. For starters, I guess we’ll go find an inn to……”】
【”Hey, guys, I just heard something real interesting!”】
Seran, who had started buying some sweets in the food stalls, immediately came back in a somewhat excited state.
【”Something interesting?”】
【”Yeah, I heard that princess Milena is coming to this town today.”】(Seran)
Kyle responded quietly to Seran’s delighted voice.
【”….is that so?”】(Kyle)
【”What? She’s the “treasure of Jirgus”, you know? You should be more excited than that.”】
Looking at Seran who was getting into high spirits, Kyle had a complicated expression on his face.
【”Whatever man, we have a chance to get a look at her right now. I don’t care what you say, she’s the Treasure of Jirgus! I wanna see her at least once. I’ve already heard where she’ll be coming so I’m going.”】(Seran)
Seran started walking directly after saying that.
【”So are you going to see her, too, Kyle?”】
Though Lize’s voice sounded like she was interrogating him, Kyle pretended not to notice that.
【”..Well, she’s worth taking a look, right? After all, Jirgus is our country, I’d like to see the face of the future queen if there is a chance.”】
“Plus there is something I’d like to confirm” Thought Kyle in his mind.
【”…I guess that’s right, let’s go then.”】
Since Urza and the others did not seem to have any objection either, the whole group ended up going together.
【”Did we make it? If they followed their schedule, we should be just barely on time.”】
Murmured Kyle, while following Seran who had taken the lead.
The mother of earth, Kylis, was the chief G.o.d of Jirgus’ state religion, so most towns had a temple dedicated to her.
Moreover, those temples often established annex inst.i.tutions made to take care of orphaned children. That also applied to the one in Archen, and that was where the princess was coming for her visit.
When the group arrived at the temple, a large number of curious onlookers had already come, making the place considerably crowded.
However, Seran did not hesitate to thrust forward towards a gathering of children.
【”Out of the way, brats! You’re ten years too young to be interested in beauties!”】
He forced his way forward while mercilessly pushing aside and scattering the children.
【”Ah, sorry about that. Here, have some sweets.”】
Without a second of delay, Kyle, who was right behind Seran, took the sweets that he had bought for Sildonia and distributed them to the children.
The children who were about to cry immediately started to smile, as if nothing had happened.
【”Being shameless sure has its perks sometimes…”】(Lize)
【”But I really don’t want to follow his example…”】(Urza)
【”My sweets…”】(Sildonia)
Although Urza and Lize also followed after Seran, they still felt a little embarra.s.sed.
When the group reached the front line of the crowd, they found the town’s guards blocking the way, in order to stop people from coming any closer.
Among them, there were knights who were wearing full sets of silver plate armor that had a simplified representation of a dragon on a crest around their chest area. They clearly stood out compared to the guards.
That dragon crest was the symbol of the knights of Jirgus’ royal guard.
There were only around 500 knights in total in the royal guard of Jirgus, that was a considerably small number considering that some other war commanders had armies of tens of thousands under their command, but since this unit’s mission was to protect and serve the king, it was composed of the most loyal subjects of the country, picked among the elite of the elite. They were all extremely brave, and had all swore their absolute loyalty to the nation and the king. Anyone who ever aimed for the position of a knight would admire the knights of the royal guard and yearn to become one of them.
Right now, those royal guard knights were vigilantly surveying the surroundings, without a single hint of negligence.
But that was only natural since someone whose position in the country was second only to the king was going to come in a short time.
【”Huh? The princess’ supposed to be guarded by the fifth knight corps, right? But I thought it was only composed of women…”】
Said Seran, looking confused.
Traditionally, the fifth corps of Jirgus’ royal guard always consisted of female knights only. They were popular among the ma.s.ses due to their beauty and elegance, and they were the subject of many operas.
Recently, they were a.s.signed under the direct command of princess Milena, and they were given the role of escorting her whenever she went out of the royal capital. The princess being followed by the corps composed exclusively of young women was a very picturesque and famous image within the Jirgus country, and yet, right now, all the knights that were present were men.
【”Apparently, the fifth corps often gets dragged into ceremonies and things like that, so I’m sure they had others things to do in the royal capital and couldn’t come.”】
【”What? That’s lame. But if that’s how it’s gonna be, then I’ll just look forward to seeing the princess.”】
A short while later, a large coach drove up to the orphan inst.i.tution under the escort of royal guard knights, who were protecting its front and back.
While the carriage’s base color was white, it was elaborately decorated with silver and gold detailing, and on its flank, there was a conspicuous crest drawn with the design of a lion on it: that was the symbol of Jirgus’ royal family.
This crest was the proof that the coach belonged to the royal family and that someone of a high rank was riding it, since they were the only ones who could get in.
The coach was drawn by two eight-legged horse-like demon beasts called Sleipnirs, which were almost twice bigger than a common horse.
In the wild, Sleipnirs had a rough temperament and could not be possibly be friendly towards humans, except for the cases when they were raised from a young age, so these two specimens were likely expressly raised for someone’s personal use.
The knight who seemed to have the highest authority among the present royal guard knights opened the door of the carriage.
And as a woman slowly appeared from inside, the surrounding crowd started cheering.
She had long and narrow eyes, a straight nose, pale vermilion lips, silk-like jet black hair that stretched to her waist, a lithe and delicate body, and a radiant white skin… Each of her features were first-cla.s.s and together they formed a miraculous and exquisite balance.
She was wearing a light green colored dress and a silver tiara. They were the most proper things to wear for someone of the royal family, but they only served to make her even more beautiful.
Although Urza was similarly beautiful, her beauty was akin to that of a sword that was sharpened by a skillful craftsman, while this woman had the charm of gold or a jewel. She merely descended from the carriage and started slowly walking, but the viewers were already entranced by every single one of her movements. This could be said to be the power of charisma; she was simply born with the ability to captivate people.
This was the “treasure of Jirgus”, the first in line for the throne, and the princess of the Jirgus royal family, Milena.
【”Mhm, the rumors weren’t lying, she’s beautiful. But above all, those are amazing, aren’t they…”】
Looking at the pair of hefty mounds that were apparent from the top of the princess’ dress, which had a slightly low neckline, Seran sighed in admiration.
【”…Compared to these, the difference in power is too overwhelming. Talk about comparing dragons to lizards.”】
While comparing those mounds to the gentle slope around Lize’s chest area, Seran let out a sigh of grief.
Immediately after, the bottom of Lize’s palm landed a clean hit on his shin.
【”I, I was just being honest, why would you….”】
【”Being honest isn’t always right, okay?!”】
Lize shouted at Seran who was cowering.
【”You guys, be quiet already.”】
Kyle sighed, he didn’t want to stand out too much at the moment.
Kyle was also very interested in seeing princess Milena for the first time, but it wasn’t on her that his eyes were stuck, rather, it was on a single knight who was following right behind her.
He was a man in his thirties with a good figure, the color of his mantle was different from the other knights and the design on his crest was slightly more elaborate than theirs, anyone could tell that that crest was the symbol of a knight leader.
He looked dauntless and gave the impression that he was constantly ready for action, making the atmosphere around him clearly different from the other knights.
【”Zentos….”】
Said Kyle with a nostalgic tone in his voice.
That man was a knight who was well-known not only in Jirgus but also in the neighboring countries, his name was Zentos Ordiy, and he was the leader of the second corps of the royal guard’s knights.
Given that Kyle was watching him fixedly, and given that Zentos was vigilant and wary of his surroundings, their eyes did meet for an instant.
But, of course, Zentos stopped looking at him immediately after. As for Kyle, he kept on watching him while feeling a little lonely.
In front of the orphan inst.i.tution, the children were standing in line to greet the princess. Among them, there was a girl of about ten years old who ran up to the princess while holding flowers.
However, probably because she was too nervous, she fell down on the way.
The princess approached the girl who became teary eyed, and while brushing the dirt off her knees, she asked her with a gentle voice and a smile “Are you alright?”.
Thanks to this, the girl lost all her nervousness, and smiled back at Milena while cheerfully answering “Yes!”.
Following that, the surrounding crowd that had witnessed the scene spontaneously started a round of applause.
In response to the applause, the princess waved her hand while showing yet another kind smile.
Even in small countries, there were seldom any opportunities for the royal family to come in such close contact with the citizens, let alone in a large country like Jirgus. At best, they would just wave their hand from the palace’s balcony during big festivals and the like.
However, princess Milena had teared those established customs apart and was continuously and a.s.sertively getting involved with the citizens all over the country; she was willing to partic.i.p.ate in the country’s public events and small ceremonies, and whenever there was a disaster or calamity, she would go to personally offer her condolences.
Therefore, she received tremendous support from the country’s people.
This time around, the princess had been partic.i.p.ating in a festival that was held in another town and she dropped by Archen on her way back, however, it seemed like this visit to the inst.i.tution was not planned at first. The princess’ schedule had actually been forcibly changed at her own urging to make room for this visit, that was what Kyle was able to hear from the onlookers surrounding him.
The princess continued to smile as she entered the orphan inst.i.tution together with the children, while keeping her elegant conduct until the very end.
Having reached their goal of taking a look at the princess, Kyle and the others separated from the crowd and went to find a place to stay for the day.
【”d.a.m.n, that was a feast for the eyes. Who’d have thought that we’d get to see the princess here.”】
Said Seran, in a good mood.
【”She certainly was amazingly beautiful. Especially “those”… they’re really unbelievable…”】
Lize recalled the chest of the princess who seemed to be around the same age as her, and tried to compare it to her own, but since that seemed to be futile, she soon resigned herself.
【”She’s the potential next ruler of the country, right? Could it be that that position requires one to have “those”?”】
Although Urza was not familiar with the human monarchical system, it seemed like she could sense a certain something from the princess which she could not sense from other people.
While the three others were walking and talking about the princess they had just seen, Kyle was a little behind them and was deep in his thoughts.
Sildonia, who was by his side, talked to him in a quiet voice.
【”So, was that the princess you told me about?”】
【”Yeah, no doubt, that was princess Milena, and shes supposed to die at the age of 16, two days from now.”】
Said Kyle while looking back at the orphan inst.i.tution behind him.
Afterwards, Kyle and others took lodging in an inn. At the moment, Kyle and Sildonia were the only ones present in the room, since the other three had went out to stroll and do some shopping.
【”So, how is she going to pa.s.s away?”】
Asked Sildonia while sitting on a bed and eating sweets.
【”From what I heard, in the morning of the day after tomorrow, princess Milena’s group is supposed to get attacked by a demon beast on the way towards the Sanes village. That demon beast is a hydra.”】
The hydra was a powerful beast with a reptile’s body and numerous snake-like heads, it was said to match a dragon in strength. There was a story that a hydra once attacked and destroyed a small town in a day.
In the first place, the big forest right next to Archen was the home of many monsters, and they would sometimes injure the people who took the highway. And about a month prior to this, a village close to the town had been attacked by a hydra.
According to the rumors Kyle had heard on the way to Archen, that village had suffered some serious damage, and although a punitive force had apparently been dispatched to deal with the beast, they weren’t able to eliminate it in the end.
【”The Sanes village is the one that was attacked by that beast, and it seems like, during her visit to Archen, the princess heard about everything that happened and therefore wished to go there for a visit of sympathy. Zentos, who was part of her escort, opposed her decision, bu the princess did not give up. So, two days later, before the sunrise, she slipped out of Archen accompanied only by her small, personal troops which were given to her by the royal family, and that’s when her group was attacked by the hydra. From what I heard, when the second knight corps realized the princess’ absence, they rushed to find her, but it was already too late. “】
If the fifth knight corps had been there, the princess would likely not have been able to slip out since they were used to her, and even if she did go out, there is no doubt that they would have put their everything into escorting her.
However, even though the fifth knight corps was under the direct command of the princess, they had been called back to the royal capital this time.
In Kyle’s previous life, this calamity was said to have been brought by the kindness, the compa.s.sion and the misfortune of the princess.
【”Personally, I’d say she got what was coming for her.”】
Even though her surroundings had tried to keep her away from the danger, she just did things at her own convenience, and died while dragging her people together with her. She had involved others for her own selfish goals and they had died for it.
【”I see… By the way, isn’t there some other side to this story? Could this not have been something like an a.s.sa.s.sination aimed at the princess?”】
【”That’s a natural suspicion to have. After the princess’ death, there were tons of rumors all around the country.”】
Following the sudden death of the princess, various plausible rumors were shared in whispers between the ma.s.ses, such as her death being related to demons or being caused by the secret ploys of enemy nations.
But the most plausible rumor was that the princess was a.s.sa.s.sinated by her older, half-brother, who was lower in line than Milena for the succession of the crown because he was born of a concubine.
It was only natural for him to be suspected since he was reputed for being a mediocre prince who didn’t stand out much when compared to the princess, and he was the one who stood to gain the most from her death.
【”The most suspicious person in this affair, prince Carenas, is actually in this very town.”】
【”Really? But n.o.body’s talking about it.”】
【”Yeah, apparently he’s secluded himself in an inn and hasn’t made his presence public. But well, in the end, all of those theories were just rumors, and it was soon settled that the princess’ death was just an unfortunate accident. Back then, I had some suspicions about this, so I once asked someone who had personally looked into this case, and apparently, the official version was actually true.”】
The man who had told kyle in his previous life about the details of this matter had been a former spy of the Jirgus country. At the current time, that man was likely still a spy on active duty.
Of course, those details were akin to a state secret so he normally wouldn’t go telling others about them, but at that time, Jirgus had already been destroyed.
In those days, anyone who had survived to the battles against the demons was quite capable, so it was inevitable that many of them had been involved with big organizations and countries in the past.
But their ties to those countries and organizations were broken. And one day, after surviving to yet another battle against the demons, everyone got drunk and started sharing some stories they had not been allowed to talk about before… It had been a rather fun night for Kyle.
Thanks to that, Kyle currently had some information about where the country was going to lean, but it was difficult for him to use that because it was a double edged sword.
【”He was a pretty skilled spy, and apparently, he had done some serious digging around this matter, and yet he couldn’t find anything suspicious about it. Besides, I’ve met with prince Carenas before, and even if he does have the ambition to do this, he doesn’t have the ability to actually do it.”】
“Honestly, that guy’s completely incompetent” Said Kyle, while shrugging his shoulders.
【”So, it was really just an accident? That’s good… More importantly, can you beat a Hydra?”】
【”I’ve fought with a hydra once, back then, I managed to win without a hitch. Well, it only had eight heads. But the one I’m gonna face this time apparently has more than ten heads.”】
The number of a hydra’s heads would increase as it grew older, and its body and strength would evolve proportionally to that. A hydra with more than ten heads would be more powerful than an inferior, low-rank dragon.
【”In my current state, I’m sure gonna have a hard time fighting one with more than ten heads, but I’m prepared to do it. Besides, I’m not going to fight it alone. All the others will be together with me at that time, right?”】
“We’ll manage somehow” Added Kyle.
【”Mmh, that’s right. Given your current power, fighting a hydra with more than ten heads would be problematic. But well, I’m sure you won’t have to face that kind of situation before a very long time.”】
【”…Did you really have to say that?”】
Because her words gave him a bad feeling, Kyle stopped Sildonia from talking.
When he decided to become a hero, the first thing that came to his mind was the death of this princess.
She was the “treasure of Jirgus”, when she died, the whole country was in mourning. If Kyle could appear dashingly and save her life, then that would make a good a start for him as a hero.
If he was really thinking of the princess’ safety, then he would just warn the knights of the royal guard beforehand about the fact that the she was going to slip out and go towards the Sanes village. However, even if he warned them, he did not know if they would believe him, rather, it was much more likely that he would end up being detained for acting suspiciously.
Besides, doing that would be meaningless.
Kyle wanted to rescue the princess at the very last moment after the attack, but it would be pointless to save her if she wasn’t in a real life-or-death situation.
So, even if there were going to be some victims in the process, he had no other choice.
【”Sorry but I’m going to use you.”】Muttered Kyle bitterly while looking back at the orphan inst.i.tution that the princess had probably yet to leave. Then, he drove those feelings of guilt away to a corner of his mind.
【”Now then, the main problem is, how am I gonna make the rescue seem like a natural coincidence?”】
Kyle pondered while sitting cross-legged on the bed.
【”Can’t we just tail the princess and her troops after their departure?”】
“It should be easy since she’ll be departing from right here.” Said Sildonia.
This inn was the best in Archen, so the princess’ group was naturally staying here, too.
Kyle’s group was staying at the second floor, but they couldn’t even get near the stairs of the fifth and fourth floor because they were both booked by the princess and her people.
【”Sure, we could do that, but if possible, I’d rather avoid being too direct.”】
Kyle had a bitter face as he considered the possibility of being found out after tailing the princess.
So far, Kyle had kept his investigation of the princess’ actions to a bare minimum.
The detailed schedule of the members of the royal family was a state secret, the public wasn’t even told about how long the princess was going to stay in Archen.
It was very difficult to investigate those things, and of course, it was a crime.
Even if the princess were to be saved by him, Kyle would still be investigated by the country later on to find out why he was on site in the first place, and it was going to be quite troublesome if the fact that he had kept track of the princess was exposed at that time.
【”Still, I don’t know exactly where the Hydra’s attack is gonna take place, it doesn’t seem like we’ll be able to ambush it… It just can’t be helped, I guess we’re gonna follow behind the princess after she departs.”】
While Kyle was thinking that there was no way around this, Seran, who had gone outside, came back to the room.
【”d.a.m.n it, I’ve been asking around about the princess’ schedule but I couldn’t find anything.”】
【”…You’re investigating the princess? What for?”】
【”No no, I just want to try to have a fated meeting with her. I want to magnificently help her after she falls into some critical situation, that way, we’ll fall in love despite our difference in status and we’ll…. Wait, what’s with you? Why are you holding your head?”】
【”No, it’s just that…. I just realized that we’re doing the same thing and it feels pretty awful…”】
Their goals were different but their actions were the same.
【”The same thing? What do you mean?”】
【”… Well, it seems like the princess is actually going to fall into a dangerous situation pretty soon.”】
【”What!? You’re saying that the reason we came to this town had something to do with the princess?”】
【”Yeah, and so…”】
【”Alright! Leave it to me! We’re basically going to follow behind the princess, right? That’s my specialty!”】
As he said that, Seran was br.i.m.m.i.n.g with confidence.
Translator’s note: When I said the manga did a poor job, I was referring to everything that Kyle said about knowing that he’s going to let people die for his plan etc… It does make sense but that was never mentioned in the manga etc…
Also, I’d like to thank Kuugeki and Albert.K for their recent pledges on Patron, I know that many people have already read the manga etc… and many would rather just have me translate whatever comes right after the latest Chapter, but please just bear with me, it won’t take that long to catch up with the manga, plus the novel is not the same >
Anyway, I wish you all a good day, and I’ll see you next time, for chapter 9!