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I asked Georg, who was crouched cross-legged beside me. Georg was smiling contentedly, savoring the ale he’d smuggled out of nowhere. He set the wooden mug down on the grass with a thud, wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, and answered my question.

“The custom of erecting such a pillar originally originated farther north. The people there did it to celebrate the flowers blooming in May, hence the name Maypole. Though the summer solstice festival in Evernode is now far more famous.”

I nodded slightly and turned my head to my left. Marianne, wearing a wreath on her head instead of her veil, felt my gaze and turned to me. Her silver hair with a flower crown glistened in the sun.

“…I feel stupid asking this, but is it okay if you don’t go and dance?”

“Yes. I’ll just be watching.”

Marianne nodded. She glanced at the Holy Sword at my waist and the flowers on its hilt, then back at the Maypole. I saw Daphne, her pink hair flowing in a circle, dancing with Karin.

It was fortunate that Daphne was a child-loving personality. Marianne would take good care of the child, but the child would not have fun. As for Georg… he’d be lucky if the child didn’t run away crying.

That made Daphne the obvious choice for any kid to play with.

“About the question you asked me before, did you find an answer?”

Marianne was referring to the time I’d asked for her help. I didn’t know how to respond. While I got closer, I was still far from understanding it.

“I don’t know. At least I know it’s an indescribable sensation.”

A petal flew in front of my eyes. I raised a finger and swung it at the petal like a sword. The petal lingered at my fingertips for a moment before it flew back into the sky.

“It only gets more complex the more I learn.”

In the Capital and Evernode, I wandered into the libraries poring over books. I read everything from basic stances to the most complex martial arts. I even used my authority as the Hero to learn some of the most famous and secretive sword techniques. While I could not replicate them, they served as a good reference.

“Don’t feel too down.”

Georg, who had been listening quietly beside us, spoke up.

“Even with simple weapons, such as the mace or morning star, not everyone who uses them can be called a master. Let alone the more complex weapons like the sword and spear.”

Georg let out a long sigh, savoring his drink. What he said was probably right, but he looked like a senile drunkard. The odd visual of the flowers on his head was a bonus.

“If you’ve gotten that far, you’ve passed the biggest obstacle.”

Marianne spoke again.

“Eventually, that clue, like a small hole in a dike, will gradually break down the wall.”

“Maybe I’ll realize it when it’s a little clearer, but right now, I barely have a toe in the doorway.”

It was annoying when I didn’t know, but frustrating when I started to see.

“It is a process that many swordsmen and spearmen go through more than once. Every time you make a breakthrough, the world you see will change.”

Georg spoke as if he had been through it all. He is a Templar, so everything he said was probably right.

“But you’ve been fighting so well. Why are you trying to change it?”

Georg asked curiously. I turned to Georg and furrowed my brow.

“Why wouldn’t I? We’re far too weak to take a Disaster head-on.”

“…Right. There’s no guarantee that we’ll be as lucky as the Kraken in this battle.”

One person in the dance fell over, causing a lot of people who were connected to do the same. Those who had dropped laughed and moved out of the line while the rest of the group formed another circle and began to dance again. Daphne and Karin were still happily moving.

“You’ve changed, Elroy.”

Georg said. He rattled his wooden goblet, clicked his tongue, and set it on the grass.

“Same shitty personality, but a little more… how do I say it.”

Georg frowned.

“…More like a person.”

“You make it sound like I wasn’t even human before.”

“I don’t know. You were always angry at everyone but Iris. You never told us why, either. I won’t ask why you were like that then, but why did you change?”

I looked down, not sure how to answer him.

“I don’t know. Something may have changed after we defeated the Third Disaster. Maybe it was when I decided to remove Arjen from the party. But I knew we couldn’t continue like that.”

“…Yeah. It was a risky decision. I never thought you’d let go of three existing party members. Especially Nella, who always supported you.”

I narrowed my eyes.

“It’s not like I picked the old party members anyway. Everyone got in due to orders, including you.”

“I’m surprised I’m still around after the purge.”

I shrugged. There’s no reason to send Georg away. He’s a stalwart guy who stuck with the Hero even after everything he’d been through in the original.

“You were neutral until the end, even during my quarrel with Arjen.”

“….”

Georg nodded wordlessly, then flopped down on his back, ready to take a nap. As they twirled under the pillar, Daphne tripped and fell, causing Karin, holding onto her hand, to fall on top of her. Daphne brushed off the grass and dirt from her clothes and Karin’s clothes, then walked over to where we were sitting.

“That was fun.”

Daphne laughed, blades of grass still in her hair. It was such an innocent look. It made me think back to the novel. ‘Was there ever a time she laughed while in Arjen’s party?’

“You looked like you were having fun.”

“Yeah~, but I’m a little dizzy.”

I chuckled and looked at Daphne.

“Aren’t you a little old to be saying that?”

“I’m only twenty-three; I still have my youth. Come to think of it, I don’t know the ages of the people in the party.”

Georg turned to face Daphne and me.

“I’m thirty-three. In the prime of life.”

“You’re presbyopic.”

“Asshole.”

I turned away from Georg and looked at Marianne.

“I’m…twenty-two.”

Twenty-two. She was younger than I thought. I’d expected her to be older than Daphne, but she was surprisingly a year younger. She could have never been more senile than Georg, but she seemed much more mature. I hope she will excuse the disrespect I was thinking of.

(You’re excused just this once. However, it seems I have to teach you manners.)

The Holy Sword said. I had to hold back the urge to ask her how old she was. (TN: More about this at the end.)

(…My apologies)

The Holy Sword spoke in a half-depressed, half-teasing voice. ‘I was curious, but if it makes you this sad… I’m sorry.’ Then Daphne looked up and looked at me.

“What about Elroy?”

‘My age? No, we are talking about Elroy… I don’t know his age. In the original, Iris was twenty, Arjen was twenty-nine… I don’t know. I really don’t know.’ There was minimal talk of Elroy in the original story. Beside me, Georg looked at me curiously. He doesn’t seem to know.

“Twenty-seven.”

I blurted out the age I’d inferred from my reflection in the mirror. I didn’t think I was over thirty, at least, and I looked old enough to be in my early twenties.

“Twenty-seven… I see.”

Daphne, who was nodding, staggered and sat between Georg and me. Karin sat beside me, and I removed the grass on Karin’s hair. This made her grin.

Karin closed her eyes quietly and waited for me to take off the grass, then opened her eyes straight as if she had come to her senses and inhaled. Then she dodged my hand and began to push my hand off her head. ‘Do you hate my hands that much?’

“…Do you want to look mature in front of Elroy?”

Daphne whispered quietly. I looked at Daphne with my eyebrows raised. Daphne stroked Karin’s head with a gentle smile.

“How did you know?”

“The village I stayed in before I came to the Capital greatly cared for the children. I had a lot of younger brothers, and I was the oldest child in the village, so some children followed me like their leader.”

Daphne said so and removed the leaves from the pigtails that Karin had yet to shake off. Karin, who fixed her appearance, shook her head to relieve her dizziness and sat up.

“You can lie down some more.”

Karin shook her head.

“The Ironblood Princess should get over that kind of dizziness quickly.”

Her expression was determined. I lowered my head and tried to make eye contact with Karin.

“Why do you want to be an Ironblood Princess?”

“Because Ironblood is strong.”

Karin pouted as she said it. I nodded with a bitter smile.

“Why do you want to be strong?”

“…I want to be strong so that I can help my brother and my father. I also want to protect them, but they are strong and won’t need my help.”

Karin bowed her head.

“I wish I could be just like you.”

“It’s okay if you’re not strong yet.”

I said, gently stroking Karin’s dark hair.

“Karin, there’s no need to be impatient. Most importantly for an Ironblood…”

I gestured to my chest. Karin followed my lead and placed her hand where my heart was.

“…This is the most important.”

“The heart?”

“Yes. If you’re strong here, you can do anything.”

Ironblood. I didn’t want to laugh and tease her just yet. After all, what I said to her now would determine how she would grow up. The last thing I wanted to do was laugh at her childhood dreams.

Karin nodded blankly, and I smiled and stroked her hair. The bright laughter continued around us, and the sun, on the longest day of summer, bathed us gently. We went around the whole day, and I was getting tired. Georg was already asleep, and Marianne was lying beside him, her eyes closed. Daphne rubbed her eyes tiredly, too. Karin had already laid down next to Daphne.

‘Maybe I should take a nap, too.’

I was feeling the ground for a spot to lie down.

Then a thud sounded in the distance.

I sat up sharply, my drowsiness gone, and turned to face the outer wall of the Evernode.

“Elroy?”

I did not hear Daphne’s voice.

The ground shook subtly. The people dancing around the Maypole then started panicking and looked around.

“Is it an earthquake?”

“The ground suddenly shook….”

(Elroy…)

My senses twitched; I could tell even if she didn’t tell me.

Beyond the mountain range and deepest valley, in the middle of the most desolate land in the world…

‘It’ moved.

Translator’s Corner

Hope you guys enjoyed that chapter. In chapter 14, the author mentions the Holy Sword’s feminine voice and refers to her with female pronouns. This chapter made me realize there could be lines, references, or plot lines based around this.

I will also start doing so, so I hope the switch here is understood.

Also, this chapter is posted early because there is a bonus chapter during the normal time.

-Ruminas