Ch. 559

Released: 05/06/23

Translator: Ziru

Bridegroom Training

A Chance Meeting Between Heroes

“Kehma-san, let’s have a match since I heard you’ve gotten stronger!”

On the way back from the church’s mass, Wataru called out to me.

You were here? And where did you hear that I’ve become stronger?

“I’m tired from finishing my work. Talk about cowardly, a hero waiting to target me like that.”

“But you’ll just keep on dodging me to avoid my challenges if we don’t do it now, right? I need at least a promise for a match, even if it’s not right now!”

He wasn’t exactly wrong.

If it wasn’t for his timing, I could have made up some excuse like [I’m busy now] and avoided the whole thing… How dare he learn.

“Unfortunately, it’s true that I don’t have time to play around since I’m training. Maybe next time.”

“Eh, but you’ve become stronger, right? Won’t I be defeated with just a touch of your armor?”

“What kind of magic armor can defeat someone with just a touch? Does my clothing look like that?”

And then, he casually mixed in a weird four-character idiomwith just a touch that would be strangely translated by the translation feature. This guy is becoming more cunning.

“In that case, why don’t you just fight my clothes instead?”

“Oh! That’s like the story of Ikkyu Zenji with the monk’s robe episode! He was turned away when dressed shabbily, but when he wore a gorgeous robe, he was welcomed. So, he left only the robe saying, ‘It seems this robe is what’s being sought after,’ and went back!”

… I wouldn’t mind if you’d be satisfied with me just leaving my clothes behind.

Ah, but what I was wearing was the [Divine Pajamas] in jersey form, so never mind actually. Screw that.

“Can I go home now? I’m tired and want to sleep.”

“Hmm, can’t be helped. In that case, please tell me about the black-haired woman who’s been seen in this village.”

At Wataru’s sudden comment, I nearly burst out laughing.

“… Where did you hear about that?”

“Eh, just at the inn?”

Leona was indeed being seen by the villagers. She was enjoying her life in the village without hiding anything, so it’s no wonder Wataru heard about her…

I had a feeling that things would get serious if I introduced Leona to Wataru though—

—No, wait a minute. If I introduced Wataru to Leona here, coiuldn’t I shift their interest in me onto each other?

… Even if Wataru found out that I’m a hero at that point… there’d be another hero, Leona, so it might actually be a good thing. This could be the perfect timing to spill the beans.

“Alright. Then, I’ll introduce that person to Wataru… yeah, I’d rather not, but I’ll introduce you to the one who has become my master!”

“Master! Hoh, now that sounds interesting…!!”

Hook line and sinker. I knew Wataru wouldn’t be able to leave bait like that alone!

I quietly checked the map and looked for Leona’s location… She was at the blacksmith. What’s she up to? The village’s only blacksmith, Kantra, and Nerune were with her too.

“Over here, follow me.”

“Yay, thank you Kehma-san!”

While wondering if it was really okay to let them meet, I took Wataru to the blacksmith.

＊

And so we’d arrived at the blacksmithy. Leona was drawing a magic formation on a blackboard with chalk, though it wasn’t clear where she got it from.

“Basically, by using this magic formation, you can freely add attributes to any material.”

“What a breakthrough… I’m witnessing the dawn of a new era!”

“Wow, Leona-san is amazing, we’re learning so much!”

Hey, you damned Chaos God, don’t just casually bestow revolutionary technology!

Seeing Kantra’s excitement, it must be quite a discovery!

“Hey, Kantra. If you value your life, you should forget what you heard from her.”

“What are you talking about, Kehma-dono? With this magic formation, we could easily solve a difficult problem that hasn’t been solved in the area for 150 years!”

“Oh. Well, she’s probably a demon who will take your soul as payment for solving such a problem.”

“Oh, dear. I don’t need that, I have more than enough souls as it is.”

Leona chuckled. Souls were in abundance for her, as expected of the Chaos God.

“It’s just for fun, you know? I wanted to experiment with what would happen if I taught a remote village’s alchemist and blacksmith some cutting-edge technology.”

“Kantra would be forcibly turned into an extremely important person, right?! Fine, Kantra! We’ll discuss this matter thoroughly later!”

“Oh, alright. For now, I’ll try making a magic sword!”

That’s not what I meant… Forget it. It’s impossible. Making a magic sword is Kantra’s lifelong goal.

He originally came to this village to achieve it. Stopping him now would be a bit…

Ah, geez, I’ve gotten myself into more troublesome work…!

“So, Kehma-san, who is this person? She has black hair and black eyes…”

“This is Hero Wataru, the Empire’s hero. Wataru, this is Leona, my begrudging master and Haku-san’s acquaintance.”

“Wataru here. Nice to meet you.”

“Oh, I’m Leona. Nice to meet you… I see, so you are the [Super Luck] hero.”

Wataru, who offered a handshake, received a friendly smile and handshake from Leona.

I was prepared just in case, but nothing happened.

“You know about me?”

“Yes, I’ve heard about you from Soto-chan just recently.”

“From Soto-chan? I hope she didn’t say anything embarrassing about me.”

“Don’t worry, she said you were a cool big brother, honestly.”

Suspicious! She was probably referring to Space-Time Goddess Soto, right? Just what did she say…?

“By the way, Leona-san, does your black hair have anything to do with being Japanese?”

“Oh, I’m Japanese, so it’s natural for my hair to be black.”

“Japanese! I’m… I’m Japanese too!!”

Wataru firmly declared that.

He had never been able to say [I’m Japanese too] until now. Congratulations.

“But your eyes are red. Is that due to some skill?”

“Yes, it’s due to a skill related to magical eyes, which changed their color. [Super Massage], a magical eye to pinpoint muscle stiffness… Right here!”

“Wow! I didn’t know I had shoulder stiffness… And it was relieved with just one push?!”

Wataru, feeling the lightness in his shoulder, rotated it round and round.

By the way, I wouldn’t mention that Leona possessed a large number of hero skills.

[Kehma-san, Kehma-san. I’m speaking directly to your mind right now…]

[Come on man, directly into my brain!? … Oh, it’s [Telepathy] right? What’s up, Leona?]

[You’re keeping it a secret that you’re a hero, right Kehma-san? I won’t tell anyone, so just think of me as a regular 17-year-old girl hero! It seems more interesting that way!]

…Well, that’s fine. But that lie seemed likely to be exposed soon.