WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS
Translator: Abood
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Saviour Embarks on a Nameless Journey
Chapter 32: Discrepancy
Io’s staff went flying from her hand.
“Sister!”
Startled and worried, Alina let out a small cry.
“Don’t look away.”
I hooked Alina’s sword and knocked it loose as well.
“Ah…”
She stared down at her small hand, now empty of the sword, and let out a faint murmur.
“Well then, shall we take a break?”
After about half an hour of sparring, I sheathed my blade.
“Thank you very much! Grandfather, you really are so strong!”
Her expression shifted from bewilderment to a beaming smile as she gave her thanks.
Whether it was my granddaughter, cheeks still soft with childhood, frowning in concentration as she swung her sword, or bursting into such a radiant smile, both were equally adorable.
If she were only playing at swords, I might laugh it off as a game… but Alina was serious about her training, even if I didn’t say it aloud.
“To be overpowered like that… I’m unfit to be a witch’s disciple.”
Io picked up her staff, her face stricken with despair.
“Suirun is the sword of this generation. And his body is as strong as it was in his prime. Thinking you could oppose that with just a little magical reinforcement was foolish,”
Marius said, snapping his book shut.
“And besides, what a comical sight it was.”
He had to add that one unnecessary line.
“Pya~”
Don’t you agree with him! You’re the reason I end up looking ridiculous in the first place!
As usual, unless eating or sleeping, Pyaa clung to my back without letting go. During the sparring, its limbs clung firmly enough, but its tail had been swinging this way and that the whole time.
The sword match had been between Alina and me. But for Io’s training as well, she had stacked as many spells as she could on Alina. Body enhancement, body amplification, fighting aura.
Body amplification was a peculiar one: to the target themselves, they felt normal, but in truth their body became heavier. Being small could sometimes be an advantage, but Alina was simply too light. Normally she made up for it by combining speed and driving footwork to put strength into her sword.
Fighting Aura, a spell that turned one’s spirit and resolve into a tangible pressure against the opponent. Even without magic, both Alina and I could do something similar, but Io had been bolstering Alina’s presence further with her magic.
And when I blew that pressure away, Io’s staff had been knocked from her hands along with it.
“Oh? Seems the main event has arrived.”
Marius turned his eyes toward the trees ahead.
“Grandfather, let me.”
“Me as well.”
Alina and Io stepped forward.
We’d come here for monster subjugation. According to the locals, the beast haunting this forest looked much like a bull, fierce-tempered, its legs swift as the wind. At the sound of a human voice, it would charge headlong, hurl its target aside, seize them in its jaws, and dash away without stopping.
“No need to hinder its charge, correct?”
“Yes. Better to let it come at full speed.”
At Io’s confirmation, Alina nodded.
Against fast-approaching foes like this, it was common to use a film-like barrier to sap their momentum.
“Here we go!”
From behind the trees emerged the monster, a size smaller than a normal bull, but with thick legs built for power. In an instant, it closed the distance.
Alina stepped in, and at the very moment her sword met the beast, Io reinforced the magic she’d cast upon her.
“Well done.”
Marius spoke in a flat tone as he looked at the nearly bisected monster, but the faint curve at the corner of his mouth betrayed a smile.
From the moment I laid eyes on it, I’d known. So long as they kept their composure, the two of them could handle it. Still, the thought of setting my granddaughter and a child of her age against a monster… I hated it. I wanted to cut them all down myself.
What if Alina faltered? What if I couldn’t reach her in time? Useless worries perhaps, yet they weighed on me. And the only reason I managed to stand back and watch was because Marius was here. However grievous the wound, he could heal it in an instant, without trace.
“Well done, indeed.”
I pulled Alina into an embrace as she came running back to me.
“It was thanks to Sister.”
“And Io as well.”
I stroked Alina’s head, and when I looked toward Io, she pinched the edge of her skirt and dipped lightly in a curtsy.
“Now then, what shall we do about the butchering?”
“Best leave it for today. The sun’s already setting.”
As he said that, Marius cast a cleansing spell over Alina and Io.
They hadn’t been splattered with blood, but they had worked up a sweat sparring with me earlier. Cleansing removed dirt and bacteria from body and clothing. On a long journey, keeping clean was usually difficult, sickness and festering wounds were common.
Even on our old travels, he’d cast that spell frequently. He was the one most irate at not being able to bathe properly, after all.
“I’ll carry it.”
Io floated the carcass along as though with a broom or a basin.
On the road back toward town, several travelers along the highway stared wide-eyed at us. This path was usually busier, but since the monster often crossed it, people had begun avoiding it.
Now that the beast of the forest was slain, it was good advertisement. And trade with the town, which had been stalling, would surely flow again.
“Split in two…”
“A little girl and a monster, cut clean…”
“Two pretty girls and two halves of a beast…”
……
Voices of passersby along the highway reached our ears.
Marius and I were long accustomed to seeing monsters split apart, so we paid it no mind, but perhaps the sight really was a bit much.
“—To feel nothing at the sight of monster blood or entrails, that in itself is rather strange.”
He didn’t say who he meant, but Marius muttered it all the same.
“Because of the goddess’ influence, perhaps.”
“Only toward monsters, yes.”
Those chosen by Lānu Chardonnay bore no hesitation, no guilt, in slaying the vassals of Demon King Torah Barbera.
“In any case, we’ll have to adjust our own senses as well, and quickly.”
Indeed, the ones out of step were not just Alina and Io.
A monster, cleanly halved, floated along in the air. Beside it, Io focused hard on keeping both halves level and steady, while Alina smiled radiantly at her, praising her efforts.
And following just behind, a youth—myself—and an old priest, Marius.
Up until a moment ago, I hadn’t thought it strange at all!
“…True enough.”
“Pyaa!”
Pya’s chirp of agreement and the stares of travelers along the road stung equally.
Footnotes:
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