Next Life Vol 1 Chapter 8

For the life of soldiers that fell while confronting the Wyverns, it was decided to leave them on the field as is.
Their death should be mourned, be praised, the ones that should be given memorial, but it couldn’t take precedence over the safety of the King.

(Vincent, Oscar, Hector, I’m sorry)

Once the bodyguards apologized in their minds, they departed.
Alvin stood in the forefront, leading the line. Next to him, Raymond smeared in greasy sweat, ran in parallel.
Raymond fought the Wyvern, summoned the Summon-beasts, in addition to already having consumed a large quality magic power, even now he would from time to time use “Detection” for scouting.
The severity of magic power consumption was precisely the fate of the Second-job(Double) of Witchcraft(Goetic) and Summon-Pract.i.tioner(Summoner).
This was the reason Marius was impressed.
He was knowledgeable about it and had already prepared few magic potion, although Raymond already drunk it, the the burden to his body was still immeasurable.
What pushed Raymond to move on were his sense of duty as a bodyguard and his obstinacy as third seat of court magician.

(Even so, why did this happen…)

Raymond thought bitterly.
The Renbern Mountain they were pa.s.sing was thought up until now to be an empty mountain, named as the “Naked Mountain”, nothing produced here, not even weeds can grow.
The place without monster, in a state where it was even questionable if there was an insect lives there. The only living creatures that were witnessed were only a few Black owls.
The last place inspected was at Menfen City, located between Kingdom Capital Firatos. If they can pa.s.s through here, then they can arrive at the Kingdom Capital about two-hours earlier than compared to other roads.
With that intention, it was purposely established as a road around fifty years ago.
Then until today, there was not even a time that they had encountered a monster.
That’s why they let their guard down..
In addition to more than dozens of bodyguard, influential people like Alvin and Raymond, were accompanying King, including Emma that has her third-job(Triple). The Courtiers responded by saying, “It was too excessive” while having wry smile.
However, as soon they hear this precedent they without a doubt ,will say “It was a too small force” with pale face.

(Anyway, The man named Marius, who is he?)

His appearance was too much to their convenience, coming here and speaking only in Famia’s language.
As a spy he was too silly, however, perhaps that was his aim.
Everyone probably had something of similar thought, but n.o.body showed it on their att.i.tude.
Hopefully he is willing to become an ally, there was such a feeling.
 
 
 
 
 
Marius knew there was something behind the invitation, including the probability his life would be targeted had also been a.s.sumed, but things like a spy from a foreign county or in the middle of plot didn’t cross his mind.
In can be said that. this kind of trickery for a person coming from different world without any livelihood connection to it. it was his limit.
That is why without to frankly he carefully, looking around interior of carriage.
The inside was large enough to have ten people seated.
On the inner part was Marius, on his front was Bernhard III, next to Marius was Loviesa, sitting in front of her was Emma.
Originally it was appropriate if the person sitting next to Marius was Emma, but the only one who can interpret Marius’s words was Loviesa. Because of that, it was a necessary measure to have them switched.
The white seat part and the backrest part were fluffy making the comfort of the seat good, letting the pa.s.senger to stay relaxed for the long period of travel.
However, at present, with the Oujou-sama next to him, it was unlikely for him to do so.
Blue right eye and a red left eye, which Marius had seen of Loviesa, her odd-eyes was definitely the most beautiful thing.
Transparent like white skin and a faint fragrance. Although Marius had a reasonable immunity against women, he was made close into a psychological state of first-love.
Averting his eyes from her charm, looking into the interior to calm himself.
It’s made from white woods, even if it’s weak, he felt some magic power.
Marius had an instant change of expression which Loviesa did not miss.
(Neetnote : Ojou was a call for n.o.ble lady, or high-rank girl, but in this case the author wrote it as princess so I write it as Oujou)

“You did notice it. Shake prevention, heat-resistance, impact-resistance, cold-resistance, such magic was cast on it.”
Matching its use only for the Royal family, it was indeed a high-cla.s.s carriage Marius thought.
He found the reason carriage was able to keep intact, even after receiving the attack from a flock of Wyvern.
By cast, it was a solid, strong, and extraordinary magic. It was not strange if it could withstand a Wyvern’s attack.
Currently the shaking could not be felt at all, he didn’t even feel as if he was riding a carriage.

“From here, how long does it take to reach the Royal Castle?”

“It would take about two hours. We will arrive a little early if we hurry, but with Raymond’s familiar it will take about three and a half hours to arrive.”

It meant that Royal Castle’s side required time to prepare to receive Marius.
Then, the concept of time that seemed to be identical to his original world made one of Marius’s concerns reduced.
Of course, there also the case where it was different in calculation.
While choosing his words carefully, Marius asked.

“The time, how is it measured?”

At that moment, a sympathetic look had slightly colored Loviesa.
Although it disappeared immediately, Marius didn’t overlook it.

(I did ask in bad way…but it’s not limited if there is a watch.)

If it complied to the FAO world, a day was 24 hours, a year was 365 days. A watch and calendar should also exist .
However, the experience he got since reincarnation till this encounter, Marius was inevitably cautious. (ED Fuj: cautious -> curious?)
Loviesa unlike usual who interpreted it from time to time to other two, took out a watch from her pocket.
Her small palm could even cover it, it was a small pocket-watch.

“This is something called by watch. Looking at this we could make sure the pa.s.sage of time. Please look at it.”

One to twelve, written in black roman numeral numbers, There are minute-hand, hour-hand, and second-hand.
Exactly the watch Marius knew.

“A day is 24 hours?”

“Yes. You did know it. After that, a year is 365 days.”

“Is that so.”

Thanks to asking the question if a day was 24 hours, it became difficult to pretend to know nothing.
There was no doubt that Marius would be called a person whose behavior was irregular if he had done so.*
Therefore, in order to change back the flow, Marius asked something he had taken interest to.
That is, why was the Royal family on the mountain road where Wyverns came out and only went through with few attendants accompanying them?
And then, learning about Runbern Mountain from Loviesa’s answer, his expression changed instantly.
(NEETnote : マリウスという人間はさぞちぐはぐな風に映っているだろうが please tell me if there is a better description for this. I stuck for 2 hours on this.)
(ED Fuj: I believe it’s something along the corrected lines that I inputted)
(NEETnote : Hmm… it’s not precisely it. It more like a person who will know if pay an intention of it but he didn’t, just ignore it and only letting himself floating to the wind blown. Kind of that. Once again re-edit it, please.)(ED Fuj: Until someone comes up with better description, I’ll just leave it as it’s difficult to come up with something that fits xD)

“If that story is true, someone with power to manipulate Wyverns, the possibility of an attempted a.s.sa.s.sination on the two of you was high.”

For travel safety of the Royal Family, it was unbelievable if that had not been investigated in advance.
At Marius’s point of view, Loviesa unhesitatingly nodded.
Perhaps, the enemy present were already near. Even in this situation, she didn’t look shaken or nervous.
While being impressed by her courage, Marius put his thoughts into his mouth.

“Offering me to seat here was an antic.i.p.ation to a second attack, right?”

Loviesa once again easily nodded.
What Marius said was confirmed, but `if it was only to that degree, I already knew’.
It was a feint, but ended as a misfire.
Loviesa’s att.i.tude didn’t show any change.
More than this degree of awareness, she was thinking how far he knew about the situation.

(Expecting too much from a partner they didn’t believe in would also be like relying too much.)

Marius himself didn’t think that he was completely trusted.
They had just met and also from air they wore, he could guess that.
Raymond Summoned-beast was not only suddenly informing other, it wasn’t hard to guess that the purpose it served was not only for calling reinforcement.
If it was like that, to brush away their restlessness, their only way was to defeat Marius, at least by betting the forces they had confidence in. That kind of situation could be currently headed towards.

(I was too hasty.) Marius thought.

One of Marius’s reason to ride the carriage was because he wanted to get acquainted with the Royal Family, but the biggest reason was really the levels of other party.
As he had investigated all of them, their levels were more than a hundred less than Marius’s.
Confirming all of their levels, it wasn’t simply because he wanted to know their criteria of power.
By chance, if his magic was sealed, or moreover he was caught off guard, he wanted to know if they were an opponent he could handle.
For example, even the opponent who was specialized in close-combat, with a level difference of more than a hundred, even it was a surprise attack, he could handle it. He would win a fight with only his flesh and body.
This was confirmed with Lake Snake that had levelled-up repeatedly .
As long as it is not a boss monster, there is no problem.
That was what he had concluded and was why he was riding the carriage, otherwise he would have said some reason to refuse.

(If it came to that situation, let’s use Oujou-sama as hostage and run away.)

That would be the scenario if his magic was sealed.
More than willing to be killed, it would be better if he used such a dirty trick without hesitation.
By some chance, princess Loviesa, the weakest of the group, was sitting in a position his hands can reach. By some chance it could have also meant that they were saying that they had no feelings of hostility.
It was not as if he did not think of that, but, at the same time, perhaps they were just waiting for him to letting his guard down.
Marius didn’t have that knowledge, but it would not be strange if she had some self-defense means as a member of the Royal Family
Though, they who were helpless as opponents of the group of Wyverns, he didn’t think they can be compared to him.
While Marius was thinking, Loviesa asked a question back to him.

“By the way, back then, from where did Marius-sama come from?”

This was a question he predicted would be asked, but he still had yet to prepare an answer.
Even he was to tell her the truth, it was not something that can be believed.
Instead, he decided to tell her the place he had previously been to.

“Hmm, I don’t know the name, but it was at the bottom of the mountain road. From the place with a large lake and wide forest.”

“Eh? From Lake of Abyss?”

Loviesa, for the first time, was frankly surprised.

“Eh, yes. Perhaps it is.”

By Abyss, he had a question, but it was not so high that it couldn’t be reached by flying with flight magic. It was only certainly true that that place was more lower than where they currently were.

“If you can’t use flight magic or transition magic, it was a place that was said to be impossible to came back from.”

That meant it was impossible to escape by foot, even for Marius that at the point he reincarnate as one who can use magic, it was a thing that make him irritated.
He can’t help but think this was planned by someone.

(Thinking about it, first meeting someone only to come to immediately saving the Royal Family, it reeked of conspiracy, Right….  it was too much.)

In a story of the Original World, “there is a limit to opportunism”. This kind of development would get the same criticism.
But, seeing as it did end up as this after he reincarnated, a feeling came to him.
It would mean that using power of “Marius Touban” to save Firat Kingdom was the purpose, that kind of thing.
Why was he the one chosen, even if he thought about such things there no end. He decided set it aside and leave it in the matter of future development.
Moreover he didn’t have a purpose in this world, aiming to work for the Firat Kingdom was not such a bad thing.
With Loviesa here, there would be no normal healthy male that would not have an ulterior motive. Because Marius was also a healthy young male, suddenly having a bishoujo appear made a big difference.
To become a power for Firat, it was necessary to start building trusted relations.h.i.+p with the people of Firat.
But the power that Marius had was far from being versatile.
There is a limit to what he can do all by himself.
What should he do to build relations.h.i.+p.
Here, he remembered the phrase, “If you want something, first give something”.
If you want to believed by others, firstly you should believe others. If you want to be loved, first give your love.
The next thing he remembered was a quote for the sport athletes that were active in a foreign country, “The people that attempted to use local languages were loved and easily mixed-in”.

(First the language, and then the culture.)

The foreigner praised their hometown. While seeing the figure that was deliciously eating their hometown’s dishes, of course they would be happy.
The definite thing was that the difference in values on his side were much too strong.
While thinking so, the timing to break the ice disappeared. The sounds of horseshoes coming kept getting louder.
It was clearly to the scale of an army.
Emma and Loviesa confirmed it from the window.

“I don’t even want to think about it, is it the enemy?”

“No, it’s an ally. The flag with a hawk holding a three-p.r.o.nged spear on its beak is the symbol of our country’s Magic Knight Unit.”

Loviesa Answering Marius’s question with a clearly relieved look.
Certainly on the white cloth of the flag carried by troops, a black three-p.r.o.nged spear in the beak of a blue hawk was drawn.
There was no bodyguards that released their formation, but Marius mood didn’t clear up.
He didn’t feel that half a hour had pa.s.sed.
The reason for Magic Knight Unit being able to merge with them in a short time, Loviesa didn’t look like she was going to explain it.
Perhaps she thought that Marius didn’t understand the concept of time.
“Lets believe them”, previously he had a determination to make effort to it, but the idea that he still didn’t get their trust was the correct one, once again confront it to make the shapes.*
(NEETnote : once again with this 改めて突きつけられた形になった, help me, please.)
(End of Episode 8)