Side Story 4: The Isolated Island 01

Five days passed since our departure from Elrigo, a trading city at the southernmost tip of the Capul Continent.

The weather stayed favorable, so we arrived at our destination, the Hagane Domain, with no notable trouble along the way.

We landed at a small wharf built directly into the shore, but the construction itself seemed quite sturdy. They probably used Earth Magic to carve and compact the land into something as strong as concrete.

The island itself was fairly large. From what I could tell at a distance, it seemed to be about forty or fifty kilometers from one end to the other.

There were no major islands in the surrounding seas, so I guess it’s a completely isolated location. I’ve heard about it having unique monsters and even its own ecosystem.

「Welcome! We are delighted to have you here!」

「Oh! Gekkou-dono. It has been so long!」

An elderly man came to greet the members of the Lucille Trade Association with a gentle smile. His hair and beard were completely shaved, but he possessed exceptionally bushy white eyebrows. His outfit consisted of white garments resembling a samue and zori sandals, so he looked like a hermit straight out of Japanese legends.

Due to his hunched back, he didn’t appear to have any combat ability at first glance. And yet, all of his movements remained extremely fluid.

Well, we already saw a glimpse of his physical prowess a few moments ago.

This old man needed to descend a fairly long staircase to arrive at the dock, but he casually hopped down ten steps at a time without breaking a sweat.

I wasn’t expecting that at all, so I almost mistook him for some sort of magical beast. It just looked so uncanny and inhuman.

The old man turned to Fran next. Or rather, he seemed to be staring intently at her. I wouldn’t call it glaring, but there seemed to be a considerable pressure behind his unwavering gaze.

Fran matched his gaze without flinching, and the two continued their staring match with confident smiles.

Judging by the strength of this guy, the warriors here must be pretty strong as well. I’m sure Fran’s already getting excited to fight them.

Meanwhile, Rengill interjected with an awkward smile.

「Gekkou-dono, allow me to introduce you. Here is the new Rank S Adventurer you’ve been waiting for: Fran-dono, the Black Lightning Princess.」

「Nn. I’m Fran. This is Urushi, and this is Master!」

「Woof!」

『Nice to meet you.』

「Ooooooh! Just as I thought! A princess of the Black Cats who wields terrifying power! A magical beast boasting immense strength! And the new Divine Sword! Just as the rumors described…! Truly magnificent!」

「Heheh.」

Gekkou raised his voice in delight, trembling all over. Seeing this, Fran put on her usual smug expression. Then she casually drew me and held my tip high in the air.

「Master is a super-amazing Divine Sword!」

「Indeed! Divine Sword-dono! I can tell from your aura that you are on an entirely differently level!」

Eh? You can tell how great I am? Just from the aura? Oh man, you’re making me blush.

「Ahem! My apologies for getting carried away. I am called Gekkou. You have my sincerest thanks for accepting our request!」

Gekkou seemed way happier talking to us compared to Rengill! He maintained a huge smile the entire time and used more exaggerated gestures!

Rengill was nice enough to brush it off with an awkward smile, but some people might get angry at that sort of thing, you know?

Well, I guess I can understand why a warrior would be so excited to meet us.

「So the mock battle is with you, Gekkou?」

「Fuhahahaha! While I would certainly like to say yes, I have to admit your real opponents lie elsewhere.」

「Are they stronger than you?」

「Of course. Far stronger.」

「Oho.」

Fran’s face lit up with anticipation. This old man was quite something, but apparently this island was filled with people at an even higher level.

「Actually, Gekkou-dono is a member of the council of elders who handle politics.」

「I do dabble in martial arts, but I am more of a civil servant.」

Eh? You’re telling me this guy is a civil servant? Then just how strong are the warriors?

「Well, it would be rude to keep our guests standing forever. Please, come this way.」

「Nn.」

Instead of the superhuman agility he had displayed when coming down to us, Gekkou began walking up the stairs normally. That’s probably out of consideration for Rengill.

Along the way, he told us various stories, like how this harbor was constructed. Apparently, it wasn’t just Earth Magic. The martial artists here crushed the rocks as part of their training, which doubled in helping them develop the land.

The rough-hewn sections in some places were the proof of their labors.

「It is a humble place, but please, have a seat over there.」

Humble, or rather, simple. We were shown into a wooden house with only the bare minimum of decoration. It resembled the atmosphere of a traditional Japanese house, though it seemed that wearing shoes inside was perfectly fine.

Instead of green tea, they served a dark-brown drink made by boiling down what appeared to be tree roots. It didn’t look very appetizing, but the taste was apparently refreshing and surprisingly good. Fran gulped it down.

「First, regarding our request to have mock battles with the Black Lightning Princess… How many opponents would you be willing to allow?」

「…? You haven’t decided yet?」

「The thing is, if we do not set a limit in advance, then I am worried every single person on the island will attempt to participate. We cannot possibly burden you with several thousand challengers. Besides, even a match with the Black Lightning Princess would mean nothing to an inexperienced novice. Both sides have little to gain there.」

They weren’t exaggerating when they called this place an island of warriors. Apparently, every man, woman, and child here received combat training. And Gekkou’s strength made it abundantly clear that this training was nothing to scoff at.

Even if they eventually moved on to a different field, all of them were still warriors at heart.

『Makes sense. We can’t take on everyone.』

「Right, so I was thinking of setting the limit at around twenty people. What do you think?」

「Nn? I’m fine with more.」

I can imagine Fran being perfectly happy to fight everyone on the island, but that’ll take way too much time.

『Uh, but we shouldn’t increase it too much either. Maybe we could make the limit around fifty or so?』

「Oh! Fifty! That would be a great help! To be honest, I was worried that our top-ranked members might start fighting each other over the right to participate!」

Fran nodded repeatedly at Gekkou’s explanation. As a fellow battle junkie, she can probably sympathize with their desire to participate.

「In that case, we should be able to decide on the participants by tomorrow—」

「Old man Gekkou! Big trouble! Ouri challenged Genba to a promotion match, and Genba accepted! They’re about to duke it out at the training grounds…!」

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