Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou Zero - Volume 6 - Chapter SS3

A Certain Princess’s Ancestor

A spirited yell echoed throughout an enclosed circular arena.

“Haaaaaaaaah!”

The arena’s walls were made of metal, and there wasn’t a single window. The only source of illumination was the glowing sword that clashed with a war mace clad in a jet-black aura. Shock waves rippled out from the arena every single time the two weapons struck, and they did so with such speed that the weapons looked like shooting stars. This was undoubtedly one of the most legendary battles of the era. One of the combatants was a man in his thirties with slicked-back gray hair. The other was a bald man well into old age. The two of them locked weapons once more, their faces inches apart. They then jumped back at the same time and raised their hands into the air, light coalescing around them.

“Divine Wrath.”

“Divine Wrath.”

Both of them fired off the strongest offensive light-magic spell simultaneously. Had there been any spectators in the arena, they would have all gasped. But as it was, the only sound was that of the air creaking as the magic attacks collided, sending both parties flying.

“Nnnnnngh, grant me your strength, Holy Sword!”

Even as he was being blown away, the younger man called out the Holy Sword, which answered its master’s will and extended at unbelievable speed to thrust at his enemy. He was easily strong enough to be considered the world’s greatest knight—but only among those still living on the surface. His opponent was still clearly one step above him.

“Heh, that was just an afterimage.”

The bald man’s figure blurred, and the Holy Sword’s tip passed harmlessly through his illusion. Meanwhile, his mace hit the younger man squarely in the solar plexus.

“Gah!” The younger man cried out as he was slammed into the wall. His Limit Break wore off, and the light of his mana dimmed. He then crumpled to the ground and groaned softly. “I still didn’t manage to beat you even at the very end...”

“True, but that was a splendid display, Sharm.”

Indeed, the two combatants were Sharm and Laus. They were in the depths of the labyrinth in the Divine Mountain. Normally, this would be where any challengers to the labyrinth would face their final trial, but as Sharm was the one person Laus had chosen to keep in contact with, he could come and go as he pleased without clearing the trials.

Sharm had spent the last twenty years roaming Tortus as a wandering Hero, but he’d made sure to come back once every year to visit Laus and train under him.

Laus sat down next to his son, his expression so gentle that it was hard to believe he’d been fighting so fiercely mere seconds ago. Sharm was once again reminded of just how difficult a task it would be to surpass his father, and he covered his eyes with his arm.

“It’s been twenty years since you guys disappeared from the world, father.”

Laus simply listened quietly, so Sharm kept going.

“...Yunfa’s had yet another kid, you know? Her and Naiz’s family has gotten huge, and it looks like she’s still planning on having more. Oh yeah, Dylan’s son’s gotten old enough to join the mercenary group he started. Diene wanted him to take over Andika for her, but he’s determined to be a mercenary like his dad.”

Sharm’s voice trembled a little as he spoke.

“Oh yeah, Diene’s pregnant with her third child now. Her daughter gave her a lot of trouble when she was growing up because she always brought home strange creatures and stuff, but now she’s all grown up herself. Heh heh, Dylan and Diene sure didn’t waste any time, though. I can’t believe they made a third kid the moment their second became an adult. Oh yeah, Katy’s probably going to end up giving in and marrying Albanor-kun soon. She kept on using the differences in their age and status as excuses, but Albanor-kun’s as persistent as his dad. Katy seems to like him well enough too.”

Sharm sat up and rested his sword on his knees. As he looked down at it, he continued, “Ruth’s workshop has become the best in the country. He’s gotten the king’s permission to inherit Karg-san’s family name too. Oh yeah, and Kiara’s son handed the inn off to his sister and went to the Pale Forest. Apparently, his dream is to create a clan of rabbitmen that are stronger than anyone else. Kiara was complaining to me about how telling him all those stories about Sui was a mistake. Shirley’s made quite a name for herself too. She’s the leader of the Entris branch of the adventurer’s guild. She’s been constantly on the lookout for adventurers strong enough to challenge the labyrinths.”

As he said that, all of Sharm’s energy leaked out and he leaned back despondently. He squeezed the hilt of his Holy Sword, struggling to find the right words.

“What’s my grandson’s name?” Laus asked, and Sharm looked up at him in shock. “Did you really think I wouldn’t notice?”

Laus knew his son all too well.

“Congratulations, Sharm. You’re a father now too.”

“But I...” Sharm trailed off in a pained voice, prompting Laus to bop him on the head.

“Fool. Did you learn nothing from watching me?”

Laus had spent his whole life telling himself that things had to be this way, that he had no other choice, and because of that, he’d failed to be a good father to his sons. By the time he’d finally mustered the resolve to change that, it had been too late. Thus, he didn’t want his last surviving son to go down the same path he had.

“Just because you’re the Hero, just because you’re my son, it doesn’t mean you need to devote your whole life to succeeding my legacy.”

“Father...I really can’t keep anything from you, can I?”

Sharm smiled sadly. Laus really had seen right through him. Sharm had spent the past twenty years trying to clear the labyrinths, but he’d only managed to conquer one of them. And to make matters worse, his aptitude for the ancient magic he’d acquired was abysmal. He hadn’t even met the prerequisites to challenge his father’s labyrinth, which was conquering two other labyrinths first. Of course, he hadn’t devoted his full time to the labyrinths, since he’d also gone around helping people as the Hero, but the fact remained that he hadn’t accomplished as much as he’d wanted.

“If you had kept Corrin waiting any longer, I would have smacked you.”

“You just did, didn’t you?”

“Well, it’s thanks to that that you were finally able to work up the resolve to tell me, right?”

Sharm had spent the past twenty years trying to become the successor to the Liberators’ will and slay Ehit in their place, but Laus knew it was time he put it behind him and made a new life for himself.

“Just so you know, being a good father is much harder than clearing all the labyrinths. You better prepare yourself,” Laus said with a grin.

Sharm smiled wanly back and replied, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“You better. I mean, it’s the last thing I’ll be able to teach you.”

Sharm bit his lip and looked over at Laus. His father was beginning to glow faintly, and his figure was starting to turn transparent. In truth, Laus had died a while back. However, he’d separated his spirit from his corpse and used the spirit magic Soul Shadow to bind it to a clone of himself made of mana. Once the mana maintaining the body ran out, his spirit would vanish and he would die for real. Their earlier battle had been the last training session he would ever do with Sharm, and this was the last conversation they would ever have.

“Father, no... It’s too soon...”

“It’s fine. With how hard I pushed this old body, I’m surprised I even made it to sixty.”

Laus smiled happily. He’d lived long enough to hear that his son had finally been blessed with a child, so there wasn’t anything more he could ask for.

“Raise your head, Sharm. Even if I hadn’t prodded you, you came here to tell me about my grandchild and your decision to focus on raising them, right?”

Again, Laus had seen right through Sharm. It was only now that Sharm realized Laus had stuck around so long after his physical body had died precisely because he’d been waiting for this day. This final training session had been Laus’s way of encouraging Sharm to be proud of his decision.

Sharm looked up, determined to at least keep his head held high during his father’s final moments.

“Father, I have something to tell you.”

“Mhm.”

“A few days ago, I became a father...and I’m thinking of spending the rest of my life with my wife and child.”

Laus had almost completely faded now.

“Until now, I’ve lived as just Sharm and kept my family name hidden, but I’m thinking of doing as the Levellair family did and adopting a new family name to serve as a cover for my true one.”

“I see. Have you decided on what to choose, Sharm?”

“No. I was hoping you would grant me one, father, as well as choose the name of our daughter.”

“Are you sure you want me to do it?”

“Absolutely. This is Corrin’s wish as well.”

With a very grandfatherly smile, Laus said, “In that case...”

Laus thought for a moment. He knew he wanted to include the name of the previous Hero, the loyal knight who had faithfully served the Barn family and fought to protect those he loved. In fact, the name Reinheit meant ‘to save another,’ which felt rather poetic. He also wanted to express the name Sharm Barn in there somehow, to remind people of this generation’s Hero, and the last head of the Barn family. Finally, he wanted a reminder of the very first Liberator—Belta.

Thus, he settled on the name Belle S. B. Heiligh. Little did he know that his distant descendant would then go on to accomplish great things.