I Was a Sword When I Reincarnated (LN) - Volume 17 - Chapter Ep

Epilogue

HERE YOU GO, Jet. For all your troubles lately. Super spicy, red-hot curry!

“Bark, bark, bark!”

Having left the Adventurers’ Guild, we were now back in our hotel room.

Whoa! Stay! I haven’t put it on the floor yet! You’ll dirty up the room!

“Woof, woof!”

You’re starving? But you had snacks along the way.

“Woof!”

Okay, okay! Here!

Now that I thought about it, he went half a day without a proper meal. He probably was running low on calories after the fierce battle of the finals.

“Teacher.”

I know, I know. You don’t have to give me that look.

The smell of Jet’s curry was torturing Fran. She rubbed her stomach as it rumbled and looked at me with needy eyes.

She’d be a hit with the boys if she wasn’t begging for food. Although Fran was always cute all the time.

Congratulations on your victory! An extra-large helping of curry for thee!

“Oooh!”

Your choice of topping with infinite extra servings. You can eat as much as you like today!

“Really?”

It’s a celebration, after all. Mild, spicy, extra spicy. Beef, pork, chicken, fish, lamb, shrimp. You can have a little bit of everything if you want!

She was even allowed to forget about manners while she ate today!

“Seriously?”

Seriously. Today, you’re allowed to eat whatever you want, as much as you want, however you want!

“Oooh…” Fran was shaking with excitement. I hadn’t seen her so moved in a while. “Heaven was here all along.”

Now there was an exaggeration!

But Fran was serious. She solemnly tucked into her meal.

“…I’ll win again next year so I can go to curry heaven once again.”

G-good luck.

“Hm. I’ll get stronger. I can do it. Munch, munch.”

You don’t have to be that serious about it…

Fran’s eyes were as earnest as when she was fighting in battle.

“We’ll go to Goldicia. Munch. Train. Yum. Undergo any trial for the sake of curry. Gulp.”

I-I see.

“Hm.”

As weird as her motivations were, at least she was motivated.

“Yum, yum!”

“Munch, munch!”

Fran! You’re getting crumbs all over the place! Jet! You’re getting curry all over the place!

I caught their mess with telekinesis and used a cleansing spell to clean up the carpet and furniture. Why? Because this was the premium suite in Ulmutt’s best hotel, that’s why.

It was the only place in town that refused solicitous merchants, nobles, and other hangers-on.

Dias had hooked us up with a room usually reserved for guild VIPs. We would’ve been content with a run-of-the-mill hotel, but this was the only place that would even shut out nobles from bothering their guests.

Fran was very satisfied with the soft bed and carpet, but I was restless. Everything was so luxurious that I got a stomachache when I thought about Fran and Jet breaking it.

Huh? Someone’s coming. This mana…

“It’s Lumina!” Fran shouted, spitting out the rice still in her mouth.

A knock on the door.

I telekinetically opened it and there stood a small doll. It had the features of a black cat and was about twenty centimeters tall.

It looked like the kind of doll that would be used by girls playing house. Very cute. We had seen it before. There was also a familiar mana emanating from it.

This was the doll the black cat dungeon master Lumina would control when she needed to go out. I once saw her have a meeting with Aurel in this form.

Thanks for coming. We were going to see you tomorrow, though.

“Indeed.” The doll walked inside and closed the door. She jumped onto the table. “I watched the tournament through this doll’s eyes. You did our race proud.”

“It wasn’t just me. I won because Jet and Teacher were there.”

Nah, it was mostly you, Fran. We did our best to help, but it would’ve all been over if you had given up. We couldn’t have done it without you.

“Woof!”

“Thanks.”

“Ha ha ha. It’s good to see you still get along so well. Take care of her, Teacher. The winners of the tournament tend to be pestered a lot afterward.”

Apparently, some people even loitered in the dungeons, betting on the off chance that Fran would go there. That was how in-demand the winner was. Some merchants went out of their way to hire adventurers.

Seeing that, Lumina came out to see us first.

“Munch, munch, munch. Someone else is coming.”

Aurel and Kaitley this time.

I should really have just left the door open. I swung the door wide, but in doing so I startled Kaitley who was just about to knock.

“Huh?”

Sorry about that.

“Come in.”

“Don’t mind if we do, Fran.”

“H-hello.”

Aurel led Kaitley in by the hand. He must have wanted Fran to see Kaitley before she left town.

Kaitley fidgeted for a while. Then she made her mind up and bowed her head to her friend.

“Thank you so much. Grandfather told me everything. About how you went around town to look for me. You hadn’t even recovered from your injuries…”

“No need to thank me. Besides, Sibyl was the one who saved you in the end.”

“It doesn’t change the fact that you went out to look for me. Thank you.”

“Hm… Are you gonna be an adventurer, Kaitley?”

Fran changed the subject, feeling somewhat bashful. Kaitley brought out sides of her I’d never seen before. It was quite refreshing.

“Y-yes. I plan to.”

“Good luck. You’ll make a great adventurer.”

“I will. I’ll do my best!” Now smiling, Kaitley continued talking with Fran. 

Fran even offered her some curry, so she must really have taken a liking to her. We gave some to Aurel, too. I had to. Seeing the old man look so sad pierced my heart!

“Will you be heading to Goldicia after this, Miss Fran?”

“Hm. That’s the plan.”

“Please be careful. I hear it’s a terribly dangerous place.”

“Thanks. But I’ll be okay,” Fran answered confidently.

Kaitley looked at her with gleaming eyes. “One day…”

“Hm?”

“One day, I’ll be strong enough that I can fight alongside you. So…”

“Hm. I’ll wait for you. We’ll go adventuring together once you become a top-class adventurer.”

“Yes.”

A quiet resolve burned in Kaitley’s eyes as she chewed on Fran’s words. If Fran would work tirelessly for curry, perhaps now Kaitley had a similar source of motivation. She would eventually evolve under Aurel’s guidance. She might become strong enough to stand next to Fran one day.

Fran must have been thinking of the same thing. She stopped eating curry and patted Kaitley’s head.

“…You’ll be fine, Kaitley.”

“Yes!”