I Was a Sword When I Reincarnated (LN) - Volume 7 - Chapter Ep

Epilogue

TWO DAYS HAD PASSED since our encounter with the Leviathan.

“Drop the anchor!”

“Aye aye, Captain!”

“Can somebody please inform a government official that we have arrangements for diplomatic negotiations with a foreign country?”

“It’ll be a mouthful, but I’ll deliver the message, First Mate Buffet!”

The Algieba landed safely on the continent of Chrome. We were now at the Beastman National port, Grayseal. It was a sizable town, though not as big as Bulbola.

The adventurers received their bonuses and disembarked. While no amount of compensation was enough for facing down a monster like a Midgardsormr, it was still a significant bonus. Fran received a special payment of a hundred thousand Gauld, and we said our goodbyes to the three rookie adventurers.

“Thank you, Master.”

“We learned a lot from you.”

“We promise to be a lot stronger the next time we meet!”

“Hm.”

“Goodbye!”

“Thanks again!”

“We’ll be on our way.”

The lessons they’d learned over the course of a few days would bear much fruit. They even helped Fran kill some free time. But I couldn’t tell whether Fran acknowledged them as her pupils. She didn’t seem the least bit lonely. Did she even remember their names?

Come on, Fran.

We needed to get going, but she called out to her three temporary trainees.

“Miguel, Naria, Riddick. Hang on.”

“Huh?”

“Did Master just call us by name?”

“I-I think so.”

“See you soon.” Fran waved her small hand.

Their faces lit up and they bowed deeply. “Yes!”

I’d never seen such a proper bow in my life. They were really happy. Satisfied by their response, Fran turned and went her own way without looking back.

I’m surprised you remembered, Fran.

Hm. They’re my students.

I was glad to see Fran growing up. Good for you, rookies. It wasn’t a one-way relationship after all.

“This is goodbye, Fran.”

She turned her attention to Marle, captain of the Sea Dragon Wishkar.

“You’ve helped us so much on this voyage,” Marle said. “Thank you.”

“You helped us out, too.”

“Perhaps, but I think you could’ve avoided a whole chain of battles if you didn’t help us.”

Marle was right. We wouldn’t have needed to fight so hard if we’d declined Marle’s offer and gone straight to the Beastman Nation. But then again, things might have ended worse for us. We might have run into the Valussa again, and the Algieba might have been gobbled up by the Midgardsormr. In the end, that crazy voyage was the best we could have asked for.

“I made it to the Beastman Nation in one piece. That’s all that matters.”

“I see.”

“Hm.”

That was the most important thing to Fran. Besides, we even had a Sea Dragon escort us during the latter half of our voyage.

“Well, I must be going now,” Marle said. “I need to hurry back to Seedrun.”

“I see.”

“Promise me you’ll visit the next time you’re there. We’d be pleased to welcome you.”

“Okay. It’s a promise. I’ll come hang out.”

“Ha ha ha. Yes. Let’s hang out.”

Marle put out her hand and Fran shook it vigorously—lonely, now that she had to say goodbye.

“See you soon.”

“Indeed. Goodbye.”

Fran and Marle smiled at each other. Such warmth was a luxury for Marle the cold commander and Fran the expressionless adventurer.

“We’ll meet again, friend.”

“Hm!”

With that final goodbye, Marle went on her way.

“Are you done, Black Lightning Princess?”

“Hm. Kept you waiting?”

Mordred had been ready for a while, but he waited to let the two friends say their goodbyes. Strong and a gentleman? He really must be popular with the ladies. “Not really. Shall we?”

He had promised to guide us to the Adventurer’s Guild to receive the reward for the guard quest.

“There it is.”

“It’s big.”

“Needs to be, to cover this port town.”

The Grayseal Adventurer’s Guild was a short walk away from the harbor. The building was quite large, but then it was the only place in town that adventurers could sign on escort duty for ships. We walked through the doors and found a crowded tavern in front of the reception desk. The adventurers scowled at Fran, but they soon changed their minds once they saw who was behind her. Mordred must’ve been well-known in the guild. Even a little Black Cat girl must have been worth something if she was with him. At least we didn’t have to worry about rowdiness this time.

However, a man came sauntering forward. “Hey there, Mordred…” The man grinned casually. He was middle-aged with stubble and looked to be on the leaner side. I was expecting the typical foolishness, but it never came. “Where did you get your hands on such young talent? Girl looks like she’s dragging you and not the other way round.”

“Hello, Leeroy. We just happened to share the same boat. It’s her first time in town.”

“You don’t say? The name’s Leeroy, little lady. I’m an adventurer in these parts.”

“D-Rank with a really sharp memory. He’s got the whole map of the area in his head, so he’s the one we go to when we need directions.” If Mordred found him reliable, he must be more trustworthy than he looked.

“Hm. C-Rank adventurer, Fran.”

“A C-Rank? At your age?! That’s something else!”

Leeroy’s eyes widened, but Mordred only flashed a wry smile. He had witnessed Fran’s blatant rank fraud firsthand.

“You should really come up with a better introduction.”

“Why?” Fran asked. “It’s the truth.”

“Sure, but…you could at least introduce yourself as the Black Lightning Princess?”

Leeroy yelped in surprise. “What? This girl’s the Black Lightning Princess?”

“That’s right.”

“Well, I never! You’re even stronger than I thought!”

Rumors about the Black Lightning Princess had reached Grayseal via the traders. I understood what Mordred meant—Leeroy immediately knew who Fran was from her nickname. It was a better way of avoiding fights and misunderstandings. But there was one great danger: a chance encounter with an idiot who had never heard of her before. Her nickname might be mistaken for arrogance. I didn’t mind being made a fool of, but I wasn’t going to let that happen to Fran. Thanks, Mordred, but we’d stick to C-Rank adventurer for now.

Fortunately, the mere mention of the Black Lightning Princess had a significant effect.

“Seriously?!”

“That’s the Black Lightning Princess?”

“Black Lightning Princess? Where?”

“What?!”

“S-she’s real!”

The pub was thrown into a ruckus and all the adventurers spoke at once. There were even those who braved Mordred’s Intimidation and came to get a closer look. Even the adventurers in Bulbola didn’t react like this. Then again, ninety percent of the adventurers here were beastmen. I supposed they had a great respect for the Black Lightning Princess. She was the first Black Cat to achieve Evolution, after all. There was also the fact that she had defeated one of the beastmen’s national heroes, A-Rank Gaudartha.

“That’s the girl who beat Sir Gaudartha?”

“That’s what I hear, and I heard it straight from a royal trader. I don’t think he’d lie about that.”

“What then, Gaudartha just gave her the fight?”

“So she’s a charity case.”

“Oh, get real. This is Sir Gaudartha we’re talking about.”

“Yeah. I highly doubt he would shame himself by losing to a child.”

“Never mind that. You ever seen him hold back in a fight?”

“Nope! You need a squad of healers just to spar with the guy!”

Quite a few of them thought Gaudartha gave Fran the win. I couldn’t blame them. You had to be there to believe it. Adventurers surrounded Fran even as we finished our quest obligations. They watched her with awe.

“She’s really Evolved…”

“Sure is.”

“How’d she do it?”

“I think the merchants said you had to beat a lot of Fiends. I wasn’t paying attention since I thought it was a load of bull.”

We’d turned off Stealth Evolution when we got here. We needed everyone to know that a Black Cat had successfully Evolved. The Evolution conditions were slowly spreading—the Beast King had kept his word. It would spread a lot faster now that Fran was here as living proof.

We got our money from the guild and left, feeling the gaze of dozens on her back.

Let’s look for a place to stay. We need to look up where the capital is, too.

Hm.

What adventures awaited us in this country? I only hoped that Fran would meet a lot of good people on the way.