Sword Saint Adel's Second Chance: Volume 2

1. Auflage 2024
ISBN: 978-1-7183-8180-3
Verlag: J-Novel Club
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, Band 2, 250 Seiten

Reihe: Sword Saint Adel's Second Chance

Upon returning to the past, Swordmaster Adel became turned into woman and gained the powers of a Saint. Now known to all as Saint Adel, she dedicates herself to training to master her newfound abilities to better protect her beloved liege, Princess Euphinia.

One day, the royal court receives news that the northernmost Holy Tower in the kingdom has broken down, reverting the surrounding territory into an area filled with miasma and monsters. Hurrying to the site to handle the crisis, Adel encounters a force already in battle against the monsters, led by none other than Mad Emperor Tristan, who was deeply involved in the plot that took Euphinia's life in the previous timeline! Her immediate impulse is to leave him to his demise, but strangely, he now seems nothing like the cruel and calculating man Adel once knew...

Uncertain who is friend or foe, Adel once again summons her newfound powers and steadfast allies to fend off the darkness lurking in the kingdom's shadows!

Autoren/Hrsg.

Hayaken

Weitere Mitwirkende

Unapoppo

Taishi

Leseproben

“It disgusts me just to explain!” Adel spat. “Donkey! Get back inside Princess’s shadow right this moment!”

“”

Adel growled and summoned Cerberus. “How about a nice hot bath of fire instead?”

“” Cerberus sighed. “”

“” Pegasus yelped in fear, fleeing into Euphinia’s shadow.

“Aha ha ha...” Euphinia laughed awkwardly, unsure of how to react.

“Saint Adel, the Divine Beasts lend us their strength when we call for them because we have made a contract with them; they are subservient to us. I ask that you treat them with respect and decorum,” Claire admonished.

Hearing this, Adel felt a little—no, she felt extremely hurt.

“Mother Superior! I want to talk with you about something! Please come this way!”

She grabbed Claire’s hand and pulled her away to a corner of the courtyard beyond Euphinia’s earshot. She had wanted to ask Claire a question for quite a while now, so she decided to finally do it. This too was for Euphinia’s sake.

“What is the matter, Saint Adel?”

“How is it not obvious?! Mother Superior, why do you suffer that vulgar Divine Beast to stay at Princess Euphinia’s side?! He is clearly a bad influence, no matter how you slice it. I fail to understand how you tolerate it, being Princess’s teacher in manners and class among other things. You can’t be oblivious to the way he speaks and behaves!”

“Ahhh, yes. That. I do understand your concerns, but...”

“Why, then?! Why do you merely stand by and do nothing about it?! We ought to banish him and make arrangements for Princess to contract another Divine Beast right this moment! If needed, I would be more than happy to offer my own. Come, let’s convince Princess together!”

“Princess Euphinia herself does not wish to null her contract with Pegasus. Don’t worry, I have already taught her to ignore the outbursts from Pegasus that she does not understand.”

“B-But that alone is—”

“It has already been several years since Her Highness contracted with Pegasus. And yet, her demeanor has remained the same. I have concluded that Pegasus’s presence does not actually unduly affect Her Highness.”

“Of course! Princess’s character is as pure and pristine as a mountain stream! However, we can’t guarantee that won’t change. Are we not being too optimistic in assuming that—”

Suddenly, Adel recalled how Euphinia had been in the previous timeline. With Pegasus as her Divine Beast, she’d gotten embroiled in a fight at the town of Sidel in what was then the fallen kingdom of Wendill...and lost her life. Despite the years spent with Pegasus, she had remained wise and morally upright to the very end. In other words, even though Adel hated to acknowledge it, her worries that Pegasus would be a bad influence on Euphinia were very unlikely to come to pass.

“It will be fine. Let us believe in Her Highness.”

“Urgh...”

“In the first place, Pegasi are extremely rare beings. They are held in such holy regard, some even believe they serve as the deities’ steeds when they travel between worlds. A Pegasus agreeing to contract with a human is almost a miracle. Even my mentor, Saint Theodora, had never seen another case. Princess Euphinia’s ability is thanks in no small part to the Pegasus she has contracted.”

“I refuse to accept this! I can’t simply overlook that filthy beast’s reproachable behavior!”

“I am not saying that you have to overlook it. If you are capable of reforming Pegasus, nothing would make me happier. Unfortunately, he refuses to even speak with the rest of us in Wendill Palace.”

As a rule, Pegasus loved only virgin girls. In all likelihood, Claire and the other deployed Saints no longer fit the bill.

“So, you are leaving it to me?”

“It is not an order. If you can do it, then I would greatly appreciate it. That said, I imagine he will leave Her Highness of his own accord several years down the line. This issue will sort itself out.”

“What do you mean?”

“Princess Euphinia is both royalty and a very talented Saint. Her elder brother will likely succeed the throne, which leaves her to marry into one of the Four Powers’ ruling families. Once she does...need I continue?”

It would be Euphinia’s duty to produce offspring, which meant she would naturally lose her virginity. Pegasus would hate this and therefore decide to leave. This was what Claire was insinuating.

Being both a princess of the Middle Kingdom and an incredibly talented Saint, Euphinia was more than qualified to stand beside the prince of any country. Add to that her own irreproachable character and deep wisdom, not to mention her breathtaking beauty, and she would be swamped with suitors in no time.

“Oh, wait! That reminds me!”

Something had just occurred to Adel: in the previous timeline, Euphinia already have a fiancé. And it was someone who Adel knew very well.

“The Mad Emperor, Emperor Tristan. He and Princess...it hasn’t happened yet, right?”

The Torust Empire, one of the Four World Powers, was located northwest of Wendill. It was ruled by an emperor named Tristan, the man who had led the Northern Federation and plunged the entire world into war in the previous timeline. He was one of the key figures who had brought about Wendill’s destruction. It was through killing him—which led to the Northern Federation falling apart—that Adel had ended the Great War.

That very same Tristan had been engaged to Euphinia. Of course, said engagement was voided when war broke out and Wendill was obliterated. In light of the fact that he had been working with Elciel the War Saint, his name topped the list of people that Adel intended to eliminate now that she had returned to the past.

“Mad...Emperor? By Tristan, are you referring to Imperial Prince Tristan of Torust?”

“Oh, sorry. I was talking to myself. In regards to Pegasus, I understand. I will do my utmost to reform him.”

Based on Claire’s response, Euphinia had yet to become betrothed to Tristan. Based on Euphinia’s current age, there were still four or five years before she would have met Adel. For all she knew, the betrothal might happen sometime soon. If Adel could prevent it from happening, the future would definitely change. The easiest way to set this in stone would be to kill Tristan. With the person who kicked off the Great War dead, perhaps the war itself could also be stopped.

Adel wouldn’t hesitate to take any opportunity to prevent Euphinia’s tragic fate. She swore this to herself once more in her heart.

Claire nodded with satisfaction. “Do as you like. Now, shall we return to our—”

“Saint Claire! Saint Claire! Where are you?!” a knight suddenly called out, barging into the courtyard.

“I am here,” Claire replied, catching his attention. “What is the matter?”

“His Majesty is urgently asking for you! Please see him posthaste!”

“Understood. Has something happened?”

“Yes, ma’am. A Holy Tower on our border with the Torust Empire and the Republic of Malka has fallen, and the territory has reverted to profane land. His Majesty wishes to confer on a response with immediate urgency.”

“Is that true?! Very well, I will head over right away!” Claire’s strict face grew even more taut as she exited the courtyard at a small run.

“Hm, profane land. Looks like they’re going to be busy.”

The main duty of Saints deployed to countries was to maintain the Holy Towers within the borders of their assigned country. Therefore, it would be up to the Saints and Wendill’s knights to deal with the current crisis. And if Claire had her hands full, she would nag Adel less about manners and whatnot. With this faint hope in her heart, Adel realized she was actually a little happy about what had happened.

Out of nowhere, Euphinia popped up. “Adel!”

“Princess! Yes, what can I do for you?”

With a deadly serious face, Euphinia declared, “Adel, we should go too!”

???

Adel and Claire said in unison, “You must not!” Even their expressions were the same.

“The two of them actually agreed on something! Now that’s a rare sight,” Melulu chuckled.

“Perhaps they are more similar than they think,” Mash nodded.

Adel whirled on the two. “This isn’t time for nonsense! You two, help us talk Princess out of this!”

Long story short, Euphinia wanted to accompany the force that would be heading out to deal with the profane land crisis. Profane land was territory not under the blessing of a Holy Tower. Saints had to erect Holy Towers to purify land before people could live on it. In its natural state, the land was a harsh environment filled with miasma that formed monsters. Supposedly, this world was built on top of the corpse of the Evil One. According to legend, Almaz, the goddess who created man and Divine Beast, used the last drop of her strength to cover the corpse with dirt in exchange for...