Sendai Yuusha wa Inkyou Shitai Chapter 158

Hey there guys. Here's another chapter of Sendai Yuusha for ya. There's an author's note at the end. I usually skip them but this one had a bit more than usual so I translated it. Enjoy.

Hot Wind and Glaciers

「Did you know, Kuon.」
「Nnー? About what?」
This was a time when not even a year had passed since Yuu had left this world of Reinbrook.
「About the story of a volcano's dragon and a certain young boy.」
The man replied like that while strumming the string instrument he held in his hands.
「I don't.」
The young girl shook her head.
「Well then, let me tell it to you. What I am about to tell you, is the story of the life or death struggle between a dreadful flame dragon that lived at a volcano, and the hero that carried a sword of light!」

*Pororon* The stringed instrument played a pleasant sound.
That was the time when Kuon, who had not yet known about Yuu, had first came into contact with those heroic tales──

*Gari──!*
Kuon bit her left thumb with her sharp cuspid.
Making her cuspid dig in deep, at the moment she took her tooth out, she also moved her finger and opened the wound.
Blood overflowed out from the wound.
At that moment, Kuon thrust her thumb at the arena's ring, and moving her thumb as if it were a writing brush, she wrote letters of blood.

What Kuon finished writing out with her blood was, a magic formation, and that formation was a Summoning Formation meant to call out contracted monsters and sacred beasts.
But, the lines and letters densely written inside of the circle, although both their appearance and effect were certainly just like those in what would be called Summoning Formations, it in fact only looked similar and was a technique of a completely different skill system.
「……Come, 『Kuuko・Tamamo』[1]！！」
She stabbed her short sword into the center of that formation. The short sword that was a keepsake of her mother pierced deeply into the ring.
「Sealed Spirit, release!!」
Kuon twisted the thrust short sword as if opening the lock of a door.

――*Gachari*

As if the lock to a massive door was opened, there was a heavy sound, and what appeared after that, was a gigantic pillar of ice.
A pillar of pointed ice, which seemed like a mass of crystal, had suddenly appeared.
It surpassed even the magic barrier that was spread out between the audience seats and the ring, and air cold enough to freeze the body enveloped the arena.

『You fledgeling fox[2], ……You say my name quite relaxedly, don't you.』[3]
That thoroughly bewitching and alluring voice shook the air.
*Pishiri* Cracks ran through the pillar of ice. Before long, those cracks went throughout the whole thing, and making a *gara gara* sound, the pillar of ice crumbled.

「Was it because that damned "Shion" was negligent in her education -dearinsuka?」
The figure of a person appeared from inside the crumbled pillar of ice.
She had beautiful silver hair that was like silk threads that went down to her knees, and blue eyes like the ocean that could freeze anything that she saw.
With skin that was so white and beautiful that it seemed like snow, that body emitted a mesmerizing charm that affected not only men but even women.
She had features that somewhat resembled Kuon, but with a voluptuousness that a mature adult would display, she also looked like a completely different person. That woman, who had pointed fox ears growing out from her head, walked to Kuon's side with relaxed movements.

「Jeez, if it's just pointless talk, then do it another time, 『Tamamo』. ……Lend me your strength.」
In response to that manner of speaking that could even come off as high-handed, the woman called Tamamo held back her laughter while raising the corners of her lips.
『Fuuー……──Well, I was also once a child of man, and with it being a request of my descendant, I can't really refuse.』
Smoking the pipe that she held in her mouth, that fox, who blew out smoke while showing her bewitching voluptuousness, got down to the ring.
All while expressing a smile that said "it can't be helped", "there's no other choice", "good grief", and "this looks terribly troublesome".

『Make sure that you prepare five pieces of the finest quality aburaage.』
The woman, no, the bewitching spirit 『Lady Tamamo』 caught hold of the enemy with deep crimson eyes.

「You're telling me she called out a spirit, and it's even a King-class spirit?」
Seeing Tamamo who Kuon had called out, Sylvia muttered that without even trying to hide her excitement.
「Could it be, a talent in magic?」
When Leonhart asked that, Sylvia shook her head sideways.
「That's not it, the main cause is something different. Even for Alicia, Summoning Magic would take "several minutes". That speed, it was more like throwing open a lid……The problem, is the point that she can "make use of" a spirit that was released in such a disorderly fashion.」
Sylvia thought while caressing her chin with her hand. Seeing that, Leonhart went and said
「……Then, how about a "blood relationship"?」
to her.
「っ! I see, a blood relationship!! ……Kukuku, so she possesses an ancestor that rivals a Spirit King. I see, I understand now. This is quite the coincidence, Leo.」
Snapping her head up, Sylvia smiled looking quite amused.
「Ha. ……I did not think that there were any other than "us".」
「Umu. There is a lot of hardship when one possesses a praiseworthy ancestor.」
Sylvia went *kutsu kutsu* and laughed sounding like she was having fun.
The Leezelion royalty had the blood of spirits flowing in them.
It was said that several generations before Sylvia, the King when history was still young had taken in the Spirit King of Fire as his Queen.
Although it had the figure of a woman, the King that did the foolish act of impregnating a spirit was said to be burned to death by the Spirit King of Fire after the child was made.
After another several generations, this time, it was said that the Spirit King of Ice was taken in.
Repeating that sort of thing, in the end, the monster known as Alicia who could completely control spirits of all elements was born.

「Now then, how will she attack?」

「Fuーhaha! No matter what you do, you will be unable to break through my armorrrr!!」
Count Montelugi readied his shield and made a charge.
Seeing that, Kuon pulled out a kunai from her pocket.
It was a kunai that had an ordinary appearance, but at the kunai's pommel, the part that turned into a ring shape, something shining could be seen.
「Fuh!」
Kuon stabbed it down at the ground at her feet, and after stepping on it with her foot, she wedged it into the ring even more.
And then, in the next moment,

「Muoooh!? Wha, what in the worlddd!?」
Count Montelugi's shout resounded in the ring.
And that was only natural because Count Montelugi became unable to move about as if unseeable strings had twined around him, and was now floating to the point where the tips of his feet were just barely touching the ground.
However, after looking closely, something, something that seemed like unbelievably fine thread was entwined about his body.
It was iron thread. The thin thread of iron that was like piano wire had entwined around Count Montelugi.
That thread was stretching out from the grips of the kunai that the eight pipe foxes which floated in midair held in their mouths.
「『Ninpou, Dance of the Spider』! Well, it would be a pain if you moved about……Let's go, Tamamo! Match with me!」
『It is a hundred years too early for you to give orders to me -dearinsu yo.』
Although she said that, Tamamo also took a stance.

「Ninpou!」
『Senjutsu.』
The two started at the same time but formed different signs.
And then──

「──『Firedrake Breath』!!」
「──『Boisterous Ice Fang Dance』[4]!」
A red hot hell fire and a freezing tempest burst out.
The scorching heat that could melt even rock and the furious snowstorm that could freeze all of creation assailed Count Montelugi who was wearing supreme ruling metal armor.
That which was heated up was cooled down, and that which was cooled down was heated up. And although the iron threads that restrained Count Montelugi had already been burned away, he was unable to do anything but ready his shield and curl up due to the force of the hellfire and furious snowstorm.

「……How is it?」
A few minutes later, Kuon undid her stance.
Although it was an attack by a hell fire and a furious snowstorm that an ordinary person wouldn't be able to endure, Count Montelugi who wore supreme ruling metal armor remained unchanged, and stood with his shield at the ready.

「Fu, fuーhaha!! I was surprised when something amazing had appeared, but there is no need to worry! I have this armor!!」
After the hellfire and furious snowstorm stopped, as if responding to Count Montelugi's confidence, there wasn't even a single scratch on the armor made of supreme ruling metal.
It had darkly dropped its brilliance but──

──*Bakin!*
As if something, something hard had broken, that sort of sound, was made.

「───Nu?」
When it did, the expression that was within the full-faced helmet that Count Montelugi wore had changed.

「It would seem──that it worked, doesn't it?」
Kuon's mouth, grandly turned upwards.

Large cracks appeared on the darkened golden armor and shield.

「NWHAAAAaah!? Wha, why, why is my armor like thisssss!!??」
Count Montelugi's scream resounded throughout the arena.
That agitation was transmitted to the audience as well, and caused a stir.
「There was a countermeasure against heat. There should have naturally been a countermeasure against the cold as well. ……However, the abilities that you put on, each of those only had an effect on you yourself.」
Kuon pointed at Count Montelugi's armor.
「Whether it be the crater of a volcano, or the innermost locations of the north pole, you probably wouldn't have felt the hotness or coldness of either of them.
……But, your armor was different. Your armor, it could become hot and it could become cold.」
Kuon sneered while giving her explanation.

「Say, did you know? ――To defeat an evil dragon that lives in a volcano, you use Ice Magic.」
「Nuu!?」
Grabbing the handle of the black katana that she carried on her back, Kuon appeared right before Count Montelugi.
「When cooled down dragon scales are hit with tremendous force, they become brittle like iron. ……It is there, that you plant the sword.」
Kuon slowly, slowly drew her black katana, and then thrust its point at Count Montelugi.
「Its now brittle scales being unable to oppose the sword, its flesh torn, and its heart pierced, the dragon dies……What will you do? Will you also try being like that dragon?」

Count Montelugi's face became pale, and he surrendered while becoming unable to stand up due to fear.

『Th, the victor! Is Kuon Heleottttt!!』

The second match, the victor was Kuon!!

Do you know about thermal expansion?
Hello, sorry to keep you waiting, this is the latest story. It's the unexpected appearance of Kuon's ancestor.

This time, at the beginning, it was the first adventure story of Yuu's that Kuon had ever heard, 『The Fire Mountain's Dragon』. Since it doesn't seem like there will be a chance to talk about it after this, I'll talk about it here.
This'll spoil it but it was Jean. It was a tale that Jean Jack Eustace told Kuon after his adventurers with Yuu.

It ended up having a righteous flavor to it where in order to defeat a volcano dragon who was causing mischief, a swordsman challenged it to a fight, and after gaining the help of his companions, they obtained victory. But in actuality, it was something more dull.

Yuu 「Dragon scales are hard.」
Leo 「It seems that they are harder than steel.」
Yuu 「Steel? ……Thermal expansion.」
Leo 「Roger that.」 Sylvia 「Roger that.」
Yuu 「Victory. Now then, on to the next one.」

It was the result of Jean taking this story that dully advanced like this and dramatizing it enough to make a single tale.
The Volcano Dragon story, as well as the twelve volume long bestseller 『Hero Biographies』 that Jean wrote were introduced to the market after changing them a bit.

Well then, until next time. Look forward to it.

Translator's Notes:
[1] Original: 空狐・玉藻, Read as: くうこ・たまも, Rough translation: Second-ranking fox spirit・seaweed
[2] Not sure about this part. Says 阿紫狐めが. The 阿紫 is read as あし.
[3] Refers to self as "wacchi"
[4] Original: 氷牙乱舞, Read as: ひょうがらんぶ

Chapter end