The Tale of A Man Who Believed That His Reincarnation Had Granted Him A Japanese Sword And The Greatest Battle Sense, Only To Have The God Finally Inform Him "Huh, I Didn't Give You Any Combat Sense… That's Scary…" - Episode 49

““““Cheers!!!!””””

The final match was held in the ruined arena, which had been turned upside down by the Great Witch Angelica. There was only one spectator—the goddess—who watched everything unfold. When she declared my victory, the tournament officials of Redinbara officially announced my win. With this, the Grosvenor family achieved its first championship title in a swordsmanship tournament, gaining both glory and honor.

Due to Angelica’s attack and the partial destruction of the Redinbara arena, all post-final ceremonies, including the award ceremony, were canceled. Rumor had it that the king had fled the arena the moment Angelica appeared, and public criticism was mounting against him. In response, he hurriedly returned to the royal capital to quell the outrage.

Three days after the final match, a victory celebration—or rather, an excuse to drink and make a ruckus—was held at Jottem’s Big Hammer. At that very moment, the toast rang out.

Jottem’s Big Hammer wasn’t designed to accommodate large crowds, yet here we were—Laila, Utsuho, Rito, Olivia, Jin, Circe, the triplets… How many was that? One, two, three… nine. Including me, that made ten people crammed into the place.

“Boozeee! So good! I’m so glad my head is back on!!!”

“Hey, Rito! Don’t chug the beer like that! You were just revived; it hasn’t been that long since then.”

“Dantz, another round! The bootleg liquor that elves secretly make! A big mug!”

“You idiot! Listen when someone talks to you!”

Rito had her head cleanly chopped off in the tournament, but the goddess herself revived her. Apparently, Rito was fine with dying in the finals, but the goddess—who was also her friend—couldn’t accept that.

The goddess respected the honor of the Dusk Knights falling in battle, but she couldn’t bear to let her friend die. Aware of her own selfishness, she stayed by Rito’s body as it was carried away from the arena and called her back to this world.

Incidentally, just three hours after her revival, Rito was already back to being a sloppy drunk at her usual tavern.

After the finals, I received a message from the elf woman who owned the tavern, asking me to pick up Rito as usual. Since I hadn’t known about her revival at the time, I was shocked. …Of course, by the time I arrived, she was completely wasted, returning more booze to the earth than she had consumed. It took a long time to get a proper explanation out of her.

With the swordsmanship tournament over, Olivia no longer had any reason to keep in touch with Rito. Yet, for some reason, she couldn’t seem to leave her alone. They still contacted each other and spent time together when their schedules aligned.

“Darling! Darling! We’ve never had these many customers before! It feels like a dream~!”

“Yeah, no doubt about it. And today’s definitely our highest sales day ever!”

Snap! Dantz stretched his suspenders and made a satisfying sound with his chest muscles. He and his wife, Luise, worked as bartenders as usual, rushing back and forth, busy with service.

“Grrr! Papa! Where did you meet Mom?”

“Gao gao! Papa! What did you do with Mom?”

“Oooh! Mama, what’s ‘s3x magic’? I found a book about it in your room!”

“Hey, you little rascals. Your guests today, so behave a little. And Circe, make sure to put your stuff away when you get home.”

“Listen, Rogos. s3x magic is… well, back in my homeland, after a long time had passed, it finally became publicly recognized…”

Jin, Circe, and the triplets were all safe and able to live in this town again. Logos, who had been transformed into a demonic hound by Angelica, had only been wrapped in a magical disguise rather than fundamentally altered. Because of that, Circe said the transformation had little effect.

The triplets, dressed in their best outdoor clothes, wagged their tails excitedly as they sat squeezed between Jin and Circe at an impromptu box seat.

“Lady Laila, how are you feeling?”

“I think the one who needs to be more careful about their health is you, Utsuho.”

Seated at the counter, I observed the lively partygoers around me, then turned my gaze to the two women nearby—Utsuho and Laila.

Laila wore a white dress with a black cardigan draped over her shoulders. Her chestnut-colored hair, which reached down her back, swayed as she tilted her glass at the counter. Next to her was Utsuho, dressed in her familiar black and white maid uniform. However, her once beautiful green hair had turned a yellowish-green.

“…I’m really sorry, Utsuho. I was the one who brought you to that place…”

“Lord Enri, how many times have you apologized since that day? Dungeon diving always carries risks, and I was prepared for them. No problem at all.”

According to Circe, Angelica’s soul had been shattered inside Utsuho, leaving her in control of her body. However, Angelica’s remnants still lingered within Utsuho’s soul.

It was possible to forcibly extract Angelica’s soul with magic, but Utsuho chose not to. There was no guarantee of what would happen to Angelica’s soul afterward—whether it would reach the underworld was unknown. Having personally experienced Angelica’s terror, Utsuho decided to seal her within herself instead.

“Well then, once again. Enri, thank you for bringing victory and glory to my family as the swordsman recommended by the Grosvenor house. I truly appreciate it.”

Laila raised her glass, the ice in her colorful cocktail clinking. I took a glass of cocktail from Dantz and clinked it against hers.

As our glasses lightly collided, Laila smiled and took a sip. Then, she rested her elbow on the counter and gazed at me.

“Hey, Enri. Do you remember when we first met? You asked me to teach you how to survive in this world.”

“Of course. After all, you were the first person I had a proper conversation with here.”

Laila looked into the distance, reminiscing.

“That request you made back then… I think it’s fulfilled now. You’ve built such wonderful connections, all on your own.”

Laila turned and looked around at everyone in Jottem’s Big Hammer—watching the triplets climb all over Dantz as Luise and Circe laughed, Olivia and Jin looking after a vomiting Rito, and the whole lively scene.

As she said, the people here weren’t connected to me through her. They were the bonds I had made after learning how to live in this world.

“Hey, Enri.”

“Yes, Laila?”

Her eyes shimmered, tears welling up. One tear slipped down her cheek.

“Coming to this world… was it worth it?”

“Yes. Absolutely. Coming here, remembering what’s truly important… I feel so, so grateful.”

“…I see.” She turned away, wiping her tears with the handkerchief Utsuho handed her.

“Thank you, Utsuho… Enri, may your life in this world shine like gold, filled with prosperity and happiness. That’s my prayer from Lainchester.”

Her words marked the end of our time together. As if cutting off temptation, she drained her cocktail, and Utsuho gently embraced her from behind.

Thus, the raucous night continued…