Chapter 291: Chapter 219

Translator: “Hakou” Editor: “Weasalopes”

The sun sets early in winter. Even though it was still early in the evening and the streets of the royal capital were covered with the evening light, the stars were beginning to shine in the sky.

People who were walking home after finishing their work. A carriage was moving by their side.

The carriage stopped in front of a house on the northern edge of downtown, or in other words, the southern edge of the entertainment district.

「Thank you. Ah, I can take care of the luggage myself」

A young man with a mustache gets out of the carriage after telling the driver. Lightning looks up at his home for the first time in almost ten days.

He goes upstairs to the second floor where his family lives and reaches for the knob on the door. Just before his hand touches it, the door is opened from the inside.

「Welcome home, dear」

A woman with small stature in an apron greets him with a smile. Lightning is surprised, but then he makes a gentle smile.

「I’m back. How did you know I arrived?」

His wife answers as she takes off his coat and luggage. She says that she heard the carriage arrive and looked on the street through the window.

Convinced, Lightning went to the living room and cuddled the infant who came to hug him.

Afterwards, the three of them had a dinner that even though it was not luxurious, it was heartwarming.

「How did it go, this year’s tournament?」

After putting the infant to bed, the couple has a chat. His wife asks him a question as she puts a piece of cheese on the table and hands him a glass of watered-down spirits.

「Well… There are a lot of terrifying skilled participants this year’s too」

After the two of them lightly clinked their glasses together, Lightning spoke up quietly.

***

The temple of the god of business, built in the center of the Holy city.

Six circular stages were set up indoors. Lightning stands on the side of one of the stages.

(It’s been a year since then, huh)

Looking out at the packed auditorium, my eyes narrowed as I felt a deep sense of emotion. So many things have happened since last year’s Divine tournament.

I got my wife and child back, took over the dojo, became a Knight’s pilot, and now I live in the kingdom.

(This is where it all started. I must fight with my all as to not bring a shame to the God)

I repeatedly breathed quietly. In the middle of this, the witnessing priest called out to me.

「Black Locust country man!」

I walked out onto the stage in a bath towel wrapped around my waist.

「Wooooo! Lightning!」

The crowd erupted, and some even called out his name. Seeing this, Lightning was a little perplexed.

Until last year, he was almost a nobody, and moreover, he hadn’t played in any tournaments for a whole year. Even though he had won the men’s division, he hadn’t expected to be so popular.

「Show us your three-rapid thrust please!」

「Yeah! Show us!」

He responded to the cheers of the ladies and gentlemen with a smile, albeit awkwardly. He looked at his first opponent, who was called next, and realized his position.

(I’m the one being hunted here)

A fair-skinned woman with long brown hair, she is a regular participant in A-class tournaments and a far superior figure to the former Lightning.

However, his facial expression is tense and gives off a glaring gaze. This is the stance of someone who is fighting against a superior opponent.

(Truly, things have changed in the past year)

He bows to her and takes off the bath towel wrapped around his waist. Lightning then begins to step back and forth in a half-sitting posture.

His rapier is always aimed at the eyes of his opponent.

「Begin!」

「Orya!」

Lightning’s voice echoed along with the priest’s declaration.

With a step that seemed like he had teleported, he gouged the fair skinned woman’s crotch. He then escaped the counterattack with an immediate back-step.

Seeing the woman’s hand cut through the air, Lightning steps in again.

「Doryaa! Toryaa!」

This time, he didn’t stop with just a single thrust. With the fair skinned woman at the center, he repeatedly moves in and out in a circular motion.

The damage to her rapidly increases as she receives thrusts from her left and right at different angles.

(Here!)

Lightning continued to attack as he analyzed his opponent. He spotted the weakest part of her armor and made the move that would decide the match.

The fair-skinned woman was probably surprised. Lightning who had disappeared from her field of vision appeared behind her in the next instant.

「Ku!」

The fair-skinned woman tried to look back as she let out a groan showing her frustration. But before she could, Lightning pushed her back with both hands.

She fell face first to the mat while her butt raised high in the air. Then Lightning’s rapier was thrust mercilessly at her.

「Lightning sword!」

Lightning clasps his hands at the back of his own head, looks up at the ceiling, and delivers three thrusts in one breath.

The fair-skinned woman with long brown hair could not withstand the precise rapid-fire attack. With a scream, her body trembled greatly.

「Match ended! We have a winner!」

It was an overwhelming victory and the Lightning Sword was shown as everyone’s expectations. The crowd cheered loudly.

「You must win again this year, Lightning!」

「Lightning! Lightning!」

His rapid progress continued. In the fourth round against 『Sin and Punishment』, which attracted everyone’s attention, he sank the Queen with a single counter attack.

***

Lightning ends his story for a moment and let out a deep sigh.

The scene is the living room of the Lightning family. The woman sitting opposite him puts her chin on her crossed hands and listens with sparkling eyes.

Lightning puts a piece of cheese in his mouth and tastes it along with a glass of water.

「However, that’s how far I can go」

The wife tilts her head at her husband, who looks down at his glass.

Her husband often praises his opponent when he is defeated. Now, however, he is sighing in front of her.

He must have noticed his wife’s gaze. Lightning looked up, smiled, and shrugged his shoulders.

「How should I put this… it feels like I’ve lost to myself. To my own weakness, it’s so pathetic」

Looking into his wife’s eyes, which were still filled with confusion, Lightning continued his story.

The details of the match that he told her were enough to convince her.

「Black Locust country man!」

In the fifth round, semifinals. I was called up and went from the side to the stage in a bath towel wrapped around my waist.

I stand on the stage, receiving loud cheers.

「Eastern country woman A!」

A tall, elderly woman appeared from the other side of the room.

She was not wearing a bath towel like Lightning. She was wearing a nun’s uniform and had a silver rosary hanging from her neck.

(A nun from the eastern country huh)

I had heard rumors about her, but it was a long time ago, around the time I was born, or even before that.

It was the first time for me to see her in person.

(No matter who my opponent are, I will do my best)

All I have to do is believe in the power and skills I have developed and honed, and just leap forward. That’s how I fight.

If he can outperform them, he wins; if he can’t, he loses. Lightning’s train of thought is simple. That’s why he has no hesitation.

Prompted by the witnessing priest, he took his bath towel wrapped around his waist to the corner of the stage. His opponent also took off her nun’s uniform and threw it away.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

(…It seems she’s well trained)

Underneath the nun’s uniform was a burly body like a sheet of chocolate. Combined with her tall stature, she looked like Hercules.

But Lightning was unfazed. The rapier between his legs was sharply aimed at his opponent’s eyes.

「How lively… I’ll be sure to enjoy this」

The muscular old nun narrowed her eyes at the sight of it. At the same time, she was drooling from her crotch to the floor.

Lightning doesn’t say anything back at her. He simply stared at her in silence.

「Match begins!」

The priest declared with his arms crossed, and before he could finish his words, Lightning made an explosive rush.

「Lightning Sword!」

Full throttle from the start without observing his opponent. Or rather, this Lightning Sword is a move to measure the opponent.

The rapier pierced the super mature woman without the need to aim, and three thrusts were sent in one breath.

(Kuh! This is bad)

Lightning frowned and berated himself in his mind.

Because of his shallow step, he was unable to penetrate the depths. He sensed the stiff arm approaching from behind and kicked the floor to gain some distance.

(Wha-?)

The old nun’s hand crossed in front of him. He thought he was far enough away from her, but it was just a hair’s breadth away.

(Her arms reached longer than I thought)

That’s not it. The very mature woman bends one side of her mouth and smiles at Lightning, who is troubled because he can’t figure out the cause.

「What’s wrong? Are you scared?」

Lightning looks at her dubiously, not understanding the meaning of what she is saying. Seeing this, the old woman’s smile widens.

「What, you haven’t noticed? You’re not looking too well, you know」

The words hit him like a blunt object to his head.

It is as she pointed out, the image and the movement of his body did not match. That’s why his step was shallow and his escape was delayed by half a step.

(Why?)

He searched for the reason amidst his impatience and confusion. Speaking from experience, the cause is atrophy of his mind.

But he doesn’t know the reason for that.

(Could it be…)

A part of his mind that he had been kept under wraps and pretended he had forgotten. He felt a stir in it and turned his focus to it.

He then understood.

(…I see in this woman the shadow of the Great Madam?)

She is his wife’s grandmother and the wife of the former dojo owner.

He remembers the day when she suddenly transformed and attacked him at a peaceful breakfast table. There was nothing he could do in the face of such an overwhelming attack, and he had no choice but to flee at the expense of his grandfather-in-law.

(No, that’s not right! The old nun in front of me is not the Great Madam. I must not be mistaken)

The great madam, who is as fat as a lump of meat and an old nun with a trained body like a bodybuilder. The only thing they had in common was that they were both large, old women.

But still, Lightning’s heart reacted to her. The wound must have been deeper than he thought.

「Crane’s wings stance!*」

「*Note: “鶴翼”, (Kakuyoku) is actually Japanese V-shaped military formation, but I think translating it as “Crane’s Wings” fit the context, as in Skill/Technique Name.」

In order to shake off his fear, he took a new stance.

This is a stance in which the hands that were crossed at the back of his head are released and flapped wide like cranes. This is a new stance that Lightning has developed over the past year.

The aim is to give the opponent a greater vibration by the reaction of swinging his arms up and down.

「Good, that’s it, you have to give it your all. This won’t be interesting if you don’t lose while you’re giving your all」

The very mature woman laughs and cracks her knitted hands together.

「Here I come!」

A big bird that runs to take off. Lightning moves his arms up and down as he steps deeply into the air.

The blow that’s filled with his spirit to overcome his fears should be able to penetrate deep into the belly of the old nun.

Immediately after that, he unleashes his most powerful technique, the five-strike Lightning Sword.

「I’ve been waiting for this!」

The old nun opens her eyes wide and stares at Lightning at close range. A fierce cold air runs down Lightning’s back.

(She’s been waiting for this moment!?)

The muscular old nun shouted with a fierce smile on her face.

「Guillotine!」

The muscles all over her body rose up like a rough rope. The face of the old woman who clenched her teeth instantly boiled red.

At the same time, an overwhelming tightness struck his rapier, completely stopping its movement.

「Guaaa!!」

Lightning let out a pained voice. The very mature woman whispers in his ear.

「No matter how sharp your dive is, if you know it’s coming, it’s easy to deal with」

She says it as if it was a simple matter, but Lightning can’t believe it. This is because what she’s doing was like taking a serious blow to the head with her bare hands. Too quick, too slow, or too much force and you’re dead.

(As if I would lose!)

Lightning clenches his teeth against the pressure. If you can’t move it by pushing or pulling, you have to use the power of vibration.

「Lightning Sword!」

He flaps his arms up and down as he moves his hips back and forth.

(Kuh!)

However, his rapier did not move in the slightest. As if it was clamped in a vise, it was Lightning’s body that moved instead.

It was like a dragonfly grabbed by the wings.

「This is good, it vibrates well」

The old nun licked her lips as if she was enjoying it. Lightning’s resistance, on the other hand, weakened with each time he repeated it.

「Now then, let’s finish this, shall we?」

She probably felt that it was the right time to finish it. She pushed Lightning down on the mat on the floor while holding him by guillotine.

「Orrraaaaaaaaa!!」

Then, with a roar, she began to swing her hips around ferociously.

The old nun thrusts her hips into Lightning, who is lying on his back. It was hard to tell which was the man.

And after a while.

「Thank you for the meal」

The very mature woman squinted her eyes like a cat and exhaled in satisfaction.

She must have squeezed out a lot of Lightning’s extract. After releasing him and getting up, she patted her own belly with her right hand.

The expression on her face disappeared, and Lightning remained motionless, staring at the ceiling. It was here that the winner was decided.

***

The scene returned to the living room where Lightning and his wife were.

After finishing his story, Lightning opened his mouth in a sorrowful tone.

「Do you understand now?」

The wife moved from her seat and sat by his side and gently hugged him.

The pain in his heart that has yet to heal is not something that can be overcome by a feeling alone. He must’ve felt that he was unable to truly give it his all.

「I’m sorry, because of my grandmother…」

You have nothing to apologize for. As he said this, Lightning shook his head in his wife’s chest.

Then he pushed her down.

「Eh?」

She was surprised, but she didn’t hate it. She was originally expecting him to do it tonight.

After all, it was the first time in ten days.

And Lightning wanted to forget about the tournament and be pampered by his wife.

「Kyaa」

Her voice leaked out even though she tried to hold it back. The Lightning Sword that shook the floor of the Lightning’s House that night was used a total of four times.

There were three triple thrusts and one quintuple thrust.

『……Earthquake?』

A garden spread out on the floor above. A 15-centimeter-long dung beetle crawls out of the ground under the starry sky.

It extended its antennae into the air and searched for signs of its surroundings.

『What’s the matter?』

A 20 centimeters long caterpillar called out from above the tree, curious about his best friend’s behavior.

He must have been asleep. The atmosphere coming out of him seems a bit hazy.

『It’s fine now』

It was just my imagination, the bug explained. Then it dove back into the ground.