Volume 7 Chapter 14 The Spirit King’s Inspection and the Valkyrie’s Allure
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
After passing through the Square, I turned toward the small eastern path.
The fat from the venison still lingered on my tongue. The noise of the kitchen faded behind me, and the weight of the deer meat and honey began to slowly settle in my stomach. My insides felt warm. Only the core of my body felt satisfied, and with every step, that heaviness swayed in my lower belly.
”…I ate a little too much,” I muttered.
”Fufu. In that heat, it is only to be expected,” Sylvia replied in her refined, crisp tone.1
Sylvia walked half a step behind me on the path where the sunlight filtered through the trees in patches. Each time the light, spilling through gaps in the thick canopy, caught her platinum hair, that spot shone with the sharpness of a blade. Her stride and breathing were steady; there was no sound. It was the walk of a woman of the sword.
”Margaret’s venison is cheating, isn’t it? When she serves something like that, I just can’t stop eating,” I said.
”I suspect her husband, Edwin, must have snuck away with the best cuts for you,” Sylvia noted gracefully.
As we left the grove, the view opened to a gentle slope. Within a few steps, the scent changed. Damp moss and green grass. Neat rows of furrows filled the slope, with human shadows scattered here and there. The dry sound of hoes breaking the soil. The faint rustle of wheat swaying and rubbing together, whipped by the wind. In the grain field, Greta was humming an old melody, and in the orchard, Alvin was reaching into the branches to check on something.
In the center of the field, Pomo, wearing a mud-stained apron, noticed us and waved so hard her arm looked like it might fly off. Her full body swayed with the movement—heavily, yet happily. I lifted one hand lazily in return.
”The fields seem to be doing well, too,” I said.
”Yes. Pomo pours her very soul into the growth of those children,” Sylvia added.
Beyond the wooden fence, wild deer were grazing idly. Human voices were distant; it was peaceful beyond measure.
Passing through the fields, the trees thickened again. Beneath that calm, a cluster of moss-covered stone walls sat buried, silent. My makeshift prison, where I had tossed the survivors captured on that morning of slaughter one week ago. Now, it was just cold stone. Just walking past it made the air feel dry, as if it were cracking.
The moment I stepped past it, the feeling under my feet changed. Ground packed hard, like concrete. The burning smell that hit my nostrils grew stronger. The scent of scorched earth and the lingering odor of wild Magic.
The sound had changed, too. The heavy impact of steel clashing. The short, whistling sound of blades cutting through the air. The dull thud of arrows burying themselves in the dirt.
”Two swords, one bow. …Elza, I think. The way that string rings,” Sylvia said, her voice dropping into a cool, professional tone.
Sylvia narrowed her eyes. The tips of her long, pointed ears turned slightly forward, and her pale green eyes followed the crossing paths ahead.
The moment we cleared the grove, the view opened wide.
The soil of the training ground was black, with layers of burn marks overlapping. The trampled earth had turned into ruts, countless arrow marks remained as dots, and shattered wooden stakes were scattered everywhere. Behind it, the massive rock wall I had made the other day loomed. It was already scorched, gouged, scraped, and twisted into a horrible shape. One glance told you just how much it had been tested here.
In the center of the training ground, three shadows were crossing.
A female warrior with pale silver hair tied up high stood still, holding a composite bow (a bow made from layers of wood and horn). It was Elza. Her toned back was tight like a flexible bow, and beads of sweat, like pearls, clung thickly to the collarbone visible through the gaps in her leather armor.
Surrounding her were two large men. Oris and Baldo, holding their longswords in a seigan guard (a stance with the sword held in front). Oris had broad shoulders. Baldo had his reddish-brown hair tied back with a leather cord, leaving his left hand bare. The skin of his knuckles was hard. These were the hands of a swordsman who also used strikes.
”Elza is in the center. Will she draw her bow at that close range?” I asked.
”Yes. But she is enjoying the death-line far more than before,” Sylvia said.
Piercing the canopy above, a single streak of white sunlight fell diagonally. The light crossed the gouge in the rock wall and struck the dirt over Elza’s shoulder. Only that spot was bright, like a stage.
The two moved first.
Oris swept his sword sideways. Elza slid half a step inward, using the trunk of her bow to push the path of the blade outward. From the blind spot the redirected sword made, Baldo thrust forward, but Elza did not lose her balance. She shifted only her upper body, rubbing the bowstring against the base of the sword. The tip of the blade skewed slightly, passing uselessly by her shoulder.
Riding the spin, a short arrow flew at close range. Zero distance.
Baldo twisted his upper body to avoid it. The sword left his hand, hitting the ground with a spray of dust. Overlapping that sound, Oris adjusted his footing and closed in another step. Baldo answered, the two of them moving to crush the distance at once.
Elza shifted slightly from the front of the two. Their attack failed to match by the slightest margin. The shoulder of Oris, who had moved forward, crossed paths with Baldo’s path for a moment… and both their moves faltered.
Into that gap, Elza stepped.
With the upper tip of her bow, she knocked up Oris’s jaw, and with the lower tip, she swept the back of Baldo’s knees. She slid between the two, whose gazes had drifted up and whose footing had collapsed, and the taut bow was placed perfectly against their throats.
”Overlapped,” she said, her voice cool and steady.
But the two didn’t end it there. Oris instantly picked up his sword, and Baldo jumped back to reset their distance. Their gazes met. There were no voices. Only their breathing was together.
First, Baldo drove in a thrust. Elza rubbed the bowstring against the base of the sword, sliding it along the line of the blade to let it escape outward… and from beyond that blade, Oris’s horizontal sweep covered her. Their attacks had finally matched.
But Elza’s reaction was strange.
Without taking the slash, she dropped her shoulder and ducked, placing the trunk of the bow against the belly of the blade for a split second to push its path away. The blade cut through empty air, and Oris’s forward momentum carried him too far.
At the same time, Baldo didn’t stop. Using his arm strength, he pulled back his deflected thrust, and without a pause, flipped his grip to switch into an upward slash. …At that moment of change, Elza slid one step deeper inside. The upper tip of the bow hit Baldo’s wrist, and the blade flickered. With that flicker, Oris had to twist his body into the gap, and their paths crossed completely again.
And there, the bowstring was at their throats… perfectly.
”…Overlapped,” she breathed out.
A low, damp voice. She lowered the bow and took a deep breath, her chest rising and falling heavily. From the edge of her leather armor, a bead of sweat traced the hollow of her collarbone and slid down toward her chest. The sunlight vividly lit that wet trail.
Oris rolled his right shoulder in silence, and Baldo, while staring at the sword on the ground, let out his held breath.
”Elza defeated those two. A masterful display of movement,” I said.
”…Neither Oris nor Baldo are weak. It is just that since receiving Ryuichi-sama’s favor, Elza’s reactions have become half a beat faster than before,” Sylvia explained.
”Half a beat, huh,” I thought.
”Yes. Half a beat. ──On the battlefield, that is more than enough space to decide life and death,” Sylvia said.
A layer of her usual softness had been stripped away from Sylvia’s tone.
”It is not just the physical reaction. Before, even when standing on the edge of death, Elza was a woman who could not take a single step forward on her own until told,” Sylvia added.
”Hoh. So my poison has spread?” I asked.
”No. …Thanks to a wonderful blessing,” she replied with a small smile.
The corners of her thin lips lifted just a little.
I stepped into the training ground.
The moment I did, the smell of burning rose up to meet me. The layers of burn marks returned a dry heat through the leather soles of my boots, tingling up to my ankles.
Beneath the shade of the trees, a woman with long flaxen hair stood with her scimitar (a curved sword) held in a seigan guard, her eyes closed. It was Lumi. Even with traces of childhood still on her cheeks, her limbs were lean and efficient, with all excess fat stripped away.
”Ah, there’s Lumi,” I said.
”It seems she has been doing that every day recently. Ever since that jar arrived,” Sylvia said.
Even when we reached her, her small frame did not move a muscle. Only her thin ribcage rose and fell, slowly and deeply. She was building the core of her body with her breath. Her jade eyes, which had been closed, slowly opened.
”…King. Master,” Lumi greeted, bowing.
She broke her stance and bowed. At her feet, a wooden cup scooped from the white jar lay rolling carelessly. Water droplets that had spilled soaked into the soil, making small, black wet marks.
”Lumi. How is it? Is the training going well?” I asked.
”Yes. The feeling of passing Spirit power through my body… I have finally managed to catch it. Though, it is still only sliding along the surface of my skin,” Lumi explained seriously.
Lumi’s spine straightened sharply. The joints of her fingers, gripping the hilt of her sword, stood out white. I looked back at Sylvia beside me.
”Does it look like she might become able to cover herself in Spirit power, like you?” I asked.
”…This child has talent. All that remains is the time spent continuing to touch pure Spirit power,” Sylvia judged.
The everyday warmth had vanished from Sylvia’s eyes, replaced by the cold gaze of a teacher. It was as if she could see through everything, from Lumi’s stance to the center of balance in her feet.
”So, thanks to this jar, she’s become able to do that without holding back,” I said.
Lumi nodded strongly.
”Yes. Before, the thought of using all my limited Spirit power for training was unthinkable. …But now, I can use it all day long,” she said with a bright smile.
”I see. Your wish has been granted. Give it your all,” I encouraged.
I paused for a beat, then lowered my voice.
”…So, how is it on that front?” I asked quietly.
”It is nowhere near enough,” Lumi replied instantly.
An immediate reply. The answer came without a moment’s hesitation. Even though her voice was kept to the level of a sigh, there was no doubt in the jade eyes looking up at me. They were the eyes of a completely starving beast.
”You didn’t call for me yesterday either, did you? I… I can’t handle it on my own anymore. ──How many times do you think I did it by myself last night?” she whispered temptingly.
Her thin thighs rubbed slightly against each other, and the damp sound of cloth rubbing together reached my ears through her clothes.
”Hoh. Still as energetic as ever,” I said.
”Geez. Laughing like that again. …It was you, King, who made my body like this,” she giggled, trying to sound playful.
She stuck out her tongue and laughed innocently. But her eyes were burning with a vivid heat, seeking my body.
Sylvia let out a small sigh, as if showing affection. Her long, white fingers carefully picked up a lock of her disciple’s flaxen hair and brushed it toward the edge of her ear.
”Fufu. You are a hopeless child. Come to the bedchamber tonight. …I will put out that fire of yours, deep down to the very depths,” Sylvia promised.
”…Master, I’m so happy. It’s a promise, okay?” Lumi chirped excitedly.
Lumi’s eyes grew wet with hot, syrupy water, and the corners of her lips curled in a tempting way.
At that moment, footsteps approached from the center of the training ground. Light and fast. The sound of feet kicking the dirt came straight toward us.
Elza ran over and… threw herself into my chest without hesitation.
Thud. Her sweaty body, leather armor and all, pressed against me. Hot. The heat of her earlier battle still remained vividly beneath her skin.
”Spirit King-sama…! You were watching over me,” Elza said.
Flushed cheeks. At close range, her ash-blue eyes pierced right through me. Her silver hair, which had been tied up high, came undone and clung to her sweaty neck; with every rough breath she took, the sweat on her collarbone made a stain on my chest.
”Yeah. The way you toyed with two large men… it was amazing,” I praised.
”Thank you…! Just feeling the King’s gaze… heat wells up from the depths of my body… I feel like I could fly anywhere…”
She pressed her face against me, lingering as if offering her entire self. Through the leather armor pressed against my chest, Elza’s waist rubbed just a fraction closer.
Direct contact with my lower belly. It was a smell different from the dry sweat of a practice fight—the sweet, fermented scent of a woman in heat, rising stickily from the gaps in the fabric into my nose.
”…Elza, you’re clinging way too much, girl,” Lumi muttered, sounding annoyed. For a brief moment, Elza’s arms tightened around my back. She finally stepped back half a step, trailing her fingertips with an air of wanting more, but her gaze stayed on my lips.
”I won’t let you get a head start, y’hear? …Hey, King. Tonight, will you pierce me through to the very depths, too?”
Standing a step back, she placed her hand on the laces of her leather armor’s chest. It was a perfectly natural gesture, as if fixing a knot loosened by sweat. But her fingertips intentionally widened the opening.
Visible only to my eyes, her sweat-slicked, shapely breast. And the tip of her n**ple, hard and peaked from the fabric’s rubbing, peeked through.
”…Hmph. You’re a greedy woman. Are you coming tonight as well?” I replied.
”Yes, sir. Please, draw everything out of me,” she whispered, her voice like a wet sigh. Her ash-blue eyes pierced me from below once more. Underneath the long eyelashes lowered for a bow, her white cheeks were dyed completely red.
Beside her, Lumi exhaled softly. “The number of rivals is just increasing again, isn’t it.”
”What is it, Lumi. Are you unhappy?”
”I’m not unhappy. …I just thought that tonight is going to be busy, is all.”
The corners of both war-buddies’ mouths softened at the same angle. Their shadows, cast upon the trampled earth, flickered as they touched the sunlight.
Heavy footsteps approached. The honest, dry sound of armor fittings rubbing together. The sound of the men in the forest.
”Well now, Spirit King! I’m embarrassed that you saw such a poor display earlier,” Baldo boomed, sweeping back his reddish-brown hair and laughing heartily while wiping away sweat with a thick arm. Beside him, Oris rubbed his square jaw and rotated his right shoulder as if it were heavy.
”What is there to be ashamed of. It was good movement. Both of you,” I said.
”No, no, Elza completely wiped the floor with us. Lately, her movements are like a different person. We can’t even keep up,” Baldo said with a wry smile.
”…My shoulder’s dead. Was the bow supposed to be a blunt weapon now?” Oris muttered shortly. In his dark green eyes, a light of honest respect—or maybe acceptance—remained. The redness on the jaw he was rubbing hadn’t faded yet.
”Oris, your jaw got hit too, didn’t it? Are you alright?”
”…Not at all, I’m not alright.”
Right next to us, Baldo burst out laughing. Deep, sweat-dampened wrinkles were etched into the corners of his laughing eyes.
”Hey Elza, hold back a little. You’ll make them cry.”
”No. Holding back does not make real training. Spirit King.”
Touching her fingertip to the string for just an instant, Elza replied with a dignified, cool expression. Baldo laughed, and Oris sighed.
It is hard to believe she is the same woman who, until a moment ago, had been pressing her n**ple against my chest, giving me the gaze of a woman in heat. It is a masterful change.
”I don’t see Farrell and the others, where did they go?”
”The Captain is out hunting with Zeid-san and the others, carrying the silver box,” Oris explained, jerking his chin toward the north side of the training ground, toward the deep abyss of the forest.
”The silver box. How is that thing holding up?”
”It’s perfect. Just having that box there keeps the monsters from coming near. Thanks to that, we can safely walk right to the edge of the forest.”
Behind me, a small, splashing sound of water. Lumi was refilling her water from the jar. The water surface, trembling at the rim of the cup, caught the sunlight and gleamed for an instant.
”…It helps having Zeid-san there. From within the protection of that box, he shoots down prey even in the mist,” Oris said, his voice full of real trust.
”Thanks to that, we’ve brought back a lot of prey, and the meat in the kitchen has increased,” Baldo added with another laugh. At that laughter, both Lumi and Elza gave a faint shake of their shoulders.
”I see. I’m glad to hear things are running smoothly.”
I looked around the training ground once.
There was the trampled earth, the marks of destruction carved into the rock wall. And…… hot breath, blades, and the sound of strings.
”Sorry to disturb you. Please, continue.”
They all bowed.
Lumi put down her cup and returned her curved blade to the seigan stance. Elza re-strung her bow, and Oris and Baldo readied their swords again.
The sunlight overhead had increased its angle even more. The pillar of light that had left the gouge in the rock wall traced across the scorched ground toward the east, along with our short shadows.
For the briefest moment that the light touched it, the mud and ash-covered earth of the training ground gave off a divine, golden glow.
—
Summary:
Ryuichi and Sylvia inspect the thriving fields and the training grounds of their household. They observe a intense, synchronized combat drill between Elza, Oris, and Baldo, highlighting Elza’s increased reaction speed under Ryuichi’s influence. Afterward, they check on Lumi’s progress with spirit power training, leading to an intimate and charged exchange regarding the subordinates’ deep, possessive cravings for their master.
The protagonist observes the intense and erotic behavior of his warriors after a training session. Following a brief exchange, his male warriors arrive and discuss their recent training performance and the benefits of a mystical silver box. The scene concludes with the protagonist observing the group return to their training as the light shifts across the training grounds.
—
Trivia:
- The protagonist’s “poison” is interpreted by his subordinates as a “blessing.”
- Elza’s combat efficiency has improved by “half a beat” since receiving the protagonist’s favor.
- Lumi’s training is supported by a mysterious white jar that allows for unrestricted use of Spirit power.
- The “prison” containing survivors from a slaughter one week ago is now just cold stone, emphasizing the protagonist’s casual brutality.
- The silver box acts as a supernatural ward against nearby monsters.
- Zeid is part of the hunting party currently using the silver box.
- Elza demonstrates a sharp duality between her submissive behavior toward the protagonist and her ruthless combat efficacy.
- The training ground features physical destruction on the walls, indicating the intensity of their drills.
—
Translation Notes:
Notes:
• Sylvia – A platinum-haired, jade-eyed Elven commander and advisor of disciplined posture and alluring smile. As Ryuichi’s sharp, devoted partner and liaison, she shares an intimate routine with her master while tormenting others. She ruthlessly deploys white heat rays beside elven archers, holds a sisterly bond with Lara, read Erika’s notebook, and remembers her village when it housed thousands.
• Margaret – The village’s head cook is a sharp-eyed woman in charge of the communal kitchen. Delighted by the improved quality of her tools, she efficiently manages the space while observing the passing villagers with a knowing, attentive eye.
• Edwin – A stealthy operative who melts into the yellow spore mist alongside Aaron without a single sound.
• Ben – Struan’s son and Torben’s nephew, this young man served as a callous guide at their base, assisting in the family’s slave-trading enterprise. After confessing to his role in Mia’s death, he was bound by Stone Ball magic and drowned by Ryuichi. His corpse was later stored in the Interdimensional Space as a trophy of the protagonist’s retribution.
• Elza – An elven vanguard archer and construction director who blends architectural precision with lethal battlefield coordination. Operating from the barracks, she coordinates teams with absolute teamwork, casting light-based, armor-penetrating magic arrows to strike structural cores and break the spines of fleeing enemies. Despite her blunt military focus, she shows direct concern for Erika.
• Baldo – A cheerful warrior in Farrell’s squad, this magic user fights alongside his wife Yvette. Keeping his team focused on reconstruction, he defeats enemy soldiers by utilizing zero-range fire magic to release fireballs directly into their faces, expanding and rupturing his targets.
• Oris – A Farrell’s squad member and longsword user who projects compressed air spikes to cave in the chests of soldiers trying to slip past Gauz. While they excel at precise stabbing and air bursts, they find the manual labor of lifting heavy pillars physically taxing.
• Ryuichi – A 40-year-old Spirit King with Japanese past-life memories, this towering, muscular man has short dark hair, black eyes, and a beard. Cold and commanding, he ruthlessly rules an elf village, using glass manipulation to reshape villagers’ bodies and desires. Wielding gravity, barrier, and healing magic, he protects his beloved Sylvia while pragmatically valuing companions Anna and Erika.
• Ryu – A man with Interdimensional Magic who leads a growing household. He acts as a provider and protector for his slaves, while maintaining a pragmatic and blunt personality.
• Lumi – An elven warrior and nimble scout who drops from rock walls to dance through enemy lines, using her curved scimitar to deliver logic-defying, bone-severing strikes that gouge abdomens and sever carotid arteries. Alongside Elza, she also excels at high-altitude construction tasks.
• King – A powerful, authoritative male lead who possesses immense physical strength and magic. He commands absolute loyalty and submission from the inhabitants of the Silver Moon Village.
• Spirit King – The protagonist and absolute ruler is a male who serves as the sole, detached source of mana for an Elf village ritual. Possessing limitless stamina and dominant magical abilities, he can heal others and completely reconstruct the physical forms of those he subdues.
• Farrell – Restored by the protagonist, this elf garrison captain and capable commander sits motionless like a stone statue with a mithril sword at his waist. Leading village security with grim resolve, he uses a green afterimage aura, combat relics, and vacuum wind blades. Driven to regain honor after a defeat by Ryuichi, he respects his King, loathes Gauz, and maintains a tense protagonist alliance.
• Zeid – An elven archer stationed in the tree canopy who excels at zero-range combat, using wind magic and a silent wind chime from the Spirit King to track and snipe targets through thick fog. He fires wind-clad arrows with extreme focus under pressure, famously attempting to strike Gauz’s eye.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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