Editing/Standardisation: Medicine Melancholy
Original Translation: Medicine Melancholy
Reiji
The first to reincarnate.
WgO’s strongest.
Battle maniac.
There were several words that could be used to describe the guy acting all friendly in front of me… Seiten.
He’s slightly shorter than me.
His face, with sharp thick eyebrows and piercing eyes, though somewhat macho, falls well within the category of handsome. His fearless expression moves with emotions like that of a boy, giving off a charming vibe… usually.
His “distinctive” spiked-back blond hair and attire were said to have been inspired by an anime character who’s an alien named after a vegetable.
As for his personality, if I were to describe it in one word… it would be “power hungry”.
Despite his cheerful and pleasant personality, he enjoys nurturing himself, challenging strong opponents to battle, and finding joy in winning. However, this is within the bounds of fair play; he’s surprisingly rational and doesn’t randomly pick fights.
Moreover, in his case, he doesn’t hesitate to put effort into research, equipment collection, and even ventured into real-life mixed martial arts… he’s a true gaming addict… no, he’s more like someone from a warrior race.
And, he’s also the record holder for the most victories in PvP tournaments in the game, and if you ask who the strongest player in “Worldgate Online” is, his name would be the first to come up. Even I have to admit that.
In any case, it wasn’t difficult to predict that someone with such history would settle on this Isle of Battles.
“I was just wondering when you’d show up, and here you are.”
“I mean, I don’t have trouble finding opponents in this city, so life’s been good here!”
“Having a blast, aren’t you…?!”
Seiten beamed happily.
I guess if anyone who would enjoy the fact that he was sent to another world, it’d be him.
Before I could even express my amazement at how unchanged he is…
“What… are you… idly chit-chatting about… you bastards… guh!?”
“Whoops, forgot about you.”
“You…!”
The black-clad figure restrained by Seiten, with a pained expression and sweating profusely, protested with veins bulging on his forehead.
But leaving him unattended seemed like it could lead to trouble. For now, I tied up the man I knocked out so I could hand him over to the guards later.
“You won’t get away with this…!”
“Wow, coming to kill me and having the guts to complain? Seiten, you deal with him.”
“Sure.”
Seiten wrapped his arms around the man’s neck and snapped, and the man fainted without resistance.
For now, there were no signs of other enemies around, and the earlier commotion had ended.
“…So, what’s the deal with these guys?”
“Do you always punch first and ask questions later like that?”
I dropped my shoulders at Seiten’s belated question.
I was dragging the middle-aged man, the culprit behind the stabbing, back along the path we came from. Seiten followed along, carrying the black-clad man with him. I thought he might know something, but it seems it was no good.
“…So, there was an incident on the street earlier.”
“Hmm, I just happened to pass by… but it seems like it’s about the guy who stabbed one of the participants in the tournament. It’s truly lamentable that they resort to ambushing instead of fighting honorably in the ring.”
“Well, this guy right here is probably the culprit. Let’s just take him and his friend to the guards quickly.”
“I see, no problem at all, I’m happy to help!”
Their actions seemed to have gotten under Seiten’s skin to the point where he suddenly became motivated. With his sudden enthusiasm, we quickly transported the men to the guard station before they could wake up and cause trouble.
And so, handing over the men to the guards, receiving some rewards and a bit of a lecture, by the time we were released, over an hour had passed.
Upon a simple investigation, it seemed that the short knives they had were indeed poisoned, mainly circulating in the Western continent.
…That much was learned by leveraging my position as a member of the Nordglacier royal family’s guard who had come here, and their affiliates.
“…Western continent, huh.”
Using poison to hinder movement and attacking in groups… their tactics seem familiar to the modus operandi of those guys.
“You know something, Sword Saint?”
“Maybe. The dark side of the Western Trade Federation… Cait Sith, was it? I fought them before, and those guys seem similar.”
“Hmm, are they operatives of that organization?”
“I can’t be sure, but they resemble them. But if that’s the case…”
If those guys were involved, I couldn’t just ignore them.
Just recalling the attack in Diamant Valley made my blood boil.
“What’s wrong, Sword Saint? You have quite the intense expression on your face.”
“…Those bastards targeted Iris before.”
“What?!”
Seiten snapped.
Come to think of it, he was a big fan of Iris… I suddenly remembered.
“I think it’s gonna be a bad idea if we leave them alone. Seiten, if you find out anything, could you let me know?”
“Mm… I don’t know why they’re targeting participants, but never hurt to be cautious, I guess.”
“Yeah, please do. You’re an idiot, but I’m counting on you!”
“Calling me ‘idiot’ is uncalled for!”
I laughed at his resounding reply, but then, I brought up something that’d been bothering me.
“By the way… You’re participating in the Great Martial Arts Festival, right?”
It’s not a question, but a confirmation. Considering it’s a tournament held once every four years, it’s hard to imagine him staying silent…
“Of course! Hehe, listen up and be amazed… since I came here, I’ve won several tournaments and secured a seed slot for the freshman division!”
“Heh… That’s amazing, as expected of you.”
Seiten proudly boasted with his hands on his hips. It’s actually quite impressive.
The Great Martial Arts Festival is divided into two categories: freshman for newcomers and expert for seasoned participants.
However, just because it’s called ‘freshman’ division doesn’t mean it’s a lower grade than the other. It seems to be based on whether or not a participant has placed in past tournaments.
Both are filled with strong contenders, especially the expert division, where the information on participants is almost complete and tactics are based on thorough research.
On the other hand, the freshman division is a mixed bag of talents, with varying levels of data and a large number of strong contenders mixed in, so one can’t afford to be complacent.
In short, despite his prowess, Seiten is participating in the Great Martial Arts Festival for the first time, so he can only participate in the freshman division… However, having a seed slot means he must have achieved remarkable results in other matches.
“What about you, Sword Saint? Are you participating?”
“Sorry, but no. I’m here as a guard for the people I’m staying with at the moment…”
“I see… well, it can’t be helped…”
Seiten looked incredibly disappointed.
But honestly, I wanted to participate and test my own abilities, so it’s kind of a shame.
“Yeah, it can’t be helped this time. Well, do your best in my place, I’ll cheer you on.”
“…Hmm, alright. Watch me put this tournament in the bag!”
Seiten seemed full of confidence, but suddenly, a bad feeling crossed my mind.
The victim of the stabbing was also someone who was supposed to be participating in the freshman division after achieving good results in the public tournaments.
If those Cait Sith guys were targeting promising contestants, wouldn’t Seiten be one of their targets?
“Well, uh… don’t do anything reckless by yourself, okay?”
“Haha, I never expected you to be so worried about me. Should I look out for flying pigs?”
He simply laughed off my words of concern.
His Monk grouping, who uses qigong to strengthen their already large number of moves and exhibit high firepower, is unrivaled in single combat, but due to their low stamina and narrow attack range, it’s a bit difficult for them to fight against groups.
Though, I didn’t know if his “King of Fighters” unique class did anything about that shortcoming.
“Just… be careful of your surroundings. If something happens, call me right away. If you’re injured or poisoned, I’ll ask Iris to treat you.”
“Okay, okay, I get it… It just feels weird when you seriously worry about me like that, you know…”
This time, he seemed to have agreed, albeit reluctantly.
Well, it’s time to go back… I turned on my heels to leave.
“Ah, Reiji-san!”
“You’re up already, Reiji?”
Familiar voices from behind.
Apparently, while Seiten and I were talking, we’d already returned to the main street. Those two, Iris and Saul… were coming my way, probably back to the grand arena where our accommodations were.
“Sorry to worry you. How did it go on your end?”
“We’ve made contact with Master Nephilim. He’s agreed to take care of our equipment.”
“And we heard some interesting information. We’ll share it later.”
“I see… I just discovered something concerning myself.”
“…Not sure if we’re referring to the same thing, but it seems that some former players are up to something suspicious around here.”
“Hmm…?”
As we talked… I suddenly realized that Seiten, who should have been next to me, was oddly quiet.
Looking to the side… the back of his golden spiky head was trying to sneak away.
…What on earth was he up to?
“And you’re…?”
Iris noticed my behavior and caught sight of Seiten, who was trying to sneak away.
At that moment, Seiten’s body twitched, and he hurriedly turned around, assuming a stiff, upright posture.
“H-H-Hello, Princess… Y-Y-You seem to be in a g-good mood today…”
“…Seiten-san! You’ve come here too?!”
Ignoring Seiten’s awkward speech, Iris expressed joy at the well-being of her acquaintance.
…Due to his frequent confrontations with me, he had some interactions with Iris and Saul, whom I almost always accompanied. And Iris was rather fond of Seiten, as long as he wasn’t involved in combat. She seemed genuinely happy to see him again.
However, blushing and turning away from Iris’s innocent smile, Seiten, who had been all smug and confident just moments ago, now looked like a completely innocent young man.
“Are you here for the festival by any chance, Seiten-san?”
“Ah, uh, yes…”
“Then I’ll be cheering for you too! Please do your best!”
Seeing Iris like this, Seiten became flustered and tried to engage in conversation, but… it didn’t go well for him. And whether she noticed his discomfort or not, Iris continued to talk happily to the familiar face she hadn’t seen in a while.
…In the end, he was unable to respond to Iris with anything other than “yes, yes”.
“…Reiji, shouldn’t we help him?”
“Nah, it’s amusing, let’s watch a little longer.”
Responding to Saul’s somewhat exasperated words, I realize I must be wearing a wicked expression myself.
Speaking of Seiten, he had been glancing at me for a while now, as if asking for help.
Well, it’s natural.
Seiten is someone who believes in gender equality to the core, be it in combat or elsewhere. However, due to his strict dedication to self-improvement, both in real life and in gaming, he lacks immunity when it comes to women, especially cute girls.
Particularly when faced with someone like Iris, who’s as far removed from a combatant as you can get, he froze up, unsure of how to act in such situations.
So despite being a big fan of Iris, he completely shut down when actually in front of her in real life… Poor guy.
“…Sword Saint, are you listening?”
“What’s up?”
Meanwhile, Seiten, who had finally escaped, grabbed my arm and spoke to me in a hushed voice.
“What’s… what’s up with that? I can’t win against her. How did she get even lovelier here than in the game…?”
“Ah… she came here and underwent training as a princess, even if it was for a short time.”
“What the heck… I swear I could sense grace and elegance from her every move.”
Seiten nodded with a face filled with resignation and even despair.
Indeed, the current Iris, who had undergone various lessons during her stay at Rolandia Castle, seemed to have refined her demeanor to the point where every gesture appears sophisticated, and a sense of elegance permeates her actions… even when disguised with a hood, it’s impossible to hide.
However, she lacks awareness of her own charm and interacts with others in a carefree manner. The destructive power of that is beyond words.
“Sword Saint… How could you be so calm around her?”
“Heh, well, we’ve been friends for a long time.”
In reality, I often get flustered by her casual gestures, but I don’t show it. I prided myself on having more composure than anyone else in such situations. It’s now my turn to act cool and triumphant in front of Seiten…
“Oh my god Reiji, you’re such an idiot.”
“…Huh?”
For some reason, Saul looked at me with disdain and spat out those words before walking away, leaving me to shake my head in disbelief.
(TL Note)
“Seiten” = “Qitian” in Chinese.
“Qitian” a.k.a “Qitian Daishan” is one of Sun Wukong’s titles.
“Sun Wukong” = “Son Goku” in Japanese.
TLDR: Seiten is a DBZ cosplayer.
APM - Translation 