Vol 2 Chapter 25 – The Strongest Devotee Arrives【Vol 2: The Blazing Labyrinth and the Lonely Witch】 

One afternoon, after wrapping up a round of magic-sword training, Elmina and I were taking a breather in the cave we were using as our base.

A single messenger pigeon flew in and delivered a letter to me.

The sender was Lilia.

(A letter from Lilia, huh. It’s been a while.)

Ever since I threw myself into training with Elmina, there had been longer gaps between our letters.

I opened the seal right away.

Inside, in her beautiful handwriting, she’d written about how she was doing.

“Fuyuya,

Have you been well?

Father and everyone at the dojo are doing fine, so don’t worry.

I’m late in reporting this, but about two years ago, Father granted me full transmission of Glen-Style Swordsmanship, and I won the royal tournament hosted by the kingdom.

At that time, His Majesty the King personally granted me the title of ‘Sword Saint.’

I spent some time serving as an instructor for the royal knights, but I was finally given permission to step aside for the next generation and set out on a journey.

I think I should be able to reach you very soon.

I’m truly looking forward to seeing you again for the first time in three years.

—Lilia”

“…………Huh?”

After reading the letter, I let out a ridiculous sound without meaning to.

(Sword Saint!? Lilia’s a Sword Saint!?)

Well, maybe it shouldn’t have been surprising, considering her talent.

In the ten years we trained together, she’d already far surpassed ordinary swordsmen.

And there was no way she’d spent the next three years slacking off.

Still… “Sword Saint” was a lot to process.

(Things have gotten completely insane with her… And a journey to find me… wait, is she already on her way here?)

While I was standing there dazed by the letter, Elmina—who had been keeping watch at the cave entrance—shouted sharply.

“Fuyuya!

Someone’s coming this way!

They’re seriously skilled…!”

There was clear tension in Elmina’s voice.

If she was saying that much, this wasn’t just anyone.

I grabbed my sword and rushed outside the cave.

Standing back-to-back with Elmina, I narrowed my eyes toward the approaching presence.

From beyond the wasteland horizon, a single figure was walking toward us.

The steps were quiet.

But with each step, the surrounding air seemed to vibrate—a crushing pressure rolling off them.

At last, the figure stopped dead about a dozen meters in front of us.

Standing there was a beautiful woman.

Long chestnut hair shining in the sunlight.

Straight, unwavering eyes filled with strong will.

The sword at her waist sat against her frame like it belonged there—like a master’s blade, but somehow modest, too.

Three years had transformed the girl I knew into a noble, strikingly beautiful woman.

And I recognized her immediately.

“…Lilia?”

When I whispered her name, the woman smiled softly, a little playfully.

“Yeah, Fuyuya. It’s been a while.”

That voice, that smile—none of it had changed from three years ago.

She was still the same Lilia I knew, bright as the sun.

“Lilia!

It really is you!”

“Yeah, Fuyuya! I wanted to see you!”

We ran to each other and celebrated our reunion after three years.

Just seeing her safe made something warm spread through my chest.

“I read your letter. So you became a Sword Saint—seriously, that’s amazing!”

“Heh. I just trained desperately so I wouldn’t get left behind by you. But being an instructor never really suited me, so I handed it over to the next generation right away.”

Lilia smiled proudly and went on.

There wasn’t a trace of hesitation in her eyes—just absolute conviction.

“Besides, standing by your side matters more to me than anything else, Fuyuya.”

She stood right in front of me and looked straight into my eyes.

That gaze burned with heat, like the look someone gives a rival.

“To stand beside you, Fuyuya, I devoted all of my swordsmanship to these last three years!”

Her words were calm, but they carried more weight than anything else.

The blood-soaked three years she had walked through.

The fact that she had dedicated all of it to one purpose alone—standing shoulder to shoulder with me.

Fuyuya interpreted the feelings in those words, without the slightest doubt, as the pure competitive spirit of a former training partner.

She didn’t want to be left behind. She wanted to become stronger.

To him, Lilia’s words were just an extension of that—a welcome, familiar rivalry.

There was no way a man who had spent thirteen years pursuing nothing but strength would realize that, over those three years, the faint admiration the girl once held had ripened into an unshakable love as a woman.

Meanwhile, Elmina’s thoughts were anything but calm as she watched the exchange unfold.

Standing at the cave entrance with her arms crossed, she studied the woman named Lilia.

(What is with this girl…!)

The moment she appeared, the air changed.

The way she stood. The pressure she gave off.

She wasn’t just some swordswoman.

Elmina herself had grown into one of the continent’s top mages over the last three years.

But the aura this “Sword Saint” gave off was the aura of a pure powerhouse—one that could stand shoulder to shoulder with hers, or maybe even surpass it.

And more than anything, what set Elmina’s nerves on edge was the way Lilia looked at Fuyuya.

(…Those eyes…)

They held an absolute trust and devotion so pure it was almost fanatical.

As if Fuyuya’s existence was her whole world.

It resembled Elmina’s feelings for him, but at the same time, the purity and weight of it were completely different.

A clear threat.

Elmina instinctively felt that much from the woman called Lilia.

“Hey, Lilia. I’m just glad you’re safe.”

Fuyuya, of course, understood none of what Lilia’s words really meant, and just smiled happily.

“Well, no point standing around out here. Let’s head back to base for now. Lilia, I’ll introduce you—this is my magic master, Elmina.”

Then he turned toward Elmina.

“Elmina, this is Lilia, my sword master—the one I told you about in my letters.”

The eyes of the two women met in midair.

Crack! For a second, it really felt like sparks had flown.

“…Nice to meet you. I’m Elmina, Fuyuya’s master. I’m the one who drilled all his magic into him, so you’d better be grateful.”

Elmina fired the first shot with a provocative smile, like a preemptive strike.

“…Nice to meet you. I’m Lilia. I taught Fuyuya the sword from the very basics. Everything I am is in the way he swings.”

Lilia didn’t back down an inch.

She was smiling gently, but there was an unshakable will in her words—one that refused to yield.

(What’s going on?

Why’d they both suddenly go quiet? Are they just tense because it’s their first time meeting?)

Fuyuya didn’t notice the exchange of killing intent between the two geniuses at all—cold as ice, hot as flame.

He only sensed, vaguely, that noisy days were probably about to begin, and scratched his head with an easygoing, (This is starting to feel like it’s gonna be a pain…)

And so, the strongest “sword” and the strongest “magic”—the two heroines—finally met by fate.

The curtain had now risen on the women’s quiet battle over one dense protagonist.