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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Ruby
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Yuma entered the celestial realm.
Arten, the master of the celestial realm, approached Yuma.
“You must have been quite busy. Hahaha.”
Arten looked at Yuma, who had come after two days, and laughed awkwardly.
In fact, Arten had found the celestial realm rather comfortable without Yuma for those two days, so he simply felt a bit of regret.
Yuma ignored Arten and walked past him.
The place Yuma headed to was where his companions were.
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The fifteen-year-old girl was looking at the stars.
They were pure white stars within the celestial realm.
The black-haired, golden-eyed girl slowly raised her right hand.
Following Bell’s gesture, a cluster of starlight moved.
Cloney was still lingering at the edge of the 5th circle.
It was an outstanding achievement for her age of fifteen, but Cloney herself was full of dissatisfaction for not yet having entered the 6th circle, which was said to be where one begins to face a wall.
Cloney looked at the celestial mage casting magic beside her.
Light fiercely converged in the hands of the celestial mage with snow-white skin.
The white magical current gathered endlessly, as if there was no bottom to the magical power.
Cloney’s mouth slowly opened.
“You said you’re at the 10th circle, right?”
At Cloney’s words, the celestial mage with snow-white skin and equally white long hair, Capella, slowly nodded.
“That’s right.”
Capella was the celestial mage who, along with the blind celestial mage Serenen, had been assigned as a teaching instructor for Cloney’s growth.
“I want to become stronger too.”
Capella looked at Cloney with the same golden eyes.
“You told me how quickly you’ve grown before. Growing any faster than that is actually impossible.”
Cloney smiled faintly.
“Still, I need to become stronger.”
Capella looked at Cloney who was staring at the black space in the distance with sparkling eyes.
She could vaguely guess why Cloney had such a strong desire for growth.
Those eyes were filled with aspiration.
The kind of aspiration to become stronger.
Capella was also one of the celestial beings who had seen Yuma kill the fallen god Barbatos through the celestial window.
“It won’t be easy. To possess the same strength as your lord, I mean.”
“…I can do it.”
Cloney slowly moved her right hand holding the staff.
Golden light rippled from the staff.
It was magical power.
That magical power slowly ensnared the magic that Capella had spread in the void of the celestial realm.
Magic interference.
The ability to bind another mage’s magical power and completely take control of their mana flow.
An art that only a select few with innate talent among high-ranking mages could perform.
Even though Capella hadn’t placed any separate measures to prevent magical interference, it couldn’t have been easy to read another person’s magical circuit so quickly.
Cloney said softly.
“Yuma told me I could do it.”
Capella slowly nodded.
‘…Indeed.’ Can such a strong being recognize genius in other fields at a glance?
Capella resolved to continue watching Cloney, who kept growing.
—Swoosh!
The twenty-year-old swordswoman was silently swinging her sword.
Her blue hair fluttered. Bell continued to swing her sword.
She continued to strike down white demons.
She had been swinging her sword continuously for the two days Yuma was gone.
She moved her body desperately to grow stronger.
This time, too, Yuma had gone alone.
And he would have resolved everything by himself.
Even if he had subordinates accompanying him, they would have only served as escorts.
Bell was accustomed to Yuma’s attitude of trying to solve everything alone.
She wanted to be of help, even if just a little.
Even if just a speck of dust.
But to be even that speck of help, she needed a strength that could be said to transcend humanity.
Swoosh!
Nineteen-year-old feline swordswoman Hestia looked worriedly at Bell, who seemed to be swinging her sword recklessly.
While the celestial beings in the celestial realm didn’t need things like sleep, humans were different.
Sufficient rest and sleep were essential for maintaining health.
But Bell had been overexerting her body continuously for two days.
As a colleague and friend, Hestia couldn’t help but worry about Bell’s condition.
But despite that, she couldn’t easily dissuade her from training because of the sincerity in her eyes.
‘…How do I stop this sister.’
Hestia furrowed her brow slightly and pondered.
Someone approached Hestia, who was pondering sincerely.
It was Knight Belhein, one of the members of the Astes Empire’s swordsmen.
Belhein rushed over urgently.
And he said to Hestia, “Lord Yuma has returned!”
Bell’s movements, which hadn’t slowed down even when stared at intently, came to an abrupt halt at that cry.
Hestia couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
‘That worked perfectly.’
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Yuma looked peculiarly at the three people who had flocked to him
—Bell, Cloney, and Hestia—surrounding him in a circle.
“Where did you go alone again?”
Bell thrust her face close.
Her sky-blue hair fluttered.
Yuma felt something strongly approaching through his sense of smell.
“Hmm.” It was very clearly—
“Bell, you need to wash. You smell of sweat.”
It was the smell of sweat.
“Ugh…”
Bell gritted her teeth at Yuma’s words.
“Ugh…!”
A fierce anger boiled up from the bottom of her heart.
She had felt a very strong sense of inferiority and helplessness at the fact that Yuma had gone down to the middle realm alone again to resolve something by himself.
And to overcome that, she had been swinging her sword without rest for two days.
And what came out of the mouth of the very person who was the reason for all this was ‘sweat smell’…!
Bell’s face very slowly turned bright red.
And she slowly raised her right arm.
She brought her wrist to her nose.
Bell’s fine brow wrinkled intensely.
‘It’s true!’
The problem was that she really did smell of sweat.
Grip!
Cloney, undeterred, tightly held both of Bell’s hands.
“…The other person is Lord Yuma. We already knew he lacks sensitivity in these areas. Sister, please be patient.”
Cloney’s golden eyes reflected sincere empathy.
Even if she really did smell of sweat, it was an empathy that could only be felt by someone who was looking at Yuma, a being who would say such things out loud in a situation where it wasn’t necessary.
Hestia also said, twitching both her crimson cat ears, “That’s right, that’s right. The one in front of us right now is the being called Yuma-Yuma.”
Bell was finally able to quell her anger as the normal people on both sides comforted her pitiful heart.
“Yes… thank you.”
Yuma slowly opened his mouth.
“I’m sorry.”
He had realized that he had said something that he didn’t need to say.
And he had noticed that these three women were angrier than he had thought.
Cloney nodded her head vigorously.
“You apologized well! Lord Yuma!”
“Yuma-Yuma, your sensitivity has improved a bit!”
Hestia’s green eyes sparkled.
Yuma felt the need to quickly get to the main point.
The main point that these three would unlikely welcome.
Taking them to the [Transcendence Altar] in the land of the avian race?
That didn’t seem like a good choice.
‘It’s impossible to predict how long it will take until the divine awakening.’
Then taking these three along would be a risky move. It was better to leave them in the celestial realm as they were now, so they could become stronger in the shortest time possible.
‘Ella Brighton.’ Imperial 3rd Seat Ella Brighton, who had gone to the Lesen Kingdom together.
It seemed appropriate to take that spear master along.
He could trust and take her because he had learned sufficiently through the previous schedule that she had skills that could be helpful.
Yuma opened his mouth again to get to the main point.
“I think I’ll go down to the middle realm again in a week. I have some business. It’s hard to gauge how long this matter will take.”
At Yuma’s words, the relaxed faces of the three immediately stiffened again.
The fact that he was going down alone again was troubling enough, but not even being able to gauge how long it would take was even more concerning.
From Yuma’s standpoint, he couldn’t explain the purpose of this journey at all this time.
Divine awakening.
Despite the lengthy explanation from [The Goddess of Earth and Eternity—Rhea], he still couldn’t comprehend the idea of becoming a god.
It seemed like he would only realize that this had been possible after he had become a god.
“…You don’t know how long it will take?”
Cloney asked softly. Bell hung her head low.
“Again, Yuma-Yuma…”
Hestia drooped her crimson ears.
“Trust me and wait. I’ll return as quickly as possible.”
Yuma could only say that.
“I trust you, then.”
Bell slowly raised her head.
Her pink eyes looked directly at Yuma.
“I’ll become ridiculously strong, so come back soon.”
Cloney, who had been staring intently at Bell after she said that, looked at Yuma.
“Yes. I’ll trust and wait, so please come back soon.”
Hestia perked up her drooping ears.
“Don’t get hurt, and come back safely!”
Yuma opened his mouth again.
“I will.”
A week later.
Before descending to the middle realm, Yuma stood before the celestial lord, Arten.
Arten, who had the appearance of a boy with white hair, stretched his body backward as Yuma approached with firm steps.
“While I’m gone, if anything happens to the Astes Empire, send your apostles to protect it.”
Yuma added in a low voice.
“This is payback for me killing Barbatos in your stead.”
Arten gulped.
“Ah, understood!”
Having thus established the celestial realm as a backing for the Astes Empire, Yuma returned to the middle realm.
And departed together with Imperial 3rd Seat Ella Brighton.
Their destination was the land of the avian race.
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