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Chapter 142: Let's Go to the Beach (1)
“‘Heavenly Destruction Asura Gauntlet’…”
Gilbert, who had been pondering with his eyes closed, shook his head softly.
“That’s a name I’ve never heard before.”
“...”
Silence descended after Gilbert’s response.
Both Berald and I glanced at the stained bandage lying on the table.
Although now it looked filthy as if it had been left under a bed for years,
‘If what I saw earlier wasn’t a mistake…’
That stained bandage was undoubtedly a formidable artifact, enough to make the gauntlet we found in the ruins seem insignificant.
“You said before that this bandage contained some mana, right?”
“Well, despite its appearance, it’s incredibly sturdy.”
Gilbert grabbed the stained bandage as he said this.
“Take a look for yourself.”
He took a deep breath and then pulled the bandage with all his might.
“Hraaah!”
Not only did he pull it, but he also twisted it and spun it as if wringing it out.
Gilbert might not have been a warrior trained in martial arts like Berald, but being from the Iron Fist bloodline, he had an innate physical strength that could easily surpass most warriors.
Even with someone like him pulling with all his strength,
“Hoo. Look, no matter how hard I pull, there isn’t even a scratch.”
“So, is that why you thought it had mana?”
“Yeah. How long do you think a normal bandage would last?”
“Well… typically, bandages are used as disposable items, so they don’t last long.”
“But this bandage from the Iron Fist, even though it’s dirty on the outside, hasn’t torn anywhere if you look closely. That’s why I thought it had some mana in it.”
Just as Gilbert said, despite the 500 years that had passed, the bandage from the Iron Fist remained intact.
“But I only thought it was a sturdy, magically-treated bandage. I’ve never heard of it having any other hidden abilities.”
“…”
It turned out that neither Gilbert nor his previous generation knew the true nature of this bandage.
“Berald. Can you try to recreate what happened earlier?”
“You mean that ‘Heavenly Destruction Gauntlet’ or whatever it’s called?”
“Yeah.”
“Hm, alright.”
With the bandage wrapped around his hand, Berald closed his eyes and focused his energy.
Wooooom!
Just like before, the bandage turned black and morphed into a solid gauntlet.
“Huh.”
Gilbert looked at the black gauntlet, astonished.
“…Is that the true form of the Iron Fist’s legacy?”
“It seems so.”
The reason the bandage had been so dirty was probably to hide the magical inscriptions etched on it.
“The question is why only Berald can bring out the true power of this legacy…”
“I have a guess about that.”
Gilbert narrowed his eyes as he looked at the black gauntlet on Berald’s hand.
“Since he was a kid, Berald was terrible with anything magical, but his fists? They were better than any hero’s, even though no one ever taught him.”
“…So you’re saying he inherited the Iron Fist’s bloodline more strongly than anyone else?”
“Yes. Among the ‘Ryu’ bloodline that has carried on for 500 years, perhaps no one more than him.”
Suddenly, I remembered something the headmaster, Lionel, had muttered after Berald’s duel with Laios Ryu.
—Could it be… no, that can’t be.
If that muttering referred to the power of the Iron Fist within Berald, then it would explain why he could wield a legacy that had been untouched for 500 years.
Thinking about it, Berald only started learning martial arts properly after graduating from school, when he was over 20 years old in his previous life.
‘And yet, he created his own martial art, “Berald’s Martial Arts.”’
Such a feat would have been impossible without overwhelming natural talent.
“So, to sum it up.”
Berald clapped his hands, now clad in the gauntlet, and grinned widely.
“We’ve got an amazing treasure in our hands, right?”
“Well… yeah.”
“Haha! It’s true that doing good deeds brings rewards!”
Berald laughed heartily, overjoyed.
His face showed none of the complicated concerns about bloodlines or legacies.
‘Must be nice having such a carefree mind, you idiot.’
I chuckled inwardly as I watched Berald.
Well, in any case,
The future was continuing to change.
Slowly, but surely.
In a better direction.
* * *
Two weeks had passed since we began staying at Berald’s mansion.
Just as I was getting tired of the monotonous daily training,
“Hey, Dale!”
A handsome blonde man arrived in a stylish magical vehicle and entered the mansion.
Juliet spotted me and waved with a bright smile.
“What, are we invisible or something?”
“Oh, uh, sorry…”
“Heh, just kidding. So, Juliet, what brings you here?”
At Berald’s question, Juliet grinned.
“I brought a nice gift from the foundation my father’s company is working with.”
“A gift?”
“Yeah! Here, look!”
Juliet pulled out a few tickets from her pocket.
“Accommodation vouchers for Heavenly Resort!”
Heavenly Resort.
One of the most famous resorts in the Republic, known for its stunning beaches and luxurious facilities.
“Dale, you’ve heard of it, right?”
“I’ve heard stories.”
It was one of those places cadets would brag about visiting after summer break.
Of course, I’d only heard about it but had never actually been there in any of my previous lives.
“Hehe. If you go there, you can even use a private beach with your group!”
Juliet beamed as he handed me five tickets.
“Wouldn’t it be a waste to spend the whole vacation just training?”
"But I heard this is really expensive... Are you sure we can accept it?"
"Yeah! We're... friends, after all!"
Juliet smiled awkwardly, as if still getting used to the word "friend."
I held the resort voucher he handed me and looked around at the party members.
"What do you all think?"
"I'm totally in!"
"Me too! I really want to go!"
Barreld and Iris raised their hands excitedly, breathing heavily in anticipation.
"I'll go if Dale decides to."
Yuren also nodded readily.
The last remaining person was...
"Hmph! A luxury resort at such a critical time? Ridiculous!"
Camilla scoffed and took one of the tickets from my hand.
"Just because everyone's been making good progress in training recently doesn't mean we can slack off!"
Her eyes widened as she thoroughly checked the valid dates and times on the ticket.
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"Don't forget! We're heroes with the duty to protect the weak and save the world from the forces of the evil demon lord!"
She carefully folded the resort voucher and tucked it into her pocket.
"At times like this, we should focus even more on training! How could you all think of playing instead?"
"No."
This girl’s words and actions are completely different.
"Of course! That doesn't mean I can ignore the will of the entire party just because of my opinion! If you all really want to go, I suppose I'll have no choice but to join you!"
Despite her stern words, Camilla was already struggling to suppress the excited grin spreading across her face at the thought of the resort.
I shook my head as I looked at her.
"No, if you feel that strongly about it, it's fine. You don't have to come."
"...What?"
"I agree with Dale. I wouldn't want to force you to come and break your resolve."
"L-Lady Saint?"
Iris placed her hand on Camilla's shoulder and smiled warmly.
"Camilla, stay here and devote yourself to your training."
"......"
A heavy silence fell.
Camilla's shoulders trembled, and tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.
"Sniff... A-All right... I understand..."
"Pfft! Ahahaha!"
Iris laughed out loud, patting Camilla's shoulder.
"I'm just kidding! Of course, you're coming with us too!"
"I-Iris!"
Realizing she'd been tricked, Camilla, now blushing deeply, forgot to address her as "Lady Saint" and shouted in frustration.
Iris burst into laughter again and turned to Juliet.
"If it's a resort by the beach, I guess we should buy swimsuits."
"They might have rentals at the resort, but if we have time, it would be better to buy some beforehand."
"Well then, Juliet."
Iris pointed to the magic car Juliet had arrived in.
"Could you give us a ride into the city?"
"Of course!"
Juliet smiled brightly and nodded without hesitation.
Thus, our short summer vacation was set.
* * *
Heavenly Resort.
A luxurious facility that looked like it had been built by burning through piles of money.
It ranked among the top five vacation spots across all three nations, so expensive that even seasoned heroes would hesitate to go.
The Heavenly Resort had a unique system: each guest was provided with a private beach, accessed through a warp gate.
There were about 130 small, uninhabited islands around the resort, and guests could use the warp gate to travel freely to the island assigned to them.
"Let’s see... So, we head to Gate 33, right?"
While the others were still getting ready in their rooms (amazingly, we each had a room to ourselves), I finished preparing early and headed to the island ahead of time.
"Let’s pack a parasol, a mat... Oh, and some meat to grill."
Since it was a private beach, we could do whatever we wanted without worrying about others.
"Heavenly Resort, huh...."
In my previous life, I couldn’t even dream of coming here.
I steadied my still somewhat dazed mind and walked towards Gate 33.
Vroom.
As I passed through the gate, a vast beach with a stunning white shoreline unfolded before me.
"Whoa! This is crazy, crazy... Huh?"
Then, I noticed something unusual.
A parasol was set up on the beautiful sunlit beach.
Under the parasol was a white beach chair, and on it lay a woman lounging comfortably.
‘What’s this?’
Why was there someone already here on my private beach?
‘Did I enter the wrong gate?’
As I tilted my head in confusion and glanced around...
"...Hmm?"
An all-too-familiar scent of tobacco tickled my nose.
The woman on the beach chair leisurely rose to her feet.
Wearing a provocative black bikini that contrasted with her snow-white skin.
Her smooth, flawless figure with long, slender legs.
As she pushed up the sunglasses on her face, a scar that ran across her left eye came into view.
"How’s your summer break going, Cadet Dale?"
Professor Elisha smiled brightly when she saw me.
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