Chapter 443 – No One Knew
〔Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!! Water…haa, haa, water…water…haa, a, aaaah, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!〕
At that moment, a heavy silence hung over the entire world.
A world so quiet that not even the sound of human voices could be heard, even in the most developed metropolises… No, it wasn’t quiet. The only sounds coming from anywhere were those flowing through the sky.
People weren’t asleep, they were awake.
Yet, no words were being spoken anywhere in the world—not from anywhere other than “the sky”.
It’s simply because everyone was at a loss for words.
“Ah……”
Some had been getting drunk on snacks, shouting and heckling at the sky to their heart’s content. But now, no one had taken a single drop of alcohol, they stood frozen, still holding their lukewarm glasses.
“H, hey…wh, why….”
The Imperial Knights and others had been mocking him, looking down on him and saying things like, “He should do it this way”.
But now, no one was laughing.
If anything, their faces had turned pale.
“Earth…….”
Even his former classmates……
“Earth…… y, you… why would you go this far…?”
Even Solja, the Emperor of the Empire, could find no words beyond that.
〔Water! Water! Give me water! Water! Water, water, water, water!! Aaaaaaah!!〕
The one frantically begging for water was the son of Solja’s best friend.
Moreover, it wasn’t that he “couldn’t drink water”, but rather that he “chose not to drink water of his own volition”.
He just sweated profusely. He salivated. He runs. He ran. Ran. Ran and ran and ran nonstop, yet made no effort to replenish the fluids lost from his body.
In the end, Earth’s appearance had been completely transformed.
Earth, who had always lived a life of comfort and abundance, never wanting for food, and always enjoying a nutritionally balanced diet, now had sunken cheeks, dark circles under his eyes, a body as dry as a withered plant, and a lifeless look like a terminally ill patient. He was on the verge of a mental breakdown, screaming in madness……
〔Haa, haa… I’ll… keep… running.〕
Yet he kept running.
No one could tell what purpose this training served anymore.
However, one thing everyone understood was that Earth was pushing himself to the “absolute limit”.
〔Eh… the appearance has changed a lot… hmm… what happened? Did you incur divine punishment? Or was it in a curse?〕
〔The appropriate shabbiness for a shameless man. You have no idea how cocky you’re being with Senior José.〕
〔But what? Somehow, I don’t know why, but he was so weak… scum… the lowest guy to get violent with a girl. Not even worth beating up.〕
Even in the midst of it all—even in situations where he was slandered and hurt by José and her entourage of girls, moments that would naturally make anyone’s blood boil with rage……
〔Excuse, me… but, not … in the mood to play…. step aside.〕
Earth didn’t fight back. He just silently carried on with what he had decided to do.
Witnessing this scene, the people of the Imperial City—who had been mocking, looking down on, and ridiculing him—stood there with pale faces, silently staring up at the sky.
And then……
〔Ah… aaahh…… aaaaahh!〕
Eventually, Earth—whose spirit seemed to have reached its absolute limit—collapsed in the middle of the street, his eyes fixated on the water scattered on the ground right beside him, as if trying to lap it up.
Seeing this, everyone thought the same thing.
――I don’t really understand… but just drink it already!
Enough is enough, just drink some water.
It’s painful to watch.
They didn’t know what he was trying to gain by doing this, but it’s been long enough. If he keeps this up, he’ll die.
So, just drink it.
Everyone thought that.
And then, someone who shared that sentiment appeared beside Earth.
〔Please don’t drink the water spilled on the ground. Let’s go back to church at once.〕
〔…… Sa, di..z?〕
〔I’m sorry. I still can’t remember who you were to me …… or what I did to you…. but still, I can’t stand to see you like this anymore.〕
It was Sadiz.
Though Sadiz had lost her memory and forgotten everything about her relationship with Earth, she still couldn’t bear to look at him now, and tears welled up in her eyes.
〔I was worried about you. For days and days… but I didn’t know what you were aiming for, what you were thinking, or why you were doing this… you have already ‘done your best’. That’s what everyone at the church and dojo think. Please don’t suffer any more.〕
And even if she had lost her memory, if those were Sadiz’s words……
Everyone in the Imperial City who knew them thought so.
However,
〔…… Sadiz… enough already…〕
〔Eh?〕
〔So, I’m still fine….〕
It was the opposite.
Earth’s eyes returned to their senses at Sadiz’s words.
However, he refused the water.
It was something no one had expected.
〔Don’t …… tell me what I’m …… trying to …… do when you don’t …… know what I’m …… trying to …… do… No, need to… worry. I’m still… middle of …… working hard.〕
Even though his body was parched dry, his eyes once again held vitality and fighting spirit.
〔Just watch… I’ll show you… who I am.〕
With those words, Earth started running again. Beyond the limits and boundaries.
It was a world far beyond the realm of mere grit and determination—a world completely out of the ordinary.
And ……
〔I… I couldn’t win, but I did my best…I don’t want any consolation! I want to win! I want to show them, those who don’t believe I can win!〕
“””””Ah!!???”””””
The words that Earth shouted made the people of the Imperial City tremble.
“There’s blokes who’ve lived through the worst of the wars an’ use that experience as a bit of a crutch, they do. Sayin’ stuff like, ‘Compared to us lot what survived that ‘ell…’…… You humans are the same, ain’t ya? That’s why the old guard look down on the young ‘uns today — callin’ ’em ‘pathetic’ for not havin’ suffered the same.”
Even Hakuki, who had intended to sit back, sip some wine, and elegantly enjoy the spectacle… even he found himself, before he knew it, gazing up at the sky with a serious expression, his glass untouched.
“But ‘ere’s the thing…… bein’ forced to starve in wartime is one thing. Choosin’ to give it all up when you’ve got the lot right in front of ya? Now that’s a different kettle of fish entirely. Takes a mind of steel, it does. The iron will that don’t bend to temptation…… I still don’t quite get why ‘e’s doin’ this sort of trainin’—it’s proper mental—but that nipper’s dived into ‘ell by himself. To grab onto somethin’ with a clear purpose…… Hehehe, Earth Lagann. What exactly is it you’re reachin’ for?”
Though he tried to burn Earth’s image into his memory and analyze the situation calmly, Hakuki’s words naturally took on a passionate tone.
Before long, it had gone beyond mere passing the time; he was simply unable to stop himself from wondering what would happen next.
Meanwhile……
“Hic, uu, ugh… Earth… you… to this extent… until you became like this… ugh, uu……”
Meanwhile, his mother, Mamu, simply wept and sobbed.
Her child had lost all the moisture in his body, leaving him nothing more than a withered twig. Yet, seeing Earth continue his training, determined to achieve something despite his condition, she couldn’t stop her tears.
“I… I can’t do it… there’s no way I could do something like this!”
Meanwhile, Hiro, too, watched Earth with tears welling in his eyes, though he bit his lip to hold them back.
“I’ve been on the brink of starvation in war too…… I’ve gone through brutal training myself… but, but… to do this… to do this… to run silently, even when someone laughs at you and hurts your pride…… even when someone gently tells you that you’ve done enough… to just run without saying a word… ah… Earth… you….”
And at that moment, Hiro remembered something.
It was when he had been reunited with Earth—a chase involving Jamdi’el as well.
It was the moment he’d managed to shake them off, leaving them unable to catch him.
Hiro and Mamu had been completely outmaneuvered by Earth’s footwork.
――You… until now…… how much…… ever since the Graduation Match… just how much…… have you been running?
Earth hadn’t answered that question back then.
But now he knew the answer.
He had run until he was ready to die.
――How, how was I? I got stronger…. I, I’m much, I got much…
――Idiot!
――Heh!?
――What made you stronger…… if it’s to become stronger, you think anything is okay?
And, for the umpteenth time, he felt nothing but regret for his past remarks.
――So, what’s wrong with me right now? I didn’t cheat, I didn’t have a hand in anything suspicious! I trained and studied, I fought with my own strength! Only to have you have to look at me like that! I hit a wall, and I don’t know for a long time that everyone says the second generation is a lost cause, or that we’re not enough. Even though I finally got here… Why!
Earth must have been running even before the Imperial Tournament.
And yet, they were completely unaware of all that effort……
〔Wh—!!!??? W-what… what the—!〕
“?”
At that moment, Earth, who had been running relentlessly, stopped and tilted his head, as if sensing something strange about his own body.
Both Hiro and Mamu looked up.
Did something happen?
Just as they thought that……
“Wh………… Hmm!!??? Oi, wot’s all this then!”
“”Huh!?””
At that moment, Hakuki let out a loud cry and stood up.
His whole body trembling, clearly shaken, he looked up at the sky.
“It’s… it’s impossible… ‘is body was empty after that Breakthrough… and now the magic’s comin’ back.”
“Huh? …… ah……”
“Huh? Oh, really…… Why?”
At Hakuki’s astonishment, Hiro and Mamu also snapped to attention and realized what was happening.
Up until then, Earth had always used Breakthrough to drain all the magic power from his body to zero before running.
Normally, magic power that has been reduced to zero naturally recovers over time.
However, this is clearly……
“I, it’s true. Why?! Magic power is steadily being absorbed into Earth’s body……”
“No way! B, but, lost magic power shouldn’t recover this quickly…… Huh? But, magic power recovering like that… I’ve seen it before… somewhere.”
It was a phenomenon that even Hiro and Mamu couldn’t comprehend.
Their son, whom they already found hard to understand, was now doing something else they couldn’t fathom.
And then, at that moment……
“It can’t be… he’s trainin’ to learn that…… No, is that even ‘ow it’s done? Wait — why… why does he know ‘ow! This ain’t guesswork! He’s clearly got a goal and absolute confidence… Otherwise, no one in their right mind would throw themselves into trainin’ that grinds their life down to the bone like this…… Earth Lagann…… just who the bloody ‘ell are you!”
Hakuki was in a state of utter turmoil, shouting his questions into the sky.
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Sads Translates 