Chapter 449

Author’s Note 1:

I apologize.

I have corrected some parts of the previous story.

I have to remove the part about seeing the future.

Because the future Sakura sees is inconsistent with the discovery of the light.

I apologize for the inconvenience to the readers.

-Kumanano

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Sakura’s POV: The Light of Hope

One day, I started dreaming about the future.

Dreams come when the night falls.

At first I didn’t think it was the future. I thought it was just a normal dream. But now it’s real. At first I thought it was amazing. And yet, it was scary at the same time as I gained such great power.

Being able to see the future is not only a good thing. Yet sometimes it can also be a bringer of sad tidings.

When I saw first hand how my birthday would be celebrated ahead of it, I felt less happy. Above all, I don’t want to see someone close to me die.

This ability was not all-powerful. It doesn’t show me what I want to see. The precognition comes on its own and shows me things on its own.

Furthermore, the only thing I can see is what I am involved in.

The number of times I see them is few, only a few times a year. So there are times when I don’t even realize it’s just a normal dream, and more often than not, I don’t even notice.

Then, about a month and a half ago, I had a dream. I dreamed that the island of Reenes, in the center of the country, was covered with a black fog, and the fog attacked the city, killing people. In the dream, soldiers were dying to protect me. In the end, it was a dream in which I died without being able to do anything.

When I woke up in the morning, I thought I just had a bad dream.

But I had the same dream three days in a row.

It’s definitely a future event.

The island of Reenes is a place where monsters were sealed away in the past. The black mist may be a hint of monsters escaping.

The sight cannot see everything. It only shows some fragmented parts of the event.

I told His Majesty of the prophecy I had seen, and when he had examined the island of Reenes, we found that part of the seal had been weakened.

We have to do something about it. We must never let that dream become a reality.

Within the island of Reenes, there sealed a certain monster. The monster was said to absorb negative emotions, so it’s basically forbidden for people to enter.

The barriers were designed to reject men and only allow selected women to enter. So, if we wanted to deal with the island of Reeness, only women can fight against the monsters. If the barriers were to be lifted and men were allowed in, the monsters would be completely revived, so the barriers should not be undone.

In addition, it seems that the sealed monsters must be weakened once again before the barriers can be re-erected.

His Majesty the King was trying to gather strong women, but he couldn’t get as many as he wanted. It seemed that they need to be strong and pure women.

Does that mean the other’s minds were dirty?

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The days passed by without finding a way to deal with it. In my dreams, every day, people die in the blackness.

I died a lot. I’ve been afraid to go to sleep since then. But I have to find some way to deal with it. There must be a clue.

And then, I found a small light in the darkness, in the midst of despair. The light was warm and gentle.

I reached out my hand as if to seek the light. But the light was too far away for my tiny hands to reach.

Please. Come closer.

I reached out, but I couldn’t grab it.

Then, I woke up. I didn’t know what that light was, but it was very warm.

I dreamed again the following night. In the darkness, I searched for the light

There it is. It was glowing in the distance. It’s far away, but I can feel its warmth.

It’s definitely a beacon of hope.

The light appears to be from the south.

There’s the city of Jubel over there. No, farther, even further. The ocean?

I screamed at the top of my lungs, “Help!” “Help!” again and again and again so many times.

The light approached and I could see the figure.

The light was in the shape of an animal. It wasn’t a horse, but a larger, more rabid-looking beast. And someone was riding on top of the beast.

Who is this person?

The beast was scary, but I could feel the warmth from the light.

No doubt about it. This light will save me.

Please! Come here!

I know I can’t reach it, but I still tried to.

The beast of light wavered and moved away.

I reached out my hand, but I couldn’t reach the light.

Wait! Please! Don’t go!

I woke up, unable to grasp the light.

As I’m about to tell the king about my dream, I immediately made preparations to welcome the person riding the Beast of Light. But the moment the king heard about the beast’s arrival, he sensed danger, and he lined up the soldiers at the port.

His Majesty the King believed me. But he said he was just being careful because he didn’t know whether the Beast of Light would save the country. I couldn’t argue with those words.

That night, I dreamed of a world where the light of hope disappeared and only darkness surrounded me.

After hearing my story, His Majesty the King gave the order to withdraw the troops.

I don’t know if the soldiers and the light fought. What we do know was that the light disappeared. It was the wrong choice, that’s for sure.

We’re already running out of time.

The warlord went to see him. No good.

The minister went to see him. No good.

In the end, a proposal was made for His Majesty the King to go meet him, but it was still no good.

No matter how we try, the light never gets closer.

Time passed, and the tears in the barrier became wider, and wider.

The light wavers. It does not come within my reach.

How can I make you come closer?

It’s so difficult.

It was already difficult enough in my dreams, but it’s even more difficult in reality.

Some believe in my words, others don’t.

“Is he really the beacon of hope?” “You would let a stranger into Reenes?” “Can he defeat the monsters in Reenes?”

Some of them don’t think it’s a good idea to let anyone we don’t know into the island of Reenes.

“Don’t beasts attack people?” “If he’s riding on the beast, is it dangerous?” “Can we trust the beast that he’s riding on?”

=====

And when the light of hope really appeared, it was decided to confirm the ability of that person. The words that made me feel warm couldn’t reassure them.

Those who have not seen the dreams cannot feel the enveloping warmth of that light.

It’s a light of hope. It’s the light that can save our country. So why?

That’s the kind of thought that would chase the light away.

Wait, don’t go. Please.

Regardless of my feelings, the light keeps going away. There is nothing but despair.

But time is not going to wait. The tears in the barrier are spreading, and it’s only a matter of time before the barrier is lifted. Time is already running out.

I can see that the day when the light of hope is coming is approaching.

The time is running out

Please, don’t interfere.

But in the midst of all this, Shinobu, a woman with great ability, was chosen as the one to meet the light of hope.

The light drew closer.

However, he has to show his ability.

He had to show that he can fight and win against Jubei who was the most skillful in this country.

Jubei was strong. It makes me uneasy. But they said that if he doesn’t show that kind of strength, he won’t be recognized as the beacon of hope.

“It’s okay, don’t worry. I’ll tire out Master, even if only a little. If I do that, he’ll have a better chance of winning.” (Shinobu)

“But you’re going to fight for real, aren’t you?” (Sakura)

Those two will fight for real, won’t they? Just hearing about it makes me scared.

“Otherwise, the light will disappear, right?” (Shinobu)

“Yeah, but…” (Sakura)

I can’t help but to worry.

The light will come closer when Jubei and Shinobu fight for real.

The night I decided to let the light of hope fight Jubei, the light went out.

That’s why they came up with the idea of doing an act where Jubei and Shinobu would fight each other.

It makes me wonder if this was really the right thing to do. Why do we have to go through all of this just to get help?

However, when those two seriously fought, the light didn’t go out, it even got a little closer.

Is this correct? It isn’t wrong, is it?

There was no time left. I had no choice but to watch as things unfold.

Everything depended on Shinobu now.

=====

A few days had passed since Shinobu went to monitor the southern ocean when the message came.

I received a report that a girl dressed as a bear had arrived, riding on top of a bear running on the sea.

The age is between 4 to 13 years old.*

Was she really that small?

I had an image of a strong person riding a beast. A grown woman on top of a big beast with a big sword and the ability to use magic. The report said she was a girl, but I didn’t think she was this small.

Was the light a mistake? Or was it the wrong person? I don’t know.

And the girl on the bear came from the sea. Did the bear really run on the sea? I don’t understand it, Shinobu. Please make your report clear and proper.

I read the rest of the report.

She said the girl from the sea did something to the bear and it disappeared.

Shinobu wrote that the bear was a summoned beast and seemed to be capable of being unsummoned. Summoned beast bear. Is that the true identity of that beast-shaped light?

Also, what I don’t understand was the girl’s outfit. What is a bear’s outfit?

Does that mean she’s wearing a bear’s fur?

It’s a little scary to imagine.

Then it was written that she followed the girl and observed her that day, but could not judge her as a ray of hope in the present situation.

I didn’t have any dreams that night.

I don’t know how it turned out. I’d like to think it was a step in the right direction.

The night after the girl on the bear appeared, a new report arrived.

It seems that the contact was successful. The name of the girl dressed as a bear is Yuna.

And it seems that Shinobu and the girl have decided to take the job of defeating the Kamaitachi together. Apparently, Shinobu is going to watch the girl fight the monsters and see what she can do.

It was written that it would be judged whether she was the beacon of hope.

I woke up in the morning. I didn’t have any dreams today either.

Did I just not see it? Has something changed?

It makes me anxious to see it, but it also makes me anxious not seeing it.

That evening, a new report arrived.

The report excitedly stated that the girl had summoned a black and white bear summoned beasts.

Two bears?

Their names were written as Swaying Bear for the black bear and Hugging Bear for the white bear.

Those are lovely names.

And it said that the girl used wind and earth magic to defeat the Kamaitachi.

Instead of fighting with weapons, she seemed to fight with magic.

And when Shinobu asked the girl to fight Jubei to avenge her parents, she agreed. I’m worried about Shinobu fighting Jubei, but I’m also worried about whether the girl can beat Jubei. If she can’t beat Jubei, then I don’t think she can beat the sealed monster.

I didn’t dream again the next day.

And I was waiting to hear from Shinobu. I’m filled with anxiety. Jubei and Shinobu were going to fight for real. And Jubei is going to fight the girl who seems to be a ray of hope.

I want all of them to come back safely. And I hope that the girl is really the beacon of hope.

A report arrived late at night. It said that the girl had defeated Jubei.

I couldn’t believe it.

The report said that the girl had intervened and prevented Jubei’s three-step thrust directed at Shinobu, and the girl fought against the dual wielding Jubei with two knives.

I thought they were going to have a magical fight.

According to the report, she handled two knives and fought against, or rather, even better than, Jubei in serious mode.

They moved to a larger area to further gauge her magical abilities.

She fought Juubei with magic and got the upper hand.

In the end, he attacked the bear to piss the girl off and gauged the biggest attack she could.

Did he really need to go that far?

It’s true that we need to make her show off her ability. If her competence was half-hearted, there will be those who will criticize her.

I gulped and looked over the next report.

She said that the angry girl then used magic to make a large wall appear and nearly beat Jubei to death.

Did she really beat Jubei?

I had seen him had a sparring match with Shinobu. Jubei was very strong.

Undoubtedly, the girl is the light of hope.

Tears fell from my eyes.

I can’t wait to meet you, Yuna-sama.

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Author’s Note 2:

That’s why when Sakura met Yuna, she cried.

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Translator’s Note:

* ( 年齢は13、4歳という。) Kinda confusing, but it is apparently 4-13 years old.

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