Thanks to Kuina’s Phantom Illusion Matric, Johan is hypnotized.

However, this effect

doesn’t seem like it will last for long, which means I need to quickly find out what I
want to know.

“What is your affiliation!?” Kuina asked.

“Johan! Snap out of it!”

“Vice-captain! You scum!”

“Release us you wretches!” In loud voices, the other knights tried to disturb Kuina.

Kuina tried to question Johan, but the other knights interfered. From their point of
view, they could understand that Johan was being manipulated.

“Shut up.”

“——!”

“——!”

With Fran’s Wind Magic, any sounds from the knights were cut off. No matter how
much their mouths moved, their voices were unable to reach us. With this, we can
comfortably Johan for information.

“I’ll ask you again. Which place are you affiliated with?”

“The Bashar Kingdom.”

“What is the relationship between you and Murellia?”

“Miss Murellia is the benefactor of my country as well as my home.”

“Let me know more about that. Tell me what you know about Murellia.”

Johan then began to tell us about Murellia’s relationship with themselves. It was a
story about Murellia from 500 years before, that was completely different from those
told in the Beastkin Empire.

In that time, 500 years ago, Murellia was steadily accumulating fame whilst acting as
an adventurer. She bore her honor as a member of the royal family, and although she
was prideful, she did not seem to have a twisted character. Rather, she was actually
concerned about the beastkin supremacists and their rejection of humans, which was
the mainstream ideology in the country at the time, and she even desired to regulate
this discriminatory behavior towards humans. However, despite her status as royalty,
Murellia had little actual influence due to being an adventurer. As such, she began to
Party with humans to improve her public image more.

Shortly after, she had a fateful encounter, and, of all things, fell in love with a human in
the same Party (Adventuring Team). Unfortunately, love between the princess of the
beastkin and a human, whom were treated as slaves or worse in the beastkin nation
at the time, could not be tolerated.

Murellia, who refused to give up despite these sentiments, instead decided to change
the very nature of the people around her and her country itself. Retiring as an
adventurer, she returned to the Royal Palace to gain status and voice amongst her
people.

However, due to her human lover, the backlash towards Murellia was severe. She had
become an affront to the pride and honor of the beastkin. A fool who had gone mad
over a mere human. Worse, she opened herself to be exposed to even worse rumors,
such as that she was a prostitute, a fallen princess, or as scum to even humans. To put
it kindly, there was no beastkin around who would take her side.

In the end, Murellia and her lover were separated by the King, as the shame of the
ruling beastkin tribe. That was not all. In order to sever any lingering attachments
Murellia had for the human, the King arranged a female human slave for her lover and
forced them to procreate. In front of Murellia.

It seems that the lover was threatened using Murellia as a shield, and had no choice
but to obey…
To begin with, Murellia was only infuriated with the beastkin who were conducting
unreasonable acts against humans, but after being deprived of her lover, it had become
a profound and terrible hatred. It was to such an extent that one could say nothing in
this world held value to her anymore.

Immediately after this, Murellia made contact with the Evil God. At that time, the royal
family was managing the seal, but Murellia broke it in order to destroy the beastkin
nation. However, because of the many years in captivity, she failed to immediately
resurrect the Evil God. Instead, the Evil God empowered Murellia and ordered her to
gather souls for itself.

It seems that Murellia had the ability to resist Evil Magic, and even with the power of
the Evil God, she did not lose her reason and rampage. Murellia continued to resurrect
the Evil God and take revenge. The first thing she did was to take control of the
beastkin royal family. She did this simply by manipulating them with the power of the
Evil God.

With the political power she gained from this, having obtained the power of the Evil
God and the Black Cat tribe as tools, Murellia began to politically purge any factions
which would discriminate against and oppress humanity. It was a two-bird one-stone
strategy that would both exterminate the beastkin races she despised, and offer up
souls to the Evil God. Unfortunately, that did not mean discrimination against humanity
would disappear from the country. Rather, the resistance to Murellia, who forcibly
pushed for human protection, became even more critical of humans by the day.

At that time, assassins were frequently sent to kill Murellia, as well as her lover, who
many believed to be a fiend that had driven Murellia mad. As such, Murellia kept her
lover, the female slave, and the newborn child born between the two humans close to
her side where she could protect them.

However, as the pressure from assassins increased with each passing day, it came to a
point that Murellia finally resolved to have her lover and his family escape. The
destination was the neighboring Kingdom of Bashar, a country founded by humans.
That being said, they were uncertain if they would be accepted as officials of the
beastkin royal family. For this reason, Murellia gave them confidential information on
the southern nobles’ plan to invade the Bashar Kingdom.

The Bashar Kingdom of that time was not even half the size of what it was currently.
Furthermore, they had to deal with the beastkin nation, which was highly aggressive
towards them. In addition, they had been defeated in the war the previous year, making
preventing another beastkin invasion into their land difficult.

It was to this kingdom that they brought the military intelligence Murellia had given
them. While initially doubtful, they acted on the information nonetheless, and managed
to successfully defend their country. At the same time, one of the other decisive factors
that lead to their victory was Murellia, who lead the Black Cat tribe and attacked the
invading army from behind.

Thanks to this, Murellia believed she could offer up a large number of souls to revive
the Evil God, exterminate the beastkin, and regain her lover at once. However, this was
not the case.

In the end, her lover, the female slave, and the child born between the two, spent the
rest of their lives in the Bashar Kingdom. The lover revived the Magnolia family with
the child born from the female slave as heir, whilst the female slave became a mistress
of that time’s king.

In other words, the prince of the Bashar royal family and the heir of the Magnolia
family became half siblings. The Magnolia family, under the protection of the royal
family, continued to retain its name since, and was now known as a family of warrior
masters.

“What a ridiculous story… I don’t know anything about it.” After hearing Johan’s story,
Mia thought with a troubled expression. Of course, the fact remains that Murellia is a
sinner attempting to revive the Evil God, but this story implies that her character
wasn’t originally broken. Of course, that was only if Johan’s story was true.

“Does Murellia still intend to revive the Evil God?”

“I don’t know.”

“Murellia said she would create a paradise for the Black Cat tribe, but why? From what
I heard from your story, she should have despised the Black Cat tribe…”

“Using the power of the Evil God, it seems she intends to recall the souls of the Black
Cat tribe from 500 years ago and grant them eternal torment. She said that she would
then use their power to destroy the other beastkin tribes.” Johan responds to Mary’s
muttering in an emotionless voice.
Apparently, the story about Murellia was passed on through the Magnolia family and
the Bashar royal family. Therefore, he accompanied Murellia in order to repay his
ancestor’s debt towards her. In addition, the king decided to ally with Lynford and
Murellia as well. All this makes the likelihood of the story being true high indeed.

Not only that, but the invasion of the beast nation is, in fact, more meaningful to Bashar
than territorial acquisition.

In recent years, a large gap has formed between the beastkin’s military power and
other countries, making even light skirmishes impossible. As a result, many
misunderstand and think ‘peace is coming’, but the truth is the opposite. Within the
country, underground beastkin discrimination groups were forming, with many among
their number being nobles.

As a result, the number of young people instigating hate against the beastkin from the
shadows were increasing, and the movement to reject the beastkin was quietly
spreading in the country. At this rate, it was possible that civil wars or riots might
erupt. However, if a war was started with the beastkin country for the sake of letting
out their stress, there was the fear that they might be destroyed as well. Although the
current beastkin king is moderate, Bashar’s leaders were fundamentally unable to
trust in the beastkin.

That being said, what if they accepted Lynford’s invitation? With their combined
power, it might even be possible to win the war and achieve their long cherished wish
of colonizing the country of the beastkin. Even if they lose, they could still send the
extremists belonging to the radical underground organizations to be disposed of. They
could also make the excuse that the beastkin Murellia had used the power of the Evil
God to manipulate them as well. Even if they were forced to make reparations, their
nation would not be destroyed. And, of all things, the one to propose this was none
other than Murellia herself.

“If we put all the responsibility on ourselves, the beastkin nation shouldn’t be able to
bring all their strength to bear, is what we were thinking.”

“Is that the benefit of having saved the country twice…?”

“That is correct.”

The knights present here are among the members of the Magnolia family who are
particularly patriotic, and who also seem to have great obligation and adoration for
Murellia. Their nation had given them the role of a watchdog, but in reality, they were
more like Murellia’s escort instead.

“Even if we are wicked, we shall not forget our debt to her.”

Still, this is pretty troublesome. I don’t really care if the other person has stuff like
justice or circumstances. To begin with, everyone has their own form of justice. Even
the enemies we’ve cut down so far all had their own reasons to fight our justice. It was
just incompatible with our’s. If there’s someone worrying about things like that at this
point, they shouldn’t have started fighting in the first place.

I don’t really know how true the story just now is anyways. In the end, it’s no wonder
that the story of the Bashar kingdom, which favors Murellia, is different from the
beastkin nation. Both stories should be taken with a grain of salt. Though, I do think
it’s more likely that the Bashar kingdom, where the information remained intact, has
the more accurate story.

What I found to be the most awkward part of it all was Murellia’s motives. This is just
what I think from my previous live’s experience, but there’s nothing more terrifying
than the grudge of a woman’s love. What’s this 30 year old virgin saying, you might
ask. Yeah, I personally don’t have much romantic experience, but I’ve seen it enough
at work and at school.

A girl who lynches a friend just because the boy she was in love with likes said friend.
Or, a certain senior female employee who saw their love interest show kindness to a
new employee, and, believing herself betrayed, curses them out of misplaced
resentment and attempts to commit suicide in front of their eyes. Or, a colleague who
began stalking the person their boyfriend was having an affair with, and murdered
their pet cat. Truly terrifying. And they all have in common that, even after doing so
many illogical things, they’re still smiling and going about business as usual.

Just like them, Murellia also looks calm on the surface. However, she’s someone who
no one can understand what destructive actions she might take. Ordinary women
might swing their kitchen knives around, but what if it were Murellia? She’s someone
who might cause dungeons to spiral out of control or even revive the Evil God.

To make it worse, those with emotions such as delusions and grudges don’t know how
to give up, even to the very end. Fueled by negative emotions, they can continue on
without end. And now, she’s the Evil God’s Miko (Shrine Maiden). I have no idea just
how twisted and insane her spirit might have become… In that respect, Murellia is
really troublesome.
After hearing the story about Murellia’s past, we continued to interrogate Johan.

“To where did Murellia disappear?”

“The Dungeon Master called her back to the Dungeon.”

“I see. Then—”

Over the course of the subsequent interrogation, one of the most important questions
we asked were the location of the Dungeon and its strength. Originally, it was a dungeon
with an entrance to the Bashar Kingdom side of the Border Mountains, however, an
entrance was also created on the side of the Beastkin country. As this latter exit was
meant for the army of Evil Beings and demonic beasts, it seems it is quite large.

The entrance is cave-shaped, but the interior is practically a fortress. Fortunately,

Johan says there are few traps set. The Dungeon Master is a male ex-human, but he
seems to be an exceedingly vile small fry type character. His personal fighting power
is nothing to be worried about though. As for the strength of the dungeon itself, Johan
didn’t know very much. However, it seems that a considerable number of monsters
still remain.

“The dungeon, is it…? I can barely wait.” Kiara muttered on the side with an excited
expression.

“Lady Kiara, your body isn’t fully recovered. Please don’t strain yourself.” Mianoa
scolded Kiara, who had only just recovered enough to walk.

“Yet Murellia may not be allowed to go free, no? Neither am I able to call in
reinforcements. We have no choice but to go.”

“That may be so, however…” Neither Kiara nor Mia sound confident. With a worried
look, I can’t help but agree.
“What, she is the sub-master of the Dungeon, is she not? If need be, we can split into
groups to destroy the labyrinth.” Kiara said.

“I do not think it will be so simple.” Mia.

“Even so, it must be done. An old woman of my station, over the fate of the Beastkin
Empire? To compare the two would be impudence.” Kiara.

“…I will accept Teacher’s resolve.” Guendalfa.

“I just wanted a reason to fight, don’t worry yourself.” Kiara.

Kiara laughed mischievously, but Mia remained solemn. Despite Kiara’s attitude, Mia
probably knows that Kiara’s words were completely serious. The only one with a faint
expression is Guendalfa.

“What’s wrong? Don’t make such pathetic faces.” Kiara scowled, noticing his face.

“No, Teacher, if you heard that story, then—” Guendalfa.

“Are you feeling sympathetic? How foolish.” Kiara cut off Guendalfa.

“Don’t let yourself worry about the genuineness of such stories. Besides, if you call
yourself a warrior, then be more thankful.” Kiara.

“Wh-, what do you mean?” Guendalfa.

“Your opponent is a legendary figure, you know? If you’re going to fight anyways, then
it might as well be a worthy fight.” Kiara.

“The only one that thinks that way is you, Teacher.” Guendalfa remarked, stunned. In
this case, he’s in the minority, as almost everyone here are battle maniacs.

“Mia and Fran think so too, right?” Kiara.

“It’s more fun to challenge strong opponents than to bully weaklings.” Mia agreed.

“Nn.” Fran nodded as well.

Battle maniacs are simple. But I agree as well. Anyways, Murellia is clearly Fran’s
enemy. In that case, we should just defeat her. Guendalfa, who is naive and young,
seems to find it the hardest to swallow; although, Quina and Mianoa also look like they
agree with Kiara.

“Don’t be so naive. Thanks to them, the Beastkin Empire is in an unprecedented crisis,

isn’t it?” Kiara.

“…Yes.” Guendalfa still looked uncomfortable, but this is something he has to overcome
himself. Though it might be okay to leave it be.

“Well then, next I will have you tell me about the aim of the Bashar Kingdom.” Mia
turned to Johan. As it turned out, Murellia and the Bashar Kingdom have some
connection with each other. I don’t know how much of it is based on truth or not, but
it’s there. However, does that make it alright to work with the wicked? Even a 500 year
old debt should be nothing compared to politics.

“What is the king of Bashar thinking, joining hands with such evil? Although it is aimed
at clearing domestic resentment towards the Beastkin Empire, I can’t believe a sane
man would do this. Is there perhaps some other reason for this?”

“His Majesty the King said he was acting upon the debt of 500 years ago.”

“Do you believe that?”

“Naturally.”

“…There’s no way a king would endanger his country for the sake of some obligation.
He must be plotting something else!”

“You animals may be that way, but this is to be expected of my people in Bashar.”

Do they think nothing wrong of this king who joined forces with evil? It sometimes
makes me think that these people are willing to throw their lives away to protect
Murellia, so it’s kind of scary. I get the feeling that their loyalty to her is way too
extreme, or maybe too blind or something.

Not all of the Bashar Kingdom’s knights are like this, right? In the first place, do the
other knights know they’re working with Evil Beings? When we asked this, we found
that only those of the highest authority were permitted this knowledge, much less
have the chance to meet Murellia. Just as I thought, they wouldn’t let just anyone know
about this matter… There isn’t any evidence anyways, so even if it’s leaked, no one
would believe it.

Later, the hypnosis technique applied to Johan eventually faded and no further
information could be acquired. Mia and the others looked like they wanted a little
more information, but it can’t be helped.

“Shall we chase after Murellia now?”

“Yes. However, we only heard the rough location of the Dungeon. How will we get
there? Not everyone can ride the Linde…” Mia put her finger on her chin and muttered
in thought.

Certainly, it would take too long on foot to reach the Border Mountains. Kiara and Mia
have recovered and should be able to run on their own, but that would also leave them
exhausted again. Ideally, we would take a carriage, but unfortunately, we don’t have
something like that lying around at the moment.

“Fufu. I thought something like this might happen, so I brought this just in case.” Seeing
Kiara and Mia looking troubled, Quina reached into her skirt with her hand.

“Don’t act cool in a situation like this.” Mia.

Ignoring Mia’s retort, Quina took out a canopied carriage with a flip of her skirt. It even
had a horse made of stone attached to it…

“It’s a six-seater golem carriage.” Quina.

“Senpai is amazing. To say that line in a situation like this!”

“That is because I am a maid.” Quina.

I understand Quina’s expression now. It’s a perfect doyagao isn’t it? Guendalfa and the
other adventurers looked at Quina with shocked faces.

Though, it’s apparently nothing special for Mia and Kiara. They’re already getting into
the carriage…

(Aren’t you surprised too, Fran?) I asked her.

(It’s the same as Dimensional Storage that’s why.) Fran responded telepathically.

(Well, yeah, but…) I trailed off. The collapse of common sense is inevitable, it seems…

“That being said, not everyone can ride. Master Kiara should—”

“I am definitely going.” Kiara.

“I already know. Will Quina, Mianoa, and Fran go as well, or shall we ask others to
escort the knights?”

The captured knights can’t be left alone after all, and there’s surely more information
we can get from them too. It seems that Mia intends to leave the escort of the knights
in the adventurers hands. I also agree with Mia. Even if there’s more people than
Murellia, if they can’t resist her, they will only end up being manipulated. A small but
elite force would be better instead. As for Guendalfa, bringing him along or not is a
difficult choice to make, but a person struggling with hesitation will only be a burden.

“Please wait! I will go too.” After we told him that, Guendalfa hurriedly replied.

“…You want to go?” Kiara.

“Of course!” Guendalfa.

“If it looks like you will become a burden, we will leave you behind though?” Kiara
asked him in a warning tone.

“Naturally.” Guendalfa nodded solemnly.

“Understood. Very well, then.” Kiara

“Teacher, is that alright?” Mia asked Kiara. At any rate, even if he wants to go,
Guendalfa’s fighting ability isn’t anything special.

Kiara shrugged her shoulders and sighed. “Persuading you otherwise would take too
much time. In that case, you would be more useful coming along with us in place of a
shield.”

“Then please use me as a shield, or whichever way you like.” Guendalfa.

“You damn idiot! Who would use a beanstalk like you as a shield!?” Kiara.

“No, wasn’t it Master who just said so…?”

“That was a figure of speech! Can you wipe your own ass, or not? Get it?”

“Yes!”

Anyways… the ones headed into the Dungeon are Fran, Mia, Quina, Kiara, Mianoa, and
Guendalfa. Also, Urushi, Lind, and I are going in as hidden members. This team would
be reassuring normally, but the opponents this time are Murellia and the Dungeon. I
can’t let my guard down.
The golem carriage headed north towards the Border Mountains. It was shaking more
than I thought it would, considering it’s a golem made of stone, but in hindsight it’s
obvious. It’s running out on the unpaved wilderness without any suspension. The
carriage shaking is inevitable.

Still, it doesn’t seem to be affecting the common sense here. Guendalfa is looking at
the carriage with an impressed face. This is a carriage reserved for the royal family,
after all. Apparently, it is also equipped with a magic tool devised to release the
vibrations. It’s still vibrating a lot, though.

In retrospect, the carriage I rode earlier might have shook this much while running
along the highway. This carriage must be amazing after all.

(Fran, you alright?) I asked her telepathically.

“Nn… I’m, fine…” She said, not looking ‘fine’ at all. Her eyes were blinking blearily, and
her head was shaking back and forth. Come to think of it, we’ve been in battle since
last night. She hasn’t had a wink of sleep.

It seems that the vibration of the golem carriage induces sleepiness. The vibrations
aren’t periodic though. However, the feeling that your body is constantly swaying
might be making her drowsy.

The usual Fran is the type that sticks closely to a regular sleeping schedule. Or rather,
she sleeps a lot more than normal people do. Staying up all night like this must be
difficult for her. She should definitely be exhausted. Fran struggled with drowsiness
while rubbing her eyes incessantly.

(You don’t have to push yourself. Just go to sleep.)

“Nn…”

I would prefer it if she just went to sleep, but Fran stubbornly continued to fight off
drowsiness.

(What is it?)

“Kiara… talk…” Fran did her best, even though she was so sleepy her speech was broken.
Apparently, she wanted to talk with Kiara in the carriage.

“Fran, we can talk later. For now, just sleep.”

“Mmh… but…”

“Allowing one’s body to rest is also one of the jobs of a warrior.”

“Al… right…” Fran collapsed asleep.

At Kiara’s admonishment, Fran nodded and collapsed into the world of sleep.

“Hm, she fell asleep.”

“Th-, that was fast.” Guendalfa remarked in surprise. Guendalfa seems like a sensitive
person after all, so he probably has trouble sleeping. I understand him well, because I
was the same when I lived on Earth.

“Even though she possesses such fighting power, she has a surprisingly innocent
sleeping face.”

“Well, she certainly is strong, but she is still a child.”

Fran breathed deeply in her sleep, with her head resting on Kiara’s lap. Kiara gently
stroked Fran’s head, causing a happy smile to float to her face.

“Mu!” Out of nowhere, Kiara suddenly groaned.

“Is something the matter, Master?”

Mia and the others, thinking something had happened, looked to Kiara who had
suddenly raised her voice. However, Kiara’s expression was rather calm.

“No, it was just Fran’s drool.”

“Please don’t surprise me because of that.”

“Kukuku. It’s just been decades since a kid drooled on me.” Kiara smiled from the
bottom of her heart.

“You don’t have to be afraid to ask Master Kiara for a lap pillow.”

“I would be happy to do so as many times as you want, you know?”

“…No, I shall refrain.”

Kiara sighed, and said, “Very well. More importantly, the rest of you should rest as well.
I can keep watch.”

“Master Kiara, that would leave you tired as well, wouldn’t it?”

“At my age, the time I sleep is too short to be a problem.”

“That’s unrelated to this. There’s no need to worry. Quina is of a species that requires
little rest to function, so a lookout is unnecessary with her as the driver.”

Apparently, Baku sleep less than normal people. They aren’t just about putting others
to sleep, it seems. Still, I’m not sure if she will be alright with all this accumulated
mental exhaustion. I should help here as well. Moving closer to Quina, I opened up a
Telepathic Communication channel to her.

(Hey Quina, I can create a humanoid Clone. Do you want me to be the coachman? Even
if you don’t need to sleep, you must be tired, right?)

(Ah, Shishou… was it? I’ll be alright. If I take a nap later, there won’t be a problem. Also,
any fatigue can be taken care of with a Potion.)

(Even so, how do you deal with the mental exhaustion?)

(To begin with, I am half asleep, and half awake. Even in the driver’s seat, I can rest
sufficiently, and the golem carriage only needs occasional instructions, so it doesn’t
take much effort.)

(I see. Still, I will be on guard as well.)

(Thank you very much.)

I’m glad I was finally able to tell Kiara and the others that I am an Intelligent Weapon,
but it’s something I should only talk about after consulting with Fran. Though, I think
Fran would easily share it if asked.

“Rest is also a warrior’s duty, is it not?”

“Hm. That is what Mia said. Still, to be advised by that sleepyhead who always pissed
herself…”

“Wha-… Why are you bringing that up all of a sudden!?”

“Kukuku…” Kiara chuckled. “It’s true, isn’t it? Right, Quina?”

“Yes. I didn’t want her to be upset, so I planned to change the bedding in secret, but in
the end, it was discovered by Her Majesty. I remember it well.”

“Stop!”

“Milady, Fran will wake up if you speak so loudly, you know?”

“Ugh…”

After that, everyone except Quina went to sleep. They had fought all throughout the
night, talking about one thing or another, so they were tired out. I was keeping guard
while recovering my physical strength using my recovery magic.
Four hours after leaving for the dungeon. The golem carriage, traveling north, was
approaching the Border Mountains much faster than I thought it would. Although its
travel speed is slow, it can run tirelessly on any terrain, without the need for breaks.

“It’s, giant!”

About one hour ago, Fran woke up from a deep sleep, and, peeking her head out of the
carriage hood, looked up at the approaching Border Mountains and shouted. I would
have liked her to sleep longer, but it seems she was unable to because of all the
excitement. Still, it seems she’s fully recovered from her fatigue, so the rest was worth
it.

(It really is huge, isn’t it… I can’t even see the top with all those clouds.)

It might even be taller than Everest. Though, I can’t get a good grasp of the size from
this distance, so I don’t know the exact altitude.

The height of the mountains along the mountain range was striking.

Moreover, unlike normal mountain ranges, there are almost no plains at its base. From
a distance, it just looks like a giant vertical wall. It was almost like it was a waterfall of
stone, flowing through the clouds from the sky and pouring down to the ground.

Looking closer, one can see that the slope is just extremely steep. Still, it certainly
looked more like a cliff than a normal mountain.

“We will be arriving at our destination soon. Kiara-shishou, how are you doing?”

“I am alright now. I drank the potion. All things considered, we arrived faster than I
thought.”

“Nn. In the blink of an eye.”

“It’s because those two spent the entire time talking, isn’t it?”

Just as Mia says, Kiara and Fran have been talking since she woke up. Though, it wasn’t
a conversation between an elder and a child, or about fighting or how to use Senka
Jinrai. Instead, it was a brutal conversation in which Kiara talked about Magic Beasts
and warriors she had defeated in the past, and how to use intimidation to efficiently
break the opponents spirit. I was foolish, expecting a warm-hearted conversation
between a grandmother and grandchild from these two.

Still, it turned out to be an intense conversation. Senka Jinrai really does have a further
level to it, just as expected. Just as Fran instinctually grasps the Black Lightningstrike,
Kiara can use the Rolling Black Lightning freely. The reason Fran can’t use it, is that
Fran lacks sufficient combat experience, it seems. Even when I tried to show her using
myself as an example, it didn’t work.

“Difficult.”

“It’s nothing to worry about. At your age, you’ve already achieved it. If you don’t
neglect your practice, you will be able to use it before you know it.”

“Nn. I’ll do my best.”

The topic is brutal, but Fran seems to be having fun. It seems conversation between
family really is special.

“Ojou-sama.” Quina, who was in the driver’s seat, called out to Mia. It sounded like her
normal voice to me, but it seemed that the tension in her voice was properly picked
up by Mia.

“What is it? Did something happen?” While immediately preparing herself for battle,
Mia asked a question of Mia in return.

“There is an abnormal situation.”

Hearing that, Mia and Fran poked their heads into the driver’s side of the carriage.

“That…”

“Wha… What happened…?”

Quina is pointing in shock, and for good reason. Ahead of the carriage, a large number
of magic beast remains littered the ground. That was several hundreds of magical
beasts, atrociously rendered into corpses, and scattered across the land.

“Magic beasts from a dungeon? But, the way they were defeated…”

“Yes, it’s abnormal.”

As Quina said, the magical beasts were abnormally killed. Every last one of them was
squashed flat, as if crushed from above.

Weak small fry, visibly powerful dragon-like creatures, and evil beings were all similarly
pressed into the ground and crushed. Furthermore, it was over a vast area. Looking
over the wilderness, everywhere else seems to be in a similar condition.

We disembarked from the carriage and began investigating the area. It wasn’t just the
monster corpses that were unusual.

“The ground is too flat.”

“Nn.”

As Mia said, the entire area was flat, as if the ground were flattened by a road roller.
No, this would be overwhelmingly flatter than a highway. It would be shameful to even
compare.

Examining the surroundings, I was able to spot the flat parts and the border where it
meets the usual wilderness. It looked exactly like a boundary. The normal wilderness
past the boundary suddenly stopped, and became a step more than one meter deep.

How should I put this…? If a giant iron box 100 meters in length and width were pressed
against the ground with enormous force, something like this might be the result.

Furthermore, as I walked around, I saw many similar steps. Apparently, the creator of
this spectacle performed the compression of the iron box many times. At each time,
depending on the number and quality of the magical beasts to be crushed, the degree
of power may have been changed slightly. Because of that, the areas where the steps
overlap each other look like stairs.

Thinking there might be some materials or magic stones I could use, I started searching
seriously, but there was nothing decent enough left. Everything was crushed so flat
they couldn’t be used, and the magic stones were shattered altogether.

Slowly lifting a large dead body, I examined it closely and found it was a lizard monster.
It was almost like a cracker. Most of its adamant scales were shattered, and the
remaining scales were cracked through.

When Fran knocked on the ground as a test, she found that it was compacted and as
hard as rock. Even Fran or myself could do something similar, if it was over a much
smaller area. However, just how much power would be needed to compress such a
wide area at once?

“Just who… could have done this…?”

“You don’t know either, Mia?”

“Mm. I cannot think of any common technique which could do this. Quina, do you have
any idea what did this?”

“I’m afraid not.”

“Kiara-shishou! Would you know what happened here?”

“Yes.”

Neither Mia nor Quina seem to know, but Kiara seems to have an idea. As expected of
one who has lived so long. Mia is surprised as well.

“Eh? You know what could do this?”

“Yes, there’s just one person I can think of.”

“Eh? You know what could do this?”

“Yes, there’s just one thing I can think of.”

While looking around at the disaster to the surroundings, Kiara opened her mouth
and spoke seriously.

“The Rank S adventurer known for friendly fire, Asura.”

“Friendly fire? Are you sure about that!?”

“I am not. However, I cannot think of any others who could do this.”

Mia is shocked. They seem to be rather famous. No, that’s to be expected if they are S-
Rank adventurers. Anyways, why are they fighting each other? They have a rather
dangerous name attached to themselves as well.

“Who? Friendly fire?”

“S-Rank adventurers. You don’t know of them? The Asura of friendly fire.”

“Nn. Why the strange title?”

Fran tilted her head in confusion, leading Mia and Quina to explain to her.

“It’s an old story, but I heard that when they participated in wars on other continents,
they would attack their allies along with their enemies.”

“The enemy was exterminated, and it seems the allies also suffered enormous damage.”

“That’s not all. I have a number of similar stories as well.”

“The reason he still hasn’t been punished is because he’s overwhelmingly strong, and
is constantly making more money than he can waste.”

“There are many rumors mixed in with the facts, so I don’t know how much is true.”

Even if those stories are only half true, it still paints a bad picture. After all, regardless
of whether you’re an ally or an enemy, one has to be careful just being closeby.

“Well, it’s not that he’s a bad person.”

“Kiara-shishou has met this Asura?”

“Ah, a couple of times. It’s just, though I say he’s not a bad person, he’s the type that
loses sight of everything around him when he ramps up. That’s why he is always
wandering alone. If we encounter the Asura and I tell you to run away, you absolutely
must run. Absolutely.”

Kiara warns Fran and the others with a scary expression on her face. From what Kiara
says so far, this sounds like a seriously dangerous guy.

However, even if we stay cautious, if we don’t understand this person’s ability, we

won’t know what to be cautious about.

“What ability does he have?”

“Oh, that’s right. You didn’t know. Since he’s so famous, I just assumed that you knew.”
Mia said, scratching her head.

Is he that famous? Just what is it?

“He’s a Godblade wielder. Asura-dono is known to be the owner of the Earth Sword
Gaia.”

Of all things, he turned out to be the owner of a Godblade! And it is the Earth Sword
Gaia, as well… I sort of understand just what caused this disastrous scene to happen
now.

Earth magic possesses techniques to manipulate gravity. I have become able to use
several of those techniques myself, thanks to raising my level in Earth Magic to master
[Great Wall].
In addition, there’s also a technique to drop rocks. A Godblade that bears the name of
the Earth Sword is highly likely to be able to use those abilities. I don’t know if it’s just
gravity or being able to use rocks as well, but it’s possible that these abilities could be
used to crush a large area all at once.

“I’ve seen him create the exact same scene as this before. Through some unknown
means, he created beautiful cubic boulders and used them to crush some bandits once.
When I heard the screams of those being crushed, as to be expected, even I felt chills.”

Apparently my prediction was correct. Still, for a guy able to spread this much
destruction in battle, becoming unable to see his surroundings over the heat of battle?
That’s already at the level of a disaster.

“The user of the Earth Sword Gaia, friendly fire Asura. Memorized.”

“I don’t know if he will be up ahead or not.”

Well, certainly. I don’t know if he is heading to the dungeon. I was thinking about
things like that, but——.

10 minutes later.

“He’s definitely heading North, isn’t he?”

“Nn.”

After continuing onwards for some time, we came across exactly the same scene as
before. The only difference, if any, is the difference in the strength of the magical
beasts. This time, there were no small fry included in the dead monsters. Only mid-
level and high-level monsters had been crushed and died. it

No, there was one other difference. This time, some kind of giant rock wall had been
created around the flattened area. The wall was 15 meters tall and 5 meters thick, but
when we looked closer, we found that instead of being one solid rock, it was made of
two rocks that were stuck together. Furthermore, there was a dark red liquid flowing
out from between the two rocks.

It seems that between the two rocks, there was a magical beast that had become
trapped there and died. Probably, like being stuck between a pair of shears, it was
sandwiched between the two rock walls. There were also eight rock objects standing
by quietly, sandwiching the dead monster.

“…This is definitely him. I have seen the Asura fire off this same attack before.”

It seems there’s no mistake that these monsters were exterminated by the Asura. Does
that mean the Asura and the Dungeon are fighting each other? If this many monsters
had appeared in this place, then they’d definitely be related to that Dungeon.

“Could the reason Murellia was called back be this?”

“I see, there is that possibility. Ojou-sama, how unusually clear sighted.”

“You didn’t need to add ‘unusually’! More importantly, we need to hurry to the Dungeon.
If we are fast enough, we might be able to expect Asura-dono’s assistance.”

Are we going to get the Friendly Fire’s help? If possible, I don’t really want to get involved
with that person… But if he doesn’t have blood rushing to his head, he isn’t likely to
attack without warning.

“However, from the rumors I heard about Asura, I don’t believe he will just quietly
agree to help.”

“We just need to hire him! In the case of emergencies, we have no choice but to do
whatever is necessary, even seduction.”

“…Seduction?”

“Wha-, what’s with those looks!? The Asura might be a pervert that likes flat chested
girls!”

“I suppose so.”

“Don’t look at me like that!”

It seems Asura is known to be free spirited, and won’t obey others if he doesn’t like
them, regardless of whoever that person might be. In fact, he’s even picked fights with
entire countries. On the other hand, if he likes you, he will accept even dangerous
requests easily. The only thing is, he seems to charge a very expensive commision. And
in advance.
“I cannot pay the request fee, you know.”

“Take out that money you’re hiding away. I know that you’re storing it with your maid.”

“This is saved in case of an emergency you know? I can’t use it in a place like this.”

“This is an emergency, fool!”

The longer I listen, the more uneasy I feel.

“At any rate, let us hurry to the dungeon.”

“Right.”
The golem carriage continued to move North, past the abandoned monster corpses
left behind by the Asura. Along the way, we encountered three more magic beast
massacres. However, the situation in these massacres was different from the previous
ones.

“This place looks terrible as well.”

Mia muttered, and no wonder. The whole area was a sea of blood. The earth is covered
in dark red blood, and the stench fills the battlefield. For the beastkin who possesses
good senses of smell, this must be terrible. Along with Mia, Fran and Guendalfa were
also frowning.

Here the appearance of the corpses is different from before. Rather than being crushed
by a mysterious power like earlier, these magic beasts were clearly slaughtered by
something sharp; this likely scattered large amounts of the evil beings’ blood around,
polluting the surrounding area.

“Asura?” Fran.

“I’m not sure. The Godblade Gaia he wields certainly is shaped like a greatsword,
however… I don’t think he would go through the trouble of killing like this.” Kiara.

Kiara tilted her head in thought at Fran’s murmur. The Earth Sword Gaia seems to be
a greatsword. However, why change fighting styles all of a sudden? It’s possible he
wanted to move his body, see blood, or some other reason to suddenly fight directly.

More realistically, it’s possible something besides the Asura slaughtered the evil beings.
Well, that just leaves us the question of what other things could imitate the Asura like
this.

“I think weapons were used here…”

“If it was a magic beast, they might be able to do this with their claws instead of
weapons.”

“Ah, that’s right. Also, look at this corpse. I can’t see a human doing this.”

In addition to the butchered corpses, there were beheaded corpses and corpses which
looked like something forcibly tore them apart from crotch to chest.

The way they were defeated really is different from the magic beasts thought to have
been killed by the Asura, just as I thought.

“These aren’t mere small fry.”

“Nn. There’s a Goblin General. That’s a Goblin Sorcerer.”

Apparently, whether it was a human or beast, whatever created this terrible scene
wasn’t interested in anything after killing. As such, valuable materials were left
untouched without being dismantled and harvested or eaten.

Not just that, the magic stones were also left behind. I had Fran pick up the Goblin
General’s magic stone, and then secretly absorbed it. Though, I was only able to obtain
one point from it.

(Why is this…?)

Although it’s a Goblin, if it’s a high ranking species like this Goblin General, I should be
able to absorb a magic stone value of at least three to ten points…

(Fran, could you get some others?)

“Nn.”

Fran then picked up the magic stones which looked like ones which would have
reasonably high magic stone values, such as those from the Orc Mages and Goblin
Sorcerers. I then obscured Fran’s body, pretending to be a Dimensional Storage, and
absorbed the magic stones. However, the magic stone values were still just one point
each.

(Strange.)

(What’s wrong?)
(I absorbed too few magic stone points from the magic stones.)

(Like the time with the Valkyrie?)

That’s right. It’s the same as that time with the Valkyrie, where the Evil God’s Stone
Spear went out of control. Is the power of the Evil God involved here, after all?

Or, the Evil God’s Stone Spear could have eaten their soul. If the power of the Valkyrie’s
magic stone was weakened by that, it’s possible that evil beings can eat souls as well.

(Fran, don’t let your guard down.) Shisho.

“Nn.” Fran.

I searched the surroundings, however, I was unable to find anything suspicious.

Whatever did this must have moved from this area already.

“Everyone, proceed carefully from here on. There’s no telling what might be lurking.”
Mia.

“Indeed.” Kiara.

It seems Mia and Kiara have also determined that the perpetrator of this slaughter
was not Asura. While scanning the surroundings with frowns, we started the golem
carr again.

The opinion that we should have Quina scout came up, but we don’t know what might
be lurking. We decided to travel with the carriage concealment function turned on
from here on out.

I remained on guard for a while, but we haven’t yet been attacked. Much less the
perpetrator of the slaughter, we haven’t even been attacked by normal magic beasts.

Did the dungeon monsters run away last night after detecting a strong being like Asura
fighting? At any rate, it was fortunate for us to avoid exhausting ourselves.

“Everyone, over there.” Quina.

Quina stopped the carriage again, and called to us from the driver’s seat.
“Mn? Did you find something?”

“That, isn’t that the large boulder landmark that we heard about from the prisoner?”

Quina pointed at a strange rock that seemed to pierce the heavens. It was a pointed
boulder that looked like a twisted dragon horn.

“In other words, that means that there must be a cave leading to the dungeon up
ahead.”

“Yes. I believe it is beyond that forest.”

Certainly, it looks just like the landmark to find the entrance to the dungeon that we
heard from Johan. According to Johan’s information, there should be a dungeon
beyond the forest at the end of the rock.

“Let’s walk from here on.” Quina.

“Right. Kiara-shishou, could you please lead?” Guendalfa.

“Leave it to me.” Kiara.

“Quina will be the rearguard.”

“Understood.”

It makes sense to have the two experienced and battle tested people at the front and
back. It’s a good decision.

We walked through the forest sprawling at the foot of the Border Mountains while
erasing our tracks. We advanced without becoming lost. Although there is no road, the
path left by traces of many traveling monsters kept us on track. By following it, we
could advance without hesitation.

However, by this point, I should have been able to sense the magic energy from the
Dungeon, but there was no sign of it.

It seems to differ depending on the dungeon, but if the dungeon master is intelligent,
it seems that it is more common to hide the magic energy. It seems that dungeons have
various facilities and functions, and there are ways to prevent magic power from
leaking out. Whether to conceal the dungeon or not depends on the purpose of the
dungeon master, but this time it is definitely the purpose of hiding.

After a while, Kiara suddenly stopped and hid in the nearby bushes. As expected, Fran
and the others followed suit.

“Kiara-shishou, could this be…?”

“Yeah, we found it.”

”Master Kiara, could it be that…?”

”Oh, I see it.”

When we reached the foot of the mountain range through tall, but thin trees forming
a dense forest, peculiar to the area around the Boundary Mountain Range and
unsuitable for lumber, it emerged suddenly out in the open.

A large number of corpses of evildoers are scattered in front of us. And beyond that as
well. A huge cave with a gaping mouth could be seen on the surface of the Boundary
Mountain Range.

“I don’t feel any magic around here.”

”Mmn.”

It’s a pretty huge cave. The entrance alone is more than 15 meters high. It must be
more than 40 meters in width. If it was near the entrance, a small village would have
been able to create it.

Sometimes, with the caves like this one you have to go down the cliff to the entrance
just to get in, but here is a gentle slope, I was able to approach it on foot. If it were
Earth, it would make a great setting for a little exploration special.

We crept closer to the entrance to the cave. Huge mossy boulders stand near the
entrance and huge stalactites hang from the ceiling in a row.

At first glance, it looks like a natural cave, but the placement of the rocks and such
seemed a bit awkward. Obviously, there is a route that would be the way to go.

There are signs of quite a large army coming and going. In addition, there are some
rather large footprints of magical beasts.
Kiara snorted and lightly touched the ground in front of the cave. At first glance, it
looks a bit trampled, but when you’re at Kiara’s level, you’ll be able to tell what kind
of people have passed through, and how many.

”I’m sure this is the entrance to the dungeon.”

”I see. Let’s go in quickly then.”

”Oh. They said there were no traps or anything like that, but watch out for them.”

”Yes.”

And so, with Kiara at the front of the pack again, we carefully steered our way through
the cave.

”Mmm, that’s…”

”It’s a light…”

”It smells like blood.”

Kiara stopped, and Mea and Fran each responded. Indeed, the end of the cave had been
altered. The limestone cave breaks off and suddenly turns into a stone structure. The
walls were set up with what looked like lamps, and it really looked like a passageway
for a fort or something.

What’s more, there was once again a large amount of demonic beast corpses. Over
here, the evil people were crushed to death. And it’s not just the floor, it’s the walls
and the ceiling that were covered in those spattered corpses.

This must be the work of Lord Ursulath.

”Oh, this is amazing nonetheless. Normally, a large scale attack would be difficult to
conduct in a narrow passage within a dungeon…”

Mea and Kiara looked at it and groaned. If you have a wide range of attacks, there’s a
good chance you’ll get yourself involved. However, with gravity control, there is less
damage to the surroundings. It must be hard to blow oneself up. If you think about it,
earth magic may be easier to use within a dungeon than fire, water, or wind.
”Earth magic is strong in dungeons?”

But at Fran’s words, Kiara tilts her head.

”I wouldn’t say that in general.”

”Why?”

”There are many places in the dungeon where there is no dirt. Unless you’re in a
cavern or something.’’

Even if the dungeon walls and such are of stone, they are still under the control of the
dungeon. It seemed to be very difficult to manipulate. I’ve tried it, but the skill of
turning the ground into a needle consumes a lot more magic than usual.

It would be difficult to use a technique that uses the earth to attack an enemy, let alone
a technique that fires a mass of earth created by magic.

If you think about it, it may be difficult to use the earth attribute unless you’ve
cultivated the earth magic that allows you to learn gravity control techniques.

I don’t think it was this bad in Urumut’s dungeon, but I guess it’s different in each
dungeon.

”Mmm!”

”What was that!”

”Hmm, great magic.”

As we passed through the site of the slaughter caused by Ursulath and tried to go
further, we felt a huge magic power, so massive that Fran and the others had to brace
themselves. At the same time, a resounding vibration shook the walls.

”Someone’s used some big magic on you.”

”Lord Ursulath, is it?”

”Maybe. We’ll make haste, too.”

Along the way, as Johan had said, there were no traps at all. But halfway through, there
is a sudden dead end and a staircase leading downward appears.

”Hmmm… didn’t the Beastmen Nation side say it was a single road for a while?”

”Yes, it should be.”

To begin with, the main part of this dungeon exists on the Bashar Kingdom’s side. The
part that was extended to the Beastmen Nation’s side was only treated as an
underpass to invade beyond the Boundary Mountains.

”Why are there stairs like this……… Besides, a demon beast can’t get through in this
tight space.”

Kiara was right, that staircase was completely human-sized. I think a Minotaur could
pass through. It would be tough if it were an ogre.

But it’s weird. It is certain that a large army of demon beasts used the exit of the cave
we used to enter as a way in and out. If so, where did they come from?

Or can it be transposed if it’s in a dungeon? Then you can transfer it to the entrance
side. It was strange that there were a lot of traces of magical beasts marching around
here as well.

”There are so many things I don’t understand……… But we can’t turn back here, either.
Quina, do you think you can take the lead?”

”Yes. I’ll be with you in a moment.”

Lead the way? As I was watching to see what was going on, Quina used phantom magic
to create a dwarf-like object. It looks like a kindergarten-sized mannequin.

By the way, Quina’s visionary magic is as terrible as ever. I can feel the presence, even
the heat. Well, let this one lead the way. I don’t know if you can deceive a trap or not
with it, but if it’s a lurking monster, you can probably fool it well enough.

”You’re as good as ever.”

”I’m ashamed.”
”All right, let’s go.’’
The structure of the interior of the dungeon was truly worthy of the name of a labyrinth.
A maze of narrow, branching passageways stretches on and on. Esoteric demon beasts
and traps are also plentiful.

Well, the demon beasts were mostly carcasses, although the traps had been lifted quite
a bit. No, it’s better to say they were disabled or activated.

Apparently, all the people who were ahead of them were trapped. Earth Wrath is a
Rank S adventurer, right? I’m sure you have the skill to disarm it. Or did you create a
little lead like we did and disarm it on purpose?

“That guy’s way of doing things hasn’t grown up at all. Maybe they sent a golem or
something to kamikaze them.” Kiara.

It seems to be a way to deactivate the suicide bomb by using the leader. Well, it’s easy.

”That said, I’m sure there are some types that can detect heat…… Well, it doesn’t
matter if it’s Earth Wrath or not.” Kiara.

In the end, we didn’t fall for one of the traps. Moreover, if you follow the Demon Beast’s
crushed corpse, you won’t get lost.

”Even so, it’s funny. I have never heard of such a great labyrinth in the information the
man Johan has given us.” Quina.

”Were you not hypnotized?” Fran.

Fran tilts her head, but Quina shakes her head in denial.

”No, it was not an act, it was fully into it. There were a few scenes along the way where
emotions ran high, probably because they were asked questions about the beastmen
they hated. A trance doesn’t mean that you lose your emotions.” Quina.
”So does that mean that man didn’t know about this labyrinth, too?” Fran.

”Maybe, maybe not. I think they weren’t informed about this place.” Kiara.

Quina nods at Kiara’s words, but I’ve been thinking of another possibility. That being
said, the dungeon may have been expanded to coincide with the onslaught of Earth
Wrath.

He hastily creates a labyrinth full of traps in order to hold back the strong enemies
who have invaded. It’s a common development in light novels with a dungeon master
as the main character.

If you think about it, however, it also explains why Johan didn’t know and why the
traces of the demon beasts were suddenly cut off and the human labyrinth suddenly
appeared.

Thinking back to Murellia’s description, she said that she would use points to expand
the dungeon. Plus, I’ve seen Lumina create a room in an instant in the dungeon in
Urumut. Wouldn’t it be possible to build a labyrinth in an instant, depending on the
points you pay?

Well, it’s only in my imagination, and even if I knew that, there’s still no development
in the battle.

One hour later.

After wading through the labyrinth, the end was finally in sight. Ahead, I saw a huge
door with a clearly different atmosphere than ever before. If it were a normal dungeon,
you’d think it was a boss room.

Even so, I had only fought a few demons and traps along the way, but it took this long…
If everything was perfect, it would have taken many times longer than this.

While moving, there were a few times when he sensed powerful magic. It seems that
someone is fighting somewhere in the dungeon. And we could sense the same magical
wavelengths from the huge door in front of us.

”In a normal dungeon, other adventurers are often not allowed inside while fighting
the boss…”
Kiara and Quina approached the door and examined its structure.

”There are no traps, sir.”

”You can’t open this one if you touch it.”

Apparently, it opens easily.

”Let’s go! Now, you may still be able to join Lord Earth Wrath!” Mea.

”Join forces? Don’t be ridiculous. He doesn’t need that. All right. I’ll tell you one thing,
don’t approach the Earthers carelessly. Not until I say it’s fine.” Kiara.

At Mea’s words, Kiara nails it with a look so serious that it’s scary. Hearing this,
Guendalfa must have become afraid of Earthrath once again. Buruli and his huge body
shook.

”Master Kiara. Is he such a horrible man, that he should be killed by his own people?”

”It’s a given. I’ll tell you who to be on the lookout for in this dungeon. It’s not a dungeon
master, nor is it a Murellia. He has lost his way, Earth Wrath. Remember that.”

Kiara announces in a low voice, as if to frighten everyone. No, it’s not a threat; it’s
probably the truth. There was a strong sense of tension from Kiara.

”I understand.”

”Hmm. Okay.”

”……………”

Mea and Fran also nodded their heads with a mysterious look. As far as Guendalfa is
concerned, he is at a loss for words. She swallowed her breath and grunted as she
nodded. The maids are great here as always. It’s truly the power of the iron spirit.

”But can’t we just sit here and wait with anticipation?”

“I know. It’s not like it was decided that it was Earth Wrath inside in the first place.”

”Well then!”
”We’re going to have to go.”

Then, Kiara touches the door.

Gogo-go-go-go…

Beyond the earth-shaking, open door was a large circular hall. My first impression is
of the Colosseum. Well, the ground is cobblestone, although the ceiling is domed.

The reason why this place reminded me of the Colosseum is because of the tense
atmosphere of a huge man holding a large sword in the center of the hall, and a
triceratops-like demon beast nearly 20 meters long facing him.

The demon beast had already lost three of its five horns, and its six legs were also
reduced to four, with blue-black blood dripping from severed legs. Clearly harder than
iron, the armor-like shell that covered its entire body was carved with several
lacerations, and flesh was visible through the gaps.

On the other hand, the big man with the horns sprouting from his forehead was
unscathed. On the contrary, he wasn’t even breathing heavily. It was obvious that he
overwhelmed a demon beast that would be a rank C threat.

The demon beast let out a roar of anger, but did not move. No, it couldn’t move. It’s
probably because of the exhaustion of the battle so far and also because of the deep
fear of men instilled in it. His snort was also rough, and although he turned his
murderous gaze on the man, he did not try to step forward from the spot.

The man who had been observing such a demon beast for a while, carried the large
sword he was holding on his shoulders. Then, I point my left hand towards the demon
beast.

The man muttered as his magic rapidly increased.

”Crush it.”

”Boh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh!”

Immediately afterwards, I saw the demon beast being crushed from the left and right,
as if it was being wrapped in an invisible giant hand. There was no movement, only
the demon beast’s pitiful screams echoed in the hall. Eyeballs and tongues pop out
from the powerful pressure, and blood spurts from wounds all over the body. The
bodily fluids are eventually blocked by an invisible wall and can only accumulate in
the same spot.

A few seconds later, the beast had been brutally crushed to death by some kind of
attack unleashed by the man. From the front, it only looks like a piece of wood.

I quickly examined the man - Earth - and found him to be a monster.

The status of the Earth as appraised by the Master is listed in the postcard.

Name: Earth Wrath Age: 148 years old

Race: Demon, Evil Demon

Occupation: War Demon, Warrior

Status Level: 82/99

HP: 2987 MP: 1009 Strength: 1519 Stamina: 1228 Agility: 599 Intelligence: 436 Magic:
499 Dexterity: 418

skill

Intimidation: LvMax, Transportation: Lv6, Stealth: Lv5, Dismantling: Lv7, Recovery

Speed Increase: Lv7, Mysterious Force: LvMax, Fighting Ability: Lv6, Martial Arts: Lv6,
Environmental tolerance: Lv7, Presence detect: Lv6, Spirit Control: Lv9, High speed
regeneration: Lv7, Strength: LvMax, Regrowth: LvMax, Abnormal condition
resistance: Lv9, Instantaneous movement: Lv6, Mental endurance: Lv4, Sword
compatibility: Lv8, Great Sword Art: LvMax, Broadsword: LvMax, Grand Sage: Lv8,
Grand Sword Technique: Lv8, Earth magic: Lv6, Leap: Lv6, Soil Manipulation: LvMax,
Bending: Lv3, Ambition: Lv6, Felling: Lv7, Physical barrier: Lv6, Magic Endurance: Lv6,
Magic perception: Lv4, Cooking: Lv6, Trap Disarming: Lv5, Trap detection: Lv5, Arise
From The Dead, Energy Manipulation, Muscles of Steel, High Spirit, Earth
Strengthening, Intuition, Pain Resistance, Dragon Slayer, Magic Power Manipulation,
Grand Strength Increase

Unique skill

Evil Killer, Chaotic Force, Demon Qi, Demon God’s Blessing

Extra skill

Divine sword release

Specific skills

Mad Demonization, Dark Demon

Title

Evil Killer, Slaughterer, Sword of God, Earth Mage, Dungeon Raider, Dragon Slayer,
Companion Slayer, Battle Mania, Destroyer of Demons, Rank S Adventurer

Equipment

The earth sword, Gaia, the bowl of the Earth Dragon horn, the great armor of the Steel
Dragon shell, the battle suit of the Cloud Dragon skin, the coat of the Mirage Dragon,
the Armor of Tranquility, the Ring of Dissipation of Anger.
I was sure it was Asura. He is a true monster. He has a huge amount of first-hand skills
and a lot of fancy titles.

“Well, his ability is right up there with the Beast King.”

Crushed from left and right by an unseen force, the corpse of the flattened demonic
beast slowly fell to the ground. The ground shook, bringing Mea and Guendalfa to their
senses.

From their point of view, what happened in front of them was shocking. So shocking
that even though it was only a matter of seconds, they had exposed themself defenseless
in the hostile territory of the dungeon.

Kiara grabs Mea’s shoulder tightly as she tries to advance. Seeing the serious expression
on her face, Mea remembered what the other person was like.

“I-I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. But you’re going to stay here for a while.”

And only Kiara steps forward.

Fran and her team lowered their weapons to show that they don’t have any hostilities
toward him. Meanwhile, they lightly tipped their center of gravity forward so that they
can move at any time. The only one thing to do is to avoid antagonizing him.

Apparently, Fran and the others became more aware of how dangerous the situation
was when they saw the man who had mysteriously crushed the huge demonic beast
to death with his mysterious power. Kiara hides her nervousness and speaks to the
demon in a carefree manner.

“Asura, long time no see.”

“Haa? Are you ―― isn’t this Kiara? You’ve become a hag!”

“Hmm. You haven’t changed.”

“Wahahahaha! It’s because I’m a demon.”

“Hmm, okay for now…… All of you, come here!”

Seems like Asura is not in a situation where he is losing sight of the situation. Kiara
beckons Fran and the others to join her.

“What is this? Are you leading a field trip?”

“They may be little girls, but in their own way, they’re promising little girls. Well, I’m
sort of like a chaperone for them.”

The great sword on the back of Asura, who was conversing with Kiara, was unusually
large. The crimson pattern alone might be nearly a meter long. The sword was about
to scrape the ground even when being strapped at an angle on the two-plus-meter tall
Asura’s back.

I couldn’t take my eyes off that sword. It’s not just big. It has a colossal presence and
an intimidating feeling that radiated from within. I had to struggle to keep myself from
trembling.

“……This is that sword huh……”

Name: Earth sword・Gaia

Attack Power: 2000

Magic Power: 6000

Durability: 10000

Magic power conductivity: SS

Skill:

Grant Holy Land, Earth Magic Strengthening, Earth Magic Granting, Earth Disabling,
Maximum Magic Recovery, and Magic Power Control.

Without realising it, I already appraised it, and it was astounding. Even if you were to
compare just their simple offensive power, it would completely overwhelm others.
Moreover, as he specialized in the power of manipulating earth, with the boost given
by the power of his sword, his ability soared tremendously.

Is this what they called a divine weapon? I’ll admit its strength is immense. But I had
a feeling that with a few good sorcerers, I could compete with it. But how did it become
ground sword • Gaia? Wasn’t it the earth sword? No, like Lind, his power may not have
been fully released. I’m suspicious of the divine sword release that was in Asura’s extra
skill. If that’s the case, then it will be even stronger than this when it is released.

As I was thinking about this, Asura’s eyes turned to me.

“Did someone appraise it?”

I was impressed. How do you know that if you don’t even have an appraisal detection
skill?

“It’s- It’s making me feel sick. My gut tells me what to do. And I feel like I’m being
watched.”

“I’m sorry. We teach them to be vigilant in dungeons.”

Mea and Guendalfa are surrendering to Asura’s words. However, Asura’s laughter,
which rose immediately afterwards, softened the hard atmosphere of the place.

“Hahahahahaha! It’s fine! I’m not mad at you. I was born with this face so it can’t be
helped. But I was simply checking. But still, I’m more surprised that that mad dog - no,
that mad tiger-like Kiara - bowed out for someone else! You’ve become so well rounded!”

“I don’t need to hear from you, who has never grown up.”

“You said it! Well, it’s true! I’m just saying, we don’t change that easily.”

“Haaa……”

There’s something about Kiara and Asura that makes them understand each other. I
wondered what kind of monster he was, since he look so threatening before, but he
was just a regular old foul-mouthed guy. Maybe it’s because he is also a demon, but it
somehow reminds me of Donadrondo from the Alessa Guild. Well, Asura has a bigger
body and horns than him though.

Mea ask a question after the tension has been released.

“What do you mean by “never changed”? What does Lord Asura mean I wonder?”

“Well. I’ve been doing a lot of digging to break the curse.”

“A… Curse…?”

Mea tilts her head. I appraised Asura first, too, and I don’t think there was any
particular notation of a curse or anything like that in the state.

“Oh, it’s a blessing and a curse. I have certain unique skills. “Demonization”. I’ve been
going around the country trying to shut these skills down.”

“What skills are those?”

“When activated, some abilities and skills rose several times, and resilience is increased
by an order of magnitude. In terms of combat power alone, I’d say several times that.”

“Eh?…… Then”

“But do you think there’s no downside to such powerful skills?”

After Asura says that, he sits down with a thud on the platform he made by raising the
floor. It was Kiara who continued to speak in place of Asura, who continued to smile
to himself. There is an air of pain in her eyes as she looks at Asura.

“It’s automatically triggered by repeated combat. What’s more, you can’t choose when
to activate it, and when it’s activated, you will go berserk and lose your mind making
you unable to distinguish between friend and foe. And yet, his wisdom on combat
stays without a problem, spreading destruction. It’s definitely a curse for this guy.”

Still, after years of experience, he can sense when it was nearly time and he acts as if
he is retreating to go to the frontier where there are no allies, so he could rampage
around unnoticed.
It is indeed a curse. No matter how great the skill is - no, it’s too great. But that… Just
seeing his title… It just too painful… It’s just a reminder of how much he has killed his
fellow member. But this skill, I can make it go away, can’t I?

I can take it away with a skill-taker skill. But then I have to equip it… If it turns out I
can not un-equip it though, that would be the worst.

But you’ll soon see that my thoughts quickly turn out to be useless.

“Wasn’t there an adventurer who could obliterate a skill?”

“Oh. Rank A adventurer, Maleficent the Black. It has a skill called Skill Eraser, which
eliminates the opponent’s skills. Of course I tried.”

“Was it… no good?”

“It worked. His skills have been disabled for a year or so, but my unique skill,
“Demonization,” is gone for… two days.”

“Eh?”

“Inherent skills are the ones that are most tied to a person’s existence. Whether it’s
erased or taken away, it’ll come back to life over time. I’ve tried skill-eliminating skills
and the ability to take away skills and stuff like that but the results are always the
same. Which means it’s only a matter of time before it came back to me.”

“I got this skill when I was an ordinary demon warrior, but for some unknown reason
I was mutated into an evil demon.”

“A mutation? Isn’t that an evolution?”

Asura answers Fran’s question. He still looks like a good-natured old man.

“Evolution is about advancing to new heights when you reach your maximum level. A
mutation is when something other than the level is met and changes into something
different. Well, they’re both similar, but it’s generally accepted that the mutation has a
smaller pretense of ability.”

“But the evil demons are a bit special. They are a phantom mutant whose existence
has been questioned even by demons. A demon of misfortune who loses reason and
destroys everything. I never thought I’d be the one to acquired it. However, considering
my ability to become a mad demon, I guess that means the lore was right.”

Moreover, he is now the owner of the divine sword. The rumor that the army had been
eradicated was rather cute. Because the country could have been destroyed.

“Well, that’s why the mad demonization doesn’t go away even a little bit. In a way, it’s
a skill that’s like the very definition of the existence of a demon of misfortune. You can
also use the method of mutating again to erase the skill. Unfortunately, demons can
only mutate once in a lifetime. So I’m looking for a way to lock in my skills. Of course
that only works for a short period of time. But what I’m looking for is a way to
permanently seal your skills.”

“Did Lord Asura come to this dungeon in search of that method?”

“Well, dungeons are places that are out of this world’s way. So It is possible. I’ve been
to dungeons all around the country, not just here. Besides, I am doing a request.”

“What do you mean, Asura?”

Kiara asks back. It is a request? In other words, you came to this dungeon at the
request of someone? But who?

“Well, if it’s Kiara and her friends, I guess it’s fine. It’s the gods.”

“What?”
Kiara asks back. Is it a request? In other words did you come to this dungeon at the
request of someone? But who?

“Well if it’s Kiara and her friends, It’s god!”

“What?” Kiara asks in disbelief. Apparently even Kiara can’t agree to those words. As
if that was funny, Asura chuckled and continued to say more.

“Kukuku, Apparently, the gods have a peculiar obsession with divine swords.They are
supposedly always being watched.”

It is possible that depending on how the divine swords are used, they could become
more dangerous than evil gods. That could be why they’re being monitored.

“And if something goes wrong, he’ll send the oracle flying.Well, I guess it’s just a matter
of time before you start using it.”

“Does that mean that you are commanded by God to do some kind of mission?”

“No it’s not something that big. This time it’s just a one way trip to the location of this
place”

“Then, is it an order?”

God is sending me information about the place directly as if he wants me to go there,

so it certainly seems like an order just like Mea says. But apparently, that’s not the
case.

”I’ve only ever received a proper order twice now. Besides, I’ve ignored your request
a few times in the past, but I haven’t been accused of anything before.”

“Y- You ignored him! The oracle!”

”Well, I was in the middle of some important work that I couldn’t take off otherwise.
But they didn’t punish you, so I guess that means they’re not angry.”

You’re a brave man. Even if it wasn’t an order, it’s a request from God that you ignored.
Even Kiara looks anxious as she listens back.

That’s unusual for someone from this world. No, now that I think about it, I’m being
made to struggle with a skill I don’t want, so maybe I’m taking a surprisingly slanted
view of God.

“Is it really that there is no punishment? Isn’t it simply that there is no punishment yet
to be meted out?”

“Hahaha, like the Laurentian tragedy?”

“A,aaa…”

“What is… the Laurentian tragedy?”

Huh? “Is the Black Cat Lady from another continent, perhaps?”

“Yes”

“Well, then I guess it’s no wonder you don’t know.”

The tragedy of Laurencia was apparently an incident that took place about 150 years
ago on this continent. The story goes back another 50 years - or 200 years from now.

At that time, there was a small nation called the Laurentian Kingdom to the south of
the Beastmen Nation. Due to their geographical position, they were always standing
in the downwind of the Beastmen Nation and were treated like a vassal state. The king
was too young and too patriotic to endure it.

‘What should such a king do?’ Foolish people with power would think the same
anywhere. The King of Laurencia then invited an evil magician to summon an evil god
by offering his soul to the evil god through that man. From the beginning, the king did
not intend to summon evil gods, but rather to bring chaos and exhaustion by unleashing
a large number of fecund goblins into the Beastmen Nation. The King of Laurentia,
who imposed heavy taxes on his people, used the money he collected to buy slaves for
sacrifice, and sacrificed the people who couldn’t pay their taxes for the shortfall.
But then the people who rose up to overthrow the king plunged the Laurentian
kingdom into civil war and the king was eventually captured.

We don’t know what kind of negotiations took place at this time, but the king was not
executed. The royal family was dismantled and the country shifted to a parliamentary
government of the people. However, the former royal family was condemned to
slavery and driven to the frontier, where they were ordered to cultivate the untamed
wilderness.

But the royal family didn’t just die out. The former king started to make amends and
set about cultivating the land. It was said that he worked hard, cultivated at an
incredible rate, and contributed greatly to the productivity of the Laurentian Republic.
Not only that, but he also did charitable work, such as running an orphanage and
reemployment for the injured and sick.

By the time fifty years had passed, there were fewer people within the Laurentian
Republic who spoke ill of the former royal family. Then, by unanimous consent of
Congress, they were freed from slavery. Well, it seems like there was a lot of political
talk involved, but it’s not relevant here, so we’ll skip that. What’s important is that the
Laurentians were truly converted and accepted within the Republic.The former king
and others were considered eminent persons by then.

However, there was a being who had not forgotten their sin. Namely, the gods.

Suddenly one day, divine punishment was handed down to the Laurentian family.The
charge was that he used a large number of people to summon an evil god. Everyones
must have thought, “Why now?”

However, the former king’s family, who were completely reformed and even revered
by the people, were tragically killed by divine punishment. It was said that the only
ones left were those who were of not direct descent or were from the branch
family.This is the famous Laurentian tragedy of the Crome continent.

“Well, what this story shows us is how leisurely the gods are.”

“Leisurely?”

“The God who originally existed in eternal time and us humans have different
perceptions of time, I guess. For us, it seems like the punishment came after 50 years.
But to the gods, 50 years isn’t that much, I guess. If you do something really bad
though, you might get punished in an instant.”

Well, it does make sense, somewhat. For example, if you compare a person to a bug,
their perceived value of time would be completely different. I guess the same thing
can be said of God and man.

“But then again, maybe Earthers just haven’t been punished yet?”

“Hahaha! It’s okay. After all, I checked directly with God’s apostle!”

“What? You’ve seen the apostle of God?”

“Yeah, I met him twice when he came to tell me his command. It’s no wonder when
God commands them the Apostle will come down. I asked him if he was okay with me
ignoring him, and he said he was okay with it.”

“But why would he give you such a vague oracle that he doesn’t mind being ignored?”

“I don’t know. I don’t get it either………… The Apostle says it’s a personal thing, you
know what I mean?”

“What do you mean?”

Asura tells his conjecture, based on what he heard from God’s apostle. Apparently, the
gods will leave it at that if it’s some kind of incident. However, when evil people are
involved, they’ll get involved.

It’s not something we absolutely have to fix, but if we can get our hands on it, let’s do
it. Anyway that’s where the Divine Swordsman comes in. In addition to regularly
monitoring them, it was easy for them to immediately send down oracles through the
Divine Sword. In other words, it seemed that the idea was to use it as a surveillance
tool as well as a communication tool.

“Well, as I said before, the gods are leisurely. Wouldn’t it have taken decades just to
find someone near the place where the incident is likely to happen who could receive
the oracle and solve the case and give the oracle? That’s why I thought I’d make a
divine swordsman who can be contacted immediately.”

It takes 50 years for God to punish you. If that’s the case, it might even take decades to
make the oracle.
“This time around, it seemed like there was a dungeon involved. I figured I’d make a
move.”

“Hey Mea, have you ever received an ordainment, too?”

“An ordainment? No, I haven’t. Perhaps I am not yet recognized as the true owner. Not
from the sword, not from God.”

I see… He looked surprised to hear the story, so it bothered me a bit.

Well, it seems like he still hasn’t been able to unleash the true power of the Divine
Sword, so I guess that’s why.

(I will be there for you……)

Side Kraug

I am the gray tapir Kraug. I am the best of Gringot Intelligence. Well, even though it
may sound like I am part of an intelligence organization, we never actually did anything
spectacular like infiltrating enemy territory and bringing back important information
or the like. If anything, our main role was to keep an eye out for enemy agents who
may have infiltrated our city.

Not long ago, we managed to catch the mastermind behind the assassins who attacked
the Black Thunder Princess. Speaking of the Black Thunder Princess, she’s the current
most popular local hero, having broken through conventional wisdom that the black
cat tribe which was said to be incapable of achieving evolution. Upon usurping that
deep rooted belief, she could even fight with Goddarfa to a stalemate. Hence, it would
be unforgivable for anyone to even think of taking away this budding hope of the black
cat tribe.

Although it took a bit of time, we managed to apprehend them in the end. On the other
hand, however, it was much easier than expected for us to force them to speak up. No,
it seemed to be that their mission was to leak this information in the first place.

“The Krishna royal family? The royal family that ruled the Beastmen Nation before the
Narasinha family, right?”

“Yes, that’s right…… We will only bow our heads to the rightful royal family.”

Then I remembered a rumor. It was said that the current Beast King family has a dark
history that people here no longer talk or even know about. One of the reasons for this
is the lack of people working in a certain profession. There were only a handful of
people of this specific profession or title in the Beastmen Nation. This profession we
are referring to is a historian.

Despite our country being more militaristic and combative than others, it does not
mean that only barbarians live here. There were also sorcerers, scholars, and in fact,
my father used to be a biologist.

Yet, even though we did have all these knowledge classes, there were sadly still an
extremely small number of historian students, historians, and archaeologists in this
region. As a matter of fact, it’s safer to say that there were almost none of them. One
of the biggest reasons for this was that we didn’t really have proper historical
documentation left behind from before, and hence there are no old records left to be
studied or kept. Apparently, it was the Beast King family of the past that destroyed the
old documents. Therefore, this situation led to the fact that there wasn’t really a need
for this kind of occupation.

Another reason was that this profession was heavily cracked down upon by the Beast
Kings a few generations ago, and most of the historians of the past have either been
imprisoned and executed. As a result, the profession itself has disappeared.

Having been so thorough in their actions, it’s obvious that there was a big secret that
the Beast Royal Family did not want any of its citizens, or anyone else for that matter,
to know. While the current Beast King was very lenient with regards to this incident
up to the point where we are even able to learn about the situation, until a few decades
ago, it was apparently forbidden to even mention anything of it.

What if that secret was the existence of a former royal family called the Krishna family?
Moreover, what if the current royal throne came to be not from a regular regime
change of successor inheritance, but instead an usurpation of its predecessors?

I wanted to know more about it. But regardless of the past, I am not dissatisfied with
the current Beast Royal Family, which is currently running a good government. Rather,
they are doing a fairly good job and are honorable leaders of our country.

But what about the politics behind all of this? What if a person, a survivor of the
Krishna royal family, with whom the Bashar royal family is said to be cooperating with,
was planning behind the scenes for a reinstatement and restoration into kingship? In
some cases, they may be able to claim legitimacy.

At the very least, they may not be able to one-sidedly assert that Bashar Kingdom was
evil. Regardless, even at a glance, it was a messy situation.

According to an agent of Bashar’s Kingdom, the authorities of the kingdom were

indebted to the Krishna royal family of the past and were unable to refuse their
request. That’s one thing for certain. But there’s no country that can be driven to
action just from gratitude alone. Instead, you can give legitimacy to your actions by
appearing to be working in favor of others. In other words, this time, the war was not
just a skirmish, and the Bashar Kingdom’s side, anticipating this, should have been
well prepared.

***

Half a day later. We had been sent north to scout the neighborhood. Then, near the
Schwarzkatze, we encountered a group of adventurers. They were the skillful men
who marched with Master Kiara to intercept the evildoers. They also said that a knight
of Bashar was amongst those that were captured.

It seemed that the knight was very loyal and wouldn’t budge to any form of
interrogation or extortion. But she had managed to put them in a trance and extracted
information from them. Under normal circumstances, it’s hard to force them to do
what we want them to, and even I myself am not strong enough to make them do what
I want. But apparently, he was put into a trance and it made it easier for him to fall into
hypnosis. Well, even so, it was limited to just about a minute.

The knight also mentioned the name “Myrelia”. To repay the woman’s debt, the Bashar
Kingdom was apparently lending a helping hand.

That Myrelia woman, she’s got some serious guts. By impressing upon one’s self-
respect or patriotism, it was possible for a person to instill a favorable feeling from
another to oneself. It was similar to a prostitute’s modus operandi for hitting on a man.

However, there is a high probability that the knights have already taken into account
the information leaked to us, and have given only convenient information. It seemed
that these knights may have already been brainwashed in the first place. In essence,
the earlier testimony was not very credible.

“What’s the real purpose of this Myrelia woman? No, it’s not my job to think about
this. In the meantime, I must report this to my lord……”

***

Side Rigdalfa

“Excellent work, as ever. To build such a wall in such a short time.”

“Oh, Lord Rigdalpha. You too, thank you for your hard work.”

In front of me, the young man who was smiling is of the human race, Lysius Laurentia.
A member of the branch of the Laurentian royal family that perished in the famous
Laurentian tragedy, he is one of the court sorcerers of our beastmen nation. Speaking
of Lysius of the Great Wall, he is also known as one of the best earth magicians on this
continent.

It’s unthinkable that this softly smiling figure could raise the earth and bury hundreds
of enemy soldiers in the blink of an eye. However, I know that behind that smile is a
strong fighting spirit. He is the same age as me, and he is also a friend who has also
fought on the battlefield with me many times since the first battle 30 years ago.

”I think you’ve gone through quite a lot, haven’t you?”

I’m sure they’re using the art of the Great Wall to build these walls, but I’ve heard they
use quite a bit of magic. Furthermore, if he is to battle, his consumption must be
tremendous.

“How can it be hard? I am merely doing this for the sake of protecting my place in this
world. The Laurentians are now famous for being descendants of evil masters. It is a
mockery in every country. It’s only here in the beastmen countries that people dare to
fully accept me.”

“Is that so.”

“Yeah. And I think you’re reckless too. The White Rhinoceros’ heroic breakthrough was
visible even from the top of the city walls. I didn’t think we’d go into the enemy lines
with hundreds of infantry.”

“Fu ha ha. Because I can’t show my brother a pathetic fight now that my brother is
gone.”

My name is Rigdalfa. I am the brother of Goddarfa of the Vajra Wall, the chief of the
White Rhinoceros tribe and a close associate of the Beast King. And I am also the
second-in-command for this battle against Bashar Kingdom. It is my natural duty to
take the lead and inspire my allies.

“So, how can I help you? It’s not like you would bother to visit us on the battlefield just
to warm up old friendships, right? So, is there a problem?”
“You’re sharp. Take a look at this.”

“This is……”

Lysias looks over the letter sent to the command center. As he read on, a strong sense
of bewilderment and a slight feeling of impatience appeared on his face.

I know how you feel. Because it was the same for me.

“The Krishna royal family, was it? I’m afraid I’ve never heard of such a name.”

“It seems to be a royal family that reigned over our beastly kingdom 500 years ago.
But it says in this letter that they’ve suffered a rebellion from the current House of
Narasingha and have been usurped from the throne.”

I’ve also spoken to my commander, the general, but I don’t care if this story is true or
not. Or rather, it does matter, but it’s useless to argue further on that point right now.

Of course, I don’t think it’s an outright lie.

There are certainly some dubious aspects of the situation at the time of the Narasingha
royal family’s ascension to the throne. However, he is a good King for us now, and to
be honest, I don’t want him to step down now.

But in wars between nations, it was routine for such past events to be brought to light
and be used as justification for vindictive actions. And that’s what you can’t fool
around with. Post-war processing and so on will have a creeping effect.

I don’t know if 500 years ago is short or long. It’s definitely a time long past for us
beastmen but to some of the long-lived species, it’s possible that they may still
consider it as a recent event that it wouldn’t be surprising that some of them might
still remember it.

However, if the Kingdom of Bashar really had at least one person from the Krishna
royal family with them and they were planning on bringing that person out of the
shadows, it is almost certain that they will raise complications in post-war
negotiations and such. Depending on how the Bashar Kingdom intends to play out
their story, there’s a substantial chance, one that we will be unable to ignore, that the
surrounding nations won’t be on our side of this conflict.
“What’s more, it says that she is now an evil person…”

“Yes, that’s right. It seems like the former head of Krishna family, facing the dire
situation in the past, turned to the evil god for help. Thus, as she was helpless against
the onslaught of the usurpers, she had no choice but to dedicate herself to the evil god
and has since become the evil god’s maiden…”

“They plan to thoroughly denounce the Narasingha royal family as usurpers and are
content with emphasizing the play of a woman of Krishna’s blood being made into a
sufferable victim of the circumstances.”

“It also says that they have no choice but to lend a helping hand because they were
indebted to the Krishnas’ in the past. And they also say that it is their duty as neighbors
to denounce the usurper royal family and to restore the rights to the rightful royal
family.”

It is tempting to question whether Bashar’s kingdom is sane enough to join forces with
an evil person, but it may be that the odds were stacked against them. Besides, it seems
that this letter has been distributed not only to our country, but to other countries as
well.

A number of inquiries have been sent from our neighboring countries, which were
addressed to the Commander. We’ll have to take care of that too. Each country seems
to want to gauge the wind and take a careful look at the situation before doing
anything else. Apparently, the same story has been circulating to other countries
through channels other than the letter, and so far none country seems to think that
the letter is complete bullsh*t, or rather, they couldn’t simply brush off this news as a
complete joke.

“To meddle with the power of an evil god would be nothing but a foolish thing to do,
in my opinion.”

“It’s very empathetic.”

“Well… that’s…… I’ve been struggling with it since I was young. As a child of an evil
mage, there wasn’t a day that went by that someone didn’t throw a stone at me.”

“Linford, the wizard huh?”

“He disappeared before I was 10 years old, so I don’t remember much about him. Now
that I think about it, he must have been mentally ill. He was an old man who always
had a creepy grin on his face. I was picked up by the Beast King, but my father was
despised for decades as a descendant of an evil mage, so maybe I can’t help it, but…”

“You still can’t find him?”

“Yes. To begin with, I’m a child from my father’s old age, and if he were alive,he would
be nearly 100 years old. Maybe somewhere…… he already……”

“I’m sorry. I’ve been rude.”

“It’s okay. The reason I’m looking for him in the first place is that I’m going to hand
him over to you. Instead of talking about him, let’s consult on that letter now.”

“Oh, yeah.”

It’s really annoying when they just say that they have the upper hand on the war.
After the explanation, Asura stood up from the chair he created.

“Now, are we done here? Well, if so, you should go home now.”

“Ha?! What are you saying?!”

“I’m fine being on my own in this place. Kiara, take them home.”

Mea screams in surprise, but Kiara just shakes her head.

“Asura, It’s about time, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. Probably. So if you don’t want me to kill you, you need to get out of here.”

Does that mean that Asura’s transformation into a mad demon is about to take effect?
If so, it was certainly dangerous. He was already strong enough in his current state,
but this change was definitely going to be a few more steps stronger and things will
most likely spin out of control too. It’s no wonder that Kiara nodded honestly.

“Mea, let’s go.”

“………I understand.”

“Fran too, let’s go.”

“………mhm”

Both Mea and Fran nodded reluctantly. Mea’s sense of obligation towards her mission
was so strong that she was not happy with the idea of leaving everything to Asura
alone. The fact that she couldn’t do anything at this point also seemed to be a source
of irritation to her. She seemed to be frustrated that she wasn’t recognized as the Lord
of the Divine Sword earlier as well.
It’s a shame that Fran didn’t get a chance to witness how strong Asura is. But right
now, it’s not exactly an option. At any rate, it would be bad if we got caught up in Asura’s
outburst later.

“Come on, Fran. Let’s go.”

“Mhm”

Kiara, in a somewhat impatient voice, also gave instructions to Quina and the others.

“We have to hurry. Quina, open the door.”

“Yes, my lord. Meanoa you will take care of the Lord.”

“Yes, sir.”

With Quina in the lead, we hurried to the entrance. I supposed the reason they made
Meanoa last was to see to it that Mea didn’t stupidly plant an imitation of herself. Well,
I don’t think it’s possible, but if it is, I would have went back to Asura by myself.

“Wha…?”

“What’s the matter Quina?”

“It won’t open…”

“What?”

“When we entered this room earlier, I made sure it could be opened and closed.”

I wondered if it was made so it couldn’t be opened from the inside, but apparently
Quina, unlike us, was already making sure it could be opened and closed securely
before.

Isn’t this bad? I tried using Dimension Gate. It didn’t really matter even if we can’t get
out of the dungeon at the moment, as long as we all could escape this room as soon as
possible.

“ーThat, what do you mean?”

But the magic didn’t even kick in. When I tried to activate space-time magic, my magic
power did not materialize as expected.

(Master?)

“Metastasis is blocked.”

I knew this feeling all too well. The teleportation-disrupting barrier Myrelia had put
up. That was the moment I came to that realization.

“Hahaha! That door is closed, you can’t leave now, you know? I’ve set up a barrier so
teleportation is useless you know, it’s futile!”

“That voice!”

“Myrelia?”

A voice suddenly echoed in the room, and the younger group consisting of Mea and
Fran braced themselves for it.

“That’s right!”

Myrellia teleported to the opposing side from us, with Asura standing in between both
parties. As it was a barrier put up by the power of the evil gods, only Myrellia, who had
obtained their blessings, would be able to use teleportation.

She’s still smiling and laughing, it’s obvious that she was truly enjoying this. However,
the evil spirit emanating from her body seemed to have weakened slightly. Was it the
aftereffects of breaking evil manifestation? Well, regardless, she was still strong
enough to not be underestimated, though.

“I didn’t expect a divine sword user to come along. I also didn’t realize the labyrinth
we built to slow them down could be breached so quickly.”

“You are…, the dungeon master?”

“You’re wrong. But well, in a way I am related to the dungeon.”

“I see……”
It looks like he was able to sense the evil spirit emitted by Myrellia and discerned at a
glance that she was an enemy. Asura pulled out his divine sword, Gaia, and braced
himself. However, that gaze was not only directed at Myrellia, but also at us. Asura
opened his mouth with a serious expression.

“……Kiara”

“I understand”

“Look, you…,you just protect the kids. And when the time comes, don’t hesitate, okay?”

“Yes.”

What should we do? As long as we can’t escape this place, aren’t we going to have to
be stuck running around and getting out of Asura’s way?

Or do we want to take care of Myrellia as fast as we can before Asura goes out of
control? That might be possible with this group. If Asura was going to run amok in this
space anyway, it would be the end of our adventure. If that’s the case, I feel that it’s
better to end the fight as fast as possible and part ways with Asura.

Asura seems to think so too.

“We’re gonna crush that bitch as fast as we can. Let’s get on with it.”

“I understand. We all must follow Asura’s command.”

“Of course!”

“Yes!”

Mea is somewhat happy about that. Quina and Meanoa nodded silently. Fran was
ready to fight too.

“Fran’s sword in particular has the power to break the cycle of evil and reveal the
truth. It is effective against the evil one.”

“Oh? Well, that’s encouraging.”

I’ve decided to reveal that I’m equipped with the skill ‘Breaking Evil Manifestation’.
After all, it’s a trump card against Myrellia.

“Black cat lady, don’t get carried away and get caught up in my attacks, okay?”

“Mhm!”

“Well, it looks okay. How do you get to be that strong at your age anyway? I’ve heard
that the black cat tribe is weak, but Miss and Kiara, you guys are just awesome.”

Well, both Fran and Kiara are a special case. They were probably the number one and
two in the black cat tribe at the moment. While we were talking about this, Myrellia
didn’t attack us. For some reason, she stood there with a wry smile on her face.

“Are you guys done talking, I wonder?”

“With all these people, you still dare to act so relaxed?”

“That’s not true you know~ to a certain degree that is. Anyway I want to ask you one
more question, it’s fine right?”

“Haa??! What is it??!”

“You seem to be already on the edge of transforming, though? Are you sure you can
fight in that kind of condition?”

“Tsk!”

Asura clicks his tongue loudly upon hearing Myrellia’s words.

“The urge for destruction is growing within you.The Great Labyrinth was breached in
a flash, but it wasn’t entirely in vain, was it? Ufufufu… I wonder if the more you fight,
the faster you change? I hope you don’t completely lose it and get your friends
implicated…”

“Then I’m going to kill you before I go mad!”

That cry from Asura was the signal for the opening of the war. Asura ran towards
Myrellia. There wasn’t to be any preemptive, discerning strikes. Instead, he went all
out right from the beginning. Although Myrellia avoided it by teleporting away, the
attack, which hit the ground, sent a loud vibration throughout the room.
It’s indeed difficult to teleport without chanting. But that doesn’t mean Myrellia is at
a disadvantage. After all,just being able to teleport is already a huge advantage.

“Haaa! Flash Thunder!”

“Ahahahaha, impatient now are we!”

“Hmph!”

I would read the destination of the teleportation, while Fran was ahead of me. Even if
the teleportation itself was interfered with, I could still sense the fluctuations of space
and read the other’s position.

“Haaaaaaa!”

“Sh!”

Fran used a flash of lightning to slash at high speed. It was a move that favored speed
over blows. I’ve got it. Thanks to the skill, ‘Breaking Evil Manifestation’, if the attack
connects, it will chip away at the evil spirit. Rather than just continuously bombarding
Myrellia with regular attacks, this attack instead would put more pressure on her.

At the same time as I was attacking her, I was also making an imaginative steel cord.
As I got more and more used to it, the transformation became smoother and smoother.

“Oh, that’s not very nice.”

“You let her get away!”

Myrellia didn’t retaliate and easily teleported away from us.

“What? Are you really that wary of the ‘Breaking Evil Manifestation’?”

“Oh, scary, scary~. It’s going to be a tough fight indeed. But how long will you be able
to keep it together~? Struggle as much as you can.”

It’s true that it would be an advantage for one person to be able to use teleportation
while the other s can’t, but was that sufficient for her to have that much confidence?
That was awfully over the top. Does she still have something else hidden?
But even after that, Myrellia rarely fought back. She would do nothing more than a
light attack while running away from the attacking Kiara and Mea.

“Hey hey! What’s wrong? You can’t take me down with an attack like that, can you?”

We tried provoking her with words. By now, I’ve definitely noticed she was stalling for
time. I’m sure everyone here was aware of that too. Regardless, we still couldn’t land
a decisive hit.

This place was too small to unleash a wide range of high-powered attacks as it would
definitely indiscriminately attack all of our teammates too. Having said that, it’s hard
to keep up with the ever-evasive Myrellia. She hasn’t made that move yet, but if it
comes down to it, Myrellia had the ability to just teleport out of the room if she really
wanted to.

The only way to counter her teleports would be to unleash a wide range attack and
detect which area she teleported to based on that. From what I’ve seen, the only people
who could do that were Asura and Fran.

Quina and Mianoa specialized in close combat, so they don’t have attacks that spread
over a wide area. Mea and Kiara have no way of detecting and following Myrellia’s
teleportation.

In the end, it came down to either me, to detect the teleportation through space-time
magic, or Asura, who can detect it through intuition. But I’m honestly worried about
letting Asura do it.

The reason why Myrellia was stalling for time was probably because of Asura. All I
could think of was that she was waiting for Asura to run amok. If that’s the case, I’m
afraid to let Asura shoot a powerful technique so easily, as the more he involves
himself in combat, the greater the danger of him running amok.

Then, I had no choice but to do it. We’ll have to settle this fight before Asura’s outbursts
began. I can’t sense Asura’s destructive impulses yet. However, I could see a bit of
impatience beginning to show on his face. Maybe Myrellia was right about the change
being close. There was no more time. We must defeat Myrellia by any means necessary.

“Fran”

(Mhm)
“I’ll stop her! Don’t miss that moment. The only way to bring her down is to cut her
yourself.”

(I understand)

“Good!”

Immediately after Myrellia avoided Mea’s white fire by teleporting, I activated the
form transformation at full force. Thinner, sharper, and wider. I could control my own
sword blade more perfectly by unleashing simultaneous operations at full throttle.

That’s not all. The power of ‘Breaking Evil Manifestation’ spread through every corner
of the thread, and on every single strand. Otherwise, there would be no way to catch
Myrellia.

“Ugh!”

The same – or even more painful – as when I used simultaneous arithmetic to activate
multiple magic operations assaulted my spirit. As I used simultaneous magic attacks
at the same time, the magic operations added up to give me the same amount – or even
more – of pain to my spirit. Yes, I was supposed to be an invincible sword, but I was
definitely feeling pain. Is this my sword? Or is it my spirit? I thought I heard something
crack. But we can’t cut corners here.

I used not only the imaginative steel cords but also the sword blade, and like a giant
spider’s web, my sword blade, which had turned into a steel thread, covered half of
the hall.

“Gah! Even until here!”

“Gotcha, I got her!”

The prey that hung on the spider’s web was Myrellia, just after she made the
teleportation. A sharp thread hugged her body, and her right arm and left leg were cut
off halfway through. Lacerations were carved all over her body, and we could see the
evil spirit fogging away. I manipulated the string further, tightening its encirclement
to keep Myrellia from escaping.

“Ugh!”
At the same time, I’ve paved the way for Fran. Now it was her turn to play her part.
Even though there were gaps in the threading, the steel threads would still damage
Fran. However, Fran ignored the pain as she thrusted me towards Myrellia, sprinkling
red blood everywhere as she made me as thin and small as a dagger.

“Haaaaaaa!!”

“Ugh…!”

But I didn’t make it in time. Myrellia pushed the tangled threads away for a moment
with compressed evil energy and escaped by teleporting.

A large hole has been drilled on Myrellia’s body, and a large hole has also appeared in
the center of the hall, but there was still no sign of it repairing itself. On top of that, the
evil spirit in her has been reduced to less than half of what it was at the start. She must
be cornered for sure.

(Master, are you alright?)

“That’s my line……”

(Mm. It will heal soon. But Master pushed herself too hard.)

“Aa……”

I want to be strong, but that is not enough. Now is not the time to rest.

“I won’t stop”

(……mhm!)
Myrellia’s evil spirit was greatly reduced by my and Fran’s attack. But there was a
smile on her face, along with anguish.

“Hahahahahaha! I knew you were strong!”

“Well, thank you.”

As if to warn Myrellia, who is laughing with her face contorted, Asura replies with a
blunt word.

What is with this confidence from Myrelia?

However, it’s still an opportunity. We’ll stop her here before she gets away with
teleportation again. I pushed down my mental fatigue and increased my focus to
attack again. Asura seemed to be going for something, too.

The tension between us rose quietly. Myrellia should have sensed the atmosphere, but
she remains as relaxed as ever.

But then, right when we were about to move, something happened. I could feel the
magic power radiating through our feet from nowhere.

“What is this? What is this strange magical power?”

Immediately after that, a tremendous vibration coarsed throughout the dungeon. It’s
as if they were pushed up from the earth itself. It wasn’t just Fran, who was lighter, but
even Asura was floating for a moment. This is exactly what I was thinking about. I
thought there had been a major earthquake.

Myrellia’s smile deepened as she saw Fran and the others surprised by the shaking.
That piece of sh*t Myrellia! I didn’t feel any magic or evil spirits, so how in the world
did she do it? Is it the power of the dungeon? Anyway, this occurrence gave her a
chance.
“It’s coming!”

(Yes)

Fran, still separated from the shaky ground by an aerial leap, focused all her attention
on Myrellia’s movements. As long as she had the trump card against the evildoers,
Breaking Evil Manifestation, Fran would always be targeted by her.

“…………”

(…………)

But Myrellia didn’t make a move. On the contrary, she began to laugh loudly on the
spot.

“Hahahahaha! Finally!”

It’s not just Myrellia who is acting strangely. Asura and Kiara also stared at Myrellia,
who was laughing, with an astonished expression on her face.

“Was that… a dungeon scream?”

“Why are you laughing at that?”

“A dungeon scream?”

A dungeon scream is apparently an earthquake-like vibration that occurs when the

dungeon master is defeated and the dungeon goes dormant. In some dungeons that
have just been built, it may be barely perceptible, but in the case of older, larger
dungeons, the tremors can be so great that you can’t even stand up.

They say that the wavelength of the magic emanating from the core is unique, so
anyone who knows about it can easily recognize it. I see. So what we felt before, the
vibrations, in other words, was magic.

But why is Myrellia smiling? When the Dungeon Master dies and the dungeon goes
dormant, everything that belongs to the dungeon, like monsters and other things
should disappear. In other words, Myrellia would also disappear.

“Hmmm. I’m free now!”

“What do you mean? Didn’t you say you were involved in the dungeon? If that’s the
case…”

“Extinguished?”

“Yes.”

“Too bad! I’m only half in control of the dungeon, so I’m not going to disappear right
now. Well, you’ll have a few days to spare, isn’t that good? But it’s only for a few days,
okay?”

“You’re right. But I don’t need a few days to kill you. A few minutes is all it takes.”

“You are talking bullsh*t now”

“Well, it’s certainly not going to be a normal win. He has a divine sword user and a
breaker. Everyone else has evolved as well.”

Myrellia is calm while saying that. I have no idea what she’s thinking.

“‘But I can at least let my remaining strength run amok and self-destruct, you know?
I’m going to be gone in a few days anyway, so why not self-destruct here? What would
happen if I blew myself up as fast as I could in this small space? Even if you survive,
the blast might trigger that mad demon to start running wild, you know?”

Even though Myrellia’s evil spirit has been halved, she still accumulated an enormous
amount of power. Besides, it was entirely possible that Myrellia’s self-destruction
would trigger Asura’s outburst.

Was Myrellia desperate? But the way she spoke earlier, it was as if she was waiting for
the Dungeon Master to be killed. Funny when you think about it, wasn’t it? If she was
going to self-destruct, it should have been before the dungeon master dies.

“Hey, would you like to make a deal with me?”

“What did you say?”

“If you’re willing to do me a favor, I am willing to let you kill me here without making
a fuss. No resistance. I promise.”
It’s not a lie — it’s more like you can’t discern it. When I think about it, it always felt
strange to me. The illusionary theory has never concluded that Myrellia’s words were
lies. But that was unlikely. In fact, it should be more natural to lie all the time.

Perhaps, just like appraisal, the reasoning of falsehoods is not as effective as it should
be against the words of the evil one.

“Fran, do you think she’s telling the truth?”

(Mm. Those eyes are telling the truth.)

Fran has better intuition than I do.Therefore those words were believable.

“I don’t get it. What do you, an evil woman, want? The Resurrection of the Evil God?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. That’s not the kind of sh*t I want to hear.”

Hearing Myrellia’s words, Asura was also crestfallen. The evil woman called the
resurrection of the Evil Gods as a trivial matter. That was surprising.

“I’m only asking for one thing. I’m sure It’s not that hard for you guys.”

“…say it.”

“There is an aristocratic family in the Kingdom of Bashar called the Magnolia family.
Could you rescue the recently born, legitimate son and put him in a safe place?”

“Haaa???!!!!”

“What did you say?”

Asura and Kiara ask back. I mean that was natural. I too don’t know what she meant.
Rescuing a trueborn son of House Magnolia? What do you mean by ‘rescue’? Why not
do it yourself in the first place?

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. What are you up to?”

“I’m not planning anything. To elaborate a bit more, I want you to take the heir son of
the Magnolia family out of the kingdom of Bashar before he gets brainwashed and take
him out of their reach. All I’m asking is that you let him live a normal life, okay? If
possible, take him to an orphanage run by a rank A adventurer on the next continent.
That’s all I want.”

“Why don’t you do it yourself?”

“If they know I’m obsessed with that child, the Dungeon Master will surely take that
child as a hostage. I’m finally free, but I don’t have time anymore. That’s why I want to
leave you guys to it.”

Neither Kiara, Asura, nor Mea said anything. No, it’s more like we can’t. We can’t
believe it. In the first place, she was an evil and aggressive person, and she was a
person who brought destruction wherever she went. Is that not enough already, and
now you want us to save your child?

But as Fran says, her words don’t seem to be a lie. The look in her eyes were even
sincere.

Fran opens her mouth to take over from Asura.

“What about the others guys? What about those knights?”

“You should just leave those guys alone. Being there is not worth anything other than
being Romeo’s parent.”

“What did you say about the revival of the royal family or the black cat paradise?”

“Oh, I don’t care about it, the Krishna royal family is just a relic of the past. And about
the paradise for the Black Cats? What’s the value of that stuff? This is all a diversion
to hide my true intentions. Afterall you don’t know where you’ll encounter the ear of
Bashar’s kingdom or the Dungeon Master. All I really want is for Romeo to be happy.
Hey, please. Get that boy out of the kingdom of Bashar and out of the spell of Magnolia.”

“What the hell is-“

Asura was about to ask the question again, and that was when suddenly…

“Enough of this farce.”

“Gah!”
A figure suddenly appeared behind Myrellia, thrusting the sword in his hand from his
back towards her heart. I could see the evil spirit flowing towards the figure from
Myrellia, who was vomiting blood and looking in anguish. He is absorbing Myrellia’s
evil energy. This guy looked familiar to us.

“Xellos Reed. You… Betrayed me……?”

“Well, don’t let me miss my chance to eat more power!”

“Guh!”

Xellos Reed shoved Myrellia away. Myrellia fell in front of us, and by all accounts, she
was dying. I could barely feel the evil energy that had been stored up in her for so long.
The wound she just received did not even begin to regenerate.

“Hey… Please… That child… please make that child… please make Romeo happy…
please…”

She tried to reach her hand out to us, even though she was running out of breath.

“Hmm, you poor woman. You’re a family member of the evil gods, but you’re wishing
for a human child to be happy. So no matter how crazy you are, in the end you’re still
just a woman huh?”

“Aa……”

Then her hands lost their strength as she crumpled to the ground.
Side Myrellia

The last thing I remember was a white light covering my vision. A divine and
abominable light. It was the light of divine punishment that took my life away.

It’s strange. It felt like that happened a long time ago. But it’s not unreasonable. Five
hundred years have passed since then. In other words, I failed.

What a mess. I was so close to achieving my dream… My mind coated with despair, I
feel the reign of the Evil Gods strengthening. Still, I was able to remain conscious
without being completely controlled by the Evil Gods because of a slight glimmer of
hope.

I was told by Linford that the Magnolia name is still around today. And that even my
name has been passed down. I couldn’t contain my laughter when I was told about the
myths which were full of mistakes.

The love between me and my lover quickly cooled off. He abandoned me for fear of the
beasts around him, and I wasn’t so vigorous enough to continue loving the man who
abandoned me either.

It was around that time that everything in this world became indifferent to me. Losing
motivation, I began to live a self-degrading life. Supposedly in the myths, I ended up
as a wife of a certain noble. What a dull life!

However, in reality the story didn’t end there. I have met my destiny. It’s a boy born
between my former lover who abandoned me and a prostitute who was enslaved to a
marriage fraud.

I was captivated the moment I saw him. Is that what motherhood is? The fact that the
image of my beloved man remains, albeit at such a time, maybe it’s one of the reasons
why I was interested. Anyway, I wondered how could there be such a sweet, cute and
lovable being. It’s strange that I didn’t think about such a thing when I saw other
children.

From that moment on, only the child’s happiness mattered to me. So I didn’t kill those
two. I heard that children needed both their parents. Otherwise, I would have already
killed my former lover and that prostitute who was afraid to earn my disgrace and
tried to kill that child.

But things didn’t work in my favour. My father had clearly begun to run amok.
Apparently, my request to marry a human caused the beastmen in the country to
distrust the Beast King family. He tried to hold it down with force as a civil war was on
the verge of breaking out.

Eventually, my father turned to a forbidden power to protect his position. He tried to

unlock the seal of the wicked god’s tomb, which was under the control of the royal
family, and use that power as his own. However, ironically, it was I who ended up
endangering the beast royal family as the priestess of the Evil God. Dedicated to the
Evil God as a sacrifice, I was revived by the power of the Evil God and for some reason
ended up becoming a shrine maiden of the Evil God.

Whether or not I was still myself. Whether I was just a puppet controlled by the Evil
God or not. Even if I ask myself the question,I can’t get an answer. And then, I suddenly
realized. That I gained power. It was the power to fulfill a great desire. That one wish
still remained, smoldering in my chest.

Then, what is there to hesitate about? I decided to harness even the power of the Evil
Gods.

First I offer my father a deal. Instead of wielding the power of the Evil God for the
Beast King family, he asked for the elimination of all the human exclusionists so that
that child could live happily in this country. Eventually, my father conspired with me
to thoroughly suppress the anti-humanists in the country. The other black cat tribes
easily changed sides when I gained power. It was hilarious to see those who previously
accused me of being a filthy woman who had mingled with so many humans, and yet
they didn’t even try to hide their filthy desires, and they all wanted to shake my hand
in order to gain power. Don’t they know which one was dirtier?

But I was betrayed again. My former lover fled to the kingdom of Bashar with that boy.
Behind the scenes, his kingdom seemed to be pulling the strings. And then he held that
kid hostage and came at me. He asked for help in weakening the beastly nation.
I had no choice but to obey. Instead of wishing for the child’s safety, he set up his own
army and carried out all the pro-war movements who were planning to invade the
army and invade the Bashar Kingdom.

At the request of the army from the beast kingdom, he sent the army of the beasts to
attack and annihilate the army from the Bashar Kingdom with a pincer attack.

We also gave them everything they wanted, including rewriting the borders of the
other side through post-war reparations and such. By that time, my father had already
been brainwashed by me, so I could do whatever I wanted about it.

But perhaps because of their injuries, the human exclusionists were greatly reduced
in strength, and I, who had given my soul, gained more power through the Evil Gods.
All that was left was to get that child back from the Bashar Kingdom, and my wish will
finally come true. If that white light hadn’t taken my life, it would have happened.

It seems that all of the people who had even the slightest trace of the Evil God’s factor
entering their lives were also eliminated by divine punishment. Ha ha ha, good grief!
The one that hit us the hardest was the black cat tribe, who were supposed to be our
own people. Everyone, adults and children alike, called me vulgar and threw rocks at
me. I should have destroyed them all anyway.

And 500 years later. I would be awakened and dominated by Linford. It was a
humiliation to be used by such a man, but he certainly piqued my interest when he
said that the descendants of that child remained in the present Bashar kingdom. I can’t
see that child anymore, but what of it? But the moment I saw that child’s descendant,
I lost interest.

Their spirit was so distorted that they looked only like puppets. Originally, the
Magnolia family had been educated to instill patriotism. But now they’ve gone too far
and it was nothing but pure brainwashing.

In the end I met that child again. His appearance was not similar, his hair and eyes
different. But, the moment I saw him, I had the same ticklish feeling as when I met that
child. Romeo, the just-born son of the Magnolia family. Did the blood of that child flow
through his? That was the moment when I found a new purpose in life.

And I noticed. As it was, this Romeo would eventually become a puppet of the Bashar
kingdom just like Johan. That was the only thing that must be stopped.
I’ve fallen into the role of Linford’s servant, but I’ve been granted a modicum of
authority. I began to take action to achieve my own desires, despite Linford’s wishes.

The first thing I did was to negotiate with the current king of Bashar. I cooperated with
him for the good of his country, and we made a promise that Romeo would be handed
over to me when his wishes were fulfilled. No, if I designate Romeo, the country and
Linford and others could take that kid hostage.

Instead I told the King that I wanted Magnolia’s bloodline to summon my former
lover’s spirit. And since an innocent soul was better, I would like to receive Romeo
intact if possible. It seems that the shrine maiden of the Evil God was likely to say that.
Thanks to that, King Bashar seemed to think that I was trying to sacrifice Romeo. Well,
it will be great if they misunderstood until the end. It’s just a matter of time before I
get my hands on Romeo anyway.

The wishes of the Kingdom of Bashar. It’s a way of subduing the beastly nation, our
sworn enemy, and rising above it. For the Bashar Kingdom, which had always been
frightened by the shadow of invasion from the Beastman Nation, it could be said to be
a long-cherished wish of the Bashar Kingdom.

***

For the Bashar Kingdom, who had always been frightened by the shadow of the
invasion from the Beastman Nation, it could be said to be a long-cherished wish.

Besides, the deteriorating relationship with the Beast Nation also cast a dark shadow
over the Magnolia family. Even though they are anti-beast exclusionists they were
trying to hang on to those whose ancestors had roots in the beast country even if they
ended up suspected as spies. The Magnolia family was always targeted as one of these.
Also, the Magnolia family’s territory was near the border with the Beast Nation, and if
the Beast Nation gained supremacy of the area, the Magnolia family could be executed
as traitors.

Linford’s interests, the interests of the Kingdom of Bashar, and my interests coincided,
and a war against the Beast Nation was planned. Lynford wanted a soul, the Bashar
kingdom wanted a victory, and I wanted a sacrifice.

The king apparently used my notorious lore, which was of course full of
misunderstandings, to get the upper echelons of the Bashar Kingdom to approve an
alliance with the wicked while flirting with profit. Most of them wouldn’t believe in
such worldly rhetorics as ingratitude towards me. However, the king seemed to have
found a solution and that he didn’t mind a little nuisance as long as he could get the
Beast Country.

Also, ironically, because of historical evidence of me, an evil being, being used to
depose the rule of the Beastman Nation five hundred years ago, he seemed to have
little resistance to the idea of utilizing the power of the evil god. After all there is a
precedent that an evil person can be used.

But we also had to think about what would happen if we lost. Of course, King Bashar
also considered that possibility.

Even if someone put you in the line or in a fire and tell them that you are threatened
by an evil person, you would not be able to avoid the Beastmen Nation’s pursuit. After
all we’ve caused so many wars of aggression, and if we lose, of course we’ll be pursued
by the beast nation. The least they would do was exiling us.

But no matter how bad the odds were, no matter how much of a losing game we
played, we could still turn the tides. In other words, we could use the souls gained in
the war to summon a large number of powerful and evil people. As a shrine maiden of
the Evil God, I could control the evil people. And after causing chaos to some extent
inside the beastmen’s country, we would let the Bashar Kingdom Army invade the
beastmen’s country in the name of subjugating an evil person. Since the beast’s hands
would be tied with internal trifles, the subjugation would be simple. After that, they
could effectively control it in the name of disaster recovery or subjugation. After all,
there would be no power left to oppose in the Beastman Nation.

Nevertheless, we also need an excuse for our neighboring countries. Win or lose, we
wouldn’t want the nations around us to say that we were an evil nation in league with
the Evil Gods. Hence, it was necessary to give the impression that I was in charge of
the war.

I was no longer interested in the royal family, but one of my public reasons was to give
the rights to the throne back to the Narashinha family from the Krishna family. I told
him that my actual wish was to gain the paradise of the Black Cat. I tried to make Johan
Magnolia and his allies feel like I cared about the 500-year old relationship. The truth
was, I didn’t care what happened to anyone but Romeo.
The whole thing was a prelude to taking the argument that this conflict is an extension
of the Beastman Nation’s internal strife 500 years ago and that the Bashar royal family
was involved. Of course, I didn’t intend to really kill the princess and her servant there.
However, it made sense to spread words of hatred. Each country would be spying on
the Beastman Nation, and I wouldn’t know where or what any person would hear.
That’s why it was important to appeal to them consistently in a variety of situations.

By doing so, we could make the form of the conflict between the Krishnas and the
Narasinha family more visible. In fact, I had sent a letter to each country saying that
the usurper royal family was to be put to death in my name. All in order to make post-
war risk as low as possible. Even if the nations don’t believe it, as long as the Beastman
Nation was destroyed, it was a matter that can be excused in any way possible.
Because the truth was created for the convenience of the survivors. Just as how my
lore was full of mistakes.

The best thing to do would be to win the war head-on in a big way and rule the beastly
kingdom by the power of Bashar Kingdom alone, but that would be difficult. However,
a pincer attack with a dungeon force should have a good chance of working.

I didn’t want to use the power of an Evil God if I could. Without a doubt, the heavens
will send out punishment again. Fufufu. Yes, I knew and so did King Bashar, that if you
used the power of an evil god, you will surely be punished by heaven. That’s why King
Bashar kept the plan to summon the evildoers deep inside his heart. Perhaps he was
going to focus the divine punishment on himself alone. I didn’t know if it would work.

But, as was the case 500 years ago, there must be some time for leeway. In that little
moment, King Bashar would nominate a successor, and I intended to let Romeo escape
from the Bashar Kingdom. I also had an idea of where to leave Romeo. Although it
would be on another continent, there was an orphanage run by a Rank A adventurer.
I had it checked out, but it was a perfectly straightforward orphanage with no other
side to it. If I left him there, he would be a few times safer than if he were to remain in
the Kingdom of Bashar.

However, I thought all those plans were likely to end in vain. Thus, it was such a
surprise that an irregularity such as the Divine Swordsman appeared.

Even though I knew I couldn’t win against my opponent, I could never run away from
a fight because of the force of the order that compelled me to keep doing so. Even I
didn’t think I could beat the Divine Swordsman. Therefore I knew that my life would
end here.

The only bright side would be the appearance of Xellos Reed. Apparently he betrayed
Linford. I’d eaten all the evil people here. But, traitorous though he is, he was willing
to negotiate. What I presented to him was my life. In exchange for giving that power
and my life, I decided to have Xellos Reed do three jobs.

The first was the killing of the Dungeon Master, the only person who could order me
around. As long as that thing was watching us, we couldn’t take any chances. However,
at any rate, challenging the Divine Swordsman would just end in death. Thus, it would
be better to get a little freedom at the end. Well, I told them I could move for a few
days, but that was a lie. It will be an hour at the most. I don’t have time to get to the
child, I’m afraid.

The other thing I asked for was to kill me at the perfect time. Specifically, right after I
asked the Divine Swordsman and the princess to protect Romeo, Xellos Reed will take
my life miserably.

Why? People like them were susceptible to sad story developments. How could they
refuse? After all, it was the last wish of a dying, poor woman. They wouldn’t be able to
refuse it. I’ve seen that the Divine Swordsman and the princess were particularly
vulnerable to such stories. There is a higher chance though it’s still a small chance, but
the probability that Romeo will be saved increased. That was the last struggle I could
make.

As a matter of fact, I’ve asked Xellos Reed for help too. It’s just, I don’t know how far
he’ll go to keep his promise, so I’d be grateful if the princess or the Divine Swordsman
would protect him if possible. Although they were my enemy, the princess and the
Divine Swordsman are much more reliable.

“Hey… Please… That child… please make that child… please make Romeo happy…
please…”

“Hmm, you poor woman. You’re a family member of the Evil Gods, but you’re wishing
for a human child to be happy. So no matter how crazy you are, in the end you’re still
just a woman huh?”

When the princess and the Divine Swordsman heard Xellos Reed’s words, a look of
anger appeared on their faces. They felt sorry for me.
“Ah……”

Thank you, Xellos Reed, for the greatest help.

“Hmm, you poor woman. You’re a family member of the evil gods, but you’re still
wishing for a human child to be happy. It seems like no matter how crazy you are, in
the end you’re still just a woman huh?”

“Ah……”

“Hm.”

The indifferent man stared coldly, at Myrellia who collapsed and disappeared like a
black mist.

I had no idea what the hell was going on.

Myrellia said something incomprehensible, such as wanting me to help save a child in

Bashar Kingdom.

The Krishna royal family and their attitude toward the knights were all actually ways
to hide their true intentions? What she really wanted to do was to save a boy named
Romeo from the Kingdom of Bashar? Indeed, Johann Magnolia was brainwashed. The
boy named Romeo is likely to end up like that if left alone.

I can see why it would be difficult for Myrellia to rescue the boy on her own, with
Linford and the Dungeon Master in control.

But was it the truth? It didn’t look like she was lying, but it’s hard to believe that, that
Myrellia would make a move like that. Moreover I am worried about Xellos Reed’s
sudden appearance.

And suddenly all the worries I was thinking about were blown out of my head. It
seemed to be the same for Fran, Kiara, Asura, and, well, everyone here.

“Hey, hey……… until when will you…”

The evil energy emitted by Xellos Reed had become so powerful that it was
incomparably stronger than before. That’s about to measure up to Myrellia’s. No, if he
used the power properly, it might even be beyond that.

It used to be possible to read some statuses and other information in the appraisal.
But now I couldn’t see anything. In other words, it meant that the evil spirit has
strengthened so much. From a glance it was the same as before, but now it gave off an
even more frightening aura than before.

Even Asura frowned and showed caution. Kiara lightly braced herself, and as for Fran
and the others, she quickly distanced herself from them and readied her weapon with
a pale face. I could see the goosebumps on Fran’s arms. In other words, Xellos had
become just that much more powerful.

Perhaps he has been killing and killing and killing all the evil people and kept
absorbing their power with his cannibalistic skills. I thought before that it would be
good for the world in a way, but I didn’t expect him to be able to nurture the evil spirit
to this extent in such a short amount of time.

“What?”

“What the hell is Xellos Reed?”

“Are you a follower of the Evil God? You seem strong.”

“I am honored to have the Divine Swordsman say that! Kuhahaha!”

The evil spirit blew up from Xellos Reed’s entire body with a tremendous amount of
force as he laughed. The vibrations were scattered randomly and turned into a storm
that blew around us.

This is seriously bad! Just when we were about to fend off Myrellia, another monster
appears again!

Even though we have a trump card against evil, I seriously didn’t want to interact with
such a monster. The crisis of Asura’s going berserk has not yet passed. I think running
is the way to go here.

“-Chii!”
The Dimension Gate was not activated. I don’t know if it was maintained even though
Myrellia was dead, or if Xellos Reed had re-established it, but the teleportation
containment has not yet been lifted.

“That little guy over there looks familiar. He was the one in Barbora…”

“…”

“How is that one boy?”

“…”

“Why are you not answering?”

It’s not like I was trying hard to ignore him, or that I kept my mouth shut to avoid
giving him information. But, I can’t speak. Xeros Reed took his gaze off Fran as it was,
as if he had lost interest, and looked at Asura with an epic smile on his face.

“You have a divine sword……… I wanted to go at it with you once…”

“Battle Junkie”

“Hey, you’re just as crazy as I am, aren’t you?”

“I don’t want to be put at the same level as you, but I guess from a human perspective
it’s similar.”

“Moreover you have such a terrific skill set of enhancement! Ka-ha-ha! Nice!!”

Killing intent emanated from Xellos Reed, as if he had identified Asura as his prey.
From his point of view, it might just be a greeting, but if the current Xellos Reed did it,
it was no different than an attack. If it were an ordinary person, this killing intent alone
would stop his heart.

Even Guendalfa unconsciously backed up and surprised himself by hitting his back
against the wall. Apparently he hadn’t realized he was retreating. He was shaking with
a sweaty face.

“Chi”
Looking at Xellos Reed who looked energized, Asura also got agitated.

“Oi, Kiara!”

“No! You can’t!”

Before I knew it, Kiara approached the entrance door and was looking into it. However,
as I expected, it didn’t seem to open.

In the meantime, the killing intent emanating from Xellos Reed was rising tremendously!
I found that even Quina, who normally didn’t show her expression, frowned.

“Hehehehehe, wanna get at it?”

“Oi you guys! Don’t get involved in this! Kiara, hurry up!”

Then the battle between the monsters began. Of course, the first one to make a move
was Xellos Reed.

“Ora!”

Xellos Reed took out from nowhere a huge sword comparable to Asura’s earth sword
Gaia. It’s name had become the Great Sword of the Evil God Stone. I see, it might be a
suitable weapon for this guy to use. Both in name and strength.

The great jet-black sword that was swung down was intercepted by the divine sword
raised by Asura.

Dooooooooooo!

The pair of great swords were struck together, causing a roar and a loud shockwave
that reached Fran and the others who had taken shelter by the wall. From there, a
bizarre scene unfolded as two giant men struck each other with great swords.

The attacks were offset by opposing attacks, and the two fought each other with even
more attacks without being able to defend against the blasting shockwave. I couldn’t
imagine how powerful a single attack could be, but I didn’t think I wanted to mix in
there at all. However, it seems that Asura’s swordsmanship was superior to Xellos’
skills.
Every ten or so times, Asura’s attack caught Xellos Reed. It would regenerate quickly,
but I could see that the evil spirit was greatly diminished. But Kiara looked restless.
Asura too.

“This is bad…”

“What’s wrong?”

“Look at the corner of Asura. The color has turned red. It’s a sign of a berserk. Soon,
his demonization will be activated!”

Things seemed to be moving in the worst direction possible.

Every time he hit Xellos Reed with his sword, the horn that grew from Asura’s forehead
dyed a deeper red. At the same time, a red magic power began to rise from his body
like a heat haze.

“Red is the color of madness……… The fact that he started to wear that aura meant his
skills have already been activated!”

I’ve heard that it’s just barely in control due to equipment and other effects. It was
only a matter of time before the Demonization fully activated. That awareness was
already fully focused only for the battle with Xellos Reed.

“Oraaa!”

“Chi! You are a divine swordsman indeed!”

Asura’s attack becomes more intense. The earth sword, Gaia, was struck against the
floor of the dungeon, causing a large depression, with a crack in the form of a cobweb
surrounding it.

I was frightened when I saw it. Was this dungeon destructible in the first place? Maybe
the strength of the dungeons varied. In the Goblin Dungeon, the floor was casually
gouged by Fran’s attack.

But this dungeon was mostly unscathed by Asura’s rampage. Although he was
manipulating it with earth magic, the dungeon itself wouldn’t get hurt by a normal
attack. That’s why it was impossible to destroy the dungeon and escape. However, that
common sense was overturned right now.
That casual blow probably contained a huge amount of magical power as well as
physical strength.

“Graaaaa!”

“Uraaraaaa!”

The Great Kaiju War! Not only Asura, but Xellos Reed’s attacks have also begun to
destroy the dungeon!

“Aside from Kiara and the others, Guendalfa looks pretty bad!”

We still have plenty of time to dodge the aftermath of the attack, but Guendalfa already
looked like he long reached his limit. He was desperately running away.

However, the battle between the two became even more intense. I mean, Asura didn’t
seem to care about his surroundings anymore. He began to use a wide range of
techniques without hesitation, and the corresponding Xellos Reed was also releasing
a wide range of techniques.

“Quina! Is it still not open?!”

“I’m sorry. I’m avoiding it while trying to open the door, so it will be a while yet.”

“Mea, Fran, Mia! Protect Quina!”

Ever since Asura’s outburst began, Quina has been trying to open the door. She took
position in front of the door and examined something, but it seems to be slow going
as she was dodging the aftermaths of the battle along the way.

We all put up wards and barriers to protect Quina. Guendalfa needed to endure a little
more.

I kept an eye on Asura and Xellos during that time, but they were moving faster and
faster. In addition, the magic power in their attacks kept increasing. They were getting
serious about each other.

Finally, Asura made a big move. He lightly distanced himself from Xellos Reed and
raised the earth sword Gaia high in the sky.
“Divine sword release, oooooooooo!”
“Divine sword release, oooooooo!”

Immediately after Asura shouted that, a light blasted up from the divine sword. Along
with that, magical power started pouring out from inside the divine sword and
surrounded Asura with light. The scene was as if a pillar of light was swallowing Asura.

Although they were far apart, a shock wave striked Fran and the others. At the same
time, a cloud of dust and stone debris billowed everywhere. It was as if a dynamite
had exploded at a close distance. Everyone was stuck in place and simply had to
withstand the raging forces.

On top of that, a tremendous presence and magical power engulfed the entire room,
rendering magical power sensing and presence detection useless.

“So this is the power of the divine sword!”

From the sound of that scream, he must have released the power of the divine sword.
Furthermore, the magical power emanating from the divine sword was so intense
anyone under its influence would feel as if oppressed by an unstoppable force.

Is it really the same weapon as me? I couldn’t believe it. No, I guess this is why the
Divine Sword is called a weapon.

“Fran! Are you okay!”

(Hmm!)

Like this, if someone were to approach us through the dust, it would be too late for us
once we actually notice them. With maximum vigilance, we waited for the smoke to
clear. A few seconds or so passed, although it felt like many times more.

After the smoke cleared, the figure of Asura, who was at the center of the force, came
into view. There is no change in the appearance of Asura himself. But the divine sword
in his hand had been greatly altered.

“That’s the true form of the divine sword…? That’s no longer a sword… right?”

How do I say this? It’s a strange sight. The sword didn’t seem to belong to any proper
category of weapons. Before its power was unleashed, it was a greatsword with a
straight blade, but now the blade is warped like a curved sword. In addition, five sharp
and large spines, like spikes, grew at regular intervals along the curve, with the tip
having transformed into a peculiar shape.

There was a huge block of iron on the end of the blade, just like a hammer. The part of
the warped blade facing inward is sharp and pointed like a pickaxe. The other side is
shaped like a flat hammer. Moreover, it is tremendously big. The thick blade alone is
more than two meters long, and the hammer portion nearly twice as tall, wide and
long like a drum.

It doesn’t look very much like a weapon for personal use. It was probably closer to say
that it was a kind of a siege weapon, like a battering ram.

Even after looking at the weapon and appraising it, I still could only see the name
Earth Sword Gaia and a few abilities. The fact that it evolved to its true form must have
raised its level to the point where I cannot appraise it at my current level.

Name: Earth Sword, Gaia

Attack Power: 4700

Magical Conductivity/SS+

Unfortunately, these were the only things I could confirm. However, this alone was
enough to show that it was no longer just a regular divine sword.

“Oraa!”

Asura, who regained his true form, slammed the Earth Sword Gaia into Xellos Reed,
faster than before. It was most likely the effect of its status being raised.

Xellos Reed tried to counter the attack with his greatsword, but he was easily pushed
away. He still tried to twist his body to dodge, but it was to no avail.
Despite avoiding Gaia, an invisible force smashed half of his body.

Xellos Reed appeared to have suffered a fatal wound, with the entire left half of his
body appearing as if cut off, but then he stood and still managed to balance the
remaining half of his body. Normally, people would have died from that attack, but he
was a person harnessing evil spirit power.

Immediately, the right half of his body began to regenerate and regain its original form.

“Oh sh*t! As expected of the divine sword!”

“Gah!”

“Hahahaha! Come! Come! I’ll kill you, you bastard, and I’ll take your divine Sword!”

Xellos moved even faster. Every time he swung his sword, he spread a vicious evil spirit
around. Just a scratch and you’ll be damaged by the evil spirit.

Every time Asura slammed Gaia, the dungeon caved in and the ground underneath
Fran and the others shook. Sometimes the wrecked dungeon floor would turn into
torso-sized projectiles from the impact and come at them at super speed.

“Uu… ugh… gahhhh!”

In the midst of a fierce grinding contest, Asura held the divine sword on his shoulder.
Then he poured his magic power into the divine sword and jumped out with even
greater speed than before. It was the fastest he had been so far.

“Wha!”

The next thing I knew, Asura was right in front of Xellos Reed. Xellos must have
realized he couldn’t defend himself. He seemed to have put up a barrier in a hurry, but
the entire barrier was smashed by the divine sword.

The biggest roar and blast of the day hit the room as if we were at the center of an
explosion. The barrier I set up was easily penetrated by the flying debris. Quickly, I
equipped Physical Damage Nullification, but before I could, several shots gutted Fran’s
body.

“Are you okay?!”

(Hmm)

Even though the barrier had been breached, its power was greatly reduced because of
it. Thankfully, the wounds weren’t deep. As I healed Fran’s wounds with my [Heal], I
checked on everyone.

“Are the others okay?” I ask Fran.

“Are you guys okay?” Fran asked the others.

” We are alright but… Guendalfa is hurt because he defended us!!”

“I’m coming!”

It seems that Guendalfa used his huge body as a shield to protect everyone who was
at the door. When Fran rushed and ran, I saw countless rubbles of all sizes were stuck
on his back. His life was in danger.

“This is bad Fran!”

“Hmm!”

With me and Fran using Greater Heal in rapid succession, we managed to get him out
of critical condition. However, he won’t be able to move for a while. If they keep
attacking like that repeatedly, the rest of us will be in danger.

In the first place, given the performance of the divine sword, it seemed that even with
the current attack, its power still wasn’t fully utilized. If a more widespread and high-
powered attack was unleashed, even Fran would be in danger.

“Quina?”

“Sorry. I can’t open it yet.”

When asked by Kiara, Quina shakes her head.

“Is there no other choice but to risk it? I don’t want to bet on it but…”

“Bet on what?”
“Asura’s Demonization will be cancelled after a certain amount of damage is taken…”

“If so, Then we’ll all-”

“But! If it is not undone, he’ll turn against us! He’ll change his target and attack all of
us!”

So that was it. Certainly it’s a bet. If we fail, we will be on the receiving end of that
sword’s attacks. Then we had a slightly better bet.

“Fran. Let’s try that one.”

(…Skill Taker?)

“Hm. That’s right.”

Did Fran also notice? I’m thinking of trying to get rid of Asura’s mad demonization.
However, I was hesitant for several reasons.

First of all, does taking away the skill after the demonization has begun will stop any
further demonization? Also, won’t he lose his ability to compete with Xellos Reed?
That’s what I thought. However, it was certain that we will not continue to be safe in
this state. Then we should just give it a try.

“Stop Asura.”

“What? What will you do?”

“We could do something, maybe.”

Fran explains quickly. We might be able to erase Asura’s skill, which might stop him
from running berserk. But we weren’t sure.

“I mean, it’s unclear what will happen, but is it possible?”

“Hmm…

“Let’s do it. It’s better than nothing.”

Kiara’s decision was instantaneous. I guess she knew it wasn’t a good idea to continue
fighting as is. Even now, Mea is still protecting us from the occasional flying debris!

“Well then, Let’s do it!”

“Hmm…”

“Skill Taker!”

“Gugaaaaaaaaaaa!”

Immediately after I activated the Skill Taker, Asura stopped moving. Soon, he began to
writhe and suffer.

“Guaaaaaa!!”

“Oi Oi, What’s wrong?”

Xellos Reed also stopped attacking, staring at Asura, who screamed as he knelt on both
knees. After a few seconds, Asura stopped moving and came to a still, and silence
enveloped them.

“What… the hell happened…?”

Asura didn’t seem to know what happened. He was looking around. Kiara approached
him and tried to protect Asura.

(Now all we need is for Master to remove the mad demonization.)

“……Aaa”

“Master?”

What is it? Someone said something. No, not someone, it’s Fran. My wielder.

“No, no, no-”

A sudden urge of rage and destruction overcame me. Both my eyes and my thoughts
turned bright red.

In the first place, what was I doing here? Why am I resting in such a place? Why am I
not fighting?

No! Fight! Destroy all enemies!

“Gaaaaaaa!”

Fight! I must fight! Destroy all Fran’s enemies!

It was abrupt.

Fran said she could block Lord Asura’s mad demonization skills. I don’t know if that
will work, but Master Kiara said to give it a try.

And as Fran held her sword and started concentrating, Asura gradually slowed down
and eventually stopped moving. They’ve really succeeded in calming the demonization!

“We did it!”

The worst that could happen has been avoided, although there was still the creepy evil
villain, Xellos Reed. I thought as such and tried to run towards Fran, when all of a
sudden…

“…”

“Fran, what’s…”

“Master?”

“Gaaaaahhhh!!”

Suddenly, a shrill scream resounded throughout the dungeon. Wait, actually, it’s as if
the sound was directly transmitted into my brain. No, it probably was as such.

“Was that the master…?”

The moment I muttered that, the magic sword in Fran’s hand suddenly left her hand
and took flight. The sword vibrated violently in the air. I could hear the scream
emanating from it. It sounded as if it were the roars of a raging beast, but at the same
time also sounded like a painful scream, one filled with anguish.

“Graaaaahhhh!”
A lightning bolt emanates from the sword and strikes at Xellos Reed. Although it was
easily dodged, the sword moved on its own and rushed at Xellos Reed.

I looked at Fran, who was just standing there, looking stunned. After a moment, she
ran after her divine sword, her face turning blue.

“Master!”

“It’s not taking action under Fran’s orders? Is your master running amok?”

“Hey Mea! Do you know anything about this?”

Seeing the situation with the sword suddenly moving by itself, Master Kiara also
started feeling anxious. She took a look at Fran’s condition and understood that what
was currently happening wasn’t as Fran intended.

“Um, well, the master…”

“Huh? What about me?”

“No, no! Not Master Kiara, but Fran’s Master!!”

“What are you talking about?!”

No! I’m not allowed to give out information that it’s an intelligent weapon. This is
information that Fran trusted me with to keep after all. If I exposed her secret, isn’t it
the same as me betraying her?

Just as I was overwhelmed by my dilemma, Quina interrupted from the side.

“Miss, please calm down. I’m sorry, the young lady seems to be getting confused.”

“I see. What does Quina know about it?”

“I don’t know the details, but as for the one she referred to as master, I think it’s
actually Fran’s sword. I heard it’s named “Master”. Fran-san’s sword seems to be out
of control for some reason. That sword is a fairly high-ranked magic sword. Perhaps,
one of the abilities of that sword is Skill Taker? And maybe, we are currently seeing
the effects of taking away Lord Asura’s skills as mentioned earlier?”
“I see. And you think it was affected by the madness of the demonization and went out
of control?”

“I can only assume as much.”

Good, Quina explained it well. Nonetheless, as we talked about it, the master continued
to run amok, its screams endlessly resounding.

“Gaaahhh!”

Once again, a tremendous lightning bolt descended towards Xellos Reed. More
accurately, it was a tight pack of three lightning bolts. Cold sweat ran down my back
as I watched each of those lightning bolts drill a large crater into the dungeon.

That was extreme grade magic no matter how you look at it. Moreover, it shot three
rounds of that kind of magic at once? Do all intelligent weapons have that kind of
power?

“That sword! Isn’t the red aura emanating from it looks like the one from the Divine
Swordmaster from earlier, what the hell is going on?”

Xellos Reed repeatedly regenerated while being burned by the lightning, but I could
see the confusion on his face. I guess he couldn’t keep up with the fact that the sword
was the only thing that attacked him on its own.

“Master! Master!”

Fran squinted at the blast and called out frantically, but her voice didn’t seem to reach
her master at all.

The Master continued to ignore Fran and suddenly jumped out at a terrifying speed.
Apparently, the sudden acceleration from staying still was enough to catch Xellos Reed
unawares and land a surprise attack. Before he had time to evade it, the sword blasted
away half of his body.

“Guuh! What…! Is this!”

Moreover, it caused critical damage. Yes, that sword also had the ability to counter evil
spirit energy and manifestations. Master’s chase continued against the anguished
Xellos Reed.
“Latent Potential Release… oooooo!”

Immediately after the master’s cry, a tremendous amount of magical power overflowed
from him. The air surrounding him also vibrated by the magical power released,
hitting my skin.

How much power did that sword have in it? Honestly, I felt that the intimidating feeling
emanating from the current master was not inferior to the divine sword Gaia! To my
regret, even if I swing Rind, I will not be able to exert all that power.

“Oh ohhhh!”

Lightning bolts were released again. What a surprise! It wasn’t just raining down from
above, bolt after bolt was shot out from both sides. Three thunderbolts, clearly thicker
than the previous extremely large magic shot out just now, came from above, with two
more from either side. The attack surrounded Xellos Reed.

“How many times can you unleash these attacks?”

Xellos Reed took the thunderbolts head on. With his jet-black sword in his hand, he
cut, blocked, and scattered the lightning bolts. If it were me, I don’t know how many
times I would have been charred black.

What was wrong with this fight? It’s more intense and crazy than the previous Battle
between Xellos Reed and Asura. The sound of discharging lightning bolts canceled out
by Xellos Reed could be heard in the distance. However, Master’s berserking
continued, leaving various thoughts in my heart.

All of a sudden, the raging sword suddenly came apart.

All of a sudden, the raging sword suddenly came apart.

I wondered if it had destroyed itself because it couldn’t withstand the tremendous

magic to visualize it, but after another look, it was obvious that that’s not the case.
Apparently, it has deformed its own shape.

Now it’s made up of thousands of threads that surrounded Xellos Reed. It was like a
cocoon ball made of steel threads.

“Aaaaaaaaaaa!”
“Goddamn it!!”

The cocoon ball suddenly narrowed and closed. If this kept on, the threads that came
at him from all around would end up entangling Xellos Reed.

“Damn it! You sure have a lot of tricks!”

But Xellos Reed was able to teleport and escape before he was completely engulfed.
He lost his right arm, but the damage didn’t seem to be as bad as it looked. Master, who
instantly understood that he had escaped, started chasing after Xellos Reed.

Again, its shape changed and part of the main body returned to its original form. There
were still about 100 threads wounding about and continued to chase after Xellos Reed.
While guiding his opponent’s movements in this manner, the master took a swing with
his main body.

“Divine Judgment”

“Get down!”

The master cut through everything with the extension of the sword. Xellos Reed, the
evil spirits, the magic, the air, the dungeons, everything. Before I knew it, the ceiling
above me was torn asunder. No, not just the part above my head. All the walls that
were in the area of the extension of the teacher’s swing were cut.

I was scared. If I hadn’t been dragged down by Master Kiara, my neck would have been
sliced off by the current attack, and I would have died without even realizing what had
happened.

“Gaaaaaa!”

Xellos Reed lost his body from the waist down. Moreover, his regeneration started to
slow down. He must have suffered substantial damage. The evil man who was much
more powerful, beyond even that monstrous Myrellia, was being hunted down and
injured so easily.

I couldn’t stop shaking. I was really scared. That’s not just a normal magic sword. It
was something else… something much scarier.

“Gaaaaaaa… Ouuuuuu!”
“What is it this time?”

The Master changed his appearance again. What’s that? The design of the sword’s hilt
seemed to rise up, and then the sword was led up with a dull metallic sound.

“One form after another… I won’t let you!”

This time Xellos Reed initiated an attack. He concentrated his evil spirit on his blade
and slashed with it. But that, too, was offset by the barriers that were already put up
around the master. The current blow alone should have contained dozens of times my
entire magical power.

“Uuuu- Aoooooooooooo!”

It is a howl of madness with the intent to destroy everything in existence. I finally

realized what the master’s body was trying to turn into. A wolf. A wolf with a jet black
body and a height of about 5 meters, entirely made of steel. And what erupted from
his body was jet black magic.

The black magical power mixed with the red aura and gave off a vicious color. I
muttered as soon as I saw it.

“Fenrir…?”

It was like the Demon Wolf Fenrir in the myths of old. It was said that a great demon
beast once tried to devour the world. However, the descriptions of the beast in past
records pale in comparison to master’s form in front of me.

“It’s open!”

Apparently, Quina and Master Kiara had done their job well while I only trembled in
fear. The sound of Master Kiara’s pleasant voice was followed by the sound of the
entrance door opening.

“Let’s get out of here!!”

“Ye- Yes!”

“Mia, take Guendalfa. Quina, carry Asura! I’ll bring Fran to you!”
I didn’t receive any instructions. Of course. I was frozen in fear. Quina tugged my arm,
trying to pull me out of the room. However, as I was trying to leave the room I saw it
happen from the corner of my eyes. Master Kiara was attacked by Xellos Reed.

“Come on, let’s have some more fun!”

“Tsk!”

This was bad! Master Kiara cannot get past that man and bring Fran back. Fran was
left standing there, still as dumbfounded as right after her master began his outburst.

“Damn it!”

“P- Princess!”

Quina’s worried voice hit my back. But it didn’t stop me. I didn’t know what I was doing
anyways.

“Fran! What are you doing!”

“Mea, Master…”

“We have to run! Now!”

“No! I can’t leave my master!”

“But…!”

I could understand Fran’s painful feelings. If Lind had gone berserk in the same way, I
too wouldn’t be able to just run away and leave. Still, I had to take her away from this
place for now.

“Right now, your master is in a state of madness! He doesn’t even know you’re here.
You will just end up getting attacked!”

“Bu- But…!”

“It’s a coincidence that you didn’t get involved in the previous attack!”

“…!”
“Now come!”

Fran’s ability to resist weakened. Taking advantage of this, I tried to pull Fran’s arm.
But then I wonder why? I felt like the steel wolf’s eyes turned and looked at me instead
of Xellos Reed. That was all it took to make me stand still. It was a tremendous killing
intent.

“Ooooooooo! Fraaaaannnn!”

Did you just yell ‘Fran’ right now? By any chance, could you perhaps identify Fran?
Wasn’t it a coincidence that you haven’t wrapped up Fran in your attack from earlier?

“Grrrroooooo!”

The steel wolf opened its mouth. What emanated from that huge open mouth was a
blinding light filled with enormous amounts of magical power. I held Lind over my
heart, but I’m not sure if it could protect us. No, it was unlikely it could.

But the flash of light that tried to swallow me without me even thinking of fighting
back was shielded by someone who stood in front of me.

“Master… Kiara?”

“Ou. Are you safe?”

“Ye- Yes… but master is…!”

“It doesn’t matter! Now get out of here!”

“Ye- Yes, Fran! Let’s go.”

As instructed by Master Kiara’s words, I grasped Fran’s hand tighter this time so that
she wouldn’t let go, and ran out to the entrance.
Side Kiara

Just when one would think we were already out of the woods, the worst possible
scenario struck…

The sword that Fran was holding began to rampage on its own. And when it came to
the strength of its power, wasn’t that already comparable to Asura? Maybe it’s actually
even more powerful.

Asura still had the ability to think and make sound combat decisions, even if he was
out of control. Because of this, he was unable to go all out for fear of being caught in a
dungeon collapse. His divine sword was best at widespread annihilation. However, in
such a confined space, it wouldn’t be able to show its true worth.

No, even without that, the sword was abnormal. It could activate the most powerful
magic techniques in the world five times and at the same time it could even deploy
Latent Potential Release, which was not normal. In addition, it has the ability to fly,
transform, and it even took away Asura’s skills. Having even just one of those skills
alone would allow it to be called a top-tier magic sword.

“And we’re not even close to the end of it yet.”

It wouldn’t be surprising to say that its power was on par with a top-tier divine sword.
Really, just what was this place? How could a divine sword and a demonic sword
suddenly just coincidentally gather here?

While I was thinking about that, Fran’s sword suddenly transformed into a wolf-like
figure made of steel, and gave off even more magical power. The ferocious red-black
magical power that emanated from the steel wolf gave a feeling of pressure that made
us feel uneasy just by looking at it from a distance. It’s no wonder that Mea ended up
being unable to move.

Mea began muttering about the mythical beast, Fenrir or something, but she might not
be entirely wrong. At the very least, it was the strongest wolf-type demonic beast I’ve
ever seen.

“Groooooooooooo!”

I blocked the attack aimed at Mea as quickly as I could, but I took a lot of damage from
just that one shot, my whole body screaming in pain. Still, I can’t let myself go down.
That wolf is not the only enemy here.

“Oi, oi, old lady. You’re very motivated aren’t you? Should I give time for the little ones
to escape?”

Yes, it would be nice if they went easy on us, but it was scary to think about if they
didn’t. If you get chased by either, there was no way to escape. Someone has to stay
here. Letting Mea and the others escape, I drew my sword.

“You know that you’re going to die right?”

“It’s not like I still have a very long time left to live anyway, It wouldn’t be a bad idea
to use it to save the young ones instead right? -Senkai Jinrai!”

“Kuhahaha! Good! No matter how weak you are, it’s fun to deal with someone who’s
willing to die!”

“Gaoooooooooo!”

And so the three-way battle began. The wolf of steel started relentlessly targeting the
enemy in front of it, namely me and Xellos Reed.

And Xellos Reed was also trying to get at me and the wolf. No, it’s more like he was
enjoying the battle rather than aiming for it.

I could have tried stopping those two, only if I didn’t collapse all of a sudden.

“The question is, how long do I have…”

I was hurt and I have been continuously fighting hard since last night. It was
frustrating, but it would be impossible for me to fight for hours on end by now. The
best thing to do is to launch a critical attack in one felling swoop and kill these guys in
the blink of an eye, but…
I couldn’t. Xellos Reed, who was able to withstand even the attack of the divine sword,
and the metallic wolf, who is on par or even stronger than that Xellos Reed.

Then, what should I do?

“…Hah!”

“That’s a good move!”

“Goooooo!”

Bracing myself I daringly turned my back on the wolf, as I attacked Xellos Reed. The
sword and black thunder blocked the movements of Xellos Reed, and I barely avoided
the wolf’s attack from my rear. I couldn’t stop myself from dripping cold sweat. I didn’t
expect that wolf would attack me with his tail like a whip. If I hadn’t been wary from
the start, I wouldn’t have been able to react.

But as I have intended, the attack from the steel wolf struck Xellos Reed. Although it
was only a glancing hit, I could see that the evil spirit of Xellos Reed had been reduced.

“I think I can go on like this.”

Yes, this is the only way I could keep on fighting. In my condition right now this is the
only way I could beat Xellos Reed. To be honest, I don’t know how to beat the wolf.
Huh, never mind, let’s focus and make sure the one that can be beaten will be beaten
first. That’s all.

“Oh, come on, you don’t think I’m going to let myself get hit again and again with an
attack like that, do you?”

“Oh really? Then let’s try it.”

I focused my all on speed and evasion. It took all I had to read and guide the actions of
the wolf and Xellos Reed to hurt each other. Naturally, both sides would focus their
attacks on me, but that didn’t matter. One will not survive to this age if you couldn’t
juggle despair at this level.

The wolf’s attack became more intense, but they missed me and caused damage to
Xellos Reed instead. Xellos Reed tried to close the distance between them to regain
control. But I wasn’t going to let you get away with it. I used the full force of the Black
Heavenly Tiger to chase after Xellos Reed. Of course, with the wolf right on my heels.

“This damn old hag!”

“Goooooo!”

“Fuhahahaha! There! There! What happened to all your power just now! You evil
person!”

I continued to abuse my body with intense pain as I kept on dancing, swerving around
between the two monsters. The price for doing so was my life. I dodged the wolf’s
fangs with a paper-thin gap, parried the sword attack from Xellos Reed, and I ended
up vomiting blood.

I continued to abuse my body with intense pain as I kept on dancing, swerving around
between the two monsters. The price for doing so was my life. I dodged the wolf’s
fangs with a paper-thin gap, parried the sword attack from Xellos Reed, and I ended
up vomiting blood.

We were almost even in terms of speed - no, was the wolf faster than me? I was
overwhelmingly defeated in terms of offensive power, and our defensive and
regenerative powers were not even on the same plane. However, there were several
factors that have allowed us to still fight.

For one, Xellos Reed was still fooling around. He still dared to take advantage of our
intentions to enjoy the thrill of battle.

Furthermore, the wolf’s movements were somewhat awkward. The speed at which it
moved was tremendous, but the fluidity of the movements were slightly off sync.
Apparently, he didn’t have a perfect handle on his body.

However, the biggest factor in play was the difference in experience. I was sure that
both Xellos Reed and the wolf would be very strong innately. However, there was a
slight tendency for them to move too intuitively. Only with enough experience could
one counter such instinct.

The fight proceeded as is. They both kept watch of each other’s movements and
anticipated how the other wanted to move and where they were aiming.

I continued the battle solemnly, wearing out my nerves and straining my brain.
“Ah! Damn it! Drop dead already!”

“Guruaaaa!”

“……Hmm”

Neither of them look tired at all. I hated it. Whereas, here I am, already exhausted and
in extreme pain, and I couldn’t seem to manage it. But we can’t leave any stone
unturned. Even a slight shake will kill me in no time.

“Hah… hah… hah…”

“Old hag! Are you getting tired already?.”

“Hmph. Even if I was tired, you can’t seem to capture this old hag?”

I tried to provoke him, trying to keep him from turning his attention to Fran and the
others, but he exerted the last of his strength. However, the equilibrium that was just
barely being maintained was suddenly shattered from an unexpected source.

“Gaaaaaaaaaaa”

The steel wolf let out a loud scream and collapsed on the spot. His body fell like sand,
in tatters. What happened?

Xellos Reed and I didn’t agree on anything, but once we distanced ourselves, we both
stopped to observe the steel wolf. No, it was no longer a steel wolf. For the form had
completely crumbled and disappeared, and was now a mere lump of metal.

But the collapse has not stopped. In fact, it accelerated.

After the steel wolf crumbled and disappeared, Fran’s sword was left lying on the
ground. It was a shabby sword with cracks all over, as if on the verge of being
discarded. The red aura and black magic power previously emanating from it had
already disappeared, and one would even start to wonder if this was the same sword
that had a vicious presence that seemed to rival the divine sword just now.

This one really seemed to have stopped moving. I couldn’t feel any magic from it. He
was probably dead by now. That left us with Xellos Reed. I was thinking that I had to
keep this guy down, but then Xellos Reed looked bored and released his stance.
“Oi, why do you put your sword down?”

“What? It’s boring, it’s no longer interesting. The old lady would be incapable of
fighting in a heartbeat if left to her own devices. Then it would be better if I-”

“I won’t let you!”

“Oh? You’re still fine? But your speed is obviously slowing down…”

That is a given. The pain was so intense and dizzying that it’s a miracle how I could
still move my legs any longer. But I will not let him go beyond any further.

I didn’t care about the future of the Black Cat Tribe, the future of the Beast Kingdom,
or anything else. But those girls. I will not those young children, who share the same
blood relations with me, be subjected to this.

“-”

“Un?”

“-Kiara”

What is it? I hear someone’s voice. Is this a telepathic conversation?

(Who are you?)

“I’m Master. This is the first time I’ve ever had a conversation with you. Well, I had a
one-sided conversation with you before though.”

(Why? Where are you in the first place?)

“Right in front of you. That’s me, the sword lying on the ground right now. I am an
intelligent weapon.”

(What!)

However, if that was the case, then it indeed made sense why it ran out of control
because of the mad demonization skill. You never know what life had in store for you,
who would have known that I would meet a legend at the edge of death.
(Telepathic talk is helpful.I can’t even open my mouth anymore.)

“Kiara. First, release Senka Jinrai (Note : In the raw it’s written 閃華迅雷) Otherwise,
in a few minutes-‘

(No. As soon as I unleash the Senkai Jinrai, I’ll end up getting cut down…)

“But… you’re really going to die if you don’t!!”

I was told I was going to die. Even though I was aware that it was true, I feel relieved.
That Fran wasn’t alone anymore.

Quina also has a father who loves his daughter in his own way, although he is a snot-
nosed boy.

But what about Fran? The other black cat people would not be able to keep up with
Fran. If I died, she would be alone, wouldn’t she? That’s what I thought, but I guess she
has a good partner.

We only had a mere ten seconds of conversation, but I could ascertain that the owner
of this telepathic conversation was a person with a firm heart. With this guy, Fran
won’t be lonely.

Now I can put my life on the line without a care in the world.

(This old lady is already nearing her grave. Can you help me use this little bit of life I
have left?)

“……I see. I understand. Then can you lend me that little bit of life? To defeat Xellos
Reed.”

(Fuhahaha, that’s good, fine! Then what do you want me to do? Use the rest of my life
as you see fit!)

“First of all-”
The haze that clouded over my mind cleared up and I regained clarity of the situation
I was in.

As I took the madness away from the berserking Asura, I instantly went out of control
myself. I vaguely remember the time of the rampage.

I fired a series of lightning bolts without chanting, mastered the use of Transform, and
even used Latent Potential Release. I see, turning into a mad demon is a tremendous
thing. The only thing I cared about was to fight even though I’d lost my mind and went
crazy, surprisingly though I still did a good job in battle. On top of that, it felt like I
unconsciously drew more power than my limit.

However, things became unclear right after. I busted through Xellos Reed… but then
what happened? As far as I could recall, I was struck by a sensation of something with
tremendous power flooding out from inside me - a sensation I had never experienced
before.

That’s right, something about it forced my body into a form of a wolf. But the berserk
me and that something deep inside was fighting for control of our wolven body and I
ended up being unable to move well.

After that, I found myself lying on the ground, in a half-broken state with my sword
blade in tatters. Perhaps, using Latent Potential Release for an extended period of time
reduced the endurance value and that’s what released the mad demonization… I had
less than a hundred left in my endurance value left. I only had a small amount of magic
power left, and the regeneration of the broken sword blade still has not begun.

Just what exactly happened right before that…? No, it doesn’t matter at the moment.
Xellos Reed and Kiara were still in combat in front of me.

Moreover, Kiara was in a pinch. It seemed that she did as I told her to and kept on using
the Senkai Jinrai, but any more continuous use of it would put her life in danger. That’s
why I tried to speak to her by telekinesis………
“Guuhh!”

An excruciating pain overwhelmed me. It wasn’t physical pain. It felt like a mysterious
pain that I will experience every time I exceeded my limits. I don’t know how many
times I’ve felt this today. Regardless, I can’t hesitate here. I endured the intense pain
as if it was directly cutting into my soul and sent a telepathic message to Kiara.

Even though she was in the middle of a battle, Kiara still responded promptly.

(This old lady is already nearing her grave. Can you help me use this little bit of life I
have left?)

That being said, I couldn’t tell her to stop deploying her skills any further. That would
be disrespectful to someone who was prepared to die.

“……I see. I understand. Then can you lend me that little bit of life? To defeat Xellos
Reed.”

(Fuhahaha, that’s good, fine! Then what do you want me to do? Use the rest of my life
as you see fit!)

“First, pick me up. But don’t equip me. If someone tried to equip me other than Fran,
only disaster will occur.”

I’ve actually been trying to use telekinesis for a while now, trying to endure that soul-
rending pain, but I’m barely able to use it. If I really forced it, I could use it, but then I
wouldn’t last long enough for my attack to reach Xellos Reed.

Therefore, I am working with Kiara here. Have Kiara carry me without Xellos Reed
knowing and inject all of the power that remained in me before her time runs out.

“And then, all you have to do is throw me at him when you see an opening.'”

(Is that all?)

“Ou”

(I get it)

It was the only way that Kiara, who was already half-dead and half-alive, and me, who
had lost most of my abilities, could possibly defeat Xellos Reed.

(Got it!)

Nice! Kiara picked me up firmly as she fought. Seeing this, Xellos Reed gave her a slight
look of alarm.

He was probably aware that the attack inflicted by me earlier had the effect of breaking
evil manifestations.

“Seems like you’ve got your eye on that sword. However, how could a broken sword,
which has almost no magical power, be useful? It definitely looked almost broken or
something. I presume the magic power must have been really low too.”

“Haaaa!”

“Haha! I didn’t know you could still make that move!”

There’s plenty of leeway for that Xellos Reed guy. The high ranking evil man seemed
to feel very little pain, and his strength was bottomless. Maybe he wasn’t a worldly
creature to begin with. Even if his evil spirit was reduced now due to repeated fierce
battles, he might still be able to recover with a simple rest just like human strength
and magic power.

If that was truly the case, then this fight is really just a game to him. Playing with the
powerful without fear of death. But I’m going to make you lower your guard!

“Sh*t! Rolling black thunder!”

“Mu!”

Good! I groaned unintentionally.

Kiara took a slightly larger swing at first, slashing head-on, breathless as she did so. It
appeared like a weak attack. However, the slash was an invitation for Xellos Reed into
a trap. Xellos Reed put only the slightest amount of force into his hand holding the
great sword, intending to clash head on.

But the moment both swords struck each other, Kiara moved fast with a black
lightning roll and got behind him. Xellos Reed, who had been putting a lot of effort into
preparing for the coming slash, was momentarily delayed in his reaction to Kiara as
he turned around.

By then, it was already after Kiara had thrown me toward Xellos Reed.

“aaaaaaaaaaa!”

I’m going to use all the power I had left to activate Morphological Transformation. The
true projection of the attack is of a thousand needles shredding into the body of the
opponent. But right now, I could only be transformed into ten strands of half-hearted
thickness.

Moreover, neither my momentum nor my sharpness was sufficient to penetrate Xellos

Reed. Still, I didn’t give up and wrapped myself around Xellos Reed’s body.

Damn it! I need to twist with more power! Get thinner, sharper, and eat up Xellos Reed!
In response to my intentions, the part that wrapped around his right leg turned into a
needle and bit into Xellos Reed.

“I won’t let you get away!”

“Gah! This sword still works! And what’s more? What’s that voice?

“Giiiii… Guaaaa!”

“I won’t let you get away!”

“Gah! This sword still works! And what’s more? What’s that voice?

“Giiiii… Guaaaa!”

I was shouting out through telepathic communication. But now it didn’t matter. I felt
like I was going to lose consciousness from the pain. However, if we lose this chance,
we’ll most likely not get another one. We’ll take him down! I kept furiously activating
Morphological Transformation.

(Master! Are you okay!)

“Guh… I… am… fine!”

(I don’t think you are!)

“I am fine!”

It’s getting harder and harder to even communicate with telepathic language anymore.

“This fucking! Dumb-ass sword!”

“Gah!”

Xellos Read reached out to snatch me by force. Kiara slashed at him, but he ignored
the attack. Did he even feel pain? I guess he thought that a few scratches would
regenerate quickly anyway. So he decided that I, with my Breakthrough Evil
Manifestation, was more threatening.

“Gugaa!”

“You son of a bitch! Get off me!”

No matter what I won’t let go!

A screaming Xellos Reed and me and Kiara, who can’t move at all.

Suddenly I saw a new shadow rushing into this room.

“Master! Kiara!”

“Fran…! why……”

“I heard Master’s screams… and Kiara too. I felt like I had to return…!”

Kiara yelled with a determined expression as Fran yelled.

“Master! Please keep his attention just like that!”

“What?”

(I will use my trump card. All this time I’ve been looking for a way to use this little life
of mine. I couldn’t find purpose for it before but at this moment I’ve finally found it.)
“Oi, if you do that, then your life!”

(I know myself the most. Stopping now would only delay my death by a week. I want
to die here as a warrior.)

Kiara suddenly stood still. Her eyes were out of focus. It seemed that her vision was
already blurred. However, she still wore a determined expression on her face.

(As I said a while ago. Let’s show him our strongest form. Do you see the difference
between humans and beasts? It’s whether you care about appearance or not. Humans,
how much do they care about appearance?)

“…Xellos Reed is a little more right.”

(You’re a good man. Fufufu… Hey, take care of Fran, okay.)

Kiara raised her sword behind Xellos Reed back. Black lightning immediately
converged and wrapped around the blade of her sword. That was not all. Kiara’s eyes
changed to similar to a feline’s, and I could see her hair, which had grown white with
old age, turning black.

I could see the rapid loss of vitality in proportion to the sudden increase in power. Still,
the only thing I could do now was to keep Xellos Reed from moving.

“Haaaaaa! Claws Of The Black Thunder God! Ooooo!”

In Kiara’s hands, a sword of black lightning was produced. But unlike the Golden
Annihilation Fire that Mea had used, it wasn’t simply a convergence of power. There
was even a sense of divinity from that black sword. The quality of the magic power is
undoubtedly different.

It could be said that the magic power emitted was the opposite of the evil spirit that
spread fearlessness and fear. The Black Thunder Sword was holy and awe-inspiring
even from just a glance.

“Old hag! What are you……”

“Heyaaaa!”

The aim was slightly off! Kiara didn’t even have the strength left to step forward
anymore. I quickly brought my telekinesis to full strength and tried to correct the
trajectory of Kiara’s wielded Claws of The Black Thunder God.

Was it a result of the injury? The sword, which would have initially missed by an inch,
had suddenly changed its angle and succeeded in slashing off Xellos Reed’s left arm.

“Gyaaaaaaaaaaa!”

Xellos Reed screamed in agony. Even an attack with Breakthrough Evil Manifestation
should not have made him shown such distraught. But it couldn’t be helped. After all,
Xellos Reed’s evil spirit was already gobbled up and reduced.

“Wh- why haven’t you died yet?”

It seemed that Xellos Reed was still trying to regenerate the wound by holding his left
arm in place. But the skin in the cut did not respond at all. To begin with, the area
around the wound didn’t seem to attract any evil spirits anymore.

Apparently, the sacred atmosphere I felt earlier was not just my imagination. It
seemed that the Claws Of The Black Thunder God was able to fight evil power more
than Breakthrough Evil Manifestation.

“Fuha…”

Kiara collapsed with a satisfied look on her face. However I just didn’t have any
strength left to use my [Heal] anymore.

“Master! Kiara!”

“No, more than me, Kiara……”

“Guuoooo!”

You sure can’t read the atmosphere! Xellos Reed stared at me with an abhorrent
expression as he held the wound on his left arm that was cut off. But it wasn’t as
intimidating as it was earlier.

“No way… using divine attributes… Maybe it’s true what they say about beastmans
being descendants of Divine Beasts… I’ll leave for now, but be prepared for our next
clash! Tell that old hag that I won’t lose next time!
He got away. No, more like he ran away,. Actually, even though Fran came back, if he
was really desperate enough and wanted to fight back without regard for anything
else, he would still give us a heavy blow. Hence, it helped that he escaped instead.

“Kiara…”

(Master… we did it…)

“But you…”

(I am content. I was able to unleash the full power of the Black Heavenly Tiger. We had
a good fight at the end, too.)

“…you are… really cool you know.”

(Kuhaha… that was the best compliment I’ve ever gotten…)

Fran ran up to Kiara, who was lying on her back.

“Kiara! Kiara!”

“Yo, Fran…”

“I’ll heal you now!”

“It’s useless…”

Fran ignored Kiara’s words and used a series of Greater Heal. However, there was no
sign that Kiara would recover. That couldn’t be helped. After all, her life force was
exhausted. Kiara was technically already dead, and the dead couldn’t be brought back
to life.

Rather, I didn’t understand why she could still speak.

“…For a short time… it was fun…”

“Ugu… Kiara…”

“Even though we’re not directly blood related, you’re all like my grandchildren.”
“Un”

“Revenge… is just a worthless endeavor…”

“Un”

“Be strong… gentle, cool… live freely…”

Then… Kiara’s words ended there, as she exhaled her last breath.

The vitality keeping her together to speak her last words visibly drained from her
entire body. Her eyes, which were already flickering as they struggled to stay open,
gently closed, as if she was finally at ease.

“Kiara?”

“…”

“Kiara!”

Fran’s cries for her would no longer garner any response from Kiara.

She had departed with a peaceful face, with a smile lingering on it.

“Guuuu…… Aaaaa……”

The large tears that flowed down from Fran’s eyes stained Kiara’s chest. And just like
that, Fran plopped down onto Kiara’s chest, with a face befitting her age, and began to
cry loudly.

“Uwaaaaaaa……”
As Fran was clinging to Kiara’s body and sobbing, I saw several people running back
into the room.

It was Mea and the others. However, there was a woman with them that I didn’t
recognize. Who was that? Right now, my appraisal didn’t work as it should have either.

She must have followed Fran. Mea and the others rushed into the room in a panic, and
when they saw Kiara lying there, their faces contorted.

“Master Kiara!”

“Kiara!”

Mea and Mianoa were the first to rush over. Aside from Mea, I’ve never seen Mianoa
look so serious before. Both Quina and Guendalfa, who was carrying an unconscious
Asura on her back, looked upset too.

They all seemed to understand the situation when they saw Kiara and Fran’s condition.
Everyone knew already that Fran could utilize recovery magic, and mythical ones too.
Despite that, the fact that Fran was currently weeping without casting the recovery
magic meant……

“Fran, did you manage to hear Master Kiara’s last words?”

Mea spoke to Fran, as the tears flowing down both her eyes wetted her cheeks.

“Master Kiara was concerned about us. For Master Kiara, who had no family, we were
close to her enough that she felt that we were like her own grandchildren.”

“…she also said to be kind, cool, and live freely”

“I see. That sounds like things Master would say.”

After hearing Fran’s words, Mea gave a big nod.

“Hmm……”

“Live freely… Master Kiara had a hard time because of that old bastard.”

Old bastard? I wondered who that referred to, but it was probably the previous Beast
King. He was the one who enslaved Kiara, but when I thought about it, he was a
grandfather to Mea.

“But in the end, Lady Kiara looks happy with herself.”

Everyone nodded at Mianoa’s words. Mianoa, who was the lady in waiting, must have
had a stronger bond with Kiara than anyone else. Understanding this, Mea and the
others gave way for Mianoa to come close to Kiara.

Even Fran started to make space for her. Perhaps, she came to realize that she wasn’t
the only one mourning Kiara’s death. She stood up, rubbing her eyes with her hands,
which were bright red because she was crying.

“Thank you very much…”

Mianoa knelt down and wiped the dirt off Kiara’s face with her handkerchief.

“Kiara-sama… you’re smiling…”

Yes, Kiara was smiling. She seemed to be really satisfied with whatever she managed
to do just before she departed.

Perhaps, when she released her last move, Kiara could barely feel her entire body
anymore. I think she was not even aware that not only could she not see Xellos Reed,
but her attack didn’t even hit him directly and was also assisted by my telekinesis.

Still, she said she was content and said her goodbyes to Fran with a smile. Her face
seemed really blissful. Would I end up with a smile like hers on my face like that if I
was destroyed right now and it was all over?

That was definitely impossible. I’m sure it would have been unsightly instead. I won’t
be anywhere near satisfied and I would have cried with regret as I called out Fran’s
name.
Kiara must have experienced all sorts of things throughout her long life, both good
and bad.

Talking and drinking with friends, tasting the sweetness and bitterness of life, sipping
muddy water - no, that’s wrong. She must have lived a life that cannot be imagined
even by a monk already in his thirties. In other words, Kiara’s life probably couldn’t be
fully expressed with such a simplistic outlook.

Thus, I think it’s because of all of her life experience that Kiara was able to laugh and
pass away so peacefully like that. It was impossible for me to be as such now. I admire
her. I want to gain more experience so that I can end up laughing at the end too,
together with Fran, hopefully after many fulfilling years to come.

Therefore, I cannot just do nothing and be broken in such a place. I managed to try to
fix myself somewhat, but the intense pain didn’t help.

“Guga…!”

What in the world has become of me?

While everyone was surrounding Kiara, one mysterious woman, who was not standing
together with the group, approached me.

She was tall, with long silver hair and a white robe. Her eyes were sharp, no- her eyes
were unsettlingly intense. Could it be that she was angry at being left alone?

I could see that the muscles on her body were well-toned despite being so lean. Merely
from the fact that she was in a place like this suggested that she was not just any
regular woman.

Her right eye, with only a slit opened, peeking out from between her long bangs, stared
at me, holding me firmly in place. Owh… What shall I do… If Mea and the others were
the ones who brought her here, then she was probably not an enemy. But if this woman
starts to pick me up and tries to equip me, we’ll all be in all sorts of trouble.

It couldn’t be helped. I know Fran would have liked to be around Kiara a little longer,
but If this woman suddenly picked me up in silence……

“Fran… Guh…”
(……Hm?)

“This, woman…”

Maybe it’s because the adrenaline of battle had dissipated, but I could no longer hold
back the pain. Still, I managed to ask Fran for help by sending her a telepathic message.

I think Fran then turned and saw me and the woman and understood what I was trying
to say. She got up hurriedly, wiping away her tears, and ran up to me. Then she picked
me up before the woman could.

(Master… Are you okay?)

“Ou……”

Having said that, I couldn’t shake this strong feeling of discomfort. No matter what I
tried to do, I kept feeling this pain coming back again and again, and I couldn’t even
begin to repair myself. Moreover there was no sign that my magical power would
recover.

Will I be cured if I get a blacksmith to repair me? No, I’ll be in trouble if I can’t heal. I
couldn’t do anything as it is now. This was a difficult moment for Fran, as she just lost
someone she truly looked up to. I have to be strong, at least just for her.

“That……”

Even though it was her possession, I understand that it was not polite to suddenly
appear out of nowhere and take the sword all of a sudden. Fran approached the
woman with a slight hesitation. The other person also slightly approached Fran.

“Are you the owner of the sword?”

“Hmm”

The woman had a sour look as she asked Fran. I knew she’d be in a bad mood. Still,
though, she still had enough sense not to complain about the crying Mea and the others.

“I see. Let me see that sword for a minute.”

(Master?)
Hmm, what should I do? I don’t think it’s a problem just to show it, but I don’t know
who this woman is. However, if I refused, it looked like I might make her mad, and if
that happened, it seems like it will be a pain. In the first place, is my appraisal
camouflage working now?

“You should let her see.”

As I was distressed, Mea suddenly approached me from the side. From the way Mea
said, she seemed to be surprisingly more superior than Mea. Moreover, the tone of
voice earlier felt somewhat familiar.

“Lady Alistair wouldn’t do anything wrong. Lind also meets Lady Alistair on a regular
basis.”

(Master, is it fine?)

“Oh.”

Mea trusted her that much, so it would be rude to say no here. Besides, she was the
kind of person who could handle a divine sword, right? She must be a great blacksmith.
I don’t know what someone with an awesome skill like that is doing here, though.

“Hmm…”

“Oh, thank you.”

It’s strange because both her tone and her sour looks didn’t seem too strange when
you think of her as a blacksmith. Rather, I even think that it was very fitting for a
craftsman.

Alistair stared at me as Fran stuck me out, and she kept staring at me sullenly. Her
gaze scoured my brim and hilt.

“I knew this design was……… But the shape of the pattern… May I take a closer look?”

“Hmm”

“Now, if you’ll excuse me……… Analysis Eye!”

I could see the magical powers in Alistair’s eyes. There was such a strong magical
power concentrated in her eyes that if we were in a dark place, her eyes would glow.

Then Alistair let out a murmur of surprise.

“That’s a very strict equipment registration……… No, is this power a remnant of

God’s…? Moreover… this… this thing… this bullsh*t sword, who made it? Was it a
divine blacksmith?”

“Is there a problem?”

“No, that’s not something to say out loud here. Could you give me a few minutes of
your time later?”

Apparently, she has been able to see my status and other information through her
appraisal-like abilities. And, based on the reaction she gave just now, she might have
found out that I was an intelligent weapon.

“The magic circuit is shredded. At this rate, it’s in danger of being unable to make a
proper restoration.”

“!!! Is this true? What should I do now?”

“Wait a minute… Can I touch it?”

“Hmm”

Now that’s a confirmation, you’re definitely talking to me. I knew it. This is a true
intelligent weapon.

Alistair gently touched my hilt with her thin fingertips and began to pour a small
amount of magic into it. However, I did not feel any discomfort. It was rather warm
and soothing, so much such that it even felt good. I guess It may be time for me to have
a blacksmith perform maintenance.

“Oh……”

Is this similar to the sensation of healing wounds? I could sense that something deep
within me was healing.

Still, self-repair couldn’t work. Was it because it wasn’t that kind of healing that
worked, or was my damage that serious? However, this Alistair woman feels trustworthy.

A bit simple minded huh, if I do say so myself. Was I the type of person who, when I
was injured severely, would easily sway if someone was a little kind to me?

(Master?)

“I’m fine.”

I experienced less pain now when using telepathic communication. No, I’m sure, it was
definitely much less than before. It’s all thanks to Alistair. I wonder who Alistair is
exactly?

“I have administered first aid. If you don’t overdo it, it won’t get any worse than that,
but you should refrain from fighting until it’s properly fixed.”

“Then, can you heal it properly?”

“Of course. There are no weapons I can’t fix.”

“For real?”

“Oh, just leave it to me”

“Is that so… That’s great…!”

Immediately after hearing Alistair’s words, Fran squeezed my hilt and let out a sigh of
relief. “Hou”. And then she shed a big tear.

She had lost Kiara and even I was feeling sad about it. I’m sure she couldn’t stop herself
from having negative thoughts, and she was always anxious all this time too. I was too
busy with my own problems to notice earlier.

“Fran, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you.”

(No… uh… it’s okay. But really, it’s a relief that you’re okay master…)
As Fran and Alistair were talking, Mea joined in the conversation.

“That conversation just now… Does that mean Alistair will undertake the restoration
of the sword?”

“Yes. That is, if the girl allows it, I will work on it”

“You should allow Alistair to repair it Fran. I mean how often do you get this kind of
luck?”

Mea and Alistair look at Fran.

(Master? Is it fine?)

“…Yes, I’ll leave it to you. ”

In the first place, this woman healed me and made it tremendously easy for me to use
the telepathic ability without feeling any pain. I felt like I could trust her skills. Above
all,Mea gave an obvious sign that she deeply trusted Alistair from her fervent
expression that seemed to have come from the bottom of her heart.

“Hmm, then, please. ”

“Yes, I’ll take good care of it. So, what are you guys going to do after this?”

“Yeah… about that…”

Mea turned to look at Kiara. Kiara, who led everyone all the way up to this point, was
dead, and Mianoa was incapacitated. Quina was only a maid and Guendalfa is still
inexperienced. Asura just lost consciousness, and Fran was not fit to be a leader yet
either.

Mea was the only person who could possibly hold this group together. She must have
realized it as she looked around. She turned over slowly, rubbed her red eyes lightly,
and then quickly looked up.

“First of all, we have to make sure that the master of this dungeon is really dead. After
that, we will destroy the core. ”

“Are you sure? Wouldn’t it be a waste to destroy this large and valuable dungeon?”

Quina asked Mea, who answered Alistair’s question. But Mea nodded with certainty.

“It will only be another potential source of future disaster, especially a dungeon that
spanned between two countries like this one. If we left this dungeon be it would spur
a conflict between nations for ownership since a dungeon is a great source of incomes.
”

Well, even if any country eventually gains ownership of this dungeon, the other
countries will still remain suspicious and be on guard against them. The fact that it
was used for the war will have caused it to always have that image attached to it.
However, the benefits of having power over the dungeon was too great for any parties
involved to give up on fighting for ownership. Unless all sides created a clear-cut
mechanism for co-governance, it would surely lead to conflict at some point.

Nonetheless, there was no way the Beastman Nation and Bashar Kingdom, which were
already not on speaking terms with each other, would join hands and share such an
extraordinary bounty. Their relationship would most likely only worsen as times goes
by. Thus, destroying the dungeon would nip any future problems in the bud. Apparently
Mea thought so too.

“As a royal family, we might have to consider the use–”

“No, I agree with you. ”

Also, considering the character of the Beast King, I feel like I’m in favor of destroying
the dungeon. It’s like they’re going to say, “If it’s going to be a lot of trouble, let’s go
ahead and destroy it instead. ” Anyway, Mea seems to have decided to destroy it
herself. There was no hesitation in her eyes.

“Me and Quina will go deeper. Lady Alistair, please take Fran and the others and get
out first. ”
“Well, since you have shown me your sword. Fine. I’ll take care of them until we get
out of here. May I go straight to my house?”

“If we can’t catch up, we’d appreciate it if you could. ”

“What will you do after that?”

“I’m going to take Quina and the others back to Gringote. I have a lot of things I want
to find out and research. But I want to entrust Fran and her sword to Alistair. Is that
fine with you? ”

“No problem, and I’d like to take a closer look at that sword too,of course that is if
that’s okay with you…”

“Is that alright with you, Fran?”

“……Hm”

Fran reluctantly nods.

“I’m sorry. ”

(No, Master is the most important thing right now. )

I think she actually wanted to go with Mea. But I swallowed my words, understanding
that my restoration was top priority right now.

“And what about that stupid demon over there? If you want, I’ll take him with us. ”

It could be said that she was acquainted with Asura as well. It’s not simply a feeling of
familiarity, but more of a sense of comfort. After thinking a little, Mea bowed to
Alistair.

“Could I bother you with that?”

“Accepted. ”

Alistair approached Asura, who was lying on top of Guendalfa’s cloak. She carried him
up easily. Contrary to her slender frame, she was actually so powerful!
“Anyway, we need to get out of here. I think we should give Kiara a proper burial too,
don’t we?”

“That’s right……”

“Could you please take care of Lady Kiara, Lady Fran?”

“I understand. ”

Fran nodded at Mianoa’s words and put Kiara’s body away in her dimensional storage.
I felt like storing the bodies of people I knew in dimensional storage was treating them
like objects, and for a moment I wondered if that was okay, but apparently the rest of
the guys didn’t feel any particular sentiment about it except for me.

This is a world in which death was much more familiar to us, and that the way we
thought about corpses was also different and more serious. If left alone alone, they
could potentially become undead. The idea seemed to be that because of the concept
of the soul in the first place, after you died you were no longer there.

After quickly getting ready to leave, we headed straight for the dungeon’s exit, with
Fran and Urushi in the lead.

It took longer than I thought it would because everyone was still worn out, but it
wasn’t as particularly dangerous due to the lack of monsters.

I’ve tried it lightly on the road, but apparently Fran’s and my skill sharing was already
starting to work well. That was the only blessing I received in this whole bundle of
misery. However, since my magic power was empty, I had to make do with just Fran’s
magic power for now. We will have to be very careful about that.

While we were going through the labyrinth part of the dungeon, the dungeon started
trembling greatly. It’s likely that Mea and her team have succeeded in destroying the
dungeon core.

Then, just before escaping the dungeon, Mea and the others caught up with us. Then,
they reported that the core was destroyed and the dungeon was on its way to
collapsing. Thus, from now on, this place will be nothing more than an ordinary
underground structure.

“Well, I guess this is goodbye for now. ”

“Hmm…”

“A lot of things happened, but let’s meet each other again in the future. ”

“……Good luck. ”

“Thank you. We will also pray for Master’s recovery, and hope that he will be able to
heal properly. Also, can I leave Master Kiara with you for a little while longer? Once
we get settled in, we will arrange a funeral for her, after all we want to make sure the
funeral service goes off without a hitch. ”

“Leave it to me. ”

After escaping the dungeon, Mea and Fran gave each other a firm handshake and
encouraged each other onwards.

We are supposed to still be at war with the Kingdom of Bashar. I don’t know what will
happen in the future, but I’m sure they won’t lose now that the threat from the North
has disappeared. They should be able to repel the kingdom of Bashar.

No, they have to… otherwise, it wouldn’t be worth it for Kiara to risk her life. And I am
sure that Mea understood it as well. With one last emphatic nod, Mea left with Quina,
Guendalfa, and Mianoa.

As Kiara’s apprentice and a princess, I am sure that she has a lot of responsibilities,
especially now that Kiara is no longer here, she will surely bear more responsibilities.
Though thinking how much that small back of her has to endure from now on I can’t
help but want to root for her.

Fran stared off at Mea’s back and the others as they climbed into the carriage.

“We’ll see each other again soon. ”

“Hmm. ”

After the golem carriage which Mea and the others were in rode off, Alistair spoke to
a lonely-looking Fran.

“……Should we get going now too? But first, you may have an idea who I am by now,
but I’ll tell you who I am anyway. ”
“Hmm. ”

“My name is Alistair. My occupation is a divine blacksmith. A pleasure to meet you,

Black Thunder Princess and… Mr. Intelligent Weapon?”

I knew it. I got found out. But still, a divine blacksmith? I thought it was possible that
she was in charge of taking care of the divine sword, but I didn’t think it was really
true………

There was just so much going on that I didn’t have the energy left to be surprised
anymore. Fran looked to be the same. She opened her eyes lightly and introduced
herself normally.

“I am a rank C adventurer. Fran, the Black Heavenly Tiger. ”

“…I am Master”

“Hoo!”

“And this is Urushi”

“By the way, is Fran the one that gave you the name master?”

“Hmm…”

“So it’s not named……… How is it possible to not be named at this level?”

Wasn’t the Named system supposed to be a way for gods to name their great
equipment? I’d be honored to be compared to an item in that class, but what about it?
I’m aware that I’m a good sword, but I’m not overconfident enough to say, “I’m a sword
accepted by God! Now bow before me you fool!”

“For now, we’re going to my house. Once we get there, I should be able to analyze and
repair your master. ”

“I look forward to working with you. ”

“Thank you. ”

“It’s the same for me, I get to touch a great sword, thanks to you. Alright, now get in
this one. ”

What Alistair took out of the item bag was a golem carriage that looked exactly like
the one Quina had in her possession.

Fran climbed into the carriage as prompted. Alistair threw Asura onto the floor of the
carriage.

“Is that okay?”

“Serves him right! How could this idiot demon get out of control until like this anyway?
I bet he’ll wake up with a stupid look on his face. ”

That’s a bitter pill to swallow for Asura. What happened between them in the past
anyway? Well, we can ask him about that too when he wakes up.

“Well then, let’s depart!”

Then we got into the golem carriage and left for the divine blacksmith’s house.
Alistair’s mansion was eastwards from the dungeon. Their golem carriage advanced
along the boundary mountains.

“Well, shall we talk lightly along the way?”

“That, is that fine?”

What Fran worried about was the driver’s seat. It was just the horse-powered golems
right now. Even if they did remember the way, what if demon beasts attacked and
stuff?

“It’s ok. There is a powerful barrier against demon beasts. And there is no thief crazy
enough that they would attack my carriage. No, more like they are long gone already.
Kukuku”

It appeared that all sorts of things had happened before. Well, if a divine grade
blacksmith said it was okay, then it probably is okay. Plus, there’s Urushi there running
alongside us. If push came to shove, Urushi will kick the sh*t out of them.

“So, first of all, would you like to talk about your master?”

“……Hmm”

Fran nodded and then glanced at Asura. She was wondering if she would hear them.
Then, Alistair took out a mysterious tool from the item bag.

It looked like a cord about 1 meter long, I think?

“It’s a telepathic communication device. Well, it’s an unfinished product that requires
you to touch the string and that if you make it longer than 1 meter, you will instantly
lose the telepathic communication. It’s a good tool for a few people to have a private
conversation, right?”
Fran and Alistair, sitting side by side on the seat by the carriage wall, each grabbed the
end of the cord. I was in Fran’s arms, and she wrapped the cord around the handle. So
the cord was just barely long enough. I see, the ones using this needed to be
extraordinarily close to each other for it to work.

(How is it? Can you hear me?)

(Hmm)

“I can hear you”

There was no pain from telepathy anymore thanks to the careful consideration of the
item’s effect. Since this was the case, I could have a normal conversation. I mean, it
worked as well for me, a sword.

(So let me ask you again. I would like to ask about the master himself, his creator and
the period of production)

We decided to be honest about answering the things we were asked. We were going
to need her help to fix me, and we’re dealing with a divine blacksmith anyways. If we
lie badly, we will just end up getting found out. On top of that, they might find out
about my roots so we decided it was best not to lie to her.

That being said, I really didn’t know anything about my creator. There wasn’t much
that could be said of it. When I replied so honestly, Alistair uttered a word of surprise.

(I see…… so the master was a human previously right?)

“You- you know?”

To my surprise, she had already found out before I could explain myself. Why? Could
it be that an appraisal used by a divine grade blacksmith could even show that the
item was originally human?

(No, because even I couldn’t create an artificial soul spirit that can do master’s level of
response. And when I looked at the shape of the soul, it didn’t look like it was artificial)

Apparently she had the ability to see souls, like the unique skill Soul Spiritual Eye that
Jean the necromancer possessed. I don’t really know much about it, but I guess there
were many forms of souls.
(Your soul looks just like a person and could give out responses just like a human’s.
It’s way too similar to a person. But it all makes sense if you consider that it was
originally a human. Well, that leaves me wondering.)

“Of what?”

(I don’t know how to contain a person’s soul in a sword. I’m a divine blacksmith. But I
have no idea what kind of method they used.)

That’s where it all comes down to, wasn’t it? Who put me on the sword? Was it the
creator of the sword, or was it someone else?

(I’m hoping that once we do the analysis in my house, it will give us some further
insight into this. Let’s leave this for later. Yeah, I’m looking forward to it now. Kukuku)

Alistair seemed like a pretty sensible person, but the way she looked at me right now
is a little scary. It’s similar to a child’s eyes when being given a new toy.

(Next, I want to hear about your encounter with Fran, is that okay?)

“Ah, yes. Don’t worry. I’ll try my best to remember it.”

However, Fran was already asleep. No wonder I thought it was strangely quiet. She
must have been tired from crying earlier.

(I guess we’ll have to wait to hear from Fran later.)

“My bad. I’ll answer as much as I can.”

(Well, it’s a kids’ job to sleep anyways. There’s nothing we can do about it. So let’s start
with the encounter, shall we?)

I talk about everything without leaving out any details. I told her the story of how I
met Fran, and even Alistair was taken aback upon listening to more of the story of how
we first met.

Even I myself thought it was pretty absurd, so I don’t blame you.

After that, we continued on our adventures together, and together we’ve traveled and
grown after reaching place after place. Sometimes, we delved into dungeons, crossed
the seas, and finally came to this land at the end of our previous journey.

For the most part, Alistair showed little interest in our journey though. It seemed that
she was more interested in knowing the way I matured and grew than of the adventure
stories and such. She had a lot of curiosity, but it appears that it was only limited to
the fields she was interested in.

My explanation then came to the part where we entered this continent and fought the
Valkyries. During this time, a serious incident happened, which may have something
to do with my mutation.

“‘For some reason, I’ve started to feel pain from time to time when I use my skills and
consume mana.”

(Even though you are a sword you can feel pain? That’s interesting. Does it hurt every
time you use a skill?)

“No, I only usually feel pain when I activate multiple techniques at a time, or when I’ve
used too many form transformations.”

I’m supposed to have no sense of pain, but somehow I could feel it. No, I have no pain,
and I’m doubtful if it actually hurt. However, the sensation of pain was certainly the
closest I could relate it to.

(It’s hard to say without using equipment to examine that. And I’ve never seen a sword
in pain before. However, it could have some serious effect on the master. In the future,
refrain from doing anything that might cause you pain.)

“I understand.”

I’ve got this tool for telepathic communication, so I’m sure I can handle it for now. I
then explained the process of eradicating the army of evil people and meeting Alistair.
I don’t remember where I got all of the skills, etc., as expected, but as far as I’ve been
asked, I could answer all of them, and I don’t think I’ve made any mistakes.

After that, time continued to pass as we discussed the sensation of absorbing a magic
stone, the desires to become human, and the differences between humans and swords
when using the skill.

She was particularly interested in the ability to absorb magic stones. She asked me in
detail what demonic beasts had high magic stone values and what had low values.

Are these really the questions I need to answer for her to fix me? Aren’t you merely
putting your curiosity first?

But basically, the magic stone value of stronger demonic beasts are higher, and the
magic stone value of evil people is low, etc. I told her.

And then there was that other thing, with regards to leveling up skills. The system of
spending points is a system that Alistair has never heard of.

(The more I hear about it, the more intrigued I am.)

“I am honored to have a divine blacksmith say that to me.”

(When it comes to combat power, we have more weapons than master. Like the divine
sword. But there aren’t many swords that are this mysterious. You surprise me, a
divine blacksmith. You should be proud.)

2 hours later.

Around the time I finished answering most of Alistair’s questions, the carriage
stopped.

“Oh, we’re already there. Well, time flew by so fast! It was a good ride! Hey, Fran, wake
up…”

“……Nyu”

“Come on, you stupid demon, wake up!”

Alistair kicked Asura in the head next to a sleeping Fran rubbing her eyes. Oi, Oi, Is
that fine? Even if the damage didn’t look like much, he should be worn out from the
mad demonization and other things, right?

However, Alistair’s kicks didn’t stop. Only after he had been kicked five times like that…

“Ah? Where is this…?”

“You finally woke up huh? You stupid demon.”

“Geh… Alistair!”

Asura looks up at Alistair and lets out a pathetic scream.

“Wha- what are you doing!”

“That’s because I could feel the magic of the divine sword. There were two to be
precise. So I went to see the situation. If it’s a battle between two divine swords, it’s a
big deal.”

A divine grade blacksmith even has the ability to sense the magic power of a divine
sword? And the way you just spoke, were you thinking of stopping a battle between
divine swords?

“If it’s broken after a fight, I’ll have a chance to fix it!”

Apparently, she was a person who was faithful to her desires.

Alistair’s mansion had a strange appearance. It was a two-story building made of
stone, but the outer walls were all made of one huge rock. If four 25-meter-long rock
walls, polished to a mirror-like surface without the slightest irregularity on the
surface, were put together to form a box, and one more rock wall was placed on top of
it instead of a roof, it would look like this 凹凸.

Such a mysterious looking structure was equipped with evenly spaced small windows.
If the windows were not there, you wouldn’t think of it as a residence for sure. At best,
you would think it’s part of a ruin or a magical device.

“How about it? What do you think about my house?”

“As always, your tastes are really weird. It’s even more ridiculous because it’s
portable.”

It seemed that this building itself was a magic tool and is portable. As expected from
a divine grade blacksmith’s house, it’s amazing.

“Hmph. There is not an ounce of waste in this house. You just don’t understand that,
you’re the one who is too big of a waste.”

“Gu…”

Alistair didn’t like what Asura had to say, so she glared at Asura and spoke harshly. But
Asura didn’t even talk back, he just flinched.

As I suspected, Asura is not very good at dealing with Alistair. I will not say it out loud
though. I wonder what on earth happened between the two of them.

While being guided by Alistair, who had put the carriage into a special item bag, we
stepped inside the house. The scene there was as mysterious as it appeared on the
outside - no it’s even more mysterious.
Apparently the entire building had been turned into a workshop and there was no
entrance hall at all. As soon as we stepped inside, we immediately saw a room that
seemed to be Alistair’s laboratory and workshop.

However, I wouldn’t have thought that this was a laboratory and workshop if I wasn’t
told beforehand. I mean, I had no idea what kind of use the room would be for from
just a quick glance.

The walls and ceiling were dimly shining. Moreover, it was not a magical light. To my
surprise, it turned out to be metal that was sticking to the wall like plating. The metal
wall, like polished silver tableware, reflected the light from the lamps and shined
brightly.

“Cool…”

My eyes flickered, and Fran stared at the walls and ceiling while squinting. When
Alistair saw this, she explained it to me like it was nothing.

“Oh, that thing. That is Mithril plating. The magical power of the outside world is the
most intrusive in order to perform magically delicate work.”

“Mithril? Is it Mithril?”

“Yes”

It’s also a rare sight to see Fran constantly being surprised about something. But even
though it’s plated, this amount of mithril? Isn’t that crazy extravagant? As expected of
a divine blacksmith.

“You’re not going to be able to deal with this woman if you keep getting that surprised.”

“Shut up, you stupid demon. We’re about to have an important talk, so you’re going to
go upstairs. You know where the guest room is, don’t you?”

“I know. I want you to explain what’s going on before I go.”

“How much do you remember?”

When Fran asked that, Asura snorted, placing a hand lightly on his chin. I guess that
triggered something and opened his memory.
“I…… I heard from the princess that I went berserk and you used your skills to take
the madness away from me and stop me from going out of control. But soon after that,
I lost consciousness and found myself waking up here. I can’t tell clearly but I think
the evil bastard was fighting someone or something after I passed out…”

It looks like he was protected by Mea and the others after the mad demonization was
lifted and they lightly explained to him about what happened, but apparently they
didn’t tell him that I lost my mind after taking the demonization skill and went out of
control and started fighting Xellos Reed.

“I haven’t woken up feeling this good in a long time. Thank you.”

Asura bowed deeply. It seemed that he was really grateful for the help he received.

“But even though I just took it away, I think it will be back soon.”

“Still, even if it’s only for a few days, I’m grateful to be free from the fear of not being
myself. I owe you big time for this.”

“We would only be putting ourselves in danger if we didn’t do anything.”

“I suppose I should be thankful that I didn’t kill the princess and Kiara myself.”

I see. It looks like Asura still didn’t know that Kiara was dead. However, Fran has not
yet been able to bring herself to explain from her own mouth. She wrinkled her brows
and looked down with a look that couldn’t stand something.

“……”

“What happened?”

“Haa…… this stupid demon! Let’s talk about it later! I’ll tell you what happened to
Kiara later.”

“……Oh.”

From Alistair’s words and Fran’s demeanor, he must have understood. The emotions
drained from Asura’s face. But I had to tell him this.

“It’s not your fault.”

“……Who?”

I’d really like to tell him more about it, but I still can’t have a telepathic conversation
on my own yet. However, I thought it was absolutely necessary to tell that Kiara did
not die in the hands of the berserk Asura.

I don’t know what kind of relationship they had, but it sounded like they were old
acquaintances.

“I’ll tell you all about that later. But you didn’t kill her. After you passed out, Kiara
fought with the evil one, and the battle with the evil one got too much for her.”

“I see… I understand. Then I’ll borrow a room.”

“If you’re hungry, go to the dining room. If you tell the golem, they’ll give you something.”

“Oh.”

Asura went up the stairs with a heavy heart. I guess the upper floor was the living
space. Alistair looked away from it and looked troubled for a moment, but quickly
turned to face me and Fran with a serious expression on his face.

“Now, get on with restoring master. Just the thought of leaving things as they are is
enough to make me stressed.”

“Hmm, please.”

“Please.”

“Master doesn’t have to force himself to talk. More importantly, I need to repair the
blade immediately. I don’t know if it’s just a matter of repairing it or more, so I’ll take
a sample and analyze it. So, while adding the missing materials, I’ll be restoring it in a
way that won’t be too hard on the master. Is that fine?”

“??????”

Yeah, Fran is in a completely muddy state. However, there was no one who knew more
about and was better at restoring weapons than Alistair. So I’ll leave it all to her.

“I’ll leave it all to you”

“…In the meantime, let’s wrap a telepathic cord around master.”

Alistair wrapped the telepathic cord around my hilt. This made it somewhat easier to
talk to both of them. I’ll have to get Fran and the others to hold the string every time,
though.

“Fran, put your master on that table.”

“Hmm”

“Okay, let’s start the analysis. What about you, Fran? If you want, I can fix you a meal
or something.”

“No, it’s fine. I want to watch.”

“Okay, I understand.”

Then the analysis by Alistair began. Alistair used various magic, skills, and magical
tools on me on a table made of strange metal materials. What was amazing is that they
were all appraisal and analysis type materials. It’s amazing that she could use that
much variety of tools and still process all the received information and use it
effectively.

Though if you see it from the outside, it’s so plain. After all, all she had to do was hold
her hand over my half-broken sword and stay put.

I’m sure Fran will get bored with this as fast as she can. That’s what I thought, but after
ten or twenty minutes, Fran was still staring at Alistair as she worked.

No signs of sleepiness, no signs of getting bored and starting to squirm around. That’s
how seriously she cared for me, I guess. Maybe it’s uncalled for, but it made me a little
happier. Because I realized again that I was truly loved by Fran.

One hour later. Alistair’s analysis was finally complete. Alistair muttered as she wiped
the sweat from her forehead.

“As I thought The metal part is Oreichalcos after all.”

“Oreichalcos?”
“It is a special metal that can only be produced by a divine blacksmith. A person
without the right knowledge would only think of it as a harmonium-based alloy, but
when processed with a special technique, it can be used as material for a divine sword,
a divine metal.”

I’ve heard that name before in Ulmut.

“Am I made of that metal?”

“That’s right.”

“So the person who made master was a divine blacksmith?”

“Not exactly, there is a possibility that someone just got the Oreichalcos made by a
divine blacksmith in some way.”

I couldn’t help but utter words of denial. Could I really be such an amazing sword made
by a god-grade smith? After all, I couldn’t help but deny it because after all, if the reality
and the expectations on me differed too greatly, the mental damage anyone, especially
myself, would receive would be too much for me to bear.

But my denial was denied by Alistair.

“No, it would take a divine blacksmith to handle Oreichalcos so perfectly.At least the
outside of master’s body would have to be handled by a divine grade blacksmith.”

“Eh? Then I’m a divine sword…?”

“That’s not really it too. There’s no inscription.”

Yes, I expected it. That’s right, just because a divine grade blacksmith made it, doesn’t
mean it’s a divine sword.

“No, I don’t think it’s missing an inscription, I think it’s been scraped off.”

“Scraped off?”

“You mean there was originally some kind of inscription on it, but it was erased?”

“Actually, I have a few ideas about where master came from.”

Well, it turns out that Alistair might know something about me. However, she doesn’t
seem to have a lot of confidence on her face.

“I just don’t know if this is true…”

“What do you mean?”

“Just a moment- Truth of the Sword, activate!”

Alistair closed her eyes and concentrated. And then she activated some kind of skill.
Immediately afterwards, something that looked like a clear, thin plate floated in front
of her. There are characters and pictures that were displayed there.

“That is?”

“It’s part of a divine grade blacksmith’s unique skill, a skill that has a function to know
the truth behind the creation of a sword. Well, to put it simply, it is like an illustrated
book filled with divine swords and knowledge about them, from which divine grade
smiths could draw information from. Information can also be displayed externally in
this way.”

I think it’s something like an encyclopedia. And it looks like it can display the information
you wanted too. Maybe it’s just a picture book with a really high performance.

If you look at the information display function of Truth of the Sword, which looked like
a hologram, it looks more like science fiction rather than magic or skill.

“Well, there is a lot of information that is not available for others to see. How is it? Do
you think you can read it?”

Even if you ask me if I can read it, since it’s right in front of me so-

[Hmm? What is this?]

“I can’t read it.”

The text on display was a mess. If it’s not encrypted, it’s completely nonsense. But
apparently, Alistair already expected it. Therefore she only calmly nodded.

“I knew it. So what about the painting?”

[I can see a sword]

“Mm. it’s looks a bit like Master.”

[Is that so? Well, maybe that’s right]

Although the shape of the most important emblem area was completely different, the
hilt and sword blade were exactly the same.

“The picture looks fine.”

The picture seems to be exactly what Alistair wanted to show. I mean, the text was just
gibberish when viewed by someone who isn’t qualified, but it looks like Alistair can
see the proper textual information.

[If you went to the trouble of showing it to me, does that mean the sword isn’t irrelevant
to me?]

“Yeah, as Fran said, it has too much in common with you, Master.”

Then Alistair went on to list the similarities between this picture and me. First of all,
the pattern. Then the shape, the size, the color of the braid and the weave, everything
seems to match perfectly. It was so much alike that it would have been impossible to
say that it was just a simple imitation.

Moreover, the sword blade. The blue pattern and other minor decorations were
similar. The length of the sword blade is said to be a perfect match too.

However, the most eye-catching part, the brim, was completely different.

I had a heroic emblem of a wolf at the base of the sword, but in this painting, there
were four human face-like things drawn side by side. It is an emblem with the design
of four beautiful women with their eyes closed and each face has something that looks
like angels’ wings on the back.

[Sure, they might be similar except for the emblem……]

“Right. A detailed explanation will take time. We’ll have to wait until after we’ve made
the necessary repairs. Give me a minute.”

Alistair paused and pulled out some kind of basketball-sized metal sphere from the
item bag. When Alistair cast a spell lightly and touched the metal ball, the shape
changed at once. It had a strange shape, like a tangled web of thin metal threads, or
like a cotton candy made of metal.

Alistair made more changes as she wrapped that metal cotton around my sword blade.
Then, she poured some kind of potion on top of it and applied some magic.

“-Fu. With this, this Oreichalcos should be absorbed into master’s blade and
automatically begin to repair itself.”

So this is Oreichalcos. She took out a lot of it, even though it is a legendary metal.

“Thank you.”

“That’s my job. But more importantly, about what we were talking about earlier.”

Alistair pulled a chair from the corner of the lab and sat down. She offered another
chair to Fran.

“Well, let me start by saying this… in my opinion, master was created by more than
one person.”

[Multiple? Does that mean there were many creators?]

“Well, it’s close to that. The sword on the outside and the one who created the ability
to seal human souls and absorb demonic stones inside would be different people. The
quality of their work is too different, even on a casual glance. I’m going to proceed on
that premise, okay?”

“I understand”

[I understand]
Unexpectedly, it’s more of a shock. There were quite a few surprises. We didn’t know
anything about it in the first place, but I was actually a sword made by multiple people!
That being said, when I heard it, I’m like, “Hmmm”. If it were from a human being’s
perspective, isn’t it similar to a situation where there were multiple parents with
complicated circumstances?

Once she was sure we understood, Alistair moved the still-displayed picture of the
sword in front of Fran.

“This sword, inscribed with the word ‘Wisdom Sword Cherubim’. Currently it is one of
the divine swords that have been lost.”

[Eh? A divine sword? You mean this is a divine sword? This sword that looks like me?]

I cannot ignore this information. After all, it’s the divine sword you know? It’s like the
best sword in the world, and you say it looked like me?

“What do you mean?”

“Well, there are several possibilities… but, I think master is a discarded divine sword.”

[Discarded divine sword? Another word I don’t know.]

“don’t understand.”

“Hmm, I see. It’s certainly not a widely known story. Let’s start with the explanation
first.”

“A discarded divine sword is apparently a divine sword that has been discarded, as the
name stated. There were two main reasons why the Discarded Divine Sword was
born.”

“One of the reasons, out of a variety of others, is If one failed to create it. Most of them
were discarded because they have the power equivalent to a divine sword, but their
abilities were unfortunately half-hearted and in danger of going out of control.”

In that case, the said sword fails to become a divine sword. It may seem a shame to
discard it, but the potential for it to go out of control, on the other hand, would
certainly be hard to overlook.
“The other is when the finished divine sword is ordered to be destroyed because it is
too dangerous.”

“Ordered? By whom?”

“God. In the past, there were three divine swords that were allegedly ordered by God
to be destroyed. It was said that all of them were so dangerous that they were
discarded by the Divine Grade Blacksmith himself without activating most of the
swords’ abilities.”

I see, so it’s a case of succeeding but having to dispose of it because its ability was
more dangerous than expected. Though, I can’t imagine an ability so dangerous that
God would order it to be discarded.

“Speaking of divine swords, they are as intimate as children to us divine blacksmith.

How much pain the past divine grade blacksmiths who were ordered to dispose of it
have to endure……”

Alistair murmured with a strange face.

“But it’s also true that you can’t really let a sword that could bring calamity out into
the world when the sword was supposed to protect the world instead. It would be
unavoidable. That’s why I want the divine sword that is alive and well now to remain
intact. It is a discarded divine sword that has escaped destruction for some reason.”

Is that why Alistair treated us so well? I thought you were just a sword nerd.

“What were those three swords?”

“One of the three is the nuclear strike sword, Meltdown. The details of it were not even
recorded in the Truth of the Sword, but it was a terrifying divine sword that produced
tremendous power and poison.It was ordered to be destroyed because, if left
unchecked, it could threatened to wipe all creatures off the face of this world.”

Power and poison…… You mean nuclear energy and radiation? The name was also
Meltdown. I don’t know how powerful it is, but it would definitely be dangerous if it
was used around the world. It must have been so powerful that God considered it
dangerous.

“The other was the beheading sword, Judgment. It is said that it was a divine sword
that could simulate divine punishment. However, this was also discarded because it
may twist the world’s reason.”

I can’t imagine this at all. However, when it came to the possibility of abusing God’s
rules, it may indeed be seen as dangerous.

“And the last one is the wisdom sword, Cherubim. It is said that it was able to access,
interfere with and even rewrite all the knowledge stored in the God Realm. However,
It seemed that the ability to browse knowledge was the main problem, though.They
said that people were able to access even knowledge that they shouldn’t know.”

So that’s it. So it’s a risk of spreading dangerous knowledge to the world? But I wonder
if this Cherubim-san might have anything to do with me? I’m a little scared.
“So, the two of you have come to understand a little bit more about the Discarded
Divine Sword right?”

“Hmm.”

[Oh]

“Alright. Now, let’s talk about the possible relationship between Cherubim and Master.”

So, this conversation is finally happening. I’m getting a little nervous.

“I’ve been thinking about it. When one is told to dispose of a divine sword, just how
exactly is it done?”

“Hmm… By throwing it away?”

[No, that alone won’t be enough. It shouldn’t be allowed to exist anymore, so unless
you could melt it down into an ingot or something…]

I shuddered as I imagined the scene of myself being melted down. If I were human, it’s
like imagining a horror scene where I was murdered in a freakishly gruesome manner.
Hmmm, I was a little surprised to find myself more inclined towards my existence as
a sword than I thought I was.

“Of course, there’s also a method of disposal by smelting it again in the furnace and
turning it back into a chunk of Oreichalcos. However, don’t you agree that that’s a
waste of time?”

[Even if you ask me……]

A divine sword would take a huge amount of time and effort to make. Can you destroy
it completely and pretend it never happened? I couldn’t do that.
[I think they’d rather do something about the parts they’ve been told are no good and
think about reusing the good part.]

“Right? It’s a divine sword, you know? That is a first class sword. Then we can just
erase the abilities inside and divert the outside to something different.”

[In another words are you saying that I’m a product of that kind of process?]

“Maybe, just maybe. Even if you’d lost the function of a divine sword, its size as a vessel
is incomparable to other magic swords. I’m sure you could add a new and different
ability.”

[But why is the emblem part different? Isn’t it strange that it is not an angel emblem
as in the picture?]

“You could make several modifications if it were limited to superficial matters like
that. And it wouldn’t be strange to have a new emblem when the sword is born anew,
right?”

“Hmm. I guess.”

“And I’m not really sure what I’m about to say is true but…… There’s another
possibility it could have been a test run or a failure when making Cherubim. The other
possibility is that it was a prototype made before the production of the completed
product.”

“My Master is not a failure.”

[Thank you Fran]

“What I can say for sure is that there is some kind of connection between Master and
the Divine Sword Cherubim. At the very least, they may have inherited similar
abilities.”

Cherubim’s ability…… When Alistair talked about this, I was reminded of something,
or someone. I had thought about it maybe around the time I started hearing about the
Discarded Divine Sword, but the more I heard about it, the more I became convinced
of what I’m thinking of.

A reliable person who was always there for me, the announcer. He was still the
announcer who mechanically delivered level-up and title notifications to me, but once,
I was actually able to talk to him. It was in the middle of the first time I used the
potential release in a fight with the Lich, and Announcer-san left some words of
concern as his voice dissipated.

〈Thanks to the individual named Master, I, who was not allowed to exist by God, who
was erased from existence by the Maker and allowed to exist only as a vessel, was
finally able to exercise power for the Lord. May the blessing of the God of Wisdom be
on your way -〉

Isn’t that exactly what Alistair told me? Moreover, if I’m not wrong, Announcer-san
also mentioned the word “divine realm” while releasing the potential limit.

〈――Attempting to access the divine realm――Success. Accessing library. Obtaining

information on Clairvoyance in exchange for loss of access ability. Building the skill
Clairvoyance— Successful〉

That’s what he said. I think he also mentioned the ability to browse and interfere with
the knowledge of the divine realm that Alistair was talking about. And so I decided to
tell Alistair about Announcer-san.

“It’s interesting. It may indeed be the remnant of the Cherubim, which makes it more
likely that it really was created by reusing Cherubim.”

[Someone else mentioned that too… Yes, that mysterious voice. That voice sounded
like Announcer-san and he said, ‘Remnants of an existence that supposedly already
gone, It just miraculously came to the surface with the potential limit release. The
price of using so much more power than he had, even the residue of it, will disappear.’
I’m sure he said something like that.]

That voice was also a mystery. It sounded more like an ally than an enemy, and it didn’t
seem like something I can think and do something about, so I tried my best not to
worry about it after that, but… We can no longer ignore it at present. I decided to ask
Alistair about the mysterious voice as well.

[Actually, do you think there is one more person inside me besides Announcer-san? I
think there is another person inside me.]

“What? What kind of person is that?”

[Hmm…]

[No matter what you say. All I can say is he is a somewhat bad attitude man.]

They say you can get your strength back when the Moon Festival approaches, but I’ve
never been able to have a proper conversation with them because of all the things that
get in the way each time. However, he seemed to know various things about my
situation.

“I can’t guess it with just that.”

[After all, I don’t know his name or what he looks like. It can’t be helped -no, wait. I
think I did see him once?]

He showed up at an inn in Barbora, like a phantom. As I recall, he came with the

intention to apologize and told me that the potential release had worn that man out
for some reason, and that I wasn’t going to be able to talk to him for a while.

[Let’s see, he was a mature man. He had silver hair, and he was wearing a loose-fitting,
robe-like outfit in all black colour.]

“I still don’t think that’s a clue after all.”

[After all?]

I’m sure there are plenty of men with silver hair but……

“However, just keep it in mind. Maybe, if you keep looking into it, later, you may find
out something. Anyway, once I’m done repairing the blade, I will start analyzing and
repairing the interior.”

I mean, I feel like if I could have a conversation with that man, it would all be solved.
Can’t we use Alistair’s power to search for more clues?

“Yes. Well, let’s do our best to get in touch with that mysterious voice, too.”

[I’ll leave it up to you]

“Leave it to me.”
[Any other information that might help- yeah, I’m apparently a member of the God of
Chaos, right?]

“What? The God of Chaos? Not the God of Wisdom?”

“Hm.”

“Hmm…… The divine sword, as its name implies, is a sword that bears the power of a
god. Each divine sword is a family member belonging to the god who gave it the
power… Cherubim was supposed to have been a family member of the God of Wisdom.
Hmm… Belonging to the God of Chaos, huh… Well, it seems worth investigating.”

Oh that’s good. It might have helped a little. Hmm… Is there any other information I
have not yet told them?

[Ah. Can you give me more information about the place I was stuck in, or perhaps some
other hint?]

“Was it the Field of the Demon Wolf? Honestly, it won’t do anything to help, unless you
can examine the altar or whatever it is directly.”

“I see.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever been there either. I’ve conquered every continent in the last 100
years or so, but I still haven’t reached the Demon Wolf Plains.”

“100 years?”

[Eh? How old are you now?]

I was more surprised by learning of how long she had already lived than the
information that she has been to all the continents. From appearances alone, I was
sure she was completely human.

“I am half elf.”

“Your ears? Amanda’s were sharp.”

That’s right. Amanda, a rank A adventurer who used a whip as her weapon, was a half-
elf, but her ears were as pointed as an elf’s. However, Alistair’s ears are round like any
other human.

“Ha ha ha, do you know any other half-elves besides me?”

“Hmm.”

“Well, in my case, it looks like my father’s blood who’s human was thicker than my
mother who was an elf. Therefore my appearance is closer to a human than an elf’s.”

So that’s how it is. Even if one was half elf, they don’t necessarily inherit the
appearance of an elf.

“Well, the longevity isn’t just a tribal thing, it’s also an occupational thing.”

[Does your occupation affect your lifespan?]

“It’s not so much my profession, but rather, my profession’s specific skill is called
Physical Mastery. As the name implies, it’s a skill that keeps the body in its prime, but
it also extends the life span of the body by keeping it young for long periods of time.”

Skills that keep you young? It’s not a very blacksmith-like skill. No. Is it possible,
considering that she will remain at her prime as a blacksmith for a long period of time?
And she said she had a number of unique skills. As expected of a divine blacksmith,
she was just truly as impressive as her title sounds.
I asked Alistair about her prediction that I might have something to do with the
discarded divine sword, Cherubim, but she wasn’t completely sure about it either.

“Either way, let’s make restoration our top priority for now. Soon I’ll finish repairing
the external components. And then I’ll start working on what’s inside.”

[What do you do to restore the inside?]

“That’s where a divine blacksmith can truly utilize their skills. Just leave it to me. Just,
it will take a lot of time to analyze and repair, so be prepared for that, okay?”

[I understand.]

“As for you, Fran… Honestly, I don’t think there’s anything you can do to help even if
you just watch.”

“It’s fine. I will just keep watching.”

Fran replied in the same way as before, facing Alistair with a look of determination
that displayed her intention that she would not move away from his spot even if just
for an inch.

“Woof!”

Urushi also sat down in a well-mannered position beside her and looked at Alistair.

“Suit yourself.”

Alistair muttered and said nothing more. Then she turned her back to Fran and the
others as she faced me.

“Well then, let’s get started. Well, there’s nothing for Master to do though. Your job is
to stay put.”
[All right.]

“Fuhahaha!!”

[What’s the matter?]

“I never thought I’d see the day where I’d be repairing a sword and telling it to not
move.”

After laughing lightly at that, Alistair held up her hand above me with a serious
expression.

“Eye of Analysis…!”

It was the same appraisal type skill that she used when we first met earlier. She began
to observe me carefully with her magic-laden eyes. They were several degrees more
serious and keener than they had been the first time round.

“…”

“…”

Complete silence engulfed the room. Neither Alistair, Fran and Urushi uttered a single
word at all. Alistair needed her full attention to carry out her task and Fran and the
others, understanding that, did their best to not disrupt that concentration. The only
thing they had in common was the seriousness of each other’s expressions.

The only sounds in the silvery room were the sounds of two people and one animal
breathing.

“…”

“…”

After a while, actually I stopped keeping track of how long we’ve been at it. Alistair’s
forehead was covered in beads of sweat. She had been concentrating her magical
power for a long time, analyzing me. The exhaustion she should be going through right
now was too large for me to imagine seeing how quiet the situation was.

Fran was still watching her work, not moving even slightly.
“Fuuuu~”

And then, after finally finishing her analysis, Alistair slowly looked up and exhaled. I
could see the fatigue draining colour away from her face.

[Is it over?]

“Mhm. I’m sorry.”

Suddenly Alistair apologized.

Eh? What? What… happened? Why are you apologizing?

[I- Is it possible that I can’t be repaired?]

“No, you can be repaired. Let’s be clear on that. However, even after so much time has
passed, I still couldn’t complete the analysis. I’d like to apologize for that first.”

[But it’s not like you didn’t come up with anything at all, right?]

“Well… kind of. I’ve gathered all the information I need to make the necessary repairs
without any problems.”

Then, it’s fine. It would have been nice to know what’s going on, but my current
priority is to repair myself. No. I was too impatient.

“In the meantime, I’ll explain the results of my analysis while I start with the repairs.”

[I’ll leave it to you.]

Alistair began taking out multiple potion-like objects again and started to concoct
something next to me. It seems that the magical medicine prepared for repairs was
made and customized according to the sword to be repaired. Not only does this mean
that Alistair’s skills in blacksmithing was top-notch, but she was also quite adept in
alchemy.

Alistair, who has finished mixing the concoction, poured it onto my sword blade. A
second later, I felt something well up from inside my body.

It wasn’t a bad feeling though. It’s a warm and gentle feeling, completely opposite of
the intense, dark one I had when I was under the control of the mad demonization. I
could feel that soft, fluffy comfort spreading all over my body.

“Okay, the repair of the magic circuit has begun. How are you feeling?”

[Somehow, it feels good. It’s like soaking in a hot bath.]

“That is quite an interesting expression. You are most definitely a person before. I don’t
know if I will ever have this opportunity again in the future to hear thoughts directly
from the sword, but this is very interesting!”

When Fran saw Alistair smiling and muttering excitedly, she felt that a huge burden in
her chest had been lifted. Then, Fran asked Alistair with an expectant look in her eyes.

“With this, will Master finally heal?”

“No, not yet. This potion is just going to close up a big wound in the magic circuit. The
next step is to close up the more delicate and deep wounds. This is the most difficult
job I’ve been tasked with since I last created a divine sword! I’ll finally be able to go all
out again and prove my abilities!”

I don’t know how she’ll do it, but I could guess that it was going to be a very difficult
and intricate process. I’m glad Alistair was willing to do this, but I also think it’s going
to take a while.

Even so, you have made a divine sword huh.

She IS a divine blacksmith, so I guess I might say, it’s expected of her, but hearing her
say of her past work herself brings a different kind of surprise. I’m getting an awesome
blacksmith to fix me up, huh.

However, after hearing Alistair’s outburst, Fran fell back down into her chair again,
looking dejected as she probably understood that my restoration was likely to be a
long way off.

“I see.”

“Well, don’t look so gloomy. It will take some time, but Master will certainly get back
on his own feet.”
“Really?”

“Let’s bet on it with divine swords!!”

I know you’re trying to tell me that it’s a sure thing to succeed, but betting with divine
swords…

Does that mean… If she fails to repair me, do we get a divine sword? That meant that
for Fran, the more you fail, the better the sword you will give her………??

“I don’t need it. Instead, return Master to his original condition.”

[Fran!]

Good girl! As expected of Fran!

“I know. I’ll definitely fix it. Well, returning it to the original… That’s the problem.”

[What?]

“No, don’t worry about it. Let’s just focus on fixing it now.”

[?? I understand…]

“That said, it will take a little longer for the potion to finish repairing the damage to
the magic circuits. And while we wait for that, I’ll tell you what I found out earlier.

“Hmm!”

[Please do.]

I know I said earlier that restoration was my top priority, but that doesn’t mean I don’t
want to know!

“Oh, I think Master can at least use telepathic communication now, right?”

What? For real?

[Aa- Aa, test test. Can you hear me Fran?]

“Hmm! I can hear you!”

Oh, I can really use it now! And it no longer causes pain.

It felt a little laggy or slow to activate when I used it, but it was enough for conversation.
I’m really getting better. Once again, I felt that I was really getting better, and I was
moved by it.

“Did you say you have two persons in you?”

[Yes. The announcer and the mysterious voice.]

“Let’s start by talking about this Announcer-san thing.”

[Oh]

“Hmm.”

Fran had a plain reaction to this revelation. I suppose it’s because she has heard of the
announcer, but she has never spoken to him in person.

“It is severely damaged, but there is certainly an area that is deeply connected to the
sword. It is similar to a nerve that stretches out its branches and leaves all over the
interior of the sword. It is specialized in analyzing information and other stuff,
moreover originally it is made for the host or in this case, it was made for Master. It
was made in a way so it’s capable of assisting the host.”

[Assisting? So I still have notification settings for leveling up?]

I don’t think there’s that big of a difference between before and after Mr. Announcer’s
success in releasing the potential limit. But that was only scratching the surface of the
story, apparently.

“No, that’s not all. Originally, it was supposed to assist in the activation of skills and
assist in calculations.”

[So you’re saying that he had the ability to help you activate skills and magic?]

“Ah. But unfortunately before we realized the benefit, that part was damaged. It was
originally an ability that Master needed after you level up more.”
Alistair said that it was for me - or in this case, in terms of the sword’s ability - is an
ability that was reserved for when I level up more. If Announcer-san had been fully
prepared and had that ability to support him, he might not have been injured from
overuse of his abilities like he was in this case. On the contrary, if the ability was intact
he could have warned me when he was nearing his limit.

But if it wasn’t for his success and sacrifice, we would have been defeated by Lich on
the floating island. Therefore I won’t say words of regret.

[So will Announcer-san heal?]

“I am afraid it would not heal. It’s a miracle that there are even some remnants of
Cherubim lasting to this day. There’s nothing we can do to fix it if it’s broken this badly.”

Unfortunately, if Alistair said she can’t do it, then she really can’t.

[Is that so……]

“There’s only so much I can do to prevent the residue of Cherubim disappearing or get
any worse, such as reinforcing it.”

[I understand…]

If you think about it, Announcer-san did a lot for me during my early days. It distracted
me from my loneliness, and I’ve gained a lot of knowledge from it. If the only thing I
could do was help it avoid from completely disappearing, I would be grateful enough
for that.

[Please take care of Announcer-san.]

Alistair opened her mouth again as she was working on reinforcing Announcer-san.

“Now, we’ll talk about the mysterious voice.”

[Oh, finally.]

(I wonder, how is the result of the analysis? Could it be that we can find out who they
are or how to call them out?)

“That being said, there’s not much more we know about this one than what’s left of
Cherubim.”

[Ah, is that so?]

“Yes. However, in a fairly deep part of the sword, I could certainly sense a soul separate
from Master, albeit a weakened one.”

So does that mean it was not part of a discarded divine sword or something like
Announcer-san, but it’s instead sealed inside a sword like I was?

“The ability to get skills from the magic stone would have been an ability that this soul
originally had.”

[You mean a being that has the power to absorb skills and magic power from magic
stones? How is it that I was also able to use this mysterious soul ability?]

“That’s where it gets complicated. Master’s interior is in a more complicated state and
more mysterious than you yourself can imagine, you know?”

(Eh? What is that? Complex and mysterious?)

I’m a little afraid to ask. But it’s too late to retreat anyway. A man has courage, and a
sword should face his enemies without hesitation.
[Tell me more.]

“Before that, I’d like to see Master absorb the magic stone, will that be alright?”

I see… Well, she will certainly find out more about it if I show it to her in person.

“Then here.”

“What am I supposed to do with this magic stone?”

“You have to cut it like this.”

“I see, so it’s like that…”

The magic stone that was handed over by Fran, was hit by my blade by Alistair as Fran
instructed. Then, the absorption was done as usual.The weak demon stone didn’t fill
me up very well, but I’m sure it was properly absorbed.

[What do you think of this?]

“Hmm, it’s an interesting flow of magical power. But I still think my analysis is correct
after all. Therefore, I’ll tell you my conclusion now. Even if Master absorbs the magic
stone, you’re not getting your power directly from it.

[What? What do you mean?]

“The magic is flowing towards the mysterious soul, not to Master directly.”

To sum up Alistair’s explanation, here’s how it worked.

When I absorb the magical stone, the mysterious soul sealed inside me receives its
power. Apparently, this soul is quite damaged and it’s a mystery how it could still exist.
According to her, the fact that it was sealed inside the divine sword might have been
to protect its existence instead.

And from this mysterious soul that regained its power after eating the magic stone,
the power will be shared with me. Apparently that was how it worked.

“Perhaps, this mysterious soul is the identity of the mysterious voice that Master
heard previously. It is quite an extraordinary thing. It’s soul level is, shall I say, at a
superior plane that even I can’t analyze.”

[You don’t know where or who he is?]

“I’m sorry. However, I don’t sense any kind of evil intent from it. I get the impression
that it’s more than willing to cooperate with you.”

Well, if this mysterious soul is the identity of that mysterious voice, it was certainly
not an enemy. And if anything, I think he is more of an ally than an enemy.

“To make things even worse, it seemed that the ability to strengthen Master with self-
evolution points was handled by something other than this mysterious soul.”

[’Something else’ huh…… That’s a more vague description than the mysterious soul.]

“I know that, but I can only say as much.”

Inside of me, the remnants of Cherubim and the mysterious soul seem to be intricately
intertwined. It’s a complicated situation, and apparently a third mystery exists within
it. I couldn’t sense any soul or thoughts in this other mysterious thing, and it felt more
like a magic program or system built inside a magical tool or device.

“Even though I say it’s a mystery, what I mean is that I don’t know the creator or the
method of making it but I still understand some of its functions. Regardless, it’s too
advanced for my understanding, and the analysis I conducted earlier could not
completely catch up to it.”

[Even Alistair, a divine blacksmith, can’t analyze it out?]

“Honestly. Whoever created this system is a monster. I don’t know if there’s such a
profession, but it’s at a level that’s impossible to build without assuming that there’s
a divine grade mage or a divine grade alchemist or something of that caliber. At least
as a blacksmith, I know that I can’t build one from scratch.”

[Is- Is that so]

“Ah. It may be similar to the dungeon core I’ve seen before. It’s exactly the same as that
because it was impossible to duplicate or imitate and it makes me feel defeated.”

Alistair smiled bitterly after saying that. Even Alistair, a divine blacksmith, feels
defeated after seeing that? Isn’t that like super messed up? I’m getting excited. What
kind of tremendous ability does it have?

[Oh, so what kind of function does this mystery system have?]

“Oh, as for that -”

The system’s primary purpose, it seems, is to manage the power of the mysterious
soul. Earlier, I said that power was flowing from the mysterious soul to me, but it
seemed that this system was taking over and intervening each time.

It was this mysterious system that took the power from the mysterious soul who
regained his power and changed it into a form that even I can use. Well, I also heard
that it’s only because the mysterious soul is cooperating with me that I’m able to
extract that power.

The power of the mysterious soul was quite tremendous, and it’s difficult for me to
use it on my own if I just let it run loose without control.

The power of the mysterious soul was quite tremendous, and it’s difficult for me to
use it on my own if I just let it run loose without control.

The same was true when it came to learning skills.The mysterious soul seemed to have
the power to get skills from the magic stone, but it’s usually difficult for me to use it as
it was. Even though they’re sealed inside me and had a connection to me, we’re still
separate souls to begin with.

However, the truth is that the skills the mysterious soul absorbed from the magic stone
was converted and transferred by the mysterious system so that even I can use them.
The power of skill sharing between me and Fran is an added benefit thanks to this
mysterious system.

In other words, It seemed that the thing that adjusted the mysterious soul power into
a form that even I could use was the mysterious system. And apparently the form it
used to do so was the rank-up and the self-evolution point system.

“I just don’t know why they’re setting up this thing called magic stone value, I honestly
don’t understand. I think we could have built a system to make it easier to strengthen
Master without setting it up like that.”
[In other words, the more magic stones you absorb, no matter what kind, the more
you get strengthened on the spot?]

“‘Yeah, exactly like that. Is it necessary to set a hurdle such as a magic stone value?”

[Maybe there are steps needed to be taken as a requirement?]

“Maybe. Well, to be honest, the creator of this mystery system feels like a pretty drunk
person to me, or just someone with a lot of mischief. That’s just the impression I got
from doing my analysis, though. Or maybe it could simply be a hobby of his, you
know?”

Hobby…… Even though I’m having a lot of trouble thanks to the magic stone value… If
it was really a hobby, he must be an awfully twisted guy.

“Oh, one more thing. You said you couldn’t get any magic stone value from even the
powerful evil one’s magic stone? This is just an assumption, but maybe the mysterious
soul can’t absorb all the evil spirits.”

In other words, a magic stone with too much evil energy won’t restore the mysterious
soul. That’s why the power wasn’t transferred to me and I didn’t accumulate any magic
stone value. Maybe, the reason I couldn’t get the evil one’s skill was also because the
mysterious soul couldn’t absorb the evil one’s magic.

Apparently, goblins and other evil one are able to absorb power to some extent
because they contain not only ordinary magic power, but also some evil power.

[Um, it’s getting really confusing. Let’s get this straightened out a bit.]

First of all, inside of me there is Announcer-san, the residue of Cherubim, a mysterious

soul, and a mysterious system.

Announcer-san was responsible for my ability to process information from the outside
world and communicate to me what’s going on inside me. It is the so-called
announcing ability, and apparently, the reason why even though I’m a sword and have
vision of the outside world was because of Announcer-san. The ability to use telepathic
communication is probably the announcer’s ability as well. It’s kind of like a secretary
I guess? Announcer-san the Secretary, that sounds great.

The mysterious soul is something sealed inside me. Even Alistair can’t find out more
about his background than that. However, he is extremely damaged and seemed to be
recovering by absorbing the magic stone. And he transfers the power he’s gained from
his recovery to me. Apparently the reason I get pleasure from absorbing the magic
stone is because I feel this mysterious soul’s delight in it. In other words, it wasn’t me
who ate the magic stone and felt good about it! It was Mr. Mysterious Soul who was
the one with the perverted sexuality! So when I ate the magic stone and said, ‘Oho!’
It’s not my fault that I’m saying that!

And then there is the mysterious system that adjusts the power from that mysterious
soul so that even I can use it. Without it, the tremendous power emanating from the
mysterious soul would, on the contrary, consume me. Self-evolution points and the
like seem to be a benefit from this mysterious system. Although we don’t know who
its creator was, there are suspicions that he has a bad personality.

“Hmmm, we’ve managed to figure some of the things out, but I feel like now the
mystery surrounding the creators of these… ‘things’ just got deeper.”

“As far as I can analyze, I think at least four or more people are involved in the
production of Master. One thing for sure is Elmera, the divine blacksmith who is said
to have created Cherubim is involved.”

“Elmera…”

This is a great piece of information to help me figure out who I am. In the future, if I
am able to follow Elmera’s footsteps, I might be able to find out more of myself.

“And then there’s the mysterious soul himself. Perhaps it is not human, but some kind
of demon beast, but they would not be able to build such an elaborate system without
it agreeing to be incorporated into the system at will.”

[Are you saying that the demon beast agreed to do this?]

“Some of the beasts are more intelligent than humans. That’s exactly what happens
when they reach the divine beast class, as their intelligence then far transcends that
of humans. And it wouldn’t be strange if there were some circumstances involved or
if they agreed to some kind of agreement.”

When he showed up in Barbora to make a gesture of apology, I thought he was human

because he appeared in human form, but apparently he wasn’t.
It seems strangely human, but when you think about it, Urushi also had some human
qualities. Maybe if you become a high-ranking demonic beast, you’re no different from
a human inside.

“And then there’s the person who put this mysterious system together. If it was
Elmera’s job, I, as a fellow divine grade blacksmith, would know. Hence, it’s definitely
a different person.”

If Alistair said so, then it must be so. It must be one of Elmera’s collaborator then. So
there was someone who created a tremendous magic system that even a divine grade
blacksmith couldn’t analyze?

[Did I miss something?]

Cherubim, the mysterious soul, and the mysterious system. No, there must be
someone who brought me to this side of the world in the first place. And, according to
Alistair’s view, it’s not the former three.

[Me?]

“That’s right. It’s Master himself. In the first place, I can’t find anything about the
existence that sealed Master to the sword. At least, it’s impossible for Elmera. I think
it’s impossible for Elmera to seal such a mysterious soul on a sword.”

[What about the one who made the system?]

“It is possible. It just that-”

[Just that…?]

“It might be just my intuition as a divine blacksmith, but it feels like the method of
work involved for the two is different.”

[The method of work?]

“Yes. I don’t think the magic circuit of the mystery system and the magic circuit that
connects the master to the sword was made by the same creator.”

I had no choice but to only believe that as it is the word of a divine blacksmith. Just
like how, on Earth, craftsmen could spot the subtle differences between two antiques
that an amateur wouldn’t be able to detect.

“‘I have no idea how to seal the master and the mysterious soul to the sword. It’s a
mystery…… I’m sorry for only adding to all the mystery and unknowns you face. I
couldn’t figure out that you are acting as a subordinate of the God of Chaos, and I also
couldn’t keep up despite all the analyses I’ve done. I am a divine blacksmith, and yet
this is what I look like. I am pathetic.”

Alistair ridiculed herself as she said this.

 ?

Alistair regretted that she was unable to complete the analysis.

“Also, I don’t even know why Master was sealed inside a sword.”

[The reason why I was sealed?]

“Yes. Considering the timing, the mysterious soul was first sealed in the remnant of
the Discarded Divine Sword Cherubim for the purpose of protecting itself. Then,
someone built a mysterious system and arranged for the power of the mysterious soul
to be used by the sword’s main personality - or in this case Master.”

[Ah]

“We can only speculate as to why they did so, but I think it was for the sake of the
mysterious soul. If the number of magic stones it absorbs increases, the stronger it’ll
become, then the person that has equipped the sword will continue to voluntarily
absorb more magic stones. In doing so, the mysterious soul will be able to recover
faster too.”

I see. So we’re doing exactly what the creators of the sword might have intended us to
do. No. Am I on the creator’s side? And if that’s the case, should we say that Fran was
the one we’re looking for?

Still, I won’t complain about this because it is useful for Fran’s sake anyway. Rather, I
am grateful towards this system. After all, it was because of this system that I was able
to meet Fran.

However, the following words from Alistair made me feel like I was doused in cold
water.

“But is it really necessary to have Master?”

[Eh?]
“Maybe Master’s soul was locked up in the sword at the same time as the mystery
system was built. It should be so because Master’s soul and the system are paired
together. But do we really need Master in this system?”

“Master is indispensable!”

Fran, who hadn’t said a word and had been listening intently to us previously, opened
her mouth for the first time in a long while. I guess she was just trying to keep quiet
so we wouldn’t be disturbed. You have really grown up, Fran, to be able to listen to a
difficult story without dozing off even a bit! I’m a little impressed.

However, the moment she heard words that she couldn’t just ignore, she couldn’t help
but shout her thoughts out loud.

“Don’t look at me like that. I’m not saying it in a bad way. It’s just that I am worried.
Why did they have to go through all the trouble to seal Master in the sword just to have
him act as a mediator of all this power? Couldn’t they just let the person who equipped
the sword to directly wield the power of the sword?”

When you put it that way…… The sword had the ability to share skills, and we have
Announcer-san. I suppose it’s possible for the wielder of the sword to choose their
own skills and draw the power from the sword without me.

Ah… Am I simply a leftover, an unwanted child…?

“We need Master! It’s only because I have Master, and because I could count on him
that I could get this far!!”

“Fran…”

“Hmm!”

I’m glad I was Fran’s sword!

“Well, I’m not saying that it’s completely useless either. There’s a certain amount of
merit to the fact that the sword itself has its own will. Besides, there’s no way that a
high class blacksmith who has created so many swords would imitate sealing a human
soul into a sword for no reason. Not to mention, sealing a human soul to a sword isn’t
an easy task. Therefore there must have been something, an important reason why he
put Master as the main personality of the sword. Well, I wasn’t able to find out
anything about that from my analysis though…”

[No, we managed to find out about a lot of things, and all of it was pretty significant
for me. Isn’t that right?]

Now, I understood better what my powers were, and I came to know of the name
Elmera. It also turns out that I was potentially created from a discarded divine sword.
This was a huge discovery.

“I don’t know if it has anything to do with Master’s role, but there’s one place in the
sword that’s completely beyond my analysis. Should I say the deepest part? It’s in the
deepest part of the sword.”

[Are you sure?]

“Yes. I am sure. No doubt about it. Only, this part is different from the others, and it’s
designed to prevent analysis and appraisal.”

[Could you guess what kind of function it has?]

“There is too little information. I have no idea what it does or how it works… I’m sorry,
but I really don’t have any ideas.”

She blamed herself again for this, but I think Alistair has done really well. If it wasn’t
for her, we wouldn’t have gotten this much information. And it’s not like I didn’t know
what to expect. I had come up with a possibility after hearing the results of Alistair’s
analysis so far.

[I have a little hypothesis - or maybe it’s more of a wild guess - about the identity of
the mysterious soul, but I have a bit of an idea.]

“Oh? What is your hypothesis?”

[Well, it’s just a possibility but……]

[I’ve been thinking about the identity of the mysterious soul. And I think It’s Fenrir.
Well, I know that I might be overestimating myself by saying this, thinking that the
legendary Demon Beast could being sealed inside me.]

The wolf emblem design on my handle. The name of the place with the pedestal I was
stuck on was the Plains of Demon Wolves. The legend of Fenrir that was once roaming
in the plain. The title of Divine Wolf’s Attendant that Urushi possesses. The fact that
the mysterious soul is a demon beast.

We could list any number of possibilities. But with this information that we have
gathered so far, that was the only conclusion I could come up with.

“I see… Fenrir huh?”

“I see… Fenrir huh?”

[Yes, what do you think?]

“It’s not out of the realm of possibility. Some divine swords have those kinds of
demonic beasts in their swords to borrow their power. There is also a type of magical
sword called a ‘magical beast weapon’ that is used to contain magic beast souls.”

[Isn’t that the same as manipulating the soul? Didn’t you said you it was almost
impossible to manipulate and seal a soul in a sword?]

“It is very difficult to control the soul. However, it is not impossible to create it with a
body that is deeply connected with the soul and seal the soul altogether into the
sword.”

“What kind of other divine swords are there?”

[I’m interested in that too…]

“As for the items used to seal demonic beasts, the Demon King’s Sword Diabolos, the
Tyrannical Dragon Sword Lindwurm, the Serpent Emperor’s Sword Jormungand, and
the Golden Dragon Sword Eldorado were also used in the past, although Eldorado is
already broken now.”

Alistair counted on her fingers as she stated the names of the swords. However, Fran
looked like she was curious about a different part of the story.

“Even though it was a divine sword it still breaks?”

[I’m curious about that, too. In the list of divine swords I saw before, there were names
of swords that were already destroyed…]
In addition to Cherubim, Judgement, and Meltdown, which were said to have been
discarded at the behest of the gods, the names Fanatics and Holy Order should have
been listed too as destroyed divine swords. And now she mentioned the name
Eldorado. Was it also destroyed unexpectedly?

“Ah, it’s simple. Divine swords are rarely destroyed. But there are exceptions. When a
god or divine grade blacksmith makes a move themselves. Another way would be
when they get destroyed in a battle between divine swords.”

Ah… Of course it was like that. God swords could certainly destroy each other.

“For example, the divine sword Fanatic has quite a dark history behind it. Dionysus,
the divine blacksmith who created this sword, was a blacksmith who had a certain…
inclination.”

“Inclination? What kind of swords did he create?”

“Instead of turning the user into a warrior, Berserk, the mad divine sword, makes the
user run out of control and turns mad instead. It is said that he sacrificed a saint to
create it, and it also had the ability to control the demon, Diabolos. Hypocritical Sword
Pacifist brainwashes others into becoming puppets. There are many people that get
their desires and dirty sides reflected onto the swords they create.”

Indeed, the divine sword Fanatic that was made by such a guy would be no ordinary
sword.

“Fanatic is, to put it bluntly, a sword that connects people together in spirit.”

“? What’s so bad with that?”

[Does that mean it has something like telepathic powers?]

People connecting with each other in spirit… Does it mean you won’t have any quarrels
with each other because you could understand all of each other’s thoughts? However,
Alistair’s explanation was even more appalling than expected.

“I’m sorry. It seems like I didn’t say it well. Fanatic has the ability to force the mind of
the person they dominate to integrate into themselves.”

[Integration? Two people become one? And if so, what about the body of the one being
eaten?]

“This one’s a little outrageous.”

Fanatic was able to integrate the spirit of others into themselves, but also maintain a
connection to their original bodies. As a result, the body may appear to be a separate
organism in motion individually, but the soul inside is in fact the soul of the owner of
the divine sword, Fanatic.

I guess you could say that the owner of Fanatic is moving multiple mentally connected
bodies at the same time. However, since the original owner of the physical body is
integrated into Fanatic, it seems that the external surface can behave as it is.

“The whole spirit takes in others and fuses them together. As a result, you can own all
of their memories, experiences and emotions. But do you think those who have taken
in the memories of dozens or hundreds of people can keep remaining sane?”

[I don’t think so.]

“Exactly. The spirit of the owner who continued to use that sword grew so large that
he could no longer retain his sense of self. In the end, he started turning crazy. The
Holy Spirit Sword Holy Order was created by the earliest divine blacksmith Ulmer, who
saw the Fanatic as dangerous, to counter it. It was apparently a specialized divine
sword acting as an anti-Fanatic. As a result, both sides collided, and both sides were
destroyed together.”

So there are a lot of different types of people who are divine blacksmiths, and there’s
a lot going on between them.

[I believe Ulmer was the guy who made the first divine sword, wasn’t he? He was
supposedly the creator of the Beginning God Sword, Alpha.]

“You know your stuff. That’s right. He’s a legendary man who received a divine
revelation and became the first divine grade blacksmith in history.”

[Did Ulmer and that Dionysus live in the same era?]

“They were brothers, you know. Apparently Dionysus was his older brother all along.”

I thought he was Ulmur’s apprentice when he was blacksmithing, and he picked up

Ulmur’s divine skills while he was being ordered around in the smithy.

“But Dionysus was fiercely jealous of his brother, who was recognized by the gods and
revered as the best blacksmith in the world. As a result, he went through his brother’s
work, stole the techniques of a divine grade blacksmith, and became a divine grade
blacksmith on his own.”

[Isn’t that amazing?]

“To be honest, he was most likely a genius. In a book left by Ulmer, he wrote, ‘My
brother is the true genius. That is why he is dangerous.’ As a result, two divine
blacksmiths were born in the same era, and many divine swords were created.”

Now I understand after all this explanation. That’s why this Dionysus guy produced so
many weird swords, but I think he was just trying to match his brother. In order to
surpass his brother, who made orthodox swords, he must have created many
specialized divine swords with unique abilities to surpass his brother.

“We’ve digressed. But anyway, I think in normal circumstances it’s rather impossible
to seal off Fenrir completely in a sword.”

[So, it means that the person who helped Mr. Mystery Soul was also the person who
wants to help Fenrir, and he is the one that made me, right?]

“That would only apply if the mysterious soul is indeed Fenrir”

At least it meant it’s worth looking into Fenrir’s story in the future. Well, if the
mysterious soul wasn’t Fenrir, then it would be a waste of effort……

Never mind… We shall cross that bridge when that time comes I guess.

“So, let’s head back to the Plains of the Demon Wolf once more.”

“Hmm.”
Alistair continued to ponder on my theory that the identity of the mysterious soul
might be Fenrir.

“I’m sure if we took more time, we could do a more detailed analysis…”

“How long will it take?”

“Well, if you want to find out who the mysterious soul is, it’s going to take years.”

[Well, that is impossible.]

“Hm. Impossible.”

I can’t let Fran’s precious early teens be wasted here.

Of course, it might be a good experience to learn a lot of things from Alistair, but I still
have to let the cute child travel.

Besides, I have to return to the Kingdom of Kleinzell to participate in the auction. I also
have an appointment with Gallus.

“I know. If it’s not possible, I won’t force it. Well, let’s put a pause to all this rambling,
and move on to serious restoration and refurbishment.”

“Refurbishment?”

[Isn’t simply repairing enough?]

As far as I was concerned, as long as I could get back on track, it’s enough.

“Yeah, I decided that as long as the residue of Cherubim wasn’t working, it won’t be
enough.”
[It’s not good enough?]

“Originally, Cherubim’s remnant should have managed Master’s vast array of skills and
assisted him in using them, but this is not the case right now. That’s probably why
Master’s condition had gone so awry this time. Seems like Master can’t keep up with
the processing power by himself.”

Apparently I’m forcing myself to do the part, even though it should have been
Cherubim who should take care of it for me.

“If you simply just put it back together, it will do the same thing right away. That’s why
it needs to be refurbished.”

[What exactly do you mean by “refurbished”? Is it like increasing its processing

power?]

“That would be impossible. There’s nothing I can do to improve it any further in terms
of ability. In the first place, Master is a semi-divine sword class— No, Master’s body
has a complicated structure that can almost be called a divine sword. It’s not easy to
achieve that, even for me.”

So there’s nothing you can do about the hardware, the constituent parts. Then maybe
the internal circuitry, the software… No, that’s not going to be easy either.

To put it bluntly, there’s a tremendous amount of software residing in the system, and
it’s a situation where the gargantuan size of the space consumed by the software is
too overwhelming for the local storage. Since I can’t remove that software, there will
be no choice but to secure capacity in more detailed parts.

Is it because of my knowledge as an earthling that I still carry here? Surprisingly, I

could easily understand Alistair’s explanation. Fran, who was listening next to me, had
already started to doze off, as her head tilted to one side, nodding throughout.

[Does that mean you’re going to cut out the unnecessary parts of my insides somehow?]

“You sure understand quickly. That’s right. To put it more bluntly, I will reduce the
number of skills you have. If the remnants of the Cherubim had been there, they’d have
had no problem managing the inexhaustible growth in skills. But as it is now, even if
you’re not using them, you’re still in possession of a tremendous amount of skills,
which places quite a burden on you, Master.”
In other words, the more magic stones I ate and the more skills I added, the closer I
got to my processing limit. I gained a huge amount of skills, especially in the most
recent fight. Right now, I should have over 200 in total, and in the worst case scenario,
it might have even reached 300.

After I explained that, Alistair murmured with an amazed expression.

“Oi, Oi, what is that about.”

“Nn. Master has lots of skills.”

“Hah. Really??? Even divine swords have at most 30 or so skills that were granted to
them. If the number exceeds 50, it will malfunction, and if it goes over 100, it’s no
wonder the sword goes out of control. And you say you have over 200 skills? That’s
crazy! Normally, it would have destroyed itself already!”

[Woah-]

“How could you not feel any pain before? In fact, I’m surprised that you’re able to hold
on this long.”

Alistair’s words made me realize how much I had been pushing myself.

If we hadn’t met Alistair here, I don’t know if we would have been able to repair me.
Also, if the enemy hadn’t left us, we would have been even more overwhelmed on top
of being in a half-destroyed state. If that actually happened, what awaited us would
definitely be a bleak and rough future.

As we were talking about this, Fran raised a question while tilting her head slightly.

“Hey, why would Master feel pain?”

[Hmm? As Alistair just mentioned, the overwhelming number of skills takes a toll on
me, right?]

“No, that’s not what Fran is trying to say, is it? You’re asking how Master, who has no
biological body and is not supposed to feel pain, can feel the sensation of pain, right?”

Oh, is that what she was asking about? I was actually curious about that too.
However, Alistair apparently knew what to expect.

“If Master was an artificial spirit, he wouldn’t feel pain. He won’t know the feeling of
pain in the first place. But in Master’s case, he still has a slight sense of what pain feels
like when he is human. I think, because of that, Master is able to perceive occurrences
that causes pain like forcing himself too hard to think or process skills, and
unconsciously recreates the nonexistent pain.”

[I- I see.]

“I think the reason why you don’t feel pain when the sword part was damaged is either
because you are too far removed from your human sense to feel pain, or you have a
strong belief that it can’t hurt because it’s a sword.”

So you’re saying that the pain I feel is all because I unconsciously perceive it, even
though in truth it shouldn’t really hurt at all.

“Well, it’s a tricky one, but that’s not a bad thing for the current Master. At least, he
could sense his limitations without the remnants of the Cherubim from the pain he
feels.”

If you ask me, that’s probably right. If it weren’t for the pain, I wouldn’t have realized
my own limits and would have destroyed myself in the fight against Myrellia and
Xellos Reed.

“Now, let’s talk about the refurbishment. We need to remove some unused or wasteful
skills to reduce the chance of Master feeling that pain again. Just, listen properly to
what I am about to say. If there were just one or two skills to discard, then it would
have been easy. However, with this large number of skills, your choice is either you
just discard this huge amount of skills, just delete all of them, or you can select your
skills one by one and choose ones to keep and others to delete. Unfortunately, this will
take years.”

[Huh? Wait a minute, that’s a problem! We can’t do that!]

If a useful skill I’ve acquired just disappeared, I’m definitely going to lose my strength
in a heartbeat!

“However, it doesn’t mean I’m just going to erase skills at random. Don’t worry about
that.”
[I don’t understand what you mean?]

“Ah, hmm… how can I explain it easily? What if I told you that I could use the ability of
the mystery system within Master to integrate and optimize your skills?”

[Can you interfere with the mystery system?]

“No, I can’t change the main feature, but I could use the system to change things up a
little bit. For example, we could combine skills of the same roots into one and evolve
them into higher-level skills.

So, it seems like the problem is that I have a lot of skills that aren’t too useful, and
you’re suggesting to lump them all together, and see if they’ll evolve or not? Isn’t that
being too reckless?

“But we can’t really control the details, so it’s up to the system to choose the best
option.”

[I thought so……]

“Evolving will increase the capacity of individual skills, but it should be much better
than being overwhelmed by the process of managing so many wasted skills. Well, I
can’t assure you that you might not lose some useful skills in the process. It’s the first
time I’ve ever done this after all.”

[…… What do you think of this, Fran?]

(I’ll do whatever is good for Master.)

[But the worst would be if I lose all my useful skills, like swordplay and all that.]

(If you lose them, we can get them back.)

Fran was very casual in her responses, and that’s when I made up my mind.

That’s right, and even if I become weak, I can still grow stronger again. If I have
something I lost, I can get it back.

“I do have one question, though.”

“What is it?”

“What happens if, after Alistair reduces Master skills this time, the number of skills
increases again?”

There’s that problem too. Exactly as Fran described it, isn’t this just a temporary fix?

“Then come back periodically to see me. When the time comes, if you find out anything
about Master, will you let me know? Hopefully I can be of more help then.”

[… Is this help just out of kindness?]

“Well, I wouldn’t say I’m not interested in Master’s background.”

Of course. Those are the eyes of someone who is completely engulfed by curiosity.
Regardless, even for me, I wasn’t planning on breaking relations with a Divine Grade
blacksmith. It’s really relieving to have someone offer repair assistance in an
emergency.

In human terms, isn’t it similar to the peace of mind one gets with being seen by an
excellent doctor at any time? Anyway, with this, I can fight again with no worries.

“All right, we will definitely return.”

[Please take care of the refurbishment.]

“Sure, leave it to me.”

It’s been a few hours since Alistair started the refurbishment process. Apparently, it
takes a lot of time to get my internal system up and running, and ready to control.

As before, Alistair stood still with her eyes closed throughout, before suddenly
opening her eyes and looking up.

“Okay, it’s ready. We can get into the renovation process at any time now.”

Then, she wiped the sweat from her forehead. She has been working continuously for
several hours without drinking or eating. I think she’s pretty worn out, but I didn’t see
any significant signs of fatigue on her face.

[Hey, do you need a break? It’s already night, you know?]

From the only small window provided in this room, we could already see the darkness
of the night before we realized. The room was so bright and shiny that I didn’t notice
the passing of time at all.

“I’m okay. I don’t get tired easily. However, we do have a long way to go. Let’s take a
little break…”

[Fran must be tired too, huh?]

“I’m fine.”

“I’m tired. So let’s go take a break.”

You just told me right now that you’re not tired.

Alistair was openly showing her concern for Fran. Lucky enough, Fran wasn’t a child
who couldn’t read the air well enough to make that concern worthless, so she nodded
with a coy smile at Alistair’s words.
“All right…”

“Then let’s go upstairs.”

“Is resting here not good?”

“I don’t eat my meals in the workshop.”

It seems like that’s a rule she abided as a craftsman. Good thing, the glutton Fran did
not take out any food and started eating it during the analysis. Alistair’s concentration
would probably have been disrupted and she might have messed up because of it. Or
rather, the analysis process might have been interrupted.

“But then……”

Fran glanced at me. She appears to be worried about leaving me here.

[Fran, it’s okay. I’m not experiencing any pain anymore, don’t worry about it!]

“But…”

[Unlike me, Fran is tired, and she needs a break. Even if I’m cured, what good will that
be if Fran is incapacitated?]

And then, Alistair casually lifted me up.

What is she doing?

“Nothing, we’ve done some basic repairs, so as long as we don’t do any heavy fighting,
we can carry you around.”

You could have told me that earlier! We had such a heartfelt exchange for nothing!

“Here Fran.”

“Hmm.”

Oh, I knew I’d feel right at home on Fran’s back, sheathed in old man Gallus’ special
scabbard. It fits me perfectly and I feel like I’m wrapped up in a comfortable blanket.
Is this what it’s like, the comfort of coming home? Anyway, the relief I felt was beyond
words.

“It’s here.”

Alistair led me up the stairs, and I found myself in a surprisingly ordinary mansion. It
was probably just slightly more luxurious than a moderately posh inn. The interior
was made of stone and was decorated in a stylish villa style.

Through the door where Alistair just passed into, there was a dining room. There were
also guests in front of the large marble dining table.

“Are you done?”

“Not yet. I’m just taking a break.”

“I see……”

“Hey, make more space, stupid demon.”

“O- oh, I’m sorry.”

I still felt that Asura was feeble or reserved around Alistair. There’s definitely
familiarity, but it also looked more than that, as if Asura was restraining himself.

Even towards that Kiara, Asura still spoke in a commanding tone. There’s a strong
sense of dissonance that I felt when I saw Asura acting so meekly like this. It’s as if
they weren’t the same person.

Fran seemed to think the same way, as she tilted her head slightly in puzzlement.

“Hey, are you two bad with each other?”

It was a straightforward question. Alistair raised her eyebrows and Asura looked
troubled. Was it something that we shouldn’t have asked about?

“It’s not that we don’t get along.”

“We- well…”

“Then why?”
I felt like they were trying to dodge the question. However, Fran continued to pursue
it. I was interested in knowing more too, so I won’t stop here.

“Haa, when this guy first came to me, I was so taken aback by his stupidity that I gave
him a little lecture. I’ve been calling him stupid demon ever since then.”

“Lecture?”

“Yeah, and what do you think this guy said the first time we met?”

Alistair turned a stern gaze onto Asura. It sounded like they had a very bad first
meeting. Just from remembering that time seemed to have already made her angry.

“This guy, you know, came up to me, and the first thing he said to me was ‘A divine
grade blacksmith can destroy a divine sword, right?’ And then he gave me his sword
and told me, ‘destroy this thing!!’”

“Th- that…… I already said sorry about that…”

“Of course! To us divine grade blacksmiths, divine swords are like our own children!
No matter if it was made by another divine grade blacksmith, they’re still special to
us! And you wanted me to destroy one? By any chance, did you want to get your head
split open, do you?”

“…”

Asura stroked his forehead silently. It was as if his head really got cracked. Afterwards,
she made Asura sit upright while lecturing him with heated passion, continuing to do
so for half a day.

“The Divine Sword Gaia, once it has been assigned to an owner, can only be used by
that person. And even if it is thrown away, it will come back. But It’s not like they have
free will……”

For a moment, I thought Gaia had a mind of its own, but apparently it didn’t. Maybe
it’s more of a mechanical type of artificial spirit, something like Announcer-san.

“I don’t know why they picked me, but I thought it sucked.”

I understood how Asura felt. Just when he was in agony after mutating into a
calamitous demon and gained the mad demonization skill, suddenly he obtained the
divine sword. If it’s going to come back to him when he discards it, then it means he’ll
definitely have it in hand when the mad demonization is triggered.

To put it bluntly, it would be the birth of the worst kind of demon who could spread
mass destruction. If he knew that he couldn’t seal off the madness, he must have at
least tried to deal with the divine sword.

“I’ve already accepted that now.”

“Hmm”

“That’s why I’m hunting demonic beasts in the middle of nowhere so that I don’t
bother people……”

Asura seems to have accepted his ownership of the divine sword by now, too. That’s
probably why Alistair wasn’t complaining about it and kicked him out. Despite that, I
still thought it was impossible for her to be gentle toward him.

“…Even now, I ended up causing you trouble.”

“…Kiara didn’t die because of you.”

“I understand. I’m not trying to put blame on who killed that woman, I just want to
know what happened. Would you mind telling me about it?”

“Hmm.”

“I’ll tell you.”

“It’s fine. I’ll speak. I want to tell him what happened myself.”

Alistair tried to take care of it, but Fran turned it down herself. She was only with her
for a short while, but it was the death of Kiara, whom she respected. She probably
wanted to speak of the incident in her own words. She seemed to think that this was
her role as the person who witnessed Kiara breathe her last.

That’s not a bad thing. Personally, I think it’s a lot easier for Fran to get herself together
by doing this than just dealing with it by herself. Besides, as Fran said before, the end
of Kiara’s life was not a tragedy. She began to tell the story, including the part that she
heard from me, as if she saw the events herself. It was the ending of a warrior, one who
fought a powerful enemy and departed contentedly.

Asura no longer kept a sad expression on his face when he heard Fran’s retelling.
Rather, he laughed.

“Ah, so you left while smiling…… You fought a powerful enemy that you couldn’t win
even if you put everything you’ve got against it, scraped your life away, and died with
laughter. It’s a very Kiara-like way to go. And I’m… well… jealous…”

I couldn’t fully understand the thoughts of these battle maniacs, but I could at least
understand the weight of their feelings. Right to the end, having a satisfying battle and
dying on the battlefield… All of that seemed really enviable to Asura.

Perhaps, this ending isn’t possible for Asura right now. If he gets caught up in a battle
to the death, his mad demonization would be triggered. If that happened, he’ll either
kill his enemies without realizing it or he’ll end up dead. Asura wouldn’t be conscious
when that happens. At that point, the only thing driving him would be pure madness.

“I don’t know what you guys are going through…… But I’m pretty sure I could also
imagine that person dying peacefully on her deathbed, surrounded by her disciples.”

“Right. That’s right.”

“The sword is for the battlefield……… I guess that means the same thing for warriors.
That some of them would feel happier rotting away on a battlefield than on a shelf……
I’d like to understand that kind of feeling too.”

That’s just like Alistair to be so empathetic.

“……Now I’m a little heartbroken. Let’s just eat. I’ll have them fix a meal for us.”

“Can I have one too?”

“Hmm, I’ll give you a special one.”

Alistair stood up with a forcefully cheerful voice. It was followed by Asura and Fran.
Everybody there seemed to have understood that a change in atmosphere was in
order.

“Who will prepare the meal?”

“A golem. I have a type that can cook.”

A golem making food? Now that’s something new.

“Is the food they make delicious?”

“…Well, it’s all right.”

Fran turned her gaze to Asura, as Alistair and gave her that answer. I also thought that
it was okay, although it didn’t feel like it’s going to be too delicious. Fran seemed to
share my thoughts on this too.

“It seems hard to prepare the food for now. Let’s just eat this.”

“Hoo. You have leftovers stored in a time-space spell? That’s handy.”

“Nn. You could always cook beforehand and then just store them, and you can take the
food out anytime you want to eat. The best food is always the freshly made ones after
all.”

“But still, this one looks good.”

“This is curry, the best food.”

Fran took out a curry pot. Then, she placed a clay pot filled with rice and a side dish
for curry on the table together.

“Put this on the plate like this, and then like this.”

“Aside from the color, it smells good. May I have some of that?”

“Of course. I’ll put this, this, and this on top of that, and then we’re done.”

Fran took out some more additions, which were some of my favorite toppings lately.
They were a pickle, one that looked just like the fukujinzuke1 I found and stocked up
on in Barbora, crispy fried onions, and even a boiled egg.

Alistair and the others also imitated Fran, pouring the curry into their mouths in a
fearful manner. I didn’t hear anyone saying the word “delicious” out loud, but anyone
could tell by the way the food was shoved into their mouths that they all liked it.
Rather, they were so absorbed in eating the curry that they couldn’t speak.

Both Fran and Urushi, who had been served a super-sized portion of curry by Fran,
started wolfing the curry down their mouths in silence. For a while, the only sounds
in the room were the sounds of chewing and the clinking of dishes and spoons as they
collided with each other.

In just five minutes, they all emptied the super-sized curry pot. However, this special
curry made with plenty of magical beasts’ meat was so generously served… Fran
seems to have liked the combination a lot.

With his belly churning, Asura pounded on his own abdomen and burped.

Mmm, that’s vulgar. It’s bad for Fran’s upbringing. Oh, come on Urushi! Don’t imitate
the burp!

“Fu. It was delicious. I don’t think I’ve had anything this good in a long time.”

“Me too. Where did you get it from?”

Oh, did you think that we had put away something we bought at some restaurant.
“Master made it.”

“Hou…”

“Who is the master? Is it Miss Fran’s master?”

(Master, is it fine?)

Fran glanced at me. I think she wanted to reveal me to Asura.

I knew you’d like this guy.

[As I’ve said before, if Fran wants to tell him, then I don’t mind.]

“Nn. This is my Master.”

“…What? What happened to that sword?”

[Hi. My name is Master and I’m an Intelligent Weapon. Pleased to meet you.]

“Wha- tha- I- is that sword speaking?”

I was surprised to see Asura almost fall off his chair. I wondered what the owner of a
divine sword would say when he found out, but apparently he was also surprised
when he saw a talking sword.

After that, Fran and Alistair explained me to Asura. After he heard all the explanation,
Asura is looking at me with great interest.

But still, he was quicker to accept me than I thought he would be. After all, he was also
a user of the divine sword, and I wonder if he had more resistance to strange swords.

“I see… So it was Master who made my madness disappear.”

[Maybe it’s just temporary.]

“No, as I told Miss Fran before, I am truly indebted to you. If you need any help, just
tell me. I will help you with everything I got, okay? Just keep that in mind.”

Maybe, the mad demonization was taking a bigger toll on Asura than we had expected.
I could tell that he was really happy.

[Hey, can you show me your Divine Sword?]

“Gaia? I don’t mind.”

Asura lifted the great sword that was propped up at his side and placed it on the table.
The name of it is Ground Sword Gaia. It seems that if he breaks the seal to unleash it’s
true power, the sword will regain its original name and ability as the Earth Sword Gaia.

The sword looked really big. A handle wrapped in thick leather, and was long enough
to be held by both hands, with a plain, rectangular hand guard without any particular
carving on it.

The blade had a straight shape with no curvature, a so-called Western sword. The
thickest part of it looked like it’s a good 30 centimetres. It was a lump of metal that
emphasized smashing rather than slashing. The black, dull-colored sword blade,
which was devoid of all decoration, gave off an oppressive sense of intimidation.

It looked like a greatsword just like any other. However, when you look at it this way,
the intimidation it could display was overwhelming. Anyone could guess that it wasn’t
just a regular big sword.

Just for a while, I, for some reason, felt inferior just from looking at it. Was it my
instinct as a sword? The feeling came naturally and I immediately understood that it
was far superior than me.

It’s frustrating, but I’m only a semi-divine sword. Well, that’s only if it’s permissible to
say so. And over there is a complete divine sword. The difference was large.

“…Someday, Master will exceed this.”

[Fran?]

“I’ll see to it!”

Fran has a frustrated, yet motivated look on her face. I felt oddly pleased. I’m
inexplicably glad that Fran believed in me so.

[That’s right!]
“Then we will need to get Master back to full form first.”

“Hmm! Please!”

[Please.]

I was motivated. I’m worried about what my remaining skills will become, but if I don’t
do it, I won’t be able to fight in the future.

“Now that we’ve had enough of a break, let’s get back to the workshop.”

10 minutes later.

“Then, we’ll begin.”

[Oh.]

“Hmm.”

Alistair declared that, and poured her magic into me, and primed the magic circle on
the workbench to shine.

At the same time, I felt something welling up from inside my body. Suddenly, a faint
pain rushed through me.

[Guh……!]

My body felt hot. I could feel something strong and hot coming out of the bottom of
my body. And I could detect something huge stirring inside me.

[Gaha!]

“Master!”

[………!]

No! I tried to say something back to Fran, but I couldn’t speak.

Terrible pain. Along with that, a torrent of intense power surged in me, and that
magical power began to rampage. I knew something inside of me was changing and
reforming itself. I cease to be myself - No I was changing into something different,
while still remaining myself.

Evolution.

Naturally, the word came to mind. Is that the reason why? No wonder I wasn’t afraid.
Rather, elation and anticipation took over me.

This horrendous pain that seemed to have broken apart my whole body was also
bearable when I considered that it is necessary to do so.

[Guaaahhhhh!]
[――――]

I suddenly realized I couldn’t hear anything.

Deafening silence…

It took me a few seconds to realize that the scream I was raising was gone.

[Is it over?]

Since then–How long has it been since the refurbishment began? The severe pain that
irritated my whole body has completely subsided and disappeared.

[Is it over?]

I asked myself again. There was no longer any pain. Neither was there a feeling of
fatigue nor discomfort. Instead, I felt something like a refreshing feeling.

However, only the sense of time I had was strangely obscure.

I wonder how long I was in pain. From what can I could see through the window, it’s
dark outside. I guess it’s not dawn yet. Is it a few hours since then?

[No, I think it’s been a day or a night.]

Honestly, my memory was fuzzy, but that’s just how tough it was.

If you told me that only been a few minutes had passed, I wouldn’t believe it, since it
felt like a long time had passed.

[Fran is—]

There she is. She was sleeping while breathing soundly under the workbench I have
been resting upon. I must have worried her a lot. Her sleeping face looked as if in
anguish.

She had large dark circles under her eyes, and her hair was shaggy as if she hasn’t had
a bath in days. I remember her looking pretty distraught too, when I was screaming in
agony.

Listening to the cute breaths resounding in my ears while she slept, I’m tempted to
just let her sleep, but it’s still better to reassure her that I was now awake.

I stroked Fran’s head using telekinesis. I was a little anxious, but it went smoothly with
no pain or lag. It actually feels smoother than before, but does it just feel that way
because I feel refreshed?

[Fran. Fran.]

No problem with telepathic communication. It looks like the refurbishment went well.
I lightly shook Fran as I called out to her.

[Fran, are you awake?]

“Munyu…”

As I shook her further, Fran’s eyes opened thinly. And when she saw me floating, her
eyes widen.

“Master…!”

Fran stood up, vigorously and hugged me. Her hug was enough to cover me. I quickly
dulled the blade with a form-transformation, and I activated it with no problem here
either. Usually, I’d be unconscious already, but right now, I’m not sure if I can use it or
not, so I cringed for a second.

“Master, this isn’t a dream…?”

[Yes. This is me, you know?]

“Hmm”

Oi Oi, this is intense. But as it is, Fran hugged me tighter that her chest ended up touching
me as she started shaking her shoulders.

“……I am relieved……”

[It’s look like I have made you all worried.]

“…Mhm. Worried.”

[Ah, I see, I see. I’m sorry]

“Hmm…”

Fran won’t let go of me as large drops of tears keep falling off. I stroked her head and
back gently, trying to calm her down.

After a while, it seems she’s finally settled down. Fran’s hold on me loosened. But
instead, she leaned back, leaning her whole weight against me.

[What’s going on? You are such a spoiled kid.]

“……Hmm”

[Fran?]

“Su-Su—”

Eh? She fell asleep again… I know she was a good sleeper, but sleeping in this situation?

I was once again reminded of Fran’s incredible pace…

[Fran? Hey, Fran!]

“Let her sleep.”

As I was about to wake up Fran again, Alistair came down from the second floor. Like
Fran, she had shaggy hair and dark circles under her eyes.

“How are you doing?”

[I’m in great shape. Telepathic communication and telekinesis have not been a
problem so far.]

“I see, that was good… *Yawn*.”

[Alistair looked sleepy too.]

Not as much as Fran, but she blinks her eyes heavily and looked like she’s about to fall
asleep.

“Well, even with my body, staying up all night for five days is unbearable.”

[Huh? What did you just say? Five days?]

“Oh, you don’t know huh? I see. Today is exactly the fifth night since we began our
refurbishment ritual. I cannot sleep in case of an emergency.”

[Really…… Has it been that long? I thought it’s still the night of that day]

“Well, it can’t be helped if you can’t tell the time since you were in that state.”

[Then…… Fran also didn’t sleep…]

“She hasn’t slept a wink in five days, and she has been standing beside you all this time.
Well, she ran out of steam and fell asleep about three hours ago.”

I see, so that’s how it is. Fran, who is usually easy to fall asleep, didn’t sleep for five
days? Well, seeing her like this, It seems like she won’t wake up for a while.

I gently laid her body on the floor as I stroked Fran’s head, who still wouldn’t let go of
the hand she put around my sword blade. Of course, Fran was still hugging me. I have
given her so much to worry about, I should at least be able to let her cuddle me like
this.

Unlike the anguished expression on her face earlier, Fran now slept with a look of relief
on her face. She was distraught before huh.

Sweet dreams Fran.

[So, is this the end of the refurbishment?]

“Well”

[We- Well……?]

“This is the first time I’ve ever done something like this. I’d rather like to hear more
about it. Are you in pain now?”

Well, that’s true.

[I’m fine. As I said before, I feel refreshed.]

“Oh, I’m jealous. I can’t wait to get into bed, so I could feel refreshed like you.”

[Ah… Somehow I feel bad, I’m sorry]

“Haha, I’m just joking. Usually, when I’m making a divine sword I go without sleep for
more than 10 days. It’s not as bad as that, yet.”

Wow, I knew it would be hard to make a divine sword, but 10 days of sleepless nights?
Is that what physical mastery maximal skills were for?

“From what I’ve seen on the outside, you haven’t changed much.”

[Eh? Is that so?]

I had the sensation of my body being rebuilt, and I thought my appearance might have
changed on its own…… But apparently, according to Alistair, nothing changed.

[I have been refurbished, haven’t I?]

“That’s what I want to know too. How about your skills? Did the consolidation go well?
I would like to know if there are any changes in performance.”

[I haven’t had a look at it yet.]

It’s a little scary, but now I can’t help but look.I appraised myself, pushing down a
strange mixture of fear and anxiety, hope and expectation.

[Eh?]
I was so stupid that I was amazed at myself. No matter how much I thought about it, I
do remember my status.

[How can it change like this……?]

Alistair said that my appearance has not changed, but in truth, my classification has
changed. It evolved from an Intelligence Weapon to an Intelligence Unique Weapon.
Unique…… I don’t know if that meant as the odd one out or the one and only. I’m torn.
But maybe it was just the effect of the change in class, but my abilities were also
increased.

My attack power has increased by 300, with magic power and endurance value
increasing by about 3000 each, and my magic conduction rate rose by two levels from
S- to S+.

Next was the self-evolution system… On the contrary, it was quite devastating. It had
0 magic stone value and 0 self-evolution points. But 0 magic stone value was expected.
It seemed that I continuously used the potential release to the limit during the escape.
There was only one self-evolution point left, so can’t it?

But what really frightened me was the list of skills ahead. Some skills disappeared, but
there were some small increases in several skills like telekinesis, attack power,
possessed magic power, and an increase in memory. However, the fact that the abilities
increased even without it may mean that they were absorbed into the status side and
which may mean that the abilities have been enhanced without the skills.

The mad demonization that I just got from the skill taker was also gone. This is good,
and it disappeared in a surprisingly convenient way.

Even more surprisingly, the memory section has been significantly reduced. What
does this mean? No, it’s probably not surprising, considering the processing power.
Just equipping a lot of unused skills will put pressure on my processing power
anyways.

Next, I’ll check my memory skills. I looked at the list with trepidation, but it didn’t look
like any of the skills were missing.

[It was good… hm?]

But my relief was short-lived. I looked at the skills on display and ended up raising my
voice again. The number has dropped significantly. Not only that, but there was a huge
amount of skills with names I hadn’t seen before.

[Eh?]
Name : Master

Wielder : Fran (Bound)

Race: Intelligence Unique Weapon

Attack Power (ATK): 1182

Magic Power (MP) : 9500/9500

Durability : 9500/9500

Magical Conductivity : S+

Skill

Appraisal : LvMax

Appraisal Jamming,Transform, High Speed self-repair

Self-evolution 〈rank 15 | magic stone value 0/12000 | memory 50 | points 0〉

Self-modification 〈Superiorized〉, Telekinesis, Telepathic Communication, Space-

Time Magic: LvMax.

Skill Sharing

Intermediate Status Boost (Wielder), Lesser Recovery Boost (Wielder),Clairvoyance,

Unsealable, Knowledge of Magic Beasts, Sorcerer, Evolution Concealment, Blessing Of
The God Of Chaos, Blessing Of The God Of Wisdom.
Unique Skill

Principal of Falsehoods : lv5

Dimensional Magic : lv4

Breaking Evil Manifestation.

Superior Skill

Skill Taker: SP

Doppelganger Synthesis : SP

Weapon Combat Skills

Lord Archery • Basic : Lv5

Lord Fist • Basic : Lv3

Lord Shield • Basic : Lv2

Lord Spear • Basic : Lv5

Lord Axe • Basic : Lv2

Tactical Skills

Lord Archery Technique • Basic : Lv5

Lord Fist Technique • Basic : Lv3

Lord Shield Technique • Basic: Lv2

Lord Spear Technique • Basic : Lv5

Lord Axe Technique • Basic : Lv2

Physical Manipulation Skills

Physical Manipulation: Lv4

Sorcery Skills

Dark Magic: Lv2

Recovery Magic: LvMax

Flame Magic: Lv5

Blacksmithing Magic: Lv1

Wind Magic: LvMax

Strengthening Magic: Lv1

Contract Magic: Lv7

Moonlight Magic: Lv1

Phantom Magic: Lv1

Illusionary Magic: Lv1

Familiar Contract: Lv1

Familiar Summoning: Lv6

Purification Magic: Lv3

Tree Magic: Lv1

Sand And Dust Magic: Lv1

Undead Poison: Lv1

Necromancy: Lv 2

Pledge Magic: Lv1

Earth Magic: Lv6

Healing Magic: Lv1

Soil Magic: LvMax

Poisonous Magic: Lv5

Fire Magic: LvMax

Light Magic: Lv1

Ice and Snow Magic: Lv1

Auxiliary Magic: Lv5

Storm Magic: Lv1

Water Magic: Lv3

Despair Magic: Lv4

Molten Iron Magic: Lv1

Thunderbolt Magic: Lv Max

Sensory Detection Skills

Omnidirectional Perception: Lv5

Omnipresence Perception: Lv4

Covert Concealment Skills

Covert Concealment: Lv4

Influence Exerting Skills

Lord Intimidation: Lv4

Resistance Skills

Abnormal State Resistance: Lv6

Abnormal Mental Resistance: Lv6

Magic Resistance: Lv5

Darkness Null, Domination Null, Physical Attack Null, Thought Null

Technical Skill Skills

Dismantling: LvMax

Blacksmith: LvMax

Throwing: Lv5

Cooking: LvMax

Trap Release: Lv6

Trap Creation: Lv5

Arts and Science skills

Mineralogy: Lv1

Botany: Lv1

Pharmacy: Lv1

Zoology: Lv1

Toxic Knowledge: Lv1

Magic Engineering: Lv1

Herbal Science: Lv2

Alchemy: Lv1

Magic ability skill

Flame Operation: Lv1

Water Operation: Lv2

Soil Operation: Lv1

Poisoning Operation: Lv1

Wind Operation: Lv3

Complete barrier: Lv2

Absorption: Lv1

Death Control: Lv1

Life Absorption: LvMax

Life robbing

Thread Control: Lv1

Attribute Sword: Lv4

Magic Absorption : LvMax

Magic Robbing

Magic Release: Lv3

Weight loss

Weight increase

Special Ability Skill

Energy Control,Kill Master, High-speed Thinking, Appraisal Obstruction, Dimension
Storage, Floating, Split Thinking, Magic Power Control, Magic Thread Generation,
Magic Poison Fang

Normal Skill

Darkness Enhancement, Night Vision, Sword Technique Enhancement, Sword Skill

Enhancement, Regeneration Enhancement, Detection Enhancement, Automatic Magic
Recovery, Mental Stability, Hawk’s Eyes, Super Reaction, Desensitization, Determination,
Immobility, Gait Assistance, Predation, Thunder Enhancement

Unique Skill

Maiden of War, Lord Swordsmanship Technique, Lord Swordsmanship, Blessing Of

The Sword God, Appraisal Camouflage, Strengthen Senses, Strengthen Body,
Simultaneous Calculation, No Chanting

Extra skill

Potential Release
My memory skills were outrageous. I guess this is what they call consolidation.

I acquired several Lord Weapon Combat Skills and Lord Tactical Skills. However, the
only difference between it and the Lord Swordsmanship Technique and Lord
Swordsmanship that I originally possessed would be the word “base” attached to it.

I asked Alistair to analyze it as well, and it appeared that the lord arts • base and the
lord technique • base were apparently a skill that’s upward compatible compared to
the original lord arts and lord techniques.

The sword arts is a skill that comprised all sword-based weapons, such as dagger arts
and sword arts, but the same is true for the lord arts • base. That means if you had a
lord archery • base, you could use short archery, long archery, crossbow archery, and
any other archery.

However, its efficacy seems to be reduced by half. It’s said that the Lord Swordsmanship
Technique • base is only half as effective as the Lord Swordsmanship Technique at its
highest level. So it’s multipurpose, but not very effective…… That being said, it’s nice
to see skills I don’t regularly use put together in one place.

“Master, you can analyze your skills, but what about whether you can utilize them or
not?”

[Oops, that’s right…… wait a minute.]

I tried to remind myself how to set my memory skills as I did before. I could still set
fire magic with no issues. Also, there was no particular change in my magic skills, with
none reduced or increased by the refurbishment.

[—OK, seems like there is no problem in using it.]

When I cast the torch magic without chanting, a small light floated in front of me. It
seems like for magic, at the very least, it will be pretty much the same as before
refurbishment.

“If you’re okay with using that skill, let’s analyze the other skills.”

[You’re right.]

Alistair sometimes gave skills to weapons, and because she had information on divine
swords, she was well versed with ancient and modern skills, which helps a lot right
now.

The next skill is physical manipulation. This is apparently a skill that integrated physical
enhancement or manipulation skills such as herculean strength, instantaneous
movement, and evasion.

Omnidirectional Perception, Omnipresence Perception, and Covert Concealment is

the type of thing that integrated all similar skills as well. However, as Alistair told me,
it was a skill that was too powerful and very difficult to master.

In fact, I’ve tried using Omnipresence Perception before… I was supposed to have only
activated my magic perception, but my electromagnetic perception and airflow vision
were activated simultaneously. Then, all sorts of extraneous information were
displayed in front of me, making it tough to use.

This inconvenience could prove fatal if I suddenly received a lot of extra information
during a battle and distracted myself. I think I need to think of a countermeasure for
it sooner rather than later.

“How is it?”

[Looks like it’s going to take a while of practice to handle it with precision.]

“It’s just as I thought. After all, those are skills that could only be learned by a master-
level person who trained for many years. There’s no way you were going to get it and
use it right away.”

[Even if that was the case, I have to be able to use it. They’re all essential skills in
combat.]

My skills have indeed grown, but there was a possibility that my combat strength
would decline for the time being. It’s a pretty serious situation.
“I think it’s quite difficult to use. For example, right now, you can use herculean
strength and instantaneous movement. However, if you want to use it unconsciously,
you must first reach a high level. However, if we tried to compensate for those effects
with physical manipulation methods, more subtle use would be required.”

[So that’s how it is.]

“If you make a mistake in boosting the power output when you use instantaneous
movement, it could send you flying. If you make the mistake of using the wrong output
of herculean strength when you hit your opponent, you could end up shattering your
own arm along with your opponent.”

[I thought the change from a specialized skill to a higher level all-purpose skill would
make it harder to handle, but not so much.]

“Just make sure you know what you’re doing before you use it.”

[Yeah, I will do that.]

The next thing to try is the Lord Intimidation skill. Apparently, this is a skill possessed
by dragons and other high-level magical beasts. It’s a high-level skill of intimidation
and fear, and it’s quite powerful.

It turned out that the intimidation that I emitted increased abnormally. I didn’t mean
to intimidate her, but Alistair’s face contorted. After all, it was not possible to perform
precise manipulation. Rather, in this situation, the frantic Fran was impressive.

Even if this Lord Intimidation skill was used as lightly as the former fear and
intimidation, it could cause ordinary people and others around me to flap and faint. In
the end, I guess that means I need to train myself to use it.

Magic resistance is an integration of resistance skills to magic, such as flame resistance,

thunder resistance, and storm resistance. This is, well, is it fine if I think that it has got
stronger?

I also had good technical skills. Although the painting and singing skill that I had
before disappeared, the only skills remaining are Demolition: LvMax, Blacksmith:
LvMax, Throwing: Lv5, Cooking: LvMax, Trap Release: Lv6, Trap Creation: Lv5

All the skills that I wanted remain. Could it be that my unconscious mind was at work
in the choice of which skills to stay and to discarded, like the mad demonization skill?
I’m especially glad the cooking skill is still here. I’m sure Fran will be deeply
disappointed without it.

There was no change in the arts and science skills section. However, the magic ability
skill section and special ability skill section had changed dramatically after the
refurbishment. There were a lot of skills that I’m unfamiliar with.

[Flame Operation: Lv1, Water Operation: Lv2, Soil Operation: Lv1, Poisoning
Operation: Lv1, Wind Operation: Lv3……]

“Hmm. Those are also skills I’ve never heard of. Some unique skills manipulated the
elements, such as Flame Principle and Water Principle, but… Maybe it’s an upward
compatible skill of those advanced skills, just like the lord arts • base. It must be the
result of the integration of so many skills.”

I then asked her what I was most curious about.

[Aerial Jump is gone. Has it been merged into one of these?]

I can’t seem to find the name of a particularly well-used skill, Aerial Jump. This
considerably limits my scope of combat.

“Hmm, isn’t it possible to manipulate air?”

“Manipulate air…” I’ll give it a quick try.

Right then, I had the sensation of a foothold being created in front of me. Was that a
wind-based skill? I didn’t even realize it. Unfortunately, there’s a problem. Doing so
had consumed more than twice as much magic as it had in the past. Moreover, the
foothold collapsed immediately.The downside of being a high-level skill seems to be
here as well.

The rest of the new skills are Kill Master, Strengthen Senses, and Strengthen Body.
Well, at the end of the day, these skills are also higher-level skills that were integrated
with various skills.

Kill Master is a higher skill of killer skill system such as Goblin Killer and other killer-
based skills. The damage efficiency to certain races was reduced, but it is a powerful
skill that always activated and increased a small portion in attack power no matter
what kind of enemy you are fighting.

Sensory Enhancement is a sensory enhancement system that included improved

vision and acute sense of smell. Strengthen Body enhancement is an integrated
physical enhancement skill, such as hair or fur enhancement, and shell or crust
enhancement. It was actually probably the most useful skill I obtained this time, since
just having it in my possession would strengthen my entire body.

The other thing to remember would be the Blessing of the God of Chaos and the God
of Wisdom that I somehow received. Two blessings from the gods at once…… Well, I
can understand the protection from the God of Chaos, because I seem to belong to the
goddess.

The effect was high resistance to the power of chaos. Having said that, the definition
was unusual and rough. What’s the power of chaos? Is there a technique like chaos
magic? However, Alistair did not know about the magic skill called Chaos Magic either.
This skill became more and more mysterious.

I don’t know how the other blessing, the Blessing of the God of Wisdom was included
either. Maybe it was thanks to the announcer…… However, it seems that skills such as
magic and other skills were easy to increase in proficiency. Hence, there was a
possibility that the level of magic could be increased faster in the future. This one was
an unquestionably gratifying blessing. Well, it didn’t mean that I don’t need the
protection of the God of Chaos, right? Really! So, please don’t get angry.

But the whole thing has been consolidated, and unnecessary skills have been erased.
To say it was refreshing was an understatement, but it was also slightly saddening.
After all, we’ve been working hard to get them.

I was happy with the consolidation of my skills, but Alistair was groaning at me with
a difficult look on his face.

“I don’t know if I can say I’ve succeeded……”

I was happy with the consolidation of my skills, but Alistair groaned at me with a
problematic look.

“I don’t know if I can say I’ve succeeded……”

[What do you mean? It- It worked, didn’t it?]

“Not really. The number of skills wasn’t as low as I thought it would be.”

Ah, Speaking of which… I was only focused on the growth part, but my main goal was
to reduce the number of wasted skills and save more processing capacity.

“There are still about 150 skills left. Master, do you feel any pain or discomfort?”

[Hmm. For now……]

While I struggled to use the higher-level skills, I don’t experience any pain when using
them.

“Let’s do a thorough analysis once more.”

[Please]

Alistair analyzed me as Fran held me in her arms. I thought it would take a long time,
but it didn’t seem to take that long to re-analyze it, as she had analyzed it in detail
once. A few minutes later, Alistair’s eyes widen in astonishment.

[How is it?]

“No way, this much… As I thought, Master, you are really interesting.”

Alistair said there had been quite a change in my internal structure.

“The mysterious souls and the mysterious systems connected to the Cherubim’s
residue. Maybe they’re making up for the lack of processing power.”

Does that mean that the other parts of the system have changed to compensate for the
other parts of the system that the damaged announcer was in charge of?

“One more thing. The flow of power to Master may have changed.”

[What does that mean?]

The flow has changed?

“Well, to put it bluntly, it’s possible that the master’s growth rate has been greatly
reduced, and he’s been sent to deal with that. In the future, even if your magic stone
value builds up and your rank rises, you might have little to no growth in attack power
or anything else.”

[Eh? For real?]

I was delighted that my abilities had improved… My attack power is in the 1000’s, you
know? The tension is high, right? And yet, she said I might not be able to grow any
further…

“Instead, you will be more efficient than ever when it comes to managing your skills.
In other words, you sacrificed the abilities of the sword itself and are reborn as a skill-
focused fighter.”

[Hmm… But for Fran’s sake, I’d rather have enhanced skills…]

Well, my strength isn’t my offensive power as a sword; it’s my skills. While it was
honestly disappointing to hear that my growth rate has dropped, I was genuinely
happy to see that the skill’s operational potential had been expanded further. Besides,
it didn’t seem to have completely stopped growing, and there’s still hope for me.

“Apparently, Master’s internal structure was more flexible than I thought it would be.
I didn’t expect the mysterious soul and the mysterious system to change as much as it
did.”

[Hey, is that okay? Won’t the mysterious soul or mysterious system get overloaded this
time?]
“Hmm. I can’t say whether it will be a burden or not. At least, not until we see how that
affects us in the future…”

[Alistair too doesn’t know?]

“I do not know.”

Well, there’s a lot of things I don’t know about my body. I guess we’ll just have to agree
that our immediate crisis is over.

[It’s not a complete solution, but it’s better than before, right?]

“I can assure you of that. The load on Master should have been lessened greatly.”

[Then I guess we’ll just have to wait and see for now.]

There was no doubt that I could climb higher heights, and it also helped improve my
processing power, so it can be said that the repair was a great success. For now, I’ll just
be glad to be safely back in Fran’s hands. Rather, that’s the most crucial part.

After we finished checking some things out, we came back upstairs to the dining room.
Alistair wanted some curry before she took a short nap, so I served it to her, and
somehow I ended up feeding it to Asurasu as well.

“This is really good, isn’t it?”

“Ou, I want to eat it every day.”

“Woof!”

Fran was carried on Urushi’s back while I supported her with telekinesis. Urushi
seemed to have had a good night’s sleep these past few days and was full of energy as
usual.

Fran has been tirelessly watching over me, and you stupid dog…… You look like you’re
enjoying your curry. Here, let me help you.

[Hmph]

“Yelp!”
I pulled his tail.

Anyway, the curry diminished at a tremendous rate. Fran won’t get mad at me later,
right? I was a little worried when I saw Alistair and the others gorging on the curry.

I glanced at Fran lying on the couch in the corner of the dining room with me in her
arms. Then Fran’s nose started to sniffing around. Immediately after, Fran’s eyelids
slowly open.

“…Unyu… curry smell…”

“I- I’m treating everyone.”

“…wanya eat…”

You’re not making any sense. However, it cannot be helped. It’s been less than an hour
since you fell asleep, right? You must still be insanely sleepy. And yet you still reacted
to curry…

It seems that she has more of an appetite than the desire to sleep.

I’ll take out the curry plate. But I just don’t see Fran getting up.

“Muyumiyu…”

[Fran?]

“…Curry”

She was too sleepy to move. I’d like to tell her to go to sleep now, but she won’t be able
to sleep comfortably until she had her curry.

[It can’t be helped…]

“Hmm-?”

[Here]

I used telekinesis to wake Fran’s body. Then I fed her a spoonful of curry and brought
it to her mouth.
“Momumomu… Aaaaannn”

[Here]

“Mugumugu… Aaaa”

[Yes, yes]

Like a baby bird begging its parents for food, Fran opened her mouth when there was
no more curry in her mouth. I fed curry little by little in her mouth.

It’s cute to see Fran munching on her curry with drowsy eyes, and it’s getting a little
fun. In the end, I fed her three bowls of curry.

“Oh, can you use telekinesis for such dexterity?”

“I see. That’s why you can cook.”

Somehow, they were impressed. Apparently, they were wondering how I cooked. I’ve
been taking it for granted, but I guess it’s a mystery for someone who didn’t know me
well.
While relaxing after finishing our meals, I talked to Alistair and the others.

[Did anything happen while I was out screaming?]

“Even if you ask me what happened… What Master is thinking about is the outcome of
the war, right?”

[Well, that’s the most important thing. After all, if the Beast Kingdom lost, Fran would
be sad.]

“I’m sorry. I don’t know. There’s no way to get any information from the outside world
from here.”

Well, I kind of guessed it already. After all, this place was so out of the country and
rarely anyone came here. It’s not a place where someone can just casually come here
to deliver information to you. Besides, Alistair was standing by all this time in case
something happened to me.

Asurasu - he didn’t seem to be the type of person who cared about disputes between
countries. I mean, he is still here.

[Does Asurasu have business with Alistair?]

“What do you mean?”

[No, well, You’ve been here for five days, haven’t you?]

When I said that, he laughed at me. Although he said he was planning to leave after
thanking me for last time, I’ve heard bad things about him too. Even so, he was actually
a pretty sincere guy.

“Like I said before, I’m in your debt. I can’t just leave without saying anything.”
[Speaking of which, what happened with the mad demonization?]

“It’s already back. However, we’re not in a combat situation, so I can feel relieved for a
while.”

I knew it would be back in a few days. I took it away with the skill-taker but then it
disappeared after the refurbishment, so I figured it would be resurrected in Asurasu.
Yeah, It didn’t work so well. It seems like it was born on its own from within Asurasu.

“Oh, and about Fran’s equipment.”

[That’s something I’ve been wondering about as well.]

Actually, Fran wasn’t wearing her usual black cat equipment. She was now wearing a
downy cloth outfit and pants that looked like pajamas.

It’s not the right size at all and she was wearing it with the hem and sleeves folded
wide open. If it had not been folded, we would not be talking about moe after all.

Maybe she borrowed it from Alistair? The quality was quite high. It wasn’t as good as
the black cat equipment, but it was far more powerful than those leather armor. It
would easily protect against a bandit’s knife or something similar.

[What happened to the black cat armor set?]

“It’s a pretty good armor, but it was getting worn out from all the repeated fierce
battles.The automatic repair function and other functions have been considerably
deteriorated. Hadn’t you noticed?”

[For real?]

This battle was hard fought. Fran’s armor was also damaged and then automatically
repaired, and it seems like while it was being fixed, it was damaged again. Because of
this, I didn’t even notice that the automatic repair function of the armor had
deteriorated at all.

The functions of magic tools deteriorate and I know this because I’ve been in the body
of a sword myself. Just as my processing power was being squeezed out over a long
period of time, the more you use a magical tool, the lower its specs become.
“Restoration… isn’t the answer. So I’m modifying that one too. And honestly, it looks
like you guys were getting so strong that it couldn’t handle the intensity of the fights.”

It’s true that the opponents we’re fighting grew stronger and the scale of the battles
were bigger than when we got the Black Cat set. From Alistair’s point of view as a
divine grade blacksmith, she might feel that the Black Cat set isn’t enough for us to
deal with such powerful enemies.

“I’ve discussed this with Fran, and she’s agreed to let me get my hands on it. Although
it will be modified without the permission of the creator…… You can’t put your lives
on the line. You’re going to see him later, right? Tell him I’m sorry.”

Hmm. I’m sorry Gallus, but even for me, I’m grateful to have Alistair, a divine grade
blacksmith, strengthen the armor.

I don’t mean to be unfair here, but I think we should take Alistair’s suggestion. Fran
must have decided as much.

[I understand. I’ll apologize to Gallus.]

“I’ll leave it to you. Anyway, that armor is already prepped and ready to be modified. If
we start the modifying process today, it will be done the day after tomorrow.”

[I’m happy to have them start working on it right away, but is it okay? You haven’t slept
in five days, have you?]

“It’s fine. I can stay awake for about 10 days straight. This time, I only need to stay up
continuously for 7 days.”

She looks fine. Well, then, I’ll leave it to her.

[Please take care of it.]

“Yeah. I’ll make it my best armor, so look forward to it.”

Alistair is a really nice person. I’m not like Fran, but I think I too like her a lot.

But, I’m still holding back from divulging major secrets from Alistair. It was the fact
that I come from another world. Wouldn’t it be an injustice to keep an important secret
after having her analyze me thoroughly? When I thought of that, I couldn’t help but
feel guilty.

However, I can’t share my secret without telling Fran. When Fran wakes up, we’ll talk
to her about it.

That’s what I thought as I watched Alistair’s back as she went back to work.

However, I can’t share my secret without telling Fran. When Fran wakes up, we’ll talk
to her about it.

That’s what I thought as I watched Alistair’s back as she went back to work.

************

“Hmm, good.”

[That was easy!]

“Because Master wanted to say something to Alistair.”

[Well, that’s true]

“Well, then?”

“It’s a pretty big secret, but……”

When I consulted Fran, it became simple. She said that since it’s my secret to keep, I
can tell it to whoever I want. Well, I said the same to Fran all the time, too.

“Also, I don’t want to keep it a secret from Alistair either.”

Down in the workshop, Alistair seemed to just be taking a break. She sat on a chair
and wiped the sweat off her face.

“Alistair, we need to talk to you.”

“Oh? What is it? Could it be that something has changed in Master?”

[Well, there’s a change, or rather, something I haven’t told you about yet. Would you
listen to me?]
Alistair could sense the seriousness of our mood, and she straightened up on the spot.

“I have already analyzed Master, but Master still has a secret? In a way, the secret of
Master, who is even more unique than a divine sword, is quite exciting.”

And then she looked at me with eyes that were brimming with anticipation.

[Oh- uh, well…… I don’t want to sound like a crazy person, but… Well, you see… I’ve
told you that I was once a human being, right?]

“Oh.”

[But it’s not just that I was a former human. Actually, I’ve been living in a different
world than this one.]

“Hmm? A different world? Did you mean, otherworldly? In other words, Master is an
ex-otherworlder?”

[Well, something like that]

“‘Could it be that you’re talking about the Native World?”

Alistair was astonished, but it turned out differently than what I expected. It looked
like she believed that I was from a different world quite easily. But still, the Native
World? What’s that?

I asked Alistair, and she explained it to me. Apparently, the gods of this world were
believed to have come to this world from a different one and created the earth along
with all the creatures within it.

It doesn’t seem to be explicitly told, but it was just mentioned in some myths and the
like. The world in which these gods were born and originally existed is called the
Native World.

[No, how do I say this? To begin with, I was born and raised in a world with no magic
or skills. So, I don’t really know.]

“What? Then how do you build things?”

I continued to explain Earth’s culture and technology for a while, as Alistair asked me
to. Anyways, I was only a former salaryman, so I could hardly provide detailed answers
on specific matters.

She seems to be very curious and asks whatever question that pops up in her mind.
She seemed to have a keen interest in Earth, which has acquired high technical skills
without the benefit of skills or magic.

“No, it’s interesting! I want to listen to this forever!”

[As for me, you believing my story so easily is kind of a letdown.]

“If you don’t know the anecdotes of the Native World, this wouldn’t be happening.”

[Even so, that Native World story may or may not be true, right?]

“I believe it is true, I am a divine blacksmith after all.”

“Hmm?”

If one wondered what the divine grade blacksmiths had to do with it, it seems that the
origins of the divine grade blacksmiths were told in the Native World Mythology.

In the myths, there was a theory that the Sword God fought against the Evil God by
summoning a weapon. That weapon could be called his own alter ego, which he later
left in the world while leaving to Native World. It seems that the sword of the Sword
God is the source of the divine sword. In other words, the first divine sword was the
beginning divine sword, Alpha, but Alpha began as an imitation of that Sword God’s
sword.

“Well, even until now, I don’t know the name of the god or the sword.”

Apparently the lore has been lost over the years.

“Oops, I’m a bit off topic. At any rate, I believe in the existence of other worlds, and I
think it’s possible that there are beings that have come to this world from there. Well,
I can’t be too sure if Master really came from the Native World…”

[Certainly, there must be a lot of worlds out there?]

“Ah. But maybe, the reason why Master was locked up inside the sword might be there.
Is there anything you can think of? Even just a little might help.”

[Not at all. Just because you’re an otherworldly person doesn’t mean you have special
powers. Perhaps me being an otherworldly person makes me somewhat special, but…]

“I see. Ah… that’s a shame. Well, if you know anything, please tell me.”

[Of course.]

If one day, I have things I need to discuss, I won’t just stay silent. At that time, I will
definitely consult it with you.
[Fran, let’s go!]

“Hmm!”

The day after I woke up, Fran and I were confirming the usability of the skill.

“Hah!”

[OK! Good move!]

“Shhh!”

[That’s right!]

Fran used me to slice through the chunk of rock I created with Earth Magic. There’s a
rock about 5 meter long that’s been neatly cut in half. My own magic conduction and
use of the attribute sword was also fine.

However, Fran had a disgruntled look on her face that came from the bottom of her
heart.

“……No good”

[Still?]

“Mhm. No good at all.”

[Right.]

Well, it’s no wonder Fran didn’t like it. First of all, the physical manipulation method
took too much magic power. Although it didn’t go out of control, it took a long time to
activate, and the effectiveness was low. In general, it meant that there was too much
waste.
Still, Fran could handle this skill far better than I can use the physical manipulation
method… Maybe it’s because she’s used to moving her body. Regardless, it was also
clear that it was not at all up to the standard we were looking for.

That wasn’t all. Her mid-leap air manipulation for creating footholds was also terrible.
Fran was going to run up in the air and slash the rocky mass from above, but the
second foothold did not activate as she imagined it to. Therefore, she lost her balance
because she couldn’t feel it.

Although she managed to make a big leap by injecting too much magical power into
the third leap in the air, she would have fallen if she made a mistake, and would have
fallen straight down and ended up underneath a chunk of rock. Well, that’s not really
going to happen because she had my support, but still, it was a potential hazard.

Other than that, she seemed to have activated her omnidirectional detection to try to
find the fragile spot on the rock mass, but she frowned at the amount of information
she received. It would still take a while of practice to be capable of utilizing it in the
heat of battle. In the end, we were able to slash that chunk of rock, but it was a clunky
move that left a lot to be desired in terms of attack power.

When it came to the battling technique using air compression, it didn’t even activate.
The air leap was too difficult to control, and the skill did not work well either.

[This is not looking good……]

“Hmm.”

All of my skills have evolved into higher-level skills, but my combat power has actually
dropped tremendously. In my current state, we could have a hard time even dealing
with a D-class demonic beast, let alone a C-class threat.

The physical manipulation regeneration I tried before was also unusually inefficient.
I think it took about 10 times as much magical power to use the regenerative skill as
usual to heal wounds on Fran’s arm. However, the regeneration power itself has
increased, so if she comes to be proficient, Fran might be able to heal wounds more
easily than using the recovery magic. But It’s going to take a long time to master it.

Fortunately, there were some parts that are in great shape. I was visibly improving my
ability to control magic. The simultaneous activation of magic was faster than ever
before, and morphing is more delicate than previously possible. The activation of the
barriers to keep the rock chunks out was also surprisingly smooth.

The Earth Magic consumed less magic and activated faster. It might have been possible
to arrange Kanna Kamui like Myrellia did. No, I definitely could.

Well, we are still in recovery, I guess? I’ll wait and see how it goes, and then try it out
once again. Currently, my ability to use skills in combat is reduced while my magic-
related skills are enhanced.

This will certainly help us surpass what we used to be once we become more proficient
in handling the skills.

“Master, one more time.”

[Oh!]

Next, we used our various skills to gauge our current skill proficiency and train in
them. I transformed, and I also verified the lord techniques • base, and the lord arts •
base, To be honest, my impression is that it’s not really a force. Well, I guess I could
use Lord Archery • Base for long-range attacks and Lord Fist • Base for melee attacks.
Still, I think it’s better to improve my sword mastery by earnestly refining sword arts.

We continued to test out Physical Manipulation, Omnidirectional Perception,

Omnipresence Perception, Covert Concealment, Lord Intimidation, Flame Operation,
Water Operation, Soil Operation, and Wind Operation.

In the end, the training method I used was to maintain my Lord Intimidation and
Covert Concealment skills while accelerating and stopping repeatedly with Physical
Manipulation. I also utilized Wind Operation, Flame Operation, and to detect the
stones and wind debris in all directions, I used Omnipresence Perception to dodge…
In addition, it is also to avoid the wall produced by the Water Operation and the Soil
Operation.

After a long training session like that, Asurasu emerged from inside Alistair’s mansion.

“It looks like you’re having a hard time.”

“……Hmm.”

Shortly after, Fran nodded to Asurasu’s words.

“Hmm.”

“…!”

[Wha!]

Asurasu suddenly grabbed the Earth Sword Gaia that he was carrying on his back and
swung it at Fran. The attack oozed with murderous intent. Gaia thrust deep into the
ground as Fran avoided it.

If Fran hadn’t ducked on the spur of the moment, she would have been badly injured.

[What are you doing!]

“Kukuku. You evaded it pretty well. That was an attack you wouldn’t have been able to
duck if you hadn’t used your skills to the fullest!”

Hmmm, Well, now that you mention it… Fran also heard Asurasu’s words and clapped
her hand with a pop sound while giving a look of understanding.

So you’re saying that she instinctively sensed the danger and subconsciously used the
skills. I didn’t quite master it, but it was certainly smoother to use than when I was
consciously thinking about it in my head.

“It’s good to repeat the training to master it, but live battle is just as important, you
know?”

Well, I understand what you’re saying, but you could’ve just told us about it.

Unfortunately, Fran, a passionate fellow, seemed convinced by Asura’s actions. She

then nodded many times to his words.

“Mhm. I understand.”

“Then fine. With Master here, you wouldn’t die easily, would you?”

Fran set me up so that we could match Asurasu’s fighting spirit.

[Ho!]
“Haa!”

“Fuu!”

Before I could say anything else, Fran and Asurasu started a mock battle.

Sheesh! That’s why you guys are battle junkies! They didn’t even ask for permission
first!

For the next few moments, the two continued to engage in an intense mock battle. No.
Is it even a mock battle anymore? There were no reservations in each other’s attacks.
It’s just like a face off, as long as one didn’t die, they kept unleashing high-powered
attacks on each other.

In fact, there were several moments along the way where they used healing magic.
Nonetheless, it’s also clear that Fran’s movements have visibly improved during this
battle.

After all, as Asurasu said, there is nothing better than a real battle. Asurasu didn’t seem
to be triggered in a fight of this magnitude, thanks to the resetting of the mad
demonization once. It would be the only time I could get him to train with me.

I’m really grateful to Asurasu for caring and lending a hand to Fran.

“Fuhahahahaha! Your movements are gradually improving!”

“Shhh! Not yet!”

“Hahahaha!”

Well, it sounds like you’re totally enjoying it.

It was already well past noon by the time Fran and Asurasu ended their mock battle
that looked nothing short of a killing contest. Fran and Asurasu were now chatting
over a pile of onigiri I served as a slightly late lunch.

“Mogu. You seem to have gotten a lot of your fighting sense back.”

“Mhm. Mogyu Mogyu.”

The half-day battle with Asurasu allowed both Fran and I to improve tremendously in
using our skills during combat. While it’s still not as good as it once was, it’s unlikely
that we will be in a pinch while in combat because of it.

It seems that the foundation has been solidified. Now it’s just a matter of application
and practice.

[Thank you. You really saved us.]

“Mogu mogu. I had a good time, too, you know?”

Asurasu only laughed lightly in response to my gratitude. He looked embarrassed.

Perhaps, he was not used to being thanked.

“After this, try to actively hunt for demonic beasts in various places. That’s the most
efficient way to train.”

With a rice ball in each hand and a grain of rice sticking to the side of his mouth,
Asurasu told me what we needed to do in the future.

Training in live combat with demon beasts… Well, now that you mention it, it might
be useful, but… To be honest, I’m worried. Wouldn’t it be better to practice with our
skills a little bit more?

That’s what I thought. But…

“Master, I’m going to find a demon beast.”

[Isn’t it too early for that?]

“I’m finding one now.”

Fran was motivated.

It can’t be helped, let’s find a demonic beast. Let’s at least start with the weaker
demonic beasts at first. If there are some goblins around, I can eradicate them without
a care in the world.

As we were discussing what kind of demonic beast we should look for, Asurasu lightly
stepped forward. I guess he was done eating as he hit his stomach lightly. This guy ate
about 20 rice balls by himself.

“I’ll show you some interesting stuff at the end.”

“Interesting stuff?”

“Oh, since Master is so determined to one day surpass the divine sword.”

[Fran believes that I can.]

“Mhm. Master will be the strongest one day!”

Hearing those words, Asurasu smiled ferociously. Then, in a slow motion, he thrust
Gaia up to the heavens.

What are you doing???

“Then, witness this! Witness this and see how far you’ve come!”

In response to Asurasu’s spirited voice, we could see magic gushing out of his massive
body.

“Ooo ooooo! Divine sword release!”

A magical power strong enough to visually manifest flowed into Gaia from Asurasu.
Then, using that magical power as a source, Gaia unleashed her true power.
“Ooooo—”

[Uooo!]

If we hadn’t put up a barrier as soon as possible, we would have been blown away.
Even if we were already more than 10 meters away, we would still get blown away.
That much magic was raging around Asurasu.

I know you think we’ll be fine, but you need to be a little more careful!

Fran looked at me with a twinkle in her eye, though!

When the stormy magic subsided, Gaia’s figure had mutated into the oddest weapon I
saw in the dungeon before. It’s that thing, like an over-decorated mixture of a siege
hammer and a greatsword.

Just by existing, a tremendous sense of intimidation, even more so than the Lord
Intimidation skill, covered the surroundings. Even though she knew Asurasu wasn’t
hostile, Fran can’t help but back away.

Furthermore, the surrounding atmosphere, magical power, and the earth itself were
shaking as if resonating with the magical power of the earth sword, Gaia.

“Appraisal doesn’t work on it after all…”

However, probably because of my growth due to the refurbishment, it was a little

better than before.

Name: Earth sword, Gaia

Attack power (ATK): 4700

Magic Power (MP): 20000

Durability: 30000

Magical Conductivity : SS+

Skill
Only attack power, magic power and durability can be seen. Well, progress is progress.

“What I’m about to show you is a piece of Gaia’s power. Let it burn in your eyes!”

Asurasu set up to carry Gaia on his back. A brownish aura glaringly rose from Gaia. I
could feel a vicious and intimidating magical power spreading.

“Haaaaaaaaa!”

It’s no longer at the level of vibrations or the like. The Earth was now shaking as if it
were an earthquake, with Asurasu as the epicenter.

“Look at this! Ohhhhh!”

Asurasu leaped. However, that leap was really unnatural. He didn’t seem to have put
much effort into it, but he rapidly accelerated and rose to the sky. Perhaps, they
manipulated gravity.

He continued to jump up to a height of about 30 meters and only then began to

plummet with unexpected timing and speed.

“Gravity Blow!”

Then, the moment Asurasu slammed the swirling magic-clad Gaia into the earth, the
30-meter square of earth surrounding him caved in at the same time, reaching a depth
of over 20 meters. Earth with that much mass was compressed in an instant.

“So cool…!”

[Ye- Yeah]

What if we were in the range of that attack? We would have been helplessly crushed
to death. At the very least, there would have been no way to save ourselves other than
to escape with a dimensional leap.

“How was it? I can’t really release all of its power. This was only about 50%…”

Are you telling me this is only half of the full power even though it’s already this
powerful?
Once again, I was reminded of the violence of the divine sword. At the same time, I was
glad that Asurasu was out of control in a dungeon where he couldn’t get serious.

If we’d been out there fighting Asurasu at full throttle, we wouldn’t be here at all.
Moreover, what’s frightening is that Asurasu, who unleashed that attack, wasn’t
perturbed at all. Maybe, as he himself said, this wasn’t his best.

“Perhaps, this is the level you are aiming for right now. However, this is only part of it.”

“One’s Destination.”

“Ho?”

[Because Fran said so. I can’t just give up.]

“Fuhahaha. I see! Well, next time we meet, let’s do a mock fight again! At that time, let
me be a little more serious.”

“Mhm! Let’s absolutely fight seriously!”

No, No, Fran?

I’m nodding with such a motivated look in my eyes, but I don’t want to have a mock
battle with a serious Asurasu or anything like that. No, Asurasu can’t do mock battles
seriously because of the mad demonization, right? So that means it’s just pep talk for
Fran.

“Then, I’ll be going first.”

Sheathing Gaia, he turned his back on us and began to walk away. He wasn’t heading
to Alistair’s Mansion. Rather, he was going the opposite direction.

“You’re leaving already?”

“Ou. It’s not in my nature to stay in one place for very long.”

That’s a lie.I don’t have to use my skills to know that. After all, as long as he had mad
demonization, the fear of not knowing when he was going to go off the rails haunted
Asurasu. In fact, it’s probably because we’ve become so close that we couldn’t stay
together for long.
If it wasn’t for the training with Fran, you could have stayed here much longer.

However, if he said that, it would watered down Asurasu’s spirit, who was willing to
go along with the mock battle, even if he had to speed up the activation of his own mad
demonization.

Fran waved with a forlorn look while looking at Asurasu.

“Bye bye.”

“See you.”

“Yeah, see you soon!”

Then, Asurasu left with a quick dash.

Hmmm, it looks cool.

I can’t help but admire it. If I was just a little bit more young, I might have called him
‘Aniki!’
After Asurasu left, me and Fran borrowed one of the work rooms on the ground floor
of Alistair’s mansion and worked on dismantling.

The carcasses of a large number of demonic beasts obtained in the riot this time are
overflowing in the dimensional storage. It doesn’t look like the storage is full yet, but
since it’s already dead it can’t be left there.

Besides, some of the materials are quite valuable demonic beasts. I wondered if there
was something that could be used to modify the armor, so I tried to provide it to
Alistair, but it seems that the materials in Alistair possession will be sufficient for the
modification.

I mean, I’m terrified just to hear how valuable the materials that divine grade
blacksmiths will use are…… Well, I’ll ask her about that when it’s finished.

However, Alistair asked me to show her a list of materials that could be used by her
when we finished dismantling them, as some of the materials might be usable for
some things.

So for now, I’m starting to dismantle the demonic beasts that are high threat level first.
Because the material of a low threat level miscellaneous demonic beast wouldn’t be
necessary for a divine grade blacksmith. There was not enough time to dismantle
everything, so it was necessary to select and disassemble the ones with the highest
priority.

The top priority will be the five demon beasts, the bosses of the first flock of demons
that we fought before fighting the evil one forces. There are five types: Graphite Hydra,
Crimson Wolf, Steel Titan Bear, Adamas Beetle, and Baron Devil.

Well, Graphite Hydra vanished without a trace with my Kanna Kamui attack. The ones
who bothered us most, the Adamas Beetle and the demon of the phantom wizard, have
already been disassembled.
Perhaps it’s because we have defeated a lot of the evil ones and the like, but the
dismantling of a demon-like humanoid monster does not feel particularly repulsive.
Well, after all that killing, it’s a little late to feel that way. Well, in the case of demons,
the color of blood and internal organs are completely different from people, so it’s
probably a big part of why they don’t look like people.

“Master, what do we do about this?”

[Hmmm, the fur is tattered, but…]

The next thing Fran took out was the corpse of the Crimson Wolf, the threat level C
demonic beast that had fought a fierce battle with Urushi. It’s fur is balding, and the
bones are brittle, and it’s flesh smells foul because the entire body has been consumed
by the poisonous magic of Urushi. There are very few parts that remain intact.

[But let’s try dismantling. After all there might be some parts of it that still remain
intact.]

“I understand”

[I think I’ll take this one apart.]

I took out the Steel Titan bear. More than half of what should be a reasonably large
workroom is now occupied. It is a huge bear that is over 10 meters long. The material
remained in perfect condition as the magic stone was crushed with a single blow.

Because of that, dismantling it will be very messy. Peel off the skin, separate the meat,
and put the organs away in individual dimensional storage. It took nearly 30 minutes
just to dismantle it. Even though I have maxed out my dismantling skills and can move
at will with telekinesis, but, this is only work for me. It would have been a half-day
hard work for an ordinary adventurer.

We also dismantle other demonic beasts that are strong in their own right, such as the
Dragon Lizard, a dragonish monitor lizard, a dryad lion that uses tree magic, and a
special individual of a high ogre, which is a class D threat.

Fran stopped halfway through, but I continued to dismantle it throughout the night.
All in all I think I have dismantled about 50. It is certain that a large amount of meat
will be secured and Fran’s future meals will be luxurious.
Next morning. I, along with a still sleepy Fran, went to ask Alistair if she had the
materials she needed.

“Are you done with the dismantling?”

[Well, not much to show for it. Here’s the list.]

I showed her the list I had written out, but after all, there didn’t seem to be any
material that was good enough for a divine grade blacksmith. She was just amazed at
how fast we were dismantling.

“Really you dismantled this much overnight?”

[Because we did it together]

“Teacher did most of it.”

[Fran is doing about 30% of it.]

While chatting, Alistair reads the list. In the end, it was decided to give the Crimson
Wolf’s esophagus and the Steel Titan Bear’s fangs away since Alistair said she has a
use for them.

[After that, there are some magic stones, but do you think it’s okay to absorb them?]

“Hmm… how do I say this. I’m not even sure how the skills will be integrated… After
all I wouldn’t know for sure if I didn’t see it.”

[Yeah, I guess you’re right.]

“Well, how about you just absorb it for now.”

“Oo, that’s a good idea”

[I understand]

So, let the experiment begin. I take out some magic stones from the evil ones. You can’t
see the skills that dwell in the magic stones when you appraise them, but the hobgoblin
spearer’s magic stones should belong to the evil ones who were led by the Valkyrie.
I remember the appraisal result at that time. Almost all hobgoblin spearer possessed
the long spear technique. What will happen when I absorb this?

[Well then, let’s do this.]

“Hmm”

When Fran presses the hobgoblin spearer’s magic stone against my blade, it is
absorbed without problems. There seems to be no big difference in the functions
around this area. No. Did it make me feel a little more satisfied when I absorbed the
magic stone? Maybe it’s because the refurbishment connected me more deeply with
the mysterious soul.

[What happened to the skill?]

If I check my skills, there is no long spear technique or long spear art. Perhaps it was
absorbed and integrated into the Lord Spear Technique • Base. Later, the skill that
should have disappeared due to refurbishment, hole digging from the Technical Skill
was added.

[I got hole digging]

“So, will the skills that have disappeared be revived if absorbed again from the magic
stone?”

[Isn’t this pretty bad? I was finally able to reduce my skills.]

“Hmm… wait a moment.”

Alistair is analyzing me. Then she asked me to absorb the magic stone again, so this
time I absorbed the hobgoblin archer’s magic stone.

I still don’t get the longbow art and longbow technique, but I do get the carpentry skill
from the Technical Skill.

[How is it?]

“Hmm… this is just a probability, but I think it’s because you are reborn as a skill-
specific type due to the refurbishment. It seems that you can afford a lot of skills.”
“Meaning?”

“I think it’s okay to increase the skill if it’s about 120 to 150. Well, I think it also
depends on the quality of the skill…”

[That’s good news]

What’s scary is that the number of wasted skills increases again, and because of that,
I become unable to move again.

“But don’t build your skills until you’re close to the limit. Come to me before that if you
can.”

“Of course”

[I get it. But it just, I will get another refurbishment……]

“That’s something you should put up with. Well, I think you’ll get used to it after a few
times, right? Besides, it wouldn’t be as bad as this one if it was just to get rid of a skill.”

[I hope so.]

I then absorbed the magic stone while Alistair watched over me. It’s reassuring to have
someone that can deal with it if something goes wrong.

In the end, the magic stone value was 2203 from about 100 magic stones. I had gained
about 15 skills. As far as skills go, it’s all Technical Skill skills.

The dungeon-born evil ones were probably given these skills for building their
positions on the battlefield.

[…… I guess we have a long way to go before the next self-evolution.]

The day after Asurasu departed. After fully absorbing the magic stone, we prepared to
leave the Alistair’s Mansion.

[I’m indebted to you for all your help.]

“No, it was a great experience for me too. I look forward to seeing you again.”

[You even had Fran’s armor improved, but are you sure you want to be paid like that?]

“I don’t mind. Looking at Fran’s reaction, I can tell that it is much more valuable than
money.”

The other party was a divine grade blacksmith, and I had the opportunity to ask her
to repair and refurbish me, and also modify Fran’s armor. Moreover, I’m sure she used
a lot of valuable materials to complete said tasks.

In a normal course of events, it wouldn’t be surprising if it would cost hundreds of

millions of golds, is it? However, Alistair said she didn’t want any rewards. She added
that all of it would be worth it with just being able to analyze an interesting sword,
which was me.

Still, I felt bad, but when I insisted on giving a reward, Alistair said,

“Okay, I’ll only take 1 million gold. It’s just a feeling. You know, I got the materials from
the monsters. Also, I want a whole pot of curry to be left on the table.”

A million gold is quite a lot of money, but I figured it was a small price to pay for
Alistair. Well, it’s just a hunch. Thus, I decided to leave a million gold and one of the
largest curry pots on the table.

Fran insisted she’d leave all the money she had if we didn’t have to give Alistair the
curry, but I convinced her that if we go to the town and get some spices we would be
able to make more of it. Even a full-sized cauldron which people use to sell food filled
to the brim with curry wouldn’t cost 10,000 gold.

When I tried to give her the recipe, she said she didn’t want it because she couldn’t
cook at all. Apparently, the golem for cooking could only make dishes that have been
programmed in advance.

“Thank you for the armor.”

“The original armor was a good one.”

“Yeah, it’s so cute and strong. I’m really glad I asked Alistair to help me out.”

Fran was wearing a series of black cat equipment that looked much different than
before. No, the name had already changed, so it could be called new equipment. The
shape of the armor had been drastically changed while retaining its appearance.

Regardless, its performance has changed even more tremendously than its external
experience. First of all, the defense power of each piece increased by 50. Originally, the
total defense power was 350, but now it has increased by 300 to a total of 650.

The durability had also been increased by 200, making it more sturdy. The effects are
also enhanced in a modest way.

Name: Black Heavenly Tiger Uniform

Defense: 150

Durability: 800/800

Effect: good sleep, deodorization, purification, greater mental attack resistance

Name: Black Heavenly Tiger Gloves

Defense: 120

Durability: 800/800

Effect: greater impact resistance, increase in strength

Name: Black Heavenly Tiger Light Shoes

Defense: 115

Durability: 800/800

Effect: Jumping, increase in agility

Name: Black Heavenly Tiger Earrings

Defense: 65

Durability: 500/500

Effect: greater noise resistance, greater attribute resistance

Name: Black Heavenly Tiger Cloak

Defense: 135

Durability: 800/800

Effect: Cold resistance, heat resistance, automatic equipment repair

Name: Black Heavenly Tiger Leather Belt

Defense: 65

Durability: 500/500

Effect: granted during magic resistance, granted during abnormal condition resistance,
small item bag

Moreover, the protection of the black cat has been enhanced with the protection of the
black heavenly tiger.

The Black Cat’s Blessing was +10 for all stats while wearing the complete black cat
equipment. Furthermore, there was a skill to nullify immediate death. Also, I think
there was an effect that made it so it could only be equipped by the Black Cat Tribe.

However, the Black Heavenly Tiger equipment was even more intense. In addition to
all stats +20, there was instant death nullification, thunder nullification, and enhanced
stealth. Now, the Black Heavenly Tiger was almost exclusively for Fran.

Well, it’s a pretty cute design, so I don’t think Grandma Chiara would have said she’d
equip it if she were still alive.

It’s basically black cat equipment. However, flares and lacy fluttering in the details
added to the overall girliness of the dress.

A big change will be the black cat’s uniform. There is a large collar around the neck
that looks like a false collar, and the shoulders and chest have ruffles. The lower half
of the body became a completely fluttery skirt type of thing. Underneath it, it looks
like she is wearing pants that are somewhere between a culotte and an underskirt.

After all, Aristair was a woman even if she acted like a man. It’s much more girly than
the boyish one made by Gallus.

“It’s fluttering but I can still move.”

[Yeah, Fran is cute.]

“Yeah, I’m getting pretty good at this. It looks good on you. I’m sure you will stand out
and become the envy of every man in the world. You know what I mean?”

“? We can’t stand out.”

“Why?”

“We will be found by monsters.”

[Fran, when Alistair says stand out, that’s not what she meant…]

Hm. Fran is not interested in cuteness at all. She is not interested in anything other
than being easy to move and strong.

“Master…”

[I know. I know, but there is nothing I can do, right? I’m a man, and Fran isn’t interested
in cute things at all!]

“Yes, but the material is good.”

Alistair had no makeup on, but others seem to care. She stared at me with jittery eyes.

[I- I knew it wasn’t a good idea to go on like this either. I’ll do my best.]

“……Well, I’ll just wait and see what happens.”

[So be it.]

“?”

Finally, Fran and Alistair give a firm handshake to each other.

“Thank you for everything.”

“Be careful. You haven’t mastered Master’s skill yet, have you?”

“Nn. We will train as we go.”

[I won’t be reckless for a while.]

Worst case scenario, we will have to use teleportation to get around the guy who looks
like they could be trouble. Or, until my skills are stable enough to use them, I’ll be
fighting mainly with my magic.

[Hey, when we want to see Alistair to do some maintenance, do we come here?]

“No, I travel around the world regularly. I will be moving out of this place in less than
a month.”

Eh? So how do I get in touch with Alistair?

“I’m planning to move to the Gilbard continent after this. You guys are going to go back
to Gilbard one of these days, right?”

“Hmm.”

[I’m going to attend the auction in the capital of the Kingdom of Kranzell.]

“Oh, that one huh? Is it in about two more weeks?”

“Yes, more or less.”

“If that’s the case, then I might cross over to Gilbard first. In case you’re wondering,
they should be on the side of the town of Ulster in the southwestern part of the
Kingdom of Berrios. If you are near me, I’ll get in touch with you. I can already sense
Master’s magic, you know.”

It seems Alistair has the ability to detect the magical power of weapons even from a
distance. If so, we might be able to meet easily.

[Let’s meet over there]

“Hmm”

“Ou, be careful.”
After leaving Alistair’s Mansion, we were on our way to Gringott. We want to know if
the Black Cats were able to evacuate safely, and we also want to get information about
the war.

“I see it”

“Woof!”

We left in the morning and by mid-afternoon we had Gringott in sight.

“The rampart is a little bit broken”

[Yeah, it seems like there’s been some pretty intense fighting.]

Even though Kiara, Mea and the others had eradicated the swarm of demonic beasts
to some extent, but of course there would still be some of them that ran away before
Kiara and the others managed to strike them down. They must have been the ones
who attacked Gringott.

It can be seen from the damage on the rampart and surroundings that there was a
fairly fierce battle. There are burnt marks on the rampart, and part of the surrounding
forest is burned down. Not only that, but a lot of trees were knocked down, making
lots of hollow parts in the ground.

But the gates, though damaged, remain undestroyed, and soldiers can be seen patrolling
on the ramparts. It seems that they have prevented them from getting into the city.

For the time being, we decided to get off just before the castle gate. In the past, there
would have been a long line of people waiting to be screened to enter the town, but
now the gates of the castle were tightly closed and there were no people in sight.

As we got off Urushi’s back and approached the gates on our own, we were
approached by a soldier on the ramparts asking who we are and what do we want by
coming here.

“Who- Who are you!”

We can also see that there are multiple bows pointed at us at the same time.

[Fran, I don’t feel any killing intent…… maybe]

“Mhm”

Omnipresence Perception is doing too much work and I will only get information
overload, but I don’t think the soldiers on the ramparts are going to kill me. However,
there is considerable caution and fear coming from them.

“Fran. Adventurer”

“Like you-”

“Hey! Wait!”

A soldier who was about to raise his voice further was stopped by a colleague next to
him, who looked flustered.

“What are you doing!”

“That person is fine!”

Apparently, there was a soldier who remembered Fran. This is going to save me a lot
of extra time.

Eventually, the soldier was able to identify Fran and get us into the city. It’s pretty
crowded in there. But there is no liveliness at all. This is because many of them are
refugees who have fled from the surrounding villages.

In the middle of central avenue on both sides of the area families were huddling
together. Perhaps they had escaped in a hurry with only their clothes on. Most of them
were just tired and sat down without a smile.

However, as I walked down the street toward the lord’s mansion, there was a corner
that was different from the other area where other refugees came together. Here, tents
are regularly set up and even a simple kitchen is built. And everyone was chatting
there comfortably.

[They just saved us the trouble of asking for the direction to the lord’s house.]

“Hmm!”

It’s an area where the refugees from Schwarzkadze gathered. I kind of know it when
we escape from the pack of demonic beasts, and I heard that the black cat people are
really used to escaping. They are obviously well prepared beforehand and seem to be
more adaptable than other beastmen in places like this.

They are indeed a wanderer who has been on the run. Apparently, even though they
had a safe haven in Schwarzkadze, they hadn’t lost their escape skills.

Fran spots a familiar man and runs over to him.

“Chief!”

“Oh! Princess! You are fine!”

“Everyone! The princess is back!”

“Princess! Welcome back!”

Everyone greets her with an awesome smile. Fran seems a little confused, but I think
the thought of joy is even greater than that.

“I’m back”

She nod to everyone shyly. Damn, it’s so cute. The black cats seemed to have the same
impression as me, and everyone were either laughing or giving a wide smile.

Fran is a hero and idol to the Black Cat tribe. In no time at all, we were surrounded by
a crowd of black cat people.

“Gentlemen, we mustn’t barge on the princess like this. Don’t come too close!”

“E~~ii, It’s not fair that only the village chief talks to the princess!”
“That’s right! That’s right!”

“E~~ii! So noisy! Shut up! Anyway, scatter for now! First of all, let’s have the Princess
rest!”

“Yes”

“Tsk”

The village chief disbanded the Black Cats. Then he leads us straight to a place like a
plaza set up in the middle of the Black Cat Tribe’s tent village.

“Now, now, please sit here, but I’m sorry we only have this one chair.”

“Mhm. Thank you.”

“Hey, bring us some tea!”

In the square, Fran sat on a chair and the village chief sitting on the ground in front of
her. And the people from the village remain and surround her. Well, the area around it
is filled with the black cat people.

“And what happened outside? What happened to the village?”

Well, It’s obvious that, that’s what you want to know. Naturally, we were on our way
to Gringott to check on Schwarzkadze’s condition.

“The village is safe. Few houses are broken. And now that all the demon beasts have
been killed, we can go back to them whenever we want.”

“Is it really true?”

“Hmm”

“Is that so!”

“We did it!”

“As expected of the princess!”

“Princess Banzai!”

The moment Fran told them that the village was safe, the Black Cat tribe, including the
village chief, seemed to explode with joyful emotions.There was an earth-shaking roar,
followed by cheerings sound. I suppose that was their number one concern.

“Thank you very much! Di- did the princess exterminate the demon beast?”

“Not just me. Mea and Kiara are with us.”

“When you say Kiara, is that Kiara?”

“Do you know?”

“Of course! For our Black Cats, it’s another hero lined up with the princess!”

I see, so you know her.

“Everyone is happy, and surely Kiara is happy too.”

“And, so where is Lady Kiara?”

“Hmm… Kiara-”

Fran is at a loss for words. It seems that just by seeing her, everyone, including the
village chief, realized that Kiara was dead. He keeps his mouth shut with a painful
expression However, Fran told the story of Kiara as it was. Everyone is quietly listening
to her words.

The village chief was taken care of by Kiara when he was young, or something like
that, and he started screaming and crying halfway through. Other sobbing voices rise
from among the black cat people.

But Fran concludes the story while smiling.

“Kiara won’t be happy to see people crying. I’m sure that she will be happier if
everyone laughed and remember her as a hero.”

“Pri, princess…! Tha- That’s right!”

“Ou, it’s as the princess says!”

You can’t seem to laugh all of a sudden, but at least no one’s crying with a dark
expression anymore. It’s a reminder of the tremendous power of Fran’s influence. Fran
wiped her own tears and smiled.

However, many black cats are still crying all at once. The way it looked was nothing
short of bizarre. Moreover all the other species in the vicinity are looking at us like
they are looking at something creepy.
As we finished explaining everything to everyone of the Black Cat tribe, the knights
came over. Apparently, he heard the collective cry of the Black Cat tribe.

“We just received a report of a disturbance in the area……”

“What happened?”

“Who is in charge?”

Apparently, the other refugees had notified the knights. Well, they must have
wondered what happened.

After the village chief explained to the knights what was going on, their eyes turned to
Fran. However, their gaze didn’t seem to be irritated from looking at the source of the
commotion. Instead, they looked at Fran with a twinkle in their eyes.

“You are the Black Thunder Princess, right!”

“I’ve heard of you.”

I heard that Marmano, the lord of Gringott, and Mea, who visited the city shortly before
we returned, had told them many stories of Fran’s heroic deeds.

Fran was asked by the knights to join them by all means to visit the city lord’s house.
I was a bit troubled by the many beastmen, who froze and kneeled when they saw
Fran walking by. They even worshipped her on the spot.

It appears the rumors of the Black Thunder Princess were widely known among the
beastmen of Gringott. Apparently, the Black Cat tribe had also been going around
preaching the splendor of the Black Thunder Princess like missionaries.

Furthermore, from the news brought by Mea, it became known that the Black Thunder
Princess took the lead in the annihilation of the demonic beasts and risked her life to
defend the beast kingdom. In such a situation, it was only natural that if an evolved
black cat that was said to be impossible was walking around, their identity would be
discovered in a matter of seconds.

Thus, the inhabitants of Gringott saw us off as we reached the lord’s mansion, and as
soon as we arrived, we were ushered into the reception room, where we were able to
meet the lord, Marmano.

As they were still in a state of war, he struck a brave figure in his heavy armor. It gave
off a completely different aura compared to the negligee I saw him wear when I visited
him the night of the demonic beast attack.

“Welcome, Black Thunder Princess!”

“Hmm.”

“I have heard about Her Highness’ great service! Thank you for saving Gringott.”

“I just wanted to protect my friends.”

“Still, our city has undeniably been saved as well. I even heard that you kicked out
more than 10,000 packs of demonic beasts and destroyed the evildoers!”

Apparently, Mea exaggerated when she told him of the details. It’s true that we
defeated 10,000 hordes of demonic beasts, but the stories Marmano heard seem to
have been greatly embellished and beautified.

With a twinkle in his eye, Marmano recounted the story of Fran’s defense that Mea
told him. Slaying a thousand demonic beasts with a single swing, and defeating ten
thousand demonic beasts with a single magical strike… Who is this hero? Isn’t it hard
to possess a divine sword?

“Well, in front of the power of the mighty demon beasts, the dainty appearance of the
Black Thunder Princess who stood tall made her compatriots shed tears! I wish I could
have seen it happen in person!”

Who are you talking about? The story isn’t exactly wrong, but I feel like it wasn’t about
Fran? Well, Mea did intensely love Fran, after all. She must have been a bit too excited.

Then, Marmano bowed deeply.

“Thanks to your hard work, it’s not just Gringott. Our country too has been saved. Once
again, let me thank you.”

“Like I have said before, I didn’t do anything special.”

“Fuhahaha. I cannot reward my men if you said your help is not something special. It’s
fine. You did a great thing. I’m not saying you should show off and become arrogant.
However, you should take credit where credit is due. Otherwise, you might end up
making some unnecessary enemies.”

Marmano, suddenly with a straight face, advises us in a serious tone of voice. Well, he
does have a point.

‘Fran didn’t do anything special’. If we kept insisting on saying we only did the obvious
thing and declined compliments and rewards, wouldn’t it be hard for the other
soldiers and knights to be proud of their achievements?

Also, it was okay now because Marmano is a good man, but some of the nobles might
be offended by Fran’s attitude. It may be easier to take a little pride in our
accomplishments than to be humble to such a person, just so that they won’t hate your
guts.

These people have their own ways to measure others. Therefore, a reputation as a
naive adventurer of a young age who gets carried away when praised would be less
alarming to the nobility than an uncanny and noble warrior girl with no greed and no
weaknesses to be exploited.

“Mhm, I Understand.”

“Is that so! Well, forgive me. I started preaching to you all of a sudden.”

“No. Thank you for your concern.”

“Apparently, the Black Thunder Princess really is such a generous person as described!
Well, I’m impressed!”

“Too much compliment.”

“Gahahaha. If we had been pinned down from the north too, our country would have
been in a crisis. Preventing one of them, destroying the dungeon and annihilating the
demonic beast was an unparalleled achievement in this war. It’s no wonder that Black
Thunder Princess, Your Highness Nemea and Kiara-sama are dubbed the heroes and
the country’s salvation. The only people who could match them would be the two lion
generals on the southern front line.”

Southern Front line… I’m curious as to what happened on that side of the war. I also
can’t deny that I’m worried about the two generals, who played important roles in this
war… Wait. Before that, what happened to the war? Did we lose? Did we achieve
victory? Marmano’s face wasn’t clouded or moody, so I don’t think we lost……

“What happened to the southern battle?”

“It was a great victory for our country!”

“Is it over?”

Wasn’t it only about a week since the war started? Moreover, they must have deployed
large armies to each other. If they can’t achieve victory with that they will deploy more
soldiers or use different tactics, therefore I don’t think it would be surprising if the
war went on for months, or even years.

“There is also the fact that the difference in strength of the forces was too vast. The
Beast Kingdom was overwhelmingly superior in terms of number of mobilized troops
and quality of soldiers.”

“Still, I heard that the Bashar Kingdom is very good at magic.”

“Well, yes. In terms of magic, the quality of sorcerers and the ability to develop magical
tools of ours are both outclassed by Bashar Kingdom.”

The magic tools for long-distance calls were made by the Magician’s Guild of the
Bashar Kingdom, I believe. Perhaps, they developed a lot of other useful tools as well.
If that was the case, then it could be said that even if we won in terms of the number
of soldiers, we couldn’t have won by simply overwhelming them.

At least, that was what I thought, but then I was made to know that regular soldiers
were too weak to utilize their magical advantage at all.

“What can I say… There’s the racial difference. But really, even more importantly, there
is a bigger difference between our senses.”
“Senses?”

“Yes”

Of course… If we compared beastmen and humans, beastmen were more powerful in

combat. However, it was not only that, as there is also a big difference in the senses of
the soldiers from the two countries.

“They definitely have a substantial number of outstanding soldiers. Just, in war,

soldiers are also recruited from farmers, amongst many other layman workers.”

Well, that was normal in this world. Rather, the army and knights were mainly
responsible for maintaining security in peacetime and defeating demonic beasts. They
would definitely be overwhelmingly short of manpower to fight a war on their own.

“On top of that, there were already notable differences between our country and the
Kingdom of Bashar from the time of the conscription.”

“What difference?”

“The Bashar Kingdom dispatched an officer called a conscript officer to each village
and forcibly gathered soldiers. In each village, although people were reluctant to betray
their homeland, they also weren’t exactly willing to volunteer to become soldiers.”

That was also not surprising. No one wants to send their family to a dangerous war
zone.

“However, in the case of the Beastmen Nation, there was no need to do that. Most of
the time, volunteers come from the surrounding villages on their own. Some of them
even come to us as if they were going hunting. In fact, it was harder for us as there
were too many volunteers wanting to sign up!”

As expected of the fighting race. Even ordinary people were fierce.

“In both countries, although most soldiers were originally farmers, the soldiers of
Bashar Kingdom were just peasants, while ours are semi-farmers. Also, I think theirs
were forced into a war that they didn’t want to be in, whereas our soldiers— in
particular those in the frontier villages- were soldiers by profession, and they usually
feel that by farming they are making supplies for the logistics.”
I see, so the soldiers’ will to fight was overwhelmingly different. Moreover, the soldiers
of Beastman Nation do training on a regular basis. Only, the Black Cats were thought
to be particularly weak, so they weren’t associated with that kind of atmosphere……

However, the other races were probably trained to be soldiers, even if they were
civilians.

“It’s true that the magical tools of the Bashar Kingdom are excellent. But in the end,
the difference in soldiers come from the difference in their battle experience. Well,
sometimes, as in this case, they can outsmart you……”

I guess that means there are no certainties in battle.

“Regardless, to put it another way, you can’t do anything about the gap in strength
without a good plan. As soon as word got out that the northern invasion had failed,
the Bashar Kingdom’s army collapsed.”

“It seems that the people who played an active role in the battle were the famous earth
magician and the current chief of the White Rhinoceros tribe in the Beastman Nation.
In a fierce battle until the reinforcements arrived, they held the border line with their
small army force, and struck a painful blow against the retreating Bashar Kingdom’s
Army.”

I guess that meant they did not only have good warriors, but good commanders as
well.
After hearing of the end of the war from Marmano, Fran asked what she was most
concerned about to Marmano.

“Do you know how Mea is doing?”

Yes, it was about where Mea and the others are now, and how they are doing. However,
Marmano only shook his head apologetically.

“I don’t know. The princess left Gringott for the southern battlefield.”

“Is it safe there?”

“I don’t know that either. She is very strong though, so I’m sure she is safe……”

“I see.”

“If you want to find out more, you should go to the royal capital.”

It can’t be helped after all huh. I’m also curious about Myrellia’s will. She said she
wanted me to help a boy named Romeo……

But, well, I’m hesitant to head to Bestia, the royal capital.

“Is this town okay?”

After all, the Black Cat tribe has taken refuge in Gringott.There’s no way Fran can
ignore the safety of this city and leave.

“Are you worried? Don’t worry. The war is over, and the knights and soldiers we sent
from our city will soon return. Those who have volunteered to fight for us will do the
same too. We’ll have no problem finding food to shelter them in the city until they
return.”
It’s just like what he said. Well, now that the monster beast in the dungeon is gone,
things are back to how it was before. If only there were no concerns about food supply,
it wouldn’t be so much as a crisis for Gringott.

“Gringott is all right now. Please leave the Black Cats to me. I won’t treat them badly.”

Marmano had Fran’s back. Perhaps, he sympathized with Fran’s anxiety.

“Please.”

“Leave it to me.”

After that, we were asked to stay at Marmano’s residence for one night, but we decided
to leave immediately. It would have been nice to stay with the Black Cats for one night
instead of in Marmano’s residence, but Fran wanted to hurry ahead.

Now that the Black Cat tribe was safe and sound, Fran wanted to ensure that Mea and
the others are safe as well. We left Gringott with the Black Cats seeing us off as the sun
set.

The soldiers were quite worried about us, but with Urushi around, we can manage
attacks from most demonic beasts. If it was of a lower rank, we could use dark magic
to defeat it, and small fry can’t catch up with Urushi’s speed anyways. If it is of the
same rank or higher than Urushi, we’ll use detection skills to steer clear of them.

“Su~ Su~ Su~”

Fran was already used to a forceful march on Urushi, that she could sleep soundly on
its back. While firmly grasping its hair and belt, she slept soundly, buried in Urushi’s
hair. Looks like we won’t even need telekinetic support. Actually, I’m not going to turn
off my telekinesis.

She was even dexterous enough to eat her dinner before bed, and what she ate wasn’t
something like skewers or bread, but soup and pasta. She managed to balance it well,
and ate it with a fork and spoon.

At this rate, wasn’t it already possible for her to live on Urushi’s back? There was no
problem with sleeping and eating.

What’s left… a bath? No, she definitely couldn’t take a bath, indeed. However, I think
we could go for a shower, though Urushi will get soaked. Wait, I think that can be
prevented if we set up a wind barrier.

Seriously, I think I could handle most things while on Urushi’s back. Just, it would be
quite a nuisance for Urushi.

“Woof!”

[What’s wrong Urushi?]

“Woo- Woof!”

Oh, it seems that Fran, who was sleeping while hugging Urushi’s neck, was holding on
too tightly and strangled Urushi. Fran’s hand seemed to be in his neck in just the worst
way possible.

[Good luck?]

“Woo, Woof?”

[No. If you pull it off badly, you’ll wake up Fran. That’s why… Good luck?]

“Wo, Woof!”

It’s not that I’m getting back at you because Fran was with me while I was struggling
with my refurbishment and Urushi was fast asleep, okay? It’s the truth you know?

“Unn~~ muu~~…”

“Whimper!”

[Good luck]

“Whine~ Whine~!”

While having such an exchange, we pushed through the night sky, and by next
morning, we had reached the royal capital.

There were no signs of war having broken out here. The royal capital was there,
looking exactly the same as when I visited before. Outside the gate, a line of merchants
and adventurers waited to enter, as usual. The aftermath of the war seemed to have
barely reached the royal capital.

[Let’s get off in front.]

“Woof!”

“Master, over there.”

When I instructed Urushi to descend to the plains before the royal capital, Fran, who
was already awake, pointed to the sky.

[What? That is— a Wyvern?]

“Mhm. Mea.”

[I see! Is that Lind?!]

However, I couldn’t tell. Just from looking at it, it looked like a wyvern, or something
flying, passed us.

I’m going to try again to use my omnidirectional detection against the shadows flying
far away. Then, I sensed a vaguely familiar magical power.

“It was definitely Lind.”

[How could you know who it was from so far away?]

“Friends don’t mistake each other.”

It was such a simple reason.

[Is- is that so? Oh, well. Urushi, don’t stop there. We’re going to meet up with Mea and
the others.]

“Woof!”

They seemed to notice us, too, and slightly deviated from their original course toward
the royal capital and headed toward us. As they were moving in the sky at high speeds,
in a blink of an eye, the distance between us was closed.
One wouldn’t make a mistake at this distance. It was Mea, Kuina and Lind. But, it looks
like Mianoa isn’t with them.

“Fran! Master! Urushi! It’s been a long time!”

“Mhm!”

Mea waved from above Lind. Urushi and Lind, as they were told, lowered their
altitudes and headed towards a corner of the plains.

As they landed, Mea jumped off Lind’s back and ran at us. The same goes for Fran.

“Fran!”

“Mea!”

The two jumped around while holding their hands together, like two high school girls
who haven’t seen each other for a long time. They frolicked and cackled, an act
befitting of their age.
“What were Mea and the others doing?”

Fran and the others sat at the table set that Quina had arranged according to the
maid’s etiquette, while drinking tea and reporting back to each other on what they
had been doing since they had left each other.

As a matter of fact we got steak as snacks that’s served with the tea. Sipping tea on one
hand while munching on a thick steak. It’s already more of a meal instead of tea time,
right? However, it is a common sight in the Beast Country. Quina, who acts as the
Tsukkomi, doesn’t say anything either.

To be honest, I think it’s okay to share the information to one another later after we
entered the royal capital but…… It seems that neither could wait.

We explain how the skills have become difficult to use and about my modifications.

“So the skill transform to the advanced level but the fighting power has declined? Isn’t
that a grave situation!”

“Mhm, very terrible”

“But it’s not entirely unheard of, is it?”

[Is that so?]

“Yes”

According to Quina, this is a phenomenon that often happens when a sensory or

physical enhancement skill reaches the highest level and changes to an advanced level
skill.

It seems that the skills we usually use intuitively are more confusing when they change
into a more advanced level.
“Well, even so, I can’t give you any advice, because usually it’s not possible for more
than one skill to change to an advanced level at the same time, like what happened to
you.”

[I see…… But how do you usually get over that?]

“Training.”

It was a very brief answer. But it’s the only way to go. And if there was an easier way
to overcome it, Asurasu would have told us about it.

The next thing Mea got her teeth into after talking about skills was the story that my
outer body was originally a divine sword cherubim. According to Mea, Quina is also
very surprised.

“I never thought I’d meet a divine sword in a row in such a short period of time……”

“Yes. I’m surprised.”

[I will return the words back to you. I’m only at the level of a former divine sword or a
semi-divine sword, but you guys have a real divine sword.]

“No, no, no, it’s a semi-divine sword, and an intelligence weapon, moreover it seems
to have some more secrets? Isn’t that much more better?”

[Isn’t the divine sword much more better?]

Mea and Quina are looking at me with a dumbfounded expression for some reason,
but it can’t be helped after Asurasu showed me the Earth Sword Gaia’s capability.

It’s not totally, but I don’t think I can say that I’m better than a divine sword. Lind
hasn’t shown his true power yet, so Mea’s perception of him may be a little too naive.
Or rather, it’s scary to see what kind of monster Lind will turn into when he’s regained
his true form. I am after all only a semi-divine sword.

When I muttered something like that, Mea glared at me sternly.

“Master, aren’t you putting yourself down way too much? It doesn’t matter whether
you are a divine sword or not. You saved this country! Be proud!”
“Mhm! Master is an awesome sword!”

[I- Is that so?]

“That’s right! Besides, the sword is rated by its owner, remember? It’s one of the
talents of an adventurer to come across excellent armor and be able to get it!”

So that’s it. Luck is part of the talent, or maybe it’s just that the adventurer’s reputation
is based on the strength of the armor they are using.

“Master, if you keep putting yourself down you will undermine Fran’s achievements!
Puff out your chest- no, you don’t have any, but you should be proud of who you are!”

[I’m putting myself down too much…? And Fran will……]

“That’s right! Besides, think about it! You single-handedly fended off a huge army of
demonic beasts and evil one that could destroy the country, defeated the vicious evil
ones who were pulling the strings behind the scenes, and conquered the dungeon that
resulted in saving the country.”

Well, if you look at it objectively, it’s certainly pretty amazing. If I didn’t know I would
think she was talking about some Hero.

[I see…… I am- We are amazing]

“That’s right! It’s amazing!”

Fran said something similar to Marmano, apparently it was a word that applied to me
as well. He has told Fran not to be humble, but apparently I was putting down myself
too much as well.

I can understand the reason myself. The divine sword. With Gaia in front of me, I took
the liberty of rating myself and thought I couldn’t win now. And I thought I was no big
deal.

I vowed that one day I would catch up with the divine sword. That means that I have
admitted that I am not good as I am now, and that I am losing. It was no wonder that I
couldn’t beat the divine sword, but apparently a large part of me was unknowingly
feeling frustrated and defeated. It seemed that my inferiority complex with the divine
sword had caused me to belittle myself more than necessary.
But as Mea said, if I’m not good enough, that means Fran is using a bad sword. Besides,
Fran and I are always fighting together. If I despise my accomplishments, that means I
despise even Fran’s accomplishments. I can’t let that happen!

[I’m sorry. I’m fine now.]

“Um. That’s good.”

I don’t mean to be conceited, but I’m going to be more proud of myself from now on.
As befits Fran’s sword.

“But did you say he showed you Gaia? Did Asurasu show you the released state?”

“Hmm, just a little.”

And when I told her the story of our mock battle, Mea was very envious of us. Come to
think of it, it’s a mock battle against a rank S adventurer. How could the battle-crazed
Mea not be envious?

“I- I wish I could have fought Lord Asurasu too!”

It seems that the tablecloth is about to be chewed at any moment. But apparently a
pat on the head from Pessili and Quina brought her back to her senses. She cleared
her throat with a cough and changed the subject.

“Nevertheless, the equipment looks pretty good. You said that you had your original
equipment modified by Alistair-dono, how is it performing?”

Mea looks at Fran’s new armor and squints at it. Apparently, even though she is a
combat fanatic like Fran, she likes cute things.

“Mhm. Perfect”

“I see. Fufu”

“What’s wrong?”

“No, nothing”

Mea smiled suddenly. What’s the matter with you? Did Fran’s cuteness get to you?
“Lady, Why don’t you honestly say that you’re happy to have matching equipment,
since both of it was made by Alistair-sama?”

“Wha……! What are you talking about, Quina! I- I don’t think about such a thing at all!”

“Your expression is becoming softer.”

“Shu- Shut up!”

So this is what it seems to be about. Quina continues to be calm and exposing her.

“Tha- that’s being said, what are we talking about?”

“Hmm”

She is embarrassed. It was Mea who forced the conversation back to its track.
“Did you go to the war area after we part way?”

“Hm, that’s right. Do you know?”

“I heard a little. I heard that they took out the armies of Bashar’s kingdom and the
awesome earth magicians pushed back the enemy.Were you with him?”

“Yes. Well, I participated ostensibly as a mercenary, not as a princess.”

“Why?”

According to the story, it seems that she hid her identity from the general soldiers and
civilians. It seems that she had spoken to the commander and others, but ostensibly
she joined the army as an escort for the White Rhinoceros Rigdalfa.

“As a princess, I can’t move about freely, so, you know, it’s not like……”

[What happened?]

“Selene was there.”

“Who is Selene?”

“Selene is a lady-in-waiting at the royal palace, she is the same tribe as me. She is less
powerful in combat than I am, but she is skilled in the art of illusion, and her stature
is similar to that of a young lady, so she serves as a shadow warrior. And we can
disguise things like race with magic tools.”

Could it be that shadowy figure we just said hello to? I wondered what happened to
Selene, but when Mea came out here, she(Mea) was sure that she(Selene) has changed
from a shadow warrior to herself(Princess Mea).

“Why?”
“Selene plays the role of…… that’s… um… that is…”

“Selene plays a graceful, fragile, and lady-like, the so called princess, partly by order of
His Majesty the King. Honestly, no matter how much we keep up, it was impossible for
the real lady to perform that way. They’ll know for sure that she was replaced.”

I see. I don’t think Mea can do the ladylike thing. And when Mea and Selene are
replaced, many nobles and generals will find out that the person they were trying so
hard to please and protect with their lives was an imposter. Although it’s not
surprising that a princess of a great nation would use a shadow warrior.

“For sure you will be able to see the difference between the young lady and Selene.”

[That’s a tough one……]

“Umu”

Considering the temperament of the Beast Nation, I think a friendly and lively type
like Mea would be appreciated. But I’m sure there are many of them who adore the
graceful, fragile and lady-like daughter type.

I certainly don’t like being compared to. It would break my heart if it were me.

However, the question remains.

[Why are you letting the shadow warrior play such a character again?]

Why is the girl, Selene, the shadow warrior, acting so unreasonable in the first place?
As long as that shadow warrior plays as Mea-ish character that is lively, it’s all good,
right?

At present, Mea’s reputation seems to be a graceful and ladylike, low-combat shelter

girl. When the real Mea comes out in the future, will she not get bash by the Beastman
country’s residence? Because a fragile beauty is suddenly a battle-crazed, energetic
girl.

Mea nods in agreement with my question.

“Does Master think so too? It’s strange isn’t it? Isn’t a shadow warrior supposed to be
more like the person they are impersonating?”
She seems to think so too. But Quina answered my question without a care in the
world.

“It’s His Majesty’s hobby.”

[Eh? Hobby?]

“Yes. He said he would love to see everyone’s reaction when they figure out that the
young lady is the real princess after making everyone thought that Selene is the
princess.”

“Gununu(riled up sfx). That damn father…!”

Speaking of beast king-ish, it is beast king-ish alright…… I feel sorry for the guys that
are being pushed around.

“And then there’s the rest of it, which could be meant to be an insinuation or a tease
to the young lady.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“Well, I think he enjoys watching the young lady who is depressed and embarrassed
to see Selene, who looks just like her, behaving in a ladylike manner.”

“What a bad hobby! That old man!”

“And if the impression is so different, you’ll be less worried about your daughter’s
identity being lost in peacetime.”

Aaah, so that’s how it is. Unlike normal shadow warriors, Mea’s shadow warrior is out
there acting as an adventurer. Rather, the aim seemed to be to prevent Mea’s true
identity from being exposed by guiding her image into a different type.

I guess it’s also true that it seems to be interesting as the Beast King said.

[I understand that you participated in the fight by hiding your identity, but how did
you feel about the fight itself?]

“Even if you ask me about that…… To be honest, we barely do any fight.”

“We just scattered the devastated enemies.”

When Mea and the others arrived at the battlefield, it was apparently already at the
time when the Beast Nation’s army was about to push back the Bashar Kingdom’s
invading army and start a chase.

It is said that Mea and her men have joined the pursuit force and have marched deep
into Bashar’s territory.

“It was a condition of our joining the army that we would provide an escort for the
general in command.”

[Come to think of it, you said something like that earlier.]

“Well, it wasn’t really escorting the general but more like to never leave the general’s
side.”

So that’s it. Rather than letting the princess act on her own and endanger herself, the
general’s aim is to put her on his side in the name of an escort.

“But, I left the army in the middle of the way.”

“Why?”

“……I went to the Magnolia family.”

Speaking of Magnolia, that’s the place that Myrellia was talking about. It was a request
to rescue a child named Romeo from the Magnolia family, from the lord of that house.

As expected, Mea and the others must have been curious about those words.

“With the Beast Nation Army marching across the border, the Magnolia territory in
question was already in our sphere of influence.”

[You said crossing the border, but didn’t they have defensive fortifications and forts on
the other side?]

“Of course, it does exist. But those facilities were in complete disarray as the
devastated allied forces poured into them.”
Just when they think there’s no way they can lose, they suffer a huge defeat and their
troops are running away in a disorderly fashion, that’s resulting in chaos at their rear.

Even if they tried to contain them, the entire army would try to enter the fort, and
there could be enemy spies mixed in. Moreover, if the Beast Nation was chasing after
them from behind, it would be difficult to judge.

“To be frank, the defense facility wasn’t working properly.”

[Did you mean you just pass it by?]

“It’s close. There were some forts that resisted, but that’s where Lysias comes in.”

“Lysias?”

“Um. Court magician Lysias Laurensia. The most powerful earth magician in our
country, and the descendant of the royal blood of Laurencia that was renowned for the
tragedy of Laurencia. Speaking of the Great Wall Lysias, he’s also famous on the
continent of Krom, right?”

Laurencia? Did you just say Laurencia?

Laurencia? Did you just say Laurencia?

[Hey, what does that person got to do with Linford?]

“Linford? As I recall, he was the evil sorcerer who summoned Myrellia……”

“Hmm. Linford Laurencia”

“I see… Did you say that his surname is Laurencia?”

[Yeah, He was an old monster over hundred years old.]

“Hundred years old? I believe Lysias should be over 40. So Lysias probably isn’t his
child.”

Then, his grandchildren maybe?

[This Lysias guy isn’t an evil sorcerer, is he?]

“Of course”

“Rather, I’ve heard that Lysias hates evil sorcerers.”

In the first place, we don’t even know if it is a direct blood relationship. It is possible
that the Laurencia family has split over the years, and not all the descendants of evil
sorcerers will be evil sorcerers. If the story about Lysias hating Linford is true, it’s
more likely that Linford has done something to him.

It’s unlikely that the Beast Kings will miss the evil sorcerer, and there doesn’t seem to
be any problems with this guy named Lysias.

“Lysias’s earth magic is unrivaled in siege battles. With him, no matter how many fort
there is, it’s nothing to him.”
“Do you mean that he is attacking the fort with earth magic?”

“Well, that’s possible, but the most secure way you can do is dig a hole for a way to
advance. Normally, they’d be fortified with magical tools and other equipment to
guard the basement, but they were confused at the time. Lysias who was digging
underground was not noticed or interfered with in any way by the enemy. ”

I see, so they’re going to build an underground tunnel and send soldiers through it.
I’m sure there was something called tunnel warfare in Japan. I’m not sure how much
of that is genuine and how much of it is fiction, but I’m sure that the method of going
underground and crossing the ramparts is very effective.

“Thanks to Lysias and the others, it was easy to get to the Magnolias’ house.”

“There were no soldiers on patrol to deal with the Beastman’s armies, and it was safe
to say that there were no guards in Magnolia territory.”

“Then, did you manage to get Romeo under your protection?”

“No, I couldn’t”

Mea shook her head, her expression darkening slightly.

What do you mean? You have been to the Magnolias’ house, haven’t you? Did he resist?
Or was there never a kid like that in the first place? It is also highly possible that they
were evacuated when the war began.

But the answer from Mea and the others was none of those things.

“He had already been taken by someone else.”

[Someone else?]

“Yes, Apparently, a man who was over two meters tall, with scars all over his body, and
was as ferocious as an ogre took him.”

I only have two people in mind. No, Asurasu was with us the whole time. And it’s not
like he is covered in scars all over.

If so, there is only one candidate.

“Xellos Reed?”

“Does Fran think so too? Apparently, Xellos Reed attacked the Magnolia family and
kidnapped Romeo.”

Xellos Reed was Myrellia’s partner, but he should have betrayed her in her last
moments, right? Why did he take Romeo……? Is he doing this out of spite against
Myrellia? Or is there a different reason?

[What is the reason……?]

“Don’t know”

[Guess so]

“Can’t you follow him with Urushi’s nose?”

“Woof”

As expected even Urushi can’t do that. Even if you try to trace it back from the Magnolia
family, Xellos Reed will be moving around as well, and after a few days the smell will
disappear.

“I see…… I’m afraid it’s a dead end.”

“Now then, let’s put the prize money on the line. It’s already been arranged, but if we
announce it again, it will be just annoying to other people.”

“You are right”

It would be better to leave it to Mea and the others to take care of the prize money.
Seems like we didn’t really have a choice. It’s a pretty bad aftertaste, but the story
about a boy named Romeo ends here.

“Hmm……”

I’m sure Fran is wondering about what to do too. But I know there is nothing more we
can do about it.

[Well it can’t be helped. If we run into Xellos Reed in the future, we’ll ask him out. Well,
I don’t think he will speak honestly though.]

“Mn!”

I really don’t want to meet a monster like that for the second time. But I’ve already met
him twice. Barbora, and now this…… they say that what happens twice might happen
three times as well, and so we can’t let our guard down.

“Blow him away and get the full story.”

It seems that there won’t be any leeway for negotiations. Well, I don’t think negotiations
are going to work with Xellos Reed, so it will end up being a battle.

[We have to be stronger to prepare if that were to happen.]

“Hmm”

Fran nodded with a look of determination on her face.

“Now, Master, I’m here to take care of Master Kiara.”

[Yes]

After the outdoor debriefing was over, we were entering the royal capital with Mea. I
wondered if we would have to wait in that line again, but that didn’t happen since we
are together with a royal family. There was a private entrance dedicated for the royal
family and we were soon able to enter the royal capital.

The one who greeted me was Mianoa, the lady in waiting that was attached to Kiara.
She seems to have returned to the royal capital a step ahead from us and was reporting
back. At the same time, she seems to have been preparing for Kiara’s funeral.

The body of Kiara was taken out of the dimensional storage, and then laid in the coffin
that had been prepared. Both Fran and Mea are getting their eyes wet again when
seeing that.

***

Having finished our meeting in the open air, Mea and I entered the capital. Although I
was worried that I would have to queue again, there was a person of royal blood with
us. Taking advantage of her privileges, we immediately got into the city.

We were met by Mia, who was Kiara's personal servant. She returned to the capital
before anyone else, apparently to report the sad news. Around the same time, she
began to prepare for Kiara's funeral.

I placed Kiara's dead body, which I had previously hidden in the Dimensional Storage,
in a coffin prepared by Mia. Fran and Mea, looking at her again, could not hold back
their tears.

But not a single muscle twitched on Mia and Quina's faces. But not because they did
not grieve. It is just that the court maids should not show their sadness outwardly.
Real professionals in their field.

The funeral plan I heard later was very different from what I had imagined. That is, I,
of course, imagined something like a Buddhist funeral, or a European funeral that I
saw in the movies.

But the local view of life and death was completely different from the world where I
come from. So, of course, the funeral ceremony was unlike anything I had seen before.
Moreover, this is the funeral of the half-beast people.

For a start, there seems to be an emphasis on the very moment of death. After all, this
is the moment when the soul is separated from the body and ascends to heaven. Unlike
on Earth, the existence of souls here is a generally accepted fact, so praying for the
happiness of the deceased in the afterlife is especially important.

Therefore, in a sense, the very moment of passing away is a funeral. After that, only
the body remains, which is considered an empty vessel, devoid of a soul. Of course,
this does not mean that he is thrown at random, however, the body itself is not given
great importance.

So, as a sign of respect for the deceased, his body is simply protected from turning into
undead. After all, a strong adventurer makes a correspondingly strong undead.

Therefore, if the body of the deceased can be carried away, it is carried away, and if
this is problematic, the body is simply burned and buried. It looks like bones are not
being harvested either. It is necessary to make sure that no one else identifies the
deceased.
If the deceased can be carried away with him, then a ritual of protection from turning
into undead is performed over him, after which he is buried. However, the main thing
at the funeral is not the deceased, but the living.

At a time when the Earth is sometimes said figuratively that the family says goodbye
to the deceased, this is exactly what happens in this world at funerals. At the funeral,
those present can see the deceased in a coffin, accept the fact of his death, and receive
the support of others to come to terms with the loss.

But there are no funeral gifts or wreaths. Indeed, they cannot be carried away to the
afterlife. And prayers for happiness in the afterlife and other ceremonies are conducted
not by some monks, but by family and friends. Yes, there is not a single priest at a
funeral in this world, this is another important difference from the Earth analogue.

- The funeral of Mrs. Kiara will take place in four days. The day after the return of the
Beast King.

- What? Have you contacted your father?

- Yes. Since the magic device for remote communication does not work between
continents, and there is a chance that the conversation might be overheard in Bashar,
I used the Adventurer's Guild Mail Falcon. He replied that he would return immediately.

Wouldn't it be too quick to return from another continent in just three days? They will
have to march without rest. However, when your country is at war, this is not surprising.

They tried to start it exactly when the king is not in the country. Although this alone
did not create any particular problems. Still, the military power significantly exceeds
that of the Bashar kingdom.

- Madam Fran, what are your plans? If you want to, you can get a job on the same fast
ship, which will sail the King of Beasts. According to my plan, His Majesty will first
disembark at the port of Graysir, and then return to Balbora during the day.

- Can I ask for something?

- I understand.

Fran agreed to Mia's proposal. But these words only worried me more.
- Hey stop. Would you like to attend Kiara's funeral? I asked.

- Hmm? There is nothing wrong with that.

Yes exactly. I still can't get out of my head thinking from my own world. Since Fran was
with Kiara in her last minutes of life, there is no point in attending the funeral a second
time. While I thought it was amazing how easily she was able to come to terms with
her loss, for half-beasts, it seems that it was in the order of things.

But neither Mea nor Quina reacted at all to Fran's words that she would not be present
at Kiara's funeral. Although, Mea, upon hearing that Fran was going to sail, immediately
became sad.

- Well, Fran. Maybe you will stay a little longer?

- Sorry. I made a promise to someone.

“We are obliged to take part in the auction in the Kingdom of Cranzer,” I said.

- That's how… Then you really need to hurry. That's the problem.

- Madam. Didn't you think that if you get so upset it will make Fran worry again during
the trip?

- Yes you are right.

- Besides, there are still a few days.

- Right! During this time, we can play enough!

Quina is just a master manipulator. In an instant, Mea's tension was dispelled. It seems
that she has already decided for sure that Fran and Mea should maintain a
relationship…

- Yeah. Let's play enough.

Fran was also eager. After all, this is her first close friend. I hope these three days will
be filled with good memories.
Incredible!

“Yes, truly,” I said.

- Ha ha ha! That's the same! That's the same!

It was the first day of our stay at the royal palace.

First of all, we were shown the personal bath of the royal family. Although I had seen
enough luxurious baths before, this one was on a different level.

Of course, everything was in marble. A beautiful lion statue served as a hot water tap.
Huge magical chandeliers hung from the ceiling, and episodes of someone's heroic
deeds were painted on the walls. And the fact that these paintings were redrawn every
three months only added to their greatness.

A wide pool served as a bath, around which grew deciduous trees of an unknown
species, of a huge size. Probably each of them was over 100 years old. There were more
than ten trees in total, and the size of them would fit as a shimboku from jinja temples
in my native Japan.

From what I heard, they were very valuable magical plants. The fruits from these trees
appear to have a healing effect.

Although I had the feeling that this was a very dubious waste of money, it was probably
all done in order to show the greatness of the country to the foreign envoys.

Although I do not think that the king created these luxurious baths only for this
purpose. Maybe, with his general love of provocative things, such bathing suits are
quite in his style?

- First, you need to wash off all the dirt!

- Yeah.

We washed ourselves in a slightly different place. Even the soap and other personal
care products here were of the highest quality. Mea quickly talked about their custom
of taking a bath.

Although I thought there would be no shortage of maids at the royal baths, the only
maid among us was Quina. It seems that half-beasts do not favor strangers when
taking a bath, and even the royal family is limited to just one servant.

- Let me rub your back. Go here.

- Yeah.

Oh, what a beauty, this is how the bonds of friendship are strengthened. I could not
help but be moved by the care with which Fran and Mea helped each other during the
wash. And they rubbed the backs of each other, and helped with the hair, lovely. And
Fran Mea treated as a friend, as an equal to herself.

- Right, right! - I rejoiced.

So I continued to watch them.

- Now it's Teacher's turn.

- ABOUT! Then I'll help too! Do not remain in debt to the Teacher!

Fran was not at all shy, and Mea didn't seem to be too worried about me. No, I certainly
told her that I used to be human. But since I'm a sword now, it doesn't matter anymore.

And I myself, looking at Fran, did not feel a shadow of embarrassment. Perhaps this is
because she was like an unmarried daughter to me.

Fran began rubbing me with a soft sponge of incomparable quality. Mea didn't seem
to be worried about me rusting. I am a magic sword after all, and I have my self-repair,
so there was nothing to worry about.

Nevertheless, Quina, of course, did not stand aside. Quina, wrapped in a towel like a
tank top, hurried to pick me up from Fran and Mea.
- Quina, what are you doing?

- Yeah.

- Come on, wait a minute. How long have I said that a noble lady should know what
shame is? He may be akin to family to Fran, but to you, madam, he is completely alien.

- But what's wrong with that? This is the Teacher.

- Certainly nothing good. Anyway, Master, let's do it this way.

Before I could guess what was on her mind, she wrapped a cloth around her eyes on
my wolf emblem. Looks like she intended to make sure I didn't stare at anyone. Hmm,
by the way, no one has figured out if these eyes can see.

In fact, my entire body had vision, so this manipulation did not particularly change
anything.

Well, what to do… To be honest or not? I think it’s worth keeping silent so that Quina
will be calmer… But I’m afraid to blab it in the future.

I should be honest.

- This, one of my skills, "special vision" allows me to see everything around me, so does
it make sense to cover this part?

- That it is true?

- Yes.

- So, you saw the mistress in such an inappropriate form from all sides?

- Yes.

- Here's how.

Hmm? Is she angry? What is Quina's anger like?

“Do you know what responsibility you would have had to bear if you were an ordinary
man who saw the bare skin of an unmarried woman from the royal family?
A responsibility? Does this mean, "I am responsible for ensuring your happiness"?
Scary!

“Although the Teacher is a very extraordinary character, you cannot marry anyone off
to a sword.

Well, of course! After all, if you think about it, Mea is from the royal family. Of course,
she should be strict about who she is naked in front of. But it seems that she herself is
not fully aware of this.

- He's just a sword, it's okay! Really, Fran?

- Yeah.

- Eh. Master, I beg you, don't look if possible.

- Okay, I understand you.

So, until we left the baths, I looked at the painted ceiling. However, this did not mean
that I wanted so much, just Quina reacted to every movement of my gaze. Cold sweat
seemed to creep from her gaze, even though I was a sword.

Probably the effect of her skills "Recognize Presence", "Interrogation", "Recognize

Magic", "Control Magic", and her title "Assassin Killer" helped to capture even the
slightest movement of my magical energy. I would not want to become her enemy.

Therefore, to the smallest detail, I remembered the image of the heroic deed, which
was captured on the ceiling.

After the swim, a banquet took place. No, it's better to just call it dinner. In Mea's room,
without much manners, everyone ate their food as they always did.

And now the worry was not about Fran, but about Mea herself. Since she had been an
ordinary adventurer for a long time, such a meal was more to her liking.

Fran, who hadn't eaten anything but my concoction for a long time, looked very
pleased. Of course, the royal chefs prepared very tasty dishes.

At the Niku Matsuri (Meat Festival), their cooking would have gained a lot of points. I
mean, all of their dishes are meat, meat, and more meat. I don't mean just that there
was a lot of meat in the dishes.

All the food was in one way or another with meat. So there was pork in beef, poultry
in a composition with lizard meat, and stuff like that. And meat salads, and meat soups.
Fran and Mea ate the dishes one after the other, and I even worried that they would
not get heartburn.

Although they are half beasts, and a carnivorous type. As I briefly overheard from
Quina, she prefers vegetables herself. Apparently, because she is of the herbivorous
type, half-beast-tapirs.

It's hard to be a chef in a land of half-beasts, however. Tastes differ so much among
different nations. However, in general, they remain human, so that under normal
conditions they are able to eat meat, vegetables, and fish. The common people do not
seem to be so picky.

Only aristocrats can afford to be picky.

It was the second day of our stay in the capital Bestia. The day was spent on sightseeing
in the capital and sparring with Mea.

And we sparred, not sparing the training ground of the palace, everything turned out
to be covered with craters in the end. I thought about how to fix the site with earth
magic, but due to its special coating, which has the property of magical isolation, it did
not work out very well to fix it.

- Ha ha! As I thought, sparring with Fran is breathtaking!

- Uh-huh!

But they were both happy with the sparring results.

Although we initially planned to just practice using the skills, Mea quickly warmed up
and started fighting in earnest. Showering us with flame magic and other skills, she
didn't really hold back. If Quina hadn't stopped her, she would have caused even more
damage to the palace.

Though the proficiency improved in the end. Especially the progress was noticeable
with respect to "Ways of manipulating the body." We also became better at resisting
fire attacks, thank God we got the skill to resist burns.

The most important event of the second day is a visit to the capital's temple. Finally,
after a long time, you can change your profession.

If you think about it, we have seen a lot during all this time. To be honest, it completely
flew out of my head until Mea told me about it. It is quite possible that new professions
have appeared.

The last time we checked this was before the Martial Arts Tournament. Then we could
not choose anything but the swordsman-magician. Now, finally, remembering again
about professions, I realized how useful the profession of a swordsman-magician was.
The professional skill of the profession, "Combining Magic", given Fran's relatively
poor success in magic, perfectly helped her to close one of her weaknesses. Given her
specialization in physical attacks, and the prospect of improving her magical side
through this profession without leaving her weaknesses, this was the obvious choice.

So, given how we grew up after these many battles, there was a high chance that we
could choose a more advanced profession. It doesn't hurt to check.

After donating money to the temple, we entered the career change room. By touching
the stone slab that was there, we were able to find out if a change of profession was
possible. According to the rules of the temple, except for cleaning, entry into this room
was prohibited, so that it maintained perfect privacy.

Perhaps you can peep into it with the help of magic or magical devices, but it is unlikely
that anyone would want to do this. After all, it was a temple. Who would like to receive
divine punishment in the crown for inappropriate behavior?

“And we have a great choice here,” I said.

- Yeah.

At first glance, there were almost 50 professions. I don't know if this is the norm, but
there were definitely a lot of them.

- By touching each profession, you can see its comprehensive description. And all for
a donation of 3000 gold.

So, among the professions, 5 positions attracted my attention.

The first was the profession that we noticed for a long time - "Lord of the Sword".
Apparently, thanks to our growth in the process of battles, now this option was
available to us. It included Increase Strength, Enhance Sword Art, and Enhance Sword
Mastery, as well as the Transformation into the God of Swords professional skill. In
general, this profession allowed you to take your sword skills to the limit.

As far as I remember, the Beast King's profession is "Lord of the Spear." Apparently,
this is something in the same spirit. That is, with this profession, the adventurer can
reach S rank. I would say that this profession is at the top of our list of choices. But
there was another interesting profession.
This is the "Holy Warrior". For some reason, this profession, which gives preference
to auras skills, seemed very interesting to me. She also gave Empower Crush Evil, a
specialized skill against evil spirits that I had already used, and the professional skill
was Holy Armor. Although I could not find out the details of the professional skill, it
was clear from the name that it was also directed against evil spirits.

Considering that in the future we may meet Zelsried or some worse evil, it would be
nice to have a strong ability against her.

- The profession "Warrior-archmage" also looks interesting, which would help you
develop more versatile. It looks like it makes it possible to reduce the cost of energy
to release a burst of spells.

Although she had no professional skill, Fran would be able to use the burst of spells.

- This profession, "Heavenly Ninja", looks cool.

- Maybe yes. In addition to "Higher Agility", it would help make up for the lack of
sensory and stealth skills. In addition, her professional skill is Perception of Time and
Space. It looks like it makes it possible to react even to teleportation.

Since Fran is the type of warrior who rely on speed, for us now, who do not have
sufficient defensive skills, the opportunity to close the gaps in sensory and stealth
skills looks tempting.

- So, the last candidate is "Demon Slayer".

- Yeah.

This profession complemented us in the aspects of "Increasing all stats", "Increasing

the effects of suppression skills", "Martial art", "Martial prowess", "Magic". This
profession looks very balanced. Probably, the transition to this profession is equally
valid for both warriors and magicians. It was a profession that evenly lifts you up in
all aspects.

- So, we have the Lord of the Sword, the Holy Warrior, the Warrior-Archmage, the
Heavenly Ninja and the Demon Slayer to choose from. Which do you choose, Fran?

- Lord of the sword!

It was not hard to guess. The Lord of the Sword is the most obvious choice. Fran still
loves fencing more than magic.

- So there will be "Lord of the Sword".

- Yeah.

Then Fran chose the profession of "Lord of the Sword". At the same moment, white
light enveloped her entire body. A powerful stream of magic radiated from her.
However, there was not a single unpleasant sensation. The magic that enveloped her
gave only pleasant warmth.

- Oooh…

- Are you okay?

- Yeah. The strength in me is seething.

Using the assessment, I was convinced that the profession had really changed to "Lord
of the Sword." The stats have also increased. The Professional Skill "Becoming a God
of Swords" is also learned.

Of course, there were also disadvantages. The magical energy has slightly decreased,
and the former professional skill ("Magic Connection") was forgotten. In exchange for
his dramatically increased swordsmanship, Fran's own magic abilities undoubtedly
lost their former strength.

Let's assume that Fran and I now have a clear line of roles. Fran is now fully in charge
of the physical aspect, and I am in charge of the magical one.

- Hmm, I would like to know what it is - "Transformation into the God of Swords”…

Becoming a God of Swords: Grants the user the power of a God of Swords.

Even after the assessment, I could not understand what kind of power is given by
"Transformation into the God of Swords". Are all the skills in which the word "God"
appears like this?

Then we have someone who could explain everything in more detail. This is Mea. After
all, her father, the King of Beasts, Rigdis, possesses the Transform into Spear God skill.
Chance is high that she knows about it.

If in the process everyone finds out that Fran has changed her profession to "Lord of
the Sword", then hardly anyone will mind. Fran first of all promised to tell Mea about
her choice of a new profession. In fact, Mea had changed her profession even before
Fran, so she agreed to discuss new professions with each other.

When we left the room for the change of profession, Mea met us in a very nervous
state.

- Fran! What, found a good profession?

- Yeah. That was incredible.

- Ltd! Nice to hear! Anyway, let's go back to the palace first!

Of course, nobody wanted to talk here. There were many outsiders here.

Returning to the palace, they immediately revealed their new professions to each
other. The moment of sharing secrets, it seems, was to some extent sacred for them.
The joy of both girls knew no bounds. Well, not surprisingly, they were both warriors
to the core.

“The new step in my profession is called the Incinerating Knight.

- Sounds great.

- And then! Now the control of fire has become even better, and the knight's abilities
have dramatically increased. The profession is just for me!

It was a profession one step higher than her previous one, "Knight of the Flame". It
seems that there were also steps even higher than the Incinerating Knight.

Mea's face was beaming with joy. But Quina, with her invariably cold tone, broke off
her joy somewhat.

“But I have to warn you.

- Warn? I asked.
“You might be attracted to the word" Incinerate ", but it doesn't matter how high your
attack power is when your power control can't keep up. As a result, you only increased
the danger of a spontaneous explosion.

Hmm, this profession worries me very much. Given that Mea hadn't taken control of
her flame very seriously before, now what, is it going to get worse?

- Young lady, I ask you to treat your actions with even greater caution from now on.

- I… I know!
Mea, after Quina's argument about her lack of control over her flame, tried to quickly
change the subject by feverishly addressing Fran.

- Yes, Fran, what profession have you chosen?

Fran answered the question in her usual unconcerned tone.

- Mm. Lord of the sword.

Mea's reaction to Fran's response was unexpected. Her surprise was so strong, she
spat out the tea already that she was about to swallow it. So, why go straight to Fran's
face?

While Mea was recovering from shock, I had to wipe Fran's face with a handkerchief.

- Once again, what kind of profession?

- Lord of the sword.

- So I heard correctly!

- It can't be, a profession of the royal rank…

Not only on Mea's face, but on Quina's, surprise could be read.

- What is the profession of the royal rank? I asked.

- Among martial professions, this is the highest level. In addition to professions in the
branch of the warrior such as "Lord of the Sword", "Lord of the Spear", and so on, in
the branch of the magician there are "Lord of Flame", "Lord of Storms", and further
down the list.

- With the exception of my father, I saw with my own eyes only two other owners of
this profession…

It looks like this profession is more advanced than we thought. So, "Profession of the
Royal Rank”…

- Since you are the "Lord of the Sword", did you learn to "Transform into the God of
Swords"?

- Yeah.

I knew she knew something about this. So it's such a strong skill that even mentioning
it generates an instant reaction? From Mea's eyes, she was extremely serious.

- Listen carefully. Be extremely careful when using it. Especially the first time. Make
sure no one is around.

- Is this such a dangerous skill? I asked.

- Yes, dangerous. If it gets out of control, it will hurt both you and your comrades.

From what Mea said, this is not only a strong but also a dangerous skill…

- Using familiar terms, this skill falls into the category of "self-reinforcement".
However, due to its extreme strength, it will be extremely difficult to control it. And
my father also failed in trying to control him.

- Failure?

- His Majesty, when he used "Transformation into the God of Spears" for the first time
was in a group of comrades. He killed them all.

So, this part with the murder of comrades is already alarming. What kind of skill is
this?

- Can you tell us what skills like "Transformation into the God of Swords" and
"Transformation into the God of Spears" are like?

Here's how. Although their names are similar, can their effect be radically different?
Although there is a great chance that they work in the same way, you need to listen to
exactly how "Becoming a God of Copies" works.
- The skill "Transformation into the God of Spears", while strengthening the user,
endows his spear with a Divine element.

- A divine element? - I was surprised.

- Yes. Although I also do not know the details on this score, among the many elements
that exist in this world, the Divine element occupies a dominant position.

Divine element. So he must be somehow connected with God? By the way, I heard that
although there is immunity to the flame, there can be no immunity to the Divine flame.

- If your weapon is endowed with a Divine element, then you can chop the intangible,
kill evil spirits that even the "Crush of Evil" does not take, and slugs that are immune
to physical damage can be cut in half.

So this element ignores immunity to any elements? It's just an exceptional ability. We
can say that in this way you can defeat any opponent with a sword.

“But ignoring resistance is not the main strength of the Divine Element. Remember
what I said recently? This element dominates all others. That is, no matter what
element you fight against, the enemy will receive such damage as if you attacked him
with an element for which he has a weakness. The damage will be huge.

Does this mean that he not only ignores resistance, but also constantly exploits the
enemy's weakness?

“It looks like my father, when he killed his comrades, used the" Transformation into
the God of Spears "without preliminary verification. Probably, in that situation, this
skill was the last hope. After that, the father stabbed the dragon to death with one
beautiful throw. But along with him, this throw took all his comrades.

The power of "Transformation into the God of Spears" was so great that the Beast King
pierced the dragon with one throw of a spear, simultaneously simply annihilating half
of the bodies of his comrades. The mental trauma caused by that event has not gone
anywhere to this day. Now the Beast King never uses the Spear God Transformation if
there are comrades or subordinates nearby. Which is not surprising.

“At that time, my father used an orichalcum spear. It seems like he could kill a demonic
beast with a danger level B in an instant. I can't even imagine what effect
"Transformation into the God of Swords" will have on Master. It is possible that even
the earth itself around will not withstand such power.

Hmm. Perhaps, even if you try to restrain yourself, casualties on the side are still likely.

- Yes, you still need to monitor the strength. This skill puts an extremely heavy load on
the weapon itself. Even the orichalcum spear crumbled to dust after three seconds of
exposure.

That's how it is… I guess this is quite normal. When you strengthen something through
force, then, of course, it will exert a strong load.

“It's dangerous to use this skill for any length of time,” I said.

- Yes. You two, Master, this means that you need to be doubly careful. However, it also
exerts a rather strong burden on the owner. Even with a strong desire, it will hardly
be possible to use this skill for a long time.

In general, it is best to use it only when there is a question of life and death. With all
this, you will have to try to apply it at least once.

- Where can you experience it? I asked.

- Yeah.

Well, here's another skill like "Unleash Potential" and "Magnificent Flash of Lightning"
that painfully hits you…

Moreover, in our case, we learned the skill by skipping intermediate steps. Therefore,
we have not reached the level of body control and skills required for such strength.
Compared to someone who received it gradually, the burden on us must be especially
strong. As a result, the body will be at its limit.

But despite this, I am still pleased that Fran is getting stronger with me. Is there a case
where a new skill can be used in conjunction with Magnificent Lightning Flash?

- We need to test it as soon as possible.

After talking with Mea, we got down to business.

After leaving the city walls, we went to test the newly acquired ability "Transformation
into the God of Swords." Although we have scheduled another sparring with Mea this
afternoon, it looks like it will have to be rescheduled.

Although Mea asked if she could attend the Convert to Sword God check instead of
canceled sparring, of course, no one knew what might have happened. So Quina was
against it.

But Mea continued to resist, and Quina had to use her crown grip on her. No doubt
that would have pacified anyone. I would say that such a reception has a place on the
battlefield. Although I was not able to discern all the movements exactly, it seems to
have consisted of a leg grab that had already shown itself in combat and some sort of
suffocation.

In general, having somehow shaken off Mea, we immediately went to the plain not far
from the capital. I didn’t feel anybody’s presence in the area. Not only me, but also the
Urusi did not find a single soul.

- Is Fran ready? I asked.

- Yeah. Master, are you brave too?

- Yes. I started self-repairing and instant regeneration to the full.

This should somehow resist the loss of strength. I think that for a few seconds I will
definitely be enough… In any case, we planned to activate the skill for only a few
seconds.

- Let's go.
- Forward! Come on!

- Activation of the form of the God of swords.

- Ooooooooooooooooooooooo!

What is it! I felt an incredible strength awakening in me. Right, waking up. In contrast
to how it usually happens, the power seemed to rise from somewhere inside me, and
did not flow into me from Fran.

The feeling was as if I was suddenly caught in the rain. But that was not all. It became
surprisingly difficult to control myself, and I could not stabilize in any way. While I
would not say that I am not yet seasoned enough or experienced enough in the use of
power, but since this is the first time I am accepting power from someone else, I was
not sure if I could handle it.

However, there was a feeling that this power was mine. She was ready to overwhelm
not only Fran, but me as well. If the two of us can manage her, then, probably, we will
be capable of anything.

There was not a shadow of evil in this power. On the contrary, it felt like the power of
Divine support. I have only seen something like this in my life. I remember that Kiara's
dying attack, "Claw of the God of Black Lightning" felt like this.

However, unlike Kiara back then, this power was significantly more savage and brutal.
I tried my best to pacify this power raging in my blade. Does the Beast King somehow
manage to control this power? Truly, I don't seem to have seen all the S-grade
adventurers are capable of yet.

Fran paused the skill the next moment. At the same time, the power swirling in my
blade disappeared. As I thought, you cannot be prepared for this.

- Fran, are you okay?

- Uh-huh…

Despite her answer, I saw beads of sweat beading on Fran's forehead. Her shoulders
heaved up and down strongly, and her condition was unmistakably tired. In the next
moment, we were seized by an incredible breakdown.
We gave all our strength to control this skill, and it was worth stopping its action, as
we were completely deprived of these powers. It will be difficult to get used to this.

“Fran, can you… can't you again?

- Sorry.

“Don't worry, it's not your fault.

Just a few seconds of using Transformation to God of Swords lowered Fran's magical
energy to zero. For just one application. We didn't fight, didn't even move, and still so
exhausted. As Mea said, it's unlikely to use this skill for long periods of time. Even the
Beast King is limited to 10 seconds.

- Teacher, how are you?

- I think our safe limit is now 5 seconds.

During the "Transformation into the God of Swords" incredible power awakened in
me. And it looks like a Divine element. However, my toughness was depleting at an
amazing rate.

This thing is probably even more dangerous than Unleashing potential. In just one
second, the strength has decreased by more than a thousand. And not even a single
blow was made, Fran just held me in her arms. In ten seconds, I will surely turn into a
heap of scrap metal.

- Let's rest a little and try again. Let's try to hit this time?

- Uh-huh!

An hour has passed.

Fran, having regained her strength with potions, again prepared to activate the
Transformation into the God of Swords.

“Actually, I don’t know how much longer I can take,” I said.

- Are you all right?

“I’ll survive a few seconds.

Fran looked at me with a worried face. But she had reason to worry. The damage that
"Transformation into the God of Swords" inflicted on me could not be immediately
restored with the skill of instant regeneration. Just like before Aristea repaired me, I
could only recover gradually.

Apparently Becoming a God of Swords overloads the weapon so seriously. In addition,

it seemed to me that one of the reasons for such difficulties was the Divine element
and its dominance over other elements. Perhaps this can be compared to how the
regeneration slows down in slug monsters under the influence of fire. It took me an
hour to fully recover.

In battle, you must use the Transformation to the God of Swords with extreme caution.
I do not want to return to Aristea again in the same killed state.

- So, ready?

- Uh-huh!

This time we strike. Previously, I used earth magic to create five boulders 10 meters
in diameter.

- Go?

- Come on!

- Becoming a God of Swords!

Go, go, go! Again! This feeling! Wild power has awakened in my blade, and swirls like
a cruel whirlpool.

- Fran! Let me take over the taming of power! I myself will fully focus on controlling it!

- Uh-huh!

Fran, nodding slightly to me, stepped forward. And at that moment, something
changed dramatically. Hmm? What? Is it really Fran? Outwardly, she remained the
same, but seemed to have turned into a different person, a terribly strange feeling.
Without further ado, I looked up at Fran. However, her gaze was directed forward.
Taking a step forward, Fran swung me downward, chopping the cobblestone into two
even halves. And she repeated it five times.

And that's all. Nothing fancy, a standard forward slash.

However, during this blow, I felt something like cold. Although I shouldn't have felt it,
being a sword, I felt like a chill ran down my spine.

I felt such goosebumps watching the ideal movements of a genius player in some
sports manga, when his comrades celebrate how perfectly he honed the basics.
Something like that. I don’t know if this can be called what I just felt.

I have mastered the Royal Sword Art. In a battle with a fighter of a higher level, I can
lose to him in combat experience, status numbers, in skills. But where I will definitely
prevail is in pure sword technique.

But seeing Fran's movements now, I realized that I would lose to her. It was painfully
obvious. Isn't the “Royal Sword Art” and the “Sacred Sword Art” that came before - not
the highest level?

Seeing Fran’s movements gave me exactly that impression. Until now, I had relied
entirely on my sword art, but now I felt like I couldn’t do anything.

Even though I own the Royal Art of Sword, the gap between us was clearly felt. If I were
a normal swordsman, I would have no idea how you can strike so quickly and
accurately. But, I… we knew that.

Something sleeping inside Fran helped her make this simple but ingenious blow. It
also pointed the way on the harsh path of the God of Swords, on the path of endless
training and endless improvement of sword techniques.

After Fran scattered "Becoming the God of Swords" and the Divine element was
removed, I could feel the old Fran again.

Without a word, Fran stood stunned in one place. Her breathing was ragged, and she
looked at me in her hand, not even paying attention to the cobblestones that were cut
so smoothly, as if they were made of butter, and cut them with a hot knife.

- What… Now it was…

“I don’t know,” I said.

Those exciting seconds now seemed like a dream. But judging by our general surprise
and fatigue, these few seconds actually happened.

This is what self-empowerment is along with weapon empowerment. In words, this

skill sounds simple. But the actual degree of amplification is truly extraordinary.
Without strengthening her body, and surpassing even the "Royal" swordsmanship,
without any skills, she cut these cobblestones.

- Is this skill a gift from the God of Swords? Incredible.

- Uh-huh…

Is this a strong skill? Undoubtedly. But we didn't feel a drop of joy. Only one regret. I
even felt ashamed that I had thought so much about my possession of the sword.

- We will train more.

- Uh-huh!

Suddenly I understood. Could it be that the skill "Transformation into the God of
Swords" is designed to teach a lesson to those who are too proud to receive "Royal
Sword Mastery" and to show the difference between them and God himself?
It has been some time since we experienced Becoming the God of Swords. Although it
was already nightfall, Prime Minister Raymond met us on our way to the castle.

We, having not yet recovered from the shock of the test of "Transformation into the
God of Swords," little by little began to regain our former fighting spirit. Especially
Fran, whose mood, in general, easily changed from depressed to full of enthusiasm.

- We need to train even more! she declared solemnly.

True, from this phrase, the morale was more likely to decrease even more than to
increase. This surprised Raymond a little.

- Something happened?

- M?

- Oh, okay. It's good if everything is in order. In fact, I have a request for you, Princess
of Black Lightning.

- Request?

- Yes. Regarding the thank you banquet tonight.

True, if you think about it, the celebration of victory will not be limited to a simple
party. Since the King of Beasts himself is returning, it is necessary to prepare for this
appropriately.

It seems that the generals, having disbanded the troops that previously held the
defenses on the border with the Bashar kingdom, are already on their way to the
capital. To celebrate their triumph, the palace was about to organize a simple banquet.

Although I doubted whether disbanding the troops was the right decision, it turned
out that fresh troops had already been sent to the border of the Bashar kingdom so as
not to stop the pressure. That's what matters, then.

- Well, what about the banquet?

Are we offered to join? But this does not sound like a request. Are we being asked to
ensure the food ingredients are safe?

Seeing Fran's questioning expression, Raymond hastened to clarify the situation.

Moreover, he really said that he wanted to invite Fran to the banquet.

- No, the point is that there is a very specific reason for this.

- Which one?

- You are undoubtedly invited to a banquet, but this does not mean that you can come
there just like that.

- What does it mean?

- This appearance is no good, you are required to attend the banquet properly dressed.
That is, in a dress.

- Dress? What for?

“Well, frankly speaking, this is for Lady Nimei.

Raymond finally told Fran the true nature of the request. Apparently, he wants Nimea
to be at the banquet in a dress. However, even after promising to attend the banquet
as the representative of the Beast King, she still stubbornly refused to wear a dress.

She probably wanted to thank the generals not as a princess, but as an adventurer, as
a warrior.

So that's Fran's way out.

“Maybe if her friend, the Princess of the Black Lightning, comes in a dress, then Her
Highness will also grant it.

Clear. Undoubtedly, Mea is always happy when she finds common features between
herself and Fran, including her preferences in fashion. Probably, she will not refuse to
go in a dress with Fran.

- Okay, how do you imagine it? Of course it's not free.

Raymond offered what seemed reasonable to us. In addition, this event was not overly
formal, and more should have resembled the drinking bout of a group of generals. That
is, you don't really need to worry about manners. Moreover, you can eat as much as
you like.

- Yeah. I realized.

- Agree? On a dress?

- Nothing wrong.

Fran quickly agreed, however. Probably tempted by free food. So Fran doesn't pay
much attention to clothes. Therefore, she does not have both her favorite clothes and
the hated clothes. What rags, what dress - all the same.

Although she would undoubtedly choose comfortable clothes that are easier to move
in. But, for the opportunity to eat up to the dump, just wearing an uncomfortable dress
a little seemed to her a small price. And yet, isn't it forbidden to take weapons with
you? If I'm around, then certainly there shouldn't be any problems.

- So you are willing to come as I ask?

- Yeah.

- Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

True, we do not have a dress… But it seems that he understood this even before we
had time to say it out loud. So he offered to lend us the dress that Mea wore a few years
ago.

“Looks like a tailor won't be needed, it looks just right in size.

Raymond muttered, examining Fran's chest and ass as if nothing had happened.
Although Mea is slightly taller than Fran in stature, the rest of the dimensions are
practically the same. After yesterday's episode in the baths, I'm sure of that.
Frankly, they are both punt. I even feel a little sorry for them when they stand next to
such a sex bomb as Quina.

So, wait, what am I talking about, Mea is still 15. Maybe there is still hope? Probably
should be?

- Mea, live and be strong…

- M?

- Oh, nothing, nothing. Anyway, can you try on a dress?

So Mia helped Fran get dressed in Mea's old dress. And she was just shivering to the
face.

- What a cute…

It is something! That's what I understand, my Fran! This beautiful, blue and white
dress went incredibly well for her! While her regular Lolita armor dress was cute too,
this classic floor-length dress looked good too! Like a real princess!

She wore a cute tiara on her head, and her hair was pulled back in a high bun. Sexy
from all sides! Her usual hairstyle is of course cute too.

In addition, she received a discreet makeup. I thought that it would not suit her, but he
was surprisingly not conspicuous. It seems that special persistent cosmetics and semi-
beast perfume were used.

Even while eating, your makeup shouldn't be damaged. Half-beasts are much less
restrained than humans, so that some kind of makeup is never between them and
food. The girl in charge of makeup, from somewhere in a smooth motion, took out
sweets and meat.

- A little awkward to move.

- Well, it's a dress. But it suits you, right? - I said.

- Truth?

So, we must not miss the opportunity to compliment her. It seems that my interest in
girls is gradually returning.

- No, I would say to the spitting image of Snow White.

- Snow White?

- Yes. A famous princess from my world. The evil witch poisoned her with a poisoned
apple.

- And she didn't even figure out that it was poisoned?

- No, in my world few people can identify poison by smell, except perhaps the most
talented.

Maybe a specially trained person can understand.

- From the poison she fell into a long sleep, from which, fortunately, she was awakened
by the kiss of the prince.

- A kiss that cures poison? Is it such a special skill?

And really, if you think about it, why did the prince's kiss awaken her? I have read this
book for a long time. In addition, the original piece was an order of magnitude darker.
Yes, exactly, like on TV I saw how the original was taken apart. I can't remember all the
details, but it seems like the prince turned out to be some kind of pervert who is
turned on by corpses.

- Yes. I don't fully understand it either.

- Hmm.

It would be better to tell about Cinderella. Although no, maybe there is also some
gloomy original.
When we came to the thanksgiving evening, it exceeded our expectations. I mean, at
one point, I even thought Raymond's words about it being like a banquet were just a
ruse to make it easier to lure Fran.

- So it really turned out to be a banquet… - I said.

Fran left my words without comment.

And there was a good reason for that, she for both cheeks absorbed all the variety of
dishes that rose in front of her. Although stop, I must say about who was present here
besides Fran.

These were the guests of honor, the royal family, and the heads of the clans. Fran,
introducing herself to the guests, immediately attracted an avalanche of compliments
about her beauty.

After that, they did not hesitate to talk to Mea and Fran, showing off their feats of arms.

Well, there's nothing to be done, youth. And a beautiful outfit was still not only for
Fran, but also for Mea. Contrasting with Fran's blue and white dress a la Snow White,
Mea's dress was white and red.

Its design was quite bold, with bare shoulders. Considering Mea's childish figure, her
appearance was not sexy, but her sweetness more than made up for this shortcoming.

By the way, at that moment I was in the form of a golden choker around Fran's neck.
Although I thought it would bring back bad memories of the slave collar, she didn’t
really want to make any drama out of it. So the choker shape turned out to be a simple
and successful solution for me.

Although it was not forbidden to bring weapons, and I could not invent anything, but
I could not allow Fran to destroy her cute image by carrying me on her back. I wonder
if I look sophisticated enough? Additionally, I decorated myself with small gold rings.
Since being on the neck, I could immediately close with a barrier both the head and
the heart of Fran, the choice of this form really turned out to be very competent.
Thanks to the work that Aristea had done on me, I was now able to sustain the
transformation for much longer. If it doesn’t come to battles, then I’m probably enough
for a few hours or something. If the party is really small, then I will stay in choker
shape until the very end.

Although the eyes of many of the young guys were still fixed on Fran and Mea, almost
all of them left after a short conversation. And the reason is simple - realizing that their
interlocutor is stronger, and even evolved, everyone tried to disperse as soon as
possible. Love is love, and lunch is on schedule.

Although I could usually understand this from afar, it seems that none of the young
people dared to approach us with obscene intentions. The senior officers watched
them all, smiling. Perhaps they were amused to look at the troubles of the young.

When the conversations ended, the tables began to fill with a variety of dishes. All of
these dishes were truly sumptuous.

And then Fran was in the spotlight. It might sound a little rude, but everyone thought
Fran was an uncouth adventurer. But, meanwhile, she showed excellent manners.
Although she could be respected, at least for her strength, no one could ever imagine
that she was capable of such a thing.

Even Mea was surprised. Although she was taught court etiquette from an early age,
even she thought that Fran hardly knew anything about it.

- Fran, this is amazing!

- Yes. Perhaps even prettier than the young lady.

- M, yeah…

Apparently, Mea could eat without breaking any rules of etiquette.

- You can't lose to her.

- Hmm, you're right…

Mea nodded in agreement at Queen's words. Of course, it was a shock for her that she
could lose in the etiquette of Fran, who, firstly, is younger than her, and secondly -
whatever you look at, simple and uncouth. I felt that Quina was looking at Fran with
admiration.

The rest of the half-beasts were also amazed. Of course, in the Land of Half-Beasts,
strong heroes are loved, so they did not look down on her before. But when Fran, in a
cute dress, began to demonstrate excellent manners, not inferior even to Mea, they
definitely began to look at her in a completely different way.

Considering that she was also a heroic person, the admiration with which she was
looked at would have envied even the idol singers from my native Japan. Hey, old man,
why did you blush like that?! And you, kid, you are not looking at her well!

Well, what to do, Fran is too charming now. They can't help themselves but admire her.
After all, to become Fran's partner, you have to be strong enough to be able to support
her.

In my opinion, among all those present, only three fell under this description.
Everyone else didn't have a chance.

The first is old General Barberam. It looks like he was one of the commanders during
the defense. He was from one of the ten founding clans, the Purple Wind Elephant clan.
His height exceeded 3 meters, I even at first took him for a representative of the giant
race or something like that. In addition, this growth was complemented by his
excellent commanding skills, and he was known as a hero warlord who had seen many
battles.

And though now he looks like a gentle, smiling grandfather, in his youth he was a stern
warrior known as the "Lord of Destruction."

Perhaps this would correspond to an "A" rank of an adventurer. At least stronger than
Gododarf. Given all this, it's hard to believe that age has weakened him in any way.
Although, of course, his physical strength is probably not at the same level as before,
but he undoubtedly stands at the head of one of the strongest military forces in the
country.

The next strongest was Ligdarf of the White Rhinoceros. He bears the title of the head
of the clan. Since he is Gwendarf's father, this meant that he was the younger brother
of Gododarf, our opponent in the Martial Arts Tournament.
Does this mean that after Gododarf left his place as head of the family for the service
of the King of the Beasts, Ligdarf immediately took his place? It was hard to believe
that he was as strong.

Although he was inferior to Gododarf in terms of physical strength, he possessed level

5 wind magic, and his magical energy and stamina were also quite high. Did Ligdarf
act wiser by choosing diversified development? After all, the Genus of the White Rhino
is obviously famous for its power, and, probably, would have respected someone
strong and hardy more.

Naturally, he has evolved. In addition, as a weapon, he wore not a huge ax, like
Gododarf, but a hexagonal two-handed mace. He was a big man with not frail muscles
and a height of more than two meters, and his club was taller than the average person.
Probably, on the battlefield, his figure swinging such a mace should not have a feeble
influence on enemies.

But I didn't know what he would think when he found out that Fran had defeated his
older brother. Although I think, since Gwendarf knows about it, then Ligdarf could not
help but find out about it… This man remained as calm as Quina, and there was no
emotion on his face. Even after meeting him, I still did not understand whether he had
sympathy or antipathy towards us.

Finally, our favorite is a man named Lucias Lawrence. The one who bore the name
"Lawrence". He did not have many similarities with Linford, outwardly he was a very
handsome man.

Given his high level of mastery of earth magic, he was undoubtedly a highly skilled
magician. This fact is confirmed by the fact that he is a court magician.

Among his titles, I did not find a single "villainous", and among his skills there was not
one associated with evil. As Mea said, he seems to be a really good person.

When we met him, we didn’t have to guess what he thought about us. On the contrary,
he was very polite and courteous, it was clear that he had sympathy for us. Okay, don't
raise Fran, please!

As soon as Fran took part in the conversation between Mea and Lucias, the other men
quickly went about their business.

But the quiet atmosphere lasted only until new dishes for the banquet were brought.
From that moment on, the party turned into a battlefield. Bosses, subordinates, young
and old alike began to hunt, fiercely fighting for the right to eat.

And if the first to be served full-fledged dishes with metered portions, then as an
addition, they brought huge plates of dishes so that everyone was surely full. At least
it seemed to me that this was the case. Or will they continue to bring food until the
next banquet? In general, in the best traditions of half-beasts, all of them, without
hesitation, simultaneously pounced on food.

And Fran and Mea came out victorious here. Pushing the hefty men in different
directions, they broke into the very first row, collected freshly brought food, and
carried them back to their places. Unable to offend little girls, hefty men could only
leave the table in tears, seeing their favorite dishes disappear out of sight.

So where did we start… Yes, Fran ate food by both cheeks.

- What is delicious? I asked.

- Uh-huh!

Just please don't stain your dress!

After this "competition of eaters" ended, Fran again called Prime Minister Raymond
to him. He stood between two tables that were larger than the rest. There was a very
serious atmosphere in the air.

- Thank you for participating in the thanksgiving evening.

- Yeah.

“Thanks to you, even Lady Nemea has grown in the eyes of her subjects.

Looks like Raymond has achieved his goal. Apparently, he really wanted to make Mea
look like a real princess in public, in order to improve her public image.

Although combat power has always earned respect in the Land of Half-Beasts, in
Raymond's opinion, it will be easier to appeal to the feeling of beautiful subjects.

- But it seems that now they love you even more… In any case, my duty has been
fulfilled.

Fran didn't really try. Maybe she's just too cute by nature?

“In addition, I would like to reiterate my gratitude to you for the support you have
given us in this war. Thank you.

- Come on. I could not do otherwise.

- Haha. I only convey the words of His Majesty.

"The King of Beasts himself?"

- Not so long ago a letter fell into my hands. In it, His Majesty asked us not to let you
go without a reward.
- Awards?

- Yes, as a war hero, it is unacceptable to leave you without a reward.

Is that really true? And this is despite the fact that Fran did not enter the battle at
someone's request, but of her own free will. We had no reward in our thoughts. But
since the name of the heroine who saved the whole country has already spread
everywhere, apparently, it would be bad form to confine herself to only words of
gratitude.

Oh, again I understand everything through the prism of my life on Earth. In the light
novel about reincarnations, it often happened that the protagonist, who showed
himself well, received a title of nobility for his efforts.

Of course, I would not mind if Fran gets the title, but something tells me that she
herself is not going to become a noblewoman. There is little sense even from land
holdings - she is not able to manage them. And even being an aristocrat, it is difficult
to continue pursuing the craft of an adventurer.

- In our opinion, for invaluable assistance in the war, you should be entitled to the title
of Baroness and hand over land holdings.

Yes, yes, I knew it! Things are bad, even if it's not what we want, rejection will surely
ruin our relationship.

But when my thought processes began to search with might and main for a way out of
this difficult situation, I heard something that I had never expected.

“But in a letter from His Majesty it was said that you probably would not be happy
with any title. So he ordered us to refuse such offers.

Whoa! Well done, king!

- Yeah. I do not need him.

- You are not even attracted by the opportunity to welcome your land to the people of
the Black Cat?

- Come on. The lord of Gringord said he would take good care of them. I cannot become
a noblewoman, my high status will cause inconvenience to everyone around me.
Therefore, I don't need a title.

- That's how, clear, clear.

Oh, how easily she parried it, I would also say something like that. Oh, how glad I am
to see Fran growing up and growing above himself.

- Well, then let us tell you about your award… Gvisa, I entrust it to you.

- Yes, with pleasure.

There and then a certain half-beast-dog appeared that had previously been waiting in
the wings behind Raymond. Judging by the fact that Raymond pushed his chair to the
side so he could sit down, one could guess about his significant position.

- I'm the finance minister, Gvisa.

Wow, even bigger than I thought! Yes, it looks serious. And it doesn't seem like he was
accommodating. His face gave the impression of a wise, but completely unfriendly
person. Interestingly, at least sometimes his facial expression changes? What's he
going to tell us anyway?

- To begin with, I want to capture the points of view of both sides.

- Points of view?

- Yes. So, Mrs. Fran. In this war, you, having received neither an order from the
leadership of our country, nor instructions from the leadership of the guild, entered
the battle as a volunteer. Am I missing anything?

- Yeah.

- In this case, you are entitled to the same payment as any other volunteer, in
accordance with the charter.

It seems that the Land of Half-Beasts has adopted a reward system for volunteers
during wartime. So Fran's law is entitled to the same remuneration as any other local
volunteer.

By the way, what do they do with those who helped without engaging in battle? Let us
also fought with demonic beasts, but, for example, what about traveling healers who
took care of the wounded on sleepless nights? Or merchants who provided free
material support? They all contributed to the victory.

In addition, despite the fact that the princess herself witnessed this, their contribution
to the victory is still not taken into account. Of course, no one forbade Fran to do what
she did, but a lot of mercenaries and adventurers were on the defensive in strategically
less important places, and they are unlikely to react with understanding to her
initiative. Unhappy, they spread rumors that Fran's role in the war was deliberately
exaggerated.

That is, if you thank Fran in a special way, it is unlikely that the other volunteers will
accept it calmly. Or you will have to deal with the reward for each volunteer separately.

I mean, many of them worked hard for the victory, who would refuse a decent payoff?

- Yeah. I don't need special treatment.

Fran nodded back. Of course, we did not fight for the award from the very beginning,
and as a result of the battles we have already received a lot of useful things. I think
that we should not be judged on a par with those who really worked seriously to win.

Well, since we would not like to quarrel with the country, it is not worth giving up a
small reward. While I was pondering this subject, Raymond continued his speech in
an impatient tone.

- With all this, our country cannot neglect your merits. I hope you understand this.

It seemed that he had no patience anymore and wanted Fran to finally agree.

- Here's how. But, if we reduce Fran's achievements to the level of the rest, then we
will no longer wait for volunteers.

They seem to realize that Fran's achievement stands out sharply from the rest. But
due to laws and other circumstances, it seems that they could not deal with her in any
special way.

- In general, there is a proposal. Fortunately, you have accompanied Lady Nimea all
this time. So why don't we arrange everything so that you, on the orders of Lady
Nimea, were holding back an entire army of Demon Beasts?
- In terms of?

Seeing the bewilderment on Fran's face, Gvisa explained what he meant.

- I'll explain. Firstly, if you accept this offer, then your achievement will partly become
the achievement of Lady Nemea, this is his only drawback. Secondly, for our country,
this option would be better in the context of foreign policy. That is, we will be able to
introduce entry restrictions for countries hostile to us. At this point, you can no longer
worry so much about the kingdom of Bashar.

- I realized.

- The advantage for you is that your feat, having become widespread, has the potential
to have a positive effect on the status of the entire genus of the Black Cat.

This means that if Fran's feat is elevated to heroic proportions, it will simultaneously
become the feat of Mea, who has been there all this time. Also, if the genus of the Black
Cat spreads the story of Fran's feat throughout the country, then the attitude towards
the genus of the Black Cat will improve.

“Plus, given that we're going to frame this as a special order from the princess, the rest
of the volunteers shouldn't feel hurt. So we can reward you as we see fit.

Here it is. Indeed, if it was Nimea's order, then it might be a good excuse for a special
reward. Probably, then the salvation of a member of the royal family can be added to
the list of feats.

Although Fran fought for her fellow Black Cat comrades, the fact that she did it on
Nimea's orders doesn't give her much trouble. On the contrary, now Fran's feat has
spread to the scale of the country, and in the end it will benefit both Fran and the Black
Cat family.

- Teacher? Fran turned to me.

- So, what should we do… - I thought.

It probably depends on what the award is. Well, no matter what we choose, we ought
to find out what they have prepared for us, and for us.
- So what if I accept your offer?

“In that case, we will award you with the gold medal of the animal claw.

- A medal?

- Yes. The Gold Medal of the Animal Claw is awarded to those who have accomplished
particularly significant feats for the state. Medal of the highest rank. But for her feat,
Mrs. Kiara received the same medal posthumously. If Fran receives this medal, she will
become its first living owner in 300 years.

This award is more impressive than I thought. Apparently, the presentation of the medal
to Kiara is similar to the presentation of posthumous medals to heroic personalities
on Earth. Is it too stressful?

- This medal is not only a sign of honor in the country. The awarded will also be
entitled to a certain amount. There is no upper limit for this award, so we can reward
Ms. Fran as it should be.

It seems that since the time when this medal appeared, the exchange rate has changed
more than once, and therefore the exact amount of the award has not been established.

- This time we have planned a reward of 10,000,000 gold.

- Yeah. Got it.

Stop, stop, stop, stop! Hey Fran? Have you listened to everything? That's 10 million!
By earthly standards, that's over one hundred million yen! Maybe even now you will
show at least a little emotion?

- Fran! He said "10 million"! I shouted.

- Yeah.
Hmm, incurable coldness. Now I feel like a fool to rejoice so much in the reward. Or
are you helping me to understand my own shortcomings in this way? Eh, Fran. I would
like you to remain the same pure and naive forever.

- Can you buy a whole grocery store for this? Fran asked me.

- A grocery store is definitely possible!

- Mmm, food aaa.

It is clear, she simply did not understand how large this amount is. Only one question
remained - maybe I shouldn't have told her this?

- I did not expect anything less. And she didn't raise an eyebrow when she heard such
a sum…

You're wrong, she just cares exclusively about battles and food.

“Also, if possible, I would like some of my money to be given to help the people of the
Black Cat.

- Hmm? That's it… As His Majesty said, you are truly a selfless person.

Gvisa thought for a moment.

- Okay, let's figure it out.

- Yeah.

- Although I see that you are not against the medal, in fact, you have another choice.

- In terms of?

“The proposal I was talking about would be for the good of my country and Mrs.
Nemea. Of course, you, Mrs. Fran, also do not remain empty-handed. But there is one
organization besides my country that could offer you an award.

- Organization?

- Adventurer's Guild.
What we didn’t expect to hear from Gvisa was this. But we didn’t receive any
instructions from them related to the war, and indeed, does the guild interfere in wars?
I thought that their position was not to support any side, not to take part in the
country's defense, and even more so not to issue any awards…

- During this war, the guild did not achieve much. Although they themselves took part
in hostilities as adventurers, but only in the role of ordinary volunteers. Without a
doubt, in the event that their city was attacked, they would have helped in the defense
and evacuation, but this, in fact, is the duty of all residents of the city.

The guild is a neutral organization, so there is nothing to do. Speaking of the lack of
guild achievements, Raymond and Gvisa did not change their faces at all. So it was
clear that this behavior of the guild seemed natural to them.

“However, at the same time, the top leadership of the guild was concerned about the
current situation.

- Concerned?

- The way the kingdom of Bashar took control of many demonic beasts from the
dungeon. After all, dungeons and demonic beasts are run by the Adventurer's Guild.

- Although the country is in second place for them, since no responsibility has been
established for the guild before it, the guild reserves the right to act at its own discretion.

Hmm, that's what it is about. Still, this war was fought not only against people, from
the north, hordes of animals from the dungeon invaded us like a tornado. No wonder
the Adventurer's Guild has gone into action.

- It is not a fact that in the future the history of this passage will remain firmly in the
people's memory. In this case, the guild will not be interesting to anyone. We, as the
country's leadership, have no complaints about the adventurers taking part in this
war. But the guild would probably like to eliminate unpleasant rumors in the future
while improving their public image.

Yes, the guild took not the worst position in this war, but it realizes that better
decisions could have been made. And then it turns out that Fran, who became famous
as a hero, is an adventurer. If the directions for Fran's actions came from them, then
they could take a piece of this glory.
“But the war is over, and all the demonic beasts are driven back. Now the guild has no
tools left to influence the situation.

“Only Fran can lend a helping hand to the guild.

- In terms of?

Fran made a questioning expression in response to Gwisa's words.

- Yes. Well, the situation is almost the same as with our country's proposal. Only we
asked to arrange everything as if Princess Nimea had issued a special order to fight
the beasts, and in the case of the guild, it would be a special instruction from the guild.

So furnish it as a guild directive.

- The disadvantage of such a choice, first of all, is that the country would receive a
much greater reward. And since the princess has nothing to do with it, you can also
forget about the medal. In addition, the cash reward from the guild will be
approximately 5 million gold. That is, even the monetary reward is much less.

We're talking about serious money here. It is not known what it will be like to
negotiate with the guild. And even if everything goes smoothly, the disadvantage is a
much smaller reward. Besides, rejecting an entire state’s proposal will leave a bad
impression.

- The advantage is that you get prospects to raise your rank, and improve your position
in the guild. Sharing the glory of saving an entire country with an Adventurer's Guild
is serious business. It will definitely pull up to rank B.

Here it is. Although we suffer financial losses, it is not often that there is an opportunity
to raise the rank. Considering that the check becomes stricter with each rank, having
risen from rank "C" to "B", we have the opportunity to jump over most adventurers
and stand out from the crowd.

Moreover, we will get the favor of the guild. Since Fran is an adventurer, it can be said
to be worth more than any money.

- We, as representatives of the country, give you a choice.

- Think hard.
As Raymond and Gvisa spoke these words, they were smiling. I think, as
representatives of the country, they would like us to choose a medal, right? It seems
that they are completely benevolent towards Fran, but still they are officials in the
service of their country, what are the limits of their benevolence? No, that's not the
point.

Maybe their politeness is just trying to get Fran to their side.

And all these explanations of the advantages and disadvantages were needed only to
establish a connection with the interlocutor. Moreover, they offered an option that is
not beneficial for themselves. Apparently, in this way Fran should feel a kinship with
the country of the Half-Beasts. In addition, since the proposal was made not by
someone, but by such a noble aristocrat as Gvisa, it is more difficult to reject him.
Apparently, they decided that if he were an ordinary employee, Fran would not get the
impression that the offer was better not rejected. Well thought out.

- Mentor?

“Fran, whatever you choose, I'll take it all.

- Good. I realized.

Well, it doesn't look like anyone was trying to trick us. On the contrary, there were
normal negotiations. All options have their advantages. It would be better for me to
trust what Fran herself desires.

- Since the decision is serious, I give you a night to think.

- Tomorrow morning you can report your decision…

- No. Everything is fine. I choose a medal.

- Hmm? Are you sure?

Fran answered immediately. I myself did not expect. Actually, I thought she would
choose the guild. Since she is definitely not of the character to desire a medal, it was
easy to think that she would choose a promotion.

- The medal will be better. Like Kiara.

- Received. We will begin preparations immediately.

- Yeah.

What is the reason for this choice? So I thought they were just waiting all this time to
present the medal to Fran.

- Well, let's try to contact the guild.

Of course, they seem to have already spoken to the guild. Thus, both proposals could
be submitted. Since Gwisa was also tasked with handing over the guild proposal and
negotiation, the Land of the Half-Beasts was definitely favored.

- Mrs. Fran, I heard that in battle you got a certain amount of trophies from demonic
beasts, would you like to sell them in the guild?

- But I have no time.

It's already night, and tomorrow I have to hit the road. I think that even to just sell
something, you have to go to another city. Although we have butchered many animals
in Aristea's mansion, there are still plenty of uncut ones.

“I think that since you turn down the guild's offer, it would be nice to do them a little
favor and sell the materials to them. You have nothing against selling them, do you?

- Yeah.

- Then I'll invite a man from the guild to the palace. I will also send cutters and
evaluators. You can use the training ground of the palace for cutting. For my part, I
promise to provide assistants. How about this?

I thought so, they were well prepared. Well, here it would be even indecent to refuse.
I don’t even know why they worked so hard. But, if they help us with cutting and
selling, we will only be grateful.

“Let's accept this offer,” I said to Fran.

- Yeah. Got it. It will be better this way.

- Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

After we parted with Raymond, a man called us over. We found him at a bar adjacent
to the officers' section of the palace, and took up questions.

- We need to talk a little.

- Hmm? With me? About what?

It was Lucias Lawrence. The earthmage is of the same lineage as the warlock Linford
Lawrence, whom we fought in Barubor.

Although there was no one besides Lucias, Ligdarf, and the bartender, it is not known
whether anyone else should have listened to our conversation. Noticing Fran's glance
across the two of them, Lucias hurried to explain.

“Mister Ligdarf, my comrade in arms. I don’t mind him hearing everything. The
bartender also keeps secrets like a true professional.

That is, we will talk like that. Well, since he doesn't mind, then we don't need to worry.

- Have you heard the name "Linford Lawrence"? Where did you hear it? Have you met
him?

- Yeah.

We knew about him, of course. Is he really his relative? In that case, you need to tell
him how Linford died.

But before Fran opened her mouth, Lucias dropped his head in silence.

- Excuse me.

- What?
- All the evil that this man brought to people cannot be justified. Tell me how did you
meet this villain?

We just mentioned the name, and he already reacted like this. It was clear that this
was a difficult subject for Lucias. It seemed that he felt such guilt that he could not
even raise his head.

“As his son, I am obliged to apologize for him.

Hmm? A son? So that's why there is such a difference in age between them. Is he
human? If Lucias is really Linford's son, then he should have had a child that way at
60. If he is not an elf or something like that, then it sounds strange…

Although no, this is completely impossible. And Fran, by the way, could not contain
her surprise either.

- Hey Fran. We didn't even think that he had children, maybe it's not worth talking like
that directly? I asked.

- No. We were the ones who killed Linford. Since he really is his son, we must tell you.

- I know that my apology is not enough…

Oh, I got it. He decided that since Fran couldn't say a word, it meant she was angry.

- No no. I was just surprised that you are his son.

- And that's it.

“Besides, I have to apologize too.

- Apologize?

- Yeah. Linford is killed.

Fran told everything without hiding the tension in her voice. About how his father
became our enemy. Fran talked about her fight with Linford, and then I supplemented
her story about how other adventurers helped in defeating him. Everything from start
to finish.
We didn't know how he would react. Although Lucias seemed to be ashamed of Linford
himself, he was still his father. I don't think he would have given it as an offense…

"So Linford is… dead?"

Lucias asked again, not hiding his shock at what he heard, which was completely
unsurprising.

- I… I am very sorry to you.

- No no! Nothing to apologize for! You protected Barubora. There is not one bit of a
bad thing in this!

- But…

- On the contrary! On the contrary… Apologize…

- M?

“I chased Linford for years to send him to his grave with my own hands.

It seems that Lucias, as a child from a warlock family, endured harassment for many
years for this reason. Therefore, over the years, his hatred of warlocks and evil spirits
only intensified. When he spoke of Linford, I saw on his face the deepest hatred for
him.

- I had to stop all that series of misfortunes that my father brought to people. But you
did it instead of me. I don’t have enough words to thank you…

Lucias saluted us by kneeling down on one knee and raising his right fist in front of
his face, placing it on the palm of his left hand. It looks like it was a gesture of the
utmost respect.

Of course, I couldn't resist using Deception Control just in case, but I didn't find a trace
of a lie. Both his hatred of Linford and his gratitude to Fran were true.

“Now my years of incessant worry have come to an end. Now I can visit my mother's
grave with good news.

Tears welled in his eyes, and Lucias, after thanking us several more times, went to his
private room with Ligdarf.

“I thank you for freeing my friend from his hardships.

- Yes, thank you.

It looks like he really endured a lot. It's good that we had the courage to tell you about
Linford. No, only Fran had the courage, not me.

After that, it was time to speak with the Adventurer's Guild Representative who has
completed all preparations for the sale of our trophies. We've put all the demonic
beasts the guild hoped to see on the training ground. Of course, it was impossible to
take out all of them, so we limited ourselves to selling about 150 copies.

Even the representative of the guild could not maintain a neutral expression from the
sight of many animal corpses neatly laid out on the site. Seeing the strongest monsters
killed with a single blow to the heart, and especially tough beasts with severely
crippled skin or scales, seemed to give him a good idea of Fran's strength. Still, there
were some very strong animals among them. However, given that people who
specialize in cutting and evaluating usually sag in terms of combat power, this was not
surprising.

- Well, let's finish this before the morning! Payment will also arrive at about the same
time!

- Yeah.

However, it didn't take long before this fear turned into awe. So half-beast and good -
that they respect strength. Undoubtedly, they see Fran as a real heroine.

- Let's go back to our room? - I said.

- Yeah.

Tomorrow morning we are heading to Graysier. If you don't go to bed now, Fran won't
wake up in time. Although in which case, I can carry it using telekinesis.

Oddly enough, this time I fell asleep myself surprisingly quickly.

- Fran! Iwaited for you!

- Mea, what happened?

In the room Fran was waiting for Mea, already dressed for bed. When it comes to that,
Mea wore a loose white nightgown. She was very, very good.

- And what happened? Nothing! This, here!

- M?

- But, here's the thing…

Nothing was clear from Mea's words. Although no, I understood what she wanted to
say.

- The Young Lady is trying to say that since this is the last night in the palace, she would
like to sleep with Fran.

- I wanted to say it myself!

Ah, that's it. Tied to Fran as always.

- That's exactly what I wanted to say, let's sleep together!

- Yeah. Good. But maybe then Urusi will be with us too?

- Urusi?

Urusi barked questioningly.

From behind Fran peeped out Urushi, apparently responding to his nickname. On his
face and without words it was possible to read: "Do you need something?" Judging by
his slightly haggard face, he was given plenty of food at the thanksgiving evening.

“He did a great job today, so we'll sleep together. Good?

- That's how it is. I'm not against. After all, Urusi and my comrade too!

- Won!

Urusi barked happily. It looks like his mood immediately improved.

So, on the last night in the Land of Half Beasts, Fran and Mea had their little
bachelorette party. True, their conversations boiled down to the topics of battles with
monsters, and the dangers they had to face during their adventures. But since they
have fun together, I don't mind.
On the morning of the last day in the Land of Half-Beasts, the medal ceremony took
place.

Although there was no splendor inherent in ceremonies, everything took place in just
one room of the palace. After reading Fran's merits to the few invited guests, the royal
family presented her with a medal. Probably, everything about everything took 30
minutes. The new medal winners will have to be publicly announced during the
triumphal parade.

In the blink of an eye, all the necessary people were gathered and all preparations
were made for the presentation of the medal.

It seems that in the Land of the Beasts, they initially refrain from especially lavish
ceremonies or meetings. So such simple and short ceremonies were not something
out of the ordinary. In general, none of those present was surprised that the ceremony
of awarding the highest medal in the country, the Gold Medal of the Animal Claw,
looked so modest.

Incidentally, of the officers present at the thanksgiving banquet, there were the
Barberam of the Elephant of the Purple Wind, Ligdarf, and Lucias. Although they
seemed to have drunk quite a bit of alcohol last night, so not all of them were on their
feet, but they all held up with dignity in terms of facial expressions. As expected of
seasoned veterans.

Among the officials, Prime Minister Raymond and Finance Minister Gvisa were
present. In addition, there were some of their subordinates. However, I do not know if
Lucias, the court magician, can be called an officer.

Although there were not many people present, since there was a general and a prime
minister among them, the people gathered here were surprisingly influential. In
addition, the medal was presented by Mea, a member of the royal family.

- Fran is from the Black Cat clan. Thank you for your work.
- Yeah.

- In order to glorify your feat, we reward you with the Gold Medal of the Animal Claw.
Accept her.

This is how the ceremony went - quickly, but solemnly. There were only two surprises.

First, Urusi also received a medal. It appears to have been a Familiar Special Merit
Medal given to the hero's pets.

- Urusi, thank you for your work.

- Won!

- Yeah. Suits you.

- Uuuf!

Urusi did not hide his delight when Mea hung the medal around his neck. Urusi did a
really good job. Then it will be necessary to reward him in his own way. Maybe make
him a particularly spicy curry like he likes? He usually eats the same as Fran, so I limit
the amount of spices. This time I'll make it so hot that Fran can't eat.

Once you can, in honor of the presentation of the medal. By the way, Fran has promised
to support the people of the Black Cat. Looks like he's going to visit them soon.

In addition to ensuring equality and living conditions in the country for the people of
the Black Cat, those who wish to start a military career will be awarded armor and
weapons by the state, and will also send mentors for them in martial arts. In addition,
Fran is entitled to an additional reward of 10 million gold. Yes, they did not stint on
the award.

At the end of the ceremony, we will have to hit the road. Yesterday we managed to
make some small purchases, and all the awards are now with us. All preparations for
departure have been made. We planned to leave the capital immediately after the end
of the ceremony.

Then, by nightfall, having arrived in the port city of Graysir, we will board the high-
speed ship on which His Majesty sailed.
Usually the journey takes about ten days, but we can take a more direct route.

Previously, we traveled to the capital using a horned carriage, but taking the path right
through the demonic barrier would only take us half a day.

“Let's say goodbye to Kiara and let's go,” I said.

- Yeah.

Finally, we spent a few minutes looking at the late Kiara. Without saying a word,
without even shedding tears, they just stood silently in front of her.

But as Fran left, her face was just more enthusiastic than before. I don't know why, but
it looks like Kiara influenced her so much.

- Well, that's all? I asked.

- Yeah. Everything is fine.

- Here's how.

- Come on, Teacher.

- Let's go!

At the exit from the room with Kiara's body, Fran was already waiting for Mea.

- Well, go!

- Yeah.

Looks like she saw Fran say goodbye to Kiara. But she said nothing more. With only a
slight smile, she ordered us to hit the road.

We headed outside the capital. I didn't want to leave the palace. And then there may
be a noise that a demonic beast has burst into the capital. So we decided to say
goodbye to everyone on the plain near the capital.

- What is Fran, going?

- Yeah.

- Great, go ahead, Linda!

- Guoooooooo!

This time we skated not on Urusi, but on Linda. Linda's speed, of course, is second to
none. Quina was on duty this time, so only Fran and Mea were flying on Linda.
Therefore, the speed was even higher.

- Guooooooon!

- Wow! How fast! - I was surprised.

- Uh-huh! Amazing.

With each flap of her wings, Linda picked up more and more speed. Even Fran,
accustomed to riding the Urusi, could not contain her amazement as she flew in the
sky. Although I myself flew at higher speeds, I never sat in the scabbard on Fran's back.

- Ha ha ha! Linda is not capable of that! Hey Linda! Show them!

- Guoooo!

It wasn't fast yet?! In the next moment, Linda's entire body shone with a red light, and
his speed began to skyrocket. Looking back, I saw that he had a trail of fire. He used
the same ability in combat. It was like the Jet Shot from the school of fire magic.

Acceleration was not instantaneous, and although this ability was used to gradually
gain speed, the end result was even faster than Rocket Shot.

This appears to be a unique skill related to flame control. One should also get skills in
flame control. Even though I'm not that good at controlling flames, I think a skill from
the same branch should be found.

In addition, with the skill of air flow control, he significantly reduced the air pressure.
It’s not that I didn’t feel the wind at all, it could only be weak, like from a fan.
Considering that we are flying high in the sky, you can ignore it.

- Look over there. A whole group of turtle kings.

- Oooh…

In the place where Mea pointed, a whole group of turtles swam in the lake, resembling
a small mountain from afar. First time I see turtles with a tree growing on their backs!
A very colorful landscape.

- Look down. The famous all over the country Jade Lake.

- Beautyaa.

Now a lake appeared, the surface of which shimmered with the colors of jade. It seems
that since its bottom is completely covered with stones of this color, the play of light
on the surface caused such an effect.

Mea never tired of showing and telling us about each curiosity, one after another. Just
like a real guide. Fran loved it too.

- Look! Now the fog will clear and the border mountain range will be visible!

- Oooh… Awesome.

- High…

In the place where Mea was pointing, a huge gray mountain range appeared. Although
he should have been very far away, this only added to his amazing majesty. It seemed
as if he was propping up thick clouds, which ultimately looked like a huge veil covering
the ground.

This ridge was even higher than Everest. You will not see this on Earth.

- And we were at its foot… - I said.

- Yeah.

Fran looked into the distance, at this ridge. It looks like she's been flooded with
different memories. Both good and bad - there were many.

- By the way, Fran.

- Yes?
- Will you come back to us?

The right question. Of course, Fran has different memories of this country, and good
ones are not in the majority. But, in recent days we managed to get so many good
impressions.

- Of course.

- True?

- Yeah. After all, you live here, Mea.

Still, Fran never stops thinking positively. Although she has many bad memories and
very few good ones, she has a dear friend here.

Even though Kiara died in this country, and we ourselves almost said goodbye to life,
while her friend Mea is here, no barriers will stop Fran to meet her again.

- I will definitely, I will definitely come.

- Yes I will wait.

Our celestial excursion on horseback on Linda came to an end when we finally arrived
at the port city of Graysir.

There was a large shi p in the harbor, and there was a noticeable lively action around
it.

“Looks like the Beast King has already arrived at port,” I said.

- Yeah.

The air was simply saturated with the sense of his presence. One could understand
this without even seeing him personally. Continuing further into Graysir, we saw the
Beast King talking to his subordinates in the harbor.

Suddenly we noticed someone approaching us.

- Hey! So you and Fran-chan, you stupid daughter!

“We haven't seen you for a long time, Father. Or should I say "Your foolishness."

- Ha ha ha ha! That Mea got stronger while I was gone?

- Haha. I am growing by leaps and bounds.

Between the King of Beasts and Mea, there was no particular atmosphere of father
and daughter, but they seem to get along. Since His Majesty was heartily happy about
Mea's successes, his rude words did not particularly affect her.

- Hmm…

After a short conversation with Mea, the King turned his attention to Fran. He slowly
examined her from head to toe, as if assessing.

Nobody expected his next action. Taking the spear from his back, he made a downward
blow at lightning speed.

At the moment when I thought that the spear would cut Fran's head in two, she barely
had time to dodge the blow. In fact, we can say that she was in the balance of death.
From the pressure of the air, her bangs flew up, and her clothes fluttered like in the
wind.

But Fran didn't end there. Dodging the blow, Fran grabbed me and counterattacked.
The king barely had time to place the spear so as to block her slashing blow.

There was a loud sound of metal hitting metal.

My blade stopped a few millimeters from the Beast King's neck.

They were perfectly honed attacks, I even felt their desire to fight to the last. Although
neither Fran nor the King used the arts of sword or spear, there was something in their
movements, gaze, and maneuvers that made them feel serious. Probably, if such an
attack were directed at Mea, then she would definitely lose her balance. So strongly in
this attack a certain bloodlust was felt.

A powerful blow from one weapon to another responded with a shrill sound.

In the next moment, both opponents bounced off each other, and at the same time
removed the weapon in place.

- This time I dodged, then.

- And you too.

Neither Fran nor the King showed any anger or confusion. Now it became clear that
this exchange of blows was nothing more than a test.

Yes, an ordinary person would not have survived this, these were first-class blows. It
would be impossible to defend against such attacks without possessing the weapon
art of the "Lord" (King) level. That is, they made sure that both are at the same level of
weapon proficiency.
- What are you doing?!

Mea, not understanding the situation, looked at the two of them with a shocked
expression on her face. Yes, Mea, apparently, did not understand the essence of this
exchange of blows. Even for her, with the sacred art of the sword, good intuition, and
powerful skills, from the outside it must have seemed as if her father and Fran wanted
to kill each other. This, in general, serves as a confirmation that Mea has not yet
reached such heights of skill.

- Ha ha ha ha! What are you, we just said hello! Right?

- Yeah.

- Say hello? Just? But… What would you have done if she hadn't had time?

- Yes, everything is all right! As a last resort, I would just stop.

- M?

- Hey, hey, I'm completely serious.

- Since he owns the royal art of the spear, then you can be completely calm.

- So this is how it is…

It looks like he was planning on stopping the spear at the last moment if Fran hadn't
had time to dodge. Maybe he would have stopped, but he certainly would have
inflicted serious injury.

“In any case, does it mean you really acquired the Art of the Lord of the Sword?
Moreover… Transformation into the Lord of the sword.

- How do you know?

- Haha. Maybe you, young lady, are good at hiding your presence, but you are
completely incapable of hiding your strength.

- Hide your power?

- Yes. Along with the ability to sense the presence of someone, there is also the power
to read the level of power. In your case, I was convinced of this very accurately.

- Yeah.

- For example, when I first met you, face to face, you seemed to me very defenseless.
After all, a warrior like you, even trusting me, would weaken your defense? Of course
not. And it's easy to answer why. Even in this state, you would like to feel at least
partially safe. Before I gave in to you. You should already know what I'm really capable
of. And all this, together with how you keep your distance, means only one thing. That
you still received the power with which you can avoid my spear. That is, nothing more
than the Art of the Lord of the Sword. And for sure I was convinced of this after the
greeting. So she became the Master of the Sword?

Wow, he sees right through us. As expected of the Beast King.

- Well, whether you are the Master of the Sword or not, you probably haven’t met a
person of a similar level yet… You do not understand what an important role
information plays in battle?

- Yeah. I see.

- So what is the conversation between two owners of professions of the royal rank…

Mea, looking at her father and Fran, was now in awe. She apparently could not even
fully understand the meaning of their words.

- And what should you do to seem weak?

- Everything is easy. You have to be more vigilant about the environment. But strength
can only be hidden to a certain extent.

Here it is. The strong always looks relaxed, because he has nothing to fear. This means
that someone who wants to appear weak should show concern and alertness.

“So the one who looks down on others and hopes for an easy victory is stupid. A
cautious adversary may be stronger than it seems. I hope I put it right.

- Yeah.

- However, there are still many nuances. This is just the quickest and easiest way to
appear weak. Only on weaklings will it work. But never on me! Maybe only if Fran-
chan dresses even prettier.

I'm sorry, but no. But it's good that we now understand that there are many different
ways to hide your true strength.

- Thank you.

- So, and I never returned the debt to you!

- Debt?

- What, you really don't understand? I’m not someone there, but the king of the
country you saved. In general, you have to kneel in front of me.

- So, old fool, here you are already true…

- I realized.

No matter how sincere, democratic, or close the king may seem, of course, he deserves
the appropriate treatment. And I understand that too.

- But now let's do this…

With these words, the King of Beasts took Fran by the hand and bowed deeply. This
bow meant the maximum degree of his gratitude. Leaving his head completely
unprotected for Fran, he also showed the highest degree of his respect for her.

“This time, I have to thank you for your support. You saved all of us.

And there was no doubt that the Beast King's words of gratitude sounded extremely
sincere.
“By the way, I'd like you to take this.

The Beast King bowed his head to Fran for about a minute, then handed her a pouch.
At first glance, it was an ordinary small, dirty pouch, but I sensed the magic in it.

- Item bag?

- Yes. You got some 10 million, right?

Some 10 million? What categories he thinks, however.

- Why skimp on the hero? It would be better to give one hundred million. But, even if
I am the king, but I can not dispose of the treasury at random. If I start doing this, I
will fall to the level of some dictator.

And he says surprisingly decent things. I thought he was one of those kings who
preferred autocracy, but it turned out that he did not.

- Although, first of all, there are not so many civilian officials in our country. I would
not want to harm them again.

The Beast King made a forced smile.

It seems that only military ranks were popular in the Land of Half-Beasts. It may seem
that the "herbivorous" half-beasts are inclined to peaceful activities, but even among
them there are many brave and daring. That is why the country is constantly
experiencing a strong shortage of those wishing to become civilian officials.

And those possessing such outstanding qualities, who can be entrusted with the post
of minister, can be counted on one hand. Therefore, in the Land of Half-Beasts, they
are treated with special respect. In other countries, officers often look down on
officials as weaklings, but in the Land of Half-Beasts, such an attitude is unthinkable.
“Our citizens love to eat well, so logistics is our top priority. So those officials who are
involved in this area are especially highly respected.

- That's how it is.

- Oh, something I deviated from the topic. Well, although the country cannot give you
anything more in gratitude, but no one will be against a gift personally from me. At
least I'll feel better about that.

- What's in it?

- This is something like my pocket money, not so much, about 5 million gold. I still
spent a lot on my trip. There was practically nothing left.

- Yeah.

Hmm. I no longer have the strength to be surprised. 5 million… ha ha ha ha. Stop, is it

true? 5 million? Together with the additional medal reward and the proceeds from the
sale of trophies from demonic beasts, we have a total of over 20 million gold pieces.

And Fran, as always, did not raise an eyebrow! Why does she make me look like an
idiot getting cock for no reason every time we get large sums?

But while we were talking, it was time to sail. Together with Loise and Gododarf,
someone who looked like a captain appeared and came up to us.

“Madam Fran, I ask you to get ready to board the ship. We leave in 5 minutes.

- Good.

- Do you have luggage?

- Everything is fine. I gathered in my own way.

“That's how, then you are using Space-Time magic.

Having greeted the captain, we learned that we still have time to talk before sailing.
And then that's it. This ship will take us away from the continent of Chrome, to the
continent of Gilbard.
- Fran-chan, come back any time!

- Yeah.

- Thank you.

“You saved all of us.

After the King of Beasts spoke, Loise and Gododarf appeared next to him, kneeling and
bowing their heads. Apparently the magic of teleportation.

- I would like to thank you for mentor Kiara.

- To thank?

- Yes. She died on the battlefield as she evolved fighting a powerful enemy. After all,
this was exactly the dream of mentor Kiara. In addition, in your last moments of life,
you took care of her, Mrs. Fran. The one she considered practically her granddaughter…
I envy such a death.

- I think so too. When I heard that the mentor came down with an illness, I immediately
thought that she would not die so easily.

“It was you, Fran, who helped her up. If not for you, then, I think, the mentor Kiara
would not have been able to evolve, or even fight anymore.

- Chin up! The death of your mentor is not your fault! She died the best possible death!
Undoubtedly, she herself is grateful to you! I, as her student, have no doubt about it!

While it sounded a little harsh in my opinion, I knew it was all to cheer up Fran. And
Fran knew it too. With a serious face, she nodded to the Beast King.

- Yeah.

- And one more piece of advice about "Turning into the God of swords." Don't drown
in its power.

- I realized.

“Fine, then. This will be your guide. I think it will help you.
- Yeah.

- Let's spar the next time we meet.

It was clear that the Beast King himself did not find his Transform God of Spears skill
easy to use. And it was a landmark that would help to conquer new heights after
gaining "royal" skills. Apparently, he once felt the same as we do now.

- Fran…

- Mea…

Mea approached Fran one last time. Not knowing what else she could do, she took
Fran's hands and raised them to chest level, and looked into her eyes with a sad look.

- We are parting.

- Yeah.

It was noticeable how not only Mea's eyes, but also Fran's eyes were moisturized. No,
their eyes were already filling with tears. It's only a matter of time before they start to
cry.

- If someone offends you, then call. Whatever I do… Wherever you are, I will definitely
rush.

- And me too.

- Yes.

- Yeah.

- This is not our last meeting. But I can't hold back my tears.

- Yeah.

- But I can’t help… with myself…

- Yeah.
Tears rolled down Fran's cheeks and Mea wiped them gently. So, letting go of each
other's hands, they parted. This was a sign of parting.

- Fran, look. The ship is already sailing.

There was the sound of a bell to sail, and Fran hurriedly ran up the ladder onto the
fast ship. Once on deck, Fran still kept her eyes on Mea.

- Until!

- Thank you!

I guess she couldn't afford to cry the last time she saw her. Fran tried hard to smile.
What a bitter smile. However, Mea did the same.

And even though both girls could not smile, they smiled for each other as much as they
could.

“You helped me a lot,” I said.

- I have to tell you that, you helped us a lot. See you. Next time I'll show Linda's true
strength.

- I'll gladly have a look.

- Well, Fran. See you!

- Uh-huh! See you later.

It is not by chance that this ship is called fast. As soon as the ship left the pier, it began
to pick up speed surprisingly quickly. The earth was carried away from us faster and
faster.

But Fran continued to wave her hand anyway. Even when she no longer saw anyone,
and Graysir turned into a point on the horizon. She kept waving and waving.

- Bye everyone, bye-bye!