“My Super Super Strong Sword… died…!”
Thud.
One hand holding the sword’s hilt, and the other gripping its blade.
Charlotte collapsed to the ground with a despondent expression.
The Super Super Strong Sword was dead!
She had noticed recently that the hilt seemed to wobble slightly,
but she never imagined it would suddenly detach like this.
“It won’t fit back…!”
Click, Click.
She tried to reattach the hilt, but it was useless.
It was completely tattered, and even if she put it back together, it would just fall apart again.
Seeing this, Charlotte’s face quickly turned teary.
“Uwaaah! If I had known it would die this quickly, I would’ve prepared myself mentally!”
How did this happen?
She had cherished and loved the Super Super Strong Sword.
So why had it suddenly left her side so abruptly…?
To part ways with the first sword of her life, her absolute favorite.
For this to really be the end.
Thinking about it only made her feel even more miserable, and tears welled up in her eyes.
“Oh dear, your sword broke?”
“Sniff…Knight Sister… I, I want to bury the Super Super Strong Sword in the ground…”
“Why bury it? The hilt is broken, so you just need to get it fixed.”
“Huh!? We can save the Super Super Strong Sword!?”
“Of course. The blade itself isn’t broken, so it can be repaired anytime.”
“Wow! Thank goodness…!”
Sylvia smiled as she told her the truth.
And as if she had never been crying in the first place, Charlotte’s face lit up as she hugged the shattered pieces of her sword.
So it could be saved!
She didn’t have to say goodbye to the Super Super Strong Sword!
What a huge relief…!
As Charlotte wiped away her tears and sighed in relief—
“I wonder how she would’ve reacted if we only told her after holding a funeral.”
[The Evil God ‘Kali’ is aghast at your wicked mind and furiously berates you!]
Watching from outside the window, Aslan Vermont clicked his tongue in slight disappointment.
He had wanted to see Charlotte’s tearful face a little longer, but if he did, she might end up sulking at a completely different level, so he had no choice but to restrain himself.
***
“Blacksmith! Please save Super Super Strong Sword…!”
“Haha, don’t worry. Once I finish up the work already in the forge, I’ll start repairing the Holy Sword right away. You’ll get it back within the week.”
“Thank you! Please take good care of our Super Super Strong Sword!”
The moment Jacob arrived, Charlotte ran over and bowed at a nearly 90-degree angle.
It had been a long time since she had seen Charlotte so polite.
It seemed her level of politeness fluctuated depending on her level of desperation.
As Jacob loaded the dismantled Super Super Strong Sword onto his wagon and departed, Charlotte stood still, unable to take her eyes off the sight of her sword moving further away.
Now that she thought about it, ever since she had obtained the Super Super Strong Sword, this was the first time she would be apart from it.
No wonder she felt attached.
“You’ll have to take a break from sword training for a while.”
“…Yeah.”
“Take it easy for now. Or would you like to read some books with me?”
“Okay… Let’s do that…”
Despite Julia’s comforting words, Charlotte visibly drooped as she trudged toward the archive with sluggish, lifeless steps.
Even if she looked weak now, Charlotte would surely regain her energy soon. With that thought, I decided not to worry too much about it.
After returning to my office and quickly finishing my work, I glanced outside. That was when I realized something strange—Charlotte, who was always swinging her sword, was nowhere to be seen.
Even if she had to part with Super Super Strong Sword for a while, she wasn’t the type to just bury herself quietly in the archive.
Something felt off.
Just as that thought crossed my mind—
“Misterrrr…”
“What is it?”
“Ugh… I don’t know. I think I have the flu…”
“…?”
As soon as I opened the archive door, I was met with Charlotte’s groaning voice as she lay sprawled on the sofa.
The flu?
For a moment, I wondered if I had misheard.
She was a tough one—so sturdy that she had never even caught a cold before. And now, she had the flu?
“Come here. Let me check your temperature.”
“Ugh, okay…”
“You don’t have a fever. What about a runny nose?”
“Not really.”
“How’s your throat?”
“It’s fine. I was even singing a lot earlier…”
“Don’t sing in the archive. You’re supposed to be quiet here.”
“Okay…”
From the looks of it, there wasn’t anything physically wrong with her.
She wasn’t cold.
She didn’t have a fever.
There were no symptoms of a cold at all.
Was she really just feeling weak?
Could it be simple fatigue?
Was it okay to trust my own judgment on this?
“This won’t do. I’ll call for a doctor.”
“Ahhh! Mister! I told you, it’s just fatigue! You’re overreacting—!”
“He did the same thing when I caught a cold… Just accept it, Charlotte…”
“Ugh! Then how about calling Yuri instead of a doctor, Mister?”
“Oh! That’s a great idea!”
I was just about to urgently summon a doctor—
But as soon as Yuri was mentioned, I realized my mistake.
Come to think of it, Yuri’s healing ability was far superior to any doctor’s.
I had originally planned to test the emergency response system by calling a doctor from one of the hospitals that had recently opened in the Vermont territory.
But since that system was meant for the general public, I decided to hold off on it for now.
Calling Yuri would be a better alternative.
“Charlotte? Charlotte! I heard you’re sick, so I came right away!”
“Welcome, Yuri. Over here.”
A short while later.
It hadn’t been long since we called for her, yet Yuri burst into the mansion, panting heavily.
She must have heard the news while on duty with Vermont Security and rushed over immediately.
It was a relief that today wasn’t a weekday. If it had been, Yuri would have dashed out of class the moment she heard that Charlotte was sick, without a second thought.
“Where’s Charlotte?”
“Over there, lying on the sofa, chatting with Julia and eating snacks.”
“…”
I pointed toward Charlotte, who had already relocated to the lounge and was happily lounging around.
Yuri, who had been anxiously looking around, now wore an utterly dumbfounded expression.
No, wait—was that a look of annoyance directed at me?
“I—I was told this was an emergency, that a patient needed immediate attention…”
“There is a patient. Charlotte, who is always energetic, lively, and constantly running around, has been staying indoors for half a day. She claims it’s just fatigue, but I called you just in case.”
“Ah…”
Yuri momentarily fell silent before giving me a look that practically screamed, ‘What kind of nonsense is this?’
Look here.
As if you wouldn’t have overreacted?
You care just as much—no, even more—about Charlotte and Julia than I do.
If you had been in my position, you would’ve caused an even bigger commotion, summoning not just every doctor in Vermont Territory but also the best physicians in the capital to examine Charlotte.
Faced with this walking definition of hypocrisy, I could only click my tongue.
“You’ve probably been told before that you overprotect them, haven’t you?”
“No. Not even once.”
“Hmm… They say birds of a feather flock together. My sponsor is the same. If I so much as complain about a headache, they immediately send over all sorts of medicine while making a huge fuss. You two really are alike.”
“…”
Had I really done that?
Now that I thought about it, maybe I had.
Though, if I had taken such good care of Yuri, it was probably after I found out she was a girl.
Back when I thought she was a boy, I’d just let her be, thinking, ‘Eh, he’ll survive’.
“Anyway, what’s Charlotte’s condition? Hurry up and check her.”
“Even if you say that… I don’t have any medical knowledge. My ability just takes care of everything on its own.”
“Hehe. Sorry, Yuri. You must be busy, and my uncle is such a worrywart. Thanks for dealing with him.”
“You little—who do you think this is all for?”
Charlotte grinned as Yuri approached her and placed her hands on her arms.
Rather than a medical examination, it was more of a healing process.
Yuri slowly ran her hands along Charlotte’s arm, then hesitated before moving to her legs.
“Eek! That tickles, Yuri!”
“Hmm…”
After her legs, she moved to her neck.
Then her sides.
And then…
At this point, I started to wonder if she was just doing this for fun.
Yuri meticulously checked Charlotte’s entire body before finally pulling away and dusting off her hands.
“There’s absolutely nothing wrong.”
“What? Are you sure you didn’t miss something?”
“My healing ability automatically activates if there’s even the slightest injury or illness. But no matter where I checked, there wasn’t even a hint of anything wrong. That means Charlotte is in perfect health.”
“…”
Even the healthiest people usually have at least one minor ache or pain.
But Charlotte had none?
Since Yuri was the one saying it, it had to be true.
At least we had confirmed it wasn’t anything serious, which was a relief.
“Whew. Good work, Yuri. Thanks to you, we avoided a crisis.”
“Uh… I’m not sure what crisis you’re talking about, but… I’ll take my leave now.”
“See, Mister? I told you it was just fatigue! And since I want to recover quickly, I’m going to use this!”
“What’s that, Charlotte? A massage… coupon…? What does it say? ‘By using this coupon, Aslan Vermont is obligated to give me a massage’— What!?”
At that moment, Charlotte pulled a crumpled coupon from her pocket and unfolded it.
Julia, after reading it, gasped in shock.
Even Yuri, who had been about to leave, froze in place.
“…Ah.”
Why would you pull that out now?
