‘Finally, we can leave this damned fortress city.’
The incident was over.
Once the incident was settled, we barely escaped from Ester, using the excuse that a full-scale Monster Wave was about to begin.
Although there was a minor issue of having destroyed the fortress walls, it could be seen as a chance for Ester to finally carry out repairs they hadn’t done in centuries.
So really, we hadn’t done anything wrong.
That’s what I decided.
“My lord, I will stay in the fortress city. Since we broke the walls, it’s only right that I help defend this area—”
“Shut your mouth and get on the carriage.”
“Ah? W-What!? My lord! Please let me fight! I beg you…!”
I shoved Sylvia, who was staring longingly at the fortress city, into the carriage. Even though it didn’t seem like she was putting up much of a fight, she looked close to exhaustion.
Having seemingly given up, she sat quietly in the carriage, glaring at me with a sulky face.
“What’s bothering you so much? Speak up.”
“It was supposed to be my first real battle debut with the newly acquired sword! And now I’ve lost that chance…!”
“That’s your fault. It would’ve been great if you had drawn your sword earlier.”
“Ugh…!”
Sylvia, gnawing on her lips in anguish, was not celebrating the fact that there was no longer a fight; she was disappointed.
I couldn’t understand it at all.
Is this what knights are like?
“I’m here to protect you, Master. I should be relieved that there was no need to draw my sword…”
“But you must feel a bit regretful. Draw your sword once. I want to see it too.”
“Ah! You wanted to see it! You should have said so earlier!”
In an instant, Sylvia’s sullen expression brightened, and she jumped up.
As she eagerly ripped off the remaining leather wrapping, just as she was about to fully draw the sword…
“Ugh!? Why isn’t it coming out…?!”
“…What are you doing?”
“This is strange. There’s nothing stuck, but it feels like it’s fixed in place and won’t budge…!”
“Let me try to pull it out.”
The leather wrapping was flimsy.
With Sylvia’s immense strength, there was no reason she couldn’t tear it, yet it looked like it was stuck somehow.
Watching her struggle was almost comical.
Finally, unable to contain my frustration, I reached for the sword myself.
“This is so easy.”
“Huh…?”
Swish.
The sword slipped into my hand without any resistance, emerging from the leather wrapping.
I looked at Sylvia in disbelief, and she had a similarly dumbfounded expression.
Why was she making such a fuss about not being able to pull it out?
“Ugh! Light!?”
“My lord! It’s dangerous!”
The blade that had just been freed began to emit a brilliant light.
Suddenly, everything around us was filled with blinding white light, so bright I could hardly see anything. Is it going to explode!?
Just as Sylvia was about to push me away from the sword in surprise, the silhouette of the sword shimmered and, in an instant, absorbed itself into my chest.
“Uh…?”
And then it was over.
The flash that had illuminated the area vanished, as if nothing had happened.
Blink, blink, blink.
Sylvia and I locked eyes.
For a moment, we just stared at each other, dumbfounded.
“The sword is embedded in your chest, my lord!!! I-I will get it out!”
“Hey, hey, hey! How will you get it out!?”
“I have to cut open your chest to take it out…!”
“Then I’ll die!”
“Ah, ah! What do we do!?”
For a moment, Sylvia raised her hand as if to slice open my chest, but then she gave up and sat down.
The sword that had just been in front of us had vanished.
Although I couldn’t see well due to the bright flash, one thing was certain.
Sylvia’s sword had disappeared into my body.
“How’s your condition? You don’t feel like you’ve been stabbed, do you?”
“Surprisingly, I feel perfectly fine.”
“That can’t be true.”
“For now, there’s nothing we can do. We should return to Vermont and ask Jacob what kind of sword he made.”
“Understood, my lord…”
Finally, Sylvia removed her hands from my body, still feeling a strange sensation.
It was odd.
Why was Sylvia’s sword absorbed into me?
Did the sword somehow acknowledge me as its master the moment I touched it?
Just to check, I placed my hand on my chest.
I thought maybe if I pulled, the sword would come out… but nothing happened.
I had no idea what was going on.
Since I wasn’t in pain, I figured the first priority was to return and find out the cause of this bizarre phenomenon.
It was then that Sylvia, looking for a new sword, pulled out a spare weapon from the carriage.
“Ah?”
Swish!
The sword that had been in Sylvia’s hand suddenly slipped free and fell to the ground.
Did she lose her grip?
As she reached down to pick it up again, it seemed as if some invisible force was pushing the sword away from her.
“W-What is happening…?”
“Try holding another sword.”
“They’re all the same! The moment I touch any of them, they all slip away…!”
Not just swords, but daggers, spears, and every weapon she touched instantly flew from her hands. It was as if no weapon could touch her at all.
As Sylvia stared blankly at her hands, her gaze shifted toward me.
Then, her eyes widened in realization.
“My lord, I think I understand.”
“What is it? Speak from a distance.”
“Ever since I touched that strange sword and the light flashed, this odd phenomenon began. It must be related to the sword I touched!”
“I agree with that…”
“Please open your mouth, my lord. I will help you pull out the sword again. It seems that removing the sword from your body is the only way to end this phenomenon.”
“Hey, hey! Don’t… Ugh!?”
“Please don’t struggle. It’s all for your sake. It’ll be over soon, so count the stars in the night sky if you have to.”
“Yaaahhh!!!”
In an instant, Sylvia tackled me and pinned me down, preventing any movement.
Then she forced my mouth open, trying to insert her hand inside.
This is completely insane!
Logically speaking, how could a sword that’s inside my body come out through my throat?
This is absurd.
Absolutely absurd.
Just as I was about to protest, Sylvia’s hand grabbed something inside my mouth and pulled it out.
“Huh?”
“…?”
With a swish, a long sword smoothly emerged from my mouth.
As Sylvia let go, the sword transformed into a flash of light and absorbed back into my chest.
Both Sylvia and I were momentarily speechless.
“My lord… It seems I can only use the sword that’s inside your body…?”
“…”
…The conclusion is absolutely ridiculous.
Fine. I’ve made up my mind.
When I get back, I’m grabbing Jacob by the collar first.
“Get off me. You’re heavy. Just sitting there with your oversized backside.”
“What!? What kind of thing is that to say to a lady…!”
***
“What? There’s a blacksmith in Vermont who can handle mana forge? That can’t be! There are probably only a handful of people in the Empire who can do that…!”
“Hmph! It’s true! There’s a massive forge where a huge fire burns all day long! And Vermont also has a Great Spirit!”
“A Great Spirit!?”
Inside the carriage, the children—Charlotte and Julia—sat across from Merilda, who kept exclaiming in excitement.
It turned out that Vermont had a massive Great Spirit as its mascot, and swords coated with mana power were being produced like clockwork every day.
Not to mention, the company Vermont Security had hundreds of such talents.
It was a story that was completely unbelievable.
It was hard to believe.
Were they making fun of me just because I was raised in a backwater like Ester?
But it didn’t seem like it.
The desire to visit Vermont grew stronger in Merilda.
‘You’ve already become quite close to the princess.’
Yuri, observing from a distance, smiled.
Perhaps because Aslan and Sylvia were riding in another carriage, the one left for the children was buzzing with excitement.
In that moment, the three had grown comfortably close.
But isn’t it a bit much to use informal language with a princess?
She didn’t seem to mind, though…
“Yuria, you said you live in the capital, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct. I’m enrolled in the Imperial Magic Academy.”
“Juggling work and studies is so cool… Would you be able to show me around the Imperial Magic Academy? I’d love to see the school you attend…”
“Sure! Just let me know the visit schedule in advance, and I’ll clear my calendar and plan something out.”
Merilda subtly moved closer to Yuri and rested her head on his shoulder.
At this, Charlotte and Julia exchanged incredulous looks.
She spoke so demurely to Yuri, even sniffling…?
“He’s a man…”
“Hold on, Charlotte.”
“Ehhhhh…!”
She wanted to scream that Yuri is a girl!
It’s driving her crazy!
Charlotte trembled, and Julia had to work hard to cover her mouth and keep her quiet.
“But what kind of person is Count Vermont? From what I’ve heard, he seems to have bizarre tastes and a ruthless temperament, like a reckless wild man… But when I actually met him, he didn’t seem like that at all. Ah, he did look a bit dark and gloomy, so I almost misunderstood…”
“What’s wrong with Aslan’s appearance…?”
“J-Julia! Stop!”
Julia was about to burst with annoyance when Charlotte covered her mouth to stop her.
It’s true that he has a somewhat dark and gloomy look, but if you get to know him, he’s not that bad!
He actually looks quite handsome when he closes his eyes.
People are talking recklessly about someone they hardly know.
Julia couldn’t shake off her irritation.
“It seems I have a lot of misconceptions. Would you mind correcting my biases and misunderstandings?”
“…”
Merilda straightened up as if ready to listen.
Yuri, though appearing disinterested, was subtly leaning in to hear more.
Charlotte and Julia exchanged glances.
‘Yes. This is the chance.’
It was an opportunity to tell Yuri what kind of person Aslan is.
It was a chance to clear up Yuri’s misunderstandings.
Charlotte and Julia’s mouths opened at the same time.
“Aslan is…”
“Mister is…!”
