“Choose.”
“…What?”
“Choose and take it.”
Elijah brought me to the holy relic storage and said that.
The sparkling marble floor and dazzling golden lights.
The atmosphere feels more like a sacred worship hall than a storage room.
Just like the luxurious vibe, the relics prepared here are not ordinary items either.
‘Are you telling me to just… pick one?’
Holy relics displayed in the Sun Symbol Temple.
Those with authority can take and use them.
Notably, Balak, the head of the Bevel Family.
And Johan, the Emperor of the Helios Empire, who is also the Pope of the Sun Church.
Others can do it too.
Cardinals or bishops.
Emperor’s children, or Balak’s children.
Right.
Elijah is Balak’s child.
A bastard, but still has this privilege.
The relics prepared here can be used for various purposes.
As means to pray for healing wounded individuals.
As weapons to defeat demon kind.
Or as defensive measures to protect oneself, and so on.
I can’t take everything, but I can take a few items.
Elijah should be allowed to do that.
But.
“Are you saying that you want to give me something instead of using it yourself?”
“Yeah. As a commemoration for appointing you as my knight.”
“I appreciate it, but I wonder if I’m really allowed to…”
I have no right to take the items here.
I’m not sure if this is okay.
To my concerns, Elijah replied.
“Judas.”
She looked straight at me and said.
“That’s not for you to worry about.”
She didn’t draw a line.
Her tone was almost nurturing.
“It’s my responsibility and duty as your master. You don’t have to worry or consider it unnecessarily. Do you understand?”
I slowly nodded my head.
I had no choice but to agree.
“Alright. Now take a good look around.”
Since it came to this, I decided to go all out.
‘If my master is thoughtfully giving me a valuable item, it wouldn’t be right to refuse.’
I carefully examined the displayed relics.
I recalled several items in my mind.
‘The best ones… they are not here, as expected.’
I remember all the items registered in this storage.
Among them, there are two that could be considered completely overpowered.
But, they aren’t here right now.
I figured it would be like that.
They wouldn’t just leave those items sitting in storage to rot.
‘One is with the Emperor… the other is probably with Balak? In the future, that item was untraceable.’
I looked around the remaining items.
‘All are useful and excellent, but… what I need right now are items that can be immediately used and are practical. Items with difficult conditions to use are all excluded.’
I excluded some from the list.
Then only a few pieces of equipment remained.
I picked up a sword.
It’s suitable for use with one hand or two. Just the right length and weight.
The straight black blade.
As dark and deep as a night sky without stars.
It sparkles strangely when light shines on it.
A sword said to have been used by an unnamed hero to slay the monster that killed his family.
An item from the mythical age.
‘The Sword called “Lunar Pupil.”’
Passed down through the Molsin Church for generations, but after their power weakened, it was seized by the Sun Church.
The moon attribute, a part of the power wielded by the gods.
A rare power that can only be manifested as a special item.
And this “Lunar Pupil” is a weapon that possesses the moon attribute itself.
‘If I pour my magic into it, it’ll get enhanced with moon attribute magic.’
I was curious.
What would happen if I, who already possesses moon attribute magic, handles it?
Slowly, I let my magic seep into my fingertips.
I’m skilled in enhancing tools.
The black sword’s blade was tinted from the bottom with an ivory color.
Eventually reaching the tip of the sword, it shone.
The soft light resembled the moon.
‘It’s different from what I knew.’
Originally, it was supposed to have a slender line of light carved straight down the center of the blade.
Like the pupil of a cat or a reptile.
But now, the entire blade of the Lunar Pupil glowed.
A notification popped up in my head.
[The Lunar Pupil has regained some of its original power.]
[The ‘moon attribute’ embedded in the weapon changes to ‘broken moon.’]
‘…Broken moon? There was such a property?’
It’s the first I’ve heard of it.
…Is that a good thing?
‘Somehow the name doesn’t sound great.’
Moon attribute.
Broken moon.
Just by the name, it feels like the original property is somehow weakened.
‘It’s hard to tell just by feeling…. I’ll have to use it to know its detailed effects.’
Clop, clop.
Elijah approached me.
“Do you like it? You’re staring at it.”
I answered honestly.
“I like it very much.”
Even though it suddenly turned into “broken moon,” there’s no way I wouldn’t like it.
This Lunar Pupil is a pretty excellent weapon even without its properties.
It’s not a weapon I could obtain at my current level.
“……”
Elijah stared at me intently.
Almost to the point of feeling pressured.
“Uh, um… why are you looking at me like that? Should I choose another one?”
“No. It’s not that. I just….”
She trailed off, scrutinizing my face with intensity.
“Your smiling face is so fascinating to see every time.”
Is that so?
I felt a bit awkward and scratched my cheek.
“Don’t you smile in front of me?”
Elijah murmured to herself.
‘Maybe my not smiling is upsetting her?’
I doubt this issue would cause a tragedy, but it doesn’t hurt to be careful.
I awkwardly lifted the corners of my mouth while looking at her.
Elijah, who was staring at me, covered her mouth and said.
“Pfft!”
She jolted her shoulders and burst into laughter.
I stood there for a moment, mesmerized by her.
Elijah smiling.
It’s not the first time I’ve seen it.
She has smiled at me quite often.
But it’s the first time I’ve seen her laugh like this.
A laugh that erupts from something genuinely amusing or funny, without inhibitions.
Elijah laughing brightly.
Using her authority to bestow holy relics upon me.
Though tragedies and comedies are inevitable, I can’t help but feel that this Elijah wouldn’t strangle me.
So the second tragedy should be the same.
I can avoid it just like the first one.
That’s what I thought.
“You’re silly.”
Feeling awkward, I scratched my cheek again.
“You don’t need to force a smile. Just pick more.”
“…The holy relics?”
“Yeah.”
I wondered if it could be alright, but she permitted it.
So I decided to act boldly.
An opportunity should be seized when it arises.
‘There are a couple of armors here…’
But a problem arose.
It doesn’t fit my physique.
‘In games, I never had cases where I couldn’t wear something because of stature.’
If there’s any consolation, there isn’t anything among the remaining armors that catches my eye.
Thus, I chose a shield.
A metal round shield that’s about the size of my upper body.
‘An item with the peculiar name “Shield That Cannot Die.” The religion that originally inherited this relic supposedly vanished during the war with the demons.’
When imbued with magic, it possesses the ability to automatically restore itself.
Even if it breaks or bends, as long as the core in the center remains intact, it can be restored as much as needed.
It’s an excellent piece of gear that is easy to manage and has built-in magical resistance.
“Did you pick everything?”
“Yes. This should be sufficient. Thank you, miss.”
“As your master, it’s only natural for me to do this. Now, let’s head to the next location.”
“Next location?”
“Yeah. I still have a few things left to give you.”
I was a bit confused.
I started to seriously wonder.
Is today my birthday, not Elijah’s?
*
“Brother Aghan!”
Sara called out in a whiny voice and ran somewhere.
A man who looked sluggish stood up from a large sofa placed outdoors in the temple.
“Ugh…”
In neat noble attire but with a messy ponytail.
A scraggly beard.
Aghan scratched his head.
As soon as he got up, he followed an old habit of reaching for the sword beside him.
“What’s going on now?”
Sara plopped down next to him with a thud.
Jezebel, who came along, sat down relatively orderly and started drinking the wine she brought.
Aghan poured the wine he had been drinking into his mouth.
It seems the youngest is about to throw another tantrum.
In reality, Elijah is the youngest, but they don’t acknowledge her as part of the same bloodline.
“Brother, you heard earlier! That girl Elijah just blatantly ignored Sister Jezebel!”
“Hmm… It’s true. With so many people, it was quite harsh.”
“So, I tried to find her to give her a piece of my mind…”
Sara poured out her grievance of being wronged.
Aghan listened silently.
At the same time, he found it strange.
Usually, Jezebel would chime in a few words and join in cursing Elijah, but today, she was unusually quiet.
“Plus, the guy named Judas standing next to her made my two knights lose!”
Judas Defecit.
Elijah’s first knight.
Aghan had been keeping an eye on him for a few years now.
He was annoying.
A guy who remains by Elijah’s side.
His fame isn’t insignificant.
It seems his skills are decent enough for his reputation as well.
“Brother, you can take care of it! You can win, right?”
The five siblings, children of Balak and Narcissi.
Their relationships are delicate.
When they bullied Elijah in their childhood, they were quite close as one.
But at some point, they gradually grew distant.
Their relationship didn’t break.
Only a subtle wall formed.
Especially between the eldest, Cain, and the second, Levi.
With a big age gap with the third, Jezebel, the two had a hard time facing their younger siblings.
As a result, the younger siblings became closer.
With only a year difference among each other, Jezebel, Aghan, and Sara.
Among them, Aghan always helped out Sara whenever she asked for help, no matter how much he disliked it.
He’s a skilled swordsman who looks up to Cain.
Though he could never quite catch up to him.
“Of course.”
Judas may be skilled, but he’s still just an unremarkable guy.
On the other hand, he received thorough training since childhood as a prodigy, both as a knight and a swordsman.
“And you were the one who bullied Elijah the most in the past, right?”
Aghan broke into a chuckle at those words.
Old memories resurfaced.
The days when he took joy in bullying the filthy and lowly bastard.
At some point, Elijah became so cold that no matter how much they bullied her, her expression didn’t change.
Instead, she retaliated with even greater anger.
In those moments, Aghan would lose his temper and bully her even more, but Elijah never backed down.
Eventually, tired of it, Aghan backed off, and here they are today.
That guy named Judas.
I’ve heard that they don’t have a normal relationship, but…
If I can break her in a pretty way in front of others, I might be able to see a crack in Elijah’s expression again.
“That’s right.”
“Will you do it?”
Sara asked with gleaming eyes.
Aghan grinned wickedly while fiddling with his beloved sword.
The holy relic from the Sun Church that he chose during his coming-of-age ceremony. The granite sword.
A reliable companion whenever needed and an excellent weapon.
He nodded.
“Is it enough if I just deal with that Judas guy?”
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