In fantasy, where heroes and holy swords are inseparable.
Sometimes there’s this convenient setup where even a regular sword turns into a holy sword when a hero wields it, but unfortunately, that’s not the case here.
“The holy sword is quite important.”
Only one holy sword is given to a generation’s hero.
The Demon King is wrapped up in some sort of immunity buff, so you can only deal damage after landing a preemptive strike with the holy sword.
So what happens if there’s no holy sword, or if Lishe fails to wield it?
Bam! Bam!
[No. 010: Holy Sword Destruction 72%]
[No. 014: Unbinding 66%]
In that moment, it’s a one-way ticket to a bad ending.
And Lishe always had outstanding enthusiasm, but
“Honestly, was she really that great as a hero?”
Definitely not.
Her sword skills might be decent, but let’s just say she was a bit reckless.
Just look at the high probability of a bad ending due to mishandling the holy sword.
It felt like she broke it way too often.
“In the future, she already had the holy sword.”
With Lishe appearing earlier, the acquisition process must have changed significantly.
The kingdom might have discovered the holy sword first, after all.
The hero party is entangled with the political interests of each country on the continent. After defeating the Demon King, the allied forces would disband, allowing them to secure advantageous interests in the future continental situation based on their achievements.
Party formations were done by those in high positions. Lishe, the hero, and Neria, the saint, had to be included, while the rest were decided by power struggles between countries.
I was also incidentally part of it.
Acella was used in a scheme to block the healer slot from the Kingdom of Law and grab one more position for the Empire.
Among the six-member hero party, there were two adventurers from the kingdom. They might have joined under the condition of transferring the holy sword.
Well, it was a pointless endeavor since the kingdom had already fallen by my reincarnation point.
Just in case something went wrong, I figured I needed to manage this one myself.
“So you’re saying the kingdom’s forces found the holy sword. And its location?”
“The southern Merington marshlands of the kingdom. It’s an area where legends about the hero and holy sword have been passed down, so they immediately went out to search upon hearing the news.”
“Lucky they found it within a day. Or perhaps they had an idea of where it was. But the holy sword can’t be extracted by anyone other than a hero.”
“So they dispatched a recovery team equipped with excavation equipment.”
Ah, the idea of just taking the ground if they can’t pull the sword works.
Smart move. I always thought while reading the Excalibur legend that they could just dig out the surrounding dirt.
“Lars, what do you think?”
“Why would we sit by and watch a situation that’s politically disadvantageous for the Empire?”
“That’s what I’m saying. We should go first and bring the holy sword back, right?”
Acella showed enthusiasm.
I agreed.
I wanted to replace the warrior Lark from the kingdom with another member from the hero party in the future, if possible. He didn’t mesh well with Lishe and teamwork was lacking.
For that, Lishe needs to extract the holy sword and make it the Empire’s possession.
I glanced at Lishe.
She seemed confused, unable to follow what Acella and I were discussing.
‘Right now, Lishe only has the hero’s mark; she’s no different from an untrained civilian.’
The Merington marshlands clearly spawn plenty of rare and powerful demons.
I remembered it as one of the operation zones against dragon-like enemies in the hero party.
I wanted to tag along to prepare for any unexpected situations.
‘Above all, I want to grab some spoils from the demons.’
I checked my status window.
―――――――――――
○ Alchemy C
· Enhancement C – Property Change B
· Compression C
· Synthesis C – Extraction C
· 3 skills are awaiting acquisition.
· [Enchant] [Elementalization] [Creation]
· Must use rare materials to gain experience.
―――――――――――
Since I started leaving potion-making to Chloe, my use of alchemy has gradually decreased.
Recently, the faction in the Inner Palace specializing in medicine produced all necessary quantities, leaving me only to handle inspection and enhancement work.
Thanks to that, my rank-up has almost stalled.
‘Eventually, a situation will arise where we’ll need potions that surpass chemical formulas.’
Alchemy is known as the technique for making gold, but that’s only a learning process.
Ultimately, the goal of alchemy is one thing.
The Elixir.
In other words, the immortality potion.
‘Whether I can reach that level is still uncertain.’
When that time comes, I’ll be able to definitely remove my debuffs.
If by any chance, I manage to create potions in the process, the hero party, reliant on the healer and saint for injuries, would significantly boost their combat power.
‘And I can also obtain those rare materials.’
The demons in these regions aren’t worth hunting for gains, so there’s no way their spoils hit the market.
It’s a great opportunity.
Having finished my thoughts, I lifted my head towards Acella.
“Your Majesty.”
I was thinking about how to persuade her, as the odds of her letting me go seemed slim, but she appeared relatively relaxed.
“Of course. We should send the Moonlight Palace Knights to undertake the holy sword retrieval mission.”
“Indeed.”
“You want to tag along, don’t you?”
“Oh, you noticed!”
Typically, Acella would have cuffed me if I said I’d go to a dangerous area, but for some reason, she proposed it first.
“Alright, but…”
Acella smiled and placed her finger under my chin, lifting my face.
“I’m going with you.”
“The royal princess?”
That was somewhat unexpected.
“It’s a dangerous area. While the operation against the barbarian tribes was executed from a fortress, this time it’s a wide open wilderness.”
“Forgot? I’m a wizard who reached the fifth tier at this age. Plus, we have a swordmaster with us. Who would dare threaten us?”
“Hmm, you do have a point. Then let’s add one more thing.”
I showed a syringe and said,
“Since this is a region with potential disease, let’s get vaccinated before we go. Just one shot.”
Acella pouted her lips.
“I get it. Just do it already.”
“I’ll make it right away.”
“You’re so annoying.”
After Acella grumbled, she officially issued an order.
“Departure will be tomorrow at 1 PM. I’ll finish the formation within two hours, so prepare the Inner Palace accordingly.”
“I will obey.”
I turned to Lishe.
“It’s settled, hero. I need to go get my partner.”
“Partner, you mean the holy sword? Ugh….”
Lishe seemed somewhat uncomfortable with that.
*
The holy sword retrieval was treated as a top-secret mission, so all members of the Moonlight Palace Knights were able to use the teleport gate.
The knights of the Moonlight Palace arrived in the southwestern part of the Empire and began their journey beyond the neutral zone into the kingdom’s territory.
“Thanks to the teleport gate, our schedule has become quite faster. We’ll reach in three days and may even outpace the kingdom’s forces.”
Hugo checked the map beside me.
“We’ve crossed the border. From here on, the Empire’s laws do not protect us, so stay cautious.”
Tanya offered a brief warning. She was solid guarding the path from the front.
“The rough terrain suggests no bandits will be lurking around, but we need to be wary of demons.”
In response to my warning, the commander of the knights said,
“Demons, huh? Since it’s rocky terrain, there doesn’t seem to be anywhere for demons to hide. If they approach, we can switch to combat position in advance.”
Hearing the commander’s words, I picked up a nearby stone.
The stone had markings, as if scratched multiple times with a sharp blade.
“What’s this?”
“That’s the trace of a basilisk sharpening its tail.”
“A basilisk. Isn’t that a high-grade demon?”
“Correct. Their shells look like rocks, making it hard to distinguish from a distance. They move on four legs while sticking to the ground, so they’re quick. Don’t let your guard down. If you get pricked by their tail, it won’t take two hours before you die.”
“Indeed, understood. Stand by, everyone. Shields in front.”
Hearing my command, the knights changed their formation.
Acella, observing the scene, lightly nodded.
“You know your demons well. Studied up?”
“Just basic education. Please be careful too, Your Majesty.”
“Keep your eyes open. Any demon coming near me will have an ice spear lodged in its head.”
Acella brandished her wand, showcasing a confident expression in her magical attire.
“And even if I get pricked, I’m not too worried.”
“Why’s that?”
“Why do you think? You’ll just detoxify it for me…”
“Teacher! A snake! It’s a snake!”
Acella’s statement was interrupted by Lishe who ran between us.
Seemingly displeased, Acella clicked her tongue and began spinning her wand, preparing to draw a magic circle.
Swish!
The snake Lishe pointed out was not an ordinary viper.
It was three meters long, a quadrupedal lizard with a venomous stinger on its tail.
A basilisk.
“It’s here! Protect the royal princess and the hero!”
The knights built a barrier, raising their swords and spears.
“Teacher.”
“Leave it to me when the danger arises.”
Hugo took out his amulet as well. In emergencies, he could also use curses in battle.
The basilisk charging on four legs was incredibly fast. Its camouflaged coloration blended well with the rocky terrain, making it easy to miss if you blinked.
I focused on its movement.
“It’s coming!”
In the tense moment before the basilisk lunged.
Boom!
The ground trembled as a storm kicked up.
The last thing I saw was Tanya dash from the side, swiftly stabbing her sword into the charging demon.
Then her aura burst forth, mixing with dust, and obscuring everything.
“Hmm.”
When the dust settled, the mangled body of the basilisk lay before us.
Tanya brushed off her sword and said in a flat tone,
“Let’s move on.”
The commander of the knights, having witnessed the swordmaster’s extraordinary power, shook off his daze and nodded immediately.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Not bad at all.
As I watched Tanya with satisfaction, it seemed Lishe felt a similar vibe.
“She’s impressive…”
“She’ll be the one teaching you how to wield a sword, hero.”
“Me? Wow, then can I become like her?”
I truly hope she can.
Since there is more time than I know, there might be hope.
“Hey.”
While I was deep in thought, thwack, Acella irritably smacked Lishe’s arm.
“How long are you going to hold onto that?”
Only then did Lishe let go of my robe that she had been clutching.
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