Early morning.
As I tried to lift my body, I felt a strong resistance.
Emilia was tightly hugging my arm.
“Umm…”
As I slowly and carefully pulled my arm away, a sleepy moan escaped her lips.
I gently patted Emilia’s head, and when I tried to stand up, my legs became an issue.
Pelaine’s tail, curled up underneath the blanket, was wrapped around my ankle like a shackle.
After smoothly untangling the soft fur, I finally managed to escape from the bed.
“Ah.”
As I stood up, I tilted my head at a slight creaking sensation.
It was a feeling I hadn’t experienced in a while.
It felt like…
‘My waist hurts?’
It was similar to the sensation of a dull ache in my lower back.
Of course, it was just a fleeting moment, so I had no way of knowing if it was my delusion or not.
I had never woken up with a sore waist since becoming a Majin…
“Could it be…?”
Did my waist ache because of last night, or rather, this morning’s activities?
No way. That can’t be.
I shook my head and quietly opened the door, going out to brew some tea and bring it back to the room.
Even then, both of them still showed no signs of waking up from their slumber.
At this rate, they would probably sleep until late afternoon.
They wouldn’t wake up from thirst.
I had already worried about Pelaine’s dehydration halfway through and created some water for her to drink.
Of course, I didn’t just let her drink it; I made her sip it from my mouth, creating a very satisfying scene.
Though I think they both couldn’t drink much since I spilled half on them, isn’t good better than nothing?
“Seriously. It really feels omnipotent.”
As I moved my fingers, a few drops of water appeared out of thin air and floated as I desired.
Creation magic.
Literally, it was magic that created matter using only mana from nothingness.
For thousands of years, it was considered a legendary magic, but it was only recently proven that it could theoretically be cast. However, due to its colossal and complex spell structure covering the entire continent, and the enormous amount of mana required, the mainstream view in academia was that casting it in reality was practically impossible.
Yet now, I could easily cast such magic just by flicking my fingers.
I had received countless requests from various places asking for help in research with that ability, but for now, I refused them all, saying I’d think about it after finishing my undergraduate studies.
I was just using magic instinctively without understanding the complicated spell structure, so even if I wanted to help, I couldn’t.
I doubted any scholars would want to hear blabbering like, “Why can’t you do it when I just *whoosh* and it *swoosh* works?”
I still had a lot to study.
“Hmm.”
I looked at the inside of the cup.
The color was passable.
It was identical to Emilia’s brew in every way.
I cautiously raised the cup and took a small sip of tea.
“This doesn’t taste right.”
The flavor was different.
Compared to the tea Emilia brewed, it still had a long way to go.
We had the same leaves, same amount of water, and brewed for the same time, so why was the result different?
It was ridiculous.
I even entertained the suspicion that maybe the tea’s myth was somehow innate in Emilia’s hands.
‘Someday, I’ll brew tea better than her.’
Someday.
Someday, the day would come when I brew better tea than Emilia.
Though it might be after Emilia’s death, that day was bound to come.
A day when I would be better than all the people in this world, at everything.
Thinking of that made a bitter smile unintentionally appear on my face.
Holding the steaming cup, I looked out the window.
I really thought I did well to build a house in such a great location.
“Umm.”
“Ah. You’re awake?”
“*Hehehe*…”
I heard a pleasant laugh from behind and turned my head.
Emilia, still not fully awake, smiled tiredly while pulling the blanket tightly around herself.
“Was it too loud?”
“Umm. No, I just woke up because it felt empty beside me.”
“Then I guess I should make it not empty.”
I walked to the bed with the teacup and sat down next to Emilia.
At that, Emilia chuckled and pulled me into her embrace.
I felt her soft touch and the hard ribs beneath it.
Through my arm, I sensed Emilia’s warmth and heartbeat.
With her cheek pressed against my chest, Emilia murmured softly.
“Yeah… It’s really strong.”
“Of course. It’s my heart.”
“…”
Emilia’s expression turned serious as she silently met my gaze. She moved closer and nestled beside me, wrapping her arms around my head.
I couldn’t drink the tea now.
I placed the teacup on the side table and rubbed my cheek against Emilia’s collarbone.
There’s nothing eternal in this world.
If there is, it’s probably just the hearts of me and Julia.
I always keep that fact in mind.
Only then can I recognize the ephemeral as ephemeral and the beautiful as beautiful.
“Brother.”
“Yeah.”
“I love you.”
In a voice still hoarse and not fully back, Emilia quietly whispered.
She had been panting and exhausting her voice just hours ago, so she could hardly be normal.
As I slightly dropped my head for our foreheads to touch, I slowly tried to bring my lips closer.
“*Nuhuh…*? Schlus-nim… I love you too…! *Hehe!*”
From under the blanket, a drowsy voice suddenly popped out along with something.
In an instant, I found myself tightly embraced by the excited fox-eared girl, unable to move.
“Wha—?!”
“Since Schlus-nim has held me tightly until now, I’ll hold you a lot from now on!”
“Isn’t it just you want to hug me…?”
“*Hehehe.* Maybe.”
With a robust laugh, her warm breath began tickling my neck.
Just being hugged felt like my whole body was heated up in an instant.
From below, her bushy tail kept brushing against my thigh.
I tightly hugged Pelaine with my other hand, petting her soft hair and the cute, twitching insides of her ears.
“I love you too. I love you a lot…”
“Who are you saying that to? Me or Pelaine?”
“That’s the thing—”
“If you say it’s for both, just try it.”
“Uh…”
“*Hehe.* Just joking.”
“…”
Emilia, with her innocent smile, planted kisses on my forehead and cheeks.
Last night, Emilia had been a little, no, a lot scary.
I briefly wondered if something had broken inside her.
People can change like that.
Perhaps, Emilia might be the character that had changed the most from the original.
“Schlus-nim. Umm… Aah?”
At that moment, blood rushed to my lower body, causing Pelaine to lift slightly.
Both Emilia and Pelaine’s gazes fell down, leading to an awkward moment of silence.
And then they both slowly turned their eyes to me like they were pleading.
It seemed both wanted to spend the entire day lying around.
*
Sword God.
A term used to refer to someone all knights and warriors should look up to and respect.
The Sword God was undeniably a deity, but it didn’t refer to a personal god as mentioned in religions nor an abstract existence that doesn’t exist.
It was clearly a ‘title’ that could be attached to someone.
However, there had never been anyone that all warriors acknowledged as the Sword God until now.
In history, there had been only three individuals who almost became the Sword God: Sergey von Freust, Gawayn von Shulzenburg, and Schlus.
In Sergey’s case, he possessed overwhelming power over all warriors but was excluded because he did not wield a sword. Gawayn died just as he was beginning to be revered as a candidate for the Sword God, and Schlus had thrown away his sword and became a being feared to even look up to before the stories of the Sword God ever began.
Then one day, a girl appeared declaring herself to be the Sword God out of the blue.
Those who had no battlefield experience or achievements in the knight order laughed off the declaration of the young girl.
They sneered, calling her nothing but a follower of Schlus, who must have deluded herself into thinking she was stronger and had protected Schlus.
Of course, those mockers were merely the warriors who claimed to be swordmasters; the knights kept their silence.
Trie was starting her journey across the continent to prove herself worthy of being recognized as the Sword God.
Knights who had witnessed Trie’s dueling and battles against the great Majin during her elite knight days were excited about the new entertainment appearing in this peaceful era, popping corn while watching.
“Ah, hurry up! Hurry!”
“It’s almost time! We’re starting!”
In the massive arena at midday.
The voices of tens of thousands of crowding spectators burst and echoed.
The girl claiming to be the Sword God, Trie, headed to none other than the northern Trud Kingdom.
Originally, Trie had started from the Empire’s system, but…
‘Anyone dissatisfied with me being the Sword God, come at me.’
As not a single knight responded to her provocation, she crossed the border without hesitation.
In the Trud Kingdom alone, there were over 200 knights who threw down the challenge against Trie.
The knights of the kingdom all believed without a doubt that the soldiers of the Empire were nothing but weaklings frightened by a mere young girl.
“Wow. This looks exciting.”
A woman with red hair wearing black sunglasses blended among the crowd, munching on corn snacks.
As someone passed by, the woman’s appearance instantly transformed into that of a young girl, looking around anxiously.
‘There’s no way Schlus would be here…’
Jin flinched as she suddenly felt the presence of someone she shouldn’t have sensed around.
After sweeping the area with detection magic and deploying a Recognition Interference Barrier, only then could Jin feel relieved.
“Ladies and gentlemen! A historic big match! A girl claiming the title of Sword God! Gawayn’s daughter—”
“Ah! Shut up!”
The announcer’s voice, amplified by magic, was drowned out by a sudden loud shout.
Soon, a girl with green hair in full armor emerged from the dark corridor.
On the opposite side, knights of the kingdom lined up in formation.
After briefly scanning the knights, the girl spoke.
“Waste of time. Just all come at me together.”
“…?!”
Cheers, jeers, and shouts erupted from all around.
In the exciting atmosphere, Jin couldn’t contain herself and lowered her sunglasses, wide-eyed with surprise as she kept munching on corn snacks.
