-Defeated the Trud Kingdom! Schlus Hainkel is one step closer to becoming the Sword God······
Holding the newspaper written in the Elven language, Hertlocker chuckled softly.
It was already an expected outcome.
How could the mediocre knights of the Trud Kingdom defeat Trie von dem Schulzenburg?
The kingdom’s army was only good at cutting the supply lines of the Imperial Army that was sneaking through the valleys, and they had barely won against the Imperial Army in direct confrontations.
Of course, this time it was more about the fact that their opponent was an absurd monster than the knights’ skills.
“But what the heck is a Sword God······.”
The entire continent was in a festive mood.
When Trie left for the Trud Kingdom without receiving any challenge from the knight orders of the institution, public opinion was lukewarm, but now it was boiling with praise for Trie.
People of all ages, from the beastmen of the Great Forest to the elves of the desert, were going wild over Trie’s challenge to become a Sword God.
In taverns where various races congregated, heated debates arose over whether Trie could be recognized as the Sword God or not.
Comparing it to the days when arguments over colonial independence would start with violent inter-tribal insults and fistfights, this was certainly a noisy but much better sight.
Once this event passes, people would once again start to growl based on grudges built up over thousands of years.
“What does it matter? It’s nice and quiet for now.”
Hertlocker folded the newspaper with a smile.
What happened after that had nothing to do with him.
As the three races of the continent continued to quarrel for thousands of years, whenever a common enemy appeared, they awkwardly held hands.
Hertlocker lacked the power, method, and intention to stop that.
Even the omnipotent gods had failed to eliminate inter-racial conflicts and had declared giving up on intervention, so perhaps it was only natural.
Having lived, fought, and even sacrificed his life for the kingdom, Hertlocker had changed a bit.
He handed over the command of the Intelligence Agency to a suitable successor and snuck away, and now he found himself traveling across the continent and ended up in the desert.
When he told others that he was on a journey to find himself, they reacted as if it were absurd.
Hertlocker was a bit late to his adolescence.
“Ugh. Guess I have to go again.”
Hertlocker witnessed a sandstorm blowing in the distance, promptly stood up, put on his hood, and began to walk.
Originally, this journey was for self-reflection, but in the desert, something else needed to be done.
That was the dismantling of the Obelisk.
The ultimate weapon that draws the power of the sun to strike the ground.
If it activated, the development area would be reduced to ruins.
Of course, while Schlus had destroyed the key tablet of the Obelisk, the spells drawn all over the desert were still intact.
If someone were to attempt to restore it with bad intentions, it wouldn’t be impossible.
“But they still haven’t caught the bastard who destroyed the stone tower?”
“Ugh. Damn, whoever it is.”
“I’d bet my money it’s the human race behind this.”
Hertlocker flinched at the chatter from somewhere, quickly left the village, and trod the long dirt road.
First, he smashed the stone tower that indicated the target of the Obelisk.
It seemed that Schlus couldn’t bring himself to destroy the stone tower, which the elves cherished as an ancient relic, because people are too soft-hearted, but Hertlocker determined he had no reason to hesitate.
If there was a force wanting to turn the development area to dust, it would take them at least a year to restore that tower.
In the meantime, Hertlocker planned to destroy the hidden ruins throughout the desert to completely neutralize the Obelisk’s spells.
“Let’s see. Is it around here?”
Today, as always, Hertlocker quietly crossed the desert filled with golden sand, relying on the peculiar map drawn by Schlus to find the core part of the spell.
Before long, caught in a sandstorm, Hertlocker was squinting through his goggles, carefully observing the flow of mana around him.
The light that Schlus had once given him was a great help in tracing the flow of mana.
Gingerly stepping and feeling the ground, Hertlocker suddenly exclaimed—
“Oh. Here it is.”
Finally, he found the spot.
As he dug the earth, a metal door appeared.
Hastily opening the door and peering inside, Hertlocker was taken aback.
Inside, there was just a piece of paper sitting there.
Carefully lifting the crumbling paper, Hertlocker began to slowly decipher the Elven text.
“Essence of Elf race technology. To those who wish to observe the core of the Obelisk, I warn you. Opening this door may curse you.”
Looking again, he noticed a double door inside.
That must be the room where the artifacts that form the core of the spell are located.
Hertlocker tossed the paper aside and threw open the double door.
Tensing up with worry that arrows or poison darts might fly at him, he cast Barrier Magic, but it was merely a waste of mana.
As the steep staircase leading down into the underground was revealed, Hertlocker was about to step forward with a torch in hand when—
*Thud······!*
A loud vibration echoed, causing sand to rain down from the ceiling.
Again, with a *bang*, and another *thud*, the vibrations continued. Realizing the ceiling was about to collapse and bury him, Hertlocker rushed back up to the surface.
“Damn······.”
Only then did Hertlocker spot the culprit of the vibrations.
A massive pillar soared up from the sand, flying through the air in an arc before crashing down to the ground and burrowing itself back underground.
It looked just like a sandworm, but it was at least ten times larger.
As Hertlocker stood there, slack-jawed, listening to the strange *grunting* sounds, a thought flickered in his mind.
“An ancient monster······.”
That was a tale from thousands of years ago during the war between Majin and humanity.
After battling to seal the monster that had settled in the desert, legends had been passed down that still echoed today.
Now, it was widely accepted as a myth born from a desire for someone to handle the Majin.
But Hertlocker was clearly witnessing the true form of that monster right now.
Considering its gigantic size, the strength to burrow through the ground, and this unusual mana reaction, he concluded that it was stronger than an ancient monster of the Untier class or even beyond.
“Damn it. This is just ridiculous······.”
By now, Hertlocker had gripped a longsword made of black steel tightly in his hand.
If left unchecked, the village nearby would surely be overrun with casualties.
However, he couldn’t call for support either. How could he boast, “I awakened an ancient monster while trying to destroy the Obelisk and its core” and expect help?
Thus, he was the only one who could face it.
Even if he defeated the monster, no one would remember him.
People would probably just think there was a minor earthquake.
“Damn it. What the hell, let’s give it a shot.”
Of course, Hertlocker didn’t care about such things at all.
If he didn’t act, people would die.
That reason alone was enough.
Hertlocker cracked his neck with a *crack* and raised his longsword high.
With the horrifying growl echoing, the colossal body lunged at him from the front, baring its countless teeth.
Instead of stepping back, Hertlocker charged straight into its gaping maw.
*
“I should’ve asked for some help.”
I heard about Hertlocker’s hospitalization.
No, it’s more accurate to say I found out through the “eyes” I had set up all over the continent.
It seemed he had caused a commotion after dismantling the Obelisk and releasing an ancient monster from its seal······.
Even the key tablet was now a relic no one knew the structure of, making it impossible to restore, yet he aimed to smash both the stone tower and the core part—what a meticulous guy he was.
The elves who had embedded the core of the spell where the monster was sealed might be far more malicious······.
I had briefly thought about going to help when I recognized the fight, but I couldn’t because I had my hands full at that time.
Hertlocker wasn’t exactly the type of guy I’d risk messing up something important to help.
He entered the monster’s maw, tore out its insides, and successfully destroyed the core of the Obelisk.
Since he was nearly dying from the monster’s acidic bile, I secretly went at night, healed his melted skin, and escaped.
I felt like the guardian fairy from childhood dreams.
“Yes, what did you say, Schlus?”
“Nothing······.”
Just then, a chuckle came from behind.
It was Trie.
Having officially risen to become the Sword God after defeating the kingdom’s knights, beastmen knights, and elf knights in an overwhelming fashion.
But her outfit was peculiar.
Instead of the usual ponytail, she had meticulously braided her hair and was wearing an elaborate purple dress······.
It was a rare sight indeed.
“How do you like the drink?”
“It’s nice, whiskey. I should try making this later.”
“Is that so? I’m glad it suits your taste.”
“But how long are you going to keep that tone······?”
“I’m always like this. Hohoho.”
“······.”
Today, I had attended a party to celebrate Trie.
It was held at Trie’s hometown, the main house in Edengardt, and seeing the mansion for the first time took my breath away.
It was larger than the Imperial Palace, not smaller, with enormous buildings sprawling across the vast area.
From now on, this would all belong to Trie.
Even until now, Trie had been the de facto head of the family, but without formal recognition, she had faced significant interference from the elders.
However, achieving the rank of Sword God solidified her position, and she was formally acknowledged as the head of the family after succeeding Gawayn.
Today was also the day she would engrave her face in the minds of outsiders as the head of the family.
Because of that, Trie was making quite the fuss, pretending to be a noble lady, which she wasn’t really good at.
She walked carefully, making sure not to step on her dress, and it was evident she was trying hard to manage her speech and actions.
She must have been thoroughly trained to avoid habits from her previous days of wearing armor or comfortable clothes.
While it seemed unnecessary, it was a bit pitiful to see her suffering so much.
“Oh? Uncle has arrived. Let me go greet him for a moment, Schlus?”
“Sure······.”
As Trie, still struggling to adjust her speech, walked away, I stepped out to a quiet balcony to catch my breath.
Come to think of it, I still hadn’t made the engagement with Trie public.
When would be the right time to announce it, I wondered.
At the very least, I had to reveal it before marriage.
With Emilia pressing to hold a joint wedding soon before I seduce another woman, it seemed the wedding would take place within this year.
*I should test my Disguise ability a bit.*
By the way, I still hadn’t had the time to really test the ability I stole from Jin.
Since no one seemed to be coming over here, it’d be alright to try it out.
I decided to use my ability right away.
Changing into the same person seemed too easy, so how about an animal instead?
Like a cat or something······.
*Meow······?!*
The moment I regained my senses, a strange sound escaped my mouth.
It really changed in an instant.
A little flustered, I was about to revert, but hearing footsteps from behind made me freeze in place.
“Hmm. Should I get some fresh air······. What?!”
The owner of the footsteps was none other than Trie.
With a calm posture, as she walked onto the balcony, Trie’s eyes widened, and I couldn’t help but be startled.
Could she possibly see through this perfect disguise?
“Ahhhh! What do I do! It’s a little kitten! Where did you come from?!”
*Meow······.*
“Hehe, your cry is so cute. You’re just a tiny little kitten, aren’t you? Eek. I might take you to the party.”
Covering her mouth momentarily to muffle her voice, Trie quickly became excited again and approached me slowly.
With no way to fall off the balcony, I found myself trapped, getting scooped up in her arms.
With no one else around, Trie squatted down right there and drooled as she gazed at me with a dazed expression.
It seemed the effects of pretending to be a noble lady for too long were now showing.
“You’re so cute. Hehe, you’re adorable. Do you want to live with me?”
*Meow······.*
“Really? You like it? I like you too! Hehe! What do I do? Your fur is so soft! It feels nice. Your chubby belly is delightful······. Your paws feel great too······. But you’re so well-behaved! You must really like me, huh? Right? Yes, that’s right! I really really like you too! Hehe. I want to keep rubbing my face against your cheeks······.”
*Oh. I’m back.*
“······?”
Under the constant stream of Trie’s affectionate remarks, my disguise dropped.
When I regained my senses, I realized I was somehow nestled in Trie’s arms, rubbing my head against her cheek.
As Trie held me like a princess, she stared at me blankly.
