SWS CH 14

Chapter 14

[Ts… haa. I’ve been starving for so long that even things like this look tempting. Human food is nothing but harmful to someone like me.

Wait.

This line sounds really familiar.

Where have I heard this before?

Maybe if I keep eating the chicken, I’ll remember.

I took a bite.

[Hngh. That juicy smell coming off the chicken… You used soy sauce with sugar, didn’t you? Humans really are a species that loves sugar. I happen to love sugar myself.

Ah.

Now I know.

This voice.

“Jun—! Your name was Jun, right?”

[It’s not Jun; it’s Junel!]

The voice immediately shot back.

“Ah, Junel. Sorry. I’m good at remembering people, but I’m terrible at remembering monsters’ names.”

Junel.

He was the sword spirit known as the guardian of this place—the “Kalarai Market.”

His name had become something you only heard in legends now, but in the original story, when Docep’s sword broke, Junel sacrificed his own body to become a powerful sword suited to him. A total pushover—no, a kind spirit.

And whenever he referred to himself, he always said “this body.”

That’s what jogged my memory.

[Mon—monster?! This body is not some kind of monster—wait, you—y-you can hear my voice?!]

His voice rang out in sheer panic.

“Of course. I can hear you, so I’m talking to you.”

Silence followed. Only the sound of the wind drifted through the alley.

Then—

[Waaahhh!!]

Something like a flying squirrel came fluttering in.

If you’re going to reveal yourself, couldn’t you do it quietly?

Thud!

“Ack!!”

It slammed straight into Halara’s proud, straight nose.

You brat! You can see me too!]

Junel grabbed my cheeks with both hands and lifted his head.

And oh my goodness.

“So cute!”

A tiny humanoid creature with a three-head-tall body was staring at me. In the novel, he was only described as a fairy with chubby cheeks.

But he was this adorable little thing.

[You can really hear me?!]

“A fairy this cute… oh my gosh! I need my phone—ah, right. There are no phones here. This is totally something you’d take a picture of and make your profile photo.”

This world had magic and all, yet the one thing I needed—a smartphone—didn’t exist.

If I had one, I could beat Docep and become the strongest in the world.

[Can you hear me or not?!]

Despite his tiny body, Junel’s voice was louder than mine.

“Of course I can hear you. I’m not that old. Even if you speak quietly, I can hear you just fine.”

[Huh? Really? You really can hear me… sniff… really hear me…?]

Uh oh. Did I say something wrong?

Tears welled up in his huge eyes.

Panicking, I held out the remaining piece of my chicken skewer.

“Don’t cry. Here, eat this and stop.”

People get extra miserable when they’re hungry. He’d even talked about twisting my arm just to eat, so he had to be starving.

But Junel cried even harder.

This body does not cry! I must have been cursed by a water spirit! That’s why water keeps coming out of my eyes!]

Junel apparently had more pride than I’d expected.

Still, that just made him cuter.

“Seeing you makes this world finally feel like a fantasy.”

So much had happened, and people were people no matter the world—it hadn’t really sunk in until now.

Life really is long.

“You must be really hungry. Eat this for now, and later let’s go to my place. I’ll cook you something. I’m actually pretty good at cooking, even if I’ve just been eating this stuff lately.”

Junel chewed on the chicken skewer, stuffing his cheeks.

He looked human, but with puffed cheeks like a squirrel—ridiculously cute.

Maybe that helped calm him down. After wiping his eyes, Junel suddenly grabbed my face again.

[Brininhanta! I thought you were wiped out!]

“Brininhanta?”

[Yes! That’s your race! One who inherited the blood of the Brininhanta family!]

Junel pointed at me with one of his four fingers.

The Brininhanta family existed in the original story. One of the first five hero families, the only lineage capable of communicating with spirits.

They once wielded immense power by borrowing strength from spirits—but were eventually annihilated and erased from history.

“…Don’t tell me the descendant is… me?”

Oh, please.

God.

Please say no.

Who else could it be? The only ones who can talk to this body are them.]

I’d just learned something; it might’ve been better not to know.

So Halara was actually from an exterminated clan.

Which meant whether I went to Bloodymary or not, this was a short-lived life.

“My god…”

My body swayed.

Why would you put an isekai extra through something like this?

[How did you even survive until now?]

“Me? No idea.”

Halara must have been specialized in survival.

The Brininhanta was an eradicated clan.

Back then, the world made sure their bloodline was completely wiped out—again and again.

And yet Halara survived long enough to pass it down?

Still, everything up until now was in the past.

What mattered was the future.

“What should I do now?”

What do you mean? You hide and live quietly.

Hide and live.

Of course I knew that was the logical option.

But I didn’t want that.

Why should I have to hide when I’ve done nothing wrong?

I’d lived my entire previous life holding my breath.

I didn’t want to do that again, even after dying and ending up here. Not as a fugitive forever.

At least here, I wanted to live openly.

That was the right I gave myself as someone who’d been reborn.

And now I had Junel.

At least one friend I could open up to.

I gently peeled Junel off my face.

He clung to my stomach instead, like he refused to let go.

[No! This body will protect you! Let’s live quietly here!

He must have been very lonely.

Junel was a spirit that lived where sword energy gathered. Stories of him appearing in the Kalarai Market existed because the Bloodymary family was here.

If I left this place, the sword energy would thin—and Junel would grow weaker.

I stroked his back as he stuck to me.

His tiny wings made him even cuter.

“I think I get a little stronger just having you around.”

[You mean that?]

He spoke like a grumpy old man.

“Yeah. I don’t know where we’ll end up living. Even if my situation gets resolved, I think we’ll eventually leave and live quietly somewhere. Just the two of us.”

What situation? Is it something this body can’t solve?]

Junel probably couldn’t fix it.

It seemed like I was the only one in the world who could even see him.

As for being a descendant of an exterminated clan—that was something we could work around quietly with Junel’s help.

“It’s fine. Everything will work out.”

That was when—

“…Halara Seheb.”

A man’s voice called my name from behind.

***

Docep came down to the village again, wearing a clean shirt.

Despite the late hour, the Kalarai Market was still bustling with people.

“Come to think of it, there was a spirit staying here.”

He wouldn’t see Junel until long after awakening his ninth star. Only after acquiring and absorbing a Brininhanta relic did he finally see the legendary spirit said to appear then.

I can’t see him now. That chatty spirit.

But he would eventually.

There was no power he couldn’t obtain if he set his mind to it.

Two faintly glittering stars shimmered before his eyes.

In the meantime, Docep had awakened his second star.

More importantly, he needed to find Halara.

The mysterious woman who had even changed Francesca.

There’s no way she’s pregnant.

He recalled their first meeting.

No matter how hard he tried, that night remained pitch black in his memory.

There was no way a child could have come from that night.

Still, Francesca’s misunderstanding wasn’t entirely bad.

Thanks to that, I can keep her close.

That was his goal.

He couldn’t leave Halara alone in this world—someone who had changed when everything else stayed the same.

He would keep her close, peeling back her secrets layer by layer.

And uncover the reason she had approached him in the past.