Chapter 39
The Holy Sword in My Hand
“A sword in a place like this…?”
My brother, who had expected to find only the Golden Lycoris, was wary of the sword plunged into the ground, which clearly had a story behind it.
And as for Elwin—
“Whoa, what an amazing sword!”
“Your Highness, it’s dangerous!”
Ignoring his guard Ian’s attempts to stop him, he ran gleefully toward the holy sword. Without hesitation, he reached for it.
“What’s this? It won’t budge.”
Growing frustrated with the stubborn sword, Elwin gripped it with both hands and tried to pull it out. But it still wouldn’t move.
Fwahahaha. I do not budge for just any weakling.
Well, he’s not just any weakling; he is the crown prince, after all…
“It just won’t come out!”
“Your Highness, you shouldn’t touch an unknown sword like this.”
“But this sword is clearly a masterpiece. It must have been forged by a famous master smith. Ian, can you pull it out?”
Elwin grinned, egging him on with a “Go on, give it a try.” Ian looked at him with exasperation.
But perhaps thinking that he might be able to draw the sword, Ian stared at it with a rather serious expression.
Guys really like this kind of thing, huh.
Even Ian, who usually wears such a stern face, was now looking at the holy sword with eyes full of excitement and anticipation.
He gently gripped the hilt of the holy sword and exerted force. You could tell he was putting a considerable amount of strength into it, but the holy sword didn’t even twitch.
Hahaha! How laughable, to think you could draw me with such meager strength!
Perhaps getting into the spirit, the holy sword taunted Ian with a line fit for a villain.
Probably, though, Ian couldn’t hear it.
Besides, I think the holy sword probably can’t be drawn by anyone else since it’s already formed a contract with me.
Maybe I should have stopped this sooner, but I’ve got other things on my mind right now.
“It seems I cannot do it either.”
Ian struggled for a while longer but eventually gave up and let go.
“Alright, then it’s Serios’s turn. …Hey, what are you doing over there?”
And then my brother, paying no attention to the holy sword, was observing the Golden Lycoris. Of course, so was I.
Because I already knew it was absolutely impossible to pull out.
Moko seemed very interested in the Golden Lycoris, sniffing the flower and getting pollen all over his fluffy fur.
Maybe the pollen was a bit luminescent too, as he’d become a glowing puffball. It was cute.
“Brother, taking it back with the soil still attached is probably best, right?”
“There isn’t that much soil itself. It seems the roots have spread into the rock beneath.”
“We’ll want to take it back without damaging the roots.”
“Frankly, I’d rather just build a research lab here.”
Nah, that’s probably impossible.
This is within Miranda’s territory, after all.
“Hey! Serios!”
Elwin, frustrated that my brother showed zero interest in the holy sword, raised his voice, trying to get his attention. Ian stood beside him with an apologetic look.
“Serios, you try it too.”
The look in their eyes that said “It’s absolutely impossible for him” made me a bit annoyed.
Sure, my brother isn’t the Hero; he’s the final boss.
But he’s much stronger and cooler than the Hero.
So it’s totally fine if he can’t pull out some holy sword.
Just as I was thinking that, the holy sword made a surprising remark.
‘The girl’s brother, hmm… Well, it’s not that he is entirely without qualification.’
Huh, really?
So if I hadn’t become the contractor, maybe Brother would have become the master of the holy sword?
I took a good look at the holy sword.
The real holy sword didn’t have gems embedded in its hilt or anything; it was a plain, unadorned sword, the kind you might find anywhere.
But its blade had a complex tempering pattern, and the sword itself gleamed and shimmered.
Just as Elwin said, its appearance alone made it clear it was an extraordinary sword.
Imagining my brother wielding it… Wouldn’t that be just too cool!?
(Holy Sword, is it possible to change the contractor?)
I couldn’t help but ask eagerly, and a somewhat exasperated voice replied.
‘It is not impossible, but if you do, you will no longer be able to use the needle, which is my分身 (bunshin – embodiment/offshoot).’
Th-that would be a problem.
Probably, if I used Moko’s fur, I could still get some protective effect, but I couldn’t expect the same dramatic results as before.
But still, could I really handle such a heavy-looking sword?
‘Just try holding me and see.’
Well, I guess that’s one way to find out.
I slipped past my brother, who looked completely uninterested, and trotted over to the holy sword.
“Retty?”
With Elwin and Ian watching me with faces that said “It’s hopeless,” and my brother hastily chasing after me in a fluster, I gripped the holy sword’s hilt tightly.
The sword slid smoothly out of the ground.
It’s true. It’s light.
After all, in times like these, you gotta do this, right?
I raised the sword high up and shouted:
“Claimed it!”
