“It looks like we’ll reach the town by early afternoon today. It’s a big town known for its weapons, so I’m sure there’s a good weapon shop there.”
It was Kahim who said this inside the carriage. He was about the same height as me and had an unremarkable face. If he took off his uniform, he’d blend right in with the common folk, hardly looking like a knight. And yet, he’s one of the most skilled in the order, so I really don’t get the world of knights.
Kahim’s most distinctive trait is his relaxed, casual tone. At first, he spoke to me politely, but when I told him, “We’re colleagues, so there’s no need for formal speech,” he switched to this way of talking. Apparently, he thought that, while a saint’s orders are absolute, speaking to one as an equal felt too intimidating. His solution was to drop the formalities altogether. Truly a strange guy.
“Why do you want to go to a weapon shop?”
“I was thinking I might find a good sword.”
“A sword? Not a bow?”
“Yeah. …Just relying on the blessing is starting to feel a bit uncertain.”
We still had three places left to cleanse. So far, Viirant had managed to slay the monsters with just the blessing I gave him and the standard swords supplied to the knights. But lately, he’s been struggling more often. The further we travel from the royal capital, the denser the corruption becomes, and the monsters grow stronger as a result.
No matter how strong Viirant is, a regular sword without any divine power infused in it isn’t cutting it anymore. There are holy swords made by past saints in the royal treasury, but borrowing one of those would be a huge ordeal. So, I figured I’d have to make one myself.
With that in mind, I’d already tried several times to enchant a weapon. It’s incredibly difficult to imbue a solid object with holy power, but I hypothesised that if I could forcibly push enough power into it, I might be able to make a mock holy sword. So, I attempted a few reckless challenges.
The result? Total failure. The swords shattered into tiny pieces, leaving me to finally understand that ordinary swords just can’t handle my holy power.
“So, this blessing of yours, can it only be given to Viirant?”
“Huh? W-why are you asking?”
“Well, if you gave your blessing to me or Dirk too, wouldn’t that increase our fighting strength?”
…Oh, that’s what he meant. I panicked for a moment, thinking he might have caught on to something.
Technically, it’s not impossible to give blessings to multiple people. But the total amount of blessing I can give remains the same. So, the more people I bless, the smaller the blessing for each individual. Since I’m trying to give a blessing powerful enough to fight the Demon King, weakening it would defeat the purpose. That’s probably why there’s always only one hero per saint in history.
…Well, there’s also the issue of how it’s done. If I were to bless Dirk and Kahim, I’d have to kiss them or do something along those lines. And, ethically and emotionally, that’s just not something I can accept. They’d probably both want to avoid kissing an old guy like me anyway, and I’d like to decline it too.
When I didn’t know how intense a kiss could be, I was able to do it with Viirant. But now that I do know, there’s no way I could do it with anyone else… Honestly, just thinking about it gives me chills.
“Sorry, but that’s impossible. You’ve never heard of two heroes at the same time, have you?”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
Even though my response was full of half-truths, Kahim accepted it easily. I let out a sigh of relief and looked out the window. Viirant was riding alongside the carriage, keeping watch like the perfect knight. Whenever we enter a town, women always swoon over him, and I can see why. He looks so noble and handsome that it’s hard to imagine he’s the same guy who does all sorts of things with me in private.
—Crap.
Viirant noticed me looking and gave me a soft smile. His face, perfectly composed, somehow looked almost childlike when he smiled like that. I found myself almost smiling in return and quickly tightened my lips to stop it.
✢
As Kahim had said, the town was bustling and large. The mountain nearby was one of the country’s most famous mining areas, so they were known for producing weapons and metal goods. As I glanced at the signs, I saw many with pictures of swords or shields on them, clearly showing this was a town of both mining and weaponry.
We arrived at the inn, secured in advance by our protective detail, as the sun began to dip. It wasn’t quite evening yet, and the streets were still lively with people. There was still time to visit a few weapon shops.
After dropping off our luggage and horses, the four of us set out into the town. I could feel people’s gazes following us as we walked. Most of the crowd was men, as one might expect in a town focused on weapons, but the few women present were eyeing Viirant, while most of the men were probably curious about our unusual uniforms. The white uniforms of the temple knights symbolised sacredness, while Viirant and the others wore navy, indicating they were the personal knights of the saint, meant to emphasise the saint’s white attire. Only the strongest knights in the order were allowed to wear navy.
Feeling uncomfortable under the evaluating stares of the men, I awkwardly shrank my neck.
“There are four shops that specialise in swords and countless other shops that carry swords. Should we start with those four?” Kahim asked, leading the way with a bounce in his step. He was the best at gathering information in town. His plain but likeable appearance and casual tone made people more willing to talk to him. Dirk was too quiet, and whenever Viirant tried to ask questions, women would flock to him. So by process of elimination, Kahim usually handled the information gathering.
Since I was the one being protected, they said it was best for me not to interact with too many people. …Back when it was just me and Viirant traveling to the capital, I was free to do what I wanted, but now that I think about it, that must’ve been quite a burden on the knights protecting me. I feel bad about that.
As we walked through the town, looking around curiously, we visited a few weapon shops guided by Kahim. But even in this town famous for its weapons, we didn’t find anything suitable. There were plenty of swords that could be called legendary, but none of them seemed capable of withstanding my holy power.
It’s said that the holy swords of the past saints were forged specifically for that purpose, so perhaps it was naive of me to think I could get by with a ready-made sword. If I could create a sword as easily as I did arrows, it would be a quick fix, but considering balance and sharpness, that wasn’t possible. If the last shop doesn’t have anything, I’ll have to figure out another method.
“This is the last one,” Kahim said as he stopped in front of a dilapidated building that hardly looked like a store. The walls were faded from years of exposure to the elements, and the roof had been haphazardly patched up. It was much smaller than the other shops, and it looked like it might collapse if three people went inside.
Despite the shabby appearance of the store, the adjacent workshop made of stone looked sturdy and impressive. Maybe the owner just didn’t care much about the shop itself.
Feeling uneasy as I compared the place to the shack I used to live in, Viirant and I stepped through the door. The inside was dim and empty, but the swords seemed well-maintained. The ones hanging on the wall were high-end, while the ones displayed on the shelves were lower quality and priced accordingly. The layout wasn’t that different from the other shops, except for one thing.
Near the back, beside the counter where the shopkeeper would normally sit, there was a large box filled with swords. They were just thrown in there without any care. What could that be?
Curious, I went over to look and saw a small sign tucked away that read “Junk.” …To my untrained eye, they didn’t look like junk at all, but the owner must have some particular standards. As I inspected the precariously piled swords, one caught my attention.
Only the hilt was visible, but it was a plain, no-frills sword. Despite looking just like any other sword, for some reason, it intrigued me. I picked it up, and it felt slightly heavier than it looked. I flipped it around and drew it from its scabbard, noticing a purple stone embedded at the base of the blade.
“What’s this…?”
“That’s a failed attempt.”
“Failed?”
“I tried to embed a magic stone into the blade, thinking it’d turn into a magic sword, but the magic wouldn’t take. Once it gets like that, you can’t remove the stone, and it’s not much use as a regular sword with that thing stuck in it, so yeah, it’s a failure.”
As soon as the shopkeeper appeared, he launched into an explanation, and I nodded in understanding. That explains it. It’s no wonder the enchantment didn’t work.
Magic stones themselves aren’t that hard to enchant. After all, they’re stones specifically known for easily holding magic. However, to enchant this sword, you’d need to channel the magic not just into the stone but also throughout the blade. And from what I could tell, the blade wasn’t made of ordinary iron.
Judging by the feel, it would probably take all my holy power just to imbue it. No average magician could hope to enchant this.
I handed the sword to Viirant, and he tested its weight with a nod of approval. It seemed like it was good to wield, at least. In that case, this would be our choice. I was glad to have found something worthwhile. Whether it would work or not was still uncertain, but this sword had much more potential than the others. The only concern was whether my holy power would be enough, but lately, it seemed like my power had increased. I should be fine.
Trying to suppress the grin tugging at my lips, I turned back to the shopkeeper. He had a scruffy beard and hair, with a stern-looking face, but since he had explained everything in detail, he didn’t seem as difficult as his appearance suggested. Hopefully, the price wasn’t too high.
“How much is it?”
“It’s not for sale.”
…Correction. He’s more difficult than he looks.
2 extra releases in thanks to silverness’s Ko-Fi treats~
