Chapter 10
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Chapter 10
"...What? A Demonic Sword?"
Nicole let out a short laugh and leaned back against her chair. Her voice carried a relaxed tone as she responded.
"What else would it be? Surely you're old enough to have outgrown fairy tales, Echinacea?"
"A transparent blade with patterns etched into it, a handle made of black metal of unknown composition, and a length about this long."
Echinacea raised her hand to indicate the height that reached approximately to Nicole's chest when she stood. Nicole's expression shifted slightly.
The Demonic Sword Bardegiosa, which brought massacre wherever it appeared, was quite famous among the Giosa series. However, despite its notoriety, its actual appearance was not widely known. Even if one were Nicole, a disciple of the Seven Sages of the Mage Tower, it would be normal for an ordinary noblewoman like Echinacea to be ignorant of it.
"You're saying such a blade was inside that bundle?"
"Yes, it was definitely a Demonic Sword. The Demonic Sword Bardegiosa."
"How did you know it was Bardegiosa?"
It was the question I had anticipated. I offered the excuse I had prepared.
"Actually, I've taken quite an interest in the Giosa series. The illustration I saw in a book before looked similar to it."
"...It must be a counterfeit. There are plenty of Giosa counterfeits out there."
"Well, look for yourself. Your mind will change."
"What?"
I slowly removed the glove from my right hand. I set the silk glove on the table and reached out. When Nicole saw the black pattern on that hand, her eyes widened. And as the exact same blade I had just described materialized from that pattern, the color drained from her face.
I grasped the hilt of the blade that materialized above my hand. Then I laid it horizontally on the table. Nicole, her face drained of color, peered at the blade and whispered an incantation under her breath. A light flickered briefly in her eyes before vanishing. It appeared to be a type of detection magic.
As she examined the blade in that state, she suddenly gasped and bolted upright. She quickly moved away from the table, pointing at it with trembling hands.
"B-B-Bardegiosa...!"
"I thought you'd recognize it immediately. You're a mage, after all."
I smiled bitterly and reached toward the hilt of the Demonic Sword. Nicole, moving at a speed that would have been unbelievable for her usual self, rushed over and grabbed my wrist just as I was about to grasp the blade.
"Are you insane? Trying to touch a Demonic Sword?"
"I've already touched it, sister."
"Good heavens, this, this must be reported to the Mage Tower at once, and we need to seal it, or rather, inform the Celestial Knights...."
"That won't work. You just saw it."
"W-W-What, what did I see?"
I easily slipped free from Nicole's grasp and grasped the Demonic Sword. The blade melted away and disappeared into my hand. Nicole stood frozen with her mouth agape, staring at where the blade had vanished, then turned her gaze toward me. I understood her unspoken question.
"That's right. It recognizes me as its master."
"H-How? You, then, right now...."
Nicole descended into panic, speaking incoherently. The reason a Demonic Sword earned its name was because it controlled its master to commit massacres. Yet the Echinacea before her eyes seemed perfectly sound. She was somewhat different from usual, but she hardly appeared to be a demon driven mad by slaughter. I shrugged my shoulders.
"Why am I sane? Well, that's not really the important part anyway."
"Not important? You're holding a Demonic Sword and you're perfectly fine...!"
"Sister, why do you think a Demonic Sword would be in our Kitchen with such sloppy packaging in the first place?"
Nicole's eyes wavered. I put my glove back on and continued.
"What if someone else had grasped the Demonic Sword first instead of me? I haven't been corrupted by it now, but what if I had been controlled? What would have happened then?"
"...The Loaz Estate would be nothing but corpses right now."
"Just the Loaz Estate?"
I smiled coldly. Nicole removed her monocle and rubbed her eyes. Then she wiped the smudges from the lens with her collar. I said nothing more and waited. Once Nicole had regained her composure and put her monocle back on, she spoke.
"Who brought the Demonic Sword to Loaz, with what intention, and how? You're saying that's what's most important right now, aren't you?"
"Exactly."
"You're wrong. What matters now isn't that—it's how you're holding the Demonic Sword without any adverse effects. We need to investigate this immediately. You're a walking time bomb right now. We have to dispose of that Demonic Sword somehow, and then...."
"I know why. And I've already thought of a way to handle the Demonic Sword."
"Echinacea."
Nicole rubbed her eyes again, her expression troubled. She spoke heavily.
"What are you hiding from me?"
"...I'm sorry, but I can't tell you. The only reason I told you about the Demonic Sword was to ask for your help investigating it. Otherwise, I wouldn't have mentioned this at all."
"Investigating? The origin of the Demonic Sword?"
"Yes. I have something else I need to do."
"Something else?"
"I need to dispose of the Demonic Sword."
"...So you're asking me to investigate the Demonic Sword's origins while you dispose of it? Is that why you came here?"
"Exactly. And I'm asking you to look after our family while I'm away."
"Away? Where are you going?"
"Agenka."
Nicole exhaled a sound that was almost a groan. She leaned back in her chair with an exhausted expression and carelessly removed her monocle, tossing it aside. Her murky green eyes, like a swamp, fixed upon me with a penetrating gaze.
"Do you understand how serious this situation is?"
"I understand perfectly. That's why I'm telling you. Because I can trust you."
"How unexpectedly sentimental. Don't go around trusting people so carelessly, Echinacea Loaz. Do you have any idea what will happen if it's revealed that you're the master of the Demonic Sword?"
"It would become dangerous. In many ways."
"Dangerous? Let me be specific. You'll be isolated immediately. Even if you're fine now, there's no guarantee you'll remain unaffected. They might conduct experiments to figure out why you're not being controlled. Since no one knows when you might go berserk, some will argue for simply executing you. Do you really think people will believe you haven't been corrupted?"
"You believe me right now, don't you?"
"Of course I do. But surely you're not naive enough to think everyone else will trust you the way I do? I didn't think you were capable of being this foolish...!"
"Of course I'll hide it from everyone else. I haven't even told my parents. You're the only person I could ask to investigate, which is why I'm only telling you. Because I can trust you."
"Where does this trust of yours even come from?"
She asked, exasperated. I fell silent.
'Because I saw you didn't run away even when facing death. You see, when death approaches, people reveal their true nature. And I've seen that so many times. You're... someone I can trust.'
I couldn't say it. The time I experienced no longer exists. I desperately wished for it to be that way and held no regrets, but the thought that I could never share or be understood about those experiences with anyone else filled me with a strange loneliness.
Swallowing words I couldn't speak, I said something else instead.
"Then, should I not trust you?"
"No, that's not what I mean.... Actually, don't trust me. It's better if you don't trust anyone."
Nicole muttered with a darkened expression, then suddenly looked up in alarm.
"Wait, what are you going to Agenka for? You're not planning to go to the Celestial Knights and tell them you're the master of the Demonic Sword, are you?"
"Didn't you just say to inform the Mage Tower or the Celestial Knights?"
"That was when you weren't the master of the Demonic Sword! This is insane. Is there even a way to separate yourself from that thing? How exactly are you planning to dispose of it?"
Renouncing ownership of the Demonic Sword was simple in theory. But the method was entirely unknown. A sword that controls its master—it couldn't be any other way. Since I couldn't abandon the Demonic Sword for other reasons, instead of explaining that discarding it was easy, I answered only the latter part of her question.
"I'm going to become a knight of the Celestial Knights."
"...What?"
"I'm going to become a proper knight so I can dispose of the Demonic Sword."
Nicole made no attempt to hide her expression as it twisted in disbelief. Her voice carried the unmistakable tone of someone questioning my sanity.
"A knight? You? And of the Celestial Knights, no less?"
"Yes. The Agenka Cadet Selection Exam is held every spring, you know. I'm going to take it. I'll start as a cadet and become a Knight Instructor as quickly as possible."
If I revealed that I was already a Master, I could take the entrance exam immediately, but that would be far too suspicious. A perfectly ordinary twenty-year-old noblewoman suddenly claiming to be a Master? Becoming a cadet in the first place was already implausible, but at least it was better than declaring myself a Master outright.
'If I build up a decent record as a cadet and demonstrate improvement in swordsmanship, then become a Master around twenty-three—similar to Yurien—it would draw far less attention. I can maintain a level that people will accept as genius-level talent.'
Nicole, unaware of what I was thinking, grabbed the back of her neck.
"Wait, how exactly do you plan to become a Knight Instructor? You've never even held a sword!"
This was a question I'd anticipated and prepared for. I smiled bitterly.
"Actually, I've been practicing with a sword in secret."
"Now you're spouting nonsense. Don't I know you? Sword training, with your personality?"
"And sister, I'm the owner of the Demonic Sword. Bardegiosa's owner."
A Demonic Sword owner. With extremely rare exceptions, one must be at least a Master to become a Demonic Sword owner. Therefore, all owners are naturally exceptional swordsmen. This was common knowledge.
By that logic, Echinacea, being a Demonic Sword owner, should have been an exceptional swordsman. But in Nicole's mind, the Echinacea she knew and the phrase "exceptional swordsman" simply didn't connect. She was bewildered.
"A Demonic Sword owner? But that's a Demonic Sword, even if it's part of the Bardegiosa series...?"
"Yes, because it's a Demonic Sword. Thanks to the Demonic Sword, I've become more skilled with the blade."
It wasn't a lie. The reason I'd become a master of the sword was ultimately because of the Demonic Sword. But Nicole interpreted her words differently.
"The Demonic Sword has that kind of ability? Ah, wasn't that originally a sword that controlled its owner? Is it similar? No, but then the self should disappear... What on earth...?"
"Anyway, I don't intend to keep wielding the Demonic Sword. So until I become a Knight Instructor, I'd like you to investigate the Demonic Sword's origins while... protecting our family. You're the only person I can ask for this."
Count Loaz was someone far removed from politics and scheming. You could tell just from the fact that he lived in his territory without involving himself in the capital's political circles. The Countess wasn't much different, and Lancel was still a seventeen-year-old boy who hadn't even come of age. Nicole Sizton was the only person who could be of help in such matters.
Nicole's expression hardened, and she fell silent for a long moment. I waited anxiously for her response, fidgeting with the edge of my gloves.
"I'm sorry for asking something like this."
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org