Chapter 8
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Chapter 8
As long as that sword existed, the "happy life" she desired was impossible. Yet if she abandoned Bardegiosa, she would lose her memories, and even if those were memories she wished to forget, losing them would strip away the meaning of her return. So she had to discard the cursed blade while preserving her memories.
A place where she could seal the cursed sword so it would never fall into another's hands, a place where she could obtain another Giosha. As far as she knew, there was only one location on the continent capable of both.
The city of Agenka. The Celestial Knights.
So she would have to return there after all. The land where she had slaughtered them. The land Yurien de Harden Kirie protected. The land where she had killed him. As a distant melancholy settled over her, Echinacea suddenly realized something.
"Bal."
[Ah, I've told you not to shorten my name like that. It's undignified, undignified!]
"I'm a Giosha owner, so I rewound time, yet I've retained my memories—isn't that what you said?"
[Yeah. Why?]
"...Then, the other Giosha owners also remember everything from before?"
She had killed four Giosha owners. Vice-Commander Baron, whose neck was severed while trying to save Agenka's citizens. Teresa, who died grabbing her ankle so Dietrich could escape. Dietrich, who fled relentlessly through one night before being slain. And Yurien de Harden Kirie, who never even closed his eyes.
They all remembered? The thought made her throat tighten. Her hands and feet went cold.
[Well, I don't know.]
"Tell me for certain!"
[I said I don't know? Memories are only retained when a consciousness awakens, like mine did. How would I know whether they awakened their Giosha's consciousness or not?]
"...What if they did?"
[Then they'd remember everything, obviously.]
The cursed blade answered flatly. Echinacea stared into empty space with a face gone pale as wax. Her limp hand crumpled the bedsheet in her grip.
"Is there no way to confirm it?"
[Ah, I said I don't know? The conditions for a Giosha's consciousness to awaken differ for each one.]
"Stop talking and figure it out somehow. Right now."
Echinacea's eyes darkened. Bardegiosa trembled. The cursed blade knew all too well how relentless she could be. It protested desperately.
[No, I really don't know! It's not like we Gioshas hold reunions! The conditions for awakening are all different, and some of them, even after awakening, don't say a word and just pretend to be ordinary blades—how am I supposed to know that!]
When the cursed blade spoke with such vehemence, it meant it truly didn't know. The strength drained from Echinacea's hand gripping the sheet. She collapsed onto the bed.
'So I can't know whether the Giosha owners will remember or not. Then... I'll have to act assuming they do remember.'
An involuntary groan escaped her. The Giosha owners naturally wouldn't know anything that happened after their deaths, but the memories up until their deaths alone gave them more than enough reason to kill her.
If she lived quietly at the Count Loaz Estate, she would rarely encounter them. Their worlds were too different. The problem was that to obtain another Giosha to replace this cursed blade, she had to go to the Celestial Knights. The place where all four Giosha owners were gathered.
Even if her identity as the cursed blade's owner was exposed and she had to fight, she wouldn't be harmed. But she had a family she had barely reclaimed. If she fought, neither the Celestial Knights nor the Empire would spare the Count Loaz Estate.
So she absolutely could not let them discover she was the cursed blade's owner. Those who had been slaughtered after she showed them mercy once would never trust her again.
'...Would Yurien de Harden Kirie trust me?'
The thought came unbidden, and Echinacea quickly shook her head. She recalled his eyes from that final moment before their blades met. Those sky-blue eyes that felt as though they were cracking. Her chest ached.
'You're mad, Echinacea. After betraying him like that, you think he'd trust you again? He'd be justified in drawing his sword the moment he recognized you.'
Echinacea let out a hollow laugh. Something sticky seemed to crawl up her ankles. She bit her lower lip and shook off the despair. She had grown accustomed to overcoming the cursed blade, gathering Gioshas, setting goals, and focusing on achieving them.
Her primary objective was to obtain another Giosha to replace the cursed blade. Next, she would dispose of it. To do that, she needed to enter the "Giosha Hall," located in the deepest, most heavily guarded section of the Celestial Knights headquarters. This chamber, where masterless Gioshas were sealed and stored, opened in only three circumstances.
First, when a Giosha of unclear whereabouts was discovered and stored.
Second, when an existing Giosha owner died or retired and returned their Giosha.
Third, when formal knights of the Celestial Knights were given the opportunity to choose a Giosha.
The third circumstance was one reason why Master-class knights, respected in any nation, yearned to belong to the Celestial Knights. Becoming a knight of the Celestial Knights granted the opportunity to obtain a Giosha. Few became Giosha owners through that opportunity, but the chance itself was fair to all.
'The possible ones are the first and third. Even if possible, the first is naturally out of the question.'
A Giosha of unclear whereabouts—Bardegiosa—was indeed in her possession. But the cursed blade was something that absolutely could not be exposed. Even assuming the Giosha owners had no memories from before the regression, revealing that she possessed the cursed blade was far too dangerous. It would be one thing if she merely held a masterless cursed blade, but she was its owner.
Concealing her status as the sword's master was equally impossible. The moment she relinquished ownership of the Demonic Sword, she would forget all memories from before her regression.
'Sneaking into Giosha Hall isn't easy, and even if I succeed, I'll make the Celestial Knights my enemies for life. In the end, there's only one way.'
By becoming a knight of the Celestial Knights, she could obtain Giosha through legitimate means. After acquiring a different Giosha, she could discard Bardegiosa and report finding an ownerless Demonic Sword somewhere. The Celestial Knights would seal it more thoroughly than anyone else.
'That's right—become a hawk of the Celestial Knights without revealing I'm the Demonic Sword's master, and enter Giosha Hall that way. There's no other option. Since I've collected Gioshas before, I can just pick any one once I'm inside.'
Becoming a hawk of the Celestial Knights didn't concern me. The problem was that the Giosha owners might retain their memories. I stared at Bardegiosa resting beside me, then rose from my seat. Standing before the full-length mirror, I gazed at myself intently.
While steeped in the Demonic Sword, I had black hair and black eyes throughout. Unlike someone born with naturally dark hair and eyes, mine wavered grotesquely, making it impossible to discern my original color. My entire body bore black stains, filthy with blood, dust, and sweat. My hair was tangled and torn in places from my practical, nearly tattered clothing.
I had changed so drastically that even family would struggle to recognize me. One might manage it with careful observation, but I never gave anyone that chance. I hadn't left any survivors. That's why no one recognized me. With almost no survivors, my appearance never became properly known.
Because of this, no one knew that Echinacea Loaz of the Kirie Empire's Count Loaz Estate was the demon wielding the Demonic Sword. The Giosha owners didn't even know her name. The demon's identity remained officially unknown.
In contrast, my current self possessed distinctive pink hair—uncommon enough to be unforgettable once seen—and was an aristocratic young lady of confirmed status.
'It's possible. I can hide it.'
I only needed to appear as the aristocratic young lady Echinacea Loaz. There was no connection between Echinacea Loaz and the Demonic Sword's demon. Even in the worst case, if all the Giosha owners retained their memories, I simply had to avoid doing anything that would evoke memories of my time wielding the sword.
'Avoid appearing disheveled or dirty, don't show my bare face, and with makeup applied, recognition becomes even harder. I'm so different from back then.'
My swordsmanship also had to appear different from that era. I could manage it because I was stronger now, having overcome that demonic state, than I had been then.
However, it wasn't easy for a knight to constantly dress like an aristocratic young lady or wear makeup. Anyone would find it suspicious if someone stubbornly insisted on such inconvenient practices.
I didn't want to risk showing my bare face. Wearing a mask was out of the question.
Being completely inconspicuous was impossible from the start. During my cadet years, I could blend in easily enough, but once I set a record for the fastest knighthood appointment, everyone would shower me with attention. Just as Yurien de Harden Kirie had become the subject of every tea gathering's gossip.
Yet I didn't want to waste over three years just to avoid standing out. Three years was already long enough.
Cross-dressing? I had no intention of creating a false identity while possessing a legitimate one—that would be too suspicious. Besides, it would be difficult to pass as male. My physique and face were distinctly feminine, and my chest was large enough that compression bindings wouldn't suffice.
No matter how I thought about it, going around with elaborate adornment was best. As long as I had a reasonable excuse.
As I pondered, an unexpectedly simple method came to mind—one that would allow me to dress elaborately without suspicion.
'Make it a matter of personality. A finicky young lady. Hates getting dirty, hates sweating, hates appearing before others without proper grooming, absolutely refuses to wear slovenly training clothes.'
It wasn't difficult. Given the circumstances, I had dressed carelessly throughout my time before regression, but I actually enjoyed adorning myself. Moreover, before becoming entangled with the Demonic Sword, Echinacea Loaz was a fastidious aristocratic young lady herself. I only needed to temporarily abandon the common sense of dressing appropriately for time and place. It would be inconvenient when handling a sword, but that was manageable.
'Since I'll always need to wear gloves because of the Demonic Sword's mark... I can say I refuse to remove them because I dislike damaging my hands.'
Most knight orders wouldn't tolerate it, but the Celestial Knights could. As long as I upheld basic knightly conduct and the Celestial Knights' duties, they didn't meddle in minor details. Since each member was a master-class powerhouse from various nations, discipline was relatively lax. Clothing wouldn't be a significant obstacle to becoming a knight. My skills were so excessive that I'd need to deliberately hold back anyway.
Even in a puffy petticoat and high heels, I was confident I could handle one Giosha owner. Of course, without using Bardegiosa, my own Giosha. Though if that owner were Yurien de Harden Kirie or if there were two or more, I'd need to use Bardegiosa—my body wasn't as conditioned as it once was. It was the result of honing demonic talent through blood-soaked years of training.
For an ordinary noblewoman's exceptional swordsmanship, I could simply claim I'd practiced alone in secret. If anyone suspected it was beyond self-teaching, I'd insist it was due to talent—and it wasn't even a lie.
So, I would become an eccentric genius knight who wore dresses, applied makeup, and wore high heels.
It was such an absurd, almost laughable setup that it wouldn't appear in romantic novels. I actually liked that aspect. It would be difficult to connect such a ridiculous character to the Demonic Sword's demon.
'Good. I'll certainly be criticized, but I won't be suspected. Well, criticism is nothing compared to the resentful words I heard back then.'
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org