"This time, I can't rely solely on your intuition as I did when searching for Shion. I don't want to stray from the main road again. We'll gather the saintly swords efficiently, and you'll follow my instructions."
"Yes! I'll follow you wherever you go, Crow! Until the end of your life!"
Ignoring Holly's passionate declaration, I realized I had to be resolved. It would be too cruel if humanity were to perish because I was lazy, and the spirit of the divine sword lost the will to fight the Demon King. This ordinary man, who usually gets scared easily, has to show his determination. This time, I likely have the royal family's permission, so it won't be like when I stole the divine sword. Probably... No, definitely.
"But... what should we do with Shion while we're searching for the saintly swords?"
"Just leave her in the castle."
"Are you really serious about defeating the Demon King with Shion? You're not just saying that because you want to be alone with me, right?"
"It's not that I want to leave Shion behind just so I can be alone with you."
"So you're not denying that you want to be alone with me..."
"When we traveled as a trio before, I felt that traveling with a child slowed us down."
"Really? I think Shion is quite capable."
"Also, as I mentioned earlier, I believe it's dangerous for Shion, the hero, to wander around. Right now, she's just a child with abnormally enhanced combat abilities. Depending on the influences she encounters, who knows what damage she might cause."
"Hmm..."
I understood Holly's concerns. Indeed, when I was on the verge of execution, Shion, believing I was dead, destroyed half of the royal capital. If one thing had gone wrong, it could have resulted in many casualties. It's dangerous for a hero, who's supposed to save the world, to act without realizing the magnitude of her power. Even though the hero has saved the world from the threat of the Demon King many times, the potential danger posed by a hero is on par with that of the Demon King.
"Even if we're searching for the saintly swords, we only really need one or two. There's no need to collect all nine."
"Is that so? I kind of wanted to see all of them."
"The three you know about, by coincidence, happen to be highly complete saintly swords. They are similar to my abilities as the Holy Light Sword, just on a smaller scale."
That's true. They have similar forms, and while there's a difference in maximum output, they both enhance physical abilities with the command "Possession" and exhibit special abilities with the command "Release".
Shion's Excalibur produces blades of light. Iris's Alondite creates various forms of ice. Instructor Cattleya's Galatine produces explosions and flames. Prince Heath's Clarent releases lightning strikes. I had assumed the other nine were similar, but from Holly's words, they seem different.
"Speaking of searching, how do we find them? Can you locate the saintly swords of the divine sword like you did when you found the hero, Shion?"
"If I could do that, there would have been no need to check if the fake sword in the basement was genuine. I can't really... unless I see it directly."
"...That sounds incredibly challenging. With Shion, we knew the direction, but this continent is vast. Searching blindly is...?"
"It's not exactly like that. I can sense when the owners of the saintly swords use their functions... like 'Possession' or 'Release'. We need to get somewhat close, though."
"Wait, so we need to approach the saintly swords' owners while they're using them? That doesn't sound much easier..."
"...There's a specific saintly sword that's perfect for searching for the others. It's called the Pegasus Sword. Exceptionally, I can sense it even without an owner. We can prioritize finding that sword and then search for the others..."
Holly crossed her arms, deep in thought. Finding the saintly swords of the divine sword seemed no easy task.
"Well, I'll ask about the abilities of the saintly swords later. If we leave Shion in the royal capital, you can't leave there too, right? You're not going to tell me to carry the Holy Light Sword just so you can be with me, are you?"
Holly is the spirit residing in the Holy Light Sword that Shion possesses. Thanks to the magical power supplied by its current owner, Shion, Holly can move quite a distance from the sword itself, but she shouldn't be able to leave the royal capital.
"Of course not. I'm well aware of the risks of separating the hero and the Holy Light Sword."
"So, what will we do?"
"There's a good way. Even with Shion keeping the Holy Light Sword, I, the spirit of the sword, can move to a distant location."
"How?"
"For now, let's go to where Shion is."
I left my room and returned to the courtyard. However, Shion, who was practicing just a while ago, was no longer there. She might have finished her training while I was talking to Holly. Thinking this, I decided to head to Shion's room. At first, Shion insisted on staying in the same room as me. After giving the Holy Light Sword to Shion and spending the time together until we returned to the royal capital, I didn't really mind either way. However, due to the strong opposition from a horrified Iris and Instructor Cattleya, separate rooms were assigned. I still can't forget the intense aura from Shion directed at Iris and the others at that time, or Iris's expression, treating me like a pervert.
However, I am not a pervert who gets excited by young girls. In reality, I had spent nearly a month with Shion and never once had inappropriate thoughts.
Why do people see a simple, natural scene of a cheerful, young man with an innocent girl getting close to him, as if it's a perverse situation with a young child? It's utterly incomprehensible.
While pondering these thoughts, I made my way to Shion's private room. As a refreshing, good-natured young man, I don't just barge into rooms. I always knock and wait for permission before entering. Shion, who had been sweating from training, might be changing clothes. It's not like I'd knock and just open the door to a scene where she's in the middle of changing, exclaiming, "Oops! Sorry!" I knocked properly on the door.
From the other side, I heard Shion's voice, "Who is it?"
"It's Crow. I have something to discuss, is it okay?"
"Oh, big brother? Come in."
I proceeded with entirely appropriate actions and opened the door, only to be greeted by the sight of Shion, Iris, and Instructor Cattleya, all in the midst of changing. I won't dwell on what happened next. The screams from Iris, the shouts from Instructor Cattleya, both trying to kill me using their saintly swords, and Shion looking as if she would cry. Thanks to Holly's possession, which slightly enhanced my physical abilities, I narrowly escaped. But that's not the point. I did nothing wrong. I was completely innocent. Still, a man who accidentally sees a woman undressed tends to face near-death experiences. It's just one of those unwritten rules, I suppose.
By the way, while it doesn't really concern me, one might wonder why Iris and Instructor Cattleya were changing in the same room as Shion. Well, the Royal Officer Academy had recently held its graduation ceremony. After completing their three-year course, both Iris and I graduated. Most of the graduates are dispatched to various locations as military personnel, while the current students temporarily return home. Normally, Iris, who graduated at the top of her class and possesses a saintly sword, would have been treated as a special case and immediately become a major force in the military. Instructor Cattleya, who had been handling saintly swords for years and was an excellent instructor at the academy, was supposed to wait for the new students as an instructor. However, the primary role of the saintly sword users is to assist the hero. Thus, Iris and Instructor Cattleya were appointed to care for and guide Shion, the hero. As a result, the three of them often acted together. More so, since the incident where Shion destroyed half the town, everyone in the kingdom is somewhat terrified of her, leaving her with hardly anyone else to be with. After finishing their daily training, seeing Shion drenched in sweat, they thought, "Why not wash off in the huge bathhouse beneath the castle? If so, why not all three of us go together? And if that's the case, why not all change into bathing suits together in Shion's room?" That seemed to be the sequence of events. And just at that moment, I knocked on the door. Shion, who had no reservations about me seeing her undressed, said I could enter. Iris and Instructor Cattleya tried to stop me, but I had already opened the door by then. - Why am I to blame in all of this?