"The bluish-purple one can silence sounds. The reddish-purple one can make the wielder invisible."
"Silence sounds? I get the invisibility, that's handy. But what's the point of silencing sounds?"
"It means you can move silently while being invisible."
I see. That makes sense.
They truly are saintly swords tailored for assassins.
"Their ability to enhance physical prowess is also more potent than the saintly swords wielded by Iris and Cattleya. Though, in a straightforward battle, it would be challenging to defeat those two with these swords."
"Why? If one becomes invisible and launches a surprise attack, wouldn't that be formidable?"
"Saintly Sword wielders can sense each other's magical energies. If you approach using the special ability of the saintly swords, your location can be deduced. And Curtana doesn't possess any offensive magic."
"So if hypothetically, I had to battle either Iris or Instructor Cattleya..."
"You'd either be frozen or burned alive."
In other words, while they have a distinct advantage in one-on-one combat, in a duel between saintly sword wielders, they would be at a disadvantage.
Upon realizing this, an uneasy feeling struck me.
I casually thought about setting out to find saintly swords, but on reflection, it's a risky endeavor.
What was I thinking?
Wasn't I considering the possibility of fighting against saintly sword wielders?
The twelve saintly swords were initially crafted to assist the hero in defeating the Demon Lord.
They are weapons intended to save the world from peril.
I had naively thought that throughout history, saintly sword wielders had cooperated to assist the hero.
Even if not on the level of heroes, all the historical saintly sword wielders were remarkable heroes.
Therefore, I hadn't considered that there might be individuals using the immensely powerful saintly swords for their own purposes.
It wouldn't be surprising if there were those exploiting them for personal gain.
Even if all twelve saintly swords are collected, they still wouldn't match the power of a single Holy Light Sword.
Yet, the saintly swords are still a significant threat.
One of their wielders came to assassinate me.
This implies that any saintly sword wielder I meet in the future could potentially become an enemy.
"What have I gotten myself into..."
From an outsider's perspective, they might see me as a villain trying to exploit the world's strongest hero, Shion, to dominate the world.
I'm timid and lazy, so I had never even considered such a thing, but would power-hungry individuals understand that?
Such people can only judge others based on their standards.
If among them or their subordinates there is a powerful saintly sword wielder...
...then I might end up having to fight them. This is bad. Really bad.
Perhaps this is the punishment for always wanting to be the protagonist or the main character.
Considering my current situation, it's becoming very protagonist-like.
After all, I'm cooperating and potentially clashing with saintly sword wielders, of whom there are only twelve in the world.
But I'm super weak.
If Holly wasn't here, I would have definitely been killed.
Holly's plan to gather the saintly sword wielders and smoothly progress with Shion's mission to defeat the Demon Lord is an extremely dangerous tightrope walk for me.
"Hey, Crow~. I'm here~."
While lost in thought, the sleepy voice of Instructor Cattleya could be heard from outside the room. "Instructor Cattleya? Please come in."
"Ugh... Why at this hour?"
"Well, Instructor..."
As I started to explain the situation to Cattleya, who had just entered the room, I found myself at a loss for words, my mouth hanging open.
Instructor Cattleya, yawning with sleepy half-closed eyes and carrying her sheathed Flame Sword, had entered the room. The problem was her attire.
She was wearing a red negligee.
It was so thin it barely concealed anything.
As a result, her underwear was clearly visible.
Considering that Instructor Cattleya is a mature adult, she should be free to wear whatever she likes to sleep in. However, due to her youthful appearance and petite stature, which makes her look younger than me, the outfit exuded an incredibly perverse aura.
"Huh? What did you call me for? Hurry up and speak. I'm sleepy."
Despite my visibly furrowed brows, Instructor Cattleya showed no sign of being self-conscious about her attire.
Just a few days ago, I was reprimanded for seeing her undressed. Now, even though her current outfit seemed more indecent than being naked, she seemed completely unbothered. Or maybe she's too sleepy to be aware of it. Either way, I decided it's best not to mention it.
"Instructor, this girl broke into my room and tried to kill me."
"What?!"
At that moment, Instructor Cattleya's eyes shot open as she stared intently at the restrained assassin.
"Moreover, Instructor, she's a saintly sword wielder. She had this."
I showed her the Vacuum Sword, Curtana, which I had taken from the assassin.
Instructor Cattleya alternated her gaze between the saintly sword in my hand and the young assassin girl.
"What should we do, Instructor?"
"Kill her."
"What? Seriously?!"
To my question, Instructor Cattleya responded with words I could hardly believe.
What a violent suggestion.
In the end, it's the same as Holly's suggestion.
"If you're hesitant, I'll do it."
"No, wait! Hold on!"
Instructor Cattleya drew her Flame Sword, ready to unceremoniously kill the assassin.
The young assassin stared back at her with a blank expression.
I stepped between Instructor Cattleya and the young assassin to stop them.
"Instructor, wait!"
"Huh? What are you thinking? If you're planning to torture her before killing her, I won't allow it. Even if she's an enemy, if she's a woman, it's kinder to kill her quickly without any unnecessary actions."
"But we've already immobilized her! Instead of killing her, we could take her prisoner or try to persuade her to join our side. There are other options to consider..."
"Don't be naive, Crow! Kill your enemies when you can! Didn't I teach you in class to kill before being killed?"
"Yes, but... why do you immediately jump to the idea of killing her?"
"It's obvious! There's no need to show mercy to someone who tried to assassinate you!"
"Instructor..."
Something's off. Even if she's an enemy, a saintly sword wielder is a rare asset. It's strange to insist on killing her so quickly.
A powerful enemy can become a valuable ally if persuaded.
Shouldn't a competent soldier consider the possibility of winning them over?
Yet she's adamant about killing.
Could it be that Instructor Cattleya is playing the role of the villain on purpose?
She acts as if she's ready to kill, expecting me to intervene, thereby instilling fear of death in the opponent. At the same time, she might be trying to make the opponent feel grateful and relieved toward someone who doesn't condone killing. That would make it easier to persuade her to join our side.
"Move, Crow! I'll kill her now!"
No, she was genuinely determined to kill immediately.
"Instructor, wait!"
I was genuinely panicking.
Desperately trying to stop Instructor Cattleya, who had already raised her Flame Sword.
"Why are you stopping me, Crow? Is it because she's cute, and you want to do something lewd before killing her?"
"No, that's not it! I mean, she's wearing a mask, so we don't even know if she's cute!"
"Then why are you stopping me?"
"She's a saintly sword wielder! She would be a valuable ally!"
"The only ally I need is you!"
"Huh?"
I didn't have time to wonder about Iris and Heath.
The Flame Sword, which emits flames from its blade, is being swung around the room by Instructor Cattleya.
I grabbed her wrists, desperately trying to stop her.
"Instructor! Please calm down for now!"
"You're naive, Crow! Thinking of making a saintly sword wielder an ally. She's more trouble than she's worth. Just kill her and take the saintly sword. We'll find the next wielder soon enough."
...That was also Holly's suggestion.