An adversary capable of harnessing such extraordinary Saintly Sword wielders was clearly against me.
"Holly..."
"What is it?" Holly replied, emerging from within Shion.
"All the Saintly Swords... they're coming together, aren't they?"
"Yes, the world is indeed a small place. In a population of thirty million..."
We exchanged these words with a wry smile. Just then,
"Hey! Don't just stop possessing me like that, Holly! I'm back to being a kid now!"
Shion, who had borrowed my black attire, suddenly reverted to her eleven-year-old self, making the clothes hang loosely on her.Watching Shion continue to complain to Holly, I couldn't help but smile faintly.
Well, it'll be fine.
Shion is here.
Holly is here.
Iris, Cattleya, and Saffron, though her allegiance is uncertain, can be relied upon.
With everyone here, it should be okay.
End Chapter: Power Struggle
"So, the one who tried to assassinate the king and Cineraria were connected after all?"
"Seems like it."
In my private room within the royal city, Iris and I sat across a table sipping tea.
"They're troublesome. They're clearly stronger than me."
"They seem older than you, so it's probably just a matter of experience. You'll catch up."
"I hope so, but it's just frustrating to be knocked out in one hit."
"Don't worry about it. They must have been desperate too."
"I'm not worried. I'm saying it's annoying."
I thought it best not to argue that this was exactly what worrying about the past meant. It's better not to say anything unnecessary. It's scary.
"Anyway, it's good that Cattleya's innocence was proven."
"Not really. That king's attitude... After insisting on her execution, he just apologizes and returns the Saintly Sword as if it's all settled."
"Don't get so angry about it..."
"By the way, do you know what happened to Heath? I heard he'll be fully healed in six months, but he survived."
"Yeah, I heard... Poor guy. Just when he got better from his last injury."
"You were pretty injured too. Are you okay now?"
"Hm? Yeah, I'm managing..."
In truth, my ribs were seriously injured, but I glossed over that with my tea.
After Iris had finished venting her frustrations about the king and his advisors, she left my room. It seemed she was quite upset about the attempt to execute Cattleya. It's likely that Cattleya's former students shared similar feelings, especially after it was later revealed she wasn't the assassin.
Once Iris left, I took off my jacket, standing half-naked.
"Ribs healed in three days... I'm becoming less and less human..."
I stood in front of the mirror, staring intently at my shirtless upper body.Man, this is crazy.
I'm all muscle.
Seriously, my bones were literally shattered, causing such severe internal bleeding that I was in agonizing pain. But just three days later, I'm completely healed.
Now, as I check myself in the mirror again, I see a body that's impressively sculpted. It doesn't even feel like it's mine since I never really worked out.
Being this ripped, it feels like my usual stance of "just a normal guy trying hard to keep up with a hero's adventure" doesn't quite fit anymore.
Maybe this is just adapting to my environment?
"Staring at yourself shirtless in the mirror... Crow, you're quite the narcissist, aren't you?" Holly comments from behind me.
"No, that's not it. Well, I must admit I've gotten pretty lean and muscular," I reply.
"Still, this whole incident wrapped up rather smoothly. Cattleya's innocence was quickly proven, and we got the Saintly Swords back," Holly notes.
After that incident, we all returned to the royal city. King Daria, who had long since fled back, was informed that Cattleya was still alive, revealing the real assassin behind the recent attempt on his life was a Saintly Sword user named Amaranth.
The king, who had been relentlessly demanding Cattleya's execution, quickly turned around and apologized. It reminded me of when they tried to execute me and then apologized later. It made me laugh bitterly.
As Iris said, it seems the king doesn't fully grasp the weight of his decishions and statements.
Also, it turned out that the falconers who were injured during the hunting party weren't dead.
"Why were all the falconers around King Daria and Heath just knocked out and not killed?"
"Perhaps that Amaranth woman controlled the output of the Ghost Sword, spreading a non-lethal electrical attack over a wide area," Holly suggests.
"Is that even possible?"
"Normally it isn't. Which means she's not normal."
Indeed, Holly was also surprised by the number of zombies Cineraria could control. Like Shion, it seems that all current Saintly Sword bearers are exceptionally powerful.
"We've made some dangerous Saintly Sword users our enemies," Holly remarks.
"I think the one we haven't met yet is even more dangerous," I muse.
"Hmm?"
The one giving orders to Saffron in some form or another.And then there's Amaranth, Cineraria, Jasmine – three Saintly Sword bearers all acknowledging someone as their master. Whether that person is alone or if there are several of them, the remaining Saintly Swords are the Healing Sword, the Magical Sword, and the Thousand-Mile Sword. Is the master lurking in the background also a Saintly Sword bearer, or are there Saintly Swords still without owners? Either way, this isn't going to be straightforward.
"By the way, Holly..."
"Yes?"
"This is supposed to be a story about a hero defeating a demon lord, right?"
"That's right."
"So why are humans fighting each other like this?"
"Well, I've never seen anything like it before. Saintly Sword bearers fighting among themselves is unprecedented."
"So using Saintly Swords for personal gain, or misusing them, even in war... that's unheard of?"
"Yes. In all my time with the heroes, I've only spoken to them. Their companions, the Saintly Sword bearers, have always been good, upright people."
"I thought so. Using weapons intended to protect the world from the demon lord for human conflict... we must be the lowest yet."
"Please don't ask me that."
"Huh?"
"I often look down on humans, thinking them unworthy of salvation, but this was your idea, wasn't it? No matter how foolish humans are, don't generalize from just a part. What I see is only a fraction of the world. Don't dismiss everything based on a fraction."
"Did I say that?"
"Yes, you did! I have a good memory. That corny line was all you!"
"Oh, I see..."
Seeing just a part of the world and then denying everything, huh? Really, it's something you can only say if you've seen just a part.
Humans, throughout history and across the world, have always been willing to sacrifice others for their own survival.
Humans might not really be worth protecting...
"Wait, what am I thinking?"
"Crow?"
"No, it's nothing."
There are both good and bad people in humanity.No matter how many people try to assassinate me after I found Shion, no matter how much I suffer in unwanted power struggles and conflicts, it doesn't mean that all humans deserve to die.
That's right.
It absolutely doesn't mean that.
"There's value, Holly."
"Value?"
"Humanity is worth being protected by a hero. The heroes who have fought so far haven't been defending something completely worthless."
"Yes, you're right... I hope so."
Anyway, let's end this quickly.
This fruitless conflict among humans.
Continuing like this makes it feel like humanity is really worthless.
Before my thinking becomes even more distorted, I need to put an end to this conflict among Saintly Sword bearers.
If it doesn't end soon, I really might lose my mind.
Because if human conflict continues endlessly, isn't the outcome the same as being destroyed by the demon lord? I don't want to think about it anymore.
That kind of thinking, it almost seems to justify the existence of the demon lord.