第３３３堀：残りの聖剣 (Part2)
"We can make various inferences, but the first thing that is clear is that one Holy Sword is currently unaccounted for. Based on what we've heard, it isn't one of the three held by the Beastmen, so if we question the Holy Sword users currently in Weed, we might be able to determine its whereabouts."
"That’s true. First, let's confirm the status of that last one."
"In that case, I will look into the Holy Sword held by Light-san a bit more."
And so, we suddenly found ourselves face-to-face with the group of Holy Sword users once again.
"…So, do any of you know where the remaining Holy Sword is?"
I asked the group of Holy Sword users.
By now, they had been released from my mental control and were able to think quite clearly.
Man, I really did a terrible thing to them.
Well, they also have the lingering guilt of having tried to cut me down, so it feels like we’re even, which is a relief.
If that weren't the case, we wouldn't be able to sit here and talk like this.
"No, I don't."
"Didn't Difes take that one?"
"Yes, Comet-sama. I certainly did take it."
"I see, I see. Did you store it somewhere?"
"Yes. Deep underground in my homeland, the Kingdom of Ex... though after everything that happened, I was unable to return to retrieve it."
"I see."
So, it leads back to the Kingdom of Ex here as well.
It really might be the Kingdom of Ex pulling the strings behind the scenes.
"No, that helps a lot. That thing is quite dangerous, after all. I wanted to be sure of its location."
"I understand. That is true. If you ever go to retrieve it, I would be happy to act as your guide."
"Yeah, I'll count on you when the time comes."
However, it seems none of them know about Enaria's Holy Sword.
Where did that even come from?
Even when I asked, they said they thought it was just a tall tale.
It doesn't seem related.
Popuri didn't seem to know about Enaria's Holy Sword either...
No, looking at it from the perspective of a nation, if they had a Holy Sword they believed to be genuine and a wielder to go with it, they would keep it top secret. It was their trump card.
Unfortunately, that trump card was defeated in the battle against Yuki and his group, so it never got to have a glorious debut.
"How did it go?"
"Hmm. It seems the last one is indeed in the Kingdom of Ex. Investigating it will be a pain, though."
"Is that so? As for the Enaria Holy Sword we were investigating, its current location has become unknown."
"Excuse me? What do you mean by that?"
"Well, it seems the Holy Sword user, Light-san, fell into a state of mental collapse after that crushing defeat. The royal family has reclaimed the sword and entrusted it to the Sia Church."
"The Sia Church, huh."
It feels surreal to have the name of a child I picked up being used so grandiosely.
Personally, I only made it for self-defense.
"Fortunately, we have connections. Since Rurua-san and Milly caused such a stir in Enaria, they are revered there, so I think we can at least get a look at the Holy Sword."
"That’s also because of Sia and Kishua, right?"
"Yes."
"Yeah, it’s a small world, isn't it?"
"We should call it good luck. For now, Comet, you should go to Enaria and confirm it."
"You're right. I'll contact Yuki and check with him..."
With that, I immediately made a call.
"…So, that's the situation."
*“I see. I understand. Rurua, Milly, and Ratz are supposed to be in Enaria anyway. I’ll tell them to follow up on it. Still, that Holy Sword is a fake, huh? At the time, I thought it was best not to touch it, so I stayed out of it. But this is getting complicated. It looks like we’ll have to go to the Kingdom of Ex, too.”*
"Looks like it."
*“Good grief. Cleaning up someone else’s mess is a real pain.”*
"Hahaha! My apologies!! Well, just think of it as a trial to help the youth grow!!"
*“Like hell I will. Anyway, jokes aside, while we’re at White Forest, we need to consider sending the other members to the Kingdom of Ex.”*
"Agreed. I have a feeling the last one in the Kingdom of Ex is connected to these shoddy magic swords."
*“For now, we’ll head to White Forest and confirm the location of the remaining three Holy Swords. You check the fake in Enaria and swap it with the one Narjia-san made.”*
"You were making something like that?"
*“Of course. I gathered the data and had Narjia-san make a replica to study. Both the Holy Sword and the magic sword. It’ll be perfect. The original became something a bit too scary to just leave in someone’s hands.”*
"That's true. It wouldn't be strange if there were hidden mechanisms we don't know about."
...Now then, the Enaria Holy Sword.
What kind of thing is it?
Yes.
The one who appeared is Light Revive, the Holy Sword user who clashed with us early on.
In my case, rather than just popping out new characters and going "What the—!?", I’m the type to plant seeds early on and harvest them properly.
Kind of like the Demon Lord situation.
It’s not a chaotic development; it’s more of an "Oh, I remember that character" moment, which I think you can verify by checking the character introductions from before.
Now, which parts will be involved in the future developments!?