NOVEL NEXT Chapter 121
Stella and Yurasia’s faces turned pale.
But I wasn’t bothered by that; I pulled out something to give to Stella.
“Here, Stella. This is for you.”
“…What is this? A skeleton?”
“The bone of Auroraxis.”
Stella couldn’t comprehend what I was saying. Instead, Yurasia caught on.
“O… Auroraxis? Isn’t that the… Aurora Dragon from the Hero story?”
“Aurora Dragon… Yeah, that sounds about right.”
Aurora Dragon. That’s the name given to Auroraxis in fairy tales and novels.
And yet, why the heck am I Ronan the Martial Artist?
Damn it, stupid book.
“Th-the… Aurora, Dragon…?”
“Yeah. If you hit someone hard enough with this, they’d be dead. Anyway, this will be the weapon to attach to it.”
From my A-Space Pocket, the most powerful mana stone emerged.
The moment it was drawn out, the previously dim private room burst into light.
Not only that, but the lights flickered, and the hand I held it with felt a tingling sensation.
Whether it was welcoming me or just how the heart’s fragment works, I couldn’t tell.
“The heart of Auroraxis. Of course, it’s not whole. It’s just a fragment, but… with this, you can use it for probably half your future!”
“Uh, wh-what…? Ugh…”
“Of course, I’ll have specific requests for this too. I can’t just leave it to the system. The duchy… Actually, the duchy is a bit ambiguous, but I trust that person to take care of it.”
With a poking motion of the bone into Stella’s chest, who was struggling to breathe, I continued.
“There’s more. Potions. Potions to increase the total amount of mana, purity, and ones that pierce the blood to extract filth. There are five of them, and I’ll tell you the order to take them, so don’t just swallow them willy-nilly.”
I handed the potions to Stella.
“Next, Yurasia. What I’m giving you… I thought long and hard about it. I was worried if I gave you the wrong thing, you might accidentally swing it and dull its sharpness. But… I’ve decided to trust you.”
Yurasia’s face was a mix of fear and excitement.
What’s there to be afraid of? Just enjoy it.
Hehe I chuckled as I rummaged through my pocket.
Then I grasped the hilt of the second most cherished sword I owned.
Cherished, but it performed the best.
“Hmm…”
It was a familiar yet long-lost feeling.
The image of the sword I envisioned in my mind.
It was ordinary. No, it was so ordinary it was insignificant. It had nothing attached to the pommel, and there was no cross guard on the hilt.
Just a simple, straight sword.
A sword that seemed entirely focused on cutting, with no defense considered, like a reckless blade.
A sword that had once cut the Demon King.
“Sacred Sword.”
The moment I pulled the sword from its sheath, I felt the air around us being sliced away.
It actually felt like it had been cut. Unlike others, for a moment, I felt my breath hitch and sounds ceased.
I wasn’t surprised; it was familiar to me.
Seeing that sword, Stella started to sneak glances at Yurasia without realizing it. Why? Because compared to what Pina and Stella received, it looked pitifully inadequate.
However, Yurasia didn’t show any such reaction.
She already seemed to know better.
If you were in the Eustetia Knight Order, you certainly wouldn’t be oblivious.
“…Young Lady, this is…”
“Yeah. My, uh, Arisa Eustetia… the sword that beheaded two legion commanders.”
Of course, the public was unaware that we had encountered the Demon King and had beheaded him.
Of the five thousand troops, we were the only survivors.
They couldn’t write that in the fairy tales.
But that didn’t mean we didn’t behead the legion commanders. We did so with the Sacred Sword. Since it was the sharpest, we used it the most.
As for the source… well, it came from a dragon’s lair.
Not Auroraxis’s lair, but another dragon’s lair. A dying dragon, Gleria, who lost her kin to the Demon King.
We saved her hatchling, kept watch over the hatchling, witnessed Gleria’s final moments, and when we cremated her body, that sword was the keepsake we received.
After that, I could never discover the true origin of the sword, even if I went to another dragon.
The Demon King recognized it.
“However, you can’t wield this in actual combat yet. Yurasia isn’t ready for it. So, um… don’t draw it until I say you can. The reason I’m giving it to you now is that I want you to gain ambition from seeing it. Understood? Just accept it. I have more to give.”
After that, I took out five more swords.
None of them had special names like the Sacred Sword.
But they were among the sharpest blades I possessed.
And all of them had the name Arisa Eustetia inscribed on them.
“Ah, Young Lady. This is… too much, isn’t it?”
“They all look different, right? This one’s a Zweihander, this one’s a scimitar, this one’s a claymore, this one’s a rapier, and this one’s a short sword. Especially, this short sword has a unique edge, right? It’s for breaking the opponent’s weapon.”
Yurasia, embracing those swords, instantly wore a blank expression.
“…I know, but these are things I can’t handle. I can barely manage daggers or… two-handed swords…”
“From now on, you’ll be able to handle them.”
“Uh…”
“Uh… what? I’ll teach you. Don’t worry. It’ll be tougher than before, but learning can’t hurt.”
With Yurasia blinking blink blink, I chuckled and then pulled out six potions.
“Here, these are also very effective. The first two are for you to take after you reach the 6th Rank, and the other four can be taken now. Similarly, the order will be told to you, so don’t just gobble them up. If you take them wrong, your body might blow up and kill you.”
That was the last of the potions, and I closed my pocket.
Even though the pocket was empty at my waist, I felt a surge of excitement for some reason.
Hmm, with this…
Yurasia’s renowned sword skills might just surpass mine, if only for a moment.
However, I had no idea how the mage, Stella, and Pina would change.
Well, Pina has the Light Spirit, so she should be fine.
As for Stella… she claims to be a genius, so she’ll manage on her own.
“Now we’re done. Let’s go see that play I reserved earlier. We’re running late.”
Clap I clapped my hands and stood up.
The remaining three still wore blank expressions.
*
On the way out of the restaurant, I put the things I had just handed over back into my A-Space Pocket.
They were trembling at the thought of carrying such terrifying things, so I had no choice but to do so. When we returned to the dormitory, they would hide everything away in their personal safes.
However, Yurasia insisted on hanging the short sword I gave her at her waist. So now she had three swords hanging there.
Diana’s sword. The Eustetia Knight Order’s sword. The short sword I gave her.
Seeing that, Yurasia wore a smile so happy it could’ve made her drool.
And Yurasia, Pina, and Stella continuously expressed their gratitude.
They even pooled their money to buy a meal.
I nodded in pride once or twice. But then it happened three times, four times, five times.
It was getting annoying since it just wouldn’t stop.
So I snapped at them to cut it out before I took it back.
After that… well, we chatted in a calm atmosphere like before. The only difference was that the voices were filled with immense anticipation.
Earlier they had trembled at the thought of becoming accomplices, such simple little kids.
That wasn’t a bad thing. On the contrary… it’s even better.
There’s a fresh taste of youth like they’re teenagers.
“…What’s up with you?”
“Why?”
“That was totally… a mom smile.”
“A mom smile? What’s that?”
“…Something, warm and, um… I don’t know. Anyway, it was a mom smile. Why are you looking at us like that?”
“Now you’re nitpicking about my expression.”
“Ugh… talk nicely.”
“Not a chance.”
“…You’re really annoying.”
And recently… Stella’s reactions have strangely changed. The impact seems to have significantly diminished.
…Did she grow up after a little hardship?
Or was it because she saw me getting bloodied all over?
Whatever it is, it’s quite an unwelcome change for me.
Pina too… has changed a bit. She gets scared more easily. Just the other day, she got caught looking for Ronan Luzarack’s information in the library.
In that moment, I think Pina let out the loudest scream she could muster.
Anyone would think I was going to eat her.
“By the way, um… Young Lady.”
“Yeah?”
“Why is your response to Yurasia different from the one you give me?”
“Are you comparing Yurasia and me?”
I chuckled and popped a candy into Stella’s mouth. Then, I turned back to Yurasia.
“Do you have something to say?”
Yurasia hesitated, looking back and forth at Stella and me, then at last spoke up.
“Ah, yes. If you give us all this, um… don’t you have nothing for yourself?”
“Aha…”
That was quite a commendable question.
And upon hearing that question, both Pina and Stella gasped in shock.
I mean, why was Pina surprised, knowing how many potions were in there?
Well, anyway. Yurasia is genuinely thoughtful and perceptive.
I stood on my tiptoes to pat Yurasia’s head.
“Hehe. I’m fine. I already have plenty for myself.”
“Uh… is that so?”
“Yeah. So don’t worry—”
At that moment.
Zing A shocking sensation enveloped my entire body.
It felt like invisible flames surrounded me from all around.
I immediately hid Stella and Pina behind me.
“Young Lady, please step behind me.”
Yurasia felt it a moment later.
She too moved me behind her and placed her hand on her sword hilt.
“…Who are you?”
Yurasia’s voice rumbled menacingly.
The red-haired woman who heard it replied.
“Flame Sovereign.”