How Far the Sword Reaches
“Kyaang! Kyaeng! Hiiing! It hurts, Master!”
“If it hurts, why would I hit you in a way that doesn’t hurt?”
Anyway, this girl has no filter in front of her master. As expected of a fox, she’s wagging her tail so openly it’s almost shameless. Just imagining her doing the same thing to someone else later makes my insides boil. Is this what it feels like to be a father with a daughter? It’s enough to drive a man insane.
“Kyaang! It really hurts right here and here.”
“Stop fooling around, Garam. Keep that up and I’ll give you a proper Heavenly Demon flick on the head.”
“If you hit me, will you rub it better afterward? On my chest, and then maybe lower…”
It wasn’t even worth listening to. I brought my hand down squarely on the crown of Garam’s head with another solid Heavenly Demon flick.
The result was an ear-splitting kyaaaang! as she clutched her skull and hopped around in circles.
…Did I hit her too hard? She seemed to be in far more pain than usual.
The moment that thought crossed my mind, Garam threw herself straight into my arms. “It hurts! Kyaang! It hurts so much!!” she cried, burrowing against me with everything she had. I couldn’t tell whether she was genuinely hurting or simply seizing the opportunity.
“Hey, Garam.”
“Kyaang! Kyaeng! It hurts! It hurts! So please hold me tight!”
“…”
“Kyiiing! Kyiiing!”
This sly little fox… No, she really is a fox. Either way, I can never let my guard down around Garam. There was even a time when I let my attention slip for a moment and she barged straight into my room, trying to climb on top of me. I barely managed to stop her.
“That’s enough. Let’s get going. We can’t stay like this forever.”
“Ah, yes! Then I’ll escort you to the next destination, Master! Give me your hand!”
“…Do we really have to hold hands the whole time?”
“You promised to go along with whatever I wanted today. You haven’t forgotten, have you?”
“I’m never making a promise like that again. You insolent disciple.”
“Hehehe! Don’t worry! By then I’ll have done something else impressive and earned another reward!”
“…”
I wanted to snap at her to stop daydreaming and just do her job properly, but when I thought about it, Garam had never once done a half-hearted job. She had wrapped up the northern matter incredibly quickly and returned. If that situation had gone wrong, her return would have been delayed, and Jenia and Lily might have had to face the Fragment of the Demon God by themselves.
If only she wouldn’t show that horny fox side of hers every now and then, she’d be perfect. The developers must have been perverts—this isn’t even an adult-only game, yet Garam’s sensuality has been borderline since the beginning. They clearly gave her an abnormal sex drive. Damn bastards.
“So where are you taking me next?”
“A tavern.”
“…”
“Hehet.”
“You’re really going to get scolded.”
“I’m joking. You didn’t think I’d actually drink in broad daylight, did you?”
If any of my other disciples said it, I would have taken it as an obvious joke, but when Garam says it the nuance is completely different. The aura she gives off is… seductive, brimming with sensuality, and downright bewitching. Maybe it’s because she’s a fox beastkin, but that aspect is especially strong with her. On top of that, the Eastern-style outfit she’s wearing has subtle exposure—nothing so excessive it makes you frown, but enough to reveal the line from her calves to her thighs and a hint of cleavage. It perfectly captures her character.
In short, she maintains just the right balance to tickle people’s hearts. She really is a crafty disciple who embodies the word “fox.”
“Ah, here it comes. Hey! Over here, over here!”
She waved her hand wildly like someone flagging down a taxi—or more like a limousine. A truly luxurious carriage came to a stop in front of us. While I stood there blinking in confusion, someone climbed down awkwardly from the driver’s seat and bowed deeply.
“Sword Hero. It’s been a long time. So you really have come to the Royal Capital.”
“It has been a while. Have you been well?”
“For a cripple, this is living quite luxuriously. It’s all thanks to you, Hero.”
“You did your part, so I simply returned the favor. Anyway, allow me to introduce you. This is the person who will be accompanying me today.”
“I see you have company. It is an honor.”
“More precisely, this is my master.”
At Garam’s words the lame coachman let out a startled gasp. He bowed once more and spoke with deep respect.
“It is the greatest honor to serve such a noble person.”
“…Garam. Who is this man, and why does he seem so close to you?”
“He was one of those who used to follow me. He had decent skill, but he was far too kind—almost stupidly so. He tried to save his comrades and ended up like this. A foolish guy.”
“Thanks to that, my friend here is still walking around, isn’t he, Hero?”
“There were many times I missed having you around, you idiot. Master, I’ll explain the details while we tour the Royal Capital. Please get in. I prepared this especially for you.”
Riding this felt exactly like taking one of those flower carriages at a tourist spot—except incomparably more luxurious. At the signal to depart, the carriage began to move slowly.
When I slid the window open, I could enjoy the scenery of the Royal Capital while sitting comfortably in total leisure.
“You even prepared something like this. You’re quite different from Jenia.”
“Did you think I would just drag you out on impulse and fumble around like an idiot? No way. An opportunity like this may never come again, so I can’t afford to waste it. In that sense, Jenia still has a lot to learn.”
“…That lame coachman—is he running a sightseeing carriage in the Royal Capital?”
“When I asked what he could do to make a living, this seemed perfect. I combined the money he had saved with what I had and suggested he start a carriage tour service here.”
“Driving a carriage isn’t difficult even with a lame leg. It’s a good choice, though it must be inconvenient.”
“He’s diligent, has decent connections, and was always good at handling carriages. It was a shame that he could no longer fight. That’s why I made the suggestion. I knew he would do well.”
If Garam spoke of him that highly, he must have been a truly capable mercenary. She isn’t as extreme as Jenia, but Garam is also quite cold-blooded. For her to give such a favorable evaluation, he had to be far above average. Last time I noticed her welfare policies for her followers were rather poor. Everyone follows her out of admiration, but it was important to transform that admiration into something deeper—like the respect Lily inspires.
Still, seeing the current situation, she doesn’t seem to treat him coldly. It looks like she helps those she truly considers decent, even if they’ve left her group.
“More importantly, he ended up like that trying to save others.”
“Yes. It really is a shame. He wasn’t even a knight, just a mercenary, yet he had the skill to handle mid-grade monsters if he kept growing. He’s an idiot. A total idiot.”
A phrase I once heard suddenly came to mind. The reason the world keeps becoming more shitty is that all the good people sacrifice themselves and disappear, leaving the empty spots to be filled by shitty bastards.
“Comfortable, isn’t it, Master? It’s completely different from wandering around aimlessly with Jenia yesterday, right?”
“It feels that way, yet somehow not. I’m not sure.”
“Aww, you know the answer. Don’t worry. I won’t tell Jenia anything. Just be honest—completely honest—and tell me what you’re really thinking, okay?”
As she whispered, Garam stealthily slid closer. She didn’t stop there. She subtly revealed her thigh, pushed out her gently swaying chest, and pressed even nearer. For a second I wondered if she had called the carriage with exactly this in mind. At this rate the situation would unfold exactly as Garam wanted.
So I decided to use a kind of sedative—and conversation changer—that could calm this overly excited fox in a single blow.
“How far do you think your sword has reached?”
“…Well.”
My disciple had looked ready to do something lewd at any moment, but the moment the topic of the sword came up she straightened her posture. No matter how much of a fox she is, no matter how sly my first disciple may be, she is still the Sword Hero. When it comes to the sword, she becomes serious.
“To be honest, I was confident. I could cut down high-grade monsters without difficulty, and anything below that I could strike with my eyes closed. No matter what the world threw at me, I believed I could cut it.”
“The fact that you’re speaking in past tense means something has been bothering you.”
“…The moment I faced that thing called the Enemy’s Will, the thought came to me unconsciously.”
“…”
“Can I win? Can I really cut it?”
Garam clenched her fist as she spoke. She even bit her lip hard enough to draw blood.
“Honestly, it was only because you were beside me and Jenia was there that I managed to shake it off and charge in. If I had been alone… I would have panicked and suffered greatly. I want to deny it, but when I look at it coldly, the chances of that are very high.”
“So.”
“I’m pathetic, aren’t I, Master? I’m your first disciple. The Sword Hero. Yet the moment I faced the enemy I got scared. I hesitated. Even I find it laughable.”
I shook my head at her words. Perhaps it was a kind of passive effect the Fragments of the Demon God possessed. They weren’t simply the antithesis of the Heroes. They were the perfect embodiment of “enmity” toward the entire world. Beings of utter malevolence that burned everything, devoured everything, and ultimately destroyed everything. It was only natural that a single Hero could not overcome them.
The proper way to play this game was for each character to come together, form a party, and defeat the final bosses one by one. No single character could solo-carry like in some other games. I used to think that was simply the intended design, but seeing it now, perhaps the Fragments of the Demon God themselves were entities that could not be defeated alone. Because they were pure enmity existing above all things, they were extraordinarily powerful. That thought suddenly occurred to me.
“I told the others the same thing. Garam, you’re doing well. The enemy you faced recently was simply the first time. That’s why you were shaken. Everything is unsettling and a little shaky the first time. You just need to do better next time. So stop worrying needlessly. First, clearly see how far your sword can reach. Then decide your future direction from there.”
Garam stared at me for a moment. Then she suddenly broke into a very dangerous smile.
“Master. You really are too much.”
“What is it now?”
“You let me get this close, but the moment I approach you run away. Are you aware of that?”
At her whisper I could only let out a low groan. It was my own karma; what could I do about it?
Twitch.
Cheon Yeon-hwa, who had been sitting in meditation, opened her eyes at the sudden wave of pain. At first she thought it was only a temporary symptom, but no matter how she examined herself, something felt wrong. Every time she circulated her internal energy, a stinging sensation prickled through her. This had never happened before. What could it possibly mean?
“Huuu…”
Unable to continue her breathing exercises, Cheon Yeon-hwa grit her teeth. A tiny crack had formed in her once-solid dantian.