A Sword That Nags Like a Mother
Don't shoot. I'm just a passing adventurer named Hans. Life, truly, is such a difficult thing. Especially when you're all alone with no one around you.
"Yeah! Just two more hours of sleep!"
"Three in the morning isn't morning, Sword."
"Oh, I see."
Fortunately, it seems my life isn't quite as difficult yet. I may not have any people around, but I do have a talking sword. Thanks to her, even this cramped single room in the slums carries a bit of human warmth. I can't share body heat with her, but I'm grateful to have someone to talk to. Ah, this chatty friend's name is Sword. I gave her the name because we needed one to form a contract. She claims she's a demon. I don't really believe it. After all, everyone knows demons are all impossibly beautiful men and women, right? I never had parents to teach me anything, but I picked up basic common sense like that from here and there. I think our Sword is probably just a slightly insane ego sword. That's why she was left abandoned in the corner of this crumbling ruin. Just like me.
Even so, she's incredible. An ego sword is an artifact born from the blessing of the benevolent Goddess. It's far too valuable an item for a worthless, parentless orphan like me to wield. That's why I'm always grateful. To the demon (or not) in the shape of a sword who spoke to me that day when I had lost the will to live and was staring death in the face amid the cold and hunger. (Laughs.)
Unable to withstand Sword's relentless nagging, I ended up living a tiring life from the crack of dawn. I have plenty of things I want to argue back with, but Sword only ever speaks the absolute truth with her blade, so everything I say just ends up sounding like an excuse. Still, it doesn't feel all that bad. If I'd had parents, they probably would have scolded me just like Sword does. Though I doubt they would have made me train starting at three in the morning.
"Hup!"
It's just a simple downward slash, but it's incredibly difficult. That's because the rusty longsword in my hand demands so much even from a single downward cut.
As expected of a sword, she really seems to know how to handle one.
"Got it!"
I didn't actually understand. I swept back my sweat-soaked red hair that kept stabbing into my eyes and nodded as if I understood. I don't even remember what she said anymore. After swinging a sword for over three hours, I was reaching my limit. Still, there was a time when my arms would go numb after just ten seconds. I've improved a lot over the years. Sword still says it's nowhere near enough, though.
I think being able to solo the Green Zone without a party makes me pretty strong. But Sword doesn't seem to think so. I wonder just how strong she wants to make me. She always tells me not to set limits for myself, so sometimes I'm actually scared of her. Is she trying to turn me into a Sword Master or something? If that happens, the world's first orphan Sword Master will be born. I'm looking forward to that day. Whether it will actually come is another question.
That's probably why life is a little fun. Because it gives me something to look forward to. Because it lets me hold onto hope. Because it makes me yearn for a better life.
Whoops. My concentration slipped for a second. She always tells me to empty my mind and focus on the sword when swinging it. But that's not easy. If it were, I would have become a 4-Tier adventurer long ago.
It's already been three years since I came to Bastion. I've become a 3-Tier adventurer. Looking at it now, I've risen one tier per year. The staff at the Adventurer's Guild and the adventurers I'm close with have even praised me for growing pretty fast. But Sword says even this is lacking. She told me that a Sherpa called the Strangler reached 5-Tier in just three years. I wonder how someone can grow that quickly. I'm curious. Maybe I'll try talking to her later. She's a beautiful beastkin woman, so it's a bit embarrassing... but if it's to become stronger, I have to endure it.
Hmm. The reason I want to get stronger? Isn't it just better to be strong?
"Okay!"
"Yeah!"
"Yeah! No matter how worthless an orphan I am, I can't speak formally to a sword! If you really want to hear honorifics, at least turn into a cool adult first!"
"Y-yeah!"
Sword sometimes gets really talkative like this. She's usually talkative, but not this much... Still, she never says anything bad. Every single word is good advice. I always keep them engraved in my heart. Hmm, looking at it this way, Sword really is like my master. Even so, I'm not going to speak formally to a sword. No way. Unless she's actually a great demon or something.
"Hmm. This place is..."
That's what Sword says. For a sword, she seems a hundred times smarter than me. How does she have such good memory? Just as Sword said, I had fallen into the head section of White Zone's 10th floor. A good start. If I'd landed on the 1st or 5th floor, tonight's dinner might have been lizard skewers. I don't exactly hate lizard skewers, but I don't particularly like them either. They taste fine, but there are way too many tiny bones.
"Hmm. This time I want to try reaching the 20th floor."
From the 10th floor torso to the 30th floor head is called the Green Zone, a dangerous area. Unlike the plain-like White Zone, it's mostly jungle terrain. It's extremely dangerous. You never know when the aberrations might ambush you. But according to the demon receptionist Regina Gura, the 20th floor has more lakes than jungle. She also said there aren't that many aberrations living there. It's not even the White Zone, yet there aren't many aberrations? It made me curious for no reason.
"You got me...!"
She saw right through me. As expected, Sword knows me too well. Well, after sticking together for three whole years, anyone would know me pretty well.
Just like Sword said, the truth is I want to try this thing called fishing. I like catching things. Like rats or grasshoppers. They're delicious when grilled. Fish would probably taste even better, right? I've never eaten one because they're too expensive. I'm finally going to get to eat some. I'm so excited. Rare fish sell for a lot of money too, so there's no reason not to fish. You might ask where the fishing rod is, but since I have Sword, it's fine. She's a sword, but she can mimic other tools. I just need to ask those professional fishermen by the lake to let her mimic a fishing rod. It's truly a perfect plan. Suddenly I really want to go fishing right now. There's no time to hesitate. I need to head to the Green Zone immediately!
This is bad. Night has fallen, but I still haven't found the portal to the 11th floor. If it weren't raining, I probably could have found it a little easier. What a shame. This is exactly why a guide is essential in any party. I travel alone because I don't want to be a burden to others, but even I know that.
"Grrrrk!"
Splash!
"This isn't good."
Once the rain stopped, the nocturnal aberrations with keen senses of smell began to move. Among them, the most persistent ones that even hunt in packs—the extremely dangerous Midnight Leopards—had set their sights on me. They may only be 2-Tier monsters, but when there are this many, even a 3-Tier adventurer like me struggles. I'd already severed the heads and bodies of five of them, but there were still plenty left. What should I do? I don't want to die yet.
"Go away, kids. I didn't eat well growing up so I don't taste very good. How about eating Sword instead?"
"Sword, mimic a dog bone."
As I bickered with Sword like always while searching for an escape route, something strange happened. In the forest swallowed by darkness, countless red lines were drawn.
"O-okay!"
The moment I lowered my body at Sword's warning, a bone-chilling cold swept through the area. A brief silence fell. The moment every living thing that had been crying out in various voices went quiet, I unconsciously placed a hand over my chest. For a second I thought I had died. But fortunately, I was still alive.
"Phew...!?"
I let out a sigh of relief and then froze. I was currently face-down on the ground with my head pressed against the dirt. It was practically the same as begging the aberrations to come eat me. Since I had no hobby of offering myself up as a sacrifice to monsters, I scrambled to my feet. And then I saw it.
"Huh...?"
Everything that made up the world was sliding down at an angle along those red lines. I wondered if I was dreaming. Pinch. "Ow." I pinched my cheek, but nothing changed. Ah, one thing did change. My cheek hurt.
"It hurts..."
Tears are coming out.
As I wiped my tears with my relatively clean left arm, I heard Sword's urgent voice. Ah, since she doesn't have a throat, I should correct that to sword-voice. Anyway.
"Uwaaaaah!"
As if declaring an end to the silence, a violent storm suddenly swept in. The trees that had been slowly sliding down began toppling over in every direction and crashing down on me. I got hit in the head by the foreleg of a Midnight Leopard that had been on one of the trees, but fortunately I didn't die. I got lucky. Or maybe all that painful training was finally paying off. Probably both.
"Ow ow ow..."
While clutching my head that had been struck by a beast's foreleg and groaning, Sword opened her mouth in a more serious tone than usual.
"Why?"
"...Do you really think a person did this?"
A slash? I thought it was nonsense coming from a sword. But when I crossed the river of blood and reached a certain spot, I had no choice but to believe Sword's words. Because there really was a person standing there. A person with a crow's head holding an ominously shaped wand instead of a sword.
"...Is that even a person?"
We hid behind a fallen log and stared at the bizarre being scattering red light from its eyes. Well, Sword stared with her blade, anyway. But then.
A low voice that sounded like dozens of voices overlapping inside a cave reached us. Somehow, the crow-headed person was looking in our direction. Pointing the wand that seemed to have created all this devastation right at us. In response, we...
"...Please spare me! I'm just an ordinary passing adventurer! I'll do anything if you just let me live!"
"...What?"
I begged for my life. Ah, now that I think about it, it wasn't "we." It was just me begging. My ego sword had been fully intent on betraying me. And I trusted her.... What a heartbreaking night.