The Sword of Myriad Spirits

A soft sensation obscured my vision. A mysterious piece of fabric covered my face. I raised my hand and plucked the cloth away. It was a woman's undergarment, made of quite fine material. A heavy, lingering scent clung to the fabric—the kind that sits on the thin line between clean and unclean. Had it been used any longer, it would have been nothing more than a repulsive object, but having been discarded at just the right moment, it might even have had some demand in certain markets.

"Wash it."

I looked up to see a woman standing there. She stood with her arms crossed, looking down at me with a high-handed gaze. Her name was Aine Seipier. She was the one who had forced me into this profound contemplation of undergarments since the early morning, and she was the second daughter of the Seipier family, where I served as a lowly gardener.

"I will take it to the laundry room."

"No, you wash it yourself. With your own hands."

I swallowed a sigh. There were maids specifically assigned to the laundry. My job was to manage the gardens. "Understood." Still, if I was told to do it, what choice did I have? I didn't bother to argue. Retorting would only make things more troublesome.

"I want to wear it again today, so make sure it's completely dried before evening."

Aine snapped the command and walked away without looking back.

"So much for having any free time this morning..."

Usually, I had a moment to rest after finishing the morning garden work. Today, thanks to this wretched young lady, I wouldn't even get that. Still, the weather was nice, so it would dry quickly enough. I gathered my tools and headed to the laundry room.

"Isn't that Ivan? What brings you to the laundry room so early in the morning?"

"Did you wet the bed in your sleep? You could have just left that to the aunties! Ho ho ho!"

"As if Ivan would make a mistake like that. It’s obviously the second young lady again, isn't it?"

"I don't know why the young lady is always like that to Ivan~"

The laundry room was noisy this morning. The maids, old enough to be called aunties, burst into laughter as they looked at me. Having spent their lives in service, these women treated me with a casual familiarity. Not that there was anything left to be guarded about, now that we were all in the same boat.

"But did you hear the news, Ivan? You see, last night~"

The aunties approached me, pouring out a flood of words. This was exactly why I hated coming to the laundry room. "Auntie talk" was exhausting.

"Oh, really? Ah, is that so..."

I focused on the laundry, offering only vague reactions. But as if my responses were some kind of highly concentrated stimulant, the aunties grew even more excited and poured out more stories. It wasn't just that they were talkative; I had always been the type to listen well. It was a habit ingrained in me from my past, a necessity for survival within my family. As an illegitimate son, I always had to listen to others and read the room. Thanks to that, I became adept at grasping a person's intentions through their words. I could even guide conversations in the direction I wanted. Though, now that my family had fallen, those efforts meant nothing. All that remained was the pushover who was good at listening.

"Young Master Ivan. The Chief Steward is looking for you."

Just as I was looking for an opportunity to escape, an unexpected helping hand appeared.

"Oh! I'm going now! See you all later!"

I wrung the water out of the undergarment and slipped out of the laundry room. Outside, the maid who had saved me was smiling weakly.

"It's a lie that the Chief Steward called for you. You looked like you were in trouble."

"Thank you, Gina. But I told you not to call me Young Master."

"Ah! I'm sorry, it just slipped out..."

The maid jumped in surprise, covering her mouth with both hands. The maid who had called me Young Master was Gina. She had been captured alongside me from the Dragan family. She was four or five years older than my twenty years. She had started working as a maid when she was young and had served me ever since. Now that the family had fallen, we were both mere servants, but she was still someone I relied on heavily, someone who looked after me.

"And you don't need to use honorifics. We're the same status now."

"It's hard not to use honorifics, Young Master Ivan. Ah, no, Ivan."

"Then just don't call me Young Master. If the real young masters of this house hear it, they'll be furious."

Gina nodded with a sullen expression. She was worried about me.

"Thank you. Thanks to you, I can at least rest for a little while."

I forced a smile, ignoring her expression. What could I do? Even if I had gone from a noble to a mere servant, I had no choice. It was humiliating, but I lacked the courage to choose death. Besides, the Seipier family didn't even seem to have any intention of killing me. Come to think of it, the treatment wasn't all that different from when I was a noble.

"Yes. Then I'll go back to work."

"Right. See you later."

I waved at Gina and headed toward the servants' quarters. On the way back, I hung up Aine's undergarments.

"Phew..."

Fortunately, I still had a little time to rest. I kicked off my boots and lay down on the bed. I didn't bother taking them off; the process of putting them back on was too much of a hassle. A cool breeze drifted in through the slightly opened window, brushing against the tip of my nose. The scent of earth began to push its way through the smell of winter. It seemed the ground was finally starting to thaw. When spring came, there would be more work in the garden. But since I found a certain pleasure in tending to the garden, I didn't entirely hate it.

Just as I was about to drift into a nap, feeling drowsy,

"Ivan Dragan. Are you in here?"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Bang! With that sound, the door was flung open violently. It was the swordsmen of the Seipier family. They had raided the servants' quarters in full armor. The fact that they had called me by my full name, including my surname, was ominous. My surname was one that no longer existed.

"I am Ivan."

"Lady Aine is looking for you. Come with us."

"Pardon? But they aren't dry yet..."

I looked at the undergarments hanging outside the window. They had just been washed, and they wanted them now? But as I listened, it turned out the business wasn't about the undergarments.

"Prepare yourself for a trip. You will be staying outside the family castle for about three days. The Lady has personally designated you as the servant to attend to her."

"Where are we going?"

"A simple monster subjugation."

It seemed Aine intended to torment me further. If she was going on a subjugation, she should have gone alone. Was she unable to stand the sight of me being in the comfort of the servants' quarters? I sighed and packed my bags.

"Haa..."

I let out a deep sigh, following behind the horses. Aine, who had called for me, was riding in front, fully armed. We were currently walking through the forest on the outskirts of the Seipier family castle. They said a group of monsters had appeared in the vicinity. Normally, a servant like me would never accompany such an expedition. There was no reason for a servant to be a burden to the subjugation squad. The only reason there were servants in the squad was because of Aine. She needed someone to attend to her, the second daughter of the family. The direct descendants of the Seven Star Sword Families enjoyed luxury even during subjugations.

-Prepare for combat! Monsters ahead!

In the middle of the march, a swordsman's shout rang out from the front. It seemed monsters had appeared. I and the other maids retreated to the back. The swordsmen drew their swords and charged forward.

"Young Mas... Ivan. Get behind me."

Gina, who was by my side, shielded me. Gina had also come along as a maid to attend to Aine. During the war in the past, Gina had shielded me just like this. It was doubtful whether Gina had the strength to protect me, but I was just grateful that she still looked after ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me.

-Advancing again!

The battle ended quickly. Fortunately, it seemed to have been a small group of monsters. However, the formation didn't last long before it stopped again. But this time, the atmosphere was different.

-Captain! The number of monsters is too high!

-Monsters are approaching from the rear as well!

There were far more monsters than before. Among them, I could see strong monsters that shouldn't have been in this forest. Clearly, before we left, they had said it was a simple subjugation. That was why Aine, whose skills were not yet fully matured, had participated for the sake of experience. But this was by no means a simple level. It meant the situation in the forest was more serious than expected.

"Ivan! We have to run!"

In the midst of the situation spiraling into the extreme, Gina shouted.

"What? But if we get separated from the swordsmen..."

"There are too many monsters! The swordsmen don't have the strength to protect us anyway! We have to survive on our own!"

Monsters were pouring in like a rising tide. The swordsmen were occupied just by cutting down the monsters in front of them. The number of monsters far exceeded the number of subjugation squad members. It seemed the surroundings would soon be filled with monsters. The swordsmen had the strength to cut through the monsters and advance, but if we were surrounded like this, we would be unable to move and would surely die.

"Follow me!"

Before my thoughts could even finish, Gina grabbed my wrist. We started running toward a gap that looked open. We barely managed to avoid being surrounded, but a problem remained. Several monsters were chasing us as we fled. Gina rolled her eyes quickly and said to me,

"Run that way, Ivan! I don't feel the presence of monsters over there. I'll try to lure the ones chasing us!"

"What? But then, Gina, you..."

"I'm confident in running away! Go quickly!"

Before I could even answer, Gina pushed me. I was pushed back so hard that I wondered if Gina had always been this strong. In that time, Gina was already throwing stones at the monsters and running in the opposite direction.

"Ugh...!"

I ran in the direction Gina had pointed out. I was worried about whether Gina would be okay. But I couldn't jump in to save her. Pathetically, this was the best I could do. The reality of a descendant of the Seven Star Sword Families who couldn't even wield a sword, captured by an enemy family and reduced to playing the servant. Behind my back, I could hear the swordsmen fighting a desperate battle against the monsters, and the sound of flesh being torn from the maids who hadn't been able to escape. I left that carnage behind and ran. I didn't stop, even when my breath reached the end of my throat. In the end, Gina's judgment was correct. If I had stayed there, I would have died, and no more monsters appeared in this direction.

-Kieeeek!

But a problem remained. Two monsters that Gina hadn't been able to lure were stuck to me. The monsters stuck to me were just two goblins. Stupid, violent, and highly reproductive creatures. Goblins were among the weakest of monsters. But I had never even faced a goblin. Despite being from the Seven Star Sword family, I had never even wielded a sword.

"Huck... huck..."

My breath grew shorter and my knees began to ache. The creatures, as if they never tired, chased after me, drooling greedily. Having experienced the fall of my family and the war, I thought about trying to catch the two weak monsters myself. There was no answer in just running away. And it would be troublesome if I got lost by going too far. But I had no weapon. On the other hand, those creatures were holding daggers covered in rust. Just as I was agonizing over it, a strange scene appeared in front of me.

In the middle of the dark forest shade created by overgrown giant trees, a clearing appeared where bright light poured in, as if the sky had been blown open. In the center of the clearing, a mysterious sword was stuck in the ground. It was a scene as if a spotlight were shining down on that sword.

"What is that..."

It was a mystical scene. Even while running, the sword's noble posture was enough to draw an exclamation. The sword was a one-handed longsword that emitted a unique light. It was the most common form, but a sword whose power varied wildly depending on the wielder's proficiency.

-Kieeeek!

Behind my back, the monsters were still chasing me. Before I knew it, my body had entered the clearing. The mysterious sword drew closer. I had never handled a sword before. But I had no other choice. The sword stood alone and noble within the light. I reached out my hand toward the hilt of the sword. The sword stuck in the ground was pulled out smoothly without any resistance. Even though I had never wielded a sword before, the movement was as natural as flowing water.

"Ugh...!"

But at the same time as I pulled out the sword, a very strange thing happened. It wasn't a foolish problem like being too scared to wield it once I held it. It wasn't a general problem like it being too heavy for a beginner like me to wield, even though it was a one-handed sword. I felt a strange sensation. Something surged greatly within my body. That surging became clearer and clearer, moving toward the sword. Before long, that sensation wrapped around the sword. It felt as if something was connected between the sword and me. If I had a soul and the sword had a soul, it felt as if those two were connected. The truly strange thing happened after that. Riding the connection of the souls, strange voices began to be heard. It wasn't a single voice. Several voices echoed in my head. But I could accurately distinguish each of those voices. It didn't mean I distinguished ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠them simply by tone or way of speaking. I already naturally knew who the beings making each voice were. I didn't know how such a thing was possible, but along with the voices, the names of the owners of the voices simultaneously came to mind. So, in this way.

......

"...What is this?"