Chapter 49
Chapter 49
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: What Happens When a Sword Gets Serious? It Turns Black! Hahaha! (1)
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In the end, we couldn't just leave it like that, so we opened the box again. Leaving aside how noisy it was, Lagia was an excellent sword. It had a sleek body and a blade that shimmered with a heavenly blue hue. The hilt was engraved with waves, and it was sensitive to mana—it even resonated with my mana and the mana flowing naturally in the air.
[Ha! Humans are so heartless. I thought you were nice when you fished me out of the sea with a net.]
That was just like accidentally catching a fish, wasn't it?
[Then you suddenly wrap me up in cloth until I can't breathe and shove me into a box.]
"......"
[Oh, aha? That was a joke, you know? Everyone has no sense of humor. Swords don't breathe! Hahaha!]
Pippin looked at me sinisterly and asked.
"Shall we close the lid again? Or should I throw it far away?"
"Hoo......"
Helio circled the same spot awkwardly, as if troubled.
"Dear me, I had no idea it had such a weird side. It was originally meant to be presented to Crown Prince Thymeus, but he told me to give it to you as a gift. So I'm innocent. Actually, maybe it's for the best that we didn't give His Highness such a vulgar and undignified item."
Helio turned around as if trying to flee. I swiftly grabbed him by the collar.
"Where do you think you're going, trying to dump defective goods and run?"
[That's right! I refuse to become the sword of some stranger. I already have an owner.]
We stood there dumbfounded in front of the talking sword. Could we really use this sword for subjugating magical beasts?
It felt like we needed to sell it to a circus troupe. How were we supposed to deal with a sword like this arriving as a practical weapon?
[Ah, the sea! I want to go back to my home sea. I have to meet Enbi! Like it or not, that's my fate. Do you know Enbi? Of course you don't. You're humans. He's the man who's going to be the next Mermaid King. He's strong and beautiful, but his personality... well, his personality is totally off. Even I can't defend him.]
My mind flashed at the name 'Enbi.'
Right, the very person I needed to watch out for in this magical beast subjugation was 'Enbi.' The Mermaid clan's successor. A powerful warrior.
Now that I thought about it, he did have a sword like this. If you maxed out his affection level, Enbi would reward the heroine with a legendary sword that shone in magical beast subjugations.
Looking at it now, this must be that sword. Enbi had given the heroine this headache-inducing item as a token of his love.
In the game, it was just described as a fine sword or a famed blade, so I had no idea it had a personality like this. Plus, items were just roughly used from the inventory, so I'd never even talked to the sword.
This sword was a high-grade weapon that reliably did its job every time the heroine went on a magical beast subjugation. If my memory was correct, this was definitely it.
[Ah~ I want to go back to the sea~ Enbi, how have you been? Of course you like me, but I don't like you! Still, I want to go back to the sea. That's my heart! Hahaha!]
Lagia kept singing about wanting to return to the sea. It didn't sit well with me.
If Lagia went back to the sea, its owner would naturally be Enbi. Then Enbi would pass this sword on to the heroine later. That would let the heroine shine brightly in the magical beast subjugation. And that's where the problems would start.
Excluding Duke Sierra among the male leads, there were five left.
Crown Prince Thymeus, Pippin, Enbi, the priest, the dragon.
They would all fall for the heroine's strong side. If I let heroine Anemone perform powerfully, it could lead to something embarrassing for our Dalia. Later, when the heroine and Dalia crossed paths, Dalia might end up looking inferior.
Yeah, better for me to take this noisy sword. If it proves useless, I can just destroy it. Hide it deep in the mansion, or give it to Dalia as a gift when she grows up.
No matter what, I couldn't let it fall into the heroine's hands.
While Helio and Pippin cooperated to reseal the box, I finished thinking. Then I stopped them.
"Wait. I've changed my mind."
"Yes? Shall we smash it and throw it away? That would definitely be quieter."
Pippin asked in a dumb voice. Lagia wriggled rebelliously inside the box.
"No. We're keeping it."
I looked at Helio. He wore a confused mix of embarrassment, awkwardness, and surprise.
"This sword was given to us anyway, right?"
"Y-Yes. It's Crown Prince Thymeus's order."
I kicked the box backward with my foot. There was a clattering noise from inside, but whatever.
"Please convey to His Highness how grateful we are for this precious sword."
"You're really okay with taking it? Duke Sierra, I..."
"Isn't this the choice of Helio Helian, the greatest weapons merchant in the Noamaz Empire—no, the world? There must be some great intention behind it."
Flattery and white lies are second nature to me. If you split my soul open, greetings and falsehoods would pour out.
"We, the Gluttony Ducal Family, will gratefully accept this sword as a treasure."
"Master, are you serious? It's still noisy."
"It's fine, it's fine. Why else would it chatter on like this if it weren't so valuable?"
Helio's eyes reddened, as if moved by my decision.
"If you'd refused the gift, I wouldn't be able to face Crown Prince Thymeus. Duke Gluttony, you're a good man."
With that, he didn't just have his men carefully bring something else. Was he possessed by a mountain spirit rewarding honesty with gold and silver axes?
Helio pulled out one more gift.
"Here, actually, I brought something because Duke Gluttony wanted a weapon too."
"What's this?"
"A pitchfork."
"...Isn't that a farming tool?"
This guy Helio was a quack mountain spirit handing out iron axes.
"Are you telling me to go farm?"
Whether he'd really brought it to mock me like that, Helio's face turned red.
"No, well. Farming is the foundation of life... You said to bring something anyone could use, right?"
"What kind of... Sigh, fine. We'll gratefully accept this one too, for now."
I sighed and took the pitchfork. It did look like a weapon, but at its core, it was a farming tool. A necromancer wielding a pitchfork—what a ridiculous sight.
"Sir Helio. Since you're here, why not stay for dinner?"
"Is that okay? Actually, there's one more guest..."
"A guest?"
"They insisted on coming along to deliver the gift..."
Helio spoke cautiously, which was unusual for him. Soon after, with a procession even noisier than the sword Lagia, a small boy appeared.
'That kid...'
He looked just like Crown Prince Thymeus. But shrunken down to Dalia's size.
Even his stern expression was a perfect copy of Thymeus's—the 4th Prince, Daisy Sequoyah Noamaz.
"......"
"Greetings to 4th Prince Your Highness. What brings you all the way here?"
I knelt on one knee and smiled brightly in greeting. Daisy stared blankly at my face, then at the pitchfork. His cold gaze, unchildlike, reached Pippin and even the box in the distance.
"Yours."
"Yes?"
"Never mind."
"......"
"Return it to the owner."
His halting words carried no tone or inflection. Had he overheard the sword? The stuff about it having a real owner and wanting to go back to the sea?
Helio seemed to think the same and kindly told Daisy.
"4th Prince Daisy, that noisy sword now belongs to Duke Gluttony."
"Right."
Hm?
"What are you trying to say...?"
"This. Stick. Long one."
Daisy was pointing at the pitchfork. The kid then pointed from the pitchfork to Pippin, saying, "His." Then he pointed at the noisy sword we'd boxed up and at me together, declaring, "Yours."
The young prince must have found it funny to see me holding a pitchfork.
I laughed heartily and stood up.
"It seems you're saying the pitchfork is Pippin's, and the fine sword Lagia is mine. Well, it must look odd for a duke to hold a farming tool."
I tried to brush it off with a laugh, but Daisy's expression was off. It felt like facing a hundred-year-old sage, not a five-year-old in cute clothes. His impression was strangely unsettling.
Feeling uneasy, I opened his status window.
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Name: Daisy Sequoyah Noamaz
Occupation: Prophet
Personality: Indifferent - His heart doesn't waver at anything.
Trait: Prophecy - Detects events that may occur in the future.
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A prophet? This little kid? Not a mage?
I couldn't hear anything around me anymore. The prophet kid stared at me as if peering into my very soul.
A prophet. Was it real? I'd never seen the status window lie.
I straightened my posture and met Daisy's gaze. I decided to ask what I'd always wanted to ask a fortune-teller.
"4th Prince Daisy."
"Yeah."
"Will my sister Dalia... be happy at fifteen?"
"......"
Daisy tilted his head. Feeling oddly anxious, I narrowed the question.
"Who will our Dalia marry when she grows up?"
One of the male leads? They were all personality wrecks obsessed with only the heroine Anemone!
Or maybe someone else? But there were no other characters with a good family and good looks.
The ugly ones in the game were all disqualified. The male leads were even more out of the question! This big brother won't allow it! Better off single!
"Master. Lady Dalia is only five years old now..."
Pippin grabbed me, looking exasperated. I rolled my eyes.
"Ten years from now, she'll be of marriageable age. I can't let her be fooled by riffraff in the meantime."
"Well, that's still ten years away."
"4th Prince Daisy!"
No one seemed to get why I was grilling Daisy. They'd just think Duke Gluttony's sense of humor was lame.
"Enough with the jokes..."
Helio pulled me to my feet. Whether it was curiosity or frustration boiling up, I kept huffing.
"Big brother."
Just then, Dalia tugged at my clothes. She'd gotten tired of waiting quietly while we handled the sword and pitchfork.
"Yeah. Time for you to go back to your room now. No matter what, I'll protect you for sure."
As I lightly stroked Dalia's head, Daisy pointed at her and said.
"Witch."