9
Chapter 9:
He picked up the sword with trembling hands.
My instincts must have been mistaken.
There's still no definitive proof that this sword is the one I used before my regression.
It was nothing more than an instinctive feeling.
'The design is no different from an ordinary sword.'
Before my regression, that sword had reflected my preference for simplicity.
So it wouldn't be strange for a similar sword to exist.
'If only it weren't for that inscription...'
And yet
—For my disciple, Ed.
An inscription was engraved on the blade.
"Ed...! How many times have I humored your stubbornness! This inscription is the one thing I refuse to give up."
An inscription the Sword Saint had forcibly carved onto an otherwise unremarkable sword.
That meant this sword was one of a kind in this world.
'What in the world is it doing here...?'
Had the sword regressed?
No. No.
A sword that existed in the future appearing in the past in the exact same form isn't regression.
Which means...
'The sword came from the future?'
There's no other explanation.
Well.
A sword doesn't just materialize out of thin air.
It's not some Dungeon Monster.
And considering that I'm a regressor myself, it's not entirely incomprehensible.
'But why is it here?'
This sword has nothing to do with the North.
'I can't make sense of it. I just can't.'
It was one thing after another that defied understanding.
For now, I took the sword with me.
It's just a guess, but this sword might be connected to my regression.
'Maybe I should visit the Mage Tower.'
Something I've come to realize over the years—these kinds of supernatural phenomena are almost always linked to magic.
And I had been planning to go there eventually anyway.
It would also help broaden Siellin's horizons.
And, at the same time, to meet an old friend I've known since childhood.
"Mister, what are you doing here alone?"
Just then, Siellin called out to me from behind.
"Pfft!"
The moment I turned around, a laugh burst out of me.
"Why are you laughing!"
Siellin was cradling several swords in her arms.
But the swords were taller than she was, so her face was completely hidden behind them.
Well, that alone was something.
But the way she waddled along, arms loaded with swords, was just too ridiculous.
"D-don't laugh!"
Siellin snapped at me.
With swords in her arms, it only made it funnier.
Desperately holding back my laughter, I asked what was going on.
"Why'd you bring so many?"
"You pick, Mister. Tell me which ones look good."
Crash!
Siellin dumped the swords onto the ground.
Now, finally, her field of vision seemed free.
"Huh? Did you already pick a sword, Mister?"
Siellin noticed the sword in my hand, a beat late.
"Yeah."
I held the sword out to her.
Siellin took it and furrowed her brow.
"...Mister. You really picked this one?"
Then she moved to grab the sword back.
"What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"
"I don't trust your eye. What's a sword like that doing in the Treasury?"
...That stung.
To think my masterpiece, made with all my heart, would be treated like this.
'And you helped make it, you know.'
Though, even before my regression, the Sword Saint had pestered me about it endlessly.
"Hmm. Are you really sure I can trust you?"
"Yes."
"Really, really?"
"Don't trust me, huh... Then I'm suddenly very curious who exactly has been begging me to come to the Treasury and pick one out together this whole time."
"Sh-sh-shut up!"
"It would be wise not to tell your master to shut up, generally."
"...Be quiet."
Siellin quietly set the sword down.
And began laying them out on the ground one by one.
"You go first, Mister! Which one looks the best to you?"
'As expected.'
Her eye for swords hadn't changed at all.
Every sword she had chosen was a top-class masterwork.
Among them was even the sword the Sword Saint had used before my regression.
"This one looks the best to me."
A sword steeped in the cold of the North.
I took hold of it.
'The Sword Saint's eye was right on.'
Even among those superb masterworks, this one was in a league of its own.
"So you do know a thing or two. I liked that one too."
"Do you realize that if you're the one judging me, there's no reason for me to be here?"
"I-I was just saying!"
Siellin let out a shriek and snatched the sword away from me.
"Hmph. This sword is mine."
"I'm not taking it."
"Use a sword that suits someone like you, Mister."
"What does a sword that suits someone like me even mean?"
I waved my hand dismissively.
"I told you I'm not taking it, so stop staring at me like that."
"Can't I take it secretly?"
Siellin clutched the sword to her chest and smiled brightly.
"I love it."
As long as she liked it.
My daughter (not really) was happy, and that made me happy too.
"Let's go."
We stepped out of the Treasury.
The Northern Grand Duke, who spotted us, opened his mouth.
"You're out already?"
"Yes. We found something we liked."
"Show me what you chose."
Siellin showed the Northern Grand Duke her sword first.
The Northern Grand Duke examined Siellin's sword carefully.
"Ho. You have an eye for these things."
The Grand Duke handed the sword back to Siellin and said.
"Finally, someone who actually takes it."
"No one has taken anything until now?"
"That's right. Not many chose the Treasury as their winning prize to begin with, and those who did pass through had poor taste. Nothing but fools who took the flashy, worthless pieces."
"The winners of the Hunting Tournament had taste that poor?"
"You two are the unusual ones. The 'true' geniuses, born to soar and excel, never accept my invitation."
That wasn't strange.
I'm not sure whether I'd count among those geniuses.
But regardless, I had always declined the North's invitations myself.
"Now then, let's see your choice."
When he examined my sword, a look of puzzlement crossed the Grand Duke's face.
"...Hm?"
He looked over my sword again and again.
"This—are you sure you took it from the Treasury? I don't recall a sword like this being in there."
"I did take it from the Treasury."
I had already suspected as much.
But hearing it confirmed made my resolve even stronger.
I need to visit the Mage Tower.
"It's not as if anyone would have left it behind..."
The Northern Grand Duke muttered under his breath and looked at me.
"I can't stand the sight of a winner leaving without a proper prize."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm saying choose one more."
What luck.
'But what do I choose?'
I don't need another sword.
An artifact? Should I be looking for something like that?
"If nothing comes to mind, may I suggest something that might suit you?"
"Sure... why not."
He knows the Treasury better than anyone, being its owner.
"Follow me."
The Northern Grand Duke moved without hesitation.
As I stepped back into the Treasury, I turned things over in my mind.
'What does he intend to give me?'
Nothing's coming to me.
The Northern Grand Duke's footsteps came to a stop.
"Bracelets...?"
Siellin murmured.
What the Northern Grand Duke showed us was a pair of Bracelets.
The Bracelets were made of gold.
One look was enough to tell.
Those bracelets were the kind you could fetch a fortune for if sold to a noblewoman.
"Try them both on."
Siellin and I put the bracelets on at the same time.
'Oh?'
The moment I put it on, I understood.
These are bracelets that let you know the other person's location.
No matter how far apart you are.
'Hmm, though...'
I thought Siellin might find it uncomfortable.
"Mister! Let's go with these!"
But not at all.
On the contrary, Siellin jumped up and down with excitement.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. I love them...!"
She seemed even more thrilled than when she had picked the sword earlier...
Must be my imagination.
"What do you think?"
"...We'll go with these."
There was nothing else to choose anyway.
And she liked them so much.
'I wonder if we'll ever find a use for them.'
One day, surely.
***
It took two hours for the illusion that we'd never find a use for them to shatter.
"Please, Siellin..."
I pleaded with Siellin.
And for good reason.
"It's already been two hours..."
After leaving the Treasury.
We hadn't gone straight back to the Household.
It was late into the night.
And there was another Banquet to celebrate the successful conclusion of the Hunting Tournament.
At the Banquet, Siellin did nothing but eat.
No one was gossiping behind her back.
No one was sending her nasty looks, so she was able to focus purely on the food.
Right. Up to this point, there had been no problem at all.
But.
"Mister, go hide over there this time."
"We've checked it who knows how many times. I'm tired."
"No. We have to make sure it works properly."
Using the Bracelet's functionality as her excuse, Siellin had been tormenting me for two hours.
I was getting to know the hidden corners of the provided mansion better than the servants did.
We'd been playing hide-and-seek for a full two hours.
On top of that, Siellin insisted I couldn't hide in the same spot twice in a row.
The one time I couldn't find a single place to hide and secretly used the same spot—
"Mister. Did you think I wouldn't know?"
—Calming down a sulking Siellin had been no small ordeal.
"Mister, I promise this is the last time. Go hide."
Siellin placed both hands against a pillar.
And pressed her eyes to the back of her hands, cutting off her vision.
"One... two..."
'Sigh.'
Think of it as raising a daughter.
I searched for somewhere to hide.
'It's remarkable that a spot even exists at this point.'
Remarkably, there was one.
I crouched down pathetically and hid there.
"Fifty! I'm done counting!"
Her voice carried from beyond.
Thud thud thud—
Siellin came running, footsteps pounding without a moment's hesitation.
"Found you!"
Siellin laughed with delight.
Even after doing this dozens? Hundreds? However many times.
She hadn't lost that first smile of hers.
'As long as she's happy.'
I swallowed my self-deprecation and got to my feet.
"Let's sleep now."
"Okay!"
And so I fell asleep, still as a mouse.
The next day.
"Safe travels."
"Yes."
We exchanged farewells with the Northern Grand Duke.
"I hope we meet again on business."
"We shall."
After our goodbyes.
We were escorted by a Retainer.
"Congratulations on your victory."
The Retainer gave a respectful nod and turned to leave.
"...Now I have to see those irritating faces again."
Siellin, who had been all smiles until just yesterday, let her expression go cold.
'I need to understand why now.'
What on earth?
I need to hear the reason they treated Siellin like a monster.
Steeling myself, I boarded the Warp Gate alongside Siellin.
And when I opened my eyes.
"Young Lord Adrian, I will escort you to the Household."
We returned to the Household, following the Rekanof Retainer.
But.
'News of the victory must have reached them by now.'
Not a single person welcomed Siellin.
She had brought glory to the Household—they could hardly have thrown too grand a Banquet.
And was that all?
"Hii, hiii—!?"
The maids working in the mansion, and all the other servants.
Every last one of them couldn't hide their terror the moment they saw Siellin.
"...Ah."
The moment we returned to the Household, Siellin reverted to her old self.
"...Mister."
Siellin called out to me with a sorrowful expression.
"Siellin."
I carefully covered her ears so she wouldn't hear what I was about to say.
Then I pulled her close and held her.
And.
I did not hold back.
"You worthless bastards."
"...Pardon?"
The Retainer asked again.
"Bring the Household Head here. Now."
Before I raze this sorry excuse for a Household to the ground.