Chapter 20
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Shall I Introduce You to a Girl?
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That happened right before we returned to the Valenhardt Duchy.
After Lord Aurelion accepted my proposal and formally decided to join our group.
It was quite literally the last moment, just before we left the dragon's lair.
I opened my mouth casually at that time.
"By the way, the person who made Lady Elysia's holy sword... is me."
"What?"
"...Huh?"
"K-Kim Jinwoo?!"
Miya and Lady Elysia's faces stiffened simultaneously.
"Jinwoo! What are you saying right now? That's something you absolutely mustn't tell anyone!"
Lady Elysia spoke urgently, but I shook my head.
"No. We have to tell him now."
I turned my gaze to look at Lord Aurelion.
"Lord Aurelion, you have now become the Guardian Dragon of the Valenhardt Duchy. We're practically on the same side."
I continued calmly.
"But in a situation like this, cooperating while hiding important information would only create bigger risks at critical moments. Especially when it involves a war with gods on the line."
At my words, Miya stared at me with her mouth agape, unable to close it, and Lady Elysia couldn't continue speaking either.
And Lord Aurelion.
For a brief moment—just a fleeting instant—his face clearly showed shock.
The holy sword that had cut him down wasn't a "divine relic awakened by the hero's bloodline," but a "weapon crafted by someone."
The ancient dragon's eyes narrowed.
"...I see."
Lord Aurelion closed his eyes and sank into thought for a moment.
Then, as if a puzzle had clicked into place, he nodded.
"Indeed. Things didn't quite add up before."
He spoke slowly.
"Even the first hero barely managed to defeat a dragon. And after that, the bloodline only grew thinner with each generation."
His gaze shifted to the lady.
"Yet this descendant awakened a power that could stand against an ancient dragon without faltering? That in itself was already suspicious."
His gaze returned to me.
"So the answer was the 'creator.'"
I nodded.
"Yes."
And I stated clearly.
"That's why I chose 'crafting' for Lady Elysia, not 'awakening.' Not some power forcibly drawn out by the hero's bloodline, but a holy sword designed solely for her. A weapon that only she can wield—her very own."
"S-Stop! Don't say any more!"
But before I could finish, Lady Elysia rushed over to my side almost leaping.
Thud.
The sudden sensation of a hand covering my mouth cut my words short.
And then it happened.
The lady whipped her head around to glare at Lord Aurelion.
It wasn't the calm demeanor of the duke's daughter from moments before.
Her teeth were bared, her eyes sharply intense—a purely personal impression, but an expression that could hardly be called 'ladylike' anymore.
...It seemed that fully awakening as the master of the holy sword Balmung had let a bit of the black dragon Fafnir's temperament seep into her.
"What if he betrays us?!"
"Betray...?"
Lord Aurelion started to speak with a troubled expression, but the lady didn't yield an inch.
"Lady. Of course, since we were once enemies, some misunderstanding is understandable. But isn't this a bit much?"
The ancient dragon sighed as he spoke.
"To think that I, of all dragons—an ancient dragon—would stoop so low as to stab humans in the back...?"
"Hah!"
But no chance.
"Just moments ago, who was it that targeted us, calling us a 'mongrel child of hero and ancient dragon,' or 'half-human, half-divine'?"
"......"
"Even if you're a god, how can we trust you after saying things like that?!"
A brief silence.
In that moment, Miya nodded, and Lord Aurelion... didn't really refute it.
"True... that does sound about right."
With the ancient dragon himself admitting it, there was nothing more to say.
Well, they had been life-and-death enemies just moments before.
No amount of "we spared your life, so now we're allies" would build trust overnight.
If anything, this was the perfect timing to strike from behind the moment they let their guard down.
Maybe that's why.
Lady Elysia was still wary of Lord Aurelion.
In fact, right after the battle when he had collapsed, she had wanted to finish him off, and it took quite some convincing from me to stop her.
But such suspicions had already been addressed once by me.
"You don't need to worry about that, my lady."
I smiled nonchalantly as I spoke.
"Lord Aurelion here and I have already made a promise not to stab each other in the back."
A bright, cheerful tone.
A light, neighborly manner, like greeting someone on the street.
Of course, I knew full well she wouldn't take it at face value.
"That's. Ex. Act. Ly it! That's why I'm warning you now—because he could break that promise!"
The lady thrust her face right up to mine.
Her eyes were fierce, and judging by her expression alone, she looked ready to bite my throat out at any moment.
...Yeah, it really seemed like a hefty dose of the black dragon's temperament had mixed in.
So I gave up on persuading her with words.
Instead, I decided to show her directly.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small object.
Resting on my palm was a golden ring the size of a knuckle.
Its surface was densely engraved with fine rune patterns, each line glowing faintly as if alive.
"This ring is called Eiðhringr."
"...And?"
"In simple terms, it's a contract ring that makes it absolutely impossible to break a promise."
"Contract... ring?"
"Yes."
I took a breath and pulled up the precise knowledge from my memory.
Eiðhringr.
A ring of oaths passed down in Earth's Northern European myths—specifically the Norse tradition.
A relic from an era when gods and humans breathed the same stories, when law, faith, and custom were undivided.
In that world, for any important oath, one always placed their hand on this ring.
Human, king, or god—no exceptions.
Because oaths sworn before this ring weren't a matter of will or belief.
The moment the promise was broken, the ring 'judged' it.
And the instant judgment was passed, the penalty was automatically enforced.
Not a curse, not divine punishment.
Simply the fact of being a 'promise-breaker' degraded one's very existence.
Honor shattered, divinity faded, and in severe cases, the authority of their being itself crumbled.
In Norse myths, the downfall of gods who took oaths lightly appeared repeatedly.
Even Odin, the god of wisdom and oaths, was always cautious before them.
To secure victory, he imposed harsh conditions even on himself, and to avoid reneging on a spoken promise, he accepted the price of becoming one-eyed.
Conversely, those who cunningly twisted or disregarded oaths met fixed ends.
Loki.
He had sworn blood brotherhood and alliance with the gods, but broke those promises repeatedly, ultimately defined in the myths not as a 'god' but as a 'calamity.'
His price wasn't immediate death.
Stripped of his status as a god, he was bound in chains, condemned to endure torment at the world's end.
A punishment more Norse than death itself.
Having one's stature crumble, being pushed out of the tale.
Even the gods of Northern Europe are said to have chosen their words carefully and held their breath before this ring.
For them, oaths weren't commands from gods to humans—they proved that gods and humans stood under the same law.
"It was when I made the holy sword Balmung."
I continued impassively.
"Strangely, the structure of this ring came to mind with crystal clarity. As if I'd known it forever."
So I made it.
Exactly as recorded in Earth's myths.
The simple yet brutal logic of "break the promise, and you're done."
"Lord Aurelion and I placed our hands on this ring and swore. That we wouldn't betray our alliance."
I smiled at the ancient dragon while holding up the ring.
"So the scenario you're worried about, my lady... it can't happen in the first place."
The moment the promise is broken, whether he's an ancient dragon or Guardian Dragon or whatever he was before, he'd meet his end before the authority even the top gods of myth feared.
And so, the tale returns to the present.
"...Good grief. I don't even know where to begin understanding this."
Family Head Joseph pressed his temple and let out a deep sigh.
He had heard the full story from the four of us... no, precisely three people and one god.
This room wasn't his official office but his private receiving chamber, accessible only to a select few.
He took another breath and nodded.
"...Still."
Family Head Joseph looked at me as he spoke.
"You trusted us, Jinwoo, so you didn't hide any of it and told us everything. For that... I'm grateful."
"Not at all."
I bowed my head.
"I merely did what was expected as a servant of the Valenhardts."
Family Head Joseph clearly had more he wanted to ask, but he drew the line here.
As an adult—and more than that, as a king—he knew pushing further would put me in a tough spot.
Thanks to that, the tension in the room eased a bit.
But then.
"So."
Lord Aurelion spoke up as if it were nothing.
"Young Jinwoo. Who have you chosen for the next woman?"
"...Huh?"
In that instant, the air in the room froze.
Duke Joseph widened his eyes at the words, and above all, Lady Elysia turned to Aurelion with a stiff expression.
I was left standing there, mouth agape.
But the ancient dragon didn't mind in the slightest.
"Your ability, I mean. The power to craft weapons that elevate a woman with deep ties to you toward godhood, using her as the medium."
Lord Aurelion tilted his head, speaking as if confirming an obvious calculation.
"In that case, the logic is simple, isn't it?"
"...What logic?"
"It's already been proven once, and with even greater wars approaching, finding the next bond to unite with would be the most efficient choice."