The Holy Sword Betrays Its Master
The Holy Sword Elysium, which had once shone more brilliantly than anything else in the world — forged to defeat the Demon King and bring peace to all creation.
Not even Rian, the Hero and the sword's own master, could ever have imagined that Elysium would suddenly explode.
And naturally, the one who bore the brunt of that explosion—
“AAAAAAGH!!!”
—was Rian himself, the very man who had drawn the blade, and he screamed louder than anyone else in the room.
His body lay blackened and charred on the floor, his hair standing on end like a scorched bush.
The blast could easily have swept through the rest of the council chamber as well, but by sheer fortune—
“!!!”
—Logan had instantly wrapped his entire body in mana and hurled himself into the fray, and so, remarkably, not a single soul besides Rian was harmed.
In truth, Logan had thrown himself forward prepared to take serious injury — even if it cost him dearly — so long as no one else got hurt. Above all, to protect Anastasia.
“...?”
And yet, though the shockwave had clearly struck his body, he was completely unscathed.
If anything, a strange sensation lingered, as though his body had grown lighter.
The Hero Rian, rolling about the floor in a humiliating wail as the Holy Sword ran wild — and Logan, who despite the sudden and dangerous turn of events had thrown himself into harm's way to shield everyone.
Faced with that bizarre tableau, the assembled nobles could only gape in disbelief from every angle.
“Th-the Holy Sword went berserk? An explosion!?”
“Are you telling me the Hero cannot even control his own sacred blade!?”
“That was far too close! If Sir Logan hadn't stepped in so quickly, every one of us could have been gravely injured!”
“Exactly! Incredible, truly. Even the Hero couldn't do anything about it, and yet he blocked that explosion without a single wound!”
Doubt and mistrust toward the Hero Rian began to seep through the council chamber like creeping fog, while awe and trust in Logan quietly took root.
Even those who had secretly looked down on him — a mere commoner at heart, a member of the Hero's Party in name only, nothing more than a lowly adventurer no matter how one dressed it up — now found themselves forced to reconsider.
The explosion of the Holy Sword Elysium had been so violent and destructive that anyone without the means to defend themselves might have suffered grievous harm, had Logan not thrown himself forward without a moment's hesitation.
And so Anastasia's guard knight, Renate, erupted in fury.
“What is the meaning of this!? How dare you draw your sword in the presence of Her Highness!!!”
“H-he never drew it with any ill intent, I assure you! And as you can see, no one was harmed except the Hero himself, was he not?”
“You call that an excuse!? If Sir Logan hadn't intervened, it would have been an utter catastrophe! Why did the Holy Sword explode in the first place!?”
“W-well, it seems the Holy Sword was left unstable by the Demon King's subjugation! The Hero narrowly managed to suppress the surge and minimize the damage, but as his condition appears to be poor, we shall take our leave for today!”
Sera barely knew what she was saying herself, but she improvised desperately, scrambling for anything that might get them out of the room.
Then, fleeing as though the hounds of hell were at her heels, she hurriedly gathered up Rian and the Holy Sword and rushed out of the chamber.
Irene scrambled after them, half-dragging, half-supporting Rian on the other side.
What on earth just happened?
Irene was utterly bewildered, thrown completely off balance. She couldn't make heads or tails of how things had come to this.
She had been watching through gritted teeth as Logan confronted Rian — his expression so cold and resolute that it looked as though he had wholly attached himself to Anastasia's side.
She had secretly savored the sight of Rian pressing the Crown Princess into a corner. There was something gallant, she'd thought, in the way he stood his ground and pressed his point, not cowed in the slightest even under Anastasia's withering pressure.
She had been certain that if only Logan hadn't butted in, the imperial princess would have been cornered and humiliated — and then Rian would draw the Holy Sword and prove himself indisputably right, turning the whole situation around.
Anastasia, who had stolen what was hers, would only sink deeper into trouble — and Logan would realize his own mistake and come back to her.
But the Holy Sword, the very instrument of that judgment, had exploded!
Worse, Rian alone had been gravely injured, while Logan hadn't suffered so much as a scratch.
And so—
Logan...! How could you!?
Swallowing her resentment and her sense of betrayal, Irene left the council chamber.
She could not believe that Logan would turn his back on her so completely — that things had even escalated to the point where he seemed to strike at Rian himself.
And he had even thrown his body in front of that Crown Princess to shield her. God, how she resented him.
###
After the Hero's Party had withdrawn, the council chamber was in no state to continue the meeting.
Because Logan had thrown himself into the blast at once, the visible damage was limited to a patch of scorch marks around where Rian had been standing — but after such a shocking scene, the atmosphere was far too chaotic to press on.
“...We shall postpone the remainder of this meeting.”
Anastasia raised her hand and declared the session over.
“I expect no such disgraceful incidents at the next session, Duke Lindemark. And be advised — for today's affair, I shall hold your ducal house squarely responsible, not merely the Church. See that you understand.”
“Th... that... yes, Your Highness...”
Cardo, unwilling to simply tuck his tail and submit to Anastasia, tried to raise some manner of protest — but no matter how he turned it over in his mind, no suitable words came to him. He had no choice but to bow his head.
All he could do was gather his followers and slink out of the council chamber in much the same fleeing haste as the Hero's Party, cradling his fury and his humiliation.
Anastasia watched those pathetic men file out for a moment, then hurried toward Logan.
Even if he looked perfectly fine on the surface, he had taken the full brunt of the Holy Sword's explosion alone.
But at that moment—
“...We shall take our leave as well, Your Highness.”
Lionel, head of the neutral noble faction, offered her a parting bow.
“Ah.”
In that instant, Anastasia realized just how completely her attention had been swallowed by Logan.
“Of course. Duke Barenhoff, please see yourself home safely.”
“I shall, Your Highness. And... one more thing.”
“?”
“You need not worry over Sir Logan. My body retired from the front lines long ago, but I pride myself that my eye has lost none of its accuracy. You may trust it.”
“Ah... yes. Thank you.”
“Indeed. Until we meet again.”
Anastasia was slightly taken aback by Lionel's unexpected remark.
He was, after all, a man of stone-faced expression, a man of notoriously few words — so taciturn and unreadable that no one could ever tell what he was thinking. He was one of the very few figures, alongside Sera, whom even Anastasia watched with constant care.
He wielded influence vast enough that, had he sided with the Hero's Party in today's meeting, matters might have twisted into something truly bizarre.
I'd always understood him to be rather distant from His Majesty... this truly is a surprise.
Anastasia couldn't help but find it curious — because Lionel's manner right now was unmistakably warm. His face was as expressionless as ever, but the corners of his mouth had lifted, ever so slightly.
Could Duke Barenhoff have taken a liking to Logan as well?
For even as he bowed to her and made his way out of the chamber, his gaze had lingered on Logan.
Ah — get a hold of yourself!
Lionel's goodwill was certainly a promising sign for the governance of the empire going forward, but none of that mattered right now.
“Logan!”
Because even if Lionel had pronounced him perfectly fine, her heart would not rest until she had examined his condition with her own eyes.
Anastasia rushed to Logan's side, worry written across her face.
###
Meanwhile—
What is this...?
Logan was bewildered by the state of his own body.
He had been caught off guard when Rian suddenly drew Elysium, and all the more so when the Holy Sword had begun to quake with such violence.
The moment he realized the blade was on the verge of something catastrophic, he had thrown himself forward without hesitation.
Judging by the pitch and fury of that trembling, the blast was bound to be anything but ordinary — so he had shielded Anastasia without a second's doubt.
He had wrapped himself in mana, but against that sword of all weapons, he had braced himself to absorb real damage regardless...
If anything, my body feels lighter...?
There wasn't the faintest scratch on him. He felt almost strangely refreshed, as though something had been washed clean.
And then—
— ...don't you dare!
For an instant, he had the sense that someone's voice had sounded.
Angry, almost — a shout — but it had been far too brief and faint for him to be certain.
He was still lost in that thought when—
“Logan!!!”
Anastasia came running up to him, her expression stormy.
“Ah, Your Highness... are you hurt anywhere?”
Since several people still remained in the council chamber, Logan addressed her with her formal title rather than any endearment.
Anastasia's eyebrows twitched. Could he be sulking over being denied his pet name...?
Of course, from Anastasia's own perspective, nothing so trivial as a pet name mattered at the moment.
“Why are you asking me that, Logan? I should be asking you!”
“I—what?”
“Hold still! I need to check you for injuries!”
“W-wait, just a moment—!”
Logan floundered, trying to stop her, but Anastasia seized both his arms and began inspecting him from head to toe.
“I... I'm truly fine, Your Highness...”
“Hold still! I'm worried!”
“No, truly, I'm fine... and besides, if you keep this up, then I'll—”
“Ah...”
The sight of Logan's flustered face made Anastasia freeze. Under the pretext of checking him for wounds, she had been pawing at his body far too liberally — she had gone entirely overboard!
The moment she realized it, Anastasia's face flushed as red as a boiled beet. She cleared her throat awkwardly and stepped back — but it was already too late. The handful of retainers who still lingered in the chamber had witnessed the entire scene.
“Haaah...”
Renate could only heave a long, deep sigh. So she had done it after all — proven once again that when it came to Logan, Her Highness could not maintain an ounce of composure.
Still... it could have been far worse, I suppose, Your Highness.
Renate counted it a genuine mercy, for anyone hostile to Anastasia had long since departed, and the ones who remained in the chamber were all people well disposed toward her.
What a fitting pair they make, hee hee...
Your Highness, I shall cheer for you with all my heart!
Far from lingering, they simply smiled their knowing smiles and, as if by silent mutual agreement, slipped out of the council chamber without a single word exchanged.
But precisely because of that kindness—
Ah, what have I DONE!!
Anastasia only grew more mortified, her cheeks burning all the harder in the suddenly emptied room.
