Worse Than a Magpie, an Angel
Iriniel’s eyes sparkled like a child who had just discovered a mountain of candy.
“Ooooh…!! As expected of the guild leader, you’re amazing! How on earth did you manage to pick up the Sword of Heavenly Fall? That’s the very blade my father lost while fighting one of the Original Prisoners—the Abandoned Emperor!”
“…What did you just say?”
“That beat-up old sword you brought back from the auction a week ago! Its aura had faded so much I almost didn’t recognize it, but I can definitely feel my father’s power within it!”
“…Oh, damn it all.”
The curse slipped out before I could stop myself. Thankfully, Iriniel seemed to interpret my outburst as pure joy and simply laughed it off.
“Right before falling from the heavens, this was the sword my father used to slaughter countless pursuers and even cut down corruption itself… Honestly, if I’d had this blade earlier, I would’ve torn that Marionette of Tears to shreds long ago.”
Iriniel gently stroked the hilt of the rusted sword with both hands. For a brief moment, a flicker of longing crossed her eyes as she gazed at the corroded blade. Then the familiar playful light returned, and she looked back at me.
“Thank you. Truly. Not only did you help me deal with the Marionette of Tears, but you even went out of your way to find the sword that carries my father’s final wish.”
She placed a hand over her heart, her voice overflowing with sincerity.
“From now on, I will follow you with even greater devotion, guild leader.”
“…….”
I had no idea what to say. My mind had gone completely blank. I simply clamped my mouth shut, squeezed my eyes closed, and gave a small nod.
At least the other pieces of junk were still…
Wait. If this rusty hunk of scrap is in this kind of condition… what about the other two?
A very ominous feeling suddenly washed over me. I slowly opened my eyes and turned toward Elenoa, who had been quietly watching our conversation from the side.
“Elenoa. What about the appraisal results for the other… two items?”
“I have been waiting for you to ask, Guild Leader.”
Elenoa offered the stack of documents she was holding with utmost reverence, as if she had been hoping I would inquire. With trembling hands, I accepted the papers and flipped open the first page.
After reading just three lines, my legs gave out and I collapsed heavily into the guild leader’s chair.
“Th-this is…”
Elenoa watched my reaction with mild surprise before beginning her briefing in a calm, measured tone.
“Once again, your discerning eye has far surpassed our shallow common sense. I am truly in awe. Thanks to Lady Iriniel’s enthusiastic cooperation—she who learned the language of the gods directly from her father—we were able to perfectly decipher the first grimoire.”
Elenoa’s voice was trembling with clear excitement.
“It contains the complete advanced techniques for ancient runes—the very knowledge that magic scholars across the continent have longed for. The moment this information reaches the Magic Kingdom and the academic world, the entire system of ancient rune magic, which has been stuck at the intermediate level for decades, will break wide open.”
“…….”
“Research into the supreme-grade runes already secured by the Magic Tower will soon follow. Naturally, all intellectual property rights and ownership of the original grimoire will belong to our Caldia Merchant Guild.”
In other words, with nothing more than a single feather, I had obtained an achievement that would rewrite the entire history of magic on the continent.
Stunned by the unimaginable result, I flipped to the next page with shaking hands. This one was about the mysterious black stone.
“The second artifact was equally astonishing. At first we assumed it was merely an old magical tool due to the faint mana waves it emitted. However, thanks to Lady Iriniel’s Heavenly Eyes piercing straight to its true nature, we were able to identify its real identity.”
Again, it was because of Iriniel? Elenoa glanced at me cautiously before continuing.
“It is not simply an old artifact. It is a kind of dragon egg containing the fully preserved soul of Nergal the Black Dragon—one of the Original Prisoners who was betrayed by the other sinners and met his end long ago.”
“A… dragon egg?”
“Yes. Under normal circumstances it would be a dead egg, its mana severed and incapable of hatching… But that is precisely why you kept Lady Iriniel by your side, Guild Leader.”
Elenoa gazed at me with profound reverence.
“The analysis shows that if Lady Iriniel—who possesses roughly half the power of the primordial era—continuously infuses the egg with her mana and blessings, we will soon be able to hatch it and tame the Black Dragon as the guild’s guardian beast.”
“…….”
Wait. So not only could I now wield the grimoire to completely dominate the world of magic, but I was also about to hatch an Original Prisoner-level dragon as a pet?
I lifted my head with unfocused eyes. In front of me stood Iriniel, hugging the decrepit sword that once belonged to her father and smiling more brightly than anyone in the world.
The moment I saw that smile, the resentment I had been desperately suppressing finally exploded.
You damn woman! If only you had taken the escort fee and left immediately when you first offered it…!
If I had forced those five thousand gold coins into her hands and driven her away back then, none of this would have happened! I never would have discovered the true value of these garbage items using her ridiculous abilities like Divine Language Interpretation or Heavenly Eyes.
No, I should have just hired a different Seven Star Sword as my guard from the beginning… Why did I think spending a fortune was a good idea…?
Once again, standing atop the wreckage of my perfectly ruined bankruptcy plan, I maintained a calm expression on the outside while shedding tears of blood and screaming internally.
“So… you want to entrust the Sword of Heavenly Fall to Barundal?”
“That’s right. There’s no better blacksmith than that dwarf in this era.”
“…And if it breaks?”
“Hmm…”
Iriniel fell into serious thought at my worried question. Then she flashed me a bright smile and gave her answer.
“I’d have to drop him from freefall for a full minute and then bury him together with the sword, right?”
“…If you say something like that, he probably won’t accept the commission.”
“No, that won’t happen.”
Her tone was filled with absolute certainty.
“Dwarves are born with an obsessive nature toward anything they’ve never seen before. And the Sword of Heavenly Fall is the only heavenly weapon that exists outside the heavens. The moment he sees it, his eyes will roll back in his head.”
“Is that so? Well, when you put it that way, it does sound convincing.”
I shrugged lightly and nodded.
“Well, whether he accepts or not, and any disasters that occur during the repair process… from that point on, it’s Barundal’s choice and his responsibility to bear.”
With that, we headed straight for the forge without delay.
As expected, the moment we arrived at the forge and took out the rusted sword, Barundal’s reaction was explosive.
“O-oooooh! Guild Leader! And the winged lady! Th-this is…!”
Spittle flew everywhere as he practically glued himself to the Sword of Heavenly Fall. The way he carefully stroked the blade with those rough palms made him look exactly like a man reuniting with his first love after decades apart.
Iriniel wiggled her eyebrows at me as if to say, See? Told you so.
…It looks a little perverted.
That’s just how dwarves are. Can’t be helped.
We left the dwarf—who had fallen into a complete trance—with a short “please take good care of it” and exited the forge.
Just as I was about to climb into the carriage, Iriniel suddenly stopped and spoke up.
“Since we’re already out, how about we take a little break and enjoy the capital?”
She stretched lightly and continued.
“Guild work is going to get a lot busier from now on. I want to get some fresh air before that happens.”
“Hmm.”
She wasn’t wrong. My afternoon schedule was completely empty anyway. And after my bankruptcy plan kept scoring one massive success after another, I was mentally exhausted.
There was no real reason to refuse. So I quietly nodded, and we headed toward the second district—the most vibrant and bustling area of the capital.
It had been a long time since I’d enjoyed such a perfectly idle and lazy afternoon diversion.
And four days later.
On the desk in the guild leader’s office lay the Sword of Heavenly Fall, perfectly restored by Barundal after he had stayed up all night without sleep. The blade that had once been covered in red rust and full of chips now emitted a dazzling, eye-piercing brilliance. The worn-out hilt had been wrapped in the finest leather for perfect comfort in its owner’s hand.
“So this really… is my father’s sword.”
Iriniel steadied her surging emotions and carefully reached out to grasp the hilt.
In that instant—
FLASH!
“Ugh…!”
Enormous wings unfurled behind her on their own, instantly filling the entire guild leader’s office with pure white feathers. The intense wave of mana sent documents on the desk scattering in every direction.
I shielded my face from the flying papers with my arm and widened my eyes in shock.
Her six pairs of wings had previously been half black and half white. But now, after resonating with the Sword of Heavenly Fall, they had increased to eight pairs. The feathers that had been stained black by corruption were now purified into a brilliant, snow-white hue. Only two pairs still carried faint traces of darkness, like lingering scars.
Doesn’t getting stronger through item bonuses only work for the weak?
Rather than awe or emotion, my first reaction was the instinctive analysis of a veteran gamer. I unconsciously muttered under my breath.
“So even the strong ultimately rely on item bonuses the most…”
But my immature admiration didn’t last long.
VRRRRRR!
The light pouring from the Sword of Heavenly Fall flowed along Iriniel’s wings and began to expand at an uncontrollable rate.
Something was very wrong.
“W-wait! Iriniel? Maybe you should pull your wings back a little…!”
“J-just a second, I can’t control my power… Ah!”
Before I could even finish speaking, the pure white wings and feathers that had already filled the room burst through the windows. They completely engulfed the entire Caldia Merchant Guild headquarters and still kept expanding, covering the sky above an entire district in a massive canopy of brilliant white light.
A sacred and overwhelming pair of wings of light had suddenly appeared over the heart of the capital in broad daylight. Countless small merchants and passersby who had been lingering in front of the guild in hopes of catching even a glimpse of its leader froze in place at the miraculous sight.
Then someone who had been struck on the cheek by one of the falling white feathers dropped to their knees and cried out.
A miracle has descended upon the Caldia Merchant Guild!
“Aaaah… God has descended upon the Caldia Merchant Guild!!”
Like wildfire spreading, everyone around them immediately fell to their knees, bowed their heads, and began raising their voices.
“It must be the Goddess of Gold personally bestowing her blessing upon the Caldia Merchant Guild!”
“Praise the great Guild Leader! This is the will of the gods!”
“…….”
Mad cries of faith and worship poured in through the window. I alternated my gaze between Iriniel—who was still radiating pure white light from her wings and blushing slightly in embarrassment—and the scene outside.
“…Iriniel, you really are worse than Lillian.”
“…Hm? Is that a compliment?”
“Does it sound like one?”