72. Treasury

I'd been inside the Imperial Palace treasury before.

It was 400 years ago, admittedly, but my comrades and I went in and out of that place constantly.

It couldn't be helped. We were holding humanity's front line, so we burned through weapons at more than twice the rate of anyone else.

Which meant the only way to find weapons that were even a little sturdier and sharper was to rummage through the treasury.

Honestly, calling it a treasury was generous. It was practically a warehouse. The decent weapons had already been broken, shattered, or requisitioned, and what remained was the junk that hadn't been chosen.

So I figured it wouldn't be much different now.

"Whoa..."

The difference was staggering. Enough to make admiration slip out on its own.

I could spot familiar weapons right away.

Not from right beside us, but a step... no.

Weapons belonging to heroes who fought a step, maybe two or three steps behind us are easy to spot too.

I'd assumed they were all lost once the war ended. Apparently not.

And they had recovered this many armaments? Even the weapons of heroes whose deaths were confirmed had made their way back here.

Did they negotiate with the Demons or something?

The front lines of Ge Vihenum were impossible for ordinary humans—meaning anyone below Tier 6—to even enter.

Demonic Energy so thick it was hard to breathe lay over the area as a baseline, while curses, sorcery, and other remnants that ceaselessly tormented the human mind still lingered there.

And yet ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠they recovered this many weapons.

It was a quantity I could only explain by assuming they really had joined hands with the Demons.

Maybe he noticed my confusion.

Or maybe he just wanted to talk. Either way, the man standing directly behind the Emperor, who looked like the Emperor's closest aide, spoke up.

"The weapons in the treasury were personally retrieved by the Flame Emperor, one of the current Six Pillars of the Empire. Unlike the other Pillars, she has taken up residence in Ge Vihenum, where she locates these armaments and traces of the former Hero Party and hands them over to the Empire."

The Flame Emperor. I'd read in books that this woman was living in Ge Vihenum.

But I hadn't known she was recovering weapons like these or digging into the history of 400 years ago.

Well... I had heard it once before, back in the classroom.

That it was the Flame Emperor who had found the traces of battle left behind by the former Hero Party—by us.

But I hadn't paid it much mind.

Whether it was the Six Pillars of the Empire or an Archwizard or whatever, there was no need to care about people who couldn't even properly grasp our Realm.

But now.

"Ooh... she's an incredible person."

Doing us such a favor.

If I'd never had reason to enter the treasury, it wouldn't have been my business, but right now she's someone I'm grateful to.

Someday, there might come a time when all those weapons get used. Not by me, of course—Eurasia would be the one using them.

"Haha. Indeed. It isn't only the Flame Emperor—the other Six Pillars are remarkable people as well."

I gave a rough nod and turned my gaze to Father. He was nodding with a deeply satisfied expression.

"The observer from the Eustetia side is the captain of Nameless."

Then he spoke toward the Emperor.

The Emperor nodded as well and introduced the observer from the imperial side.

"Balamir Blakos, standing here, is the imperial observer."

It was the man who had just explained things to us.

"He serves as commander of the Royal Guard."

That's an unexpected identity.

I opened my eyes wide and stared at the Royal Guard commander named Balamir.

He was a very... kind-looking, round-featured man.

The sort of man you'd expect to find doing paperwork in the corner of some office, wearing a monocle and with his long hair tied back into a tail.

Balamir bowed in greeting.

"Hello. I am Balamir Blakos, assigned as the observer this time. It will be a short while, but I look forward to working with you."

I'd been certain he was an office worker, but apparently not.

He was even polite to us, who were much younger.

"Yes. Hello."

"Ah, h-hello."

I returned the greeting alongside Eurasia, who was so tense she'd gone pale, then shifted my gaze.

The captain of Nameless, our observer.

She took a step toward Balamir and gave a single nod without saying a word.

"It's been a while."

But Balamir accepted the greeting with a bow, as if he were accustomed to such insolent salutations.

...Is that really okay?

We're in front of the Emperor, though.

I blinked in mild surprise, and the captain of Nameless gently patted my back.

When I looked up, she tilted her head toward the interior of the treasury.

"...You mean let's go in?"

Nod.

A cynical nod. With that, the captain of Nameless moved first, leaving the people behind her and stepping forward.

Flustered, I looked at Father, but he only smiled bitterly. Kerion, standing beside him, was the same.

Leona, too. And this person, too.

...And Arisa, too.

Martial Artists all seem to be completely self-paced.

Well, sure. Creatures below beasts who reject the conveniences of civilization couldn't possibly know proper etiquette.

In the awkward atmosphere, the Emperor spoke as if nothing were amiss.

"Those entering the treasury are Eliarnes Eustetia and Eurasia Espirot. Their observers are Balamir Blakos and the captain of Nameless. No one else will enter."

He repeated the explanation that the person from the imperial side had given earlier.

Four people entering the treasury.

There was no time limit on choosing a weapon.

There was no limit on what could be taken out.

However, each weapon could be touched and held only once, and swinging weapons inside the treasury was forbidden.

"Understood."

"Ah, understood."

After hearing that explanation, Eurasia and I offered the proper courtesies to the Emperor and stepped into the treasury.

I wouldn't even be able to use a weapon anyway, but my heart started thumping for no reason.

*****

Before we entered the treasury.

Father had said it would be best to choose a weapon, armor, or Artifact I could use for a lifetime.

Along with that, he'd said that rather than focusing on a weapon's performance, it was better to choose one I was confident I could handle well—and above all, one my heart was drawn to.

Kerion agreed with him, and the captain of Nameless also gave a silent affirmation with a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠cynical reaction.

I thought the same way.

As someone who had used all sorts of weapons from the Imperial Palace treasury, I could say the weapons there were high quality.

They were weapons so good they couldn't even be compared to what was available on the market.

There were weapons that called down lightning when swung, unleashed storms, or burst into flame—things like that.

But choosing based on those flashy abilities was a poor decision.

Of course, it would have been fine if someone could wield such powers without being controlled by them, but someone who wasn't yet complete was likely to be controlled by the weapon.

And in the end, weapons were consumables.

If the day came when that weapon broke or became unusable and you were forced to use another, your combat strength could drop sharply.

So for us at only Tier 5—no, for Eurasia—it was better to choose a weapon she could handle well, even if it was a bit more ordinary than those flashy ones.

A weapon her heart is drawn to... well.

I didn't think I could just leave that to Eurasia.

"My lady! How about this one?"

"No."

"Hmm... my lady, this one comes as a pair—if you throw the white dagger, the black dagger chases after it on its own!"

"No."

"Hmmmm... my lady! Then what about this shortsword? It's not a long distance, but it can teleport!"

"A blade doesn't need effects like that."

Eurasia was drowning in the weapons' temptations and couldn't pull herself out.

That was understandable.

On the surface, they were very sexy, sleek weapons. But she must not give in.

I couldn't hand our innocent Eurasia over to thug weapons like those.

"Eep... th-then what should I look for when choosing?"

"Durability."

The most important thing was, of course, durability.

One with self-repair magic was good. And if that magic was permanent, then there was nothing more to say—it was the best. You absolutely had to go with that.

Once you were on the battlefield, there came a moment when even the time to maintain your weapon felt precious. Going a day or two without sleep was a given, and in the worst case, you might have to stay awake for a full fifteen days.

At times like that, there was no need to explain how helpful self-repair magic on a weapon was.

On top of that, if the edge chipped, it repaired itself. It didn't rust, didn't dull, didn't bend.

Sure, weapons that spewed fire, called down lightning, whipped up storms, flipped the earth, or deflected enemy attacks were definitely nice.

They could serve as a hidden trump card or create an unexpected variable.

But if that was what you wanted, why be a swordswoman at all? Just be a magic flunky.

A swordswoman was someone who wielded a sword.

A sword existed to cut.

So the best sword was one that cut well and could keep cutting, no matter what.

...But nothing was really grabbing me.

"Hmmmm..."

There was a saying that the lesser evil was better than the worst.

But not with weapons.

A weapon was a spare life.

You could even call it a lifeline.

When choosing such a weapon, there was no such thing as settling for the lesser evil to avoid the worst.

So I examined every corner carefully.

Even after checking half of them, nothing appealed to me.

They were far better weapons than the trash at the Arant junk shop, but they were lacking for Eurasia's use.

It wasn't that there were no swords with self-repair magic, but their condition was absolute garbage. The weights were awkward, the lengths were unimpressive, and the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠balance was off on most of them.

Still, the good news is.

Despite quite a bit of time passing, Eurasia's eyes were still sparkling.

Paulo, Luna, Kaloso, Arisa.

Those bastards had thrown all kinds of fits while I picked weapons, but Eurasia was being very well-behaved.

Of course, only Eurasia was well-behaved.

Balamir and the captain of Nameless, who had come along as our observers, had long since started looking fed up.

But what could I do?

There wasn't a weapon I liked.

If they had agreed to be observers, they could just grit their teeth and endure it.

Ignoring the two of them watching me, I had been wandering the interior of the treasury for four hours by then.

"...Huh."

Found it.

I don't even need to hold it.

I don't need the history written below the weapon, or the description.

I don't need to check the weight or find the center of balance.

This is a sword I know.

The sword of the woman who picked up Paulo and me, fed us, and put us to bed.

Who looked after our swords and taught us how to kill Demons.

Who taught us how to survive in a hellish world.

Who saved us ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in the end, and was killed by the Demons.

It's Diana's sword.