The Howling Demonic Sword
“This is quite the predicament.”
“I’m sorry. It’s all my fault. I overslept and…”
The very thing I had been worried about had come true. Shopping at the market hadn’t taken long, but because we had left so late, night had fallen and we still hadn’t reached the village. Even though Ilena had used magic to strengthen the horses’ physical abilities.
“Alcohol really is something else.”
“Ugh…”
“It’s fine. Camping out for the night isn’t the end of the world. If we get a good night’s sleep and set off in the morning, we should arrive by tomorrow’s lunch.”
“I’m sorry.”
Ilena kept repeating how sorry she was.
“I told you it’s okay. I used to camp out all the time back in the day, so I’m used to it. But I’m not sure how you and Dipe will handle it.”
“I’m fine too. As for Dipe…”
Dipe had already fallen asleep before we could even start worrying about her. She was sitting on my lap, leaning her back against me.
“Actually, I’m more worried about you. What are we going to do with Dipe like this?”
“I can just put her back to sleep. I’m confident.”
I clenched my hand into a fist and then opened it again. If she were a real child, maybe not, but since she was a spirit, gently stroking her for a while after she woke up should help her fall back asleep peacefully.
“You know how good I am at this, right?”
“I do. I’ve experienced it myself…”
Even as Ilena acknowledged my skill, she somehow shrank back a little.
“The real problem is figuring out how to handle dinner. Did you learn how to cook outdoors too?”
“Ah, no. I don’t really know how.”
“So there was another area where your studies were lacking? Well, I suppose this kind of situation is pretty unusual.”
I stopped the carriage for now. Then, as carefully as possible, I lifted Dipe into my arms. When I stood up, Ilena followed suit and spread out some bedding inside the luggage compartment. I laid Dipe down on it and was about to pull my hand away when she grabbed onto it tightly in her sleep and refused to let go. Watching this, Ilena shook her head.
“This is a problem. A real problem. How can she like you this much?”
“She seems to really enjoy it when I stroke her.”
“No, I don’t think that’s it. Feeling good from being touched is only momentary. For her to follow you so sincerely, there must be something about you.”
Ilena carefully placed her hand on top of Dipe’s head. A faint blue light began to glow from her palm, and soon Dipe’s expression relaxed. She slowly released my hand.
“What did you do?”
“I shared some of my magic power with her so we wouldn’t have to wake her up just to feed her dinner. She’ll keep having sweet dreams and sleep soundly.”
“Hmm…”
Even though I knew Dipe was a spirit, I often forgot. At first she used to fly around, but now she ran around on two legs instead. There was definitely something special about her.
“So Dipe’s already had her dinner, in a sense. What about us?”
“Umm, I honestly don’t know much about cooking outdoors. But I’ll give it my best shot.”
Ilena clenched her fist, full of determination. But I shook my head.
“No, I’ll make dinner tonight.”
“You? You know how to cook?”
“It’s too grand to call it cooking. We have plenty of miscellaneous ingredients and seasonings, right? I just need the main ingredient.”
“But where are you going to get that?”
“There’s plenty of it lying around.”
What I pointed at was the area surrounding us. The forest.
“You’re going to hunt?”
“Yeah. I’ll catch something suitable and bring it back. Do you know how to start a fire?”
Ilena thought for a moment, then silently held out her open palm toward me. A blue flame wrapped around her hand.
“Magic really is convenient.”
“I’ll get everything ready. All you need to do is light the fire?”
“It’d be nice to have a blade too. Something sharp.”
“A blade, huh…”
Ilena reached her hand out to the side. A magical space opened up there, and she reached inside. Huh, that seemed pretty extravagant just to pull out a single blade.
“Wait. What exactly are you trying to take out of there?”
“You said you needed a blade, so…”
Ilena pulled her hand back out. An ominous-looking hilt appeared first, followed by the blade itself.
“Ilena? That’s not…”
“A blade.”
“What do you mean, a blade? That’s a demonic sword!”
What Ilena had pulled out was indeed a demonic sword radiating an ominous black aura. It was the same one she had used when fighting me.
“What’s wrong with it being a demonic sword? It is a blade, isn’t it?”
“Well, yes, it is a blade, but…”
I could feel it. From the black energy the demonic sword emitted, a terrifying hostility directed straight at me. It had an incredibly wicked appearance, but from its perspective, I—the one who had defeated its master—must seem like an even more heinous villain.
“It feels like this thing really hates me.”
“This child hates you?”
Ilena pressed her ear against the sword for a moment, then frowned slightly. She gave the blade a sharp smack with her palm.
“You little rascal, that’s all in the past! Are you really going to throw a tantrum over something like that?”
She spoke as if scolding a misbehaving child. Even though the other party was a terrifying demonic sword…?
“‘Tantrum’? You talk about it like it was born yesterday.”
“That’s right. I created this child myself when I raised the Demon King’s army.”
“Ugh…”
So they really did have a mother-child relationship.
“He’s a cute little boy.”
“I-I see. He does look very cute.”
“Hehe, you think so too, right?”
I gave up trying to understand it with my head. I decided to just accept it.
“Then hurry up and go, dear.”
“You sound strangely excited.”
“Of course I am. This is my first time solving a meal in the middle of a forest like this, and on top of that, I get to eat something you made yourself!”
“Don’t get your hopes up too much. I said it’s too grand to call it cooking.”
“No, my intuition is telling me something.”
Ilena stroked the demonic sword, her eyes sparkling.
“You won’t disappoint me!”
Was this encouragement or pressure?
“Then wait for me. I’ll be back soon.”
“Okay, go on. I’ll gather some firewood and start the fire.”
I left behind Ilena, who was waving at me. First, I leaped onto the tallest tree nearby. Once I was up there, I closed my eyes and focused my senses on my hearing. The faint sounds scattered throughout the forest became crystal clear in my ears. Even the unusually heavy footsteps.
I opened my eyes and carefully scanned the direction of those heavy footsteps.
“Found it.”
Now that I had a target, there was no need to wait any longer. Using the tree trunk as a springboard, I leaped powerfully and went straight for my prey. I slammed my fist into the head of the creature that had been leisurely taking a nighttime stroll through the forest. The wild boar, caught completely off guard, couldn’t even let out a scream before it stopped breathing.
“You’re already back?”
“Catching one wild boar isn’t exactly difficult.”
I set the large wild boar down in front of the small campfire.
“Isn’t this too big for just the two of us?”
“I’ll only prepare what we need to eat and leave the rest in the forest. Nature will take care of the leftovers. Now then, time to butcher it.”
“Here, take this.”
“Ugh…”
Ilena casually held out the demonic sword.
“Don’t you have anything else?”
“That’s mean. What’s wrong with this child?”
“What’s wrong with it…!”
When Ilena had smacked it with her palm earlier, the killing intent had seemed to subside for a moment. But the second she handed it over to me, it started radiating that menacing aura again!
Still, I had no choice but to accept the demonic sword. Ilena was wearing an expression that said she truly saw nothing wrong with it. The moment I gripped the demonic sword, a voice echoed inside my head.
I will kill you…
For now, can you hold off on that? I need to prepare some meat to eat with your master.
Even as I tried to butcher the wild boar, the demonic sword trembled violently and resisted fiercely.
How dare you try to use me to prepare meat! I will kill you! I will definitely kill you!
I’m sorry, but that’ll have to wait until later. For now, just help me with the butchering.
Simply pressing the demonic sword against the boar caused its hide to split open, and it even tried to slice through the tough bones with ease. Thanks to that, the butchering was almost too easy.
Graaaagh…! I! I, who was forged from the fang of the Dragon Lord, Ragna!!
As expected of something that wasn’t an ordinary blade—its performance was definitely top-notch. Even if my head was a little noisy because of it.
Oh, by the way…
Ilena was watching me butcher the wild boar from right beside me, her eyes sparkling with interest. The problem was,
“Um, Ilena?”
“What?”
“It’s fine if you watch up close, but if you stick to me like this, I can’t move my arms properly.”
“Ah! Sorry!”
Ilena, who had been practically glued to me, hurriedly moved aside. Thanks to that, my arms were free again… but it was a shame that the pleasant scent that had been gently tickling my nose was no longer there.
The butchering didn’t take long. I selected only the softest tenderloin and the belly meat, where the perfect balance of fat and lean gave it a rich flavor.
“You’re incredibly skilled, dear!”
“I’ve done it more than a few times. Anyway, I need something to skewer the meat on.”
“You can just use that child. He’ll probably allow it. He’s a kind boy.”
“What…?”
Suddenly, the demonic sword shook violently. A desperate voice rang inside my head.
Save me, please…
Sorry. Your creator gave permission.
No! I beg you, please! Please, I’m begging you!!
I stopped trying to skewer the meat onto the demonic sword. The murderous aura it had been emitting was gone. Now all I could hear was a pitiful voice desperately pleading for help.
“No matter what, I can’t use your sword as a skewer. Just wait a moment. I’ll go find a suitable branch nearby.”
“He didn’t give permission?”
“Well, you see…”
Hic… My master…!
The demonic sword howled, unable to hold back its sorrow.