The Journey Begins
My heart felt like it was about to burst. The fishy stench of blood filled my mouth, and every breath tore at my lungs like they were ripping apart. I looked up. The Demon King stood there, sneering at me. The Holy Sword in my hand was chipped to hell—nothing but a lump of scrap metal now.
Is this it? I was just about to close my eyes, accepting that everything was over, when—
"Hero Sian."
A blinding light erupted, and the Goddess appeared. The screams of my comrades behind me faded into the distance. It was a vision meant only for me. The Goddess smiled tenderly, caressing my cheek.
"Pour all the energy of good deeds you've accumulated into the Holy Sword. End it all with a single strike."
She lightly kissed my forehead. Warmth flowed through my veins, flooding my body. My empty mana circuits swelled to the bursting point. I squeezed out every last drop of my life force and swung the Holy Sword.
A blinding white radiance pierced the Demon King's chest. A suffocating silence descended, and finally, the world stopped.
...And a few days later.
It was time to set down this damn obligation once and for all. The Goddess's Land, bathed in the Goddess's light year-round. Once I returned the Holy Sword here, I was no longer a hero.
"You've worked hard all this time. Now get some rest."
I plunged the Holy Sword—barely holding its sword shape with all its teeth missing—deep into the sacred ground. I turned to leave with a light heart, when—
- Hey, are you crazy? Trying to make me disappear?!
I turned back, but all I saw was the empty land and the sword I'd just planted. Must've misheard, I thought, stepping away again. That's when a sharper, more irritated shout hammered into my brain.
- Hey!! Where do you think you're going? Pull it out right now!!
Annoying. I walked back to the sword embedded in the ground, yanked it out as requested, and slammed it down toward the earth.
Boom!-
- Hey, you psycho? You'll break it!!
A scream echoed in my head. I gripped the hilt tight.
"Shut up. Yell in my head one more time, and I'll snap you in two."
- Ah, okay! Sorry, I'm sorry!!
The warning worked; her tone deflated instantly.
"There, that's better. Who are you?"
- I'm... the Holy Sword...
"I know that. Why'd you call me?"
- My name's Ria. I'm the spirit who maintains and protects this Holy Sword. You dumped all its power into killing the Demon King, so the energy inside ran dry, and that's what woke me up.
"And?"
- And?! If you're a hero, you gotta take responsibility to the end! You have to return the Holy Sword in perfect condition! It's essential for the next generation's hero too. All the heroes before you did it!
She was trying to instill some sense of duty, but it was none of my business. Demon King's head was off—that was the end of it.
"What, just slap some holy water on it or something?"
Ria bristled at my half-assed response.
- Ha! You think I'm some low-grade magic sword that chows down on magic stones? I'm a Holy Sword, Holy Sword! It needs a very special kind of energy—something on a whole different level!
Special energy. The words alone made me tired. My instincts as a battle-hardened mercenary were screaming: This is a quest that'll drag you into endless hassle.
"Ugh, what a pain. Just get someone else to do it."
I was about to jam the sword back into the ground when a flash of light burst out, transforming it into a silver cross necklace that dropped into my palm.
- No, don't plant it!!
Ria's desperate scream hit my mind again.
- The energy's at rock bottom right now—you're the only one who can do it! Linking with someone new would take massive energy, and in this state, it'd make me vanish!
Her frantic pleas ringing in my head made me decide to hear her out.
"So, you just need enough energy to pass it off to someone else, right?"
- Uh? Y-yeah.
"Fine, I'll help with that much. So, what do I do?"
Let's think positive. Might need a favor from the Goddess later. Probably quick anyway.
- Well... you need to have some physical contact with women.
"What?"
- N-not just any woman! One whose resonance matches yours...
I let out a disbelieving chuckle. Not magic stones or holy water, but physical contact with women? For a Holy Sword, that was pretty damn vulgar.
"How the hell am I supposed to know? They got it tattooed on their foreheads or what?"
- Th-that's... I'll tell you. I can sense it when you're close.
I furrowed my brow hard.
"So I gotta wander around checking every woman? What a hassle."
- ......Sorry.
Her voice went totally limp. Apologizing like that made pushing her feel ridiculous.
"Fine, whatever. Like you said—just enough energy to hand off to some other guy, right?"
- Yeah...
I slipped the silver cross necklace around my neck. No reason to stick around anymore. I left the Goddess's Land without a backward glance.
As I walked the forest path away from the Goddess's Land, I mulled it over. Deep resonance with women, huh. Probably just means locking eyes with some girl, setting the mood, and getting physical. Hell, that actually sounded fun.
Come to think of it... this is a place I've been before. Pretty sure there's a small village just past this forest. Back in my adventurer days, I owed a favor to an inn there. Needed a place to crash anyway—might as well head that way.
How long had I been walking after changing direction? A low growl rumbled.
Grrr...
The bushes rustled, and a Monster Wolf, eyes rolled back in starvation, crawled out into the middle of the path. Drooling thick saliva, it looked ready to rip into my neck.
"What a pain."
I instinctively reached for my waist, but my usual sword hilt wasn't there.
Right. The sword I was looking for was around my neck. Settling for it, I picked up a decent-looking stick from the ground. More than enough to handle a mangy mutt like this.
I channeled faint mana into the stick, turning it into a solid, sharp weapon.
Kaaang!-
The beast kicked off the ground, jaws wide, charging. I casually twisted my upper body to dodge and rammed the mana-infused stick mercilessly into its throat.
Squelch!-
It collapsed in a spray of blood without even a death yelp.
"Ugh, got blood on me."
I brushed off my clothes and started walking again when—
"Hey, mister."
Three mercenaries in tattered leather armor sauntered out from the opposite bushes.
"That was our marked prey. You gonna spoon into our ready meal?"
The scar-faced leader shook his hand axe, picking a fight. Hunting rights were bullshit—they just wanted an easy shakedown.
As I stared them down impassively, Ria's quiet voice chimed in.
- Don't waste energy on trash like them. No needless killing—just ignore and go.
"Yeah, whatever."
I walked past without even glancing their way.
"Hey!! You ignoring us, you fuck?!"
Angry shouts and weapon-drawing sounds from behind. Only then did I look back.
"You guys mercenaries... or bandits?"
"Wh-what the fuck?!"
"If you're mercenaries, grab your prey quietly and fuck off. Unless you wanna see blood."
The leader's face flushed red at my warning.
"You crazy bastard, running your mouth!"
He raised his hand axe to charge—then his subordinate grabbed his arm desperately.
"B-boss! Hold up!"
"What, let go!"
"He's unarmed!"
"So what?!"
"He took down a Monster Wolf with just a stick—skull right through! No good tangling with him. Just grab the kill and let's go, yeah?"
Finally getting it, the leader's eyes darted between my empty hands and the wolf corpse. Seeing the stick lodged in its skull, his face hardened.
"......"
He clamped his mouth shut, averted his eyes, cleared his throat awkwardly, and slunk toward the carcass. I turned away without a second thought.
Soon, the entrance to Subu Village came into view. The guard eyed me up and down. I pulled two silver coins from my pouch and dropped them into his hand.
"Which way to Mari's Lantern Inn?"
A sleazy smile spread across the guard's face as he pocketed them.
"Hang a right at the central crossroads— you'll see it right away."
Stepping into the village, the earthy smell and humble scenery hadn't changed much from five years ago.
- How do you remember the name of some podunk inn in a backwater like this?
"Simple name. Innkeeper's name is Marina, her daughter's Mari."
- Ah, so Mari's Lantern?
"Yeah. Place I crashed at during my adventurer days."
Pushing open the wooden door, the sweet stew aroma and cozy wood scent I'd remembered hit me full force. The interior looked exactly as it had five years ago—time hadn't touched it.
And the woman behind the counter, apron on, looking up...
"Welcome! This is Mari's Lantern."
Marina greeted customers with a bright smile. Her brown hair in a bountiful bun, her voluptuous curves peeking past the apron—unchanged.
- Whoa... a bombshell like that in a dump like this? Bet she gets hit on nonstop.
Yeah, guys confessed to her back then too.
I approached the counter and gave a slight bow.
"Long time, Marina."
"Pardon? Oh... oh my! Sian? Is that really you, Sian?!"
She tilted her head at first, then her eyes widened in recognition. As she beamed, unable to contain her joy at seeing my face after five years—
- Whoa! This is the woman!