The Completion of Lena Saber
I slowly opened my eyes as I woke from sleep, only to be greeted by an unfamiliar ceiling.
"An unfamiliar ceiling."
"My lady. Are you awake?"
Bella, who had been sitting beside me, leaned in closer. Her sharp eyes were narrowed into a glare.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Haa… My lady."
With an elegant shake of her head, she gracefully extended her hand and pinched the bare flesh of my thigh with refined poise.
"Ow."
"I pinched you so it would hurt."
"Waaah. Bella's abusing me."
"This isn't abuse. It's punishment. You didn't listen when I told you not to, did you?"
You should've stopped me more firmly, then.
The words rose all the way to the tip of my tongue, but I barely managed to hold them back. It was probably because Bella's gaze was fixed squarely on my stomach.
'This woman. She's holding back with superhuman patience right now.'
The urge to blow a raspberry on her belly…!
I couldn't break character in front of Leona, Yong-bagi, and the tentacle blacksmith Ksael.
But that also meant I didn't have to fear blowing raspberries on her belly while they were around.
"I'm not afraid of you anymore."
"…My lady, are you an idiot?"
"Uuu… Lena isn't an idiot…."
"You really are an idiot."
The hand pinching my thigh went limp and fell away. It seemed she no longer had the energy to stay angry.
"Hey. Don't give up now."
"Ugh… I don't even know anymore. I'll go get you something to eat."
Bella, who had now completely closed her eyes in defeat, left the room. In her place, Leona and Rian took up position beside my bed.
Leona was cradling something wrapped in cloth to her chest with great care. She carefully held it out to me.
"…Is it really okay to give me something this precious?"
"I don't recall ever telling you what it is yet."
Leona was still so stiff.
Have you already forgotten how you once frantically unwrapped that very thing and rubbed your face all over its bare surface?
'Ah. That was in a dream.'
Come to think of it, that raised a question. Gungsimi had claimed she was a real person summoned from another world, not merely an illusion.
'Then what about Leona?'
That night, had Leona truly been called into my dream?
It was a bit ambiguous. While Gungsimi and the Pure Hand Demoness had manifested at 100% realization, Leona had only reached 99.8%.
Considering that the final 0.2% was concentrated in the part that formed her ego…
'It probably had no effect on the real Leona, or maybe it just felt like an ordinary dream to her.'
I'd have to ask Gungsimi about this in detail later.
"Aren't you going to check what it is?"
"Right. Yong-bagi… what was your name again?"
"It's Rian."
"Ah, that's right. Sorry. I keep forgetting and calling you Yong-bagi."
"You did the exact same thing last time."
"Did I…?"
Anyway, just as Yong-bagi said, I needed to examine the item I'd received.
Honestly, there was no way I wouldn't know what it was… Something this long and hard, wrapped up in cloth like that, was practically screaming "I'm a sword" at the top of its lungs.
'It's finished. While I was sleeping.'
People often say that a true craftsman never blames their tools.
There's a flaw in that saying. Most craftsmen only say that because they already have good tools.
'Which is why I'm going to use good equipment too!'
And even if there's a craftsman who can show off incredible skill with poor tools, it's only common sense that giving them good tools would make them even better.
In other words, there's no reason not to use a good weapon.
When I unwrapped the cloth around the sword, its brilliant form was finally revealed.
"Whoaah…!"
It was so magnificent that a crude exclamation burst out of me automatically.
A pitch-black blade wave. A silver pommel and guard. And… a jet-black blade that seemed to swallow even light itself.
Of course a sword blade has to be pitch-black to look the coolest. The fact that the swords of countless protagonists in popular manhwa are all jet-black is proof enough.
Like Ichigo Kurosaki's Zangetsu, Kamado Tanjiro's Nichirin blade, or the Dark Saber from Star Wars, and so on.
'So cool…!'
If I'd still had Lena Junior, it definitely would've gotten hard.
It was a shame that it had disappeared the moment I possessed this body.
This… was Lena's exclusive weapon.
"Lena Saber…!"
Or maybe Lena Sword? The name didn't really matter. I'd come up with something ridiculously cool later.
When I gripped the blade wave, it fit perfectly in my hand. It felt as if we had become one.
And that wasn't all. The blade even began to hum with a resonant woong-woong, like we'd paired via Bluetooth.
"Sword and body as one…."
Next to me, Ri… whatever-his-name-was Yong-bagi couldn't hide his shock, but I barely paid him any attention.
What mattered right now was this auspicious first meeting between me and the sword.
Leona, who had been staring at the blade with an expression similar to Yong-bagi's, soon composed herself and began to explain.
"According to Mister Ksael, it was originally supposed to be an ordinary sword that was simply a bit sturdier and sharper than average. However…."
"However?"
"Unintentionally, Your Highness Regina's blood and the spirit of some transcendent being seeped into the blade, he said."
"Oh."
Right. In most martial arts novels, when forging a divine sword, they usually add a drop of the owner's blood.
But since I'd bled enough from my hand to make a whole puddle, wouldn't that make it even better?
'As for the spirit… that must be from the Heavenly Demon who took over my body.'
Leona shrugged and continued.
"Thanks to that… it became one of the finest masterpieces among Mister Ksael's works. It's also a sword that only Regina can wield properly."
"Ooh…."
My very own sword. Those words carried a strange resonance.
Every sword I'd used until now had just been ordinary long swords I'd picked up somewhere.
Even the somewhat useful Blue Dragon Sword had been a gift from some nameless executive of the Remnant Shadow Society.
"I think I'm going to cry…."
"If you laugh and then cry, you'll grow hair on your butthole, my lady."
That was Bella, who had returned to the room carrying food and water.
"Then Bella can just pull them all out for me."
"I'd love that."
"You're supposed to say you don't like that kind of thing."
"How can I not like something good?"
For a moment I almost looked at Bella with utter contempt… but I decided to think positively instead.
How many people in the world would be willing to love even the hair on my butthole for the rest of their lives? Even my mom would probably recoil in disgust at that.
So occasionally, I should smile and say something warm to Bella.
"You crazy bitch."
"How can you say such sweet words?"
"Did you throw your concept out the window?"
"These three are apparently enrolling in the Academy. When I think about it, it seems like it'll be hard to keep holding back."
In reality, Leona was sending over a look of pure disgust and contempt, while Yong-bagi…
Why is your face so red? You bastard, don't tell me…
"A dragon-fucker and a scat enthusiast…."
"I don't know what that means, but it sounds extremely unpleasant."
"You're banned from coming within 20 meters of me from now on."
"Why…!"
I left Yong-bagi to wallow in his despair and pushed myself up from the bed.
'My body feels surprisingly fine.'
To be honest, I'd been worried that taking over my body with the Heavenly Demon might cause serious side effects…
Aside from some stiffness in my joints, my condition was actually excellent.
'The Heavenly Demon must have forcibly widened all my meridians. They've become incredibly open.'
Heavenly Demon, you're the best. Lena gives you a thumbs-up.
As I got up and started stretching, Bella looked flustered and tried to stop me.
"My lady… you've been sleeping for three straight days. How can you suddenly get up like this?"
"…I slept for three days?"
"Yes."
So there were side effects after all.
Still, I decided not to revoke the Heavenly Demon's thumbs-up. Since the Heavenly Demon had entered my body and this was all that happened, it was practically the same as having no side effects.
"So… where's Ksael? I want to express my gratitude to the person who made my personal sword."
"Mister Ksael is bedridden."
"…Huh?"
From what they explained, it went something like this.
Right after I collapsed, the Mad Dragon's horn—which had suddenly absorbed a massive amount of my blood and the Heavenly Demon's spirit—began to rampage wildly.
To suppress it, Mister Ksael had hammered away without rest for three days and nights.
Thanks to that, an excellent sword worthy of being called a divine blade was completed… but the aftermath left Ksael staggering around like a sick man before he finally collapsed.
"…And with that, one wicked tentacle monster has been slain."
[I can hear you.]
"What!"
A glass marble-like object rolled across the floor toward my feet. …Upon closer inspection, a tiny squid-like creature was inside it.
"Could that be… Ksael?"
[Yes. I didn't have much strength left, so I had no choice but to take this form…]
"That would be perfect for making spicy raw octopus salad."
[If you really want to eat it, I could detach a few tentacles for you, but there's no need to devour me whole…]
"I'm joking."
No matter what, I wasn't actually going to eat the person who made my sword.
If you disappear, who will maintain my sword?
[In any case, I formally request your protection.]
"Protection?"
[I formed a contract with the Demon King and the Holy Church. In exchange for periodically crafting weapons for them, they agreed to protect me.]
"I see."
Upon hearing the details, it seemed that in return for providing high-quality weapons, they hid him inside a barrier so otherworldly beings wouldn't discover him, and they also kept the Abyss Cult away.
He would occasionally visit the cabin to have someone to talk to as well.
But the current Ksael, after the aftermath of making my sword, didn't even have the strength to maintain the barrier anymore. At this rate, even a kid from the neighborhood who climbed the back mountain could catch him and turn him into spicy raw octopus salad.
[Please protect me.]
He was making a legitimate request according to their contract.
"But we have to go to the Academy."
[Please protect me.]
"We'll be late for the entrance ceremony…."
[You promised! You promised!! Is the word "contract" a joke to you?!]
Ksael was throwing a tantrum inside the glass marble. His suckers were sticking everywhere in a complete frenzy.
I was seriously pondering what to do about this when Bella let out a sigh and stepped forward.
"…I'll take him to the Demon King's castle and come back."
[I am also an intelligent being. I would appreciate it if you could say you are escorting me.]
"Servants don't have any problems being late to the entrance ceremony. The three of you can head to the Academy first."
[You're just ignoring me now.]
"My lady. You won't cry just because I'm not here, right?"
[You're really ignoring me?]