The Friendly Spar
“It is finished.”
Five quiet days in Ordella.
It was Zaraxia who announced the end of that tedious, purgatory-like stretch of time.
Her eyes were hollowed out by exhaustion, and her steps tottered as if she might collapse at any moment.
Even the object held in her hands looked perilously close to slipping from her grasp.
Yet, her eyes shone with a brilliant light, and her shoulders were squared with immense confidence.
“As expected, my choice was not wrong. To think you would hand over such fine materials so readily. Thanks to that, inspiration poured out of me, and I ended up pulling all-nighters.”
A creation born from five days of sleepless, obsessive labor.
Zaraxia placed it into Roan's palm.
A jewel that gleamed brilliantly in the darkness, looking as though the starry night sky they had seen before had been condensed into a single stone.
It was a necklace, with that very gem set at its center.
“Its name is Night's Boundary. It will grant its bearer the power to command the darkness of the cosmos.”
Artifact Grade
Grants the bearer the ability to command the darkness of the cosmos.
A special ability whose greatness was obvious from the description alone.
Moreover, it was crafted in the form of an accessory, making it exceptionally easy to carry.
The others could not help but marvel at the finished product.
“What the... She just did whatever she wanted, but to think she'd make something like this...” Jane muttered.
“With results like this, I can't even nag her to listen to us...”
“The patterns are incredible... It looks extravagant, yet somehow subtle at the same time...”
“I engraved them using a method I picked up while talking to the Observer,” Zaraxia explained.
The execution to immediately apply what she had learned.
The audacity to perform such experiments on materials that, if ruined, could never be recovered.
She truly met every single qualification of a mad genius.
“How you use this piece is entirely up to you, Roan.”
“Oh? Really?”
“Yes. The path I pursue lies in the act of creation itself, not in the material value of the finished product.”
An island formed by the gathering of discarded ironware.
And a fragment of that madness now rested in Roan's palm.
Naturally, everyone's eyes converged on it.
To be frank, no one present would have objected even if Roan decided to keep the item for himself.
Roan was the center of this party, and he was their shield. He was the one who bore the heaviest responsibilities and made the crucial decisions.
It was only natural for it to go to him.
However.
“U-Um...”
Amidst the silence, Belgard raised her hand.
“Could I... have it? I know I might not deserve it, but...”
“What...? You, a cleric?” Jane asked, bewildered.
But Belgard's resolve remained steadfast.
“Yes. I made up my mind ever since I spoke with the Pope earlier and heard what Roan had to say.”
She had given up on living as an ordinary cleric.
The incident from her past life involving Jane.
Considering that alone, she would need to become far, far stronger than she was now.
“I realized I can't walk this path with a half-hearted attitude. If I want to keep pace with Roan and the others, I can't stay like this.”
Therefore, she could not afford to be picky about her methods.
When an opportunity to grow stronger presented itself, she had to seize it.
Even if she failed, she had to show her determination.
“Of course, Roan might say no, but—”
“No!”
It was his usual, flat refusal.
At that, Belgard lowered her head slightly.
Of course.
When you think about it, Roan could have done everything from start to finish on his own.
I was just carried on his back until the end.
On top of that, I was just a tagalong to Jane's business. It was absurd of me to expect a reward in the first place—
Plop!
“Huh...?”
Belgard gasped in surprise.
The necklace had been dropped right into her hands.
“Take it.”
No explanation was needed.
From the matters involving Jane... no, even before that, she knew that every single one of Roan's actions was for the sake of his comrades.
So, Belgard did not cry out in dramatic gratitude. She did not make a scene.
“Yes...! I will do my absolute best...!”
She simply bowed her head deeply and swore her oath.
“Now that the melodrama is over, shall we get moving?”
Zaraxia completely shattered the touching atmosphere.
Since her business was finished, she seemed to have lost all interest in Ordella.
“For once, I agree with you. This place is so quiet it's making me sick. Whether we head to a forest or somewhere else, I just want to get out of here,” Jane chimed in.
“U-Um... is that so? I... I actually found it quite pleasant... The food was r-rather delicious as well...” Charbun stammered.
“You think the food here is good? Whether it was the VIP room or the lodgings, nothing had any seasoning. ...Ah, actually, now that I think about it, you seem to eat just about anything with gusto. Well, I hated it.”
“Yeah, let's go. We need to head outside anyway if she's going to practice using that tool.”
Charbun's counterargument completely lost its footing.
Roan's reasoning was simply too sound.
“Excellent. I was hoping to see it in action myself,” Zaraxia said.
“U-Um... are you sure you do not need to sleep? Y-You said you stayed up for five whole days...” Charbun asked, worried.
“This is far more important than sleep.”
Zaraxia proudly prioritized her curiosity over her basic biological needs.
Once Zaraxia set her mind on something related to crafting, she was impossible to sway.
Realizing this, the party decided to end the conversation there.
A peaceful plain just outside the Holy Kingdom.
Belgard put on Night's Boundary in a quiet corner of the field.
“Ugh...!”
At the same moment, she ripped the necklace off, grimacing in pain.
The holy power flowing through her body had clashed violently with the dark energy of the cosmos and the outer gods contained within the necklace.
“Ngh...”
“What's wrong? Is it not working?” Roan asked, walking over.
Roan approached Belgard as he observed the situation.
Zaraxia, who was watching from the side, answered first.
“Yes. It seems their respective powers are clashing.”
“Ugh... Clashing is one thing, but the real problem is that both powers are trying to devour each other. The holy power is trying to expel the darkness, while the darkness is trying to swallow the holy power... and I'm caught right in the middle...”
“...Isn't that going to trigger a rampage?” Jane asked.
“I am a bit worried about that...”
“It's fine.”
Once again, his flat reassurance cut through the tension.
As always, the shorter Roan's words, the heavier they felt.
Go ahead and lose control if you must. Do whatever you want.
The unspoken implication was clear.
Understanding him perfectly, Belgard closed her eyes and focused once more.
Light and darkness, yin and yang, surged toward each other.
They began to battle, using her very body as their battlefield.
“Ngh... Ah...”
It was a violent recoil that mere piety could not overcome.
“...This is strange. Her hair color is changing,” Jane noted.
The tips of Belgard's hair repeatedly bled into pitch-black before snapping back to silver.
She was actively fighting off the encroaching darkness.
After a tense period of struggle,
Belgard gasped.
Her eyes snapped open.
Her pupils were completely dilated.
Within them, a faint glimpse of infinite space flickered.
Belgard, her gaze holding the vastness of the cosmos—
Whack!
“Ouch!”
She snapped out of it.
Startled, she looked around before finally locking eyes with Roan.
“D-Did I... fail?”
“No.”
It wasn't a failure.
It was merely a process.
Even if she gave up here, he would never call it a failure.
It would just be a temporary break.
“You can try again whenever you're comfortable. You don't have to force yourself to finish it right now.”
“...No. I'll do it.”
Determined not to be a burden, Belgard closed her eyes and focused once more.
“Ouch!”
“Ngh...!”
“U-Um, what should we do about dinner...?” Charbun asked.
“Let's just make do with some local monsters. Roan, that fine with you?” Jane suggested.
“Yeah.”
“Then I'll set up a temporary shelter. Zaraxia, you help too.”
“What? Me?”
“Just do it when I tell you to!”
Whack!
“Ow...”
The sun dipped below the horizon, and darkness blanketed the land.
Belgard, who had spent a full quarter of the day focusing in that exact spot, opened her eyes once more.
“Oh?”
Roan, who had been about to tap her again, lowered the wooden stick in his hand.
This time was different.
Her eyes now held a coexistence of light and shadow, resembling a twilight horizon.
Her hair remained silver, but the aura radiating from her had shifted to match her new state.
Belgard, now possessing a unique and extraordinary gaze, looked up at Roan.
“Did you do it?”
The brief question came the moment their eyes met.
Belgard quickly nodded.
“...Yes. Though I think I'll need more time to fully master it...”
“Perfect timing. I actually had something in mind.”
Roan spoke as if he had been waiting for this exact moment.
As always, his thoughts were entirely unpredictable.
The ears of everyone idling around the campsite perked up, waiting for his next words.
“Alright! Get some good rest tonight! We have something important to do tomorrow.”
“Something important?” Jane asked.
“Yeah! Something super important!”
“What is it? It's rare for you to hype something up like that... Is it related to the apocalypse?”
“Nope.”
Roan denied it flatly.
It felt like a game of twenty questions.
“U-Um... what kind of work is it?” Charbun asked, unable to contain his curiosity.
And as always, Roan laid everything bare to his companions without hiding a thing.
“Getting to know each other!”
...And as always, it was a statement that was incredibly difficult to comprehend.
“...What on earth is that supposed to mean?” Jane sighed.
“I realized it when we were moving with Rowell last time. We've gathered all these people, but it's not like everyone is close friends yet.”
They were simply traveling together as a group; there wasn't much of a bond as true comrades or friends.
“And in my opinion, the fastest way to get close to someone is by fighting them! We're going to have a friendly sparring tournament!”
Was it the classic 'kids bond through fighting' logic?
His thought process was still hard to follow, but to Jane, it wasn't a bad proposal at all.
“Sounds good. So we're establishing a pecking order?”
“I don't particularly want to rank everyone, but...”
But once the results were out, a hierarchy would naturally form.
After all, it was hard to act casually around someone who was clearly superior in combat.
“How about it? We'll take turns clashing blades one by one. It'll also be a good chance for Belgard to learn how to handle Night's Boundary.”
Roan asked for their thoughts.
Though two of them looked rather reluctant, they seemed willing to endure it since it was for the sake of Belgard's growth.
Then, the person least likely to volunteer for such an event suddenly raised her hand high.
“In that case, may I go first? I want to personally feel just how powerful my creation is.”
“R-Really...?”
Charbun's eyes widened in sheer shock.
The very person who had openly declared her hatred for fighting and refused to participate was now volunteering to go first.
And Roan was not the type of person to ignore a comrade's initiative.
“Great! First match: Zaraxia versus Belgard!”
Roan shouted, drawing a line on the ground with his sword to create a makeshift arena.
Following his lead, the two stepped into the ring.
“Are... are you sure you'll be alright? Even I think this power is quite dangerous...” Belgard asked, concerned.
“You should be the one worrying, Lady Erian.”
Zaraxia spun her hammer through the air and caught it with a deft flick of her wrist.
“After all, it's not because I'm weak that I avoid fighting.”
A blacksmith who had pulled five consecutive all-nighters versus a cleric who had obtained the power of darkness.
Let the match begin.