Arc 21: Women's battle
Several days later, I took everyone from Restia, opened [Gate], and transferred to the Knight Kingdom.
After being guided to the royal palace, I have met with His Majesty the King, the Knight King Reid Yunas Restia in a reception room with the arrangements of Sen'ou-heika and Hilda. Though I was given Sen'ou Heika's guarantees, I must more or less convey the story myself.
I thought it was too quick but later reconsidered that it might be too late to seek a common sense now. He may be a person similar to Sen'ou-Heika and me. .... Will I become an Ero-jijjji like that as well, I wonder.....?
[Fu~... Though I say it this late, I have once again verified that Father's pace is crazy. I guess, there is nothing to oppose about regarding Hilda's marriage. I think that his Majesty the Sovereign King is a remarkable person for being able to manage that stubborn tomboy such as Hilda. It can be considered as godsend]
[I also believe so. It is great, Hilda. You will find happiness]
[Congratulations, Hilda. His Majesty the Sovereign King, please take care of my little sister]
Oou..... The King, the Queen and also the Prince are so upright. I was ready to accept that all of them would be weirdos because they have that kind of old man, but they were an exceedingly ordinary family.
No, maybe it is exactly because they have such an old man, they were brought up decently…..? He is a good example of what not to do.
All three of them seem gentle, and I can tell they are nice people. Is his Majesty the King around 50 years old? He has a short dark brown hair and mustache with some gray hair mixing with it, but that mixture adds a silver-gray feeling to it. He was probably popular when he was young.
Is Queen Esther in her mid 40's? She somehow has a heartwarming presence similar to our Cecil-san. Is it that she a daughter of a prestigious family who remained unchanged despite the age? She feels like a gentle mother.
Hilda's older brother, Prince Reinhardt, is indeed the prince in his the right place if I am to say that, isn't he? He is around 25 years old and has the same blonde hair as Hilda. I guess they got it from their mother. Damn it. He is also handsome man... Apparently, he already has a fiancee. He's kind to people, strong with sword, and very sharp. Isn't he way perfect as the next king?
[Father, Mother, Brother.... I, definitely will become happy!]
Hilda sheds big tears and jumps into her mother's chest. It's a nice scene, but as a related party, I don't quite calm down. I keep getting delusions like I am tearing up a very close family.
[And, ~jano. Actually, there is a reason why I want to quickly advance the matters. I am thinking of abdicating the throne and I want to hand it over to Reinhardt soon ~ja. However, a slight problem happened to the treasured sword used in the ceremony]
[Treasured sword....you say?]
[It's a sacred sword handed down in the royal family from the old days. The Sacred Sword Restia. It bestowed the name to the country, and can be called the symbol of our country]
I was lending my ear to Hilda's explanation while a knight came inside the room and respectively handed a long sealed box to the king and left.
As The Knight King recited short spell, the unfastening sound reverberated with a click and the seal on the cover was removed. I heard the sound of the air escaping. Was it a perfectly airtight sealed box? Inside the opened box there was a long sword.
It's a slightly wide broadsword beautifully colored with gold and silver decorations. A magnificently decorated sheath is stored next to it. It's indeed what can be called a [King Sword], isn't it?
[However, this is....]
The reason why I frowned was that such a wonderful sword had been snapped and broken in the middle. This spoiled everything.
[This is the Sacred Sword Restia. Unless it is a great matter like the country being at war or an inheritance ceremony happening, I do not unlock the seal. The last usage was three years ago during Hilda's Knight Conferring Ceremony]
[When I have decided to hand over the throne to Reinhardt, I removed the seal after a long time for the sake of the preparations for the ceremony and have a look at it, but it was in this state. I don't know why did it break. And though I don't know why it has happened, I can't perform the ceremony with this. But when I was thinking that it's regrettable and that I would have no choice but to make an imitation for the Restia as the worst case scenario, I have then heard about His Majesty the Sovereign King from Hilda]
The Knight King takes the sword on his waist and holds it in his hand. Ah, it is the sword I gave to Hilda.
[If it's the person who made such a marvelous sword, won't he also be able to repair Restia? That was the reason why I traveled to Brunhild while thinking so ~jayo. Furthermore, I had my own interest in you as well ~no. How much is the caliber of the person whom Hilda was dreaming about? I have thought "let's see him"]
[O~, Ojii-sama !?]
[These past months, whenever she started to talk, it was only about His Majesty The Sovereign King of Brunhild. She was sighing and kept on looking at the sword she had received. She has also been thoroughly asking the traveling merchants about Brunhild while being unable to put her mind to rest. Even I would notice it if I saw her like that]
[B-b-brother as well!?]
Giving a sidelong glance to Hilda who is being confused and panicked, I observe the Sacred Sword in front of my eyes. Umm.... It was quite old but..... ancient characters are engraved in the middle of the blade. A crystal-looking jewel is inserted into the grip.
[Can I hold it?]
[I don't mind]
I take the grip of the broken portion and take a good look at it I can feel the remains of a subtle magic power.
[Has this sword given any special bestowal effects?]
[As expected ~jana. Did you see through it just by looking at it? It certainly bestows a recovery effect to the person wielding it. When you hold this sword, minor wounds immediately heals, and even a serious injury will also recover little by little ~ja]
I see. So was this sword given a "healing" effect? However, even that was lost too. Or rather, it has become unable to be triggered.
[The country's best blacksmith has given up too. First, I was told that this sword's material itself is something that he has not been seen before. The effect of recovery has also disappeared, and I have been thinking what it cannot be helped already, but…..]
[What do those engraved ancient characters say?]
[Who knows. Nothing about it was handed down by the royal family. It seems to be written in Ancient Paruteno Language though]
Really? Then, should I try confirming it a little?
[Reading/Ancient Paruteno Language]
A Non-Attribute Magic [Reading]. If I can distinguish what kind of language it is, the language will be translated automatically…a convenient magic…..
[that bas…..]
I drop my shoulder in disappointment. I lost all my power. These letters are a so-called signature. Like a manufacturer carving the verification that it is his/hers work. I read the letters with [Reading] and it was carved there.
『Made by Regina Babylon』
Somehow, no more... That Professor, had she also been making such things? Was this also fate or something? It's not like I can say anything after this time.
[What's wrong, Touya-sama?]
[Nope... This sword is, somehow... It seems to be the work of the same person who made the Frame Gear...]
[What…..!?]
Sen'ou-heika opens his eyes wide. Even I didn't expect to lay my eyes on this sword at this kind of place. Is this truly a [Sacred Sword]? Is it not a [Sex Sword] or something?
(TLC: a pun on word sacred [聖 – sei] sword, to sex [性 – sei] sword)
[I wonder if its magic power had probably been drained out since 5000 or more years passed. You had it sealed all this time, right? Supposedly, It might have turned out damaged bit by bit since it wasn't been able to absorb magic power in the air...]
Since it was cut from the magic power which preserved its condition, might it get cracked in one go from a small cut or something? It probably couldn't absorb a lot magic power from the air in the little time provided by the ceremonies of the country. No wonder this fellow snapped.
It is the same as an animal that cannot get food gradually loses its weight and dies in the end.
[5000 years? H-however, this sword is what the founder of our royal family have used. I didn't think that much time has passed though....]
[How many years ago has it been since Restia was founded?]
[Approximately 300 years ago. It is 291 years if I am to be exact. It has been conveyed that the founder held the Sacred Sword, used its power to end disputes in the area, and founded the Knights Kingdom]
...….I have got it. A certain theory floated in my mind after listening to the prince's explanation. No, it's a conviction rather than a theory. Why? It's because I have met similar situations lots of times!
This is definitely something that fell over from [Warehouse]. And so a knight, who is the founder of this nation, picked it up. Then, after he made a country with its power.... It's kinda amazing when I think about it…..
I have been given a lot of trouble because of the clumsiness of the manager of [Warehouse], but this is one of the good examples, I guess. In that end, no matter how excellent an item is, everything depends on how it is being used, right?
[Well, I can repair it since I can understand this much. There's no problem. I will grant it the same magic effect as before]
I cast [Modeling] on the sacred sword and unify the blade. The previous magic has disappeared during this phase, but there's no problem since I will grant it a new recovery effect. Let's also make the magic power stockpile a little bit more. I think it will be okay if they no longer leave it inside the sealed box.
[Oh...!]
[And, it's done. It's now back to how it was with this]
[I'm thankful. The ceremony can now proceed smoothly thanks to this as well. You have our gratitude!]
His Majesty takes the sacred sword with his right hand, and lightly cut his left arm. There was a red stream flowing with the cut, but the wound was immediately closed. It recovered.
[It definitely is the same as before. Moreover, I felt that the wound cured faster than before]
Huh? Did I by chance bestow a recovery magic of one level higher? If that is so, then the magic power will exhaust faster but.... Well, I think it's better that the amount of recovery increased though.
The sword usually absorbs the magic power from the air and accumulates it in itself to some extent. The sword will then use that magic power to recover its owner and for a self-state preservation. But naturally, the magic power will then be decreased.
Then, the sword will recover the lost magic power by absorbing it from the air. It won't be absorbed from the air in one tick, but will instead be accumulated slowly. If the accumulated amount is exhausted, the recovery effect will end up getting lost.
Despite that it was possible to recover 10 times with [Cure Heal], I thought it might have made to only using [Mega Heal] no more than 5 times. Though I believe that after increasing the accumulation amount just in case, it can hold more magic power than before.
Well, the former Sacred Sword also wasn't almighty so there shouldn't be a problem. Something like an infinite recovery is impossible.
I felt like I could make something like that, but I guess that impossible. At worst, I may be in an undead-like condition similar to that [Jewel of Immortality] from before. Your life as a human being is over when you have an item that takes custody of your life.
[It may be a little different than before but.....]
[No, it's plenty. You have my thanks!]
The King puts the sacred sword in the sheath, and he didn't return it to the box this time. He didn't really have to go that far. I have explained that it won't break if he exposes it to the air for a whole day once a year. Then he told that they will unfasten the seal on the day of country's foundation each year.
After that, I celebrated the enthronement of the new King and I gave him a crystal sword. I have already given them to Sen'ou Heika, His Majesty the King, and Hilda, but I didn't think there was a prince at that time.
I have made the design the same as the Sacred Sword. It's light, sharp, sturdy, and will never break. A perfect sword for battle. It is too sharp that it will be inconvenient to hold matches unless it is against the same crystal sword though. The opponent's sword will definitely break if they exchange blows.
[Well, it's wonderful. In fact, he was feeling envious since everyone had a crystal sword. However, this one is higher than theirs. It's the best congratulatory item]
I'm glad he was pleased. This much is good since this person will also become my brother-in-law.
A few days later, a new King is born in the Knights Kingdom of Restia. During that ceremony, the engagement of the first princess, Princess Hildegarde, and the Sovereign King of Brunhild was also announced. Hilda then became my fiancee both in name and in reality.