Episode 029.
"Hah!"
"You must always watch your opponent's feet as you move."
Prisia's growth was dazzling.
It was thanks in part to the 50x boost, but perhaps it was also because we shared a deep bond.
Because the class change that would have taken at least a year according to the original scenario was now nearing its end.
Now, all that remained was to get her suitable equipment, compete in the Continental Swordsmanship Tournament, claim victory, and earn the title of Sword King.
"Magic Defense and Physical Defense will rise naturally through real combat, so there's no need to worry."
By now, Prisia was closer to a comrade who was more helpful than an ordinary adventurer, rather than a mere disciple.
After finishing her training, Prisia, who had been catching her breath, wiped away beads of sweat and asked me.
"Um, Master, there is something I am curious about."
"Ask away."
"Among the sword arts you know, Master, which is the strongest?"
The strongest?
It would depend on the realm or enlightenment, but….
I crossed my arms for a moment and fell into thought.
"The strongest, you say... There is no such thing. It depends on the situation. But if we're talking about pure lethality alone, there are a few."
Prisia's eyes sparkled.
Instead of answering, I picked up an ordinary tree branch that had been rolling on the ground.
"Watch closely. I won't show you twice."
"Yes!"
In that moment,
An intangible flow surged around us and began to press upon space itself.
"......!"
Prisia's breathing stopped. She felt it instinctively.
That the master before her eyes now looked like not a human, but a massive storm or a mountain range.
Swoosh—
I slowly drew the tree branch downward.
There were neither flashy effects nor a loud noise.
But following its trajectory, an afterimage like a black thread remained,
and soon, the massive boulder standing at the end of the training grounds silently split in half.
The cut surface flowed down with a clatter, smooth as glass, and even the trees behind the boulder were neatly cleaved.
"Wow... Master, what was that just now?"
I tossed the branch aside and explained calmly.
"The Heavenly Demon Sword Skill, no... the Tianmo Jianfa."
"Heavenly Demon... what did you call it? Its name sounds sinister from the start.... To cut so cleanly like this...."
"That can also be done with the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword."
Hoo.
I only showed the basic form and used it as simply as possible, but I'm dying without internal energy.
I can't use this again.
"If you master the Tianmo Jianfa to its extreme, you can split the heavens and sever mountains."
At that explanation, Prisia blankly stared at the split rock for a moment, then soon let out a hollow laugh as if bewildered.
"What? Come on... No matter how much you say it, Master, how could anyone split a mountain?"
"......."
"Hee-hee! That joke just now was truly to my taste! Heh-heh-heng!"
She seemed to think I was joking.
"......."
I really did split a mountain....
But since I couldn't show her that, I just nodded vaguely.
As soon as I left the training grounds, Gran was waving his hand as if he had made an appointment in advance.
"What is it?"
"Tanas, I've pinpointed the location."
My eyes narrowed at his words.
Because what I had asked Gran for was none other than the location of the "Monster of Inbium."
"Are you really going? Tanas, no matter how capable you are, I'm a bit uneasy this time... We have almost no information on the monster, and that Zeek fellow was one of Artem's top-ranking adventurers."
"Heh-heh-heng! There is no need to worry, for I am here!"
Prisia confidently squared her shoulders, making her ample chest bounce.
"Of course, it won't be just us going. Our chance of victory is too low."
And I headed straight for the Adventurer's Guild.
"Oh, Tanas! If it isn't the saint of our Artem! What brings you here today? Just say the word!"
The guild master welcomed me gladly.
Tapping the table briefly and taking a moment, he asked in a low voice.
"There's something I want to know. Where is Artem's former guild master, Gareth, living now?"
"......."
The guild master's hand, which had been drinking coffee, stopped.
He carefully set down his cup and looked at me.
"...Where did you hear that? It's not a name an outsider like you would know... Ah! Did the young lady tell you?"
"I have all sorts of information. Could you tell me his location?"
The guild master pondered for a long while.
As if choosing his words carefully, he opened his mouth heavily.
"What you've done for our Artem, you're more than qualified. However... that man is dangerous. It's closer to saying he's cut himself off from the world rather than retired. Will that be alright?"
He meant that I should look after my own life.
"Don't worry and tell me."
I have my ways.
*************
Monster of Inbium
A super-rare monster with a danger level of 90. It greatly favors the "Abyssal Gem."
Because it was related to the creature's evolution.
That a C-rank adventurer like Zeek was able to return alive while possessing the Abyssal Gem
was likely simply because the monster's stomach was full.
If it had properly attacked, Zeek's party members would have all gone missing.
Honestly, the same would go for us now.
But the only cheat key to catching that thing in an early-game area like the Kingdom was precisely
the former guild master, Gareth.
"Master, where in the world are we going?"
"We're almost there."
Deep in the mountains,
In a flower garden where dozens of wildflowers bloomed, a little girl was running about freely.
The child looked at us and showed signs of wariness.
"We're not scary people."
I held out some high-quality snacks and candies I had prepared in advance.
At the sweet scent, the child's wariness melted away.
There was no answer, but seeming pleased, the girl placed the candy in her mouth and smiled slightly.
"Master, why is a child alone in these mountains? Could she be lost?"
Prisia asked worriedly, but the child only sucked on her candy and shook her head repeatedly.
At that moment,
Shhhk—
Kwang!!
At the edge of our feet, something too massive to be called an arrow... a bolt head like a stake was embedded in the ground.
I immediately grabbed Prisia's shoulder and pulled her back.
"...Uninvited guests... It's been a while. No one who came this far has ever returned alive."
A muscular old man with neatly combed white all-back hair, wearing a hunter's hat, appeared holding a crossbow.
"Ellen, didn't I tell you not to come out here? Come here quickly."
At the old man's calm voice, the child cried, "I'm sorry, Grandpa!" and scurried over to hide behind him.
Seeing the child's candy and snack bag, the old man slightly widened his eyes for a moment, but soon looked at me with a cold gaze.
"Get lost."
"Is that any way to treat a guest?"
"Brat. Leave while I'm letting you live."
"I need your help."
Killing intent flared at the old man's words.
"Don't test me, brat. My Black Crossbow knows no mercy."
"Hmph."
"Keep lingering around and you'll be buried over there."
In the direction he pointed,
wooden crosses were stuck in graves, densely packed.
"M-Master...."
Pressed by the old man's gaze, Prisia tightly gripped my sleeve.
After a brief moment,
the old man scooped up his granddaughter with one hand and then turned his body.
But I paid him no heed and drove in the wedge.
"Former guild master of Artem, Gareth."
The old man's footsteps stopped.
He had no choice but to.
Because there are few who know this fact.
He slowly turned his head and glared at me.
As a sharp gleam flashed in those cold eyes, Prisia flinched and hid behind me this time.
In a situation where it seemed a stake might fly from the Black Crossbow at any moment,
I opened my mouth before Gareth could move.
"The Monster of Inbium has returned."
"......!"
A single word,
Just a single sentence, yet Gareth lowered his Black Crossbow and looked at me.
In his eyes, an unidentifiable, seething rage and hatred began to swirl.
****************
The capital of the Ersha Kingdom.
Knights wearing armor engraved with the royal crest marched in briskly.
Soon, as the sounds of the knight order's trumpets and the church's bells rang out together, the crowd in the peaceful square retreated in unison, stepping back.
"A joint statement from the royal family and the Church of the Three Goddesses!"
The herald's voice was amplified by magic and spread to every corner of the square.
Soon, giant proclamations were posted on every city wall, and people flocked like clouds, beginning to read the contents one by one.
[Official Notice: Declaration of the Restoration of Honor and Invalidation of False Charges for the Former Hero of Recovery, Tanas]
The contents were shocking.
All previous evidence that he had colluded with the demons
was actually a cunning manipulation by the demons, and it was written that the Hero of Recovery had been unjustly sacrificed while tracking down spies within the kingdom.
"Heavens... did you hear? The church has reversed its position!"
"I knew it! How could the Hero of Recovery, who was called the incompetent hero, have killed all the heavy armored knights alone? It was logically impossible from the start."
"Anyone who believed it is an idiot. I knew he was innocent from the beginning."
"Restoring his honor now... The kingdom truly has no shame."
The public sentiment that had been spewing curses at Tanas, calling him a traitor to humanity, a trash son who would sell out his parents, and worse, flipped in an instant.
People chattered as if each of them had known the truth all along, mocking the church's belated response.
Seria, watching that scene from below the window, bit her nails anxiously.
"...This quickly?"
Her pupils shook back and forth, unable to find their bearings.
She had heard that Helena Ronain had moved, but she hadn't known she would directly participate in the Holy Council meeting.
A Swordmaster is just the hero's teacher... Wasn't that the extent of her position?
She never dreamed that the church and the royal family would issue an official stance this quickly.
And the head of a Copy Demon to begin with, how did she obtain it?
The restoration of Tanas's honor meant that the justification to pressure him with force or drag him in as a criminal had now disappeared.
"This wasn't in the plan... I'm certain the High Priest said he would postpone it too. What on earth happened?"
And there's still no word from the people sent to the frontier...
The unhappiest person in the world right now was none other than Seria,
could it be herself?
Thinking this, she continued to pace around the room.
Seria's beautiful face twisted grotesquely with anxiety.
And she bit her nails frantically in agitation.
Just as she was about to nervously sweep the documents off her desk, a careful knocking sound was heard.
"Lady Seria, guests have arrived."
"I said I wouldn't meet anyone right now!"
She snapped sharply.
But the servant outside continued as if wronged.
"Th-that is... Lady Lurin, Lady Arshe, and Lady Rein said that if you don't come out right now, they will destroy this place...."
Her hand stopped dead.
That Tanas had killed the escort knights and the imperial princess,
They were the accomplices who had testified together with false tears that he habitually enjoyed sexual violence and harassment against his party members.
Bang!
Before hearing an answer, the door roughly opened.
"Seria! What the hell is that proclamation posted in the square!?"
"What is going on!!"
"I-I'm not at fault! I only did as you told me!"
The four girls intuited that something had gone terribly wrong.
Because rough waves were approaching at a terrifying speed.
##