Chapter 13: Acquiring an Expensive-Looking Sword

I somehow managed to calm the sobbing Liluria and decided to explain my cheat ability to her—the one I had vowed never to reveal to anyone.

It wouldn’t be fair if only she had to share her secrets.

And as expected, Liluria reacted like this:

“Haaa!? What the hell is that!? You actually meant it literally when you said you couldn’t get hurt!?”

Of course.

If there were even the slightest chance that I could get hurt, then it wouldn’t be “absolute” anymore.

“Then, during the Adventurers’ Guild certification match, the reason you didn’t attack the branch chief—”

“It wasn’t that I didn’t attack him. I couldn’t.”

“And the reason you didn’t fight back against that armored monster earlier—”

“I really couldn’t defeat it with my power.”

Now that she knew about my cheat ability, Liluria finally understood the true reason behind my actions.

Holding her head in disbelief, she muttered:

“N-No way… I totally thought that even if I messed up, you’d somehow fix everything. I felt safe because of that… But to think that I was really the only one we could rely on…”

Well, it’s a problem if you assume I’ll handle everything on my own.

Even when I muster all my courage, all I can really do is act as a shield.

“You should’ve told me sooner!”

With a smack, she hit my head.

I mean, it’s common knowledge that people who blabber about their abilities lose, right…?

“Haah, seriously, what a hassle. Fine, I’ll be your maid and, while I’m at it, your sword too. So, Ao! You better protect me properly, got it?”

“Yeah, leave it to me.”

Liluria and I exchanged a fist bump.

Somehow, by having this honest conversation, it felt like we had truly become comrades.

Besides, protecting Liluria means getting to cling to her like a koala again.

There’s no better perk than that.

Liluria, I will gladly protect you.

“By the way, the branch chief mentioned that the monster might have been guarding something, but I don’t see anything like that here.”

“Yeah… There’s nothing in particular in this hall.”

We began searching the area to find whatever it might be.

I checked along the walls, looking for hidden passages, while Liluria examined the remains of the armored knight.

With her notoriously bad luck, I doubted she’d find anything useful.

Just as that thought crossed my mind, I placed my hand along the wall—and suddenly, a stone pressed inward like a switch.

“Huh?”

The rock wall rumbled and began moving, revealing a new passageway.

…Looks like we need to see where this leads.

The hidden passage was surprisingly well constructed for a cave.

It was likely man-made.

As we walked, torches mounted on the walls ignited one after another in sync with our steps.

“This must be the work of a powerful sorcerer. Ordinary people couldn’t create something like this.”

Hearing that only made me even more curious about what lay ahead.

If it’s treasure, that would be great.

We continued walking in silence until we finally reached a chamber that seemed significant.

Inside, there were two robed, skeletal remains and a grand sword displayed prominently.

“『Here lies my eternal friend, Regis.』 …It seems this is the tomb of someone named Regis.”

Liluria picked up what appeared to be a letter beside the skeletal remains and read the first few words aloud.

“Whoa! This letter is enchanted with time magic! Time mages are as rare as black mages!”

Whoever wrote this must have desperately wanted someone to read it.

A hidden grave deep in the forest—something must have happened to this Regis person.

One of these skeletons likely belonged to a time mage, while the other was probably a fire mage—the one who lit the torches along the corridor. Maybe even that fire-wielding knight-like monster from earlier was somehow connected to them.

“『To the one reading this letter, I leave this warning: Beware the Witch of Time and Space. She destroys everything for fun. If you see her, kill her immediately. …Also, do what you want with the sword. If possible, use Regis’s blade to end the witch, though that may be too much to ask. You… or rather, you all. Live as you please. I only hope that you can live out your days in peace, without the witch laying waste to everything.』”

“Wow, this letter is practically begging for a fated encounter!”

I think so too. Say something like that, and there’s no way we won’t end up running into the Witch of Time and Space.

A rare wielder of both time and space magic—no doubt an insanely powerful enemy. I don’t ever want to meet her.

“Anyway, this sword is seriously cool! Looks like a true legendary weapon. I wonder how much we could sell it for?”

“Wait, you’re planning to sell it?! After what the letter said!?”

“Of course! It’s not like either of us can use a sword.”

“Well, that’s true, but… doesn’t it feel like we’d be cursed or something?”

She has a point. This sword belonged to people who went to the trouble of building a grave in the middle of nowhere and dying here on purpose. If we handled it carelessly, we might end up haunted by nightmares every night.

“Besides! You’re a hero, right? And heroes always have strong allies! Even if I’m the mage, we might meet a swordsman down the line, right? Let’s keep the sword for them.”

“I have zero intention of recruiting more allies.”

I’m already worried about how I’ll even afford to pay one maid. How am I supposed to support more people?

I have no plans to fight a witch. The moment I secure enough money, I’m retiring into a peaceful NEET life. Besides, what use is a swordsman in a NEET lifestyle? At best, they could help open those annoying sealed magazine pages, but using a legendary sword for that is a bit much.

“W-Well? I don’t really need more allies either. If Ao says he wants it to be just the two of us, then I’m fine with that.”

But Liluria looks like she does want more allies. Even as she says two is enough, she’s clutching the sword like it’s her own child.

Yeah, there’s no way she’s planning to sell it. If I tried, she’d fight me to the death over it.

At this rate, she’s going to keep holding onto this sword just in case a swordsman joins us—even if that never happens.

…How desperate is she for more allies?

Maybe it’s backlash from being shunned her whole life because of her magic.

“Anyway, let’s head out. We finished the quest, and we’re done exploring. No reason to stick around.”

~~~~~~  

“By the way, I just remembered something.”

Liluria and I were making our way back through the cave, retracing our steps.

Since she refused to let me hold the sword, she carried it in her right hand. Her left hand, meanwhile, was holding onto my right hand. She just felt like doing that, apparently.

I have no complaints. If a girl wants to hold hands, I’m more than happy to oblige. My hand is always open for business.

“Remember what the branch chief said? That escaping from the monsters here isn’t that hard?”

“Y-Yeah. He did say that.”

I mean, despite the strength of the monsters, nobody has ever actually died here.

“But that monster we fought didn’t seem like something you could just run away from.”

“M-Maybe… we could’ve escaped if we really tried?”

Liluria’s hand suddenly felt sweaty. She was clearly nervous.

“Liluria, do you know why that thing wouldn’t let us go?”

“Giku—”

Did she just say “Giku” out loud? That’s as good as a confession.

“Spit it out. Tell me everything.”

I used my free hand to pinch her cheek, slowly stretching it into different shapes.

“F-Fine! I’ll talk! Just stop messing with my cheek!”

Finally giving in, huh? I let go as she requested.

“So… it’s about that ring I bought from the market earlier.”

“Oh yeah, you did buy something.”

She lifted her right hand, showing off the ring on her finger.

“The shopkeeper said it was a diamond, but… looking at it now, I don’t think it is.”

Well, yeah. No way would an actual diamond ring be sold at some random stall. Even a kid would know that.

But Liluria—a former princess with zero common sense—apparently doesn’t understand how scams work.

I should probably never let her handle money again.

“So, what is it?”

“You might not know this, Ao, but… it’s called a magic stone. It attracts monsters. I realized it when I was checking that monster’s remains—its core was being pulled toward this ring.”

So let me get this straight.

That monster, which was supposed to be easy to escape from, went berserk chasing us down because of that stupid ring?!

I turned to Liluria with a deadpan stare.

“…Tee-hee.”

Yeah, no. That’s not going to work. I silently reached out and smacked her on the head.