When I Tried Strengthening 【Rusted Sword】, It Evolved Into An Overpowered Magic Sword

Chapter 49 Request Accomplished

“Leave the return battle to me! You’ve protected me this far, now it’s my turn to protect both of you!”

Regarding the journey back, Gem confidently declared this, like a fish in water after reclaiming her artifact. In contrast, having had my artifact destroyed, I weakly responded, “Please do.” It was utterly pathetic, but I decided to leave the return battles to Gem.

Originally, Gem was the client who asked me to find her artifact, so I should be the one protecting her. However, with my artifact broken, I had no choice. Additionally, knowing Gem’s true strength, it was clear she didn’t need protection.

Gem is incredibly strong, astonishingly so. Her prowess became even more evident during our return journey battles. She not only benefitted from the blessings of two A-rank artifacts but also had the talent to fully harness their power. She swiftly sliced through attacking monsters, making them vanish before my eyes. It was simply astounding.

Dia, trying to help in the battles, couldn’t even get involved because Gem was eliminating enemies so quickly. Furthermore, Dia didn’t know Gem was a dual-wielding swordsman, so she stood gaping when she saw Gem wielding two artifacts. This surprise left Dia unable to join the fight. Although I had told her how Gem saved me from the demon, I hadn’t mentioned the artifacts.

Seeing Gem return with two artifacts on her waist, Dia likely didn’t consider both to be hers. It’s understandable she’d react that way; I had a similar reaction at first. After all, it’s unheard of for someone to wield two artifacts. Why does Gem possess two artifacts? Naturally, I asked her on our way back, but the answer remained elusive.

“Huh? Why do I have two artifacts? I don’t really know.”

Gem replied with a cheerful laugh. Apparently, during the “Blessing Ceremony,” two artifacts appeared simultaneously on the altar. She doesn’t understand why and still hasn’t figured it out. The reason Gem has two artifacts remains a mystery.

Regardless, as I watched Gem’s incredible battles from behind, we eventually made it out of the area. We safely arrived back in town, successfully completing the search request.

“Great job out there!”

Returning to the guild and completing the mission report, Charm greeted us with her usual drawn-out voice.

With this, the official artifact retrieval mission came to an end. We received our reward, got the achievement stamp in our adventurer’s handbook, and I decided to share the information we gathered during the mission with Charm.

“Oh wow, there’s an underground cave in the Seven Colored Forest area? I had no idea! You managed to find it, huh?”

“It was all thanks to Gem. She happened to take the artifact there, so it was really just luck…”

As I said this, Gem standing behind me chuckled shyly.

It wasn’t clear if she was reacting to being credited with “thanks” or feeling embarrassed about the artifact being taken there.

Without dwelling on it, Charm widened her eyes slightly and continued, “And also, another demon appeared in front of Rust. I’m really surprised you came out of that safely.”

“…Well, that’s also thanks to Gem. She defeated the demon for us.”

This time, Gem blushed at the praise she received.

It truly was thanks to Gem. Without her, I wouldn’t have made it. Even though I wouldn’t have been in that situation if Gem hadn’t had her artifact stolen in the first place, the fact remains that she saved me from the demon.

Charm seemed to understand that Gem was strong too. With a meaningful smile on her youthful face, she said to Gem, “If you’re interested, how about becoming an adventurer?”

“Haha, that might not be a bad idea! But sorry, I still have things I need to do.”

Gem politely declined Charm’s offer, but the idea seemed to intrigue her.

Upon receiving that response, Charm murmured, “Oh, that’s too bad,” in a manner that didn’t seem particularly regretful.

It was as if she had expected that answer from the start.

Both Dia and I had also thought that Gem wouldn’t become an adventurer given her personality, so we weren’t very surprised.

After all, she adventures on her own terms even without being an official adventurer.

“Well, anyway, I’m glad all three of you are safe. Great job out there!”

With those words, almost signaling the end of our procedures, Charm offered us more words of appreciation.

As I watched her, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

Come to think of it, did Charm not know that Gem was a dual-wielder?

She hadn’t mentioned anything when she introduced us to the mission.

If she had known, she should have advised us from the beginning to search properly for both of Gem’s artifacts.