Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Lilia
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 23 – Battle Without Good or Evil
“……I understand. I will allow Erin to continue attending the adventurer school.”
After the impromptu struggle at the training ground was safely resolved, the conclusion of the official battle was quickly resolved as well.
The wife of the current family head declared this in front of everyone, including the teaching corps.
“In the name of the acting head of the family, Estia SwordX, I hereby accept this conclusion as the official consensus of the SwordX family.”
“Thank you very much.”
So that’s her name, I thought as I bowed my head.
I never knew, since the in-game dialogue box only said “Erin’s Stepmother.”
“We did it, teach’! It’s all thanks to your training!”
“Aah, that was an excellent sword technique. I think the time for you to learn the real secret technique is drawing closer.”
When I praised Erin honestly, she smiled shyly with a flushed face.
The teaching corps’ eyes widened at the words “secret technique.” I guess they really hadn’t heard of it.
Perhaps it might be better for the future if I shared it with them.
Erin would learn it on her own eventually, so it should be faster if she actually saw it now, preferably from an expert.
I could do something similar to [Omni-Directional Slash!], but I couldn’t do it in the SwordX style. I didn’t want to accidentally give her a bad habit.
“As expected of the descendant of the Hero, you settled everything without even showing your blade.”
I heard a voice as calm as still water.
Estia-san turned her head toward me and smiled elegantly. She technically lost this battle of ideals, but she was still gracious in defeat.
“Likewise, as the acting head of the family, you were elegant until the end… It is admirable. You’re well suited for this role.”
“……I never expected the descendant of the Hero would say that.”
I indicated to Erin that I would be talking to Estia-san privately, and Erin nodded and excused herself.
And of all things, she proceeded to run off to chat with the members of the teaching corps.
They were her source of fear until now. I guess she was truly a strong child.
“Just to confirm… is that child really able to deal with the Demon Lord?”
“That’s what I think. There’s another one, but I only know two people who are capable enough.”
Hearing my statement, Estia-san pressed her lips together tightly in thought.
“Then I guess it would be even more difficult to raise her in our place.”
“Maybe so. Ah, but aren’t there other people who call themselves SwordX?”
“Right now, they…”
Ah, no good. I shouldn’t have said that in front of someone acting as the SwordX representative.
It was clearly a topic that should be avoided.
My communication skills were too low. Just crawl into a hole and die, me.
As I was frantically looking for a topic to switch to, Estia-san spoke first.
“Even so, you talk quite casually. Is that how you actually talk?”
“Vagh.”
I realized that I had dropped the polite language without realizing it, and a strangled sound escaped my throat.
Perhaps because it sounded so weird, Estia-san made a face like she was desperately trying to hold back laughter.
“Fu, fufuh… I guess after your work is concluded, you are still a human being.”
“……I’ve always been human, though.”
I scratched my head, and then shook my head.
“Well, there’s still something left to be done, so the work is not exactly concluded yet.”
“……Eh?”
After smiling helplessly at Estia-san, I turned my gaze toward the audience.
There, I saw the man who had returned to his seat as if nothing had happened.
I looked over at him and tapped my finger on the hilt of the sword several times. He didn’t respond, but I knew he noticed my actions.
That was plenty enough to get the message across.
◇
“Well then, I’ll be waiting for you, teach’.”
The sun had completely set by the time we left the SwordX’s main house and rode back to school in a horse carriage.
When we returned, to our surprise, Sharon, Kuyumi, and the vice principal were waiting for us.
“I think a celebration is in order, so I prepared some food.”
“Don’t be too late, okay♡”
Apparently, the two of them had expected that Erin and I would get caught up in some trouble, but triumph in the end.
They had prepared something luxurious for dinner tonight.
“Aah, I’ll be right back, I have to update the vice principal. You three go on ahead to prepare things first.”
That being said, I saw off the three girls on their way back to the dormitory.
After standing near the main gate for a while, I turned to the vice principal, who hadn’t left yet. She was frowning with a knowing expression on her face.
“Are you sure it’s okay? You were pretty vague about answering that invitation. Don’t you think they’ll suspect something?”
The vice principal called out to me with a fed-up expression.
I knew what she meant.
“Well, I think it will be okay, maybe. Is sensei going home soon too?”
“No, I’ll take care of documents in the staff room for a little while longer. So during that time, I won’t notice what’s going on… please, please don’t destroy the school building, okay?”
“……I’ll do my best.”
◇
I walked alone to a separate, rarely used school building.
It was known as the main source of ghost stories in this small academy. It wasn’t bad during the day, but at night, the difference in mood was awful.
But, well, any ghosts here didn’t have the chance to be scary compared to the real star of the show.
“Come out, you stalker.”
“I have no such intentions of being one, though.”
A man appeared from the darkness of the dimly lit hallway.
It was Zanba SwordX, who had followed our returning carriage all the way here.
He had ridden SwordX’s special breed of horse. These horses were magically boosted to have higher strength and stamina compared to our regular carriage horses.
This was the reason why he was able to travel far distances with ease.
Fun fact, by utilizing in-game bugs, players could have 99 of them. Was that really alright? I guess it made the hoarding-focused players happy.
“……Can I talk first?”
“Go ahead.”
There was a sense of tension in the hallway.
I tapped my fingers on the hilt of the training sword strapped to my waist.
“Apparently, the behemoth that suddenly appeared at that time was the one that was being restrained at the training field next door.”
“I also know about that. I apologize for the sloppy management.”
“The chain had been torn off, but if you looked closely, it had been weakened so the behemoth could force its way free. It looked like it had been slightly cut with a sword.”
It was a story I didn’t want Erin and the rest of SwordX to hear.
That was why I made eye contact with and indicated to him to follow me.
“That behemoth seemed to have been running away because it was scared of something. It only entered the arena because it thought it could escape.”
“Certainly, it seems that way to me as well.”
“I’ll get to the point. You’re the one who provoked it, aren’t you?”
Zanba shook his head as if hearing something unbelievable.
“Even if it was me, I wouldn’t do something that dangerous just for fun or to test a wild hypothesis.”
“No, you must have had a clear purpose in mind.”
Wasn’t it all just to make an impression on me?
He drew his sword in the royal castle, making us think he was someone who would do something dangerous without hesitation.
Even if he didn’t have a clear purpose, we would think of him as someone who would cross any line based on his whims.
That was why it would be no surprise for him to provoke the behemoth.
We would naturally assume him to be responsible, even if there was no big reason. Based on his previous recklessness, we would just think he wanted to cause chaos.
……And by leading my thoughts like that, he was trying to conceal his true purpose.
“Aren’t you actually trying to kill Estia-san?”
The third son slowly lifted his muscular hands.
He clapped them together in applause. The sound echoed through the hallways.
“Wouldn’t it be better for you to be a detective instead of a hero? Ah, I guess it’s a bad comparison. Perhaps it’s better for you to be a novelist instead.”
“In my former party, one member is an active writer and another is a hundred times better suited to be a detective than I am. I don’t think I would like to be in either profession.”
“That’s too bad.”
After shaking his head, Zanba smiled.
“……Do you hate SwordX that much?”
“It’s more like it has long lost its worth to me. Even before Erin fought, back at the royal castle, I was already convinced that you would raise her better than they ever could.”
As expected, the preparations had already begun at that point.
He might be a battle junkie, but he was a smart battle junkie.
He was the type of person who would do whatever he could in order to make his wish come true. And even scarier, he was usually capable of it.
“I heard the rumor that you had unfairly YEETed the healer of your party, you see… if that was true, then it wouldn’t be worth entrusting Erin to you. But it didn’t match up with your behavior, so I wanted to confirm the truth. As I thought, it wasn’t the case, since you are a compassionate man.”
“I did YEET her.”
I was aware that I had a blank expression at the moment.
“There were some circumstances that led to that, right?”
“Well… there was but… no, that’s wrong, there’s no such a thing! Wait a minute! ……Kuhahaha! That woman just was not worthy to be a Hero’s companion!”
“You’re a bad actor. Even a group of children play-acting could do better.”
His applause was louder than before, and this time he was clearly mocking me.
He pissed me off. Could I just blow him away?
“That doesn’t matter at the moment. If the reason you targeted Estia-san is because you want to change the SwordX family, then there should be no need for that anymore.”
“I don’t think so. My own wish, the desire to fight against and defeat strong people in combat, can’t be fulfilled by the current state of SwordX. In fact, you’re the one who made that clear today.”
In the end, that was his ultimate reason.
The SwordX family was specialized as an institution that trained strong soldiers, not geniuses like Erin.
That was why it was no longer a place where Zanba could vent his crazy urges.
“……Why did you let Erin go?”
“It’s because she hasn’t matured yet. So please, please raise her quickly. The moment she masters the art of swordsmanship, I want to be the one who stands in her way.”
“There’s no way I will allow my student to get involved with a freak like you.”
After spitting that in a cold voice, I drew my sword.
“But I’ll affirm your wish. I’ll make it come true right here and now.”
“……! You’re quick on the uptake. Are you in a good mood today?”
“Drop the small talk. You have it, right? So use it. Every SwordX person has their respective combat magic technique.”
Combat magic techniques were unique combat techniques that were developed and studied by individuals of the SwordX family. Erin had mentioned this during the sequel game.
In Erin’s case, her Mystic Eyes fell into this category, and she would reach her perfected form using her Mystic Eyes in the second half of the game’s main story.
“Then I won’t hold back,” said Zanba as he drew his sword.
Magic power filled his body.
“‘Roar the victory cry’ ‘the third demonic blade’ ‘reflect yourself in its smooth cross-section’ ‘let it be cut off along with your sins!’ ── DRIVE!” 1
I knew about it already.
The active skill possessed by Zanba SwordX:
Its name was [Lightning Muramasa] (lightning drive blade).
It had an extremely simple, yet powerful ability to generate lightning strikes.
With this skill, he could endlessly produce and fire lightning bolts of judgment from the sky.
“Let me show you how my lightning can catch up with the famed Hero’s speed!”
Zanba wrapped his sword in lightning and fired a few bolts toward me.
It was a predictable attack meant to serve as a greeting, so I easily swung my training sword and parried it.
Rather than cutting the lightning to pieces, it was more of a smashing and crushing action.
“In that case-!”
It wouldn’t end with one attack. There was no way this crazy guy would stop after one attack.
Lightning bolts flew in quick succession and filled my field of vision.
“Think about what time it is. It’s a nuisance to be so loud and bright.”
While many parts of the hallway were destroyed in the aftermath, I easily evaded the net of lightning strikes.
I shifted my body and bounced lightly on my feet, step by step. Dodge, dodge, and another dodge.
“Not yet! No one will escape the judgment of thunder!”
Seeing I was unharmed, Zanba launched bolts of lightning with increased intensity.
This time, instead of aiming for a complete evasion, I parried all the lightning strikes that came my way with my sword.
As if dancing, I parried the attacks, stepped forward, parried, and steadily closed the gap.
“……Gh!”
I was neither charging directly forward nor taking a detour.
As Zanba watched me approach slowly from the front, sweat began to form on his cheeks.
“You… you didn’t use anything?! Neither magic nor power as a Hero?!”
Indeed, I haven’t used it yet.
Rather, I thought I would be forced to use it, but what a letdown.
“How could you do away with lightning with mere techniques…?!”
“What made you think techniques could be nullified with mere lightning bolts?”
Zanba tried to regain some distance with a back step.
The moment the density of the lightning attack decreased, I instantly closed the distance.
“Guh……?!”
Zanba blocked my forward slash with a sword wrapped in lightning.
Sparks flew every time our weapons collided.
Lightning bolts were aiming at me at close range, but they only fired from a few directions. Perhaps he was afraid of hitting himself. Inexperienced.
“What a childish way of thinking! I’m baffled you picked a fight with only that level of skill, oi!”
With a powerful blow, I blew Zanba away along with his defense.
Zanba looked in disbelief as he rolled over.
“That should make you understand right? Everything about you is meaningless against me.”
“B-but…! How could you handle the speed of lightning…!”
“You’re pretty fast, but you’re far from the fastest.”
I thrust the tip of my sword at Zanba, who was lying on the ground.
“This is the result.”
“…………”
“In the end, you only prioritized your desire to fight someone strong and simply didn’t bother to imagine who you would cause trouble for or sacrifice, right? Aren’t you ashamed of yourself? Can you really call that a satisfying fight?”
“──Gh?!”
Did Erin have to face her past fears just because of someone like this?
Was Estia-san’s life put into danger just because of someone like this?
“What a disappointment, Zanba SwordX. I guess even being the third son is too heavy of a burden for you.”
I lowered the tip of my sword, turned my back to him, and started walking away.
Well, it was time for dinner. They said they had prepared something luxurious, but I wonder what it would be?
I love meat and fish the most, but there was no food I didn’t like. Everything was tasty.
No good, thinking really made me hungry. Let’s go home now.
“……Please… wait.”
“Why should I?”
I heard a troublesome voice so I turned around.
Zanba, who was overwhelmed by simple sword skills and unable to reach me even with his proud lightning technique, slowly stood up using his sword as support.
“It is exactly as you say. I wanted to fight someone strong, even if it meant abandoning my sister and family.”
His atmosphere changed.
“I woke up after hearing your words…”
“Eh?”
“That’s right. I wanted to fight even if it meant sacrifices. That wasn’t just an impulse…!”
Zanba gripped his chest tightly with sparks flying in his eyes.
Eh, ah, wait a minute.
“I remember…! I want to prove that I’m the strongest! It’s not that I want to defeat the opponent in front of me, but I want to defeat everything in this world! If I do that, I’m sure I can change things! Be it a heartbroken expression, children who cry because they have no place to stay, all of it……!!”
As Zanba declared this, excessive magic power radiated from his body in the form of lightning.
Everything about him was different from earlier.
He had climbed over the wall in front of him.
Eeh……?
Why did it just harden your resolve?
Wasn’t it weird?
“So for that reason, right now, I just want to fight you… putting everything I have into it……!!”
“…………”
His honest words touched my heart.
I was sure it was because of the place we were at.
I had a flashback.
In this school, my classmates said similar things to me, a descendant of the Hero.
Perhaps that was why── even though I would normally just flatly reject such a request…
Right now, just for now, I think it was okay to accept it.
In this place, surrounded by those memories that would never come back, I wanted to proudly declare that I never rejected anyone’s challenge and won all of them.
Otherwise, I think everyone, including my friends, wouldn’t be impressed.
“Okay.”
“……!!”
“I’ll use my technique this time… so let’s do it properly again.”
I would no longer wait to counter his attacks or save my energy.
I would hit him head on and crush him.
“‘Crushing myth’ ‘the baby’s prayers’ ‘I am a foolish martyr’ ‘may you lament the collapse’ ── DRIVE.”
I activated my active skill, 2.
A mysterious light, the symbol of a hero, flowed into the sword I held.
……Even though I said I would use my technique, I wasn’t being completely truthful.
[Salvation Device (Fake)] might seem like it was included in my combat magic techniques, but it wasn’t. It was a slightly different skill, but…
Let’s leave it aside for now.
“Don’t be defeated in an instant, okay?!”
I swung my sword without any warning.
The slash of light that was released destroyed the hallway and rushed through the building, gouging out the spot where Zanba was supposed to be.
“……Gh?!”
Znaba instantly drew back his sword and solidified his defense.
At the same time, a slash that tried to bisect my body vertically collided with my defense and scattered sparks of lightning.
“Haah?!”
“So you can block it, as I expected…!”
The guy in front of me suddenly attacked me from behind! What happened?!
“This power, I see, so it can be used like this…!”
Slashes were constantly coming from all directions.
Zanba didn’t attack with lightning, he attacked directly!
From the magnitude of power and speed, could this be…
“Did you convert yourself into lightning?! Your combat technique evolved, just now…?!”
“Exactlyyyyy!!”
I never heard about that skill!
It was a completely different thing! Screw… screw you!
Erin aside, you shouldn’t awaken as well, youーーーーIdiot!!
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