Chapter 23. Clothes That Fit the Body (2)
I picked up the sword from the smithy, 'Twilight Flame', and began to walk back along the well-paved streets of the capital to return to the manor.
As dusk descended and the surroundings darkened, the "mana stone streetlamps" on the street flickered to life.
Before long, the capital was illuminated once again, as if it were midday.
The street carried the scent of people.
As I continued down the bustling street where people were gathered and chatting loudly, I glanced at the two swords at my waist.
One was a simple steel sword I had used before.
The other was a moonstone sword commissioned from the 'Twilight Flame'.
Seeing the elegant sheath of the moonstone sword, a smile crept across my face.
'Now, I can handle most threats with ease.'
The reason I had been pretending to be Yulian until now was because I hadn't yet fully secured my own power.
However, now that I could fully wield the 〈Moonlit Sword〉, I had attained about 70% of what I would call 'perfection'.
"Hehe..."
Unconsciously, a laugh escaped my lips.
"Eek...!"
"Argh, cough."
Some passersby looked up at me with a color of fear on their faces.
Oops, no matter how good my mood is, I should maintain composure.
With this slit-eye's villainous appearance, even a suppressed laugh can be intimidating to others.
'I should also decide what to do moving forward.'
I chose to walk back to the manor instead of taking a carriage.
Finishing the 〈Moonlit Sword〉 put me in a good mood, prompting me to walk, and it also gave me time to plan my future actions.
'Continuing to act as Yulian is essential, and I need to find a way to return home...'
Naturally, one of my concerns was figuring out how to return to my original world.
Without any warning, I found myself possessed by a character within a game, and the worst villain at that.
Though familiar with the world and the character, it was not a place I could permanently settle.
'What could be the way back? Seeing the game's ending...?.'
Lost in thought, I walked into an alley of the capital. This path would significantly shorten my journey.
As I stepped into the alley, the sound of splashing water greeted me. It seemed the ground had not yet dried from a previous rain due to the lack of sunlight.
'Then preventing the resurrection of the Demon God is the top priority. Inevitably, I must confront the Dawn Society.'
The Dawn Society.
If 'Yulian Cryphart Frason' charted his villainous course separately, the Dawn Society was a unique faction among many in the game.
Their goal was the resurrection of the Demon God, Barbatos.
They were heretics who would stop at nothing to achieve it.
Moreover, they were the nemesis of the player's avatar, Hayden Reich, and the group responsible for killing Rinne Rondveil's father.
They were truly the embodiment of evil.
'Should I consider cooperating with Hayden Reich? But...'
Though I could make a proposal to the Sword Saint for the greater good, a scene from the trailer kept flashing through my mind.
The scene where Yulian cut the throats of Hayden Reich and Rinne.
'What should I do... huh?'
That's when it happened.
A jolt of electric signals ran through my mind.
It was a kind of warning from Yulian's body.
The trait 〈Remarkable Intuition〉.
It was alerting me.
"Who's there?"
The path was silent without a single presence.
Only my voice reverberated through the dead-quiet alley.
There was no response.
Was it just my imagination?
But 〈Remarkable Intuition〉 doesn't lie.
'I have no choice but to use mana for detection.'
Just as I began to draw mana from within.
Splash──!
Someone approached me.
***
Rinne visited the Twilight Flame to pick up the sword she had left there and spoke upon hearing that Yulian had just been there.
"I'm relieved we didn't cross paths."
"Haha... Rinne really hates Sir Yulian, doesn't she?"
Hearing Rinne grumble, the blacksmith Lupina gave a bitter smile.
"Of course. I don't even want to think about that brazen man. He didn't cause any trouble here, did he? If he did, it would tarnish Master Hayden Reich's reputation..."
"There was a slight commotion, but it wasn't a big deal."
Given his usual poor conduct that often besmirched the name of his master, Hayden Reich, Rinne had been worried upon hearing that he had visited.
She feared he might have created another incident, as he had in the past.
"He didn't threaten us like last time, saying he'd kill us if we didn't make him a sword. So, don't worry too much."
"Well... that's a relief."
A year ago.
After challenging and losing to Master Hayden Reich, Yulian attributed his defeat to the sword.
He came to the "Twilight Flame" asking them to make a sword identical to Hayden Reich's.
At that time, master craftsman Luger Orland had refused, saying he would not replicate the same sword, which led Yulian to draw his sword and threaten.
"Strangely enough, he was rather polite this time. He paid exactly and even settled any additional costs."
"Really?"
Lupina nodded in response to Rinne's question.
On one hand, Rinne breathed a sigh of relief, but on the other, she felt curiosity stirring.
"Then, what was the commotion...?"
"Hmm? Oh, it's nothing major. Sir Yulian asked us to make a sword using gemstones."
Gemstones?
Rinne asked what she meant by that.
"Yes, gemstones. He brought a lot of moonstones and asked to insert them into the core of a steel sword."
"I'm sure he intended to use it as an ornament."
Though Rinne didn't have a deep connection, as a fellow disciple under the same master, she had some insight into the personality of 'Yulian'.
Among the things she knew.
Yulian was obsessed with works of art.
"No, he said he intended to use it himself."
"... I beg your pardon?"
"He said not to decorate his house with it as an ornament but to use it as a weapon."
"That's absurd."
Rinne denied Lupina's words in response to the unexpected answer. Of course, because "moonstone" was a gemstone with much lower hardness compared to steel.
Swinging it like a sword would inevitably break it from the core.
It was a basic piece of common sense that Rinne also understood.
"It would break from the inside after a few swings. To use a gemstone sword like that..."
"I thought so too initially. But, he said it wouldn't matter, and insisted that we make it."
Once again came an unexpected answer.
Rinne stared blankly at Lupina.
Lupina, with an awkward smile, spoke up.
"Would you like to check it out? We haven't cleaned up the test site yet."
"Test?"
When Rinne responded with a head tilt, Lupina nodded.
Then, Lupina led the way as she guided Rinne to the courtyard of the 'Twilight Flame'.
Rinne turned her gaze to the center of the courtyard.
Immediately she noticed a stand for hanging armor and an exact half-split armor.
The armor appeared thick enough to break if swung at with a regular sword.
"Sir Yulian cut this armor with that gemstone sword."
Listening to Lupina's explanation, Rinne approached to examine the armor closely.
Achieving something challenging even with a normal sword, with a gemstone sword of significantly lesser hardness.
"No, even I could..."
Thinking this as she scrutinized the armor, Rinne was left astounded.
A neatly severed cross-section.
So smooth, it was as if a single-minded sword path.
It wasn't a slash performed with all one's might.
Typically, the path of a sword would become distorted when swung with full exertion.
This applies to even the most skilled swordsmen.
But there was no distortion in this sword path at all. Which meant...
'He cut it slowly without exerting much force.'
Rinne thought.
She could achieve the same results, cutting through similar armor. But that was just the result; the process was another matter entirely.
'Is that really possible?'
She felt a dizziness overtaking her.
Knowing her own limitations, Rinne was aware.
Though she bore the title of Sword Saint's apprentice, she knew she paled in comparison to the previous apprentice.
However, she hadn't realized the gap would be this daunting.
"To think the severed surface is this clean."
As a familiar voice reached her ears, Rinne turned to verify the owner.
Gray hair and a gaunt face.
It was the 'Sword Saint', Hayden Reich.
"Master, did you pick up your sword from Sir Luger?"
"Yes, I did."
The reason Hayden visited here, 'Twilight Flame', was to retrieve the commissioned sword he had ordered previously.
Hayden pointed at the sword at his waist.
It was positioned in a plain, decoration-free scabbard.
"... Yulian seems to have visited here."
"How did you know?"
"This armor was cut by the Moonlit Sword. His aura is entirely specialized in cutting."
Hayden approached the severed armor and began to examine it closely.
Soon a sense of unexplained wistfulness began to fill his eyes.
"Still as impressive as ever."
Hearing Hayden's murmurs, Rinne felt something boiling in a corner of her chest.
Yet, her pride wouldn't allow her to express this feeling honestly.
All she could do was swallow her pride and bite her lip.
"Do not let this bother you too much."
Hayden immediately saw through Rinne's inner turmoil.
"Just as a person's qualities are diverse, so, too, are each individual's swordsmanship and the aura they focus on. You can become stronger than Yulian in your own way."
"Yes..."
Even with Hayden's consolation, Rinne's voice did not regain its vigor.
Even with training, she struggled to envision herself reaching this level of skill.
"Anyway, how was Yulian during the mission?"
Hayden asked while running his hand over the armor.
It was a mission that she had recently completed alongside Yulian.
In truth, it wasn't by chance that Yulian and Rinne ended up participating in that mission together.
Both the proposal for the joint investigation and the request to have Yulian sent had been made by Hayden Reich personally approaching the imperial secretariat.
And the reason was quite simple.
The cult, Dawn Society (黎明會), which secretly sought to resurrect the Demon God.
The purpose was to ascertain whether Yulian was involved with them.
Of course, Rinne hadn't been informed of any of this beforehand.
"I postponed asking for your thoughts right after the mission, as personal bias might have influenced your perception. After all, you... dislike Yulian."
She could sense the unspoken words; "dislike him terribly."
"The demon incident in the slums was undoubtedly the work of the Dawn Society."
"Yes."
"Do you think he could be a member of the Dawn Society?"
"... I'm not certain yet."
"Then tell me your thoughts. Do you think he is affiliated with them?"
His voice was calm and flowed monotonously like a stream, yet it carried a strong force.
"... During the mission, I didn't sense any such hint."
"Having eliminated countless demons, he's likely encountered various forms. It isn't unusual."
Hayden stopped examining the armor and stood up.
"And what about after that?"
"Pardon?"
"What happened next? Was there nothing?"
"... No."
"Then what is your impression? Do you think he might be a member of the Dawn Society?"
Hayden looked at her with eyes filled with strong determination. They were sharp as razors, making it hard to lie.
"Yulian is..."
Rinne hesitated to continue, her mind recalling the events in the slums.
- 'Inviting neighbors for a meal and drugging them, only to offer them as feed for the demon locked in that room.'
He showed true rage.
Towards the old woman who fed her demon-possessed son by sacrificing neighbors to save him.
For the first time, Rinne had witnessed a human side of the character named 'Yulian Cryphart Frason'.
"It's hard to make a judgment right now."
"And why do you think so?"
"During the mission, I didn't detect any such behavior and, besides, if he were truly a part of the Dawn Society, he wouldn't have accepted the mission involving the slums."
Due to Rinne's dislike towards Yulian, it allowed her to provide an objective assessment.
Hayden nodded approvingly at her clear response.
"Yes, I hope that's the case."
Though he had expelled the apprentice, he still held some fondness for him.
Hayden didn't wish to antagonize the former apprentice and thus wore a bitter smile.
***
Splash──!
From within the darkness of the alley, stepping onto a puddle, appeared two figures cloaked in black robes.
One was an enormous man, his size unable to be hidden even under the thick cloak.
The other was a petite figure. Judging by the silhouette, it was unmistakable she was a woman.
... That robe and combination; I recognized the woman.
So, when the two appeared, a question arose in my mind.
'Why is the Dawn Society here?'
The archenemy of the protagonist, Hayden Reich.
Undoubtedly the embodiment of evil.
Thus, I placed my hand on the sword ready at my waist.
"Bishop, Eleanor. What brings you here?"
I made a point to utter the woman's name.
The female figure cloaked in the robe flinched.
"Oh my, you know me."
"Of course. And I know why you're here too."
"You truly are Sir Yulian."
A small, chuckle-like laugh followed. Then Eleanor pushed back her hood to reveal her face.
"This is the first time we've met, right? I'm Bishop Eleanor of the Dawn Society."
Bishop of the Dawn Society and a mage of the 5th-rank, Barco rank of the 'Shade' element.
Eleanor D'Micelle.
Casting a seductive smile, she looked my way.
"Now that you've mentioned knowing our purpose, I'd appreciate a proper answer."
And what's that?
The phrase nearly slipped out instinctively, but since I had already postured as though I knew their intentions, I couldn't afford to say it.
"Well, it's quite an issue I want to ponder over for a bit."
There was no choice but to maintain this stance.
At my words, Eleanor's violet eyes flickered slightly. She seemed a bit irritated.
"It's troubling if you respond like that, Sir Yulian. You were the one who approached us first with a proposal, weren't you?"
"That's correct. Hence, I need a little more time to think."
"... So, you mean you'll delay joining the Dawn Society?"
"Yes."
At that moment, I was astonished by my own response.
To think I could answer with such composure.
'... Joining the Dawn Society!?'
My inner self was that shocked, after all.