Volume 5, Chapter 45 – The General Who Wouldn’t Give Up

We sat in the prepared chairs, watching the ceremony to determine the master of the Seven-Star Treasure Dragon Sword together with the Emperor and the other civil officials.

“Next person.”

“Yes, sir!”

A young male swordsman, having been called, stepped forward before the Seven-Star Treasure Dragon Sword.

He gripped the hilt and attempted to lift it, hoping to become the master of this Holy Sword. Or rather, he tried .

“Ggggh… nnngh!”

Apparently, in his case, it was the “too heavy to lift” pattern.

With a desperate look on his face, he strained to raise the Seven-Star Treasure Dragon Sword, but no matter how much strength he poured into it, he could not budge it.

“Enough.”

“Agh, damn it!”

Though visibly crestfallen by his failure, he gave a proper bow to the Emperor and me before leaving.

This cycle of being called, trying, and failing had been repeating for a while now.

As I observed this endless loop, I realized there were three patterns to being rejected by the Seven-Star Treasure Dragon Sword.

First was the pattern like the previous man, where it was simply too heavy to lift. And the next pattern was—

“Gwaaaaah!”

Oh, the next person happened to be exactly that pattern.

The “electric shock” pattern, where one isn’t even allowed to touch it.

“Enough.”

“Guh… d-damn it. Curse this thing!”

Perhaps out of sheer frustration, he gave only a small bow to the Emperor and hurried out as if fleeing.

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The most dangerous pattern was the one where the person collapsed the moment they picked it up.

This had only happened once so far, but the man who fell was in a critical state.

If I had been a moment slower in casting Healing Magic, he might have died.

As I thought, there is no doubt that a Holy Sword is an incredibly dangerous object.

Finally, it was the General’s turn.

Honestly, I felt it would be the same whether the General tried or not, so I didn’t think there was any need.

“And finally, General Lu Fei.”

The General nodded and walked silently toward the Holy Sword. He gripped it firmly and lifted it.

Then, he began putting strength into pulling the sword from its scabbard…

His face turned bright red as he trembled, trying to force the blade out of the sheath.

“…The General said he just wanted to fight a strong enemy, but I wonder why he’s so insistent on following me even after everything I’ve told him?”

“Now, I wonder? I can understand the desire to train by fighting strong opponents, but if that were the case, he could simply set out on a journey of training as I have done.”

“True…”

“Onee-sama, doesn’t that guy look a bit strange?”

At Lu-chan’s words, I looked toward the General.

His face was still beet-red, but indeed, something was off.

Was it my imagination, or was greasy sweat dripping down his face?

“Chris-san, is that…?”

“Yes. That is a very dangerous sign. It seems the Holy Sword had no intention of killing the General originally, but since he is being so persistent, it appears to be giving him a final warning now.”

“I see…”

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I stood up and called out to him to make him stop.

“General, please stop now. If you go any further, it will put your life at risk!”

“Guh… not yet. I…!”

Despite the cold sweat pouring off him, the General refused to let go of the sword.

However, as if he had reached his limit, his knees buckled and he collapsed.

“Why isn’t anyone stopping him!”

I raised my voice, but no one moved.

Everyone looked away the moment they were about to meet my eyes.

“Your Majesty!”

I called out to the Emperor to intervene, but the Emperor merely watched the General with a sharp gaze.

At that moment, I noticed Yihua-san, who was waiting behind our seats, staring at the General with a worried expression.

“Yihua-san! Hurry over here!”

“!? Y-Yes!”

As if startled, Yihua-san rushed to my side.

Simultaneously, Chris-san and the others hurried over as well.

“General! At this rate, your body will—!”

Yihua-san called out anxiously. Even though Yihua-san is usually obeyed, the General did not respond to her persuasion.

“General Lu Fei, you were not chosen. Give up and release the Holy Sword.”

“S-Shut up! Some weakling was chosen, but I… guh!”

The General rejected Chris-san’s attempt to persuade him without hesitation.

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“Guh… damn it. I… will…”

With only those words left behind, the General lost consciousness.

“Ah! Honestly!”

I snatched the Seven-Star Treasure Dragon Sword from the General’s hand and hurriedly cast Healing Magic.

Not only was he unconscious, but he barely had a pulse.

“Oh, this is bad. This is…”

I continued casting Healing Magic with all my might until I completely ran out of MP.

Having pushed myself too far, I realized I could no longer move.

“Fiene-sama!”

Chris-san let out a pained cry and gently wrapped her arms around me. Feeling the warmth of Chris-san’s embrace and the hardness of her armor, I felt a sense of relief and suddenly felt the tension leave my body.

“I’m a little tired. I’ll leave the rest to you…”

As I said this, an intense drowsiness washed over me, and I slowly let go of consciousness.

◇ ◇ ◇

When I woke up, I was on a luxurious, fluffy bed. It was a canopy bed, but since it was surrounded on all four sides by deep red curtains, it felt somewhat unsettling.

I sat up and opened the curtains.

The surroundings were dark, and moonlight filtered into the room. It seemed night had already fallen.

“Fiene-sama!”

I heard Chris-san’s worried voice; while I felt bad for making her worry, I also felt a bit relieved. Chris-san trotted to my bedside and gently took my hand.

“Chris-san, sorry for worrying you. How long was I asleep?”

“Approximately eight hours. Fiene-sama, you lost consciousness immediately after finishing General Lu Fei’s treatment.”

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I meant to just take a nap, but oh well.

“Did the General survive?”

“I am told that his life is no longer in danger.”

“That’s a relief.”

As I smiled, Chris-san smiled back at me.

“What happened after that?”

“Yes. In the end, no one was chosen by the Holy Sword, the Seven-Star Treasure Dragon Sword, and no wielder emerged. Also, I have accepted the money requested as a reward on your behalf. It is 234 gold coins and 4 silver coins.”

“Thank you very much.”

Combined with the 400 gold coins I received from Governor Chi Tien for the Enchantment, it was a massive sum equivalent to over 30 million yen.

This should cover our travel expenses for the time being.

“Additionally, His Majesty the Emperor wishes to have an audience with Fiene-sama. How would you like to proceed? If you are not feeling well, it is possible to decline.”

“No. It was just an MP drain, so I’m fine. Besides, there are things I need to ask that Emperor about.”

“Understood.”

Chris-san gave a gentle smile.

Perhaps because seeing that smile put me at ease, I suddenly felt thirsty.

“Um, Chris-san. I’m sorry, but could I have some blood? It’s been a while.”

“Yes, Fiene-sama.”

As usual, Chris-san poured her blood into a cup and offered it to me.

In this way, I savored Chris-san’s fresh blood for the first time in weeks.