Chapter 15

* * * The mana gathering in the sword was further magnified until it reached the level limit, becoming a demon-slaying sword. Raksha’s wings did not glow. She herself had earlier said, “That sword of yours might have actually killed me.” I swung the sword, unleashing all of the mana in a flying slash that left a trail of light in its path. The breathtakingly beautiful attack cleanly cut through Raksha’s last line of defense. “How can…such a move…reach me?!” There had been two elements behind the success of my attack. First, even though this area did indeed have a low level limit, that limit did not apply to equipment, and the sword that Lystie had been wielding all this time was a masterpiece. Using the sword had generated much more destructive force than me strengthening a coin many times over. Second, Lystie’s sealed skill, Sword of Oath, had the ability to seal her opponent’s unique defense skills. It wasn’t that Raksha had chosen to not use her wings out of arrogance; she couldn’t. This sealed skill made Lystie the natural enemy of all demons. With a look of terror on her face, Raksha said, “You’re the princess who disappeared from the capital. You’re the one we’ve been looking for. You… You’re a Princess Knight!” “…!” I had thought that it was fine if Lystie wanted to keep her secret to herself. I had even told her that “The skills that you gain when leveling up depend on your vocation. If you use them in front of us, it’ll become obvious what your vocation is.” And to be honest, I already knew that Blessed Sword was a skill that belonged to Princess Knight, not Swordfighter. Her vocation was likely the reason why Sword of Oath was so powerful. Of course, I had no way to prove it. “No, I don’t want…things to end…like this…” Raksha’s armor and wings were disappearing, probably because she couldn’t maintain them any longer. And right then, I saw a lock appear before her chest and scatter into particles of light. “I…get it now. Your real vocation is…” “I’m a Sage. Nothing more, and nothing less.” Did she think I was lying? Or is she…? No, let’s not go there. “I guess you ‘wise men’ really are a bad matchup for me. Men blinded by greed are so much easier to manipulate.” “I’ve already obtained everything that I want. Mere seduction cannot tempt me.” “So you say… Aw shucks, looks like I’ll be a familiar the next time I wake up. I really wanted to make you mine.” Raksha sounded truly disappointed to the very end, right up until she disappeared, leaving behind only a magic stone. The first one to break the silence was Arm, who now wore the appearance of the first woman she had assumed before. “…I’m hungry.” It was thanks to Arm that we were able to surpass Raksha’s expectations. However, I had truly used every drop of mana that I had. I was even about to faint. “…!” “Good work, Might.” Platinum caught me just as I was about to actually collapse. She should have been exhausted, too, but wasn’t showing it at all. “We really have invited someone incredible into our party.” “All of you are plenty incredible yourselves. Raksha’s level was probably…” “Th-thirty?! Why don’t area level limits apply to demons?!” “Calm down, Nanase. As for your question, honestly, I don’t even know.” I was starting to feel bad about having Platinum support my weight when, suddenly, I got hugged from the front. “L-Lystie?” “I’m sorry, Might.” I knew what she was referring to. In all likelihood, Lystie was the princess of this country. She had been doing her best as an adventurer while hiding her identity when she met me. “There’s nothing to apologize for. We won.” “That’s right, Ms. Lystie. I was surprised, too, but I think I somehow knew it all along. The crest on Ms. Platinum’s shield belongs to the knights of this country, after all.” “Ugh… I’d picked it up out of the ones marked for disposal that had entered the market, so I didn’t think about it too much. You’re surprisingly sharp, Nanase.” “Well, in my mind, I’m already friends with the two of you. You won’t tell me I’m wrong, right?” I gently tapped Lystie’s shoulder to get her to let go of me. As Lystie looked at Nanase apologetically, Nanase offered her a small bottle. “Don’t look like that. Let’s go home laughing. Do you want a potion that can make you laugh?” “That’s just a normal potion,” Platinum interjected. “Even I can tell the colors apart.” “Thank you, Nanase. I didn’t know how useful slimes can be.” “This little one here is named ‘Arm.’ I created her together with Mr. Might.” “Master, food…” If I let Arm suck my mana now, I would definitely faint. I had no choice but to ask her to wait. “Everyone, that was a truly impressive fight. I thank you deeply for defeating the demon and saving our lives. I promise we will repay this debt one day.” Melvin was walking toward us while lending Dorothea his shoulder. He looked much worse for wear than Dorothea, who had just woken up. Brandt was still completely out of it. I wondered how well he would take everything after he came to, but I decided that it would be entirely up to him. Either way, I asked Lystie to take care of him, because I was seriously about to faint soon. “As fellow adventurers from the same guild, I’m just glad we were able to fight for the same goal,” I mumbled. “When we’re back in town, please rest and recuperate.” “I am truly thankful. Truly.” And so the threat to Fortune, the City of Pleasure, was finally over. We handed off our horses to the stable hands from the fort who arrived later, then rode on the carriage driven by Melvin back to town. “Good work, Master. As I thought, you really do need me with you.” As I started nodding off to the swaying of the carriage, I thought I heard Ursula’s voice. Thanks, but I highly doubt we’ll be facing such powerful opponents again anytime soon.