“This is Alexandrite,” Embert said. “It’s a very rare gemstone. Furthermore, its luster is magnificent despite being uncut.”
“Wait, did Squishy take this from the monster?” I asked while examining the stone.
Smiling, Embert nodded. “That seems to be the case. I believe Squishy wants to give you his war trophy as a present.”
Squishy vibrated to indicate his agreement. Could the little fella get any cuter?
“Are you okay with that too, Custode?” I asked.
The dragon smirked. “Of course. I give this stone to my beloved holy woman, who can’t tell the difference between a serpent and a dragon.”
“…Thanks, you two,” I said.
Custode still seemed to hold a grudge, but I could deal with that later. As I observed the alexandrite’s shifting colors, a door appeared in the back of the chamber. Inside, we found the same treasure chest as before. This time, I cast an appraisal spell on it, determined not to be fooled twice.
“It seems to be filled with ores or something,” I said.
Squishy bounced over to the treasure chest and opened it deftly.
“No, Squishy, wait!” I exclaimed while racing over to him.
However, the chest didn’t expel smoke or anything else of the sort. For his part, Squishy seemed overjoyed by its contents. Timidly, the rest of us peered inside. Just as I’d predicted, a great many ores filled the chest.
“It appears to be adamantite,” Custode said.
“Is this everything?” I asked.
“I believe so.”
Squishy bounced up and down with absolute delight. He probably wanted to eat the ore.
“Ally and I only watched this time,” Embert said. “Eat as much as you like, Squishy.”
Dot-shaped eyes sparkling, Squishy gobbled down the entire chest of adamantite.
“Huh?” I asked. “Did he get bigger?”
The meal had fattened Squishy up. He wouldn’t be able to ride on my shoulder anymore. Also, I could see something swirling inside his translucent body.
“Squishy!” I cried. “You ate too much! Spit it out!”
Despite my pleading, Squishy had no way of spitting the ore out. Worse, it produced a low rumbling while swirling inside him.
“What’s going on, Squishy?!” I cried, his abnormal state bringing me close to panic. “Can you help him, Custode?!”
“Squishy!” the slime cheeped before spitting something out.
Perhaps it would be better to describe the action as “giving birth” rather than “spitting out.” In any case, the object fell to the ground with a pleasant clink. I approached it timidly, wondering what on earth Squishy had brought into this world. It turned out to be a beautiful silver sword.
“Could it be?” Embert muttered, picking up the sword and examining it. He swung the sword at a boulder six feet away. The boulder split in half, even though the sword hadn’t touched it.
“What was that?” I asked, my mouth hanging open.
Embert looked absolutely delighted.
“H-How did you do that?” I asked while staring at him.
Chuckling, Embert handed the sword to me. To my surprise, it barely weighed anything. Even so, just looking at it overwhelmed me. It seemed sharp enough to cut at the slightest touch.
“Amazing, isn’t it?” Embert asked. He looked down at Squishy, who’d returned to his normal size. “This is an adamantite sword of the finest quality. Our Squishy here gave birth to something quite extraordinary.”
Custode pointed to the alexandrite still in my hand. “Do you mind if I borrow that for a moment?”
“This?” I asked. “Oh, yeah, that’s fine.”
Custode scraped off a portion of the alexandrite as if scooping up a snowball. After embedding it into the base of the sword, he turned back to me.
“Ally,” the dragon said. “Try imbuing this gemstone with holy magic.”
Though I didn’t understand, I did as he instructed. A moment later, the silver sword turned platinum. Moreover, it exuded an aura of purity while retaining its overwhelming sharpness.
“And there you have it,” Custode said with a laugh. “We’ve made a holy sword.”
My and Embert’s eyes widened.
“Truly?” he asked. “Can a holy sword be made so easily?”
I shared Embert’s suspicions. However, Custode answered like it was no big deal.
“Any sword created by an adamantine slime would be one the finest in the world,” he said. “On top of that, it also received the divine protection of a holy woman. At this point, that blade is undoubtedly a holy sword.”
The very concept of holy swords had just been overturned in my mind. Didn’t the hero who fought against the demon lord usually wield the holy sword? In that case, had a hero appeared somewhere? As I fell into a mini panic, Custode laughed.
“That sort of hero doesn’t exist in this world,” he said. “But if I must choose a hero, perhaps it’s Embert—the one holding the holy sword.”
Yeah, I’m not so sure about that one.
“That sort of hero?” Embert repeated while cocking his head, not privy to my thoughts like Custode.
Squishy vibrated, similarly confused.
Still, what Custode said makes sense. Since this world doesn’t have a real demon lord, I suppose the hero doesn’t exist either. Wait a minute. If Em’s the hero, does that make my dad the demon lord? But my dad would probably just dodge the holy sword while roaring with laughter. Oh no, does that make the demon lord stronger than the hero?
As my mind raced incoherently, Embert poked me between the eyebrows. “You’ll get wrinkles if you keep furrowing your brow in contemplation.”
“Oh, sorry,” I apologized. “Everything I once believed just got turned upside down…”
His words helped me regain my composure. Thus, I stared at the sword in his hands again. The beautiful platinum blade radiated light within the dark dungeon. Still, what on earth would I do with this holy sword? I didn’t have a use for it.
“What shall we do with this sword?” Embert asked, apparently having read my mind.
“Why not keep it as a trophy?” Custode responded.
Embert nodded. “Do you want it, Ally?”
I blinked. “Me?”
Hey, don’t palm it off on me. I like sword fighting and all, but I’m not that good at it.
“Shouldn’t you take it, Em?” I suggested. “I don’t have any use for it.”
“Well then, I’ll take you up on that offer,” Embert replied with a grin. “This will be the grand prize for the sword fighting tournament on the festival’s last day.”
I cocked my head. “Is there usually a prize?”
“Yes,” Embert responded with a chuckle. “I hadn’t been able to find a suitable prize, and I’d been racking my brain to come up with one. This sword appeared at the perfect time.”
As Embert gazed at the sword in satisfaction, I cocked my head. After all, why did he need to choose the prize? Sure, he might have earned the king’s trust while studying in Bragioga, but why did this decision fall to him?
“Em,” I said, my tone and expression serious.
In response, he furrowed his brow. “What is it?”
“You’re not planning to take over this country, right?”
“Come again?”
Silence fell over us. A few minutes later, Embert burst out laughing, having understood my implication.
“Aha, I won’t do anything of the sort,” he assured me. “I would never dream of taking over Bragioga, no matter how dissatisfied I am with Prince Giusto. Haha. You have quite the imagination, Ally.”
I narrowed my eyes at Embert as he doubled over with laughter. Was my question really that funny? At the same time, Custode also flipped onto his back in midair and laughed.
“She’s more than just imaginative,” the dragon said. “Her thoughts go in the most outlandish directions.”
Wow, sorry for speaking my mind.
Despite my frustration, I couldn’t think of a retort.
Embert patted my head. “You’re truly a delight to be around,” he said with another chuckle. “While the duty of choosing the prize has fallen to me, you needn’t worry. I have no intention of taking over Bragioga or interfering with their governance.” Here, Embert moved his hand to caress my cheek. “I will never relinquish you to anyone, but at the very least, I can hand over this sword.”
Embert’s hand moved to my chin and tilted my head upwards. Somehow, the color of his eyes seemed deeper than usual as he gazed at me. While the beautiful sparkle of his emerald-green irises captivated me, his lips brushed mine. He then regarded me with a gentle smile.
“Ally,” he said in a honeyed voice, his face approaching mine again.
Fortunately, Squishy stuck himself to Embert’s face, preventing him from touching me further. As we headed back to the surface, I couldn’t help but laugh at the slime’s antics, which were becoming routine at this point.
A lot had occurred on this excursion, but in the end, we’d cleared the dungeon without trouble. Thus, my guild rank rose to C.