516 Traveling Companions and the After-Party

["I got carried away. Please forgive me... I’ve caused trouble to the elves for many years, and I truly apologize."]

The sealed demon sword bowed its hilt deeply. The gathered elves of the village stood there with their mouths half-open, utterly dumbfounded.

The terrifying demon they had sealed away for so long was now apologizing with an overwhelming sense of humility. They didn’t know whether to rejoice or be horrified. It was hard to process.

"Well, he’s apologized, so please forgive him."

Along with the demon sword, Kuon also bowed his head to the elves. The village chief, Wolfram, waved his hands frantically in response.

"Ah, no... It’s not about forgiveness or anything. None of us here have suffered direct harm from him..."

"I’m glad to hear that. By the way, what should we do with this demon sword? Should we destroy it?"

["Young master, have mercy! I’ll do anything, so please let me come with you!"]

The demon sword clung to Kuon’s leg, pressing its hilt against him insistently. It hurt a little, and Kuon winced.

"If Kuon-dono has subdued it, then it’s best to leave the sword in your care. The corruption seems to have vanished as well."

The "corruption" the chief spoke of was a common issue with ancient magical artifacts, known as Artifacts. They often became tainted by the negative energy of their users, which accumulated over time. This taint could cause the Artifact to develop a "curse," aligning with the user’s emotions and intentions.

Kuon’s father, Touya, had once faced a tainted Artifact called the "Immortal Jewel" in Eashen. Similarly, this demon sword had also been cursed. Some Artifacts were cursed due to their purpose, like the "Immortal Jewel," which manipulated the dead. Others, like this sword, were cursed because they had taken countless lives.

In a way, being cursed was a sign of how powerful an Artifact was... but still.

"Well, it’s good to have a weapon, but..."

["What!? A sword snatched from some goblin wouldn’t suit you, young master! Leave it to me!"]

Kuon frowned slightly. A talking sword was a bit much. His older sister Frey, who was a weapon enthusiast, would probably be thrilled, but Kuon wasn’t.

Still, why did it talk like such a low-ranking thug? It was way too humble. Was it designed that way, or was it just its personality? The Babylon Sisters, created by Dr. Babylon, each had their own unique way of speaking. Could this sword also be one of Dr. Babylon’s creations? Kuon decided to ask the sword directly.

"Do you know who your creator was?"

["Huh? It was some stingy guy named 'Chromee Ranshes.'"]

Hearing that name, Kuon’s eyes widened.

"Chrome Ranshes." The golem engineer who created the Crown Series, including the "Black" and "White" Crowns, and who had transcended the world’s barriers using their power five thousand years ago. Kuon had heard about Chrome Ranshes from his mother, Yumina, who was the temporary master of the "White" Crown, Albus. He had also heard stories from Dr. Babylon and his sister Kuhn. He never expected to hear that name here.

"...If I use you, is there some kind of price or penalty?"

["Nope. Chrome was trying to create a Crown Series without any penalties. I’m just a prototype.]"

It seemed this sword also used golem technology. Some golems were designed as weapons or armor. This sword was likely part of that lineage.

["Come on, young master. Give me a try. You won’t want to use any other sword after this."]

"You’re pushy..."

Despite his words, Kuon gripped the hilt and swung it a few times. It wasn’t too heavy or too light—it felt just right.

"Though it’s a bit too big for me, isn’t it?"

["Is it? Hold on a sec."]

With that, the sword shrank slightly, transforming from a longsword to a shortsword. The length now suited Kuon’s stature.

"Can you change your size freely?"

["Yep. To a certain extent. I can do this too."]

This time, it transformed into a greatsword in an instant. The blade became longer and wider. Kuon’s father, Touya, had also created similar weapons using his [Modeling] ability, but this sword’s transformation was just as impressive.

It was definitely convenient, Kuon thought, though he didn’t say it out loud to avoid inflating the sword’s ego.

["I can do a lot more, but... well, we’ll get to that later."]

If this sword was truly created by Chrome Ranshes, it couldn’t just be a shape-shifting sword. Kuon suspected it had other hidden functions. It might be a good idea to have Dr. Babylon and the Elka engineers examine it.

"It’s not safe to carry it unsheathed. I’ll have a proper scabbard made for it by tomorrow."

As Kuon held the sword, Wolfram made the offer. It was true that carrying it like this would be problematic, especially when entering towns.

["Oh, that’d be great. I don’t want my blade getting dusty or muddy."]

"You care about that?"

["Young master! The blade is the face of a sword! Having dirt on your face is just embarrassing!"]

Kuon couldn’t entirely disagree, but the sword had been sealed in a tree for years, exposed to the elements. It was already pretty dirty. Was it really worth worrying about now?

"We’re truly grateful to be freed from our long-standing duty. We’ve prepared a small feast, so please join us."

"Thank you, but we’ve already had dinner, so we’ll have to decline this time... I’m feeling a bit sleepy..."

It was only around 10 PM, but Kuon’s drowsy face made Wolfram chuckle. The village’s savior was still a child, after all.

In the end, Kuon went to bed, while the elves continued their all-night feast. The demon sword was left stuck in the base of the tree where it had been sealed. The elves were worried it might escape while Kuon was asleep, but the sword itself denied it.

["If I run away, I’ll definitely be destroyed... That young master is the type to chase me to the ends of the earth and break me with a smile. I can’t defy him..."]

The sword trembled and seemed to sweat, which the elves found oddly pitiful.

---

"Here, some lunch for the road."

"Wow, thank you so much."

The next morning, Kuon and the demon sword were at the village’s exit. Kuon packed the lunchbox he received from Colette into his backpack.

The sword was now sheathed in a black scabbard made by the elves, sticking out from Kuon’s backpack. Carrying it on his waist would have made walking difficult.

"Come visit again sometime. Next time, we’ll welcome you with a proper feast."

"I’ll take you up on that."

Kuon waved goodbye to the elves at the village exit and set off into the forest. According to the elves, if he kept going straight, he’d reach the highway leading to the imperial capital of Regulus, Galaria.

["By the way, young master, where are you headed?"]

"To a small country called the Brunhild Dukedom. I’m going to see my family... Oh, but once we’re on the highway, don’t talk, okay? People will think I’m weird."

To an outsider, it would look like a child talking to himself. Kuon cared about appearances, after all.

["Humans are so inconvenient."]

"I think a talking sword is more inconvenient... By the way, do you have a name? What did Chrome Ranshes call you?"

Kuon asked something he’d been curious about.

["Me? I was called 'Infinite Silver.'"]

"Infi...? That’s a mouthful. Let’s just go with Silver."

["Sure, that works. Oh, young master, we’re out of the forest."]

Following Silver’s voice, Kuon looked ahead and saw the forest’s exit.

Beyond the forest was a small slope, with the highway running right in front of it.

"Let’s see, the sun’s on this side, so the imperial capital Galaria should be... this way."

After confirming the direction, Kuon adjusted his backpack and started down the slope. Having finally left the forest, he naturally picked up his pace.

Once he reached Galaria, he could take a carriage to Brunhild. The thought of seeing his family soon made him happy, though he knew his sisters would complain if he didn’t bring them souvenirs. With seven older sisters, being the youngest was tough.

Fortunately, the imperial capital should have something suitable. Worst case, he could just give Silver to Frey or Kuhn. They wouldn’t complain then.

["!? I just got a bad feeling!?"]

"Must be your imagination."

Kuon casually brushed off the sword’s sharp intuition and continued down the highway.

---

"Now, let’s toast to the four of them and their new journey... Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

At my signal, everyone raised their glasses high. The tavern attached to the adventurer’s guild was packed with more adventurers than it could hold.

"Congratulations! Be happy!"

"Take good care of your wives!"

"Come on, drink up!"

Ende, a gold-rank adventurer, was being jostled around at one of the tables. As promised, I officiated the wedding of Ende, Mel, Nei, and Rize. Now, we were at the after-party, held at the guild’s tavern.

The wedding itself had been attended by Alice and the children, but as night fell, I sent the kids back to the castle. This was an adventurer’s party, after all—not exactly child-friendly. Alice stayed at the castle with Yumina and Linze to look after everyone.

The tavern was reserved for the night, filled with adventurers Ende knew, as well as neighbors and friends of Mel and the others.

"Here’s more fried chicken and cake! Make room!"

Mika, the owner of the Silver Moon Inn, emerged from the kitchen carrying large plates, greeted by cheers from the crowd. In the kitchen, Mika, along with Aeru, the owner of the Parent Café, and Roo, were churning out dish after dish.

It was Mel and the others’ strong request: plenty of food and sweets.

As the plates were placed on the large table, hands immediately reached for them. Even the brides, who had changed into casual clothes, didn’t hold back.

"This is delicious! Asking Touya-san was the right call!"

"Mel-sama, this cake has a flavor I’ve never tasted before!"

"Delicious. So good. I’m satisfied."

The brides smiled as they enjoyed the food. They really had no reservations... Meanwhile, their husband was still being mobbed by adventurers. Ignored, huh?

Technically, Ende was only Mel’s husband. Nei and Rize had married Mel.

In this world, same-sex marriages were rare, though not forbidden. There were a few examples here and there.

Marriage in this world didn’t involve paperwork or registrations. Nobles might swear their vows to a king or lord, but that was about it.

In Brunhild, we didn’t discriminate against same-sex marriages, so Mel and the others were now officially partners... though to an outsider, it looked like Ende had a harem. That’s why he was being teased so much.

After finally escaping the adventurers, Ende staggered over to me.

"Rough time?"

"Ugh, my nice clothes are ruined. Adventurers really don’t hold back..."

"You’re an adventurer too, you know."

A gold-rank one, at that. Someone who could take on national-level requests. Though, so could I.

"Anyway, congratulations on the wedding. Enjoy the joys of being a husband and getting dragged around by your family."

"Spoken like a true veteran. Your words carry weight."

As we exchanged light banter, Ende and I clinked our glasses.

"Well, getting married doesn’t really change much..."

"What about your living situation? Are you staying where you are?"

Ende and the others currently lived in a regular house in Brunhild. It was common for newlyweds to move to a new home, but these four had already been living together.

"We could stay there, but we’ve got some money saved up. We’re thinking of building a new house. You know, for when Alice is born. We want a place with a yard where she can grow up freely."

As a gold-rank adventurer with teleportation abilities, Ende could earn money easily. If his spending helped Brunhild’s carpenters, that was a good thing.

"There’s a plan to expand the southern district of the city. We’re planning to build a magi-train station there. You could choose a spot there if you want."

"I’ll take a look next time."

As we discussed the new house, more adventurers dragged Ende away. Busy guy. Well, he’s the star of the day, so it’s understandable.

He’s really settled into this world. He might even have more friends than I do... He’s well-liked by the adventurers, too.

Come to think of it, Alice mentioned that in the future, Ende will become the guild master of the adventurer’s guild. Seeing him like this, I can kind of see why. In a way, it’s a perfect fit.

"Your Majesty."

"Ah, Lelisha-san. Thank you."

While I was lost in thought, the current guild master approached. It made sense for her to be here, as this was the adventurer’s guild’s tavern, and it was the wedding of a gold-rank adventurer.

Since I was busy with my duties as king, most gold-rank requests had been handled by Ende. In terms of contributions, he was way ahead.

Lelisha-san was still wearing the dress she had worn to the wedding. As a beautiful elf, she stood out, but no one here was foolish enough to try hitting on the guild master.

"About that medicine..."

Lelisha-san stood beside me and whispered.

The medicine she referred to was likely the one being spread by the "Apostles of the Evil God." Had she found something out?

"It doesn’t seem to be circulating much among the adventurers on the eastern continent. I’m not sure if there’s a reason for that..."

"It’s being marketed as a cure for Golden Flower Disease, right? There aren’t many people here who’d want it."

Golden Flower Disease. A strange illness said to have originated in Eisenhardt, though its true nature was the Evil God’s attempt to turn humans into mutants.

Rumors had spread, with some even claiming Eisengard had been destroyed by the disease. That’s why the shady medicine had gained traction in the western continent.

What I didn’t understand was why they were doing this.

When Flora from the Alchemy Tower analyzed the golden medicine Yakumo brought back, she found it was laced with a powerful "curse."

For ordinary humans, it would corrode their minds and leave them as husks. It was like a concentrated version of the penalty from the Violet Crown, "Fanatic Viola."

If their goal was just to kill people, this was too roundabout. There had to be another purpose...

"Anyway, we’ve notified the adventurer’s guilds on the eastern continent. We’ll let you know if anything comes up."

"Thank you for your trouble."

"Not at all. It’s a request from a gold-rank adventurer."

Lelisha-san smiled warmly. However, the adventurer’s guild wasn’t very established in the western continent yet. I’d have to ask Silhouette-san from the "Black Cats" to investigate over there.

"Strange incidents have been happening a lot lately. There have been numerous stampedes and reports of entire villages disappearing."

"Entire villages?"

"Yes. A fishing village north of Refreese, by the sea. When a merchant visited, all the villagers were gone. There were no signs of a raid by bandits or pirates... just countless strange footprints leading into the sea."

I frowned at Lelisha-san’s words. A fishing village by the sea, north of Refreese.

The island Yoshino took us to, where we were attacked by fishmen, was in that area. Yoshino had driven off the fishmen there, but what if they had attacked other villages?

Had the villagers all turned into fishmen and been dragged into the sea?

Was their base underwater? The stolen "Ark" had submarine capabilities. I’d asked Coral and Obsidian to have their subordinates (the fishmen) search the seas, but...

There were too many sea monsters in some areas, and ordinary fish would just get eaten...

"I guess we need an underwater exploration device..."

An underwater drone, or perhaps underwater Frame Gear or equipment.

We might even need to board the "Ark" itself.

I’ll have to consult Dr. Babylon and the Elka engineers. With Professor here now, we might come up with some ideas.

I downed the rest of the fruit water in my glass.