episode_0010

First, I carefully observed the situation, putting the Orc Shaman aside.

“There are no major casualties on the side of the Knights of Virtue.”

Just minor injuries.

One could say they were skilled in chariot warfare.

Their training was well done.

They were very adept at neutralizing the brute force of the charging orcs.

However…

“That doesn’t mean the Knights of Virtue have the upper hand.”

The strengthened orcs seemed fearless and their stamina seemed endless.

The orcs relentlessly charged towards the Knights of Virtue.

And the Knights of Virtue were being pushed back under the pressure.

“Well, if we capture the Orc Shaman, that curse should be lifted, right?”

I decided to deal with the Orc Shaman to repay Asia for the favor.

“If I show some kindness, maybe their attitude will improve a bit.”

With such thoughts in mind, I placed my hand on my waist.

But…

It wasn’t there.

My sword was missing.

Come to think of it, my treasured sword, the White Flame Blade, was currently in Asia’s hands.

“Oh… This is not good, is it?”

It would take too long to deal with them with just my bare fists.

Of course, I could enhance my fists with mana to deal with them quickly.

But I absolutely did not want to do that.

My mana was swirling violently.

Even if I surrounded my thin sword blade with mana, it would shred it to pieces. What would happen if it was a fist with a larger surface area than a sword blade?

Surely, a gruesome sight awaited me.

In addition, the orc’s blood would splatter everywhere, especially on my face.

“In that case… What I can do is…”

I looked around at the Knights of Virtue who were continuing the battle.

Among them, one knight stood out.

A knight who wielded two swords, unlike the others.

“A strange knight who only uses one of the two swords.”

“His name was… Teddy, right?”

Sweating profusely, I approached Teddy, who was fiercely fighting the orcs.

And, like in the old days…

“Let me borrow this!”

I borrowed one of the swords from Teddy.

Despite hearing murmurs from behind, I ignored them and headed straight towards the Orc Shaman.

***

Teddy of the Knights of Virtue.

He had countless nicknames attached to him.

Promising Teddy, Future Commander Teddy, One-sword Teddy.

All good nicknames.

However, Teddy didn’t only have good nicknames.

He had many nicknames that were the opposite of those.

Stingy Teddy, Penny-pincher Teddy, Miser Teddy.

Most of the bad nicknames were related to money.

In fact, Teddy was famous among his comrades for saving money.

But there was one time when Teddy made a big decision.

“So, is it true that you’re scared? If it’s not true, please leave. You’re disrupting business.”

“Uh…? Just a moment…”

“You’ve been saying ‘just a moment’ for an hour now. Please make a decision!”

“I-I’m sorry. Um… Yes! I’ll buy it!”

That was the kind of conversation Teddy often had.

He had saved up the meager salary of the Knights of Virtue and spent a large sum to buy a sword.

A sword made of mithril.

It wasn’t entirely made of mithril, but it was a high-quality dwarven sword that could be called a luxury item.

“Your name is now Shephirius!”

Teddy cherished the mithril sword he had bought so much that he named it after a sword from a fairy tale.

However, since buying the mithril sword, Teddy had never used it once.

“It’s too precious to use in a place like this.”

Even during sparring with real swords or on monster subjugation missions, he used his old, worn-out sword.

But he didn’t carry the mithril sword around either.

Teddy always carried the precious mithril sword around his waist.

Like a talisman.

“Hey, it’s a sword for cutting, not a treasure. You can’t just carry it around like that and expect it to be useful.”

Despite his colleague’s words, Teddy’s behavior remained unchanged.

Now, the mithril sword was more like a talisman than a weapon for battle.

The sword that was so precious to him…

“Let me borrow it for a bit!”

He ended up having his precious sword stolen by Asuras.

Teddy, who was preoccupied with fighting the orcs, helplessly had his sword taken away.

“I-I can’t lend it to you!”

Even when he desperately shouted, Asuras quickly moved away.

Teddy hurriedly tried to follow Asuras, who had stolen his beloved sword.

But…

“Teddy, what are you doing! Are you trying to get all of our comrades killed! Hurry back to your position!!!”

Just a slight movement would attract the orcs towards him.

Teddy was in a situation where he couldn’t leave his position.

If he left his position, the ranks would surely crumble in an instant.

The result would be the annihilation of the knights.

Teddy had no choice but to hold his ground.

While doing so, he continued to watch Asuras.

‘Huh…?’

Asuras, moving swiftly and powerfully through the orcs’ ranks, was impressive.

He effortlessly brought down a strong orc with his sword.

Teddy felt a strange sense of joy.

‘Yes… If it’s used by the strong… It must be a blessing even for the sword.’

Just as he was thinking positively…

At the moment when the orc shaman and Asuras faced each other, he witnessed a scene.

The mana surrounding his beloved sword.

But…

Sizzle. Crack.

As the mana surrounded the sword, the mithril sword began to crack.

A sense of unease crept into Teddy’s mind.

‘S-Surely not?’

He had heard of cases where the sword couldn’t withstand the user’s strong mana and broke.

‘No, it can’t be…’

But Asuras was young.

He didn’t think that he possessed that level of power.

At least, he had to become a Sword Master for such a thing to happen.

So it must be a misconception that the sword was breaking.

Teddy reassured himself.

‘Yes, it must be a mistake that I saw.’

Even as he reassured himself…

It was ominous.

Teddy kept hearing the voice of the sword.

‘M-Master, I feel like I’m going to die. If we continue like this, I…! I’ll break apart!!!’

Teddy dismissed it as a hallucination, a groundless worry created by his thoughts, denying the voice.

Trying to clear his mind by shaking his head several times.

While Teddy was trying to erase his ominous thoughts.

Asuras, who was facing off against the orc shaman, rushed towards him.

At the moment their sword and the orc shaman’s staff clashed.

Clang.

Teddy became the sole witness of this event.

His beloved sword that he had cherished so much.

He had cherished it so much that he hadn’t used it in battle for fear of it getting damaged.

That sword.

“No, Shapirius!!!”

He became the sole witness of the moment it shattered into pieces.

The shattered sword fell like snow.

To Teddy, the scene unfolded in slow motion.

The scattered sword pieces.

A single tear rolled down Teddy’s eye as he looked at those pieces.

At the same time, he shot a gaze full of resentment towards the culprit who shattered it.

But that man…

‘Sorry!’

He was apologizing with a smile that didn’t feel sincere at all.

***

“Seems weaker than I thought… Was it a cheap sword?”

He lightly apologized to the knight who lent him the sword.

‘Sorry!’

He said it with his mouth, knowing it wouldn’t be heard.

Nevertheless, even though the borrowed sword had broken, it wasn’t meaningless.

The orc shaman’s staff had also broken.

“$@!$!#%#@”

“What are you saying. Are you very surprised?”

The mana stone hidden inside the staff shattered into pieces.

At the same time, the momentum of the orc horde weakened.

The orc shaman’s magic must have weakened.

As a result, the tide of battle turned in an instant.

The weakened orcs fell one by one to the knights’ swords.

And among those knights…

“Wasn’t the name of the kid I borrowed the sword from Teddy? But it seems like he had a lot of grudges against orcs?”

Teddy was cutting through the orcs as if venting his anger.

Unlike other knights, his anger stood out.

“By the way, that magic stone was really something amazing.”

I heard it was used for magic, but for an orc’s spell to become this powerful.

It was truly amazing.

“!$!#%#@”

“It’s frustrating because we can’t communicate.”

Is he getting angry because the magic stone broke?

The orc shaman rushed towards me in a state full of anger.

“But does a shaman challenge a knight to a close combat?”

This was a mistake on the part of the orc shaman.

Should I say he’s a monster after all?

He had intelligence, but no reason.

Unable to control his anger over the broken staff, the orc shaman rushed towards me without discerning the situation.

I picked up a piece of the sword that fell to the ground and threw it towards the charging orc shaman.

The piece of the sword rotated and accurately pierced the orc shaman’s forehead.

And thus, the orc shaman fell with the piece of the sword stuck in his forehead.

At the same time, the battle between the Sun Knights and the orcs came to an end.

Naturally, it was a victory for the Sun Knights.

Sun, celebrating the victory of the knights.

But among them, one person.

Teddy came towards me briskly.

“Do you know what you just did!!!”

What did I do?

I know.

Didn’t Sun contribute to the victory of the knights?

I had no idea why Teddy was so angry.

“Well, he wouldn’t be mad because the knight broke the borrowed sword, right?”