episode_0025

There was a man here burning with revenge.

In the man’s mind, the nightmare of that day kept coming back.

Fragments of black scattered like fresh white snow.

The man’s beloved sword, Shepherius.

The final moments of it kept haunting the man’s mind.

“I have to seek revenge.”

The man… Teddy vowed for revenge.

To the culprit who shattered his beloved sword Shepherius, Arthur.

But-.

“Haha, I heard that fiancé candidate of yours is quite something. They say he’s reached at least the highest level of sword expertise, right?”

“Well, is it just about strength? I heard he’s quite intelligent too. A master of both martial and literary arts.”

“To be honest, even as a man, he’s quite handsome.”

“Although I don’t mean to disrespect Lady Asia, that fiancé candidate is truly remarkable.”

All the knights of the same age were on Arthur’s side.

There wasn’t a single person like Teddy, harboring feelings of anger or resentment.

There wasn’t a single person to work together with.

“Still, I believed the commanders would support my plan… but.”

Teddy thought of making the two commanders who shared the same pain as comrades.

Commander Bertnia and Commander Pandert.

But-.

“What nonsense. What’s the big deal about a broken sword.”

Commander Bertnia, who didn’t attach any significance to the sword.

“If the sword broke, it’s because you were weak, not because it was strong. If you were strong, it wouldn’t have broken.”

Commander Pandert, asserting the user’s strength.

These two were different beings from Teddy’s thoughts.

That’s why he gave up on making them comrades.

Teddy realized that he and they had many differences from the start.

They were commanders.

Unlike regular knights, they received a high salary.

To those commanders, the sword was expendable.

A commodity that could be easily replaced at any time.

Teddy criticized in his heart the attitude of the commanders who treated the sword as a disposable item.

“Even the sword…! Even the sword has a life!”

And soon, Teddy realized for sure.

That there was no one to be his comrade in this Messiah Viscount.

If there was, it would be the Messiah Viscount, but-.

It wasn’t his place to ask the Viscount for revenge.

He was just a low-ranking knight.

“In the end, revenge is something I have to do alone.”

Of course, he didn’t plan to seek extreme revenge.

He was also a member of the Messiah lineage.

So he wouldn’t do anything that would harm the lineage.

“If that person buys a sword later… maybe rust it…?”

Teddy dreamed of such a small revenge.

Just as Teddy was dreaming of revenge, an opportunity came to him.

“Lady Asia is looking for someone who knows about swords.”

“Someone who knows about swords? Why suddenly look for such a person?”

“She said the fiancé candidate is buying a new sword.”

Listening quietly to Commander Reted’s words, Teddy had one thought flash through his mind.

“Guiding them to a place where they can buy a cheap sword at a high price is not a bad idea!”

A new method of revenge.

With such sinister intentions, Teddy volunteered for the mission.

And naturally, he ended up taking on the mission.

It was an expected outcome.

The story that Teddy knew a lot about swords had spread widely among his fellow knights.

“Hehe… finally, the time for my revenge has come!!!”

***

First, they headed to the selling place of magic stones.

Teddy took the lead, and I followed behind him.

Although we were walking together, it felt like we were alone.

With no conversation between us, it was understandable.

Teddy’s attitude felt like a wall.

Why does Teddy seem to dislike me?

Walking with such thoughts, we arrived without realizing it.

“…We’ve arrived.”

Teddy said as we reached the selling place of magic stones.

Finally, it was time to open my mouth.

So, I sold the mana stone and followed Teddy, who was leading me back to the sword shop.

Suddenly, I remembered one thing I had forgotten.

“Oh, I remember now. I broke Teddy’s sword.”

I checked Teddy’s waist.

Unlike before, there was only one sword.

Probably couldn’t afford a new one.

“Well… It must have been a good sword.”

The sword I broke back then was definitely better than a regular sword.

Of course, it couldn’t withstand my peculiar mana and ended up breaking.

“It must have been expensive.”

I was a knight living under the Messiah Viscount and knew the salary of a knight.

So, I knew it would be unreasonable to buy a sword of that caliber again.

“Huh…? Does that mean he’s showing hostility towards me now…?”

Because I broke his sword?

I wondered.

The man guiding me was a knight.

A knight known as the highest honor in the noble profession.

Is such a knight really hostile towards someone who broke a sword?

With a mix of doubt, I subtly asked Teddy.

“Come to think of it, I did break your sword.”

Teddy reacted to my words.

It was a clear reaction.

It seemed like my guess was correct.

“Now that I have money, I will compensate for the broken sword with a better one.”

It was an apology.

Of course, I didn’t think Teddy would get angry because of this.

“Really?”

He exploded.

Just a moment ago, Teddy was expressionless.

But now, in response to my words, he hesitated and even smiled broadly.

Realizing how much his attitude had changed, he cleared his throat.

“Well… If you’re going to repay the debt, I won’t refuse.”

Debt…

Well, when I think about it, it was a debt.

I recalled the sword I used back then.

Yes, it was mithril.

It was definitely a mithril sword.

“By the way, the sword I used before was a mithril sword.”

“…Are you trying to tell me that the same mithril sword is a rarity?”

Mithril swords were expensive.

But no.

I wasn’t just an ordinary person.

“Well, I shouldn’t say anything about the broken sword…”

I smiled once.

“Because the mithril content was so low, the sword was incredibly weak.”

“The more mithril is included, the lighter it becomes, which is not good. The right amount is just right…”

Teddy’s excuse was because of the appropriate weight.

But that was definitely not the case.

Mithril was indeed light.

But when mana was infused into mithril, it became heavier.

So, the weight of the sword was really irrelevant.

And the reason I brought up this topic.

There was only one reason.

“I will give you a sword made entirely of mithril as a gift.”

If I was going to compensate, I had to do it properly.

I decided to give Teddy a much better sword than before.

Teddy’s reaction to my words was more amusing than I expected.

“What did you just say…?”

Teddy’s voice trembled.

It seemed like he couldn’t believe my words.

He thought he had misheard.

So, I reassured him that I heard correctly.

“I said I would compensate you with a sword made entirely of mithril.”

“Is that really true?”

“I have no reason to lie.”

I had no reason to lie.

In fact, since I sold the mana stone, I had quite a bit of money.

Teddy knew this, so he knew I had the ability to compensate.

“Th-thank you!!!”

Teddy realized that my words were true.

He bowed his head and thanked me.

Tears welled up in his eyes.

Because Teddy liked it so much, I felt a little awkward.

I urged Teddy to start moving again.

“Let’s go buy it quickly.”

“Oh, yes!”

But.

Teddy turned in the opposite direction from where we were going.

Teddy was going back the way we came.

“Why are you going back the way we came?”

“Ah… well, I just realized that there’s a better store that came to mind, so I’m going in that direction.”

I immediately understood.

‘…If they hadn’t compensated me, they were planning to take me to a strange store.’

Annoying, but I decided to forgive them this time.

It was partly my fault for being late with the compensation.

***

“Oh… from now on, your name is Shapirius.”

“Shapirius…?”

“Oh, don’t you know? It’s the name of the hero’s sword in a fairy tale.”

Ah…

It was natural that I didn’t know.

Fairy tales are something you read when you’re young.

Being an orphan and not having a proper childhood, I didn’t get to read fairy tales.

I borrowed Shapirius from Teddy for a moment.

“I have something to test.”

I infused mana into Shapirius.

Slowly, very slowly.

Shapirius was able to withstand my mana.

But…

Clang!

I started to hear a strange sound from Shapirius.

I immediately withdrew my mana.

‘I can’t ruin something new right away.’

In any case, this experiment confirmed it.

A sword made of pure mithril cannot withstand my mana.

And this place that Teddy guided me to.

This place was the best martial arts store in the Marquis territory.

The best item here was the sword I bought from Teddy.

“There doesn’t seem to be a suitable sword for me here…”

There were many swords that could be called luxury, but there were no famous swords.

So, I was planning to buy a regular iron sword.

But…

“In that case, how about waiting a bit before buying?”

Teddy made a new suggestion to me.

“This time, the Marquis is going to the Kingdom of Hooren.”

The Kingdom of Hooren?

I definitely heard of it before.

If it’s the Kingdom of Hooren…

“Isn’t it the Dwarf Kingdom?”

Hooren, the kingdom founded by dwarves.

It was known as the holy land of artisans with all kinds of craftsmen.