93. Ego Sword

93. Ego Sword

A girl with pure white hair.

Just 1 minute and 15 seconds ago, the girl, who was a menacing skeleton, was shocked by her suddenly cute appearance and opened her mouth.

Originally, a terrible sound like scraping metal plates would have come from that mouth, but as if it were a law that voices become cute when appearances become cute, a cute and adorable voice flowed from the girl.

“Wh-what is this appearance! How can I, the great Death Knight, be in such a shameful state as a child…!”

“Hmm… Hey, kid?”

“Who are you calling a kid! I am the highest undead, the great Death Knight!!”

The pure white girl was naked, her soft, pure white skin exposed so nakedly. No one cared if the skeleton was naked, but it was different when it was a girl. Professors, guards, and students who had come to help couldn’t decide where to look and wandered their eyes.

Especially the thing that gently protruded from the center of her meager chest. No, on closer inspection, it wasn’t protruding but rather indented.

As the saying goes, girls should cherish their bodies. Even if not a girl, it is never right to walk around outside naked.

I gently took off Claire’s coat and said to the girl.

“I’ll lend you an outer garment, come here.”

“Are you trying to treat me like a child now…. Ha!”

The girl let out a hollow laugh as if in disbelief, then her lips curled up as if she had realized something. The girl continued speaking in a cute and adorable voice.

“Yes, although my appearance is embarrassing, I have absorbed that powerful magic sword! Behold, and fear! The power of the Death Knight united with the magic sword!”

Then, the pure white girl raised her cute and adorable hands high into the sky, let out a cute and adorable groan as if gathering power, and maintained that cute and adorable posture.

Surprisingly, nothing happened.

The girl waved her arms around, showing a flustered expression.

“Wh-what is this! Why isn’t the evil energy gathering? Why?!”

“… Little one, come here nicely. You need to put on clothes.”

The sight of the young girl in various poses while naked looked very dangerous. I felt a chill crawl up my spine, as if I might be violating the Imperial Law on Children and Adolescents that Priscilla had told me about not long ago.

I urgently called out to the girl, and contrary to my expectation that she would resist, the girl surprisingly came to me obediently.

“You’re listening well, good girl.”

“Why is my body moving on its own…!! Wh-what did you do to me! You!”

“Here, raise your arms.”

“Ngh?!”

With an expression that would have had dozens of question marks floating around her head if this were a manga, the girl obediently followed my words and raised both arms high into the sky. It was a posture like a young daughter having clothes put on by her mother.

Claire’s school uniform was quite small to fit her height, but the girl was even smaller than that, so this was relatively enough to cover her body. After fastening the last button, I clenched my fist and muttered to myself.

“Alright, I’ve put out the immediate fire for now.”

“… Wait, that’s my outer garment. Did you give my clothes to a Death Knight?”

“Yes. But she’s a little girl now, isn’t she? I think leaving her naked is a bit problematic. And she’s listening so well right now.”

I stroked the girl’s white hair. The soft touch, like touching silk, was transmitted. I smiled, but ironically, the girl’s expression was the opposite.

“Y-you wretched wench! Who are you-“

“Shh, no bad words!”

“Mmph, mmph?! Mmph?!”

Hearing my scolding, the girl pursed her lips and said nothing. She touched her mouth in a flustered manner, as if something major had gone wrong.

Of course, even that flustered appearance was undeniably cute. Her pure white eyes and hair gave off a mystical and dreamy aura, yet her soft cheeks, smooth skin, and baby fat revealed an undeniable cuteness.

I couldn’t help but stroke the girl’s hair even more. The girl struggled violently as if she disliked it, but strangely, she didn’t hit me.

“Mmph!! Mmmph!!”

It was as if something were preventing her from attacking me; even when the girl swung her arm strongly towards me, the speed of her arm slowed down just before it reached me. Perhaps it was the girl’s inner thought that she didn’t want to harm me, I thought, and I continued to enjoy the girl’s hair.

After a few more minutes passed, a professor adjusted his glasses, stepped forward, and said.

“I think I’ve figured out a little bit of what happened to the Death Knight, student Skadi.”

“Yes?”

The professor cleared his throat and then began to speak in a rapid-fire manner.

“‘Sword Fusion’ is a term that refers to a state where the sword becomes oneself and oneself becomes the sword. However, it seems the Death Knight used it in the sense of merging their sword and their existence into one, and without any other clues, I was able to deduce that this change occurred from that act. And-“

“Wait a minute.”

“-As you know, both Death Knights and magic swords are undeniably powerful beings. Especially Skadi’s magic sword is even more so among magic swords. When simply swinging the sword, the two were completely separate beings, so there was no clash of power, but when the two became one, the story changed! And-“

“Stop.”

“-Basically, undead evil energy is a very exclusive power, so it always has a tendency not to mix with other powers. However, a situation arose where they had to merge, and that’s why the magic sword’s power and the undead’s power engaged in a bloody battle for dominance of existence. But-“

“Ah, please.”

“-It seems Skadi’s magic sword’s power was unimaginably strong. So strong that it suppressed and completely erased the Death Knight’s power! Thus, the Death Knight lost the battle of existence and became subordinate to the magic sword. So, in essence, except for its consciousness, it can be considered the same existence as the original magic sword. Ah, and also-“

“How long are you going to talk?”

“-Since the original owner of the sword was student Skadi, the Death Knight also seems to have become absolutely obedient to Skadi’s commands. It cannot attack, nor can it disobey orders. Although it’s partly speculation, I believe this model sufficiently explains the current situation. What do you think, student Skadi?”

“Sigh….”

As soon as the professor finished speaking, I pressed my forehead.

My head throbbed from receiving too much explanation in such a short time. After burying my nose in Claire’s hair for a moment to catch my breath, I said to the professor.

“… Summarize it in three sentences.”

“It means the sword defeated the undead, and the undead became a talking sword. Do you understand?”

Isn’t that two sentences?

But more than that, one word caught my attention.

“Talking sword?”

“Yes.”

“Are you talking about an Ego Sword?”

“Strictly speaking, it would be similar.”

My tail swayed. My ears perked up. Although I couldn’t see it, my eyes must have widened in surprise.

An Ego Sword!

Could I finally have a talking sword!

I began to shake my tail violently with uncontrollable joy. The pure white girl, who the professor said was an Ego Sword, looked crestfallen as she took the brunt of my wagging tail.

The Ego Sword I saw in the book could freely switch between human and sword forms. It was a sight I had really wanted to see, and now I could see it like this!

I said to the girl.

“Become a sword!”

“Th-do you think that will work-“

A pure white light enveloped the girl with a flash, and she instantly transformed into the form of a pure white sword. Perhaps as a byproduct of the transformation, sparkling snow dust fluttered in the air.

“Back to human!”

[You crazy fool!]

Again, a pure white light enveloped the sword, and the white girl appeared in its place. Claire’s school uniform, which I had temporarily put on her, also returned to its original state.

“So cool!”

I clapped my hands with delight, like a child who had received a gift. I thought I had lost my sword, but to get something even better, it’s true that there’s no saying that life is like a horse’s journey that has no end. Although I don’t know what a horse’s journey means.

“I-I have to listen to this wretched wench’s words for my entire life? What kind of bullshit-“

“Shh! No bad words!”

“Mmph, mmph!”

This cute Ego Sword was not human, so she didn’t know the natural duties of a human. Therefore, I felt the need to teach this cute girl ‘common sense’ as her sword master.

I placed my hand on the girl’s head and stroked it, saying.

“It’s okay, I’ll help you adapt. Just trust me.”

“Mmph, mmmph!!”

I’ll give her a name later too.

I smiled brightly, dreaming of a happy future.