Ch.123The Second Continent’s First City: Aparcart (5)

“A sword?”

After my body had fully healed, I dragged my stiff body to open the “gift” that the Relief Knight Order had brought for me.

And as I said above, it was a sword.

No, to be more precise, it should be called sword”s”.

The swords given as gifts came as a set of two.

One was named ‘Eradicator’ and the other ‘Annihilator’, both names engraved on either side of the blade. According to the accompanying instructions, these twin swords could be combined into a spear by joining their pommels together.

And tucked inside the wrapping paper that covered the swords was a rolled-up parchment scroll. Given how luxurious it looked, it didn’t seem to be mere padding material.

“What’s this?”

Unroll, unroll, unroll…

As I unrolled the scroll, there was writing beneath the seal of the Relief Knight Order, which read as follows:

[Sacred Relic Transfer Deed.]

[The Sun of Humanity has spoken. He has said that it is people who should wield tools, not tools that should wield people, and that powerful armaments should go to those worthy of wielding them rather than being locked behind transparent glass.

Therefore, our Relief Knight Order Branch No. 2014, with a council of 420 members, has followed procedures with 304 in favor, 65 against, and 51 abstentions, to permanently transfer this relic of the former Imperial Era to Sir Victor Walker, Knight of the Sun.

The radiance of the Sun contained in the orichalcum shall burn your enemies, and by this, you have become the Knight of Radiance recognized by the Order. May the infinite radiance of the Sun and the majesty of the heavens be with you, and may you remember your calling and mission as a knight at every moment, embarking on an endless holy war to save the weak and guide the strong.

The power of the Sun contained in the orichalcum will erase and annihilate your enemies; you shall be one who brightens the darkness and brings forth light.

We knights unanimously prostrate ourselves before you, who is favored by the First God, the Being Above the Sky, humanity’s absolute and only protector, and express our respect to you.

Your name is Victory, and your surname is Walker. Walk toward victory and drive out the power of destruction in the name of the Sun.]

“Hmm.”

I read the lengthy text without missing a single letter.

These swords were made of orichalcum.

With trembling hands, I gripped the two swords and pressed their flat pommels together.

The two swords became one double-edged sword and spear, and I separated them again before solemnly returning Eradicator and Annihilator to their scabbards.

Clink…

I knelt down, raised the two swords horizontally, and offered a prayer of gratitude toward the sun.

The two swords, made with a generous amount of orichalcum that would make even nobles’ hands tremble, were large bastard swords. They were smaller than the greatsword I owned but by no means inferior in length compared to ordinary longswords.

“Bastard swords…”

I don’t know when swords with tapered blades came to be called “bastard,” meaning illegitimate child.

But for someone like me who had lived as an exile on the streets with unknown origins, they were weapons that couldn’t have been more fitting.

With trembling hands, I fastened the two swords to either side of my waist.

The heavy yet clear warmth of the sun that emanated from them felt incredibly comforting.

*

“Congratulations, Sir Victor. You’ve acquired rare weapons that others couldn’t obtain in a lifetime of work. And two of them at that.”

“It seems the Sun truly favors me. The Relief Knight Order’s evaluation is strict. The relics they keep aren’t easily given to others.”

“But the fact that Master received such sacred relics means they recognize you that much!”

“Perhaps. But I still have a long way to go. I must venture further, gain more experience… to become a knight who isn’t shameful in the eyes of the Sun…”

“Ah… yes…”

When I responded with deliberate solemnity, my excited wife’s enthusiasm deflated.

I’m not sure why she was so excited when I was the one who received the honor. But what was certain now was that we needed to leave this place.

Since our party had saved the city, the hotel had allowed us to stay indefinitely in the suite to avoid being pelted with tomatoes or rotten potatoes, but it was time to relinquish such privileges.

“We’re departing now. Everyone, pack your things. We’re heading to the Baby Factory in Scofield Plains!”

At my words, Simon and the elf sisters began bustling about.

It was time to leave this apartment we’d stayed in for nearly two weeks.

“Oh, by the way, I have something to tell the party leader.”

“What is it?”

“The Relief Knight Order left three horses. One for me, and one each for the elves. All of them are warhorses.”

“That’s great. What happened to the horses we had before?”

“I sold them and used the money to buy tack for the warhorses. Now we can keep up with you.”

This was welcome news.

Until now, when I rode Bruiser, Simon, Lucia, and Casia, who rode ordinary horses, would inevitably fall behind, forcing me to adjust my speed. But now that everyone had warhorses, we could travel faster.

“That’s perfect then. Honestly, I think Bruiser’s temperament was getting worse from all the stopping and starting.”

“Well, we’ll be spending more on horse feed, but we’ve saved up enough money. At least until we finish traveling through the Miriam continent, we won’t have to worry about feed costs.”

“True. 200 gold coins isn’t pocket change…”

Two hundred gold coins was enough money for Parcival’s kid to be treated like Parcival’s elder.

No joke, it was enough money to establish a small city and live as its mayor for life.

If my wife and I were to say, “We’re going to build a city for Sun worshippers!” we could probably secure 400 gold coins, which would at least ensure no one in the city would starve to death.

Of course, whether I had the ability to govern beyond our party, on the scale of a village or city, remained to be seen…

“Boss! We’ve packed everything!”

Just as I was mentally constructing Raisha Tower in Victor City, Lucia’s clear voice rang out.

Hearing this, we gathered in the hallway, took our keys, and went down to the lobby by elevator.

It was time to leave this apartment.

*

“Ah! Are you leaving?”

“I’m a knight and an adventurer. Either way, I can’t stay in one place.”

“Oh my… we should at least hold a proper celebration for you, what a shame…!”

The hotel manager was literally stomping his feet.

He seemed desperate to give us better treatment.

Seeing his flustered state, I borrowed a notepad and pen.

I scrawled my signature on it and returned it to the manager.

“I’ll allow you to use my name for business. Not for things like ‘Sir Victor’s Chicken’ or ‘Sir Victor’s Soup,’ but to mention who stayed at this hotel when introducing it.”

“R-really?!”

“Of course. The suite in this hotel is excellent. It truly showed me what ‘hospitality’ means.”

When I gave this lip service, the manager’s face lit up.

Once the city’s recovery is complete, the hotel will resume normal operations, and from then on, they could use my name to charge ten times the rate for the rooms we stayed in, and people would gladly pay.

When a knight received divine revelation in the hotel’s backyard, allowing some promotion is only fair business ethics(?).

“Thank you so much, Sir Victor! May you have a comfortable adventure!”

“I hope you all continue to nurture this city diligently. It would be too precious for the abyss to claim a city that shines in the light of the Sun.”

With that, I finished my role-play as the Sun’s knight who saved Aparcart, and mounted Bruiser, who was snorting and blowing steam from his nostrils.

The familiar sensation of the saddle welcomed my groin after a long time, and I gripped the reins and began to ride.

This marked the end of our first adventure on the Miriam continent.

And now, the real beginning.

Our humble yet grand adventure to pilgrimage through the 52 Wonders of the World.

Clop! Clop! Clop!

Neeeigh!

“Hahaha! Run, Bruiser! There’s no need to stop anymore!”

Snort!

I could instinctively tell that Bruiser was happy.

What must it feel like to run and run without your master pulling on the reins?

It must be an exhilarating feeling.

Because that’s exactly how I feel right now.

“We’re heading to Scofield Plains!”

And our destination was the Baby Factory of Scofield, which had the largest site across the 13 continents.

Soon, we would witness with our own eyes the amazing sight of life being created through the power of machinery.