Ch.285Aftermath (1)

Joyeuse. A legendary holy sword known to have been wielded by the Knight King who first established the Frankish Kingdom in the distant past—Charlemagne de Frank.

Not merely a hero’s weapon, but one said to have been forged from the soul of Jephtal, the “Golden Hand” who is the true principal deity of the pantheon. This literal legendary holy sword possesses power befitting its name.

Its most notable abilities include granting the wielder endless vitality and an indomitable spirit that never surrenders, as well as regenerative powers that instantly heal most injuries.

Furthermore, the blade, which shines with dozens of colors, amplifies the aura passing through it to increase its output, while simultaneously imbuing this aura with divine power, allowing anyone to use the holy aura that is the identity of paladins.

Additional benefits include either enhancing all general functions of the user’s body or providing various minor conveniences that help wield the sword without hindrance.

Particularly, inside Joyeuse’s pommel (the counterweight at the end of the handle) lies something like an essence that emits divine power, and the radiance it releases possesses the ability to spiritually awaken the user.

The sword’s basic attributes such as durability and cutting power are undoubtedly of the highest caliber, surpassing all existing bladed weapons—but that’s just a bonus.

While these functions are certainly impressive, the true value of this sword lies in… its symbolism and authority.

Originally a holy sword received from the divine and wielded by the first king, Charlemagne de Frank, it disappeared after his death, its whereabouts becoming unknown.

Some say it was recovered by the legendary “Sage” (Druid Aleianos), who was his companion in life, while others claim that the god Jephtal, who had bestowed it, personally reclaimed it…

What truly matters is that the officially recognized authentic Joyeuse, endorsed by both the pantheon and Jephtal’s temple, had its ownership transferred to me.

To summarize the value of Joyeuse… it is essentially a token that allows one to challenge for the throne of the Frankish Kingdom.

To draw a comparison with the Three Kingdoms, it’s like the Imperial Seal. Politically, it allows one to establish an overwhelming position by asserting legitimate ownership, and beyond that, it’s in a position where one can claim the right of succession to the throne.

Of course, there are people who cannot comprehend the very notion of claiming succession to the throne with just a single sword…

But at least in this medieval feudal fantasy kingdom, the authority of this sword exceeds what modern people might imagine.

To be frank, the “throne of the Frankish Kingdom” may seem special, but it’s ultimately a title with somewhat more attached privileges, broader succession conditions, and a few uniquely universal conditions.

And that condition is “power.”

It’s an extremely special condition that still applies today—whoever holds the strongest power among the lords within the Frankish Kingdom becomes king, largely because the territory of the Frankish royal family is so powerful.

The authority derived from “bloodline” claiming descent from the first king, and the royal territory. With these two sources of power, the royal family has maintained its influence until now.

However, Joyeuse is a political symbol that can overturn this situation.

While the royal family holds authority as the hereditary successors of the first king, the authority held by the owner of Joyeuse is religious and symbolic in nature.

Though such authority alone might struggle to wield actual power, the key point is that the owner of Joyeuse can become the focal point of anti-royalist forces based on this authority.

There exists a structure of opposition between the king and royal family, who seek to monopolize power through centralization to ultimately secure their vested interests, and the lords who oppose them to protect their own power (vested interests).

This political structure, which has persisted for hundreds of years, actually favors the lords if considered purely by numbers.

While the royalist nobles’ power may appear equal to that of the aristocratic faction at first glance, in reality, since they cannot be stripped of their governing rights, the royal family is at an overwhelming disadvantage when it comes to the possibility of having their vested interests seized.

Nevertheless, the Frankish royal family is strong enough that their single territory can at least fight against all the other lords of the Frankish Kingdom combined. This is why there are those who side with the royal family, declaring themselves royalists, trying to protect their own vested interests in their own way.

…In truth, the original purpose hardly matters at this point; rather, it’s now closer to a simple power struggle for authority and leadership.

Anyway, the legitimate owner of Joyeuse and its ownership naturally commands such authority…

And this shines even more brightly with my possession of superior-grade power.

Superior-grade. This rank, which carries authority recognized on a global scale due to its overwhelming power often compared to strategic weapons, is essentially a means that grants an individual the power to overwhelm groups.

While mid-grade might somehow be able to defeat low-grade in some cases, superior-grade is a truly asymmetric force that cannot be approached even by mid-grade.

Superior-grade cannot be countered except by another superior-grade, and it also carries a political status where it wouldn’t be strange for one to single-handedly overwhelm an entire nation.

Consider that the minimum condition for a regional power or great power is possession of a national-level superior-grade, and the ability to consistently produce at least one superior-grade individual.

Therefore, superior-grade is fundamentally one of the legitimate conditions for an heir to succeed to the throne, which is why the royal family secretly passes down methods to cultivate heirs to superior-grade.

Rather than superior-grade individuals having special privileges that led to this clause, it seems more like a measure to prevent subordinate superior-grades from rebelling and overthrowing the monarchy.

Combined with the social consensus that the leader of nobles, who are “fighters,” should be the best fighter, this naturally led to the view that a superior-grade should become king.

…And for me, who is already superior-grade, it feels like the slightly lacking condition is fulfilled simply by possessing Joyeuse.

Even though I never wanted it, we already have the qualifications to become leaders of the anti-royalist faction, and now nobles whose eyes have glazed over at the titles of superior-grade and Joyeuse owner have begun to appear, doing foolish things.

However, even if all these conditions are combined, there is one thing that cannot be overcome.

…That is my mother, a “god with physical form.”

※ ※ ※

First, it’s important to understand that in this world, while the influence of gods seems strong, it’s actually quite limited.

Their weakness is that they cannot maintain their existence without worship from material beings. It’s a definite weakness that they cannot exert any influence on reality without intermediaries like priests or believers.

Even demigods, who possess overwhelming power and physical substance compared to mortals despite being weaker than gods, find external activity burdensome nowadays due to the influence of their divine aspects, unlike in the mythical age.

In this situation where most gods cannot significantly influence the real world, the one who suddenly revealed herself was “Baal,” the goddess of fertility and abundance.

While similar to typical earth mother goddess cults that can be found anywhere, the key difference is that their deity actually possesses a physical body and remains in the material world.

Not just a demigod, but a goddess who can wield power infinitely close to omnipotence.

Of course, since she gained a physical form based on the souls of 10,000 people, she does have clear limitations, but the upper limit of these limitations is so high that they’re practically meaningless.

In essence, if a superior-grade is a living nuclear bomb, a demigod is a sentient natural disaster, and my mother is a concept with self-awareness.

With power that could unify the western continent if she wished (though she naturally couldn’t handle the aftermath or cleanup), this has elevated our territory’s standing to almost celestial levels.

Even after mother officially entered the pantheon, she still remains in our territory, taking advantage of the absence of any clause prohibiting political involvement to blatantly settle down in our domain.

Honestly, at this point, it’s clear that the other side doesn’t know how to deal with our territory, and truthfully, neither do we.

An upstart major noble from eastern (backwater) Frankish Kingdom suddenly gained power with continental influence, and in the face of such overwhelming power, our territory was simply swept along and repeatedly collapsed…

In this situation, my father, judging that continuing like this would only become uncomfortable for everyone, made a decision.

“…Let’s become independent.”

In other words, to separate from the Frankish Kingdom and live on our own.