Chapter 58: Crisis of life and death (1)

And so, the grand operation of uncovering the truth by the Sanchina twins began.

In reality, however, the “operation” was nothing more than their plan to approach Exia while Sion was away and ask what really happened with Tarkus.

How exactly did the hero manage to defeat him?

But three hours into the operation, the two soon realized it wasn’t as easy as they had hoped.

“…The hero doesn’t let go of her sword, does she?”

“Yeah, seriously….”

Peeking through a half-open door from the back of the classroom, the two whispered to each other.

In Elpidion, it was customary for nobles to carry weapons at all times.

There was magic that could be activated with just a gesture, so keeping a weapon close by had become normalized.

After all, it wouldn’t be fair if some could shoot ice spears while others weren’t allowed to carry a sword due to “safety.”

For the hero, the holy sword Exia wasn’t just a weapon; it was a symbol of her legitimacy inherited from Lier.

Just carrying it on her back was enough to boost her sense of authority by 50%.

So, it was understandable that she would be attached to it.

Still…

“Isn’t it a bit much to even take it to the bathroom?”

Therese grimaced as she whispered.

Ordinary swords were one thing, but Exia was a large, imposing sword.

Taking it into the cramped stalls of a bathroom would make the already small space even tighter.

 Normally, even those who carried large swords would leave them outside when attending to such personal matters.

“Wow, she’s really committed. And Exia’s an ego sword, so it can hear everything that happens nearby. Does the hero not feel any embarrassment as a girl?”

Therese stuck out her tongue, a little grossed out.

For the record, Sion’s insistence on always keeping Exia close was intentional.

She knew the sword might accidentally reveal something foolish, so she kept it nearby as much as possible.

Plenty of students at Anatolia had already tried talking to the legendary holy sword out of curiosity.

Of course, contrary to Therese’s imagination, Sion didn’t share everything with the sword.

She stored it in an interdimensional space as soon as she entered the bathroom.

“Maybe we should just give up? How long are we going to keep doing this?”

Meanwhile, Marianne tugged on Therese’s sleeve, glancing nervously around.

“We’ve been loitering around here for three hours after every class, and honestly, it’s getting embarrassing.

Look at them—they’re all whispering about us…”

She anxiously looked around, seeing that some of the other girls had started to notice them, sending curious glances in their direction.

While no one was outright gossiping, Marianne could feel the weight of their stares, and her timid nature made it hard to bear.

If it weren’t for her ridiculous sister, she wouldn’t even be in this situation…

“Besides, if Exia had really seen something wrong, don’t you think she’d have spoken up already?

She’s a holy sword with a strong sense of justice. If your story were true, she would’ve revoked Sion’s status as a hero right away.

The fact that everything’s still quiet proves nothing happened.”

Marianne tried to reason with her sister, but Therese stubbornly shook her head.

“No, I need to know the truth. I won’t be able to sleep until I figure out what I saw last night.”

“But they’re never apart! What are you going to do?”

“Well, that’s where Plan B comes in.”

Therese grinned, waving her hand confidently as she stepped forward.

“Hero~! Can I talk to you for a moment? Oh, without Exia, just the two of us!”

“!?!”

Marianne’s eyes widened in shock.

Plan B… was just charging straight in?! This was such a blunt and reckless approach, completely in line with her sister’s usual lack of subtlety.

Marianne couldn’t deny that she didn’t have any better options herself, but still…

‘Will this actually work…?’

She watched anxiously from behind as her sister boldly approached Sion, who turned to face her.

“Therese? Is something wrong? Did something happen?”

“No, no, nothing like that.

I just wanted to have a quick chat with you, but just between us—no Exia involved.”

“With just me?”

“Yep! Do you have a minute? I promise I won’t take up too much of your time.”

Therese smiled nonchalantly, making the request sound casual.

Her plan was simple: she would pull Sion away, leaving Marianne the opportunity to approach Exia and get the truth.

It was a basic diversion strategy, doable because there were two of them.

She hadn’t really thought about what she would talk to Sion about, but she figured she could just make something up to stall for time.

“No.”

“…Huh?”

“I said no.”

Unexpectedly, Sion frowned and firmly rejected Therese’s offer.

Therese’s face twisted in confusion.

“H-Huh? Did I do something to make you mad?”

“….You know exactly what you’re planning.”

“Huh? What are you talking about—”

“You’re going to show me more of that weird stuff again!!”

Sion practically shrieked.

“Do you think I’m stupid? Do you really think I’d fall for the same trick twice?! I can see your shady intentions just from that sneaky smile of yours!”

“W-What? No! I wasn’t planning anything like that at all—”

“Not planning anything?! Please! If you want to meet without Exia, it’s obviously about that kind of thing again!

You’re going to pull out more of those cursed items like last time and wave them in my face, aren’t you?!”

Sion gritted her teeth, clearly disgusted.

She wasn’t joking; her expression showed genuine revulsion.

“Do you know that just thinking about the keywords you introduced me to makes my skin crawl?

I can’t even sleep at night! Please, for the love of all that’s holy, stop trying to drag me into that world.

I don’t want anything to do with it!”

Therese winced, her expression showing her discomfort.

It seemed that after their last encounter, Sion now saw her as nothing more than some depraved pervert.

That wasn’t really true! She was more of an equal-opportunity consumer of all genres.

She definitely needed to clear up this misunderstanding…

“Wait, what do you mean by ‘cursed items’!?”

Suddenly, a voice erupted from an unexpected direction.

“Take that back!! I can’t stand people dismissing something they haven’t even read!!”

“Huh?”

Marianne, who had been standing by quietly, suddenly charged forward, her face flushed with fury.

Sion, however, glared back with equal intensity.

“Then what do you want me to call those disgusting, unnatural things?

Should I call them ‘acts of human love’ just because humans created them? Is that better?”

“Okay, maybe recommending BL to someone who wasn’t into subculture was a mistake.

I’ll admit that. But that’s beside the point! I refuse to let you insult an entire culture just because you had a bad first impression!”

Marianne pulled a book from her coat, a treasured volume hailed as the holy scripture by the Sion x Exia shippers.

“If you’re going to criticize it, at least read one thing all the way through before you do! Otherwise, you have no right to mock it!”

“What? No way! Why would I—”

“If you can’t bring yourself to read it, then take back what you said about it being ‘cursed’!!

Apologize for insulting something without even trying to understand it!”

Marianne’s energy was palpable, radiating from her entire body, so much so that even the hero seemed to shrink back in hesitation.

Therese, now relegated to observer, squinted and asked, “Um, little sister, where did that book even come from?”

“Huh? Where else? I always carry it with me, of course.

Any seasoned otaku knows to always have a masterpiece on hand for situations like this, so they don’t miss an opportunity to spread the word.”

“Oh, I see. Apologies for not being a seasoned otaku.”

Meanwhile, Sion, still making a twisted expression, glanced back and forth between Marianne and the book.

She seemed like she wanted to retort, but lacking the proper knowledge, she couldn’t come up with anything to say.

In the end, she sighed heavily and relented.

“Alright, I apologize. I’m sorry for dismissing something without knowing anything about it. Happy now?”

“No.”

Marianne, refusing to let go of her advantage, pressed on with determination.

“There’s just one thing. Please, just read this one book from start to finish, that’s all I ask. If you do that, I promise I’ll never bother you again.”

“W-What?! No! I thought we were done once I apologized—”

“I’ll stop!!! Bothering you!!! Completely!!!!!”

Marianne’s powerful declaration, punctuated by her intense approach, made her look almost demonic.

Her violet eyes gleamed ominously beneath her long bangs, resembling the terrifying banshees of ancient demonic legends.

“What’s going on?”

“I dunno, is there a fight?”

“Who is that? A demon, judging by the tail…?”

The students in the classroom began to whisper, noticing the confrontation brewing.

Seeing that they were drawing attention, Sion hurriedly shoved Marianne away and exclaimed, “L-Let’s take this outside! There are too many people watching!”

“No! You have to decide right h—mff!!”

Marianne’s protests were muffled as Sion clamped a hand over her mouth and dragged her out of the classroom.

And so, Therese was left standing alone.

“Am I supposed to be happy about this…?”

In the end, Therese had achieved her intended goal, though not quite in the way she initially imagined.

Watching the backs of Sion and Marianne as they disappeared, she shrugged and muttered to herself, “Well, as long as it gets the job done, who cares how we get there.”

With that, she coolly concluded her thoughts and turned her attention to Exia, who had been left behind.

She lightly tapped the sword with her hand.

“Exia, Exia. Are you awake? Can we talk for a moment?”

– “Huh…?”

Exia, who had been peacefully sleeping through the entire commotion, finally stirred from her nap.

Still groggy, she scanned her surroundings in a daze.

– “…Huh? Where did that human go—?”

“If you’re talking about the hero, she went outside with Marianne.

Said something dumb and got herself in trouble. It’ll probably take a while for her to calm down.”

Therese smirked to herself.

When Marianne’s passion for her ship gets ignited, not even their family can contain her.

She’s a different breed of crazy when it comes to fangirling over the hero’s party.

Normally, that side of her was just a nuisance, but this time, it worked out perfectly.

It gave Therese the opportunity she needed to speak to Exia alone.

“Anyway, I wanted to ask you something, Exia.”

– “Hm? What about?”

“Oh, it’s nothing major…”

Therese glanced around cautiously.

Luckily, no one was paying attention to them. All the students’ eyes were focused on the two who had just left the room.

After clearing her throat, she leaned in and whispered, “So, yesterday in the cave, there was a moment where I briefly regained consciousness.

And I happened to see the hero fighting—”

At this point, Therese wasn’t expecting much from this conversation.

Marianne had been right; if the hero had done something as heinous as killing an innocent, Exia wouldn’t have stayed quiet.

And since holy magic didn’t include laser spells, the likelihood that Sion had fired a laser was practically zero.

Thus, this inquiry was mostly born from simple curiosity.

Therese had a habit of not letting things go until she had closure. Whether it turned out to be a misunderstanding or not, she just wanted to clear things up.

That was her intention.

But then—

– “…Huh?”

Exia let out a startled sound, clearly caught off guard.

And then she said something that Therese absolutely did not expect.

– “You… you saw that…?”

It was, for all intents and purposes, a confession.