episode_0041

000

A dimension gate suddenly opened in the garden of the Gortian mansion.

Walking out of it was Kuon, who had barely managed to get through with Iona and Cleon in tow.

Both of them, dragged along as if crawling on the ground, wore expressions of pain.

As soon as the dimension gate closed at the right moment, Kuon first checked on the two of them.

“Sasha! Laila!”

Hearing the sound of them urgently calling her name, the two women rushed over.

Laila, realizing that something unusual had happened, came closer and examined the two.

“The function of their entire bodies has noticeably deteriorated…! What happened?”

Then, she recounted the events that occurred while meeting the returnees.

Especially the core of the sword that Tio possessed and the barrier that unfolded from it.

No matter how she thought about it, the reason for the two people’s abnormal condition was that.

Laila’s eyes widened at the fact that the returnees possessed the core of a sword, and an activated one at that.

“Those bastards… Where did they get that thing? Were they planning to use it to neutralize Cleon if he became hostile…?”

Clicking her tongue, she placed her hand on Cleon’s upper body and attempted to restore his body’s functions by injecting mana.

But it didn’t work as she intended.

“I, Iona-ssi also looks like she’s in a lot of pain, will she be alright?”

Sasha, worried about Iona, who was holding her head beside Cleon, said to Laila.

“Cleon is a magic swordsman, so I understand that it’s because he’s strongly connected to Galatea. But… Iona Chevalier. You are…”

The same situation as Cleon. No, even worse.

In Cleon’s case, the deterioration of the magic sword’s function was directly fed back to him, affecting him.

But Iona’s body itself was rejecting her, and her mana was rapidly depleting as if she were slowly withering away and dying.

“Iona to the bath with medicinal herbs! We have to stop the loss of mana somehow!”

“Yes!”

When Laila told Sasha, Sasha lightly carried Iona on her back and ran into the mansion.

“What about Cleon?”

“This side is the sword that’s the problem. Unless we do something about Galatea…”

As Laila said that and reached out to the magic sword Cleon was holding.

Zap! Galatea rejected it with a spark.

“Rejection…? Is the sword trying to fill its own depletion from its master, rejecting anything else…?”

Laila quickly turned her head.

And she had no choice but to click her tongue.

The only one who could control the magic sword in this state was, after all, its master, Cleon.

But Cleon was also unable to properly support his body due to the influence of Galatea.

At that moment, Cleon reached out and grabbed Laila’s arm.

“Cleon! Return as much mana as possible to Galatea! That’s the only way she can regain her control!”

Laila suggested to Cleon, but Cleon shook his head and said.

“…In my bag… there’s a black scroll… Give that to Galatea…”

“Black scroll…?”

Then Kuon quickly rummaged through Cleon’s bag next to him and took out the scroll he mentioned.

When she handed it to Laila, Laila’s eyes widened as she checked the letters written inside.

“This is… from the Academy…!? And this sentence is from the Enforcement Department!”

“Ah… I swiped it on the sly…”

At Cleon’s words, Laila activated her magic eye and checked the contents of the scroll.

A so-called `Berserk Scroll` that forcibly causes the target to go berserk by injecting a large amount of mana into them.

It was forbidden to use, and even to create.

“Ugh…!”

Laila quickly activated the scroll’s magic and injected mana into Galatea.

She initially showed a reaction of rejection, but gradually began to accept the mana and calm down.

Cleon’s breathing gradually stabilized.

“…I can’t believe it. When did you take care of a scroll like this?”

At Laila’s words, Cleon was silent for a moment before speaking.

“It was something the Enforcement Department, who was manipulating Albein, had. Perhaps, they were planning to use it to make Albein’s holy sword go berserk if they were at a disadvantage.”

“Is Galatea alright?”

Kuon, expressing a natural question.

Laila nodded and looked back and forth between the scroll and Galatea.

“It was used to replenish the large amount of mana that was being lost as the sword’s core stopped.”

Saying that, Laila let out a sigh of relief as she confirmed that Cleon’s body functions were slowly recovering.

“Originally, if you pour more water than necessary into a balloon filled with water, it will burst, but Galatea now was a balloon with the water drained.”

Kuon nodded as if she understood and used a recovery spell on Cleon in case something might happen.

“But it’s only a temporary measure. Galatea probably also suffered damage to her core. We need to let her rest for a bit.”

“I know. How’s Iona?”

Cleon tried to raise his upper body with difficulty, but Kuon grabbed him and placed him on her lap.

His strength drained from his whole body for a moment at the soft sensation, and he maintained that posture as if he couldn’t help it.

“Iona’s situation is more serious than yours. First, we put her in the medicinal bath to prevent her condition from worsening…”

“I have something to talk about with her. About her identity…”

Kuon and Laila exchanged glances.

They also had lingering questions about Iona’s condition.

“Certainly. If she were a normal human, she wouldn’t have been affected by the core of the sword, which means she’s not an ordinary human.”

“But if so, does that mean Iona-ssi is also a hero or a magic swordsman? The sword she carries looked ordinary.”

“…No. Maybe she is…”

Then, the next moment. Crash! The door of the mansion opened again and someone walked out.

“W-wait a minute, Iona-ssi!”

“Haa… Ugh…”

Iona walked towards the three of them with a flushed face.

“What are you doing! If you stayed quietly in the medicinal bath, you would feel a little better!”

“…No, there is a better way.”

Iona, saying that to Laila who was worried and angry at the same time, came closer to Cleon who was in Kuon’s arms.

“Excuse me.”

With those words, she stole a kiss from Cleon’s lips.

“Ah…!”

It was Sasha who made a sound.

Laila and Kuon were unable to stop her sudden action.

They could only watch as Iona, who couldn’t move properly, made a desperate effort to mix her tongue with Cleon’s.

How many seconds had passed? Maybe even minutes.

While quietly watching the intense act that continued.

Iona took a deep breath and pulled her face away.

Laila, staring at her with a slightly dazed expression, with saliva dripping down to the point of wetting her chin, suddenly came to her senses.

Then, she turned on the light of her magic eye and checked Iona’s body condition.

She confirmed that she was recovering at a rapid pace.

“W-what? What did you do?”

Laila, not knowing what was going on.

There was no corresponding part in the magic theory she knew.

Iona sighed and wiped her chin.

“I absorbed a little of the magic power of the magic sword that Cleon has. By doing so, the power of the holy sword inside me forcibly activates the defense mechanism, reactivating the stopped function.”

And Iona put her hand on her chest and spoke as if confirming that her heart was beating properly.

“The power of the holy sword…? Then you are…”

“A hero…?”

At Kuon’s words, Iona closed her mouth for a moment and then shook her head.

“No. I am not a hero. I am… the holy sword.”

Laila and Kuon, and Sasha, widened their eyes at those words.

“The holy sword…? Then can you transform into a human form like Galatea-ssi?”

At Sasha’s words, Iona looked like she was contemplating for a moment.

And then she stood up as if resigned.

“Would you like to talk inside for a bit?”

001

If there was a place where everyone could sit around and talk, it was the mansion’s drawing room.

After everyone was seated, the first thing Iona did was.

To show everyone her true form.

Relaxing all the strength in her body and concentrating her mind.

Her body was enveloped in a white light.

Everyone squinted slightly and waited for the light to disappear.

Iona’s figure was nowhere to be seen.

Only a beautiful long sword, characterized by a silver blade and a beautiful red jewel decorated on the cross guard.

Only a beautiful long sword was floating in the air.

Everyone’s eyes widened.

The energy felt there was similar to the holy sword that Albein had carried before.

In other words, the sword in front of them was-

[The Holy Sword… Chevalier.]

Iona’s voice echoed from the shapeless mouth.

A moment later, Iona, who had returned to her original human form, quietly looked around at everyone.

Sasha and Kuon, who seemed purely surprised.

Laila, narrowing her eyes and feeling something strange.

And Cleon, with an expression as if he had expected it to some extent.

Iona took a deep breath and opened her mouth.

“Once again, let me introduce myself. My name is Iona Chevalier. A kingdom knight belonging to the royal family’s direct intelligence agency… also. A special strategic weapon.”

“…A special strategic weapon?”

As Kuon repeated those words, Laila opened her mouth.

“That’s the name used when kingdoms classify holy swords and magic swords. In other words, the kingdom is also treating her as a holy sword.”

Iona nodded at Laila’s explanation.

But Laila herself still had questions remaining in her expression.

“But that’s strange, I’ve never heard of a holy sword being given a knight title.”

“That’s… because I’m half human.”

Laila’s eyes widened at Iona’s words.

Perhaps she was the only one among them who realized the meaning of those words.

“I was born in the kingdom’s laboratory as a hybrid of a `holy sword` and a `human`. My father was the `hero` who was the contractor of the holy sword. My mother was his `holy sword`.”

“W-wait. What the heck…”

As Kuon held her head in confusion, Sasha’s eyes turned to Galatea, who was leaning against Cleon’s side.

“So Iona-ssi’s mother could also transform into a human form.”

Iona nodded at those words.

“All holy swords that have completed a formal contract and awakened can take on human form on their own. The same goes for magic swords.”

Iona closed her eyes for a moment, as if reminiscing about the past.

“The kingdom’s researchers, seeing that the structure of a humanized holy sword was almost no different from that of a human, began experimenting on whether it was possible to crossbreed humans and holy swords.”

“Experiment… you say.”

Laila frowned slightly.

Scholars were the kind of people who could become inhumane in any way due to curiosity or thirst for knowledge.

Laila frowned because of the self-loathing that came after thinking about what it would have been like if she had been in the same position.

“If the child born between the two had both the power of the hero and the power of the holy sword, it was clear that it would become an enormous force for the kingdom.”

The hero and the holy sword are two as one.

If one side disappears, the power of the other side will not be properly exerted.

If both powers were contained in one body.

It meant the birth of a perfect savior, and also a weapon.

“At the time, my father, who was also a knight of the kingdom, mixed his body with my mother with the single-minded intention of thinking about his country. I don’t know if there was any affection between the two.”

The faces of the two people do not come to mind very much.

Because they have not been seen since birth, except for a very young age.

“After dozens, hundreds of experiments, I was conceived. And normally, time passed and I was born.”

It is said that it was a long experiment that lasted three years.

Environment, conditions, body condition, magical objects placed around.

The two mixed their bodies while changing each of these things one by one.

And it is said that the scene was all seen by the researchers.

“The baby born in such difficulties… did not meet their expectations. The power of the holy sword was certainly inherited to some extent, but the important thing was that half of it was an ordinary human.”

According to their expectations, the baby born should have had both the power of the holy sword and the hero.

But Iona was not like that.

Half holy sword. Half human.

She had the function of a holy sword, but even among them, only a little divine power could be used.

Her body was a little stronger than a human’s, but it was only within that frame.

She has a lifespan and she ages.

The experiment was a failure.

There was no way a hybrid of a holy sword and a hero could be born.

“The research lab was closed. And I was separated from my mother and father and lost my place to go. To those two, I was like a stain.”

Iona says self-deprecatingly that she might have been disposed of if she had stayed there.

“It was Talcheck-nim who was investigating something in the kingdom who took me in. That was 10 years ago.”

“…Huh?”

Sasha looks at Iona at those words.

“Um, Iona-ssi. Excuse me, but how old are you…”

“Ah. I’m 15 years old. The research lab was closed when I was exactly 5 years old.”

Sasha is shocked.

And she quietly looked down at her own body.

“…Are you alright?”

“I’m alright, I’m alright. So? What happened after that?”

At Laila’s urging, Iona hesitated a little before opening her mouth.

“After receiving various training from my father, I became a knight of the intelligence agency he belonged to…”

After that, it was a story that everyone knew.

She was helping Talcheck with his work, and this time she came to this city.

“Why did Talcheck take you in?”

Cleon’s question.

Talcheck, as he knew him, hated children and was not the kind of person who would be interested in raising them.

“My father said. If I’m half human but half sword, then he, who is the best at handling swords in the world, must train me.”

“… …”

An argument that can only be heard as forced.

But who could overpower his argument with force?

The people around him would not have been able to stop Talcheck.

Maybe even Iona’s parents.

“…Swords and humans can make children. That means… Cleon can also impregnate Galatea?”

Laila, saying that, turns to look at Cleon.

Her eyes were shining with curiosity.

“Are you listening to the story now and getting the idea to make me do the same experiment?”

“A, no. I just said it because there was a possibility. Good for you~ A child can be born between the two of you.”

Laila turns her head as if she was stung.

Kuon seemed to be in a slightly complicated mood.

“This is my truth. I didn’t intend to deceive you. However, I just thought that revealing it wouldn’t be a good thing for you.”

Iona bowed her head with an apology.

Until now, all those who knew her identity showed a kind of disgust at the same time as surprise.

A human and a sword.

A hybrid of two beings that can never be mixed.

A sword born without the love of parents, abandoned, picked up, and trained.

A boy named `Cleon` that she had often heard his name from her father.

`He has no talent, but he will definitely become great.`

Her father said.

A `magic swordsman` who is the opposite of her, who is half holy sword.

She thought that maybe they could understand each other.

She didn’t want to imagine him receiving a look of rejection like the others.

Iona’s gaze turns to Cleon.

Cleon was looking at her with the same eyes as before.

“… …What do we do now?”

“We know that the returnees are related to the Marquis. And that those guys are planning something outrageous.”

“The revival of the barrier tree…”

If the barrier tree were to be revived as Maxwell said, what disaster would occur?

No one here knew exactly.

“First, I will return to the city and report this to my father.”

Cleon nodded at Iona’s words.

The connection between Marquis Hughes and the returnees cannot yet be physically proven.

But it’s Iona’s words, his adopted daughter. Talcheck would believe it too.

“I’m…”

“You take a day off. It would be good for Galatea to fully restore her functions. And there’s something you need to do.”

As Cleon tried to get up from his seat, Laila stopped him and said.

“…Something I need to do? You said I should rest?”

“Well. It’s like resting for you.”

As Cleon tilted his head, Laila sighed.

002

In the end, Cleon was entrusted by Laila and spent the day at the mansion.

Spending time in his room and staying there until it got dark.

He felt a stuffy feeling in his body, but as he looked at Galatea, who was still emitting a subtle light and healing him.

He didn’t think he could leave her.

It was also true that his head was complicated.

Iona’s identity.

Talcheck’s intentions.

Tio with the returnees.

The core of the sword.

The sun has already passed the horizon and it is a dark night.

Just as he was about to turn off the magic lights and lie down on the bed.

He heard the sound of the door opening.

“… …”

Is it Sasha again? Or maybe Ruti?

When he raised his body to quietly bring her into the bed.

Rubella was standing there with an expression as if it was not her intention.

What she was wearing was a black outfit that was tight all over her body.

Cleon could barely tell that it was something she wore under the maid’s frilly skirt or coat.

With her brow slightly furrowed, she covered her body, where the outlines of her chest and private parts were plainly revealed.

She stood in front of Cleon.

“…Laila Flameworth sent me.”

“Laila?”

She suppressed her shame and explained the reason and purpose for her trying to mix her body with Cleon.

Cleon listened to it all and held his head in his hands and pondered for a while.

“I… don’t mind. But are you alright?”

“… …Since that’s the only way. There’s nothing I can do, is there.”

She said that and leaned the Barisada she was carrying on her back against the wall of the room and went up on the bed.

“Ugh…”

Her face was flushed red and she looked down at Cleon as if she was sweating.

“Come on. Start. Cleon.”

She was giving her body to Cleon.