We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
A Pious Person
“Well now, what should I do?” I find myself troubled.
I have to find the best among the many famous swords and magic swords forged by the renowned blacksmith Grivast.
If I fail or refuse, Priscilla-chan will awaken as the Demon King!
This is a trial with great responsibility!
I seriously look at the weapons stored in many boxes.
Looking at the collection, it seems like anything that could be a weapon was made without discrimination.
Swords, spears, axes, arrowheads. There were also blades that couldn’t be called weapons, and though few in number, armor and daily necessities were also stored.
“Is it because they also made ordinary tools like this that they are called blacksmiths and not weaponsmiths?”
“That’s right. Their daily necessities are also circulated in the market as high-quality goods, albeit in small quantities.”
“Perhaps that’s how Grivast’s name became known?”
When I asked, the Demon King replied that it was not the case.
“In the early days, a small amount of the items forged by this person were released to the world. He was originally the top disciple of the master craftsman Bielmer. His evaluation soared with the arms and armor that were distributed and his master’s fame.”
“Then why are these weapons and the like kept in secret in the Great Shrine instead of being distributed in the market?”
Why, I wonder?
There must be a reason why Grivast’s weapons are stored within the Great Shrine.
I stare intently at the stored weapons.
They are all beautifully forged, so much so that they could be displayed as works of art even before considering their performance.
“Hmm. May I touch them? As long as it’s not an item with a magic-infused jewel, it should be alright for me to touch, right?”
“Fufufu. Elnea-kun?”
Then, Charlotte shook her head.
“Since Elnea-kun is already the owner of the highest-ranking magic sword, the Soul Spirit Seat, you won’t be affected by touching lower-ranking magic swords or cursed items?”
“Really!?”
“Foolish one. You are already as good as cursed by the Soul Spirit Seat. Having absorbed the highest curse, you should not succumb to lesser curses?”
“Then, from now on, I can withstand cursed magic too!”
“No, that’s unlikely. Your heart is fragile. Even if you can deflect the curse of the arms and armor, you probably won’t be able to withstand direct mental erosion by magic.”
“Gunu… As expected, I need to train my mind.”
Still, it’s a good thing I’ve become immune to being cursed by touching magic swords.
I immediately touch a magic sword that was within reach.
Only Ruilala, the sword fanatic, can read a weapon’s performance just by looking at it.
I wouldn’t even know good from bad without picking it up and touching it to examine it carefully. Or rather, I’ve never experienced this kind of appraisal, so I don’t even know what is high quality and what is inferior?
Still, I have to overcome this trial.
“This sword… It seems to cut well? The magic power contained in the jewel… the color is beautiful, but not much magic power is contained?”
“Does that mean the quality is low?”
Asked by Ruiseine, I tilt my head slightly.
“I wonder? Even if high concentrations of magic are contained, it’s meaningless if the main weapon is dull. Besides, the performance changes depending on what attribute of magic is contained in the jewel, right? I wonder if I need to judge the quality of the main body and the jewel, and whether the attribute of the jewel matches them?”
This is too difficult!
I might have a general idea of a weapon’s quality from past experience. It’s not for nothing that I’ve swung the highest quality Kagura’s White Sword and the Spirit Tree Wooden Sword?
However, it is difficult for me, who is not a demon, to discern the amount of magic power and its attributes.
Perhaps because I handled the Demon King’s jewel embedded in the guard of Kagura’s White Sword, I can feel the flow of magic. But can I discern the attributes and subtle differences?
“Ha! Ruiseine, you can see everything, can’t you?”
That’s right. Ruiseine’s Dragon Eye has now evolved into a Magic Eye that can see all power and its flow!
I thought that with Ruiseine’s Magic Eye, we could overcome this difficult trial.
“Considering that, I have imposed this trial only on you. Cheating is not allowed.”
“Th-That…”
The Demon King saw through me from the start!
Ruiseine also said, “I’m sorry. Elnea-kun, please do your best?” and looked down apologetically, distancing herself from me without giving any clues.
If that’s the case, I have no choice but to overcome the trial on my own!
I put back the magic sword I picked up first and pick up an ordinary sword without a jewel.
“Huh? Is it my imagination? Do ordinary weapons feel of better quality than magic swords…?”
The feeling when I held it. The sharpness transmitted to my fingertips when I touched the blade. The beauty of the sharpening. Everything feels higher quality than the magic sword I first picked up.
“The feeling when holding it might be a matter of personal preference… Could it be that these weapons were made later than the magic swords, and Grivast’s skill had improved?”
I can imagine various things.
So, to confirm whether it’s just a misunderstanding or if there’s a clear difference, I pick up various weapons.
And then, I realize.
“As expected, all the weapons stored here are strange, aren’t they? I haven’t appraised them all yet, but still, many of the weapons with jewels have somewhat mediocre main bodies, right? In contrast, the weapons without jewels feel like they are of amazing quality?”
This is, of course, speaking from the perspective of comparing weapons by the same blacksmith at once.
The weapons laid out before me are all of the highest quality. For demons, they would be magic swords and cursed weapons that they would want to obtain at all costs.
However, when I appraise them all together like this, only a sense of incongruity comes across.
The weapons without jewels are better made than those with embedded jewels.
“Also… About half of them are completed as weapons, aren’t they? The rest are just the blade part, or the hilt with the jewel embedded? Why are there so many unfinished weapons?”
Some swords have blades and hilts but no guards, and the grip part lacks carvings or winding to make it easy to hold.
Spears and axes are just blades without long handles.
There are also some that are just carefully forged guards with jewels embedded.
What on earth was Grivast thinking when he left behind such half-finished weapons?
Did his life end while he was making them?
Or did he, as a craftsman, not want to finish poorly made items?
Even so, there are completed weapons without jewels, which is strange, isn’t it?
I ponder, puzzled.
Around me, everyone else was also looking at Grivast’s legacy with serious expressions.
For a moment, I thought, “Maybe I can reach the answer by following Ruiseine’s gaze!” But Charlotte, who read my thoughts, deliberately stepped between me and Ruiseine, blocking my view.
This made everyone laugh.
“Elnea, face it seriously.”
“Mistral, I’m always serious? But I can’t seem to reach an answer.”
This is a very, very difficult task.
It’s not about just charging forward into the future with all my might, nor is it something that my past experience can help with.
What can I do to overcome the Demon King’s trial?
The Demon King wouldn’t impose a meaningless trial like finding the answer by guesswork.
Surely there must be a meaning to this trial.
So, what is that meaning?
If I can understand that, will the answer naturally emerge?
Hmm, I ponder.
At times like this, I need to be flexible in my thinking.
I need to broaden my thoughts instead of being fixated on what’s in front of me!
“…Speaking of which.”
As I let my gaze wander while thinking “this way and that way,” the Puppet King caught my eye.
The Puppet King, who was observing us with amusement and gazing at Grivast’s weapons.
“It just occurred to me. Young Lady Elin showed us a mysterious puppet show, and then we came here for sightseeing, right? Moreover, Young Lady Elin was the one who designated the sightseeing spot. And for some reason, there were mysterious secret treasures in the Great Shrine, which were a large number of weapons left by a renowned blacksmith… Hey, could this possibly be?”
I had an idea!
And I looked at everyone. However, everyone except me was laughing with expressions that said, “You’re only realizing this now?”
“N-No way… You all realized it a long time ago!? That the protagonist of the puppet show Young Lady Elin showed us was actually Grivast, and these are the weapons he never parted with throughout his life?”
Th-That’s impossible…
How dense am I?
I never thought that the Puppet King’s puppet show was connected to the current situation.
“So, you’re saying? Young Lady Elin said in the puppet show that all of Grivast’s weapons were gone, but she knew they were stored here, right? That’s why she guided us here?”
“Fufu. Fufufufu.”
“You’re just laughing it off!”
But I guess it’s not wrong.
“Then, the Demon King and Charlotte knew about Young Lady Elin’s intentions and showed us the secret treasures? Why?”
Various questions arise.
Why did the Puppet King take actions that seemed to guide us? Knowing that, why did the Demon King and Charlotte show the secret treasures not only to us but also to the Puppet King?
If the Puppet King guided us here, it’s probably because he has some wicked plan!
Yet, the Demon King is tolerating it?
Why is that!?
“Those things are unnecessary worries for you at the moment. You must first overcome my trial. Otherwise, I will really take Priscilla away?”
“Hieee.”
The Puppet King’s ulterior motive, somehow continuing from the puppet show. The Demon King and Charlotte’s intentions, knowing it but tolerating it. But this is not the time to pursue that.
I face the secret treasures anew.
“The protagonist of the puppet show was Grivast. In other words, he said, ‘You are not qualified to wield my sword,’ and rejected all the requests from the demons, right? Qualifications… What could ‘qualifications’ mean?”
Perhaps the puppet show itself was the biggest clue.
The words Grivast spoke.
Something related to qualifications might be the key to this trial?
Hmmmm. What could it be?
I look at the weapons.
Various famous swords and magic swords.
If I compare them, I can vaguely discern slight differences. But the differences are all very slight, and it is extremely difficult to determine clear superiority from them and find the masterpiece.
And it doesn’t seem like “qualifications” have anything to do with whether a weapon is good or bad.
“Qualifications, qualifications, qualifications…”
Oh, I notice that my thoughts have become rigid.
I momentarily shift my focus away from qualifications. At the same time, I will ignore whether the weapons are good or bad, whether they have jewels or not, and whether they are finished or unfinished.
And so, I look at the collection again.
Without picking any of them up, I continue to gaze at all of them.
“…Ah!”
Once I cleared my mind of everything and gazed at Grivast’s遗作 with a blank slate, one thing came to mind.
A collection of beautiful famous swords and magic swords, like works of art.
The jewels and blades, all of them have pale yellow or green colors.
And I thought:
This pale hue, depending on the viewing angle, looks like the color of a full moon, doesn’t it?
Weapons of full moon color, carefully treasured in the Great Shrine.
The moon symbolizes the goddess of creation. In other words, the full moon color is the goddess’s color.
Therefore, if beautiful famous swords and magic swords, deliberately unified in full moon color, are housed in the Great Shrine…!
“The qualifications that Grivast kept mentioning… N-No way!”
I swallowed and voiced the certainty I had gained.
“Grivast was a demon, yet he was a devout believer of the Temple Religion! That’s why his ‘qualifications’ meant that the wielder of this weapon must also be a devout believer!”
If I think about it that way, it all fits.
The Temple Religion is originally a religion believed by humans. But looking around the world, there are demon believers and divine Miko and Shinkan, aren’t there?
Grivast, though a demon, was a devout believer. Therefore, he wanted his weapons, which he forged with all his soul, to be wielded by fellow believers.
However, few non-humans worship the goddess. That’s why everyone was told “no qualifications” and couldn’t receive weapons.
And so, I pick up a weapon without an embedded jewel.
“Humans are cursed if they touch weapons infused with magic. But Grivast, as a devout believer, wanted Miko and Shinkan to use his weapons. That’s why he forged the weapons without jewels more carefully with humans in mind, isn’t it?”
When I think about it that way and look at the weapons again, I notice many blades for naginata.
“Then… The best weapon left by Grivast is…”
I stare intently at the secret treasures.
And then, my eyes stop at a certain weapon.
Depending on the viewing angle, it has a beautiful color that appears pale yellow, green, or even full moon color. The greatly curved blade shows several beautiful wave-like patterns.
A large jewel is embedded in the guard, also shining with a full moon color.
The long handle is deep green. Small full moon-colored jewels are also embedded in the butt of the handle.
“Isn’t Grivast’s masterpiece this magic-infused naginata?”
Saying so, I pick up a beautiful naginata.
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