We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
Like the flow of a river.
Riding the flow of the dragon veins, I dance the Dragon Sword Dance with the Spirit Current Sword.
With each graceful flourish of the blade, with each light step I take, the space around me, colored in red, yellow, green, and various other hues, ripples and blends in sync with my every movement.
The blade of the Spirit Current Sword flows as if through the colors of the atmosphere.
“That’s a beautiful sword technique. That’s why an accompaniment is necessary.”
Lady Aria unleashed her sword strikes.
While paying close attention to keeping the blade of the Spirit Current Sword from deviating from the flow of the dragon veins, I parried Lady Aria’s attacks.
But this repetition is no different than before.
If I can’t protect everyone when facing tougher opponents in the future, I’ll be a disgrace as the master of the Ys Family.
“Lady Aria, this is just the beginning!”
I flowed my blade through the gaps between the red and yellow spaces, lightly twirling the tip of my sword.
“Elnea-kun, but what about the flow of the dragon veins on your part?”
Ruiseine, who was observing the flow of the dragon veins with her Dragon Eye, widened her pupils in a flustered manner.
That’s understandable, isn’t it?
Where I pointed the blade of the Spirit Current Sword, even though colorful spaces spread out, the flow of the dragon veins did not exist.
What if I pointed the Spirit Current Sword at such a place…!
“My initial idea, ‘Why not fill the atmosphere with dragon veins!’, has become beautifully imperfect. If that’s the case!!”
The blade, deviated from the flow of the dragon veins, attacked Lady Aria once more.
However, I didn’t feel any excessive weight in my hands.
““Elnea-kun!?””
Yufilia and Nina clasped hands in surprise.
“There was such a technique!”
Sefina’s lips curved upward slightly.
“It is the guidance of the Goddess.”
Madrine offered a prayer.
Gathering everyone’s attention, I danced the Dragon Sword Dance, ignoring the flow of the dragon veins.
Yes. Freely and lightly, as if before learning the fundamentals of the Dragon Sword Dance.
A gracefully flowing blade. From light footwork to fierce slashes. Nevertheless, I didn’t forget the beauty that captivated the viewers.
For a time, I was outmatched in terms of the number of moves by Lady Aria, but now that I have regained the original “Dragon Sword Dance,” I will no longer lose in either the number of moves or the beauty of the swordplay!
“Ara ara ara, you’ve grown so much all at once?”
Lord Reed gazed at my Dragon Sword Dance with a slightly surprised expression.
“Yes! I am growing properly too, you know?”
I elegantly deflected Aria-sama’s unsparing slashes, releasing the blades of the Spirit Current Swords in both hands without being influenced by the flow of the dragon veins or the seven-colored, eight-colored boundaries.
Even so, I am not bound by the curse of the Spirit Current Sword.
Why is that, you ask?
“Why, why, why?”
In response to Ares-chan’s question as she watched my Dragon Sword Dance, I answered with great confidence.
“If there is no flow of dragon veins, why not create a flow of dragon veins!”
This was my flash of inspiration.
In this world, dragon veins flow everywhere, beneath the earth, in the atmosphere, in the sky, in rivers, and in the sea.
However, just like rivers, no matter how many tributaries you create, there will always be places without flow.
In the battle against the Mad Abyss Demon Lord, I filled the atmosphere with dragon veins to overcome that inconvenience.
It was like the seawater overflowing into the sea.
Fish can swim freely in the sea because everything around them is seawater. So, I thought that if I filled the atmosphere with dragon veins, I should also be able to freely dance the Dragon Sword Dance.
However, this grand technique had too many drawbacks and flaws.
The dragon veins spread beyond the space of the Dragon Sword Dance, or more precisely, beyond the space that the Spirit Current Sword was in contact with, were nothing but a waste.
And the power spread unnecessarily could conversely be exploited by the opponent.
In fact, Lady Aria used my grand technique to activate all the Spirits.
Lord Reed’s expression of “unaesthetic brute force” was his foresight, recognizing from the beginning that it was a grand technique full of waste and little practicality.
So, how could it be treated as a beautiful technique without waste?
There’s something I’ve always been thinking about.
The beautiful sword techniques of Lord Reed and Kensei Faruna must also be sword techniques that utilize dragon veins, just like mine. However, my sword movements are limited by the constraint of the dragon vein flow, yet Lord Reed unleashes sword strikes without any restrictions.
The reason I can’t beat Lord Reed, or can’t deliver a decisive blow to first-class swordsmen, is because I dance the Dragon Sword Dance within these constraints.
My doubt has now been resolved.
That’s right. If there is no flow of dragon veins, I just need to create a flow!
To be more precise, I just need to guide the flow of dragon veins!
We have acquired various techniques and knowledge even before learning the fundamentals of dragon veins. Among them, Sefina’s most proficient technique is to read and utilize the flow of the opponent’s power.
I have sublimated that technique.
“Even the water of a river with a fixed flow can create a new flow artificially by removing rocks and digging through gravel, right? If so, then the flow of dragon veins should also be able to create new tributaries if touched correctly.”
Dragon veins can be easily repelled or drowned if not handled carefully. But the handling of dragon veins is the most basic of basics I learned from Sleigsta (Old Man).
It’s not arrogance, but I consider myself a capable handler of dragon veins now.
Therefore, creating new tributaries while touching the flow of dragon veins should be possible for me now.
I had an inspiration and tried to put it into practice.
And it worked better than I expected.
The Spirit Current Sword swung horizontally.
There was no flow of dragon veins at the tip of the blade. However, a thin tributary of dragon veins flowed beautifully in the path the blade had taken.
“It requires dragon veins at first, but once you can create tributaries from them, you just need to place the blade of the Spirit Current Sword on that flow!”
I overwhelmed Lady Aria with the number of my moves.
With the Dragon Sword Dance, which has regained its original form, I have no reason to fall behind!
I deflected Lady Aria’s emerald green Spirit Sword.
And thus, I created a path to rescue Ruiseine.
From the tip of the Spirit Current Sword blade, swung diagonally upwards from below, a single flow, shining in a golden-green hue, was born.
“If I can guide the dragon veins tributary for the Spirit Current Sword, I should be able to create beyond that!”
“Elnea-kun, leave the rest to me!”
On the shining flow of dragon veins created by me, Sefina unleashed her full-powered strike.
“Hmph, I won’t let you!”
Wolgen-sama brandished his Flame Great Spirit Sword, attempting to cleave the shining tributary in two.
““We won’t let you!””
“Yufi and”
“Nina’s”
““Great Spirit Rampage!””
““Whoa!””
Yufilia and Nina stopped him.
They didn’t empower the Spirits, nor did they give orders or cooperate. However, the Spirits, receiving Yufilia and Nina’s desire to have fun rampaging without thinking, began to wildly rampage.
The Spirits surged towards not only Wolgen-sama, who was wielding the Flame Great Spirit Sword, but also Lady Aria, Yunyun, Rinrin, and Lord Reed, dancing and creating disturbances.
In the ensuing chaos, Sefina’s full-powered strike, carried by the shining flow of dragon veins I had created, reached the cage of flames that confined Ruiseine.
With a *boof*, the flames erupted, and the cage was blown away.
“Ruiseine!”
Madrine, who rushed over with the movement spell “Starfall,” splendidly embraced Ruiseine.
““Wow, rescue successful!””
“We did it.”
““Victory!””
“A reward later?”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
The Spirits who had cooperated with us became more boisterous and lively than ever.
“Elnea-kun, everyone, thank you.”
Then, Ruiseine, who had been rescued, joined us while offering a polite thanks befitting a Miko.
“Impressive.”
“Oh, for goodness sake, you can do it when you try!”
Yunyun and Rinrin finally returned to their normal forms from their giant appearances.
However, the Spirits would not let them off that easily.
Yunyun and Rinrin were swept away by the surging Spirits and taken deep into the Spirit Village.
“Alright, leave the cleanup at the Spirit Village to Yunyun and Rinrin!”
“Ara ara ara, Elnea-kun is a naughty boy, aren’t you?”
Turning around, I saw Lord Reed, who had been warmly watching our trials, approach me.
Lord Reed then asked Lady Aria and Wolgen-sama to attend to the Spirits of the Spirit Village, and then gently patted my head.
“You did very well. It was a truly beautiful Dragon Sword Dance.”
“It wasn’t brute force this time, was it?”
“Yes, that’s right. It’s still rough with countless areas for improvement, but it’s a passing grade for now, wouldn’t you say?”
“Countless areas for improvement!?”
Lord Reed mercilessly crushed my heart, which had felt a slight sense of satisfaction at having accomplished this.
“Lord Reed, perhaps it would be better to just praise him at times like these?”
Luiseine, who had been rescued, advised with a bitter smile, and Lord Reed stuck out his tongue and gave a wry smile.
“My praise is clumsy.”
“She’s naturally airheaded.”
“Well, well,” Yufilia and Nina shrugged.
“So, after rescuing Ruiseine, the last one would be Laira, right?”
Madrine tilted her head curiously at Sefina’s question.
“But what kind of trial would come after this?”
It might be more accurate to say that only I was able to reach an answer through the trial at the Spirit Village.
However, everyone who saw the answer I arrived at up close should be able to reach the same place sooner or later.
Surely Lord Reed doesn’t think that everyone can acquire the same knowledge and experience through a sudden trial.
But, everyone is left with a question mark on their faces.
What further trials remain?
Why is Laira last?
Lord Reed, receiving the questioning gazes of all of us, widened his eyes a little.
“Ara, ara ara ara.”
Gulp, we waited with bated breath for the announcement of the next trial.
To us, Lord Reed said.
“That’s strange? Where did Laira-san go?”
“…Eh!?”
For a moment, we couldn’t understand what he meant and our eyes went wide.
“Laira-san is, umm, let me see? Wolgen?”
Lord Reed, bearing all of our bewildered gazes, looked at Wolgen-sama with a troubled expression.
Responding to his master’s confusion, Wolgen-sama sighed and said.
“Oh dear, you forgot again, didn’t you? Wasn’t this trial initiated by your impulsive scheme in the first place?”
“Was it?”
No, no, what could this mean!?
We tilted our heads as much as Lord Reed, who was tilting his head in confusion.
“Reed, have you completely forgotten? There’s a real mastermind who requested to have Laira kidnapped, isn’t there?”
“Ara ara ara, that’s right!”
Lord Reed clapped his hands in delight, as if he had just remembered.
Turning his smile towards us, Lord Reed revealed Laira’s whereabouts.
“Laira-san is imprisoned in the Valley of Wind. Please, everyone, rescue Laira-san, won’t you?”
“Wh-who is the real mastermind!?”
All of us imagined a terrifying mastermind in our minds.
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