We live in the foothills of Dragon Peak.
The Fake Holy Sword Incident
“Here, drink up. Don’t hold back,” Sleigsta said.
“No, um…”
“As a Miko, I can’t drink alcohol!”
“Wow, really? I’ve never heard that before.”
“Elnea-kun, please don’t bring that up.”
“Being a Miko has nothing to do with me. Come on, drink.”
“I… I’m in trouble.”
This is a place that serves rather expensive drinks.
After leaving the back alley, Sestarinis and I were looking for a place where we could eat, drink, and relax.
However, there were too many guards milling about, and we couldn’t take our time choosing a place.
So, based on Sestarinis’s rough idea that a well-built establishment would be safe no matter what came out, we entered a place that seemed convenient.
But isn’t this place too luxurious?!
Sestarinis chose a place that looked incredibly luxurious, decorated with ornate furnishings, and with two well-dressed men standing at the entrance, it seemed to be a place that turned away commoners.
So, how were we able to get into such a place?
It was thanks to Kiiri and Inea.
With two Miko present, the staff couldn’t refuse us and let us in.
Terrifying. The dignity of a Miko.
Having been allowed into the restaurant, we were led by a beautiful woman to a private room.
Then, Sestarinis casually ordered drinks and food, and here we are.
I’ve never heard that clergy are forbidden to drink alcohol, but I think Sestarinis is just using it as an excuse to decline the invitation.
It’s quite wicked of me to call them out on it, knowing that.
“Fine. Then order any drink you like, other than alcohol.”
He said this and summoned the woman waiting at the entrance of the private room.
“Excuse me, but our purpose here isn’t to eat and drink, is it?”
Kiiri looked troubled.
“Oh, come on. It’s fine. They’re treating us, so let’s order something we’ve never tried before!”
Unlike Kiiri, who was modest and always tried to act like a Miko, Inea was behaving quite freely.
“Oh, don’t be shy. I have plenty of money.”
That’s a statement I envy. I wish I could say that just once.
Overwhelmed by Sestarinis’s momentum, Kiiri and I reluctantly placed our orders.
Then, dish after dish was brought in.
Um, I thought we had already eaten quite a bit earlier.
Sestarinis savored the incoming dishes. I, too, swallowed and reached for the luxurious food, but I couldn’t eat that much.
Nimia also escaped from my pocket, pretended to be a kitten, and shamelessly joined in.
Kiiri ate politely, while Inea ate as if competing with Sestarinis.
“You’re eating very well, Young Lady.”
“You have to eat a lot to grow big!”
Inea said, patting her chest.
Hey, hey. Miko-sama, you shouldn’t make such indecent gestures. Like Kiiri and Ruiseine, I can’t help but point it out.
When most of the food had been cleared and we had taken a breather, Sestarinis finally turned serious and looked at Kiiri and Inea.
Sensing the change in atmosphere, the woman who had been attending to various matters at the entrance of the private room withdrew.
As expected of a high-class establishment. To observe the customers and act appropriately and quickly.
“That’s right. Let’s start with introductions.”
After the woman left and the presence completely vanished, Sestarinis continued.
“Then, we’ll introduce ourselves first.”
Kiiri stood up specifically and introduced herself politely.
“I am Kiiri Seifa, an upper-rank Miko who accompanies Hero Lisuter.”
“I am also Inea Calusneor, a Miko adventuring with Lisuter!”
Prompted by Kiiri, Inea also stood up and introduced herself with a smile.
“Also, Elnea-kun and I were schoolmates.”
Kiiri said this and smiled at me.
“Hoh. So you already knew each other.”
Sestarinis grinned meaningfully, and I placed a word of caution.
“As they both said, Kiiri and Inea are Hero Lisuter’s wives.”
“No, we didn’t say that!”
“Oh dear. That’s embarrassing!”
The two Miko blushed bright red.
Ah, I remember something they said the very first time. Sestarinis laughed heartily and downed his sake.
Kiiri, being thoughtful, poured him the next drink.
“Well then, it’s my turn next, isn’t it?”
“No, we already know about Elnea-kun.”
“We don’t need to introduce ourselves to you!”
“Guh.”
That was exactly right.
I lowered my head, blushing for reasons different from the two Miko.
“Then, it’s my turn.”
After quickly drinking the sake Kiiri poured for him, Sestarinis dutifully stood up.
Inea gasped in awe at the imposing presence of his towering physique.
“I am Sestarinis, the Dragon King of the Dragonkin, who inherited the Black Dragon’s Dragon Jewel. If you have any trouble in Dragon Peak, come to me first. I’ll introduce you to the right person.”
“Huh? You won’t help me yourself? You’re just passing it on!”
“Don’t be ridiculous. You should praise him for having connections to introduce people.”
“No, no, no. As the Dragon King, you should earnestly listen to people’s troubles.”
“Hmph. If you think the Dragon King can do everything, you’re mistaken, young Eight Great Dragon Kings.”
“Uwah! You weren’t supposed to tell them that, Kiiri!”
Noticing Kiiri and Inea staring at me and Sestarinis’s exchange in bewilderment, I froze.
“Dragon Jewel? Dragon King?”
“What are Dragonkin and the Eight Great Dragon Kings?”
Guh, I messed up!
Approached by Kiiri and Inea, I faltered.
“What? Was it a secret? You should have said so first.”
Sestarinis, oblivious to my distress, poured himself another drink and drank it.
“Elnea-kun. Let’s have a serious talk for a moment.”
Kiiri forcibly pulled me to a corner of the private room and made me sit in seiza.
“Now, confess your sins right here.”
Grumph, why sins? Do my secrets have to be confessed to the Miko?
I wondered about that, but it was too late to hide anything now.
Besides, I felt that it might go better if I revealed my secrets, considering how the conversation was likely to proceed.
“Um, well then.”
And so, first, I explained about the Dragon King and the Dragon Jewel.
“I see. So that’s why you were interested in Cerise-sama.”
“But Cerise-sama didn’t realize your true identity.”
“I kept it hidden, you see…”
The reason I hid it was to keep the Dragon Forest and Old Man Sleigsta a secret. But now that I had a connection to Dragon Peak, I could talk about myself without mentioning the Dragon Forest.
Of course, I’d be in trouble if they asked where I got the Dragon Jewel or when I became one of the Eight Great Dragon Kings, but that’s not the point of the current discussion.
After finishing the explanation of the terms, I then recounted the events at Dragon Peak.
I told them that I had reached my destination safely and that we had been attacked by demons on the west side of Dragon Peak. I also mentioned encountering the demon sword user in black armor, as I had just described, and that I had descended from Dragon Peak with Ruiseine for some business.
“Ruiseine was there too?”
“Or rather, I’m surprised Ruiseine even went to Dragon Peak!”
That’s right! Ruiseine was supposed to be traveling with a highly skilled female adventurer.
“Then, the woman who came to pick you up at the temple on the day of your departure… was she, by any chance?”
“Hahaha. She’s a dragonkin too.”
Kiiri gave me a piercing look at my dry chuckle.
“We won’t pry into why you lied to us, but Ruiseine knew everything about you, didn’t she?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Then we’ll forgive you this time!”
Somehow, I managed to appease the two Miko and breathed a sigh of relief.
“We understand about Elnea-kun and the incident at Dragon Peak. It seems to be connected to the case we are investigating.”
“Yes, I feel so too.”
The disappearance of dragonkin at Dragon Peak and the demon attack. The demons and demon sword users who appeared at the ruins near the capital about a year ago. And today’s incident. If I may add, the incident we encountered during our first errand.
I felt as if someone was lurking in the shadows, trying to create a major disturbance involving Dragon Peak, the human kingdom, and the demon race.
Sestarinis also probably realized that some incident had occurred in the human kingdom during the recent attack, and that it was connected to Dragon Peak, which is why he invited Kiiri and Inea here.
I, Kiiri, and Inea returned to our seats.
Then, Kiiri, or rather, the Hero’s party, explained the case they were investigating.
“The first incident occurred last fall.”
The first incident Kiiri mentioned was the fake hero incident that Ruiseine and I encountered during our errand.
Lisuter and the others were reportedly surprised by the demon who had transformed to look exactly like the Hero, and the magic sword that was indistinguishable from the Holy Sword.
However, Kiiri and Inea didn’t seem to know that Ruiseine and I were involved in that case.
It all started with the fake hero incident.
The transformed demon they captured apparently cooperated by telling them what it knew in exchange for its safety.
The transformed demon, captured by slave traders on the outskirts of the demon country, crossed Dragon Peak with the help of the dragonkin and committed the incident in the Armēdo Kingdom.
However, at that time, the demons who crossed Dragon Peak were not alone.
The transformed demon said that at least five demons crossed Dragon Peak at that time.
Upon hearing the demon’s story, the officials within the Armēdo Kingdom panicked.
They then ordered the Hero to pursue the demons who had entered the country and sought confirmation from the dragonkin.
Since humans couldn’t enter Dragon Peak, they apparently interrogated the dragonkin who arrived with the last caravan before winter.
As it turned out, the dragonkin somehow knew about the incident and were already investigating their own traitors.
Although there were several questions, such as why they knew the outline of the incident, humans couldn’t directly confront the dragonkin.
They apparently backed down at the time, believing the dragonkin’s words.
The dragonkin knew about the incident because I had reported it to Mistral.
While silently listening to Kiiri’s explanation, I connected the timeline in my mind.
“However, this is where the real incident began.”
Kiiri continued speaking with a solemn expression.
After the fake hero incident, fake dragonkin incidents and demon sword users began to occur not only in the Armēdo Kingdom but also in the Yorttenitos Kingdom.
And then, finally, this year.
“The situation has developed into the worst possible scenario. Among the demon sword users, magic swords that resembled the Holy Sword, just like the transformed demons, have begun to circulate.”
I gasped.
Indeed, all the adventurers rampaging on the main street were wielding magic swords that looked exactly like Holy Swords.
“But if anything other than the Hero’s is a fake magic sword, wouldn’t a fool who knows they’ll be cursed avoid taking it?”
“Yes. Certainly, no one would willingly take a magic sword they know is cursed.”
“But you see…”
In response to Sestarinis’s question, Kiiri and Inea exchanged glances, their faces contorted in distress.
“Very rarely, there are swords that are not cursed, like the one the man in black armor was holding earlier.”
“What!?”
“It’s what you call a ‘jackpot.’ Because there’s a rare ‘jackpot’ mixed in, foolish adventurers end up taking them out of desire for powerful weapons!”
What a terrible situation.
Not only are magic swords that look exactly like Holy Swords bad enough, but there are also “jackpots” among them, and those who draw the jackpot can gain the same power as a real Holy Sword.
It’s no wonder that there would be reckless adventurers who would take the bait.
Learning about the case Lisuter and the others were facing, I wasSpeechless.
