Chapter 86: The Holy Sword and the Oath (2)
Chapter 86: The Holy Sword and the Oath (2)
Chapter 86: The Holy Sword and the Oath (2)
Miss Rubia had been acting strange.
Well, to be fair, her odd behavior wasn’t exactly new. It was more of a constant in her life.
But lately, it felt like her strangeness had intensified.
Sitting on my bed, I replayed the events from a few hours ago in my mind.
“D-do you know? Actually, I’ve always admired the God of Light...”
It was the day after the incident with Sian. Miss Rubia had timidly approached me and blurted out those words, completely out of the blue.
She launched into a sudden, unprompted monologue about her supposed faith in the God of Light, clearly trying to convince me of her devotion.
Caught off guard by her unexpected topic, I hesitated before responding. Maybe she was under some kind of misconception because of my wings? Did she think I had some divine connection to the God of Light?
“I think you’re misunderstanding something. I have absolutely no relationship with the God of Light,” I said, trying to clear the air.“I’m neither an apostle of the God of Light nor the god himself. We’re completely unrelated.”
I made it clear that whatever she believed, it wasn’t true.
“Of course, what you choose to believe in is entirely up to you,” I added, respecting her freedom of religion. Maybe she was simply here for an innocent chat about faith.
But as soon as I finished speaking, Miss Rubia’s reaction completely blindsided me.
“I-I’m sorry! I don’t actually believe in the God of Light!” she cried out, tears welling up in her eyes.
“I just said it because I thought… maybe it’d mean something. The truth is, you’re the only one I believe in!”
And then she burst into tears.
Bewildered, I stood up to check on her, but she clung to my ankle with a desperate grip, sobbing uncontrollably and begging me not to leave her.
She must have misunderstood, thinking I was planning to abandon her.
“I-I’m sorry for everything! Please, don’t throw me away!”
It was a bizarre and overwhelming scene—an adult woman throwing herself to the floor, pleading like a child.
In the end, I had no choice but to calm her down.
“I’m not going to abandon you,” I said, trying to reassure her with whatever comforting words I could muster.
In my flustered state, I might have gone a bit overboard, saying things like, “You’re the most important person to me.” But given the situation, I didn’t have much of a choice.
Eventually, I managed to soothe her and send her back to her room.
This chapter upload first at NovelUsb.Com
Now, sitting alone on my bed, I couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on as I recalled the ordeal.
Miss Rubia’s antics weren’t unusual, but this time it felt like she’d crossed a line.
“She’s been pushing herself too hard lately.”
The thought crept into my mind naturally.
I wasn’t a businessperson, so I couldn’t fully grasp the struggles of running a business. But I knew enough to understand that managing even a single shop was incredibly tough, let alone overseeing multiple enterprises like Miss Rubia did.
And she wasn’t just running them—she was doing so while hiding her true identity.
The exhaustion she must have felt was unimaginable.
Even though she insisted she was fine, it was clear she was carrying an enormous burden. No matter how powerful she was, she was still human. Fatigue was inevitable.
Her strange behavior might very well be a sign of overwork.
Thinking that, a mix of guilt and gratitude welled up in me.
“I need to take better care of her.”
If Miss Rubia ever found herself in danger, I wouldn’t hesitate to help her, no matter the risk.
Of course, avoiding such danger in the first place would be ideal. But for now, I resolved to support her in any way I could—whether that meant lending an ear when she needed to vent or stepping in to resolve any troubling issues for her.
With that, I turned my thoughts back to the current situation.
“Sian Ludbes’s death...”
And the Holy Church.
Major events had been unfolding one after another, shifting the tides of power.
The Holy Church, which had maintained its influence for centuries, was crumbling. New factions were rising, titans of the empire’s economy were falling, and winds of change were sweeping through the empire.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say the entire empire was in flux.
“We need to stay vigilant.”
Although most of these events had worked in our favor so far, we couldn’t let our guard down. The empire might be chasing shadows now, wasting time, but it was far from powerless.
With three swordmasters and countless hidden weapons at their disposal, the empire remained a formidable force.
They might have stumbled repeatedly, but they weren’t to be underestimated.
One misstep, and we could find ourselves branded as traitors and hunted down like prey.
Which is why we needed strength—not just to survive the currents of change but to shape them ourselves.
“The forces we’ve gathered so far are impressive, but it’s not enough.”
Power was always in short supply.
The final boss of the last saga was the Demon King of Domination, a being who absorbed the strength of beasts to wield the power of two.
If the final boss of this new saga is anything like that... they’ll be even stronger.
It’s just a hunch, but I’m certain of one thing: they won’t be weaker than what we’ve faced before.
So, it was best to brace myself for an opponent far stronger than the one in the previous saga.
“In any case, I need to prepare thoroughly.”
Whether to prevent future destruction or to build the strength to withstand the sway of other forces, reinforcing our power was essential.
And I already had an idea of how to achieve that.
“The Holy Sword.”
For some reason I couldn’t quite grasp, I—a nonbeliever—had gained both stigmata and an immense reservoir of divine power.
Normally, divine power and stigmata were specialized for healing and exorcism, and they weren’t particularly effective in enhancing offensive capabilities. But with the Holy Sword, things were different.
With this divine power, I could unleash the Holy Sword’s full potential.
Perhaps, even in its broken state, the Holy Sword could surpass the might of the complete sword once wielded by the protagonist.
“The restoration is about halfway complete, they said.”
The blacksmith had attempted to restore the Holy Sword using leftover artifacts and had reported partial success.
Though greedy for money, his skills were undeniably exceptional.
I’d left the sword with him, thinking it was only a matter of time before it was fully restored.
“It’s probably better to retrieve it now, though.”
There were experiments I wanted to conduct, and more importantly, the Holy Sword could serve as a crucial asset in emergencies.
Admittedly, the likelihood of a Swordmaster barging into this place unannounced was slim, but it wasn’t zero.
“Besides, I can handle the restoration myself if necessary.”
Though I’d entrusted the task to the blacksmith due to other pressing matters, I was more familiar with the theoretical aspects of the game’s system.
I could even hire a few people, set up my own forge, and handle the repairs myself.
Or, if it came to it, I could simply overwhelm the blacksmith with my resources and bring him under my wing.
The Holy Sword had grown too important to leave unattended. The investment would be worth it.
Regardless of the specific approach, my next step was clear.
“It seems my destination is set.”
The blacksmith’s district.
I moved quickly.
Of course, that didn’t mean I was literally walking there. The village of the dwarves, where the blacksmith’s district was located, was over a month’s journey on foot.
“Flying would get me there in three days, but...”
Unless I wanted to paint a target on my back for the empire, advertising my presence wasn’t a good idea.
Fortunately, I could adjust the size of my wings enough to conceal them under clothing. I decided to take the train instead.
Knock, knock.
I knocked on Miss Rubia’s door, intending to inform her of my plans.
But no response came, no matter how long I waited.
Curious, I opened the door and stepped inside, only to find Miss Rubia fast asleep, drooling slightly.
She must have dozed off while reading a book.
[How to Overcome Fear]
[Ancient Monsters, Demons, and Gods]
[Terrifying Beings from Beyond the World]
I couldn’t fathom why she’d been reading such books.
[Adult Diapers: Aging Isn’t Something to Be Ashamed Of!]
There weren’t any elderly people in this mansion, so I had no idea why that pamphlet was on her desk either.
But seeing her sleep so soundly, I decided not to disturb her and quietly closed the door.
Taking the train required a noble’s company, but fortunately, there was another noble in this house.
I headed to her room.
“You’re here,” she greeted, her tone calm.
Her blue ponytail swayed slightly as she spoke.
Lucy Valierre.
It seemed I’d be traveling with her on this journey.
[ Join Patreon to support the translation and to read up to 5 chapters ahead of the release of "I Accidentally Created a Villainous Organization" and 4 chapters ahead of the release of "I Became a Childhood Friend With the Villainous /Jade43 ]