My Husband Was Clearly a Paladin
Chapter 55
“You must never let go. This is a live blade, so it is extremely dangerous.”
His voice drifted down from right above her head.
That alone was enough to make her heart race with nervous tension.
Because he had reached out from behind to grasp her hands, it looked as if she were being held in his arms as they lifted the sword together.
She couldn’t exactly scramble away, either. If she did something like that and actually dropped the sword, she would surely be injured.
Furthermore, this was his sword.
To a knight, a sword was as precious as their own life. She couldn't allow such a thing to hit the ground.
“Not there. Here, grip this part firmly.”
“Here?”
“Just one finger’s width higher from there.”
Even with him supporting her, Irene gripped the hilt as instructed, her entire body stiff with tension.
While the blades and edges of other knights’ swords were similar, most of their hilts were quite ornate.
However, as if to prove it was Michael’s, his sword consisted of sturdy wood wrapped in simple cloth.
There wasn't a single decoration; it was a design focused solely on practicality.
The moment she grabbed the hilt, Irene could feel the uneven shape of the wood beneath the cloth.
‘Just how long has he been using this sword?’
How long must one carry a weapon for the handle to wear down until the wood itself is pitted?
“Is this the ancient sword that was being kept at the Temple?”
In her past life, even in an era without Dungeons, objects that had slipped through dimensions were discovered here and there.
Items found in the most unexpected places, as if only the reward chests—not the Dungeons—had fallen into this world.
The sword kept by the Temple had been found inside the trunk of a tree that had clearly lived for thousands of years in a deep forest.
Woodcutters, noticing a portion of the sword embedded in the wood and realizing it was no ordinary blade, spent a month felling the massive tree to extract it.
As they suspected, it was no ordinary sword.
It possessed the supernatural ability to cut through anything it touched.
Because of that, all but one of the woodcutters fighting over the distribution of the sword were sliced to pieces and died.
Realizing the sword's eerie power, the survivor hid it in his house, but his son played with it and ended up slaughtering the woodcutter, his wife, and all his other siblings.
The sword was instantly branded as an ill-omened object and eventually, through various hands, became the property of the Temple.
Afterward, it became the sword of the Commander among successive Holy Knights.
Of course, they didn't use the sword all the time. Since it sliced through anything it touched with terrifying sharpness, it was far too dangerous to use except when facing monsters.
Ultimately, because it was so difficult to handle, it was practically sealed away within the Temple again—until Michael accepted it and headed for the Dungeons.
Naturally, from then on, the sword became an object of praise alongside Michael.
A sword simply called the Sword of the Temple, without any other specific name.
The sword played a significant role in Michael earning the alias ‘Sword of God.’
Even though it was clearly an artifact, it seemed to like its role in this world, as it allowed only a devout Holy Knight the honor of wielding it.
‘Wait, but I’m holding it right now?’
It was said that the sword would emit an eerie sound if grasped by someone it did not permit.
However, the sword in her hands remained silent.
“Ah, it’s not that sword.”
“Pardon? Why aren’t you using that sword?”
Even if it was dangerous, someone of Michael’s caliber should have been able to handle it without issue.
“Well. At some point, that sword began to dislike me.”
That couldn't be. If it disliked the man called the Sword of God, then who on earth could possibly wield it?
Michael, who had answered with a smile, soon took on a stern expression and spoke.
“Please focus on the sword again. I am going to let go now.”
At those words, Irene tensed and tightened her grip on the hilt even more. Then, finally, he released the hand that had been supporting her.
In that instant, despite being prepared, her body lurched forward.
The sword was much heavier than Irene had imagined.
“Ugh…!”
She used all her strength to try and hold it steady, but her arms trembled pathetically.
“Michael! Michael!”
Finally, in her desperation, she called out to him urgently.
As if understanding her plight, Michael grasped her hands again and lifted the sword with her.
Just a moment ago, she had felt a weight that threatened to pull her over. But with him supporting it, the weight of the sword vanished as if by magic.
‘Just how strong is he?’
He didn't even seem to be exerting much effort, yet he held this heavy sword as lightly as if it were a paper bat.
She thought this was a bit much even for a knight, but when her gaze fell upon his arms, Irene found herself accepting his strength.
Unlike her own thin arms which lacked any muscle, his arms, with veins standing out, looked so primal that one might wonder if they belonged to a wild beast rather than a human.
“Focus.”
“Yes!”
He was uncannily good at noticing whenever her mind wandered. Under his guidance, Irene gripped and released the sword several more times.
And she realized.
The limit of what she could carry was a dagger.
“Good… work… today….”
Two hours later, Irene bid him a strained farewell while massaging her screaming body.
Usually, muscle pain comes the next day after sleeping.
Yet even before she had left the Temple, she could feel stiffness creeping into every part of her body.
‘Will I be able to come back here alive tomorrow?’
Even if she were alive, she felt like she would have to crawl here on all fours.
“I will escort you to your quarters.”
At any other time, she would have declined his offer, saying she was fine, but today she grabbed his hand immediately.
If she didn't, she felt certain she would end up crawling halfway there.
\* \* \*
One week later.
“Good. All set.”
Irene stood before the mirror and looked at herself.
She was fully dressed in the combat gear worn by purifiers.
Of course, even if it was combat gear, it wasn't as grand as a knight’s armor. For purifiers, mobility was the most important factor.
However, it still needed enough durability to withstand at least one or two attacks from a monster.
Naturally, such things were expensive.
And what Irene was wearing now was combat gear that wouldn't be an exaggeration to call the best among all the purifiers in this Fortress.
It was said to be made from monster hide that craftsmen had refined over the course of a year.
Perhaps because it came from the same source, it was lighter than any animal leather, yet it was uniquely resistant to being scarred by monster attacks.
Naturally, this was also one of the gifts from the Kingdom.
Just as Irene was contemplating whether she should pack this and sell it when she left later—
“Irene! Are you ready?”
Reina burst through the door and stepped inside.
She was just as fully prepared as Irene was.
“This! It’s the new information the Archive issued this morning. Our assignments are all written down.”
“Thanks.”
Irene took the paper and read the contents immediately.
Just as she remembered, another distortion had been observed the day before yesterday, and the Dungeon had revealed itself last night.
While other Dungeons only showed their entrances, the Distorted Dungeon revealed its entire form across the predicted range.
The moment it appeared, even though it was the middle of the night, the black writhing mass covering the mountain was clearly visible.
Simultaneously, screams echoed from the people within the Fortress.
It looked as if a giant, black living creature was sprawling across the mountainside and squirming.
Even those accustomed to most sights let out gasps like moans.
Since Irene, who had already seen it in her past life, trembled the moment she saw it again, how terrified must those have been who saw it without any mental preparation?
That was why last night, Reina had wailed, saying she didn't think she could go in there.
Since she couldn't be forced to go, Irene had comforted her by saying they would apply to cancel the Raid in the morning….
“What are you doing! Let’s go, quickly! I’m going to wipe out that Distorted Dungeon!”
There was a reason why she, who had been trembling with fear just yesterday, was so full of motivation and hurrying this morning.
Irene followed Reina, who was pulling her along, downstairs.
“Oh my, I see you’re actually planning to go?”
And there stood….
“Wilhelmina….”
Her old rival from the past, whom she had forgotten for a while, was watching her with her arms crossed, dressed in an outfit just as expensive as Irene’s.
