Chapter 64
Yuriene thought of her expression just before she paled and stepped back. The way her eyes sparkled, flushed red, right after his confession. That fleeting moment when an unavoidable excitement spread like ink bleeding on paper.
"...Is there a possibility?"
Something answered his soliloquy. A voice, genderless and ageless, resonated within his soul. The owner of that voice was the Holy Sword Rangiosa.
[You just want to believe there is, don't you? As I've said repeatedly, your thoughts go haywire when she's involved. Don't jump to conclusions.]
"What do you think? Is it just my delusion?"
Yuriene skipped over the remains of the black giant, approaching the resident collapsed in the center, and asked. The Holy Sword was silent for a moment, then replied in a reluctant tone.
[I've never seen anything good come from meddling in human romance.]
"Romance... Is it romance?"
[I don't know what the Demon Sword's owner is thinking, but you're definitely leaning that way. So don't ask me.]
"...You've already meddled."
Yuriene retorted, his face slightly flushed. He almost lost his mind for a moment at the word "romance."
He rubbed his brow, sighed, and then checked the fallen ringleader. He was just unconscious and breathing fine.
Yuriene lifted the man and took him to where the other residents were. In the meantime, the Holy Sword protested.
[That's not meddling, that's giving advice as a Giosa to its owner. I'd rather not be unable to be used because you committed a crime. And I'm giving you a warning because you seem excited about the word romance, approaching someone who doesn't like you is unjust.]
Yuriene looked down at the hem of the petticoat covering his arm and shook his head slightly.
"She doesn't dislike me."
[...Even if she doesn't dislike you, there's a limit to how far you can approach.]
"Do you think I can't even control that much?"
He frowned. The Holy Sword snorted.
[Then tell me honestly. If you determined that woman had a chance of giving you her heart, what were you going to do?]
"If she..."
He trailed off, walking past the flames toward the completely collapsed shelter. If she wanted him.
The mere thought drove him crazy. His steps faltered, and he almost got burned. The Holy Sword clicked its tongue at the sight. Yuriene cooled his flushed cheeks with his hands and replied.
"If she wants me, I'll get her by any means."
[Any means?]
The Holy Sword asked back, sounding very uneasy. Yuriene didn't answer. The Holy Sword groaned and muttered to itself.
[Surely the Demon Sword's owner said they wouldn't sacrifice peace even if they wanted something.]
"I have no intention of ruining her peace. Everything is on me..."
Yuriene, who had been answering reflexively, stopped walking. His eyes deepened. Something occurred to him as he spoke.
A way to not give her up in his current situation. A way to not touch her life while not giving up. A way to seize control from the snares of his brothers and father.
It was a method that the old him would have found hard to imagine. Yuriene murmured like a groan.
"Yes... That's how it can be done."
He stood there, lost in thought for a while. Rangiosa muttered anxiously.
[...Tell me if you're going to abandon me. Just don't commit evil deeds.]
"Evil deeds? You lack trust in your owner."
[If it weren't for her, you'd still be an owner I wouldn't have to worry about. You're in the top tier of the owners I've had. But lately, I can't trust you.]
Instead of arguing, Yuriene smiled faintly and started walking again. He pushed aside the debris of the collapsed shelter and went inside.
The starting point was still in the same place. Like a long scratch drawn in the air.
He leaned against a tilted pillar, his eyes fixed on it. The Holy Sword spoke to him again.
[Sometimes I regret showing you those memories. I don't think you were this bad before I showed them to you.]
"Even if you hadn't shown them to me, the result would have been the same, though the speed might have been different."
[How can you be so sure?]
"Because I can't... give up. Because I still have lingering feelings even though I know. Because I keep thinking about her and can't forget her, so sooner or later, it would have ended up like this."
He lowered his eyes. Memories from when he first saw her to the present flashed by. Rangiosa said in a sighing voice.
[Ah, I get it, I get it, so please, just don't go astray.]
"I'll try not to."
[Is that something you even have to try to do? You said I lacked trust in my owner a moment ago.]
"...A little while ago, you asked if I couldn't control myself, but to be honest, I don't know."
Yuriene sensed Ekinesia's presence. Yuriene looked up.
She was approaching, avoiding the flames, holding a small girl in her arms. An old man followed behind her, terrified.
Yuriene's eyes softened as he looked at Ekinesia. He whispered softly.
"Everything has completely changed since I met her... So I don't know what will become of me, I don't know myself."
June 1, Divine Era 1629, the appearance of the Elgiosa Owner, the Saintess, was announced.
The Saintess was a 12-year-old girl from the Sol tribe, who had been staying in the village of Goth in the eastern part of the empire with her mother, a Sol tribe member and fortune teller.
Around that time, a plague broke out in the village, causing a significant number of deaths. The Saintess's mother also contracted the disease, but the villagers blamed them for bringing the plague and drove them away.
After her mother died without proper treatment, the Saintess inherited her mother's dagger, which was a talisman. That dagger was the missing Elgiosa.
As soon as the Saintess became the owner of Elgiosa, she began to heal those suffering from the plague.
However, due to the unusual nature of the healing process and the fact that she only started healing belatedly after being silent for a while, the villagers regarded the Saintess as a witch who was spreading the plague to bewitch them and tried to burn her at the stake.
Yuriene de Harden Kirie, the captain of the Azure Knights, and his Squire, Cadet Ekinesia Roaz, rescued the Saintess just before she was burned at the stake.
Afterward, the Saintess stayed at the Ajenka Grand Temple.
In this process, the Node solution using the concept of Giosa and the starting point was conveyed to the Magic Tower through the Azure Knights, and the Magic Tower faced a new phase in Node research and paid the price of information to the Azure Knights.
Overture II
The Holy Sword Rangiosa had a secret that only its owners knew throughout the generations.
First, Rangiosa is always in an awakened state.
Second, the owner of Rangiosa gains an ability called True Sight. And through that eye, they can see the essence of the other person, something close to their soul.
Rangiosa can only be owned by those who have not committed evil deeds, and the owner of Rangiosa immediately loses their qualification as soon as they commit evil deeds.
Most Giosa had separate conditions for the owner and the awakening, but in the case of Rangiosa, the two coincided. As a result, Rangiosa became the sword that had been awake for the longest time among the Giosa, excluding the Divine Sword.
[Because I have to tell my owner whether their actions are against justice or not. The reason why my owners can see the essence of others is also to help them make the right decisions.]
When Yuriene first held Rangiosa, it explained the reason why it was always awake in that way.
[Well, you lose your owner qualification as soon as you commit an evil deed, so it would be unfair if you did something bad without knowing it. At least I have to warn you before you do something. So I give advice, and in addition to advice, I provide True Sight so that you can judge for yourself. It's a fair ability in many ways.]
The Holy Sword informed its new owner of its power and abilities in a familiar manner. And finally added.
[My ego being awake, and True Sight. All of my owners have kept these two things a secret until now. They only told their partners or their Squires. I hope you keep it a secret as much as possible too.]
It was easy to see why it was a secret.
The True Sight gained by becoming the owner of Rangiosa showed the essence of all others. Whether this person is good or evil, whether they have bad intentions, or whether they are doing evil things but actually have good intentions. It was a sensation similar to seeing the soul.
If it became known that the owner of the Holy Sword could see the essence of the other person, people would be very wary of them. Especially hypocritical people would try not to reveal themselves at all in front of the owner of the Holy Sword.
The Holy Sword was not just a merciful sword like Elgiosa. Rangiosa was made of human sense of duty and justice. And that justice was a concept that included punishment and judgment for evil.
Evil must always be confronted for judgment. Evil must not hide or run away. That's why the owners of Rangiosa have kept the secret of True Sight.
Yuriene, who had newly become the owner of the Holy Sword, was also keeping that secret.
