Side: Light Revive, Wielder of the Light Holy Sword
"Light Revive. Bearer of the Holy Sword of Light."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
I knelt before the Holy King of the Enaria Holy Kingdom and awaited his words.
"Until this day, we have intentionally kept your existence as a Chosen Bearer strictly hidden from the world. However, our present geopolitical circumstances no longer grant us the luxury of secrecy."
"I am well aware, Your Majesty. The Jilva Empire has begun its invasion."
"Indeed. That is correct. Originally, no—this is probably the beginning of the legend of the Holy Sword's bearer being reenacted."
"Reenacted?"
"You will now stand on history's main stage. In other words, history itself is being reenacted."
"Then our homeland is..."
"Correct. Our Enaria Holy Country is destined to become the leader that unites the world — or the light itself. Now, draw the Holy Sword once more, raise it high, and drive away the magic sword users of the Jilva Empire!!"
"I swear it upon this Holy Sword!!"
I drew the sword from its sheath, and the audience chamber was filled with light.
"Ohh... The reenactment of the legend. From this moment onward, the true history of the Enneria Holy Kingdom begins."
* * *
And so, I departed to reinforce the fortress under attack.
Yet by the time I arrived, the Jilva Empire had already withdrawn and established a camp in an annoyingly strategic position.
"Holy Sword bearer, thank you for coming!!"
"No... I should say I'm glad I made it in time?"
"Most likely. We never understood why they retreated, but let us assume it was thanks to the Holy Sword's blessing."
"Very well. Then what are your plans for confronting the Jilva Empire from this fortress and the surrounding towns?"
"I would like nothing more than to immediately strike back at the Jilva forces camped outside, but our current strength is insufficient. Does the Holy Sword perhaps possess the power to overcome numbers?"
"I would like to say yes. However, with Magic Sword users on the enemy side, acting recklessly would be pointless if the fortress were to fall before we could break them. Reinforcements from the homeland are already on their way. I believe it would be wiser to wait for them. Naturally, if it comes to a direct confrontation, I have no intention of losing."
"Oh? Despite such confidence, you choose not to charge ahead. You are quite cautious."
"I possess only one of the thirteen Holy Swords. Power is no excuse for overconfidence. The Holy Sword Bearers of old did not unite the world through strength alone. They united the hearts of its people through that strength."
"Hearts...?"
"Yes, hearts. The desire for a future free of conflict. That is why I ask for your support."
"Hahaha! I wondered what kind of lofty person a Holy Sword Bearer would be. Ah, forgive me—I mean no disrespect. Your words have deeply moved me. Indeed, what matters most is the will of the people. You shall have our full cooperation. As you suggest, we shall wait for reinforcements before launching an offensive."
"Thank you. Until then, please strengthen the fortress defenses and maintain close communication with the nearby cities. If the enemy makes any move, we must be prepared to respond immediately."
"Leave it to us."
* * *
Several months passed.
The Jilva Empire showed no signs of movement while we strengthened our defenses and reinforcements steadily arrived.
But why had they retreated? Had some problem occurred?
If so, should we not launch an attack immediately?
Our defenses were now complete, and we had finally gathered enough soldiers for an offensive.
Not enough to retake the town of Feil, which had been captured from us, perhaps—but surely enough to drive off the Jilva forces entrenched before us.
"Light-sama! The Jilva Empire's army has begun to move!"
"They finally moved. But it was quite late. Our defenses are flawless now. So, what is their target based on their advance route?"
"Judging from their route, it appears to be this fortress!"
They're attacking the fortress again?
I had expected them to target one of the towns, but my prediction was wrong.
Still, this was within expectations.
"Good. Send word to the towns as planned. Tell them the enemy's target is the fortress. While we hold here, they will seal the retreat route and attack the enemy's rear. When that happens, we will sally forth. Tell them to move out as arranged."
"Understood!!"
I don't know what reason the Jilva Empire had for resuming their invasion, but this is a sure-win strategy.
Draw the enemy to one point, seal their retreat and attack from behind while they are distracted. Then, when the enemy is thrown into chaos, the besieged fortress will launch a counterattack.
This is a tactic that only works when each location has sufficient numbers. I possess the power of the Holy Sword, but I cannot defeat countless enemies alone.
Yes — what matters most is the unity of people, their shared wishes. That is the key to victory.
"They've arrived."
"They have arrived. Their numbers seem to be around 30,000."
We watched the Jilva Empire's army forming up outside the fortress from atop the walls.
"We have more numbers, but we will proceed as planned. The messages have already been sent. In three days, the encirclement will be complete. Hold the fortress until then."
"Indeed. It would be meaningless to rush and let the enemy escape. We must completely crush them so they can never threaten Enaria again."
"For that, let us do our best for these three days."
"With the Holy Sword Bearer present, morale is high. Our defenses are complete. There should be no problems."
As we spoke, a messenger rushed in.
"Report!! Three women believed to be magic sword users are approaching this fortress!!"
"Three magic sword weilder!? No way..."
"That can't be. The Jilva Empire has four magic sword users. There's no way three of them would gather in one place..."
"No mistake, sir. One of our spies stationed in Jilva confirmed their identities. Marley, Olive, and Mist. It is definitely those three."
"...This may become a difficult battle."
"Had we rushed our attack earlier, the fortress army might have been annihilated. Lady Light was correct. But what should we do now?"
"There is no change to our defensive strategy. However, we should delay the enemy's attack as much as possible. They will likely deliver some sort of speech. We should listen and respond to buy as much time as possible."
"Understood. But who will deal with the magic sword weilders?"
"I will."
Before I could stand on top of the fortress gate, the magic sword users began their speech.
It was a demand for surrender.
A surrender demand from three magic sword users together — this would cause the soldiers to waver.
I needed to declare that I was the Holy Sword bearer here to restore morale.
I raised my voice and looked down at the magic sword users from atop the gate.
"To the foolish Jilva Empire that dares invade our lands, hear me!"
I drew the Holy Sword to inspire the troops, and...
"All soldiers of Enneria shall never yield to you! We shall never surrender! So long as this Holy Sword remains in our hands, we cannot be defea—"
—BOOOOOM!!
A thunderous sound echoed.
—BOOOOOOOOOOM!!
My vision turned completely white.
What... happened?
I was about to...
I was supposed to... reenact the legend...
My barely opened eyes stared upward toward the sky—
—DODODODODODODOOOMM!!!
* * *
Side: Labyris
I slowly pulled my hands away from the unconscious girl's forehead and turned around to face Yuki.
"And that's pretty much the gist of what's going on inside her head right now."
"Okay, first of all—why on earth are you suddenly able to read people's minds so flawlessly? I thought it only worked on people you're close to?"
Yuki asked, looking completely dumbfounded.
"It requires two conditions: they're unconscious, and they're extremely weakened. Normally, the only people who let their guard down that much are close family members. Most people stay alert even while sleeping. Besides, if you're touching someone, they usually wake up."
"...Ah, I see. But even if you can read her heart, why is what she's thinking a flashback of her past?"
"She's probably reliving it. What's it called again? A death flash? The thing where your life flashes before your eyes when you're dying."
"Ah, so that's it."
"She really was on the verge of death, after all. It's only natural. She looked pretty awful when you found her, didn't she?"
"Yeah. It was a miracle. Her upper and lower body were severed, but the collapsed debris ironically helped stop the bleeding."
As always, he's being modest.
This was the same man who had casually reattached her upper and lower body, along with her severed arm and leg, using healing magic.
"Still, it was a fortunate miscalculation that you could read her heart. This Holy Sword — whether real or fake — seems to be recognized as something different from the Magic Swords."
Yuki said that while lifting the Holy Sword in its sheath by the belt.
Since we don't understand the true nature of its magic power, those of us with high levels and vast magic power — especially Yuki, who has the highest in Weed — are forbidden from wielding magic swords or Holy Swords.
"""OOOOOOOOHHHHHH!!!"""
Such cheers rose from inside the fortress.
"Looks like the fortress has been successfully captured."
"It seems so. But thanks to Labyris, we know the enemy's encirclement force was supposed to arrive in three days. What do we do about that?"
"Now that you mention it, just as Jessica said. What are we going to do from here?"
In three days, the enemy would reach the fortress and discover that it had already fallen.
"Hm. That depends on the Princess-san and the others, but honestly, if they find the fortress captured, they'll probably retreat immediately. They don't have enough strength to retake it, and their Holy Sword weilder just got defeated. If they're capable of making rational decisions, they won't attack a fortress held by someone strong enough to defeat a Holy Sword weilder without a solid plan."
"That makes sense..."
Jessica nodded.
Judging by what I read from Light's mind, I think the enemy will retreat without attacking once they realize the fortress has fallen, since Light seemed to be the pillar of this battle.
For now, I climbed up Yuki's body and returned to my usual shoulder-carried position.
"...Labyris. We're technically on a battlefield, you know."
"Then you should say the same thing to those two hanging from your arms."
"I-If I'm in the way, Onii-chan..."
"If Anii-sama wants me to get down..."
They looked down dejectedly.
"I'm not saying you're in the way. Just make sure to let go if things get dangerous, okay?"
""Okaaay!""
Yeah. As expected of those two.
"Haah... But this feels kind of awkward."
"What do you mean? The operation was a complete success. We've captured the Holy Sword Bearer and seized the Holy Sword. I don't see how it could have gone any better."
Jessica replies to Yuki's mutter.
But that's not what Yuki meant by 'awkward'.
"Jessica, that's not it. What Yuki finds awkward is the Holy Sword Bearer's flashback."
"The one from earlier? This Holy Sword user was thinking carefully, not just relying on her own power but understanding the situation well and using her surroundings effectively. I wouldn't call it awkward — as someone who also leads soldiers, I can praise her. It was simply that the opponent was too strong this time."
As expected, Jessica's mind is a bit rigid.
I chuckled softly and decided to explain what Yuki found awkward.
"It's not that part. It's the talk about the reenactment or revival of the legend that she and the King of Enaria mentioned."
"Eh?"
"It feels awkward, doesn't it? After making such a grand entrance, she was defeated right at the start. It looks like one of those stories where the protagonist loses, runs away, and gets stronger — but it ended before it even began."
"...The story completely ended at the very beginning."
"Exactly. Awkward, right?"
"...It is. Though it would be a problem if she actually defeated us. And realistically, there was never any chance of that. 'Awkward' might not even be the right word anymore—I almost feel sorry for her."
"Don't say it out loud. That's why I'm settling for calling it awkward."
"But now she's free from all those obligations as a Holy Sword Bearer. The rest depends on her, doesn't it?"
"I hope so. But she seems like the type who treats her mission as destiny. Hopefully this doesn't turn into something troublesome."
"That's exactly why it's awkward. It's like taking the protagonist of a story and turning them into Passing Villager A."
"So if we hadn't existed, she would've been the protagonist?"
The three of us looked at the Holy Sword Bearer—the girl who should have been the heroine—with complicated expressions.
Yes, Awkward.
It does feel anticlimactic. But we couldn't afford to lose, and it's not that she was lacking as a performer. She used all the power and wisdom she had. It's just that we far surpassed her, so she wasn't meant to be the one weaving the story.
How should I put this...
"""We're sorry..."""
That was all we could really say.
