Side: Yuki
"Haah—I see. You've got it rough too, Yuki."
"Well, I'm a mercenary. If I don't work hard to fulfill the contract, it'll affect my next job, after all."
"Guess it's the same everywhere, huh." Mino-chan said.
We chatted over tea in a surprisingly relaxed atmosphere.
"Still, defending Betan while simultaneously investigating this unidentified army... isn't that a bit too reckless of a request?"
"They paid me enough to make it worth it. In truth, our mission regarding the monster army was just to gauge their movements rather than negotiate, so I was quite surprised when their sentry spoke up and called out to me."
"Wahaha, no kidding! We were desperately scavenging for food inside those ruins just to stay alive, but we had no idea we were stealing General Minotaur's own rations. I only understood why the monsters were holding back once our reinforcements arrived. Honestly, I can't thank General Minotaur enough; he handled things so amicably, without taking the lives of our men despite our ignorant behavior."
"Right. Thanks to him, it seems Jilva and Enaria can avoid clashing."
Exactly. I wish this war would end already so I could devote myself to researching these ruins.
As expected... General Aegil really was the mad scientist type.
Saying, "Forget the war—I just want to study the ruins," while her own country had just lost territory?
Yep. Definitely a mad scientist.
"Um, General Aegil... ignoring the fact that our territory has been taken... saying things like that is..."
See, even the ordinary soldier, Nork, was brave enough to voice a complaint.
"What are you talking about, Nork? Countries are always arguing over whose land belongs to whom. But for the people who actually live there, it doesn't matter who governs them—as long as they aren't harmed."
"T-That may be true, but..."
"Sure, it's a rich grain-producing region that fills the national treasury. But the land isn't fertile because of the country. It's because the people living there work hard every single day. And look at what almost happened this time. If General Minotaur's ruins hadn't collapsed beneath us, both armies would have marched straight into those farmlands, trampling fields, destroying crops, and burning everything to the ground. It's utterly foolish."
"......"
"The harvest here isn't just for Enaria; it's also used for trade and negotiations with Jilva and other nations. There is almost no value in turning this place into a battlefield. Quick skirmishes to seize a base like Jilva did, or a siege at a stronghold—those are the only kinds of battles we should be fighting. But if this had continued, we would have started a war between massive armies right in the heart of a vast agricultural zone. The damage to the upcoming harvest would have been catastrophic. We would have had to worry about famine. Though, I suppose it's a bit hypocoristic of me to say that, given I was the one sent to swiftly reclaim it."
Heh. She actually has a very solid grasp of the situation.
Just as Aegil said, if they clashed again, it wouldn't be a quick fight at a stronghold. It would be a brutal battle that destroyed carefully tended fields.
I'd known Betan was a major agricultural region, but I hadn't realized it was this important.
"Geez, how on earth did the Magic Sword wielder on your side manage to take down our fortress so quickly, Yuki? It threw our entire side into complete chaos. By the way, do you know if our Holy Sword wielder is safe?"
"I was stationed in the rear at the time, so I don't know much. But I hear the Holy Sword wielder is being treated with the utmost hospitality at the fortress."
"...What a load of lies are you spouting." Mino-chan muttered.
"...No kidding-ssu." Steve agreed.
The monsters next to me were whispering rather loudly. Fortunately, it didn't seem to reach Aegil's ears.
"I see, that's a relief. After all, I was the one who entrusted the Holy Sword to her."
She leaned back deeply into the sofa, letting out a sigh of relief.
Wait, hold on... did she just say something incredibly important?
"Wait, what?! General Aegil, what do you mean by that!? Didn't the Holy Sword wielder draw the blade out of destiny!?"
"Ahahaha... no way. You've read too many fairy tales. I found that girl during one of my regular talent-scouting trips for Magic Sword wielders. As for the Holy Sword itself, I salvaged it from the ruins directly beneath the Holy Capital of Enaria."
"What? There are ruins beneath the capital of Enaria!?"
"Yes, it's no secret. You know the Great Cathedral? It was actually built by repurposing those very ruins."
So Enaria did have a dungeon, just as Peace had said. This lent a great deal of credibility to the story that Peace's old rival had made use of a dungeon in the past.
"Well, I found the Holy Sword when I was reading through some ancient Enarian texts to pass the time. I came across a curious passage, and when I investigated it, the Holy Sword was what I found."
"But how did you determine that it was a genuine Holy Sword?"
"Ah, excellent question, Yuki. Indeed, normally one would just assume it's a powerful Magic Sword. But there was proof of its status as a Holy Sword."
"Proof?"
"Yes. Do you know the fairy tale of the Thirteen Holy Swords?"
"A fair bit, yes."
I was glad I had listened to Jessica's explanation beforehand.
By the way, Ria and Jessica were currently listening to this entire conversation from the monitoring room next door.
They can be so reliable in situations like this, so why do they turn into such handfuls when we're in private?
"Jilva... ah, I suppose it makes sense you wouldn't know, since it's not recorded in your history. There are actually two sides to the tale of the Thirteen Holy Swords: the fairy tale, and the historical records."
"By historical records, do you mean the origin of the Holy Swords?"
"Yes, that's part of it. It's the harsh reality behind the fairy tale. I'm sure you can guess by now, but the actual history is a rather inconvenient truth. So, the nations that held the Holy Swords back then made up a fairy tale to cover up what really happened."
"Truth is usually like that. But is it really alright for you to share this with us, Aegil?"
Indeed, the issue was that Aegil was sharing this with us so easily. If this got out, it could potentially overturn nations. Even if she was a renowned Magic Sword general, her head would quite literally roll if the wrong people found out.
"...Perhaps. There is certainly a risk of that. But my intuition tells me that if I don't speak of it here, there won't be another chance."
Aegil spoke with a completely serious expression.
These mad scientist types tend to barrel straight ahead unless the odds are catastrophically stacked against them.
...Which meant there was a very high probability that Aegil expected to find herself in a position where she could no longer speak of it.
"I hope it doesn't come to that. Though, even if you did repeat this story to others, I doubt anyone would believe you anyway." (Aegil)
"Well, they've been working for ages to cover it up. It's not something that can be easily overturned."
"Indeed, just as you say, Yuki. It's a story that sounds entirely unbelievable. To begin with, the Thirteen Holy Swords didn't originate from a war against demi-humans. When the Demon King first appeared, the very first Holy Swords were wielded by thirteen heroes."
...The Demon King, huh? Is she talking about Peace's era?
"When the Demon King emerged, by some twist of fate, thirteen women were chosen to wield the Holy Swords. They included both humans and demi-humans alike. At the time, while there was some friction regarding the exclusion of demi-humans, they had far bigger problems to worry about. Once the Demon King appeared, the land was overrun with monsters. Everyone, regardless of race, fought desperately to survive. There are even records of humans cooperating with demi-humans to push back the monster hordes. It's hard to believe, considering the state of the world today."
While Nork listened to Aegil's words in sheer disbelief, I wasn't nearly as surprised since I already had information from Peace. Still, I was impressed that texts from over 500 years ago had survived so well.
But how did this lead to the story of the Thirteen Holy Swords being used to drive away demi-humans?
"The question here is: why is there no record of the thirteen heroes defeating the Demon King? How and when did the narrative swap the Demon King out for demi-humans? Nork looks like she's barely keeping up with the conversation. Are you alright, Yuki? Can you follow?"
Aegil looked at me with concern.
...I understood the issue she was pointing out perfectly. However, there was no reason to be puzzled by it. The answer had been right there from the beginning.
But if this was true, things were going to get incredibly troublesome.
"...A massive conflict must have broken out afterward. For instance, between humans and demi-humans."
When I said that, Aegil's eyes widened.
And then, a bright, pleased smile spread across her face.
"Iya, you really are amazing. Do you read a lot of historical texts? Was there a similar account recorded in whatever you read?"
"Something like that. But never mind me—what happened was that after defeating the Demon King, the human kingdoms began to view the demi-humans wielding the Holy Swords as a threat, didn't they?"
Aegil's expression turned solemn as she nodded.
"Yes. Four of the wielders fell during the battle against the Demon King. Of the remaining nine, six were human and three were demi-humans. As for the four swords of the fallen, one went to the humans and three went to the demi-humans. I don't think there was any malicious intent behind that distribution initially. It was likely just a matter of close friends or trusted companions taking them as mementos. But..."
"But the kings of the human nations didn't see it that way."
"Exactly. And the worst part was what followed. Naturally, the six surviving human wielders who fought alongside the demi-humans would never approve of a war against the companions they had locked hands with. Consequently, most of those human wielders had their Holy Swords stripped away, and they were either forced into submission or assassinated. I imagine the same fate befell the demi-human wielders..."
"No way..."
Nork looked utterly horrified.
Well, that's just how the world works. That's why being a commoner with no special powers is by far the easiest way to live.
"Magic Swords were created during that war between humans and demi-humans. The human rulers wanted to know if they could mass-produce the Holy Swords, and the former human wielders were forced into research under their orders. Fortunately, the Holy Swords were only used once during the human-demi-human war. The sheer devastation they caused terrified both the human and demi-human kings, leading them to seal the Holy Swords away. Since then, they've relied on degraded replicas—the Magic Swords. At least, that is what is written in that ancient history book of the Thirteen Holy Swords, though no one knows it today. In fact, I had no proof that the book I read was even telling the truth."
"Then what made you believe it was real?"
"It's simple. The wielder of the Holy Sword who was imprisoned by the Holy Kingdom of Enaria wrote that book and recorded the location of the sword. It's quite ironic, really. The ancestors of the Enaria Holy Kingdom established their nation on the very capital grounds after driving away the demi-humans, yet they did so by robbing and exploiting the very wielder who helped them. In the end, the Magic Swords they forced her to create succeeded in driving almost all demi-humans from this land. The final entry in the book read: 'What was the meaning of our lives?'"
"I see. You found the genuine Holy Sword based on a book likely written by the wielder herself. But you haven't told anyone else about the contents of that book, have you?"
"Of course not. A truth like this would be swept under the rug in the blink of an eye, and my head would be on the chopping block. So, for now, I simply claimed that I found the Holy Sword by chance."
Having finished her story, Aegil took a sip of tea and breathed a sigh of relief.
Still, it seemed the people who had betrayed Peace and the previous dungeon master had faced plenty of struggles of their own afterward.
"So, while that was a fascinating tale, why did you feel the need to share it with us?"
Indeed, that was the part I didn't get.
Why would Aegil tell people she'd only just met?
"Well, keeping it bottled up inside was starting to weigh on me. But the main reason is probably General Minotaur over there. Though I suppose you being here wasn't entirely a coincidence, Yuki. I think I felt compelled to speak because of this situation."
"This situation?"
"Yes. We found the Holy Sword, foolishly tried to use it as a tool of war, and then General Minotaur and his army of monsters suddenly appeared. Do you really think that's just a coincidence?"
"...Hard to say."
Crap.
I can't exactly tell her that Mino-chan and his crew are my subordinates and have absolutely nothing to do with her grand historical narrative!
"Well, I don't think I was born in an era where something so monumental is destined to happen. But if something is going to happen, it will likely start from here on out. Once I return to the capital of Enaria, I won't have a place where I can speak of this freely. That's why I shared it with Yuki's mercenary group and General Minotaur, since neither of you are tied down by local politics."
"...I see."
"In the unlikely event that trouble arises, knowing this story should help you anticipate what's coming, right?"
"I suppose so."
"I can't imagine what form the trouble will take, but it will almost certainly stem from the truth of these Holy Swords."
"I'd rather it didn't. It sounds like a nation-level headache no matter how you look at it."
I see... there was a distinct possibility that other nations might start making moves due to this Holy Sword business.
Regardless, this Aegil possessed an incredibly rare and valuable talent. If trouble did arise, I should think of a way to rescue her and bring her over to our side...
"Well, if things go south, you'll be the first person I rescue. I have a feeling having you around would make a huge difference."
"Fufu, I'm glad to hear that."
After that, we continued chatting casually while enjoying tea and snacks. Nork, however, seemed to be in complete mental chaos from everything she'd just heard.
Ah, right... she was just a common soldier, wasn't she?
I wonder what we're supposed to do with her now?
