Chapter 35
Some time had passed since we retook Seil Bridge.
The cheers that had shaken the bridge just moments ago were no longer audible.
Instead, voices calling for the wounded rang out.
"Bring a stretcher over here!"
"Is there a healer?!"
"This person first!"
The traces of battle remained on the bridge.
Broken spears.
Shattered shields.
Swords scattered across the ground.
And many soldiers.
Some could stand, while others were carried away with their comrades supporting them.
We had won.
There was no doubt about that.
But when a battle ended, there were things left behind.
"Allen-san."
I turned toward the voice.
Felicia was looking at my shoulder.
"Please sit down."
"I'm all right now."
"You're not all right."
Her tone was stronger than usual.
"Your shoulder's been cut pretty deeply, hasn't it?"
"That's true."
"Your leg, too."
"Yes."
"Your cheek, too."
"That's shallow."
"That's not the point!"
"...Sorry."
Reluctantly, I sat down on a nearby stone.
Cecil-san came over at once.
"Let me see."
"Cecil-san."
"Yes?"
"I'm all right."
"What part of you is?"
That was the second time she'd asked me that today.
"I can heal myself."
"You can?"
I opened Membership.
【Membership Rank: Gold】
【Balance: 6,125P】
I focused on Recovery.
【Half Recovery: 50P】
【Full Recovery: 100P】
My shoulder.
My thigh.
My side.
My cheek.
And that wasn't all.
The battle with the Sword Saint had left my whole body exhausted.
The Imperial army had retreated.
Even so, the war itself wasn't over.
In that case...
"Full Recovery."
【Use Full Recovery?】
【Required: 100P】
【Balance: 6,125P】
"Use it."
【You used 100P】
【Balance: 6,025P】
Immediately afterward.
"...!"
Warmth spread through my body.
The pain in my shoulder faded.
The gash closed.
My thigh.
My side.
My cheek.
Even the heaviness deep inside me vanished all at once.
I rolled my shoulder.
It didn't hurt.
I stood and moved my leg.
There was no discomfort there, either.
"I'm healed."
"............"
Felicia looked at my shoulder.
Cecil-san did the same.
"I knew about it, but..."
Felicia murmured.
"It's still incredible to see it for real."
"It does cost a hundred P, though."
"If it can heal this much for a hundred P, that's more than worth it, isn't it?"
"Well..."
I thought about it for a moment.
"I got five thousand P when I defeated the Sword Saint."
"............"
Felicia froze.
"What did you just say?"
"Five thousand P."
"For one person?"
"Yes."
"Have you ever gotten that much before?"
"No."
Felicia looked toward the fallen Sword Saint.
"A Sword Saint is on a whole different level when it comes to P, too..."
"It seems so."
I looked at Cecil-san.
"So I'm all right now. Please help the other seriously wounded soldiers instead."
There were still many soldiers on the bridge waiting for treatment.
"Are you sure you don't feel any pain?"
"Yes."
"What about the exhaustion?"
"That's gone, too."
Cecil-san thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Understood. I'll go help them, then."
"Please do."
"Don't overdo it."
"I'll be careful."
"You'd better."
Even Felicia pressed me on it.
"...Yes."
Cecil-san ran off to the wounded soldiers.
A short distance away, Bork-san was looking at his badly dented shield.
"Think this thing can be repaired?"
"Wouldn't it be faster to replace it?"
Lydia-san said.
"That thing was expensive!"
"You got your money's worth when it took that Sword Saint's greatsword."
"Well, that's true, but..."
Raoul-san laughed.
"Why not keep it as a souvenir?"
"I'm the one who has to carry it back to the inn."
"You're the tank."
"What does that have to do with anything?!"
"They're coming."
Ena-san looked east.
Everyone's mood changed.
I looked that way, too.
A cavalry unit was heading toward the bridge.
I recognized the person at the front.
"Duke of Scotty..."
It was the duke himself.
Knights and staff officers surrounded him.
A little behind them was Vice-Captain Lloyd.
The horses stopped just before the bridge.
The duke dismounted.
"Your Grace."
The knights nearby straightened up.
"Carry on."
The duke replied briefly.
Then he looked at the bridge.
"............"
He walked forward slowly.
Soldiers killed in action.
The wounded.
Broken weapons.
Blood left on the stone pavement.
He walked on, looking at each and every one.
At last, the duke stopped.
A large man lay on the ground.
He was the Sword Saint who had wielded the greatsword.
A short distance away lay the man I'd defeated.
"...These two?"
"Yes."
Claude-san answered.
"They're the Dran Empire's Twin Sword Saints."
The duke looked at the two men.
"You really did defeat them both."
"Yes."
"Which one did you defeat?"
Claude-san looked at the man with the greatsword.
"This one."
The duke's gaze shifted to the other man.
"Then what about this one?"
Claude-san looked at me.
"Allen."
"............"
The duke turned his eyes toward me.
"You did?"
"Yes."
"By yourself?"
"Everyone helped me along the way."
I answered immediately.
"I also used what Claude-san taught me. I don't think I could have done it alone."
"Even so, you were the one who crossed swords with him and defeated him in the end."
"...Yes."
The duke said, still looking at me.
"You were fifteen, weren't you?"
"Yes."
"............"
He'd asked me the same thing a little while ago.
But this time he was silent for longer than he had been then.
"Defeating a Sword Saint at fifteen..."
One of the staff officers murmured.
The duke turned to Claude-san.
"Tell me what happened."
"Yes, sir."
Claude-san began explaining what had happened at Seil Bridge.
The duke turned back.
"You destroyed the Imperial army's detour, returned straight to Seil Bridge, and defeated the Twin Sword Saints. As a result, the Imperial army retreated."
"............"
"When you put it all together, that's incredible..."
Raoul-san murmured.
"You were part of it, too."
Bork-san said.
"That's why I'm even more surprised."
The duke's lips curved slightly.
His expression quickly returned to normal.
"Claude."
"Yes, sir."
"You defeated one of the Twin Sword Saints."
"Yes."
"But it wasn't your achievement alone, was it?"
"Of course not."
Claude-san answered without hesitation.
"Bork stopped the greatsword. Raoul kept him in check. Lydia and Felicia created openings. If Ena hadn't warned me, I'd have taken a few hits myself."
"And Cecil?"
"She treated the wounded. Many soldiers were able to return to the front."
The duke looked at us one by one.
Bork-san.
Raoul-san.
Lydia-san.
Ena-san.
Cecil-san, treating the wounded a little farther away.
Felicia.
Claude-san.
And me.
The duke spoke to one of his staff officers.
"Prepare an official report of their military achievements."
"Understood."
"Destruction of Lahn Bridge. Defeat of both Twin Sword Saints. Recapture of Seil Bridge."
"Yes, sir."
The duke looked at us.
"Your First Squad has earned the greatest distinction in this battle."
"............"
"I'll report that to Count Belgrant myself."
Raoul-san looked at Claude-san.
"...Us?"
"Yeah."
"The greatest distinction?"
"That's what he said."
"Really?"
"Ask His Grace to confirm it."
"I'd rather not."
Bork-san laughed.
"You got quiet all of a sudden."
"Shut up."
I laughed a little, too.
The duke looked my way.
"Allen Valdis."
"Yes."
"Your name will be recorded as an individual achievement, too."
"Mine?"
"Of course."
"But..."
"It doesn't matter that you're fifteen or that you're an adventurer."
The duke looked at the fallen Sword Saint.
"There's no reason not to record the name of the person who defeated a Sword Saint."
"............"
"The same goes for Claude."
"I don't need that."
"I wasn't asking what you wanted."
"Haha, I see."
Claude-san gave a wry smile.
"And we'll report this victory to the royal capital, too."
"The royal capital?"
I asked without thinking.
One of the staff officers answered.
"Defeating the Twin Sword Saints isn't a matter concerning only the Duchy of Scotty.
The Dran Empire sent two Sword Saints into battle, and lost both of them at once.
It's an achievement the entire kingdom needs to know about."
"It'll be reported to His Majesty the King, too."
The duke continued.
"His Majesty the King..."
The situation had suddenly become much bigger.
"Of course, we'll send an official report to Count Belgrant, too. You're the mobile force he dispatched, after all."
"...Yes."
I'd only taken a job as an adventurer.
At first, I just wanted to defeat monsters in dungeons and earn P.
I thought I could gradually get stronger.
But before I knew it, I'd come to a war.
And defeated a Sword Saint.
Now my name would be reported all the way to the royal capital.
"Allen-san."
Felicia whispered beside me.
"You're going to become famous."
"That's a problem."
"Why?"
"I wanted to be an adventurer quietly."
"...Isn't it too late for that?"
"............"
I couldn't deny it.
◇
That night.
A tent set up near headquarters.
First Squad was going to rest for a while.
Even though the Imperial army had retreated, the war itself wasn't over.
Still, it seemed unlikely that a major battle would break out tonight.
I could hear Bork-san and Raoul-san talking in the neighboring tent.
"I'm telling you, throw that shield away."
"I'm not throwing it away!"
"It's dented right in the middle."
"I'll fix it!"
"How much is that going to cost?"
"I don't know!"
They sounded well enough.
I sat down on the blanket laid out as a bed.
"Membership."
I opened the display.
【Membership Rank: Gold】
【Balance: 6,025P】
Six thousand and twenty-five P.
I could buy Ability Boosts several times over.
But...
There was something else on my mind today.
I opened Unique Skill Purchase.
【5,000P】
【Physical Enhancement】
【Presence Detection】
【Night Vision】
【Accelerated Thought】
【Mana Control】 Acquired
【Swordsman】
【Regeneration】
【Storage】
【Stealth】
【Magic Detection】
I could afford Swordsman now.
"............"
I thought back to the battle today.
I hadn't been outmatched physically.
Strength.
Endurance.
Agility.
If anything, I might even have been stronger.
And yet the Sword Saint had deflected my attacks again and again.
He'd thrown me off balance.
He'd read my next move before I even swung my sword.
In the end, I used what Claude-san taught me, along with Mana Control and the Flamefang Sword, and only then did I manage to win.
His swordsmanship had been better than mine right to the very end.
I focused on Swordsman.
Five thousand P.
I could buy it.
But...
I scrolled farther down the display.
【10,000P】
【Enchantment】 Acquired
【Swordmaster】
【Magic Master】
【Bow Master】
【Axe Master】
【Spear Master】
【Fist Master】
My eyes stopped there.
"Swordmaster..."
Swordsman.
Swordmaster.
Sword Saint.
Sword God.
The ranks of the Unique Skills related to using swords.
Even a Swordmaster appeared only once every year or so, if that.
One rank above it was Sword Saint.
The two men I'd fought today.
And...
Kyle.
"Ten thousand P."
【Balance: 6,025P】
"I need another three thousand nine hundred and seventy-five P."
That didn't seem like an impossibly distant number.
In dungeons below the tenth floor, I could get a lot of P from powerful monsters.
If I went deeper, I might be able to earn even more.
If I were on a battlefield like today's...
"............"
I stopped myself from thinking any further.
I didn't want to keep fighting a war just to earn P by defeating people.
Even now, the feel of cutting that man down still lingered more strongly than the five thousand P I'd received.
But getting stronger was a different matter.
If I hadn't been strong today, I couldn't have stopped the Twin Sword Saints.
We might have lost Seil Bridge, too.
"I need to get stronger."
I looked at Swordmaster.
I couldn't buy it yet.
In that case...
"This is next."
Another three thousand nine hundred and seventy-five P.
I closed the display.
◇
Seven days later.
The royal capital of the Kingdom of Arsraine.
The party of Serika, the First Princess of the Kingdom of Sahar, had already arrived in the royal capital after a long journey.
But that didn't mean the escort's duties were finished.
Some of the Sahar escorts remained in the Arsraine capital while arrangements were made for the formal handover of the princess and the plans that followed.
Marquis Valdis and Kyle were among them.
A guesthouse prepared by the Arsraine royal family.
A knight entered the room where Marquis Valdis was staying.
"Your Lordship."
"What is it?"
"A report on the war has arrived from the Kingdom of Sahar."
"The border?"
"Yes."
The knight handed him a sealed letter.
News that the Dran Empire's army had crossed the border had already reached Arsraine.
It was difficult to believe this invasion had nothing to do with the marriage between the royal families.
For that reason, reports on the fighting in western Sahar had also been delivered to the princess's party.
"Father."
Kyle, who was in the same room, turned around.
"Is that a report on the war?"
"Yes."
Marquis Valdis broke the seal.
He read the letter.
"...Seil Bridge."
"What happened?"
"The Imperial army retreated."
"Really?"
"Yes."
Kyle's expression eased slightly.
"So they pushed them back."
"It seems so."
Marquis Valdis continued reading.
"They recaptured Seil Bridge..."
His finger stopped.
"............"
"Father?"
There was no answer.
"What's wrong?"
"...The Twin Sword Saints."
"What?"
Kyle's expression changed.
"What about them?"
"It seems the Dran Empire sent two Sword Saints to Seil Bridge."
"Two?"
Kyle's eyes widened.
"There were that many?"
"I'd heard of the Dran Empire's Twin Sword Saints."
"Those guys were that powerful... So what happened?"
Kyle stepped closer.
"Did the Sahar army lose?"
"No."
"Then?"
Marquis Valdis read the same part again.
"...Both were killed in action."
"What?"
"Both Twin Sword Saints were defeated."
"............"
Kyle fell silent.
He was a Sword Saint himself.
That was why he understood the weight of those words.
"Who did it?"
"One was an adventurer."
"An adventurer?"
"A man named Claude, apparently."
"Claude of the Silver Wolf... I've heard the name."
"Yes."
Marquis Valdis's eyes stopped at the next line.
"............"
"Father?"
"The other one was..."
"Who was it?"
The marquis looked at Kyle.
"Allen."
"............What?"
"Allen Valdis."
"...Brother?"
Kyle froze.
A few seconds later.
"Let me see."
"Kyle."
"The letter."
He took it from his father and read it.
Defense of Seil Bridge.
First Squad of the adventurer mobile force.
Defeat of both Twin Sword Saints.
One of them—Claude.
And then.
【Defeated One of the Twin Sword Saints】
【Allen Valdis】
【Age: 15】
"............"
No matter how many times he read it, his brother's name was there.
Kyle remembered the last time he had crossed swords with Allen.
The day he had first received Sword Saint.
His brother hadn't been able to properly stop his sword even once.
He had easily defeated the brother who had trained so hard with a sword.
So he'd thought.
That he was already stronger than Allen.
But...
The next time he saw his brother, things were different.
"Brother, have you gotten stronger?"
He'd asked him that.
And Allen had, in fact, blocked his sword.
He'd kept up with Kyle's speed.
Then the tip of the wooden sword had touched Kyle's shoulder.
"...I hit you."
He even remembered how it had felt.
He knew Allen had gotten stronger.
Even so...
"............"
Kyle tightened his grip on the letter.
Sword Saint.
Someone with the same Unique Skill as him.
His brother had defeated one in actual combat.
"...Brother..."
He couldn't take his eyes off the letter.
"Defeated a Sword Saint...?"
Marquis Valdis didn't answer, either.
The name of Allen Valdis, whom they'd once driven from the family for having nothing more than Membership, had returned to his father and younger brother as the name of the man who defeated a Sword Saint.
Total P Acquired = 32,935P