The Great Sword is not the Main Body!

Four days had passed since Carpen was hunted down.

Since Lux died.

The world was still running smoothly.

Of course, some things had changed slightly.

First of all...

Hephaestus’ blacksmith shop was bustling with customers.

After I killed Carpen with the greatsword Hephaestus gave me, it became quite the hit.

So... I haven’t even been able to set foot in there.

I wanted to buy a few things, but...

There were too many people...

I almost suffocated and died just by trying to go in!!

Of course, I did try once.

I went in hand-in-hand with Rubia, all cheerful, but...

Everyone’s faces turned pale, and they all rushed out.

Some even screamed...

Is Rubia really that scary...?

I didn’t think so at first, but when you get to know her, she’s not scary at all...

It’s probably the power that’s scary, right?

She's higher than most nobles, after all.

Anyway, because of that, I haven’t gone anywhere near Hephaestus' shop.

We would probably scare the customers away if we did...

Next, about Rubia...

On the first day, she cried the whole time.

She literally woke up from sleep and just cried.

The second day, she was at least able to eat, but...

She ate and cried.

Talking while crying.

Crying while crying.

Crying while getting washed.

Laughing and crying.

I told her if you laugh and cry at the same time, you’ll grow hair on your butt, and she giggled again.

Though, not hair, but horns...

Then on the third day.

Rubia was back to her usual self.

She didn’t cry anymore, and she spoke properly.

We ate steak together and took a walk.

She sighed as she looked at the destroyed south gate.

She cheered on the villagers cleaning the east gate.

An adventurer from the Gold Rank who had been helping the villagers approached to say hello, and I glared at him with all my might.

Other adventurers were also loitering around Rubia, but I chased them all away.

I stared at them with wide eyes and mimicked Carpen’s growl, and they all ran away.

Those guys.

So cowardly.

And I...

Was told to take absolute rest, so I spent two days in Rubia’s arms without even my greatsword.

I felt like a plush doll.

The good thing was, she took great care of my plushie laundry.

It was incredibly refreshing...

Ah, and speaking of plushie dolls, I remembered...

Hephaestus said my greatsword couldn’t be fixed anymore...

All the smiths, including Hephaestus... gave up...

Of course, the greatsword Hephaestus gave me wasn’t bad...

But it didn’t feel the same as my beloved greatsword.

When I slept at night, I would hug it, and it gave me such peace...

So, I spent some melancholic time with Rubia.

...But still, it was a little comforting when Rubia hugged me tightly.

Then sometimes...

When I wanted to feel the wind, I would go outside with Rubia and shoot fireworks.

Once in the center of the village.

Once at the steak house.

Once in the corner of the village, where a duel had left the area in a mess.

And once at the southern gate, where I fought Carpen.

Every time...

Rubia sniffled.

I too, became melancholic thinking about my beloved greatsword.

It’s only been three days.

But...

I missed it so much.

Now that I think about it, I was supposed to have a duel too.

But I guess I won’t be able to anymore.

Nothing.

“小子! If we ever meet again, how about a rematch in arm wrestling?”

“I... already lost once... and it’d be the same... if we did it again, right?”

And on the fourth day, today.

Hephaestus stood before me, grinning, and said he was going back to the village where he had stayed.

He said he would take Lux with him.

I wondered how he’d go with no arms, but several adventurers came from that village to pick him up.

But how is it that no one is holding a greatsword?

Tsk, these days, they don’t know what romance is. Ugh.

“You’re poking at my weak spots... Anyway, listen up, kid. Eat well, sleep early, fight moderately. And... don’t stray off the path, go straight.”

Hephaestus, who had been lecturing for ten minutes, pointed at the sword of Lux, which was hanging on my waist.

“It’s precious, so take good care of it. Hahaha! I’m glad I don’t have to buy you food next time! Let’s meet again, kid!”

Hephaestus, who laughed with a slightly different, weaker laughter than usual, turned his back and walked out of the village.

The loose sleeves fluttered in the wind.

I heard a sound of grinding teeth.

“Since Hephaestus is gone, should we start preparing, Noah?”

I pretended not to see or hear anything.

Then I smiled slightly and looked back at Rubia.

Rubia’s hand came to hold mine.

“Yeah.”

I nodded and took her hand.

The warm sensation...

It slightly pushed away the memories of the sword’s hilt.

“Noah, you look like something’s bothering you... Um, want to go eat jelly?”

Gasp...

Such beautiful words...

“Yes...!!”

“Hehe... I’ll buy a lot, so don’t eat it all at once, eat a little at a time, okay?”

I nodded enthusiastically, shaking off all my worries.

Hehe, jelly sounds delicious.

Maybe this time, I’ll ask for just peach flavor.

If I get a bunch of peach-flavored ones...

A bunch...?

Huh... huh? Huh?!

Jelly??

Hephaestus... didn’t buy me jelly!

You... jerk!!

Narrow-minded, petty jerk!

Bald-headed, shiny jerk!!

If we meet again in the distant future...

No. I’ll definitely meet you again and take twice as much from you.

For sure!

Well, that’s something for later!

For now, I’ll smile wide and head straight for the jelly in front of me.

Smiling brightly.

Remembering the smile I saw earlier.

Laughing brightly, I walked with Rubia.

Forward.

Forward.

“Purr-rrrng- Hiiing-!”

“Hmm... This should be enough. We can stop by Urspierre for maintenance on the way.”

With that, Rubia said, slinging the bag onto her side.

Ah, right.

The horse we rode on, the one that spat at me... I thought it died when the stable broke, but it came trotting from far away.

Gnawing on a goblin’s arm...

But at least it survived. It’s impressive.

“Ah, and the... fragment, do you still have it? If you feel any headache, or strange thoughts, or if anything feels off, you have to tell me, okay?”

“Fragment...? Ah, this one. Yeah. I don’t think it’s affecting me yet...”

I squeezed the small fragment in my hand.

It’s a fragment from Carpen.

The “fragments of the end,” carried by the monsters created by the End.

Mmm... That’s the explanation of the world.

In game terms, it’s an epic gemstone you get from a raid-level boss!

Common. Rare. Unique.

Epic!

A full four-tier upgrade!

Hard to obtain!

The one and only in the world!

It grants enormous effects when embedded in weapons!

Truly a fantastically powerful gemstone!

Looking at it, my face relaxed into a grin.

But what was the effect of Carpen’s?

I’m sure it was something good, but the penalty was annoying, so I didn’t use it much before.

‘Thirst’?

Eh, I don’t know!

I’ll find out when I use it later!

Its name sounds deadly, but anyway, it’s a helpful item!

I believe it’ll help!

“I’m glad there’s no issue... But, I didn’t expect you, Noah, to get it. They acted like the Adventurer Guild would take it back... what’s that about?”

“Yeah, right...”

That’s still puzzling.

The adventurer from the central guild who came on the third day...

What was her title again?

Anyway, she was some high-ranking lady.

She asked for my name and origin.

Then, she handed me the gem she had extracted.

According to adventurer laws, it’s the property of the adventurer who killed the monster, so she gave it to me.

So I said it was from the dead Lux.

But she said it was from the adventurer who fought alongside and survived, and forced it into my hand.

Of course... I didn’t mind.

As soon as I got it, my heart raced.

Thinking about how strong I’d become, my head was spinning.

But at the same time, I felt uneasy...

“Well, I guess we could think of it positively, now that it’s officially yours, Noah. If you sold it, it’d probably be worth a fortune. Of course, I know you wouldn’t do that. Hehe.”

Rubia smiled lightly.

I just nodded lightly and grinned back.

I wanted to try embedding it into a weapon right away, but apparently, no one here can do that.

I don’t know if they have people who can in Urspierre...

I hope they do.

It’s a pretty big city, so surely they must have someone, right?

If not, I’d have to go to the Empire’s capital... which would take forever!

I don’t want to go!

And surely, Rubia wouldn’t want to either.

Please... Please be in Urspierre!

Purr-

The horse beside me snorted and, curious about the gem in my hand, leaned in closer to me.

“Wanna see?”

Purr- Hiiing-

The horse nodded its head up and down.

“Hmmm... If... if I eat it, would that be wrong?”

Purr-!

“Okay... okay. Here, be careful. It’s precious…”

I carefully extended my hand and showed it from a distance.

Then the horse started inspecting the gem curiously, its eyes sparkling.

But... what would it know by looking?

Purr-

It snorted as if it had seen enough.

Even if you see it, you don’t understand.

I tucked my hand back into my pocket.

Rubia, watching the whole thing, smiled softly.

“Hmm? Looks like you two are getting along?”

Hiiing- Purr- Purr-

The horse quickly turned its head away.

What?

“Oh, not really... I don’t like it. It’s ugly and smells…”

I turned my head away too.

You don’t like it?

I don’t like you either!

“Hehe... Is that so?”

Rubia’s hand ruffled my hair.

“Yeah. That’s how it is... I don’t like it...”

Purr- Hiiing-

Tap- Tap-

Now, the horse even expresses itself with its feet.

Well, I’ll.

“Ugh, ugh...!”

Tap- Tap-

Hmm... It doesn’t have as much impact as the horse, but...

At least I expressed it, so it’s fine.

“Ah, anyway... let’s head out now.”

“... Yeah. We should head out...”

Rubia nodded and quietly looked around the village.

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.

I followed Rubia’s lead and turned my head to look at the village.

I pictured the village in my mind.

But...

At this important.

Emotional moment.

What... is that person...?

“Ugh... Heh, kgh...! No, it’s... it’s Noah! Priestess!!”

From afar, Hephaestus was running toward us, shaking his hands vigorously.

And what’s with that big bag?

“Hephaestus?”

Rubia looked at Hephaestus with a surprised expression.

“Heh... Oh... it’s... so heavy... Phew...”

Hephaestus, who reached us, sat down, out of breath.

“So... what’s going on?”

Rubia asked, handing him some water.

“Ugh... Thank you. Are you passing through the Karahan Mountains? Glug- Glug-”

“Yeah, we are.”

Upon hearing Rubia’s answer, Hephaestus put down the water bottle and jumped up, shouting loudly.

“I want to go with you-!!!”

“No, it’s dangerous. You might die.”

Rubia rejected him firmly.@@novelbin@@

“I’ll fix everything for free on the way!”

Hephaestus didn’t give up and presented a card he had prepared.

“There are no monsters in the Halvion Plains right now.”

But of course, Rubia.

She wouldn’t budge!

“Ugh... Well, then...”

Hephaestus’ expression twisted for a moment.

Then he pulled out his trump card, one I couldn’t refuse.

“I know how to handle fragments... So please, take me with you.”

My mouth dropped open.

Hephaestus’ blacksmith shop was so busy.

And people ran away when they saw Rubia...

I didn’t even ask, but Hephaestus knew how to handle them!

But... even if he knows how to handle them, it’s dangerous to take him along...

It’ll be more troublesome to fight while protecting him.

I should refuse...

“Even the cost of embedding the fragment, I’ll do it for free.”

“...Deal...!”

“Noah...?”

I boldly ignored Rubia’s sharp gaze.

It’s free!

I reached out to Hephaestus.

Hephaestus grinned and took my hand.

Good business, Hephaestus!