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Count Odrone’s Territory, Liguelette Castle.

In the lord’s office, two figures, a man and a woman, stood facing each other.

“Are you going? I will ask you one last time, if you are going to change your mind, now is the time. I won’t say such things again.”

Count Odrone approached the wall and took down a sword hanging there.

“You have already chosen your path as an adult, and you have even made up your mind to abandon the Odrone name. I have no right to stand in your way. You have grown up on your own, and I have only brought you into this world without helping in any other way.”

At the Count Odrone’s self-deprecating voice, Droniel could not find any words to say.

Illegitimate child.

No matter how much she was called a daughter, it was rare for a nobleman’s household to have a concubine’s offspring and be harmonious.

“But through past events and this current situation, I realized something. You are my blood. I won’t make excuses saying it’s for you. Just know this one thing: Whenever I think about how close you came to death, my heart drops.”

If the Village of the Holy Sword hadn’t been attacked, if Droniel hadn’t desperately asked for help first, she might have met her fate along with the villagers of the Village of the Holy Sword.

“Honestly, I don’t want to let you go. With the Demon King appearing now, the Hero Party seeks out places filled with threats from death. I worry day by day that I might hear your obituary.”

Swish.

Count Odrone handed Droniel the black sword, still in its sheath, that was hanging on the wall.

“I will entrust this to you. This sword is called ‘Aditi Mo.’ It is a family heirloom passed down through the Odrone line, named after the founder of our former ‘Sadrone’ family. Speaking of this sword…”

“I’m fine.”

Droniel shook her head and reached out her hand.

Swirl.

The brown mana that sprouted from Droniel’s hand took on a clear sword shape.

“…!!”

Aura Blade.

Not just overlaying aura on a sword, but creating a sword purely from mana and aura alone, achieving the ultimate realm.

“…You have grown another step, haven’t you?”

“Thanks to Lucius. And the Sage, and Rosmas, and… my father as well.”

“…Father, huh. I haven’t played the role of a father to you, yet you keep calling me that.”

“You were more than enough of a father. You taught me… how to wield a sword.”

Droniel deactivated the Aura Blade and bowed her waist to Count Odrone.

“Thanks to your sword, I’ve gained the right to stand beside the one I love. I will definitely return alive. When I come back from my journey… I won’t be alone, but the three of us will return.”

“…Three?”

“Yes. So rather than worrying about hearing my obituary, you should think about what to name your grandchild.”

“…Ah.”

Count Odrone turned his body towards the wall.

His eyes were glistening with moisture.

“…I see. May the blessings of the Moon Goddess and the Goddess of the Red Moon be with you on your path. Hah. Really… looking at this, you truly resemble your mother.”

“…What?”

It was a story about a mother she had never heard of before.

Count Odrone wiped his eyes with his sleeve and turned his face serious.

“Listen well, Droniel. Your mother was a maid of our house. She was older than me, and she baked cream pies exceptionally well.”

“…Why are you bringing up my mother now—”

“The day my wife left for her family home, I ate the cream pie she gave me and fell asleep. When I woke up in the morning, everything was already over. And she disappeared about three months later.”

“…….”

Droniel fell into contemplation.

“Do you understand, Droniel? Cream pie. I don’t know if it’s good to teach you exactly what your mother did, but if you resemble your mother, you will surely succeed. History tends to repeat itself.”

“No, but my mother was a commoner…”

“Yes. She was a commoner.”

Count Odrone looked like he had more to say, but he only smiled quietly.

“Exiling you and your mother to the Village of the Holy Sword was to protect you both.”

“…….”

*

“…What usually happens when a commoner touches a noble?”

“What do you mean by touch?”

“In any sense.”

“Death penalty.”

“…I see.”

Although Droniel received somewhat uncomfortable information, she was parting from her father.

It was also time for me to say goodbye to the connections I had made here.

“Liriez Cesarcross.”

“Yes, Sage.”

The blue-haired woman, Liriez, knelt before me.

“You should be kneeling before the Moon Goddess, not me.”

“The Moon Goddess would acknowledge it if she knew that the Sage, who diligently practices the doctrine of the Goddess, knelt before her. You made me stronger and broadened my eyes.”

Liriez took my hand and kissed the back of it.

“I will not forget your grace, my lady. Even though I am a Holy Knight, I am also one of the knights. As a knight, I will protect you.”

“But I already have a knight protecting me.”

“That knight won’t follow you into the bath, will he?”

“Well, there’s that.”

Why is it that I feel that Lucius would be more reliable than Liriez, even in the bathtub?

“Don’t worry about the order. If His Holiness the Pope and the old men of the order try to detain you, I will summon my Spirit Device and cleanse their brains and rush to where you are.”

“My position is…”

“Please accept this.”

Liriez pulled something from her bosom and handed it to me.

“What is this…?”

“It’s the ‘Mystical Droplet.’ After awakening the Spirit Device, I created this item by condensing my magic into a crystal that contains my will to embody Celcius’s power.”

“…Thank you very much, Liriez.”

I happened to be targeting this, and it turned out quite well.

When parting with Bearnes, I received a magic stone imbued with some of the Holy Sword’s power, and now Liriez is giving me one she made herself.

“Because it’s imbued with my magic, it may appear blue, which may not match well with you, but…”

“No, Liriez.”

Swish.

I grabbed Liriez’s shoulders and began to absorb the magic.

“How about now?”

The hair wavering before me began to shift from red to blue, and Liriez looked up at me with a bright smile.

“…Yes. It really seems to suit you.”

“Then put it on for me.”

“…What?”

“It’s a necklace. It’s a gift from you, so Liriez, put it on me.”

I handed the Mystical Droplet to Liriez, and she nodded heavily and placed the droplet around my neck.

“Sage.”

Swoosh.

Liriez suddenly pulled me into her embrace.

Due to the height difference, my face was buried in her chest, and Liriez tightly hugged my back.

“…If the order turns you into an enemy—”

“Liriez, Holy Knight Commander of the Crescent Moon Goddess.”

I reminded her again of her ‘position.’

“Even if the order becomes my enemy, don’t forget that you are a Hero of the Holy Sword and the Commander of the Holy Knight Order.”

“Sage.”

“It’s fine. I’m not distancing myself from you, nor do I plan to be hostile to the Crescent Moon Goddess Order, and they have no reason to be hostile to me.”

Thinking about it, even if they said they would summon the Spirit Device, and even if they knew the truth from five hundred years ago, it didn’t seem like they would try to eliminate me.

“But if the order does seek to eliminate me, then.”

I stepped out of Liriez’s embrace, took her hand, and placed it on my chest.

“Please kill me. Liriez.”

Towards where the necklace, the Mystical Droplet was flowing down.

*

After finishing our goodbyes.

I gathered everyone for our journey ahead.

“Arthur Lucius. Rosmas Terbaishun. Droniel Odrone. And… Yan Diere.”

Including myself, there were five of us.

“We’re going beyond the Great Wall to the northern snowy plains from now on.”

To recap the reasons for going, it was Ilda Lucius who suggested it.

“Lucius, explain.”

“Yes. …While I borrowed your physical body for a moment, I was able to meet someone who is within the Holy Wind Sword Ascalon and had a conversation with him. You said he is the persona of Ascalon, and he told me this.”

Go to the Island of the Sky.

“What is this Island of the Sky…?”

“It’s a name you might not have heard in this era. It refers to a kingdom that existed five hundred years ago.”

Beyond the edge of the northern continent.

A gigantic island floating in the sky.

“It’s a large island floating higher than the clouds. It is a place where people live, having uprooted the entire island using massive levitation stones and cut off from the ground.”

“Does the order…”

“They are aware of it.”

Saintess Yan nodded with a heavy expression.

“However, whether officially or unofficially, no one has ever come down from the Island of the Sky.”

“Really never?”

“Yes. That’s understandable; knowing there’s an island floating in the sky, anyone would want to visit at least once, and the reverse is just as true, right? Yet until now, I’ve never heard of anyone making the journey there.”

“That’s obvious. The Island of the Sky isn’t just about being up in the clouds.”

Moreover, it isn’t even a place inhabited by people.

“Huh? But if it’s an island…”

“It’s not an island. It may seem wide and enormous like one, but rather it’s just a gigantic facility.”

This is why I dislike the personas of the Holy Sword.

They could have just clearly stated that, but instead, they speak around it or use lofty expressions to confuse people.

“Thinking about it in this era, calling it the Island of the Sky sounds cool, but I’d prefer to call it a ‘hangar.'”

“A hangar…? What’s that?”

“It’s like a stable.”

“…Um, I think we might need another lengthy explanation. Sage, is this knowledge we can grasp?”

“Well… you might not know?”

It’s something that only I who possess all knowledge of the Holy Sword would know.

“You all only need to remember these two things. One: There is a portal leading to the Island of the Sky at the northern edge of the continent.”

So, the direction we need to go is north.

And.

“…In the hangar, something lies dormant.”

I pointed to Lucius and the sky alternately.

“There lies a Spirit Device that pairs with the Holy Sword, Ascalon.”

 

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