Chapter 79

Episode.79 The Bowstring is Stronger than the Sword (5)

– Ding!

[Weapon restoration purchased.]

[Once purchased, the item will be replaced with another.]

A strange black light gathered at the broken part of the black sword.

The black light slowly rose from the broken spot.

As the strange black light, which emitted no brightness at all, passed by, the sword’s body was slowly being restored.

“How bizarre. That sword’s energy… I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. Could you be a dark magician or something?”

Triche expressed the curious emotion they felt as they watched the sword being repaired.

【Yeah, this is something I’ve never seen either!】

Chaewon seemed to have developed an attachment to the sword, her gaze fixed on it.

She couldn’t take her eyes off the sword that she believed belonged to her.

I was just as fascinated by this sight.

“Dark magician? That’s such a disappointing thing to say… It’s just a bit dark energy flowing out.”

As I replied to Triche, ‘The King’s Sword’ returned to its original state.

“… So it has been repaired? But it looks a bit shabby.”

Triche was puzzled.

“That’s how it looked from the moment I first acquired this weapon.”

“Really? Choosing a used item for a partner to fight alongside you on the battlefield is quite a foolish decision, don’t you think?”

Triche flipped their hair and crossed their arms.

They then crossed their legs.

I thought she looked quite haughty.

“A used item… I suppose you could say that. But I didn’t choose it.”

I looked at the tip of my newly-repaired black sword where the strange light began to fade.

‘King’s Insight, activate.’

– Ding!

[Checking object information.]

[Information]

Name: The King’s Sword

Type: Weapon

Features: The depth of magic is infinite, but an absurdly weak magical energy seeps out. / It contains a soul.

– Current Status –

Sufficient experience has been accumulated to grow.

The sword’s serious damage has been restored, and its durability is now within normal range.

==========

“Hmm… It seems to have returned to its original form.”

【Wow, it’s been fixed so neatly? How did you do that? Was it that mysterious system? Thank you!】

After a moment of being dazed, she snapped back to reality and rushed toward me.

With the sword repaired, an uncontainable smile graced Chaewon’s face.

Regardless of the situation, it was comforting to see her smiling.

It was always nicer to see a fellow traveler happy rather than in a gloomy mood.

Seeing my partner’s joy eased my own unease as well.

‘Yeah… It’s great that you’re rushing into my arms, but it’s a bit awkward since you’re not wearing pants or a skirt…’

【I-I didn’t want to walk around without bottoms, you know?! Don’t get me wrong!】

Chaewon’s face flushed as she hurriedly tried to push me away.

Even though she was now left in nothing but her underwear, she desperately pulled at her knit to cover herself as much as she could.

**********

It hadn’t even been a day since Irlya and the group arrived in Hebron, and she had already procured ‘Seditok.’

It seemed Irlya had given Leah a heads-up in advance.

I thought I would have to spend another day at the Elf Guild, but thanks to Leah being so well-prepared, my burden was lessened.

Having finished all our business, we exited the Elf Guild.

“You really didn’t have to come out to greet us, Leah.”

Irlya said this while looking at Leah, who had come out to the entrance of the Elf Guild.

“What are you talking about? If I hadn’t, you’d just get sulky again. By the way, what do you plan to use that poison from the World Tree for? You’re not going to use it for something bad, are you?”

Leah said, organizing her long blonde hair.

Her suspicious gaze was directed at Irlya.

“Th-That’s impossible. I plan to use it for good, meaningful purposes, so don’t worry, just trust me. Ah! How did the time get away from us like this… Leah, we’re going to go now.”

‘Lies, isn’t that an utterly lousy excuse?’

【I think my words have already been revealed.】

Chaewon chimed in right away as she mentioned Irlya’s shoddy lie.

“Alright, let’s meet again, Irlya.”

Fortunately, Leah wasn’t suspicious at all.

【She just went along with it so easily.】

‘Talk about luck.’

“Yeah, that sounds good—”

“Hey, wait a minute!”

A man’s voice interrupted Irlya’s words.

His voice was neither overly heavy nor too light.

When I looked back, I saw an elf man pointing at me.

“… Were you calling me?”

“Of course, it’s you. Who else would it be? I mean, do I look like I would call out to the ladies behind you?”

“Who are you?” Irlya asked the elf man.

“Hmph, who are you?!”

The drunken-looking elf man shouted at Irlya.

“Ha, don’t tell me you don’t recognize me? How dare you…”

“What? Who do you think you are? Some nobody who’s still young… Daring to snicker next to my Leah?”

“… ‘My’ Leah?”

“Shut up! How dare you call my Leah’s name?”

【Ugh. What a hassle… Is he thoroughly wasted?】

“Guys, sorry. I’ll handle this.”

Leah stepped in front of us, as if she was used to this situation.

In that moment, her bare back appeared very firm.

“Do you know that man?”

“Well… you could say that? He spends a lot of money at our guild… Well, it’s a daily occurrence for him to pick fights with the men who get too close to me after drinking.”

Leah calmly took out her bow.

“Huh? Where did I put my arrows?”

“… Is it common for a bowman to walk around without arrows?”

Triche couldn’t hold back and made a comment.

“Ahaha… I kind of forgot today.”

“Should I help you out?”

Triche placed a hand on the dagger she had.

“No, just leave it to me. I’ll take care of it.”

Leah held her bow like a weapon.

“She’s mine… How dare you speak to her without my permission?”

The elf man drew out an ordinary longsword that looked entirely typical.

“Let’s step back.”

I gently pulled Triche and Irlya back a bit.

A sudden fight was about to break out in front of the Elf Guild.

【Honestly, watching fights is the most entertaining. As long as my life isn’t on the line, that is.】

“Leah, why are you resisting me?”

“This fool… keep blabbering, but I was never your possession, not for a second.”

Hearing this, the male elf gripped his sword tightly.

Leah, too, tightened her grip on her bow.

It seemed clear to anyone that a melee weapon like a bow would be at a disadvantage in close combat.

“I love you, dammit—”

“This is a nuisance!”

“No! It’s not a nuisance! It’s just an expression of affection… If my possession doesn’t obey me… then I need to correct that. That’s love, right? An expression of affection! Leah!”

As their emotions escalated, their voices grew louder.

Leah gritted her teeth.

“Stop saying stupid things… If you really loved me… Do you think brandishing a blade sharp enough to take a life is an expression of affection?!”

“I’ll judge for myself!”

The unnamed male elf lunged for Leah.

“You’re really going to get hurt, so you’d better surrender and reflect on yourself now!”

– Whoosh!

The male elf’s sword sliced through the air.

“Don’t avoid it! Stand and fight to confirm our feelings, Leah!”

“You crazy fool…! How can I choose to face you head-on when I’m fighting with a bow and no arrows?! And don’t call my name so carelessly!”

– Snap!

Leah spun around, using the centrifugal force from her turning bow to strike the male elf.

However, the drunken elf man, slow to react, hurriedly blocked with the hilt.

At that moment, had it been a fight of swords against swords, it would surely have resulted in a fatal wound.

Nevertheless, because Leah was using her bow as a melee weapon, it could only leave a light bruise.

The male elf stepped back and prepared to thrust at her.

Then, he suddenly jumped and thrust his sword toward Leah.

– Whoosh!

At that moment, Leah’s hair brushed and a portion of her beautiful golden locks was severed.

The severed hair reflected golden light as it shimmered against the male elf’s ordinary longsword.

Leah skillfully performed a backflip, kicking the opposing sword away with her feet.

– Thump!

A graceful landing.

Despite having some of her hair cut off, she still maintained her long hair.

With big movements come big openings.

Seeing a significant opening from the unnamed elf man, Leah seized the opportunity and charged.

He, too, seemed to muster all his strength to close in on Leah.

Both ran towards each other.

“Leah, this ends here!”

With a swing from the top right diagonal toward the bottom left, Leah struggled to deflect his longsword with her bow.

“Ugh!”

Once again, this time from the bottom right diagonal, his sword swept toward the top diagonal.

Leah had already struck down his longsword once, and there was not enough time to turn her bow back for a defense.

Perhaps thinking it was better for the bowstring to snap than to be wounded, Leah flicked the sword away with the bowstring.

What kind of material could create a bowstring strong enough to deflect steel?

I couldn’t hide my astonishment.

After that, the unfazed male elf attempted to strike Leah in the stomach with his knee.

However, Leah, seeming to have had enough encounters with him, quickly countered and struck his unnamed knee with her elbow.

“Ugh!”

Loss of balance caused him to tumble, and Leah swiftly moved back, placing his head between her bow and string.

“Ha!”

Finally, Leah tightened the bowstring around his neck, rendering the elf man unconscious.

“Phew…”

Leah sighed with relief as she laid the now unconscious elf man down on the ground.

– Clap clap clap clap clap clap

Applause erupted from those around us.

“Hmmm… Perhaps they think it’s some kind of performance. How did you find Leah’s combat skills?”

“It was incredibly impressive to see a bowwoman subdue an opponent without arrows.”

“What happened here?” Triche asked Leah.

“Ah… I’m sorry, this guy has been calling for me a lot, but… I think he’s really drunk. Just leave the aftermath to me and go ahead. I’m sorry I couldn’t greet you more, Irlya… Please, I beg you not to sulk?”

With Leah’s heartfelt words, we boarded the carriage and set off on our way back to the Violet Domain.

In Irlya’s arms lay a potent poison that would have no effect on elves but was deadly to other races, extracted from the World Tree.