Kays Translations

Chapter 477: Let Me See the Holy Sword

Under the sparkling gazes of Emily-san and John-san, who stood with their hands clasped before them, I began preparing the next potion. As expected of a royal castle’s compounding room, it contained plenty of ingredients for both elementary and mid-grade healing potions. I could teach them without any difficulty.

“Julius-sama, may I taste the antidote as well?”

“You too, Princess Sophia? I don’t mind, but…”

She was probably curious after seeing Emily-san and John-san’s reactions and hearing Sir Erwin’s shout the other day.

Perhaps Princess Sophia had drunk Raven’s antidote before, because she closed her eyes and brought a spoonful to her lips without hesitation.

She looked elegant, but perhaps she had a mischievous side as well. Maybe that was why she had been drawn to Sir Erwin: the two of them could get into mischief together.

“It’s so sweet! What is this? Are you certain it’s really an antidote?”

Her reaction was exactly the same as Sir Erwin’s! I barely managed to keep myself from bursting into laughter. Brother Alex had been present on that occasion too, yet he maintained a perfectly composed expression. That must have been the difference experience made. I wouldn’t be catching up with him any time soon.

“Sir Erwin reacted in exactly the same way. You two really are alike, aren’t you?”

“R-Really…?”

Princess Sophia turned bright red. She appeared both pleased and embarrassed.

Yes, now I understood why the King of the Kingdom of Raven had approved of their relationship. Princess Sophia cared for Sir Erwin that deeply.

After giving Princess Sophia a warm look, I began teaching Emily-san and John-san how to compound the healing potions. Since most of the ingredients were the same, they had no trouble following the process.

I decided not to teach them how to make the improved, easier-to-drink elementary healing potion. That potion was partly my own creation. Teaching them the method would reveal that I was the person who had introduced the new compounding techniques in the first place.

“As expected of the royal court’s magic pharmacists. There is nothing more I need to teach you.”

“That’s only because you taught us so well. Um… You can compound all sorts of magic potions, can’t you?”

“I can compound a fair number, but please ask the royal magic pharmacists of the Spencer Kingdom about the rest.”

Some might call that passing the responsibility to someone else.

If I taught them any more potions, I would have to remain here for a long time. I wasn’t from the Kingdom of Raven, and I believed I had already contributed more than enough.

The two of them looked plainly disappointed, but neither pressed the matter.

“Please teach the other magic pharmacists how to compound these, Emily-san and John-san. And, of course, don’t mention my name.”

“Of course…”

“It’s such a shame that we can’t tell anyone your name…”

They looked dejected. His Majesty had surely instructed them to keep the matter secret as well, so there should be no problem. It seemed that the two intended to remain in the compounding room and begin teaching the other magic pharmacists.

We left so that we would not get in their way.

“That takes care of my work here.”

“Well done. Now, if only we could do something about the Bone Dragon…”

Brother Alex patted my head, but I was reaching an age when that was beginning to feel a little embarrassing. Perhaps it was time for me to stop patting Rosalia’s head as well. I would pet Mira instead.

“I wish there were something we could do too…”

Sister-in-law Daniela looked troubled. The magic potions would allow them to cope for the moment, but unless the root cause was eliminated, they would merely exhaust their options little by little. I truly wanted to help somehow, but…

“Julius-sama, you said that you wished to see the Holy Sword, didn’t you? As thanks for teaching our magic pharmacists, His Majesty has granted special permission for you to examine it.”

Princess Sophia deliberately brightened her tone to dispel the heavy mood. What a considerate person. The Bone Dragon was a problem for the Kingdom of Raven; there was no need for all of us to remain gloomy because of it. Her words seemed to convey that message, so I decided to play along.

“Really? I may see the Kingdom of Raven’s Holy Sword? I’m so excited!”

“That’s wonderful, Julius.”

“I’ll take you there after lunch.”

After lunch in the private courtyard reserved for the royal family, Princess Sophia led us through the castle. We had not used the royal dining hall, which must have been her way of thanking us. Every dish was unusual and, according to what I heard, prepared with ingredients for which the Kingdom of Raven was famous.

Princess Sophia took us to a workshop inside the castle. It appeared to serve both weaponsmiths and magic-tool makers. The person in charge came over as soon as she appeared.

“Princess Sophia, I have been informed of the situation. Please come this way.”

Without another word, we were led inside.

The matter of the Holy Sword appeared to be confidential. I had no intention of revealing it, but I would still have to be careful.

We were taken to the very back of the workshop, where an iron door separated one room from the rest. A broken sword lay upon a pedestal in its centre.

“That is the Holy Sword of the Kingdom of Raven.”

“That’s the Holy Sword? It certainly looks divine.”

“It doesn’t look like a counterfeit at all.”

“Wait—is that… Gatekeeper!?”

I couldn’t help shouting. I had seen that weapon countless times in the game. Who could blame me? There it was, exactly as it had appeared in the game, lying before my eyes—although it had been snapped cleanly in half.

Gatekeeper had been considered a Holy Sword in the game as well. It was one of the easier Holy Swords to obtain, however. Naturally, I had owned one myself and repaired it whenever it broke.

Could it be…? A chill ran down my spine as I realised which flag I had triggered. They wanted me to repair it, didn’t they?

Everyone in the room turned towards me when they heard my shout.

Princess Sophia spoke in a quiet voice.

“How do you know that name?”

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