Chapter 31: Trade City Heizen ⑨ – Daughters of the Sword Goddess

A woman with lustrous silver-white hair stood dressed like a butler.
Calling herself a daughter of the Sword Goddess, Gieza fixed her narrow silver eyes on the witch— the gaze of a blade.

The witch had no recollection of this “butler.”

“Pardon me. There is something I wish to ask, Witch. May I?”
“Oh my, oh my, what is it now?”
“Are you the one who defeated Vinu, the Daughter of the Sword Goddess—Barrier?”
“No no, it wasn’t me. It was my disciple.”
“Wof did!?”
“How exactly did he defeat her? May I ask?”
“I don’t mind telling you. I heard the boy used that knife from the Other Sea.”
“What’s that supposed to be?”

Seiran tilted her head, but Gieza seemed convinced.

“There are three ways to kill a Daughter of the Sword Goddess. One: a Divine-Imitation Relic. This belongs to those who wield pseudo-god relics. Two: another Daughter of the Sword Goddess. Three: a power from outside this world.”

“I see, I see. And the knife from the Other Sea fits the third category.”

“Exactly.”

Incidentally, Wof also possessed a pseudo-god relic, but kept that to himself.

“That kid of yours is carrying around something outrageous.”

“Yes yes, he’s my proud disciple. Anyway, it’s quite something for a Daughter of the Sword Goddess to request the deaths of her own sisters. Rather violent, isn’t it?”

“They are sisters, in a sense. But if they are enemies, they are to be eliminated.”

Gieza stated it coldly.

Seiran sighed and spoke.

“To be honest, they’re in the way. Heizen isn’t their playground.”

“Their immaturity in failing to become human is unsightly.”

Gieza added sharply.

“Mmm-hmm. So that means you became human, Gieza?”

“I did. I am neither property nor vessel. I underwent humanization. Those who remain ‘owned’ or mere ‘vessels’ are proof of immaturity. To even claim the title of a Sword Goddess’s daughter is presumptuous.”

Gieza’s irritation was obvious.

“Still, immature or not, they’re fragments of a god. A troublesome bunch with troublesome relics.”
“But the worst of them—Vinu—is gone.”
“That was excellent news.”
“Oh? So the boy Wof defeated someone that troublesome?”

The witch mused.
From Wof’s demeanor, she hadn’t sensed he struggled much.

“She held the Relic of Authority: Barrier.”

“I see I see. Yes, that would be troublesome.”

With that, the witch grasped the nature of that relic.
Many relics had similar effects—commonly known as Shield:
a transparent barrier enveloping the body, roughly as durable as an iron shield, yet greatly valued.

And Wof smashed straight through that, even while angry.

He himself had no idea how absurd that was.

“Because of that, the other three escaped.”
“My blade was shamefully repelled. That power alone was genuine.”
“Mmm, I understand the situation. Now, this is a job request, isn’t it?”

The witch’s eyes glinted mischievously.

Seiran handed her empty cup to Gieza.

Gieza poured tea with graceful precision and placed it before her.

Seiran took a sip and began her negotiation.

“I’ll pay ten million Oro for each one you take down.”

“Mmm-hmm. Reasonable enough.”

Neither cheap nor extravagant.
The witch had no objections; Seiran expected that.
So she played her next card.

“If you get all three, I’ll add a bonus.”
“Oh? And what might that be?”
“How about access to the VIP area of the Full Moon Bazaar?”
“Oh ho ho. That is nice. In that case, I accept.”
“Then the deal is made.”
“You have my thanks.”

Gieza bowed her head.

“My my, you’re getting ahead of yourself. It’s not over yet.”

It hadn’t even begun.

Seiran signaled Gieza, who handed over a scroll.

“This is everything we know about the three remaining Daughters.”

The witch unrolled the scroll and read.

“Mmm-hmm… Mmm-hmm. Six Daughters appeared in the city three months ago.
Giiza wasn’t among them?”
“She has served my family for six years now.”
“I see, I see… It says the six were brought by a man in a red mask. Now that is interesting.”
“There are several witness reports, but his identity is unknown.”
“As for the red-masked man, we already know he left Heizen.”
“Hm. Then nothing more to do there. It says there were several battles. First, Gieza disposed of one. Second, a man with a mirror for a face killed another… My my, who could that be?”
“We don’t know.”
“We only confirmed he’s a slayer from the Gourou family. Nothing else.”
“Oh? Was that from one of your informants?”

The witch’s fingers skimmed the scroll like turning a page, and she chuckled wryly.

“Yes. But that’s all. We couldn’t dig further. Probably a hidden trump card of theirs.”
“I see, I see. And Wof killed the third. That leaves three. As for these three… oh my, oh my, the scroll says nothing.”
“They vanished underground. Heizen’s darkness is deep.”

Coming from the head of one of the Three Great Dark Houses, it carried weight.

“Then have you considered they might’ve left Heizen entirely?”
“We did. But we detected signatures—three of them.
We went after them, but they’d already escaped. There were signs of hasty flight. Likely unexpected on their end.”
“So they’re still around.”

The witch rolled up the scroll.

Seiran watched, sipping her tea.

“You’re suggesting they have some purpose here?”
“Well now, well now, don’t you two already know?”
“I don’t.”
“No idea.”

They answered immediately.

The witch left the scroll on the table like tossing aside a trinket.
Clearly, they were hiding something.
But the witch was hiding things too—and had no intention of revealing them.

A fox and a tanuki, deceiving each other endlessly.

With the negotiations finished, they shared a bit of idle chatter, emptied their cups, and the witch departed the Zensera estate.

Trade City Heizen – Southernmost District, Abandoned Church

No one approached the ruined chapel.
Light streamed in through a shattered stained-glass window, striking the red altar—
illuminating three silhouettes for just an instant.

“Maybe we really should get out of this city while we can.”

One sighed from a broken bench.

“No! If we run now, we’ll be running forever!”

The second shouted from before the altar.

“We always have been…”

murmured the third, seated on the remains of a pipe organ’s bench.

“All the more reason. All the more reason to search here and seize it.”
“Does it truly exist?”
“It exists. The man in the red mask said so.”
“Oh, him.”
“Wait—you’re trusting that guy?”
“We have no choice!”

Another sigh.

“The question is where it is.”
“One of the Three Great Houses?”
“Or the Great Forest.”
“Maybe the Full Moon Bazaar.”
“The Houses are… hostile. Zensera and Gourou especially—outright enemies.”
“Gieza and the mirror-faced man…”
“The traitor and the Unknown. And there’s yet another Unknown—the one who killed Vinu.”
“…………”
“Then what about the Jinryu family? Their next heir is called Barow.”
“I dug a little—he’s pitch black. A repulsive maggot of a man.”
“That’s fine. If he’s that vile, he’ll be easy to use.”
“Gwenne… are you serious?”
“I’m serious because we have no choice. Lube.”
“…And Jumi?”
“I don’t care. If it’s decided, I’ll follow.”
“Then it’s settled.”
“…We have no alternative…”
“I’ll leave it all to Gwenne.”
“Yeah. Leave it to me. I will find and obtain the Eternal Talisman Egg!”

Gwenne declared fiercely.

Trade City Heizen – Eastern Port

The docks bustled as a ship arrived.

“Fuu-aaaaah… finally made it.”
“That voyage felt endless.”
“I’m exhausted…”

Three travelers complained as they disembarked.

“Nabel. Aren’t you hungry?”

A tall, green-haired young man with a spear asked the black-haired wolf-eared boy beside him.
A beastman of the wolf-kin, with a round shield and sword on his back.

“Ah… yeah, I’m pretty hungry—”

A blonde elf woman answered instead, holding a white robe and an ash staff.
Hearing her, Nabel nodded.

“Then let’s eat something first.”
“Yeah.”
“Agreed.”
“I know a good place. If it’s still there, anyway.”
“Oh right, Korann, you’re from Heizen!”
“Well, technically.”
“Huh? Wasn’t your family with a caravan?”
“I was born in Heizen. From age seven, I grew up in the caravan.
My old man used to run one of the Jinryu family’s trading branches, but he quit and joined the caravans when leadership changed.”
“So that’s how it was.”
“I don’t know the details. And I never planned on coming back, even as an explorer.
Funny how life works out.”

Korann laughed awkwardly.
Plansy listened without much interest.

“Hmmm. So where are we going?”
“It’s a bit of a walk, but a place called Berg Diner. Cheap and tasty.”
“Then let’s go.”

These three formed a Rank IV explorer party known as Cerberus Turn.