Chapter 21: Kirishiro -kun… Something is Wrong With You!!
When we invited Taketsuru with, “Let’s go see the Holy Sword together tonight,” the answer we got back was astonishingly coldhearted.
“Can’t. I’m having dinner with Sumire-neesan today.”
Even after I pressed him with, “That’s your Holy Sword, you know. Take responsibility for it,” he simply replied:
“If it’s between the Holy Sword and my girlfriend, obviously I pick my girlfriend. Think about it rationally.”
And after hearing that, I genuinely had no comeback.
I mean—
I have neither a Holy Sword nor a girlfriend.
For an utterly ordinary college student you could find anywhere, those kinds of choices simply do not exist in life.
At that point, I couldn’t even tell anymore whether his answer was truly what counted as “common sense.”
“Fuh-ku-ku… as expected, the night is wonderful. I can feel the darkness rejoicing in my magical power, making this body tremble with exhilaration.”
“Zwei.”
“She says, in Kumamoto dialect, ‘Nighttime really is a little scary, isn’t it?’”
“Guh—! I-I cast aside fear long ago!”
And so, the three of us returned once more to Heidan University beneath the cover of night.
The clock had just passed eight in the evening.
By now, the campus had grown quiet, the crowds thinning considerably. The only people left were devoted club members still practicing late into the night, and researchers from the science departments endlessly trapped in laboratories, sacrificing sleep in the name of experiments.
Even so, the city night remained bright.
Streetlights illuminated the campus paths well enough that walking around posed no difficulty at all.
And amidst that dim urban glow, the three of us had gathered dressed entirely in black, as though trying to melt directly into the darkness itself.
“My lord… are we truly going? This ‘Holy Sword’ sounds highly dubious to me.”
“Hmph. Determining whether it is genuine is precisely our duty.”
I attempted to discourage her in a subtle way, but it appeared that Goetheschwarz-sama’s plans were not about to change.
Yes.
The Holy Sword.
Goetheschwarz-sama didn’t know the truth behind it—
But we did.
Its name was none other than:
Holy Sword Neuralmancer.
A genuine Holy Sword brought back from another world by Taketsuru when he returned to Japan—completely by accident.
An absurdly stubborn artifact that refused to move even an inch unless handled by its rightful owner.
After returning to Japan, Taketsuru had entrusted it to Meiko, which was all fine and good—
Except the moment she picked it up, she became physically incapable of moving.
Unable to carry it home, she had no choice but to stab it into a random stone tile nearby and leave it there.
Oddly enough, while she couldn’t carry it, she could throw it.
Honestly, it was impressive that she managed to stick it into the ground so perfectly.
Though the slight tilt in the angle had always bothered me a little.
And so, the secluded meeting spot Meiko used to love had transformed into a wildly popular tourist attraction.
The university had naturally panicked upon realizing an actual sword was embedded on campus grounds, and had attempted to remove it—
Only to discover that it absolutely refused to budge.
Apparently, for a while, crowds gathered in droves and “Holy Sword Challenges” became a trend.
But after everyone collectively realized—
“No seriously, literally nobody can pull this thing out”—
the craze had gradually begun dying down.
All of the above courtesy of: Meiko Research.
“I suspect this may be some sort of omen.”
“And what exactly do you mean by that?”
“Where a Demon King appears, a Hero shall arise. And if a Hero has emerged, then surely the Demon King shall one day return as well. If the Sword of Selection has manifested in this land… then perhaps it foretells the rebirth of the Demon King—and the coming of a new Hero.”
“I see. As expected of my lord.”
I understood what she was trying to say.
Unfortunately, the truth was completely different.
The Holy Sword was indeed from another world, yes—but its Hero had already defeated the Demon King long ago.
The only reason it had appeared in this world at all was because said Hero had accidentally brought it home.
Its duty was already over.
There was no Demon King left for it to slay.
And the Hero himself had retired from heroics entirely.
Right now, he was probably enjoying dinner with his girlfriend.
Still…
If we told Goetheschwarz-sama the truth, she would absolutely look devastated.
Honestly, if she thought about it for even a moment, she should have connected the dots already. She knew Taketsuru had been a Hero in another world.
And yet somehow, miraculously, she had noticed nothing.
Watching over a hopelessly oblivious Goetheschwarz-sama had quietly become our responsibility.
“…Hm.”
While chatting like that, we finally arrived near the tourist spot in question.
And suddenly—
Goetheschwarz-sama stopped dead in her tracks.
“What is it, my lord?”
“Heh-heh… it seems the rumors were true. The Organization has already begun moving. Look carefully—there is a barrier laid before us. Approaching further will not be so simple.”
At her insistence, I looked ahead as well.
There were orange traffic cones connected by a simple rope.
Attached to one cone was a sign reading:
NO ENTRY (Heidan University)
Ah.
Well, naturally.
From the university’s perspective, having random people approach a real sword and potentially injure themselves would be a complete nightmare.
Of course they’d put up some kind of restriction.
“Well then, shall we go?”
“Fweh!?”
From what I could see, it was only cones and rope, so I casually stepped over it.
Meiko followed immediately behind me.
Leaving only Goetheschwarz-sama standing there alone.
“What’s wrong, my lord? Let’s go.”
“Y-you fools… what of the barrier!? A powerful barrier lies here…! Y-you entered it safely!?”
“Kuwajima-san is way too much of a good girl…”
Meiko muttered quietly under her breath.
Hm?
What hallucination? Explain.
Show me.
──────────
『Sansen Sanbyaku Sanjuuin Goetheschwarz 』
Inner Thoughts:
“Y-you’re not supposed to enter places marked ‘No Entry’!? W-walking in there so boldly… i-is that really okay!?”
──────────
…Ah.
I see.
Indeed, normally, entering an area marked “No Entry” is forbidden.
That was only natural.
Anyone would think so.
Even I wouldn’t willingly trespass for no reason.
And so, as her servant, I patiently explained to my lord the concept of what counted as “perfectly ordinary” in this world.
“My lord. Under normal circumstances, entering a restricted area would indeed be forbidden. However, when a man and woman gather together at night with the intention of doing something, deliberately entering restricted places becomes an entirely ordinary course of action. In fact, not entering would be stranger. There is no cause for concern.”
“B-but… will we not incur the Organization’s wrath?”
“? If we don’t get caught, then that’s the end of it. And even if we do get caught and scolded, that outcome is perfectly ordinary too. Either result is acceptable. Depending on the location, there is also a possibility of being cursed, but our destination is a Holy Sword. Now then, let us proceed.”
“…………”
For some reason, my lord fell completely silent.
──────────
『Kuwajima Taeko』
Inner Thoughts:
“I’d kinda suspected it before, but… Kirishiro-kun is seriously weird!!”
──────────
How rude.
Calling an utterly ordinary college student weird like that.
In the end, after a lengthy internal struggle, Goetheschwarz-sama finally managed to cross the “barrier” safely as well.
And once we passed beyond the restricted zone—
The Holy Sword was right there.
Still embedded exactly where we had left it.
Still tilted at exactly the same awkward angle.
It wasn’t glowing mysteriously in the darkness or radiating divine light or anything dramatic like that.
It simply stood there in silence.
Quietly.
Slightly crooked.
Though somehow…
Maybe it was my imagination, but it almost looked like it was crying.
Well, it was an inanimate object.
Surely that was just my imagination.
“Th-this truly is a Holy Sword! This texture… this overwhelming presence… this aura! But why!? Why has such a thing manifested in a place like this!?”
“My lord. Please be careful touching the blade.”
“I know that!”
Meanwhile, upon finally beholding a real Holy Sword with her own eyes, Goetheschwarz-sama reacted exactly as expected.
Like a child spotting their favorite toy, she sprinted toward it without hesitation, then began circling around it over and over in excitement.
And then—
Suddenly, the atmosphere around the Holy Sword changed.
Until moments ago, it had felt strangely sorrowful.
But now it felt more like—
“Ah!? Y-you people!! You’re those guys from before!!”
—as though it had suddenly recognized us and was desperately trying to assert its presence.
Well.
It was an inanimate object.
Surely my imagination again.
“So then, my lord—what exactly do you intend to do with this Holy Sword?”
Ignoring the sword entirely, I addressed the now-thrilled Goetheschwarz-sama.
She coughed awkwardly, trying to regain her composure after all her childish excitement, then smiled proudly.
“Is that not obvious? First, I shall determine whether it deems me worthy. Should it submit to my hand, all is well. If not… then I must reconsider how to deal with the Organization.”
“Zwei.”
“She says: ‘I’ll try pulling it out first and think later.’”
Well, fair enough.
Everyone deserved at least one attempt at the Holy Sword Challenge.
Assuming you ignored the inconvenient fact that ownership already technically belonged to Taketsuru.
And also ignored the fact that my lord possessed absolutely zero hidden heroic potential.
Brimming with excitement, Goetheschwarz-sama slowly extended her hand toward the sword.
Nervously.
Carefully.
And then—
“Kyah!”
The instant her fingers touched the sword—
CRACK!
A violent burst of light and sound exploded outward.
Her legs wobbled beneath her as she cried out in shock.
“Are you okay!?”
“Y-yeah…”
I instinctively caught her shoulders before she could collapse.
Dazed, she stared blankly at the palm of the hand she had tried to use to grasp the sword.
“What happened?”
“I-I don’t know. The moment I tried to grab it, something shot through my whole body all of a sudden. Like… like it rejected me or something.”
“…Hm?”
Something about her speech felt off.
For Goetheschwarz-sama, her words sounded strangely…
normal.
Perfectly understandable, even.
“By the way… what’s your real name again, my lord?”
“Huh? Why ask that now? It’s Kuwajima Taeko, but—eh!?”
The moment she answered, she froze in shock at her own response.
Yes.
My sense of unease had not been mistaken.
Without hesitation, I focused.
Hallucination, appear appear appear appear—
And then, instead of Kuwajima, the hallucination window popped up over the Holy Sword itself.
──────────
『Holy Sword Neuralmancer』
Passive Effect: Repels curses
Current Feelings:
“WHERE THE HELL DID YOU PEOPLE GO AFTER LEAVING ME HERE!!!!!”
※ Cannot be wielded by anyone except its owner. Will not move from its location even with leverage.
──────────
I had no idea what the “Current Feelings” section was supposed to mean, so I mentally discarded it as noise.
More importantly—
Apparently this Holy Sword possessed a special effect that repelled curses.
Taketsuru, you idiot.
How do you not know the abilities of your own weapon!?
“Um, I hate to interrupt you two while you’re flirting and all, but things are getting a little serious over here too, you know?”
Meiko sounded visibly annoyed that I was still holding Kuwajima in my arms.
Yet oddly enough, she wasn’t even looking at us.
She was staring in an entirely different direction.
And when I followed her gaze—
There stood someone who had not been there moments earlier.
“Ku-ku-ku… so I have finally returned to this mortal realm. Though the attendance at my welcome celebration is disappointingly sparse.”
A woman clad in a pitch-black dress stood there smiling calmly with overwhelming confidence.
And her name was—
“My name is ‘Sanzenin Goethe Schwarz.’ Tremble, world. Praise me, all stars in the heavens. This world itself is my miniature garden.”
“HIGYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!”
Yes.
Standing there was a second Kuwajima—
A perfect duplicate bearing the exact same face.
Kuwajima Number Two.
Goetheschwarz-sama herself.
Meanwhile, the original Kuwajima clutched her head and screamed in utter panic.
Ah.
So that’s what “repels curses” meant.