Chapter 27 - She Split a Mountain… (2)

[Translator - Peptobismol][Proofreader - Demon God]

Chapter 27 - She Split a Mountain… (2)

"Knight, Knight! Can I test Super Strong Sword?"

"I'm busy right now. Get permission from the young master first."

"Okay!"

"Mister, mister! Can I test Super Strong Sword in the training yard?"

"Go to the back mountain where no one will get hurt."

"Okay!"

That counts as permission, right?

It’s okay to swing Super Strong Sword, right?

Giggling, Charlotte hugged the Super Strong Sword and ran to the secluded back mountain.

"Wow…"

With a soft rustling sound, the Super Strong Sword emerged from its makeshift leather sheath.

Charlotte's mouth opened in awe as the wide black blade was revealed.

"Ugh!"

The Super Strong Sword was heavy.

Extremely heavy.

Even though she had lifted much larger swords before, the Super Strong Sword felt at least twice as heavy.

Other swords felt so light they barely seemed like they were there.

But with the Super Strong Sword, she could finally feel like she was holding something substantial.

"It's bigger than the knight's sword!"

Holding it up, Charlotte could tell.

The Super Strong Sword was definitely bigger than Sylvia's greatsword!

Charlotte felt a subtle sense of superiority as she raised the sword high.

Alright. She had practiced this move countless times with wooden swords.

At first, the knight had looked rather unimpressed.

But over time, the frequency of compliments had increased, noting her good form.

"Oh, um. You're doing well. Mana control should come first, but... yeah, you're good."

Even the strict Sylvia had praised her!

Her skills had definitely improved!

Mana control? She still had no clue about that.

Mana was for mages, and warriors just needed to swing their swords, right?

To use a move like Sylvia's Kaboom!, she'd need to become a mage, but...

Charlotte just liked swords.

Closing her eyes, she gripped the handle tightly, feeling the woody scent from the grip.

And just as she was about to perform her favorite downward slash—

"Huh? Something, something is being sucked out…!"

Charlotte’s face turned pale.

The old man had called this a cursed sword.

So, was it like in the stories, a sword that sucked out life force?

Was what she felt being drained right now, actually her life force?

Charlotte trembled with fear, but she couldn't stop now.

A warrior doesn't draw their sword and then fail to swing it!

"Wait a minute. The name. The name!"

Rumble.

The ground started shaking.

The sword vibrated as if it might explode, and Charlotte's mind raced.

Like Sylvia's Kaboom, she needed something cool!

A first move worthy of the Super Strong Sword’s grandeur!

A final strike with her life force fed to the evil sword!

A downward slash, like thunder…

"Thunderstrike!!!"

BOOM!

The sword traced an arc through the air.

The deafening noise left her ears ringing, and a cloud of dust rose like a fog, obscuring Charlotte's vision.

She collapsed from exhaustion.

As the dust settled, Charlotte saw the clear sky.

"Huh?"

The clear sky?

That’s strange. There should have been a mountain in front of her.

As she strained to look around, she finally saw the full scene.

"Wow…"

The back mountain was split.

In two. Cleanly.

Aslan, panting and wide-eyed, arrived.

Sylvia, who followed, had her mouth agape.

"I-I’m sorry, mister…"

"What did you do?"

"I… I accidentally split the mountain…"

"Sylvia. Retrieve the sword. Now!"

Aslan barked orders.

Sylvia dashed forward, retrieving the Super Strong Sword and sheathing it carefully.

It had split a mountain in one strike.

Fearing it might explode, Sylvia's hands trembled as she handled the sword, but it seemed normal.

Just a heavy sword with an unusually high amount of mana residue.

As Sylvia looked puzzled, Aslan knelt in front of Charlotte, who was lying on the ground.

'Mana exhaustion…'

Charlotte's muscles were twitching, and her pulse was irregular.

The unmistakable signs of mana exhaustion were clear, even without feeling mana.

"Mister…"

"Don't talk. It’ll be hard to recover. Just focus on breathing and resting."

"I’m sorry, mister…"

"…?"

Charlotte, panting heavily, bit her lip.

It was the first time Aslan had seen such an expression on Charlotte’s usually cheerful face.

Had something happened?

"I think… this is it for me…"

"What do you mean?"

"I have no strength left…"

"That’s obvious."

"I don’t know what to say… This might be my last chance… Haha…"

Charlotte forced a smile.

Aslan furrowed his brows, unable to understand.

What is this foolish girl talking about?

"Speak clearly."

"Julia is… a good kid despite how she acts… Don’t hate her too much, mister… And Yuri… I wanted to meet him… Oh no. Yuri might think I died because of you…"

"…?"

"Convincing Yuri should be left to Julia… Yeah. No choice… Haha. My mistake, mister. I didn’t realize the Super Strong Sword was draining my life force… I should have let go, but I foolishly held on…"

"Charlotte. You weren’t drained of life force…"

"I don’t have much time… Thank you, mister… And my Thunderstrike was awesome…"

Swoosh.

Leaving behind her dramatic words, Charlotte closed her eyes.

She went limp, finding peaceful rest.

Aslan, holding Charlotte, stood frozen for a moment before speaking.

"What nonsense is this?"

It’s just mana exhaustion.

What is she talking about?

Is she dreaming about food? Charlotte smacked her lips and snored softly as she slept, and Aslan sighed.

***

After moving the sleeping Charlotte to her bedroom.

I returned to the scene with Sylvia.

She had really split the mountain in half.

I was startled when I saw it was in the direction of the capital, but fortunately, the impact lessened after the mountain split, so the capital wasn’t affected.

I narrowly avoided the guillotine.

"Have you ever seen anything like this, Sylvia?"

"No. I’ve never seen magic of this magnitude. There are stories of mages who could destroy entire cities in theory, but…"

It’s not impossible, but it’s also not common.

If splitting a mountain was common, that would be a problem.

Sylvia examined the ground and closed her eyes.

"Judging by the mana residue… the total mana used was about thirty times my total capacity. This might not even be magic."

"…"

I was speechless.

Sylvia’s quarter of that power had caused an earth-shaking explosion.

So that strike that split the mountain was equivalent to 120 Kabooms or 30 Sylvias in power.

Now it seems Sylvia isn’t as strong as I thought.

I’d imagined her as a hidden powerhouse, but maybe not.

Maybe she should just keep hiding her strength.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Sylvia. How about quitting as a knight and becoming my secretary?"

"Why are you suggesting this all of a sudden?"

"You seem washed up now."

"…! I’m extremely useful, young master. I may not use flashy magic, but I can easily demolish buildings with mana. Plus, I excel at delicate tasks."

"I understand."

"No one can match me in close combat. When continuous movement limits mana use, there’s no one I can’t take down. Anyone but a Swordmaster is no match for me. I swear, young master."

"I get it. Calm down, Sylvia."

"Please don’t tell me to put down my sword… I’d rather be a slave to the Vermont family than give up my sword…"

It was just a joke.

Now Sylvia was kneeling, head bowed, before me.

I heard her stifling sobs.

'Does she have a reason not to give up her sword?'

I don’t know the details. Sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ Nʘvᴇl(F)ire.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

I only played up to Chapter 1.

But I’m not foolish enough to crush the will of one of the few good characters in this game.

"You worry unnecessarily. You’ll wield your sword for me all your life. I’ll make sure you work hard."

"Sob… Yes!"

[Sylvia's affection has increased by 3.]

Sylvia looked up and smiled brightly.

[The evil god, 'Kali,' claps in admiration.]

Seeing Sylvia and Kali both touched is rare.

Sylvia quickly recovered and stood beside me again, looking more resolute.

Seeing the tear marks on her face, I tapped my cheek to signal her.

She tilted her head, then exclaimed, "Ah!" and wiped my cheek with her hand.

Stupid…

Now I had dirt on my face.

"Fifty percent pay cut."

"What? Why?"

"Now, what do we do about this? We can’t just fix a split mountain. Wait a minute."

As I rubbed my aching head, a brilliant idea struck.

'Why fix it at all?'

The Vermont territory was considered a backwater because of the rugged mountains between it and the capital.

Traveling from the capital to Vermont required a long detour around the mountains.

But now the rugged mountain was split.

"We can build a road through there, a direct route to the capital."

"Ah!"

Vermont’s backwater days are over.

.

.

.

"Mmm… Sorry, everyone… Goodbye…"

"How long are you going to sleep?"

"Huh? Julia!? Wh-why? Why did you follow me here?"

Charlotte, wide-eyed, scrambled to sit up.

This is strange. I thought I was dead?

Seeing Julia trying to stifle her laughter, Charlotte was baffled.

Julia laughed heartily, holding her stomach.

"Ah, really. You thought you were actually dying."

"Uh, huh?"

"Idiot. You just had mana exhaustion. Since you’ve never used mana before, you wouldn’t know what it feels like. I’ve experienced it 18 hours earlier, so I know well."

"Mana exhaustion…?"

Mana exhaustion.

So I wasn’t drained of life force?

I wasn’t dead?

This wasn’t the afterlife?

Feeling her strength returning after a good sleep, Charlotte simultaneously felt—

"Ahhhhhh!!!"

—an intense embarrassment and buried her face in her pillow.

Ugh! How am I supposed to face the young master now!!!

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]