Volume 1 - CH 18

Both of the sickle wielding girls' eyes opened wide when their sacred weapons were destroyed.

Amethyst, whom they were protecting was also dumbfounded, given that it only took one attack to bring them down.

"Th-That is inconceivable..."

Despite the fact that I, her enemy, was standing directly in front of her, Amethyst lowered her right arm which was holding her bracelet up. She looked utterly stiff and clearly stupefied.

It was obvious that Amethyst had a lot of confidence in the sisters; Spinel and Lapis's talents. Therefore, when she saw those girls' sacred weapons destroyed right before her eyes with only a single attack, she had a hard time processing it. It's reasonable that she would be confused. 

She kept making disbelieving sounds. 

As for me, the curse that accompanied the use of the cursed demon sword was knocking at my door. It was time to pay my dues for using it, now a building pain was spreading across my chest and travelling up to my head.

I felt a little unsteady on my feet.

Still, I was able to continue standing somehow, Diamond, who was watching me from behind, came rushing over. Thereafter, she looked at me with very anxious eyes and leaned in to whisper, "A-Are you okay Rust?"

"Y-Yeah.  More or less.  Don't worry about me." I answered back to her in a low voice.  After doing this, I immediately returned the cursed demon sword back to its rusted sword form.

As soon as I lost the benefits of the demon sword, I felt like lead replaced the blood that coursed through my veins, and just like the passing wind, a feeling of heaviness washed over me. However, this discomfort was nothing compared to the physical pain my body felt while I was using the cursed demon sword. Therefore, my body felt lighter.

Whew, that was dangerous!  I was able to make it before my time was up.

Before I can use the cursed demon sword again, I'll need some time to rest, but for now, it isn't necessary.

"Dammit...!" While Amethyst glared at both Diamond and myself, she frustratingly gritted her teeth.

With her two companions' sacred weapons being destroyed, all that was left was Amethyst's catalyst sacred weapon.

There is a limit to magic power, and at this point, she was at an overwhelming disadvantage. Contrary to theirs, our weapons were both fine.

To be honest, I have to rest my weapon before I can use it again.  But because Amethyst's party didn't know that, they thought they were still at a disadvantage. Therefore, although Amethyst had an impulsive personality, she wasn't foolish enough to make a reckless gamble.

Instead, she vented at me about the twins, and started to spew words that only a sore loser would say, "Those girls had C-Rank sacred weapons.  Although they were enchanted, they were joined as one powerful weapon, and yet you destroyed them in a single...  What kind of person are you!"

I remained silent because I knew, they had a reason to find me suspicious. Even though I have been using my sacred weapon for some time now, I still didn't fully comprehend it.

What kind of person am I actually?

What kind of weapon did I have?

I have "Cursed Demon Sword"; but what does it implicate?

While not having a good answer to that question, all I could muster was a simple reply, "I'm the same as you.  I'm just a participant in the Adventurer's Exam.  Furthermore, I'm currently Diamond's companion.  That's all there is to it."

For the time being, I could only provide a reply that sounded very similar to how I introduced myself to them back when we first met.

For a while, I remained silent but Amethyst's annoyed expression did not go away.

The reply I gave to Amethyst probably wasn't good enough for her.  Oh well, it didn't matter to me whether or not she believed me.

I had more important things on my mind, but before that, I had to tell Amethyst something first, "If you had Diamond and her shield, you probably could have stopped my attack."

"Wh-Wha...?"

"If you had befriended Diamond, you could have had her block the attack for you, and then your team would have performed better.  This happened because you didn't choose her..." 

"Damn you!"

I must have sounded a little sarcastic, because when I looked at Amethyst she seemed angry about it.

Her pretty face became deeply distorted due to fury.

I was standing very near to her, and I thought that she was definitely going to release some lightning magic on me, but the only thing she released was a mean look and a grating yell, "What do you know!  You don't know anything!  You aren't part of this.  You're just butting in.  Don't stand there proudly spitting out lectures at me!"

Maybe it was because it was after battle, but her outbursts were louder than before.

She's right, I am an outsider.

I didn't know anything about Amethyst's and Diamond's history together and their life at their village.

It felt like I was an unconcerned party butting in.

But at present, we were taking the Adventurer's Exam together. We were all the same; aspiring to the same dream. Knowing this, I couldn't afford to simply stand by and be quiet while Diamond was insulted right before my eyes.

Those three had thoroughly embarrassed Diamond.  They had loudly ridiculed her in front of a large crowd, causing her irreparable damage. Therefore, I wanted them to apologize to Diamond for what they had done. I wanted to hear from Amethyst's own mouth why Diamond couldn't join their party. However, it seemed that Amethyst wasn't willing to listen to anything I had to say.

"If you don't like it, then just cut me down!  In the doll's case, why don't you just come and steal it!  Don't think I'm going to give it up for free though."

Saying this, Amethyst in desperation, raised her right hand towards our direction. Her gesture meant; 'If you're going to come, then come.  I'm going to meet you head on.'

It still puzzles me, why even now, she still blatantly shows so much dislike for Diamond?

I don't really see any reason why she would hold so much resentment towards the shield bearing girl.

However, given what Amethyst had said, I was doubtful that we would hear an apology from her. So I turned to say to Diamond, "Let's go, Diamond."

"Huh?"

"We still have one doll we have to find.  Let's go quickly and start looking for one again."

Saying that, I attempted to lead Diamond away from this place.

Continuing quarreling with Amethyst was pointless.

It makes the most sense to hurry up and go look for another doll. Making up my mind, I tried to turn on my heels and go, but before we left, I stopped.

It was really none of my business, but I told Amethyst what's on my mind anyway, "As fellow adventurers, here is some advice.  You three have lost two sacred weapons here.  You shouldn't overdo it and you ought to put a pause on finding the dolls and return to the village."

"What the hell!?"Once more Amethyst's face was distorted in anger.

She most likely was angry because she didn't want her enemy to worry about her.  However, I felt like I was a little responsible for their situation.

So, even if she didn't like it, I was going to continue with my advice, "Well, since I'm the one who destroyed their sacred weapons, if it suits you, I can help you get back to the village."

"Shut up!  I don't want your help!"

Being yelled back at this quickly, meant that to continue talking with them would prove to be useless.

She was very upset about losing the battle, and saying anything else to her now, will just add fuel to the fire.

Oh well, at least if Amethyst's sacred weapon is okay, then they should be able to make it out of the forest.

I guess I shouldn't worry about them.  It's none of my business anyway.

Diamond and I left the place while sensing the dagger-like glares of Amethyst's group on our backs.

It has been a few minutes since we separated from Amethyst and the twins, and Diamond and I have been growing a little impatient due to what had happened. Nonetheless, we continued to weave through the Seven Color Forest, but the atmosphere around us only grew denser. I could even feel somberness weighing on Diamond's face.

Given that Diamond was still being rejected by Amethyst, her sadness was understandable.

I was reluctant to say anything in this situation, but just to ease some of the tension off of my chest, I opened my mouth and asked her, "What happened between you and them?"

For a moment, she remained silent.

From an outsider's perspective, it was clear that something was troubling her, and clouding her with a negative energy.

What was the reason?  I was curious so I tried to ask her, but perhaps I was unnecessarily prying, "Ah, never mind!  It's rude of me to ask.  If you don't want to tell me, it's fine."

"No, no!  I dragged you in my mess for a while now.  There's no reason for me not to tell you." Diamond showed a bitter smile, and started to speak, "The name of my village is Karamunto Village.  It is in the countryside, and in its own way, it is a large village.  In particular, there are a lot of kids there who are around my age.  Amethyst was one of those kids.  She's been my acquaintance since a young age."

"I see.  So you are childhood friends then?" This situation is similar to mine, as both Helio and Ruby are my childhood friends.

"In Karmunto Village, Amethyst was the best at studies and physical exercises.  Since we were kids, she has been seen as someone so good that you can't compete against her.  She's different from me.  She's not a crybaby or someone who is easily bullied.  I've always respected her from afar."

"Ahh.  There are always those kinds of people."

For someone like me who was a kid from the Red Village, that person is Ruby.

She's the best at studying and physical exercise, and she has a crowd of friends.  On top of that, she's cute.

Though, Ruby and Amethyst's personalities seem completely different.  However, both of them are seen as upright and are respected in their villages.

"Many people want to be like them. In the Blessing Ceremony that would make them adults, there was a lot of interest in what sacred weapon they would be awarded with." Diamond continued.

"I see."

It seems the weapon one receives is commensurate with one's own ability to study and one's physicality, this I observed. Still, if a powerful sacred weapon was given to amazing people who already had interesting characteristics, then those weapons would only have heightened their inherit charismatic aura.

It seems that both Ruby and Amethyst were seen as capable individuals, destined for greatness.

Therefore, in the Blessing Ceremony, it was only natural that many people would be eager about what Amethyst would receive.

But then I noticed how Diamond's facial expression darkened, "Then at the Blessing Ceremony, Amethyst received the "Lilac Bracelet," which is a B rank sacred weapon.

"Ehh?  Aaah..."

Based on the little she said, I could surmise what was going on.

-To be continued.