Chapter 241
I tried memorizing the information until my eyes caught a tent where they were passing it out as pamphlets . Perhaps my nerves had caused me to miss it at first…I should calm down .
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“They’re passing out pamphlets over there . I’m gonna go get some . ”
“Very well . ”
Daniela waited as I made my way over to the tent . It was after I had accepted two of them and began to return to Daniela, that I felt someone’s eyes on me .
Once again, it was a tingling, stabbing sensation . No, it couldn’t be my imagination . And so I slowly activated Presence Detection .
“Ah, it’s no use . ”
There were too many people . It was a mass of different presences . But I couldn’t see anyone that looked suspicious when searching with my own eyes .
“Damn it…”
It bothered me, but there was nothing I could do . Oh, well…better get back to Daniela .
When I found her, she was eating some fruit on a stick . It looked chilled and delicious .
“What’s that?”
“I bought it . ”
But, where’s mine?
“Thanks . ”
I asked her with a look, and she produced a second one . When I bit into it, the juices filled my mouth . It was chilled and very sweet . I loved this kind of fruit…
As we had no reason to stick around, we started walking again as we ate . There were crowds of people around who could have been citizens or tourists . But you could tell that they were all excited about tomorrow’s game . There were people who looked like Adventurers who were already drinking and enjoying the festivities .
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It was a lot of noise, but no one was fighting and it was peace itself . Of course, the noblewoman, Alenbia Ef Quingeria, had been condemned for her strategies the other day . But there was nothing like that now . And if you asked me, they should have just taken her guards down and then fought her . It was a battle royal . And she had played within the rules .
“Hey, Daniela . ”
“What, Asagi?”
“The real tournament starts tomorrow . Anything on your mind?”
“…Indeed . Well, my first opponent is the lucky boy who we agreed had reached his peak . So, no . I have not thought about it much . ”
Well, Daniela sure lucked out in a way .
“The problem is the one after, after that . ”
“Really? What about the second fight?”
“Insignificant . The problem is the woman with the ice rapier . She will definitely rise to the top . ”
The woman who they said could hit dewdrops falling from a leaf . Levee Badi, White Dew . She would likely beat the noblewoman, Alenbia Ef Quingeria and then beat the spear wielder, Bandi Ree . And then she would appear before Daniela . Or so Daniela said…
“Well, we don’t know what will really happen . ”
“Yes… Hmm . Perhaps it is just that I really want to fight her . ”
“Because you use the same weapons?”
“Yes . I have used this weapon for many years, but I sense something in her that is a natural gift . ”
Daniela said as she caressed the rapier of the tree of life and death . That sword…I had been meaning to ask about it . But I always seemed to forget .
Eve had said something about it back in Nicora . ‘Today, I will finally have your sword and bow . The sacred treasures of the tree of life and death!’ What were these weapons?
“Daniela, about that rapier…”
“The sacred treasure of the Tree of Life and Death?”
“Uh, yeah . Is it a secret?”
“Well, yes . But I should have told you . It must have slipped my mind . ”
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Yes . I had forgotten as well . I wouldn’t have even asked her now had she not started to touch it .
And she did it with so much affection . Then she raised her face and looked at me . Her eyes were serious .
“We should go back to our room . We can talk there . ”
“Yeah, sure . ”
She was going to tell me something important . That in itself made me happy . It showed that she trusted me . And since we didn’t have any other plans, we decided to head back for the day . Sometimes it was nice to just talk on your day off .
We bought a little food, including fruit, to take back with us . And then we returned to the lodging facility .
Back in our room, we sat facing each other on opposite sides of the table after putting down our belongings . The table was covered in food .
“Hey, Daniela . ”
“What, Asagi . ”
“I was quite anxious and was preparing myself for this serious story you were going to tell me . ”
“Oh, yes . Well, I can speak while eating, you know . ”
She said as she reached for a box of noodles . She took in a mouthful and then smiled happily .
“I want it back . ”
“What?”
“My resolve . ”
“You should have put it away in your bag . ”
Grrr… This woman was too dedicated to her appetite…!
Oh, well . That was Daniela . I fell in love with all of the sides of her, so there was no use complaining now . I gave up and picked up a box of the same noodles .
“Mmmggmm…So? What are they?”
“Something that was passed down in my homeland . While they make effective weapons, they were originally ceremonial treasures . ”
“Ceremonial treasures?”
Something used for ceremonies, I suppose .
“Yes . They were used for many years . Perhaps through refining or some other transition, they turned into sacred treasures . ”
“Back where I’m from, they used to say that souls lived inside objects that were treasured for a long time . Maybe it’s like that?”
What they call tsukumogami . Tools that were used for a hundred years would be inhabited by a soul or spirit .
“Indeed . It is similar to that . And so the long-used rapier and bow became sacred treasures . They are almost legendary among some light elves . ’
“Legendary weapons, huh…”
Her rapier definitely had the look of a legendary sword . Like Excalibur .
“So it’s incredibly rare then . ”
“Yes . Not many people know of it, but those that do will want it . ”
“So that’s why Eve was after it…”
And she had targetted it after one hundred years . But perhaps acquiring a legendary weapon was worth that effort .
“But I am the only one who can use these . ”
“What do you mean?”
“I was chosen by the weapons . And only chosen elves can wield them . ”
“The sacred treasures choose their wielder?”
“Aye . It has to do with bloodlines . Back home, I was chosen as the maiden of the tree of life and death . ”
“I see . ”
Bloodlines and legendary weapons . Beauty . Who’s the protagonist now…
“My mother…had lived as the maiden for many years . But I took her place when I was born . Of course, it was shortly after that that the stampede occurred . ”
“…”
The loathsome stampede that had destroyed her home . Daniela’s parents have been killed in front of her eyes . And the result was a trauma she carried for years . Time seemed to have stopped for her since then . But Daniela said that things changed once she met me . And her trauma was starting to weaken .
“Well, I have continued to live as the maiden who was chosen by the rapier and bow . Not that I conduct myself as a maiden in any way . ”
“I see… No, that was a very interesting story . Thanks for telling me . ”
“Do not mention it . I had been meaning to tell you about it . But it is such a dull tale that I needed a good meal to get me through it”
“That’s not true . Besides, it means a lot to know more about your past . ”
“Asagi…”
In fact, I really knew very little about Daniela’s past . She didn’t talk about it much, but part of it was because I knew we would always be together whether regardless of how much knowledge I had . And she would answer when I did ask her . But sometimes I worried about asking too many questions and accidentally stepping on a land mine .
In any case, I was happy to hear her talk .
“I know . You tell me something about yourself, Asagi . Let me see… Tell me about your childhood . ”
“You want to hear a story about some stupid kid?”
“Yes, tell me about the stupid kid . ”
What a curious person . Oh, well . I had to return the favor, I suppose . A legendary story about my childhood . It was a real sidesplitter, so I hoped she was ready .
“But first, what exactly would happen if someone else tried to use your weapons?”
“They would be surrounded by darkness and have the life sucked out of them . ”
“The life…”
“And then their soul would forever be disconnected from the cycle and will wander, lost in the world . ”
“Lost in the world…”