Chapter 145: [Hero] and [Holy Sword]

At this time, Shien also refocused his eyes upon the princess.

Lucy was also looking Shien over. Since Shien looked over toward her now, their eyes met.

The two of them both slightly reacted to that, but neither shifted their gaze right away either. Instead the two of them simply stared each other down.

Lucy seemed hope that she could figure something out through that.

Shien’s thoughts were far simpler. It’s not like he’s the one losing out here, and the other side was really pretty too, so why not have his fill.

The result is that either shifted their gaze. They just stared off as if they were having a contest and neither side wanted to loose.

Vivian over at the side wanted to say something to that, but she couldn’t find a proper timing.

Only after a while…

“Did the thing you want to discuss with me have something to do with him?”

Lucy pulled back her gaze and asked Vivian.

“Yes.” Vivian breathed a sigh of relief in her mind and hurriedly followed up, “His identity is rather special. Depending on the situation, it might even affect the issue of the balance between the three races. Therefore, I brought him to see your highness.”

“The balance between the three races…” Lucy frowned slightly and fell silent.

Vivian however turned her gaze toward Shien, and her expression became uncharacteristically serious.

“I had never questioned you until now. Nor have I ask about your history. I merely had certain guesses about your identity.” Vivian finally said those words to Shien.

“You should have noticed, right?”

Shien remained silent at that question.

Of course he noticed that.

Be it Vivian or Leili, both of them must have already had some guesses when it came to Shien’s identity. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have done so much to help him and clean up after him.

Plus, the two of them didn’t especially try to get answers to several questions that Shien left behind. That too was a sign.

Shien never mentioned anything about it, but there’s no way that he wouldn’t have clearly known in his mind.

Thus, Shien had long since known that Leili, Vivian, and even Diere may already have guessed at his identity.

“Since you didn’t want to tell, we didn’t ask either. After all, given the enormity of it, we can understand it.” Vivian’s tone was especially gentle as she spoke to Shien, “However, we probably have to speak openly now. Otherwise, there’s no way for this matter to progress.”

Shien of course fully understood what those words meant.

“Therefore, allow me to properly ask you now, Shien.”

Vivian moved in front of Shien, looked into his eyes, and spoke clearly.

“Are you a Hero?”

The moment those words left her lips, the atmosphere of the entire room changed.

It was no longer as serene and comfortable as before. Now, it was filled with tension.

Lucy seemed to have realized something, and she stared intently at Shien.

Before both of their gazes, Shien once again fell silent.

The scene turned utterly quiet.

Lucy and Vivian waited for Shien’s reply.

Shien thought and considered many things with mixed emotions.

This situation stayed for an unknown amount of time.

“Sigh…”

At some point, Shien let out a breath.

However, Shien didn’t speak his reply. Instead, he responded with his actions.

“Whoosh!”

In that instant, Shien pulled the bundle from his shoulder into his hand and forcibly pulled away the covering.

“Shink!”

With a brilliant flash, the brilliant Holy Sword held in Shien’s hand was revealed before Lucy and Vivian’s eyes.

At the same moment, Shien’s presence, or rather aura, expanded with amazing speed.

“…!”

“…!”

Lucy and Vivian immediately felt that terrifying presence fill the room, and both of their hearts shuddered in response.

“As expected…” Vivian muttered with complex feelings.

“…”

Lucy instead looked at the Holy Sword. Then she looked at Shien, whose aura had intensified to the point where even she felt the pressure. The look in her scarlet eyes completely changed from the way they were a moment ago.

Now, Lucy had finally understood just why Vivian came for her.

It was because it was indeed something difficult to deal with.

However, Lucy didn’t say a thing. She just stayed silent for a moment before turning to the corner of the room and taking hold of her own Holy Sword.

The next moment, something that Shien never imagined happened.

“Heresu!”

Lucy simply chanted an extremely short incantation, and the Holy Sword in her hand shook.

Immediately after, the surface of the Holy Sword shifted like it was a suit of armor. Layer after layer pealed back until it finally shrank into a ring on the handle of the sword.

With that, Shien understood.

So that Holy Sword had a “sheath”.

That “sheath” had sealed away the original power and appearance of the Holy Sword. That was why it looked so normal.

Now, the Holy Sword had returned to the form it should have had.

Shien took a look.

A golden handle.

The handle was embedded with similarly golden gemstones.

The blade was a brilliant white, with light flowing across its surface.

That was the true form of the Holy Sword in Lucy’s hand.

“Identical…”

Indeed.

That Holy Sword was completely identical to Shien’s.

Only…

[Holy Sword]

Wielder: Mitra.

Level +50.

All skills level +5.

All damage resist 50%.

All negative status greatly weakened.

Sharpness level peak class.

Durability level extreme.

High damage bonus VS. Evil.

Dispelling effect VS. Evil element.

Bound to wielder. Cannot be lost. Cannot be destroyed.

That was the information that Shien’s [Appraisal] skill showed. It told him that that there was a difference between this Holy Sword and his own.

This point was easily visible by the fact that, after both Holy Swords were exposed, the radiance emitted from Shien’s Holy Sword was even more brilliant than Lucy’s Holy Sword.

Of course, now’s not the time to pay attention to such things.

Right now, there was only one matter that needed to be focused on.

And that is the fact that the Hero from another world and the Hero of the current era had met here in the princess’s quarters.

The man and woman, each holding a Holy Sword, faced off. Neither spoke for some time.

Over by the side, Vivian watched the scene before her and suddenly had a premonition.

(Perhaps those two will be the main characters of whatever chaos that is to come in the future.)

That was the conclusion that Vivian had drawn.

Then…

“Tell me.” Lucy spoke.

“Just what has happened?”