“Is the sword really talking?!”
“There doesn’t seem to be any vocal cords inside the sword body… Maybe it’s sending brainwaves through an embedded magic circle?”
Linia, purely startled in her surprise.
Chesa, calmly analyzing the phenomenon.
Those were the reactions of the two who, like me, had heard Plebelziam’s telepathy.
Since I’d explained it to them beforehand, neither was overly shocked. Somehow, it felt like their threshold for “astonishing events” had risen dramatically.
[I’ve never seen your face before, yet how do you know my true identity?]
“Who knows? Want to take a guess?”
For some reason, Plebelziam had been sealed in an underground shrine for three hundred years.
As a result, only highly knowledgeable archaeologists could recognize at a glance that this fellow was the legendary demonic sword.
I was young and didn’t look like a scholar, so from Plebelziam’s perspective, I must have seemed extremely suspicious.
[—……-]
Plebelziam fell silent.
The sword had the authority to sense the waves of everything around it. It was using that on me right now.
Soon, the telepathy arrived.
[You bastard… You’re clearly human, yet I sense the distinctive unpleasant waves unique to the elf race. Did you perhaps inherit precognition from that personality-deranged elf woman?]
“Oh?”
I couldn’t help but admire the quick deduction. I’d been worried the conversation might drag on, but fortunately, I got the intended reaction.
Linia tilted her head in confusion.
“…A personality-deranged elf? Who are they talking about?”
It’s the elven hero you admire, Tiamia Lapiru Arieldi. I recited that only in my mind, deliberately ignoring the puzzled Linia as I continued the conversation.
“If you know about precognition, this will go faster. In a dream, I saw Epio wielding you while fighting a group called the Dragon Horse Cult. They’re the kind of people who’ll soon become enemies of our clan too, so I came to recruit Epio as an ally.”
[Dragon Horse Cult? What kind of bastards are they?]
“They’re the ones trying to gather the priestesses of the four great cathedrals to seize the Dragon God’s Essence (S+). I don’t know exactly what they’re planning to do with it, though.”
To be honest, I had a rough idea of what the Dragon Horse Cult was up to.
But since it wasn’t explicitly stated in the original work and was just my personal speculation, I answered that I didn’t know for now.
Hearing critical secrets that, at this point, only the cult’s top executives knew, Plebelziam let out a low laugh.
[Ha, stealing the Dragon God’s essence? They’re pretty decent bastards for that. So why is our little brat fighting them?]
“It’s vague since I only glimpsed it, but it seems related to the whereabouts of the foster father Epio is searching for.”
“R-Really?!”
The one who reacted to my words wasn’t Plebelziam, but Epio, who had been silently listening to our conversation. Now that he’d caught a clue about Claire, Epio was as good as half-recruited.
Sensing this, Plebelziam trembled the sword body in frustration.
[This fucking shit!]
“Why the swearing?”
[Because of you, I’m about to go through hell I never signed up for! If I make a move before this kid gets stronger and someone recognizes me, it’ll be trouble! If those cathedral lackeys catch me, I’ll get dragged back to that damp underground shrine!]
Clack! Clack!
The sword’s ridge shook wildly, smacking the back of Epio’s head. It was a sign of great anger.
I twisted my lips into a smirk as I spoke.
“Dragged back by the cathedral, huh. Is that because you’re a dragon-slaying sword?”
[Heng, you know that much, do you?]
In the main story, Plebelziam was described as “an object whose very existence is tantamount to blasphemy against the Dragon God.” So if someone from the four great cathedrals, who worship the Dragon God, discovered its identity, it would cause a huge incident.
Well, there was one exception.
Like the Priestess of the Sun, or Clara.
Having thought that far, I asked Plebelziam.
“What if there’s someone from the cathedral who doesn’t hate you?”
[Ridiculous. Even if they liked me, I’d decline on my end.]
“………”
I shut my mouth.
There had been multiple hints that the sword harbored deep hatred for the Dragon God for some important reason, but as I’d mentioned before, this was a MacGuffin.
The reason such a crucial foreshadowing went unresolved was simple: the ego dwelling in the sword had incomplete memories.
Naturally, since Plebelziam had been isolated from the outside world and confined in an underground shrine for hundreds of years, gaps in its memory were inevitable.
Still, while traveling with Epio, it occasionally recalled fragments, but ironically, those always skirted perfectly around the core.
Thanks to repeatedly dangling bait without ever retrieving it, it only succeeded in raising the readers’ blood pressure.
Epio gripped Plebelziam’s hilt and shook it a few times.
“Stop nitpicking everything, Ple. Anyway, I’m going with Aiden. This time, I might actually find Claire.”
(…)
Plebelziam seemed displeased with Epio’s choice.
In truth, at this point in the timeline, the bond between the two wasn’t that deep. It deepened gradually as the story progressed, with Epio influencing the sword, but at present, Plebelziam lived up to its demonic sword name with a truly vicious personality.
In the early parts of the novel, whenever trouble arose, it would advise things like “Massacre everyone to silence them” or, upon seeing someone with a good item, “Kill them and take it.”
And each time, Epio, disapproving, would punish it by banging the sword body against rocks.
Of course, separate from its personality, it had sharp instincts and vast experience, so its predictions often hit the mark. The pattern in Part 1 was Epio ignoring that advice and getting tangled in trouble.
Until a calm, brainy companion appeared, this pattern repeated, earning it the nickname “potato bomber” for good reason.
Of course, if it joined our clan, that flaw would be immediately overshadowed. We had many companions from the start, after all.
“We’re staying in Elanore, the free neutral city in the south. Let’s head out as soon as you’re ready.”
“Got it, Aiden!”
Afterward, I placed all of Epio’s orphan friends in suitable facilities. It was to prevent them from getting caught up in horrific events in advance.
The orphans of Siarente, having found new homes, expressed great gratitude to me. Seeing how I’d changed their friends’ lives in an instant, Epio looked amazed.
“Aiden, that’s incredible… Is this what rich nobles can do—save so many people?”
“It can be done with money, but this is a bit different. I assessed their aptitudes and placed them where they’d be welcomed.”
Naturally, during the aptitude assessment, I actively used the character sheet viewing function.
Kids with traits like [Concentration (D)] or [Remarkable Perseverance (C)] were sent under blacksmiths and other artisans, while a mid-teen with potential level and combat traits was arranged to take an evaluation at a nearby school.
In this world, no one could assess someone’s qualities more accurately than I could.
Traits like [Rainbow Demon Eye (S)], which could gauge the sum of stats except [Spirit] and potential level, or [Insight Eye (A)], which roughly detected the number of skills mastered, existed, but in non-combat situations, they were inferior to the sheet viewing function.
Of course, I couldn’t explain all that in detail.
So I summed it up in one sentence.
“I saw it in a prophetic dream.”
[Your prophetic dreams must be remarkably high-performance. To remember even trivial details so clearly.]
I flinched at Plebelziam’s words.
In truth, the prophetic dreams of the elven hero Tiamia weren’t the type to reveal such detailed futures. They only vaguely sensed impending dangers in broad strokes.
Since Chesa and the others didn’t know this, invoking prophetic dreams had worked as a universal key so far. But with this knowledgeable demonic sword joining the party, carelessly overusing it might someday arouse suspicion.
It was one day while riding the carriage back to Elanore. During a brief stop to prepare for sleep, Linia was scolding Epio for some reason.
“Epio, the young master is the eldest son of the Stroke Grand Ducal house! You can’t address him so casually.”
“What’s a grand ducal house, big sis?”
“Uh….”
Linia, at a loss for words.
Seeing that, I let out a quiet chuckle.
Once we returned to Blispiel, I’d need to hire a private tutor to teach Epio basic common knowledge.
“Linia.”
“Ah, young master.”
“Go back to the carriage and bring that pouch stored in the box.”
“…Understood.”
At my calm words, Linia stiffened slightly before quickly running to the carriage.
Epio looked bewildered.
Plebelziam spoke up.
[A pouch? I thought I sensed strange fire energy on the way here. I wondered if it was my imagination, but you were hiding something in the carriage after all.]
I smiled and replied.
“You guessed it, Ple.”
[On top of the brat, now you’re calling me that too?
It sounded a bit annoyed. Plebelziam—too long a name, so Epio shortened his demonic sword to “Ple.” It was short and rolled off the tongue nicely.
Ego sword Plebelziam: From the very beginning to the end of Reca Chronicles, the constant advisor and companion to the protagonist Epio.
This legendary demonic sword, widely known across the continent, was already in Epio’s hands even before the main story began.
However, in the early parts, Plebelziam only served as an advisor and couldn’t directly assist in combat.
The ironic reason was that the power dwelling in the sword was too strong.
Plebelziam possessed several authorities, one of which allowed the wielder to consume life force to cast the ultra-high-tier fire spell <Prometheus>.
The problem was that this was a notorious nuke-troll spell.
The fire energy emitted by the sword was so intense that a slight mistake could incinerate the wielder’s body. Ordinary fire resistance would turn one to ashes in an instant.
What later resolved this was the fire resistance boost from the [Firebird’s Heart (S)] and the power of the [Infinite Regeneration (S)] trait. Thus, the Firebird’s Heart was indispensable for Epio’s growth. Especially since the regeneration synergized perfectly with Epio’s innate [Incarnation (S)] trait—no further explanation needed.
Soon, Linia brought the pouch containing the Firebird’s Heart. Without hesitation, I tossed it to Epio.
“What’s this? It’s really warm.”
[This fucking shit!]
“What’s wrong, Ple? Why suddenly?”
[I sensed divine beast-level fire energy from inside the pouch! Hey, Aiden! What the hell is in there?!]
The reaction was so over-the-top that I ended up feeling calm in contrast. I answered the swearing Plebelziam steadily.
“The Firebird’s Heart. I’m giving it to Epio to eat.”
[Just giving away an elixir like that? You’re insane. Epio, eat this quick before that bastard changes his mind. It’s really good for your body!]
“Huh? This doesn’t look edible at all?”
Epio tilted his head at the throbbing heart inside the pouch, then finally swallowed it whole.
“Oh, ooh?”
Flash!
Something sparkled around Epio’s body as he swallowed the heart, and in the next instant, the bushes within several meters evaporated.
Checking his character sheet right after, the [Infinite Regeneration (S)] trait had been added, his current level jumped twelve at once into the twenties.
His potential level rose exactly one.
In the eighties, even a single increase was something to be grateful for.
In the original, there was no change at all—perhaps eating it at a relatively younger age had some effect.
Epio shuddered.
“What is this? Power’s overflowing!”
[Fu, fufu! This is an unexpected windfall. Now I can freely use the flames of <Prometheus> that I’ve kept sealed.]
I watched the two excitedly jumping around. The simple reason I’d fed him the Firebird’s Heart (S) even before returning to the clan was clear.
“Enjoy it while you can. Tomorrow, you’re going straight into real combat.”
There was a nearby ruin filled with fire-based traps, after all.