Bernhard lifted the red sword body and examined it from various angles, as if he couldn’t believe it. Plebelziam, who had been silent, suddenly spoke.
[Hey, old geezer. From the way you’re talking, you seem to know a lot about me?]
“Could this be telepathy? The story I heard from my father was true!”
Bernhard’s lips trembled.
His expression was a mix of joy and astonishment.
I politely requested him.
“Sir. If you know anything about Plebelziam, would you please tell us?”
“Hm… I see. Could you wait a moment?”
Suddenly, Bernhard sank into contemplation.
He spoke again after a long while.
Ernst Schlegel.
The name of the blacksmith who forged the dragon-slaying sword Plebelziam about a thousand years ago.
One day, Ernst passed down to his child, who inherited his skills and legacy, the secret history intertwined with the ego sword Plebelziam. This story was orally transmitted through the Schlegel bloodline generation after generation, continuing for nearly a thousand years.
The reason for choosing oral tradition over written records was presumably to escape the influence of the record-destroying spell Record Counter, which affects the entire world.
Anyway, upon learning of Ernst’s existence at the end of Part 2, Epio’s party relentlessly inquired about the Schlegel clan’s whereabouts.
And after much hardship, they could meet ‘Kurt Schlegel,’ Ernst’s only direct descendant.
But even after meeting Kurt, the foreshadowing about Plebelziam wasn’t resolved.
In the main story, Kurt had a major conflict with his grandfather Bernhard during his stay in Grand Valley, and after coming of age, he left without a word. As the legitimate heir of Schlegel, he hadn’t been told the secret history of the dragon-slaying sword.
Chronologically, Bernhard, Kurt’s grandfather, died naturally right after the original story’s start. The tradition spanning a thousand years was cut off at an all-too-coincidental timing.
But now is four years before the original story’s start.
Bernhard Schlegel is perfectly alive.
He asked us.
“Do you happen to know about the traitors?”
“Yes. I’m quite interested in archaeology.”
“Then the story will go quickly…”
Due to Record Counter or oaths, the existence of the traitors, including the Schnifelt family, has been thoroughly erased from history. Thus, only a tiny minority of power holders know about them now.
For a mere blacksmith like Bernhard to mention them carried many implications.
He opened his mouth while looking at Plebelziam.
“The dragon-slaying sword was made from a metal called ‘Meteor Gold.’ It was sharper and harder than any other metal, and it also possessed strong anti-demonic energy. It was perfect for creating the strongest weapon.”
In the setting, Meteor Gold is mentioned as a legendary material every artisan in the world wants to handle at least once.
Meteor Gold was buried in a fallen meteorite.
Meaning it came from outside the planet ‘Daela Circ.’
Thus, only an extremely limited amount exists, with irreplaceable value.
Thanks to such an extraordinary background, the story that Plebelziam was made from Meteor Gold doesn’t sound too surprising.
MacGuffin No.341 / You have collected the material of the dragon-slaying sword.
[Achievement Points +1,000]
As I quietly stared at the MacGuffin collection message, Clara, who had been listening beside me, said with sparkling eyes.
“Meteor Gold? I’ve heard of it. They say it’s the only thing in this world that can harm dragons.”
“You’re quite knowledgeable for a little miss.”
Bernhard chuckled and said that. He clearly couldn’t imagine the kid in front of him was the Priestess of the Sun Cathedral.
“But… a sword made from Meteor Gold couldn’t harm the Dragon God. No matter how excellent the sword, it held no value beyond a good weapon.”
[…What? You done talking?]
“Hm, Plebelziam seems quite sulky. But it’s a clear fact. In the end, the traitors lost the fight and vanished into history.”
Plebelziam became like a mute who had eaten honey.
Epio looked at the guy and asked.
“Ple, why aren’t you saying anything?”
[Shut up because you’re noisy! Hey, old geezer! Hurry and continue the explanation.]
Plebelziam needlessly prodded Bernhard.
The old man nodded and continued.
“Alright. Hm… First, let me say one thing: Among the traitors who raised swords against the Dragon God, there was supposedly one dragon mixed in.”
“…Pardon?”
What is this grandpa saying?
This is truly an unexpected story.
“It makes sense. After all, only a dragon could stand against a dragon.”
The one who said that was none other than Clara. While thinking it absurd, part of me was convinced by Clara’s logic.
There was a reasonable basis for this.
Some members of the Schnifelt family, led by Iris, have the Sub-Dragon (S+) trait. Owners of this trait sometimes have vertically slit pupils like reptilian dragons.
As a result of diligently researching the Dragon God to defeat it, they ended up with a constitution similar to their archenemy of a thousand years.
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth?
I shook my head to shake off the thoughts.
“…Putting aside whether the dragon mixed among the traitors is true, so what does that have to do with Plebelziam?”
“It has a very deep connection. The identity of that dragon, the symbol of the traitors, is the ego dwelling in the dragon-slaying sword.”
“…!”
The attention of me and the party all focused on Plebelziam at once. Epio laughed as if amused.
“Ple, were you a dragon? Even though you hate dragons so much?”
Plebelziam, shocked, remained silent.
Bernhard continued.
“After the traitors lost the fight against the Dragon God, the dragon with them also suffered grievous wounds and faced death. Barely escaping, the dragon went to a certain blacksmith before its flame of life extinguished and asked to have its soul placed in the dragon-slaying sword. That’s the entire story passed down in the Schlegel bloodline.”
Right after the explanation ended.
[…Not worth listening to! Hey, Aiden! You don’t believe that crap, right?]
Plebelziam’s indignant voice shook my mind.
“…Bernhard seems to know a lot about the traitors too, and it’s not entirely absurd.”
[No. It’s absurd. Listening to that old geezer brought back one important memory. Namely, that there can be no dragons besides the Dragon God.]
Plebelziam declared firmly.
I agree with that.
Stories of other dragons besides the Dragon God were never directly mentioned or hinted at anywhere in the original or setting book.
This stems from dragons in the Reca Chronicles worldview fundamentally differing from ordinary creatures.
In the setting, the Dragon God is a divine being born from nothing with its own will, so similar kin with akin physiology couldn’t exist.
That said, it’s hard to dismiss Bernhard’s words as baseless nonsense entirely.
“Ple. The Schnifelt family were traitors, right?”
[So what.]
“…The Dragon Horse Cult, that group worshiping some demonic dragon or whatever, is actually a subcontractor for that Schnifelt family.”
[…——.]
The demonic dragon worshiped by the Dragon Horse Cult.
Its identity remained a MacGuffin in the original.
After the Schnifelt family took the stage, people’s interest shifted away from the Dragon Horse Cult. Because Hagel, who emerged, was treated as just a cult he made to wield followers as he pleased.
Among readers, many speculated the demonic dragon was merely idolizing Schnifelt family members who gained dragon-like constitutions after long research.
I thought the same until coming here today and hearing Bernhard’s story.
But what if that’s not it?
The ‘demonic dragon’ mentioned repeatedly from early Part 1.
What if it’s a keyword more important than imagined?
The board would flip from the roots.
[Even so, there’s no way to confirm if the old man’s words are true.]
“…No. There might be a way.”
The reason I wanted to come to Grand Valley as soon as possible was to hear the secret history about Plebelziam before Bernhard died.
But that’s not the only reason.
“Bernhard. I hear you have the ability to read the ‘strongest memory’ dwelling in tools?”
“Huh… You know that too? Other artisans in Grand Valley know me well, so that’s one thing, but for outsiders like you to know about that ability is surprising.”
“Would you use that ability on Plebelziam?”
“As Ernst Schlegel’s descendant, that’s what I was hoping for too.”
Bernhard Schlegel is a blacksmith.
Moreover, one who devoted his life to equipment forging.
His [Spirit] value, forged through decades of grueling work, reached a whopping 17, naturally manifesting one unique skill.
A skill called Stream Orgel (U), mentioned in the story only through his grandson Kurt’s mouth.
In one word, Stream Orgel is the power to read an object’s memories.
It’s slightly different in direction from the spell dwelling in Nano Eater, Armchair.
Armchair randomly reads residual thoughts, collecting only info from recent years. In contrast, Stream Orgel pinpoints and reads only the strongest memory dwelling in the object, so while narrower in versatility, its depth is unimaginable.
Using appraisal on Plebelziam shows “Ego Sword – Plebelziam (?)”.
At least the Tripper System treats this as equipment.
Meaning Stream Orgel’s power is effective.
Using this, we can get a concrete sense of the ego’s identity in Plebelziam.
“But before that, one question. Is the red-haired kid Plebelziam’s owner?”
“Yes. Epio should be the observer of the memory.”
The detailed performance of Stream Orgel (U) is recorded in the Reca Chronicles setting book.
As I know, this skill is more efficient when connected to another person rather than Bernhard using it himself. The deeper the connection to the tool being read, the more can be seen.
After hearing the full explanation.
[Somehow feels off.]
“Hm… In short, with this grandpa’s help, we can peek at Ple’s past. Right? Okay, I’ll do it!”
Plebelziam seemed sullen.
Epio nodded readily.
“Then hold Plebelziam with both hands and stand in front of me, kid.”
Following Bernhard’s words, Epio gripped Plebelziam’s hilt with his right hand and the blade with his left.
Flash!
Right after, Bernhard’s eyes shone.
Epio instinctively squeezed his eyes shut.
A strange sensation.
A floating feeling like being submerged in water.
Not a mere metaphor.
Epio’s mind was literally submerged in the sea called Plebelziam’s memories.
If ordinary tools’ accumulated memories could be likened to a pond, Plebelziam’s, layered over a thousand years, was deep like the abyss.
A child’s mind.
It wouldn’t be strange to be swallowed instantly.
But the ember Epio harbored thoroughly protected that mind.
“………”
Suddenly, Epio regained consciousness in Plebelziam’s mental world. It felt warm and nostalgic somehow.
Countless scenes passed around such Epio like a panorama.
The time flying across battlefields, reaping countless lives.
─Held by numerous swordsmen coveting the demonic sword’s power, eroding their minds and leading them to ruin in the end.
─Encounter and clash with the Five Heroes.
─Captured by the cathedral’s executor, buried deep in ruins.
This is definitely memories within 500 years…
What was visible now weren’t memories Plebelziam had forgotten. Meaning Epio was still only on the surface of the mind.
To find older memories than this.
He had to go deeper.
Epio instinctively headed somewhere.
According to the guidance, at the destination was undoubtedly a memory that decisively influenced Plebelziam’s ego.
Pushuk!
Suddenly, the sound of stabbing something rang out.
That is…?
Epio’s eyes widened.
A tremendously familiar face appeared.
A girl with long silver hair, golden eyes, wearing a cape embroidered with sun and dragon patterns over a white poncho,
Pushuk!
Was stabbed in the chest by Plebelziam’s blade. Soon, the light of life faded from the girl’s eyes, who looked exactly like Clara.
Epio couldn’t understand the situation.
Ple…
Because,
Weren’t you supposed to hate Clara?
Despite stabbing to death the priestess of the dragon, who should clearly be an enemy,
[AAAARRRGGGHHHH!!!!!!]
Plebelziam was letting out a scream mixed with sorrow and horror.