I Returned with the Cheat Holy Sword

Of course, since she too was enrolled as a student, there were times when Gray attended classes at Yoram.

Though, the format of those “classes” was very different from what other students received.
Frankly, the phrase “teaching the Hero” was already a bit off.
It was closer to “helping her realize things on her own.”

She was someone who had long since surpassed the basics the academy offered. What suited her better was piling up experience and identifying her own gaps to fill.
“—I surrender.”
When Shiona Libelle raised both hands and said that, Gray let out a sigh and lowered the sword she had pointed at her.

The spirit energy swirling around Shiona dissipated all at once.
“Whew—you're still a total monster. Even with more than three spirits out, I still lost.”
“You weren’t even fighting seriously.”

“…Excuse me?”
“Dragonblood. You didn’t use it.”
Shiona chuckled.

“Lady Hero, that’s technically top secret. You can’t just say that out loud.”
“You slew a dragon a few years ago. What’s the point in hiding it now?”
Gray sighed and sheathed the Holy Sword as Shiona shrugged.

“So? Did you master it? That thing they call clairvoyance?”
Truthfully, the way that guy—Carlyle—moved had looked very similar.
As if he already knew what was going to happen a few seconds into the future.

“No. I kind of picked it up.”
“…What?”
“I watched him use it a few times and got the gist. So I copied it.”
“……”

…No, seriously, she is a monster.
She didn’t even learn it formally—just eyeballed it a few times and now could use it the same way?
“More importantly, how’s that going?”

“Huh?”
Caught off guard by the sudden question, Shiona tilted her head. Gray furrowed her brows.
“You said you were digging into that guy. Found anything yet?”

Ah.
Now that she mentioned it, she did say to share anything that came up.
…Mr. Carlyle sure is popular.

The Gray Cardinal, the Hero—few people were worth this much attention from either, let alone both.
But clearly, he was a person with a past intriguing enough to warrant it.
“Nothing.”

“…What?”
“I mean it. There’s literally nothing.”
“……”

“The earliest trace I found was a record of him being adopted into an orphanage around the age of fifteen. That’s it. No data on where he was born, who raised him, or how he even ended up there.”
Technically speaking, it wasn’t that strange.
No matter how developed the administrative network was, there were always people living beyond the net. Carlyle Belfast could’ve just been one of those.

“But there was one curious thing.”
“…Like what?”
When she retraced records associated with the name “Valthheimer,” as mentioned by the Gray Cardinal—

She found something... odd.
She looked into records of people who had passed through the periphery of the Valthheimer family—the same family the Cardinal had once grown up in.
“There’s no record of a person named Carlyle Belfast… but there is a record of a ‘Belfast family.’”

“…?”
As Gray blinked in confusion, Shiona rested her chin on her fingers and continued.
Her expression said: Aha! Now we’re getting somewhere.

“It was a family wiped out by imperial order. Every member executed, all records erased.”
Gray’s expression darkened.
“…Why?”

“No clue. All related records were scrubbed. And honestly, we don’t even know if that Belfast family has anything to do with Carlyle Belfast.”
It could just be a coincidence. A different person with the same name. Not uncommon in a massive empire.
…There was no definitive link. Everything was uncertain and vague.

But what was clear—
Was that this wasn’t just any case.
The Emperor himself and his closest aides had personally stepped in to erase a family from existence.

If that was connected to Carlyle Belfast—
“Lady Hero. I don’t say this kind of thing lightly, but… from here on, I think you should tread carefully.”
“What?”

“There’s something real deep and real dark behind that guy. Or worse—something dangerous.”
“……”
Gray closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them.

“I’ll be the judge of that.”
“…Hmph.”
“Besides, that old Cardinal. He’s got his eyes on him too, doesn’t he? And you’re investigating under his authority, right?”

“Oh, you knew?”
Shiona’s innocent reply was met with a sudden jab to the gut.
A clean straight punch.

…And the fact that she only ended up coughing meant she was surprisingly durable.
Gray scoffed.
“Don’t hog the intel. I want every scrap you get.”

“—Yes, ma’am. Understood.”
As Gray let out an internal sigh while watching Shiona sniffle—
Suddenly—

“…?”
A sharp jolt pricked at her from the Holy Sword on her back.
What the hell?

That had never happened before. Was this a new function of the sword?
She tilted her head and focused her senses on the magical pattern.
“…Huh.”

It was like someone capable of resonating with the Holy Sword was sending a kind of signal.
The location—
“…The Forest of Eternity?”

***
After the incident with Retty, the rest of the trial went surprisingly smoothly.
They even reached the forest’s central area without encountering any other students.

“…I think we might be the first ones here?”
“Looks like it.”
The problem started here.

The path into the heart of the Forest of Eternity was blocked by a massive spherical barrier.
It’s a reverse-polarity field. The longer time passes, the weaker it gets. You’ll be able to pass through it easily by tomorrow morning.
…Why put something like that here if arriving early earns you more points?

Well, even poking a small hole through it gets you a perfect score. It’s meant to be an impossible barrier for any freshman to break in one night—so they’re saying, give it a try anyway.
They’ll assume it was easy thanks to me.
The Holy Sword sounded smug as it said that, while Carlyle studied the barrier in front of them.

It looked solid. Incredibly so.
If we combine my mana with Vespa’s help, we might pull it off. But it won’t be easy.
Do we really have to go that far?

The person who set this up was the Headmaster. Of course we do.
…
…He really had a way of applying his skills in the most twisted ways.

Carlyle sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
…Well, shall we just wait until morning then?
…Why? It’s not like you can’t break through. You’d rather camp out here?

The Hero sounded deeply annoyed, but Carlyle replied calmly.
Vespa looks tired. I don’t want to push her unnecessarily.
It wasn’t like anything bad would happen if they entered tomorrow morning.

They just had to clear the test.
…………
The Holy Sword clammed up, clearly displeased.

It practically radiated discontent.
So you’re saying, the two of you are going to sleep here tonight? Together? Alone in the forest?
I know it’s not ideal.

Spending the night in a wild forest was harder than it sounded.
The bugs were awful, the noise was surprisingly stressful, and the physical exhaustion was no joke.
Well, that was why they’d packed full camping gear.

Let’s rest while we can.
He relayed that plan to Vespa.
“I don’t /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ think it’ll be too difficult…”

She glanced back toward the camp.
It was the tent that she and Carlyle—well, mostly Carlyle—had set up while she fumbled beside him.
“…Isn’t that a bit small?”

“……”
Hmm.
Carlyle looked over the tent and gave a silent nod.

…It really didn’t look wide enough for two people to sleep separately.
“So, we’ll probably have to stay close together for the night.”
“……”

“We might even have to, uh… sleep side by side…”
Her voice trailed off, softer and softer.
“……”

“……”
The chirping of bugs filled the awkward silence.
…You scumbag. Pervert. Monkey with a brain full of hormones—

Excuse me, who’s the one making it weird here?
They were just going to sleep, that’s all.
It’s not like Carlyle would do anything indecent to Vespa.

The real issue was how overprotective this sword was.
I know this isn’t the best time to say this… but are you maybe… sexually dysfunctional?
……

Do you even *work* down there? You’re just going to ignore a setup like this and pretend nothing’s happening?
…It works fine.
If the question was whether he had interest—sure, he was a guy, he wasn’t made of stone.

But time, place, and boundaries mattered. Did this sword think he was some kind of animal?
It wasn’t like he and Vespa were anywhere near crossing that kind of line.
We’re both adults. It’s not the end of the world. We know how to behave.

…I trust one of you. The one who absolutely won’t make a move. The other is the problem.
What the hell was that supposed to mean?
What, you don’t trust me? All I have to do is stay still, right?

You’re not the problem—…never mind. Just bite your tongue and die.
……
A sudden barrage of vicious insults left him speechless.

As Carlyle stared blankly into space, Vespa fiddled with her fingers beside him.
“T-Then, Mr. Carlyle, shall we… s-sleep together?”
“……”

Why say it like that?
Her phrasing made Carlyle suddenly recall everything the sword had just said. He cleared his throat awkwardly.
“Sure. Shall we go?”

—Wait.
Right after he answered, the Holy Sword suddenly spoke up.
This isn’t the time for that. You should be thinking of breaking that barrier and finishing the trial instead.

Why now?
Because someone’s coming.
What?

Don’t ask me how she figured it out. But I can feel her presence—she’s headed this way.
At those words, a chill ran down his spine.
—Here? Now? Seriously?

Her energy is clear.
…Shit.
The person who couldn’t stand the sight of him talking to anyone—who had even crashed a study group out of sheer possessiveness—was about to see him and Vespa possibly sleeping together?

She’ll go berserk, won’t she?
Oh, without a doubt.
Damn it.

Carlyle clenched his jaw and stepped toward the barrier.
…No choice. He had to find a way to break it.
Why is she even coming here out of nowhere? Any clue?

How would I know?
If Carlyle hadn’t been so rattled, he might’ve noticed the stiffness in the sword’s voice—like it was trying to cover something up.
As if it was feeling a twinge of guilt.

…But for now—
Truly—
Looks like she did something to sabotage what she wants to keep all to herself.

Feigning complete innocence—
As if it knew nothing at all.