The Sword Master’s Son-in-Law

– Orc Shaman (2)

First, leaving the orc shaman behind for the moment, I carefully assessed the battlefield.

“The Silver Knights have no serious injuries.”

All merely minor wounds.

You could say they’re good at the rotation.

Their training was thorough.

They were very effectively draining the strength of the recklessly charging orcs.

But-.

“That doesn’t mean the knights are at an advantage.”

Had the strengthened orcs lost their fear, their stamina endlessly increased?

The orcs charged at the knights relentlessly.

And the Silver Knights, overwhelmed by that momentum, were steadily being pushed back.

“Well, if I take down the orc shaman, this sorcery should unravel too, right?”

I resolved to deal with the orc shaman, if only to return a favor to Asia.

“If I do her a favor, maybe her attitude will improve a little.”

Thinking such a shallow thought, I reached for my waist.

But-.

It was gone.

My sword was missing.

Come to think of it, my weapon, the Baihua Sword, was currently in Asia’s hands.

“Ah… this isn’t good, is it?”

Fighting bare-handed would take too long.

Of course, I could wrap mana around my fists and deal with them quickly.

But that was something I absolutely didn’t want to do.

My mana spins roughly.

Even wrapping mana around a thin sword blade tears it to shreds. What would happen with a fist, with an area wider than a blade?

Imagine attacking an orc with spinning mana wrapped around your fist.

A scene I dreaded awaited me, one difficult to witness with open eyes.

Orc blood was certain to spray everywhere, much of it destined for my face.

That, I didn’t relish.

‘If that’s the case… what *can* I do…?’

My gaze swept over the knights locked in battle.

One knight in particular.

Unlike the others, he wielded two swords.

A curious knight, using only one of the pair.

‘Surely his name was… Teddy, wasn’t it?’

Sweating profusely, I approached Teddy, who was diligently fighting off orcs.

And with the reflexes of old…

“Just let me borrow one!”

I plucked one of the swords from Teddy.

Though I heard a voice behind me, likely questioning my audacity, I dismissed it and headed straight for the orc shaman.

*

Teddy of the Pure Silver Knights.

He had garnered a great many nicknames.

Teddy the rising star, Teddy the next Captain, Teddy of the Single Blade.

All flattering names.

But Teddy wasn’t only known by such accolades.

Though he possessed many admirable titles, he had just as many unflattering ones.

Teddy the tightwad, Teddy the penny-pincher, Teddy the skinflint.

The undesirable nicknames were almost always related to money.

The truth was, Teddy was notorious among his comrades for his frugality.

Yet, this same Teddy once made a significant decision.

“So, are you buying it or not? If not, please leave. You’re hindering my business.”

“Eh…? J-just a moment…”

“You’ve been saying ‘just a moment…’ for an hour now. Please, just decide!”

“I… I’m sorry. Haa… yes… I’ll take it! I’ll buy it!”

This was Teddy, often labelled a cheapskate.

He had saved up his already meager knight’s salary, and invested a fortune in a sword.

A sword made of pure mithril, no less.

Of course, it wasn’t *entirely* mithril, but it was a dwarven-made sword that could rightly be called a masterpiece.

“Your name shall be Shepherious!”

Teddy cherished the newly acquired mithril sword so much, he gave it a name straight out of a fairy tale.

But since acquiring the mithril sword, Teddy had never once used it.

“It’s too precious to use in a situation like this.”

Even during practice duels with live steel, or monster subjugation missions, he would use his old, worn sword.

Not that he left the mithril sword behind.

Teddy always carried his precious mithril sword at his hip.

Like a talisman.

“Hey, it’s just a black blade. Not some treasure. What good is it just holding it like that?”

Teddy’s actions remained unchanged, despite his comrade’s words.

Now, the mithril sword was less a weapon of war, more akin to a charm.

He cherished that sword so…

“Lend it to me a moment!”

And that prized sword was stolen by Arthas.

Distracted by the orcs, Teddy was helpless as the sword was snatched away.

“N-No lending!”

He shouted in desperation, but Arthas was already moving away.

Teddy hurried to follow and grab Arthas who had stolen his beloved sword.

But then-.

“Teddy, what in the blazes are you doing! Are you trying to get us all killed! Get back to your post!!!”

Even a slight shift in position brought a flood of orcs crashing down.

Teddy found himself unable to abandon his station.

The formation would surely collapse the instant he left.

The result, of course, would be the annihilation of the entire knighthood.

Teddy was left with no choice but to hold his ground.

Even so, he kept his eyes glued to Arthas.

‘Huh…?’

Arthas, weaving through the orcs, was fast and strong.

He was felling even the toughest orcs with ease, using Teddy’s own sword.

A strange sense of joy welled up within Teddy.

‘Yes… To be wielded by a strong one… That must be a blessing for the sword.’

He was trying to rationalize it, to feel good for his sword when…

The moment the orc shaman and Arthas faced each other, he witnessed the scene.

Mana was enveloping his beloved sword.

But then-.

Crack. Scrrriitch.

The instant mana swirled around the blade, cracks began to spiderweb across the mithril.

An ominous feeling washed over Teddy.

‘N-No way?’

He had heard tales.

Of swords shattering when a wielder’s mana was too potent for them to bear.

‘It can’t be…?’

But Arthas was young.

He hadn’t imagined he possessed such power.

At least a Sword Master would be needed for such a thing to occur.

Therefore, the sounds of the sword cracking had to be his imagination.

So, Teddy soothed himself.

‘Alright, I must have been mistaken, surely.’

Even as he reassured himself thus…

An ill feeling persisted.

Teddy couldn’t shake the feeling that he was hearing the sword’s voice.

‘Ma-Master, I think I’m going to die. If we keep going like this, I… I’ll shatter!’

Teddy dismissed it as a hallucination, a baseless worry born of dark thoughts, denying the voice.

He shook his head repeatedly, trying to gather his wits.

Just as Teddy was struggling to banish those ominous thoughts,

Arthas, who was facing the Orc Shaman, charged toward him.

The instant Arthas’s sword clashed with the Orc Shaman’s staff,

*Kwa-ga-gang.*

Teddy became the sole witness to this event.

The sword he had cherished until now.

The sword he had treasured so much that he couldn’t bear to use it in battle, fearing it would be damaged.

That sword.

“N-No, Shephirius!!!”

He became the sole witness to the moment it shattered, breaking into countless pieces.

The fragmented sword fell like snow.

And that scene unfolded for Teddy as if in slow motion.

Scattered pieces of the sword.

A single tear trickled down Teddy’s cheek as he gazed at those fragments.

Simultaneously, a gaze filled with resentment was sent toward the perpetrator who had shattered it.

But that man…

‘Sorry!’

Apologized with a smiling face, devoid of any sincerity.

*

“Weaker than I thought…? Was it a cheap sword?”

He offered a casual apology to the knight who had lent him the sword.

‘Sorry!’

Only with his lips, since he wouldn’t be able to hear.

Anyway, though the borrowed sword had broken, it wasn’t without meaning.

Because the Orc Shaman’s staff had broken as well.

“$@!$!#%#@”

“What’s he saying? Is he very flustered?”

The magic stone hidden inside the staff had shattered.

At the same time, the momentum of the Orc horde weakened.

The Orc Shaman’s magic must have weakened.

As a result, the battle was overturned in an instant.

The weakened Orcs fell one by one to the knights’ swords.

And one of those knights…

‘Was it Teddy, the lad I borrowed the sword from? Seems he harbored quite the grudge against those Orcs.’

Teddy cleaved through Orcs as if unleashing pent-up fury.

His rage was palpable, unlike the other knights.

“That magic stone… it truly was something.”

I’d heard they were used in magic, but for a simple Orcish spell to become this potent…

A peculiar thing indeed.

“!$!#%#@”

“It’s frustrating, not being able to understand him.”

Perhaps he’s furious the stone shattered?

The Orc Shaman, consumed by rage, charged towards me.

“But… a Shaman initiating close combat with a swordsman?”

This was the Orc Shaman’s folly.

I suppose they truly are monsters.

Intelligent, but lacking reason.

Unable to contain his fury over the shattered staff, he charged, incapable of assessing the situation.

I snatched a shard of the broken sword from the ground and flung it at the onrushing Orc Shaman.

The shard spun through the air, striking the Orc Shaman squarely between the eyes.

The shard lodged in his brow, and he collapsed.

Simultaneously, the battle between the Silver Knights and the Orcs concluded.

Naturally, with the Silver Knights victorious.

The Silver Knights rejoiced in their victory.

But then, one of them.

Teddy strode purposefully towards me.

“Do you even realize what you’ve done!!!”

What I’ve done?

Yes, I do.

I contributed to the Silver Knights’ victory, did I not?

I truly had no idea why Teddy was so irate.

‘Surely, he’s not angry about breaking the sword he lent me, is he?’