Chapter 20
"Yes, yes!! Lady Sheffy is so smart! So amazing!!"
"Hahahaha!! I didn’t expect a pervert like you to have such a sweet mouth!! Keep the compliments coming—who knows, maybe I’ll give you a bite of my donut!"
This too was a lie.
That shameless Sheffy simply wanted to hear praise; she never had the slightest intention of sharing her beloved donut.
But Sylatrella didn’t want the donut anyway. She continued clapping her small hands in admiration, like a devotee worshiping the exalted Lady Sheffy!
Faced with this hellish scene... Xiarette had long lost the will to retort.
She walked over to the Holy Sword, gently placed her palm on its blade, and closed her eyes to sense the magical circuitry within.
It was just as Sheffy had said. The once boundless and oceanic magical energy she used to feel within the Holy Sword had dwindled to a mere fraction of its former glory. What remained continued to fade away naturally. At this point, the Holy Sword was nothing more than an empty shell.
After confirming this—
Xiarette sat back down on the chair.
She looked toward Sheffy, hesitated for a long time.
In the end, her cheeks slightly reddened, and she spoke a subtle, somewhat abrupt sentence.
"Sheffy, come... sit here."
"Huh...? What’s up with that? There’s still another seat over there, isn’t there?"
"Just... don’t worry about it. It’s only for a while. Once we’re done talking, you can go run wild again."
"Ooh... fine, fine. You worry too much—I’m not gonna cause trouble."
With a small grunt, Sheffy plopped herself onto Xiarette’s soft lap.
Ooh...! Xiarette’s thighs really were far more comfortable than any chair!
She had assumed Xiarette was just trying to stop her from being too noisy, using this method to “seal” her.
Damn that Xiarette... this “seal” was surprisingly effective!
Xiarette gazed fondly at the little one swaying back and forth on her lap, unable to resist reaching from behind to gently stroke her silver hair.
Sheffy would never understand that Xiarette’s current behavior was driven by a woman’s possessiveness.
—Primarily, it was a show of dominance toward Sylatrella.
That blue-haired girl kept calling her “Lady Sheffy”... acting as if she were all close and familiar with *my* Sheffy...
Sylatrella knelt on the bed with her fingers to her lips, casting an envious glance toward the chair.
To communicate in this posture was a matter of Xiarette’s dignity and position!
"You say you’re the true form of the Holy Sword, but I’ve never heard of the Holy Sword having a true form?"
"The current Hero... Xiarette, correct?"
"That's me."
"I was born over a thousand years ago. The things you haven't heard of... heh... aren't they far too many? Truly naïve... mmph...! I’m speaking properly now! I’m not being arrogant! Not being arrogant!"
Sheffy's raised little fist carried the deterrent force of a strategic weapon!
Only then did Sylatrella finally begin to properly explain the whole story.
Her eyes were beautiful—starlit irises that blinked like meteors streaking by.
That shimmer was actually the glint of Sylatrella’s ancient and distant memories.
"A thousand years ago, the Human Kingdom was on the brink of destruction. The first Demon King launched a massive invasion. The greatest champions of humanity gathered at the Sword-Tempering Pool in the royal palace, intending to forge a Holy Sword of infinite magical power to turn the tide of war."
"Yes, that part is recorded in the history books," Xiarette nodded in affirmation. "It’s said that the first Hero and the strongest warriors gathered by the king sacrificed all their magic to create a Holy Sword blessed with power lasting for millennia. Whoever is recognized by the Holy Sword becomes the Chosen Hero."
"Nonsense!"
Sylatrella suddenly clenched the bedsheet and rose.
Her previously cute face darkened with stormy clouds. The hatred and gritted teeth did not match her normally soft and delicate demeanor—it was overflowing with resentment.
"It wasn’t their magic that was sacrificed... They threw *me* into the Sword-Tempering Pool! Treated me as the magic core to supply the Holy Sword!"
"?!"
That statement didn’t just startle Xiarette.
Though Sheffy didn’t move, her brow twitched slightly in response.
Sylatrella’s little fists clenched tighter and tighter, as if she could crush that thousand-year-old kingdom between them.
"I was... human once too."
"My magic was naturally far more abundant than anyone else's... They came to me that day and told me... those with ability must make sacrifices for the country. I could’ve run... I had so much magic they couldn’t lay a hand on me. But they captured my family... said if I didn’t jump into the fire pool, they’d throw them all in instead... Heh... that day, I wore my favorite dress and carried the bunny doll my mother gave me... and jumped in. And now, centuries later, they claim all the credit for themselves...?"
As Sylatrella spoke, she buried her head into the bed sheets and stopped moving.
No one could tell if that was silent sobbing...
Or hatred that could never be washed away.
Sheffy had no energy to tend to her emotions.
Because she could feel it—her own lap was trembling ever so slightly.
Looking back, she indeed saw Xiarette’s eyes wide with disbelief.
It was natural.
For a Hero who protected the Kingdom to hear of such foundational darkness in its history—it was bound to shake her.
But this was reality.
Every nation carried with it unspeakable light and shadow. What history recorded was not always the truth—illusion often coexisted with glory.
"Xiarette."
“She... Sheffy?”
“I’ll just say one thing.” Sheffy leaned the back of her head against the softness of Xiarette’s chest, looking up at her like a little adult, “No matter what you’ve heard, don’t blame yourself. Remember—no matter what, it wasn’t your fault.”
The wavering stilled. Warmth surged.
Sheffy, sitting on Xiarette’s lap, was the cornerstone that steadied her heart.
She had always been that way.
A faint smile surfaced on Xiarette’s face.
“Mm... I understand, Sheffy. Don’t worry.”
“Aw! That’s good. Anyway, Xiarette’s so dumb, she wouldn’t care about something like this anyway.”
“I’m not...! Um... Sheffy, instead of worrying about me, shouldn’t we talk to that child first?”
“tsk... One after another, such a bother.”
Sheffy hopped down from Xiarette’s lap.
She stepped forward, walking over to Sylatrella, who had buried her head in the bed sheets and hadn’t moved an inch.
Based on the conversation just now, Sheffy could roughly deduce that the so-called Holy Sword Sylatrella, said to have infinite magic, was likely the result of the first Hero and the Kingdom’s strongest inscribing some sort of spell into the Holy Sword—forcing Sylatrella, as the core, to endlessly supply magic to it.
There was no such thing as “infinite”—this was nothing but exploitation...!
Sylatrella had been forced to work non-stop for over a thousand years.
Sheffy wasn’t very good at comforting people.
But she thought, maybe she could say a few words...?
And just then—
She suddenly heard a bizarre noise.
Sylatrella was rubbing her cheek against the bedsheet.
The sound of her blue hair brushing against the fabric made a faint rustling, and it was accompanied by her low murmurs.
“Hehe... ehehe... the bedsheet... smells like Lady Sheffy... so nice... Hmm? Lady Sheffy?!”
“You pervert...”
“I-I’m not!!”
“Die, you!!”
“Ah!”
**20. The Awakening’s Catalyst**
The little Holy Sword Sylatrella sat dazed, her head buzzing from Sheffy’s "educational" punches, looking around blankly.
According to her, after being engraved into the Holy Sword and turned into its magical core, her consciousness lingered for a time—but it was confined within the sword, able only to observe without leaving. Thus, she witnessed the Kingdom’s ancient history of repelling the Demon Clan.
However, her awareness only lasted through that brief war period.
When peace returned to the Kingdom—
The king of that era gathered all the strongest human warriors and used the Holy Sword’s power to construct a massive \[Holy Magic Barrier] at the borders of the kingdom to repel the Demon Clan. Sylatrella’s magic was depleted, and her consciousness fell into a slumber indistinguishable from death.
That slumber lasted a full thousand years.
Though her consciousness faded, the slowly recovering magic power continued to supply the Holy Sword, safeguarding the Kingdom without cease.
The world knew only the Holy Sword \[Sylatrella], but never the true source of its might.
Had Sylatrella not appeared to reveal all this... even Xiarette, the Hero herself, would have remained ignorant.
Her story had come to an end.
Though Xiarette felt deep sympathy, her cautious nature led her to lean close to Sheffy's ear and whisper:
"Hey, Sheffy... do you think this is credible? No matter how you look at it... this spans a thousand years. Even if she’s making it all up, we have no way to verify anything. I’m worried..."
"You’re worried she’s lying on purpose and actually came to assassinate me?"
"Anything’s possible, right?"
"True, it’s always wise to stay on guard—just like with every fish you pull out of the water, you can’t be sure it won’t slap you with its tail. They're all pretty sly."
"No, no, no... I don’t think that has anything to do with fishing."
Sylatrella had no idea what they were whispering about.
She was busy pulling threads from the bedsheet and tying them into all sorts of odd shapes, giggling at her own creations—completely like a curious, innocent child discovering the world.
Xiarette was tangled up inside, pondering how to handle this safely.
But Sheffy suddenly raised a hand and snapped her fingers—though the snap made no sound at all.
"Hehe, stop overthinking it, Xiarette. Your cautious approach is spot-on, but this time, you’re overdoing it."
"You mean to say...?"
"I’m saying she’s not lying."
"But we don’t have any proof...?"
"Sure we do!"
Sheffy placed one hand on her hip and suddenly tiptoed, bringing her cheek right up to Xiarette’s face.
The abrupt closeness startled Xiarette into instinctively stepping back—only to immediately regret doing so!
Ugh... If she hadn’t backed away just now, and Sheffy had accidentally leaned in further with that adorable face—something good might’ve happened!
But regret was useless. Besides, Sheffy was too composed to make such clumsy mistakes.
Sheffy pointed at her own eye with a finger.
Naturally, Xiarette followed the direction of her finger.
There, deep in Sheffy’s violet left eye, something like a magical vortex stirred—resembling a magic circle in constant motion. It was subtle enough that it wouldn’t be noticed without careful observation.
Xiarette blinked and sincerely marveled.
"Sheffy’s eyes... are so beautiful."
"I’m not telling you to admire my eyes! Look at the magic! The magic!"
Sheffy continued tiptoeing, trying to help Xiarette get a clearer look.