Chapter 38
“?!”
“Shaya possesses a unique magic that can completely seal a weakened high-ranking Demon, leaving them with no chance of escape. This ability is so rare that, perhaps not just within the entire kingdom... even across the entire world, it may be the only one of its kind.”
Thud.
That was the sound of the king suddenly rising to his feet, eyes wide open, as the heavy red-bottomed royal boots collided with the base of the throne.
Such a dramatic reaction did not come from King Celt alone.
Princess Livra was equally captivated by that statement.
In her emerald eyes, the glimmer of light and shadow became even more vivid than before—she truly had no idea just how many more surprises this petite girl below the throne could bring her!
Celt raised his hand, pointing in Shaya’s direction. His voice, filled with excitement, had already begun to tremble, and in his gaze toward Shaya, there was no longer even the slightest trace of negligence or disdain.
Divine Blessing... it was a rather elusive and intangible concept.
No one had ever seen a deity, and no one could say for certain whether deities even existed.
And yet, people in this world... were born with various kinds of magic—some strong, some weak, some strange and dazzling.
There were also those born without any magic power, considered to be the forsaken ones—abandoned by the gods.
The most intuitive example was the Hero who could wield the Holy Sword’s power, and the Wright Family that gave birth to Heroes.
Why were Heroes born with extraordinary talent? Why did the Wright Family always produce strong individuals?
To this, the explanation most commonly spoken of was none other than the unverified yet widely accepted notion of Divine Blessing.
The strong were the favored darlings of the gods...!
“Hero, are you... are you serious? Do you realize what this means, if it’s true?”
“Yes. It means that our kingdom is blessed by the divine. At the same time, although we still cannot defeat high-ranking Demons in a frontal assault, this will make them more cautious, and that in itself adds another layer of protection to the kingdom’s defense.”
“That alone is already enough...! More than enough... more than enough! Even the Theocracy will realize that our kingdom now holds greater strength, and no longer need be subject to their meddling. Excellent... this is simply wonderful! Divine Blessing... hahaha! Is this real?! Livra, did you hear that?! Our kingdom is truly blessed with good fortune. First, the Hero descends upon us, and now Divine Blessing follows! This must be divine providence, granting our kingdom prosperity for generations to come!”
Livra had not seen her royal father so relaxed and joyful for many days.
The gratitude she felt toward Miss Shaya and Lord Xiarette was now beyond what words could express.
Perhaps that chance encounter she had with Miss Shaya on the street that day really was a twist of fate arranged by the heavens!
As expected—
The Prime Minister immediately sprang up to sternly object.
“This is impossible! Such a baseless claim—are we to simply accept whatever is said?!”
He repeatedly spread his hands, clearly showing that he absolutely would not accept such an unfounded statement.
“So just because the Hero says this little girl has such an ability, it must be true? Maybe the Demon Clan Princess simply hasn’t recovered yet, and the Hero is pulling a stunt to buy time? If words alone can turn lies into truth and the dead into the living, then I might as well say I can slap the Demon King to death with a single blow! I—hmm...?! Aiyoh!!”
Inside the grand hall, a sudden current of Wind Magic swept through.
Prime Minister Firex, who had been standing firmly just moments ago, suddenly slipped and flailed wildly as if he had stepped on a banana peel, ultimately crashing hard onto the floor.
His head hit the ground, and even one of his front teeth flew out!
Xiarette didn’t need to guess to know who had acted.
At that moment, Miss Shaya was still pretending to whistle, though no sound came out, casually kicking the floor with her shoe and feigning surprise.
Oh my, is this floor slippery?
Look at the Prime Minister—how did he manage to fall flat on his face?
That knocked-out tooth was meant to teach him one thing:
—Mind your words.
Really now, of all people you could have insulted, you just had to insult my father?
Fine, I’ll remember that line\~
For today, I’ll just take one of your dog teeth. If you keep acting out in the future—heh—I’ll send my regards to your whole family.
The Prime Minister was seeing stars from the fall; after getting up, he glanced left and right for quite some time before regaining his senses.
Hadn’t he been trying to prove something just now?
Well then\~ after all, this was the final step in Sheffy’s plan for today.
Today, I—Shaya—shall use my strength to secure for myself a proper and dignified status!
Miss Shaya casually stepped over to Xiarette’s side and pointed at the Holy Sword Sylatrella hanging at her waist.
Xiarette gave a knowing nod, then, according to their prearranged plan, spoke to the king.
“Your Majesty, if the Prime Minister wishes for Shaya to provide proof, there is no better way here and now. How about this: if Shaya can resonate with the kingdom’s treasured Holy Sword Sylatrella, would that be sufficient to prove the matter?”
“This...!”
This time, King Celt and the Prime Minister reacted in much the same way.
They both believed—this was absolutely impossible.
Firex knew very well that, according to legend, the Theocracy had once tried to send powerful individuals to steal the Holy Sword, yet the sword would not grant them even the slightest bit of magic power. In their hands, it was nothing more than a slightly sharper piece of scrap metal.
In fact, the Holy Sword’s magic seemed to be set in such a way that it could only be wielded by the Hero blessed by the divine.
Well... aside from that, there was something else.
For centuries, the Holy Sword had remained in a dormant state, unconsciously providing magic to the Wright Family through a magic formation. This fact had long been forgotten by both the kingdom’s and the Theocracy’s leadership over the millennia.
According to what Xiarette had said... if Shaya truly managed to wield the sword’s magic, it would not be a simple matter of “proof.”
Miss Shaya looked rather nervous, and Livra clasped her hands tightly before her chest, sweating on her behalf.
Come on, Miss Shaya... you can definitely do it!
Yes, yes, I’m super nervous right now!
Sheffy, with her back to the others, took small, uneven steps that looked very anxious.
But Xiarette could see it clearly... Sheffy was clearly smiling with joy!
Of course she was happy\~ this was the final step of today’s plan. Once it was done, she could go home to her big soft bed and sleep soundly!
Xiarette placed her hand on the blade of the Holy Sword, channeling her magic to communicate with the spirit dwelling within—Sylatrella.
Once she confirmed that little Sylatrella was awake, Xiarette nodded toward Sheffy in confirmation.
Did that even need confirming?
If she wasn’t awake, you could just shout “pervert!” and she’d surely wake up.
No time to waste.
Under the tense or disdainful gazes of the king, the Prime Minister, and the others, Shaya raised both hands high and accepted the Holy Sword that Xiarette handed to her.
Looking at the broad sword, its golden edges gleaming with an extraordinary presence as it rested steadily between her arms, Sheffy recalled the simple instructions she had given to Sylatrella earlier.
“You understand, right? When I ask you for some magic power, just release a little—symbolically—so it looks like we’re resonating.”
“Lady Sheffy! We really are resonating already! If you wish, we can even dance together!”
Hmm... that should be clear enough, I think.
Xiarette deliberately took a few steps back.
After all, the Hero could not channel magic through the Holy Sword without touching it. In this way, if the sword did resonate, it would clearly have nothing to do with her.
Sheffy held the Holy Sword steadily before her.
Between her palms, she applied a slight pressure—this was the signal.
"Let’s begin."
At first, there was no change in the Holy Sword.
But after waiting just a moment longer...
Zzz—
It was like a Light Magic Crystal suddenly lighting up.
On the surface of the Holy Sword, delicate golden lights began to float—without a doubt, this was the magic unique to the Holy Sword Sylatrella.
"Oh...! The Holy Sword is actually...!" The king was astonished and excited.
"This can’t be..." The Prime Minister, now missing a front tooth, was in utter disbelief.
Just as Sheffy was inwardly delighted and about to signal Sylatrella to withdraw the magic so they could go home and sleep...
The golden motes of magic suddenly grew denser.
The increase in density was just the beginning.
In an instant, the concentration of magic surged upward—forming a powerful golden magic storm from the top of the Holy Sword all the way up to the crystal ceiling of the palace!
The forceful magic wind had the Prime Minister staggering wildly, and even the king, seated far away, needed Livra’s support to barely keep from falling off his throne.
The king was completely stunned—what kind of divine miracle was this...?!
Even Xiarette hurried over to try and control the Holy Sword’s magic, but it was no use.
The golden storm only seemed to grow stronger and wilder; the hall quickly descended into chaos and noise.
This left Sheffy absolutely furious!
She smacked the sword’s blade sharply and shouted into the center of the storm:
"What the heck are you doing?!"
"It’s the first time Lady Sheffy asked for me... so I have to try my best! I can die for this! Lady Sheffy can use all my magic!"
"I don’t need that much! Pull it back now!"
"I don’t care! I just want to give give give give give!!"
39. Status
"Ah... it was simply a disaster... an absolute disaster!"
Several days later, Miss Shaya, recalling her recent visit to the palace, could not help but let out this soft and weary sigh.
Looking back now, wasn’t it exactly a disaster?
I mean, originally, this was supposed to be a simple display of resonance with the Holy Sword—Sylatrella was just supposed to give off a couple flashes of light, and that would have been it.
But no—she simply refused to comply!
She just had to be so rebellious!
Good grief, the way she unleashed her magic—it was as if she intended to release all her power at once!
One must understand that the Holy Sword’s magic was the very foundation for the Defense Barrier, constructed across the entire border between the Demon Domain and the human kingdoms a thousand years ago. To unleash such a vast amount of magic at full force within such a small space... well, you can imagine what that scene must have been like, right?
Or maybe not—it was so chaotic back then, after all.
Let’s put it this way:
The soldiers stationed outside the castle, upon seeing that golden pillar of light piercing through the castle’s upper floors and shooting into the sky, thought that someone was attempting to assassinate the king. They reacted swiftly, mobilizing en masse and storming into the castle—only to find that none of them could even locate the throne room.
Because... everywhere inside the castle, as far as the eye could see, was a vast golden sea.
Forget about finding their bearings—they couldn’t even see fellow soldiers standing a few paces away.
Apart from the golden pillar of light that had destroyed the upper floors of the castle, the rest of the magic seemed purely for display—there was no offensive magic imbued within it.
According to a soldier who later participated in the defense, the scene he witnessed... was truly too divine.
It was something he might never forget for the rest of his life.
The soldiers, initially panicked and charging in, were awestruck by this flowing golden sea of light, convinced that a deity had descended—and one by one, they fell to their knees in reverence.
Witnessing this scene, the soldier himself could not help but be swept up by the emotions of the moment; he lowered his spear, dropped to his knees with a thud, and wept openly.
Oh divine one... if you are truly here, please tell me—tell me—why did my wife run off with another man?! Why have I stood guard at the castle gates for twenty years, and still remain but a lowly gate sentinel?!
This was a question even a deity could not answer.
For the man had already given himself the answer.