"Legendary Sword?"
"Yes. They say it's sealed beneath this royal palace, waiting for the one chosen to wield it."
Onee, who served Prince Heinz, frowned slightly. Inside, he thought, How suspicious.
A "Legendary Sword" was standard fantasy fare, but the idea that such an important relic sat conveniently nearby felt too easy.
He once asked a Catholic friend, "Hey, do they really keep holy relics or legendary weapons under the Vatican?"
The friend snapped, "Of course not, idiot!" So yes—better not ask that again.
But in Japan, it wasn't unusual for shrines or temples to house swords or relics of heroes. So it was fine there.
Unfair world, really.
"I think Yuuki might be the one destined for the Legendary Sword," said the prince. "No weapon ever suits you, perhaps because only the Legendary Sword will."
The truth? Onee's strength already made warriors like Cú Chulainn blush.
If he drew that sword, one legend might end, and another begin.
"If Your Highness insists, I'll undergo the sword's selection."
Despite his doubts, Onee kept a calm, gentlemanly air before the prince.
Such poise made Prince Heinz's admiration rise even higher.
"Truly, Yuuki, you're too fine a knight for me. If only you could marry Grace—I'd rest easy."
The praise backfired. Now the prince spoke like a matchmaking aunt.
Still, a man who could recommend his love rival so gracefully was admirable.
Too bad the one standing before him wasn't a man—but Onee.
"My loyalty, my sword, belong to Your Highness. But I vowed to entrust my blade only to my late wife. Grace deserves someone more fitting than a weak man like me."
Inside, Onee thought, Stop hesitating and just confess already, you coward, but showed no sign of it.
To him, Grace was like a little sister.
It was a secret that she often sulked after his harsh "feminine advice."
"I see. Then I won't mention it again," said the prince.
He didn't know that, in his mind, Onee had already become the perfect knight.
Truly, a sinful existence.
...
The great hall that held the Legendary Sword was guarded by a dragon.
Unless one broke the seal and claimed the sword, survival was impossible.
"...Well, not that it mattered to Yuuki."
In front of Grace lay the silver dragon—unconscious, thanks to a solid punch from Onee.
The dragon, meant for a sword wielder, looked no fiercer than a puppy before a dragon-slaying knight.
"So this is the Legendary Sword, huh."
Onee and Grace walked to the back of the hall.
A single sword was set into a pedestal before an altar.
Its blade shone like a mirror, and a gem filled with magic adorned the hilt.
It truly looked worthy of the title "legendary."
"Hmm. It won't budge."
"What a stubborn sword. Let's see if the prince's judgment was right—can I pull it out?"
Grace tried first, but the sword didn't move an inch.
Onee watched, then placed his hand on the hilt. His muscles tightened as he poured all his strength into it.
"Fnuahhhhhhh!!"
That was his real voice—deep, powerful. Oneewas in full serious mode.
Grace, seeing that raw masculinity, placed a hand on her chest. Her heart fluttered.
"A..."
Something cracked softly, as if answering Onee's resolve.
"It came out!?"
The Legendary Sword now rested in Onee's hands.
...With a heavy pedestal still attached to the tip.
"Of course, it would."
"Oh no, get off already!"
Onee stepped on the pedestal and tried to pull it free, but the sword refused to separate.
Apparently, he hadn't been chosen by the sword—he had simply forced it out.
The sword seemed to radiate a stubborn will of its own, as if saying, I refuse to fall for you any more than this.
"Yuuki, watch out! The dragon's waking up!"
While they argued, the dragon Onee had knocked out began to stir.
Onee was still wrestling with the sword, and Grace drew her own blade to buy time—but it was useless.
"...Eh?"
It happened in an instant.
Just as Grace faced the dragon, Onee moved like lightning and cut it down in a single stroke.
In his hand gleamed the Legendary Sword.
That figure, bathed in light, looked as noble and beautiful as a sacred painting.
...If only the pedestal weren't still attached.
"So it's still stuck!?"
"Grace, this is amazing! Even with my full strength, it doesn't break, and the weight feels perfect!"
"Eh? Oh, uh... good for you, Yuuki."
Grace stared blankly while Onee—now thrilled to finally wield a proper weapon—beamed with pride.
It seemed the sword fit him best only with the "limiter" pedestal still on.
"But you weren't chosen, so we'd better put it back."
"Oh, come on. Let me keep it like this."
"Please don't. I'm begging you."
A knight who defeats dragons barehanded is strange enough.
A knight who fights with a Legendary Sword turned blunt weapon? Even stranger.
At Grace's calm urging, Onee reluctantly returned the sword to its place.
Peace returned once more to the otherworld.
...
Meanwhile, in Takamagahara.
"The Legendary Sword, huh? So romantic. Maybe I should craft my own version—like Amaterasu's Sword!"
Amaterasu-sama, who often watched Onee's adventures from afar, seemed deeply intrigued.
"You already have one," said Tsukuyomi-sama. "Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi."
"But that one's so plain."
Calling one of the Three Sacred Treasures "plain" was bold, to say the least.
In truth, Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi was said to have swept away three thousand towns—about three kilometers—in one strike.
Definitely not plain.
Some even claimed it once left Yamato Takeru's hand and swung itself.
That's terrifying.
It had also been stolen once, only to return on its own.
When a thief tried to throw it away in fear, it stuck to him instead, driving him to despair.
Later, when the Imperial Court tried keeping it for safety, the sword cursed the Emperor until it was returned to its shrine.
So yes—it was quite selfish.
"Ah, that's right! I never sent him a gift for his trip to the otherworld. I'll make him an unbreakable weapon—"
"Please don't. He'd become unstoppable."
And so, thanks to the cool-headed, yuri-loving Tsukuyomi-sama, Amaterasu-sama's whim was stopped before chaos began.
Peace returned once more to Takamagahara.