Lion El’Jonson said that this sword was the same mysterious blade she had received when she first met Merlin, and it had accompanied her ever since.
Back then, the Watchers in the Dark had handed the nameless, scabbardless sword to Merlin before disappearing without a trace.
Even Merlin himself had no idea where the weapon had come from.
But regardless of its origins, Lion El’Jonson had rarely parted with it since.
The sword wasn’t like some ancient relic engraved with mystical runes or surrounded by a power field, nor was it as ornate and elaborate as the weapons carried by nobles.
It was simply a sword.
Good for cutting people.
Even better for cutting down Great Beasts.
It felt right in her hands, and for Lion El’Jonson, that was enough.
Across countless battles, large and small, the nameless blade had performed exactly as she needed it to, and Lion wielded it with exceptional ease.
At the same time, perhaps because of the simulation’s strange “feminization” effect, Lion El’Jonson’s height seemed to have settled somewhat below what Merlin remembered from the original version of the Primarch.
At the very least, she hadn’t suddenly grown into a three-meter-tall giant.
Fortunately.
Otherwise, Merlin would have had to start worrying about her casually picking him up whenever she felt like it.
“Still, this sword has never had a scabbard.”
Merlin looked at her.
“Why are you suddenly asking about that?
Is it because of those legends?”
Legends.
Lion El’Jonson’s rise had been so extraordinary that stories about her had naturally spread across Caliban.
In little more than a decade, she had gone from a savage who knew nothing of human society to the undisputed leader of Caliban’s knightly orders.
It was exactly the sort of legendary tale that bards loved.
Over the years, countless stories about the Lionheart King Lion El’Jonson and the Wizard Merlin had spread from town to town.
And among them was one particular legend about Lion’s missing scabbard.
According to the tale, Lion El’Jonson had obtained her sword from a lake under the guidance of the Wizard Merlin.
After retrieving it, Merlin supposedly asked her:
“Which do you value more—the sword or its scabbard?”
Lion El’Jonson gave the answer almost anyone would have given.
The sword.
After all, the sword was incomparably sharp and could cut through almost anything.
Surely that made it the more precious of the two.
But the Wizard Merlin supposedly gave her a completely different answer.
“You should know that the scabbard is worth ten times as much as the sword.
Whoever carries the scabbard will never bleed, so you must protect it carefully and always keep it with you.”
“So…”
Lion El’Jonson spread her hands and looked sternly at Merlin.
“Where is the scabbard?”
“Lion El’Jonson…
you know perfectly well that the Watchers in the Dark disappeared immediately after giving me the sword.”
Merlin looked helpless.
“Those legends aren’t true.”
“Of course.
I’m only curious.”
Lion paused.
“Besides…
the legends aren’t entirely wrong.”
Looking back, ever since Lion El’Jonson had obtained the sword, she had fought for more than ten years.
And throughout all those battles…
She really had never shed a single drop of blood on the battlefield.
It was almost as though the legendary scabbard truly existed somewhere, and she had simply never noticed it.
“There is no scabbard, Lion El’Jonson.
That’s entirely thanks to your swordsmanship.”
“My swordsmanship?”
Lion gave a quiet snort.
“No matter how good my swordsmanship is, having a student like you is enough to ruin my reputation.”
“I…”
“Enough training for today.
Just lie down.”
Lion El’Jonson abandoned the idea of continuing their practice.
She gently pushed Merlin down, and the two lay side by side on the grass beside the lake.
The night sky was still as chaotic and grey as it had been ten years earlier.
But that no longer mattered.
“After all, everything is about to end.”
The final battle for Caliban was approaching.
After ten years of campaigning, most of the planet had already been cleared under Lion El’Jonson’s leadership.
No one dared openly speculate anymore that Lion El’Jonson was merely a beast disguised as a human, nor did rumors that she would become the destroyer of Caliban spread as freely as they once had.
Only the last human traitors remained, now gathered in the Northwilds and hiding within the monastery-fortress of the [Knights of Lupus].
The Knights of Lupus.
They insisted that Caliban’s survival was tied to the survival of the Great Beasts themselves, and after failing to convince the other knightly orders, they had even chosen to cooperate with the beasts and attack human settlements.
That made Merlin wary.
In the history he remembered, the Knights of Lupus hadn’t gone so far as to openly lead Great Beasts in attacks against human cities.
Something had changed.
Perhaps it was a chain reaction caused by Merlin’s interference.
Or perhaps it was connected to the “doom awaiting the Primarch” that the Ring of Sagittarius had mentioned when the simulation first began.
Either way, the Knights of Lupus could no longer stop Lion El’Jonson.
The united knightly orders had gathered nearly ten thousand fully armed knights.
They wore power armour, carried bolt pistols and chainswords, and were experienced warriors capable of hunting Great Beasts.
Against an offensive of that scale, even the Knights of Lupus and their beasts would struggle to resist.
“Soon.”
Lion El’Jonson looked toward Merlin.
“The decisive battle is almost here.
Don’t you have anything you want to say?”
“I…
I want to…”
Lion suddenly began to stumble over her words.
“I want to ask you…
that is…
you…
you, you…”
She turned her face away in embarrassment.
That damned curse again!
Lion El’Jonson knew it!
Fortunately, she had recently discovered a way to break it.
Over the past few days, Lion had secretly read quite a few popular novels circulating around New Spring Town.
The legend about the sword and scabbard had come from one of them.
And one particular story about Merlin and Lion El’Jonson had caught her attention.
The Lion El’Jonson in that story suffered from exactly the same “curse” as she did!
Whenever she tried to speak to the Wizard, she became nervous and emotional and suddenly couldn’t get her words out.
She constantly found herself worrying about him for no reason.
She couldn’t think rationally whenever he was involved.
It was exactly the same!
And the story had even provided a method for breaking the curse.
She had to…
She had to confess her feelings to him beneath the night sky…
And then…
Kiss him.
At least, that was how the story had gone.
Do I really have to…
kiss him?
Lion El’Jonson glanced awkwardly at Merlin’s lips.
It’s to break the curse.
It’s to break the curse.
It’s to break the curse.
“What’s wrong, Lion El’Jonson?”
“…Nothing.”
“I…
I just wanted to say—”
She tried again.
But the words reached her lips and refused to come out.
This damned curse!
Lion El’Jonson grew irritated, but quickly forced herself to calm down.
There was no need to rush.
She still had time.
Merlin had promised to stay beside her forever.
He had sworn it.
Lion El’Jonson remembered his oath perfectly.
And she believed Merlin would never break it.
Breaking the curse could wait until after Caliban was united.
Yes!
That was it!
After the final battle with the Knights of Lupus, she would con-con-con-confess to Merlin!
No!
Confessing was too much!
It would damage her dignity as a king!
She would simply…
Tell him how she felt.
Right!
It was only to break the curse.
There was absolutely no other reason!
“Ahem!”
Lion El’Jonson quickly changed the subject.
“Merlin.
When do you think those visitors from beyond the stars will arrive?”
“Are the battles on Caliban already not enough for you?
Looking forward to becoming the future Warmaster?”
“…Can’t I?”
Merlin had guessed exactly what she was thinking, which made Lion slightly unhappy.
He made her sound ridiculously ambitious.
“Of course you can, my Warmaster.”
“And in my eyes, you’re the best person for the position.”
“That’s more like it…”
Lion paused.
Then she carefully looked around.
Once she was certain nobody else was nearby, she leaned toward Merlin’s ear.
“Quickly.
Say it again.”
“What?”
“Just say it!”
“Warmaster…”
“Hmm…”
Lion’s expression softened.
“Keep going.”
“War—master—”
Merlin stretched the word out deliberately before continuing.
“But I also have something I want to ask you.”
“What?”
“If—I mean if—you were ever faced with an incredibly difficult choice…”
“If you had to choose between me and all of humanity…”
For years, Merlin had been trying to find a way to prevent Lion El’Jonson from being corrupted by Chaos and avoid the future he had seen in his nightmare—the Lion Heresy.
Unfortunately, he still hadn’t found an answer.
For now, all he could think to do was avoid becoming too important to Lion, so that Chaos couldn’t use him as the crack through which it broke her defenses.
“Wait, Merlin.”
Lion stared at him.
“You’re asking me to choose between you…
and all of humanity?”
Pfft.
Lion El’Jonson burst out laughing.
She laughed openly and happily.
“Hahahaha!”
“Seriously?
Did I hear you correctly?”
“Merlin, you don’t actually think that I—the future Warmaster of humanity—would betray mankind because of some selfish impulse, do you?”
What an absurd question.
If they hadn’t spent more than a decade together, Lion might have suspected that Merlin was deliberately mocking her.
“I’m serious, Lion El’Jonson.”
“All right, all right.
Don’t worry.”
Lion El’Jonson smiled, carrying herself with all the dignity of a king.
“You have nothing to fear, Wizard.”
“As Warmaster, how could I possibly betray humanity?”
—Well said.
Unfortunately, another Warmaster had once said much the same thing.
Then the galaxy burned.
“Hmm.”
“Lion El’Jonson, we should head back.”
Their time to rest was nearly over.
In only a few days, the final battle against the Knights of Lupus would begin.
And beyond Caliban, countless stars and worlds were still waiting for them.
Would Merlin really have enough time?
Thinking about that, he couldn’t help touching the golden ring on his right hand.
Until the thirty-year deadline…
He had thirteen years left.
It really helps the fic grow!