With a long journey ahead of us, Lyn and I head back to Bulgar to buy groceries that will last for months. Kent handed me his and Sain's money to help with expenses.
I look at the bag of coins and sigh. "Considering how long it will take us to get to Caelin, this isn't going to be enough. Food and spare weapons will be scarce."
Reserve weapons wouldn't be such a priority if it were a smooth trip, but judging by Lyn's family situation, those thugs won't be the only ones getting after our heads. And the closer we are to Caelin, the more troops can be sent to stop us.
"Leave the food to me. I'm good at hunting animals. We can also pick fruit." Lyn inform with a confident smile. Her Sacaense upbringing and her time alone helped her in something.
I sometimes forget how helpful Lyn can be. She's not just a born swordswoman, she's a survivor. She really is an amazing woman.
"This will be of great help. Thanks, Lyn." I thank you with a slight smile.
Lyn's face reddens and she looks away. "I-you're welcome. I just do what I can to be helpful. It's the least I can do to help you."
I look at her confused. I didn't quite understand this reasoning. She was the one who helped me, but well, if she feels that way, I don't have to question it.
"Very well. Let's get this shopping done soon"
Lyn nods.
We only buy what is necessary. Plus three iron swords, two iron spears, three vulnerary and a two bags of apples for the horses. They are the ones who will work the most on this whole trip. Combined with the purchases Lyn and I made before, it should be enough to make a decent living.
I shake the bag of gold and am depressed by how little gold is left. Even if I don't admit it, I wanted to buy some expensive food. There goes my chance to taste the best dish Sacae has to offer.
"What's up, Yato?" Lyn asks seeing my face looking at the bag.
I straighten my face and keep my usual neutral expression. "No big deal. Come on, Kent an Sain are waiting for us"
Lyn just nods and we leave Bulgar. I still look back and see a restaurant full of people. Their happy faces when tasting an appetizing-looking dish makes me cry internally. Lyn glances at me, but she doesn't say anything.
On leaving Bulgar, the two knights quickly meet us.
"Lady Lyn, are you done shopping? Did our money help you?" Kent asks, as respectful as a person can be.
"It helped a lot, Kent. Without your help, I doubt it would be possible to make a trip as long as this"
Kent smiles, glad to be of use to his lord. He is the type who is happy when he pleases his lord. A dedicated knight, no doubt.
"Take it, Sain, tie these bags to your horse." I throw the bags of apples and other kinds of fruit at him. He barely catches them.
"Hey, don't throw it all at once, this is heavy." Sain complains.
"Stop being slack. If a strategist can throw them, a knight doesn't have to have trouble holding simple fruit bags."
"W-well, not really, but you're not a normal strategist, Yato." Sain retorts, tucking the bags into his horse's belt.
"Of course I am. Aren't I, Lyn?" I turn to her, hoping to support my argument.
Lyn scratches her cheek. "I've never seen a strategist other than Yato, so I'm not sure if he's a normal strategist or not."
Lyn turns to Kent, seeking the opinion of the most sensible knight. Kent thinks for a moment before answering. "In fact, Sir Yato is not just any strategist. Usually, a strategist stays outside the battlefield, giving orders from a safe place"
"It's just that you've only seen cowardly strategists. Every competent strategist knows that he is much more effective when he has a broad view of the battlefield. Therefore, it is better to be on the front lines to give orders."
Lyn and Kent listen and agree, Sain sees no choice but to agree too.
"Enough of this small talk. This trip is too long, we can't waste a second."
All nod and depart from Bulgar. It was a good experience for a first time. It deserves to be considered the capital of Sacae. I hope to come back someday to buy and taste Bulgar's food.
Before our trip started, Lyn asked me to take a little detour. From what she explained, it has a sacred altar which houses a sword on which the people of Sacae pray for a safe journey.
I don't think it's a good idea. With Lundgren wanting at all costs to kill Lyn, wasting time is too risky, but I accepted her request. If it's important to her, forcing her to leave her ways can make our relationship worse.
As we get close to the altar, I see a small village next door. No person in sight, this could be a problem.
Before I can ask any questions, a woman runs towards us. Sain goes to the woman's aid and brings her closer to us.
"My beautiful lady, tell me the reason for your coming." Sain speaks to the woman, who was panting from running.
"Are you mercenaries? Please, we need help. A bunch of bandits have entered the temple and are trying to steal the holy sword. The priest is in trouble."
Lyn's face intensifies. Upon hearing of the thieves, her anger is exposed. Lyn really hates bad guys. "Mani Matti? I won't let these thugs do this! Yato, we need to help her." Lyn exclaims, her determined face looking at me.
"Sure. Let's go"
Our group quickly headed to the temple. In the village next door, villagers looked at the temple with a look of fear, with some entering their homes and locking the door. Who knows what the bandits would do after stealing the holy sword.
"Lady Lyn and Mr. Yato, how are we going to get into the temple? The entrance is above that little mountain. It's too steep for horses to climb." Kent questions.
Really. Judging by the woman's desperation, the bandits must have been here for some time. It would take a long time to go on foot, by the time we went up the bandits could have already taken the sword and, either leaving or coming to attack the village.
"There's only one way to go. The walls of this temple don't seem to be well cared for. Let's destroy it and enter through it."
Once my idea was voiced, Lyn didn't react well.
"Of course not, Yato! It's a holy temple, we can't damage it." Lyn exclaims, visibly upset by my idea.
Well, that was a surprise. It's the first time Lyn hasn't blindly followed my plans. Apparently I don't have as much control over her actions as I thought i had.
"I agree with Lady Lyn, Sir Yato. For the people of Sacae, traditions are very important. Destroying a holy temple would be a huge insult to them." Kent reports.
This is so true that we have a Sacaense stealing an alleged holy sword, what nonsense.
Humans and their imbecilic traditions... Why do they follow such a "sacred" thing so much that they don't even care about them? Those stupid gods of yours don't care about your well being.
"Look, not wanting to disagree with Lady Lyn, but isn't the holy sword more important than a crumbling temple?" Sai replies.
I look at Sain in surprise. I thought he would be the one to agree with Lyn the most, since he's quite... compassionate towards women.
"It's like Sain said. The sword and the priest's life are the most important here. If we delay, we won't be able to save either of them."
Lyn is silent, looking at me with obvious indecision. She looks at the cracked wall and her lips quiver. I can't understand how this can be such a difficult decision.
After a few seconds, her answer came. "Alright... If it's to save the priest and retrieve the holy sword, we'll do whatever it takes." She answers, with clear sadness in her voice.
"If you say so, Lady Lyn, I will follow your decision." Kent informs.
Obviously, Maria goes with the others.
"Okay, it's decided. Sain, destroy the wall with your spear. It's our strongest firepower at the moment."
Sain grins at my statement. "Have you finally realized that my heroic spear is our greatest strength? Then I will show you what an honorable knight of Caelin is capable of!" Sain speaks, swinging his spear in an exaggerated way.
Sain spins the spear and throws it in the air, to my surprise, he manages to catch it perfectly and stabs it with a lunge into the wall, which is destroyed easily.
I whistle. Even a crumbling wall is difficult to destroy, and Sain did it with great ease. In the future he will also be a monster as strong as Lyn.
"Quick, let's go inside. Sain and Kent, you guys head for the front door. Even thugs aren't dumb enough not to put a few guards at the entrance. Deal with them and anyone else who comes along."
No sooner said than done. Sain and Kent nodded and walked away.
"Lyn, you and I will take care of those inside. Be careful, a wall being broken makes a very loud sound. Anyone here should already know we're in."
Lyn nods, but doesn't say anything. Upset with my decision, probably. How childish...
It was like I said. Just as Lyn and I advanced to the throne, a bandit came out from behind the pillar and attacked me by surprise.
Reflexively I cocked my head to the side, seeing his sword slowly pass in front of me. The bandit looked at me in amazement and backed away.
"What the fuck are those reflexes? Are you an elite soldier or something?!" The bandit complains.
"Me? Of course not. Never seen a strategist?"
"Strategist? What the fuck?!"
More dumb than expected. I blame my expectation for thinking that a crook might be minimally intelligent.
I ignore the unintelligent thug and look around. On all sides, I see no one else. The sword was thrown on the throne. Is he so stupid that he didn't even think about using the sword? Well, that aside, I didn't see any signs of the priest either.
The first thing to think about is that he was killed, but there's no reason why his body shouldn't be lying around the temple. The only thing that comes to my mind now is that he got away, but I can't bet all on that. In this case...
"Lyn, I'll take care of him. Look for the priest"
"Can you take care of him? He seems to be quite strong." Lyn asks with concern.
She's not so upset that she doesn't care about me. That's a little relieving.
"This guy is no big deal. Let me beat him"
Lyn looks at me impatiently, but nods. "Alright... Just be careful"
Lyn walks past me and the thug and heads towards a door has on the side of the throne.
"Are you an idiot to want to face the big Glass alone. How arrogant you are, little man"
I laugh. "I'll bet my kidney you're as tough as your name"
The thief is so stupid that he didn't even understand what I meant and looked at me with a face of total confusion.
"It's not even funny to make fun of you... Come on up"
Glass turned red with rage and jumped up with a scream. He swung his sword in a vertical attack aimed at my arm. I deflect my hand slightly and swing his sword aside, following it all with a kick to the gut.
"Guh! You motherfucker!"
A blind fit of rage. He lunges forward, full of openings and easy to dodge, aiming for my belly.
"This is so dumb"
I defend with a vertical attack coming from above, throwing his blow downwards causing his sword to hit the ground. Then I grip his sword with a stomp and pull mine back.
"You don't attack with that many gaps, broken glass." I speak to him very slowly. A smile came to my face as I saw the reaction of fear appearing on the thug's face.
Unceremoniously, I plunge my sword into his throat, making a point of cutting through most of the blade. I pull it back slowly, hearing the last groans of pain from the bandit.
"Whew, that was therapeutic." I speak with satisfaction.
That little disagreement with Lyn messed with me a little more than I cared to admit. Nothing better than killing thugs to improve my mood.
I put my sword back in its scabbard and my eyes go straight to the throne, more specifically, to the sword on top of the throne.
I walk to him and pick up the sword.
"Huh? That feeling...bizarre"
When holding this sword, I felt a very strange feeling. It's like... I've been holding someone, or rather, a few people. A human warmth.
But suddenly, I felt my hand burn. A burn as intense as taking a fire spell at point blank range. I grunt in pain and throw her back on the throne.
"Damn... Unexpected"
I look at my hand and am shocked. There were no burn marks. I keep looking to see if it wasn't just my imagination, and as before, I still don't see any marks.
"Yato, are you okay?" Lyn asks me, having already returned from the mission I gave her.
Beside her, an old man, the priest, obviously. He me in a strange way. He looked at the sword and then looked back at me.
"I am. The guy was no big deal anyway. He's just a guy with a high ego"
Lyn approaches me and checks my hand, then sighs in relief and a slight smile comes to her face. "You're very strong, Yato. I don't know if I could defeat him without a scratch."
"You give yourself little credit. That guy wouldn't even hold out for two minutes against you"
I'm serious. Lyn is much stronger than he is.
"You want to give me too much credit." Lyn responds with a laugh.
"Hey, Yato and Lady Lyn, we're done with the bandids. There were very few, we had no problems." Sain reports.
It's like he said, there were no wounds or scratches on their armor. An easy win.
The old man coughs into his fist to draw attention to himself, we all look at him. "Thanks to you, I'm alive. You have my gratitude."
"It was nothing. We couldn't let bandits ruin such an important place. What about the sword?" Lyn asks, the priest answers looking at the throne.
"Here she is. I have sealed her with a spell that prevents her from being unsheathed by people with corrupted souls. As a reward for her noble work, I will let you touch her."
The priest takes the sword and hands it to Lyn. "Touch the Blade and Pray for a Safe Journey"
Lyn's face lights up. Her eyes gleamed like a child given an expensive toy. It's a really cute reaction.
"I'm flattered. Thank you so much"
Lyn accepts the offer and holds the sword in her hands. A contented smile appears on her face, but soon after, it disappears to give life to a look of confusion, after all, the sword started to shine.
"What? Is the sword… glowing?" she asks, looking at the priest with some fear, like a child who has messed with something she shouldn't have and broken it.
"It's the power of the spirits. Woman of Lorca, the spirits have judged your soul and call out to you." The priest says.
The complicated words, not so much for me, made Lyn even more confused. "And that means?"
"They chose you. The spirits think you are their owner, they should wield the Mani Katti." The priest explains.
Lyn's confusion soon turned to surprise. What? I? No, I could not..."
"That's what the sword decided. If you doubt it, take it out of its sheath"
Lyn swallows and follows the priest's request. Sword comes out of the sheath without complications and the shine intensifies. The glow coming from the sword competes with the glow coming from Lyn's eyes as she sees the sword coming out of its scabbard.
"Actually, it's yours. What a thrill... To think that this old man would get to see the owner of Manu Katti. How lucky I am"
"Wait... is she really mine?"
Lyn's chip still hasn't sunk in. Even with all the priest's efforts to convince her, it's still hard to believe that she suddenly became the owner of a sword considered sacred by the people of Sacae.
"Sword of the Spirits... That explains that feeling." I whisper to myself.
"Now it's time for you to go. I take good care of this sword. It will help you through any ordeal."
"Y-yes sir!"
With everything finished, we left the temple and returned to our original course.
As I climbed the Khurdan, Lyn admired the beautiful sword in her hand. "The holy sword Mani Katti... It is in my hands"
"Lady Lyn, you are amazing. Having Sacae's most famous sword in your hands is unthinkable." Sai comments.
"Lady Lyn's Expected". Kent speaks, as usual, flattering Lyn.
"Nothing too out of the ordinary. There are many stories of legendary weapons that call for their owner, but still, it's amazing that you were chosen Lyn. And if I may say so, this sword suits you." I confess sincerely.
Lyn's face flushes at my last comment. She unsheathes the Mani Katti and climbs the Khurdan. "S-stop it, Yato. This is nothing special"
"Of course it is. I took this sword in my hands and they started to burn, not literally, but that's the feeling I got. However it works, this sword is yours and yours alone."
"A sword of my own... Mani Katti, I promise to take good care of you." Lyn speaks to the sword, a pretty funny situation if one doesn't understand the whole context.
In Caelin. An old man in full armor sat on his throne. He waited impatiently for something and watched when a soldier entered the room, looking like he didn't come with good news.
"My Lord! I'm sorry to inform you, but the girl hasn't been killed yet." The soldier informed, keeping a certain distance from the old man and speaking in a way that would not irritate him too much.
Unfortunately for him, the old man got very angry. The arm of his throne took the worst when a mighty punch hit him just as the bad news was delivered.
"Bunch of incompetents! Can't you kill a simple little girl from Sacae?!"
"Uh... S-sorry Lord Lundgren. The girl is traveling with Kent, Sain and another man we have no information on."
"Those traitors! Do these two really think they'll get away with choosing to betray me?! Anyway, about the other man, get information about him NOW." Lundgren orders loud and clear.
The soldier nods, trembling.
Lundgren waited for the soldier to leave the room and relaxed into his throne. All things are stressing him out. Why was taking Caelin's throne so challenging? Until recently there was nothing that could stop him and suddenly an heir to the throne appears.
Lundgren sighs. "The business with my older brother. No errors in the poison?"
His words, which at first seemed to be spoken out of nowhere, are answered by a male voice.
"Of course, Lundgren. Your foolish brother suspects nothing. It won't be long before your brother dies a… unexpected death. Soon you will be the marquis." His statement ends with a hideous laugh.
"Very well. And about the mystery man accompanying the girl, do you have any idea who he is?"
The man laughs the loudest, a laugh that echoes through the room and makes even Lundgren fear for his life. "Of course I know. Don't worry, Yato won't be a problem." His statement ends with another laugh.
"I will trust your statement, Biral. Don't let me down." Lundgren finishes his conversation and rises from the throne.
"You can trust me, Lundgren." The man speaks, his voice slowly fading until there is complete silence.
Lundgren felt that his life could be taken at any moment by this man, but to satisfy his own ambition, he chose to follow his plans.
"What a frightening man..."
