Chapter 464

Ten minutes after we leave the Count and Eliante.

With my guidance, Forrund had reached Fran. This is where the non-combatants of the Adventurer's Guild gather.

Fran and Gallus were lying on a blanket on the ground, and beside them, Eihwaz was sitting on a chair he had brought from somewhere. In his hand was a destroyed pseudo fanatic sword. He seemed to be observing them.

And that wasn't all. There was a bundle of documents in Eihwaz's hand. He seemed to be comparing the documents with the pseudo fanatic sword. I took a quick peek and saw a drawing of a pseudo fanatic sword. Could it be that he had taken some kind of research material from somewhere? I'd like to have a look at it later.

(Is here fine?)

『Yeah, Thanks for helping me』

Forrund put me next to Fran.

『Fran, Fran』

「.....ShuーShuuー」

Still no good huh. She's sleeping with an innocent face. There is nothing wrong with her body, and she will wake up naturally when she recovers from fatigue.

Next to us, Forrund is explaining the situation to Eihwaz.

「Hmm? the Hundred Swords huh? Is it Over?」

「Yeah」

「Is that so. Then, what happened? Did the friendly fire win?」

「Yeah」

As expected from an elder wisdom. He let him answer with yes or no to his questions and get the exact information about what happened.

Stellia was also listening, but she didn't seem to have the guts to interfere in the conversation between Eihwaz and Forrund.

Well, I'll leave Forrund to deal with Eihwaz.

『Urushi, good job』

(woof!)

I also give a word of encouragement to Urushi, who is resting in the shadow of Fran. Then, Urushi let out a pitiful voice.

(Kuun)

『What's wrong? Are you injured somewhere?』

Groowllll

Hmmm, he's just hungry huh. But, come to think of it, he hadn't eaten in a long time. It was no wonder that Urushi complained of hunger. It's a good thing he didn't pick up and eat anything on the ground or steal from the burning residence.

『Haah, it can't be helped then. Urushi, hide me from the eyes around us』

「woof!」

Urushi jumped out from Fran's shadow and quickly made a blind with his dark magic. In the meantime, I took out a bowl of very hot curry and served it to Urushi. He didn't take part in much of the battle this time, but he had done his best to protect Fran. I guess he needs a reward.

『Don't spill anything okay』

「Woof woof!」

「What? Where the hell did that came out from? No, if it's dark magic, he can hide in the shadows.....」

Eihwaz is tilting his head, but he doesn't seem to be suspicious of him. Forrund must already know that I did something, but it's probably too late now.

「woof woof!」

As Urushi devours the extra large and extremely spicy curry makes his mouth all red, Fran, who is lying next to him, cringes.

First her nose moved a little, followed by her ears twitching. Then her eyes fluttered open.

「Muh....Curry smells....」

「Woof!」

「Urushi....Curry...unfair...」

She just woke up........Eh? Isn't the power of curry amazing? No, is Fran's eating behaviour that amazing? Well, I guess it's because she was stimulated by the aroma of her favorite food when she had recovered from fatigue.

「Master.....Curry....」

『Fran! There's another people here!』

(Nn. Curry)

『Yes yes, I'll give you too, here』

「Nn....Nom Nom」

I'm going to serve her a very large curry, pretending that Fran took it out. It's topped with pork cutlet and fried chicken. It doesn't matter if she's fully awake or not. This is really a piece of cake for Fran.

「Munch Munch」

「Oofu Oofu」

「Hey, What is it?」

Eihwaz is looking at Fran, who has just woken up from sleep and started to shovel in a mysterious dish with a spicy aroma. His eyes were curious. There was no way that the curiosity monster, Eihwaz, would not be interested in curry.

「Hmm? Is it delicious?」

「It's super delicious」

「Hohou」

Fran turns away lightly to hide her curry from Eihwaz's intense gaze.

『Fran, why don't you share one with Eihwaz?』

(Muh)

『Don't look so unhappy. This time you've been taken care by Eihwaz. Even after Fran went to bed』

「....Understood」

Still reluctant, Fran placed a small serving of curry in front of Eihwaz.

「Want some」

「Umu. With pleasure! Fumu Fumu?」

Eihwaz observed the curry he received with great interest, and after sniffing it lightly, he began to eat it immediately.

「Houhou! This is interesting! And It's delicious!」

He began to gobble up the food, but his tongue was apparently much more sensitive than I had imagined. No, He's good at handling medicine, so it was natural for him, right?

「The spices used are 8.....or 9 kinds? I'm guessing four kinds of vegetables in a broth made by boiling the bones of a pork-based demon beast」

He has completely guessed the material. If I'm not good enough, he might be able recreate it, right?

「Don't worry. I won't spread the recipe. But you don't mind if I make enough for my own consumption, do you?」

Well, if it's only that much then. Forrund is looking at Eihwaz with envy. I can't not serve it only to him in this situation. I gave him a large portion of it. After all, Fran also seems to have a good opinion of Forrund.

As everyone was eating the curry, I told her the story since Fran had fallen asleep.

(...Muuh)

『What's wrong?』

(In the end, I was useless)

『That was inevitable. Besides, we're not directly gotten into the fight with Velmeria』

(But, Forrund fight alongside with Master)

Fran's mouth furrowed in sulk.

『That was.....only possible because of Forrund's special abilities. Besides, that guy almost died too. It was a real gamble』

(....Master)

『What is it?』

(Is Forrund strong?)

『Ah, yeah』

(I see....)

Could this be that she's jealous? I'm sure there are a lot of emotions swirling around inside Fran. The disappointment of missing out on a battle with a powerful enemy. The disappointment of not being able to play a role in that fight. But more than that, she seemed to be jealous of the fact that Forrund and I had fought together.

The rest are, strangely uneasy.

(I'm still weak......I couldn't fight to the end. Unlike Forrund.....)

Apparently, she is worried that people will compare her to Forrund. I understand that feeling. I'm also afraid that Fran will compare me to the divine sword.

『Forrund had abilities like my telekinesis, and he was a trustworthy guy. That's for sure』

(Nn.....)

『But Fran is still the best for me. I can't tell you how many times I wished to had Fran on that fight. I realized how weak I am without you』

(Master is not weak!)

『Surely, I may be stronger than an ordinary sword. But with Fran, I can be even stronger. Because it's Fran who understands me the most, and who can bring out the best of me』

This is not a consolation or anything. It's just something I've thought about a lot.

『I'm going to get stronger and even stronger to become a sword worthy for you』

Fran's goal is to break the curse of the entire Black Cat tribe so that everyone can evolve and improve the status of the Black Cat tribe. In other words, it is to defeat the evil being of threat level S.

That meant, defeating an enemy that was more than just the transcenders I had just witnessed.

As it is now, it is just a dream. But I don't think Fran will ever give up. And I am confident that Fran will continue to grow and one day reach that level.

In order to continue to be worthy of being Fran's sword, I need to become even stronger than I already am. This time, by cannibalizing the Fanatics, I was able to greatly strengthen my magic power. The next step would be to learn the skills and how to use them.

『Fran, we're getting stronger. But there's still someone stronger than us, and there's a lot of people we can't beat if we keep doing what we're doing. Not me, and even not you can』

(Nn)

『So let's be stronger』

(Understood! So, go training?

『That's right. I have magic stone value. Fran, has experience point. Let's train in order to get more than we have now. Fortunately, I know a good place』

(Where?)

『The place where it all began for me. The Plains of the Demon Wolf. We had to go there once anyway. So, let's do some training there』

(Nn! I'll get stronger and even stronger. Next time, I'll fight with Master until the very end!)

Well, that would be when the commotion in the royal capital have calmed down.

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