I Returned with the Cheat Holy Sword

“You seem to have improved compared to before?”
“...Vespa.”

Carlyle replied in a voice that sounded utterly dumbfounded.
No, seriously, how could hearing about someone slicing off an arm and then reattaching it lead to that kind of response?
“Well, before, she would’ve just left it severed, wouldn’t she?”

“......”
“...It is an improvement, isn’t it?”
Should he be impressed that someone like Gray could get this kind of assessment from someone so kind? Or should he be impressed that someone this kind could even find a way to compliment Gray?

He couldn’t even refute it since it wasn’t wrong—just absurd.
“More importantly.”
Carlyle quietly turned his gaze to the blue haze rising in front of Vespa.

Ever since Gray fired magic at her, she’d often been seen practicing spells on her own like this.
“You’ve gotten more skilled in the meantime.”
Though to say skilled might actually be putting it mildly.

...She wasn’t just getting skilled—she was growing, fast.
If someone from the Magic Tower saw this, wouldn’t they try to kidnap her for research?
[They’re the kind who’d commit far more horrific acts without batting an eye.]

Fair enough.
There are all kinds of criteria to determine what makes someone good at magic, but fundamentally, the standard would likely be: how quickly and how powerfully can you cast?
Faster formula computation, more precise mana placement, and a stronger imprinting of one’s will onto the deployed mana.

In that sense, the way this woman trained her magic… was on an entirely different track.
“How should I put it... we’re becoming friends!”
“...Excuse me?”
“When something blue gathers like this—ah, it’s called mana, right?”

“......”
Blue mist clustered in front of a mage who didn’t even know what mana was.
And soon it floated gently through the air beside Vespa, almost like it was being affectionate.

“—Like this, it feels like it wants to talk to me. So I try to listen as closely as I can! I think we can communicate.”
“......”
What the hell?

What is she even saying?
She talks about mana like it’s some kind of pet. Mana—the energy that represents the will of the world.
“We don’t really understand each other yet, but... I think one day we will!”

“...Right. I wish you luck.”
If this conversation went on any longer, Carlyle feared his understanding of magic would start to collapse.
Well, in any case—

It’s going smoothly.
[Mm. At this rate, she’ll definitely be of help.]
Vespa’s magical skills would undoubtedly prove useful in the coming chaos.

Honestly, now that she had accomplished her original goal of ‘getting closer to the young lady,’ it wouldn’t be strange if she lost interest. But she continued practicing anyway.
The reason she kept doing it was simple.
Because Carlyle asked her to.

“......”
What could he even say?
You’d expect her to question it at least once—ask why she had to do this. But no matter what he asked of her, she’d just say that one line and do it happily. It almost made him feel guilty for asking.

—Carlyle, I’m sure you’re right!
No matter what he asked of her, that was always her answer. She never refused.
...Even her stat sheet had something like “Obedience” marked.

And the term obedience wasn’t just for show. Whenever Carlyle said something, she ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) followed it without hesitation—it was starting to feel a little alarming.
If Elena felt like a partner bound by some kind of mutual debt or transaction, then Vespa felt like someone who would literally do anything he said.
“Um, Carlyle—”

She even started fidgeting as she brought it up.
“Is there anything else I can help you with?”
“Pardon?”

“I just... I’d like to do more. If there’s anything uncomfortable, or anything you’d like to ask...?”
“......”
“Even if it’s something hard or painful, I don’t mind...”

...What?
What’s with this woman?
[...She’s addicted to serving.]

What kind of nonsense are you spewing now?
[I’m saying, unless she’s addicted to helping people, it makes no sense. How does someone enjoy being asked to do things?]
......

It hit him again.
Of course she had been able to stay by Gray’s side all this time—with that kind of personality.
Carlyle sighed and changed the subject.

“There’s nothing I need help with. But... would you help me think of a plan?”
“A plan?”
A way to help Gray make friends.

Because no matter how hard Carlyle thought about it, he couldn’t come up with a single idea.
“If the goal is to help the young lady make a friend...”
Vespa placed a finger to her lips and tilted her head.

“...I don’t think you need to do anything at all.”
“...Excuse me?”
***

The fact that she received the Holy Sword meant that the Hero, by definition, held massive political significance. She was the symbolic protector of all humanity, and thus her every action naturally drew everyone’s attention.
Meaning—
Even if Gray found Cardinal Felix irritating, there were still occasions where they’d have to meet and speak.

Usually, those were when Felix received status updates from Gray.
“Something like that happened?”
As always, Felix’s gentle voice fell in a soft cadence. The very image of a benevolent clergyman.

If only the subject Gray had just brought up hadn’t involved cutting off someone’s arm out of irritation, that image might’ve held up.
“......”
Gray silently looked at Felix.

This man—no matter what she said to him—always responded the same way.
To an outsider, it might seem like he accepted anything she did. But anyone who actually dealt with him directly would know that wasn’t it at all.
It wasn’t that he accepted what she did.

He just didn’t care.
As long as she fulfilled her duties properly.
This cardinal genuinely had zero interest in what Gray did with her time.

...At least, that’s how Gray saw it.
Which is why today’s report felt... a little different.
“Do you know why he’s doing all this?”

“...?”
Gray’s brow furrowed as she looked at the cardinal.
No matter what had happened in the past, he had never once asked follow-up questions like this.

He’d always just heard it and moved on—Oh, that happened?—and that was it.
She frowned but still managed to answer.
“I think he wants to help me make friends.”

Felix’s hand paused momentarily.
As if something had snagged his thoughts.
But that flicker of emotion vanished instantly. It disappeared so fast that even Gray, the Hero herself, didn’t catch it.

“He wants to help the Lady Chasefield make a friend?”
“...Well, I don’t see the point in it. But when I mentioned it to my father, he said maybe that’s what it was.”
“I see.”

“......”
Gray quietly looked at Felix.
Since he had done something uncharacteristic, maybe she could too.

Maybe it was okay to do something... odd.
“...What do you think, Cardinal?”
“What do you mean, my lady?”

“About me making a friend. Do you think I need one?”
Felix smiled faintly.
“That’s unexpected. Isn’t the Lady Chasefield someone who always did whatever she wanted?”

“......”
“To ask for someone’s opinion... You’ve changed a bit, haven’t you?”
That’s true.

But... seeing Carlyle want to help her make a friend—
It made her wonder if maybe that was something she needed.
After all, he was someone who would never do anything that would hurt her.

“Wouldn’t it be best to just follow your heart? Like always.”
“I don’t even know what a friend is.”
“Someone whose company makes you happy, perhaps?”

“Huh?”
“Someone you’re curious about. Someone you want to learn more about.”
“......”

“If you feel that way about someone, I think it’s fair to call them a friend.”
Felix smiled as he said it.
“Do you have someone like that, my lady?”

“Uh—”
...She did.
Someone like that.

One face rose to the top of her mind right away.
“......”
So that’s what a friend is...

Gray slowly lowered her head and gave a small nod.
And Felix quietly watched her expression.
Carefully, noting every little reaction.

Then Gray replied brusquely.
“I don’t.”
“But it seems like you do.”

“......”
Gray flinched.
“No lying, Lady Chasefield.”

“......”
“We promised, remember? That we’d share everything with each other.”
“......”

“Who were you thinking of?”
“Someone you know.”
“......”

“...Cardinal Felix.”
Gray raised her eyes and looked straight at him.
“You’re planning something, aren’t you?”

“......”
“Don’t do it. That.”
Felix gave a faint smile at her words.

“No.”
Definitely.
Even though he was the one who told Gray not to lie—

“There’s no way I’d oppose the lady making a friend.”
“......”
And yet—

He was someone who would never say what he really felt.
***
[System Message]

▶ ‘Gray Chasefield’ has gained a friend.
▶ ‘Linked Quest’ has been completed.
“...What the hell.”
Carlyle, lying on his bed at the dorm, blinked as the notification appeared before his eyes.

He stared at it, baffled.
[Did something happen?]
“Looks like the young lady made a friend.”

[...Hmph.]
The Holy Sword let out a quiet sigh.
[Someone must’ve informed her, then.]

“Excuse me?”
[So it exists, that sort of thing.]
“What the hell are you talking about.”

[It’s one of those subtle things trash like you could never understand.]
“...No, seriously, what are you even saying.”
[I mean, there’s a high chance the friend-making was already complete long ago.]

“......”
If you look at it that way, yeah, the low difficulty makes sense.
It was a quest that would auto-complete even if you did literally nothing.

But the problem is—
“...Then why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
[Because it’s embarrassing.]

“......”
[There’s no way I’m saying that out loud.]
“......”

[Well, it’s done now, so let’s just call it a win.]
“...You can’t just end every conversation like that.”
***

[System Message]
▶ Completion of ‘Linked Quest’ confirmed.
▶ ‘Main Event’ will now occur.
▶ Event progression route has been altered.
▶ Rewards will be increased.
▶ As a reward, your relationship status with ‘The Gray Cardinal’ and ‘The Hero’ will change.
▶ As a reward, the ‘Holy Sword’ gains new functions.
▶ As a reward, the ‘Holy Sword’ can now change form!