I Returned with the Cheat Holy Sword

“Miss.”

“Call me ‘Hero.’ That sounds too common.”
“…Ah, yes.”
With that, a chill once again settled over the carriage.

Carlyle awkwardly glanced at Gray.
Her prim expression as she stared out the window screamed with her whole body that she had zero intention of building rapport.
‘So… the dress and ring worked, but she still doesn’t look pleased?’

[She’s in a good mood right now.]
‘That’s a good mood?’
[Well, she’s in the same space as you, isn’t she?]

‘…What?’
[If she really didn’t like you, she would’ve smashed your face in by now.]
‘……’

[Why don’t you try talking to her? She might actually respond right now.]
Her thought process was fundamentally different from normal people.
As Carlyle turned that over in his head, he looked at Gray, who was still coldly staring out the window, and opened his mouth.

“Hero.”
“……”
“…Hero.”

When he called her again, Gray furrowed her brow deeply and turned to look at him.
“You’re not afraid of me.”
“…Pardon?”
“Usually the ones I hit crawl back all nervous and scared. I’ve never seen anyone besides my father act like you.”

“……”
Well, of course.
It’s not like anyone could just take a punch from the strongest human alive and not be traumatized.

“I don’t like it.”
“What part, exactly?”
“You look… familiar with me. Like we’re equals or something.”

Spoken like someone who runs on raw superiority complex for fuel.
As Carlyle suppressed a wry smile at that thought, Gray rested her chin on her hand and leaned toward him.
“To be honest, that’s not even the only strange thing about you.”

“…Ma’am?”
Before he could even finish replying—
A few strands of hair silently drifted down from the edge of Carlyle’s bangs.

Judging by the cut, it had been sliced by a sword.
“……”
He hadn’t seen it at all.

Death.
It had just flickered in front of his face and vanished.
“See? You couldn’t even react.”

Gray spoke blandly and casually tossed the sword—which he hadn’t even noticed her holding—onto the seat beside her.
“How’d a guy like you figure out my weakness?”
“Well, I got lucky—”

“—Don’t give me that bullshit. You’re clearly not just some ordinary guy.”
She cut in with a scoffing tone.
“Your pupils didn’t dilate. Pulse stayed steady. Heart rate didn’t even spike.”

“…Excuse me?”
“Unless you’re an idiot, you must know I could’ve killed you just now without a hitch. But.”
Gray’s gaze slowly slid back to Carlyle.

A glint of undisguised curiosity flickered at the corner of her eyes.
“You’re still not afraid of me. Not one bit. Even after that.”
“……”

“You’re not afraid of death, are you?”
“—”
“You don’t seem trained in combat, and yet there’s no fear of death. That’s just weird.”

…How should he even respond to this?
“It’s like you’ve already died a lot. Like something’s fundamentally twisted inside you.”
She might be young, immature, easily swayed by dresses and rings.

But there’s no mistaking it.
Inside, she was the Hero.
Even in just a brief conversation, the level of insight she displayed when reading a person’s core was in a different league.

Even if he’d run into her for the first time in this loop, this extraordinary perception of hers was the same as always.
‘…Still.’
The fact that she was getting more curious about him—that was a good sign.

Gathering information through observation was the first step in building any relationship, wasn’t it?
Carlyle, who had quietly listened this whole time, shrugged his shoulders.
“Well, it’s because I’m a weirdo that I came back to see the person who nearly killed me.”

“……”
“I was asked by the Grand Duke. To take care of you.”
Gray’s face instantly crumpled.

“Just to make it clear—don’t get cocky. Father might think I need companions, but I’m more than enough on my own.”
Just hearing the words seemed to irritate her.
She reacted like someone had offered to bake her shoes and eat them together.

A normal person would’ve been so put off by that arrogance that they’d have given up on the spot.
Sure.
A normal person.

But not Carlyle—who had survived countless regressions and figured out how to “handle” the Hero through sheer persistence.
“Hero.”
“What.”

He had fully expected that reaction.
Trying to apply common sense or general morality to this temperamental Hero was something only clueless newcomers would attempt.
Now, let’s see.

What’s the best phrase to sustain her interest in him—
“If you reject me, you’ll be missing out.”
It had to be just provocative enough.

Without crossing into actual disrespect, it had to press the right buttons on her pride.
“…What?”
“No one can master everything in the world, Hero. Not even you.”

Gray snorted, as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I mean I can be of help to you. I’m confident in that.”

“I told you not to get cocky. Even if there is something I can’t do, what makes you think you can?”
“Yes.”
The confidence in that one word was enough to make her stop cold.

“I can do what you can’t.”
And he could.
In the last loop, the one sealed inside the Holy Sword—this Hero—had been changed into something more human solely because of Carlyle’s efforts.

That was something Gray herself would never have been able to do alone.
“……”
Gray’s eyes narrowed.

She stared at Carlyle for a long while.
“So let me at least make one promise.”
As the carriage slowly began to decelerate, Carlyle continued calmly.

“No matter what happens, I will always have your best interests at heart.”
That was the fate he was bound to from the start.
To support the Hero and save the world.

“If you don’t like me, you can throw me away whenever. But just once—give me a chance.”
He was confident.
He’d spent more than enough regressions trying, failing, and trying again to do exactly this:

Get into the Hero’s good graces.
“……”
 

Gray stayed silent as she listened.
Quietly.
Continuously.

Like she didn’t understand, like she was experiencing an emotion for the first time and didn’t know what to do with it.
“...You’re ridiculous.”
The growled line came out after a long silence—and Carlyle smiled faintly.

Her tone was still harsh, sure.
‘I told you. She’s quick.’
This counted as a pass.

As she’d already proven, this girl possessed exceptional insight.
She must’ve sensed, through that intuition, that there wasn’t a single lie in what Carlyle had just said.
At the very least, she believed it enough to stay interested—to keep observing, wondering just what gave him the confidence to say something like that.

Just then, Carlyle noticed the carriage slowing and nodded.
“Looks like we’ve arrived. Shall we pick out that gift I promised, Hero?”
At his words, Gray furrowed her brow slightly and snapped back.

“Call me ‘Miss.’”
“…Excuse me?”
“I’m going to treat you like a servant from now on.”

And with that, the Hero strutted out of the carriage with aristocratic grace.
“……”
[…]

Carlyle stared blankly after her, then turned toward the Holy Sword.
“Hero.”
Mm.

“That counts as recruiting me, right? Her words were a bit rough, but...”
That’s what it looked like.
“…You weren’t this easy to convince back then, were you?”

Maybe it was because she was younger—softer around the edges than the Gray he’d met as an adult.
Also, though it might just be his imagination—
She seemed... just a little embarrassed.

[Well, of course she’s embarrassed.]
The voice from inside the Holy Sword came out haltingly.
It was the kind of tone that made Carlyle think: If this sword had a face, it’d be red right now.

“What kind of bullshit is that.”
Embarrassed?
Carlyle let out a baffled laugh as he turned the words over in his head.

The Hero. That Hero? Embarrassed?
[…Do you not realize what you just said? Not even a little?]
“…Huh?”

He didn’t think he’d said anything that serious.
If they were going to save the world, he needed her help. That was obvious.
So he’d said he’d stick by her side no matter what, that she could use him however she liked and throw him away when she got bored.

It’s what he’d done across every single loop—even if this was the first time he’d said it out loud.
“Why would that embarrass her?”
[You.]

“…Yes?”
[Why don’t you go drown yourself in a puddle or something.]
“……”

[Something tells me that would be the most productive thing you could do right now.]
…Why was she suddenly picking a fight?
***

[System Message]
◆ Trait “Hero’s Companion” has activated.
◆ The “Reformation List” has been updated!
[ ★ Hatred of Humanity 100% → 95% ]

◆ Reward granted!
◆ Open Trait Tab to view details!
[System Message]
◆ has been completed.
◆ “Command Authority” x1 has been granted!

“…Oh.”
Carlyle let out a quiet exclamation at the system windows that appeared before him.
He’d just persuaded the Hero and gotten her to accept him as a companion. Two rewards had landed in his lap. Both of them were valuable enough that he had zero complaints.

What stood out—
“Her hatred of humanity decreased.”
Carlyle gave a faint, incredulous chuckle as he read that line.

Maybe his persistence in facing her rejection had sparked some change in her heart after all.
Even if she didn’t realize it, maybe a part of her had wanted a companion all along.
“Whoops.”

He almost bumped into someone while staring at the message in a daze.
Capital Kagenov was always bustling with people. For someone from a remote Knight Order outpost, it wasn’t a place he’d often encounter.
“Hurry up!”

The Heroic Young Lady, walking far ahead, turned back and snapped irritably.
Carlyle followed with a crooked smile.
[…It’s been a long time.]

A nostalgic voice echoed from inside the Holy Sword.
[After the Invasion of Hell, I never got to see a city this lively again.]
“It really is dazzling.”

It was Carlyle’s first time seeing a scene like this too.
After all, every regression had begun when the Empire was already teetering on collapse.
Just in terms of density, it honestly wasn’t far off from the cities of Earth before he was possessed.

And because it was so crowded—
[We’ve picked up a bug.]
“…Sorry?”

That statement caught him completely off guard.
[A tail. Someone’s been watching us since we got off the carriage.]
“……”

Carlyle slowly looked around.
There were people packed wall-to-wall.
“Where exactly?”

[About 600 paces out.]
“…You can sense someone from that far?”
[Back in my battlefield days, I could track tens of thousands of footsteps at once. This is nothing.]

“……”
This sword…
Was absurdly competent.

Carlyle let out a breath and started organizing the situation.
He didn’t know who had sent them or why, but no one followed someone this secretly with good intentions.
‘The Hero…’

He glanced forward at her.
Judging by her expression, she hadn’t noticed yet.
She was too busy gazing wide-eyed at all the nearby dress shops.

[How utterly untrained.]
“What do you expect? Compared to you?”
There was easily a ten-year gap between them.

Comparing the complete Hero to the still-unpolished one was a bit unfair, no?
Either way, it was a good opportunity.
“Let’s score some points.”

[How? You can’t even fight.]
“That’s your job to figure out now.”
[…]

He could hear the sound of teeth grinding inside the Holy Sword, and Carlyle let out a small laugh.
Well, that was just talk. He didn’t really plan to leave everything up to the sword.
After all, he’d just received a reward. And if he could make use of it properly, this could be very easy.

[System Message]
◆ Viewing reward…
“……”

In truth.
It didn’t feel like it would just be easy.
As he read the details of the reward, Carlyle stared blankly at the message in shock.

“Hero.”
[Hm?]
“…I think scoring points might be easier than I thought?”

No, seriously—it really was.
[You may now unlock one function of the “Holy ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ Sword.”]
[The “Holy Sword” is the source of the Hero’s power. You may now use one of the Hero’s Authorities!]
Carlyle Belfast.

A powerless, untrained recruit of the Imperial Knight Order.
…Had just been given the chance to imitate the strongest power in all of humanity.