I Returned with the Cheat Holy Sword

“It’s hectic.”
Carlyle gave his impression as he glanced around the noisy surroundings.
The evacuation of the academy’s interior was already underway, earlier than expected.

Since not only the students but also the faculty members working inside had to evacuate, there was bound to be administrative chaos.
[From the perspective of someone living in the academy, this must feel like a bolt out of the blue. A demonic beast attack?]
“I couldn’t agree more.”

For an institution considered one of the Empire’s symbols, such a sudden incident must feel like complete disaster.
[In that sense, I suppose we’re lucky.]
The Hero sighed as she said this.

[Unlike what I went through, this time there won’t be casualties.]
Well, that’s all thanks to the esteemed Vissels spilling the information so obediently.
Because Gray delivered the relevant facts to Duke Chasefield, the response measures were executed swiftly.

The academy’s personnel began evacuation immediately, and naturally, since fighting inside would cause chaos, the Empire’s mage corps had set up a barrier in the path ahead to hold back the Black Mirror.
No matter what kind of fight took place inside the zone, damage would not spread outward.
How should one put it?

It was essentially a 1-on-1 ring, prepared exclusively for Gray.
Blue corner: Black Mirror enters.
Red corner: Hero enters.
“……”

Carlyle didn’t like it.
As he reshaped the Holy Sword’s form into mana within his body and moved it around, that thought stuck with him.
It was because he didn’t like it that he had been practicing such dangerous methods.
[…Right. The real problem before was when she tried to do everything alone in situations that clearly required teamwork, and things went bad.]

“That’s part of it, but.”
[Hm?]
“Why does she insist on carrying everything by herself?”

It wasn’t just the collateral damage from acting unilaterally that bothered him.
There was something else.
“Do you know something, Hero?”

[…What?]
“It’s something only I know. And I think you sometimes forget it too.”
[What nonsense are you—]
“You’re human.”

[…]
There was a silence as if to say What the hell are you talking about, but Carlyle replied plainly.
“No matter how strong you are, no matter how invincible you seem—you’re still human. You feel things. You think. You change in response.”

He had said the same thing the first time he met Gray in this round.
That she, too, had the right to be happy.
Of course she did. She was a person.

And as a person, she was also vulnerable to negative things.
“No matter how capable you are, if you try to carry everything alone, there’s no way the burden won’t crush you.”
Only Carlyle, the one who had spent countless regressions trying to change the Hero, could think that way.

Others likely saw her as just some hopelessly uncontrollable monster.
If not—well, maybe her father Lionel, at best.
But even he couldn’t share in the weight of the role of Hero that Gray carried on her shoulders.

Only Carlyle could fulfill both requirements.
“I really wish you’d stop putting yourself through all this.”
[…Heroes probably don’t even think they’re allowed to be worried about.]

“But that’s wrong.”
[…]
“You’re still human. You don’t have to push yourself that far.”

Even as the Hero, even if she was strong, even if she stood at the pinnacle.
That didn’t mean she should be treated like an object.
And it meant she shouldn’t treat herself like one, either.

What Carlyle was about to do now—was something he had planned to correct that mindset.
The reason being—
“Because I want you to be happy, Hero.”

He would make it so.
Not just to save the world—but more than that.
Simply because he wanted to.

She was the person most in need of guidance if he wanted to see a better future. But this was also about her, for her.
[…]
The Holy Sword was silent.

For a long time.
And longer still.
“…Why so quiet—”

And before he could even say anything—
A sharp jolt, like electricity surging through every nerve, suddenly tore through his entire body.
…It was the work of the Holy Sword inside him.

“Ow—OW! That hurts!”
[Good. You should hurt, you bastard.]
The Hero muttered, her voice grumbling low.

“……”
He’d finally reached the level where even saying something nice got him cursed out.
Wasn’t that a bit too much…?

[…Would’ve been nice if you’d only said that to me.]
“…Pardon?”
[Nothing. Just focus.]

…Hmph.
It sounded like something serious, but he didn’t have time to think about it.
Because the situation changed in an instant.

Specifically, everything went dark.
In the middle of broad daylight, it suddenly felt like night had fallen.
And the reason was obvious.

Carlyle let out a dry laugh as he looked up at the massive object blocking out the sky.
Calling it a flying skyscraper didn’t quite do justice to the sheer scale of it.
“…That’s ridiculously huge.”

[Catastrophe-class. A monster capable of bringing down an entire nation if left alone.]
And conversely—
The fact that it was now visible meant it was time for him to make his move.

At the same time, a car horn blared—an oddly mundane sound in this fantasy world.
He turned and saw Felix poking her head out of ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) the driver’s seat of a magitech motorwagen.
“Picked up my new ride.”

“……”
“Cool, right?”
“…Yes.”

His response was a little stiff, mainly because every time Felix referred to herself as “noona,” Carlyle reflexively flinched.
She hadn’t yet realized it was true, but still—it gave him chills…
“You ready for this?”

Hmm.
Was he ready?
“Not really.”

“For real? You think you’ll lose?”
“No.”
Carlyle shook his head.

His concern wasn’t about winning or losing—it was more about becoming a burden to Felix.
“…I don’t think this is something that’ll end cleanly this time.”
What he was about to do—

It would attract attention. A lot of it.
“Hm—really?”
“…Yeah. Sorry, but I’ll need you to clean up afterward.”

“As long as you spend time with me afterward, that’s fine.”
“……”
Yeah. That’s the real threat.

***
The Capital Defense Force was a competent group.
Even during the unprecedented crisis of demons appearing in the Imperial Capital, they had responded quicker than anyone else to contain the threat.

…Granted, the threat had been resolved before they could do much, but still—their swiftness alone was praiseworthy.
And naturally, the commander of such a group, Brigadier General Albert, was a highly capable man.
Which meant he was, in theory, a completely normal person—unburdened by quirks or eccentricities.

Even if he did feel a soul-crushing sense of inferiority and pressure when facing a girl barely half his age—well, you couldn’t really blame him.
Because of who he was facing.
“Hero. We’re counting on you this time.”

When Albert said this, Gray glanced at him with unfocused eyes.
“Sure.”
That was all. She gave a slight nod as if not even interested in the conversation, then looked away.

It was a posture that radiated indifference.
“……”
But somehow, to Albert—

It didn’t feel like mere indifference.
There was a difference—one that chilled him to the bone.
It wasn’t just arrogance or entitlement.

It was like being seen not as another human being, but as a pet to be protected.
…It didn’t even feel like she viewed them as the same species.
This was how the Hero treated ordinary people—unless they were among the few she recognized.

Duke Chasefield said she’d changed quite a bit after meeting that Carlyle boy…
Albert wasn’t sure if the boy knew it.
But this was still the baseline for how the Hero treated others.

That change—might’ve only applied to that boy.
“……”
Anyway.

They had work to do.
“The barrier is ready. You should be able to set off right on time.”
“Yeah.”

“We’ve prepared a transport for you. If you’ll just—”
Albert’s sentence was abruptly cut off.
His aide had burst into the room, face pale, and whispered something into his ear.

Along with that, he handed Albert a few sheets of paper.
As Albert read them, his expression darkened rapidly.
“……”

“……”
Albert and his aide exchanged looks—sharing the same silent horror.
According to rumor, if anything disrupted this Hero’s plans, she’d flip the entire world upside down.

A few moments later, Albert, now visibly pale himself, forced out a sentence.
“…Hero, I’m sorry, but there’s been a disruption to the plan. Please wait—”
“There’s no need to delay just because someone already entered the barrier. I’m not responsible for some idiot who threw their life away.”

“……”
“I heard everything. Whispering doesn’t mean I can’t hear you.”
Ah, right.

She’s a Hero.
And because of that—
The next words were pure agony for Albert to speak.

“…The, uh, idiots who threw their lives away…”
“What about them? Spit it out.”
“…They’re people you know.”

“…?”
“…Carlyle Belfast, Vespa Luciana, Panhyma Acha Oren… those names ring any bells?”
“………??”

Gray’s expression went blank.
And then—
Like a volcano erupting, a furious roar burst from her mouth.

A completely human reaction, starkly different from the cold indifference of before.
“WHAT THE HELL ARE THOSE BASTARDS DOING IN THERE?!”
…A Hero-less Hero party.

Three people.
Engaging a catastrophe-class demonic beast.