I Returned with the Cheat Holy Sword

From when exactly had this feeling of disappointment toward her sister begun to settle in her heart?

— Are you really going to leave?
Thinking back, it was probably the moment her sister first declared she was going to “leave.”
— No one’s going to blame you, you know. Father’s death was an accident!
— Yes, that’s correct. There won’t be any problem because of that.
— Then why suddenly say you’re leaving our hometown! You promised we’d study magic together!

They had still been so very young back then.
She remembered saying that to Shiona, who was smiling with the same narrowed eyes as now.
— I don’t have much talent for magic. More than that… there are quite a number of spirits who want to get close to me.
— …
— I’m sorry I can’t keep my promise, Leona. I’ll be in touch from time to time.

Clutched in her arms—
Leona bit her lip as she hugged tight the worn-out magic tome her sister had bought her as her very first birthday present.
Magic was fun. She was good at it, too.

But more than that—
She liked it when her sister praised her.
…It was because she wanted recognition from this person that she had even started magic in the first place.
— Even if I say I don’t want you to go, you’ll still leave?
— …Yes. I’ve already made up my mind.
— …

After moving her lips for a long while without speaking, Leona hung her head low.
That’s just the kind of person her sister was.
Kind, always supportive no matter what she did, indulging her whims no matter how childish—

But once she made a decision, she would never change it, even with a blade to her throat.
That must have been why Leona shut her mouth before she could try to persuade her any further.
— I’ll be in touch from time to time, Leona.
— …
— Stay healthy—

Even so—
Cutting off Shiona’s farewell mid-sentence, she had wrapped her arms around ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) her tightly.
If she let those words actually be spoken… somehow, it felt like it would make her sister’s departure all too real.

— Don’t go.
So she had begged her, her voice trembling with tears.
— Sister, don’t go. Sist—eeeer…
— …
— I’ll be good. I won’t whine anymore, I’ll— I’ll act like an adult…
— Leona.
— Let’s keep living together from now on, please…
— …Leona.

And her sister—
Smiling bitterly—
Had roughly shoved her away.

She still remembered it clearly.
How she’d been thrown down to the floor, staring up at her sister in shock.
…Her sister was someone who would never do something so harsh to her.
Someone who, if she fell over like that, would normally reach out a hand to pull her up.

But instead, what fell upon her was a cold voice.
— From now on, even if you throw a tantrum, it won’t work.
— …
— As I said, I’ll be in touch from time to time.
— S-sister…?
— Well, if you somehow find your way to me, I’ll treat you as a guest. I still have that much affection left.
— Why… why are you looking at me with such a scary expression…?
— Let’s just say I’ve grown tired of you.
— Tired…? Of me…?
Leaving Leona to speak in a shocked voice, Shiona only shrugged.

— …Grow up, will you. At least stand on your own two feet.
Those had been the last words she heard from her sister before they lost contact for hundreds of years.
***

“…Hmm.”
With one foot planted on each of the dragon sisters’ heads, Carlyle exhaled through his nose as the wind whipped through his hair.
This is fucking ridiculous.

…Just what kind of sight was this?
It was enough to make him want to die.
He could easily imagine how this would look to others.

And even in that state, the dragons were swaying in the air as if drunk, which only deepened his sense of self-disgust.
“Ah, this… feels so good…”
“….”

The fact that such thoughts were spilling out of their mouths unfiltered was already a sign that they were done for.
[…By the way, doing this—can it really drive away that Black Omen?]
What “power of love” was this supposed to be? He’d be lucky not to get arrested for public indecency.

Fortunately, Carlyle did have a clear plan for that part.
Quest Info
■ Family Matters

Only two descendants remain of the long-standing dragon bloodline “Libelle.” But their relationship doesn’t seem very good. The elder sister avoids the younger, and the younger fears the elder.
What exactly happened between them in the past?
…Mainly on this side’s end.

In truth, he had spent the last several days utterly trashing his own reputation just to get these two dragons to calm down and behave through this twisted method—all for this moment.
“Well then, shall we have a little counseling session?”
Yes. Let’s try therapy. A family counseling session.

When Carlyle said that, Leona, still staggering in a daze, suddenly looked straight at him.
“…Counseling? All of a sudden, now?”
“Shut up and just answer.”

“…Ah, y-yes…!”
“….”
Hearing Leona’s voice instantly shift into something almost coy made Carlyle lift his eyes to the heavens with something close to regret.

How had she ended up like this?
And why was he stuck here dealing with her like this?
“Miss Leona. Please answer honestly.”

“Uh, why the sudden formality…?”
“…You big, useless beast. Speak honestly.”
“Yeeees…!”

“….”
Carlyle took in a deep breath before continuing.
“Truthfully—you don’t really dislike your sister, do you?”

“…Mm, well, I don’t hate her or anything…”
The answer came out hazily.
“And you’re not just blurting that out because you’re out of your mind right now?”

“Mm—so maybe could you press down a little harder—?”
“….”
At that, the man standing on her head twisted his expression in pure disgust.

And under the gaze that looked at her as if she were trash, Leona’s eyes grew even hazier.
The colder Carlyle’s gaze became in response, the more that effect seemed to intensify.
…What a beautiful vicious cycle.

“…H-huh?”
And—
While Leona was losing her mind like that, someone else regained theirs.

Shiona was now looking at Leona with intelligent eyes.
Even though she still had a dragon’s face, the expression in her eyes was unmistakably one of shock.
“Why… why don’t you dislike me?”

“….”
“I didn’t keep any promises, and even when you begged me not to leave, I coldly brushed you off, didn’t I…?”
“Uh, yeah? But still, I… I like you, Sister…”

Leona’s voice was dreamy, as if speaking in her sleep.
“That’s why… I studied hard. Practiced magic… so I could become the Master of the Mage Tower…”
If she could become a fine adult with a cool title like Mage Tower Master… wouldn’t that mean she could finally stand on her own?

…Maybe then her sister would take back those words about being tired of her.
So she had worked hard for it.
At their reunion, she had acted distant only because she feared that even this much would not be enough in her sister’s eyes.

“….”
Shiona opened her mouth soundlessly, as if at a loss for words.
She had never—

Not even in her dreams—imagined her little sister thought of her this way.
She had simply assumed Leona still hated her.
“Well then, Professor Shiona, it’s your turn now.”

“C-Carlyle… I-I should speak with Leona calmly—”
Her words stopped short.
“Who gave you permission to do that?”

Using the Hero’s magic to generate massive physical force, he clamped her mouth shut as if to physically restrain her.
If she were human, it would probably feel like being choked. She was even wearing a collar, after all.
“Answer. The questions. I ask you.”

“…Ah, a-ah, understood…♥”
“….”
What was with that thing at the end?

Get your head straight…!
Carlyle forced himself to hold on to his crumbling composure.
Don’t let these perverted dragons seize the momentum. You’re almost there…!

“Why did you leave your hometown when there was no real resistance to you staying?”
“That man—”
Shiona answered with slightly vacant eyes.

“He was… a fairly strong dragon. Had quite a few connections here and there. Even without justification, I could feel revenge coming my way—”
She said entrusting herself to Felix’s protection had been for the same reason.
To ensure her safety by swearing loyalty to someone in power.

“Then why didn’t you just say that honestly?”
“Because… just by being involved with me, this child would lose the chance to research the magic she loves. My little sister… she can’t handle battles like that—”
So she had deliberately kept her distance.

She had left their hometown and never contacted her sister again.
She had acted as if she didn’t care whether her sister was there or not.
…Even though it felt like her own chest was being torn apart, she had done it deliberately.

“How could I show something like that to my precious sister?”
“….”
Hearing those words—

Slowly, intelligence began to return to Leona’s expression.
Oh.
Wait.

It felt like words that shouldn’t be coming out so easily were now spilling freely.
Leona stared blankly at Shiona.
Oh.

“….”
Oh…!
“S-so that’s what it was?! Why… why didn’t you tell me—?!”

“If I had said it, you would have insisted you were fine and come closer—so I didn’t want that.”
“Y-you idiot! Why didn’t you ask me first—?!”
“—Alright, that’s enough.”

Therapy, family session complete.
Yes, this was how it usually went.
Problems like this could be resolved quickly if both sides just sat down and talked openly.

It was a skill he’d honed countless times while socializing the Hero.
-…!
-…!!
While he was thinking that—

A certain phenomenon began to occur around them.
It didn’t seem to be the “power of love” nonsense Raiza had mentioned—
But a white mist billowed out between the dragon sisters, creeping toward the black storm in the sky like iron filings drawn to a magnet.

And then—
—!!!!!!!!!!!
Crack!

The Black Omen shattered.
Like glass struck hard with a hammer, the black that had painted the sky instantly turned blue.
At the same time, the swarms of magical beasts covering the plains flinched.

It was as if, freed from its influence, some of their sanity had returned.
And—
For the subjugation force quietly watching, the beasts’ frenzy dying down meant only one thing: an opportunity to attack.

With the sound of horns, the troops roared and charged forward, and Carlyle—
System Message
▶ Quest: Family Matters has been completed!

“….”
Carlyle stared with dead eyes at the window that had popped up before him.
It was done.

The festering emotions had somehow been untangled under his mediation.
The method was a bit strange, but still.
[Counseling therapy involving collars, head-stepping, choking, coercion, and verbal abuse, huh.]

…
[Truly admirable. Like a noble beast who saved countless lives during a Death March—]
Shut it.

He snapped at the Hero, who wasn’t even trying to hide her laughter.
Fuck.
…Fuck.

Carlyle smiled faintly.
A quiet kind of self-disgust he had never felt in all his regressions filled his head.
[Honestly, doesn’t this scene kind of suit you?]

How so.
[Well, I don’t know… didn’t you have some kind of “Training” skill?]
…I did, yes?

[Isn’t this the first time you’ve actually done something fitting for it?]
….
Did this woman think she could just say anything?

***
System Message
▶ Target “Shiona Libelle” has been added to your Training targets!
▶ Target “Leona Libelle” has been added to your Training targets!
▶ These targets have been trained through special methods and have formed a bond with you.
▶ As a reward, a special synergy has been unlocked.

System Message
▶ The Training skill has gained a synergy effect.
▶ Targets whose Training has reached a certain level can further develop their abilities according to their bond with you.
▶ Targets “Gray” and “Vespa” are affected!
▶ Related events have been unlocked!