I’ll Use a Reverse-Edged Sword

“Heden, no… wake… wake up! I said wake up, Heden!!”

Despite Alistair Harmon’s desperate cry, Heden couldn’t move.
Because there was no mercy in my reverse-edged sword that I had swung towards his head.

“This… this can’t be… so miserably…”

Tok
Tok

I tapped the reverse-edged sword on the ground, shaking off the blood on it.

“Raymond, lay Luna down and protect them in the center. The same goes for the rest of you. Don’t break the protective formation, focus all your efforts on protecting the trade group members, I’ll attack alone.”

“Yes, Young Master!”

Even though their vice commander, Heden, had died instantly, it was still a very tense situation for us.
At my command, Raymond and the other four knights moved in unison without a moment’s hesitation.
Although it was still a dangerous situation with over thirty of them surrounding our group,
because each knight’s goal had become clear as just ‘defense’
we were able to take quite a stable position.

“Heden… my poor little brother…”

Alistair Harmon, unable to escape the shock of losing his brother, was still wailing while hugging the corpse for a long time.
This situation where the enemy leader was out of his mind was an incredible chance that couldn’t be missed.

Swoosh
Whoosh

“Wha- What! Illigen! He’s coming that way, block him!”
“Wh-What is this, what can this crazy bastard do alone– Aaargh!”
“Huaah!! Urk…”

Thud
Swish
Thud
Thud
Swish

My footwork was lighter than anyone else’s.
Although there were over thirty people, I could tell without having to think about who I should face first.
As I threw my body into the group of 4 closest to me, they became completely flustered and collapsed after being hit by my reverse-edged sword without even properly swinging their swords.

Infinitely smooth and concise strikes
My lightning-fast movements were enough to evoke a scene of rushing at stationary practice dummies and slashing.

“Block him! Attack together, several at once!”
“Commander! Come to your senses! Come to your senses and give orders- Aaargh!!”

Swish
Thud
Swish
Thud

Wherever my footsteps landed, screams and cries burst from the men.
Like a veteran swordmaster who had been through long wars,
I reduced the number of enemies in the most accurate and efficient way.

“What… what is this… how many have fallen to a single sword in an instant”
“It’s not even just a sword, fuck! With that toy… what the hell is going on, Commander! I said come to your senses!”

Already more than half of their numbers were rolling on the ground.
The remaining men who had been threatening near the trade group members now left them and rushed towards me, taking an encirclement formation optimized for many-against-one combat, and shouted at Harmon.

Whether their desperate cries reached him, or his grief over his brother’s death had turned into anger.
Harmon carefully put down Heden’s corpse and walked step by step towards me and the dozen or so subordinates surrounding me.

“You… what on earth is your identity…”

Dazed eyes and a powerless voice.
That Harmon who until just now had been triumphant and looked like he would swallow us all at once was already nowhere to be seen.

“Castillo Eden. The third son of Baron Castillo David.”

“Not that… damn it, someone with your skills would surely have already made a name for yourself across the continent. My brother Heden… sob, he shouldn’t have fallen so easily…”

“Can you only see that brother of yours who’s already dead? Can’t you see that except for those surrounding me, the rest are all rolling on the ground?”

Only then,
Harmon turned his head and grasped the situation.
As I said, there were no troops left surrounding the trade group members, and they were all encircling me.
And,
all the remaining men were lying on the ground, clutching some part of their body and groaning.

“A-Alone… you did this alone?”

He really didn’t see anything because he was wailing while hugging his brother’s corpse.
No, maybe he didn’t see because the time I took to bring down the men was too short…

“Commander! That’s right. That guy is a monster.”
“What should we do, Commander!! Please give us orders!”
“We must retreat! We can’t handle him, Commander!”

The remaining dozen or so subordinates each spat out a word while panting,
but their voices were all one.
A fight with no chance of winning
Harmon, who had just barely come to his senses, had an expression of disbelief at the current situation.

“Re-Retreat? We have to run away because we can’t handle this one bastard? And leaving behind the one who killed my brother?”

“We’ve already lost more than half. And it was just in a moment. We have absolutely no chance of winning, Commander!”
“We must avoid him. He’s not human!”

Harmon was alternately staring at my eyes and his brother’s corpse lying down while listening to his subordinates’ cries.

“The curse… didn’t work?”

“What curse? Oh, this?”

I raised the bracelet and waved it at him.

“No, it seems to be working well. I can feel it, that I can’t use any sword other than this one now.”

“…Then, you really did all this with that toy-like sword…?”

“Depending on who wields it, even a tree branch can become a famous sword. You placed too careless a curse on me. Blinded by the desire to insult and mock me, you missed the essence.”

I spoke impressively, but I sympathized with Harmon’s dumbfounded feelings.
If I were him, I wouldn’t have expected this situation either.
A curse to use a blunt-edged sword for life
This is indeed a curse at the level of taking a swordsman’s life.
But the fact that the target was,
me,
and it was a reverse-edged sword…
That was the problem.

“…My mistake was in not grasping how capable you were. Heden, my poor brother. But still, Heden’s death was not in vain. My curse was not meaningless either. You, it’s certain that you were born with the talent of a sword master class who could make a name for yourself widely. But, you have to wield only that toy sword for life. It means the limit of your growth is very clear. I and my brother Heden, although we were defeated today, have stolen your future. It’s a clear fact that you will spend the rest of your life being ridiculed by the world.”

That guy is still saying that…
No, I was born with a fate where I would have had to use a reverse-edged sword even without the curse…
I let him speak as he pleased.
Performing a one-man army act has its limitations in a space where there are people to protect.

“Young Master! Let me help-“
“Don’t come! You maintain the defensive formation there.”

I understand Raymond’s desire to help me, surrounded as I am, seeing how the situation is unfolding,
but if the defensive formation protecting the trade group members collapses, it becomes an irreversible situation.

“I will chase your name for the rest of my life. For revenge for my brother and subordinates… While you live using that blunt sword, I will hone my sword very sharply. Look forward to the day we meet again.”

“Your brother is certainly dead, but the rest of your subordinates are alive even if disabled? Why don’t you take them with you?”

To Harmon’s voice, which seemed to have somewhat decided on retreat, I used quite an impertinent tone to provoke him.
But he, without even glancing at his injured subordinates,
gestured to his remaining subordinates and they each mounted their horses.
I decide to choose the safety of our group rather than chasing after the fleeing men.

“I will find you again no matter where you are. The rumor of you carrying that foolish sword will follow you for life… you can never hide anywhere.”

“I never intended to hide in the first place. What’s with all the talk from someone who’s running away with his tail between his legs, leaving behind the person who killed his brother?”

To the curse the man was sending until the end, I retorted with mockery
and perhaps it was more effective than expected, as he fled with his subordinates with a rotting expression.

“Y-Young Master! Are you alright?”
“Are you injured anywhere, Young Master!”

Only after all the men had fled did our knights and trade group members run to me and speak.

“I’m fine, not even a scratch from a sword anywhere… completely fine.”

After speaking words to reassure them, I move my steps towards where Luna is lying.

“How is Luna?”

“You… you… sob”

While holding Luna, who still hasn’t woken up, Hanson looks at me and sheds a tear.

“We’ve… we’ve incurred too great a debt to you. For our Luna… to be cursed like that”

“It’s alright as long as there’s no damage to the trade group, and no casualties on our side.”

“How can you say there’s no damage at all! You… you were cursed! Isn’t it that your future has disappeared!”

“Don’t mind it. Lord Wydro, please don’t take it to heart either. Let’s move Luna to the carriage. We need to complete the schedule.”

At my attitude as if it were nothing, Wydro Hanson seemed to have lost his words.

And so, after moving Luna to the carriage, we started moving again.
Soon after arriving in Turkun, handling a few scheduled matters, and then arriving at Seranne Castle
Luna did not wake up.

It seemed that the intense mental shock she experienced for the first time in her life had plunged her into a deep sleep.
Seranne Castle, which Hanson had told me she wanted to visit so much.
Only after entering that brilliant and mysterious castle
was Luna finally able to open her eyes.

The first thing she did as soon as she opened her eyes and came to her senses
was to run to me and check.
She might have hoped it was all a dream, but unfortunately, on my left hand that she grabbed, the black bracelet was still firmly attached.