The Great Sword is not the Main Body!
Chapter 6 – On the Road to the Ruins (1)

I made a vow as I watched my mother, with only one arm remaining, slowly being buried in the earth.

At least, I would protect my sister, no matter what.

“I’ll protect you, Lucia… I’ll protect you no matter what.”

Even as my mother decayed beneath the soil, time continued to flow.

We needed money, my sister and I.

“We don’t have any money… I’ll do anything! If I can feed my sister… Please, I beg you.”

I swallowed my pride.

We appealed to the villagers, emphasizing the pitiful state of two parentless sisters.

Perhaps it worked because we lived in a small town.

We were able to take on various odd jobs that made money.

I could finally feed my sister warm soup.

“Sorry, Lucia… I have to go to work now. But next time, we’ll play together! I promise!”

I abandoned my friends.

While I worked, I constantly worried about leaving my sister alone.

Was she crying?

Was she sinking into strange thoughts, drowning in despair?

Would someone bully us for being orphaned girls?

So, I distanced myself from my friends.

I grew apart from the ones I’d planned to attend the academy with, the friends I once shared simple joys with.

“How much for all this…? We’ll sell the house too… and move to a smaller place.”

I sold everything—my mother’s belongings, the house where we lived with her, our memories, our past.

Even if I couldn’t make it, I wanted my sister to go to the academy.

She resented me for it, but she didn’t hate me in the end.

She said she would go to the academy, as I wished.

She nodded, saying that if she succeeded there, our mother would be happy watching us from the heavens.

“And what about my money…?! Lucia’s academy tuition…! Give me at least half of it back… Please, return it!!”

We were swindled.

We needed more money, so we, along with the villagers, agreed to invest in a man’s plan to expand the village’s canal.

We didn’t see a single coin returned.

He said the empire didn’t approve the project.

But he had already spent a lot on materials. He claimed he’d failed despite spending plenty of money and returned none of it.

The village went silent.

We had no choice.

We swallowed our frustration.

Our opponent was the empire. This village—this tiny, powerless place—was easily trampled underfoot.

“I’ll take care of it. You just focus on your work. Oh, and thanks for the gifts you gave me earlier.”

I grew thorns so I wouldn’t be tricked again.

I sharpened my instincts to take advantage of others.

I used my weapons—my appearance, my body, the sympathy and interest others had for me.

I sought their pity, their affection, their love.

I didn’t care if they insulted me. I didn’t care if they hit me. I could endure anything to protect my sister.

Still, maybe I had some pride left.

I couldn’t sell my body.

“Rubia! Look! It’s already autumn!”

Though my sister never made it to the academy, she still believed in me and followed me.

She matured. She stopped complaining about hardships. She stopped talking about our mother.

She wanted to forget the past.

“What should we wear this winter? I want to dress like you, sister! How about you?”

She focused on what made her happy in the moment.

She painted pictures of the future.

I also buried the past and drew visions of the future with her.

I was happy.

I had to be happy.

How far had I come?

How much had I endured?

I had protected what little I had left, at the cost of everything else.

Yes.

I had to be happy.

If my sister was happy, that meant I was happy too.

I’m happy.

Truly.

***

Sigh…

The hot air inside the small tent greeted my awakened mind.

I must have slept deeply, despite the heat, because I had such a miserable dream.

I got up and looked around the tent.

No sign of Noah.

I fixed my disheveled clothes from sleeping and stepped outside the tent.

“Hmm… did she close the tent flap to try and assassinate me?”

She probably just shut it to keep the bugs out.

The cool breeze felt refreshing against my sweat-soaked body.

Stretching, I noticed that the place looked quite different from last night.

“She ate and fell asleep right after, but she cleaned everything up.”

The traces of last night’s barbecue had been neatly cleared away, and in their place were slices of bread and what appeared to be a salad.

All cut very unevenly.

“What is this… pffft…”

The bread was coarsely sliced, and the vegetables were crudely chopped.

Next to it was a cup of cold coffee.

If she were here, I would have teased her again.

Feeling a little disappointed, I looked around.

In the corner, I saw some grass trampled flat, with a trail of footprints leading away.

Was she playing in the grass again?

I could picture Noah happily stepping on the grass, smiling.

After a brief thought, I closed my eyes and stepped on the grass myself.

Crunch, crunch.

“Hm…”

Shaking my head, I sat down and began eating the bread and salad.

“Wow… this is really bad.”

The salad had barely any dressing. It was awful.

And this isn’t even salad dressing… what is this?

I washed down the dry meal with the cold coffee.

“Well, at least it’s… slightly better than before?”

It was still terrible.

As I forced down the bread and salad, I started thinking about how to ease the awkward tension between us.

Even if a week isn’t a long time, it would still be uncomfortable to stay like this.

I didn’t plan on letting her go easily, even after we reached Cartia Village.

To lighten the mood, I tried teasing her the way I used to tease my sister. I even played some pranks on her.

But Noah didn’t get mad. She just kept bowing her head repeatedly.

It was so pitiful and cute that I might have crossed a line a few times…

Still, what is her real self like?

The Noah I’d investigated was a talented adventurer who had risen to the Silver rank in record time.

That was what the rumors said.

What? Her hair was always stained with the blood of monsters, and her red eyes during battles were terrifying enough to haunt your dreams?

“Well, rumors are just rumors, I guess…”

The Noah I met… couldn’t do anything by herself.

She was a fool, incapable of even having a proper conversation, her self-esteem and confidence shattered from being constantly ignored.

When I asked her to take me to a quiet place, she led me to a blacksmith’s forge… Well, it was quiet, I suppose.

She didn’t even check the list properly when preparing, and the amount of luggage she packed was absurd.

She couldn’t even ride a horse or start a fire. Her cooking skills were horrendous.

Honestly, she’s worse than most ordinary people.

At this rate, she’d starve to death wherever she went.

But what? A bloodthirsty beast that tears through monsters?

I recalled Noah’s face, smiling happily as she stepped on the grass.

“Pfft… unbelievable.”

She was just an ordinary, innocent girl.

Still, I could explain away her clumsiness if I considered her blindness.

But she wasn’t just any blind person.

She was a Silver-ranked adventurer, a feat that most people, no matter how hard they tried, couldn’t achieve.

That’s what made it all the more puzzling.

The adventurer world I’d researched was brutal.

How did someone like Noah survive in such a place, much less reach Silver rank on her own?

Especially since she doesn’t seem capable of anything without that greatsword.

I wanted to know more. I was curious.

Just in case.

In case she became an enemy.

And on the off chance—though unlikely—

That she became a true ally.

I needed to know her strengths, and her weaknesses.

I forced down the last of the dry bread and terrible salad, then stood up and followed Noah’s footprints.

***

Clang!

The greatsword met the Black Bear’s claws with a sharp sound.

Parry.

At the same time, the sword bounced to the right.

Using the momentum, I spun my body.

From left to right.

The greatsword tore through the bear’s flesh and caught on its ribs.

I kicked the flat side of the sword upward with all my strength.

With maxed-out strength stats, my kick ripped the bear’s right arm off while the sword was still lodged in it.

Grrrr…

I could hear its blood-curdling growls.

Without pausing, I charged.

I thrust the greatsword into the right side of its shoulder, where the tough hide was already gone.

The sword easily pierced through.

Spinning my body, I pulled the sword upward.

The blade shattered the bear’s shoulder bone as it sliced out, spraying blood everywhere.

Now, only faint breaths could be heard; the growls had stopped.

I spun once more, bringing the greatsword crashing down on the bear’s skull.

The sensation of splitting a watermelon shot through me as unpleasant liquids splattered everywhere.

The faint breathing stopped altogether.

I retrieved the sword.

I nudged the bear’s corpse with my foot.

“Phew! That was refreshing.”

I looked around.

Fallen trees lay all around, and the ground was muddy.

It was a pretty rough scene for just one bear.

Though I had intentionally moved aggressively.

Maybe it was the change in my sleeping spot, but something… made my dreams unsettling last night.

Could it be that going to the ruins to the east stirred up old memories?

Anyway! Today, I am still strong!

Just as I was about to head back to the tent—

“Noah?”

Aileen’s voice came from ahead.

“Ah… good, good morning…!”

I awkwardly waved as I walked toward her.

Aileen alternated between staring at me and the bear.

Uh… why is she looking at me like that?

Does she hate that I went off hunting by myself?

I mean, this is a party mission, so maybe I should’ve hunted with her?

I quickened my pace, planning to apologize to her, but the closer I got, the more she backed away.

Is she really that mad?

Well, if that’s the case, we can go hunt another bear together…

“I-I’m sorry…”

“No, wait. Hold on. Just… stop right there.”

Aileen stretched out her hands, gesturing for me to keep my distance.

Did I make such a big mistake by killing one bear?

I hung my head in shame.

“It’s not that… it’s just… I don’t think you realize what you look like right now, so I should probably tell you…”

“Huh?”

I tilted my head and glanced down at myself.

Besides a little blood splatter…

Huh? What’s this?

I pulled out something dangling from my pocket.

Ah. A black bear’s eyeball was hanging there.

I held the optic nerve, staring at Aileen.

This must be what’s bothering her, right?

“Y-yeah… uh… Let’s head to the stream first. And, uh, maybe not get too close, okay?”

Aileen quickly turned and hurried off toward the tent.

Guess being behind me in the party means she’s got a weak stomach or something.

Classic Aileen. You’re younger than me, after all.

Heh.

With a smug smile of victory, I followed her back to the tent.

“The crimson beast that tears through monsters…”

I heard Aileen mutter to herself, but she didn’t seem to be addressing me directly, so I just ignored it and kept walking.

That aside, I wonder if she ate the breakfast I prepared?

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, after all.