I Was a Sword When I Reincarnated (LN) - Volume 12 - Chapter 4.5

SIDE: ARISTEA

THIS WAS an emergency.

“This feeling…a Godsword!”

I felt it unleashing its powers somewhere on the continent. All Godsmiths had this ability to search for Godswords, so I couldn’t miss one unleashing its powers. This time, there were two of them.

One was the Land Sword Gaia, wielded by Urslars—I knew its mana all too well. But I couldn’t tell what the other one was, which meant this was a Godsword I had never touched before. Its energy was strange, and clearly twisted in some way. Maybe it had suffered damage in the battle and couldn’t unleash its true powers.

“I’ll figure it out when I see it!”

I had to go. This was my life’s calling, my mission, and the Godswords were definitely in Granzell. But someone stopped me before I could leave.

“Ari? Where do you think you’re going?”

A woman with blonde hair, white skin, a slender body, and pointed ears—the trademarks of an elf.

“Wynalin…! When did you get here?!”

Despite her soft and gentle appearance, I couldn’t lie to this woman. She was also the only person in the world that I didn’t dare to cross.

“This is my house,” she said. “I know when someone is skulking around.”

“But I used a tool to hide my presence!”

Wynalin raised her eyebrows. “Did you, now? You don’t seem hidden to me. It must be a dud.”

“Godsmiths don’t make duds!” I complained. “You high elves are just too strong!” 

This woman was no ordinary elf. Wynalin was one of the few high elves, reputed to be the strongest of all races. And she was a famous one, at that.

No one knew how many high elves there were. They didn’t often meddle with the everyday affairs of ordinary people, but there were a few who did, and Wynalin was one of them. Historian Willow Magnus was another. Wandering botanist Wiggan Wiggan was the third. It was purely coincidental that all their names started with “W.” Apparently, they were all born during a period where it was a popular way to name your children. Given how long elves lived, I had no idea when that was.

High elves with last names used to be nobles. I say “used to” because their countries no longer existed. These kingdoms had probably tried to win the high elves over by giving them high statuses, but it didn’t work. Some say Wiggan’s last name came about because he couldn’t even be bothered to come up with a proper name. Either way, the fact that these countries no longer existed proved that the high elves weren’t interested in politics. If they had been, then they could have easily prevented those countries from disappearing. 

A lot of stories circulated around the three high elves. We knew for certain that Willow Magnus and Wiggan Wiggan traveled the world—researching and submitting their findings to their guilds now and again. Wynalin, on the other hand, had permanent residence.

She was famous for the two positions she held. First, she was a member of the Seven Sages—a group of people as strong as S-Rank adventurers. Of course, the Seven Sages didn’t really call themselves that—it was something that others had come up with. Besides, there were only two mages among the Seven Sages.

The group came about after the meteoric rise of the Adventurer’s Guild, when various organizations and kingdoms recognized it was a threat. In the end, the Seven Sages were the only seven people strong enough to counteract that, and the name gave the public an impression of intelligence and calm—the opposite of rough and tumble adventurers.

It was foolish, but the Seven Sages were not to be taken lightly. After all, three of them were Godsword wielders. One of them was a knight who held the First Godsword, Alpha, although not much more was known about them. There was also the Queen of the Night, who wielded the Mad Sword Berserk. The Queen of the Night wasn’t an actual person, but an organization that ensured their Godsword’s succession. Finally, there was the king of Phyllius, wielder of the Demon King Sword Diablos—although I had my doubts about that.

I didn’t think that Diablos’ master would be so public about it. The chances were more likely that royals were claiming to possess it to hide the real wielder’s identity. Even a king could be a body double for the Godsword user, and I had a feeling that the true wielder was a member of the royal family whom they all claimed to be dead.

Of the remaining four Sages, three were kings of powerful kingdoms. The king of the magi, king of the insectoids, and king of the dwarves. I didn’t know how strong they were. Their kingdoms were so powerful that no one dared to attack them, so they had never experienced war before. Chances were that they had all seen battle, but I certainly had never seen them fight.

Finally, there was the high elf Wynalin. I knew her powers well. A long time ago, we had explored a dungeon to collect materials. But, although she was a member of the Seven Sages, she was more famous for her other position as the Rector of the Academy of Magic.

The Academy had obtained special autonomy from the kingdom of Belioth, and gifted children were sent there from all over the world to learn magic. And Wynalin was its rector, because how could she not be? The high elf was the world’s greatest ocean mage, after all.

Of course, there were other magic schools and academies, but when anyone talked about the “Academy of Magic,” they meant Wynalin’s.

“You still have lots of work, don’t you?” she asked. 

“I-I do.”

“I’m heartbroken, Ari. I didn’t think you’d go back on your word.”

“Urgh…”

Wynalin and I had known each other for a long time, and I was currently staying at the Academy. It was one of the few places I could relax, and I’d taken up a position as a temporary smithing instructor. It was a simple job. All I needed to do was provide the young ones with a little bit of direction. I wasn’t getting paid, but in exchange for accommodations and a position, I ran maintenance on their manatek and enchanted arsenal. 

Honestly, it worked out pretty well for me. The Academy was always producing interesting manatek, and it was exciting to inspect them.

“A-all right, look,” I started. “But I can’t leave a Godsword like that.”

“I suppose,” Wynalin mused. “Godswords are very dangerous.”

“Exactly.”

“But the advanced classes need those weapon repairs.”

“That is true…”

I couldn’t make demands of her. She had taken good care of me since we were young. Also, I had seen her angry once and would rather not go through it again. Wynalin might seem soft and gentle, but that was mostly just for appearances. She wasn’t a bad person, but a teacher needed a mask with her students. Beneath the mask, she was quite bold and willful.

“And the golems still need fixing,” she went on. “We can’t have our dueling classes without them.”

“Surely you can figure something out! Maybe they can duel with you.”

“Oh, all right. I’ll let you off, just this once.”

“I owe you one!”

“But I have some homework for you.”

“H-homework?”

Don’t tell me she’s going to use this opportunity to make an unreasonable request…

“Yes. You know how I’ve been wanting you to introduce my dueling lecturer to the Beast King? Or Urslars?”

“That would be…”

Why would she need her lecturer to duel an S-Rank, anyway? Was she preparing them to fight the Evil One? But before I could tell her that it would be impossible, Wynalin backed off.

“Impossible, I know. So, I’ll make a compromise.”

“A compromise?”

“Yes. I want you to look for someone strong. They don’t have to be as strong as those two, but at least a B-Rank, to put it in adventurer terms. Preferably someone who has a specialty comparable to A-Ranks.”

“What? That’s impossible!”

Anyone with an A-Rank specialty would already be an A-Rank. If nothing else, they would have to be at the top of B-Rank.

“I’m sure you’ll figure something out,” said Wynalin.

“No!”

“Then will you talk to the Beast King and Urslars for me?”

“Fine…”

There’s no winning against this woman.

“I’ll take care of it.”

“Promise me,” she said. “I don’t leave this place often, so I don’t really have any connections.”

I suppose I could rely on the Beast King for this one. If not, I could commission manatek for the guild in exchange for an adventurer.

“You won’t be able to hold a high-rank adventurer for long,” I warned. 

“I know that. It’ll just take a week.”

“And when should I bring them here?”

“Let me think…the sooner the better, so how about within five years?”

Fortunately, elves didn’t see time in the same way as we did. Five years would be long enough to deal with her request. It even meant that I wouldn’t have to think about it for a while, and that was just as well. After all, I had a Godsword to deal with.

To Granzell!