The towering Sword Mountain.
A sacred land for all swordsn, a place of pilgrimage.
The path you tread is the sa path walked by a thousand years of swordsn before you.
Now, follow in their footsteps.
"Hah… Hah…"
Serelin felt her hands tremble as she gripped her sword.
She had undergone countless training sessions and survived many battles. There had certainly been tis when she was pushed to her limits.
But the trials of Sword Mountain easily surpassed all of those experiences.
"Rise, knight of the Empire."
A voice like thunder jolted her back to her senses.
Not just because the speaker was her teacher.
It was death.
The voice of the god of swords carried the weight of death itself.
The enemies he had cut down in his lifeti, the very land, air, space, and ti—everything that had crossed the path of his blade had perished.
It was as if she was standing before the very concept of death itself.
Her mind snapped back into focus.
"I… I understand…"
Rumble…
Over two weeks had passed.
Of that ti, Serelin had spent a full week simply climbing Sword Mountain.
Would simply climbing a mountain count as training?
It would.
Nothing in the natural environnt of Sword Mountain was ordinary.
Every aspect of it existed solely to shape a swordsman—to push them forward, carving their bodies and refining their forms to the utmost limit.
The winds that swept through the mountain were sharp enough to slice through flesh.
Gentle slopes turned into sheer cliffs, as if struck by lightning.
Rain and fog obscured vision, bringing with them a bitter, freezing cold.
Sword Mountain was a chisel and hamr, sculpting swordsn into perfection.
And the man standing before her now was the one holding the chisel and hamr, shaping Serelin into her best form.
Unlike the other swordsn she had encountered—the Sword Kings and Sword Queens—who wore grand armor or noble attire, this man was dressed in sothing far more simple.
A long, loose-sleeved robe, devoid of embellishnt.
His black hair was tied back in a short ponytail.
A middle-aged man who, by appearance alone, seed utterly unremarkable.
He was the God of Swords, the master of this mountain.
At first glance, no one would believe it.
All the other great figures of the mountain, bearing titles such as Sword King and Sword Queen, dressed in fittingly grand attire.
He alone carried nothing but a single sword, wearing clothes that looked like sothing from everyday life.
Serelin herself had been confused at first.
But the mont she saw his swordsmanship—
The mont she witnessed his blade carve through the very sky—
She believed.
"Can I ever reach that level?"
There had been a mont when she wanted to turn back, to walk through the door standing at the edge of the mountain.
But then, the God of Swords had spoken.
And she had changed her mind.
"A swordsman can only move forward by swinging their sword. Will you abandon your comrades and stand still?"
Since then, Serelin had stopped glancing at the gate that Tania Astraea had created.
She had comrades she needed to walk alongside.
And to stand by them, she needed to reach heights she had never imagined.
***
To create Oplite, and ultimately a vessel for It to descend, an imnse amount of research was necessary.
That was why I felt incredibly fortunate to have both Tania and the Emperor's support at my disposal.
'Of course, most of it still has to be handled by …'
Even so, having an abundance of resources to build a foundation was more than enough to give peace of mind.
"Aswell is…"
Naturally, I turned and glanced toward the room where he was staying.
It was an unconscious action—one I only beca aware of after doing it.
"…This is exactly like a newlywed couple."
What was the difference between this and a wife gazing longingly at her husband's study in their shared ho?
My cheeks burned, and I quickly shook off the thought, forcing myself to focus on Oplite’s developnt.
'If I fall behind, I’ll only cause trouble for everyone.'
Everyone was giving it their all, so I had to do the sa.
The results of Oplite’s test run were promising.
However, there were still flaws to be fixed, and from now on, I needed to refine it even further so that It could be properly contained.
"In that case, I should change my workspace first."
The room the Emperor had provided was too… ordinary.
For focused developnt, I needed it to resemble my own research lab as closely as possible.
Vwoom.
I activated the Master Key, opening a subspace filled with magic tools.
Then, I began arranging everything—items I hadn’t used before, those that were too large to take out until now, and even tools I had deed unnecessary.
It felt like tidying up my room before an exam.
Yet, in the process, I made a new discovery.
"…If I arrange this like this, wouldn’t it be more efficient?"
While placing the long-stored magic tools, I saw new ways to improve my work.
So of them, when combined in ways I hadn’t previously considered, ford entirely new functionalities—effectively creating new magic tools.
"If I connect this here… and adjust this…"
It had been a long ti since I had done this, and I was thoroughly enjoying myself.
So much so that I completely lost track of ti as the sun dipped below the horizon.
I only snapped out of my imrsion when Aswell appeared.
"Louis, what are you doing?"
"Ah, Aswell! You’re back already? You finished training early today."
I was still holding magic tools in both hands when I looked up at him.
His hand was resting on my shoulder, and he had a strange expression on his face.
"…It’s already evening."
"Huh?"
Startled, I turned to look at the window.
What little remained of the uncovered glass—partially blocked by various tools—showed the fading sun.
"I-I knew that."
"Don’t tell you’ve been working this whole ti without eating?"
"Of course not."
Growl.
"…"
"…"
I hadn't even started Oplite’s developnt yet, and I had already wasted so much ti.
My face burned with embarrassnt.
"…Co on, let’s go. The food is already here."
It was humiliating to have him catch like this.
But as ti passed, that embarrassnt twisted into a bit of playful defiance, and eventually, I stretched my arms out toward Aswell.
"Carry ."
I even let out a small hum at the end, though it wasn’t intentional.
Aswell chuckled softly before easily lifting up.
I could feel the warmth of his arms wrapped around my thighs, and my heart pounded.
And just like that, a few more days passed.
***
Clank.
"…I guess that’s enough for today."
I had successfully upgraded a part of Oplite’s computational system—the software that allowed it to process information.
In the last battle against the monsters, there had been a slight delay in distinguishing allies from enemies. Now, I had managed to cut that reaction ti down by approximately one second.
I had also added a new feature to its hardware—a device to enhance the jump strength of its legs.
'We need counterasures against flying monsters too, after all.'
I could always build a separate Oplite model dedicated to aerial combat, but for now, I wanted to push this prototype as far as possible.
Of course, I had already started drafting plans for a second unit.
I was still debating whether to make it identical to the current Oplite or create sothing entirely new.
Perhaps I would end up making both. But that was a decision for later.
"For now, I should get ready."
Stretching as the morning sun rose, I changed my clothes.
Then, grabbing the Master Key—which had been serving as my calculator more than a staff lately—I left my room.
"Miara, I’m heading out."
"Oh, okay."
"Don’t forget to visit Tania."
"…Yeah."
She was currently receiving temporary guidance from Tania.
An assassin and a magician weren’t exactly a complentary pairing, so I wasn’t sure how much help Tania could offer her.
But then again, this was Tania.
She had already given Miara significant help in mana control.
["You’re using it like that? Do you like inefficiency or sothing?"]
["If you had been managing your mana even a little more efficiently, you’d be… yeah, about a third stronger than you are now."]
Her sharp criticism was so rciless that even I felt a chill.
Still, I didn’t have ti to worry about Miara.
I had a more pressing matter—I was about to et the Emperor.
More specifically, I needed to seek an audience with him to ensure Aswell could continue his training.
Thud…
The massive doors opened once again, revealing the familiar throne.
The grand audience chamber was eerily silent.
I was the only one here.
No knights.
Not even the Emperor.
Following the instructions given by one of the knights before, I made my way behind the throne.
The towering seat of power lood over , its very presence exuding authority beyond re words.
Behind it, two deep red curtains cascaded from the ceiling to the floor.
'This is the key location.'
The original story had never explicitly detailed this place.
But every ti the Emperor was described, there had always been a ntion of him stepping behind these crimson curtains.
Even the author had left it shrouded in mystery.
Rustle.
"You’re here."
"Louis."
Inside the red curtains, two figures stood.
One was Aswell. He was not dressed in his usual casual attire.
Fully armored, with the Holy Sword fastened at his hip, he was prepared for battle.
The other was the Emperor.
Gone was his usual ornate, heavy ceremonial robe.
Instead, he wore sothing lighter—but it was clear from his posture that he was fully prepared for sothing significant.
I bowed my head in greeting before stepping to Aswell’s side.
"Hero. Are you ready?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
With that brief exchange, the Emperor slowly stepped aside.
Then, with deliberate movent, he reached for the fabric draped over the wall and pulled it down.
Only then did I finally see the true centerpiece of this hidden space.
"…A mirror?"
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