Volume 3 Chapter 2 Demon's Club
"Oh wow, this one snapped so cleanly in half!"
"Y-yes..."
The straight sword Rose handed me was now missing half of its blade.
As I stared at it, Rose began to squirm, clearly embarrassed.
She must have felt self-conscious about breaking the sword.
But swords are just tools, and things like this happen.
It didn't seem like a high-quality weapon anyway, so it wasn't surprising that it broke in battle.
"So, what's going on here? If you're saying you can't afford a new sword, I can help you out."
As I pretended to pull out my wallet, Rose shook her head vigorously, flailing both hands and her neck.
"N-no! I didn't come here to make such a bold request! I have enough money to buy a new sword!"
"Then what do you need to talk to me about?"
When I asked again, Rose fidgeted, twisting her body shyly.
Eventually, she pointed at the sword I was holding, blushing slightly as she spoke.
"Um, actually, that sword is... the 'tenth one.'"
"Huh...?"
"Since Mr. Roezé helped me improve my skills, for some reason, all the swords I've had—new ones included—have shattered one after another... I've already ruined ten of them."
"..."
Ten swords in such a short time...? Are swords really that fragile? I've heard that if you take good care of them, they can last about ten years.
Suddenly, I remembered the handmade sign that had just shattered, and a cold sweat broke out across my back.
"...Everything you touch breaks, the 'Breaker Rose.'"
"Hey! Don't give me a weird nickname!"
Rose's cheeks flamed as red as her hair while she pouted.
Well, I suppose it's time to stop joking around for now.
"But why are they breaking so easily? From what I can see, this looks like a standard store-bought sword, not a cheap one, and you've taken good care of it, right?"
"Well, I think it might be because... I just recently became a 'Rank 3 Adventurer,' you know?"
"Ah, you mentioned that about a week ago."
It seems that Rose has passed the promotion exam in Pailight's town.
Now, she's officially a Rank 3 adventurer.
"I've heard it's been quite the buzz in Pailight. They say an unknown girl swordsman passed the Rank 3 promotion exam with the highest score in history."
"Well, that's nice and all... but now that I'm a Rank 3 adventurer, I can take on so many more requests, and I'm getting more chances to fight stronger monsters."
As an adventurer's rank increases, the difficulty of the requests goes up.
There's a big difference between moving up from Rank 5 to Rank 4 and from Rank 4 to Rank 3.
A Rank 3 adventurer can tackle an incredible number of requests.
Once you reach Rank 3, you're considered a full-fledged adventurer.
"Recently, I've been breaking my sword a lot while fighting strong monsters, and I think that's why. Well, I guess it's partly because I'm still inexperienced."
"..."
Seeing Rose with such a self-critical expression makes me uneasy.
It's because she's been facing stronger monsters.
It's also because Rose is still inexperienced.
While I can't completely rule out those factors, I suspect the main reason is that Rose has "become too strong." The sword simply can't handle her power.
If she's swinging it around with that incredible strength daily, those store-bought swords would snap in no time.
So, I don't think she should be so hard on herself...
"That's why I thought I'd like you, Mr. Roezé, to choose my next sword."
"Me?"
"Mr. Roezé has a wealth of knowledge, and more than anything, you have the 'Divine Eye' skill. If I need someone to pick a good sword, it should be you."
"I see, that makes sense. If I just pick something random, it'll probably snap right away, so I should choose a high-quality one."
So, you came to me for help today, huh? This is the first time I've been relied on like this.
"Well, I don't mind, but I don't think there are any great weapons for sale in this town. It's hard to find a sword worthy of Valkyrie Rose, someone with talent that rivals a hero."
"R-Really...?"
Rose looks worried, her brows knitting together.
Honestly, I don't think there's a sword in existence suited for Rose.
She probably has abilities that surpass even a hero's.
It might take a legendary sword, one that appears once every few hundred years, to even come close to what she deserves.
Actually, it might be better for her to use her bare fists instead of a sword.
...No, that wouldn't work either.
If she did that, she wouldn't receive the 'divine blessing' from her equipment, so it's better to stick with a suitable weapon.
By equipping a weapon that matches her class, the divine blessing in her body increases slightly.
It'd be a shame to give that up.
So, what should I do? As I pondered this...
Knock, knock, knock.
Suddenly, someone knocked on the door.
"...W-Who is it?"
"Well, judging by the knocking, it's probably..."
I stood up and walked to the door.
I reached for the doorknob and slowly turned it, and there stood a small black figure.
"...Hurry up and open the door!"
"Ah, it's Cosmos after all."
It's Cosmos, a tiny magician dressed in a black robe and hat.
Since the knock sounded shorter than Rose's, I figured it was her.
So today, unusually, I had two guests at once.
"Hello, Ms. Cosmos."
"...Rose, you were here first."
When Cosmos saw Rose sitting down with tea, she glanced up at me.
Her eyes narrowed suspiciously, so I cleared my throat and asked.
"W-What...?"
"Not really. I just thought maybe you were doing something shady."
"I'm not!"
What kind of baseless accusation is that? I was just listening to a regular consultation.
"So, what's going on today, Cosmos? It's rare for you to come at this time."
"Ah, about that..."
Cosmos suddenly lifted up something long hanging from her right hand.
She unwrapped the cloth around it and stretched her short arm up with all her might to show it to me.
"Look at this! It snapped in half while I was fighting a monster!"
"...?"
It was Cosmos's "staff," which had shattered in two.
It felt oddly familiar, like I had seen it before.
Could it be that Cosmos...?
"And this is the fifth one! Why does my staff keep breaking like this? I must've been sold a defective product!"
"...Wait, did you come here just to complain about that?"
"No, I was hoping you could come with me to find a new staff. If you check it out, it'll definitely be reliable... well, I also wanted to do some other shopping too..."
"...I see, so you want to go together."
When I said that, Cosmos tilted her head in confusion.
To explain, I showed her the sword I was holding—Rose's sword.
"Rose was having trouble because her sword broke too. She came to me for advice today."
"Oh, I see. It's a bit ominous that both of your weapons broke at the same time."
Cosmos, who said something so dangerous, didn't seem to understand the reason her staff broke.
For a magician, a staff is as consumable as other equipment like swords and shields.
Staves are usually made from sacred wood—divine trees.
These staves enhance compatibility with Magic, amplifying its power.
However, if you keep channeling Magic through the staff, the divine tree eventually can't withstand it and shatters.
So, Cosmos's staff didn't break because it was unlucky or low-quality; it's because she became too strong.
With her extraordinary Magic, just a few uses might make the staff fall apart.
It's better not to give these two anything subpar.
"Alright, since we're at it, let's get a custom one made!"
"Custom?"
"Instead of buying something mediocre that'll break again, let's ask the Blacksmith to forge something with high durability. It might cost a bit more, but I'm sure we can get something much better than what's available in regular shops."
We could even gather high-quality materials ourselves and bring them in.
There's no way we'll find something that matches their abilities among existing weapons.
So today, we decided to go to the Blacksmith to have weapons crafted that are worthy of monsters.
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