After a long silence, Xenovia finally spoke, her expression complicated. The first thing out of her mouth was, "Why do you know I have Durandal?"
The holy sword Durandal was a legendary blade on par with Excalibur.
And according to rumor, in terms of sheer sharpness alone, Durandal was the strongest of them all, capable of shattering anything it touched.
Xenovia, who possessed the aptitude to wield Durandal, had always treated it as a trump card and had never revealed that fact to anyone.
Yet Takumi had named the sword the moment he opened his mouth. It was obvious he knew her secret very well.
Faced with Xenovia's question, Takumi merely smiled without answering.
After the two of them exchanged a few words, Irina pinched at her clothes and quietly said, "We can let you examine Durandal, Takumi-kun, but we have no authority over the Church's other Holy Swords... How about we let you look at the two we have on us right now?"
At Irina's suggestion, Takumi shook his head.
"I've already seen those two. As for the Church's Holy Swords, it's enough for me that you agree to it. I'll go see them myself later. Let me examine Durandal now, and I'll agree to help you."
Now that things had been spelled out this clearly, Xenovia and Irina naturally had no room to refuse.
"Then let's go somewhere secluded. There are too many people here, and I'm afraid I might accidentally hurt some ordinary civilians."
After glancing around, Xenovia immediately offered that suggestion.
At present, she still didn't have full control over Durandal. If she used it carelessly, even she didn't know what kind of damage it might cause.
Snap.
Takumi snapped his fingers, and the world instantly shifted.
The next moment, the two girls found themselves still sitting in the restaurant, except now it was the restaurant inside a Mirror World.
"Go ahead."
"..."
Seeing that things had already come to this, Xenovia stood up and took a deep breath.
"Durandal is a tyrant far beyond imagination. It shatters anything it touches, and it doesn't really listen to me either. That's why it has to be sealed away in another dimension. Otherwise it's far too dangerous. Even I, its wielder, can't do much with it, so be careful when you look at it."
After warning him again, the space beside Xenovia twisted.
She reached her hand inside, as if grabbing hold of something, then yanked it out of the dimensional rift in one sharp pull.
A massive sword radiating sacred light appeared in the air.
"In the name of the saint dwelling within this blade, I hereby release you—Durandal!"
Its violent aura nearly shattered the surrounding space.
Just as Xenovia had said, this holy sword was like a tyrant. Even space itself was being ravaged and crushed beneath it.
But the instant Takumi reached out his hand, Durandal seemed to sense something terrifying. Its aura shrank on the spot.
"Huh?"
Under Xenovia's dumbfounded stare, Takumi's hand easily came down on Durandal's blade.
What shocked her even more was that, with just a bit of force, Takumi smoothly pulled Durandal right out of her grip.
The Durandal that raged wildly in Xenovia's hands was incomparably obedient in Takumi's.
For a moment, Xenovia couldn't accept it.
It wasn't that Durandal had been taken away from her. The real issue was Durandal's attitude.
It felt like the goddess she'd been groveling after suddenly turned around and started groveling for some other man instead.
That gap in treatment nearly broke Xenovia's mentality on the spot.
"Could it be... that he's an even more suitable holy swordsman than I am?!"
Xenovia muttered to herself, her face filled with a life-questioning expression.
A demon who was a natural-born holy swordsman? What kind of joke was that?
Takumi didn't notice Xenovia's expression at all. He was simply examining Durandal carefully and figuring out its structure.
As for why Durandal had gone so quiet, aside from his own strength, the real reason lay in the Divine Sword.
The Divine Sword that had nearly nailed Tohru to death stood at a higher level than holy swords like Durandal.
Having fused with that Divine Sword, Takumi looked like a tiger in Durandal's eyes, while it was nothing more than a kitten.
And it wasn't some brainless little idiot. It knew better than to puff itself up and bare its claws at a time like this.
Under Xenovia's uneasy gaze, Takumi finished examining the blade and casually tossed it back to her.
"Alright, I've seen enough. Put it away."
"Uh... right."
Seeing that Takumi had actually returned Durandal just like that, Xenovia finally let out the breath she'd been holding.
Honestly, for a second there, she'd thought Takumi was going to keep Durandal for himself.
But in the end, he really had only looked at it.
Still, Durandal...
Xenovia looked down at the sword in her hand, now lacking the savage aura it had always had before, and her feelings turned complicated.
After being touched by Takumi, Durandal had somehow become even more obedient.
Was that something Takumi could do?
If Takumi thoroughly trained Durandal for her, would it feel much smoother in her hands afterward?
With those strange thoughts rising in her mind, Xenovia silently sealed Durandal back into its extra-dimensional space.
Takumi then snapped his fingers again and sent everyone back to reality.
The pedestrians nearby hadn't noticed anything strange. Under the effect of the Dream Demon Spell, the group's presence had been suppressed to the bare minimum, and no one paid them any attention at all.
"Alright. If anything comes up later, call me, or just call my phone. And Irina, you two should forget about stealing money or doing street performances too. Here, take this. Think of it as me keeping you two on retainer."
Takumi boldly pulled out a thick stack of cash and set it down in front of Irina.
Seeing that pile of bills, both Irina and Xenovia's eyes widened into ovals.
That was way, way more than the travel funds the Church had given them!
"K-kept on retainer?! Takumi-kun, are you planning to... do that kind of wicked thing to me? That's not okay. Marriage is sacred... Though if you mean actual marriage, then I wouldn't mind~~"
The more Irina talked, the quieter she got. Clutching her flushed cheeks, she immediately sank into her own fantasies.
At the side, Xenovia's gaze also started turning strange.
We came here on a mission, so why does it sound like you're already halfway to getting married?
But the way Takumi phrased that seemed to include her too.
Could this man possibly be interested in her as well?
"Think whatever you want. I just don't want to see you two begging on the street again."
Takumi waved a hand and didn't bother with whatever Irina and Xenovia were imagining.
At this point, all he wanted was to hurry off and forge himself a Durandal as food for his gauntlet.
But just as he was about to stand, Takumi remembered something and turned toward Tsubaki beside him.
"Oh, right, Tsubaki-senpai. You have a Sacred Gear too, don't you? Can I take a look at it?"
"Huh?! You want to see my Sacred Gear?"
Tsubaki hadn't expected Takumi to suddenly turn his attention to her.
Letting out a delighted little cry, she immediately nodded excitedly.
Her Sacred Gear was the Mirror of Recollection. Once the mirror was shattered by the opponent, the damage it received would be reflected back at them multiplied.
Using that as an excuse, Tsubaki grabbed Takumi's hand and started pulling him down the street.
The moment Koneko saw that, she immediately hurried after them.
Stare~~~
Under that stare, Takumi felt immense pressure.
Luckily, halfway there, he bought some snacks for Koneko, which finally managed to mollify her.
...
For every 50 Power Stones → +1 extra chapter.